MARCH 2009

Flying - Draw It In The Dark (7" and DVD) MPK 7048/49

On April 28th, Menlo Park and Flying will release a 7" and DVD companion piece to last years fine album, Faces of The Night. This new release is packaged in a 7" sleeve with both a 7" and a DVD inside, and gives both you and Flying their first tastes of ever being listened to on vinyl. We took 3 songs from the album and gave you an un-released version of "A Cloud In Doubt". Until the needle drops on the groove you forget how different the music can become simply being addressed in a different format. The DVD is a stellar compilation of 10 videos made up of songs from both albums by various video artists and curated by the band. To top it all off, both the 7" sleeve and DVD inner sleeve each have fetching cover art done by NYC artist Dana Schutz and is limited to 750 copies.

To Live & Shave In L.A. - A Compilation of Volume What?

We've been back and forth discussing a To Live and Shave in LA compilation, and we're getting there, but it will take time. Tom is currently living overseas and doesn't seem itching to get back to the US anytime soon, even with our lure of rising US unemployment and tainted peanut butter products. He has however, taken roughly 100 hours of "shave worthy" music with him, and will be weeding through the tracks to get it down to 20 or 30 hours and eventually to our desired 3-5 hour time frame. With the rest of the shave in the US the project will move along as fast or as slow as we want it to move, but in the end your head will be blown.

Skyskip Digital Compilation (1995-2008) MPK 7050

The first in what I think will be a series of digital compilations for Menlo Park. Basically, I'm in a constant quagmire on how I would ideally like for the releases to be listened to in the digital world. I always felt music made for Vinyl is to be heard on Vinyl and CD's are to be heard on a digital delivery device. The issue is that a large portion of the catalog is vinyl only and out of print. So, when asked by i-Tunes to do a digital only comp, I felt that the time was right to mix it up a bit. Initially this was only to be up for a limited time during the holidays, but somehow the compilation got out into the world, and you just can't stop digital once it's flowing and maybe it's best that way. This first compilation spans the last 13 years, and is mostly made up of tracks already available digitally with a few exceptions. I am in the process of transferring vinyl and mastering it for digital ears and I'm calling it "turntable mastered". If and when I feel the music is ready, more vinyl as digital will be released. What I may do is leave this comp up for the rest of the year, and take it down when #2 arrives; just like a physical reality, nothing lasts forever. I've been asked why this band or that band is not on it, and it's really because I'm introducing the vinyl catalog into the digital arena slowly, and wanted this edition to be mostly tracks you could actually buy digitally if you felt the urge. In the end there's really no substitute for hearing a vinyl release being played on a turntable, but I'm aiming to give you a decent second option.

Japanther

Well, can't keep a good man down, and can't keep the band in California. After flirting with a move to Cali and trying it for a few months, Japanther have decided that NYC is their home now, and are relocating back to the new New York. Won't be long though, as they're on tour again, and this will keep repeating. They'll be recording some new songs once they finish tour, and though Tut Tut is only 5 months old, there could be a new baby before too long. In the meantime, catch them on one of their dates below.... Type to you later, Menlo Park Recordings.

Japanther On Tour Mar 5 2009 9:00P Funhouse Seattle, Washington Mar 6 2009 8:00P Rotture Portland, Oregon Mar 13 2009 9:00P Hardpop Juarez, Chihuahua Mar 14 2009 8:00P Stab Mountain Flagstaff, Arizona Mar 17 2009 9:00P The Conservatory Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mar 18 2009 7:00P 1919 Hemphill Ft. Worth, Texas Mar 20 2009 8:00P Colab Space Austin, Texas Mar 21 2009 8:00P Mess With Texas Austin, Texas Mar 22 2009 7:00P IndieHouston Houston, Texas Mar 23 2009 9:00P Dragon s Den New Orleans, Louisiana Mar 24 2009 8:00P Charles Mansion Tallahssee, Florida Mar 25 2009 8:00P Greencup Books Birmingham, Alabama Mar 27 2009 7:00P Bike Haus Cincinnati, Ohio Mar 28 2009 7:00P Brown Town Athens, Ohio Apr 2 2009 9:00P Vanishing Point Brooklyn, New York Apr 3 2009 8:00P Firehouse 13 Providence, Rhode Island Apr 4 2009 8:00P Il Motore Montreal, Quebec Apr 5 2009 9:00P Wrong Bar Toronto, Ontario Apr 6 2009 7:00P The Trumbullplex Detroit, Michigan Apr 7 2009 8:00P Town Hall Pub Chicago, Illinois Apr 8 2009 4:00P Antiquarium Omaha, Nebraska Apr 8 2009 9:00P Jackpot Lawrence, Kansas Apr 9 2009 8:00P Rhinoceropolis Denver, Colorado Apr 10 2009 8:00P TBA Salt Lake City, Utah Apr 11 2009 8:00P TBA OAKLAND, California Apr 13 2009 7:00P Hemlock Tavern San Francisco, California Apr 14 2009 8:00P 209 2nd st. Davis, California Apr 16 2009 8:00P Biko Garage Isla Vista, California