The Physics of Meaning Announce Spring Tour

The mighty Physics of Meaning will be hitting the road in the South and Southwest this Spring. Lead Physic Daniel Hart will briefly catch his breath from touring the world with his other band, St. Vincent, before taking his own outfit to a Southern town near you. Daniel has been hard at work, piecing together his new album at various recording sessions all over the USA, and he'll be sharing some of those new jams at these shows, as well. While joined by a full band and string section for his North Carolina shows, Daniel will play the rest of the tour dates with Physics as a duo, using a trash can drum set and a Dance Dance Revolution dancepad-turned-stompable-beat-machine-and-bass-synth to fill out the arrangements and at least provide something interesting to look at. It will be much like the scene in "Big" where Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia go to the toy store and play "Heart and Soul" with their feet, except in this case Tom Hanks also plays violin and Robert Loggia is a young woman with tympani mallets. Dates below:

05-06 Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight
05-07 Greensboro, NC - The Green Bean
05-08 Durham, NC - The Pinhook
05-09 Raleigh, NC - Tir Na Nog
05-10 Knoxville, TN - Dan's House
05-11 Athens, GA - Farm 255
05-12 Tuscaloosa, AL - Egan's Bar
05-13 Jackson, MS - Sneaky Beans
05-14 McAllen, TX - Music Afterhours
05-15 Dallas, TX - Barley House
05-16 Lubbock, TX - Bash Riprocks
05-17 Las Cruces, NM - Equinox
05-18 Tempe, AZ - Yucca Tap Room

Blissfest approacheth

TRKfest 2010 date and performers announced!

Trekky Records is proud to announce the return of TRKfest, our annual Summertime blissfest, on Saturday, June 26th at Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro, NC. This year's festival will build upon the framework of the last two years, growing from a fledgling annual event to an essential expression of the North Carolina music scene, as well as the broader underground community. TRKfest 2010 will feature a second stage, more bands, and a dedicated commitment to local businesses and environmental responsibility.

This will be the third annual TRKfest. The event began as a one-off fundraiser for the Trekky Records Collective in 2008, but has transformed into an annual event, returning each year by popular demand. As always, the festival will take place at Piedmont Biofuels, a charming industrial biodiesel plant and organic farm nestled into the beautiful Pittsboro countryside. With the help of Piedmont Biofuels and The Abundance Foundation, we will attempt to minimize the ecological impact of the festival, reducing waste and emphasizing local and sustainable foods and drinks.

In addition to the music, the day will be bursting with other activities. Attendees will be able to play volleyball, cool off under the sprinklers, vibe out in the Bliss Tent, purchase local clothing and crafts, tour the biodiesel facility and dance til they collapse, all while listening to some of the finest music North Carolina has to offer.

Admission will be a $10 suggested donation. No person will be turned away. This is a family friendly event! The rain date is Sunday, June 27th, but, c'mon, its not going to rain on TRKfest!

Performers:
Megafaun
Hammer No More The Fingers
Mount Moriah
Embarrassing Fruits
Midtown Dickens
Veelee
Butterflies
Ryan Gustafson
Vibrant Green
many more to be announced!

Other attractions:
Local art, crafts and clothing for sale
Local food and drinks for sale
Pants-off Dance-off
Coffee Sack Race
Cool Kids Yoga Session
Musical Chairs Cake Walk
Volleyball
Sprinklers and Water Things
Tour of Piedmont Biofuels
Free Haircuts
Shadow Puppets
Bliss Tent
and probably more!

Trekky Records' Guide to Shakori | Spring 2010

It's that time of year again! Time to dig your favorite hula hoop out of the closet, affix a guinea hen feather in your hair and prepare to noodle dance harder than you ever have before! That's right, its the Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival, one of our favorite local events. Every season we provide our picks for the best things to see at Shakori, and even though no Trekky bands will be playing this Spring, there's still some amazing music to see:

THURSDAY

5:00PM | Des Ark (Meadow Stage)

Before Aimee Argote (aka Des Ark) moved to Philadelphia a few months ago, she was without a doubt one of the best songwriters in North Carolina. Crushingly beautiful folk songs on parlor guitar and banjo. Des Ark kicks off the festival with the very first performance. Be there!

8:30PM | Rusted Root (Meadow Stage)



FRIDAY

10:00PM | Stephanie's Id (Cabaret Tent)

Stephanie's Id are from Asheville, NC and make epic, atmospheric jams reminiscent of early Bjork. Led by amazing lead vocalist Stephanie Morgan, the lineup is variable, so expect anything from a 3 piece band to a full ensemble, with horns, vibraphones and more!

