SKiN GRAFT News for You's

B A L L P E E N ( ! ) B U L L E T I N S

updated: June 24th, 2011

photo courtesy of ryan collerd

- AVAILABLE NOW -

GAY BEAST
TO SMITHEREENS

GAY BEAST
ULTIMATE EDITION

GAY BEAST
DEBUT LP / CD

YONA-KIT
YONA-KIT CD

AIDS WOLF
ULTIMATE EDITION

AIDS WOLF
LP/CD

ARAB ON RADAR
LP

AIDS WOLF
12" REMIX LP

GAY BEAST
7" VINYL SINGLE

TOUR UPDATE:

SATANIZED VS USA
AIDS WOLF INVADES EUROPE
XADDAX TAKES ON BROOKLYN

- see the TOURS PAGE FOR DETAILS!

( ! ) - - - News Continues Below - - - ( ! )

updated: May 16th, 2011

GAY BEAST "To Smithereens"

LP / CD and Ultimate Edition

and debut album "Disrobics" LP / CD

IN THE NEWS:

GAY BEAST
vv - To Smithereens LP / CD / Ultimate Edition
vv - In-stock NOW!
GAY BEAST AGAIN
vv - Debut Album "Disrobics" LP / CD
vv - In-stock NOW!
KOREKYOJINN
vv - Yoshida Tatsuya's power prog trio coming
vv - to a record store near you soon!
PRE
vv - 3rd Album...?
SATANIZED
vv - Philadelphia's unholy racket to unleash new
vv - LP/CD on SKiN GRAFT in 2011!
KOENJIHYAKKEI
vv - Waiting is the hardest part: New songs?
vv - Live DVD announcment!
YOWIE
vv - Composition Complete! Performance announced!
XADDAX
vv - Ex-Dazzling Killmen / Colossamite / My Name is Rar-Rar
vv - debut LP/CD on SKiN GRAFT in the works!
WELCOME to SKiN GRAFT
vv - And a special messge from "Jazzy" Joe Romita
vv- to all newcomers to our fraternal disorder

Completely Out of the Music Business...

..for 20 YEARS and counting, this is SKiN GRAFT Records' ace reporter, JAZZY JOE ROMITA, typing at you all the way live from behind his nutty news desk nestled deep within his self-imposed fortress of solitude. Never in the storied history of our long-lauded, looney label has a single Ballpeen Bulletin delivered a more winning weave of way-out wonderment than your massively medicated, mild-mannered anti-music man-god is preparing to pin on you now!

Steady, seasoned SKiN GRAFT sophisticates, this month’s meaty meandering monologue makes mention of no less than THREE (count 'em) boisterous, boom-bastic bands afreshly enjoined to our rollicking roster; plenty of piggy bank breaking news on a slew of impeccable impending releases; and Jazzy Joe has the skinny on our latest LP/CD/Ultimate Edition triumph that has at last turned inside-up for orders HEAR and NOW.

Hold tight and hang loose playmates, there’s plenty of pertinent pronouncements and pulsating propaganda to drop, so pop a package of Pringles - and prepare to let the chips fall where they may!!!

ITEM!: Seems like we've been reporting on the impending release of GAY BEAST's third album at bat "To Smithereens" for ages now, but at long last, after a snoot stuffing series of false starts, stutters and stymies, the queens of snap, crackle and pop have delivered what is absosmurfly their crowning achievement. A handful of pre-release vinyl copies made it out and about during the band's recent European tour, but now every tom, dick and harriet mulling about our massive macrocosm can finally hear for themselves what set the old world's ears ablaze!

Here with a personable, press-friendly presentation is that portly, public relation abomination Chaz Nite with the skinny:

GAY BEAST formed mid-2005 during a fit of anxiety towards midwestern passive aggression- an attempt to make music that was both queer in composition and aesthetic. Wielding a battery of drums, scraped and hammered guitars, chanted vocals, retro-future synths, saxophone, and other electronics, the trio (Angela Gerend, Daniel Luedtke, Isaac Rotto) build songs on shaky grounds that adjoin complexity and catchiness to create a singular space, cohabited by abrasion and tunefulness.

