NPR Streaming New Records from Nada Surf and Craig Finn Solo

NPR and its streaming of new records in their entirety is such a blessing. And a money saver! And a great way to start off a new week!

Yesterday, NPR began streaming The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, the seventh record from Nada Surf, and Clear Heart Full Eyes, the first solo record from The Hold Steady lead singer Craig Finn. Surf lead singer Matthew Caws and the boys display their signature catchy-as-hell guitar hooks ("Jules and Jim" for instance) and power pop beauty ("Looking Through," the chorus of "No Snow on the Mountain"). Finn takes on a bit more of a country-fried feel in spots on this vacation from THS and the testosterone-laden hooks of THS guitarist Tad Kubler, but his story telling of the down-and-outers and Jesus are still in abundance. This one may take a couple of spins, but it's got potential.

Both records drop for purchase on 1/24.

The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy-Nada Surf-NPR Stream


Clear Heart, Full Eyes-Craig Finn-NPR Stream

Craig Finn's Solo Record, Clear Heart Full Eyes Out in January, Tour Dates Announced

The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn made a solo record this year while The Hold Steady in on their break. Titled Clear Heart Full Eyes, the 11 tracks come across a tad twangier than the full on testosterone-laden rock normally heard in The Hold Steady.

Craig Finn - Honolulu Blues by Vagrant Records

Finn is touring behind the record as well. Tickets go on sale this Friday (12/16).

Craig Finn 2012 Tour Dates
2/01 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada*
2/02 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory*
2/03 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown*
2/04 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club*
2/06 - Iowa City, IA @ The Mill*
2/07 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle*
2/08 - Detroit, MI @ The Lager House*
2/09 - Columbus, OH @ The Basement*
2/10 - St Louis, MO @ Off Broadway*
2/11 - Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar*
2/13 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge*
2/19 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah*
2/20 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour*
2/21 - San Francisco, CA @ Noise Pop at Bottom of the Hill
2/23 - Portland, OR @ The Doug Fir Lounge*
2/24 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile*
2/27 - Ringwood, NJ Live @ Drew's House
2/28 - Allston, MA @ Great Scott#
2/29 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge (Late Show)#
3/01 - Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's#
3/02 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel#
3/03 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506#
3/05 - Atlanta, GA @Earl#
* - w/ Mount Moriah
# - w/ Marcellus Hall

Finn talks some about his inspiration for the songs and the making of the record. Accompanying Finn in the studio were members of White Denim, The Heartless Bastards, Phosphorescent, and Centro-matic. About the title, he says, "I’m calling this record Clear Heart Full Eyes. It’s a juxtaposed reference to Friday Night Lights, a TV show that excited and moved me and also happened in Texas. Further, “Clear Heart” signifies honesty and transparency, and “Full Eyes” suggests experience. Thus, it’s about being optimistic and open without succumbing to the weariness or doubt that comes with age and experience. To me, that is what it’s all about.”

Craig Finn "Clear Heart Full Eyes" from Helms Workshop on Vimeo.

Hold Steady's Craig Finn Pens/Sings an Ode to Minnesota Twins Baseball with The Baseball Project

The Hold Steady are hitting DC on Monday (930 Club). Maybe if we're lucky, we'll get a version of "Don't Call Them Twinkies."

Lead singer Craig Finn is a big fan of baseball as well as bringing the rawk, specifically, the Minnesota Twins. The Twins have already clinched their division and in celebration, The Baseball Project, a side project of Steve Wynn [Dream Syndicate], Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey [REM], and Linda Pitmon [Zuzu's Petals] whose them is baseball, enlisted Finn's vocals and lyrics for a ditty that was just released called "Don't Call Them Twinkies."

The band theme is baseball, and naturally, Linda suggested they needed a Twins tune. So she enlisted baseball enthusiast and Twins fans Craig Finn of The Hold Steady to write the lyrics, which he did while on tour about a year ago. Steve Wynn wrote the music. (Source)

The Hold Steady Announce September/October Tour Dates, Includes DC!

