Serious Business Records : News

The Homosexuals' Love Guns ...

2009-01-06T13:34:00Z

The Homosexuals' Love Guns 10" (copies #300 through #600) now available. 2nd EP en route.

Back in October we pressed 300 copies of Love Guns? which almost immediately sold out. This pressing presented maximum collectibility. Not only was each cover hand silk-screened, but head Homosexual Bruno Wizard wrote a freely improvised story across the back covers of each hand-numbered copy. So anyway, these records sold out right away we deemed it necessary to press a second 300.

So we've pressed a second 300. And Bruno continued his story, and took his time, lavishing some copies with drawings and loving touches.

Hopefully hardcore collectors won't be too deflated. There are only 600 of these things in the world.

You can get your copy right here (along with a matching Tshirt) or you can march down to you favorite local mom-n-pop record shop and demand they stock some.

You can read the story so far at www.thehomosexualsloveguns.com a website we set up where fans can share their own unique sections of the story. If you're an owner of a record and haven't shared your part of the story yet, go do it now.

---More Homosexuals US dates coming soon, including SXSW where they'll be playing the panache showcase on thursday 3/19 in austin.
---New Homosexuals EP coming soon.
---Carlos Charlie Perez directed a video for 3AM (Pink Pony) and that will be done soon.

New album from THE TWO MAN ...

2009-01-05T16:05:00Z

New album from THE TWO MAN GENTLEMEN BAND, their 4th, is entitled Drip Dryin' with the Two Man Gentlemen Band and is available NOW from this website. Plus, the Gents ON TOUR!

The Two Man Gentlemen Band maintain their brisk album-a-year pace with Drip Dryin with the Two Man Gentlemen Band,' their fourth and finest platter.

Drip Dryin' is available only from seriousbusinessrecords.com and at 2MGB shows. Digital and more widespread physical releases will follow in March.

Here, have a free download of the title track. It is the dance sensation that is sweeping the nation. A gentlemen always offers a taste on the house, does he not?
DOWNLOAD: "Drip Dryin' MP3
Seasoned by many hundreds of concert engagements, the Gents expertly maintain that elegant balance between the sophisticated and the salacious, doing so with formidable instrumental skill and unmatched good cheer. This time out Andy Bean's Tin Pan Alley songwriting chops incorporate theater and 50s rock, while his banjo playing displays a jazz-man's mastery. And to no surprise, the Councilman remains a killer on the bass fiddle, driving each tune, even the lighter ones, with full force. Their musical palate continues to expand, with mariachi trumpet, virtuoso fiddle and a full drum-kit played with sticks, thanks in part to the talents of fiddler Aaron Lewis (Special Ed and the Short Bus) and drummers Brian Kantor (Higgins, Rocketship Park) and Travis Harrison (Unsacred Hearts).

SBR35
THE TWO MAN GENTLEMEN BAND
Drip Dryin' with the Two Man Gentlemen Band
Buy it here.

PLUS, the Gentlemen embark on full length tour this month to support the new release. Full itinerary is here!
01/10/09 in New York, NY Opening for The Lisps’ Musical at The Zipper Factory
01/14/09 in Bristol, TN O’Mainnin’s Pub
01/15/09 in Knoxville, TN Preservation Pub
01/15/09 in Knoxville, TN WDVX Blue Plate Special
01/16/09 in Flat Rock, NC Flat Rock Wine Shopp
01/17/09 in Charlotte, NC The Evening Muse
01/18/09 in Jacksonville, FL Jackrabbits
01/20/09 in Pensacola, FL Hop Jacks
01/21/09 in Tampa, FL New World Brewery
01/22/09 in Deland, FL Caffe Da Vinci
01/23/09 in Tallahasse, FL The Engine Room
01/24/09 in Pensacola, FL Pineapple Willy’s
01/27/09 in Charleston, SC The Tin Roof
01/28/09 in Asheville, NC UNC-Asheville
01/29/09 in Johnson City, TN The Down Home
02/04/09 in Doyestown, PA Delaware Valley College
02/13/09 in Brooklyn, NY Jalopy Theater - NYC Drip Dryin’ CD Release Show!
and more and more

News Shorties: new records ...

2008-12-29T11:20:00Z

News Shorties: new records n' shows from 2MGB, Higgins, Homos, Benji.

Here is a new regular SBR news "column" for '09. Quick quips about future goings-on.

-THE TWO MAN GENTLEMEN BAND will be releasing their fourth album entitled Drip Dryin' with the Two Man Gentlemen Band on January 13. The CD will be available only from this website from the Gentlemen at shows. Drip Dryin' is available for sale right now at our store.

-Winter 2009 “Drip Dry Your Troubles Away” Tour kicks off January 13th. Tour dates here

-BENJI COSSA is setting up camp at Pianos' upstairs lounge for an NYC residency every Thursday in January. (That's the 8th, the 15th, the 22nd and the 29th). There's no telling what songs he'll play or who he'll play with. It will most certainly be different every single night. Check out Benji's latest album, Benji Cossa and the Tightens available digitally or on 12" vinyl (with CD).

