Beginning in March of 2010, Monahans started releasing a new song each month for the remainder of the year. Each recording will be made available in mp3 format, and announced to fans and members of our email list and other media networks (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc). In addition to the songs themselves, you may also expect to see video footage, photos from the studio, album art and liner notes along the way, as a means to provide a little more insight into the process as it unfolds over the course of the year.

These recordings will be FREE downloads for the time being, but may be released as a collection for purchase in various formats at a later date.  Visit:  http://www.monahans.net/sub_record_downloads.html

Good summer to ya’ from the banks of the Colorado. Happy to report on some things here in the camp that should make for a solid second half of the summer.

NEW EP:
There’s a new release coming up for September. “Eyas” is comprised of seven additional songs (six previously unreleased) we recorded during the Dual Hawks sessions, including our take on Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long”. Matt Pence has floored us again with his documenting, mixing and mastering, and the release will feature our old friend Mark Ray’s artwork. Songs included on this one are:

Christmas ’83
No, They Ain’t Mine
Cracking Of The Seal
Liquidation Heart
Water 4 Legs And Lungs
Inhabitants
All Night Long

WILL J./ELLIOTT McPHERSON ART SHOW IN BIRMINGHAM, AL:
Elliott McPherson and I will have an art opening on Sat. August 7th at The Bottletree in Birmingham, Alabama. Elliott plays guitar and sings for one of my long running favorite bands, The Dexateens. He is also an upstanding gentleman and master cabinet craftsman. During his free time he builds beautiful light boxes and shadow boxes. I’m bringing a few new baseball paintings I made earlier this year. One is of Dock Ellis tripping real hard on acid en route to throwing his no-hitter in 1970. The reception is from 5-8pm, and the show will be up through August 31st. Music later that night includes The Glory Fires and Henry Dunkle. Elliott’s art can be seen HERE.

Also, Barry Wittenstein’s piece on current doin’s in the baseball art world was released July 14 on mlb.com. He kindly included a couple of my paintings in the gallery. The article is HERE.

NEW WILL J. TEXAS SOLO SHOWS:
Wednesday August 11th – Dallas, TX/Renfield’s Corner. This show begins at 10pm sharp w/ no opener. This is a unique and new territory for one of our shows, and to make things better it is also a FREE show. No admission will be charged this night.

Thursday August 12th – Austin, TX/The Ghost Room w/ Austin Collins (solo).

NEW CENTRO-MATIC SHOW:
Centro-matic will be reuniting with our old friends The Toadies at the annual Dia De Los Toadies Festival on Sat. August 28th. We are elated about these circumstances for rock and roll communion. This year it’s in New Braunfels, TX at Whitewater On The Horseshoe and also includes Black Joe Lewis And The Honeybears, Heartless Bastards, Sleepercar and a bunch of other great bands. Come out early for sufficient swimming, maximum farmer tan opportunities. More info right HERE.

LIVING ROOM EXPERIMENT GOES WEST:
Anders Parker and I will be heading out on another acoustic living room tour in September. The eastward springtime jaunt brought us so much unbridled joy that we had to see what the west might have in store. Dates will be announced soon.

THANK YOU, ANIMIC:
Thanks to my Catalan friends, Animic for the musical treasure shared last month. We all convened in the village of Collbato, rehearsed up a bunch of music for four shows, and it yielded some big and enjoyable sounds. There is a full documentary in the works on this project. I’m thankful for the friendships forged and the songs shared. Check out their music and sonic offerings HERE.

Thanks for the time and hopefully we’ll see you out there soon. Harvey Pekar, may you rest in peace.

-Will J

We are happy to announce that Cotton Jones has joined our management Roster. Their new album will be released by Suicide Squeeze Records on August 24. Tour dates and music can be found here. Stay tuned for more news.

“The Only Sound That Matters”, a song which first appeared on Austin-based band Milton Mapes’ 2003 album  “Westernaire”, has been recorded by Robert Plant for inclusion on his new record ”Band Of Joy,” (due out September 14th, 2010 in the US).  The song was actually written in 2000 by Monahans and Milton Mapes front-man Greg Vanderpool while he was living in Nashville, just prior to re-locating to Austin in 2001.  Milton Mapes’ version of “The Only Sound That Matters” was recorded in Austin at Ramble Creek Studio, by current Monahans members Britton Beisenherz, Roberto Sanchez and Vanderpool back in 2002.  Since then, the track has received critical praise in context of the “Westernaire” album, and was featured on a 2003 Starbucks/HearMusic compilation (alongside Gillian Welch, whose Woodland Studio–oddly enough–is where Plant’s album was made).

