To commemorate the May 8 release of 'Imagine Our Love' (CD/LP), Lavender Diamond will be performing in the following retail establishments :

Monday, May 7th, 11pm
Sonic Boom Capitol Hill
514 15th Ave. East
Seattle, WA

Tuesday, May 8th, 7pm
Music Millennium
801 N.W. 23RD
Portland, OR

Thursday, May 10th, 7pm
Amoeba Music
1855 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA

Friday, May 11th, 7pm
Amoeba Music
6400 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, May 12th, 3pm
M-Theory Music,
2234 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104

…than by watching that terrific American North American rock'n'roll juggernaut The New Pornographers, live in lower Manhattan's Battery Park.  It's all going down July 4 with support from Midlake. Free tickets will be distributed at select Starbucks locations (and before you give us any grief, a ) we're not the promoter and b) if it's any consolation, Jackie Mason doesn't like Starbucks, either) with details to follow.

(photo of Jonathan Meiburg, taken from hewinsd's Flickr page)

The following day, July 5, Shearwater will be performing a free show at New York City's Castle Clinton. 

(photo by Sheri Hausey.  http://www.sherihausey.com)

Word of warning to our friends in Providence ; Mission Of Burma are no longer playing Brown University on Thursday, April 19. They have, however been added to the Yo La Tengo / Flaming Lips bill on Saturday, April 21.  

Note to recently proud papa Adam Farrell: maybe Ella's nickname should be 'TimesNewViking?' What do you think? From our friends at the Associated Press:

Metallica may be a cool name for a heavy metal band, but a Swedish couple is struggling to convince officials it is also suitable for a baby girl.

Michael and Karolina Tomaro are locked in a court battle with Swedish authorities, which rejected their application to name their six-month-old child after the legendary rock band.

"It suits her," Karolina Tomaro, 27, said Tuesday of the name. "She's decisive and she knows what she wants."

Although little Metallica has already been baptized, the Swedish National Tax Board refused to register the name, saying it was associated with both the rock group and the word "metal."

Tomaro said the official handling the case also called the name "ugly."

The couple was backed by the County Administrative Court in Goteborg, which ruled on March 13 that there was no reason to block the name. It also noted that there already is a woman in Sweden with Metallica as a middle name.

The tax agency appealed to a higher court, frustrating the family's foreign travel plans.

"We've had to cancel trips and can't get anywhere because we can't get her a passport without an approved name," Tomaro said.

Ironically enough, if I recall correctly, original Metallica bassist Cliff Burton met his untimely demise in the home country of Jesper Eklow, so Swedish National Tax Board, if you're listening/reading and asking "For Whom the Bell Tolls," well it tolls for thee.

…you can't sell out when you never stood for anything in the first place. From the New York Times' Robert Levine, April 2, '07.

Fans of Fall Out Boy who downloaded “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs,” the rock band’s new video last weekend most likely enjoyed the spectacle of chimpanzees playing filmmakers and mocking the members of the band. But they may have noticed something else: Tag All Nighter, a deodorant body spray aimed at young men, is featured prominently in the video.

Fall Out Boy was comfortable with Tag because the brand’s ads have a “sarcastic spin,” said Pete Wentz, the band’s bassist and lyricist. “Given how the industry is right now, you have to come up with new kinds of partnerships, and when you’re able to offset the cost of the video, that’s cool. Hiring chimps is not cheap.”

It's like someone had a hidden camera in our offices.  Kitties Aren't People!!!

Matmos, along with Jay Lesser, will be playing at the Donau Festival in Austria in a couple of weeks time. 

What kind of festival is it? Well, it's being curated by David Tibet, so I imagine it'll be very similar to Lollapalooza. The website is here.

EDIT: Actually guys, I've never been to Lollapalooza. Fennesz, SUNN O))), Nurse With Wound, Khan, Six Organs of Admittance – it's all that kind of thing, right?  

EDIT: Oh, maybe a more accurate comparison would be like a more fun No Fun Fest. So, fun, then. 

EDIT: By 'fun', I mean PUNISHING NOIZE. And The Notwist.  

(photo swiped from Nebula Girl's flickr page)

The bad news is that David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights will not be playing with Yo La Tengo this month.  THe good news is that Columbus, OH's 3-headed rock monster, Times New Viking, have accepted the invite and will be playing the following big rooms with Ira, Georgia and James starting this week :

4/5 – New Orleans at Tipitina's
4/6 – Houston at Warehouse Live
4/7 – Austin at Stubb's
4/8 – Dallas at the Granada
4/10 – Tulsa at Cain's
4/11- Lawrence at the Granada
4/13- Indianapolis at Vogue
4/14 – Madison at the Barrymore
4/16 – Newport at the Southgate House
4/17 – Cleveland at the Beachland Ballroom
4/18 – Detroit at the Majestic Theatre

Proving that nothing in Ms Marshall's world is predictable, we've just heard that she will be playing a 2nd show at the Triptych Festival in Glasgow:

Thursday 26th April,

Venue: The Ferry 25 Anderston Quay, Glasgow.

www.triptychfestival.com

Chan will be joined at this show by Dirty Delta Blues associate, Mr Judah Bauer.