Sony DADC and PIAS Warehouse Fire

Our thoughts are with all those affected by the Sony DADC/PIAS warehouse fire in London this past Tuesday. Not only is it a tragedy for the workers and the families of the warehouse (thankfully no deaths or injuries), but also our fellow independent record labels like Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans, Secretly Canadian, Asthmatic Kitty, Thrill Jockey, Sub Pop, Matador, 4AD, Drag City, Rough Trade, Soul Jazz, many more, and their artists who lost thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stock in the incident.

This is a hard hit, especially in the current shakey climate of physical media. Follow the links below for more info and how you can help out. The simplest way- go out and buy some records! Show your support for these amazing labels that work tirelessly to bring inspiring music to the world.

• Association of Independent Music and PIAS relief fund

• Pitchfork Article with more information, list of affected labels, reactions etc.

TRKfest schedule announced!

3:00 | Midtown Dickens
3:40 | Vibrant Green
4:10 | Mount Moriah
4:50 | Tour of Piedmont Biofuels
5:00 | Lonnie Walker
5:40 | Brice Randall Bickford
6:20 | Musical Chairs Cake Walk
6:30 | Yardwork
7:10 | Embarrassing Fruits
7:50 | Tour of Piedmont Biofuels
8:00 | Butterflies
8:40 | Bowerbirds
9:20 | Pants Off Dance Off
9:40 | Ryan Gustafson
10:35 | Hammer No More The Fingers

Butterflies Take Georgia By Storm

Butterflies will be taking their ever-evolving art-pop ensemble south for a string of shows in Georgia this week. Kimbrough and co. have been hard at work on various recording projects this summer. They recorded not one, but two songs for compilations, and have a third on the way. Stay tuned for more news soon from Butterflies, and don't forget to check out their latest album Residual Child.

Summer shows:
07-21 Atlanta, GA - The Music Room
07-22 Macon, GA - The Rookery*
07-23 Athens, GA - Flicker Theater
08-13 Pittsboro, NC - TRKFest%
09-10 Raleigh, NC - The Pour House^

*with The Bronzed Chorus
%with Bowerbirds, Mount Moriah, Midtown Dickens, more
^Trekky Records Day-Dream Party at Hopscotch Festival with Midtown Dickens, Embarrassing Fruits, Brice Randall Bickford

Lost in the Trees Announce Summer Shows

Lost in the Trees have been quiet, but busy. Ari and company have spent the last six months recording and crafting their breath-taking follow-up to All Alone in an Empty House...but more on that soon! Lost in the Trees are stretching their legs and taking their ever-evolving live show on the road this summer. The band's travels kick off with a hometown performance tonight at Duke Gardens in Durham, NC, then off to Ontario for the Hillside Festival, followed by a detour at LouFest in St. Louis, and wrapping up with a concert at the Fletcher Opera Theater in Raleigh, NC as part of the second-annual Hopscotch Festival. It's totally acceptable if you want to wear your bathing suit to any of these:

07-13 Durham, NC - Duke Gardens
07-21 Philadelphia, PA - Danger Danger Gallery
07-22 Oneonta, NY - The Oneonta Theatre
07-23 Guelph, ON - Hillside Festival*
07-24 Guelph, ON - Hillside Festival*
07-25 Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel
08-26 Carbondale, IL - The Hangar 9
08-27 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
08-28 St. Louis, MO - Loufest#
09-10 Raleigh, NC - Fletcher Opera Theater (Hopscotch Festival)%

*with Kevin Drew & The Beauties, Little Scream, Doug Paisley, These United States
#with The Roots, TV on the Radio, Cat Power, Deerhunter, The Hold Steady
%with The Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Superchunk, Drive-by Truckers, The Dodos, The Love Language, Brice Randall Bickford, Embarrassing Fruits, Butterflies