With releases on DNT, Gilgongo, and SKiN GRAFT, GAY BEAST have garnered a reputation for uniqueness on the rock fringe, their sound being both too weird for the stereotyped “gay band” and “too gay” for the noise-rock set. Upon examination of the influence blender, one finds remnants of Devo, Captain Beefheart, equatorial pop-rock from the 60s and 70s, no wave, and feminist theory. This concoction, delivered via GAY BEAST's unique political approach to composition, is explored heavily on their third album “To Smithereens”, appearing on Skin Graft Records.

PRESS QUOTES:
o “Thundering out of the basements of Minneapolis, GAY BEAST brings its wide-eyed, brutal sound . . . The group's latest record, ‘Second Wave,’ is full of erratic shifts in time signature, pleading yelps over razor-sharp eight-bit keyboards, and pounding tribal percussion. Although not for the faint of heart, this frenetic trio's music is miraculously danceable--the perfect soundtrack for a post-apocalyptic discotheque.” - New Yorker

o “It's hard to put guitar/synth/drums trio GAY BEAST into a neat little genre box, as they make some seriously, awesomely weird noise . . . They look and sound like something new. That's not easy. Hell, in this day and age of recycled everything, doing something different or new is almost impossible. They should have called themselves the Gay Pioneers. Or the Queer Pathfinders.” - Portland Mercury

o “Think Health, think Lovely Little Girls, think DNA. But don't think too hard. It wouldn't be right.” - Sound & Fury Records

GAY BEAST "To Smithereens" is now ready and able to set your heart on stammer in any and all of the following options: as a Digital Download via i-tunes (and all the usual suspects) for your portable players, the crystal clear Compact Disc format (magnificently manufactured at your demand), and as a girthy, long-playing black Vinyl LP - hole pre-drilled! And for the bargain-hunting platter-du-jour prima-donna that lurks deep inside our most discerning of devotees, we've stepped it all the way up to deliver the GAY BEAST "To Smithereens" Ultimate Edition. The U.E. includes the album on BOTH phenomenal physical formats: the silvery sweet CD & the 12" vinyl LP – plus an extravagant hand Silkscreened Jacket and an Offset Press Booklet insert. The entire package is wrapped in a crystal clear Resealable Sleeve, easily identified by its crassly uncommercial Silver Foil Sticker.

Still not convinced? A sample MP3 awaits your ears at the AUDIO page HERE - and the band has assembled two promotional videos that have been posted to their BAND PAGE HERE. For online ordering, point and click through to our virtual PAYPAL SHOP - you'll find that right about HERE.

GAY BEAST
Disrobics LP/CD

ITEM!: Alright - Grab hold of your Granny, groveling ones, 'cuz this next item is likely to send her spiraling over the edge on to the other side – and she might not be ready to be reunited with gramps for all eternity just yet! Just as GAY BEAST's latest is hitting the streets, the band has deemed it necessary to go on hiatus, as frontman Daniel Luedtke pauses to pursue placement in the hallowed halls of higher learning that both egghead and crackhead alike have come to call Grad school. Now nobody but nobody is calling this a "break up" (yet), but during the downtime axe master Isaac Rotto and snare supremo Angela Gerend will continue to hone their chops under the moniker HASPS. Hasps have planned a coming out party at the VFW-inspired, Fraternal Order of Eagles on July 1st. Check your local listing Minneapolitans!

In an effort to insure GAY BEAST's musical heritage spreads far and wide, we have exhumed the last remaining copies of GAY BEAST's 2007 debut album "Disrobics" for distribution to the mangy muddled mass of musically malnourished mortals that may have missed this Minneapolis mainstays inaugural manifesto.