-A split 7" from HIGGINS and ANDY FROM DENVER is set to arrive at your doorstep on Feb 3. For those of you who don't know Andy, he's the mastermind behind Elephant 6 graduates Marshmallow Coast.

-THE HOMOSEXUALS are currently crafting a 2nd EP of all new shit for Serious Business. The 1st one Love Guns?, a 10" record with hand-inscribed covers by head Homosexual Bruno Wizard, is available here. The band will be at SXSW, with some touring in March and April. Dates to come. Also, I almost forgot ... the big big news is that Carlos Charlie Perez (who has made brilliant videos for Fiasco and That Ghost) has directed a music video from "3AM (Pink Pony)" from Love Guns? That'll be showing up in the first month of the new year.

THE YEAR IN BUSINESS: 2008 ...

2008-12-19T13:48:00Z

THE YEAR IN BUSINESS: 2008
Free compilation record from Serious Business.
Download it now!

Free compilation from Serious Business celebrating 2008, our fifth and finest year.
Download this compilation record for free.
THE YEAR IN BUSINESS 2008 (ZIP file - 190kps mp3s [77.47MB])

The Year in Business 2008 has 15 tracks. You'll find the biggest hits of the year here---hits from the likes of The Homosexuals! Rocketship Park! Looker! Benji Cossa! Higgins! Secret Dakota Ring! Plus, you'll find exclusive unreleased sneak preview business from the likes of The Two Man Gentlemen Band, Jack and the Pulpits, The Unsacred Hearts and a special treat from Boshra al Saadi of Looker. ALL FREE. All delicious. We can send you a CD version as well for a small donation.

In 2008 we issued 14 records. Some of them came out on vinyl, some on CD, some are digital only.

1. Rocketship Park - Because Two Candles from Off and Away (SBR16)
2. The Two Man Gentlemen Band - Dippin' Sauce from
Heavy Petting
3. Benji Cossa - Volcano
- Benji Cossa and the Tightens LP (SBR28)
4. Looker - Gates of the Old City - from Born in the Desert (SBR30)
5. Higgins - Charly - from Zs (SBR28)
6. Secret Dakota Ring - The Fade to Black
from Cantarell (SBR27)
7. Jack and the Pulpits - Dance Area
from Jack and the Pulpits EP (SBR24)
8. The Homosexuals - Slow Guns
from Love Guns? 10" EP (SBR33)
9. The Unsacred Hearts - Where Are You
from still forthcoming second Hearts album called The Honor Bar
10. The Two Man Gentlemen Band - The Rabbit Foot Stomp
from forthcoming fourth full length offering entitled Drip Dryin' with the Two Man Gentlemen Band (SBR35)
11. Benji Cossa - April
from Benji Cossa's Vault Vol. 2: Jewels and Gems (SBR24)
12. Higgins - Make a Mistake
- from Trust in Higgins Vol. 1 (SBR32)
13. Jack and the Pulpits - Show Off
from forthcoming 2nd JatP EP, a prequel to their first
14. Boshra al Saadi - Daddy You Been On My Mind
unreleased Bob Dylan cover recorded in the men's room at SB -> (Dec 01. 2008)
15. Rocketship Park - Seasons
from Off and Away (SBR16)

New original Christmas song...

2008-12-17T10:07:00Z

New original Christmas song from Benji Cossa

Christmas (Its the End of the Year) - Benji Cossa
TimeOutNY asked Benji Cossa to contribute an original Christmas song for a recent "Holidays in NYC" piece for their web site. Check out all the featured songs here, along with a little commentary from the Cossa himself. Also taking part in this little musical gifting project is the inimitable Graham Smith (Kleenex Girl Wonder), as well as Gabriel Kahane, and Corey Dargel. See also, page 28 in the magazine, which is on stands now.

We're not hosting this treat on our site yet as a free MP3, but if you're good you just might find it beneath the tree.

Above you'll find the little doodle that serves as this X-Mas treat's record cover.

Above you'll find the handwritten lyric sheet Benji scribbled on the session.
Here are the credits for that session:
BENJI COSSA
Christmas (Its the End of the Year)
Musicians:
Benji Cossa: singing, guitar, piano
Travis Harrison: drums, bass, sleigh bells
Ben Heller: trumpet
Other stuff:
Produced by Travis Harrison. Recorded and mixed December 4, 2008 by Travis at Serious Business Music.

Benji will playing a short set of jazzy Christmas standards at this Saturday's Serious Business Holiday Party and Revue at the Studio @ Webster Hall.

Merry Christmas.

The Homosexuals: are on Viv...