Hey Craig Finn, we're just as excited as you 'cause The Hold Steady released tour dates today for September and October leg of the Heaven is Whenever tour, and finally, one of them is DC, woot! Fellow Vagrant label-mate Wintersleep will be opening on every date sans 10/20 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Tickets will be available for pre-sale tomorrow (7/14) here. General public sale is 7/16 (Friday).

September
20th - Richmond, VA - The National
21st - Nashville, TN - Exit / In
22nd - Oxford, MS - The Lyric Oxford
23rd - Little Rock, AR - Revolution Music Room
24th - New Orleans, LA - Republic New Orleans
25th - Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay Soundstage
27th - Charleston, SC - Music Farm
28th - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
29th - Lexington-Fayette, KY - Buster's Billiards & Backroom
30th - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue

October
1st - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
2nd - Newport, KY - The Historic Southgate House
4th - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
5th - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero Theatre
6th - Boston, MA - Royale Boston
7th - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
* 20th - Hailfax, NS - Pop Explosion Fest (The Paragon Theatre)

Seen Your Video: The Hold Steady Take Over the Colbert Report

The Hold Steady was on The Colbert Report last night. Colbert had a few words with lead singer/guitarist Craig Finn and lead guitarist Tad Kubler to start. Best line:
Colbert: "Do you rip off Mother Theresa a lot? Tad, does she get a cut?"

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Hold Steady
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Then the band came out for a performance of "Hurricane J" from the latest record Heaven is Whenever. I kind of dig Finn doing the second chorus alone without all of the "whoaa-oh-oh-oh," which differs from the recorded version...changes it up a bit you know?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Hold Steady - Hurricane J
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Speaking of The Hold Steady, A Great Piece by Craig Finn

A buddy randomly found this piece written about The Hold Steady's new record, Heaven is Whenever yesterday on The Hold Steady's concert page for the famed Minneapolis venue, First Avenue. Beautifully written by HS lead singer Craig Finn, it's a rumination about the band's evolution to now, in terms of recording and what keeps them moving forward, as well as a touching and humble thank you to the fans that have made it possible for them to get to this point, their fifth record. Let's hope when Finn stops making records, he starts writing short stories or something because it's obvious he can do more with prose than just song lyrics.

This wasn't included in the liner notes of the vinyl version of HIW but let's hope it's included in the liner notes of the CD when it's released 5/4...it would be a total shame if it's not.

During our time as The Hold Steady, I've made a lot in interviews and onstage monologues about what little ambition we had when we started this band. We weren't sure if we would play shows or release records. We had seriously managed expectations. But in the end, we did end up playing shows and releasing records, and we are better people for it. We've seen a lot of the world, met a ton of great people, and played a whole bunch of rock and roll music. Our efforts have been rewarded beyond our wildest dreams. It's not exactly a mind-blowing statement when I say that this is the best job I've ever had. That said, there are sacrifices and discomfort that come with this territory: busted relationships, distance from family, physical exhaustion, disconnection from civilian life, ringing ears, interminable waiting around, trying to get through a ninety minute show when you have food poisoning, etc.

Our new record, Heaven is Whenever, is about struggle and reward. It's about accepting suffering as a necessary part of a joyous life. It's about how love can help us rise above these struggles. It's about faith. It's about how bad it hurts to settle for less. It's about not being scared to try. It's about four guys who still believe in the power and glory of rock and roll. Because even after a thousand soundchecks, a thousand load-in and load-outs, fifty missed birthdays, and a few hundred electrical shocks, our reward still vastly outweighs the struggle. In fact, the reward would not exist without the struggle. Thus, this struggle is inherently part of the reward. And in this way, the fantasy of playing rock and roll for a living is a lot like real life.

It's hard to pinpoint when we started making this record, but I think the genesis was when Tad was doing a score for a film in early 2009. He started laying down some song ideas in the studio and sharing them with us. I started writing lyrics and at one point we even set up a makeshift studio in the back of our tour bus to record demo vocals. We spent our down time in the Summer of 2009 making demos in our rehearsal space. Songs started to pile up, and it was time to hit a proper studio and start making an album.

