TRK Best of 2k10

As we look forward into 2011, its important to reflect on what brought us here: 2010! The tenth year of the century was the canvas for some of our favorite music in the history of the world. Here's some highlights from the TRK crew.


Martin Anderson (Trekky Records)

Records
01. Megafaun- Heretofore
02. Sharon Van Etten- Epic
03. Tallest Man on Earth- The Wild Hunt
04. Lost in the Trees- All Alone in an Empty House
05. High Places- High Places vs. Mankind
06. The War On Drugs- Future Weather
07. Des Ark- WXDU vol. III
08. Joanna Newsom- Have One On Me
09. Gayngs- Relayted
10. Butterflies- Residual Child
11. Veelee- Future Sight
12. Embarrassing Fruits- Frontier Justice
13. No Age- Everything in Between
14. William Tyler- Behold the Spirit
15. Menomena- Mines
16. Superchunk- Majesty Shredding
17. Jack Rose- Luck in the Valley
18. Breathe Owl Breathe- Magic Central
19. The Love Language- Libraries
20. Phosphorescent- Here's to Taking it Easy
21. Konono no. 1- Assume Crash Position
22. Sam Quinn- The Fake That Sank a Thousand Ships
23. Broken Social Scene- Forgiveness Rock Record
24. NAPS- Cassette
25. Oval- O

EPs/Singles/7"s
01. Mount Moriah- The Letting Go
02. High Places- Can't Feel Born
03. Wye Oak- My Neighbor/My Creator
04. Tallest Man On Earth- Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird
05. Sharon Van Etten- I'm Giving Up on You
06. Whatever Brains- Rappers Delight

Shows
Songs of the South - Hayti Heritage Center - Durham, NC
TRKfest 2010 - Piedmont Biofuels - Pittsboro, NC
Akron/Family - Pour House - Raleigh, NC
Lost in the Trees, Midtown Dickens, Sharon Van Etten, Embarrassing Fruits, Butterflies - Pour House - Raleigh, NC
GAYNGS - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
Tallest Man On Earth - The Bottletree - Birmingham, AL
Lost in the Trees, Stuart McLamb, Midtown Dickens, Butterflies - The Layabout house - Durham, NC
Megafaun, Breathe Owl Breathe, Hi Ho Silver Oh - The Echo - Los Angeles, CA
Bowerbirds, Sharon Van Etten - Iron Horse - Northampton, MA
Lost in the Trees, Veelee, Butterflies - Motorco - Durham, NC
Bowerbirds, Death Vessel, Des Ark - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
Megafaun, The War On Drugs - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
Mountain Goats, Mount Moriah, Midtown Dickens - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
Phil Cook & his Feat, Catherine Edgerton - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
Driveby Truckers - Toronto, ON
Liars, Lost in the Trees - Antone's - Austin, TX

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Clare Connolly (Auxiliary House)

1. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

2. Josephine Foster - Graphic as a Star

3. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me

4. Sam Amidon - I See the Sign

5. Bonnie "Prince" Billy & the Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show of the World

6. Jack Rose - Luck in the Valley

7. Women - Public Strain

8. Richard Youngs - Beyond the Valley of the Ultrahits

9. Phosphorescent - Here's to Taking it Easy

10. Xiu Xiu - Dear God, I Hate Myself

11. Wild Nothing - Gemini

12. Mountain Man - Made the Harbor

13. Les Savy Fav - Root for Ruin

Things I love far too much, in too many ways, to compare them with anything else I listened to this year:

Butterflies - Residual Child

Cassis Orange EP

Embarrassing Fruits - Frontier Justice

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Wil Donegan (Auxiliary House)

Joanna Newsom- Have One On Me

Bill Callahan- Rough Travel For A Rare Thing (live)

V/A Night Slugs All-Stars Volume 1

Blake Mills- Break Mirrors

Actress- Splazsh

V/A: Smoke That Cigarette: Pleasure To Burn

Gil-Scott Heron- I'm New Here
Vex'd- Cloud Seed

William Tyler- Behold The Spirit

Home Blitz- Out Of Phase

Best Thing I Bought That Is Not New: Nina Simone-Live ('61 & '62) (DVD)

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Will Hackney (Trekky Records)

