This Excellent Clear Guitar is Aware That Total Fest VII happens on August 14-16, 2008. Take yourself over to the Total Blog and avail yourself of the radness. RAD Missoula Radio Station KBGA 89.9 FM has agreed to step up their  past support and have underwritten the travel costs of one of our all-time favorite live acts,  FEDERATION X. Total Fest VII will mark Fed X's only 2008 performance. In addition, Bay Area extreme-prog outfit Triclops! (pictured) will be playing.

May  13, 2008
Mountain High: Dudes On Mission
Philly's Mtn. High are currently going through yet another of their at least semi-annual member shakeups, "but it's all good, dude", we're assured. Their next project is going to be entitled "Man vs. Machine vs. Nature" and yes, it's a three-part trilogy. If you dig what Jesse, Rod and the bros do, you're guarnteed this'll be a party-blast of whatever you want to classify their brand of punk as. We look at Mountain High like we look at bands like the Minutemen and Big Boys, who played music that was totally incongruous with other stuff going on at the time, but fit right on in wonderfully with the ethos, and spririt. Sick Jersey radio station WFMU recently turned some love the boys' way, have a look here at it!

May 4, 2008
Recording Project Status: Update Data Blaster
Total Fest VII: Update Data Blaster
Our current release schedule's as cluttered as a  Mongolian swap-meet. Lots of vinyl currently is underway, we're proud to say. Here's a snapshot: Vile Blue Shades, a 14 piece chaos/collective sort of group that kind of hangs out somewhere halfway between a Certain Ratio and the Fall. "Vile" as Jud Le Force calls them, have got long-player in the can, and we're absolutely excited to be part of getting the thing out to the world. Recorded by master-knobsman Jud "Le Force" Powell, and mixed/eq'd by Tim Green, this thing throbs and thumps, and has a sleazy, saxxy enveloping and evil sort of vibe to it. Strange to think that this group calls Utah home, though at the same time, when you consider all the repressed emotions and that such a conservative social scene might cause, it's really no wonder.

So, yes, Vile Blue Shades is underway. So is the Le Force LP, a huge metallic thunderer of a record that took them something around two and a half years to finally put a period on. Other "in the works" projects include a 12" Red Fang release, a White Shit single, and a Juanita Family project.

On a separate note: we're about three rabbit's whiskers away from going public with the Total Fest VII lineup. We had incredible submissions this year, and it wasn't easy whatsoever, but we think we've got the best possible lineup. Stay tuned! Meanwhile, keep yourself occupied with our new Total Blog.

April 6, 2008
Hellride Music: Unpresedented Erudition Among Heavy Bros!
Red Fang: New song
Hellride Music, as you may have intuited from its bro'd out name, is largely a heavy/stoner/doom portal which is fiercely independent, and dedicated to DIY. They've got some super nice folks working for 'em, and they've been giving several of our recent releases really thorough and well done reviews. Additionally they really get what we like about our bands, which is a nice touch. Below are a couple of recent reviews! (Dig around to find others about Le Force and the Narrows)

Mtn. High's Wicked Wanderer 
Squalora's Self-Titled Debut

Portland Oregon ultra-pounders Red Fang (w. ex Shiny Beast, Juanitas, Party Time, Bad Wizard, etc. members) just put a new song onto their web site. It's called "Malverde" and it's sweeeeet!

Total Fest VII/Oaks
Total Fest VII happens this August 14-16, so if you are a fan, please mark your calendar, and go to ourspace page to friend out with us, and follow the developments intimately.
If you happen to be a band, and you are interested in throwing your hat in the ring, the ring is open until April 4th. To apply, please send a CD/CDR or vinyl to us, c/o the Wantage mailorder address on the contact page.

Oaks is Justin Olsen's, from Tight Bro's from Way Back When, new band. They play a refreshingly dated version of Northwest style grunge, and we've got copies of their new, limited edition, self-released CD in the distro section. Toshi Kasai, Big Business guitar/noise dude and Melvins recordings, did the nob-twiddling for this excellent debut.

March 15, 2008
Ex-Cocaine: PLAYING SHOWS IN THE WEST!
Squalora CD: Crush of Destroy Factor Imminence
Latvia: Still Nowhere Near the Former Yugoslav Republics, and Still Pumping Out Excellent Underground Music.
Rarely does Wantage recommend music where dudes play djembes, but we'd be utterly slacking if we told you we didn't fucking love Ex-Cocaine. Ramirez and Mike C. kick out heavy mellow jams like Tyranasaurus Rex on quaaludes, or uh, like god only knows. They've got a killer new record on Siltbreeze, and they're in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco this week. Don't miss 'em. Their space has got their dates.
From the Squalora's starting to get on the map department: In addition to some sweet props from Diane Kamikaze on WFMU, Squalora's self-titled debut CD is starting to get some notice around the interweb. Excellent! Specifically, Hansel (from Florida's killer Deaf Sparrow zine) just posted this review.
So what's all this I hear about Latvia? Yeah, they are always just knocking out the most excellent, quirkiest punk of the former Sovietskaja Republikas. The newest release from Latvia's Tornis label is from Riga's Mazie Smidigie Kocini (Little Stinky Sticks). The charmingly packaged, two 3" discs in a fold-out package, new release "Kraa" from this group has been spending substantial time in the Wantage CD player at the HQ. It's halfway between early Balozi Pilni Pagalmi and a more raucous Talking Heads. You can tell they go for it live, and it's got that bent, bizarre half-step away from ska, but unique Baltic thing going on! Highly recommended, test drive before you buy.