We tapped Dean Baltulonis to produce the record. Dean had produced our record Separation Sunday and is an old friend. We headed upstate to Dreamland Studios in West Hurley, NY. Isolated and surrounded by amazing Autumn beauty, we spent two weeks living on site, playing music, drinking beer, and standing around the grill. We hit a few things that we had already demoed, but also jammed on a lot of new stuff. One memorable night is captured on the last song on the album "A Slight Discomfort". Tad did a few guitar tracks out on the front lawn that night, and you can hear the chorus of crickets chirping from the surrounding trees as the record draws to a close. We also talked our friend John Reis into coming out from San Diego and jamming with us for a few days. He played a bit of guitar on the record and helped write the song "Rock Problems".

After we left Dreamland we hit the road for a little bit, which gave us the opportunity to try out new songs in front of an audience. When we returned to Brooklyn, we hit our rehearsal space with a vengeance. We reworked some of the new stuff and wrote even more. We soon repaired to Wild Arctic Studios in Queens. We've done a lot of work at Wild Arctic in the past and it's a very comfortable place for us. We did a number of shorter sessions at Wild Arctic throughout the Fall and Winter of 2009. The record was starting to come together.

We broke for Xmas and wrapped up recording in January 2010. We began mixing and faced the usual heartbreaking decisions about which songs would and would not make the record. We mixed and remixed. We sequenced and resequenced. Finally, we turned it in, about six months after we started. It felt good to be done, but it also felt good to know that our time and perseverance had paid great dividends. I think we made something that is both different than our previous releases, yet unmistakably a creation of The Hold Steady.

Heaven is Whenever is our fifth full length release. This is both cool and a cause to stop and think, as there are some inherent truths in any fifth record. For one, the band has to stay together long enough to last through the first four. Secondly, an audience has to be interested enough to encourage the band to make album number five. And third, the band still has to have something to say that it feels that it hasn't said before.

I just went through my record collection to see how many bands I love never made it to a fifth record. I realized that most of the bands that mean the most to me had indeed made it through five and sometimes beyond: Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Thin Lizzy, REM, Creedence, etc. In some ways, album five implies a commitment and dedication and a realization that the band's success is not a fluke, and that it's not going anywhere. Albums like Physical Graffiti, Combat Rock, Fighting, Document, and Cosmo's Factory are all fifth records that show their creators confident and brimming with new ideas. In many cases, peaking. While I am not going to compare our record to any of these masterpieces by my rock and roll deities, I am proud to unveil Heaven is Whenever and add it to our body of work. Five records in seven years. Not bad.

The title of this record comes from a lyric in the song "We Can Get Together", which states "Heaven is whenever/We can get together." In the end, that might say it best. The most amazing part of this life is the opportunity to share music with a supportive audience. It is not lost on us that people make sacrifices of their own to see us perform. They spend money on tickets and travel, they get baby sitters, they take time off work. It's an honor for us to be a recipient of this kind of dedication. So when we say Heaven is Whenever, we mean that the greatest of rewards is our privilege of being able to tour and share our music and our lives with yours.

Thank you for being a part of this.

Craig Finn

New Hold Steady Record, Heaven is Whenever Announced, Out 5/4

The Hold Steady @ Virgin Fest 2009, originally uploaded by BetweenLoveandLike.

Woot!! New Hold Steady record to be titled Heaven Is Whenever, is out 5/4 on Vagrant Records.

The Hold Steady recently put the finishing touches on Heaven Is Whenever, their new album set for release May 4th on Vagrant Records and May 3rd on Rough Trade in the UK and EU. The album was produced by Dean Baltulonis, who engineered the band’s Almost Killed Me and produced Separation Sunday,, and was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in Upstate NY and Wild Arctic Studios in Queens, NY.

Singer Craig Finn says Heaven Is Whenever, is about “embracing suffering and finding reward in our everyday lives.” Piano and keys take a backseat to guitar on the new record, which also gets production help from guitarist Tad Kubler.

Recorded in several smaller sessions spread out over a long period of time, the songs on Heaven Is Whenever, received the benefit of being tested on the band’s recent tours. As Finn says this allowed them to “see what was working and what wasn’t. I believe this record benefits from us working at a more deliberate pace.”

