Fishboy returns after giving us Classic Creeps with a new video from “Aspen2k” off the album and a tour, which includes a number of performances around the Seattle area. “Aspen2k” is one of the more upbeat tracks off Classic Creeps and it features Fishboy main man Eric Michener, a look-a-like hand puppet, and some fun indie pop art.

To celebrate the album’s release, Fishboy is going on tour!

And that tour hits the Seattle area in early-mid September. On the 10th, you can catch Fishboy at Columbia Theater with Aqueduct and BOAT, and on the 11th on Vashon Isalnd with Red Pony Clock, iji, and Terrordactyls. There’s also a secret show, so you’re one of the select few if you know about that one…

There’s more. States Eric Edward Fishboy: Also, this is going to be a unique acoustic Fishboy tour. It will be me on acoustic guitar, our bass player Ryan Williams (who’s also in Baptist Generals, Boxcar Bandits and a million great Denton bands) will be playing Guitarron or as I call it “mariachi bass” and then Mustard Rob aka St. Louis’s Googolpleixa on accordion and percussion.

Here’s the video for “Aspen2k”:

Rock music should be fun, so why is so much of it not? Bad Sports know this and they’re out to teach bad bands a lesson. “Teenage Girls” rubs it in those bands’ faces a bit, and Bad Sports know this. It may, in fact, be a reason they selected this particular moniker. Their style of pop-influenced garage-based punk is most welcome.

“Teenage Girls” is off Bad Sports’ new LP, Kings Of The Weekend. Listen to the song and you’ll hear why My Old Kentucky Blog said the song “succeeds in bringing forth the juiciest bit from The Beach Boys, The Ramones and Cheap Trick.” Kings Of The Weekend is out now on Dirtnap Records.

Download: “Teenage Girls” by Bad Sports

Oh Fishboy, you never fail to amuse. We interviewed Fishboy’s Eric Michener a few months back about his new LP, Classic Creeps, which finally came out this week. Yeah, we’ve been rocking to it since January and can contest to its total awesomeness. Well, in celebration of the release, Michener, aka Fishboy, put together a video for the album’s fifth song, “Alyson Revere”, and it goes a little something like this…

Eric, dancing awkwardly like the dork he (err… we) is (are), while cute animals fake sing along. Awesome, right? He even drops in a fake singing Celene Dion. Even more awesome.

So Classic Creeps follows a similar path to that Michener created with Albatross (his last LP) in that it’s a bit of a concept album. It follows a story from beginning to end, and he’s got the comics to prove it. Always one to find sarcasm and wit in practically every situation, Fishboy knows how to craft a pretty fun album.

Classic Creeps is OUT NOW!!! You can pick it up digitally or on superior vinyl (via HHBTM Records).

Download: “Aaron the Afterthought Astronaut” by Fishboy

Alyson Revere from Eric Edward Fishboy on Vimeo.

The paths of Erich Michener (the man behind Fishboy) and myself (Andrew Fenstermaker) crossed in October of 2007 at a little dive somewhere on the south end of Manhattan. It was the annual College Music Journal festival and HHBTM was having an event. They crossed again sometime later in Seattle, a visit that, oddly enough, included a troll, fish sticks and Gassworks Park. That is, unless I’m joining two trips together, which is entirely possible; there was that show at Comet Tavern which may or may not have been at the same time. I digress.

In 2008, Fishboy released Albatross, which they proclaimed a “Rock Opera.” The album came in at #2 then overtook Lekman a year later in my Retrospective Best Of list. The band is now prepared to drop Classic Creeps, which also comes with an interesting theme. Rather than delve into the inner workings of the album and the band, I figured I’d chat with the man behind Fishboy himself: Eric Michener of Denton, TX. We begin…

…but first, here is the opening track off Classic Creeps:

Download: “Aaron The Afterthought Astronaut” by Fishboy

Fense: What’s the general concept around Classic Creeps?