Here's what Dusted Magazine had to say about "Disrobics", Gay Beast's initial public offering:

o "Their attack is vicious and weird, processing their robotic fortunes under sheets of electronic duress, but their balance is impeccable. Bands like Gay Beast used to get me excited, but none have had such a gloriously bent and creative batch of songs to match up with the innovation. If handled correctly, Gay beast should tap into, then later usurp, the ~~whacking off~~ of outfits like Hella or Lightning Bolt or Deerhoof, or at least play in the same league. Very, very exciting stuff here, which hides its hand with masterful skill, and which plays down that which could easily wreck a less-capable band. Vinyl edition of 500 numbered copies in a silkscreened sleeve." - Dusted

We have a limited number of copies up for orders in the CD and LP formats. Both choices come correct with handsome handcrafted silkscreened cover art. Visit the EVERYTHING ELSE section of the PAYPAL SHOP to order your copies - or forever hold your piece!

ITEM!: For months, your magnificent, musing, musicology maestro has remained silent on certain greymatters, but now, he feels it is time to step forward and allow all of Graftdom assembled to delve deep into the sizable sagacity that lurks behind the music and beneath the brain. Yes, Jazzy Joe, your soft-spoken sound supremo would like to selflessly slather salve 'pon your sensitive souls by allowing entry into his innermost cradle of creativity- his swelling, soothsaying subconscious.

I had a dream.

In it, an octopus was chasing the Jazzy One through a curiously "mod" art-deco banquet hall. The hall had a groovy, sort of 60's-style take on 1920's ambience, but it had flooded - and the water was rising. Each of the Octopus' eight arms, save one, held a calendar. When the creature finally overtook your flagging music messiah, Jazzy grabbed one of the calendars – It was coffee stained, and a date -August 9th, 2011 - had been circled in black ink . In the eighth hand, the octopus held a drained two-liter bottle of long-discontinued Shasta Orange Soda, which he handed to me gently. Perhaps the bottle had been cast off of some distant island and later ensnared by my eight-appendaged adversary, because inside was nestled a note. It read "the longer you run, the more you feed your monster". Suddenly, the octopus transformed into a ten pound marshmallow, so I reached deep into his luminous, pulpy white flesh and began to eat him, bit by bit.

When I woke up, my pillow was gone and KOREKOYJINN was playing on K-SHE 95.

Confused? Let's put you on a need to know basis: KOREKOYJINN (alternately spelled KOREKOYJIN) is Yoshida Tatsuya's (KOENJIHYAKKEI, RUINS) hard rocking, noggin' knocking power prog trio. In KOREKYOJINN, Yoshida is joined by BONDAGE FRUIT's guitarist Kido Natsuki, and GROUND ZERO bassist Nasuno Mitsuru. When it comes to progressive rock, none can compete with the knowledge base found at the esteemed Prog Archives web resource, which describes them thusly:

o "While the style will be recognizable to fans of KOENJIHYAKKEI and RUINS, KOREKYOJINN has its own sound and musical agenda. Almost everything is composed by Yoshida, barring some brief group improvisations, and there are no vocals. The playing is extremely tight and has a strong jazz influence with an unexpected but highly effective dash of funk thrown in for good measure. The compositions and arrangements push all three members of the band to their limits without ever descending into pointless noodling or lengthy solos, and there are some truly breathtaking instrumental performances on all their releases."

And so - to begin, this Ballpeen Bulletin News Desk's SPRING DRAFT TRIFECTA, unglove those hands, eczema-ridden or not, and put them together for KOREKYOJINN, who will be making their SKiN GRAFT debut with a stateside release of their new album "Tundra" August 9th, alongside a reissue of RUINS 1986-1992. More details to come!

ITEM!: While the boys of PRE continue playing hooky with their band MALE BONDING over at SUB POP and the peerless vox-box Exceedingly Good Keex busies herself with COMANECHI, fans of their shared act had begun to fear that they'd heard the last of PRE.... Well, put aside the panic, pals cuz, Jazzy's here to say it ain't so! The core crew of PRE reunited recently to share some drinks, give Kevin a much-needed haircut and mull over their long-rumored, but previously unconfirmed "Third Album".

Yes, PRE have indeed laid down no less than five songs with "Hope Freaks" producer extrordinaire Steve Albini - and intend to release the first ever 7" vinyl "LP" in history! In addition to these five unheard tracks, the band has begun assembling songs from hither and yon for release on a special extended edition yet to be determined! There's no telling where this is headed, but set your biological clocks to "get ready", because before the year is out, PRE will be back in the music bins with a new release!

