Tag: Bush Tetras

News/Announcements by William Ruben Helms

MerchFriends, a is new 501 (c) organization led by Hello Merch co-founder, The Format’s Sam Means, brings together some of the top names in the merch industry to produce content, events, and educational material aimed at influencing and supporting a healthy independent music merch ecosystem. Their mission is to unite independent merch makers to support and sustain both the industry and artists that they serve.

Interestingly, MerchFriends have teamed up with the folks at Spotify, the world’s most used streaming service for the inaugural Band Shirt Day today. Band Shirt Day is a celebration of merch and giving. It’s a global fundraising event that combines the love and nostalgia of the iconic band shirt with an opportunity for artists to raise money for worthy, charitable causes.

The artists participating in Band Shirt Day include Portugal. The Man, Sonic Youth, Best Coast, Matt Nathanson, Black Pumas, Parquet Courts, Indigo De Souza, Bush Tetras, Roar, SPELLING, Equal Vision Records, and Rude Records. The GoFundMe account for Band Shirt Day will collect donations on behalf of the participating artists. The funds’ recipients will include the ACLU, The Ally Coalition, Voices of Children, MusiCares, Planned Parenthood and more.

Similar to Record Store Day or the Australia Music T-Shirt Day, Band Shirt Day invites artists to create and sell unique limited edition merch items while encouraging them to use their platform to create change. Artists can participate by listing their specially designed merchandise on HelloMerch.com, or existing sales channels with proceeds going directly to their selected charity. They can also use their Spotify profile to offer a special tee or merch deal and leverage Spotify’s Fan Support tool to encourage their listeners and fans to donate to Band Shirt Day’s official GoFundMe or to raise money for another cause directly from their artist profile.

“We at Rude Records believe that everyone has the opportunity and responsibility to make the world a better place,” the folks at Rude Records say in a statement. “That is why, through our charity branch Rude Cares, we support several projects to end inequality, social injustice and to make the world more sustainable for future generations. We are honored to take part in Band Shirt Day and thankful for having the chance to be part of this great initiative with our artists!”

“Glad to see Band Shirt Day raising the profile for the good work that bands do. It means a lot to us to get the extra exposure for our Foundation”  Portugal. The Man say of the decision to participate in Band Shirt Day.

For my fellow New Yorkers, Band Shirt Day will be Band Shirt Weekend. MerchFriends is patterning with Rough Trade to curate the Indieplaza’s Artist Merch Market at the inaugural Indieplaza at Rockefeller Center — and to establish a Band Shirt Day presence at the festival that takes place this weekend.

The Artist Merch Market will feature limited-edition merchandise from Hello Merch, Low Level, Favorite Vegetable, plus Rough Trade vinyl bins, live screen printing from Upstate Merch, live art demonstrations from the legendary Steve Keene, Jose Berrio, artist signings and festival merch, DIY family fun, interactive games and more!

A full list of participating Band Shirt Day artists, merch, and causes
can be found here: https://bandshirtday.com/directory

Artists can register to participate in Band Shirt Day here: https://bandshirtday.com

Info on Indieplaza can be found here: https://www.rockefellercenter.com/events/indieplaza-at-rockefeller-center/

Band Shirt Day’s GoFundMe can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bandshirtday

https://www.merchfriends.org/ 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Currently featuring founding members Cynthia Sley (vocals), Pat Place (guitar) and Dee Pop (drums) along with newest recruit Val Opielski, the New York-based act Bush Tetras can trace their origins back to when Sley, Place, Pop and Laura Kennedy (bass) formed the band back in 1979.  Interestingly, their full-length debut Too Many Creeps was considered one of their scene’s defining moments as it accurately captured the vibe, feel and ethos of that scene’s particular moment.

Building upon a growing profile, the members of Bush Tetras were an opening act during The Clash’s legendary, spring 1981 17 show run at Bond International Casino. After the release of their Topper Headon-produced Rituals EP, which featured the chart-placing “Can’t Be Funky,” Laura Kennedy and Dee Pop left the band and were replaced by Bob Albertson (bass) and Don Christensen (drums); however, the band broke up.

For the better part of the next three decades, the members of the band were fairly elusive, although interestingly enough, the band’s original lineup reunited on a couple of occasions — in 1995, which resulted in 1997’s Beauty Lies and recording sessions the following year, which resulted in a Don Fleming-produced album that was shelved when Mercury Records was sold. That album was finally released in 2012.

In 2005, Julia Murphy replaced Kennedy and they resumed playing and touring across New York. The band toured across Europe the following year. Sadly, Laura Kennedy died in 2011 after a long battle with liver disease. In 2013, Cindy Rickmond, a former member of Cheap Perfume, Grayson Hugh, Church of Betty and Unknown Gender briefly replaced Murphy. And in 2016, Val Opielski, a former member of Krakatoa, Walking Hellos, PSXO and 1000 Yard Stare joined the band.

Last year saw the release of Take The Fall EP through Wharf Cat Records, the first batch of new music from the band in over 10 years. Over the winter, Third Man Records cleared their Cass Corridor showroom floor, invited the band down to Detroit — and enlisted the help of Third Man Mastering’s Bill Skibbe and Warren Defever to record their recently released “There is a Hum”/”Seven Years” 7 inch. A side single “There is a Hum” is a slashing bit of post punk, reminiscent of Entertainment-era Gang of Four and Sonic Youth — but seething with a neurotic anxiousness. B side single “Seven Years” manages to be a mischievously anachronistic track that sounds as though it could have been released at any point within the past 30 years. The glitchy and spastic track features some blistering and energetic guitar work centered around cowbell-led percussion and a sinuous bass line. Both tracks find the legendary post punk/No Wave act boldly reminding the listener that although it’s been a while, they play with a fury, passion and purpose that many younger acts lack.