Top 16 Albums of 2010
1. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
2. Des Ark - Live on WXDU Vol. 3
3. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
4. Michael Hurley - Blue Hills
5. Joe Norkus - Soft Parenting EP
6. Sharon Van Etten - Epic
7. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
8. Phil Cook and His Feat - s/t
9. Mount Moriah - The Letting Go
10. Drake - Thank Me Later
11. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty
12. Veelee - The Future Sight
13. Schooner - Duck Kee Sessions
14. Superchunk - Majesty Shredding
15. Rick Ross - Teflon Don
16. Xiu Xiu - Dear God, I Hate Myself

Top 10 Shows I played in 2010
1. 03.12 Joanna Newsom + Bowerbirds @ Calvin College. Grand Rapids, MI.
Amazing show in a giant church opening for the genius Joanna.
2. 01.29 Bowerbirds + Julie Doiron @ Historic Brookdale Lodge. Brookdale, CA.
Somehow got booked to play in one of the most haunted buildings in America. Freaky ghost vibes. Look it up on Wikipedia!
3. 05.14 Lost in the Trees + Midtown Dickens + Stu McLamb + Butterflies @ The Layabout. Durham, NC.
Secret surprise show at Craig's was rowdy and electric. Can't believe we had so many people in such a small place.
4. 09.11 DAY-DREAM Hopscotch Day Party @ The Pour House. Raleigh, NC.
Our Hopscotch Day Party was surprisingly packed but unsurprisingly awesome, with all of our bands plus some dear friends.
5. 06.23 Bowerbirds @ Duke Gardens. Durham, NC.
We were hit with a brutal rain and wind storm about an hour before we played, soaked to the bone. But of course the sun came out and made it all better.
6. 10.14 Lost in the Trees + Midtown Dickens @ Legitimate Business. Greensboro, NC.
Incredible energy in one of my favorite venues. LITT Misfits cover and "Love On My Side" sing-along were crucial.
7. 01.19 Bowerbirds + Sharon Van Etten @ Varsity Theater. Minneapolis, MN.
Giant warehouse "theater" in Minneapolis with the most rockstar light show you've ever seen. Intense vibe after Sharon played, as always.
8. 06.26 TRKfest @ Piedmont Biofuels. Pittsboro, NC.
Blissfest.
9. 11.16 Amy Ray Band + Mount Moriah @ Lizard Lounge. Cambridge, MA.
Intimate storytellers simulation in the basement of a nice restaurant in Boston. People were sitting about 2 feet next to me. Close encounters.
10. 07.31 The Mountain Goats + Mount Moriah + Midtown Dickens @ The Pinhook. Durham, NC.
Group sing-along on "This Year". Perfect.

Top 3 Shows I Attended in 2010
1. 03.20 Broken Social Scene @ SXSW. Austin, TX.
Relentless 2.5 hour set in a small club. No cameras allowed. Amazing!
2. 09.11 Tortoise @ Lincoln Theater. Raleigh, NC.
My first Tortoise show. Tortoise transcends time and space.
3. 04.27 Gillian Welch @ Cat's Cradle. Carrboro, NC.
Gillian has one of the best voices I've heard and writes some of the best songs I've ever heard. This show was great despite drunk people whooping everytime Dave Rawlings played a solo.

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Daniel Hart (The Physics of Meaning)

Albums
Sufjan Stevens: "The Age of Adz" and "All Delighted People"
Beach House: "Teen Dream"
Efterklang: "Magic Chairs"
Queen Sea Big Shark: "Wave"
Owen Pallett: "Heartland"
Arcade Fire: "The Suburbs"
Toro y Moi: "Causers of This"
Konono No. 1: "Assume Crash Position"
Lost in the Trees: "All Alone in an Empty House"
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: "Soundtrack"

Shows
Sufjams at McFarlin Auditiorium (Dallas), October 20th
Dirty Projectors and Sharon Jones at Les Nuits Des Fourvieres, (Lyon, France), mid-July
TuNe-YaRdS at Central Park, August 1st
Vampire Weekend and Beach House at the Palladium Ballroom (Dallas), September-ish
Debashish Bhattacharya and Man Man and Konono No. 1 at Calgary Folk Festival, July 24-25

Videos
LCD Soundsystem: "Drunk Girls", dir. Spike Jonze
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xT6cdfP_cM

FM Belfast: "Underwear", dir. The Daniels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUWVCEVv7oE

Big Boi: "Shutterbug", dir. Chris Robinson
http://www.outkast.com/news/big-boi-shutterbug-video

Here We Go Magic: "Fangela", dir. Snejina Latev
(yep, I know it's old but it's AMAZING and I slept on it until the '10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpxZvQsQH8Y