Februrary 9. 2008
Wantage Distribution: Full As A Bucharest City Bus
Shee-hucks, what a load of stuff we've got packed into the distribution part of what we're doing here. Just picked up some sweeeet swag from Julian and Nicole Kill Shaman. The Yikes record sounds like if John Dwyer is just getting nuttier (ex-Pink and Brown/Coachwhips). Megafuckers play sweet heavy punk (Pope/Born Against/etc.), and Sam McPheeters sings. Expo 70 make ponderous, excellent soundscapes. Factums is curious, outsider spazzmodic rock (Lights, the Intelligence, A-Frames). Add that to the new Bugs 7" on Hovercraft, a bunch of rad German stuff associated with X-Mist, a couple of Australian records from the We Empty Rooms crew in Melbourne and hellzz bellzz, it's moving fast so order away.

January 21, 2008
MOUNTAIN HIGH'S "Wicked Wanderer" LP: Released Into the Wild.
Philadelphia's tightest dual-drummer powerhouse rock and roll outfit, Mountain High, have finally completed their debut long-player, and folks, here it is. All hyperbole aside, an LP hasn't excited us at the Wantage USA Innermountain Snow Fortress this much since we put out Big Business's "Head for the Shallow" a couple years ago. This is similar to the Big Biz LP only in terms of the spirit and songwriting craft. This LP blurs the lines between punk/psych/funk and rock and roll substantially and deftly. Few bands bring the sort of powerful heft to the table that Mountain High do. Prepare to have this stuck on your headphones for a month straight.

Mountain High fit somewhere on the continuum between groups like Amon Duul II, the Pink Fairies and Tony McPhee's Grounhogs. Sort of proto-punk and grittier than most psych, and somewhat blues-rooted, though altogether their own thing, with mini anthems and non-sequitor tributes to Punky Brewster and (perhaps even) Yankee pitcher Mel Stottlemyre (?)... M.H. seem to really not care much about current musical trends, what's hot and soforth, rather they just lay down some of the sweatiest grooves happening. The Wicked Wanderer LP will start to ship in tomorrow's mail, and will be at Revolver in two shakes. Mailorder customer's take heed: if you're on your game and order this thing quick, you might get one of the first 100 copies, which is pressed on green vinyl.

December 23, 2007
Top 37 of 2007 List
Predictions For This New Year
The folks at Wantage USA appreciate a year-end list, summing up what came, what went, and what was memorable. Since we're a small record label, that list is going to include music, mostly. The stuff that really moved us on our walks to work. So, voila dudes!

Fire Witch/Ryokuchi "Split" CD (SMD) Crushing, inventive, doom crust from Down Under and Nippon. Available from Aquarius domestically.

Big Business "Here Come the Waterworks" LP (Hydrahead) and LIVE! Big Biz drop their second total fucking doozy of a full-length, and it's bubonically devastating.

Dan Deacon "Spiderman of the Rings" LP (Carpark) Dan's a classic class-act of wildman with fire coming from his .... if you made it through 2007 without participating in a DD show, don't let 2008 get by similarly.

Two Year Touqe "The Elephant Garden" CD (CDB/Tummy Rock) Sublime pop music from Missoula's number one family-rock outfit. Take what you like about Aisler's Set/Beat Happening/Danielsons and run it through Missoula's good-vibe-anator and this is high atop the year end list.

Replicator "Machines Will Always Let You Down" CD (Radio Is Down) Classically snarky Chicago '91 music from Oakland in '07. Beautifully recorded by Vern "Unwound bassist" Rumsey. Like Tar, Shellac, Rapeman, but also like itself.

Squalora "S/T" LP/CD (Wantage/Repetively Futile/Defector) Portland's d-beat crust scene just got a little heftier with the addition of these Montanarchist. I love heavy and fast done this well. Recorded by Mike Lastra.

Ex-Cocaine "Esta Guerra" (Siltbreeze) Missoula/St. Paul long distance noize/folk jumble. Ethereal, washy and heavy-mellow. Features the most sublime and hooked out piece of space pop you'll hear on Siltbreeze ever. Sun Before Arises is one of my top three songs from this year.

The Pope "Sports" (Wantage) Sure, putting records which one was personally involved with releasing isn't really cool, but I'd be lying if I said the Pope, and their first long-playing release wasn't right in the midst of my favorite stuff done this year. The Pope brought back epic, thunderous and anthemic noise rock almost single handedly, and generation Y writers have been mistaking it for Lightning Bolt worship. Going on tour in Europe w. Paul Kneejie and Buck Wartston, the Pope, and some dudes of the Polish persuasion (Sloma from Infekcja and Wojtek from Van4Band) was a total hoot. One of these days, I'm going to finish writing the tour diary.

