Anticipate: The Postmarks North American Tour

The Postmarks will embark on a North American tour starting next week. Accompanying them along the tour are teen sensation Smoosh, Torquil Campbell's Memphis, and The Frequency. Camera Crowd hasn't introduced The Postmarks to you guys so I think now's a good time to do that. The trio of Tim Yehezkely, Chris Moll and John Wilkins make up The Postmarks. Hailing from the coast of Florida, this trio creates soft pop very reminiscent of Camera Obscura and sprinkles of Rilo Kiley's debut album, Takeoffs and Landings.

The band recently released their self titled debut album which includes the ever popular and catchy song "Goodbye". They also have a "remixes" EP out which features 6 different version of "Goodbye" and 3 versions of the song "You Drift Away".

Here is an e-card that lets you stream the entire album. So get into that, then hopefully catch them on tour this spring.


North American Tour Dates:

Apr 12 2007 @ The Drunken Unicorn w/ The Preakness, Atlanta
Apr 14 2007 @ World Cafe Live w/ SMOOSH, Philadelphia
Apr 15 2007 @ Black Cat Backstage w/ SMOOSH, Washington DC
Apr 16 2007 @ The Knitting Factory w/ SMOOSH, New York
Apr 17 2007 @ Middle East Restaurant w/ SMOOSH and HARRY AND THE POTTERS, Cambridge, MA
Apr 18 2007 @ Pearl Street w/ SMOOSH, Northampton, MA
Apr 19 2007 @ Union Hall, Brooklyn
Apr 20 2007 @ Petit Capus, Montreal
Apr 21 2007 @ Amp’d Mobile Studio, Toronto
Apr 22 2007 @ Magic Stick, Detroit
Apr 24 2007 @ Bluebird Nightclub, Bloomington, IN
Apr 25 2007 @ Schubas Tavern, Chicago
Apr 26 2007 @ TBA, Minneapolis
Apr 29 2007 @ Chop Suey w/ MEMPHIS, Seattle
Apr 30 2007 @ Doug Fir Lounge w/ MEMPHIS, Portland, OR
May 2 2007 @ Cafe Du Nord w/ MEMPHIS, San Francisco
May 3 2007 @ Troubadour w/ MEMPHIS, West Hollywood
May 5 2007 @ Belly Up Aspen, Aspen, CO
May 6 2007 @ Larimer Lounge, Denver
May 9 2007 @ The Door w/ THE HERO FACTOR, Dallas
May 10 2007 @ Stubb’s Bar-B-Q w/ THE HERO FACTOR, Austin


Goodbye | The Postmarks


Links:
>>The Postmarks Myspace
>>The official site
>>E-Card

Other notable links:
>>Smoosh
>>Memphis
>> Memphis : Camera Crowd Upcoming Release
>>The Frequency



-Charlie

SF Indie Film Festival

If you're a Camera Crowd follower and have read my movie recommendations, you know very well I'm a big fan of foreign/independent movies. Good ones come out here and there, but the most unnoticed films where you have to dig really deep are the best ones. Well for two weeks in February, the San Francisco Indie Film Festival unleashes a line of fresh foreign and independent films for people like me to drool over. The films, long and short, can't get any more original and independent. Or can they....


This years lineup consists of over 90, (yeah 90!) full length and short films. Full and short length films ranging from animation to documentaries. And these films are spread out over 4 different venues over the Bay Area.

>>Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, San Francisco
>>Roxie Cinemas, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco
>>Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th Street, San Francisco
>>Landmark’s California Theatre, 2113 Kitteridge Street, Berkeley

General tickets are 10 bucks a pop. But if you're hardcore fan and plan on seeing more than just one film, check out these discount passes.

>>The IndiePass = $195 >> (good for all films and parties) less than $5 per program and you get the front of the line.
>>5 Film Pass = $45
>>10 Film Pass =$80

As for my recommendations, with the help of a friend, I've narrowed it down to around 6 films. It'd be nice to check out all of them, but that's just impossible for me. I might've missed some good ones, so if you have any films in your To See List that I should check out, let me know.

Dante's Inferno

"a unique, subversive, darkly satirical update of the original 14th century literary classic. with paper puppets, "






Rock N Tokyo

"In today’s Tokyo you can find anything you can imagine—and at the same time get a new surprise on every corner. While most of Japanese society still preaches uniformity and order, there is an important underground world, where people lead a freer life. This is the Tokyo of “Rock N Tokyo."



LOL

"Alex, Tim, and Chris view the women in their lives through a computer screen or the lens of a camera-phone, struggling to balance their online fantasies and addictions with the demands of real life."



G.R.A.: Graffiti, Roman Art

"This energetic film documents a city-approved annual graffiti project in which hundreds of graffiti artists participate to make their mark on long stretches of designated walls."