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Patrick Jones (Butterflies)

1. Mice Parade - What It Means to Be Left-Handed
2. The Black Keys - Brothers
3. Zeus - Say Us
4.Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
5. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
6. Veelee - The Future Sight
7. Jaga Jazzist - One-Armed Bandit
8. Stereolab - Not Music
9. Javelin - No Mas
10. Twin Shadow - Forget

=====================================

Josh Kimbrough (Butterflies)

01. Javelin- "No Mas"

02. Embarrassing Fruits- "Frontier Justice"

03. Lost in the Trees- "All Alone in an Empty House"

04. Phosphorescent- "Here's to Taking it Easy"

05. Adam Thorn and the Top Buttons- "S/T"

06. Cuddle Magic- "Picture"

07. Joanna Newsom- "Have One on Me"

08. Veelee- "The Future Sight"

09. The Dead C- "Patience"

10. Darwin Deez- "S/T"

=====================================


Joe Norkus (Embarrassing Fruits)

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today
Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest
Sharon Van Etten: Epic
Beach House: Teen Dream
Toro Y Moi: Causers of This
Crystal Castles: II

Local
Wesley Wolfe: Storage
Secret Message Machine: Orphanville
Butterflies: Residual Child
Wild Wild Geese: Sorry, Earth
The Moaners: Nocturnal
Veelee: Future Sight
Free Electric State: Caress

=====================================


Ari Picker (Lost in the Trees)

National:
Jonsi - Go
Beach House - Teen Dream
Phosphorescent - Here's to taking it easy
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Blonde Redhead - Penny Sparkle

Local:
Veelee - The Future Sight
Butterflies - Residual Child
Embarrassing Fruits - Frontier Justice

Best Concerts:
Blonde Redhead @ Cat's Cradle
Aux House @ Nightlight
Midtown Dickens @ Duke Coffee House
Sharon Van Etten @ Black Cat

=====================================


Lee Shaw (Embarrassing Fruits)

1. Blag'ard - Mach II
2. Secret Message Machine - Orphanville
3. Wild Wild Geese - Sorry Earth
4. Veelee - Future Sight
5. The Moaners - Nocturnal
6. Butterflies - Residual Child
7. Spermcount - Live Spunk

=====================================


David Straughan (Endless Mic)

1. Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot (Son of Chico Dusty)

2. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt

3. Cee-Lo Green - The Ladykiller

4. The Black Keys - Brother

5. Deerhunter - Halcyondigest

6. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

7. Best Coast - Crazy For You

8. Janelle Monae - Archandroid

9. The Tallest Man on Earth - Sometimes The Blues Is Just a Passing Bird EP

10. Elvis Costello - National Ransom

=====================================


Stephen Tunnell (Vibrant Green)

The National- High Violet
Lost in the Trees- All Alone in an Empty House

Phosphorescent- Here's to Taking it Easy

Butterflies- Residual Child
Embarrassing Fruits- Frontier Justice

Raffle Prizes Announced for Christmas at the Cradle

Our giant, annual holiday show is just one week away, and we've got a sleigh full of reasons for you to join us. We'll have some of North Carolina's finest bands playing their favorite Christmas tunes, a visit from Sinterklaas, snacks and drinks, decked halls with boughs of holly, and the legendary Christmas at the Cradle Raffle! Every year, we ask the wonderful local businesses of the Triangle to donate something special for the raffle, and every year they provide. All proceeds from raffle tickets directly benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, so you can win a wonderful gift and help out a great cause. Here's some of the prizes this year:

The Lantern - Dinner for 2 with Wine Pairings
Townsend Bertram - Free Weekend Camping Equipment Rental ($150 value)
Holidays For Quince Records - Record Package (10 Albums!)
Odessa Records - Record Package
CD Alley - $15 Gift Certificate + Shirt
Nightlight - $15 Gift Certificate
Moshi Moshi - Deluxe Facial
Orange County Social Club - $25 Bar Tab
The Pinhook - $20 bar tab and Unicorn Drawing
Cat's Cradle - Free pair of tickets + Gift Basket
Local 506 - 4 free tickets to Any Show
Acme Restaurant - Dinner for 2
Carrburritos - 2 Free Burrito Vouchers

You can go ahead and get your tickets for Christmas at the Cradle now, either ordering online, or stopping by Cat's Cradle or any of our fine local record stores. See you in a week!

