The illustrious Blue Scholars have announced a new, extensive tour.  It's their longest headlining extravaganza to date with a whopping 29 dates across the West, Midwest and Northeast.  

09/14 – Vancouver, BC – 560 Nightclub
09/17 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Market
09/20 – Eugene, OR – Wow Hall
09/21 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
09/22 – Olympia, WA – The Royal Lounge
09/23 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
09/24 – Belllingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
10/12 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
10/13 – Santa Cruz, CA – Atrium @ Catalyst
10/15 – Los Angeles, CA – Key Club
10/16 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
10/18 – Scottsdale, AZ – Chasers
10/19 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
10/20 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
10/21 – Denver, CO – Cervantes
10/22 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Black Sheep
10/23 – Ft. Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre
10/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court (early) & Urban Lounge (late)
10/26 – Boise, ID – Reef
10/27 – Missoula, MT – Top Hat
10/28 – Spokane, WA – A Club
11/03 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
11/04 – Madison, WI – Frequency
11/05 – Chicago, IL – Schuba’s
11/06 – Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig
11/07 – Toronto, ON – WrongBar
11/08 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
11/10 – Boston, MA – Paradise
11/11 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

Blue Scholars - Lumiere by geeksmakebeats

August 2nd will mark the release of Tripper, the fifth studio album from the Fruit Bats.  Since 2001's Echolocation, Eric D. Johnson and his ever-changing gang of cronies have continued to make excellent folk rock albums; Tripper should be no different.  This will be the band's fourth release on Sub Pop.  The guys have some local shows coming up, including an in-store at the Queen Anne Easy Street shop on the album's relase day, before heading out for a 15 date tour with Sub Pop labelmates Vetiver in September.  Check out the 80's backlighting and Johnson's Miami Vice look in the video for "You're Too Weird" below.  

Fruit Bats - "You're Too Weird" from Townhall on Vimeo.

If the booking has a theme, it's "big names from lots of genres."

Diverse heavyweights include Swedish pop star Robyn, Idaho indie rock icons Built to Spill and pioneering rap crew Freestyle Fellowship, from Los Angeles — touring with its original lineup for the first time in 10 years.

Also big: American country/rock singer-songwriters Shelby Lynne and Ryan Adams, and Canadian electronic duo Crystal Castles.

The fest's lesser-known Seattle acts are also strong, representing the top tier of several local momentums: twee pop (Seapony, Witch Gardens), hip-hop and soul (Don't Talk to the Cops, Metal Chocolates, Allen Stone) and chillwave, the trance-y genre currently taking over America's dorm rooms (USF, Big Spider's Back).

City Arts Fest is more than music — the programming involving movies, readings, dancing and visual art. But it's mostly music. And most of it happens in clubs and established venues, like Chop Suey, Neumos, the Crocodile and the Showbox.

One curveball is the Pacific Science Center Laser Dome, an underutilized space for music — and a cool venue to see Oregon electronic/indie rock band Helio Sequence.

Check the full lineup and schedule at cityartsfest.com/schedule.

-associated press-

The Trashies return from a three year dormant period with their new LP Space Jam!  The Trashies, as you can imagine from their name, are not an ambient project.  They're a thrashy, psycho-garage outfit that incorporate musical elements ranging from The Stooges to Bo Diddley.  They're not the tightest band in the world, but they're not trying to be, and if that's what you're looking for in garage music of this brand, you're missing the point.  Sloppy, thumpin' backbeats lay the groundwork for catchy, hook-laden guitar riffs that even sound sweaty.  The songs on Space Jam are all short punk-jams, clocking in under three minutes, with the exception of "Bug Smoker," which is typical of their last few albums (which I'm obviously just trying to work in here so I can type their very perfect names), Let it be Trashed, Taz Tattoo, and Fartstorm.  "I wanna Destroy," the probable hit of the album, is below, along with tour dates.  Total Fest sounds fun.          

The Trashies on Tour
August 5th @ The Funhouse – Seattle, WA
August 6th @ SMMR BMMR – Portland, OR
August 12th @ Total Trash Fest – Oakland, CA
August 14th @ LA Record Psycho Beach Party – Los Angeles, CA
August 19th @ Total Fest – Missoula, MT

All shows w/Shannon and the Clams. More tour dates will be confirmed shortly.

The Trashies Space Jam by andrews247

Seattle's self-described "lo-fi rebel hip-hop" duo THEESatisfaction have been signed by indie label giant Sub Pop.  THEESatisfaction is the brainchild of Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White, and between the two of them, they've released five EPs and recently appeared on Shabazz Palaces' Black Up.  Interestingly enough, THEESatisfaction is the only other hip-hop act on the Sub Pop label, next to their other recent and still buzzing acquisition, the aforementioned Shabazz Palaces.  A full-length debut is reportedly in the works for Irons and Harris-White.