{Allo Darlin' photo by Steve Louie from the Imaginary Flickr Photo Pool - taken at their October, 2010 show at the Rendezvous}

It's barely 2012 and already we have news worthy of a shower of fireworks. Imaginary favorite Allo Darlin' are coming back to town!!!

Three Imaginary Girls is beyond excited to present their all-ages show at the Vera Project on Friday, May 11, 2012 as part of our big 10 year celebration (yes, can you believe it? TIG is turning 10!!!).  Don't delay, tickets go on sale at 10am on Wednesday {1/4/12}!!!

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There’s always a bit of melodrama involved when a indie singer/songwriter or emo type in his early 20s writes about his life-destroying breakup: Dudes, you’re in your twenties, you’re supposed to have a horrible romantic life. Things get a lot more devastating to listeners when the songwriter is White Town’s Jyoti Mishra, an indie-pop veteran in his mid-40s and he spends an entire album sorting through the wreckage of his personal and romantic life after a decade-plus marriage goes down the tubes on Monopole. It isn’t quarter-life odes to The One That Got Away, but lamenting the irreplaceable loss of The One. For a guy best known for his 1997 mega-hit “Your Woman,” it’s a startlingly direct look inside his personal life.

It’s not like Mishra hasn’t attempted to distract himself from his loneliness. He started (and dropped out of) sociology and creative writing programs at the University of Derby. He buckled down and Monopole as the second release from his own label, Bzangy Groink, handling virtually everything from song inception to fanzine-level press. Still, there are events that define a life, and it’s hard not to come away from Monopole, with its start-to-finish chronicle of his wrecked relationship, with the feeling that Mishra will never be able to truly put the past few years behind him.

TIG: After all the misery that’s helped inspire this album, does it feel like it’s behind you with the release of this album?

Jyoti Mishra: It’s been a weird process, as you know. It would have been a lot sooner, because the last album was 2006, 2007. With divorce stuff and my parents being ill, it’s been difficult to get a continued bit of time to keep working. It’s taken much longer than I would have liked. I’m not like through the thing of being through it yet. It’s still in the process. It’s not like it’s a past album yet. When it’s a past album, I’ll be able to draw on it. It still feels too current. Everything I’m singing about on it feels too now, you know?

Is that because you’re so involved in every aspect of it, handling all songwriting, performing, recording, album art and running the label, are you more immersed in the emotion tied into the songs?

JM: I think if I handed it off to anybody else, even down to the videos and stuff. I know it’s my own fault, because I’m too much of a control freak. I want everything to be right. It’s partially based on bad experiences before, which were a long time ago. I’m talking about EMI stuff. When you work really hard on something and get a graphic design back that’s just awful, it kind of puts you off to working with other people again. [Laughs] I know there’s probably great people out there that I could use, but I’ll just do it myself, even though I’m not really a graphic designer. I just knock up something that will do.

After having problems with other people in the past, do you get to the point where it’s just easier to do everything yourself than try to explain your ideas and struggle with other people?

JM: I’m not a trained graphic designer, so it’s always going to be worse if I do it myself, because I haven’t got that knowledge or craft, but it will be better than someone doing a botched job, like a slick botched job. The same with videos; I’ve already made a few short films. I’m not a filmmaker. I’m sure if I had the money and the ability to hand it over to a proper director, I’d get back the videos that were vector-edited and all that kind of stuff. But, A)  who can I find to do it, and B) I can’t afford it. It’s like you just do it yourself. It’s partially political, and partially no money.

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This is almost impossible for a Fountains of Wayne fangirl such as myself to believe, but incredibly, the FoW show this Friday at The Crocodile is NOT sold out. What. Therfore, it is my duty to tell you people that The Wayne puts on some of the finest live shows around, and if you don't immediately get online and buy a ticket, you are going to regret it. 

I realize that many of you didn't love Sky Full of Holes (Imaginary Steve might get into a minor fist-fight with you if you tell him that, though...), and I understand that. It's hard to match the power-poppy glory of their self-titled debut, or of Utopia Parkway - and I'm sure we've all heard "Stacy's Mom" more than a few too many times - but you know what? Their other albums are still damn good albums, and these guys still rock the hell out of every single one of their tunes. I always have an insane amount of fun at their shows, and you can bet I'll be near the front this Friday, screaming out the lyrics and dancing my ass off (which will make me incredibly easy to recognize, since only about 2% of people at Seattle shows dance). Join me? 

Fountains of Wayne
w/Mike Viola at
The Crocodile
Friday, October 7
8pm | 21+ | $20 ($23 w/fees) 

Fountains of Wayne photo by Violeta Alvarez, from the FoW web site 

If you're new, you might not know that OK Go is not only a rockin' band, but they've been creating completely insane and creative videos that people fall all over themselves to watch because they are so totally awesome.