Video: Butterflies - "Forklift" @ Motorco

Butterflies played a packed house at Motorco in Durham, NC last weekend, opening up for labelmates Lost in the Trees. Here's a clip of the band playing "Forklift", a song from their brand new full length, Residual Child.

Lost in the Trees announce tours with Neko Case, Butterflies

Lost in the Trees had a pretty amazing 2010. They joined forces with Anti- Records, toured with Plants and Animals, released a powerful new version of All Alone In An Empty House, performed a Take Away Show in Montreal, a Tiny Desk Concert in DC, and recorded a Daytrotter Session, filmed their first music video, and even had a custom ale brewed in their honor. But worry not, Lost in the Trees are gearing up for 2011 to be even more special and spectacular, starting off with a string of dates with Anti- labelmate Neko Case and Trekky Records labelmates, Butterflies. Mark yr calendars! Dates below:

01-07 New York, NY - Joe's Pub
01-12 Atlanta, GA - The Earl#
01-13 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds#
01-15 Orlando, FL - The Social#
01-16 Fort Lauderdale, FL - The Monterey Club#
01-17 Tampa, FL - The Orpheum#
01-18 Tallahassee - Club Downunder#
01-19 Charleston, SC - The Charleston Pourhouse#
01-22 Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor#
01-28 Carbondale, IL - Hangar 9
01-29 Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music
01-30 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
02-01 Woodstock, NY - Bearsville Theatre*
02-02 Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel*
02-03 Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre*
02-04 Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre*
02-05 Westhampton Beach, NY - Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center*

* with Neko Case
# with Butterflies

Video: Lost in the Trees cover Misfits + "Love On My Side" with Midtown Dickens

Nice video moment from a show in Greensboro a few months ago: Lost in the Trees playing an uncharacteristic cover ("Skulls" by the Misfits), followed by a group sing-a-long version of "Love On My Side" featuring Midtown Dickens. This is a nice reminder of what can happen at Lost in the Trees shows. Join us tonight in Durham to see Lost in the Trees, Veelee and Butterflies play Motorco Music Hall. The show will also be the debut of Lost in the Trees' new, custom beer, as well as their new music video for "All Alone In An Empty House". Good times are bound to happen!

Lost in the Trees feature in The Independent

The Independent published a revealing look into the life of Ari Picker of Lost in the Trees this week. The article delves into Ari's childhood and how he's turned his band into his second family. Read the article here and also check out the song-by-song comparison between the first release of All Alone In An Empty House, and 2010's expanded reissue. Also, please join us this Friday as Lost in the Trees plays Durham's finest new venue, Motorco Music Hall, with friends Veelee and labelmates Butterflies. You can buy tickets here.

Holiday Sale in Trekky Records Online Store!

We're getting in the holiday spirit over here at Trekky Records! We just put up a giant Christmas tree and you can bet the egg nog has been flowing at TRK Headquarters. In honor of the season, we're having a huge sale in our Online Store. We've created some sweet package deals and cut some prices to celebrate our favorite gift-giving time of the year. Its a great time to pick up something for your music-loving friends and family, or finally pick up that record you've been meaning to get for weeks. Here's some of the specials we're offering:


Various Artists - Trekky Records Starter Pack
The latest records from 5 Trekky Records artists for just $50!


Butterflies & Embarrassing Fruits - Residual Justice
Butterflies' Residual Child and Embarrassing Fruits' Frontier Justice for just $22!


American Apparel Trekky Records Shirts (Various Colors).
Rep for TRK for only $10


The Trekky Yuletide Orchestra - 5 for $50 Package.
A copy of A New Old Fashioned Christmas for all of your friends and family!


Butterflies - Nothing's Personal.
Now only $8!


Embarrassing Fruits - Community / Exploitation.
Now only $8!


Vibrant Green - Artless Yet Excellent.
Now only $8!


Screen Printed Posters (Including Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper, Bowerbirds, Castanets, and all Trekky Bands).
Now only $3!

The dB's play Christmas at the Cradle, tickets on sale now!

Trekky Records is honored to announce that legendary jangle-pop veterans The dB's will play this year's annual Christmas at the Cradle show. Initially, we were lucky enough to snag dB's member and super-producer Chris Stamey for the show, but he was kind enough to assemble more dB's for the occasion. The dB's join an already stellar bill of extremely diverse North Carolina artists, who will all share their unique takes on Holiday music.