2008-12-12T15:12:00Z

The Homosexuals: are on Viva Radio this Monday, earn lotsa press, are making video, are recording etc etc

Tune in to internet radio station Viva Radio this Monday Dec 15 at noon to hear the Homosexuals live at the tiny Viva studio in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Bruno delivered an EPIC interview (as usual) and Mike and Travis joined him for a few songs including renditions of "3AM (Pink Pony)" and "In Search of the Perfect Baby." The show, hosted by Ted Shumaker, is called Me & You and recent episodes have featured Jay Reatard and Fiasco.
Hear the bumpers for the show here and here.

Here's Viva-Radio's promotional copy for the program: Me Plus You Pt. 34 is a flamer. Gay Beach Ted meets Bruno Wizard and his outfit The Homosexuals for an inspired and idiosyncratic chat and choogle. This installment in the series treats us to intricate dialogue juxtaposed with some concise yet exploratory artpop gems, culled from a collection of songs that dates back to around 30 years ago. Don't be fooled though, Wizard's spirit is just as young as ever and this stripped down affair exposes it in all of its truthful glory.

And speaking of "3AM (Pink Pony)," Carlos Charlie Perez is directing a video for that one. The shoot is tomorrow. We'll keep you updated. "3AM" comes from the Love Guns? 10" which you should order now or face never owning it because these things are going like hotcakes.

Also if you haven't been checking the Homosexuals SBR artist page religiously (who isn't?) then you may have missed a recent avalanche of press from Bruno Wizard and his band of musical instigators. Click here, scroll down and read recent accolades from the likes of The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Onion! Plus there's a remarkable full interview which was published on the Agit-Reader which isn't to be missed (click here for that one).

Plans are definitely hatched for more touring and recording from the Homosexuals in 2009. Bruno's not going away.
Catch the Homosexuals for the last time until spring '09 when they deliver a short set as part of this year's Serious Business Holiday Party and Revue at The Studio @ Webster Hall in NYC on Sat DEC 20.

SERIOUS BUSINESS Holiday Pa...

2008-12-08T19:35:00Z

SERIOUS BUSINESS Holiday Party and Revue: SAT DEC 20 - The Studio @ Webster Hall NYC

SERIOUS BUSINESS RECORDS
Holiday Party and Revue!
starring…
The Homosexuals
Benji Cossa
Secret Dakota Ring
The Unsacred Hearts
Higgins
Rocketship Park
Jack and the Pulpits
The Octagon
Boshra al Saadi of Looker
but not the Two Man Gentlemen Band!

SATURDAY DECEMBER 20 2008

7PM-10:30PM don’t be late!!! * REVUE BEGINS AT 7:30 SHARP!

@ THE STUDIO @ WEBSTER HALL
125 E. 11th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues
NEW YORK, NY
A three hour tour of non-stop music from your favorite Serious Business super-friends.

There is no better time than the Holidays to celebrate togetherness! Community! Feeling good! Serious Business dares to get happy on Saturday, December 20 with its now-annual Holiday Party and Revue. We’re cramming everyone we know into the new Studio at Webster Hall, we’re cramming nine acts into three hours, we’re cramming multitudinous musical gifts into your tender ear-holes, we’re cramming love in your hearts!

Its an old school 60s styled REVUE with the Serious Business super-family sharing the following: equipment, points of view, an evening of revelry and celebration! Your best Christmas party! No egg nog! Your first New Year’s Party! Yes!! SERIOUS BUSINESS!!! Bring it on!

some fun facts—
–Gift giving!! We’ll be giving away lovingly crafted CD copies of The Year In Business: 2008, the second annual installment of our all-free year-end hits compilation series.
-The show starts EARLY! 7PM SHARP! COME EARLY!! Make a night of it! Dress nicely! Don’t roll in late like a jerk! You’ll miss everything! People will leer at you! Its Christmas! Be nice! Make it nice around the TREE!
-Benji Cossa will be performing all Christmas numbers!
-Jack and the Pulpits make their first ever official public appearance! Hopefully they’ll play “Dance Area”
-Sadly The Two Man Gentlemen Band will be absent. In their place they send new recorded music, their 4th album Drip Drying with the Two Man Gentlemen Band, which we’ll listen to some of!
-In the absence of Andy Bean (see previous fun fact), the Unsacred Hearts will reunite with original bass-man Andy Ross who will also be fronting his band Secret Dakota Ring (which features members of the Unsacred Hearts, Rocketship Park and Higgins…and the Homosexuals…and Jack and the Pulpits…and more.)
-The Homosexuals play their last show until spring 2009!

Looker up for Artist of the...

2008-12-01T19:06:00Z

Looker up for Artist of the Month in Deli Mag poll
VOTE FOR LOOKER

CLICK HERE!!

They're up for artist of the month in the latest Deli Magazine online poll.
This is why you should vote: DOWNLOAD: After My Divorce" [Mp3] from Born in the Desert

hot new photo by Heidi Greenwood

Plus go see LOOKER on Wed Dec 3 @ Public Assembly

THE MUSEBOX Presents:

Wednesday, December 3rd
9pm Rudely Interrupted (from Australia)
10pm LOOKER
11pm Peachcake
12am DJ Nora and Sam FTW
$5 at the door

Public Assembly
70 North 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 384-4586
www.publicassemblynyc.com

Long-lost Benji Cossa 7-inc...