In the meantime, if you haven't already picked up their debut album "Epic Fits", the follow up "Hope Freaks", their SINRAFT bootleg "Live Dates" (along side AIDS Wolf!) or their AC/DC cover "Dirty Deeds" featured on the SIDES 11-14 double 7" and comic set, then you've got some catching up to do, so hightail it over to the SKIN GRAFT PAYPAL SHOP and start righting those wrongs lickety split!

ITEM!: Rally round reptiles - it's time to announce an unholy union that not even Beelzebub himself could have foreseen! The oath has been sworn, tape-recorded and played backwards (before a live audience). The pact has been signed, sealed and delivered (pending UPS tracking confirmation). Hide the goat and get a wig on Anton LeVay, because there's a new immoral majority in town– this Fall, SKiN GRAFT Records will be SATANIZED!

Philadelphia's SATANIZED was made flesh with their first live performance on the day of our Lord 06/06/06. Renowned for delivering highly intense, aberrantly convoluted, and theatrically bizarre live performances, the band has steadily conjured scathing frequencies and heavy rhythms that have left listeners throbbing, pummeled and sliced - ready for sacrifice. Amid the assault, freakish moments of high musical complexity and lyrical depravity always ensure a clean kill.

To put it plainly, SATANIZED is the end times: a dense, flinty, and anomalous antidote for modern hyperreality; ritually sewing your seeds of destruction, prick by prick.

SATANIZED /
AIDS WOLF split 7"

Here's how Lonely Vagabond heeded the prophecy:

o "If noise-punk is an energy, then SATANIZED is a nuclear power plant... or more like an atomic holocaust actually. Mixing No Wave with hardcore elements, this Philly four-piece created such an ear-deafening racket, it was easy to overlook the shape-shifting, almost mechanical-like flow to the sound. Abrasive guitars, bass-heavy attack, pummeling drums, and vocals thick with rage, yet structured and avant-garde enough to offer more than just a muddied assault, it’s pretty clear that SATANIZED don’t sugarcoat anything. This crowd should happily rejoice they didn’t suffer permanent hearing loss." - Lonely Vagabond

SATANIZED will make their SKiN GRAFT debut with an unparalleled assault on your senses later this year, but to tide you over till spanking time, we have a limited number of SANTANIZED's split 7" with AIDS Wolf available for order now. Badmaster calls it: A musical document of startling ugliness. Bloody, brutal sonic violence. AIDS Wolf deliver two songs that transport Harry Pussy into a shattered city of glass, while SATANIZED commit to tape everything that makes this band so awe-inspiring in a live setting. There are some sounds that you can't unhear, so open wide...

There's no time to waste, visit the EVERYTHING ELSE section of the PAYPAL SHOP, sink your teeth into some forbidden fruit and shine a black light into your den of darkness.

KOENJIHYAKKEI
"070531" DVD

ITEM!: Everybody but everybody, wants to know when the next KOENJIHYAKKEI album will be ready for release. Now old Jazzy Joe hasn't got any inside scoop for you this time around, truth is your guess is as good as his. We all know Yoshida Tatsuya is a busy guy - if you were to take all of the bands that Yoshida's has been in and put them end to end, it's a proven fact that they would wrap around the world two and a half times! But even so, KOENJIHYAKKEI has been working on new material - and two new songs have been documented LIVE in concert - captured in a multi-camera recording session. The best part? SKiN GRAFT will be releasing this historic document on all region DVD in an extremely limited edition to our loyal legion of listeners later this year!

Yoshida is readying the master for a stateside release as I type, but in the meantime, you can revel in the audio-visual glory of KOENJIHYAKKEI's past by glomming on to a copy of the previous KOENJI DVD, the uber-rare Japanese import KOENJIHYAKKEI "070531" recorded on May 31st, 2007.

