Hello friends,

Here is the complete listing of OTC's North American Tour in May 2009. The tour will feature guitarist Jason Schimmel (Estradasphere, Secret Chiefs 3), ex- Estradasphere saxophonist John Whooley, drummer Lee Smith (Estradasphere, God of Shamisen), bassist Luke Bergman (Cuong Vu), and guitarist Zach Cline. Come check out this debut tour in support of a new Mimicry Records release.

May 1 @ Comet Tavern Seattle, WA
May 2 @ Tonic Lounge Portland, OR
May 3 @ Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT
May 4 @ Hi-Dive Denver, CO
May 5 @ Knickerbockers Lincoln, NE
May 6 @ Reggie's Rock Club Chicago, IL
May 7 @ Nietzsche's Buffalo, NY
May 8 @ Midway Cafe Boston, MA
May 9 @ The Studio at Webster Hall New York City, NY
May 10 @ Black Cat (Backstage) Washington, DC
May 11 @ Northstar Philadelphia, PA
May 12 @ The Wormhole Savannah, GA
May 13 @ Backstage Lounge Gainesville, FL
May 14 @ The Earl Atlanta, GA
May 15 @ Bo Bo Gallery Asheville, NC
May 16 @ Dragons Den New Orleans, LA
May 17 @ Rubber Gloves Denton, TX
May 18 @ Emo's Austin, TX
May 19 @ Zeppelins El Paso, TX
May 20 @ The Hut Tucson, AZ
May 21 @ Brick By Brick San Diego, CA
May 22 @ Knitting Factory Los Angeles, CA
May 23 @ Hotel Utah San Francisco, CA

The official companion EP to Palace of Mirrors CD and DVD, available exclusively as a download from Lobefood. You wouldn't necessarily be wrong in calling this a "Palace of Mirrors" leftovers bin. Perhaps for the hardcore Estradasphere fans only, the Pegasus Vault sheds further light on the Palace CD and DVD thematic material. At one point or another, everything on here was destined for the Palace CD. Despite the 'cutting room floor' nature, this really makes a great playing EP that works on it's own. This also gives fans the ability to start making their own playlists of the complete Palace. In addition to the EP you will also get an extras folder of stuff that didn't fit the flow of the EP. Over an hour of new tracks on this download brings the Palace Era officially to a close.
Audio trailer available at http://www.myspace.com/lobefood

If you have an aversion to drug fueled slapstick with excessive references to 80's cartoons and pop culture ala Transformers and G.I. Joe, then steer clear of the movie StarSlyderz written and directed by Garrin Vincent. The soundtrack is made up of a large amount of Estradasphere's "Buck Fever" album, as well as original cues and songs by Tim Smolens and Jeff Atridge. Interestingly enough, Tim and Jason went to high school with the guys that made this, although they were not friends at the time.
See trailer at www.starslyderz.com
for sale at Estradasphere's Lobefood.com

StarSlyderz Review
By DENNIS HARVEY (for Variety Magazine)

The accumulated snarky-satiric musings of every American ex-teen raised on "Star Trek," "Star Wars," "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," "Transformers" and fantasy videogames have birthed "Starslyderz," perhaps the cheesiest -- and giddiest -- sci-fi spoof since 1980's "Flash Gordon" (or 1974's "Flesh Gordon," for that matter). Randy, ridiculous futuristic adventure features nonstop low-end f/x and pop culture in-jokes that will resound most among those as young as helmer Garrin Vincent and his collaborators. But even over-30s will recognize "Starslyderz" as an impressive home-made camp epic that blows away lame Troma-style efforts. Cult status is assured, though commercial prospects are a wild card.

Defending the mostly monetary interests of the United Planets of America is "elite crime fighting force" Starslyderz, whose commander is suave Taylor (Brandon Jones). He's as much Captain Jerk as Captain Kirk, with his selfishness likely to disrupt a noble mission at any moment. (When one work vs. play conflict arises, he announces "Right now, booty is my duty!")

Taylor and his crew are ordered to rescue the president's kidnapped daughter from an opposing team of evildoers including Taylor's green-skinned personal nemesis Mortikai (Garrin Hajeian), plus heavy-metal Brit twins Shandar and Zandor (both played by John Zuckerman). Somehow all end up captives on Planet Zoopy, where they are forced to fight each other to the death gladiator-style before an audience of bloodthirsty puppets and stuffed animals.

Everything from TV commercials and "Biography" to anime and vintage video-games gets parodied. There are production numbers, too, showcasing songs by band Estradasphere.

Juvenile bad-taste humor occasionally falls flat, but the frantic pace, funny performances, crudely colorful CGI and gleefully tacky costume/set/creature designs make for inspired silliness. Actual shooting of live actors took nine days, post-production four years, utilizing gratis services of more than 150 f/x and miscellaneous artists, many drafted via Craigslist. While purportedly just $25,000 in hard cash (or rather credit card debt) was spent overall, pic looks and sounds like a million bucks -- even 1.25 million.

