The Fest 10!  It’s gonna be a blast! But guess what?  Attica! Attica! isn’t on it…yet.  In previous years, bands could apply, but apparently this year is all about the alumni.  They have already confirmed the high profile bands, leaving the rest of us to wait to see who’s next.  So, if you want to see me playing again this year (to make it 3 years running), I’m gonna need some support.  Swing over to the message board thread and drop Attica! Attica!’s name!  Thanks, y’all. - Aaron
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The Fest 10!  It’s gonna be a blast! But guess what?  Attica! Attica! isn’t on it…yet.  In previous years, bands could apply, but apparently this year is all about the alumni.  They have already confirmed the high profile bands, leaving the rest of us to wait to see who’s next.  So, if you want to see me playing again this year (to make it 3 years running), I’m gonna need some support.  Swing over to the message board thread and drop Attica! Attica!’s name!  Thanks, y’all.

- Aaron

I have a ton of Attica! Attica! t-shirts in the ol’ merch bin, some of which are designs from three years ago.  It’s time for an early spring cleaning!  I’m discounting all shirts 4 bucks, which means you can buy any shirt including shipping for EIGHT DOLLARS.  Yes.  8 bucks.  $8.  These are all nice quality American Apparel shirts, too.  You know how much it costs to order a plain American Apparel t-shirt from their website?  $23!  That’s basically three times what I’m asking.  You could buy it as your new lawn-mowing shirt and it would still be a good deal.  Why am I doing this?  Because these shirts aren’t doing me any good sitting in a huge tupperware bin in my attic, and I could use the money for tour.  So head on over to the merch page and pick up a tee!  Thanks a bunch!- Aaron
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I have a ton of Attica! Attica! t-shirts in the ol’ merch bin, some of which are designs from three years ago.  It’s time for an early spring cleaning!  I’m discounting all shirts 4 bucks, which means you can buy any shirt including shipping for EIGHT DOLLARS.  Yes.  8 bucks.  $8.  These are all nice quality American Apparel shirts, too.  You know how much it costs to order a plain American Apparel t-shirt from their website?  $23!  That’s basically three times what I’m asking.  You could buy it as your new lawn-mowing shirt and it would still be a good deal.  Why am I doing this?  Because these shirts aren’t doing me any good sitting in a huge tupperware bin in my attic, and I could use the money for tour.  So head on over to the merch page and pick up a tee!  Thanks a bunch!

- Aaron

I AM SO EXCITED.  Suburban Home Records just announced the artwork for the next volume of their Under the Influence 7” series.  Ruiner did a cover of Oasis’ “What’s the Story Morning Glory?” for this release and I contributed a cover of Propagandhi’s “The State Lottery.” Mitch Clem and Nation of Amanda put together this fantastic artwork, which spoofs the originals. (Original Oasis cover art here, original Propagandhi cover art here.)  Man, that’s so cool. I had no idea what they’d do to modify the original covers but they did a great job. I love Mitch’s drawing style, and it’s pretty awesome to have a portrait of myself drawn by him. This will be the second cover song I release on vinyl (the first being “No Children” by The Mountain Goats which appeared on Red Leader’s “Happy Birthday Claire” 10” record).I’m also playing a house show in Portland next week.  Check the shows page for details! 
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I AM SO EXCITED.  Suburban Home Records just announced the artwork for the next volume of their Under the Influence 7” series.  Ruiner did a cover of Oasis’ “What’s the Story Morning Glory?” for this release and I contributed a cover of Propagandhi’s “The State Lottery.” Mitch Clem and Nation of Amanda put together this fantastic artwork, which spoofs the originals. (Original Oasis cover art here, original Propagandhi cover art here.)  Man, that’s so cool. I had no idea what they’d do to modify the original covers but they did a great job. I love Mitch’s drawing style, and it’s pretty awesome to have a portrait of myself drawn by him. This will be the second cover song I release on vinyl (the first being “No Children” by The Mountain Goats which appeared on Red Leader’s “Happy Birthday Claire” 10” record).

I’m also playing a house show in Portland next week.  Check the shows page for details! 

I finally deleted my friend Jake’s number from my phone. It has been a long time, close to a year, since he died. I don’t understand why this simple act was so hard. Then again, I don’t understand a lot of things about grieving.In December, I gave an interview to Emma Hernandez for a piece she wrote about benefit shows. We talked a lot about Jake and the benefit shows I either organized or played following his death. This was an easy interview to give, since the easy part of grieving is the part where you feel like you are being helpful. The same can be said about benefit shows, I suppose. We put them together because we want to help, but also because it feels good to be helpful in the wake of a tragedy. That’s the easy part of grief. All the other stuff is hard.Emma’s piece is finished, and it includes a lot of things I had to say.  She took a very cool approach to assembling the piece, incorporating video, audio, and photographs. You can read it here. If you want to learn more about Jake, go to JakeStults.org. If you want to donate towards the immense medical bills that Jake’s wife and family are left with, go to the Jake Stults Foundation.   The above photo was taken by Hilary J. Corts at the benefit show for Jake in Brooklyn, NY. 
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I finally deleted my friend Jake’s number from my phone. It has been a long time, close to a year, since he died. I don’t understand why this simple act was so hard. Then again, I don’t understand a lot of things about grieving.

