SXSW : an of Montreal fan schedule.

With South By South West just around the corner, I thought it might be handy to make a special schedule with all oM-related events, since the lucky few who can attend can see not one, not two, not three, not four but five different bands! And I hope I haven't forgotten anyone.

A big thank you to Robert Fountain who sent me the schedule for of Montreal. The Harouki Zombi, James Husband and Yip Deceiver information was retrieved from SXSW's website, but the Kishi Bashi section was compiled from facebook, which as we all know probably isn't the most reliable source of information, but it doesn't appear on the official website... I will edit the post as I find out more.

• of Montreal :

3-16 We Listen For You Acoustic Set (1106 E 11th St) - 12:40 PM

3-16 Waterloo Records Instore (600 N Lamar Blvd) - 3 PM
http://do512.com/c/sx2012/event/2012/03/16/parking-lot-showcase-day-3-free

3-16 Under The Radar Party @ Flamingo Cantina (515 E 6th St) - 4:50 PM (performing The Sunlandic Twins from start to finish)
http://www.mxdwn.com/2012/02/29/news/under-the-radar-sxsw-2012-day-parties-announced-featuring-of-montreal-chairlift-and-the-drums/


3-17 Filter Party @ Clive Bar (609 Davis St) - 6 PM
http://filtermagazine.com/index.php/rsvp/entry/s.o.terik_now.art_showcase_clive_bar_sxsw_2012
This event requires an RSVP like the Polyvinyl showcase (see link), but the RSVP does not guarantee entry if the venue fills up.

• Harouki Zombi : March 16th at 10 p.m. (Elysium)

• James Husband : March 13th at 1 a.m. (TenOak), presented by No More Fake Labels.
  

• Kishi Bashi

3/16 : 12:30pm Spider House Cafe - 2908 Fruth St. FREE

3/16 : 7pm-7:45 TBWA Party Scottish Rite. 18th & Lavaca. (FREE but RSVP only - no link right now)




3/16 : 9-9:30 Wild Honey Pie/Paper Garden Party @ Uncorked. 900 E 7th St. (FREE but RSVP)

• Yip Deceiver (TBA)
  

New Project, Old Interview

Don't you ever get the feeling you're the biggest procrastinator on the planet and that you're just wasting your life away staring at the ceiling? Do you ever feel like you're not being productive enough? That you're far from being totally on top of things? That you're a blogging failure? Well, if this strikes a chord, you'll be happy with this Jamey Huggins interview. I know you've all been waiting to hear more James Husband news but beware, this isn't about his next album, or tour, or anything even remotely up-to-date. Thrillermag.com managed to post a two year-and-a-half-old interview. Yes. We're talking September/October 2008 here. And as it this wasn't enough to totally discredit them, they call Skeletal Lamping "a tedious affair made up of short snippets of songs." Seriously. So why did they choose to finally post this? I've no idea, but it's always nice to read Jamey talk, even if it's Jamey from 2008. What is this guy up to right now, my guess is as good as yours.

But let's focus on the future (or is it the present?) : something's cooking and it's Viper Fragment. Kevin Barnes gave Norwegian blog Musikknyheter the scoop, he is working on a side-project in which he won't be the lead singer or frontman, but the songwriter only (or maybe there's more to it but google translate won't tell us). You would have expected this interview to focus mainly on Kevin's time in Norway, but there isn't one single question about it. Apparently the interviewer didn't know about it (see TBP's twitter page), which is a shame, but I'll take the news of a new project over nostalgic musings any day. -- SEE THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW THIS POST FOR THE INTERVIEWER'S INPUT, the guy who tweeted me apparently wasn't the interviewer, which proves that it's hard to make perfect sense in 140 characters. -- Though nostalgic isn't the word I'd use (hell, why am I using it, then?!), but you know what I mean. Or maybe you don't. It doesn't matter, just take a look at the interview in Norwegian, and google translate it into the language of your choice. Thanks Seventy72two, who made the English version available there. You can also read a review of of Montreal's performance in Bergen there.

Jamey interview

Grab your weekly dose of Jamey here. Warning : contains future touring plans.

James Husband: Little Bit (Lykke Li) from Spenser Simrill, Jr. on Vimeo.