New Butterflies song on Cicada Summer compilation

Butterflies were recently asked by Special Passenger Records to write and record a song during the Great Cicada Infestation of 2011, which struck the South this Spring with an incessant whirring and a clutter of discarded exoskeletons. What came out was a stripped down, hyper literal account of a conversation with Special Passenger Records owner Amanda Rainey, and lead Butterfly Josh Kimbrough's subsequent internet search on the Cicada flavored ice cream of Columbia, Missouri. Listen below and download for free:

Midtown Dickens tours with The Mountain Goats, joins Trekky Records

We're excited to officially announce that we'll be joining forces with Durham folk group Midtown Dickens, releasing their upcoming third album and continuing a musical journey that began three years ago. We admired Midtown Dickens from afar for a while before Trekky Records' Will Hackney spontaneously joined the band for a benefit show in Durham, NC. That inviting and communal nature is why we love working with the band, and why we're excited to be a part of their next chapter. The untitled new album, a follow-up to the band's 2009 self-released Lanterns, is currently being recorded by acclaimed producer Scott Solter (The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, Spoon) and will be released in early 2012. In the meantime, fellow Durhamite John Darnielle has invited Midtown Dickens to join The Mountain Goats on a string of West Coast dates. Parties below:

06-16 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
06-17 Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore
06-18 Portland, OR - Aladdin
06-20 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
06-21 Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar
06-23 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
06-24 Santa Barbara, CA - Soho

TRKfest 2011 lineup and details announced!

Trekky Records is proud to announce the return of TRKfest, our annual Summertime blissfest, on Saturday, August 13th at Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro, NC. This year's festival will build upon the framework of the last three years, growing from a fledgling annual event to an essential expression of the North Carolina music scene, as well as the broader underground community.

This will be the fourth 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 games, 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, August 14th, but, c'mon, its not going to rain on TRKfest!

Performers:
Bowerbirds
Mount Moriah
Midtown Dickens
Hammer No More The Fingers
Embarrassing Fruits
Ryan Gustafson
Yardwork
Brice Randall Bickford
Butterflies
Vibrant Green
and more to be announced!

Other Attractions:
Local art, crafts and clothing for sale
Pants-off Dance-off
Coffee Sack Race
Musical Chairs Cake Walk
Make Yr Own Tie-Dye TRKfest Shirt
Sprinklers and Water Things
Tour of Piedmont Biofuels
Free Haircuts
Shadow Puppets
Bliss Tent
...and probably more!

Video: LIVE! from Trekky House II: Brice Randall Bickford

We continue our LIVE! From Trekky House video series today with a performance by Brice Randall Bickford. Bickford chose to play in the garden at Trekky House, strumming his electric guitar amidst the burgeoning tomoto plants and kale sprouts. Bickford's powerful voice pierces through the hypnotic wave of highway noise and the busy chatter of chirping birds as he plays "Songstress", the first single from his upcoming self titled album. The album will be out June 14, but if you're in NC, you can join us for the album release show this Saturday, and get your copy early!

MP3: Brice Randall Bickford - Songstress [from the Brice Randall Bickford LP]

Lost in the Trees selected for Jeff Mangum's All Tomorrow's Parties Festival

We're very excited to finally announce that our resident folk orchestra, Lost in the Trees, has been selected to play this year's All Tomorrow's Parties Festival, curated by Neutral Milk Hotel legend Jeff Mangum. The UK music festival was able to pry Mangum from his well-known reclusion to personally curate 3 days of music this December, and we're honored that he deemed Lost in the Trees worthy. The band will be sharing the stage with Fleet Foxes, Low, Superchunk and Jeff Mangum himself, in a rare solo performance. Tickets are on sale now, and you can go ahead and wish the band luck on their first trip across the pond!

Video: LIVE! from Trekky House II: Phil Cook & His Feat

We continue our LIVE! From Trekky House video series today with a performance by Phil Cook & His Feat. Phil chose to take advantage of his one-man-band size and play in the upstairs bathroom of Trekky House. The magic, reflective reverb of the washroom was a perfect setting for Phil's tender rendition of "Ballad of a Hungry Mother", a song from his new album Hungry Mother Blues. You can order the album now from the Trekky Records Online Store.