Tickets for the show are now on sale for the show, and we generally sell out every year, so we highly recommend that you go ahead and order tickets online, or pick some up at the Cat's Cradle or any of our fine local record stores. Proceeds benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Full details below:

Christmas at the Cradle 2010
December 16, 2010 at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC

The Trekky Yuletide Orchestra
The dB's
The Old Ceremony
Filthybird
Phil Cook and His Feat
The Tender Fruit
Yardwork
Cassis Orange
In The Year Of The Pig
Hosted by Billy Sugarfix

Doors at 7PM. Show at 7:30PM.
$8 Advance. $10 Day Of.
Proceeds benefit NMSS.

Butterflies album out today!

We are honored today to release Butterflies' new album, Residual Child! The album is being released in one "everything-you-could-ever-need" package, complete with a vinyl record, a compact disc and an MP3 download code. The whole package is just $12, and as an added bonus, the first 25 copies come with a free Residual Child poster!

We're very excited for you to hear this album, so for a limited time, we'll be streaming Residual Child in its entirety, so you can have a full preview. Click here to hear the whole album right now!


Order Now!

You can also get the record at some of North Carolina's finest record shops, including CD Alley, All Day Records, Bull City Records and Schoolkids.

In case you missed it, here's a lovely video of Butterflies performing "Goodbye (Like A Stranger)", one of the most infectious tracks from Residual Child:



Butterflies have a couple special North Carolina appearances in December, and will be touring the South with Lost in the Trees in early 2011. Those dates will be announced soon. Come say hi to Butterflies!:

12-03 Durham, NC - Motorco Music Hall*#
12-10 Greensboro, NC - Legitimate Business#
12-11 Charlotte, NC - The Evening Muse
01-17 Tampa, FL - Orpheum*

* with Lost in the Trees
# with Veelee

MP3: Butterflies - Goodbye (Like A Stranger) [from the Residual Child LP]

Video: Lost in the Trees on NPR's Mountain Stage

Our resident folk orchestra, Lost in the Trees, has become a true darling of National Public Radio. After NPR music guru Bob Boilen awarded All Alone In An Empty House a prestigious "First Listen" honor, and featured the group on his Tiny Desk Concert series, he invited the group to help lobby for public radio on Capitol Hill. The band recently kept the NPR action going by playing on their Mountain Stage, a concert which was broadcast live, all over the USA. Here's an interesting interview with Lost in the Trees mastermind Ari Picker, including some clips of the band playing the Mountain Stage. Enjoy!

Video: LIVE! from Trekky House II: Butterflies

Back in 2008, we started a live video project called LIVE! from Trekky House, the purpose of which was to capture musical performances taking place at our homebase, a giant complex in Chapel Hill that was our home, office, recording studio and workshop. We captured some wonferful moments: Lost in the Trees in the meadow, Embarrassing Fruits by the fire pit, Vibrant Green in the attic. We've since relocated to a new giant house, and now that we're settled here, we've decided to revive the series. So here's the first installment of LIVE! from Trekky House II: a lovely, acoustic, backporch rendition of "Goodbye (Like A Stranger)", the infectious new song from Butterflies. Butterflies' new album, Residual Child will be released on November 23 in our signature LP+CD+MP3 package, but you can get your copy sooner by attending the album release show, a packed-bill blowout occuring at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC, on November 20. The show is free, and will feature performances by The Strugglers, Erie Choir, Cassis Orange and Wes Phillips as well as Butterflies. For now, enjoy the video, and please feel free to download the studio version of "Goodbye (Like A Stranger)".

MP3: Butterflies - Goodbye (Like A Stranger) [from the Residual Child LP]

Fullsteam Brewery to unveil Lost in the Trees beer

Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, North Carolina, announced today that it would unveil an original, custom made, Forager beer in honor of Lost in the Trees, our resident folk orchestra. The Belgian Session Ale will be brewed with local figs picked from Raleigh's New Grass Gardens. Ari Picker of Lost in the Trees is a home-brewer himself, so this is an exciting honor for the band. The brew will be unveiled at Lost in the Trees' upcoming hometown show with Veelee at Motorco Music Hall on December 3. Starting that date, it will also be available at Fullsteam Brewery itself, so plan to stop by this winter to try it out!

Christmas at the Cradle 2010!

