BANDS

Mcdonalds

If it helps you out to think of Mcdonalds as a band, even as a "cool band," go right ahead. Chuk, Dan, and Liam have been in "cool bands" before. They do play instruments together in order to create what would best be described as "music". They even have musical influences - take a little sorted Manchester, ride it on some low end that could have come down the Trax on 10 Roosevelt Ave, filter it through the "easy/cheap" spirit of DIY (when it still was) and see if it forms itself into something resembling a non-poncey pop song. But this isn't your average bunch of sycophants stitching together threadbare influences into something pleasant but ultimately meaningless - here you've got hope for the future, the idea that maybe the best days aren't behind us after all, that there's still something new to say. Maybe instead of a band, you could think of Mcdonalds as a prescription? When you quit dropping the needle back at the beginning, maybe try putting the record in your medicine cabinet and see how that makes you feel.

THE EVERYMEN

For the last year or so The Everymen have been a two-piece lowest fi garage band, existing as a guitar and drums combo and releasing EPs that sounded exactly like someone had kicked out their speakers and jabbed a screwdriver into their guitars. But recently and for their newest EP "Hello, Nice Evening. We Are The Everymen" they've expanded to include bass, trumpets, saxophones and have embraced the idea of making a record that doesn't sound like it's being played through a power sander.

Featuring a cameo by Philly's constant hitmaker Kurt Vile, 'Zeppole Ben' takes its cues from early Dinosaur Jr, Rocket From The Crypt and Archers Of Loaf but still retains the garage punk ethos that The Everymen have become completely unknown for.

SUNSHOWER ORPHANS

Sunshower Orphans are a couple of lowlifes from Queens. Having grown up mere blocks away from the former homes of The Ramones, they have been playing basements, parks, and stages around New York City in various incarnations since 2007. The city, of course, has changed since The Ramones’ time (despite what en vogue misguided nostalgia might have you believe), and the Orphans’ music reflects that, as they often make New York and all of her incarnations a lyrical focus. Their first EP, From the Fire Escapes, melds the gliding guitars of Kevin Shields and My Bloody Valentine with Robert Smith’s attention to melodic detail, with the Stone Roses’ mesh of bouncy rhythms and irony. The songs are at once breezy and violent, poppy and hazy, awed and skeptical. Live sets reveal that the Orphans love to revel in noise, but always temper the chaos with a demonstration that these four kids actually know what the hell they’re doing. Whether this record is a fierce indictment, or simply a friend's whispered call to self-analysis, is up to the listener to decide.

CLEAN EQUATIONS

Clean Equations began as the solo project of vocalist / guitarist / keyboardist / general noisemaker Mike Nyhan. Between constant travel as a full time chemical engineer, Mike managed to compile a plethora of poorly recorded demos from his life on the road. Upon returning to Philadelphia in early 2009, Mike and long time friend / producer / State Capital Records guy Dan Hewitt began crafting the best of these demos into what would become Clean Equations first proper release, a six song, 21 minute self titled EP...Clean Equations. Recruiting an impressive lineup of new and old friends from Philadelphia and New York City, the EP features Mike Nyhan on vocals / guitar / keyboards, Nero Catalano on bass (722), Gretchen Lohse on vocals (Yellow Humphrey), Geoff Morrissey on guitar (Law of the Sea), Jonas Oesterle (The Teeth) on drums, Jo Schornikow (The Shivers) on piano, and Jim Thomas on organ / piano / keyboard (Blue Floor Music). Clean Equations are influenced by such diverse bands as Joy Division, Ariel Pink, Guided by Voices, the Bats, Grandaddy, Destroyer, Far, Ester Drang, Sufjan Stevens, the American Analog Set, the Eels, Suicide, Broken Social Scene, Les Savy Fav, the Walkmen, and the Dismemberment Plan. Their music has been favorably compared to early Death Cab for Cutie, Galaxie 500, and American Football with subtle hints of the Appleseed Cast and the Smashing Pumpkins.

THE SHIVERS

The Shivers formed in Brooklyn, NY in 2001. Keith Zarriello (guitar/vocals) has been the only permanent member of the band since their inception. Various lineups of the band have now produced four full albums, each reflective of the conditions the band found themselves in at the time. The Shivers most recently have evolved into a duo consisting of Zarriello and Jo Schornikow (piano/organ/vocals) who relocated from Australia in 2007 to join the band permanently. Although performing and recording principally as a duo, the band occasionally performs as a trio with the addition of Alex Saltz (drums). The band is gearing up for the release of In The Morning with a North American tour including multiple performances at SXSW. The Shivers are also completing a documentary about their previous tour and album, 2008’s critically acclaimed Beaks To The Moon. Beaks To The Moon includes the song "Feather" which is featured in the new Noah Baumbach produced movie Alexander the Last. Amongst others, The Shivers have shared bills nationwide with: M. Ward, Architecture in Helsinki, Jaymay, Deer Tick, Xiu Xiu, David Bazan, The Beets, Suckers, Peter and the Wolf, Thao Nguyen & the Get Down Stay Down, Castanets, and performed at such venues & festivals as the Mercury Lounge, The Echo, Blender Theater, Rockwood Music Hall, NYU, Brown University, SXSW ‘07-‘09 & CMJ ’08.

MY FIRST DAYS ON JUNK

My First Days on Junk like to use the long cold Burlington, Vermont winters as an excuse to hold up in the studios and record. The falling snow, gray skies and lake wind create the perfect environment for creating A record that deals with dreaming of summer amidst sheets of thick impenetrable white and finding warmth anywhere you canm. Weather it be memories of a certain someone or huddled along side the glowing overdriven tubes of vintage amps. No Order is the first release since 2003's ‘Songs for Darla the Fake Girl’ My First Days on Junk also has a limited edition noise record called ‘Box Ghost’ recorded at the same time No Order was recorded. The studio where both albums were recorded is called The Box and is said to be haunted. Box Ghost was recorded live after 2am on 3 different nights when tracking for No Order was completed. It was an attempt to capture the gear creating odd noises, mysteriously turning off and on, and loops repeating when they should not have been.

VON HAYES

We hail from Newark, Del, and Bergenfield, NJ, and yes, Von Hayes is our driving force. Mr. ‘Five -for-One’ represents the crossroads of how we came together. Andre grew up a Mets fan, Peter is a lifelong Phillies fan. One of Hayses’ claims to fame was the time in 1985, when he hit two homers in one inning against....the New York Mets. We then decided to start a band Andrew said the name should be Von Hayes, It sounded cooler then Steve Balboni.