Larry And HIs Flask Announce European Tour!

Following the release of their brand new single ‘The Battle For Clear Sight’ on 14th October 2013, Larry and His Flask are back on our shores to win over yet more hearts and minds of the good people in Europe and the UK throughout December. 

Larry And His Flask, photo by Karen Seifert. 

The five-piece from Oregon, USA who supported Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls in the UK as well as playing their own headline shows earlier this year will further spread the gospel of their infectious and frenetic homespun bluegrass/anarchic rock on the following dates:

DECEMBER
03   Nijmegen (NL) @ Merleyn 
04   London (UK) @ Borderline
05   Middlesbrough (UK) @ Doctor Browns
06   Glasgow (UK) @ Audio  
07   Manchester (UK) @ The Star & Garter
08   Brighton (UK) @ The Hope
09   Brussels (BE) @ Magasin 4
10   Berlin (DE) @ Cortina Bob
11   Cologne (DE) @ Tsunami Club
12   Mannheim (DE) @ Der Bock
13   Zurich (CH) @ Dynamo Werk 21
14   Hamburg (DE) @ Nouar Bar
15   Utrecht (NL) @ dBs 

The Battle For Clear Sight is taken from their outstanding sophomore album ‘By The Lamplight’ which was released earlier this year. The track will be released on a split, coloured 7” vinyl – with Beans On Toast on the flipside – as part of the Xtra Mile Single Sessions: The Tenth Anniversary Edition. It features on the second of the 4 vinyl released every Monday in October as part of this highly collectable series. 

As well as this, the band have recently made available their previous album ‘All That We Know’ on digital download for the first time, this side of the pond.

For the uninitiated, Larry and His Flask make music that lies somewhere between a barn raising and a mosh pit. The New York Times calls them "uncommonly joyous" and "deviously astute", while their live show is a "breathless, polymorphous good time." Originally conceived as a four piece punk band, the group has swelled into a fully realized line-up with strong Americana influences complete with stand-up bass, mandolin and banjo. Their live act is not to be missed - unlike any other band playing music today, Larry and His Flask truly incorporate their audiences into each show, connecting to create an experience that converts everyone into fans and permeates the border between performer and spectator.  Performances see members careening wildly across the stage with instruments, narrowly avoiding harrowing collisions amongst themselves and frequently trading said instruments mid-song while still maintaining pitch-perfect 4-part harmonies. 

Click here for a taster of their live antics – filmed at their London Forum show

“There is so much verve and spirit on display, not to mention clever songwriting, which sees them weave moving, intriguing and entertaining stories through their heartfelt music. And if they are half as exciting live as they are on record, Larry And His Flask are a special entity indeed.” – 4 out of 5 review in Alternative Press

“As expected and hoped for, we’re treated to more lashings of old time country tropes reconfigured through the equalizing lends of punk rock.  It’s truly riveting stuff…”  - 9 out of 10 review in Rock Sound (UK)

www.larryandhisflask.com

Jamie Lenman Returns!

 Jamie Lenman – raconteur, wit and one of the best British songwriters of the last ten years – is set to release a double album through Xtra Mile Recordings (Frank Turner, Against Me!, Million Dead).

'Muscle Memory' is out 4th November 2013. 

Best known through his work with Reuben (who split in 2008), ‘Muscle Memory’ is Jamie’s first new material. To showcase the day and night/yin and yang/black and white the double album is split into two discs: disc one brings together the heavier side of life. Brutal riffs and intense vocals on songs such as “Shower Of Scorn”, “The Fuck Of It All” and “Fizzy Blood”. Disc 2 shows Jamie’s strength for melody and song writing – from the beautiful “It’s Hard To Be A Gentleman” to the big band jazz of “Pretty Please” to the intensely moving “Saturday Night”.

Jamie Lenman, photo by Ben Morse

In between writing music, Jamie works as an illustrator for various clients including Bloomsbury, The Guardian and Doctor Who Magazine. The double album artwork was painstakingly put together by Jamie himself.

