Tiny Engines

Not very … but people still seem to like us.

Case in point, one of our new(ish) favorite blogs, Reviewsic.com, celebrated 500 posts last week.  Samantha, the site’s driving force, has been a true blue supporter of everything we do at Tiny Engines, as well as Beartrap PR. We’re eternally grateful for all the love receive from her, especially since we’re generally very difficult to love.

A few months ago Sam found it in her heart to interview Will, Jeff and I.  Totally rad because seriously … who gives a crap about what we have to say?  Will is cranky, Jeff is a communist (just kidding) and all I know are boring stories about babies.

Regardless, the interview turned about pretty good and Sam was awesome enough to include it in her week-long celebration of Reviewsic’s substantial contributions to the blogosphere, otherwise known as “5 Out of 500: Posts We Love.”

We were featured on Wednesday and you can read the actual interview here.  It covers a fairly wide range of topics, and if you’re remotely interested in how both Tiny Engines and Beartrap came to be then you should definitely check it out.  In general, we highly recommend you bookmarking Reviewsic as there’s always great content added on a daily basis.

By the way, big thanks to Brian Mietz of It’s A King Thing / Diner State for whipping up the bear image for us.  It’s pretty flippin’ sweet, eh?  The only thing I regret is not knowing that I was supposed to make a growl-y face.  Next time I will show some teeth.

Yes, this split between Castevet and Into It. Over It. is happening and yes, that really is the cover.

Brought to you by our good friends at Topshelf Records – a terrific up-and-coming indie that has worked with bands such as Pianos Become The Teeth and My Heart To Joy - the Snack Town 7″ features four brand new songs ( two from each band ) and is available for pre-order here.

Want to preview the snack-y goodness? Head over to each band’s respective myspace page as Castevet unleashes “Get (Bucktown)” upon the world and Into It. Over It. chips in with “Summerville, SC.” Yay for streaming!

You would do well to snag one of these circular, spin-y things now because according to the label, there are only 500 available and it will never be repressed.  There are several special package deals that you might want to check out as well.

Just a little background info – Snack Town is part of the “Twelve Towns” series where Evan Weiss, aka Into It. Over It., splits a 7″ release with six other bands over the course of a year.   The first installment on Evil Weevil Records featured Bob Nanna & Lauren Lo.  Future 7-inches in the series will find IIOI sharing wax with Pswingset, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), Snowing and of course our very own Everyone Everywhere.

This particular split will also be released by Topshelf within the next couple months, and while I haven’t heard Everyone Everywhere’s contribution yet ( they just finished recording, apparently ) Into It. Over It. cranks out a ridiculously awesome cover of EE’s “Raw Bar OBX 2002″ that you people will love.  I’m assuming there will be more than just one song from Evan, but this track alone might be worth the price of admission.

While I’m pedaling vinyl releases that aren’t part of the Tiny Engine’s catalog, I’ve been meaning to remind people that Everyone Everywhere’s debut 7″, A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around, has been repressed by Evil Weevil.  This four-song corker is what made us fall in love with the band in the first place and I highly recommend that you grab a copy … especially since it’s limited to 200 copies.  Still not sure?  You can download the EP FOR FREE at IfYouMakeIt.com.  Seriously, what’s better than try-before-you-buy, instant, guilt-free gratification?

That’s it for now.  Stay tuned for lot more awesomeness!

Recently the boys in Everyone Everywhere hooked up with The Switchboard Sessions, a sweet little blog and one of my new favorite internet destinations.

The concept is fairly simple: great indie bands perform two songs live – one original and one cover – that are subsequently recorded via the telephone. Available for free download, the tracks are then paired with a charming in-depth interview that always asks so much more than rote, run-of-the-mill questions. In fact, I’m usually so enamored by the interviews that I often forget about the two songs at the end, which is amusing because they’re always great and quite frankly, the driving force behind the site. Bonus for me, I suppose.

Dane, The Switchboard Sessions’ founder, does an outstanding job and the entire package is simply terrific … very intimate, engaging and insightful features, with fun n’ free songs to boot. In the span of six months he’s featured Murder By Death, My Heart To Joy, Smoke or Fire, Frank Portman of the Mr. T Experience, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), Captain We’re Sinking, Heartsounds, Broadway Calls and Polar Bear Club.