Your Mommy Kills Animals

"A brilliant documentary shows how animal-rights activists may be killing free speech."

Mojave Phone Booth

"This is the story of four disparate people whose lives intersect at this mystical outpost. There is Beth (Annabeth Gish), a troubled woman facing dilemmas with her love life and a recurring, baffling crime; Mary, a young South African, who is contemplating selling her body for the funds to escape her dreadful existence; Alex, a woman who is losing her lover to the belief she is plagued by alien parasites; and Richard (Robert Romanus), driven to desperation, who happens upon the booth after his failed suicide attempt."

The film fest starts today and ends on the 20th, so if you live in the Bay Area or have enough money to fly to the Bay Area and want to see this films, get up and go!!!

More Info:

SF indiefest |everything you need to know is on the official website.

Tunes you can Listen to while checking out the flicks.

Double Feature | Camera Obscura

In The Cinema Alone | Memphis


postscript: Thanks to my friend Marina for helping me pick and shortening the list of flicks worth seeing.


-Charlie

Upcoming release: Memphis's A Little Place in the Wilderness

∞

Although Canada is America's next-door neighbor, we still have not even skimmed the surface of the Canadian music scene. It is time to extend a hand and help them cross over this great divide. I have a feeling this long distance relationship will work. Maybe this is because I use to live in Toronto for five years, but also the Canadian bands that have crossed the border have been nothing but a breath of fresh air. Note: Arcade Fire, The New Pornographers, Stars, Do Make Say Think Metric, Feist, Broken Social Scene and now Memphis! Here's to making this list longer.

{If you are in a hurry, skip to "on the album..." paragraph.}

Where it all started...
On the gray streets of New York City where dreams are said to come true Torquil Campbell met Chris Dumont and formed a band with some of Campbell's childhood friends: Chris Seligman, James (Jimmy) Shaw and Adam Marvy called Luxe, this was in the early '90s. After awhile Seligman and Campbell moved onto the beloved Stars, while Shaw teamed up with Emily Haines forming Metric in 1998.

Dumont, who was originally from North Carolina continued working as a carousel operator in New York's Central Park. Campbell invited him to Vancouver one summer and Memphis arrived into the world. The two released an EP called A Good Day Sailing in 2002 and for the next two summers was filled with writing and recording for Memphis's first full-length album, which was released in 2004 on Paper Bag Records. They recorded their sophomore album, A Little Place in the Wilderness, in a Vancouver hotel room and at Studio Plateau located in Montreal during the winter. Canada had its hands on this album since August, but we will still have to wait to see it on shelves in early 2007.

On the album...
There are too few albums that I know of, which I can play the whole way through without skipping a track or two. Good thing Memphis's upcoming album, A Little Place in the Wilderness falls into that category. I can pop it in the stereo and sit back comfortably without lifting a finger. And as I sit back and ponder with the welcoming laid-back pop sounds that will make listeners dreamy-eyed and hopeful, I feel a soft, airy atmosphere that will wrap around even innocent bystanders.

This airy feel is partly from Torquil Campbell's unique voice that sounds weightless and smooth paired with the subtle echoes that makes it sound like there are two Torquil Campbells instead of one! Fear not, there are playful jazzy songs like "Incredibly Drunk on Whiskey" incorporating a saxophone and clarinet and a lively, fun "I'll Do Whatever You Want" that may feel more like it belongs in the Stars catalog.

There is a lone violin that will dip and soar throughout, but unlike the climatic feel of Stars, there is a gentleness in all the instruments on the album, like the yearning of the pedal steel and the long notes by Jimmy Shaw (Metric) on trumpets and bass. Even the drums sound somewhat distanced from the listener with its faraway crashes of cymbals. This all helps the listener sink into Campbell's voice and dream away.


Track by Track

{Hover over the track title for a short description and right click to download}

A Little Place In The Wilderness | Memphis

1. I Dreamed We Fell Apart
2. In The Cinema Alone
3. Incredibly Drunk On Whiskey
4. Time Away
5. A Ghost Story
6. A Little Place In The Wilderness
7. I'll Do Whatever You Want
8. Swallows And Amazons
9. In The Highest Room
10. The Night Watchmen
    

Links

>>> Memphis's Official Site
<<< Hear more songs on MySpace
>>> Buy the import!
<<< Watch video of "I'll Do Whatever You Want" directed by Daniel Handler who wrote the Lemony Snicket series

Word of advice: since there is not a set release date decided (early 2007...sometime) for this album just yet, you can go sign up on their mailing list so you won't miss it when it does. Just go to their site and click on news, type in your email address and you're all set.

~anne