2008-11-30T20:49:00Z

Long-lost Benji Cossa 7-inch: The Rollercossa

BENJI COSSA
The Rollercossa
is a 7-inch record with three songs on it,
all of them crammed onto one side of vinyl.
Originally released in 1999 on Krebstar,
and crafted on a 4-track cassette machine,
this EP proves Benji Cossa is the KING of SONG.
He recently stumbled upon a forgotten,
unopened box of these glorious records
and now we give them to you.

SBR29
BENJI COSSA
The Rollercossa
7" vinyl.
BUY IT HERE. $6.
or get it on iTunes, eMusic, Amazon or your favorite digital retailer.

benji is playing on dec 20 at the Serious Business holiday party and then he is also doing a residency at upstairs in the lounge @ pianos---every thursday in january.

Secret Dakota Ring --- new ...

2008-11-24T20:25:00Z

Secret Dakota Ring --- new YouTube clips of live acoustic performance (with strings), + upcoming show!

The world of Secret Dakota Ring is abuzz. Stuff is happening. First and foremost...another NYC show. Here are the details

SAT DEC 20
The SERIOUS BUSINESS Records Holiday Party.
The Studio @ Webster Hall
125 E. 11th St btwn 3rd and 4th, NYC
8PM-11PM
w/ The Unsacred Hearts, Benji Cossa, The Homosexuals (and more!)

And then...
Back in September, Secret Dakota Ring did an interview and performance at Google’s New York City office as part of their Musicians@Google series. Google has recently posted the video of the event. Visit SDR's official site here to get ALL the juicy details from Andy himself. Or, check out "I Don't Wanna Know About My City" below, which features a Josh Kaufman string arrangement composed specifically for this event, performed by the Google 4 Srting Quartet.

"I Don't Wanna Know About My City"
Lyrics for this jam came from Joe Willie's pen. The same is true for "The Fade to Black."

Also, the press has been pouring in for Cantarell. Keep an eye on the the press section of the Cantarell release page to see all the verbage that's been coming in.
Get some Cantarell HERE.
The Fade to Black - Secret Dakota Ring
DOWNLOAD: "The Fade to Black" [MP3]

The Homosexuals' Love Guns?...

2008-11-16T21:20:00Z

The Homosexuals' Love Guns? first pressing is nearly sold out. Get yours now or face never getting one of these initial hand silk-screened, hand numbered, hand inscribed, 100% unique 10" records.

Hey, we only pressed 300 of these handmade gems and boy did they go fast. We've only got a short stack left which are pretty much all alloted to a distributor. So, if you want the Love Guns? 10" you've got a few choices:
a) order one now and we mean right now from our online store.
b) support your local shop. you'll find copies of love guns? floating around at discerning vinyl shops all over the USA.
c) a re-pressing is imminent. chances are we'll have the second batch of records in about 6 weeks or so. if you happen to order after we've officially sold out of the first pressing, you'll still get a record at your door-step as soon as the second pressing is done. chances are we're only gonna press another few hundred, just like the first, so these will still be very rare!
d) you say, "i don't own a turntable but i do love my iPod so i'll just get it digitally." The EP will be up on iTunes in the coming week but in the mean time get the music here: emusic, Amazon, Rhapsody or where ever else you can find it.

Why is the first pressing of Love Guns? so special? Well, beyond the fact that this is the first new piece of vinyl to emerge from Bruno Wizard's late 70s D.I.Y. art-punk instigator/homosexualistas since 1984, the first pressing features hand silk-screened, hand numbered covers. Each copy of Love Guns? has a unique hand-written inscription from Bruno Wizard himself who has put pen to paper and written a beautiful short story/epic poem/wizard rant across the back covers of each of these puppies. Each copy is 100% unique. Owners of the record have been visiting www.thehomosexualsloveguns.com to enter their copies' unique inscriptions and participate in piecing the whole story together. Read the story so far here.

ORDER LOVE GUNS? NOW.

And hey while you're at it, Jared Friedman's iconic cover design adorns these very handsome black T-shirts, available in XS, S, M, L and XL. Buy yours here at our store. Click this link, you'll arrive at our store, click the "merch" tab at the top, scroll down, drag-n-drop your size, wear the Homosexuals on your chest.

P.S. --- when you order the Love Guns? 10" and drop it in your shopping cart, a window will pop up allowing you to buy the T-shirt then too. Try it, its fun.

Also, make some time to take-in the latest installment of Bruno Wizard's blog chronicling the Homosexuals adventures on the road. You'll find it here at Stories in High Fidelity. Eventually, he'll get through a detailed account of all the stops on the Homos' recently completed US tour, the first tour ever! More to come!

