if my cozy cave were engulfed in flames, I would reach for three things (and yes, this was a standard chickfactor question, I have given it some thought) while sprinting out the door… 1. my grandmother’s wedding ring (she called it “the depression diamond” and I think of her whenever I glance down at it). 2. a suitcase full of negatives. and 3. my annabel wright original of b&s (it ran in the new yorker in 1998 dontcha know). annabel (formerly known as aggi) has also been something of a muse to me: evidence here. like all the finest sleeves for all the finest pop in glasgow, the sleeves for the new pastels single “check my heart” (contender for tune of the year) and album slow summits were created with her inimitable talent. cannot wait to get them all on vinyl! (I miss her!) album is out may 27-28.

you torture me! I want to be at this show.

it may only be march, but chickfactor is responsible for creating a little bit of september mania. rose melberg released this amazing cassette tape (with download card) for her recent tour last month and she had a few to sell on the lost sound tapes website. it is sold out! they are planning to make 150 more, so keep an eye on their site (but don’t bombard them with emails!) so you can grab one up when they’re ready. rose & co. wanted to keep it small and simple, but there is so much demand they might want to consider a wider release!

2013 has been a fertile year thus far. we are listening tons to the new yo la tengo, amor de días, the pastels and rose melberg, and this whole dump reissue thing is mighty exciting! to quote containe: I want it all. other music will be carrying it for stateside fans. tote bags too!

the chickfactor

20th-anniversary cocktail invented by daniel a searing jr

“this one is bittersweet, international and sparkling, just like chickfactor!”

1 oz gin*
0.5 oz maraschino liqueur
0.25 oz fresh lemon juice
3 oz champagne**

*I think an american craft gin like breuckelen from new york or small’s from oregon work particularly well.
**or use any dry traditional method sparkling wine such as cava from spain.
stir first three ingredients with ice. strain into a champagne flute or coupe. top with sparkling wine and garnish with a lemon twist.

to serve as a punch chill all ingredients well.
in a punch bowl combine one 750 ml bottle of gin, half a bottle of maraschino liqueur and 6 oz plus 2 tsp lemon juice and the same amount of cold water.
gently add 3 bottles of sparkling wine.
float lemon slices in the bowl and add a large chunk of ice.
serve in punch cups, tumblers or coupes.
to make ice chunk freeze water in a bundt or loaf pan overnight. release by dipping or rinsing with warm water.
alternatively, fill a well rinsed paper quart container with water and freeze.
peel away container to use.

chickfactor #3 was given out for free at gail’s manhattan penthouse in june 1993.

chickfactor #4: september 9, 1993: first chickfactor gig was at under acme and featured lovefish (douglas wolk’s band—they did a tune called “bridget cross”), purple ivy shadows, the mad scene, lois, glo-worm, tree fort angst, lilys, heavenly, containe (first performance ever, though they were billed as versus), honeybunch, and small factory. there was a surprise performance by franklin bruno, who covered joe jackson’s “different for girls” while small factory were setting up. this party was pure fucking magic and the night would have been perfect except that alex small factory was mad at me for the review of their debut album in the new issue. they played an all-dave-songs set and nothing off the i do not love you (“because it’s so poor”). I was in heaven. alex made me cry while heavenly were playing while dave auchenbach and erin smith were joining them onstage.

chickfactor #5: february 9, 1994: this was the second chickfactor gig, also at under acme. three of the nine scheduled acts couldn’t make it on account of the blizzard (three feet of snow). I was home all day answering the phone (“of course the party’s still on, this is new york fucking city”). the party was remarkably well attended and again had that special magic. who played? containe, barbara manning, cobalt, mary timony from helium played just with joan wasser from dambuilders on violin, and the magnetic fields (who performed “san diego zoo” with barbara for the first time), and the ropers who win the indie spirit prize for driving to and from washington, d.c., in the blizzard in the same day. I was crushed for a while because you know who brought a hideous date and it nearly ruined my evening. it was the first time I met stephin and he wasn’t particularly sweet, but that’s no surprise. I also met ilsa who used to star in TMF videos.

dave small factory + amelia heavenly at cf’s very first gig, under acme, sept 93. photo by lara cohen.

chickfactor and enchanté records (our label) just wanted to say thank you to everyone who rallied to help us clear out our storage space recently…

craig austin powell

gordon zacharias

connie lovatt, mandy lovatt, margaret lovatt

edward baluyut

fontaine toups

john lindaman

jim ruiz

low

gilmore tamny

james mcnew

david smith

merge records

slumberland records

other music

the o’hara family

I also want to thank all the folks who placed chickfactor orders — the funds allowed me to ship 8 boxes of them to my current place of “business” so we still have some back issues in stock.

& especially thanks to my amazing mom who let me store the massive back catalog in her garage all these years. she did a great job fulfilling chickfactor orders!

we are pretty excited to hear today that the new album from the pastels, slow summits, will be released on may 28! when they played at our chickfactor 20 party in london in november, they sounded as ace and fresh as ever, and we are chomping at the bit waiting to hear this one! recorded in glasgow by john mcentire and bal cooke, and mixed in chicago by mcentire, it features stephen mcrobbie, katrina mitchell, tom crossley, gerard love, alison mitchell and john hogarty. guests include annabel wright and norman blake. contributions from members of to rococo rot and tenniscoats too! watch the trailer here.

photo by blair young.

happy birthday, finisterre! this film was very special to me because it was through it that I really got to be pals with bob stanley and paul kelly, andrew hinton and sukhdev sandhu too for that matter! there is a special london screening at the hackney picturehouse, look up the heavenly films page for details.

squirrel thing records, the same label that brought the world the amazing connie converse recordings, has finally given the molly drake music a u.s. release. yes, she was nick drake’s mom and clearly had an influence on him! recorded in the 1950s at the drake family home and restored by nick drake’s engineer john wood, these 19 tracks will be available on cd and digital download. The CD package has a letterpress sleeve, 16-page booklet with photos and bio by nick’s sister gabrielle.