WHO'S READY FOR THAT OL' TOTAL MAGIC?

While August 14-16, 2014 aren't exactly just around any corners just yet, it'll be here soon enough, and we've been blowing our speakers trying to sort out the best set of tunes to launch this deal into the Moon's orbit. We are pretty stoked about what we've got lined up. Oh, and did we mention you can get a pass starting today? We've released our first batch of passes, man.

Here's what we've got on this Friday in May for you:

With some big help from Total Fest's co-presentin'-est radio station in the west, KBGA we are so damned excited to be able to announce that we're bringing up SHANNON AND THE CLAMS this year. Few bands have same ability to cut across the rock-garage-punk-hardcore-curmudgeon music fan distinctionss like Shannon does. We were pretty sure their 2013 Dreams In The Rat House LP was about the best thing we heard last year. We wrote about that here. It grew, grew and grew some more on us. Then we put it down, and we went back about a week later. Punk, soul, garage, a little doo-woppy. Whatever man.

Shannon and the Clams

VAZ, or as organizer Paul says "Vahhz", are a three piece group who do more to vocabluarize the Soviet space program and the Cold War than anything that's written. Vaz's 2013 Visiting Hours was a whopper of a shredding force that showed the 15-year old band creating a Masonic-quality temple to cold riff after cold riff. And they're originally from around Fargo.

Obnox

OBNOX is Lamont "Bim" Thomas's two-piece Ohio outfit. Lamont's a multi-talented, Rustbelt-stalwart-been-doing-awesome-bands-forever (Puffy Aereolas, Bassholes, This Moment In Black History) kind of dude, who's got no shortage of excellent ideas, and the means to readily execute them. He's never brought Obnox to Montana before.Goddamn!

CHASTITY BELT 's tags on their bandcamp page say "no regerts, punk, walla walla, blood, classical, metal, sex." The tunes they turn out soar around at about 35,000 ft. with  a dry, high desert oeuvre and we hear there's a tour with Wire coming up.

ED SCHRADER'S MUSIC BEAT is from the same Baltimore scene that turned loose Dan Deacon, Roomrunner and you know, around a dozen radical groups. Dan recommended Ed Schrader's Music Beat to us, and we're excited to have locked them in.

Lots more announcements soon.