Fanfare Ciocarlia "Baro Biao" CD (Piranha, Germany) Fanfare come from a small town in northern Romania, and they play Balkan/Gypsy horn music as fast as Exodus played thrash. Armin "X-Mist" Hoffman turned me on to this stuff and it's incredible.

Japanther "Skuffed Up My Huffy" CD (Menlo Park/EXO/Altin Village) Japanther's best record so far. The songs on Skuffed Up.. are the best that Japanther has written yet. They are perfectly notching out a space halfway between the noise kids and the punk kids with their cherubic falsetto choruses, good, political lyrics and straight ahead un-affected fun, dancy music. Incredible.

to be continued....

November 19. 2007
Gift Wantage these holidays.
Take and have a look at the Premium Freedom Ultra Packet that we've assembled for your holiday gifting! Wohaw, this is and Ultra Packet to remember. It comes with all of the most recent output (Squalora, Narrows, Pope, Red Fang) as well as some older business (Volumen, Lights, Big Business) that isn't quite dusty yet. Start with one for your children, parents, pick up copies for your coworkers, get one for that misanthropic cousin you've got, and one that brother-in-law who's never been terribly friendly too.
Preliminary reports from the Village Voice seem to report that Japanther 's Dinosaur Death Dance was a chaotic, wild-ride.

November 6, 2007
Squalora: "S/T" LP Distributed
Japanther: "DTAOT" LP OUT! Tour Dates Up.
Mountain High: "Wicked Wanderer" LP out in January.
Big Business: "Here Come the Waterworks" LP Distributed
New X-Mist Deutsch-Core Titles: Sold in Distro
Volumen: Heavy New Wave Band Lays Waste to Missoula Youth on Halloween
Wylde Tymes here at the Wantage HQ, systerz, cuzzinz and brutherz. Literally, there are all sorts of activities happening, literally. If you are waiting for a copy of the Narrows 'Alligator' CD, your copy should go out within a week. We're waiting to get our stock refreshed, and it should happen shortly. Your wait will be compensated with some bonus material.

Recently, we've been listening to the incredible new (soon to be released) material from Philadelphian master-blasters, Mountain High, who's percussive, stomping, drum-fill-filled heavy rock and roll is without fucking peer. Jesse's lyrics are nearly impenatrable and classic, the guitar parts are memorable, but subtle, and the whole thing is driven by a whirlwind of sync'd-in double sit-down drummer thunder. Sure, other bands do, and have done, the two drummer thing, but Mountain High just does it better. Their new record's going to be called "Wicked Wanderer", and Wantage, with some Hot Dog City help, will be releasing the vinyl. If I were to compare Mountain High to somebody, it might be the Pink Fairies, or Groundhogs. It's definitely got a blues component, but a sleazy amped up punk-blues. Keep your ears open and eyes peeled.

Finally we've got the Japanther "Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty" vinyl for sale in the catalog, and if you're one of the next.. 50 or so mailorder customers, you'll get a CD copy of it. Don't snooze. Japanther are touring this Winter, so check out the shows page for their dates. They're doing a few with Mountain High, and if you're on the east Coast, get yourself to one of their PS122 dates! ...Yes, while discussing commerce.. We've got a limited number of the Big Business's "Here Come the Waterworks" LPs. The $16 pricetag includes domestic postage, somehow. Big Business have also announced a few November California dates, so check out the Shows page.

What else now: Ah, yes. When we were in Germany with the Pope over the summer, we met with long-time Wantage distributor and label dude, Armin Hoffman, and his lady, Ute at their Nagold, B-W HQ. Armin and Ute do X-Mist Records and Mailorder. Armin turned me on to (a John Peel favorite) Kurt, whose music is like a more hurried-up version of (the American) Hammerhead. Midwestern noise rock, from Germany! It's sublime stuff, and I've picked up a few copies of it, recently in the Distro section of the catalog. Kurt turned into Ten Volt Shock, who easily could be a Amphetamine Reptile band from 1989 as well.

Portland's Squalora have new self-titled record out, and it is nuts. It's part old hardcore, part new sludge, all powerful and great. In the same sonic neighborhood as Kylesa, Nausea, and maybe even the Accused. Defector put out the vinyl, and we've got a few copies of that now up in the distro section.

On a really, truly final note for this installment: We caught a bit of Volumen playing the entirety of the Rocky Horror Picture show, and it was dead on incredible. Costumes were changed. Notes were hit. Nothing was missed. Incredible. Damnit, Janet!
Playlist: Vi Ar Eliten by Totalitar, II by the Budos Band, Fanfare Ciocarlia, the Elephant Garden by Two Year Touqe, everything by Kurt, everything by Harvey Milk, s/t and Gay Beast split 7" by Twin.