We are very pleased to announce the details for this year's Christmas at the Cradle celebration, our fifth annual Christmas show. We think we have the most exciting bill we've ever had and can't wait to see how these excellent bands interpret Christmas tunes. As always, we'll have The Trekky Yuletide Orchestra, our 25+ member Christmas super-group, as well as free snacks and drinks, a charity raffle with prizes from wonderful local businesses, classic holiday films, and a visit from the Bearded One himself, Santa Claus. Every year the show is a benefit for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and we are proud to keep that tradition alive this year. Here's the bands and details:

Trekky Records presents:
Christmas at the Cradle 2010
December 16, 2010 at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC

The Trekky Yuletide Orchestra
Chris Stamey
The Old Ceremony
Filthybird
Phil Cook and His Feat
The Tender Fruit
Yardwork
Cassis Orange
In The Year Of The Pig
Hosted by Billy Sugarfix

Doors at 7PM. Show at 7:30PM.
$8 Advance. $10 Day Of.
Proceeds benefit NMSS.

Embarrassing Fruits' "Vanishing Frontier" Music Video Premiere!

The time has come. Here is the world (wide web) premiere of the music video for "Vanishing Frontier", the swampy second single from Embarrassing Fruits' brilliant Frontier Justice LP. The video features a trio of skateboarding grim reapers causing havok in all sorts of places. Filmed and edited by Trekky Records' Will Hackney and starring Ross Connolly and TJ Maiani of Butterflies and Thomas Costello of Mount Weather, the production was extremely DIY: an in-house project made by friends. We hope you enjoy it, and after you're done watching it, please download the MP3 for free! You can also order the album, a beautiful LP+CD+MP3 package, for just $12 from the Trekky Records Online Store.

Catch the Fruits live all over the Triangle:

11-11 Durham, NC - Motorco Music Hall (w/ Aminal and Duncan Webster)
11-18 Raleigh, NC - Tir Na Nog (w/ Americans in France and Kid Future)
12-04 Durham, NC - The Pinhook (w/ Cassis Orange, HOG, Hammer No More The Fingers)
01-07 Chapel Hill, NC - (w/ Wesley Wolfe and Wood Ear)

MP3: Embarrassing Fruits - Vanishing Frontier [from the Frontier Justice LP]
MP3: Embarrassing Fruits - Long Distance Breakup Summer [from the Frontier Justice LP]

Lost in the Trees support public radio on Capitol Hill

Lost in the Trees recently joined Bob Boilen of NPR Music on Capitol Hill to show the US Government how important public radio is for music, culture and life. The band played a few songs, and the engineers at NPR were nice enough to record the set for posterity. Listen here and read about the event on NPR's All Songs Considered blog.

New Butterflies album announced!

Today we are pleased to share with the world the first taste of Butterflies' new album Residual Child! This album is the secret we've been dying to share with you, and in a few short weeks, we can. Residual Child will be released on November 23 in Trekky Records' signature 3-part package, with a vinyl record, compact disc and MP3 download. The album is a true studio album, painstakingly crafted over the last 8 months by lead Butterfly Josh Kimbrough and producer Patrick Jones. Jones became such an integral force in the recording process, that he actually ended up joining the band, bringing his expert ear for synth textures and dynamics to Butterflies' jazzy brand of guitar pop. Kimbrough's songwriting has never been more focused, dealing intimately with his personal thoughts, struggles and philosophies. Residual Child is a record about finding joy in simplicity, letting the complications of life melt away and reveling in simple, poignant gestures.

The band will celebrate the release of the album with a very special release show on November 20 at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC. Butterflies will be joined by an incredible group of North Carolina bands: The Strugglers, Erie Choir and Cassis Orange. The show is absolutely FREE. Below is the album cover, tracklist and first single from Residual Child. The song is called "Goodbye (Like A Stranger)" and we hope it will be your Autumn anthem. Enjoy!



1. Serious Fun
2. Sunday Afternoon
3. Goodbye (Like A Stranger)
4. Forklift
5. Guitarist's Theme
6. Guitarist
7. Sleepless
8. Tired Pose
9. Nothing To Lose
10. Canteen

MP3: Butterflies - Goodbye (Like A Stranger) [from the Residual Child LP]

Butterflies cover Erie Choir for Musical Chairs

Butterflies have a song on a new cover compilation curated and organized by Nightsound Studios, a recording workshop in Carrboro, NC. The studio invited over a dozen North Carolina bands to cover songs by each other. The selection process was random, but Butterflies were lucky enough to draw Erie Choir, one of our many favorite bands from NC. Led by Eric Roehrig of Sorry About Dresden, Erie Choir is responsible for some of our favorite acoustic pop songs, including "Seaside Arms", the song Butterflies chose to reinterpret. You can download the song for free here. Butterflies also got the cover treatment, as The Big Picture (led by Jonny Tunnell of The Never) shared their take on Butterflies' "Mind Games". The whole compilation is available for free download here.

