With the first tour under our belt, I wanted to belatedly introduce the members of this year’s touring lineup. (Kimberly and Thor are sitting this one out, but are still very much part of the family and a huge part of Animal Joy).
From left to right:
Mitch Billeaud, of Austin band The Lemurs, on guitar and keys,
Lucas Oswald (of Minus Story, Hospital Ships, and The Appleseed Cast) on guitar, keys, and backing vocals,
Danny Reisch (also of the Lemurs, and the producer of Animal Joy) on drums, and
Christiaan Mader (of Brass Bed) on bass and backing vocals.
It’s a different sound and feel for the band – more of a “rock” outfit than SW has been on previous tours – but it fits well with the sound of the new album, and it’s been fun to tear it up a bit. When you see us this year, these’ll be the faces you see.
Next: SXSW. Europe. And the US again. (JM)
(photos © 2012 Daniel Coston/www.danielcostonphotography.com)
–
Our full SXSW show schedule:
Sunday 3/11:
5pm @ Waterloo Records, 600 N. Lamar Blvd.
Monday 3/12:
1pm @ French Legation, 802 San Marcos St.
Wednesday 3/14:
2pm @ Hypemachine Hype Hotel, 504 Trinity (JM and Lucas duo set)
5pm @ Parish, 214 East 6th St.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
7:30pm @ Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, 400 Nueces St.
1am @ PureVolume House, 504 Trinity Street (technically Friday early morning)
Friday, March 16, 2012
12:25pm @ Radio Day Stage – Austin Convention Center, 500 East Cesar Chavez
3:50pm @ Roky Erikson Ice Cream Social, Threadgills, 301 West Riverside
11pm @ Red 7 Patio, 611 E 7th St (Sub Pop Showcase)
Happy Leap Day! This week is the last of our winter North American tour, ending back home at Antone’s in Austin on March 4. If we’ve missed you, don’t worry – we’ll be touring throughout the year. After SXSW, we will be speeding across Europe from Amsterdam to Athens with the wonderful Julie Doiron.
Once we return to the States, we will be embarking on another tour in May with the incredible St. Vincent, ending in the Sasquatch! Festival on May 28.
If we have missed you so far, you can hear some of the new songs live in the studio. We did a session a few days ago with Philadelphia’s XPN2. It includes an interview that covers a lot of territory about Animal Joy and the tour as well as live performances of Dread Sovereign, You As You Were, Run the Banner Down, and Breaking the Yearlings.
Animal Joy is now available in the Americas and Europe! It can be yours at one of our upcoming concerts, your friendly local record store, subpop.com, or wherever else wax and plastic discs are sold. It will be arriving in the UK on February 27.
Thanks to Sub Pop, EVERYBODY can stream the entire album on YouTube right now. The video below features a slideshow of photographs by our friend Nicholas Kahn of Kahn & Selesnick.
If you’re the digital music buying type, you can get it from iTunes with a digital booklet and a bonus track, “I’m So Glad” (not the Skip James song). The budget-conscious can pick it up at Amazon MP3, where it’s on sale for $6 for a limited time.
Wed 28 March 2012: Bitterzoet*
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Thu 29 March 2012: Botanique*
Brussels, Belgium
Fri 30 March 2012: The Haunt*
Brighton, United Kingdom
Sat 31 March 2012: The Deaf Institute*
Manchester, United Kingdom
Sun 1 April 2012: Stereo*
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Mon 2 April 2012: The Cellar*
Oxford, United Kingdom
Tue 3 April 2012: Scala*
London, United Kingdom
Wed 4 April 2012: Le Grand Mix**
Tourcoing, France
Thu 5 April 2012: La Maroquinerie**
Paris, France
Fri 6 April 2012: Bad Bonn*
Düdingen, Switzerland
Sat 7 April 2012: Le Brise Glace
Annecy, France
Sun 8 April 2012: Palace*
St. Gallen, Switzerland
Mon 9 April 2012: Bloom*
Mezzago, Milan, Italy
Tue 10 April 2012: Circolo degli Artisti*
Rome, Italy
Wed 11 April 2012: Bronson*
Ravenna, Italy
Thu 12 April 2012: Menza pri Koritu*
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Fri 13 April 2012: Chelsea*
Vienna, Austria
Mon 16 April 2012: Groovestation*
Dresden, Germany
Tue 17 April 2012: Prinzenbar*
Hamburg, Germany
Wed 18 April 2012: Comet Club*
Berlin, Germany
Thu 19 April 2012: Babylon*
Istanbul, Turkey
Sat 21 April 2012: An Club
Athens, Greece
*= wsg/ Julie Doiron
**= wsg/ Julie Doiron and Ravens & Chimes