While it has already been much publicized that The Dandys are dropping their ninth studio record, Distortland, on April 8, Voodoo Doughnut Recordings will bring another treat to the month with a live album—a document of the band's eighth concert ever.
Back with another archival recording from the hazy, raucous '90s, The Dandy Warhols' Live at The X-Ray Cafe chronicles the four-piece on July 8, 1994, as they were prepping material for their first record, Dandys Rule OK, which was released in April 1995—more than two decades ago.
'Live at The X-Ray Cafe' is due out April 15—just in time for Record Store DayFull of garage psych and fuzzy shoegaze, the live record sees The Dandys in a raw but comfortably confident form over the course of the 12-inch, 45 rpm EP. "It took a lot of tweaking on the mix to make it feel like it did back in '94. It's messy. It's fucked up. It's got some strange energy that isn't altogether healthy. I think we nailed it,” says Courtney Taylor-Taylor.
While the new record features the modern lineup of Taylor on vox and guitar, Zia McCabe on keys, Peter Holmstrom on guitar, and Brent DeBoer on drums, the Voodoo recording swaps out DeBoer for founding drummer Eric Hedford, who departed the band in 1998. Recorded at the all-ages venue owned and operated by doughnut baron Tres Shannon, engineer Don Fury transferred the untouched analog cassette to his console, mixed it, and then mastered the live EP with input from Taylor.
So how does one of Portland's most visible bands and an iconic Stumptown brand celebrate all this new music? Come Saturday, March 26 you're invited to tag along with The Dandys for "a day of shenanigans," says label head Jay Rubin.
'Distortland' is due out April 8 on Dine Alone RecordsRubin reports:
The festivities will begin at Voodoo Doughnut Too (1501 NE Davis St.) at 4pm with a motorcade leaving from the pastry emporium at approximately 4:20pm. The Dandys members and Doughnut Barons alike will be stopping at record stores and radio stations as well as local landmarks en route to a 7pm listening party at Tony's Old Time Tavern (1955 W Burnside St.).
At Tony's, over the vintage house PA, Dandys' fans can imbibe and mingle with the band while hearing, back to back, recordings of the band's eighth concert ever and their piping hot ninth full-length studio album, Distortland, [which] was tracked in lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor's basement then guided to completion by heavyweight producer Jim Lowe (Stereophonics, The Charlatans, Herbie Hancock) [although the label, Dine Alone Records, likes to note that he's "best known for his work with Taylor Swift and Beyonce"].
And all of it is free and open to the public. Peep the socials for The Dandys and Voodoo Doughnut Recordings for last-minute updates.