In December, I gave an interview to Emma Hernandez for a piece she wrote about benefit shows. We talked a lot about Jake and the benefit shows I either organized or played following his death. This was an easy interview to give, since the easy part of grieving is the part where you feel like you are being helpful. The same can be said about benefit shows, I suppose. We put them together because we want to help, but also because it feels good to be helpful in the wake of a tragedy. That’s the easy part of grief. All the other stuff is hard.

Emma’s piece is finished, and it includes a lot of things I had to say.  She took a very cool approach to assembling the piece, incorporating video, audio, and photographs. You can read it here. 

If you want to learn more about Jake, go to JakeStults.org. If you want to donate towards the immense medical bills that Jake’s wife and family are left with, go to the Jake Stults Foundation.   

The above photo was taken by Hilary J. Corts at the benefit show for Jake in Brooklyn, NY. 

I’m back!  The rib is all healed up and I’m ready to play shows again.  I’m playing my first Portland show in 6 months, which is gonna be a dandy.  I’m also booking some shows in other states, be on the lookout!  (I should add that the most of the flyers I’ve been posting to flickr are old!  Check the dates…but to be clear, I’m not playing New York in the next few months.)I’ve had a bunch of people ask lately when I’m going to put out some new music.  I reflected on that and realized that, in 2010, I released exactly 1 new song.  THAT IS BOGUS.  So let me say this: in 2011, I will not be releasing an album.  But, I will be releasing an album’s worth of songs during this year with various smaller releases, including some from a couple other projects, old and new.  I hope to announce a couple of those in the next month.  Stay tuned!- Aaron
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I’m back!  The rib is all healed up and I’m ready to play shows again.  I’m playing my first Portland show in 6 months, which is gonna be a dandy.  I’m also booking some shows in other states, be on the lookout!  (I should add that the most of the flyers I’ve been posting to flickr are old!  Check the dates…but to be clear, I’m not playing New York in the next few months.)

I’ve had a bunch of people ask lately when I’m going to put out some new music.  I reflected on that and realized that, in 2010, I released exactly 1 new song.  THAT IS BOGUS.  So let me say this: in 2011, I will not be releasing an album.  But, I will be releasing an album’s worth of songs during this year with various smaller releases, including some from a couple other projects, old and new.  I hope to announce a couple of those in the next month.  Stay tuned!

- Aaron

Q:okay, i missed your live video chat.
when is the next time you're plannin on doing it?

straightenmysox

I don’t have anything scheduled as of yet.  I’ll probably wait a few months to refresh overall interest.  I’ll  be sure to announce it when the time comes.  Thanks for asking!  And thanks to everyone who came by to hang out for the chat last week.  We had a good, silly time.  And puns.

Since everyone’s New Year’s resolution #1 was to video chat with me, I’m doing a live video chat!  How about that?  You can bang out #1 in the first week of the new year.  Then you can move on to #2 (video chatting with Tobey Maguire about Spiderman 2).  If you want to join the fun on Wednesday, just go here around 9 PM EST.  We’ll probably keep it going for an hour or so.  You can make a quick Yowie account to get in on the video fun, or enter questions through regular old chat as a guest.  See you there!- Aaron
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Since everyone’s New Year’s resolution #1 was to video chat with me, I’m doing a live video chat!  How about that?  You can bang out #1 in the first week of the new year.  Then you can move on to #2 (video chatting with Tobey Maguire about Spiderman 2).  If you want to join the fun on Wednesday, just go here around 9 PM EST.  We’ll probably keep it going for an hour or so.  You can make a quick Yowie account to get in on the video fun, or enter questions through regular old chat as a guest.  See you there!

- Aaron

As you may have guessed, I’m not particularly enthusiastic about religious holidays, nor their consumer-culture alter-egos.  I am, however, a big fan of some good theater (as you also may have guessed), and this video feels like a good thing to share this weekend.  It features Chris Antal, frequent Attica! Attica! collaborator.  Keep watching so you can catch Chris’ ridiculous appeal to the king.  Happy vacation day, y’all.

I just started volunteering for an organization called Music Is Revolution.  They give mini-grants to public school teachers who want to incorporate music into their curriculum with field trips or projects within the classroom.  It was started by Michael Davis (the bass player from MC5) and his wife, Angela.  I met with them last week and agreed to be the organization’s teacher liaison.  I’m excited to take on this project and extend my focus beyond my own music and the punk scene.  If you’re looking to make a holiday or end-of-year donation, please consider sending Music Is Revolution a few bucks.Thanks!- Aaron
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I just started volunteering for an organization called Music Is Revolution.  They give mini-grants to public school teachers who want to incorporate music into their curriculum with field trips or projects within the classroom.  It was started by Michael Davis (the bass player from MC5) and his wife, Angela.  I met with them last week and agreed to be the organization’s teacher liaison.  I’m excited to take on this project and extend my focus beyond my own music and the punk scene.  If you’re looking to make a holiday or end-of-year donation, please consider sending Music Is Revolution a few bucks.