We are so psyched that Everyone Everywhere has joined that esteemed list and we think that the band’s Switchboard Session turned out great … even if it did take a while to clear some obstacles and iron out a few kinks. Swing on by for a captivating interview with our Philly heroes and listen to them crank out a telephone-recorded version of “Fld Ovr” as well as a cover of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.”

As an interesting side note, Everyone Everywhere is the first outfit to play as a full band for The Switchboard Sessions. That is how we roll.

Well, that was before Tiny Engines’ mail order decided that I had entirely too much free time on my hands ( I don’t, fyi ) and consequently kicked me in the arse with a giant, pointy boot otherwise known as “pre-orders.”

With that said, allow me to thank all the good folks who snagged copies of the Everyone Everywhere and Castevet LPs.  The response and support has been absolutely incredible.  Seriously, Will, Jeff and I knew that these were awesome records, but in general, you’re never quite sure how people are going to react to an unproven quantity … especially when you’re dealing with smaller DIY punk outfits.

Regardless, we believe in all the bands on the roster and it’s great to see that you do as well. I will happily get slapped around by mail order any day if it means that you guys are giving the music a shot and keeping this label moving in the right direction.

So obviously the last few months have been really busy, and they’ll probably stay that way through the end of the year as we’re about to get started on the Tigers Jaw / Spirit Desire repress, followed by a 7″ from a brand new band that we’re really stoked on.  Plenty of additional shenanigans forthcoming as well, including Castevet and Everyone Everywhere test pressings for sale and lots of positive coverage of both bands in the media. Hell, you may even see some distro items available in TE mail order as almost all our bands have upcoming releases scheduled with other labels. Don’t quote me on that one, but we’ve been thinking about it …

In any case, I wanted to leave you with some dates for a short Midwestern tour that Castevet will be embarking on beginning, well … yesterday. Like I said, I’ve been busy.  Regardless, the band doesn’t get out all that much so if you’re anywhere near these gigs, get yr ass out of the house and show your support!

JUN 30 – Kansas City, MO @ Salt Water Taffy House w/ Into it Over it
JUL 01 – Lincoln, NE @ Ghost House w/ Into it Over it, Thunderbolts
JUL 02 – Cedar Falls, IA @ TBA w/ Into it Over it, Former Thieves
JUL 03 – Chicago, IL @ Gnarfest
JUL 04 – Oak Brook, IL @ BroBQ
JUL 10 – Louisville, KY @ Skull Alley w/ Xerxes, Mountain Asleep

More fun stuff soon … I promise!

Don’t ask me what “SNACKS” means.  It’s an inside joke from ten years ago between me and like, two other people  … and it never made sense in the first place.  Believe you me though, it’s a good thing, and upon seeing these photos of the new Everyone Everywhere LP laid out in all it’s awesome awesomeness, “SNACKS!” seemed like the appropriate response.

Before you get too excited, Tiny Engines still doesn’t have the vinyl in its possession. This photo was taken by Tommy from the band, which got its copies last night.  However, our shipment has officially set sail from the plant and will be arriving next week.  Subsequently, anyone who pre-ordered should have their copies very soon as well.

Again, thanks for all your patience.  The vinyl pressing experience is a wild, unpredictable ride, to say the least, and this definitely took a lot longer than expected.

As I mentioned, the band received its copies just in time for the record release show in West Chester last night.  Everyone Everywhere also plays tonight in Baltimore and then they’ll have a Philly release throw-down on Tuesday, so if you haven’t pre-ordered from Tiny Engines and you’d like to pick up a 12″ directly from the band, go to one of these shows. Additional details can be found here.

One more quick note: if you missed the MP3 Blog Tour, you can still stream the entire Everyone Everywhere record at Punknews.org.  What are you waiting for? Get into one of the best records of 2010.

The Everyone Everywhere MP3 Blog Tour has reached its final destination! The last song from the record has been posted at Clicky Clicky, and after a really fun, sorta exhausting two weeks, I’m ready to take a nap.

You, my music-loving friends, are not though.  Sleep is for suckers, especially when there’s still ten amazing songs to be downloaded, courtesy of ten awesome blogs.

For the next three days (May 02 – 04) you can grab every single song from Everyone Everywhere‘s new Self-Titled LP, completely free of charge and with no strings attached … save for maybe spreading the word regarding this sweet nugget of a deal.

