Sharp Toys and Other Objects Easily Choked On

Dudes!

This has been a whirl-wind of a year getting our new album 'Kid Scissors' recorded. It took us 9 months of tracking and 3 months of mixing, as well as a handfull of set-backs and rewinds. Thankfully, it is now in pressing and we can wipe our hands clean of the production aspect. Joe Gac engineered it and KD Creager once again lent her amazing talents for the artwork. We are making 500 shiney 180 gram vinyl discs, and I must emphasize that NOTHING sounds quite like a record. After spending months listening to digital mixes, analog is like a wool blanket instead of a shitty worn cotton one.

We also released a CD single for "The City Wins', a slip-case with 2 b-sides that won't be on the album. You can download the tracks here if you'd like. http://elephantgun.bandcamp.com Or e-mail us and we will send you a real life hard copy!

Track Listing:
The City Wins
Hangin'
Ghost Town



There will also be an extra track on the CD version and digital download of the full length that will not be on the 12" vinyl. We are excited to have all these new songs for you all to listen to. I feel this record has a more "ballroom" vibe than our others. We also had some friends join us on some songs, which was a great experience. The official release date is 11-11-11, and there will be a small tour around Illinois and surrounding cities that weekend.

Here is the cover!

Track Listing:
Lightning Bugs
My Back Yard
Go and Leave
The City Wins
Coolest Dudes (and The Birthday Girl)
Sugar Cane
Where Have You Bendorf? (All My Life?)
Cheap Heat
Waltz III
Sand Naps
When You Were A Bore
Ceiling
(Off)- digital and CD only

Relix will be featuring us in their "On The Verge" section in December as well as putting "The City Wins" on 100,000 compilations sold world-wide. It is very exciting they want to print us cause they've hyped and helped awesome bands such as My Morning Jacket and The Flaming Lips. We are also planning a meaty 2-week tour U.S. in the summer of 2012. I will keep you all posted on this. Until then, check out our facebook page for constant updates as well as http://cassettedeckmedia.net.

Later dudes,

-Jared

making babies

Producing an album is like creating life. Except in this example life is music (because music is life).

Wait...what do you mean...life?


ANYWAYS, we are still in the process of making our third album. A lot of great stuff got done this past weekend with the help of friends and family. And you KNOW it's always nice to have friends and family supporting you and rootin' you on while your making a baby.

Joe Gac moved to Woodstock for 65 hours. Evan got a nap. Jared left for a little while to go play with his buddies at the bar down the road. We had a 'burning man' moment in the wee hours of Sunday morn. and then Ryan pops in outta nowhere. But we just call that a weekend 'round here.


Look. If that didn't make any sense to you let me spell it to you this way. There's 3 steps to making a record:
1. Record it.
2. Mix/Master/Replicate it
3. Release it.

We're oh so close to finishing step 1. Most of you won't hear it until step 3. Some of you might be lucky enough to hear it during step 2. And I'm sure the rest of you won't realize we have a new record until Step 4 - sell off old equipment to make another record/write new songs.

upcoming shows
SUN MARCH 6 THE WHISTLER CHICAGO, IL

We'll be sure to call you if anything important happens.


-Paul

Winter Crimes and Seasonal Depression

Hello and Happy New Year from the darkest depths of the Illinois winter. It has been snowing consistently since December 1st, the roads have been shit ($8,000 black ice damage to the pickup truck), and I haven't seen the sun in about 7 days. On a lighter note, we are in the midst of creating our 3rd album (still untitled) with Joe Gac. So far we have tracked instruments in 4 different locations, making Joe just drag his computer by a string. We were able to use a really old antique piano on this recording which is exciting for us. I'm pretty sure an Elephant died to make it, cause the keys are real ivory. Daniel Villarreal-Carrillo will be guest-appearing to do all of the percussion, he is a unique talent and we are honored to have him contribute. We are planning on this to be a early summer release on Cassette Deck. It will hopefully be pressed into vinyl. We are crossing the fingers and dotting our eyes.

Here are the songs we are recording. titles are subject to change.

Sand Naps
When You Were A Bore
Ceiling
Coolest Dudes (and The Birthday Girl)
Cheap Heat
The City Wins
Go and Leave
Off
How Have You Bendorf?
Hangin'
Cold in The D
Sugarcane
My Backyard
Waltz III
Lightning Bugs

We have a show at the end of this month at Pancho's (right by the California blue-line stop in Logan Square). It's gonna be a banger, we have our buddies Prussia and Swell Suburbia joining us, as well as This Piano Plays Itself from Atlanta, and Community College. We are very excited for this one and will be playing a lot of new songs. Check out the sweet hand-drawn poster Emmy May created!




