Total Fest X, Summer Sale, Tours

Here's a small update from the Perpetual Motion Motion HQ. Not much to report, but here are a few important bits.

END OF SUMMER SALE -- 15% Off Now through Sept 1.

To clear out some old stock, I'm offering a 15% off discount for all orders. To take advantage of this, you must order between now and September 1. To get the discount, enter the coupon code SUMMER15 when you check out. Email if you have any questions. Thanks so much for the support!

PMM Online Store

TOTAL FEST X -- August 18-20, 2011 in Missoula, Montana

I've been busy the past few months helping to put together Total Fest, an annual DIY music fest here in Missoula, Montana started by my pals Josh and Niki at Wantage USA Records. This the tenth year anniversary and it goes down the weekend of August 18-20. This year, the 3-day weekend of music will feature 45 great bands from all over the US (and a few international ones, too) with something for everyone, including Big Business, Hammerhead, Helms Alee, The Men, Milk Music, Gun Outfit, Kowloon Walled City, Gull (Nate from Snack Truck / Ultra Dolphins) and more. Since the shows are at night, there are plenty of opportunities in the day time for hiking, biking, tubing, barbecues and a record swap on Saturday. Advance weekend tickets are now on sale for $45 (or $50 at the door). Consider making the trek and come see our rad town and some excellent music. It will be lots of fun!

Tickets, schedule and details at http://totalfest.org.

KOWLOON WALLED CITY -- Upcoming Shows & Updates

Speaking of Total Fest, this will be Kowloon Walled City's last show with their guitarist, Jason Pace. Come wish him farewell. See the full story here. After Total Fest, they will be playing some shows with their new guitarist, Jon, from Tigon.

9/4 Oakland, CA @ Eli’s Mile High w/ Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, Walken
9/17 San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside w/ Rorschach, Early Graves

In the next few weeks, I'll next be issuing a limited edition split cassette from KWC and BATILLUS, from their live set at WFMU during their east coast tour last October. This is going into production shortly and should be out in late August / early September. More details to follow soon.

THE CATALYST -- August Tour

The Catalyst are currently on the road in support of their not-so-new Swallow Your Teeth LP/CD and upcoming split 7" with Aussitot Mort. Go see them. Stream/download their releases for free here.

Shows with GNARWHAL:
August 8th: Pittsburgh PA @ Kopec's w/ Ed Hochuli
August 9th: Cleveland OH @ The Happy Dog w/ All Dinosaurs
August 10th: Chicago IL @ Live Wire Lounge w/ Cloud Mouth
August 11th: Belleville IL @ Illegal Tone Recordings
August 12th: Nashville TN @ Little Hamilton Collective w/ Britches
August 13th: Memphis TN @ The Frame

Just THE CATALYST:
August 14th: New Orleans LA @ Euclid Records w/ Small Bones, Baby Boy (Matinee)
August 15th: Tallahassee FL @ The Farside w/ Nailbiter, Atrocitus, Brainstorm

Shows with CAPSULE (FL):
August 16th: Gainesville FL @ The Atlantic w/ Chronic Youth
August 17th: Savannah GA / possible day off
August 18th: Columbia SC @ Conundrum Music Hall w/ Tunguska
August 19th: Richmond VA @ Best Friends Day 10 at The Canal Club w/ Dead To Me, Strike Anywhere, Pg. 99, Converge

That's it for now. Support these bands by seeing them live and buying their music. Get outside and enjoy the weather. Have a great rest of your summer.

- Paul / PMM

Thou/Moloch 12" & Other Releases Back in Stock

For those who may have missed out on copies of the THOU / MOLOCH Tears That Soak A Callous Heart Split 12" (clear vinyl), the first pressing of KOWLOON WALLED CITY's Gambling on the Richter Scale LP (clear vinyl w/ CD), or color copies of the ANCIENT SKY and THE CATALYST Swallow Your Teeth LPs, I just got a box of the remaining copies of these color versions shipped out from storage back in Virginia. Only a few copies of each are available and I've added what I have to the online store for ordering.