KOENJIHYAKKEI "070531" includes an unforgettable line-up of musicians: Yoshida Tatsuya on drums and vocals, Sakamoto Kengo on bass, Komori Keiko performing soprano sax and clarinet, and Kubota Aki on vocals - with special guests Imahori Tsuneo (guitarist of Tipographica) and Tsuboy Akihisa (violinist of KBB), plus Ishibashi Eiko and Hoppy Kamiyama on dualing keyboards. These are now IN-STOCK and READY TO SELL OUT! Quantities are limited and when they are gone, it's off the market forever and ever.

To order, visit the EVERYTHING ELSE section of the PAYPAL SHOP!

ITEM!: Just like their namesake, YOWIE has proved elusive over the years. Since the release of their incredible debut album "Cryptooology", YOWIE played a handful of shows, lost a member, sought a new member, gained the previously lost member back, recorded an AC/DC cover (promptly released on the SIDES 11-14 split 7" and comic - alongside PRE COLOSSAMITE and MULE), and then vanished back into the woods to begin composing their next album.

Well, the composition book has been closed - and now YOWIE is hard at work ensuring they can actually perform the arrangements they've articulated so they can lay it down to tape and release their second album into the wild.

In preparation, YOWIE will be playing LIVE in the basement of St. Louis' Cranky Yellow on June 11th, 2011. Accompanying them will be a mystery line up of special guests handpicked by YOWIE themselves.

This is an event not to be missed - Yowie specialist Joseph Hess put it best when he wrote: "Mark your calendars. YOWIE performed once in 2008. Once in 2009. Once in 2010. You get the idea." Be there and be squared.

Visit the TOURS page for details.

ITEM!: Yes, the news has been coming fast and furious this update, and your naughty newshound hopes you've taken a moment to catch your breath, 'cuz this final announcement is gonna take it all away! It is with extreme pleasure that Jazzy Joe announces the return of Nick Sakes to active SKiN GRAFT duty!

Perhaps you recall Nick from his storied adventures with a little band that went by the nom-de-plume DAZZLING KILLMEN-?, or maybe you heard of a series of actions that he perpetrated while serving with an act known far and wide as COLOSSAMITE -? If not, then howzabout SICBAY? - No? Well then you better hit the books and study up kimosabee (we've got just the place to start – more on that in a minute), because Nick's got a whole new bag now and it goes by the name of XADDAX. Nick is joined in this new audio adventure by Chrissy Rossettie, who 's time in bands like MY NAME IS RAR RAR alongside telepathic ex-FLYING LUTTENBACHER Chuck Falzone has already made her a household name to those who like their music served HARD and with a side of bacon. To aid you in your study for the impending XADDAX final exam, allow Jazzy to direct you to two excellent primers:

o Hank Shteamer has taken some time out from his busy schedule at Time Out NY to pen “Sums of Parts: Nick Sakes from DAZZLING KILLMEN to XADDAX” at DARK FORCES SWING BLIND PUNCHES

o And here is an invaluable interview with Chrissy Rossettie, conducted by HEY DRUMMER, YOU RULE!

XADDAX have already begun recording their debut LP, and a few songs remain to be laid down. Plan on seeing the vinyl hit the streets shortly after we ring in the new year.

AND - any swashbuckling stalwart SKiN GRAFT supporter worth his or her salt living within shouting distance of Brooklyn, New York should drop all previous plans and get to Death By Audio on July 3rd for an unforgettable evening of counter culture with none other than XADDAX, SATANIZED and Tinsel Teeth live on stage! And as always, to find out if any of our affiliated acts are playing your local haunt, check out the TOURS page, located HERE.

Before Jazzy takes leave and heads for higher ground, allow your learned, lip-service layer-onner to extend a warm welcome to all newcomers to our glorious little Valhalla, the kooky Camelot we call SKiN GRAFT Records.

Welcome!

Maybe you stumbled upon our website by accident while looking for a bargain on a Nerf Gun to liven up the office - or perhaps you are searching for an "in" after you observed that cute girl in the midriff-baring top at the local record store grooving to AIDS Wolf, her eyes all aglow and sporting a smile so broad, you thought her face might cleave in two.

