Pages tagged “blitzen trapper”

For those who have never been to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, picture an impenetrable mountain fortress. A skyscraper’s worth of stairs runs up and around the main stage, and two towering, triangular rock formations jut forth from the earth, framing an indescribably vast, epic scene.

Sam Beam & Co. are already hitting the European festival circuit hard, and they'll return Stateside to play a slew of dates across the U.S. and Canada on into November.

Portland, Ore.-based Blitzen Trapper will release its fourth album, Furr, on Sept. 23. It will be the band's Sub Pop debut, following last year's Wild Mountain Nation.

Click above to watch Blitzen Trapper performing "Wild Mountain Nation" live at the Paste and Stereogum Dell Lounge party at SXSW 2008. Video courtesy of our friends at GameTap.

It's been business as usual for the ubiquitous boys of Blitzen Trapper, who recently signed to grunge-turned-indie-music-loving label Sub Pop. Determined to truly turn the United States into a Wild Mountain Nation, the band has taken to the road, and will be on the move, zig-zagging across a better part of the country well into April, with stops at the requisite spring festivals (Langerado and SXSW, we're looking at you).

Labelmates Fleet Foxes will join them on the road for the entire tour (with the exception of the very beginning and the very end, sorry Portland, but really - you get them the rest of the year). Along the way, they'll be joined by an assortment of guests that include Grand Archives, Menomena, Dr. Dog, Man Man, Mahjongg and Matt Pond PA.

Earlier this week, the Portland natives took advantage of all the touring that they've been doing, and released an EP featuring three live tracks, a cover and one brand-new song. And, if you happen to catch a show as they zip through a town near you this spring, you can treat yourself to their 2008 tour EP, which contains six all new studio tracks, and will be sold exclusively at their merch table.

Don't think there could possibly be more new Blitzen Trapper news? Wrong! Last week, Daytrotter posted an all-new session the band recorded last year. There are also plans to record another session while the boys are on the road, which reportedly will be a collaborative effort between Trapper and Fleet Foxes.

Here, we'd normally do our usual song and dance, suggesting what to do while you wait for the band, or if you're going to miss the band while they're on the road. However, in this case that seems like an unlikely scenario, so have at it. Go treat yourself to a ticket, hit up iTunes.

Why are you still reading this? Go!!

Live/Acoustic EP exclusively available on iTunes:
1. Wild Mountain Nation (Live on The Current)
2. Shady Grove [Traditional] (Live at Holocene)
3. Silver Moon (Live at Holocene)
4. The Last Thing on My Mind [Traditional]
5. Going Wrong (new song)

Blitzen Trapper 2008 Tour EP:
1. Silver Moon
2. Going Down
3. Shoulder Full of You
4. Preacher's Sister's Boy
5. Black Rock
6. Big Black Bird

All spring long:

February
28 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bottom of the Hill*
29 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Troubadour*+

March
1 - San Diego, Calif. @ Casbah*+
2 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Modified*
4 - Denton, Texas @ Hailey's*
5 - Houston, Texas @ Walter's on Washington*
6 - Hattiesburg, Miss. @ Thirsty Hippo*
7 - Tallahassee, Fl. @ The Beta Bar*
8 - Everglades National Park, Fl. @ Langerado Festival
9 - Jacksonville, Fl. @ Jack Rabbits*@
11 - Birmingham, Ala. @ BottleTree*%
12 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Spanish Moon*$
13-15 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW
16 - Norman, Okla. @ The Opolis*
17 - Columbia, Mo. @ Mojos*&
18 - Memphis, Tenn. @ Hi Tone Cafe*
19 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit In*
20 - Atlanta, Ga. Drunken Unicorn*
21 - Columbia, S.C. @ New Brookland Tavern*
22 - Asheville, N.C. @ Grey Eagle*
23 - Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506*
25 - Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat Backstage*
26 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Johnny Brenda's*
27 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East*
29 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom*
30 - Worcester, Mass. @ Clark University*