EM: The general concept of the record is that each song is a self-contained story about a different fictional character and within the lyrics there is a connection linking that character to the character featured in the next track. So person/song number one is connected to person/song number two is connected to person/song three..etc. Over the course of the record a larger narrative forms out of the smaller stories. It’s a pattern that’s been done several times in books and movies but I personally haven’t heard an album that does it (although I’m sure there are plenty out there for me to discover).

Fense: Why aren’t there any songs about an Andy?

EM: Ah yeah, I forgot to mention all the songs are titled after the characters whose names begin with the letter A and they are also in alphabetical order. So I already had an Andre and an Andy is just short for Andrew which seemed too close. Plus there wasn’t time to introduce a new character in between Andre and Archibald. Maybe you can make it on a b-side.

Fense: Sweet! As far as you can tell, will all your future albums follow a story from beginning to end?

EM: I don’t think so, but I like the format for sure. I consider all my songs to take place in the same fictional universe similar to a comic book world that I am just slowly expanding on with every song. It’s definitely easier for me to write story songs when I address certain points that I want to hit before I start coming up with melody and lyrics but there is always room for more abstract lyrics that don’t always tell stories.

Fense: Will you continue the alphabet and write an album with songs that begin with B next?

EM: I do plan to continue this series of character albums but I probably won’t do B next and I might not stick to one letter per album.

Fense: What inspires you to write music?

EM: I really love the challenge of the pop song. It’s like a puzzle to me. Writing any sort of pop music comes with a huge amount of restrictions; there are only X amount of tricks you can use melodically and they have been used several times over, but trying to come up with creative arrangements and lyrics is so fun especially when I add more restrictions to myself.

Fense: How would you describe your sound?

(Note: For more great comics, visit Fishboy on Blogspot. Check out this comic on Fishboy’s site as well.)

Fense: Who are your top 3 influences?

EM: Like the comic says, I love the British Invasion and all the bands involved but more in a songwriting sense than a production sense. I’m always afraid of name dropping these huge amazing bands as my influences only to let someone down when we haven’t captured the perfect sonic feel of the 60′s with our recordings.

My older brother and his songwriting under the name Cavedweller has also made a huge impact on my own song writing. (Here’s one of his albums on bandcamp.)

Fense: What are your top 5 favorite albums (at this moment or all-time, doesn’t matter)?

EM: This is almost like a go to list of all time favorites:
• Beatles’ Abby Road (if I could include the whole catalog I would)
• Beck’s Odelay
• Belle and Sebastian’s Tigermilk
• The Kinks’ Arthur (if I could could include everything that came before Arthur by the Kinks I would)
• Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

This is the stuff that never gets old to me.

Within the past five years I’ve really gotten into new and old albums by: BOAT, The Thermals, Apples in Stereo, Tullycraft, Jonathan Richman and a few more, all of which have shaped how I currently make music.

Fense: Will you ever join the stories in your albums with a comic — a so-called graphic-music novel?

EM: I made a short 11 page comic (one for each song) for Albatross that saw a couple of physical copies initially and it has been reprinted on the sleeve of the new vinyl reissue out on Fishstick Records. The Classic Creeps insert will have the same set up. I haven’t ventured into long form graphic novel format yet but I can see myself doing it eventually once I’m confident enough with my art and have a story to tell that fits the format. Oh also, you can read those two comics at classiccreeps.com and farewellalbatross.com!

Fense: What inspires you to write comics and does that play a factor in the music you create?

EM: My daily comics which I started about a year ago serve a lot of purpose for me. Here are some bullet points as to why I draw them:
• I am slowly learning how to draw by practice (look at the archives and you will see some rough early stuff).
• It gives me a daily mind boost of creativity and tiny sense of accomplishment.
• It helps me stay updated with friends and fans with what’s happening with the band, even if its very little.
• It has taken the place of any sort of Tweets or Facebook updates I might be dropping into the void of the internet otherwise.
• I might someday be able to collect them all in some sort of physical or digital format and either be proud of myself or disgusted with the old ugly comics.
• I am not a songwriter that writes personal introspective songs about my life and the drama I’ve gone through. I’ve never identified with bands like that but appreciate the fact that they can preserve memories within their (usually boring) songs. This is my way of preserving fun memories I probably would have forgotten otherwise. I think its a good match: Songs about fake people, comics about my life.
• Also, my wife thinks they are cute and I like seeing her smile.

