Optical Atlas

More Casper & the Cookies, this being some pretty fantastic live footage from a studio session at Relay Recording Studios:

Casper and The Cookies “Sharp” from Palestra Music on Vimeo.

Casper and The Cookies “You Love Me” from Palestra Music on Vimeo.

“Pete Erchick Bicentennial Service Area” from Palestra Music on Vimeo.

Calvin, Don’t Jump! is the solo recording project of J. Kirk Pleasant, who has played with The Olivia Tremor Control and The Gerbils, an Athens expatriate who now lives in Vancouver.  After the blissfully acoustic, self-released Conscious of Conscience from a few years back, he’s finally put a proper band together, with the necessary alterations and expansions to his sound.  The band’s latest recordings are being assembled under the tentative title Under Bridges, and Royal Rhino Flying Records has just announced they’ll be releasing the finished product come fall or winter of this year, if all goes well.  As soon as more details emerge, I’ll post them here.

Optical Atlas’ erstwhile correspondent Adam Schragin has checked in with a review of the new compilation Build Your Army with Potatoes, from Royal Rhino Flying Records, and featuring The Instruments, Great Lakes, Ideal Free Distribution, Mendoza Line, The Lilys, and more.  Read it here.

When not playing with Elf Power, Jimmy Hughes fosters his rising band Folklore, who already have two albums under their belt, The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman and Carpenter’s Falls, as well as an appearance on Kindercore’s XMAS 3: The War on Christmas and numerous live appearances over the last couple of years, mainly around Athens, but also on a tour with Summer Hymns. Now he’s hitting the road again, travelling up through the Midwest and (hooray) hitting Madison for the second time. Here are the dates – be sure to come out if you’re in town.

Folklore – Carpenter’s Falls Tour

02.06.08 Athens, GA @ Farm 255 w/Summer Hymns (free show!)
02.28.08 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
02.29.08 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone w/Beat the Devil and LA Tool & Die
03.01.08 Toledo, OH @ Frankie’s w/The Championship and Homeville Circle
03.02.08 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom w/Dreadful Yawns
03.04.08 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon (early show – 5pm)
03.05.08 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
03.06.08 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen w/David Singer and Crooks and Children
03.07.08 Bloomington, IN @ Art Hospital w/Arrah and the Ferns

Casper & the Cookies are about to launch their tour of Japan, and will celebrate their return to the States with a show in Atlanta. Here are the dates:

Casper & the Cookies – Japan & Back Tour

02.08.08 Tokyo-Shibuya @ Shibuya O Nest
02.09.08 Kyoto @ Takutaku
02.10.08 Nagoya-Tsurumai @ K.D.
02.11.08 Tokyo-Shimokitazawa @ Club Que
02.15.08 Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl – International Pop Overthrow

And in the immediate future:

• Great Lakes have another show planned for this Friday, February 1st, at Sound Fix Records in Brooklyn, NY. The band goes on at 10, and Ben Crum hints that Jamey Huggins–once a member of Great Lakes, and longtime member of of Montreal–might be joining them onstage. Also on the bill are Martin Moscrop (of A Certain Ratio) and Frankpollis.

• On Saturday, February 2nd, 63 Crayons will be playing the Caledonia Lounge in Athens with The Young Sinclairs and The Buddy System. The show starts at 9.

• If you’re in Vancouver, Canada, on February 2nd, you’ll have a chance to see Kirk Pleasant’s new lineup for Calvin, Don’t Jump!, playing a show at Pat’s Pub with International Falls, Collapsing Opposites, and Lost Lovers Brigade.

Dwight at Royal Rhino Flying Records has announced the track listing for the upcoming compilation Build Your Army with Potatoes (RRFR-012), and once you see the lineup you’ll see why Optical Atlas would be interested. No release date has been set, but it should be available soon–keep checking their website (we’ll let you know too). It looks fantastic.

Volcano the Bear – Rain And Shine
The Instruments – Encore (Brigitte Fontaine Cover)
Calvin, Don’t Jump! – Baby Eden
The Diminisher – Ghost Mouse Seeker
The Mendoza Line – First Time, Long Time
Great Lakes – Ships
Folklore - The Unknown Adapted
Laminated Cat – Angel I am Coming Home
Jack Logan – I Got To Hear Him Play
The Visitations – New Jerusalem
The Sixth Great Lake – Tips For Teens
Mikal Cronin – Tethered
Geoff Reacher – Fuck An Autograph
The Lilys - Vegetable Reefer (Von Hemmling Cover)
American Watercolor Movement – 29 Dead Horses
The Unreliable Narrator - In A Wintry Instant
Seamonster - Robert Schneider’s Abacus
Electric Mystical Soul Vibration – Thank You For The Space Suit
El Goodo – For You (Alternate Mix)
Stay - The Calling
Fabulous Bird – Bless Me
Ideal Free Distribution – 200 Mph In Reverse
Von Hemmling – German Jerk (2004)
Vince Mole & His Calcium Orchestra – Everything (1993)

Calvin, Don’t Jump! has been the name of the solo recording project of Kirk Pleasant (who has played with the Gerbils and Olivia Tremor Control). But he’s been putting a band together–Nathan Matthews (bass), Lee-Ann Sheel (drums), Shinobu Hata (keyboard)–and now it will make its North American debut with a Vancouver show on October 2 at Hoko’s Sushi and Karaoke bar. They’ll be playing many new songs from the band’s upcoming album, and also on the evening’s menu will be two truly wonderful bands who are currently touring the nation, Seamonster and Captain Number One. If you’ll be in the area, don’t miss it.