October 29, 2007
VOLUMEN: To Rock Rocky Horror Picture Soundtrack in its Entirety.
NARROWS: Gotten by Astute Utahn.
Volumen, Missoula's most ambitious new-wavers, are set to run through the entirety of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Badlander bar in Missoula on October 31, 2007. Get your Meatloaf costumes out of your closets, dust 'em off, and come enjoy hundreds of collective Volumen hours studying the ins/outs and etceteras of one of the original rock operas. Volumen, as they're currently known as a 5-piece drummer/bassist/keyboardist-featuring band, started their tenure breaking hearts in 1999 when they broke lose Ziggy Stardust similarly at Jay's Upstairs. Who knows what new age of Volu-dom is set to drop.

Salt Lake's/Slug Magazine Conor Dow had this to say about the Narrows "Benjamin" LP, which just made Aquarius's Record of the Week:

"The Narrows "Benjamin" (Street: 07.23)
The Narrows = Boris + Big Business on Dimenhydrinate
After reading the press release for this, I really didn’t know what to expect. What I got was five tracks (six with the intro) that I haven’t exactly removed from my rotation for quite some time. Here is some rather bluesy rock with a heavy, slowed-down progression to it, though not exactly heavy enough to be “sludge metal.” In fact, it’s much more mellow and downtrodden than it initially allowed me to notice. I think this definitely could appeal to the stoner-rock crowd, but they also have an appeal that could wrangle in those who may enjoy bands such as Neurosis. This isn’t to hint that they are anywhere near metal, but I imagine there’s enough dirty production and density in these riffs to help even the most casual stoner-rock listener get their foot in the door. This style crossover is great stuff. –Conor Dow"

September 24, 2007
JAPANTHER: INTERVIEWED ON NPR, AND D.T.A.O.T. VINYL SOON!
BIG BUSINESS: TOURING W. MELVINS AND TOM DEWAR SCREEN PRINTS: STOCKED.
SQUALORA: IMMEDIATE DISTORT OF PORTLAND SMASH-AXIS/RELEASE SHOW 10/13/2007: MISSOULA, NW. DATES PRIOR.
THE POPE: CHARTING IN THE CHAPEL.
Ian Japanther was interviewed on New York Public Radio, along with some other folks who organize underground shows, and the thing is a pretty thorough and well organized piece of work about underground culture. It's archived here! Japanther's epic work of puppetry/music is coming soon on vinyl, and once we work shit out with where exactly the colored vinyl is, there'll be some colored vinyl available to the first 80 or so web customers.
The bros in Big Business are hitting the road, again, with their other band, the Melvins. We took and posted their tour dates under the shows button. Additionally, we've got some limited quanitities of a sweeeeeeet Big Business (Tom Dewar printed) silk screened poster in the Clothing/Misc. part of the online mercado.
Squalora's colossal 'S/T' CD is about set to plow into your life. Its a big, hefty record, recorded with Mike Lastra at his Smegmatone Studio. Squalora are 3/4 of Ass-End Offend and their stuff is similarly bombastic, ponderous and excellent. They'll play a CD/LP release show in Missoula on October 13, at the Palace Lounge with Jacktop Town and Sierra Leone.
Lastly the Pope's Sports CD is seeing good airtime around the land, including making it onto WXYC's top 100 last week.

September 22, 2007
Happy Birthday, KBGA!
LONG LIVE KARP!
Stalwart Missoula/web radio station KBGA (89.9 FM/kbga.org) is celebrating it's 11th birthday, today. Congratulations and keep up the good work, K-Beej!

One of Wantage's all-time favorite groups, Karp, are being fondly remembered on this Something I Learned Today website. It's a great font of excellent MP3s, too.

September 18, 2007
Hot Narrows Action: See Catalog, Tom Dewar Posters: Available.
Washingtonian slow-blasters the Narrows have loosened the gates on their titanic "Benjamin" LP, and it's pick-uppable right now, in limited quanities (160 hand number, hand silkscreened copies) and will be with distributors soon. Benjamin is a huge record. It's real weight, were you to calculate all the emotion, riffs and power locked within its grooves would be a minimum of 6 tons. Things get talked about as being "purposeful", perhaps a little too often for it to matter, but this is a purposeful record and you emerge from listening to it like you've come out of the end of a dark tunner.

Among the notice its gotten thus far is: Charting on WFMU, anrticle in What's Up, a review at Foxy Digitalis, play on KZSU, review at the the Long Rally. Comparisons range from a "more metal Low" to Codiene. We co-released it with our bro John Tosch who runs the incredible Bellinghamocentric mailorder PoolOrPond.net

We've just started carrying some of Tom Dewar's original Total Fest posters in the catalog under the "Clothing/Misc" tab.

Other stuff that's been crushing the Wantage world lately: This Heat, Zahir from Estonia, the Pope, Red Herring from Portland, Archaeopteryx from Brooklyn, and the new Replicator record on Radio is Down.



