Tag: Chime School

Posted on

chickfactor lists 2024: round three

Chime School – courtesy of Chime School

Andy Pastalaniec (Chime School)
We did a bit of touring in 2024! In no particular order here’s some of our favorite food and drinks along the way:

1. Espresso and Patisserie at Le Sullyin Paris, France.
2. Picon Bière – Amer Picon (orange liqueur) mixed with Kronenbourg 1664, at Le Hasard Ludiquein Paris, France.
3. Pie and Mash; Scotch Eggs, from Tebay Farmshop, Tebay, UK.
4. “$2.95 All-Day Breakfast” at Bon’s off Broadway, Vancouver BC.
5. Anything on the menu at Salsa & Beer, Los Angeles.
6. GONZO Ramen, Carlsbad, CA. Seriously the best Ramen any of us have ever had.
7. Curry and Porotta bread from Kerala South Indian Restaurant, Coventry, UK. On the same block as Just Dropped In Records!
8. Cheeseburgers at Hattie’s Hat, Seattle, WA.
9. Buckfast Tonic Wine, Glasgow, UK, for a much needed pre-show “pick me up”!
10. Fresh salads, juices, and packet sandwiches from any and all motorway stops in the UK; they kept us healthy on tour!

Seablite with Laetitia Sadier (photo courtesy of Seablite)

Seablite: Places we’ve never been but want to go:
1. Aoshima, “cat island” – Andy
2. Berlin – Jen
3. Transylvania – Galine
4. Hashima Island, Japan – Lauren
5. The Troll Hole Museum

Dawn and Trixie (Photo courtesy of D&T)

Dawn Sutter Madell (Agoraphone) + Trixie Madell (Girl Scout Handbook) 
Best Shows We Saw Together 2024
PJ Harvey at Terminal 5
Sun Ra Arkestra at Central Park, Sony Hall
Kim Gordon Central Park
Yo La Tengo at Sony Hall
Bikini Kill at Paramount
Adrienne Lenker Music Hall of Williamsburg
Quasi at Bowery Ballroom
Off Pink at a record store
Julien Baker, Torres at Webster Hall
Bratmobile at Warsaw
X, Jon Spencer, Lydia Loveless, Finom at Square Roots Festival, Chicago
Sweeping Promises, Jessica Pratt, Brittany Howard, Grandmaster Flash, De La Soul, Mannequin Pussy, Muna at Pitchfork Chicago
Son Rompe Pera, Fishbone at Prospect Park

Cotton Candy (Photo: Evelyn Hurley)

Evelyn Hurley (Cotton Candy) 

Favorite book: my favorite book this year was published in 1970, it’s “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”, by Dee Brown. This was my choice for my non-fiction bookclub, so I also forced a few other people to read it. It was so well written, easy to read, interesting, fascinating, enlightening and unbearably tragic. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I wish I’d read it 30 years ago.

Favorite cocktail: the Hugo, which is St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Prosecco, seltzer & mint. Except I put the liquid in a blender and add ice and make a slushy, which is fabulouso, but dangerous, lol

Favorite meal: post graduation dinner at Thompson and Bleeker in Ithaca NY. Amazing pizza, fantastic salads, delicious cold beer, and not insanely expensive!!

Favorite radio shows: I love listening to two radio shows on WMBR.org, “Coffee Time” from 2-4 on Friday, and “Backwoods” from 10-12 on Saturdays. Both remind me that the weekend is coming or is here, so time to chill out!

Favorite movie: “My Old Ass” which was so sweet and lovely, see it if you can!

Favorite songs: “Gild the Lily,” by Billy Strings. It’s a country music song that reminds me of country songs that my mom would listen to on the radio when I was a kid. Plus, it’s about birds singing, which is lovely.
I also love that song “Sexy to Someone” by Clairo; it’s catchy, cute and the keyboards sound so cool.

Mario and Riley – Courtesy of Riley

Riley Riley (Artsick/Boyracer) – Favorites of 2024:
Music in alphabetical order:
Adrianne Lenker “Bright Future”
Beth Gibbons “Lives Outgrown”
Billie Eilish “Hit Me Hard And Soft” The concert was amazing.
Doechii “Alligator Bites Never Heal”
Kim Deal “Nobody Loves You More”
Mo Dotti “Opaque”
Rachel Love “Lyra”
The Softies “The Bed I Made”
WUT “Mingling With The Thorns”

Fav local Seaside/Monterey Bay things:
1. Mando Surf Company is a local surfboard shaper and a friend of mine. Their boards are gorgeous pieces of art, one of which ended up at SFMOMA for their “Get in the Game” exhibit.
2. Pop and Hiss is a new local venue/record shop/bar in Pacific Grove. Super cool spot to check out if in the area.
3. Captain Stoker Coffee is delicious and the best coffee in Monterey IMO

