saki newsletter 3/31/2015!

Today's the big day, folks! Not only do we have a killer batch of new releases, but we're also announcing our Record Store Day in-store lineup! First, we'd like to take a second to thank all the comics, and everyone else who came out for Freak Happening on Friday night. Freak Happening is one of the best comedy shows in the city in our eyes. It's been running for a little over a year now and we're still so pleased to see the crowds that come out to support the amazing show that Nick and Goodrich are able to throw together. Thank you!

Ok, now let's get to it. Those of you who have followed saki these past several years are probably already aware that we host an in-store marathon on RSD each year. Every year we panic and think that we're not going to be able to pull down a lineup that will stack up to previous years, and every year we're amazed to watch it all fall into place just in time. Some might call it hard work, we know it's just dumb luck. So, here it is, our lineup for RSD 2015:

1pm - Cheap Girls (acoustic)
2pm - Advance Base
3pm - Oshwa (Alicia solo)
4pm - Sleeping Bag
5pm - Supreme Nothing
6pm - The Sueves

For more info on our RSD festivities, keep an eye on our RSD page, as we will add new info there first! We may even have one or two more special in-stores and other details to announce.

For those of you who may not be aware of some of the bands on our RSD lineup, we're going to do a feature on 2 of them in the newsletter each week. Let's start with Cheap Girls and Advance Base!

Cheap Girls

Cheap Girls are a quintessential Midwestern rock band. They keep it simple and they write damn good songs. What more could you want!? Since the band's inception in 2007 they've kept busy by touring with The Hold Steady, Against Me!, Hard Girls, Lemuria, and Andrew Jackson Jihad (any of whom could be touchstones for CG's sound), as well as releasing a string of consistently great records and singles. They're a hard band to describe adequately because, well, they keep it so simple. So here's a few tracks to check out. The last two are probably most like what you'll see here on RSD since Ian will be playing a stripped down/acoustic set with his guitarist, Adam.

Advance Base

Advance Base hails from right here in Logan Square! As the current vehicle for singer/songwriter, Owen Ashworth, the band is in some ways a continuation of the sound he established as Casiotone For The Painfully Alone throughout the early aughts, with Owen's droll, self-aware lyrics, and flat, baritone vocal delivery still at the forefront. What's changed the most is the instrumentation. Having done away with the cheap, twinkly Casio keyboards, Advance Base's songs keep much of the structure of CFTPA, but employing "electric pianos, Omnichords, [and] orchestral samples," among other things, Owen has shown a clear maturation with Advance Base.

Here's a few other things we were talking about on Instagram, etc. this week!

Already Dead dropped off a new run of tapes, including a new Chris Brokaw tape and their 4th label comp.!

Gilda and Bill T's are back in stock with a full run of sizes!

Saki hats are cool AND they keep your head warm. 

Upcoming events:

Saturday, April 18th
Record Store Day!

New releases:

Andrew Bird - Weather Systems LP

Anna Caragnano and Donato Dozzy - Sintetizzatrice LP

Apartments - Evening Visits…and Stays for Years LP/CD

Benoit Pioulard - Sonnet LP/CD

Bipsphere / Deathprod - Stator Split CD

Chud - S/T 7” EP

Death Cab for Cutie - Kintsugi LP

Death Grips - Powers That B LP/CD

Follakzoid - III LP/CD

Fort Romeau - Insides LP/CD

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress LP/CD

Guerilla Toss - Smack the Brick LP

Hiragi Fukuda - Seacide LP/CD

Houndstooth - No News From Home CD

Inventions - Maze of Woods LP

Jerry Paper - Carousel LP/CD

Jesse Aycock - Flowers and Wounds LP

Jimmy Whispers - Summer in Pain LP

Jozef Van Wissem & Domingo Garcia-Huidobro - Partir to Live: OST LP

King Khan & BBQ Show - Bad News Boys LP

Lower Dens - Escape from Evil LP

Male Gaze - Gale Maze LP/CD

Marching Church - This World Is Not Enough LP/CD

Merchandise - (Strange Songs) In The Dark LP/CD

Mucca Pazza - L.Y.A. LP/CD

Myriam Gendron - Not So Deep as a Well LP

Reptar - Lurid Glow LP/CD

Ryan Adams - Blue Light LP

Ryley Walker - Primrose Green LP/CD

Simon Joyner - Grass, Branch and Bone LP

Soft Moon - Deeper LP/CD

Sonics - This Is The Sonics CD

Spaces of Disappearance - Passionate Electronics Cass

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell LP/CD

Swearing at Motorists - S/T LP/CD

Tim Foljahn - Fucking Love Songs CD
Ufomammut - Ecate CD

William Elliott Whitmore - Radium Death LP

Yonatan Gat - Director LP

20% off this week:

"Album covers with flowers on them because it's supposed to be Spring..."

Modern Vices, ONO, Sun Airway, Gang Gang Dance, Caribou, and Young Moon!

Staff picks of the week:

Adam's Pick of the Week: The Notations - Still Here 1967-1973

For fans of The Impressions and Curtis Mayfield's early solo outings, this one will hit the spot. The group was recorded by Syl Johnson and Mayfield himself. Although none of the latter's work appears on this collection, there is a cover of The Impressions' "I've Been Trying," which is the track that brought about their later collaborations with the soul legend.

If flawless early 70's production isn't enough for you, singer Clifford Curry's signature yelps will do the trick. Just listen to Curry's distinctive delivery on "I'm Still Here." How can you resist?

Ticket giveaways: 

Buy a release from any band playing an upcoming Empty Bottle, Schubas or Lincoln Hall show and we can add you to the guest list. Stop in or give us a call! Keep an eye out for announcements for eligible Metro, Constellation, and Bottom Lounge shows too!