SMALLBOYPANTS’ latest release- Songs From Cape Tubbers out now

Dinosaurs in Vietnam is proud to co-release the latest effort from the SmallBoyPants camp (featuring members of Delicate Steve)–Comiano Materdo and N’dona M’buti present: Songs From Cape Tubbers.  Out now for free download. Give the album a listen on their BandCamp page.

This album comprises of a hearty selection of cover tunes including the likes of Sonny and Cher, Vashti Bunyan, The Kinks, Big Star, Bruce Springsteen and plenty more. A major highlight of this album is their cover of The Minutemen’s “History Lesson, part 2” which features a contributing guest vocal by Sonic Youth‘s Lee Ranaldo (who is about to drop his solo album Between the Times & The Tides this coming March on Matador). Ranaldo had previously performed the tune with the guys in Delicate Steve this past May, celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the release of Michael Azerrad’s “Our Band Could Be Your Life”.

Check out a B-Side from the album, the Cape Tubber’s take on The Shirelles’ classic “Mama Said”

+++ Take a gander at Lee Ranaldo and Delicate Steve performing History Lesson, Part 2 below:

Stay tuned for the release of the album– for Free– on New Years Day. Dinosaurs in Vietnam has some exciting plans up our sleeves for the coming year. I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season and here’s to a happy healthy 2012!

~Will

NASSAU COUNTY: Vote Yes on August 1!

Hey folks,

Lately there have been lots of recent developments on Long Island that has made me conclude that the future is certainly bright for live music. Among the planned festivals out in the Hamptons this August, and the purchase of Huntington’s old IMAC Theatre, Nassau County has one major hurdle that we need to overcome, one that could prove vital for cultural expansion on Long Island.

Photo Credit: Howard Schnapp

As some of you may know, for the past few years New York Islanders owner Charles Wang has been appealing to the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County about his plans to redevelop Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Islanders’ home since their inception in 1972. Plans for the area include the renovated Coliseum, a minor league baseball field, a convention facility, hotels, restaurants, offices and some residential areas. Should the August 1 referendum pass, Nassau County’s future will be a bright one. Camoin Associates, an economic development research firm, projects that while the area is under construction 1,515 new jobs will be created, and in the first year the arena is operational, there will be 3,040 permanent jobs. This plan is expected to generate $1.2 Billion for Nassau County. County taxpayers are guaranteed a return of 11.5% (a projected $14 million) generated from all events at the Coliseum. I’d expect a slew of concerts, sporting events, conventions and more.

However, if the referendum does not pass, Wang says he will move the Islanders away from Long Island when their lease is up in 2015—a devastating blow to the county not only financially, but culturally as well. The county is expected to lose $243.4 million annually, lose 2,660 jobs, and the coliseum will remain a vacant wasteland, a shadow of its former self and a sad scar to remind us Nassau County folks that people on Long Island really don’t seem to care anymore. I urge all Nassau County residents to vote yes on August 1, the future of a historic team, a great coliseum and thousands of jobs are at stake.

the vacant IMAC in Huntington, now under construction

In other news, the town of Huntington has a brand new theater opening their doors this fall. Paramount Theatre, LLC has purchased the location of Huntington’s old IMAC (Inter-Media Arts Center) and signed a deal with Live Nation to book acts there. The first confirmed show is the Pixies on November 5. It is great news to hear about a new venue on Long Island; I feel it is exactly what we need, and what better place than the ever-colorful town of Huntington.

It seems that once again promoters are starting to test the waters with large scale music festivals out on eastern LI this summer. What I believe is the first major attempt at a LI fest since the failed Field Day in 2003, Escape to New York Fest will be held on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton, August 5-7. It is interesting to note that the Shinnecock Nation, who at one point was in talks of opening a hotel and casino on site at Nassau Coliseum, is starting to utilize their territory for events such as this. Escape to New York, which was organized by the people who put together the Secret Garden Party, one of the UK’s best annual independent music festivals, appears to be testing the waters with a modest, but certainly not unimpressive lineup which includes the likes of Patti Smith, White Rabbits, Best Coast, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, and more.