Wait a minute....what's going on? -Jared

A Summer Lullabye Ending Through Loud Speakers

Thank goodness! The humidity has ceased for a day. The temperature is cool and comfortable. A summer without air-conditioning can really soften a man.

So the band has been on a 2-month show hiatus. Jon and Ryan went to Japan, they are now cultured I'm sure. I watched a lot of Travel Channel while they were gone, trying to catch up. Evan was a businessman and is apparently a chiseled stallion. Paul has gone to at least 5 baseball games. Jim is a now a free man and part French. Zach made our money, wrapped a rubber-band around it and slid it under the mattress. Katie's little men got hair-cuts and formed their own militia. Justin traded in a female saxophone for a male one. As for me, I've been enjoying this lull, as well as preparing our 20 new songs for the studio in September. We plan on having a couple 2011 releases to make up for our lack of new music this year.

This summer has been drenched in world rhythms, tropical sounds, hot days, cool beaches, pretty girls, breezy naps, ripened fruit, homicidal mosquitoes, sun-drenched afternoons, nights on the farm, waking up with a vacation brain, de-humidifiers, sticky hugs, basement bars, grilled meats, half-pints of ice cream, healthy crops, and amazing friends.

We can't wait to get back to the stage on September 10Th in Dekalb. We have been working hard on the new songs and will have a handful for you to hear. The show is at Otto's nightclub and is a part of the 'Middle-west Fest.' There will be an insane amount of bands playing all weekend. Here is the schedule for the night we are playing.

UPSTAIRS (MAIN ROOM)
07:00 – Elephant Gun
07:50 – Clifton Roy & Folkstringer
...08:40 – The Gunshy
09:30 – Ha Ha Tonka
10:20 – William Elliot Whitmore
11:50 – Smoking Popes

OTTO'S UNDERGROUND
06:30 – The Moves
07:20 – TBA
08:10 – Shy Technology
09:00 – Crayolala
09:50 – Mountains For Clouds
10:40 – Santah

THE HOUSE CAFE l 263 E. Lincoln Hwy – All Ages
Super Mystery Artist TBA!!! Look for the announcement next week!

O’LEARY’S IRISH PUB l 260 E. Lincoln Hwy – All Ages
BUY SINGLE-SHOW TICKET
08:00 – Chris Dertz
09:30 – The Main Street Gospel
10:15 – Mondo Drag
11:00 – Astral Guard

SMLTWN SKATE SHOP l 229 E. Lincoln Hwy – All Ages
07:00 – Vertual Vertigo
08:00 – State Champs

TAPA LA LUNA l 226 E. Lincoln Hwy – All Ages – FREE!
To Be Announced

MIDDLEWEST TICKETS
$20 Fri. Single Day Pass l http://www.yourticketstand.com/tickets/299
$20 Sat. Single Day Pass l http://www.yourticketstand.com/tickets/300
$30 Two Day Pass l http://www.yourticketstand.com/tickets/298

Hope to see you there! Ryan will be auctioning off his green shorts right after our set.

-Jared

F.A.Q.s by Imaginary People on our Current Global Position

Elephant Gun 3/13/10

Hey friends, it's been a while since I caught everyone up on the whimsical world of Elephant Gun. Here are some F.A.Q.s, asked by imaginary people, about our current position on the globe.

1. I've seen some new faces, who are they?
Amy had to leave the band for personal reasons. We were very saddened by this and still love her and miss her to death. I was very concerned about finding another violinist who would fit in as well as Amy did until Jim Drake introduced miss Katie Bendorf. Katie is a professional violinist from Harvard, IL. who's been teaching and gigging her whole life. She is the biggest sweetheart ever and fit right in with our crazy circus.. You may also be noticing a very good looking man on saxophone by the name of Justin Past. Justin played all the sax on 'Beartime Stories' and has been a friend of mine since 8th grade. He is also a music teacher for the Chicago school system and a stand-up guy!

2. Tour this summer?
We are working on a 4-5 day thing, hopefully down south towards Nashville, maybe as far as Texas. It's all in the works and very loosely put together right now.

3. New music?
We have been hard at work on 12 new songs in the basement and will be debuting a couple new ones at Morseland in Roger's Park towards the end of the month. We are very excited.The songs should hit the studio early summer.

4. Who is doing all that amazing artwork these days?
The very talented Mary Charlene

5. Press?
We were recently featured in the critics choice section of The Reader and we will be featured on Susan Schaumberg's internet radio program, 'Indiesomnia' soon, this includes a pretty ridiculous interview we did backstage at The Bottom Lounge.