Whatever brought you here, take heart that not all life's twists and turns need end in defeat and despair. Even though a cursory glance at SKiN GRAFT's glossy full-flavored greatness can bring to light the dour, hard-hitting reality of what an absolute mess your own life is, you need no longer dwell on all the time you've trifled away on self-pity and despair.

Unlike the old-school, antiquated avenues of aristocracy, you need not be "to the manner born" to attain the profound joy that has eluded you. At SKiN GRAFT Records, bloodline matters not. Yes, here, among friends, you can BUY your way to personal fulfillment and untold ecstasy. But be warned neophyte, its quite possible that one's initial perusal through our priced-to-perfection PAYPAL SHOP may truly hammer home the inordinate amount of time you've wasted, going about your minor existence in your usual fumbling, furtive way.

Today is a new day.

Yes, at first, entry through SKiN GRAFT's pearly gates may seem insurmountable and complicated, but once the effort is put forth, membership in our fraternal disroder will return the spring to your step, and put a clamp those feelings of anguish and self-hatred. Access to the antidote to your woeful existence lies within your reach: in your bank account, between the sofa cushions, or in Dad's wallet.

A mere $120.00 initial purchase (plus postage for overseas orders) from our PAYPAL SHOP will widen that small glimmer of hope upon which you've been clinging - and transport you to a world of untold delights, where you can live vicariously through our radical recording artists - and at last carve out an illusionary zest for living in response to the true happiness that will forever elude you. Rest assured, the paltry price paid for procurement of our wondrous wares will provide a respite from the seemingly unending mental and spiritual free-fall that you are destined to take, and administer just enough alleviation to delude you through to your inevitable end, when you will surely fade away, be forgotten, and trampled upon like so many CD's littering the landfill.

Welcome FRIEND.
Leave your secret handshake at the door.

....

Alrighty - That's all for today comrades in harms. Be sure to check back next time for more astounding announcements and perplexing pronouncements from your one and only beat-walkin', jive-talkin, reporter-extroidinaire: Jazzy Joe Romita. Til then, take comfort that you won't be waiting alone, cuz Jazzy's just as anxious as you are to see what comes next! - I bid you a doo-doo!

Excel-sore!

"JAZZY" JOE ROMITA

More New News:

updated: March 22nd, 2011

J A P A N
SKiN GRAFT UPDATE
photo: House on "Cat Island" (officially known as “Tashiro Island”)
near Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefectur

Hi Everybody,

Over the last few days I've been at a loss for words to express the horror of what we've seen go down in Japan.

For as long as I can remember, Japan has always been a special place to me. As a kid I was huge fan of Japan's Kaiju industry- I watched Ultraman religiously on TV, made stop-motion animation movies with my 2 foot tall Mazinga Shogun Warrior (with childhood buddy Andy Ortmann of Nihilist Records) and never turned the channel when Saturday afternoon offered up a Godzilla film. Thanks to Skin Graft, I was later able to travel to Japan and have made many, many friends over the years. As I grew older, the county transformed from the mysterious wonderland that fueled my 5 year old imagination to a very real place.

Last week, K.K. Null (of Zeni Geva, Yona-Kit, etc) was in Vienna performing at the club just down the street from me, the Rhiz. He's been touring Europe since the 8th of February, while his wife Mikiko remained home to hold down the fort. Fortunately Mikiko was safe, but it was clearly very difficult for Null to be away from his friends and family during all of this. Null had confirmed that as far as he knew, most of our mutual friends were alright, but neither he or I had heard from Yoshida Tatsuya (Koenjihyakkei, Ruins). Yoshida had been touring far south of the epicentre at the time of the earthquake, so I figured he was safe - but I then learned that his parents lived north of Tokyo.

Fortunately, by the time I'd returned home that night Yoshida had emailed to let me know that he, his family and all of Koenjihyakkei were safe. Makoto Kawabata, of Acid Mothers Temple wrote: “I'm ok. I was in the Shinkansen express train from Tokyo to Nagoya when it was happened. The train was stopped for 2 hours and 40 minutes. I think all of AMT are safe.” Keex of Pre has family in Japan and she's posted that they are alright. Jim O'Rourke is okay. Melt-Banana wrote: “Oh my god, it was really a big earthquake... We are fine”. Tabata Mitsuru (of Zeni Geva, AMT) also wrote: I am fine, though the aftershocks still continue. Not much sleep and watching the emergency earthquake information on TV. I am ready to evacuate. Necessary things are in my bag and it's near my bed. I hope I don't need it.”