The 23 track double album is split into two equal sides of 11 tracks each…

Album artwork

Disc 1

- The Six Fingered Hand
- Fizzy Blood
- No News Is Good News
- One Of My Eyes Is A Clock
- Shower Of Scorn
- A Terrible Feeling
- The Fuck Of It All
- All The Things You Hate About Me, I Hate Them Too
- Gary, Indiana
- A Plague On Both Your Houses
- Muscle

 Disc 2

- Shotgun House
- I Ain't Your Boy
- It's Hard To Be A Gentleman
- For God's Sake
- Little Lives
- If You Have To Ask You'll Never Know
- Pretty Please
- A Quiet Understanding
- Saturday Night
- A Day In The Life
- Memory

The album will be preceded by a single. In line with the album the single will be both “Fizzy Blood” (heavy) and “Pretty Please” (non heavy). The two track single will be part of a split 7” release with the other side featuring a track by Mongol Horde (Frank Turners side project). The release will be the 4th and final split 7” release as part of the Xtra Mile Recordings XMR10 series. Check out the videos here:

Jamie Lenman will be playing an exclusive pre-release show at The Islington, London on Wednesday 16th October 2013. And then touring the UK later in 2013:

- Wednesday 04 Dec 2013 -  
Brighton Green Door Store
- Thursday 05 Dec 2013 -     
Birmingham Temple
- Friday 06 Dec 2013 -      
Glasgow Tuts
- Saturday 07 Dec 2013 -      
Manchester Night and Day
- Sunday 08 Dec 2013 -    
Bristol Thekla
- Monday 09 Dec 2013 -  
London Garage

Tickets are priced £10 - subject to booking fee - via www.ticketmaster.co.uk.
 - Support comes from Kill Chaos -

Tickets go on-sale at 9am GMT on Friday 27th September 2013

www.jamielenman.com

Get your free Beans On Toast live album!!

 Next week sees the one and only Beans On Toast hit the road on his biggest and longest UK tour ever, starting north in Aberdeen, and winding down the length of the country over a six week stretch culminating in what will be an incendiary live performance at London’s famous 100 Club. 

Everyone who purchased tickets in advance will receive their free download of Beans On Toast’s 'Live At The Scala' album released Monday 16th September 2013 by following the link here: 

http://www.beansontoastmusic.com/download-live-album

All you need to do is click on the link and enter your details. You will then receive an email within 24hrs with a unique code and instructions on how to download your free copy of ‘Live At The Scala’, which was recorded at last year’s sell out show in London Kings Cross.

Full dates are as follows:

SEPTEMBER

23 Aberdeen, The Tunnels 
24 Glasgow, Nice N Sleazy
25 Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms
26 Newcastle, Think Tank
27 Carlisle, The Brickyard 
28 Leeds, The Wardrobe
29 York, Fibbers
30 Hull, Fruit

OCTOBER

2 Hebden Bridge, The Trades Club
3 Manchester, Night & Day Café
4 Chester, Compass
5 Liverpool, Mellomello
6 Wakefield, The Hop 
10 Coventry, Taylor John's Music & Arts Centre
11 Birmingham, The Rainbow
12 Derby, The Victoria Inn
14 Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
15 Bristol, Lousiana 
17 Salisbury, The Music Box
18 Plymouth, The White Rabbit19 Exeter, Phoenix
20 Poole, Mr Kyps
23 Southampton, Joiners
24 Winchester,The Railway
25 Brighton, Sticky Mikes Frog Bar
27 Leicester, Extra Shot @ Cookie Jar
28 Nottingham, Bodega
29 Cambridge,The Portland Arms
30 Oxford, Bullingdon
31 St Albans, The Horn

NOVEMBER

1 Swindon, The Victoria
2 Deal, The Lighthouse
5 London, The 100 Club

SB6 - new single and LOADS of live dates!

Following their summer appearances at Download, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Manchester’s SONIC BOOM SIX release brand new single, ‘The High Cost of Living’, which will be released as a download only single on October 28th, through Xtra Mile Recordings.

The video premiered on Vevo and has already clocked up an impressive 65K in 24 hours. You can watch it here:

 Barney Boom, vocalist and frontman from SB6, on the new single; "Personally this is my favourite song off the album as I don't think there's any other band that sounds quite like the mix of sounds in this song and the lyrics really reflect the message and philosophy of SB6. We're not out there telling people what to think or making partisan political statements but we're questioning the way we live our lives, suggesting things can be done differently and trying to get people to draw their own conclusions."

This single comes at a very busy time for the Boom. Having just packed out The Lock Up Tent at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, the band are pleased to announce that they will headline the Deaf Institute on Sept 28th as part of the Dr Martens #STANDFORSOMTHING tour alongside fellow headliners Young Guns, Dry The River, Spector and Lower Than Atlantis.