Tracklist:
1 The Sweet Part of the City
2 Soft in the Center
3 The Weekenders
4 The Smidge
5 Rock Problems
6 We Can Get Together
7 Hurricane J
8 Barely Breathing
9 Our Whole Lives
10 A Slight Discomfort

Give a Listen: Our Whole Lives-The Hold Steady (live, 930 Club, Washington, DC, 8-29-09)
Buy here (Available 5/4)

The Hold Steady Spring 2010 Tour Dates
April 2nd: LIFE the place to be, Ardsley, NY
April 3rd: Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT
April 5th: Higher Ground, South Burlington, VT
April 6th: Pearl Street, Northampton, MA
April 7th: Linda Norris Auditorium, Albany, NY
April 8th: Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY
April 9th: Eleanor Rigby’s, Jermyn, PA
April 10th: The Westcott Theater, Syracuse, NY
April 12th: The Club at Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, NY
April 13th: Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
April 14th: Diesel Club Lounge, Pittsburgh, PA
April 15th: 123 Pleasant St., Morgantown, WV
April 16th: Appalachian Brewing Company, Harrisburg, PA
May 5th: El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
May 6th: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
May 29th: Sasquatch Festival, George, WA
June 12th: Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Festival, UK
June 14th: Fleche D’Or, Paris, FR
June 21st: Melkeg, Amsterdam, NL
June 22nd: HMV Forum, London. UK
Jun 26th: Academy 2, Manchester, UK

Looking for the Lifter Puller vs The End Of Book?

I just received information on the release of Lifter Puller vs The End Of oral history book we mentioned earlier today. Seems that...

--It has been available for purchase since last Friday, and only at Treehouse Records in Minneapolis for a mere $25. They do mail-order (link here).

--It will not be sold via Amazon or a larger book site of Amazon's ilk, but will be available shortly online via Blue Collar Distribution.

--Only 1,000 copies were made.

--With its purchase, you get a card with a code to digitally download the entire Lifter Puller re-releases and Slips Backward. However, the live tracks on each record from 7th Street Entry, the Black Cat, and Triple Rock are not included with that.

--Included are "tons of rare photos, artwork/flyers/posters, complete lyrics, and an oral history of the band as told by people who were there (engineer Dave Gardner, Twin Cities rock ambassador Lori Barbero, Dillinger Four's Paddy Costello, Trenchmouth's Damon Locks, Syd Butler of Les Savy Fav and Frenchkiss Records, Chris Newmyer of Self-Starter Foundation, Dan Cote of Heart of a Champion and Treehouse Records, and more"(Treehouse Records blog).

Lifter Puller Catalog to Be Re-Released, Includes Live Tracks and New Compliation, Slips Backwards

Prior to coming to Brooklyn and starting up The Hold Steady, frontman Craig Finn and lead guitarist Tad Kubler were in a band together called Lifter Puller. What's interesting about LP is that you can definitely hear, in both sound and lyric, the beginnings of what become THS lurking in that noisy punk sound. (And have Craig Finn and Tad Kubler aged at all in the last 20 years? They look exactly the same. Kudos to good genetics I guess.)

LP broke up in 2000 and as of 2006, all their records were out of print, but that all changes next month...It was announced yesterday that their catalog will be available digitally for the first time on 12/1, along with a new collection of odds and ends titled Slips Backwards. Sans their self-titled debut, the rest of the re-releases will contain extras in the form of various live tracks culled from a 1998 7th St. Entry show in Minneapolis, a 2000 gig at the Black Cat in DC, and 2003 reunion shows at Triple Rock in Seattle.

A book titled "Lifter Puller vs The End Of" will follow, containing photos, lyrics, and an oral history of the band.