We're coming up on two weeks since the earthquake and tsunami struck, and as I write, the nuclear situation is still not under control. As rotten as it for me to sit here and watch all of this from abroad, I can't begin to imagine how horrific it has been for the people of Japan. We're all looking for reprieve from the situation.

On her blog, Exceedingly Good Keex
shared the "Eyebrows Dog" video above and wrote:

I've still been contacting my friends & family back in Japan and watching the news every day. It's pretty depressing and I can't help feeling upset over it. It's not mentally healthy.

I can't ignore the real situation, but at the same time I'm so sick of reading all the sad news online on an everyday basis. I'm sick of reading people writing all the encouraging messages. You can't just feel worried everyday, it's so not good for your mind. I need to try have some fun. You never know what's going to happen to your life tomorrow.

I have no doubt that the people of Japan will come through this, but I'd like to encourage you guys to help make it happen. There are plenty of ways to help. For many people, the easiest way to donate is by text messaging. WIthin the USA, to make a one-time, $10 donation to the Salvation Army, people can text “Japan” to 80888. The donation will be added to the your cell phone bill. The American Red Cross is also, allowing people to make $10 donations by texting “redcross” to 9099. Here's a link to the American Red Cross Japan Relief page.

For Skin Graft's part, to bolster the label's contribution, we'll donate the label side of the profit for every YONA-KIT CD sold over the next two months to Japan's relief effort. For those not in the know, the band YONA-KIT featured Japan residents K.K. Null and Jim O'Rourke teamed with Dazzling Killmen's Darin Gray and Cheer-Acccident's Thymme Jones. Melt-Banana's Yasuko Onuki appears as a guest vocalist. The album was produced by Steve Albini. You can order it at the paypal shop HERE.

Even though I mentioned above that Japan had become a very real place to me as an adult, it still continues to surprise me - - - and generate some of that wonder it gave me as a 5 year old kid. The photo at the top of this News Desk update is a house on Japan's Cat Island, located perilously close to the where all of the devastation took place. Up until yesterday, I'd never even heard of this place. For some good news, check out these links:

First read HERE
- - - - and then check out HERE

Thanks.

GAY BEAST
“To Smithereens”
CD & Download release delayed

Okay, on any normal News Desk update this news would top the page, but these days are anything but normal.

Unfortunately, events have conspired against us - and the Gay Beast Manufactured on Demand CD's are running late. To accommodate this, we've bumped the release date back to April 19th from the previously intended March 22 date.

Now, we've had the Ultimate Editions LP and CD set up for pre-order for some time now, so to everyone who had pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition LP set, your LP (along with the offset booklet) are already on their way. The CDs will go out as soon as we have them in hand. We're all sorry about the delay - I've always taken release dates very seriously and we've had a good track record of making our intended dates over the years, but the band going on tour, combined with us trying something new for this release (going with a manufacture on demand model) has taken longer to get off the ground than we had anticipated.

So, I've updated the Skin Graft shop to reflect the change - and you can place orders for the LP, CD or the Ultimate Edition LP & CD-R set now. We'll ship as soon as we can. The album will be available for downloading at i-tunes and all the regular digital distribution haunts on April 19th. To place your order, visit the paypal shop HERE.

Okay - thanks everybody - back with more news soon.

Mark

More New News:

updated: January 25th, 2011

GAY BEAST
"To Smithereens" Ultimate Edition
available for PRE-ORDER
European Tour To Smithereens

GAY BEAST TOUR & PRE-ORDER!

