ALASKAS Record Release Show

You are all invited to come out this weekend for the ALASKAS' CD Release show at Healthy Times Fun Club at it's usual top secret location. Universal Studios Florida are fairly fresh off the road from their first tour supporting their new record Ocean Sunbirds. Heavy local duo Last Slice of Butter are playing for the first time in a grip, and are completely local for the time being. I'm happy to announce the appearance of Wet Paint on the bill, featuring members of Cut***Loose (RIP). They tore up my living room a week or so ago and everyone who saw them should be truly excited to see them perform again.

See you this Saturday!

ALASKAS
Universal Studios Florida
Last Slice of Butter
Wet Paint

Sept. 19th
Healthy Times Fub Club
8pm All Ages
No Booze

Set Yourself Free

SET YOURSELF FREE
ALASKAS

DUE OUT SEPT 15th

Tracklist
1)Send Them Off
2) Farewell to Them All
3) Let the State Lines Exist
4) Pronoun
5) Diving In
6) Easily
7) My Dance is an Orbit
8) This Cloud On My Side
9) I Am Yours
10) Unshackled

Listen to Unshackled...

ALASKAS is Dillon James Rego, a one-man power-house of primitive bliss, looped vocals and loose, slippery beat boxing. His debut full length, Set Yourself Free, out September 15th on Highfives and Handshakes, is a culmination of his vast musical past, combining the sonic fury of his live show with the glittering guitar sound scapes of his last EP. Featuring new recordings of some of his most rhythmically and lyrically memorable songs as well as new, reverb-drenched hymns, Set Yourself Free is a masterfully crafted experiment in layering and melody at once ferocious, meditative and wholly unique.

PRE-ORDER SET YOURSELF FREE in the Records section.

Words by Kyle Hargus

Forever and TacocaT Thursday!

Local favorites TacocaT will playing with Portland, OR tour mates Forever at Watertown Cafe this Thursday. This is one of Watertown's first of many shows planned in the future. If you check they're website you can link straight to Watertown's Facebook and be there friend over there as well as in person. Connecticut 4 will also be playing, the show is 21+, but not all Watertown shows in the future will be.

Here is a video of Forever in LA.

Forever - Untitled Live in LA 3/15/09 from Peter Lowe on Vimeo.

Three cheers for new venues!

TacocaT
Forever
Connecticut 4

9pm, 21+
Thursday July 23rd
Watertown Cafe
550 12th Ave Seattle, WA 98122
(between jefferson and cherry)

Explode Into Colors, Gun Outfit KILLER POSTER

EXPLODE INTO COLORS
GUN OUTFIT
BRAIN FRUIT
BROKEN ENGLISH
AS/SS

July 25th, Black Lodge
9pm $6 All Ages

Art By CM RUIZ

Gun Outfit, Explode Into Colors July 25th!

Highfives and Handshakes is proud to offer yet another evening of local auditory excellence. Featuring PPM (Abe Vigoda, Mika Miko) rockers Gun Outfit hailing from Olympia, WA. They're Dinosaur Jr. rock sound touched with bluesy deadpan alt-rock, drooled over recently by Seattle's Only Newspaper. Explode Into Colors, playing in Seattle for their second time only, are prepared to tear the house down with dubbed out ESG derived sound. Driving, creative rhythyms produced by Lisa Schonberg's (Kickball, The Strangers) intense drumming, supplemented by Heather Treadway's percussion and keyboard. Claudia Meza accepts baritone guitar duties growling and shreaking through layers of reverb and delay, laying heavy baritone lines.

Supporting this evening of out of towners are local synth-proggers Brain Fruit, dub-tempo bossanova delights Broken English, featuring members of Flexions, and Portland's wierd-ass noise-kickers AS/SS who may be backed up by the Explode Into Colors rhythym section.

Gun Outfit
Explode Into Colors
Brain Fruit
Broken English (ft. members of Flexions)
AS/SS

Black Lodge (Eastlake & Republican)
July 25th, 9PM
$6 at the door

Easy Answers from These Are Powers

I've oft heard critics or press people claiming artists to be "of the future" in what ever tense you have. Tin can garbage punk bands, garage chambered soundscapes echo devastation and nuclear apocalypse. These Are Power's cultish future is of colorful excess, there is no vast deserted plain or cities sunk into swamps. Conventional rock instruments synthed and triggered to make this futuresque party trio blind you with what they have brought back with them.