One weekend later, the Music To Know Fest in East Hampton features Vampire Weekend, Bright Eyes, Matt & Kim, Cold War Kids, M. Ward and plenty others. It is very refreshing to see promoters take another stab in giving Long Island a chance to have festivals. I hope they both are relatively successful and hope for many more in the years to come.

That’s all the news I’ve got for now, in the mean time, please feel free to enjoy the two Dinosaurs in Vietnam Compilations I put up on the BandCamp page. Compilation 3 is due this Fall. And remember please vote yes August 1!!

Bdee releases “12 Months”

Baldwins own Brian Donaldson does it again. Releasing his umpteenth album, the epic “12 Months” our own beloved Bdee explores new terrain with his latest release.

Recorded in the wake of mixing Helicopter Goes KABOOM!‘s “Vegas in a Basement” (due later this year), Bdee sheds meaning on specific events occuring in his life during each of the the twelve months of the year.

I’d recommend listening to it in a few different settings: driving after 2am, running on a treadmill, or by the side of a pool while doing laps.  Please digest and enjoy it for free download on our BandCamp Page! Hope everyone has a Happy, Healthy and fun New Year. More updates to come, I swear.

-WFFIV

FRIDAY: DiV’s 3rd Annual Black Friday Show!!

Hey guys,

I’m really excited about the Black Friday Show happening in just two days. For three years, we here at DiV have put on these crazy ten band shows on the day after Thanksgiving. Its always nice to see familiar faces who are home for Thanksgiving and some familiar bands doing their thing. Whats special about this show is my good friend, Chris Maguire, aka Monsignor Ghost will be the emcee of the evening. He has plenty of surprises in store for y’all too. The show is $10 and 16+ at the door. Check out the settimes:
1:30-2:00 Carousel From Hell (Steve Gruber)
12:45-1:15 Nifty Breed
12:00-12:30 Kill Your TV
11:00-11:45 Exemption
10:00-10:45 The Grand Cannons
9:00-9:45 Vision Through Sound
8:15-8:45 Fortune & Spirits
7:30-8:00 Family Lumber
6:45-7:15 Riot Punch
6:00-6:30 Rice Cultivation Society

Additional details can be found on Facebook.

See you then!

Will

Ishcan Luugua lands on Planet Earth

Hey everybody. I made a record in my dorm room last month that is now available for free download on the Dinosaurs in Vietnam BandCamp page.  It is 8 tracks and consists entirely of Keyboard beats/sounds, internet audio clips, and readings from some of my college books. There are some vocals on it but only on a few songs. I sing a little bit and also my good friends Sami Delafuente and Alex Schooley-Marks provided vocals. The internet samples all came from youtube. This was done entirely for my own amusement and sounds kind of harsh at times. This is also the first thing I’ve ever produced entirely myself, using a digital 16 track recording device that I share with Tom Moran. I call the album “Cotitit Ishcanan” and “Ishcan Luugua” is my pseudonym. These names come from the Totonacan language, a native Mexican language that my good friend Mariano told me about. Will Forthman helped me with the cover and Tom Moran explained to me how to use the recording device. I suggest that if you are going to listen to it you should probably use headphones, as the whole fun of this album is the things happening in the different ears. Turn it up all the way too because it isn’t that loud. Hope you take the time to check it out!! Thanks!!!

– Ishcan Luugua McManus

Rice Cultivation Society teams up with DiV

We here at DiV are pleased to announce that our good friend, Rice Cultivation Society (aka Derek Smith) had decided to team up with DiV and join this collective of merry humans. Rice Cultivation Society has been writing and recording music for years. His first release was in 2007. Rice Cultivation Society’s new album, Leaves Again will be released on September 21, 2010— The first day of Fall.

I first saw Derek play in 2008 in a local band called Moose Moose, which consisted of four songwriters who constantly switched instruments and played each others songs. They were loud, raw, and noisy. Later on, he formed Circle the Whale with Joe James from Moose Moose and they released an EP on Joe’s label Dinos Aren’t Dead. “Hey Man, Whats Up?” is personally one of my favorite local debuts of all time.