In the first few moments of Fergus & Geronimo‘s “Where The Walls Are Made Of Grass”, we’re treated to a jazzy percussion and a cool, laid back upright bass line. This is the basis for the music Fergus & Geronimo create, blending genres in a most unique way. Rounding out the sound are odd vocal harmonies, folk-pop guitar hooks, and traces of an alto saxophone. Combined, they make up one of the most refreshing sounds we’ve heard in quite a while.

Other songs favor doo-wop, garage pop, and lo-fi soulful folk — and most include off-kilter lyrics. All in all, it’s unexpected. But, to pull a line from Paste Magazine, Fergus & Geronimo is definitely the “best of what’s next.” You can see it in their multimedia video for “Where The Walls Are Made Of Grass” and you can hear it in every single song off their debut LP, Unlearn. Seriously, it’s just about the best thing ever.

Download: “Powerful Lovin’” by Fergus & Geronimo

Download: “Baby Don’t You Cry” by Fergus & Geronimo

His voice is soft. His soul seems calm. He is Doug Burr, one the latest artists to develop the prominent theory of using naturalism and a far from tyrannical use of expressions to create vibrant yet subtle songs that make you feel….well, they just make you feel. His third release, O Ye Devastator, proves to be a perfect continuation, as well as a reintroduction to this man who sings with such an ease it will leave you planted right where you are with a sensation to do nothing but listen. And listen close.

“Red Red” contains a wonderful batch of banjo riffs that will make you want to lose those pesky shoes that keep you from feeling the real earth beneath your toes. It’s a love song that expresses all the things that are so much more than a few compassionate moments. “High Blood and Long Evening Dresses” is a piano-based track that steals the show right at the very end. With an Elliot Smith wrist cutting sound, it creates a strange juxtaposition with a message of hope and a yearning for empowerment. All in about two and a half minutes. Not too shabby, and again, one of the greatest highlights of O Ye Devastator.

For those looking to lose themselves for a short while, it’s probably not a good idea to listen to this album. Yes, the stories seem personal, but those told throughout O Ye Devastator are sure to conjure up memories of lost paths and forgotten ideals; they’re relatable. The good, the bad, the unmentionable. Anything you have had hidden deep within the darkest part of your soul, it is sure to come out as Doug Burr does the same through your earbuds of solitary confinement. But, really; is this a bad thing? So hear the wedding bells tone and the weather vanes crash as this nomad of alternative folk spins through its entire being, and you’ll be able to simply love being alive for a little while.

Download: “Red, Red” by Doug Burr

Spune / Velvet Blue Music [CD, 2010]

1. A Black Wave Is Comin’
2. Chief Of Police In Chicago
3. At The Public Dance
4. Red Red
5. You’ve Been A Suspect All Your Life
6. I Got This Fever/O Ye Devastator
7. Topeka
8. Do You Hear Wedding Bells?
9. All Our Lives (Instrumental(
10. And When We Awoke
11. High Blood And Long Evening Dresses

Experimental electronic folk never sounded so dreamy. “Cotton Curls” by Sleep Whale has soft, pleasant melodies supported by a heavy percussive tromp. Fronted by mysterious, psychedelic, cooing vocals, the song splits reality with the dream-life. It’s like an Animal Collective track without all the bells and whistles; just peaceful and colorful. It’s evocative of a midsummer afternoon half-slumber, warm with soft pillows and messed up sheets. You can almost feel the sun streaming in through the blinds, and hear a lawnmower in the distance. And as you flicker between deep sleep and a lazy barely-awake, Sleep Whale’s lyrics ring true: What is this place? … It doesn’t make sense. But in a way, it makes perfect sense – dreams always do when you’re in their midst.

Sleep Whale: Cotton Curls [mp3]