Fav things I did:
1. Oakland Weekender 2024 happened at Thee Stork Club and was amazing… again!
2. Played a PNW mini tour with my favs, All Girl Summer Fun Band and Kids On A Crime Spree. Major bonus: got to see Gail!
3. Played a couple of shows with my besties band, WUT and got to join them for a couple songs live.
4. Danced to an incredible set by Kid Frostbite with friends.
5. The new Boyracer record called “Seaside Riot” came out and I am so proud to be part of it.
6. Drove down to Big Sur with my family, parked on a cliff and saw the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet… it was breathtaking and such a memorable moment. It was last visible 80,000 years ago.
7. Read “You Better Be Lightning” by Andrea Gibson
8. Dog cuddles
9. Hiking in Big Sur
10. Got to hangout with Kim Baxter from AGSFB in Monterey… we had the best time getting some food and sitting by the water.
11. Recording new Artsick
12. Mushroom Tea…

Alicia Vanden Heuvel (courtesy of Alicia)

Alicia Vanden Heuvel: Top Ten live shows that I had the pleasure of attending (in no particular order)

  • RYLI at the 4 Star Theater! This is Yea Ming Chen’s new band & I was driven to dance. That woman knows how to write a pop song!
  • Watching Josh Miller play bass in Chime School AND Anna Hillburg Band, both experiences are mind-bending
  • Watching Ladybug Transistor reunion live in LA at the Lodge Room. Trumpets, flutes, & song craft from Sasha, Jennifer, Gary, Julia, and Jeff. What a group!
  • Gerard Love at Glasgoes Pop! What a voice!  (And with the crowd singing along it was like the best party)
  • Heavenly at Glasgoes Pop dancing with Kenji (The Fairways forever) & Ari (Poastal forever)! I nearly died!
  • The Softies, with Anna Hillburg at Bottom of the Hill, because OMG it’s The Softies. Also, bonus, Rose sang a song with Anna & it was epic.
  • Galore! Anywhere they play, every time.  Three part harmonies and killer melodies. I die again.
  • Shannon Shaw at the Fox with my buddies Noelle & The Deserters. Epic venue, epic night.
  • Lightheaded at the Oakland Weekender!! They ripped! I was not expecting the ferocity of pop that came our way, all the way from Jersey, I love them.
  • Jessica Pratt at Bimbos. Her album made my year, and seeing her perform the songs live was otherworldly.
Tears Run Rings – Photo: Janice Headley

Laura Watling (Tears Run Rings) Top 10 Songs of 2024

1. Caribou- Campfire
2. Seefeel- Multifolds
3. Chris Cohen- Night and Day
4. Real Estate- Airdrop
5. Orcas- Riptide
6. Mahogany- A Scaffold
7. Bedroom- Her Ghost
8. Epic45- New Town Faded
9. Dottie- Disappearing
10. Royksopp- Camera Obscura (but actually the whole album, Nebulous Nights)

Read the lists ROUND ONE
Read the lists ROUND TWO 
Read the lists ROUND FOUR

Posted on

Chime School Tour Diary

Earlier this autumn, the Bay Area pop group Chime School flew over the ocean for a tour of the United Kingdom and France and they documented it all for chickfactor and you can read it here.

Buy their latest album, The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel, here. 
Andy is also in Seablite, who we interviewed in CF19, 2022.
Copies still in print and for sale.

Bandleader Andy Pastalaniec writes: From the moment “Chime School” transformed from a bedroom-pop solo project to a debut LP on Slumberland Records with a fully formed backing band, it’s been a goal of mine to take the project across the pond to the land where so much of its “formative jangle” originated.

The opportunity arrives on New Year’s Day, 2024, when we’re invited to play the Paris Popfest in September. My sophomore album, “The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel” is slated for release in August on Slumberland. Paris Popfest is exactly the anchor we need to build a tour around.

I’ve always done pretty good booking DIY tours, but I have no idea how to book a tour in the UK. Luckily, I don’t have to, as I’ve convinced Reuben Miles-Tyghe, of UK tour agency Outsider Artists, to add us to his roster. OA have been leading a sort of reverse “British Invasion” of California indie groups to the UK and Europe, booking tours for many of the contemporary indie cognoscenti: Cindy, The Umbrellas, The Reds, Pinks & Purples, Kelley Stoltz, and others. I am a bit nervous that we are not as big as those groups (our second album hasn’t even been announced yet) so this whole thing could flop in a most-embarrassing fashion. But I resolve to do what I can to make it a success.

So, over the next 9 months I’ll spend many hours making videos, posters, flyers and other promo materials for the upcoming album, and what has become an 11-show France/UK tour, beginning September 27 in Paris, and concluding October 7 in the legendary indie pop city of Bristol! 

France & UK Tour Poster

Travel Day: September 25-26 – San Francisco to London to Paris

Andy: We have about 20 hours of travel ahead of us, flying first to London, then lugging our bags and instruments from Heathrow on the tube to St Pancras station where we’ll take the Eurostar to Paris.
Josh: Our travel day starts off with an important victory: we’re able to convince the people at Virgin Atlantic to let us carry on our guitars, so they can be stored in the cabin for our flight instead of having to be checked (and maybe lost). So this puts us at ease for the journey right away.
Andy: Pro-tip, if you’re touring overseas, avoid connecting flights and take your instruments straight to the gate. Play dumb, and be very very polite.