Their latest for "All Is Not Lost" was released this morning, and they've stepped it up by making it a "Google Chrome experiment" which means that a) you can enter a message that will be integrated into the video (if you can't tell, those are FEET spelling out that message), and b) the video frame itself moves around and changes to accomodate the action. what. It also means that the next one is going to have to be filmed in space or something. Anyway, the way it works doesn't really allow for embedding, so go here, enter your message, and watch. It's pretty f'ing amazing, you guys.

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{Yes, they are playing the song while riding a train!!! God bless IndieTracks!}

This morning my ipod shuffle brought up Moustache of Insanity's "Imagine" and reminded me of the duo's brilliance. Even though they didn't write this to be a Three Imaginary Girls theme song, I'm singing along with it today as if it was!

The track is from their eponymous 2009 album album (on WeePOP!) and has me even more stoked for their new album, Album of Death, set for a limited edition blood-red vinyl release on August 20, 2011 (on PYT Records / Fika Recordings).

It makes sense I've fallen for M of I's quirky lo-fi pop: One half of the band is Bill of Allo Darlin and Darren Hayman & the Secondary Modern fame and the other half is Nik whose @nikvestberg twitterings and photo/video stylings keep me in the loop of all things cool.

And in related moustache news: did you order your Allo Darlin' picture disc vinyl yet? It's double-sided-pretty with side a: Darren (about Darren Hayman), side b: Wu Tang Clan (a The French cover). It's a win win win win win.

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I've been a fan of the Camp Out ladies since I was lucky enough to catch them at a tiny club in San Diego a few years ago (unfortunately I missed their ONE Seattle appearance between now and then) -  But! they finally, FINALLY have a video of "Closer" so I can share their poppy dance tunes and total adorableness with you.

If you're digging this tune, I highly recommend you seek out a copy of their one and only album (which would either require a trip down to SD, or that you buy it from iTunes...), also titled Closer, keep an eye out for any upcoming shows (pleasepleasepleaseohplease), and get ready for their now-in-progress new EP.

For those of us who enjoy a mix of nostalgic shoegazy fuzz and bittersweet  delicate melodies with their FREE SLURPEE, this week is going to rule!  Denver's very own Kissing Party have made their way to our fine city for not one, but two shows this week and, because Monday is July 11 (numerically translated to 7/11), our convenience store friends at 7-11 gift everyone with a free slurpee!

Sure it's only 7.11 oz and just enough to only give you a minor brain-freeze, but a free frozen treat is a free frozen treat. Try a new flavor or mix two together. Go wild on the slurpee tip, man!

But the radness doesn't stop with the slurps. Get your fill of Primitives meets Pains of Being Pure At Heart with a splash of Belle & Sebastian at the the Funhouse on Monday (7/11) as the Kissing Party shares the bill with Death's Three Daughters and The Chimanimani. 

If you miss them on Monday or want to get a double dose (because who can blame you), they'll be at the Comet on Wednesday 7/13.

Photo borrowed from Tennis Pro's Facebook page.

The last time I saw Tennis Pro, they were singing Liz Phair songs in dresses...a memorable event, not just because of their attire, or the fact that it was the 6th Anniversary of TIG, but also because these guys CRANK out some seriously bouncy power pop! But uh, where have they been since then, you might ask? Well, I was fortunate enough to run into Mr. David Drury during all the SIFF festivities and that's when I found out they didn't really go anywhere, they've actually got a brand new album, and (no kidding) they're totally BIG in JAPAN.

This news made me incredibly happy, and started me on a kick of listening to Cassie's Junior Varsity Make-Out Squad, and Are You There, God, It's Me Tennis Pro - reminding me how much fun they are live and also that they have a song called "Imaginary Girl" that rocks my little heart out. The new album is called Shimokita is Dead, and Tennis Pro is having a CD release party/show at Chop Suey this coming Thursday {6/30} so everybody can hear what it sounds like. In the meantime, here's a preview to get you ready:

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It's no secret that I've been in love with cute-as-a-button pop duo The Submarines for awhile, but their newest album Love Notes/Letter Bombs has been taking over my iTunes for the past few days, stuck on repeat and filling me with indie-pop love. Naturally, the new video for their single "Fire" has the same effect on me, as John and Blake frolic amongst a solar system made from tin foil and cardboard, float on a paper moon, and dance around in tights all while singing one of their catchy, poppy tunes.

Watch and see if you fall for them too...

One final reminder about the big indie-pop extravaganza TONIGHT at the Rendezvous! The evening has morphed into a mini-popfest featuring the finest soft-core indie-pop flow:

- Monnone Alone is the moniker for Mark Monnone's post-Lucksmiths project that, as you expect, charms with Aussie DIY magnetism.

- The Special Places will bring on the sweetheart pop that drips with honey and a subtle touch of vinegar to keep things interesting.

- Math & Physics Club will show off their mastery of a super secret recipe of B&S / Lucksmiths-style pop.

- The Smittens from Vermont will round off night with their simplistically coy lolli-pop.

Note that there aren't any advance ticket sales, it's all first-come, first-served to secure your spot in the cozy Jewelbox Theater and doors are at 9:30pm {more info and rad poster artwork here}.

Here's a video sampler of what the night will hold:

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