Also, somewhat related - I'm doing a small repress of the Thou / Moloch split cassette, which should be out in time for their June European tour. More details TBA.

PMM is moving.

Sooo, at the end of July I'm leaving old Richmond, Virginia on a cross-country move to Missoula, Montana. This has been a long time coming and only recently did I decide to go forward with it. I'll be going out with my wonderful girlfriend, our little dog, a handful of personal possessions, and some bits and pieces of the label. PMM will continue out there, but will most likely be scaled down a bit, at least for the foreseeable future.

In an attempt to make the move a bit easier on us and my car's suspension, I'm doing a big sale on most of the PMM releases now through July 25, after which I will be taking down the store for a few weeks. Additionally, I've put up a 20% off coupon for all orders. Just type in JULY20 during checkout. Big orders will get free stuff. Bigger orders will get copies of just about everything extra I've got lying around (that will fit into the mailer). Take advantage of the sale here.

The next few months will see lots of touring as well as a few little releases: a repress of Kowloon Walled City's "Gambling on the Richter Scale" LP (co-released with Feast of Tentacles from England) as well as a limited run CD version of that one, and, limited run cassette versions of Thou's "Tyrant" and "Peasant" in some sort of hand-printed packaging. Kowloon Walled City will be touring the east coast for two weeks in September and October with Batillus from NYC. Dates and details for that are materializing here. The Catalyst will be doing a US tour in October. Ancient Sky will be doing a European tour in October. Thou will be doing a lot of little weekends and shows this fall, including a few with KWC/Batillus. Busy times.

More news on all of these things after the move. And maybe some pictures from the road too. Until then, consider picking up some of the releases at some heavily discounted prices. Thanks for the support.

-Paul / PMM

The Catalyst Head to Europe

Barely escaping the devestating clutches of world-end volcanic debris, The Catalyst head over the pond this week for a European tour from April 29 - May 30. US dates are in the works for this summer and will be announced on their return. Their first full length, Swallow Your Teeth, was released on PMM and Sons of Vesta Records last year.

European Dates:
04/29 forlì, IT - circolo arci valverde
04/30 fano, IT - boomker
05/01 arezzo , IT - habitat skatepark
05/02 lodi, IT - dumb skatepark
05/03 montpellier, FR - baloard
05/04 toulouse, FR - les pavillons sauvages
05/05 st feliu de codines, SP - la fonteta
05/06 SPAIN HELP
05/07 gijon, SP - club bola 8
05/08 corunha, SP - c.s.o. casa das atochas
05/09 torrelavega, SP - la tortuga pub
05/10 madrid, SP - wurlitzer ballroom
05/11 montaigu, FR - la floride
05/12 caen , FR - bar laplace
05/13 la louviere , BE - taverne du theatre
05/14 utrecht, NE - acu
05/15 groningen, NE - vera-downstage
05/16 strasbourg, FR - molodoi
05/17 GERMANY HELP
05/18 leipzig, GE - atari
05/19 wuerzburg, GE - cairo j.k.h.
05/20 giessen , GE - ak44
05/21 berlin, GE - schokoladen
05/22 wroclaw , PO - crk
05/23 prague , CZ - klubovna povalec
05/24 slavonice, CZ - baràk
05/25 wien, AU - arena
05/26 graz, AU - sub
05/27 bologna, IT - atlantide
05/28 pisa, IT - la centrale
05/29 perugia, IT - c.s.a. mattatoio
05/30 roma, IT - sinister noise

Order Swallow Your Teeth from the PMM Online Store

The end of another year.

I just finished packing a pile of mailorders and thought I’d give an update on the label and it's seventh year in 2009. It was a crazy ass year for me and the one-man Perpetual Motion Machine. Definitely the busiest, most insane year of the label yet, with a pile of new releases from the likes of old and new friends Kowloon Walled City, The Catalyst, Litany For The Whale, and Ancient Sky. All of this kept me busy to no end and on my toes throughout the year. I couldn’t have made it without everyone that supported the label. So thanks to those who ordered records and supported the bands on the road, the amazing writers, bloggers and twitter-ers, distros and stores, and everyone else who gave a damn about the bands and their releases.