The video for Easy Answers from their most recent LP "All Aboard Future" (which is H+H approved) is costumed by the diabolical duo Ruffeo Hearts Lil Snotty who continue to supply Highfives and Handshakes, as well as the world, with mind mowing reclaimed dress for the underground.

Hurry Up!

From the depths of Seattle an arpeggiated monster throbs and swells in its mutant form. The winners of Seattle's Newest Band to Deserve A Lazer Light Show and Fog Machines Award. Spurring the music editor of Seattle's Only Newspaper to stumble grammatically in their overwhelming, wall of 8x10 cab glory. This is the kind of shit that makes a 20 Jazz Funk Great, makes every head in the room bob, bow, and twist. You can feel this shit on the inside.

They play at The Comet Tavern on Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA July 5th with Baltimore's unruly Double Dagger.

Brain Fruit's attraction:



Video By Pelle
Photo By TC TC TC TC Bonerz

Bad Ideas Poster Show

Tomorrow night local notorious poster designer Carlos Ruiz will unveil his xeroxed designer zine at Society Co.'s new space in Ballard. The content of the zine will be shown in their true to life color versions, as well as available in their lo-fi take home form. Hand destroyed Bad Ideas t-shirts and a compilation from local musicians featured in most of the posters being shown.

The show begins at 8PM and includes a live performance Charles Leo Gebhardt IV and is free, but bring a few dollars to pick up the original art and compilation. Society Co. showroom is located at 2221 NW 56th Suite 203, Seattle WA 98107.

Make the right Thursday night choice and head out to Ballard. Support yr local artists, we're all hungry.

Poster Designs by:
Art Chantry, Frida Clements, Shana Cleveland,
Travis Coster, Katheryn Cox, Andrew Crawshaw,
Nat Damm, Jason Thomas Faulkner, Rick G,
Demian Johnston, Mike Klay, Jeff Kleinsmith,
Shane J. Long, Dan Paulus, Joel Romero,
C.M. Ruiz, Brian Standeford, Junichi Tsuneoka,
Devon Varmega, Keith Whiteman, Isabel Yasui...

Bad Ideas Compilation tracks by:
B-Lines
Charles Leo Gebhardt IV
Coconut Coolouts
Dead Ghosts
Dunk
Elder Mason
Idle Times
Mode Moderne
Partman Parthorse
Red Sea Sharks
Shim
Sorry
Tacocat
Unnatural Helpers
Yes, Oh Yes

Could Be Worse

I usually am pretty clumsy and have awful timing when it comes to personal injuries. Big surprise that I would go and break a couple fingers right as spring had sprung, just as my birthday had landed, right when my new drum set showed up and band practices were supposed to start, right when I'm short on cash and back from tour and I've got lots of typing to do.


Here I am, gimpy and all. I'm going to do my best to keep up with emails, orders shouldn't be a problem. This you're fair warning and yes, that's my preferred right arm in the sling. If you wanna help me out pick up a record or two from our store! I miss riding my bike already (splint count day 3).

CAIRO - ALL AGES! Saturday!

I'm bummed this awesome poster is already dated, since Fuck You, Safari won't be able to make it up from Portland. Nevertheless, Brainfruit will be filling their place; consisting of Jon Carr from Bow+Arrow rocking the arpeggiated synths and bass while percussionist Garret Moore sits behind the kit. They're funky space age jams will move you and most likely rattle a few thing off shelves.

Seattle act Dimples has been Rip Band Winklin' all winter but returns with their pop adorabilty shining, and hopefully some new songs to learn the words to. If you havn't see them you've got some catching up to do.

CB and Robert Wolfe are sweating and bloodied with paper cuts from past week of relentlous manufacturing to bring Braidstorm's first Cassette (and first release ever) with songs recorded by Jim Schiel at the Schiel Dome. Casey Catherwood had a few things to saw about Dimples, Braidstorm and the release show in this week's Underage column in our local weekly rag, The Stranger.