Meanwhile, Derek was constantly recording and playing live, both with Circle The Whale and Rice Cultivation Society. Last year he joined another Long Island band, Family Lumber and released the third Rice album, Consider the Snow White and the Ravens’ Black.  Derek invited me to his house for a listening party of the album and it was certainly a highlight of last summer. I was watching some footage that I had taken from it and I figured it’d be cool to share a rendering of the song “Heath The Horse Thief” from the listening party. Derek explains what the song is about before he plays it. Check it out:

In anticipation for the release of Rice Cultivation Society’s fourth album, Leaves Again, the previous Rice album, Consider the Snow White and the Ravens’ Black is now available to download for free on our releases page, via the brand new Dinosaurs in Vietnam BandCamp. DiV included the track “Miller High Life” from Leaves Again on our second compilation this past June. You could give that a listen here:

We’re all really looking forward to the release of Leaves Again. Check back in the coming weeks for more updates, videos, pix and all that jazz regarding Rice and everyone else. If you want to get involved with DiV in any way please contact us at dinosaursinvietnam@gmail.com

Thanks for supporting your local music!

-WFFIV

June Followup

Hey guys,

So June was a really awesome month. Dinosaurs in Vietnam had a few showcases at Don Pedro, as well as the Compilation Release Show at The Cup.  There was plenty of other fun things going on all month.. I personally went to a bunch of awesome shows. I kicked off the month by catching my friend Delicate Steve open for Yeasayer at Governor’s Island. Steve and his friends put on an outstanding show. I believe they’re going to be playing some more shows opening for Yeasayer in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

We had our first showcase of the month at Don Pedro on the 9th. Bdee + the venomous oranges, Rice Cultivation Society,  Family Lumber and Fortune & Spirits played. On an interesting note, it was the first time since the recent split up of El Rio Humano that Bdee’s original venomous oranges lineup has played.  The band, which features both members of the El Rio Humano— Johnny Hoblin and Michael McManus, also features Exemption‘s Thomas Moran. Derek Smith, of Rice Cultivation Society fame played some new material accompanied with regular drummer John Carbone.

Check out Rice’s new song, “Louis Leaky’s Sink” :

Our Compilation Release show at The Cup in Wantagh was also a great success. It again featured Rice Cultivation Society, as well as Franny Pi (Ex- Vision Through Sound), The Holy Soviets, Jay Briggs & The Oily Rainbows,  and Michael McManus (of Vision Through Sound/the venomous oranges, ex-El Rio Humano). I was told that it was opener Franny Berkman’s first solo show in quite some time. Franny played an eclectic selection of covers and original songs with plenty of collaborators.

Here’s a video of Franny premiering a new song called “Hurdy Gurdy” with collaborator Michelle Femminella:

We had our final show of the month once again at Don Pedro on the 20th. This time we featured Exemption, Vision Through Sound (who just released their new album), Lost Boy ? , and once again, Bdee + the venomous oranges. It was the first time I’ve seen Exemption play the closer off their forthcoming album, Public Cemetery Party. The song included a drum battle reminiscent of something I’d see at a Boredoms show. Opener Lost Boy ? is one of my favorite Long Island songwriters. Mr. Davey Jones’ drummer was unable to make the gig so the Lost Boy himself assumed drumming duties and played an outstanding set. His live band features members of Camara-Head Shark. It was the first time I’ve seen Davey drum live since he was in Psycho Rainbow.

