 | State Shirt This Is Old (CD) |
Bio:
State Shirt sculpts fiery, intense indie rock anthems for the wondering, wandering and hopeful. Venturing wildly into the farthest corners of heavy-hearted American landscapes, State Shirt's music displays vivid, gripping stories of nostalgia, despair and hope.
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On The Web:
www.stateshirt.com
www.myspace.com/stateshirt
www.losfuckingangeles.com
Bio (Continued):
From Southern California's droning and faceless San Fernando Valley to the snowy back roads of Western Massachusetts. Steeped in a cycle of inescapable, mind-numbing full-time jobs, State Shirt relies on hand-built loops, neglected instruments and riveting vocals to artfully describe captivity in a familiar never-ending cycle: work, drink, sleep, repeat.
But, through it all, a glimmer of hope shines.
From a modest bedroom sanctuary devoted to writing and recording, sparkles of surreal, melancholic melodies bubble up. Voltage runs through a collection of dusty pedals, guitars and electronics to deliver This Is Old, State Shirt's deeply textured second album, a set of swirling and burning indie-tronic statements proving that monotonous lives can produce exceptional results.
FAQ: State Shirt who?
Hi, I’m State Shirt. My real name is not State Shirt (it’s Ethan Tufts), but I do wear a lot of state shirts. I’m a Massachusetts native living in Los Angeles, CA and spend as much time as I can writing and recording music. Sometimes it’s real hard to do that while living my alternate, monotonous life in front of a desk doing nerd shit. But I try to keep the music going. If you can help me, I’d like to be able to spend more of my life making music, and less of my life in front of a desk. Go to my website, click on the donate button, or better yet, buy a CD.
What music have you released?
In 2001, after a long hiatus away from music, Songfight inspired me to start writing and recording music again. In 2002, I released my first EP New Planet, and in 2004 my first full-length album Don't Die, and was surprised at how many people actually went out and bought it. Then life and the job sucked me back in. I can't really remember what the hell I did for the last four years. But I did start to find spare moments to write and record again, and now I've got a new album coming 11.11.08, This Is Old.
Where can I buy your music?
You can put in a preorder for This Is Old on stateshirt.com. And you can buy Don't Die directly from stateshirt.com for $10. You can also find it on iTunes, CDBaby and Amazon.
So, it looks like your music is available for free? How the hell will that help you?
Inspired by Brad Sucks and Jonathan Coulton (and you thought I was going to say NIN and Radiohead), I am giving away music for free. I love to make music. I'm going to do it no matter what. I'm hoping that giving stuff away for free will help get the music out there, and maybe more people will want to come back and pay a little for it. I think there are enough music lovers out there that like to support indie artists, that maybe someday soon I will be able to make music full time. The old music industry mentality of locking music up is done. And in the end, it just feels better to share.
OK then, I can just grab music for free?
Yes, it's here for free. Though it is available for purchase as well, and of course I would be grateful if you purchase the music, make a donation, buy a T-shirt or a sticker. I'm lucky to be able to have the gear to play and record songs, and for the many people who have heard my music thus far. But I'd really like to keep making music and do so more often. Your purchases and donations will help me to continue to make music. Even if it's only a small amount, whatever you think is fair, I'd be immensely grateful!
How can I help spread the word?
Tell your friends about State Shirt. Put my songs on mix CDs (and tapes) and give them to your friends. Play State Shirt music on your podcast. Link to stateshirt.com from your blog. If you run a casting agency, I’d love to do two or three line parts on a cable TV show. I have no acting experience, which I think is a unique qualification. And last but not least, sign up for the State Shirt mailing list (on the right side of this page), and I’ll tell you about ways to get hooked up for referring your friends, selling CDs, getting people out to shows. Earn t-shirts, nerd prizes, and cash money!
Can I make remixes of State Shirt songs?
The entire Don't Die album will be available as source files on ccmixer, ready for your mash-ups, remixes and crazy ideas. Please let me know when you make a remix and I'll let people know here. The source for This Is Old will also be available in a few weeks, and we'll be doing a huge contest (with some pretty sweet prizes) to find the best remixes. Stay tuned.
Can I use your song in my student film, YouTube video, podcast?
Yes you can. And please show it to me when you're done! All State Shirt songs are licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial Creative Commons license. This means you can use my songs in a non-commercial use as long as you #1 - credit State Shirt and link back to stateshirt.com, and #2 - don't use the music to make money.
Can I share your songs?
Of course. Send them to your friends. And encourage them to come to stateshirt.com and buy aT-shirt, make a donation or just stop by and say hi.
How do you do all of that live looping stuff?
I guess just a lot of practice. And two Echoplex Digital Pros. And luck.
Can I play your music on my podcast / radio show?
Sure. All of my albums are podsafe, so please go right ahead.
Where can I find lyrics?
Go to the Music page at stateshirt.com and you'll find links to all lyrics there.
Will you be my friend on Myspace?
Ah Myspace, yes, be my friend there.
And Facebook too there.
What independent music do you like?
Matthew Larsen, Brad Sucks, c.layne, MC Frontalot, Add, Scott Andrew.