James Husband: No No Baby from Spenser Simrill, Jr. on Vimeo.

Brightest Young Things interview

DC blog Brightest Young Things interviewed Jamey just before soundcheck last week. Once again, it makes for a very interesting read, as Jamey is never one to hold anything back - so check it out and learn everything about Bonnaroo 2009's chaotic performance, missing Susan Sarandon's antics in NYC, and his Scandinavian connections.

picture by Josh Sisk

Express Night Out interview

Just in : pretty rad interview with Jamey. It's great for those who have been wondering where this tour came from ("It was announced online on the Polyvinyl Records Web site and Of Montreal Web site the night we were asked if we could do it"), and what to expect if you get the chance to go ("I think were going to try to do all the 'Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?,' 'Skeletal Lamping', 'Sunlandic Twins' hits, but without any of the backing drum tracks so it's going to be a stripped-down-rock approach"), and what the new album sounds like ("It sounds very similar to 'Skeletal Lamping'").

The article is enhanced with videos from the past, and quite a few interesting tidbits, so head over there right now!

James Husband on Athens Soundies

Watch James Husband's new acoustic session on Athens Soundies. OK, maybe not a "session" but two songs that are still very nicely executed in what looks like (and sounds like) a post-industrial dump. Somehow Athens doesn't look like that when I close my eyes and try to picture it, but then I wouldn't know... The videos were shot by Jason Miller, who is also working (was working?) on the long-awaited of Montreal DVDs. He also shot the 24-hour Party Purple documentary.
Thanks to Dottie for the links - these gems had fallen under the Booty Patrol's radar. Be sure to click on the Athens Soundies link if you want a better video, or if you want to take a look at the other videos they shot - there are some good ones on this blog.

~~-~~ Kevin's best albums of the decade (part II)~~-~~

Everyone can understand how difficult it is to come up with a list and stick to it, so don't be too harsh on Kevin for the differences between the list that was published in Rolling Stone last week and the one that is featured in Ragged Word. Be sure to check it out because this one has annotations and you may learn a few disturbing things, like the fact that Blueberry Boat is "music to help potted house accountants in comas to grow." Who would have thought?

James Husband's Window

I'm not sure if we can call this a single (let's not start a debate over the relevance of singles), but this song now has its own video, and it's a video that apparently shot itself. Icing on the already very tasty hubby cake, Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor are in it! Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty swell (that and the fact that Andy LeMaster got to, er, master the record) - it brings together the best of the Athens scene (if you haven't already done so, you seriously need to check out Now It's Overhead (especially the first two efforts) - records to get you through the winter while waiting for False Priest to come out).

Stay tuned for the Fun Fun Fun Fest wrap-up edition - waiting on my special reporters' pictures to post that.

James Husband

As Jamey's first solo record is shipping from Polyvinyl's offices as we speak, and as him, Dottie, Davey and a couple of other members of the extended of Montreal family are set to go on tour, The Austinist published an interview with the Man. It is almost as much about of Montreal as it is about A Parallax I and Jamey's previous involvements with other e6 bands, and it is well worth a read. Enjoy.

picture by Alan Bee - Field Day 2008.

James Husband's "A Parallax I" and oM vinyl reissues

Good news from the Polyvinyl website today! These wonderfully dedicated folks came up with a crazy offer... You can get Jamey's first official solo album plus a bonus 6-song CD and 5 classic of Montreal albums reissued on (as always) top quality vinyl (plus corresponding download coupons) for $60 (on CD versions for $45.) All this a pre-order offer, which will ship on October 16th, October 19th being the official release date for "A Parallax I."
Find out more about Jamey's long-awaited album here. It actually has a couple of songs you may not be familiar with (I'm only saying that because I'm not).
You can also get each individual of Montreal reissued LPs, but it will actually cost you more than Jamey's CD and the whole collection (but it's your money, kids, so do what you want). The Polyvinyl online store is still teeming with great offers, like Icons, Abstract Thee going for $3, Satanic Panic In The Attic on vinyl for $8 and a 6 poster package deal for an amazing 14 bucks. Just get 5 and wallpaper your whole dorm room with them. You know you want to.