August 16, 2007
Total Fest VI, BLAAAARRRRGGH.
Hot damn, it's over. An abundance of good vibes, decent weather and utterly bitching crop of the best punk/independent/d.i.y. music in the land all converged for Total Fest VI, this past weekend. Hell, don't take our word for it, read about it from some of the folks who paid to come:

Seattle's Stranger
Missoula's Independent
Day's blog

Goal for next year: Keep it bitchin'.

July 13, 2007
Total Fest Passes: Being Sold Now.
The Pope: Epicureans and Europeans.
Total Fest VI is upon us now in less than one month, and TFVI tickets are now officially on sale.
The Pope's European tour is now officially over, and we are on our way back to Montana and Los Angeles, officially. Thanks to Sloma, Wojtek, Marek, Filip, Holger, Mathias, Ewa, Pierre, the Piensk crew, Jedrek and Mucha, Lukasz, Edgars, Edzh and Zabadaks crew, Janis, Una, Janchuk, Emelija, Villu, Tirts, Lauri, Tambet, Guntis, Armin an Ute and everybody who came to shows, said hello, cooked for, hosted and helped us out. More soon on the tour.

June 2, 2007
RED FANG BLOODIES TORONTO!
Report from Newfoundland "Does" Neddal: "Red Fang played here last night and tore it up.  One of the best full on rock shows I've seen in a while. In the words of my friend Dave, "They're like a crusty Bad Wizard..."

Neddal writes for one of our favorite online reads, Foxy Digitalis as well as Road Burn.

May 7, 2007
Pope's "Sports" and Narrows' "Benjamin": ready for pre-orders in the catalog.
Total Fest VI line-up, UP!
That about says it.

April 13, 2007
Big Business: Here Come the Waterworks: Distro'd
Pope "Sports" and Narrows "Benjamin" forthcoming! Preorders this weekend.
Dagg all, friend. It's the busy season again, and we're attempting to keep heads above proverbial water. You need one of these Big Business CDs, and stay tuned Hydrahead's doing the vinyl this time, and we'll be sure to have some on hand when it come out.

The Pope's "Sports" is a wild ride riddled with samples from your little league tryouts. It sounds like a Fokker on a strafing run over Paris. The Narrow's record is less frenetic, but no less powerful. It's called "Benjamin" and is their most focused, visionary work to date. That's right, Work. Bot are on the streets before the end of the month.

Total Fest VI (Thursday Aug. 9 kick off) line-up's being solidified as we speak, so keep an eye peeled. This is going to be a year of epic, epic rock and roll.

March 20, 2007
Hero Dishonest: Distributed
Narrows, Pope: Coming
The  top recording (on Wantage USA's headphones) thus far in 2007 is Hero Dishonest's "when the Shit Hits the Man" CD (on Acme records). Copies came in yesterday, and you can be the first on your block to throw a copy on at your next barbecue or Twister contest. These fellers sound like a wild combination of the Wrangler Brutes, the Jesus Lizard and some Fenno-Ugric war-metal. Their lyrics are intelligent, and the recording booms. To put it briefly, it will make you whole. They come from Helsinki, tour by train, have snuck in to countries that require visas to play shows, and we can't say enough about them.

The new Narrows and Pope CDs are underway, so keep a close eye here for their release into the wild.

February 22, 2007
Maha Mu Waldi: Hamilton Benefit Friday, Feb. 23
Sun City Girls' Charlie Gocher: Rest In Peace.
Somewhat better, though creepily relevant, news first: Insane Montana metal outfit Maha Mu Waldi and about 5 other badass Bitterroot Metallers will be playing a benefit show for their bro Matt Standley, who's been diagnosed with colon cancer. This goes down at 1422 Hwy. 93 South, about 1 mile south of Hamiltion. The event is $5 and held at a Grange Hall, Friday, February 23rd at 7PM. All ages are welcome.

Charlie Gocher fronted one of the most bizarre and incredible groups that's blown the mind of Wantage USA for years: Sun City Girls. Charlie just died of a long battle with cancer, and the world now (in addition to a raft of sadness over this wildman's loss) has a legacy and an insane body of work to consider. Start on their "Torch of the Mystics" CD that Revolver put out, and work through as much as you can. Here's the official note from their website:

"With deep regret, we must announce that Charles Gocher passed away yesterday in Seattle due to a long battle with cancer at the age of 54. He is survived by the two of us who adopted him as a brother 25 years ago and his many friends around the world. He will be missed more than most could ever know. Our thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement during the past three, very difficult years. Many of you were not aware that Charles was ill and that’s because he wanted it that way. Details of a memorial in his honor will be announced soon."

February 12, 2007
Pope: All Releases Distributed, Earl E. Humanz: SALE!
Friend:the mastered version of the new Narrows "Benjamin" LP/CD showed up today and it sounds  like a about a million Euros. Very roomy, and crisp. Their best yet, and that says a lot if you're a Narrows fan. We just freshly posted a new Narrows song up on the myspace page/

In other news, in addition to that new song, we've been loading ol' Rupert's server with tons of nostalgia lately. Plugging in photos to both the
myspace.com/wantageusa page that Kurt does such a bitching job with, as well as the myspace.com/totalfest page, which is more of a group.. endeavor of Missoula TF organizators. If you've got pictures of Wantage bands, yourself in a Wantage t-shirt, or Total Fest mayhem, send them to wantageusa AT yahoo DOT com, please!

