In February of 2011, we convinced our then former drummer to learn some new songs we had put together since recording “Climbing up a Mountain…” and lay down some tracks for a split. At the time we had no idea who we would share the release with, no idea what label would put it out, and few pre-conceived notions as to whether or not people would even give a shit. As has been the case with this band since day one, I couldn’t be more thankful for the small but generous support from family, friends (new and old, near and far), and music lovers. If you’re in the Northeast and not doing anything, come celebrate a record that has been LONG in the making.

Thursday, May 10th, 2012
@ Klub Monika (665 Myrtle Avenue, Albany, NY)
7:30 PM /// $5

KOJI (recording part of Spring Songs V. 2)

w/ CALEB LIONHEART (acoustic), STEVE LAYMAN, ORPHAN LEGS, and CARL DANIELS

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Friday, May 11th, 2012
@ Hudson River Coffee House (227 Quail Street, Albany, NY)
8:00 PM /// $5

STATE CHAMPS (Pure Noise Records)
CALEB LIONHEART
DAYBREAKER (Pure Noise Records)
THE STEREO STATE (Creator-Destructor Records)

UPCOMING SHOWS

Thursday, May 10, 2012
@ KLUB MONIKA - 665 Myrtle Avenue, Albany, NY (upstairs living room)
KOJI, CALEB LIONHEART, ORPHAN LEGS, STEVE LAYMAN, and CARL DANIELS
http://www.facebook.com/events/389006911131729/?ref=ts

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Friday, May 11, 2012
@ HUDSON RIVER COFFEE HOUSE - 227 Quail Street, Albany, NY
STATE CHAMPS, CALEB LIONHEART, DAYBREAKER, and THE STEREO STATE
http://www.facebook.com/events/300919293321846/

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Saturday, May 19, 2012
@ DUBLAND UNDERGROUND - 315 Alexander Street, Rochester, NY
THE SUICIDE MACHINES, CALEB LIONHEART, DO IT WITH MALICE!
http://www.facebook.com/events/387857257900160/

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Friday, May 25, 2012
@ FUZZ RECORD SHOP - 209 Lark Street, Albany, NY (basement store front)
CALEB LIONHEART (acoustic), ORPHAN LEGS, PAUL BLEST, and CHRISTIAN BEALE
http://www.facebook.com/events/133244346808536/

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Sunday, June 3, 2012
@ VALENTINE’S - 17 New Scotland Ave, Albany, NY
AFTER THE FALL / CALEB LIONHEART SPLIT 7 INCH RELEASE SHOW
w/ XERXES, MOUNTAIN MAN, and BAD FRIENDS
http://www.facebook.com/events/297692813642900/

We contributed “Dutch Guts” to Generic Insight Volume 2 Compilation. So many good friends are part and parcel of this comp and I’d like to give particular shout out to Barrie for putting it together, the lovely and talented Genna Howard for painting the artwork, and to all of my good friends who also contributed songs. I’m looking at you Punishment Due, Marine Electric, Timeshares, Caseracer, The Stereo State, Half Hearted Hero, and Living Room! Link is below. Listen up and download.

christianbeale:

Generic Insight Volume 2 Compilation!

FREE DOWNLOAD:

http://genericinsightradio.bandcamp.com/album/generic-insight-radio-volume-2

A thousand gathered at the clearing; A thousand gathered all they had to fight back. When a cause becomes a prairie fire the unwashed pray for rain though mouths are dry, but when the storm clouds gather every watchful eye is searching for an exit sign.

A sign that reads, “it wasn’t me but the market that stole your shift.” The invisible hand still holds the whip pushing you toward a plank tied to the bow of a yacht that took the place of a slave ship. Trade sugar-cane machetes for a loaded gun. Trade a weekly paycheck for a lump sum. Fair-traded my way to a living-wage, seems the work’s never done. Is the work ever done?

A hymn worth knowing from when I dozed in pews: “My song is love unknown. My savior is love to me.” Sing a song of unknown economic ties. Sing a song of love with bright green eyes. Sing a song of a savior to descend from the skies, stain a dozen mouths, but trickle down the sides which implies we’ll all be free.

It wasn’t me but the market that stole your shift. The invisible hand still holds the whip pushing you toward a plank tied to the bow of a yacht that took the place of a slave ship. Trade your sweat and blood for a share of the crop. Trade convict labor for a War on Drugs. History will only absolve what its authors forgot, and I am tired.   

I booked a show for some friends of mine who are on tour and coming through Albany next weekend. I hand-made the flyer above. Righteous! Check it out!

