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Monday, March 05, 2007

Playing, on the radio . . .
Category: Music

We stopped in at Minneasota Public Radio's The Current to play a few songs and chat with Steve Seel, a host at that station. Very spare, different versions of album tracks and surprises . . .

Here's a link:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/02/28/six_part_seven/

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Friday, January 26, 2007

Complete discography . . .
Category: Music

People have been asking, so, here's our major discography (not including comp tracks and such):

1995:
Six Parts Seven / Self-titled / Donut Friends Records:
Cassette only release by the band in its original form as a bass and drums duo (Allen Karpinski and Jay Karpinski, respectively). 8 songs. Some even have vocals. Cover art by Christa Donner. Maybe 50 copies in existence, ever.

1998:
Six Parts Seven / In Lines and Patterns . . . / Donut Friends Records:
Our first 'real' album. Allen moves from playing bass to guitar. Tim Gerak joins, along with Brad Visker (bass) and Mary Mazzer (lap-steel). 11 songs. Cover art by Michael Loderstedt. 1000 copies.

2000:
Six Parts Seven / Silence Magnifies Sound / Troubleman Unlimited:
Second album. Same basic line-up as the previous one, with the exception of Heather Wiker (violin) coming in as a full-time member to replace Mary Mazzer (lap-steel). 9 songs. Cover art by Michael Loderstedt. 2000 copies.

2001:
Six Parts Seven / Untitled EP / Troubleman Unlimited:
Part of TMU's 'Solo Singles Series' where label artists do everything themselves, one player playing it all his or her own way. Just Allen recording electric guitar, bass, lap-steel, etc. 2 songs (both spontaneous studio inventions). Letter-pressed covers by Mary Mazzer. This release was suspended, indefinitely, when the band left Troubleman Unlimited for Suicide Squeeze. Although it has never seen an official release, over 200 copies were sold on tour.

2002:
Six Parts Seven / Things Shaped In Passing / Suicide Squeeze Records:
Third full-length album. Our Sucide Squeeze debut! Same core line-up. James Matthew Haas (lap-steel and guitar) and Steve Clements (piano) join forces with the band. 8 songs. Cover art again by Michael Loderstedt. Somewhere around 4000 copies in print (500 on vinyl).

2003:
Six Parts Seven / Split EP with The Black Keys / Suicide Squeeze Records:
Fun project, and interesting side-note to the band's discography. Just one song (which appears again in its final, complete version on "Everywhere, and Right Here"). Same line-up, with the addition of Brian Straw (banjo). Cover art by Jesse Ledoux. 5000 copies.

2003:
Six Parts Seven / Attitudes of Collapse / Burnt Toast Vinyl:
One-sided LP series. Last recording with Brad Visker (bass guitar). 4 songs. Cover art, and etching, by Christa Donner. 1000 copies (vinyl only)

2004:
Six Parts Seven / Lost Notes From Forgotten Songs / Suicide Squeeze Records:
A collaborative project with some of our favorite vocalists and friends writing lyrics to sing over new arrangements of songs from both "Things Shaped In Passing" and "Attitudes of Collapse." 9 songs. Cover art by Russell Lee and Ken Meyer.

2004:
Six Parts Seven / Everywhere, and Right Here / Suicide Squeeze Records:
Fourth album. Debut of Mike Tolan (bass, guitar, etc) in the core line-up of the band. Ben Vaughan replaces James Matthew Haas on lap-steel, and Eric Koltnow comes in on vibes. 8 songs. Cover art by Jesse Ledoux. Still in print. 500 vinyl copies released by Devil In The Woods.

2007:
Six Parts Seven / Casually Smashed to Pieces / Suicide Squeeze:
Fifth album. Core line-up unchanged. Brian Straw replaces Ben Vaughan on lap-steel. Brass replaces vibes. 8 songs. Cover art by Brett Holzworth. Just released on CD and LP.

[Allen]

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http://newdarkages.blogspot.com/

Monday, January 22, 2007

Internet love . . .
Category: Music

It's always interesting - as an album's release date approaches - to see what kind of attention it it drags along with it. We've been getting some big love as of late. Check out these links:

Reviews:

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/whitman/

http://irockcleveland.blogspot.com/2007/01/casually-smashed-to-pieces-by-six-parts.html

http://www.babysue.com/2006-Nov-LMNOP-Reviews.html

http://heartachewithhardwork.blogspot.com/2006/12/boats-against-current.html

http://aframe.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/review-casually-smashed-to-pieces/

Tour:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/40543/Exclusive_Richard_Buckner_Tours_With_Six_Parts_Se

http://www.thetripwire.com/news/2007/1/18/richard-buckner-six-parts-seven-hit-the-road

http://www.prefixmag.com/blog/prefix/2007/01/17/richard-buckner-six-parts-seven-tour/#more-2489

http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.3831.html

General love:

http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Articles/tabid/55/ctl/Details/mid/412/ItemID/273/Default.aspx

http://betterinasong.com/

[Allen]

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Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Most listened to music, 2006.
Category: Music

Here's something like a top-ten. I kinda hate these things because I sense more what it is that I am forgetting - leaving off - than what I've remembered to include. And besides, I don't really know how to judge anything on artistic merit alone. So, these are the albums I listened to - as complete works - most frequently over the past year . . .

