WHY? announces tour dates, offers free MP3

photo by Sarah Cass

Of the five W's, "why?" is often the hardest to define. So it makes sense that WHY?, the unclassifiable Oakland-based band—consisting of speak-singer Yoni Wolf, his drummer brother Josiah, and pianist Doug McDiarmid—chose it as the group's moniker. What began with Wolf finding an old four-track in the basement of his father's synagogue has blossomed into a collaborative effort that blends underground hip-hop, neo-folk and art-house experimental music into a wholly unique sound fronted by Wolf's provocative half-sung, half-spoken words.

Some questions that might crop up when perusing the tracklist for the band's latest album, Alopecia (due out March 11 on Anticon.), include:

Q: What the hell is alopecia?
A: A skin disease that causes loss of hair across the entire body.

Q: Will I need a dictionary to decipher Wolf's always-verbose lyrics?
A: Probably. But you'll learn new things in the process!

Q: Does WHY? care about all the suffering in the world today?
A: Most definitely.

Q: Where can I get that sweet, previously unreleased, makeout-speed WHY? cover of The Cure's "Close To Me"?
A: Right here!

What are the songs on Alopecia?

1. The Vowels, Pt. 2
2. Good Friday
3. These Few Presidents
4. The Hollows
5. Song of the Sad Assassin
6. Gnashville
7. Fatalist Palmistry
8. The Fall of Mr. Fifths
9. Brook & Waxing
10. A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under
11. Twenty Eight
12. Simeon's Dilemma
13. By Torpedo or Crohn's
14. Exegesis

And one final question: Where can I see WHY? perform live?:

March
6 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
7 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Natural History Museum *
8 - Tucson, Ariz. @ Solar Culture ^
9 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Modified Arts ^
11 - Denton, Texas @ Rubber Gloves ^
12-15 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW
16 - Houston, Texas @ Rudyard's Pub ^&
17 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Spanish Moon ^ %
18 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The Drunken Unicorn ^
19 - Asheville, N.C. @ Grey Eagle ^
20 - Charlottesville, Va. @ Outback Lodge ^ @
21 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ First Unitarian Church ^ $
22 - New York, N.Y. @ The Knitting Factory ^ % +
23 - New Haven, Conn. @ Sundazed At BAR ^
24 - Northampton, Mass. @ The Iron Horse ^
25 - Cambridge, Mass. @ The Middle East ^
26 - Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa ^
27 - Toronto, Ontario @ Silver Dollar ^
28 - Ann Arbor, Mich. @ Pierpoint at University Of Michigan ^ #
29 - Newport, Ky. @ Southgate House
30 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Beachland

April
1 - Columbus, Ohio @ Cafe Bourbon Street
2 - Bloomington, Ind. @ Space 101
3 - Chicago, Ill. @ The Abbey Pub
4 - Milwaukee, Wis. @ Cactus Club
5 - Madison, Wis. @ Cafe Montmartre
6 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 7th Street Entry
7 - Fargo, N.D. @ The Aquarium
8 - Omaha, Neb. @ The Waiting Room
9 - Columbia, Mo. @ Mojo's
10 - Lawrence, Kan. @ Jackpot
11 - Denver, Colo. @ Hi-Dive
12 - Salt Lake City. Utah @ Urban Lounge
14 - Missoula, Mont. @ Badlander
15 - Spokane, Wash. @ Big Easy
16 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Media Club
17 - Seattle, Wash. @ Vera Project =
18 - Portland, Ore. @ Holocene
19 - Eugene, Ore. @ Indigo District