They then head out with the incredible HADOUKEN as main support on their UK Tour throughout October and November before a set at the UK Leg of the Vans Warped Tour held at London’s Alexandra Palace on November 17th.  Whilst there, the band will also be doing a signing at the Teenage Cancer Trust tent, the official charity for the event this year.

A FULL list of all confirmed SB6 live dates:

Dr Martens #STANDFORSOMETHING Tour

28th Sept Manchester Deaf Institute

THE 2013 HADOUKEN TOUR

28th Oct Cambridge Junction
29th Oc Oxford Academy
30th Oct Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
31st Oct Wolverhampton Slade Rooms
1st Nov Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
2nd Nov Gloucester Guildhall
3rd Nov Stoke Sugar Mill

VANS WARPED TOUR UK

17th Nov 2013 London Alexandra Palace

SONIC BOOM SIX are:

Laila K - Vocals
Barney Boom - Vocals
Nick Horne - Guitars
James T Boom - Bass and Synths
Neil ‘Macca’ McMinn - Drums and Samples

Press quotes on ‘Sonic Boom Six’:

‘Manc skankers finally bottle their live-show on record…Almost every track here is breathless whiz of high octane ingenuity, flitting between ska, punk amd electronica’ – Kerrang! Magazine 4/5

‘Sonic Boom Six’ is the sound of a band going big when everyone else has gone home, and this is simply banger after banger’ – Rock Sound 8/10

‘This is the sound of modern Britain’ – Big Cheese 4/5

Crazy Arm - The Southern Wild

Devon roots-punks, Crazy Arm, release a full album of acoustic songs in September. The band began recording back in October 2012. Ten months later (but after only seven full days of recording) the album is finally in the can. Titled 'The Southern Wild', and recorded by James Bragg in various locations, including band members' houses, it proffers eleven slices of country, folk and bluegrass that doffs its cap to English, Irish and American traditions while retaining a rustic Westcountry lilt and a keen anarchist bent; with a respectful nod to the likes of Woven Hand, Murder By Death, Johnny Cash, Phil Ochs, The Handsome Family, Austin Lucas, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Emmylou Harris and CSN/Y.  The band's decision to record a chiefly acoustic record came after the rousing reception they received from acoustic tours and shows over the past two years.

Whether Crazy Arm are setting their sights on frontier melodrama ('Hell To Pay', 'County Jaws'), bluegrass clawhammer stomp ('Don't Be Cruel'), late-'60s vocal harmonies and protest song ('Remembrance'), brooding a cappella ('Oh Death', 'The Valley Of Weeping') or redemptive gothic Americana ('Black Canyon'), there's always that slightly askew homegrown sensibility at the core. It sounds nothing like the guitar-throttling hardcore country rock of their first two albums, 'Born To Ruin' and 'Union City Breath', but there's plenty of common ground if you care to look. Of course, this isn't the first time that a band have highlighted the cultural similarities between punk and folk/country but it may be the first time that a band have done it from such stylistic extremes. 'The Southern Wild' is the sound of a band who have never been content with churning out the same thing twice, who delight in discovering new and old music, and who revel in pursuing their own dogged agenda, wherever it takes them.

But things haven't been running that smoothly for the rock Crazy Arm. In January, bassist Tim Rowing-Parker left to fulfil his own musical destiny with powerpop trio, Woahnows. The band continued to work in the studio and write/demo new songs for their third rock album while looking for a new bass player. Then in May, drummer Simon Marsh quit. Cue uncertainty and a weighty state of limbo. But for Crazy Arm, the show isn't over 'til the fat lad sings. So, after some soul-searching, and with a slew of great new musicians ready to help out (take a bow, new drummer Matt Colwell and bassist Nathan Stevens), the band have re-booted, found their footing and are back in the saddle. Giddy up, indeed.

Crazy Arm embark on a UK tour in September to coincide with the release.

'The Southern Wild' track-listing:

01 Oh Death / Hell To Pay
02 Remembrance
03 Don't Be Cruel
04 Fossils
05 County Jaws
06 The Wildcats Of Denbury
07 Roasting River
08 A Pocketful Of Gold 
09 We Don't Go There Any More10 The Valley Of Weeping
11 Black Canyon

Crazy Arm on this record:

Darren Johns - vocals, acoustic guitars, banjo, bass, percussion
Vicky Butterfield - vocals, percussion
Jon Dailey - acoustic and electric guitars, harmonium
Tim Rowing-Parker - bass
Simon Marsh - drums
Patrick James Pearson - piano, keyboards, fiddle, vocals
Jon Warren - drums on 'Black Canyon'
James Bragg - percussion, samples on 'The Valley Of Weeping'
Smudge - meows on 'Fossils'