Finally, when you purchase an Early Humans self titled CD EP, we're going to kick in a copy of their split 7" with Stars of the Dogon from Baltimore. This offer is going to be ultra limited, so snap it up!

January 28, 2007
Subscribe to Copper Press, Donate to the Robbins' Family.
As anybody knows who's followed the Seamonsters' travails in Massachussets knows, working through a child's illness is a horrible thing you wouldn't wish on anyone. I think that's why Royce and Steve's offer to give a decent chunk of cash to the Robbins' family is a generous and positive response to an incredibly sad circumstance. Read on, and please consider subscribing to their magazine.

"Today is Callum "Cal" Robbins first birthday. Significant for a number of obvious reasons, the date is made poignant by the fact Cal suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, or Type 1 SMA, a lethal disease that usually takes the life of children afflicted with it before their second birthday.
 
Cal, possessor of an adorable face that emanates good cheer, is the son of J. and Janet Robbins. J., as any self-respecting indie rocker knows, played in Government Issue, Jawbox and Burning Airlines, and is now, with his wife, in the band Channels.  JawboxÂąs fans are legion, and Burning Airlines did little to dissuade them of RobbinsÂą songwriting genius.  J. Robbins is a hallowed name here at the Copper Press compound.

Highly respected for his work ethic, sense of morality and work ethic (yes,
it deserves another mention), this self-employed recording engineer and
his wife are struggling to find a way to pay for the alternative therapies that could provide hope for Callum, for whose disease there is no cure, but perhaps a better quality of life.  But these therapies and methods are often
uncovered by traditional insurance, and are quite expensive.
 
Copper Press feels indebted to J. Robbins, and we are humbled at the
opportunity to offer his family financially through the generosity of its
readership.  To this end, weÂąve set up a subscription drive to raise money
for CalÂąs treatment.
 
$5 of every subscription will go toward a fund expressly reserved for the
Robbins family. Our goal is modest:  1000 subscriptions, $5000, and of
course, we¹re all for exceeding those numbers ­ with your help of course.
 
To subscribe to a year of Copper Press (four issues), please send $18 via
PayPal to benefitcal@copperpress.com or pay via CCNow.  Check or m.o. is also accepted.  We will send monthly checks to the Robbins family.
 
Thank you in advance for your support.
 
- Steve and Royce, Copper Press"

January 18, 2007
Total Fest Planning/Submitting: Underway
Pictures, Vide Up on the Total Fest website.
Friends: we're accepting submissions for Total Fest VI, which will be held August 24 and 25 this year, in scenic Missoula, Montana.
Click here to read all about how to get your band on a stage. Good ol' Wes Riddilin Que has linked up some of his 2006 Total Fest footage to youtube.com, so head over to the Total Fest website. I've also been uploading pictures, mostly Chris Fuller's (Bellingham Total Photographer) from 2004 and 2005.
And if you'd like to, befriend Total Fest and you'll get the updates as they develop.

January 4, 2007
KEXP Listeners Say: "the Lights are better than Ghostface Killah and the Strokes."
FEDERATION X: In California Jan 4-6, 2007.
Click-on-zee here to peep KEXP's year end list.
Also, the bitchin' folks at the Missoula Independent put a couple Wantage outfits up on their year end charts as well, click here to look at that!

And, finally, Federation X are in California as we speak. San Franciscans, San Pedroans and Los Angelinos: go and rock with Fed X, now featuring an additional guitarist! Show info in in the Shows section.

December 17, 2006
Kwanz-Out, America.
Whole bunch of good news, peoples. First up, you've only got a few days to avail yourselves of one of these Freedom Packs. They're getting snapped up pretty good.

Next take a look at Damon Ristau's bitching Volumen documentary by clicking right here. Guy had three days to shoot, edit and submit this thing, and he did a white-hot job,  if I were asked. The Lights just shot a video with Lynn Shelton, a Seattle director and peerless Lights fan. It apparently was a solid hoot. Read Lynn's blog here.

Lots of Wantage bands/friends are going on the road soon. Help the bros of Portals, who just added Lana Rebel of Last (of the Juanitas titanic rhythym secition) to their attack, with their early spring 2007 tour. Bozeman's bitchin' Touchers are also planning to tour a bunch this year, and you'd be lucky to get them.

The Pope just finished tracking their new 30+ minute masterwork. I think Julian might be previewing it a bit on their myspace. These songs are their most powerful, triumphant and diverse stuff yet. Get ready for a spring '07 release.

From the Ashes of Ass-End Offend rises Squalora. 3/4 of AEO moved about 500 miles west to the same spot where about 80% of Missoula's brain drain ends up. Their demo recording predicts big things for these dudes. XdISTORTX 4VRX!