DOWNLOAD: "Slow Guns" [MP3].

Slow Guns - The Homosexuals

Higgins gets glowing review...

2008-11-08T18:54:00Z

Higgins gets glowing review from NJ's preeminent genius rock-scribe Tris McCall

Rock critics are so often full of shit that when one manages to conjur poetry and beauty from his own reactions to the music he's reviewing, it can be hard to believe. No one writes about music better than New Jersey's Tris McCall. Last week he delivered an OPUS of a record review of Higgins' OPUS of a classy rock record Zs. He calls Kevin a genius. I agree with him. Click here to see the original post . I'm just gonna copy and past that beautiful word stuff below though.

Trouble is, even though all genres aspire to classic status, making "classic rock" isn't really a viable commercial enterprise. Band-pigeonholers, marketers, and riyl-ers don't know how to work with it, and rock critics will resent you for making their jobs harder and duller. The head honcho at Serious Business Records tried to sidestep the issue by describing Higgins as the "classy" rock, which is literally true: Zs plays like it was recorded by unabashed musical aristocrats. No concessions whatever have been made to the marketplace - instead, they're out there chasing rock excellence in its Platonic form.

Now, nobody loves the local emo-pop kids more than I do; they're venerated around here, and for good reason. They're brave enough to give voice to generally-held, valid human sentiments that the cool people want to smirk out of existence, and for that, they've got both my thanks and my ears. But I am also a lover of music in its pure form (and yes, I do believe that exists), and I cannot deny that Kevin Fish crams more musical ideas into a single verse of a Higgins song than the members of Houston Calls and Hidden In Plain View and Jet Lag Gemini and Saves The Day have had in their entire lives. In fact, let me go out on a limb and say that if North Jersey has produced a truly musical genius in the past decade, Fish is that guy. Ironically, it is because pop is such a glorious and wonderful thing that musical genius is so rarely appreciated: when a red guitar, three chords, and the truth is all that is required to scale the heights of greatness, Beatlesque innovation is hardly needed. It is nice that Higgins have lately found some modest recognition for their sustained excellence, but that's almost beside the point: if pop music was truly the meritocracy that the most fatalistic contingent of the record-making public thinks it is, Kevin Fish would be king of the hill.

Luckily for the rest of us, pop music isn't a meritocracy, nor is it a game to see who can come the smartest. But just for the sake of argument I'm assuming that you're the type of listener who is wild about record albums, who really digs into them and gets dirty with them; and if that's you, I can't recommend Zs to you enthusiastically enough. There's enough going on here to merit scores of repeat listens, and you don't have to invest in a thousand-dollar pair of headphones to get hypnotized. The album's excellence might not be instantly apparent, though: Fish is an understated guy and a reserved lead vocalist, and while he's as deft at writing melodies as anybody you'll ever come across, he's far too classy (there's that aristocratic comportment again) to hit you over the head with one.

The first thing you'll probably notice about Zs is that just before the set ends, the musicians stop the proceedings cold for a three-minute drum solo. Let me be more descriptive: they stop the proceedings for four consecutive solos, each one performed by a different member of the outfit. On paper, this sounds self-indulgent, but in practice it's hellaciously entertaining, and not merely because nothing else on the set has prepared you for such a blatant show-off move. It turns out that the members of Higgins are, on top of everything else, truly engaging drum soloists - including Fish himself, who makes the most of his turn on the skins. "Charly", the track that follows the artillery barrage, is the set's most arresting: Brian Kantor's drums segue straight from the solo without flagging for a second, and Kevin Fish and Brian Kauffman overdrive their cabinets to keep pace. The next thing you know, the guitarists are soloing in unison, one in each stereo channel, and stopping short to let the vocal harmonies spill into the gaps like warm caramel. It sounds like Ray Davies fronting Mott The Hoople (no kidding), and it's merely the most obvious sign that, yes, we've really got something cooking here. On the next track, they split the band one more time, letting Kantor drum in the right speaker as producer Travis Harrison pounds away in the left; the whole cast is ushered back onstage, and everybody oohs and aahs over violins, horns, woodwinds, harpsichord, and anything else they've got crammed into their practice space. Thus, in a shower of twinkling sonic confetti, the disc ends.

And so you play it again, and as you do, you realize what you missed the first time around. There's "Yes I Know", a remarkable Revolver-era George Harrison fake. There's the hushed "Write It Down", a track decorated with a string arrangement worthy of the Left Banke. There's the gorgeous "Wall Of Dumb", Fish's only slightly recalcitrant tale of humility learned and lost. Best of all is "Ok", a song that begins at the doorstep of Grateful Dead's Mars Hotel, and wanders over the fluorescent hills into spectral fairyland. Some will point out that "Jamy" and "There He Is" prove that Kevin Fish is more a latter-day High Llamas junkie than a Beach Boys true believer. But that ignores the very real contributions that Sean O'Hagan has made to our understanding of Brian Wilson's work; and in any case, Fish does O'Hagan at least as well as O'Hagan does Smile. Jersey rock aficionados (and drum nuts) will recognize Brian Kantor's name from the credits of many well-loved indie records; his parts are always imaginative and rock-solid, and Zs is his crowning achievement. It's a testament to the band's McCartney-esque perfectionism and commitment to quality control that even the walk-on players shine: Annie Nero's slipper-soft cello chug on "Always Something", Harrison's frenetic tambourine on "Yes I Know", Scott Gropper's towering Hammond on "Charly". Together they've made one of the best records of 2008, and better yet, they know it. Ratify that or not, it won't shake their faith; that's the aristocratic privilege.