April
1 - Montreal, PQ @ La Salla Rossa*
2 - Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo*
3 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Mohawk Place*
4 - Cleveland, Ohio @ The Grog Shop*
5 - Detroit, Mich. @ The Magic Stick*
6 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schubas*
8 - Madison, Wisc. @ High Noon Saloon*
9 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 7th Street Entry*
10 - Grinnell, Iowa @ Grinnell College*
11 - Omaha, Neb. @ The Slowdown*
12 - Lawrence, Kan. @ Jackpot*
14 - Denver, Colo. @ Hi-Dive*
15 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Urban Lounge*
17 - Vancouver, BC @ Media Club*
18 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumo's*
19 - Portland, Ore. @ Holocene*
26 - Salem, Ore. @ Wulapalooza

# = indicates w/ Menomena
* = indicates w/ Fleet Foxes
+ = indicates w/ Grand Archives
& = indicates w/ Mahjongg
% = indicates w/ Dr. Dog
$ = w/ Man Man
@ = w/ Matt Pond PA

Related links:
Blitzen Trapper on MySpace
Blitzen Trapper's tour diary on MySpace
Fleet Foxes on MySpace

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Here is where Blitzen Trapper's training wheels come off. No more playing the role of unknown undercard to bands like The Hold Steady and Two Gallants. No more begging half-interested crowds to buy merch. And no more of this "aww, shucks" gratitude for just being here.

This spring, Blitzen Trapper tackles its first headlining tour, and it's time to get serious.

The band's grueling schedule includes a stop at the previously reported Langerado Music Festival, as well as a three-night residency at SXSW '08. Fleet Foxes play support for the majority of the trek. Who knows? They could be the next Blitzen Trapper.

The many, many dates:

February
22 - Seattle, Wash. @ Univ. of Washington #
28 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bottom of the Hill *
29 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Troubadour *+

March
1 - San Diego, Calif. @ Casbah *
2 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Modified *
4 - Denton, Texas @ Hailey's *
5 - Houston, Texas @ Walter's on Washington *
6 - Hattiesburg, Miss. @ Thirsty Hippo %
7 - Tallahassee, Fla. @ The Beta Bar *
8 - Everglades National Park, Fla. @ Langerado Festival
9 - Jacksonville, Fla. @ The Eclipse *
11 - Birmingham, Ala. @ BottleTree *
13-15 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW
16 - Norman, Okla. @ The Opolis *
17 - Columbia, Mo. @ Mojos *&
19 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit In *
20 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Drunken Unicorn *
21 - Columbia, S.C. @ New Brookland Tavern *
22 - Asheville, N.C. @ Grey Eagle *
23 - Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506 *
25 - Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat *
26 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Johnny Brenda's *
27 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East *
29 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom *
30 - Worcester, Mass. @ Clark University *

April
1 - Montreal, Quebec @ La Salla Rossa *
2 - Toronto, Ontario @ El Mocambo *
3 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Mohawk Place *
4 - Cleveland, Ohio @ The Grog Shop *
5 - Detroit, Mich. @ The Magic Stick *
6 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schubas *
8 - Madison, Wisc. @ High Noon Saloon *
9 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 7th Street Entry *
10 - Grinnell, Iowa @ Grinnell College *
11 - Omaha, Neb. @ The Slowdown *
12 - Lawrence, Kansas @ Jackpo t*
14 - Denver, Colo. @ Hi-Dive *
15 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Urban Lounge *
17 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Media Club *
18 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumo's *
19 - Portland, Ore. @ Holocene *

# - w/ Menomena
* - w/ Fleet Foxes
% - w/ Beach House, Papercuts
+ - w/ Grand Archives
& - w/ Mahjongg

Related links:
Blitzen Trapper on MySpace
Paste Video of the Day: Blitzen Trapper - "Wild Mountain Nation"
Blitzen Trapper's Daytrotter session

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

Click above to watch "Wild Mountain Nation" from Blizen Trapper's new album Wild Mountain Nation out now on LidKerCow Ltd.

One night this past summer I watched shaggy unknowns Blitzen Trapper open for The Hold Steady at a Columbia, Mo. gig. Shortly thereafter, the hipster media overlords at Pitchfork gave the band's Wild Mountain Nation a glowing review. You know what that means: I heard them before they got famous, chump!

But music geek bragging aside, it's safe to say that Blitzen Trapper isn't your typical "blog hype" band. The New York crowd, for example, seems pre-packaged for maximizing immediate buzz and then fizzles out by album #3. Meanwhile, Blitzen Trapper was out blazing its own trail on two self-released records before publicity got foisted upon the group by the blogosphere. Now the guys are on Sub Pop, a true indie success story in an era of manufactured hype.