SATURDAY

2:30PM | Midtown Dickens (Grove Stage)

Durham's favorite anti-folk-punk-backporch-collective. Lead Dickens Kym Register and Catherine Edgerton have just returned from a two month tour and will be joined by upright bassist Jonathan Henderson and Trekky's own Will Hackney.

4:00PM | Bowerbirds (Grove Stage)

Stick around at the Grove Stage for intricate poly-rhythmic folk music from our dear friends from Chatham County/Raleigh. Trekky's Will Hackney will also be playing with Bowerbirds! So don't miss if you've never seen someone play slide mandolin and marimba.

6:00PM | Des Ark (Meadow Stage)
Go see Des Ark again. Why wouldn't you!?

10:30PM | Hammer No More The Fingers (Cabaret Tent)

Hammer is an unlikely band to play Shakori, but we aren't complaining. Their incredible, angular pop rock songs are insanely catchy. Joe Hall's spider-web guitar parts, Duncan Webster's melodic, disco bass lines and Jeff Stickley's dynamic musicality on the drums are all crucial to every song.

See you in the sun!

Martin Anderson in Megafaun's Take Away Show

Our dear hometown friends Megafaun recently filmed a Take Away Show with Derrick Belcham for La Blogoteque. This is a wonderful series and you could easily spend a full day watching all of the great spontaneous music happenings. The video above is Megafaun playing their incredible new song, "Volunteers" at a cafe in Montreal. Trekky Records co-founder Martin Anderson, who is currently tour managing Megafaun, lays down a sweet harmonica solo, so check it out! More Megafaun Take Away Shows here.

Adopt A Highway #6

Now that the weather is warm and beautiful in North Carolina, our Adopt A Highway duties are much more pleasurable. We are charged with the responsibility of keeping Carrboro's beloved North Greensboro Street clean, venturing out four times a year to traverse the four mile stretch, picking up any unnatural things. This time around, we set the start time early on a Saturday morning, so only the proud and the few participated. It ended up being for the best, as we stumbled across $40 in cash, and let me tell you, $40 splits nicely when its only two people. It pays to clean! Other good finds include the Adopt-A-Highway-requisite used condom, an envelope addressed to our friend Ginger, some nice vintage Pepsi bottles and a pair of good work gloves (about a mile and a half away from each other). Until next time!

Daniel Hart covers INXS with Beck, members of Os Mutantes and Liars

The Physics of Meaning's Daniel Hart was recently a part of Beck's ongoing Record Club project, in which various musicians meet to cover a whole album in a day. Beck invited Liars, Sergio Dias of Os Mutantes, and St. Vincent (which Daniel is also a member of) to cover INXS' Kick. Here's a video of one of the songs, "Guns in the Sky". Daniel is the dashing young man in the green shirt, playing violin and Rickenbacker.

While We Were Out: News Round Up!

After the whirlwind adventure of South By Southwest, we realized the rest of the world was still going on with out us, and a bunch of great articles were published! Here's a quick round up of Trekky related stuff from the last couple weeks:

• The News and Observer released their prestigious Great 8 feature, profiling the eight most exciting bands of 2010. We are thrilled that both Embarrassing Fruits and Lost in the Trees were selected. Check out the print edition for awesome huge photos!
• Our SXSW day party, Carolina Jubilee was well covered by our wonderful writers back home. Check out The Daily Tar Heel article and The Independent's profiles of all six bands that played the party. There's also some nice photos of The Love Language and Lost in the Trees.
• Other odds and ends: Some sketches of Lost in the Trees playing on the Austin City Limits stage, an interview with Ari Picker of Lost in the Trees with The Daily Tar Heel, as well as one with Spinner.
  

Trekky Records at SXSW

Trekky Records is currently partying down in Austin, TX, for the annual South By Southwest festival. Today is our very own day party, celebrating the great music of North Carolina. The Daily Tar Heel wrote a great article about the event, and The Independent also asked all six bands playing the party about their SXSW experience. Read those beautiful words and here and here.

Also, make sure to check out Lost in the Trees at their many performances:

03.18 Homeslice Pizza (1415 South Congress Ave.) | 3:45PM
03.18 Hyde Park Parlor (4301 Guadalupe St.) | 5PM
03.18 Aloft Hotel (11601 Domain Dr.) | 9:40PM
03.19 Mess With Texas (Waterloo Park) | 12:40PM
03.19 Antone's (213 W. 5th St.) | 8PM

Lost in the Trees feature in The Independent

This week's Independent Weekly has the full story on Lost in the Trees and the release of their new version of All Alone In An Empty House. Check out the print edition, or click here to read online. While you're there, make sure to read about the new releases from Des Ark, Megafaun and The Love Language (some of our favorite bands), featured in the same article.