BUY Zs please
Everybody (Thunder Mountain) - Higgins

Bruno Wizard blogs from the...

2008-11-08T17:13:00Z

Bruno Wizard blogs from the road while on his first ever tour with The Homosexuals.

Head over to Stories In High Fidelity to read Bruno Wizard's tour diary. He'll be uploading posts every few days. Here's an excerpt from the first installment: "The Oxfam Cafe is literally a room on campus run by the wonderful Kelly and her talking wig.WE played.. on the floor,very punky 1977 style in your face with no separation from the audience. Kelly provided various tins of household gloss paint and glitter and I invited members of the audience to paint me and liberate me from my Guantanamo Bay coveralls through loving applications of life giving art.. connecting with source." ... Be sure to check out the whole blog at Stories In High Fidelity and check back often because there'll be more more more.

The show so far have been going splendidly. The first two shows of the tour saw Boshra and AJ of Looker filling in for the inimitable regular Homo bassist Mike Dossantos who had to catch up with the group at the third date in Providence.

Brooklyn Vegan posts covera...

2008-10-26T20:59:00Z

Brooklyn Vegan posts coverage from The Homosexuals' recent WYNU in-the-studio performance. (Bruno Wizard solo!)

Last week the Homosexuals tore up CMJ. Brooklyn Vegan posted a little piece about Bruno's recent visit to WNYU's studio. Click here to see the post. Bruno played some solo renditions of songs from the brand new Love Guns? 10". He also rocked a solo rendition of "In Search of a Perfect Baby" from the ultra rare Sir Alick & the Phraser 7" which was a treat.

Last week Bruno also paid a visit to Viva-Radio's studios in Park Slope (this time with Mike D on the bass and Travis on tambo). That session was prerecorded so you'll be able to hear it when Viva posts it which we'll let you know about.

PRE-ORDER the new 10" Love Guns? here.

Slow Guns - The Homosexuals
DOWNLOAD: "Slow Guns" [MP3]

Don't miss the Homosexuals at Todd P's Halloween party on Friday night or on the road from Nov 1 - Nov 15. Check dates here.

Photos from Tuesday's CMJ s...

2008-10-23T09:41:00Z

Photos from Tuesday's CMJ show

Our CMJ show was a joy. What a great excuse to get our eight favorite bands together. Check out some photos.

The Two Man Gentlemen Band

The Two Man Gentlemen Band with Lauren Balthrop doing the Drip Dry

The crowd at Pianos for the Unsacred Hearts

BK & EJ on stage as Unsacred Hearts

Looker
See more photos our show and more by Maryanne Ventrice right here on her flickr photostream.

Benji Cossa and the Cossacks

Rocketship Park

Looker w/ Travis on tambo

The Octagon

The Homosexuals

More from Bryan Bruchman's photo-stream here.

The Homosexuals: New 10" + ...

2008-10-22T09:19:00Z

The Homosexuals: New 10" + P4K MP3 debut + US tour + CMJ invasion.

Serious Business Records proudly presents Love Guns?, the first piece of new vinyl issued by UK D.I.Y art-punk act the Homosexuals since the early eighties. The band’s first ever US tour gets underway on Halloween 2008, with mesmerizing original writer / vocalist / auteur Bruno Wizard fronting a young band of tough-as-nails New Yorkers. This new outfit delivered a set at SXSW in March that made one Washington Post reporter exclaim “I just had the closest thing to a religious experience since my bar mitzvah. The Homosexuals played the most dynamic, explosive set I've seen in a couple years.”

A free MP3 of "Slow Guns" was debuted on the Pitchfork Forkcast this morning. Writer Marc Hogan says "Slow Guns" "is a scruffy, energetic punk-pop tune that could come between revivalists like the Exploding Hearts and Jay Reatard on a mix. There's a political charge, too, as Wizard shouts about the CIA or summons up an anthemic cry, "So much for the democratic tradition." The audacity of the Homosexuals."
DOWNLOAD: "Slow Guns" [MP3].