What gear does State Shirt use in the studio and for live shows?
Studio Setup:
* Pro Tools, Reason 4, Line 6 GearBox
* Macbook Pro
* Digidesign Digi 002, Mackie Onyx 800R
* Yamaha T116 upright piano
* A crapload of effects pedals, Echoplex Digital Pro, Line 6 DL4, Echo Park, Boss DF-2, etc
* Fender Toronado, Peavey Predator, P.O.S. Peavey bass
* Pieced together 1980s Slingerland/Ludwig/Pearl/Zildjian/Sabian drum kit and cymbals
* Kids toys, sound books, Casio SK8, Yamaha PSS140, Korg MicroKorg, what else am i forgetting… and yes, I did sell my Casio DG-10 digital guitar. When Flight of The Conchords became popular I figured I’d just let it be “their thing.”
Live Setup:
* Fender Toronado
* A couple beat up Gibson Echoplex Digital Pros for live looping
* Absolutely horrible and slightly broken Behringer FCB1010, soon to be replaced with a Roland
* Line 6 DL4, Spider Valve, a bunch of wack effects
* Yamaha PSS140 digital wrecking machine
* Mackie 1202VLZ (replaced a beat up Tapco), Sure SM58
* About 1000 cables, chewing gum, scotch tape and a prayer
Tell me some other useless facts:
* State Shirt isn’t really State Shirt’s name. It’s something other than State Shirt. But he does wear a lot of state shirts.
* Bought a keyboard in 5th grade, brought it to school and got made fun of. Went back home and recorded 1000 goofy seven second long songs on portable cassette player.
* Forms a wack Phil Collins inspired light-rock band with friends from grade school. Plays the Easthampton, MA fall festival among other fine establishments.
* Buys a $200 drum set, breaks a lot of cymbals. As a drummer, bassist and guitarist, he plays in a death metal band, a light rock band, and an indie emocore band.
* Begs for and borrows music gear to record indie rock songs in his bedroom. Comes home from high school and records nearly every day. Records The Ethan Album and gives the cassette to friends. Goes to work at Caldor in the evenings.
* Gets a small scholarship and attends Hartt School of Music in Connecticut. Drops out of school and delivers pizza.
* Goes on tour with noise-punk band. They play clubs and dives all across the east coast. Band calls it quits, back to delivering pizza.
* Relocates to Los Angeles.
* Moves back to Massachusetts and works at a car wash. He doesn’t record anything for a year. Gets drunk.
* Relocates to Los Angeles.
* Gets sucked into a mind-numbing day job and isn’t heard from for a while.
* SongFight.org inspires State Shirt to start writing and recording songs again. Songs are received well and he keeps recording.
* Saves up some money, self-releases New Planet and Don’t Die and people actually buy them.
* Surprised by the shitload of radio airplay across the US, celebrates with a frosty Sam Adams.
* Disappears once again into obscurity.
* Wastes away at a droning, mind-numbing day job for years.
* Slowly finds spare moments to record This Is Old
Press Quotes:
"At times beautifully romantic, and at others undoubtedly disturbing, Don't Die is an album worthy of cult status, covering a broad spectrum of emotions and styles in a completely DIY framework." - The Sound Monitor
"Every song grows into something cohesive, and State Shirt skillfully mixes sound effects with steady beats. Layered guitars fill in sonic gaps, and lyrics combine existential thoughts with yearning nostalgia to create an entirely unique soundscape." - Performing Songwriter (Jan/Feb 2005)
"State Shirt loves to mess around with strange sound effects, including beatboxing, scratching, and any number of silly vocal effects - surprisingly, these unique inclusions really work here, making for a remarkably cohesive and personal album." - Indieville.com
"…a dreamlike trip through melodic tunes, quick beats and earnest vocals." - Plug-In Music
"…lush, homemade production seals the sound in. Commendable." - Lost At Sea
"…Incredibly imaginative production choices, including nods to hip-hop, surprising vocal interplay, ingeniously employed electronics, and always-engaging instrumentation." - 1340 Mag
"Don't Die is a very personal record but not so much that it's impenetrable and is definitely worth seeking out for its internal diversity and melancholic elegance." - Vanity Project
"State Shirt is a one-man musical miracle worker from California…" - Whisperin' And Hollerin'
"…the superb debut from the mysteriously-named State Shirt… Think The Bends-era Radiohead with the maverick touches of Beck thrown in for good measure." - Leonard's Lair
"The haunting monotone vocals flow freely over the huge sound of this record created by just one man…" - Impact Press
"…this impressive release no doubt will dominate CMJ in time. If not, they're just a bunch of corporate whores who couldn't tell good music from a hole in the ground." - EDITORS PICK, Smother.net
"…this is an album which, like much of the work of Beck, can change mood at the drop of a hat. State Shirt employs anything he can lay his hands on when it comes to making his music and we are greeted throughout the record by dogs barking, beat boxing, scratching and much more all utilised effectively and held together by lilting guitars and an often quite effecting vocal performance." - Tasty Fanzine
On The Web:
www.stateshirt.com
www.myspace.com/stateshirt
www.losfuckingangeles.com