Lost in the Trees sign to Anti- Records

We are very excited to share that Lost in the Trees has signed to Los Angeles, CA label Anti- Records. After five years of development in the Trekky Records Collective, our dear little folk orchestra is ready to grow into a new and more powerful animal. We're excited to take the next step with the band and we'll still be closely involved in the growth of the project. Anti- has an amazing reputation as an artist-friendly record label and they've released some of our favorite records by Tom Waits, Elliott Smith, Neko Case and many others. This spring, Anti- will release a new and expanded version of All Alone In An Empty House on vinyl and CD, worldwide. Ari Picker, the mastermind behind Lost in the Trees, has been hard at work this winter, revamping and enhancing the recordings with North Carolina producer Scott Solter (The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, Spoon, St. Vincent). The new release will also feature two new unreleased songs.

We'd like to thank the amazing musical community in North Carolina for making this possible. Without the support of an amazing network of fans and bands, Lost in the Trees wouldn't have this opportunity to share their music with a wider audience. Stay tuned for more news on the way, and make sure to catch the band on their mini-SXSW tour:

03-13 Atlanta, GA - Star Bar
03-15 Athens, GA - Caledonia
03-18 Austin, TX - Trekky Records presents: Carolina Jubilee*
03-19 Austin, TX - Billions SXSW Showcase#
03-21 Shreveport, LA - Hayride Diner
05-15 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle

*=with The Love Language, Hammer No More The Fingers and more.
#=with Liars, Shearwater, Quasi and more.

MP3 | Lost in the Trees - All Alone In An Empty House [from the upcoming All Alone In An Empty House LP]

Trekky Records presents: Carolina Jubilee | A SXSW Day Party

Trekky Records is proud to commemorate our first trip to the annual South By Southwest Festival with our very own day party! Carolina Jubilee will be an afternoon-long celebration of the music of North Carolina, curated by Trekky Records. Co-sponsored by Merge Records, Holidays For Quince, Churchkey and 307 Knox, the showcase will be a great communion of bands and friends from The Old North State. Festival-goers and free-loaders alike can come see for themselves if there is indeed "something in the water" in North Carolina. Details below:

Trekky Records presents
CAROLINA JUBILEE
Thursday, March 18, 2010. 2-7PM.
Hyde Park Parlor, 4301 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX.

6:00 The Love Language
5:15 Lost in the Trees
4:30 Hammer No More The Fingers
3:45 Schooner
3:00 Caltrop
2:15 Birds and Arrows

Free music, beer and pizza! No SXSW cred needed.

Video: Embarrassing Fruits - "Car" @ The Green Burro

Back in September 2009, Embarrassing Fruits took part in something called The Dot Matrix Project, a multimedia documentation effort based in Greensboro, NC. Fruits played a full set in The Gate City at the since-closed Green Burro while a team of photographers and filmers documented the event. The live video is finally available and features the new song "Car", which will appear on the band's upcoming followup to last year's Community / Exploitation. Also, check out the still photographs below. Thanks to The Dot Matrix Project for their hard work!

Lost in the Trees to play Billions SXSW Showcase

Lost in the Trees will be headed down to Austin, Texas next month for the annual South by Southwest madness. We are pleased to announce that the band's first appearance will be at the Billions Showcase at Antone's on March 19th. Lost in the Trees will be sharing the bill with the likes of Liars, Shearwater, Quasi, and more! We will also be announcing other exciting Lost in the Trees SXSW events in the coming weeks. More dates, including shows with our dear friends Midtown Dickens, posted below!

02-10 Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor*
02-11 Asheville, NC - The Rocket Club*
03-13 Atlanta, GA - Star Bar
03-19 Austin, TX - Billions SXSW Showcase at Antone's#
03-21 Shreveport, LA - Hayride Diner & Venue

* with Midtown Dickens
# with Liars, Shearwater, Basia Bulat, Plants and Animals

Butterflies Interview in The Mill

The Carrboro Citizen's weekly entertainment section, The Mill, recently interviewed Josh Kimbrough of Butterflies for their "Gimme Five!" column. Click here to read Josh's thoughts on his new record, the first time he wrote a song, 80s DIY punk rock and the field of architecture.