Slow Guns - The Homosexuals

Credited as godfathers of the D.I.Y. movement, Bruno Wizard with guitarist Anton Heyman, bassist Jim Welton and a cast of revolving collaborators accumulated a treasure trove of other-worldly art-punk in the late 70s and early 80s, shunning the sniffs of big-label bloodhounds, only sporadically performing, and self-pressing tiny quantities of their own records only to disband completely by ”83. Two recent archival releases---The Homosexuals CD (ReR), and the triple CD Astral Glamour (Hyped 2 Death), both lauded by Pitchfork and coveted by rock lovers in-the-know---have brought the Homosexuals legacy back into focus.

Love Guns? was produced by Bruno Wizard with drummer Travis Harrison at Serious Business Music in NYC and features Dave Siegel on guitar (Unsacred Hearts) and Mike Dossantos on bass (the Realistics, Apache Beat). Book-ended by two experimental noise nuggets, the EP shows Bruno remaining true to the shifting internal dynamics, lyrical sophistication, and spirit of musical self-sabotage that characterizes the group’s classic work. The three songs that comprise the heart of the EP are “Slow Guns,” a full-scale 70-s styled, hook-laden, anti-establishment punk anthem, “3AM (Pink Pony),” a sweet, slow building slice of bedroom pop, and “Don’t Touch My Hair,” a future-world mutant-disco dance-floor banger from outer space. PRE-ORDER is available NOW!

The Love Guns? EP will initially be released as a hand numbered 300-piece 10” vinyl pressing. Bruno Wizard has hand written a story across the entirety of the 300 pieces, with a sentence, a fragment or a few words appearing on each copy. Fans can compare their unique inscriptions, upload photos, and slowly piece together the entire story at www.thehomosexualsloveguns.com.

Produced by Bruno Wizard and Travis Harrison
Engineered, mixed by Travis Harrison. Original tracking for "Don't Touch My Hair" by Halsey Quemere. All at Serious Business Music Recording Studio, NYC.
Mastered by Richard Morris at Masterdisk, NYC
Additional production on 3AM (Pink Pony) by Mike DosSantos
Additional vocals on "Don't Touch My Hair" by Neon and Verushka Music.
Cover art by Jared Friedman at Econo Graphics

PLUS! THE HOMOSEXUALS on tour! 2008 US TOUR
Oct 21 2008
New York City, New York
Pianos - Serious Business Records CMJ Label Showcase
Oct 23 2008
Brooklyn, New York
Union Pool - Musebox CMJ After Party (late show)
Oct 24 2008
New York City, New York
Knitting Factory - Panache CMJ Showcase
Oct 25 2008
Brooklyn, New York
The Yard --- After the Jump CMJ Day Party
Oct 31 2008
Brooklyn, New York
DanBro Brewery Warehouse - Todd P / Panache Halloween Party
Nov 1 2008
Medford, Massachusetts
Oxfam Cafe
Nov 2 2008
Danbury, Connecticut
Heirloom Arts Theatre
Nov 3 2008
Providence, Rhode Island
AS220
Nov 4 2008
Rochester, New York
The Bug Jar
Nov 5 2008
Cleveland, Ohio
Beachland Ballroom
Nov 6 2008
Chicago, Illinois
The Hideout
Nov 7 2008
Pontiac, Michigan
The Pike Room
Nov 8 2008
Columbus, Ohio
Cafe Bourbon Street
Nov 12 2008
Baltimore, Maryland
Talking Head
Nov 13 2008
Washington, DC, Washington DC
Velvet Lounge
Nov 14 2008
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Danger Danger Gallery
Nov 15 2008
New York City, New York
Cake Shop

Please come to our 3rd annu...

2008-10-16T14:42:00Z

Please come to our 3rd annual CMJ label showcase. Tue 10/21/08 @ Pianos.

For the third year running Serious Business Records will be hosting a CMJ label showcase. Andy Ross and I started Serious Business in 2004 and since then we've put out over thirty records from our best and most talented friends. Last year our showcase elicited this commentary from All Music Guide: "You have to love a record label that isn't driven by profits, hipness, or some misguided attempt to capture and define a style." I like that quote. What we're doing is all about love. This year we're lobbing an impressive collection of sweet new releases in your lap, including a limited edition 10" from the Homosexuals, new albums from Looker, Benji Cossa, Higgins, Rocketship Park, the Two Man Gentlemen Band and Secret Dakota Ring plus a bevy of singles, EPs, odds and sods, big hits. Our website offers a smorgasbord of free MP3s and it is fun to navigate so go there and take your shoes off. Join us on Tuesday October 21st as we celebrate an excellent year in Business. Come early and stay all night. The show will run on time.
Love, Travis.

TUE OCT 21
PIANOS
158 Ludlow, NYC
7:30 - Benji Cossa
8:15 - Rocketship Park
9 - The Two Man Gentlemen Band
9:45 - Higgins
10:30 - The Unsacred Hearts
11:15 - Looker
12 - The Octagon
12:45 - The Homosexuals
AFTER PARTY @ Arrow Bar (85 Avenue A) with DJs
Serious Business isn't only a label. It is also an in-demand NYC recording studio called Serious Business Music.