1) Califone / Roots & Crowns

2) Joanna Newsom / Ys

3) Sonic Youth / Rather Ripped

4) Band of Horses / Everything All The Time

5) Talons' / Rustic Bullshit

6) Mojave 3 / Puzzles Like You

7) Beaten Awake / Let's Get Simplified

8) Brightblack Morning Light / Self-titled

9) Six Organs of Admittance / The Sun Awakens

10) Sun Kil Moon / Tiny Cities

[Allen]

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Monday, December 25, 2006

New album, pre-sale orders . . .
Category: Music

Pre-release date copies of our new album, "Casually Smashed to Pieces," can be ordered here: http://www.suicidesqueeze.net/order.html

CD and vinyl are both available (vinyl is limited, and less expensive, yet sexy).

Suicide Squeeze will also be running a couple of special 'give-aways' - including a an test-pressing of "Casually Smashed to Pieces" with hand-drawn cover art by one of the 6P7 troublemakers (not me, for sure); we're only going to make two of these (the other, with a different cover image, will be given away at Square Records, on Jan. 23rd).

[Allen]

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Monday, October 23, 2006

New songs . . .
Category: Music

Three new songs have been posted!

Two of them ("Stolen Moments" and "Falling over Evening") are from our - as of yet - unreleased album, "Casually Smashed to Pieces."

The other ("Afternoon Bed") appeared last July on Suicide Squeeze Records 10th anniversary Cd, "Slaying Since 1996."

I also added a video of Gabe Schray playing his pocket trumpet outside the Ice House, in Akron, Ohio, where we recorded most of the 'extra' tracks for "Casually Smashed to Pieces." Check out the photos on MySpace for a better idea of what that was like (the space was insane: damp and fantastic, with ceilings hovering 80-feet overhead).

We recently staged a re-creation of CSNY's defining album, "Deja VU." Well, the cover artwork, to be precise. We needed new press photos for our publicity agent, and Mike had this idea, long kept, to pose in simliar fashion to that iconic image. We decided to wear clothing we already owned and wore under normal circumstances, but we altered the way we actually dressed in those clothes (pants are pulled way high; shirts tucked in, and buttoned to the top). We also borrowed some 'props' just to make sure the connection was clear (hopefully). The most difficult part was getting my dog, Echo, to stand still for the picture. You can almost see her tail in motion, even with the relatively high film speed.

A huge thanks to Russell Lee for capturing this image, and for his patience in getting us to sit still and stop from laughing our way out of the serious, almost corpse-like pose displayed in the original photograph.

-Allen

9:22 PM

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Monday, July 03, 2006

Recording sessions, Akron.
Category: Music

Recording for our fifth album is now complete! After spending two weeks in Seattle, at Studio Litho, working close with Matt Bayles, we wrapped it all up, tight, in Akron.

On Saturday, Tim, Jake, and I moved a van-load of recording gear and musical equipment into the Ice House. The empty cold-storage facility is a cavernous, open space, used primarily for showcasing local artists. Both Kent State and Akron University have used it extensively for site-specific installations and sculpture. The ceilings hover, sixty-five-feet above; light streams in from unseen breaks in the walls; to step inside was to experience a slight slip from time, your breath just dropping away . . .

It took more than fourteen hours, but we managed it all, tracking Rhodes piano (Steve), pocket-trumpet (Gabe), electric guitar (Matt), coronet (Keith), Lap-steel (Jake), and even some harmony whistling (Steve and Jake).

The vast interior space bounced sound, and provided us with longest natural decay I have ever experienced. Imagine a trumpet, blowing a note, and that note hanging, moving about, ten seconds after it had been sent. Like a punch in the stomach: all that expanded air; listening in slow motion.

I posted a few photographs (including an over-view shot of the space). Check them out if you're interested. Better yet, listen to the results when our album is released, January, 2007.

[Allen]

9:22 AM

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Friday, June 16, 2006

Kuyahoga Fest, August 3rd, 2006.
Category: Music

A couple of weeks back we received the news - the rumors were true - we were being added to the line-up of bands playing the Kuyahoga Festival, at Blossom Music Center. One of two local groups (Roue is the other) asked to join Sonic Youth and The Flaming Lips, among others, for this day-long party in Blossom's park-like setting. Please come out early and see us! We're basically opening this thing: playing early, on the 'second' stage, starting around 3:00 PM. Probably, people will be streaming in, walking toward the pavillion or checking out the merchandise booths, before they even realize a band has played. But even if we slip, unheard in the afternoon, this is a something of a thrill for me, personally. Blossom hosted many of my first concerts experiences: Public Image Limited, New Order, Depeche Mode, Lollapalooza (the first and second), The Sugarcubes, and so many more. And, to be billed with Sonic Youth?! Yeah, I'm gushing almost to the point of embarrassing myself. But what of it? Isn't this what loving live music is to begin with? The near epiphany, the excitement that can come from being that close to that sound, pulsing right there, in your ear, moving your mind, and body, to the point of breaking. Sonic Youth has been a constant for so long now; a challenge and, sometimes, a leap of faith. They seem ageless to me, legendary, and worth watching always. The final two tracks on their latest album, "Rather Ripped," are just about perfect, really, I can hardly wait to hear them performed . . .

[Allen]

9:22 AM

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