Finally, if you're game for looking it over, we try to do the list thing every December, to remember what was good musically about 2006. Notice there are Wantage titles on their, but I guess why run a label Here's what's on my list:
Kites "Peace Trials" (Load)
Lights "Diamonds and Dirt" (Wantage)
The Touchers "Pretty Baby" (self-released) and live
Extra Golden "OK Oyot Sound System" (Thrill Jockey)
Mountain High "No-Fi Soul Rebellion split" 12" and live
Two Year Touqe live
Volumen "Science Faction" (Wantage)
Oblio Joes "Let's Decompose..." (Twisted Kite)
Nasum "Grind Finale" (Relapse)
Melvins "A Senile Animal" (Ipecac)
Oakley Hall "Gypsum Strings" and live
Chin Up Meriwether "Demo" and Peter and the Wolfpack live
Ex-Cocaine "Live on WFMU"

Nov. 24, 2006
BUY NOTHING DAY: UPDATE, RECOMMENDATIONS, ETC.
LIGHTS "DIAMONDS AND DIRT": WFMU HEAVY PLAY
PREMIUM FREEDOM SUPER-PACKS AVAILABLE: NOW
Updates-wise, Seattle power-trio, the Lights are charting on the Heavy Play list at the world’s premium freeform station, WFMU. And speaking of the the Lights, they just returned from two weeks in points southerly, thanks to Julian/Pope, Todd/Recess, Todd/Unit Breed, Tony/Hemlock, Willis/Sorcerbird, Chris/Book Of Maps, Sean/Carnage, Anthony/Sacramento, Paul/SLO and all everybody else who helped.

Say, what’s all this hubbub about the new Wantage Premium Freedom Super Packs that are available now? Well, we’re so damn impressed by  these records by the Lights, Volumen, Fireballs, the Pope, No-Fi Soul Rebellion, Le Force and Last of the Juanitas that to encourage you folks to try out some new music, we’ve wrapped them up in some premium wrapping paper, lowered the unit cost significantly for the remainder of November and December 2006 and are shipping these things out across the globe. Friend: Take advantage, and give the gift of Wantage ™. Visit the catalog for details.

Folks who’ve been coming to Total Fest for a few years should remember the stalwart Missoula band called the Oblio Joes. Perhaps they’re slightly out of place among the heavy rockers, but the Obes (as we call them) play directly from their collective gut and variety is a key component of a balanced diet. Charting on the Wantage earphones right now is the new Oblio Joes CD, which is entitled “Let’s Decompose and Enjoy Reassembling.” The Oblio Joes are a spacey pop outfit and their music is like the Replacements, Elvis Costello and Harry Nilsson writing music in the jumbled back of a record store. Musically it’s sentimental, whimsical and is packed up to the walls with the gummiest pop hooks you’re going to encounter this side of the continental divide. The recording is top notch, loud and representative of every nice little tone they’re responsible for in the live setting. Damnation, it’s easy to let it repeat. I can’t honestly recommend the thing enough.

The sleeper record of 2006 has been the Kites “Peace Trials” record that Load released a few months back. It’s an experimental/noise-type record that’s got a psychedelic thread that runs through it making it one of those records you hear and are reminded that once in a great while people put sounds together in ways that are truly novel, liberating and wildly awesome. I feel like overexplaining this record won’t help the cause as much as just encouraging you to purchase it.

November 18, 2006
Lights KEXP On-Air Performance: Posted!
As the Lights wrap up two weeks through the Golden, Evergreen and ... whatever Oregon is, KEXP just posted their live on-air performance of about a month back. Click HERE to listen!

Meanwhile, on the airwaves, Diane's Kamikaze Fun Machine (WFMU), Naked Rob Gongora and several other quality taste makers have been dropping the Lights jams onto the world with unstunning regularity.

October 2, 2006
Soundacular Sonic Eruption: Oct. 6, Missoula
The Lights: Bicoastal
Liz Berg and Woody over at East Orange's WFMU saw fit to blast some songs by the Lights on the radio shows, meanwhile, the Lights KEXP on-air performance left all but a few Republicans totally floored. KEXP's good about archiving their live on-air performances, so look for that soon! While you're poking around on KEXP's site, listen to that Ghostland Observatory show, they are stellar.

If you live in Montana, the real show of the week has nothing to do with Jagger and Richards, and everything to do with the Lights, who will be at the Elks Club (Pattee and Front Sts.) this Friday, October 6 at 9:00PM. Also playing: Volumen, the Touchers (Bozeman), The Contstants (Boston) and Riddilin Que. Presale tickets are available from Ear Candy Music in Missoula.

September 22, 2006
Lights: Live on KEXP, Wednesday, Sept. 27
Tune in to KEXP on Wednesday, September 27th at 3PM (Pacific Standard Time, 4PM MST, 5PM CST, 6 PM EST) to hear the Lights live on the air!

