MAILING LIST

NEWS | WINTER 2012

ENTERING MARVIN COUNTRY

2012 promises to be a great year for music, especially here at Nine Mile Records. We've been working very hard behind the scenes on our next release. It's the ambitious fourth record from alt. country pioneer Marvin Etzioni. Marvin was a founding member of the 80s band Lone Justice. He's spent the last couple decades producing (Toad the Wet Sprocket, Counting Crows, Lily Haydn), songwriting (Cheap Trick, Victoria Williams), and playing mandolin (Dixie Chicks, T Bone Burnett), and quietly recording the 22 tracks that comprise the new Marvin Country!. It's a double-disc set featuring some of Marvin's friends: Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, John Doe, Buddy Miller, Richard Thompson, and his Lone Justice bandmate Maria Mckee, among others. It sounds AMAZING and we are issuing the set on CD as well as 180-gram deluxe vinyl. Look for it in April 2012.

THREE KINGS

As we approach the Holiday Season, I must confess, I'm not much of a religious person. Except when it comes to music. As a young lad, I couldn't quite buy in to the seemingly empty promises of eternal salvation offered by my local Catholic priest. But when I laid on my bed, and fit my earphones snug around my head, dropped the needle on the record (or popped in the cassette), and closed my eyes, I could imagine a more heavenly state of existence in the fields of music reverberating in my cranium. So, as I sat down to write about the three unique, somewhat disparate new records we have for sale, I started thinking of the masterminds behind these offerings. Three extremely unique men I've known for quite a while, each with a new project designed to transport the listener to somewhere else, soemwhere more enlightened, perhaps.
First, there is Patrick McHugh, King of Indie Psychadelia. McHugh makes a valiant return with his lo-fi project Grubstake. Their brilliantly-titled new long player is called (What's the Point in a New CD) Anyway?. This record takes McHugh back to his origins as a basement mad scientist, and was recorded almost entirely on 8-track cassette. Much of the music is stamped with the trademark gritty guitar/drums work Grubstake is known for, but there's also a good deal of new directions: trippy electro remixes, gypsy accordions, and even some choice Minutemen and Ramones covers.
King number 2 is a local Austin cat named Seth Sherman. Seth's journey through music isn't that much different than McHugh's with stops in one chord noise punk, complex alternate tunings, and trashy garage rock. But Sherman's solo debut When The Moment Is True, is about as far away on the pop music spectrum as you could get from Grubstake. When The Moment Is True is a folk pop gem seemingly uncovered from Larel Canyon circa 1975. There are hints of Jackson Browne, Fairport Convention, and John Prine in here, but Sherman is far from a mere revisionist. His music has a fluid, progressive voice, and he provides finely sculpted tunes for a new generation of kids who've suddenly discovered Harry Nilsson for the first time.
Finally, to round out this rag-tag group of releases, is an angular indie pop record by A Severe Joy. Apparently, I'm not allowed to give away the secret identity of this masked dance crusader, but I wasn't barred from giving hints, so here goes: the name of this project is an anagram of the artist's real name. A Severe Joy is a pulsing collection of electronic beats and slithering bass lines with soaring vocals, and crisp guitars, all from one of indie-rocks underappreciated geniuses.
All three titles are on sale for the holidays (as are many others in the store) so treat your loved ones to something new and unexpected this holiday season - a little slice of (musical) heaven!

A POP MASTERPIECE

Nine Mile Records is proud to present Stephaniesid's 4th full-length record (and 3rd for NMR) Starfruit on October 18, 2011. Like previous efforts by Stephaniesid, the record is a sparkling, intense, indie-pop gem. However, this time out the band has upped the ante significantly. Clocking in at nearly a full hour, Starfruit is more ambitious; recorded entirely in the basement of Stephanie Morgan & Chuck Lichtenberger's home, it is also more intimate. The band released Starfruit in their hometown of Asheville playing as a giant ensemble in front of thousands of adoring fans at the annual LAAF Festival. Look for them to hit the road in earnest this winter and spring, and don't miss them when they come to your town!

VIEWFINDER

Late last year, Rebecca Pronsky holed up in Northern Maine with her band to record the follow up to 2007's Departures & Arrivals.With Sam Kassirer (John Prine, Langhorne Slim, Josh Ritter) turning the knobs, and Scott Solter (Mountain Goats, Spoon) mixing, Pronsky turns in her darkest, lushest, most enduring work yet on Viewfinder. NPR calls Pronskys voice "commanding," while All Music calls her "an allusive, poetic lyricist." Pronsky and her guitarist Rich Bennett have already spent much of April in the UK promoting the new record (it hit #8 on the Euro-Americana charts); look for extensive U.S. dates through 2011.

THE RETURN OF SWEANY

Two years ago, things were going well for Patrick Sweany. Nine Mile had released his new Dan Auerbach-produced record Every Hour Is A Dollar Gone, and doors had begun opening up: longer tours, bigger festivals, more airplay, great reviews. Pat felt like he needed to make a move both figuratively and literally. So he packed his van and moved to Music City U.S.A., Nashville, TN before he released his follow up record. Well, long story short, the move wasn't as easy as planned. Pat left behind a lot of small town security and reliability (not to mention cheaper rent!). The process for making a new record stalled after two aborted recording sessions.

Finally, in the Winter of 2010, Pat met a guy named Joe McMahan. Joe shared Pat's enthusiasm for vintage soul and primitive rock 'n roll. They began gigging around town in an outfit called The Tiger Beats, dedicated to celebrating these styles of music. Joe also engineered analog studio sessions in town for folks like Mike Farris, Allison Moorer, and others. Once Pat brought the roughs of what would become That Old Southern Drag to Joe, the perfect match became apparent. Two months later, Patrick had finished an album that allowed him to step outside the long shadow of Akron's other noted blues act, while retaining his deep roots sound. That old Southern Drag comes out nationally on Feb. 15, 2011. But if you sign up on Pat's email list here, you can get your mitts on a copy sooner!

Nine Mile Records seeks interns!

We have a bunch of fantastic new releases slated for 2009-10. You can help us promote these great records and gain first-hand music industry experience. Plus free CDs and attendance at shows. If you are interested, please email us at info@ninemilerecords.com with your name, contact info and brief note on your background and why you want an NMR internship. Note to all applicants: we are now located in Austin, TX, and you should be too.

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