I wrote this little blurb for Stories in High Fidelity ... come to the launch party starring Jaymay and our own Rocketship Park along with Klosterman, Sheffield, Christgau on Mon 10/20. Buy tix here.

MP3s from this year's CMJ performers:
DOWNLOAD: Benji Cossa - "Volcano" [MP3]
DOWNLOAD: Rocketship Park - "Off and Away" [MP3]
DOWNLOAD: The Two Man Gentlemen Band - "William Howard Taft" [MP3]
DOWNLOAD: Higgins - "Yes I Know" [MP3]
DOWNLOAD: The Unsacred Hearts - "Point of Pride"
DOWNLOAD: Looker - "Gates of the Old City"
DOWNLOAD: The Octagon - "Narrow Road to Oku"
The Homosexuals - 3AM (Pink Pony)

Looker's new album now avai...

2008-10-16T08:40:00Z

Looker's new album now available for pre-order. Upcoming shows. MP3s here.

SBR30
LOOKER
Born In the Desert

With their second album Born In the Desert, Looker unveils the irresistible fruits of a year's hard labor. They released 3 infectious two-song singles throughout the past twelve months and they collect them all here, along with five more tunes, all produced by Erik Paparazzi. This is Looker's follow-up to the self-released 2007 debut album Born Too Late. Release date: October 28th. Pre-orders will ship to arrive on or before this date. PRE-ORDER HERE

This record really is home to some of the best songs ever. See below.

DOWNLOAD: "Gates of the Old City" [MP3]

DOWNLOAD: "After My Divorce" [MP3]

nyc shows...
SAT OCT 18
RUBULAD
Looker @ 11:30PM
338 Flushing Ave (btw. Classon and Taffee)
Brooklyn, NYC

TUE OCT 21
SERIOUS BUSINESS CMJ SHOWCASE
PIANOS
Doors 7, Looker @ 11
158 Ludlow St, NYC
w/ The Homosexuals, The Two Man Gentlemen Band, Higgins, Benji Cossa, the Unsacred Hearts, the Octagon, Rocketship Park

OCT 30
RECORD RELEASE PARTY
PUBLIC ASSEMBLY (ex- GALAPOGOS)
70 N. 6th Street btw Wythe and Kent
L to Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NYC
10pm Professor Pez
11pm The Royalties
12am Looker (CD Release)

Looker is a female fronted New York four-piece whose sound fuses girl-group pop sweetness with grit and ambition, resulting in a unique, kinetic rock and roll experience that is bittersweet, melodic and confrontational. Founders Boshra AlSaadi and Nicole Greco first met in a painting class in Pennsylvania at the age of 15, and quickly bonded over a shared love of playing guitar. Though they lived on opposite sides of the state, they kept in touch via mix tapes and letters and swore that someday they would have a rock and roll band. Fast forward to the Lower East Side in 2003, where the two reconvened to form Looker, completing their current lineup in '06 with the the additions of AJ Lambert on bass and Robbie Overbey on drums. Since then, they've toured top venues from Stockholm to Toronto playing with bands like the Undertones, the Hold Steady, the Noisettes, Shy Child, and the Homosexuals to name a few.

In January 2007 Looker produced and released their first LP Born Too Late, which was recorded and mixed in just 8 days. Glowing reviews for the unsigned band followed from the likes of Rolling Stone, Steve Lamacq, Vice, V Magazine, About.com, and TimeOut NY. The band decided to follow the record up with a series of inspired singles, recorded and released as they were written, in the classic style of pre-album pop. The first of these singles, “After My Divorce,” captured the attention of Steve Lamacq in the UK who invited Looker to the legendary Maida Vale for a live session on BBC1.

With Erik Paparazzi (currently playing bass for Cat Power) at the producer’s helm, Looker has assembled these singles along with some new recordings for their second LP Born in the Desert, slated to be released on October 28, 2008 on Serious Business Records. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for US and UK dates supporting the record this fall.

New Secret Dakota Ring vide...

2008-10-13T16:48:00Z

New Secret Dakota Ring video. "THE FADE TO BLACK" - on YouTube now. YouTube selects video for New Music Tuesday spotlight.

Here it is. "The Fade To Black"

This video was directed by our good friend Eric Lane, and features the five awesomest kids in Los Angeles. Huge thanks to the Paul Green School of Rock, Hollywood.

YouTube is featuring this video as a New Music Tuesday spotlight on October 14.

PreOrder the new Secret Dakota Ring album Cantarell right here.
Download the MP3 of "The Fade to Black" right here.

Secret Dakota Ring's Cantar...

2008-10-09T12:14:00Z

Secret Dakota Ring's Cantarell CD available for pre-order now. "The Fade to Black" free MP3 too.

CANTARELL
by
SECRET DAKOTA RING

is now available for pre-order at our Serious Business Records store and at Insound.
DOWNLOAD: "The Fade to Black" [MP3] Thank you kindly