Confirmed dates:

1 Sept – WTFest, Southampton (w/Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun + Great Cynics + more)
8 Sept – Exeter, Cavern (acoustic trio w/Joe Tilston + PJ Bond + more)
13 Sept – Newton Abbot, Jolly Farmer (full band acoustic w/Crowns)
14 Sept – Southsea Fest, Portsmouth (Xtra Mile Acoustic stage w/Beans On Toast + more)
15 Sept – Wiltshire, Devizes, The Lamb Inn (full band acoustic w/Mick O'Toole)
16 Sept – London, Old Blue Last (full band acoustic w/Emily Barker)
17 Sept – Cambridge, The Corner House (full band acoustic w/Sam Russo + 7 Day Conspiracy)
18 Sept – Leeds, Santiagos (full band acoustic w/Jake & The Jellyfish + Tia-Rhian)
19 Sept – The Lounge Bar, Warrington (full band acoustic w/Roughneck Riot)
21 Sept – Norwich, The Stanley Arms (full band acoustic w/Crowns)
22 Sept – Kingston, Fighting Cocks (full band acoustic w/Smith Street Band + Great Cynics)
27 Sept – Maggie's Cafe, Plymouth (electric w/Bus Station Loonies + Phat Bollard)
27 Sept – White Rabbit, Plymouth (full band acoustic w/Damerels + more)

www.facebook.com/thecrazyarm

Pre-order your copy here: 

Xtra Mile Recordings http://bit.ly/16f9mHv
iTunes http://bit.ly/1a5iXch 
Banquet http://bit.ly/1dWFRSi
Amazon http://amzn.to/194Vkfu
Amazon MP3 http://amzn.to/15pBibq

ANNOUNCING 7" VINYL BOX SET & BIRTHDAY PARTY

 Every Monday this October we are releasing a limited edition, split 7” coloured vinyl featuring exclusive tracks from 8 incredible acts on our roster. 

7" Vinyl Boxset.

The series of 4 records is highly collectable with bespoke artwork connecting them together, which when completed will reveal a hidden download code for a further 10 tracks from other acts on the label for you to have for free.

The first vinyl will come with a beautifully artworked box to neatly house all the vinyl in as well as poster for you to unfold and put on your wall. 

This series harks back to one of the first releases we ever did almost 8 years ago – then featuring one of Frank Turner’s earliest solo recordings ‘The Real Damage’ and Reuben’s brilliantly titled ‘Every Time A Teenager Listens To Drum ‘n’ Bass, A Rock Star Dies’. 

Frank features again for this series but this time with a brand new track from his hardcore band Mongol Horde. Elsewhere we have the first fruits from current albums by To Kill A King, Chris T-T & The Hoodrats and Crazy Arm; an exclusive taster of Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun’s album not out till next year; an absolute gem from our American friends Larry and His Flask; a fantastic track written especially for us and this series by the ever loveable Beans On Toast; and a very special secret guest – who will be revealed in due course. 

Tracklisting for all 4 vinyl is: 

7th October 2013 - XMR779
Chris T-T and The Hoodrats - ‘The Bear’ / To Kill A King - ‘Rays’ 

14th October 2013 - XMR780
Larry and His Flask - ‘The Battle For Clear Sight’ / Beans On Toast - ‘Deadline’ 

21st October 2013 - XMR781
Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun - ‘Wilderness Of A Wild Youth’ / Crazy Arm - ‘Remembrance’ 

28th October 2013 - XMR782
Mongol Horde - ‘How The Communists Ruined Christmas’ / Very Special Guest 

Just before the release of this beautiful box set we are hosting a birthday party to celebrate our 10th anniversary held at our favourite venue in London - The Monarch - on 27th September 2013. There will be incredible live sets from Chris T-T and The Hoodrats, Ben Marwood and new signings Algiers plus also a very special presentation for some very special guests!

Tickets are £7. And each person through the door will receive a goody bag filled with Xtra Mile 10 swag. 

You can purchase tickets here: http://www.monarchbar.com/events/eventdetails/27-sep-13-xtra-miles-10th-birthday-party-the-monarch/

As part of our 10th anniversary celebrations we’ve been up to all sorts; a take-over at 2000trees Festival, a SXSW showcase, promotions with Amazon and iTunes to offer discounts on our back catalogue and of course we re-issued our first ever re