Camera (color, mini DV-to-DigiBeta), Mike Budde; editor, Budde, Vincent; music, Tim Smolens, Estradasphere; production designer, KT Olson; sound, David Doran; puppets, Jody "Madball" Gelbart. Reviewed at Another Hole in the Head, San Francisco, June 10, 2006. Running time: 93 MIN.

A brand new Estradasphere DVD, "Palace of Mirrors Live" is available on the End Records. This is the best thing we have ever done. We promise! The best way to get this DVD is from our online store ( http://www.lobefood.com .) Each order is guaranteed to be shipped our by the violinist ! All proceeds go towards Estradasphere's debt and well-being!

DVD review - http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20071229170928433

Trailer for "Palace of Mirrors Live" DVD - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqZ4mHQQO4U

"Smuggled Mutation" video from the DVD - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv0-95ltk3M


About the live DVD, bassist Tim Smolens and filmmaker Chip Yamada comment, "Making the Palace DVD has been Estradasphere's most fulfilling artistic collaboration thus far. We all felt collectively energized to challenge peoples definition of "band," live show, album, and movie. In our view these are all unnecessary distinctions. Our response has been to constantly push for higher standards in musicianship, production, and storytelling."

Estradasphere members Timb Harris, Jason Schimmel, and Tim Smolens have just returned from their fist European tour as a trio. The tour was a wonderful success and we thank everyone who helped us out. We played shows in France, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Timb and Jason also played with the Secret Chiefs 3 for John Zorn's Masada and Cobra in Milano, Italy.

There are some nice Trio clips that fans have put on you tube....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=npo4q8e-Xk0 ( South France )
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qdYzyJDDZt0 ( Lamego, Portugal )
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6sMQQlz_Cms&feature=related ( Lamego City Hall, Portugal ) - a speech from the mayor likening the globetrotting tendencies of our music with their beloved port wine export !

Estradasphere has been producing songs for, and playing as the backup band for Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. They recently played a series of sold out shows at Estradasphere's new Seattle space.

Show Review - http://threeimaginarygirls.com/liveshowreview/2007nov/amandapalmerwithestradasphere

Review 2 - http://randomville.com/music/feature/article-731.html


Review 3 - http://pmx2.krose.org/forum?action=view&forum_id=1&message_id=249535

Pics - http://www.sepiachord.com/ames.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessiqua/1831641467/in/photostream/

From Amanda Palmer:
"I am excpetionally proud to announce that i'll be working on a number of collaborations with Estradasphere. The band and I just holed up in Seattle for a marathon of rehearsals and recordings that made everybody very, very excited.
We played three private shows in the new seattle space at 608, using lots of the space to make fun live video feeds that projected on the wall of the space (songs from the bathtub! songs from the bedroom! many pianos being played simultaneously from a room far far away!). Chip took mad footage and we are sorting through and will hopefully start posting the results soon. Everyone is hard at work mixing through the recordings we did at Litho and in the space, no set plan on how this stuff will come out but when it does come out it will come out with a large loud BANGING gasp. " - Amanda Palmer

http://www.estradasphere.com/board/

Come make a membership for yourself at our online community. Our board has become virtually inactive over the years and it would be a nice time to do some CPR. I am going to be involved in a lot of the discussions and we can actually talk about some intersting things...

1. recordrd musical archaeology
2. tuning systems and cosmic music
3. the specifics of our records and music....
4. the downfall of western music

Hey we aren't askin' you to debate geo-politics with a redneck mullet prog-fans, but rather take a small part in the Estradasphere community online...

I'll see you over there.... i have started a thread for users to add their own reviews of the DVD...

cheers,
Tim

We are currently trying very hard to promote our music and are amassing a list of various conatcts. If you happen to know anyone in.....

Journalism ( print or online ) -

Radio - (traditional or online)

Promotion/management/ -

Festivals/Shows

International contacts - for playing festivals and press

we are available to do interviews, send CD's or DVD's for airplay or review, get press contatcs into shows

So if you have any contacts that you think would be appropriate, please send them to info@estradasphere.com

We really appreciate your help and support...

A show of hands....

For those who have, leave us some comments on your thoughts, if you will.
The comments section will be transformed into a fan review collection ! Heck, maybe I'll even write one...

We are very proud of this release, palce of Mirrors live (DVD), and feel that it embodies our current potential, which may have been less than realized on certain previous efforts...

So all you hardcores that are just lazy and meaning to pick it up, dawdle on over to our online store ( http://www.lobefood.com ), run by our violinist, and pick one up today. And share with your friends. Your support is much appreciated in these exciting yet financially strenuous times.

There are a ton of things on the horizon for Estradasphere and related projects so please stay tuned...

We look forward to your DVD reviews as comments...

thanks,
Tim Smolens

So after almost a decade in Santa Cruz, we're heading north! Estradasphere is proud to announce Seattle, Washington as our future home. We will miss our sunny Santa Cruz dearly, but the pulchritudinous beaches and bright sun have left us with pale under bellies and ulcerated, shattered visions.

We'll have more information on our new home base as our plans unfold!