Monday, July 19 @ Rockwood Music Hall – Stage 2 – 9:30pm
196 Allen Street (between Houston and Stanton) – NYC

with Bill Dobrow, Mauro Refosco and Guilherme Monteiro.

The Bottle Rockets will be kicking off Lou Fest in Saint Louis on August 28. The 2-day line up includes Lucero, Built to Spill, Broken Social Scene, Alejandro Escovedo, Jeff Tweedy, She & Him and others. Check out the full line-up and schedule at the Lou Fest website.

Single day and 2-day tickets are available here.

David Bazan: guitar, vocals. Blake Wescott: guitar, backing vocals, Andy Fitts: bass, backing vocals. Alex Westcoat: drums.

Sept 6 : Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot Fest
Sept 10 : Boise ID – Neurolux
Sept 11 : Salt Lake City UT – Urban Lounge
Sept 12 : Denver CO – Larimer Lounge
Sept 14 : Omaha NE – The Waiting Room
Sept 15 : Columbia, MO – Mojo’s
Sept 16 : Chicago IL – Lincoln Hall
Sept 17 : Detroit MI – Magic Stick
Sept 18 : Toronto ON – Lee’s Palace
Sept 19 : Montreal QC – Il Motore
Sept 21 : Burlington VT – Club Metronome
Sept 22 : Cambridge MA – TT The Bear’s Place
Sept 24 : Brooklyn NY – Brooklyn Bowl
Sept 25 : Washington DC – Black Cat
Sept 26 : Charlottesville VA – The Southern
Sept 27 : Carrboro NC – Cat’s Cradle
Sept 28 : Atlanta GA – The Earl
Oct 01 : Jacksonville FL – Jack Rabbits
Oct 02 : Orlando FL – The Social
Oct 03 : Tallahassee FL – The Engine Room
Oct 05 : Birmingham AL – The Bottletree
Oct 06 : New Orleans LA – One Eyed Jacks
Oct 09 : Austin TX – Austin City Limits Festival
Oct 11 : Lubbock TX – The Foundation
Oct 12 : Albuquerque NM – Launchpad
Oct 13 : Tucson AZ – Club Congress
Oct 15 : Los Angeles CA – Spaceland
Oct 16 : San Diego CA – Casbah
Oct 17 : San Luis Obispo CA – Downtown Brewing Co.
Oct 18 : San Francisco CA – The Independent

The Mynabirds will be opening 9/16 – 10/6.

We are pleased to announce the addition of Laarks to our management roster. Laarks features current and former members of Amateur Love, DeYarmond Edison, Land of Talk, Peter Wolf Crier, The Softrocks, and Sic Transit Gloria. Their debut album, An Exaltation of Laarks, was released on Absolutely Kosher Records on November 3, 2009. Please contact Caleb Palma for more info.

“After a casual listen, it might be easy to lump Rocky Votolato in with the downtrodden likes of Conor Oberst and Elliott Smith. But his songwriting is a bit more triumphant than theirs: Votolato would rather pull himself out of a gutter than wallow in it, focusing instead on the victory before the misery.

In ‘Red River,’ the muddy bass and lean drums aren’t flashy, but they make a sturdy soapbox for Votolato and his guitar. Smoky vocals place a sedate mask on his words, making them easy to swallow. The story builds up to the implied suicide of a brother who’s tortured by his war-torn past, while the chorus pumps its fists, chanting, ‘I’ve been searching for the waves that carried us home / To the ocean we all came from, where we’ll all be returned.’ It’s an acceptance of death as an eventuality, self-inflicted or otherwise.

Though Votolato doesn’t come off as particularly religious, he’s clearly reaching for something greater than himself here. It might be spiritual or it might be physical, but whatever it is, he seems at peace in the knowledge that it’s where we’re all headed.”

-Anthony Fantano, NPR Music

David Bazan and his band will be playing at the ACL Music Festival on Saturday, October 9th. The full line-up has been announced and single day tickets are on sale now.