Hi Everybody. As I write, GAY BEAST is enroute to Europe - ( ! )
Here are the tour dates:

25.01.2011 Koeln (DE), Sonic Ballroom w/ Child Abuse
26.01.2011 Brussels (BE) Magasin 4 w/ Child Abuse
27.01.2011 Amsterdam (NL) OCCII w/ Child Abuse
28.01.2011 Antwerpen (BE) Scheldapen w/ Child Abuse
30.01.2011 Arnhem (NL) Willem Een w/ Child Abuse
30.01.2011 Berlin (DE) Westgermany w/ Gelbart
31.01.2011 Krakow (PL) Klub Re
01.02.2011 Vienna (AT) Rhiz
02.02.2011 Graz (AT) Postgarage
03.02.2011 Innsbruck (AT) PMK
04.02.2011 Udine (IT) Cas’Aupa
05.02.2011 Bologna (IT) Covo Club
06.02.2011 Rome (IT) Sinister Noise
07.02.2011 Faenza (IT) Clandestino
08.02.2011 Lausanne (CH) Le Bourg
09.02.2011 Basel (CH) Hirscheneck
10.02.2011 Lyon (FR) Grrnd Zero
11.02.2011 Frankfurt (DE), IVI
12.02.2011 Karlsruhe (DE) Carambolage w/ Gelbarte

Booking by PAPER & IRON

GAY BEAST's new album "To Smithereens" is going to be something special. For the lucky few, the band will have pre-release copies of the standalone vinyl LP available for purchase at select European shows. The official release date is March 22nd, but we are going to start taking pre-orders for the Ultimate Edition right now. The GAY BEAST "To Smithereens" Ultimate Edition will come complete with a 12" vinyl LP and a made to order, professionally packaged CD - enclosed in an extravagant hand Silkscreened Jacket and a deluxe 4-color process insert booklet. The entire package is wrapped in a crystal clear resealable sleeve and topped with a Silver Foil Sticker garnish. A pre-production pic of the LP cover is posted above. After the tour, I'll see if I can scrape together some pics of the finished product.

To lock your order in, visit the paypal shop HERE. - - - - And for more details, continue on to the previous update below.

Thanks -

Mark

More New News:

updated: January 4th, 2011

GAY BEAST
Europe: Tour To Smithereens
TOUR begins JANUARY 25th

IN THE NEWS:

GAY BEAST: European Tour
vv - Begins January 2011
vv - New Album "To Smithereens" out this March
vv - TWO New Videos Up NOW
vv - Free MP3 Download Track

An Awkward New Year to You!

This is Mark writing - back from the USA at last. I returned to Vienna just in time to take the holidays in. X-Mas was nice - thanks for asking. Favorite present received this year was a hardcover book titled "Awkward Family Photos". It makes a helluva coffeetable center-slash-conversation piece. Here's a link to the accompanying website.

Hope everyone's New Year has gotten off without a hitch - the big news to report here is that GAY BEAST will be departing for the OLD WORLD before the month is out!

GAY BEAST's new album "To Smithereens" is in the can and slated for release on March 22nd. To whet your appetite, a free MP3 preview has been uploaded HERE.

--- And in advance of the album's release, the band has put together TWO music videos. One for the title track "Smithereens" and a second video for the B-side of their recently released "Charm" 7" vinyl single, "We Keep Our Victims Ready". The album will include an entirely different recording of W.K.O.V.R. - exclusive to that release - so rest assured, you haven't heard the last of this track.

GAY BEAST New video for "Charm" single's B-side:

GAY BEAST New video for "Smithereens" off the next album:

I didn't have an opportunity to send an email blast to our mailing list while I was in the states, so I'm keeping the Christmas specials up for just a bit longer. All of the details can be found in the previous News Desk update below.

Thanks - !

Mark

Click HERE for MORE new NEWS ( ! )

- AVAILABLE NOW -

GAY BEAST TO SMITHEREENS	GAY BEAST ULTIMATE EDITION	GAY BEAST DEBUT LP / CD

YONA-KIT YONA-KIT CD	AIDS WOLF ULTIMATE EDITION	AIDS WOLF LP/CD

ARAB ON RADAR LP	AIDS WOLF 12" REMIX LP	GAY BEAST 7" VINYL SINGLE