Thanks!
- Aaron

donthangoutinfrontofthehouse: Volume 2 has arrived!  This sequel to Please Don’t Hang Out In Front Of The House, Vol. 1, features songs about house shows that were written independent of this project.  Some of these songs were submitted, and others were solicited in order to round out this volume until it became the awesome 25-song monster that it is.  This comp is louder than its predecessor, and it explores a somewhat broader spectrum of ideas relating to house shows, since these songs were not written specifically to celebrate house shows.  Despite these differences, it shares one important similarity with Volume 1: it’s really good!  Click the Vol. 2 download button in the upper right of this page to download it.Here’s some thoughts while you’re waiting for the download to finish: 1) I recommend that you listen to this comp on shuffle.2) The awesome artwork comes from a show flyer made by Justin Myer.  It’s obviously awesome.  The image was recommended to me by another participant in this project.  Much like most of the songs on Volume 2, the artwork debuted elsewhere, but gets a worthy rebirth in this new context.  Thanks, Justin!3) I have to give one more set of shout-outs to some crucial behind-the-scenes mega-buddy/helpers.  - Once again, Matt Gauck, the man behind the Volume 1 cover art and author of the zine Next Stop Adventure, brought it big time with the liner notes layout.  I hope you’ll take a peek at them (in the download folder) and dig deeper into the lyrics of these songs.  Thanks to Matt for throwing it all together in just one night.  With only one day’s notice.  AGAIN.  He’s the best.- Likewise, Bill Henderson of Azimuth Mastering and the bands Annelids, Kill Wealthy Dowager, and Helcaraxe mastered the songs on this volume for free.  Since this project was an organizational nightmare, he had to master this in five or six different batches.  He mastered every batch in less than 24 hours.  AGAIN.  He’s the best. - Dave Frenson of the record label Black Numbers and the band Banquets did all the back end web stuff for the compilation download.  He endured near-daily text messages and e-mails from me.  AGAIN.  And he still got everything working last night after I had changed the release date a zillion times.  He’s the best.- Oscar Albis Rodriguez of the band Ghost Robot Ninja Bear made sure that this project happened.  Without him, I never would have started it, I never would have continued it, and I never would have finished it.  He’s the best.Thanks so much for checking out the blog and the comp.  A lot of us have worked really hard on this, and we appreciate your time and enthusiasm for this project.  You’re the best.- Aaron
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donthangoutinfrontofthehouse:

Volume 2 has arrived!  This sequel to Please Don’t Hang Out In Front Of The House, Vol. 1, features songs about house shows that were written independent of this project.  Some of these songs were submitted, and others were solicited in order to round out this volume until it became the awesome 25-song monster that it is.  This comp is louder than its predecessor, and it explores a somewhat broader spectrum of ideas relating to house shows, since these songs were not written specifically to celebrate house shows.  Despite these differences, it shares one important similarity with Volume 1: it’s really good!  Click the Vol. 2 download button in the upper right of this page to download it.

Here’s some thoughts while you’re waiting for the download to finish:


1) I recommend that you listen to this comp on shuffle.

2) The awesome artwork comes from a show flyer made by Justin Myer.  It’s obviously awesome.  The image was recommended to me by another participant in this project.  Much like most of the songs on Volume 2, the artwork debuted elsewhere, but gets a worthy rebirth in this new context.  Thanks, Justin!

3) I have to give one more set of shout-outs to some crucial behind-the-scenes mega-buddy/helpers. 

- Once again, Matt Gauck, the man behind the Volume 1 cover art and author of the zine Next Stop Adventure, brought it big time with the liner notes layout.  I hope you’ll take a peek at them (in the download folder) and dig deeper into the lyrics of these songs.  Thanks to Matt for throwing it all together in just one night.  With only one day’s notice.  AGAIN.  He’s the best.

- Likewise, Bill Henderson of Azimuth Mastering and the bands Annelids, Kill Wealthy Dowager, and Helcaraxe mastered the songs on this volume for free.  Since this project was an organizational nightmare, he had to master this in five or six different batches.  He mastered every batch in less than 24 hours.  AGAIN.  He’s the best.


- Dave Frenson of the record label Black Numbers and the band Banquets did all the back end web stuff for the compilation download.  He endured near-daily text messages and e-mails from me.  AGAIN.  And he still got everything working last night after I had changed the release date a zillion times.  He’s the best.

- Oscar Albis Rodriguez of the band Ghost Robot Ninja Bear made sure that this project happened.  Without him, I never would have started it, I never would have continued it, and I never would have finished it.  He’s the best.

Thanks so much for checking out the blog and the comp.  A lot of us have worked really hard on this, and we appreciate your time and enthusiasm for this project.  You’re the best.

- Aaron