Kowloon Walled City’s debut full length, Gambling on the Richter Scale, came out in late September on 12” vinyl with cd included and was also made available for free digital download. The response for this has been really astounding and the first pressing is running low, so pick it up if you haven’t yet. So far it’s received a great response from the press as well, with solid reviews from Decibel, Metal Hammer, Rocksound, Lambgoat, Aquarius Records, and many others. The band is playing a few California shows in January with Fight Amp and is starting to make plans for a more extensive tour later in the spring. Check out the PMM store for copies of the 12"+CD, their first EP and some shirts.

The Catalyst’s first full length, Swallow Your Teeth came out on LP and CD in August, and I’m down to my last couple copies of the limited color versions of the LP. They did a short tour with LftW this fall, including what I hear was a pretty bad ass show at The Fest, and have been playing a lot of pretty rad shows around Richmond these past few months. They are gearing up for their second trip to Europe, which will take place in April-May 2010. More details on that over here.

Litany for the Whale recently returned home from their first US tour and having been playing a bunch of shows around the Bay Area this winter, while working on new songs for a couple future releases. Their debut 12” EP, Dolores, is still available from PMM and Molsook, though our limited color versions for mailorder are running low. The cd version came out in September on Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records and the release has been picking up a good amount of well-deserved praise from places like Decibel, Outburn, Rocksound and several others.

Ancient Sky are playing a slew of shows in January and February after a bit of a hiatus, though guitarist/singer Brian Markham recently returned from a European tour with his quieter two-piece project Timber Rattle. If you haven’t done so yet, check out their debut LP, available for order here.

I don't have any solid release plans for 2010 yet, but will have an update on that in the near future. In the meantime, I'm taking a breather from this crazy past year of releases. Keep your eye on the online store for several new distro items and imports in the coming weeks. Thanks for reading and thanks for the support.

-Paul / The Perpetual Motion Machine

(Photo: Litany for the Whale, 11.10.09 Mass Art, Boston, MA Photo by Reid Haithcock)

The Catalyst Album Stream & Kowloon Walled City LP Preview

ScenePointBlank.com have been kind enough to host an exclusive full album stream of The Catalyst's new LP/CD, "Swallow Your Teeth" which came out yesterday. They are also offering a giveaway contest with the chance to win copies of PMM's three new vinyl releases.

Stream The Catalyst's "Swallow Your Teeth" here
Enter giveaway contest here
Order here



Also, some other good news! San Francisco's Kowloon Walled City have finished artwork and mastering for their upcoming beast of an album, "Gambling On The Richter Scale," which is due out September 29th on The Perpetual Motion Machine. They have just posted a streaming audio player with two tracks from the upcoming LP+CD on their website.

Stream 2 tracks from "Gambling On The Richter Scale" here

Ancient Sky LPs and The Catalyst LPs are here!

The vinyl for THE CATALYST "Swallow Your Teeth" LP and ANCIENT SKY "s/t LP has arrived from the plant and boy did they turned out amazing! If you pre-ordered, your order will be shipping out in the next couple days. If not, please do your self a favor and head over to the PMM Online Store to grab some copies. I've still got copies of all of the color variations and a few t-shirt packages still available for order, though they won't last long. Both of these will be in stores this coming Monday, August 3rd and are available from the bands on their tours this month (see dates to the right).

And here's the pressing details again:

The Catalyst "Swallow Your Teeth" LP:
300 Bloody Mary Red / Black Mix
300 Grimace Purple
400 Black
Comes packaged in a full color jacket with full color printed inner sleeve.

Ancient Sky "s/t" LP:
300 White
300 Clear/Pink Mix
400 Black
Comes packages in a full color jacket with b&w printed inner sleeve.