Start following the links below for pure downloading rapture. And once again, be sure to give each one of these blogs a bit of your  individual attention as well.  They’ve done an awesome job with the tour and if you appreciate great independent music, they should definitely be regular stops on your daily internet adventures.

SIDE A
————————————————————————————————————————

01. Tiny Planet @ The Ripple Effect
02. Raw Bar OBX 2002 @ Can You See The Sunset?
03. From The Beginning To The Tail @ Built On A Weak Spot
04. Tiny Town @ Dryvetyme Onlyne
05. Tiny Boat @ Battle Of The Midwestern Housewives

SIDE B
————————————————————————————————————————

06. Music Work Paper Work @ Deckfight
07. Blown Up Grown Up @ The Album Project
08. Fld Ovr @ Familiarize Yourself
09. I Feel Fine by Everyone Everywhere @ Reviewsic
10. Obama House, Fukui Prefecture @ Clicky Clicky Music

The Everyone Everywhere MP3 Blog Tour has officially reached its halfway point, which means that you, valued listener, can download the first five tracks from the band’s upcoming Self-Titled full-length absolutely free.  So far the response has been amazing, and if I can be a bit presumptuous, I’d say that everyone is having a lot of fun with this crazy, interactive experiment.

Just a quick aside – I participated in an interview with True/Slant about the blog tour and I think it ended up being a great feature /commentary on the past, present and future of free online music.  The author, Leor Galil, did a sweet job and we really appreciate the extra support and publicity.  Leor also pre-ordered a copy of the Everyone Everywhere record, which is super awesome … and reminds me that somewhat forgotten amidst all the hoopla of the blog tour is the fact that Tiny Engines is a vinyl label and we really love the format. Owning a record digitally is great (and at times, extremely convenient) but we contend that there’s something uniquely special about listening to music on a beautiful slab of wax.

Anyway, you should really read the article, especially if you’re at all interested in how the Everyone Everywhere MP3 Blog Tour came to be.

For late-comers to the party – those of  you who at this very instant are thinking to yourselves, “what the crap is an ‘mp3 blog tour’ and why should I care?” – Tiny Engines has partnered with ten awesome independent music blogs, each of which will give away one song from Everyone Everywhere’s new record (out May 4th) over the course of a two week period.

Start the tour at The Ripple Effect to download album opener, “Tiny Planet.” Proceed to Can You See The Sunset? for “Raw Bar OBX 2002,” and then swing by Built On A Weak Spot (From The Beginning To The Tail), Dryvetyme Onlyne (Tiny Town) and Battle Of The Midwestern Housewives (Tiny Boat) to collect all the tracks from Side A of the record.

On Monday (04/26), Side B begins at Deckfight and continues throughout the week with The Album Project,  Familiarize Yourself, Reviewsic and finally, Clicky Clicky.  At that point, you’ll have until the record’s release date, May 4th, to visit all ten blogs to download the entire shebang for free.  After that, our friends at Punknews.org will be streaming the album in its entirety.

And for anyone who considers themselves a fan of emo, punk, hardcore and all the many sub genres that encompass indie rock, please take a few minutes to explore the always-engaging content from all the blogs involved.  I promise – you’ll absolutely, one hundred percent discover a ton of worthwhile new bands and hopefully became a regular visitor to each and every one of these terrific sites.

Did anyone wake up this morning thinking to themselves “Gee golly … I wish that during the next two weeks, ten awesome music blogs would give away every single song from the amazing new Everyone Everywhere Self-Titled LP … and they would call it something really catchy, like the Everyone Everywhere MP3 Blog Tour.”

You did?  Me too!  Holy balls! Did you also wake up thinking “how the hell did I sprain my finger in my sleep?” Seriously, how did I sprain my finger in my sleep?

Whatevs … go here to find out how you can download every song from Everyone Everywhere’s amazing new 12″ and in the process, cozy up to a collection of 10 terrific music blogs that you should frequent every day for the rest of your life, or until the universe eventually collapses into itself.

Remember, the tour only lasts from April 19th through May 4th.  Don’t miss out!

How is it that I always end up posting these things at 3am?  Oh, Tiny Engines … my listless body, achy joints and quickly diminishing capacity to think rational thoughts hate your demanding nature … but my heart loves that you allow us to work with amazing bands like Chicago’s Castevet.