Here’s a video of Lost Boy ? and the band playing a song off his new album, “MTV”

In other news, Vision Through Sound has released their sixth album, These Things Happen… the CD release show was at The Bitter End this past Saturday. It was loads of fun and the band was in superior form. VTS and I are about to hit the road to support the album. The tour begins on Thursday. Some cities and we plan to hit include Philadelphia, Ithaca, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Chicago, Saginaw and plenty of places in between. Contact Vision Through Sound @ VisionThroughSound@gmail.com for more details, or if you want to help them book a show in your town soon. VTS is playing a homecoming show on Long Island with Exemption and Wild International at Mulcahy’s on July 29. Check back soon for details on how to order the new VTS album. If you can’t wait that long, e-mail dinosaursinvietnam@gmail.com and we’ll see what we can do for you, I aim to please. 🙂

Stay tuned for some more fun suprises in the not so distant future!!

-WFFIV

Vision Through Sound to release sixth album on 7/3!

Veterans of Massapequa’s music scene, Vision Through Sound, are set to release their sixth album, titled “These Things Happen…“. It is coming out on July 3, 2010. To celebrate it, the band is having a CD release show at The Bitter End on Bleecker Street in the City. The band plans on playing their entire album (tracklist below) and plenty of other favorites. Included with the new album, Andrew and I put together a collection of past VTS recordings, spanning from all of their albums to create “Dead Band Sampler!“. It will be up for free download on the DiV releases page, with a special password located in the liner notes of “These Things Happen…” In the bands nine year history, primary songwriter Andrew Krolikowski and VTS have recorded five outstanding albums. Krolikowski recently wrote a blog on the VTS myspace regarding what exactly VTS has been up to over the last two years, since their last album “The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Vision Through Sound” was released.  Here it is:

~~~~~

Greetings folks.

It’s been quite a while.  A long, tumultuous while to say the least.  As it has been almost 2 years since I have last updated this blog, I figured I should come and set the record straight about how things have been and where things are going for this band.  On top of that, I am here to officially announce the release of our new album These Things Happen… in less than two weeks from now on Independence Day.  (You can accept the overtly symbolic implications of that release date however you please)

A lot has changed since our previous release.  Throughout the writing and recording process of this record, 5 different people left the band.  When Mike Sarna and Mike McManus left the band in 2008, Fran and I enlisted Hugo Lopez to be our new drummer.  Jay Briggs, who had been our bass player that summer, who was I believe the fourth or fifth different bass player we had that year, decided to not move out west and wound up staying in the band.  We spent all of my final year in college, 2008-2009, rebuilding the band and writing the original versions of a couple of these songs.  Then, literally several days before I graduated, Hugo more or less dropped a bomb on us and told us he was leaving the band.  The plan we had come up with that we had spent the entire year working towards went entirely out the window.  Having at the time recently met Gary O’Keefe, Angela O’Reilly, and Tom Lee, Fran and I decided to roll the dice again and completely reform the band with this group of people we hadn’t played with before.  Within a couple weeks of reforming the band, Fran decided he didn’t have it in him to go through another rebuilding period and very abruptly quit the band.  Thus I remained the only VTS member of the previous albums.  The reason I bring all of this up is to clarify once and for all that I did not throw anyone out of the band.  I often felt that when this major line up change occurred that a bunch of people had the attitude of “this isn’t vision through sound” or that I was some kind of dictator who decided what band I wanted when I wanted it.  This just simply isn’t true.  During the time of the previous lineup, we had an agreement (at least Sarna, Fran, and I did, McManus was complicated due to Fastizio) that Vision Through Sound was our life and career.  For what it’s worth, I would just like to say that I never gave up on this band, I kept my promises towards its body of work and existence even after the other guys decided to leave it behind.  The reason we have kept the same moniker was not an act on my part to say that this is “my” band, but was merely just the circumstances that fell into place.  It is undeniable that Vision Through Sound has had as much to do with anyone who has come and gone in the band as I do.  This is not a solo artist with a backing band, this is a band, exactly what it has been since the beginning.

But enough about the past…

In light of this, I would like to say that that band that you and I knew is now over, and that we have finally, thankfully, left behind (fingers crossed) our 2 year identity crisis.  What we have now is the best version of the band that has ever existed.  Saying we’ve been through a lot together is the understatement of the century.  Here are the boys:

Jason Briggs – The temp turned permanent member, whose resilience and determination is unparalleled in my eyes.  Jay was essentially told on at least 3 separate occasions that he was being replaced during the first year he was in the band, and somehow still stuck it out. He’s become a damn good bass player, a pleasure to work with, a friend, a brother.

Gary O’Keefe – Given the circumstances that we met each other, I never could have predicted that Gary and I would be able to comfortably be in the same room as each other, nevermind being in a band together.  But you never know what card fate’s gonna deal and apparently fate dealt us each other.  Reluctant at first, Gary has become a huge influence on the musical direction of this band, and really came through in the creation of this record.  To get the record done on time for the tour, Gary finished the mixes at CCNY remaining in the studio working for 31 consecutive hours.  Fucking baller.

Mike McManus – Alright, so there’s a familiar face in the mix, though he’s changed instruments.  Another strange twist of fate brought Mike back into the band, and though one can never tell how permanent these things actually are, Mike will always be family to me, and as far as I’m concerned is a lifetime member of VTS.

Together we’ve made an album we’re incredibly proud of.  We did this one ourselves, Jay and Gary produced it.  It’s real, it’s raw, it’s ours.  I will give you some more details on the record within the next week.  For now, we’re going to put up 3 new songs from the record.  Please let us know what you think of them and please tell everyone you know about them.  Thank you to everyone who has stood by this band and to everyone who continues to love our older records.  I promise you, you’re in for a real treat.

peace and love,
Andrew