Order now from The Perpetual Motion Machine
Stream Ancient Sky's album for free here

The Catalyst "Swallow Your Teeth" LP/CD & Ancient Sky "s/t" LP Out August 3rd, Now Available for Preorder

THE CATALYST "Swallow Your Teeth" LP/CD/SHIRTS Now Available for Preorder

After nearly seven years and numerous mind-bending demos, eps and splits, and a litany of tours criss-crossing the United States and Europe, Richmond, Virginia’s best kept secret THE CATALYST offer up their first full length album, "Swallow Your Teeth", a noisy, mathy, spacey, heavy, feedback-soaked behemoth of sonic destruction. Still channeling a wide range of hardcore, punk, grunge, noise rock, and sludge influences and not afraid to show their love for NIRVANA, FUGAZI, SONIC YOUTH, THE JESUS LIZARD, BORN AGAINST and most of the AMPHETAMINE REPTILE back catalog, "Swallow Your Teeth" displays the band’s creative prowess and power fully matured and realized.

Swallow Your Teeth was recorded and mixed in May 2009 by Steve Roche (Off Minor) and mastered by Carl Saff (Young Widows). Painter and friend Raymond Klecker, who did the artwork for the band’s Marianas Trench EP, created cover artwork for the album.

Tracklisting:
1. I Hate The Future (3:36)
2. Lars Ulrich's 1986 Funeral (2:18)
3. Assholier Than Thou (2:31)
4. Incidental Music (2:02)
5. Small Town Big Mouth (2:13)
6. Werewolves of Washington (6:40)
7. Japanese Maple (2:37)
8. Sterling is a Hole (2:41)
9. 42012 (4:40)
10. Too Big To Fail (3:19)
11. A Goodbye From The Catalyst, You Dog (5:33)

The CD/LP will be in stores August 3rd, but is now available for preorder. The LP comes packaged in a full color jacket with a full color inner sleeve and is available for order on three colorways:

300 Grimace Purple
300 Bloody Mary Red / Black Mix
400 Black

A t-shirt is being created exclusively for the preorder, with white ink printed on black Gildan Ultra Cotton shirts. Artwork for the shirt was created by upstart Richmond artist Eliza Childress.

This is a preorder, so they won't be shipped until the records/cds return from the plant in late July. If ordering other items, please note that everything will be shipped together when the records/cds are here. This is a split release with Sons of Vesta Records in Italy, so if you life in Europe please order from them.

PRE-ORDER NOW from The Perpetual Motion Machine
Preview tracks from the album on the band's myspace page



ANCIENT SKY "s/t" LP/SHIRTS Now Available for Preorder!

This is the first official release for Brooklyn-based, Virginia-natives ANCIENT SKY. Consisting of two pairs of close childhood friends with intertwining musical pasts, the group features current and former members of DARKEST HOUR, CITY OF CATERPILLAR, MAJORITY RULE, GHASTLY CITY SLEEP, VERSE EN COMA and YOU ARE THE DRUM, though they tread very different waters with ANCIENT SKY.

Largely influenced by classic psychedelic rock, the band isn't afraid to visit bizarre and far-out worlds with unique sounds and structures that walk the line between fierce and subtle, and occasionally flirt with epic-ness, making for an interesting mix of heavy, hypnotic rock with plenty of hooks and Americana subtleties. This 7-song collection of songs was laid to tape at Brooklyn's Seaside Lounge Studios in March 2009 with producer/engineer Mike Kutchman at the helm and was mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering.

Tracklisting:
1. Guilt Is Universal (6:35)
2. Another Woman (6:43)
3. Full Light (6:40)
4. Away Not Home (5:24)
5. True Patron (4:07)
6. Temporary Resident (5:11)
7. Sink Back (5:43)

The record comes packaged in a full color jacket with a printed inner sleeve and full color labels with artwork by Garek Druss. There are 3 colorways available for order:

300 White
300 Clear w/ Pink Haze
400 Black

A special t-shirt is being created exclusively for the pre-order with artwork from the album cover, created by Garek Druss. These will come with brown ink printed on grey Gildan Ultra Cotton shirts.

This is a preorder, so they won't be shipped until the records return from the plant in late July. If ordering other items, please note that everything will be shipped together when the records are here. This is a split release with Sons of Vesta Records in Italy, so if you life in Europe please order from them.