Lost in the Trees Interview + Video on The Bottom String

We are still getting over all of the revelry that went down at Hopscotch earlier this month. A personal highlight for us was our day party at The Pour House on Saturday. During the hectic celebration, Lost in the Trees' Ari Picker and Emma Nadeau did an interview and recorded a short video for The Bottom String. Ari and Emma touched on Project Symphony, the North Carolina music community, touring, and much more. Check it out.

Lost in the Trees are currently out on the road in support of their new album, All Alone in an Empty House. Dates below:

09-23 State College, PA - Chronic Town
09-24 Schenectady, NY - Proctor's
09-25 Hamilton, ON James Street North Supercrawl
09-26 Waterloo, ON - Starlight
09-27 Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel
09-29 Montreal, QC - Casa del Popolo
10-01 Worcester, MA - Clark University*
10-02 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
10-03 Cambridge, MA - TT The Bear's*
10-05 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's*
10-06 New York, NY - Joe's Pub
10-07 Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House*
10-09 Charlottesville, VA - Tea Bazaar^
10-10 Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery^
10-12 Washington, DC - Black Cat#
10-13 Charlotte, NC - The Evening Muse*
10-14 Greensboro, NC - Artistika*
10-15 Columbia, SC - The House 5 Points*
10-17 Charleston, SC - Culture Center Theater

* with Midtown Dickens
# with The Love Language
^ with Elf Power

Video: Embarrassing Fruits - "Drunkland" @ CD Alley

Yesterday was release day for Frontier Justice, the new album from Chapel Hill's Embarrassing Fruits, and to celebrate we had an in-store performance at one of our favorite record stores, CD Alley. Hammer No More The Fingers opened up with a rare acoustic performance of their near-perfect pop songs. Fruits followed suit with a stripped down, acoustic set. Here's a version of "Drunkland", Fruits new inebriation anthem. If you haven't yet, head on over to the Trekky Records Online Store to order your LP+CD+MP3 package of Frontier Justice for just $12. If you are one of the first 25 orders, you'll receive a free poster. It'll be like Christmas in September.

Embarrassing Fruits album out now!

We are honored today to release Embarrassing Fruits' new album, Frontier Justice! The album is being released in one "everything-you-could-ever-need" package, complete with a vinyl record, a compact disc and an MP3 download code. The whole package is just $12, and as an added bonus, the first 25 copies come with a free Frontier Justice poster!


Order Now!
You can also get the record at some of North Carolina's finest record shops, including CD Alley, All Day Records, Bull City Records and Schoolkids.

We are hard at work putting the finishing touches on the music video for "Vanishing Frontier", one of the tracks from Frontier Justice. We'll release that to the world in a couple weeks, but here's a preview of what sinister insanity you can expect:



And here's a look at the process of recording the album:



Please join us today for a special, acoustic, release day in-store at our favorite local record store, CD Alley in Chapel Hill. Our friends Hammer No More The Fingers will also be playing and its completely free. More Fruits dates below:

09-21 Chapel Hill, NC - CD Alley (Release Day In-Store Acoustic Show!)*
09-23 Greensboro, NC - The Green Bean
10-07 Pittsboro, NC - Shakori Hills Music Festival
10-15 Raleigh, NC - NC State University
10-23 Raleigh, NC - Kings Barcade#
11-18 Raleigh, NC - Tir Na Nog

* with Hammer No More The Fingers
# with The Moaners

MP3: Embarrassing Fruits - Long Distance Breakup Summer [from the Frontier Justice LP]

Lost in the Trees play Tiny Desk Concert for NPR

Lost in the Trees swung by NPR Music guru Bob Boilen's office to perform a Tiny Desk Concert on their last tour. They play three songs, packed tightly between stacks of records and office supplies. See the video and read Bob Boilen's words here.

