Lost in the Trees tour to CMJ

Lost in the Trees have been invited to play the infamous CMJ Music Marathon for the first time and they can't wait to be 10 more people making New York City an overcrowded circus. The band has added a few more dates at their favorite places on the East Coast to make a nice little mini-tour, capped off by a hometown show in the historic Gerrard Hall in Chapel Hill, NC. Dates below:

10-21 Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
10-22 Washington, DC - DC9
10-23 New York, NY - CMJ/Paste Magazine Showcase at The Living Room*
10-24 Boston, MA - Cafe 939
10-25 Freehold, NJ - The Studio
10-28 Chapel Hill, NC - Gerrard Hall (UNC)
*=with The Love Language

Trekky Records' Guide to Shakori: Fall 2009

Every Spring and Fall, our hippie festival fix is satiated by the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in Silk Hope, NC. There's just something about drum circles, hula hoops and noodle dancing that you can't deny. If you're planning on heading down this weekend, here's our official endorsements for what bands to catch.

THURSDAY

5:15PM | Midtown Dickens (Meadow Stage)

Hot off the release of their brilliant new album (which I happen to play on...conflict of interest?) Midtown Dickens are winning hearts all over. They'll be right at home at Shakori, slinging banjos and wielding mouth harps with utter joy. This is the very first performance of the whole festival! Don't miss it.

FRIDAY

3:30PM | Butterflies (Cabaret Tent)

Josh Kimbrough's tender, jazzy post-rock may seem an odd fit for a Grassroots festival, but look no further than the influence of Libba Cotten's incredible finger-picking style to see that Butterflies have folk in their veins, as well. This will be Butterflies' second time appearing at the festival and they will be a refreshing jolt of something different on Friday afternoon. They'll be augmented with mandolin for the first time ever. Should be a very special performance.

SATURDAY

2:30PM | The Never (Meadow Stage)

Shakori's favorite sons return to the festival they've seen grow through its infancy. The Never bring their sunny, elegant, sometimes haunting pop music to the giant Meadow Stage. Ye shall here their harmonies across the land!

6:00PM | Chatham County Line (Meadow Stage)

One of North Carolina's best authentic bluegrass bands, Chatham County Line spin classic country tunes in a way that feels modern without trying to reinvent the wheel. There's a reason there are so many bands with guitars, banjos, mandolins and three part harmonies.

10:30PM | Lost in the Trees (Grove Stage)

Trekky's preferred giant folk-orchestra Lost in the Trees return to Shakori for their third time. This late night performance will be utterly picturesque, with Ari Picker's precious symphonic compositions at center stage.

Videos: TRK @ Milltown: An Evening with the Trekky Records Collective

Here's some moving picture highlights from our recent TRK @ Milltown showcase party.



Butterflies' Josh Kimbrough covering "Don't Know Much" by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt.



Will Hackney (Trekky Records, Lost in the Trees) playing a rare solo performance.



Lost in the Trees performing a mostly unplugged version of "Walk Around the Lake".



The Trekky Mafia covering Empirikal Evaden$e's cover of Embarrassing Fruits' "Willing Partner".

Photos: TRK @ Milltown: An Evening with the Trekky Records Collective

We had a wonderful time last night at our semi-acoustic showcase-lovefest at Milltown. Thank you so much to all of the friends and family that came out to support us. Its support like this and shows like this that make the scary lifestyle of an independent musician totally worth it. There were too many highlights to list here, but check above for some photographic documentation. The first set is by Jordan Lawrence, of the excellent Diversions section of The Daily Tar Heel. The second set is by talented local concert photographer Agatha Donkar. OK, here's one highlight...the whole Trekky Records collective joining in on a drinking song sing-a-long to Embarrassing Fruits' "Willing Partner":

TONIGHT: TRK @ Milltown: An Evening with the Trekky Records Collective

Tonight, members of Butterflies, Embarrassing Fruits, Lost in the Trees, The Never and Vibrant Green (aka The Trekky Records Collective) will convene at Milltown in Carrboro, NC, to perform, share songs and collaborate. Expect lots of new songs, covers and reinterpretations. The show is Free and starts at 7PM. See you there!

Embarrassing Fruits take part in Dot Matrix Project

The Dot Matrix Project is a collective of documentarians based in Greensboro, NC, who graciously organize free concerts, and then photograph, record and film them for the artists. They've already done amazing shows with our friends Hammer No More the Fingers and Sorry About Dresden, as well as many of Greensboro's finest bands. We are happy to announce that our own Embarrassing Fruits will be getting the Dot Matrix treatment at The Green Burro on September 24 at 8PM.