Cairo has been putting on awesome weekends worth of shows once a month, they are always all ages. Check them out!

Forever is now

Its been a wild week in Austin for 2009's South By Southwest, the TacocaT's pulled 4 shows under their belt over the sunny weekend. Half of the Taco Van-full have made it to New Orleans with The Pharmacy, and they'll be meeting up in New York finish dates with the Used Kids. Our van was toasted by the Arizona desert, and without help from our friends we might still be at my Aunt's house.

Forever has turned around and headed for Portland, they're playing in Oakland with Shannon and the Clams on the 25th of March and the at the Stud on the 26th in San Francisco, CA. They will be touring the US again for two months in June and July. Here's a new video of Forever performing a new song in LA.


Forever - Untitled Live in LA 3/15/09 from Peter Lowe on Vimeo.

TacocaT confirmed tour dates:
3/28 - JR's - Philladelphia, PA w/ Nato (of Used Kids)
3/29 - Nick Nolte's House of Ribs - New Brunswick, NJ
3/30 - The Boneyard - New York, NY w/ Used Kids, Cheeky, Bad Blood
3/31 - Alligator Greenpoint - New York, NY w/ Used Kids, Rare Forms, Road Sodas

Forever dates:
3/25 - Devin's House - Oakland, CA w/ Shannon and the Clams
3/26 - The Stud - San Francisco, CA

Check the band's websites for most current tour dates

TacocaT Pictures by Joe Joe Joe

TRUNK BRUNCH

We are happy to announce to landing (and return) of two of our favorite clothing designers to Seattle. On Sunday Highfives and Handshakes presents TRUNK BRUNCH:

RUFFEO HEARTS LIL SNOTTY will open their trunk at far too friendly prices. All their clothes are made from recycled materials, or deadstock, and the colors of the rainbow. Their imaginations produce sweaters, RUFFEO's LOVED AND PATENTED SARS GUARD, beaming underwear recently featured in BUST magazine and sick body suits all designed and sewn for use in the future.There shall be brunch for most appreciated donation, cheap ass hot clothes from RUFFEO HEARTS LIL SNOTTY, and music+booze from the Highfives and Handshakes closet.

2-6PM at NEW PANGEA in the Central District
Seattle, WA
Sunday, March 8th.

All donations+purchases directly benefit Highfives and Handshakes and Ruffeo Hearts lil Snotty. No middlemen, distributors, or retail hell involved.

For directions or questions contact: peter (at) highfivesandhandshakes (dot) com.

Boss Level Preview

For those of you out there that are unsure what to do on Saturday night, or if you don't exactly know whats happening at the Clubhouse this weekend here's a little preview of what you can expect.

Art By Rondo! Sadly I couldn't get any pics of her giant monsters, there is a taste of some of her past work at the Boss Level Blog. Here is a new current favorite of mine.

Art by Dane (Good Vibes!) Dane's work has been growing larger, in physical size, and more detailed over the past few months. His drawings come from a darker place, where creepy humanoids roam.



Art By Derek Charm! Derek's charm influence from classic styled comics is undeniable, but his fantasy scapes and portrayed action are signature to his paintings. He has an art show coming up at Verite/Cupcake Royale on 34th in Madrona (Seattle, WA).





ALASKAS, Universal Studios Florida, and Braidstorm will be providing music for the evening along with a DJ set by me.

We'll have art, records, zines, stickers, buttons, and clothes for sale!

Doors open at 7PM, don't be late! Be early if you want, in fact.

SPRING2008!

Lots of totally amazing things for the summertime are coming!

I have 5 copies of the Pharmacy's new album, Choose Yr Own Adventure, on cassette left. The rest are available from the band on tour now!

June 20th, 2008 Little Party and the Bad Business will have their records release at the Vera Project, new album Jock Therapy will be out on Highfives and Handshakes!

New T-shirts will be available

Casy+Brian NO FICTION #! Cassingle will be out in July

All sorts of more cool stuff posted soon!