Jamey interview

Jamey was interviewed backstage at Sasquatch! festival (apparently by some college kid, as part of his journalism end-of-the-term exam or whatever...), and the mp3 of the interview can be found here. It is quite insightful, and a very enjoyable listen (if you can get past the very annoying beeeeps that occur every 30 seconds or so). Jamey discusses the most shocking thing they ever did on stage (and it may not be what you think), what it's like to adapt Kevin's songs to a live setting, how the guy who wrote the review of their show and who thought it was Nietzschean was completely wrong, and also his solo album and the upcoming shows (I heard the words "super group" and now I'm all excited...).
I am hoping that a transcript of this interview will eventually show up on some website, or in Boise State's college newspaper, so if any of you of Montreal fans from Idaho happens to find it, please contact us. Otherwise I might have to do it myself.

Jamey in Muso's Guide - part 2 and 3.

Part II and III of Jamey's interview with Muso's Guide have now been posted. Check out Jamey's Musings : The Sequel and Jamey's Musings : The End.

(Thanks to the lovely Monica for the picture)

And in case you're hungry for more Jamey (and frankly, who wouldn't?), here's another 3-part interview he did for Salmon of Rock back in December.

Jamey interviewed in Muso's Guide

The fantastically unpredictable and always entertaining drums/bass/guitar/trumpet/keyboard player got interviewed by London's online music guide right before the first of the two sold-out shows at the Paradise. Click on the picture and read what he has to say about of Montreal's latest tour and his own solo project.

Thanks to A_B for the wonderful pictures.

Solo efforts and projects.

Well, things are so slow right now that it feels like the usually flamboyant and vibrant world of of Montreal is stuttering to a halt... Still a couple of noteworthy notes...

a) Ahmed's afro-psychedelic band, Sinkane, will have a new record out soon. Right now, it is available for pre-order at insound. If you were as impressed as we were by Ahmed's drumming and charisma during the Ninjas Prove It tour, give his album a try. It is said to be more structured than his last offering, but still features "bombastic percussion."

b) Jamey delved deeper into the world of Swedish indie pop and contributed to one track on Doctors & Dealers's new record. I have to hang my head in shame and say that I had never even heard of that band, but better late than never, as the saying goes. It turns out to be a pretty good effort, so you should also give it a try. You can download "The Odds Are On Our Side" (ft. Jamey) from Team Clermont. You can also get the whole album on emusic, or I guess iTunes or Amazon or at your local retailer.
Also keep in mind that the James Husband / of Montreal split 7" should be released anytime now. Check out
Happy Happy Birthday To Me's blog for more info. Also, the label is still running its "6 Elephant 6 CDs for 15 bucks" offer, and you'd be out of your minds not to take advantage of that. But once again, it's just my opinion...
And in other great James Husband news, we have it from the Man himself that "a full length official release is slated for Autumn 2009 on Polyvinyl."

c) There also looks like some amazing "side project" featuring one prominent member of the oM family (who shall remain nameless) is under way. But I will say no more and let you wonder what it's all about. Anticipation, they say, is the best part.

Wolf Pack Radio, Honolulu Weekly interviews...

After a lengthy (by oM standards, two weeks and a half!) pause between tours, of Montreal hits the road again today. Check out our tour dates section and grab the remaining tickets!

Not much news to report, but three more interviews (re)surfaced...

First one is kind of old news, as it was recorded for 1700 AM Wolf Pack Radio (who knew that even existed, uh?) back in December, but it's always great to hear Ahmed, so check it out.

Second interview, thanks to Honolulu Weekly is pretty weird - as it's got to be the shortest article ever written. They make it sound like the interview lasted less than 5 minutes, but there are still a couple of interesting Beeps factoids in it.

Third one comes from of Montreal's nemesis, Brooklyn Vegan. It's not an interview, but they do mention the Happy Happy Birthday To Me split 7" that the Booty Patrol kind of forgot to mention before... Only, they refer to Jamey's side project as James Hubbard, which is both hilarious and, er, pathetic.
But it still comes as a really handy reminder - now is the chance to subscribe to HHBTM's singles club, if you haven't already done it. Subscribing for the whole singles club series is your only chance to get the record - and a bunch of other vinyls from great Athens, Ga. artists such as the Apples in Stereo, Circulatory System or the twee-noise-garage outfit Cars Can Be Blue. Well worth the money if you ask me.