So cat’s out of the bag, kids! The fourth release in Tiny Engines’ short, semi-illustrious history will be The Echo & The Light, an eight-song 12″ from one of the most exciting young bands in the scene today. Seriously, it seemed like Castevet’s 2009 debut full-length, Summer Fences, was showing up on nearly everyone’s Best Of lists at the end of last year, including TE co-founder, Will ”The Thrill” Miller.

Often described as a collision between gorgeous, twinkly 90′s Midwestern emo (a la Ghosts and Vodka or The Appleseed Cast) and a propulsive punk rock explosion owing to brawny-yet-brainy bands such as Small Brown Bike and The Casket Lottery, Castevet pays tribute to its influences while forging a new sound all its own.

The Echo & The Light doesn’t miss a step, taking all the best attributes of Summer Fences and winding its songs into tight, cohesive blasts of math-tinged emo and punk rock.  This is probably the most aggressive, gravely band we’ve worked with, but in it’s own unique way, Castevet embraces a tuneful, almost poppy undercurrent, and it often constructs lush, winding instrumental passages that are downright beautiful.

We’ll be pressing 500 copies of this awesome 12″ on white (300) and 180 gram black (200) vinyl. You can find more information about the album here, and if you’d like to place of pre-order, go here.  Official release date isn’t until June 29, 2010, but these should ship by the end of May.

As always, thanks for all of your love and support for what we do.  We really appreciate it!

I promised to update this site more, and for the most part I’ve been pretty diligent about trying to give the good folks a reason to come back.  I mean, two weeks ago I performed an extensive image search for old Jay Leno photos; that is how much I care.

Still, TinyEngines.net has been leaning toward the inactive side over the past couple weeks.  Blame it on the holiday, having two boys under the age of two rule my life or the fact that our “main” endeavor, Beartrap PR, is pretty much a full-time biz … and biz is booming.

Whatever, excuses are lame.  I can assure you that there has been plenty of goings-on with the label and we’re keeping an extremely active schedule.  Not only are things heating up with the Everyone Everywhere 12″ but we’re about to get the lacquers cut for our next release: another 12″ from a band about which I think you’ll be really stoked.  Check back Thursday(ish) for a proper announcement as well as pre-order info.

In the meantime, here are some other things to get psyched for …

* Look Mexico’s Gasp Asp 7″ is on sale for $2.99!

We thought it was a great way to celebrate the release of the band’s newest full-length, To Bed To Battle, on Suburban Home.  Those dudes just keep churning out the hits and continue to tour like mad men.  Gasp Asp is the record that launched Tiny Engines, and although I’m biased, I still think it’s some of the band’s best material.

We also figured “why not pair Gasp Asp with the Everyone Everywhere 12″ for an even awesomer super package deal of awesome awesomeness?”  Why not, indeed!

Go here to pick both releases up for a thrifty $12.99.  If you’ve already pre-ordered Everyone Everywhere’s Self-Titled LP and you’d like to add Gasp Asp, drop me a line here (chuck@beartrappr.com) and we’ll work it out.

* Everyone Everywhere LPs are in the pipeline!

It has taken a bit longer than expected, but we should have the Everyone Everywhere vinyl by the end of April. Because we were unsure about some of our color choices, the pressing plant was kind enough to run off a few test copies of the maroon.  This is what that particular color record should look like.

Since everyone who pre-ordered the record has been so patient, as a thank you I’m going to start emailing all of you a link to download the mp3s.  Not quite as nice as receiving that beautiful slab of wax in the mail, but once you hear this album, you’ll know it was worth the wait.

For the rest of you, check back next Monday (April 19th) for a big announcement about how you can essentially get a digital version of the record for free.  I can’t get into it right now, but we’re really excited about this little “experiment.”

* Tigers Jaw Spirit Desire 7″ gets the ol’ repress!

Yes, people – we will be repressing Spirit Desire … but not until later this summer.  It’s definitely on the schedule though and we’re currently exploring new packaging / vinyl color ideas.  At least I am; the band has no idea.

The release is currently available via iTunes and other digital services, so that’s something.  It should be noted that Tigers Jaw is apparently the busiest band in the world right now as they’ve got a split CD / LP with Balance And Composure and two acoustic 7-inches available for pre-order (out May 11), as well as the re-release of the terrific Self-Titled record coming soon …. aaaaand a brand new full-length which I’m pretty sure they just finished recording and Jeff from Run For Cover tells me is coming out in September.  And of course the Spirit Desire repress.  HOT DAMN!