March 10, 2012 at Hudson River Coffee House
(228 Quail Street, Albany, NY 12208)

NIGHTMARES FOR A WEEK (Academy Fight Song)
Kingston, NY - like Matt Pryor singing for Lucero
http://www.facebook.com/ nightmaresforaweek

AFTER THE FALL (acoustic set)
Albany, NY - Mike Moak sings the blues
http://www.facebook.com/afterthefall518

BANQUETS (Black Numbers)
Jersey City, NJ - Catchy, Hummable Mid-Tempo Punk
http://www.facebook.com/banquetsamerica

SHIP ME OVERSEAS (ex/current members of Drug Church, Vessels)
Albany, NY - like a chain-smoking Hot Rod Circuit on a whiskey binge
http://www.facebook.com/shipmeoverseas

THE STEREO STATE (Creator-Destroyer)
Holyoke, MA - like Samiam, Face To Face; Melodic Punk
http://www.facebook.com/thestereostate

6:30 PM | $5

Please come out to this show, check out some really incredible, sincere punk derivative bands from all over the Northeast, and tip your barista. I promise you, if you live in the Capital Region, you have nothing better to do.

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/events/308318665892823/

New Song / Old Song

I stretched my skin and dried, sewed myself up and filled it to the neck with wine, but still we lie. Back’s to hell facing the moonlight. Has the well run dry? No, the well’s half empty with a boy trapped inside, alive, scraping the surface trying to see the light.

When the hammer comes down will it bend the nail at the neck? Or scar the hand of the martyr that you’d hoped to resurrect? When death is infinite will your God ask you, “What did you expect?” When the hammer comes down will it only leave a dent?

I heard the truth once, and like a lucid dream I awoke one morning to hear the prophets plead. “So much to say. So much to sing. So what’s to think? Nobody’s listening…” 

When the hammer comes down will it bend the nail at the neck? Or scar the hand of the martyr that you’d hoped to resurrect? When death is infinite will your God ask you, “What did you expect?”

When the hammer comes down will it only leave a dent?

Pre-orders just went up for my band’s split with After The Fall. Orders should ship in late April. The record includes 2 songs and a Descendents cover from ATF and 3 songs from CLH.

/25 - Solid Black (Silkscreen cover)
/125 - Half Black / Half White (ATF color)
/125 - Black / White Marble (CLH color)
/225 - Solid Black

The silkscreeen cover is limited to 25 and will only be available in the 4-pack. It will be hand numbered, and those who purchase the 4-pack will automatically be entered to win a free test press. Do it if you like Caleb Lionheart, After The Fall, or fast, melodic punk and pop punk.

http://www.betterdaysrecords.com/products/16300

stevelayman:

Local zoning laws are looking to make Restaurants, Coffeeshops and Bars in Albany pay an annual fee to the local government for hosting live music events. We all know small venues are closing up all over America since times are tough, but this plan to help stimulate Albany’s economy isn’t going to…

When I was a Senior in High School I booked shows in several small towns in Upstate New York near where I lived and worked. I was in between bands but wanted to feel like I was a part of the independent music scene, so I tried to create a vein directly between Albany and Kingston/Poughkeepsie where kids could see touring bands and touring bands could add an extra stop. In 2004 and 2005, my friend and I had Cartel, The Receiving End of Sirens, Plain White T’s, The Matches, Chiodos, Donnybrook, E-Town Concrete, the Sleeping, and various others in 100 capacity rooms. That immediately came to a screeching halt when I accidentally broke a window bringing PA speakers into the Conference Room of a Hotel that I booked out of in Hudson, NY. Despite immediately paying for the damage I caused, the Hotel asked that I lay down a $1,000 deposit at every single show I held, even if it contained only locals. As far as I know, every subsequent attempt at holding DIY shows in Hudson has been short-lived or immediately stifled.

Flash forward to 2012. Most of the venues in my new home of Albany cost hundreds of dollars to rent for the evening. Over top of damages that might be accrued and paying bar-tenders, bouncers, and sound people, I can understand this rental fee as some assurance that whether there are 10 people or 350 at the door the venue can keep its lights on. With the crackdown on basement show culture in Albany since the last Mayoral Election, these venues are basically the only places left where DIY promoters can showcase touring acts.

Add to these difficulties the Albany Common Council’s recently proposed “Cabaret Law.” Under this new regulation local businesses would have to submit an annual review to the City Clerk in order to obtain and pay for a Cabaret License. Without this license local coffee shops, bars, venues, restaurants, book stores, and record stores would not be able to hold open mic nights, trivia nights, karaoke, and of course, DIY punk and hardcore shows. The license is projected to cost small businesses an annual fee of $300-900. This doesn’t sound like much, but I promise you this will make it difficult for some and impossible for others to provide an atmosphere conducive to local, independent, and touring musicians. Keep in mind how quickly an added expense kept me from continuing to bring bands through Hudson. When given the chance, a business that is already struggling to stay above water will always choose not to do shows rather than pay an annual fee and deal with a municipal bureaucracy.

Please, make it known that this is not a solution but an added problem. Please, sign the petition or call your local officials. Please, give a shit.

http://www.change.org/petitions/reject-albanys-proposed-live-music-tax