6. Upcoming shows?
As I mentioned before, we will be debuting some new songs at Morseland on March 26th (21+). Sam Swinson from Ohtis is opening this show and will (hopefully) be playing some of his new songs as well. We also have a really amazing supporting slot for Those Darlins and Deertick on April 8th at The Bottom Lounge (17+). I'm so razzed by this cause Those Darlins are one of my favorite bands right now. They put on an amazing rock show and you should seriously consider going.

Thank you to all of you for being so supportive lately. The party just seems to get crazier and more insane with each show. We love you and couldn't do this without you. Personally, I'm ready for some badass springtime thunderstorms Take good care and pet a puppy today.

-Jared

ALBUM IS COMING TOGETHER

Hey there my young vikings, we have been working pretty hard to get the details for Beartime Stories worked out. We have a few things left to do before we get it pressed, but we have the master, the cover art and the tracklisting done.

KD Creager did the cover art for us and because we couldn't decide on a tracklist we outsourced it to Jim Miller (our friend and CDMC overlord) and Kyle Stembaugh from Bust!

Here is the image that is going on the cover:

And here is the tracklisting:
1. Guts-in
2. Read
3. Hot Shots
4. Pere Marquette
5. Wolfeater
6. Hitch
7. 2 Bring U Home
8. Waltz II
9. Wounded Bears
10. Blacktar Country

We are going to release it in June or July, hopefully we will have copies before tour and do some release shows when we get back.

Speaking of tour it has been slow in the making, but we have most of the shows booked, this is what it is looking like so far:

June 19th.......Fort Wayne, Indiana-(Hopefully The Brass Rail)
June 20th.......Upstate, New York
June 21st.......New York City, New York
June 22nd.......New York City, New York
June 23rd......Philidelphia
June 24th.......Asbury Park, New Jersey-(Asbury Lanes)
June 25th.......Columbus, Ohio-(Cafe Bourbon Street)
June 26th.......Bloomington, Indiana
June 27th.......Bloomington, Illinois-(1009 N Clinton Street)

In other news we got a write-up in Chicago INNERVIEW Magazine. We are sandwiched in between Japandroids and Del the Funkee Homosapien (making us by far the dorkiest on the page)
thanks Jyn Radakovits!

Here is the text:

"Send beer, smokes, hot wings, Doritos, coffee cups, and garbage bags," Elephant Gun begs their fans via MySpace to assist them in the recording of their newest album. The Elgin rockers are hungry…and apparently messy. If a junk food diet is to blame for the success of the band's follow up to 2007’s KP, expect stepped-up intensity to their sound flavored by horns, strings, and traditional rock implements. While it's hard to throw a label around their sound (one reviewer ventured a brawl between The Minutemen and The Polyphonic Spree), take a moment to envision such an altercation if you will. Elephant Gun, like the Wu-Tang Clan of rock, has more members (including its Indian Spirit Guide members) than what can easily be accounted for and their live performance is usually off the charts, say those lucky enough to have taken in the spectacle. Their newest yet still unnamed release is slated to drop early this summer. (Appearing at Morseland on May 8)

We have two other shows, besides tour coming up that are sure to be bangers:
May 8th we are playing at the Morseland in Rogers Park, Chicago
May 30th we are playing at a Reggies for the annual drinking contest called the Stag Challenge... it is sure to be ridiculous and it's free! Not to mention they have the best buffolo chicken sandwich I have ever had the pleasure of eating

-RYAN WK

The 2nd album, Summer Tour, and more shows...

We have come up with the title and layout to our next album! We're not telling anybody anything about anything yet. The lucky few who have heard this recording all have said that they prefer this one to our last one (KP). So, that's good news, right?

The goal is to have this album ready for the masses before we hit the road in late June.

We are planning on a tour for late June and could use help.

Here's what we're thinking:
Fri, Jun 19- Detroit, MI
Sat, Jun 20- Buffalo/Syracuse/Rochester,NY (somewheres, please help)
Sun Jun 21- Boston,MA (please help)
Mon Jun 22- New York, NY (please help)
Tue Jun 23- Philadelphia, PA (please help)
Wed Jun 24- Washington D.C. (please help)
Thu Jun 25- Columbus/Dayton/Cincinnati, OH (please help)
Fri Jun 26- Bloomington/ Indianapolis, IN (please help)
Sat Jun 27- Bloomington/Normal, IL

this is all tentative for now. if you can help out in ANY way possible please let us know, it would mean a lot to us.

Thanks







UPCOMING SHOWS:

March 7th- Ronny's....Chicago, IL
March 26th Reggie's...Chicago, IL
April 4th Gasthaus......Elgin, IL
April 11 Speakeasy.....Chicago, IL
May 2nd (TBA)
May 8th Morseland.....Chicago, IL



As always, don't forget to check out our myspace page, facebook page, this blog, our shows, and our drummer's long legs.

-Paul