The folk orchestra is excited to hit the road again in a few days for an East Coast tour, featuring dates with Midtown Dickens, The Love Language and Elf Power. Check the dates below:

09-21 Pittsburgh, PA - Thunderbird Cafe
09-22 Oberlin, OH - The Cat in The Cream
09-23 State College, PA - Chronic Town
09-24 Schenectady, NY - Proctor's
09-25 Hamilton, ON James Street North Supercrawl
09-26 Waterloo, ON - Starlight
09-27 Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel
09-29 Montreal, QC Casa del Popolo
10-01 Worcester, MA - Clark University*
10-02 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
10-03 Cambridge, MA - TT The Bear's*
10-05 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's*
10-06 New York, NY - Joe's Pub
10-07 Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House*
10-09 Charlottesville, VA - Tea Bazaar^
10-10 Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery^
10-12 Washington, DC - Black Cat#
10-13 Charlotte, NC - The Evening Muse*
10-14 Greensboro, NC - Artistika*
10-15 Columbia, SC - The House 5 Points*
10-17 Charleston, SC - Culture Center Theater

* with Midtown Dickens
# with The Love Language
^ with Elf Power

Photos: Butterflies' Album Cover Photo Shoot

We're putting the final, behind-the-scenes touches on Butterflies' brand new album, coming out in November on Trekky Records. Last week we got together to take photos for the album art at Josh Kimbrough's childhood home. Here's a sneak preview of what will become the art for the new album. Photos by Clare Connolly and Will Hackney. More details coming soon!

Embarrassing Fruits Album Release Show Tonight

Tonight we celebrate the release of Frontier Justice, the new album from Embarrassing Fruits. Release shows are amazing events. They represent an inherent turning point for a band (and a label). It is the perfect night to reflect on where you've been, what it took to get there
and where you may go in the future. We hope you'll join us tonight at Duke Coffeehouse in Durham, NC, for this very special release show. Frontier Justice will be available in stores and online on Tuesday, but we'll have the first copies available tonight. The album comes with a vinyl record, compact disc and MP3 download, all for only $12. The first 25 copies will also come with a free Frontier Justice poster, so make sure to get there early tonight!

Another reason to arrive early tonight is to catch the two amazing bands who will be sharing the stage with the Fruits. Durham's Midtown Dickens and Raleigh's Lonnie Walker complete this amazing trinity of Triangle music. After the fantasy that was the Hopscotch Music Festival this past weekend, this bill is proof that the overwhelming amount of music coming from North Carolina never stops. It happens every weekend. Every night, even. The show is free and BYOB, so we're all in for a good time.

Fruits have been all over the papers this week, here's a sample of some interesting reviews and interviews:

The Independent Review
The Daily Tar Heel Review
The Mill Interview
Mann's World Interview

MP3: Embarrassing Fruits - "Vanishing Frontier"

Embarrassing Fruits' new album Frontier Justice comes out in less than a week! We are brimming with excitement over here at the Trekky office. The package looks beautiful, the record sounds great, and we're having a free release party this Friday with some amazing bands. In order to help you get as pumped as we are, we are releasing the second single from Frontier Justice today! The song is called "Vanishing Frontier" and its a brooding jam that showcases one of Fruits' great strengths: being aggressive and laid back at the same time.

Look for the grim music video for "Vanishing Frontier" late next week and we'll see you this Friday as we celebrate our new album! If you missed it, here's a video of Fruits working on Frontier Justice in the studio:



MP3: Embarrassing Fruits - "Vanishing Frontier" (from the upcoming Frontier Justice LP)

Photos: Hopscotch Music Festival 2010

Members of Midtown Dickens at panel on North Carolina music.
Photo by Abby Nardo.


Lost in the Trees at DAY-DREAM, our Hopscotch day party.
Photo by Lalitree Darnielle.


Sharon Van Etten outside of The Pour House during DAY-DREAM.
Photo by Abby Nardo.


TRK Banner at DAY-DREAM.
Photo by Agatha Donkar.


Butterflies at DAY-DREAM.
Photo by Agatha Donkar.


Martin Anderson and Brad Cook of Megafaun.
Photo by Derek Anderson.


Midtown Dickens in downtown Raleigh.
Photo by Derek Anderson.


Catherine and Jonathan of Midtown Dickens watch Pattern Is Movement.
Photo by Derek Anderson.


Folks in the stairwell at DAY-DREAM.
Photo by Graham Tolbert.


Mark Daumen of Lost in the Trees joins Midtown Dickens at DAY-DREAM.
Photo by Graham Tolbert.


Catherine Edgerton of Midtown Dickens loads in for DAY-DREAM.
Photo by Lalitree Darnielle.


Kym Register of Midtown Dickens.
Photo by Graham Tolbert.


Martin Anderson and Phil Cook of Megafaun.
Photo by Derek Anderson.