New song from The Never!

Our friends at Terpsikhore Records just released a wonderful compilation highlighting some of the best bands from the Triangle area of North Carolina, and The Never were lucky enough to be a part of the album. The Never's song, "Littlest Things" is exiting new territory for the trio, and its already received some kind words from the press:

"With its meticulous harmonies and layers, The Never's arch "Littlest Things" suggests Grizzly Bear striving for the stars."
-The Independent

"The delicate piano ballad “Littlest Things” is a pristine replica of the Beach Boys’ late emo phase via Chapel Hill’s The Never."
-The Daily Tar Heel

OK, enough talk...time to listen! Check out the TRK Mix Tape to hear the song right now!

Photos: Butterflies and Embarrassing Fruits Summer Tours

Both Butterflies and Embarrassing Fruits hit the road this Summer to bring their respective three-piece rock bands to the people of the East Coast and the Midwest. Need proof? Here's photographic evidence:

The Physics of Meaning in Hometapes Takeaway Show

At SXSW 2009 in Austin, TX, Vincent Moon filmed a wonderful Takeaway Show with the artists and friends of the Hometapes Label. The final product is more like a short film, following a continuous stream of wonderful music from Megafaun, Balmorhea, Murder, Stars Like Fleas, our very own The Physics of Meaning, and Slaraffenland (including an all star jamboree at the end). Its a wonderful little piece of music video. We suggest watching it in its entirety, but if you are in a rush, The Physics of Meaning starts playing at about 15:40. They play a brand new song which will most likely appear on their new album, the follow-up to last year's Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of Midnight

Photos: Lost in the Trees Summer Tours 2009

Here are some lovely photographs of the recent Lost in the Trees tours taken by multi-instrumentalist Alyssa Reichardt, violinist Jenavieve Varga and bus driver/sound man/lighting designer Dave Keister. Check back as more will be added in the next few days.

The Never to appear on Hear Here compilation

Our old friends at Terpsikhore Records are releasing an excellent compilation called Hear Here: The Triangle on August 29th, featuring a new and unreleased song from The Never! Terpsikhore invited local bands into their very own studio to record the tracks for the compilation, so all of the tracks were made with the same microphones, which should give it an interesting unity. Other bands on the comp we are excited about are The Rosebuds, The Kingsbury Manx, Hammer No More the Fingers and Terpsikhore's Annuals. The video above shows all the bands recording their songs, including our boys in The Never.

There's also an amazing release show at the Cat's Cradle to celebrate the release on Saturday, August 29. The Never will be playing, joined by Annuals, Birds of Avalon and Hammer No More The Fingers. The $10 admission gets you a copy of the comp, and proceeds go to benefit The Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, NC. Hallelujah!

Troika Music Festival lineup announced!

Troika is a wonderful music festival that has been happening in Durham, NC, for many years now. The 2009 lineup was announced today and we are proud to share that our own Embarrassing Fruits is playing this year. There are too many amazing bands appearing to list here, but if you need quick convincing, our friends Bowerbirds, Hammer No More the Fingers, Bellafea, Veelee and Mount Moriah are all on the list, so get excited. The festival is November 5-7 and passes go on sale August 15.

Embarrassing Fruits featured on The State of Things

The State of Things, a wonderful radio show on local NPR affiliate WUNC, recently broadcast a great feature on music from North Carolina. A lot of great bands were mentioned and we were pleasantly surprised to hear a few words about our very own Embarrassing Fruits. Listen to the whole show here.

Butterflies Summer Tour!

Butterflies will be flying into a town near you this summer, supporting their latest album Nothing's Personal. Catch the band in all of their emotional, jammy glory:

07-08 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
07-09 Asheville, NC - The Garage
07-10 Knoxville, TN - Barley's
07-11 Louisville, KY - Derby City Espresso
07-12 Bloomington, IN - The Pour House
07-14 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
07-16 Akron, OH - The Matinee
07-17 Rochester, NY - Abilene
07-18 Boston, MA - PA's Lounge
07-19 New York, NY - Monkeytown
07-23 Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery
07-24 Washington, DC - Comet Ping Pong*
07-25 Durham, NC - Bull City Headquarters
08-01 Greensboro, NC - The Grean Bean*
*=with Carol Bui

Follow Lost in the Trees on tour

Follow Lost in the Trees on their summer tour via their new blog.