September 19, 2006
Big Business Tour II's: In
Big Business rolled through town with the Melvins on Saturday (Sept. 16, see actual photo), and layed extreme waste to our western Montanan ears. Big Business's set was focused, tough and the perfect length (short!), if even a little short. Seeing the Melvins with the addition of the Big Business bros was nothing short of powerful in about sixteen ways. The twin triumphant metaller shrubbery of Buzzo and Jared, and their man-smocks were visually arresting, but I think witnessing Dale and Coady pound out the beats in unison has got to be up there with you, know, seeing John Bonham at Montreux '71, or something just about as cool. I dig the shit out of a well executed twin drummer outfit (see Mountain High, the Cherry Valence, Vile Blue Shades) but this raised the bar about a foot and a half. If this tour's coming through your neck of the nape, go ahead and please shell out the dollars.

The upshot where you're concerned is that Jared dropped off copies of the Tour II CD they released a while back, and we're pretty excited to have them in the DISTRO section of the catalog now. We'll try to throw up a song in the next day or so too.

As a special limited-style promotional deal, we're also pitching in a Wantage 7" with your order, here are the details:

In a unique, and somewhat, well, revolutionary deal, Big Business "Tour II's" $6 pricetag will get the first 100 online customers a copy of one of the following: Last of the Juanitas' "the Jay" 7", Federation X's "Nude Disintegrating" 7", Volumen "Erika" or  Volumen/No-Fi Soul Rebellion's "Split" 7", Drunk Horse's "Bambi" 7" or Stars of the Dogon/Early Humans "Split" 7" . Specify which record you'd like in your order, or roll the twelve sided dice of destiny with us.

September 11, 2006
Fireballs of Freedom: Galloping Forward Sweatily
The Lights: "Diamonds, Dirt and America's College Airwaves" a Romance
One of our all-time favorite bands ever, the Fireballs of Freedom are back for the attack, and they've got a new member! Well, as proof of the ever inbred Missoula-light that Portland's become, Grady Gadbow picked up bass and became an official 'Ball. Congrats, Grady and you Fireballs. More news as it develops.

The Lights new CD "Diamonds and Dirt" which gets officially released world-wide on September 28, 2006 has been on KEXP's charts for several weeks now, and John "In the Morning" Richards has listed the album among his tops as well. the Lights will do two weeks on the West Coast in November of this year. Keep eyes on their website and here, friend.

August 14, 2006
Diamonds, Dirt: Free Lights MP3
Young Men: Have Hopes, Dreams.
"Setting Sun" MP3 from "Diamonds and Dirt" CD here
Not to be confused with Rodney Crowell's record of (apparently) the same name the Lights new CD "Diamonds and Dirt" is in the store and pre-orders will be shipped on August 28. This album hasn't left the Wantage USA walking-to-work walkman in months. Seattle's KEXP has been charting the ever-loving heck out of it, and we're all around stoked for some fall tour-dates through the Northwest and down the West Coast.

July 7, 2006
Total Dust: Settling.
The weekend before last, July 7 and 8, at the Western MT Fairgrounds, we held our fifth Total Fest. We had bands from as far east as New York (Dead Eye), as weird as the circus-keyboard-infused skree of Poor School to the soaring stoner-plow of JETOMI, and just about all things in-between. I was absolutely floored by several bands: (Le Force! Narrows! Flaccid Wolf! Lozen! Toys That Kill! Mico! Yakima Nation! Duel! Bloodhag! Lights!!) Philly's Mountain High took my personal cake, decorated it, and gave it back with chocolate sprinkles and sparkler candles. Damnation what thunder those dudes brought. Close runners-up were (Utahns) Vile Blue Shades, who broke my mind thoroughly. Keep an eye on them and their Wasatch-front funk power.

I had a great time for two days straight. I saw a lot of old friends, met a lot of new ones, had some awesome burgers (thanks Dennis, Dave and Brent) and didn't have to talk to the police once. I picked up some sweet scores at the record swap and at the end of each day I slept like a baby, as I'm sure the other 15 organizers did. All tolled, I count the fifth Total Fest a success and I hope that those that drove from far away and close by do too. We grossed more than we ever have in years past. Roughly 20% more, or just under $6500 total. That said, we had about four times more fixed expenses (rent, insurance and sound, mostly) which left us with less to pay bands with at the end. That's a problem, and we'll deal with it in future years, but Total Fest has always put community, quality and a good time well in front of the dollars. Nobody's naive, we know it's always nice to send folks down the road with a little gas money and we wish we had had more to distribute. If you are in a band that played, I hope you experienced good hospitality, made some friends/fans, had fun and will consider coming back. Missoula bands (Volumen, Two Year Touqe, Bacon and Egg, Poor School, Duel, Reptile Dysfunction, Riddilin Que and Nocturnl Emission): Thank you for forgoeing payment so we had more for out-of-town bands. Total Fest is a DIY event, and it's as good as what gets put into it.

Justin Lawrence and his Hellhouse Sound, with the help of Richie Roe, killed it on sound. The Narrows are the patron saints of DIY show-organizing and they get purple hearts for helping with the final breakdown until the wee hours of the morning.Our sponsors (Pabst, Big Dipper, Ear Candy Music, Nature Boy, Betty's Divine, Edge of the World, and all the others) also deserve a big thanks and your patronage. Thanks to all who came and see you next year!