Over the last 2.5 years, we've been communicating with the supporters of IU through an eNewsletter which required a user sign-up. Recently, we've started posting these on ithacaunderground.com and Facebook as well. It dawned on us that maybe we should be posting here as well. These updates on FREE! may continue or they may not so, feel free to give us your feedback! We know there are still people in Ithaca and the surrounding areas who do not know we exist so hopefully this additional medium will help others get involved and help spread the word on the artists we love and support. 

Greetings from the underground,

Thanks to everyone who came out to the annex Sunday night for the show! Great sets from Womyn Boiz, Inerds, Coworkers, and Pharaohs – looking forward to seeing Inerds’ dual female fronted powerviolence at Big Day In! We’ll have WB and Coworkers back soon too. If you’re looking to catch Pharaohs, they’re playing a benefit at CSMA on Apr 9. They’ll split after spring graduation!

We have some sad news that BANNER PILOT decided to drop off their upcoming tour with THE QUEERS – this show is still on for Tues, May 24 at The Haunt with Beach Parade and Fight A Scary Dog 5PM doors, 6PM start $10 and presale are up now: http://thehauntithaca.ticketleap.com/iu-the-queers-banner-pilot-beach-parade-fight-a-scary-dog/ - just no BxPx.

BIG DAY IN: Saturday May 7th 2011 was finalized as TOMBS, WOE, EHNAHRE, SULACO, Oak & Bone, Night Owls, Lux Carentes, Sepsis, Inerds, Mouth To Mouth To Mouth, Hiroshima Vacation, and Sun Spells. Still just $5, 12PM-10PM at The Haunt. Help us spread the word on this one!

We posted two new ‘Meet The Band’ pieces right here on FREE!
The Invisible Hand
Pharaohs

Looking ahead, next week we continue one of our best April’s with the likes of Des Ark, Pygmy Lush, The American Dollar, Zevious – and a whole lot more!

Wednesday, April 13th
DES ARK (Lovitt Records : Philadelphia, PA)
PYGMY LUSH (ex-Pg. 99 : Lovitt/Robotic Empire : Sterling, VA)
Rye n' Clover (Bicycle Records : Ithaca, NY)
Kaboosh! (Ithaca, NY)
...
The GreenStar Annex
700 W Buffalo St
Ithaca, NY 14850
8PM $5 All Ages

DES ARK:
http://soundcloud.com/communion5/yellow-hall/s-RPvfA - new track!
http://www.myspace.com/desark
A little bit Southern twang, a lot of punk. First a full band, then breaking through as a duo, later revolving through solo and guest versions; Des Ark is now a trio!

In October 2004, Exotic Fever Records released Des Ark’s first output, a split seven-inch with Bellafea. Not ones to stay idle for long wallowing in the critical praise of this release, the duo came out with their first full-length, an album entitled ‘Loose Lips Sink Ships’ on Bifocal Media/Bakery Outlet Records and recorded by current Witch member/Dinosaur Jr. alum J Mascis. Touring across the US twice in 2005 behind the album, Herzog left the band in September 2005, leaving Argote to continue touring and recording as Des Ark.

For Argote, Des Ark has become a venue for her to express her deeply intertwined internal and external politics, whether that be as a full band, duo, or solo project. The project roils with expressions of the intersections of the personal and public, and Argote's strength lies in viewing the public world through a private prism to relate experiences of drug addiction, sexual freedom, being queer, unrelenting heartbreak, and controversial life decisions.


PYGMY LUSH
http://www.myspace.com/pygmylush
Pygmy Lush, whose members have cut their teeth in some of Northern Virginia's most influential hardcore bands of the last decade including Pg.99, Majority Rule, Malady, City of Caterpillar and Crestfallen, return with their much anticipated second full-length, ‘Mount Hope’.

Pygmy Lush formed in the spring of 2005 on the very day two of their previous bands, Malady and Mannequin broke up. They started out by carrying on much of the same ferocity of their previous endeavors but a massive change was afoot. Somewhere in their early practices they had started four-tracking several quieter songs with acoustic guitars and minimal percussion. Their first record, ‘Bitter River’ (Robotic Empire), was noise-punk tracks mixed in with some of the quieter songs. Those more restrained songs, which had at first been an aside, began to overtake the set. Mike Taylor explains, "We liked the quiet stuff so much that we decided that our next plan was to write an entire quiet album." The sound suites them. The songs feel haunted. Still filled to the brim with a sense of abandon, only here they have put down their angst for introspection, traded their aggression for a slow grit. Not bad for a bunch of punks. Taylor continues, "We have not stopped playing or touring and we are all sick in the fucking head with music." It shows.

Local folk punkers Rye n’ Clover and Kaboosh! to support
http://www.ryenclover.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kaboosh/135145483164516

Thursday, April 14th
ZEVIOUS (Cuneiform Records : NYC)
MAKESHIFT (Ithaca)
THE INVISIBLE HAND (Ithaca)
PLASMA 36 (Ithaca)
...
Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA)
3rd Floor Auditorium
330 E State St (aka Martin Luther King Jr. St)
Ithaca, NY 14850
8PM $5 all ages

ZEVIOUS
http://www.zevious.com/
http://www.myspace.com/zevioustrio
Last seen in Ithaca at the BRIAN! CD release show with 1000 Year Plan. We’re talking mathy, jazzy, proggy, distorted, ultra-heady awesomeness from NYC on the venerable Cuneiform Records with members from Dysrythmia and Many Arms. I know that’s enough for some of you to get stoked on this! For those that need more details, read this...