~~~~

Vision Through Sound plans on touring extensively this summer. If you’re in a different state and want to see VTS play, or could help them book a show or two in your area especially, please contact them @ VisionThroughSound@gmail.com

I can personally vouch and say VTS’s newest lineup is phenomenal, and together, Andrew, McManus, Jay and Gary created an outstanding record. You can go to their MySpace now and listen to three new songs. You can also Download the Dinosaurs in Vietnam compilation for two songs, or go to DiV’s Myspace to stream “Guest Check Love Song,” featured on the Compilation but not on the VTS myspace.  Check out their show in the City on 7/3. They’ll be on the road most of July, but will return to Long Island with a show on 7/29 at Mulcahy’s Wantagh with Exemption and more TBA. Pick up a copy of the VTS album when you have a chance, it’s available at VTS shows for only $5. It will also be available on DiV dot com sooner rather than later.

Tracklist:

1. Be More Careful
2. Rinse and Repeat
3. What’s Yours is Mine
4. I’ve Forged a Woman in My Mind
5. Secret Songs
6. Watch Me Disappear
7. Guest Check Love Song
8. Thea
9. Let The Right One Out
10. Your Voice
11. These Things Happen

In other news, DiV was challenged by The Holy Soviets House Shows to a kickball tournament, that we’re turning into a BBQ/Hootenanny. Its July 5 at Eisenhower Park. All are welcome. Details are on Facebook. Hope to see you there!

See you soon! Thanks for supporting yr local music.

-WFFIV

DiV Compilation II Available for download now! Shows Today and Sunday!

Dinosaurs in Vietnam is proud to present:
“Crude Oil, Compilation II.” Released today, Friday, June 18, 2010. For free download on our Releases page. Tracklist is as follows:

1. Vision Through Sound – Rinse & Repeat
2. Exemption – Mutating Skulls
3. Lost Boy? – Love Undercovered
4. Joyce & The Nancy Boys – This Is Where It Begins
5. Jay Briggs & The Oily Rainbows – The Animal Within
6. Delicate Steve – Attitude/Gratitude
7. Helicopter Goes KABOOM! – Pubic Sentiments (The World Is War)
8. Rice Cultivation Society – Miller High Life
9. Christian Peslak – Officer
10. Family Lumber – Awhile
11. The Holy Soviets – Garbaggio Symphony Truckstomp
12. Fortune & Spirits – Septembirds
13. Vision Through Sound – Guest Check Love Song
14. Thomas Moran – Morning Guilt
15. Franny Pi – Ice
16. Bdee – Alone In My Room I Wallow
17. El Rio Humano – Used Up