The latest dispatch from Portland, Ore.'s mountain men is the video for the title track from the aforementioned Wild Mountain Nation. Check out those graphics! It's like Michael Jackson's "Leave Me Alone" for the indie set:

For our European friends out there, Blitzen Trapper is ripping up your continent in support of Two Gallants. Check out the dates on the group's website.

Related links:
Blitzen Trapper on MySpace
Paste: New video, remix from Blitzen Trapper
YouTube: Michael Jackson - "Leave Me Alone"

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

We sit down with Seth Gordon, the director of the new documentary King of Kong, which jumps into the world of diehard video game fans and follows two of them on the quest to break (or keep) the World Record for Donkey Kong.

"Wild Mountain Nation" by Blitzen Trapper. I haven’t been able to stop listening to this song since the disc landed on my desk.

"The Ritz" by Office. Not only is this band one of our Four To Watch bands in September, these guys were featured on the Artist to Watch segment we put out with GameTap TV. Make sure you check out the video, it has a live performance and clips from an interview with the band. Just go to the GameTap site and click on “Watch”, then click on the "Music & Ent." channel, and finally select the "Artist to Watch" segment and pick an episode. Currently Office and Manchester Orchestra have pieces up, and we’ll be putting a new band up every month.

“Frozen Feet” by Tacks, the Boy Disaster . Not only are these guys PasteMagazine.com’s Band of the Week, but she got a chance to interview them when they came through town a few weeks ago. Stay tuned for that interview!

Just having finished a nationwide tour with David Vandervelde, Blitzen Trapper is hitting the pavement again. If you’re anything like us, you just had an overwhelming desire to sing a little ditty along the lines of “on the road again...”

But if you’re a busy commuter and just mentally told us to shove it, well, the band's self-released album Wild Mountain Nation will delight their international fans when it's released October 22.

Just keep them away from Santa’s transportation come December:

August:
1 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Kilby Court
3 - Seattle, Wash. @ The Crocodile Cafe^
5 - Portland, Ore. @ PDX Pop Now! Festival

September:
17 – Portland, Ore. @ Berbati's Pan*
18 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Media Club*
19 - Seattle, Wash. @ The Crocodile*
20 - Boise, Idaho @ Neurolux*
21 - Salt Lake City @ Kilby Court*
22 - Denver, Colo. @ Hi-Dive*
23 - Rapid City, S.D. @ The Imperial Inn*
24 - Fargo, N.D. @ Aquarium*
26 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Turf Club*
27 - Iowa City, Iowa @ The Picador*
29 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schubas*
30 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Grog Shop*

October:
2 - New York, N.Y. @ Gramercy Theatre*
4 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ First Unitarian*
5 - Boston, Mass. @ Middle East Downstairs*
6 - Baltimore, Md. @ Sonar*
7 - Washington D.C. @ Rock and Roll Hotel*
8 - Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506*
9 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Drunken Unicorn*
12 - Baumont, Texas @ Votex*
13 - Austin, Texas @ Mohawk*
15 - Tucson, Ariz. @ Solar Culture*
17 - San Diego, Calif. @ The Casbah*
18 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey*

^ with Jennifer Gentle
* with Two Gallants

Related links:
BlitzenTrapper.net
Blitzen Trapper on MySpace
New video, remix from Blitzen Trapper

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

Recent Subpop signees Blitzen Trapper make the kind of music that we imagine lumberjack hipsters would listen to if they existed.

The band has released a new video for “Woof & Warp Of The Quiet Giant’s Hem.” The band members pretend to play video games in an arcade using their guitars instead of joysticks and buttons. After you recover from the seizure, turns out the video is pretty kick ass.

Also, Minotaur Shock (under alternate remix name Kingswood) remixes “Sci-Fi Kid”from Wild Mountain Nation. The original is like the illegitimate grunge offspring of the Grateful Dead, but, what do you know, chop it up and add beats in there, and you got yourself a dance tune.

Related links:
Video of “Woof & Warp Of The Quiet Giant’s Hem”
Remix of “Sci-Fi Kid”
BlitzenTrapper.net

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.