MP3: Phil Cook & His Feat - Ballad Of A Hungry Mother [from the Hungry Mother Blues LP]

Butterflies Announce June NC Dates

Butterflies have announced a string of dates next month across the fair state of North Carolina! Make sure to stay tuned for some really exciting Butterflies developments, including more Summer dates!

Butterflies' latest album Residual Child is available now in the Online Store. Also make sure to check out the new Westfalia cassette, featuring new music by Josh, Joe Norkus (Embarrassing Fruits), and Robert Britt.

06-03 Winston Salem, NC - The Garage*
06-04 Chapel Hill, NC - The Cave*
06-17 Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theater*
06-24 Carrboro, NC - Jesse's#

*with Jon Lindsay
#with Birds and Arrows

Phil Cook performs with Bon Iver on Jimmy Fallon

Last night, Phil Cook accompanied his dear friend and former bandmate Justin Vernon for Bon Iver's performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Phil played piano for a medley of covers, including Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" and "Nick of Time", as well as Donny Hathaway's "A Song For You". You can watch the video above. Phil Cook & His Feat's new album is out now and you can order it right here.

Trekky Records welcomes Brice Randall Bickford!

We are thrilled to officially welcome Brice Randall Bickford to the Trekky Records family! Bickfords's new self-titled record will be released on June 14, 2011 in our signature 3-part package, featuring a vinyl record, CD and MP3 download, plus a beautiful hand-numbered jacket adorned with gold foil.

We've been friends and fans of Brice Randall Bickford for years, hanging on every word of every song on every album he's released as The Strugglers. We couldn't be more excited to release this gorgeous album and welcome BRB to the fold.

It’s been a decade since Brice Randall Bickford began performing under the name “The Strugglers”. In this time, he has released five albums, toured the world, and earned a reputation as a master of subtle, narrative songwriting. Bickford's dense, poetic lyrics imbue his compositions with an enduring vitality, rewarding the listener with additional layers of meaning upon each successive listen. Now 32, he has cast off “The Strugglers” moniker and recorded his most focused and nuanced full length to date. Collaborating closely with acclaimed producer Scott Solter (The Mountain Goats, Spoon, John Vanderslice), Bickford created a lush and detailed sonic landscape for his painstakingly crafted lines to inhabit. The bare-bones Americana sound of The Strugglers is traded for the crisp, studio driven production style of late 70’s pop-folk, heightening the emotion and coloring the mood of each composition.



1. Kindling
2. Working Woman/Lazy Demons
3. The Lamberth Annex
4. Danville
5. Clay Divorcée
6. Into Our Covers
7. Songstress
8. Every Time They Tagged You
9. Up Against The Hem
10. On The Caesura Of Paying Attention

MP3: Brice Randall Bickford - Songstress [from the Brice Randall Bickford LP]

Phil Cook & His Feat's Hungry Mother Blues out today!

Phil Cook & His Feat's new album, Hungry Mother Blues, is out today! You can order your copy from the Trekky Records Online Store, or if you live in the Triangle, you can pick it up at CD Alley, Bull City Records, All Day Records or Schoolkids. Only $12 for our signature 3-part package, which includes an LP, CD and MP3 download.


Order now!

MP3: Phil Cook & His Feat - Ballad Of A Hungry Mother [from the Hungry Mother Blues LP]

Video: Phil Cook & His Feat - "Alberta" @ All Day Records

Phil Cook & His Feat played an intimate in-store performance yesterday at All Day Records in Carrboro, NC, in celebration of his new Hungry Mother Blues LP, which comes out tomorrow on Trekky Records. Here he plays a beautiful dobro rendition of "Alberta" a traditional song popularized by Bob Dylan. Stay tuned for more exciting Phil Cook & His Feat news!