Lifter Puller Releases (all out 12/1)
New:
-Slips Backwards (New-contains two live recordings from D.C.’s Black Cat in 2000 – one of the band’s final shows)

Tracklist:
1. Secret Santa Cruz
2. Back In Blackbeard
3. Math Is Money
4. 4 Dix
5. La Quereria
6. 11th Ave Freezout
7. The Langelos
8. Mick's Tape
9. The Pirate And The Penpal
10. The Mezzanine Gyp
11. Star Wars Hips
12. Slips Backwards
13. Nassau Coliseum
14. Prescription Sunglasses
15. Emperor
16. Secret Santa Cruz (Live From The Black Cat 2000)
17. Math Is Money (Live From The Black Cat 2000)

Re-Releases:

-Lifter Puller

-Half Dead And Dynamite: Deluxe reissue, includes live bonus tracks from 1998 7th St. Entry performance in Minneapolis

-Entertainment And Arts: Deluxe reissue, includes live bonus tracks from 1998 7th St. Entry performance in Minneapolis

-Fiestas and Fiascos: Deluxe reissue of Frenchkiss 2000 debut and last studio album. Contains six live cuts from the band’s reunion shows at Seattle’s Triple Rock, June 2003)

Give a Listen: To Live and Die in LBI-Lifter Puller (from Half Dead And Dynamite deluxe reissue)

Hold Steady Frontman Co-Writing Screenplay Adaptation for Chuck Klosterman's Fargo Rock City

Given The Hold Steady's tour schedule, I gotta wonder, does lead singer Craig Finn ever sleep? The Hollywood Reporter blog reported today that Finn and Tom Ruprecht, writer for David Letterman, are teaming up to take Chuck Klosterman's memoir Fargo Rock City to the big screen. Finn and Ruprecht are currently at work on the screenplay and Klosterman will join them as producers once the film gets to that point.

The project is in the early writing stages currently, and upon completion, the team said they will begin shopping it around to obtain studio and third-party financing. Given the names associated with it though, it probably has a good shot. At the very least, the soundtrack should be pretty cool.

And $10 says they name the girl-character that Klosterman first dances with is named "Holly."

Sex, late-night and rock ’n’ roll?

Tom Ruprecht, a longtime writer on CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman,” and Craig Finn, frontman of the popular rock band the Hold Steady, are teaming to write and produce the coming-of-age comedy “Fargo Rock City.” The duo has acquired rights to the 2001 memoir of the same name by music scribe Chuck Klosterman, who will join the pair in producing.

Klosterman’s book tells of growing up in North Dakota as one of the few fans of heavy metal, and his experiences using music to transcend high school nerddom. The 1980s-set screenplay will revolve around a group of high school seniors facing graduation as they try to find success with women and generally break out of their geeky cocoons.

“Seventeen or eighteen is the perfect age for characters in a movie like this, because it’s at that age that you have drivers licenses and a certain amount of independence, but you’re still young enough that you can totally make terrible decisions,” Finn told us. “And you’re still young enough that you can have a two-hour argument over whether Motley Crue would beat Guns ‘N Roses in a fight.”

The pic will concentrate on particular portions of the book, including a chapter in which a faulty ATM dispenses excessive amounts of money to Klosterman, which both Finn and Ruprecht say they see as metaphors of the gilded age and easy credit of both the 1980’s and the past few years.

While music is an important theme in the memoir, it won’t be featured quite as prominently as it is in Klosterman’s writing. “Heavy metal is kind of a common bond among a group of friends,” Ruprecht said. “It’s the language they speak. But this will also be a universal story of dorky kids trying to be cool.”

Ruprecht and Finn are working on the first draft of the script, with the group planning to seek financing from studio and third-party entities when they’re done.

Ruprecht, repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, has written for Letterman for more than a decade and is the author of a faux oral history of George W. Bush; he’s also contributed to the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and McSweeney’s, though we’ll try not to hold that last one against him.

Finn sings and plays guitar for the Hold Steady, the Brooklyn rock band that has earned a devoted following thanks to its high-energy shows. He writes many of the act’s songs, which contain sharply etched characters and stories dealing with themes ranging from religion and the perils of being a teenager (the latter of which, like Klosterman, he draws from his childhood in the Midwest).

Klosterman is a music writer for publications such as the New York Times Magazine and Esquire. (Another book, “Killing Yourself to Live,” his nonfiction account of visiting the graves of dead rock stars, is being developed as a feature by indie banner Half Shell Entertainment.)

Musicians penning movies that aren’t about music is a fraught proposition. Most singers turn to acting, and even then, it’s with spotty results. (Yes, you, Dave Matthews). But Finn has the storytelling chops and, it seems, the dedication to make a go of it.