PRE-ORDER NOW from The Perpetual Motion Machine
Preview tracks from the album on the band's myspace page

Thanks for reading.
-Paul / The Perpetual Motion Machine

Update & sample tracks from upcoming releases!

A quick update on the upcoming summer releases...

The LITANY FOR THE WHALE Dolores 12" test presses have been approved by the band and those should be back from the plant in a few weeks, with an official release date set for July 13. Look for preordering information on here next week with mailorder-only vinyl colors, package deals, and some other goodies! For those on the west coast, make sure to check out LFTW on tour June 19-27 with Brooklyn's APESHIT (see dates to the right).

THE CATALYST and ANCIENT SKY full lengths are being sent off for production this week and both should be back from the plant at the end of July just in time for the bands to hit the road in late July and August. Both releases are scheduled for an August 3rd release date.

KOWLOON WALLED CITY have finished mixing their LP, entitled "Gambling On The Richter Scale" and are in the mastering stages. We're hoping to send that off for pressing in a few weeks, with a late August or early September release date.

Finally, I just finished repressing the SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA & CITY OF SHIPS Split 12", released last year in a limited edition of 300. The second pressing is limited to 200 with three variations of colored vinyl, silkscreened covers, and download cards. I'll be putting these up for sale in the PMM store next week or you can pick it up from COS on their massive 10-week world tour which is currently underway (see dates on their myspace).

Head over the the PMM Myspace page below to stream some tracks from these upcoming summer releases!

http://www.myspace.com/theperpetualmotionmachine

The Catalyst announce details about upcoming full length

The Catalyst have just announced some details on their upcoming full length, the long-awaited follow-up to last year's "Marianas Trench + 9" collection CD, for release on LP/CD on The Perpetual Motion Machine (US) and Sons of Vesta (Europe) later this summer.

After much debate, the band has settled on calling it "SWALLOW YOUR TEETH." Artwork will be done by Raymond Klecker, who did the cover for the "Marianas Trench" ep. The band will be recording May 8th-15th with Steve Roche (Off Minor) at Permanent Hearing Damage in Philadelphia. Probable tracklisting is as follows:

1) i hate the future
2) lars ulrich's 1986 funeral (it should have been you)
3) small town, big mouth
4) assholier than thou
5) werewolves of washington
6) japanese maple
7) sterling is a hole
8) ___________
9) too big to fail
10) four twenty twelve
11) a goodbye kiss from the catalyst, you dog

Additionally, the band has started booking a US tour for this summer from 7/23 - 8/21. They'll be going as far west as Austin, TX. To help book a show, please get in touch with the band.

Look for more details soon here and on their myspace at:
http://www.myspace.com/thecatalyst

The Catalyst reviewed in Skyscraper

The Catalyst got a nice review of their "Marianas Trench+9" CD in the newest issue of Skyscraper, issue # 30:

The first song on the Marianas Trench EP, initially released back in 2007, is entitled “This Bike is a Gravity Bong,” a phrase which some readers may recognize from the Richmond, Virginia, band’s red-and-black stickers that have been plastered on so many amps and bikes around the country. A few weeks ago when I slept on their couch, I noticed that the gravity bong in their living room, which is utilized at any hour of the day by various members of the household, has that same sticker on it only it says “This Gravity Bong Is a Gravity Bong.” And in a way, that sums up The Catalyst’s sound. Although much heavier at times than a lot of what people think of as stoner rock, they still follow in the footsteps of pothead rockers such as Pantera and the Melvins. In addition, two of the songs seem to take cue from Fugazi, with Joe Lally-style bass lines and spazzy guitars which then turn into heavy riffs of power cords. Live, the band sports two drummers and a powerfully loud wall of sound. I would definitely recommend The Catalyst to anyone into the heavier, grungier, stonier side of music. For this remastered CD edition, songs from a pair of out-of-print splits have been compiled with the originally four-song Marianas Trench 12-inch EP, making this disc a pretty succinct introduction to this hard rockin’ punk band. (John Vogel)