This compilation features singles from new/upcoming albums DiV artists and like-minded allies of DiV, included Vision Through Sound, Exemption, Lost Boy?, Joyce & The Nancy Boys, Delicate Steve,  El Rio Humano (formerly Fastizio), Bdee, Rice Cultivation Society,  Jay Briggs & The Oily Rainbows and many more.  Not all tracks are singles. The compilation also includes either a track off the band’s respective new album they’re trying to promote, a b-side by each artist that is formerly unreleased, or something from a previous release.  Physical copies also include a brand new Dinosaurs in Vietnam Sticker, which will be available at all subsequent DiV shows starting at the show at Don Pedro, this Sunday the 20th.  Please give it a download and give it a listen, and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. We’d love your feedback/criticism/concerns/complaints/all-that-crap. Come down to The Cup show tonight in Wantagh for some fun as well.

Download the Compilation on our Releases page, and while your there,  be sure to grab other releases from all of our fine artists. 🙂

Thanks for your support!

-WFFIV

6/18 & 6/20: DiV Shows coming up + Compilation II out 6/18!

Hey everyone! Just a small update about stuff that’s going on with DiV. We have a few shows coming up. Also as previously mentioned online in the past few weeks, we have our second compilation coming out this Friday, June 18.

We’re celebrating the release with a show at The Cup: “Dinosaurs in Vietnam Presents: Collaboration Madness!” It’s going to be a slightly different kind of show where all the performers play with each other and other special guests all night! The lineup is as follows (subject to change):

11:10-12:00 Rice Cultivation Society
10:30-11:00 Michael McManus
9:50-10:20 Jay Briggs & the Oily Rainbows
9:10-9:40 The Holy Soviets
8:30-9:00 Franny Pi

When you go to The Cup, they will charge an additional $1 as a music fee to your bill when you order something. If you are sitting down and don’t order anything they will charge you $3 for the music fee. If you don’t buy anything (which is stupid, you should support local business! and also because their brownies are fucking delicious, at least get that….). So you will be charged an additional $2 for the space you are taking in addition to the $1 music fee. So bring your hungry tummy in addition to your hungry ears!

(additional deets: @ DiV’s Facebook Event Page)

DiV Presents: “Crude Oil, Compilation II” will feature all the artists playing that night as well as many other favorites including Vision Through Sound, Thomas Moran, Lost Boy?, Fortune & Spirits, Christian Peslak, Exemption, Helicopter Goes KABOOM!, Joyce & the Nancy Boys, El Rio Humano, Bdee, Delicate Steve, and Family Lumber.

The compilation will be out for free download on 6/18. And if all goes according to plan, we should have physical copies of the CD, which will also include fresh new Dinosaurs in Vietnam stickers hot off the press. If for some catastrophic reason we do not have the CD at the show, you could always download the compilation for free at http://dinosaursinvietnam.com and grab a physical copy at another DiV show in the future (with a donation please!).

Also, the same weekend, on Sunday, June 20, DiV is hosting a second “Crude Oil Compilation” release show at Don Pedro in Brooklyn.

the lineup for the night is as follows:

Exemption
Vision Through Sound
Bdee + the venomous oranges
Lost Boy?

The first band starts a little after 9. Since its a Sunday night, this show is Band Donation night at Don Pedro. So, on this surface to people who are broke but want to listen to rock music, this means free admission. BUT after every band’s set, there’s going to be a donation (in a bucket/hat/can/whatever feels good) that we’re gonna pass around. You will also have the opportunity to get CD’s and other merch from each band. Please support your local artists. Instead of buying that 5th beer you really don’t need, throw a band one or two or three or five bucks and grab a CD or something!!

(deets: @ DiV’s Facebook Event Page)

That about sums it up. Hope to see you guys around soon. And if not, please be sure to download the compilation on 6/18! Keep an eye on DinosaursinVietnam.com for more updates, and expect plenty of cool things on the page in the weeks to come. Thanks for supporting your local Long Island artists!

-WFFIV