After forming Zevious in 2006 as a straight ahead jazz trio, guitarist Mike Eber, drummer Jeff Eber (also of Dysrhythmia), and Bassist John DeBalase immediately broke free of the bonds of tradition. Zevious began combining progressive rock grooves, tech metal, free improv, and complex song forms to create a unique compositional style. Equally influenced by vintage progressive acts such as Magma and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, polymetric metal like Meshuggah, and the improvisational approach of Vijay Iyer and Ben Monder, Zevious is a distinctive fusion band in the burgeoning punk-jazz movement.

Their songs wind through peaks and valleys of odd-metered and hard-hitting bass and drum grooves with contrapuntal guitar interjections that morph into unison riffing, with hard-hitting, complex drum workouts and stop-on-a-dime style guitar breaks coupled with subtle, brooding segments. Their second album “After the Air Raid” on Cuneiform Records (Upsilon Acrux, Ahleuchatistas, Guapo) is the culmination of nearly two years of hard compositional and rehearsal labor and showcases a powerful, rhythmically intense and highly structured sound, making this a record with lasting depth. Beautifully and simply recorded, mixed and mastered by Colin Marston (of Behold...the Arctopus), the striking live sound of the band is masterfully presented.

Local groove-metalers Makeshift, prog-punks The Invisible Hand, and onemancrush Plasma 36 to support!
http://makeshiftny.bandcamp.com/
http://theinvisiblehandithaca.bandcamp.com/ - free album download!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plasma-36/94607364253


Wednesday, April 20th
THE AMERICAN DOLLAR (Yesh Records : NYC)
KITES IN SPACE
THE ATOMIC FORCES
PAPER ARMIES
...
The GreenStar Annex
700 W Buffalo St
Ithaca, NY 14850
8PM $5 All Ages

THE AMERICAN DOLLAR:
http://www.myspace.com/americandollarband
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU49AFzgtw
Started by high school friends John Emanuele and Richard Cupolo, The American Dollar create pieces that wholly captivate and engage the listener. The duo fuses processed drums, spacious keyboards and powerful organ swells with electric guitar and bass, creating deep sonic textures while maintaining the passion and energy of a live band. Since their 2006 self titled debut, all the way through their prolific output of 'The Technicolour Sleep' (2007), 'A Memory Stream' (2008), their latest studio LP 'Atlas' (2009), ambient compilations, split with Arms & Sleepers, and most recently, 'Live In Brooklyn'; the band has continued to merge cinematic instrumental rock with shimmering ambient electronic music, challenge the staleness of the "post-rock" genre In a short period of time with stunning results.

"Using drums, keyboards, guitars, and various other percussion instruments, John Emanuele and Rich Cupolo weave richly textured melodies in between cascades of drums, synths, and sparse organ notes, creating a sound that puts them on par with bands like The Album Leaf or Explosions in the Sky. Whether a track contains a lush, ambient-interlude feel or a sweeping explosion of chords, emotion runs high on this disc." - Jennifer Marston, XLR8R

"The duo's layering of conventional instruments like the guitar, drums, and bass with electronic enhancements, made for an album that has a temporal pitch embossed in supernatural hues. The dewy synth-flaked hazes have a classic ambient touch with chord bolts that streak through them etching a gorgeous penmanship. It is one of those albums that if you knew how to make, you would. The American Dollar's balance of earthy and airy tones is attractive. The duo do not lean more on one side than the other, which makes the graphic images permeating from their songs resound with a human voicing while piped in idealistic esthetics." - Susan Frances, Absolute Punk

Support from local indie/folk troop Kites In Space, psych-punks The Atomic Forces, and ambience from Paper Armies to support.
http://www.sixteensixteen.org/kitesinspace/
http://www.myspace.com/107098519
http://paperarmies.bandcamp.com/

UPCOMING SHOWS
Apr 13th: Des Ark, Pygmy Lush (ex-Pg. 99), Rye n’ Clover, Kaboosh! at GreenStar Annex 8PM $5

Apr 14th: Zevious, Makeshift, The Invisible Hand, Plasma 36 at CSMA 3rd Floor 8PM $5

Apr 20th: The American Dollar, Kites In Space, The Atomic Forces, Paper Armies at GreenStar Annex 8PM $5

May 7th: BIG DAY IN: Tombs, Woe, Sulaco, Ehnahre, Night Owls, Oak & Bone, Lux Carentes, Sepsis, Inerds, MTMTM, Hiroshima Vacation, Sun Spells at The Haunt 12PM-10PM $5

May 14th: why+the+wires LP release, Tropical Punk, Blow!, Mouth To Mouth To Mouth at GreenStar Annex 8PM $5

May 24th: The Queers, (tba), Beach Parade, Fight A Scary Dog at The Haunt 5PM Doors $10

...more shows tba soon for May & June!

See you Wednesday, Thursday, then Wednesday again!
~Bubba