russellstarke.com

Hi all -

Another new show has been announced - this time at the Milkboy Coffee Acoustic Cafe, which is located at 824 West Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr, PA (610-527-0690) - on Saturday night, June 7th.  The show is part of the “Artstravaganza”, helmed by our own Todd Marrone - and will feature live sets by both MATTOWAX and The Hulihees. The MATTOWAX set is particularly exciting since we will be playing several new songs for the first time, including the much asked-for “Most Likely To Succeed” off of the latest EP. We’ll also be using some new looping technology to get a fuller sound in small acoustic environment with less player and less volume…we’re very excited about it!

Of course, an evening with The Hulihees is always worth coming out for - there will be plenty of Handsome Ron’s signature tunes and banter, in a stripped-down acoustic format…so, lots of “New” even for those familiar with the “Old”.

The Artstravaganza will feature:

1. Todd’s Month-Long Art Show: “Withdrawn”, a series of discarded library books on which he paints on the cover sand rigs them to hang on the walls. In his words, “it will be literally liter-tastic.”

2. The aforementioned June 7th Reception Musical Performance

3. The June 7th Reception Art Performance: Todd will join the bands on stage to make a couple of live paintings. He’ll also hand out FREE custom artwork to patrons and adoring fans.

Everything kicks in at 8:00 PM - we look forward to seeing you!

OK, NOW we’re cookin’! The new EP “Most Likely to Succeed” is now up on iTunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody - so there are a bunch of options to pick it up depending on your favorite. The whole EP can be purchased for less than $4, so what are you waiting for? Enjoy!

Russell Gellman and I have been perfecting our studio tans for the better part of the last year, and were shocked to recently realize that we haven’t played a show since the later part of 2007! All that is about to change, however - The Hulihees have been asked to play at the mighty North Star Bar in Philly on Sunday, May 4th. We’re in the midst of nailing down the details as far as what time we go on and the other bands we’ll be playing with, but mark your calendars either way - the show is a done deal, and we should be either the first or second band on.

We actually haven’t played this legendary stage since the heady days of the Levelheads in late ‘05, so it’ll be a welcome return. Come on out and see the more stripped-down version of the band - a little louder, a little grittier, but still quirky and fun. Huzzah!

Hey all - a few very cool things have happened lately - first, the most interesting is probably the fact that we (as MATTOWAX) just got offered our first publishing deal from a publisher in Germany. We’re still hammering through the details of this arrangement, but so far it looks like they’re interested in a limited license of the track “Most Likely To Succeed” from our latest EP…so things could get interesting pretty soon!

Second, the After School Specialists got together this weekend to watch our movies be screened as a part of the Roslyn Film Festival, part of the revitalization project in Roslyn PA. More than anything, it was a nice evening of watching a bunch of locally produced films with some really nice people, and there was a very cool “small town” feel to the whole thing. But, our film from last year’s 48 Hour Film Festival, “Against The Wind”, probably had its most appreciated showing (lots of laughter and audience reaction - very satisfying!), and we ended up winning a little trophy (yes, a trophy…ha ha) for coming in third place (by audience voting). Very fun.

Finally, we’re still waiting for the EP to be up on iTunes for purchase, but that doesn’t have to be your only option - you can actually get the whole thing for under $4 on Amazon by clicking here. So, although we’ll probably wait until it’s on iTunes to do an official e-mail blast, it’s out there!

Things have been a little crazy ’round these parts lately, so I’ve been late on a few updates. Here’s the scoop:

There were some issues with the pressing of the MATTOWAX EP, but we finally got those ironed out and the CDs should be in-hand this week and off to iTunes and the rest by early next week. Thanks for your patience and interest! For newly remastered sound clips straight from the recording, go to www.mattowax.com/sounds - you will soon be able hear the full tunes at the MATTOWAX myspace page: www.myspace.com/mattowax.

In other news, last night we recorded the first podcast since the arrival of Rocco Marrone - but I didn’t mention on my site the fact that we filled the absence with another “best of” show featuring interviews with Amiina, Schoolly D, and Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello - or podcast 43, including an interview with Chris Harding of We The Robots! Click the image below to check it out…

Always wondered what those pesky Hulihees would sound like in the studio? Well, if you didn’t already hear the latest single featured on Used Wigs Radio podcast #38, then wonder no more! The Hulihees site has been taken over by fearless leader “Handsome” Ron Foligno - and we’re all better off for it! First on his list was to get a tasty new track up on the website for your enjoyment - and that track, “Don’t Be Mad”, can now be downloaded on the media page of the Hulihees site. Have fun!

In a reunion of sorts, bass player Jim Smith officially re-entered the fold this past week when he stopped by to lay down some bass tracks for “Legacy”, a song that we used to play with the Levelheads that is being prepared for the second Mattowax EP along with a bunch of other old standards. Oh yeah, as an aside, the first Mattowax EP is still being mixed but is closer than ever to being DONE. In a few weeks we should have samples up on the site and soon after it will be available for purchase and download.

Anyway - back to Jim - this is significant because it’s the first time that the four original Levelheads have worked together on new studio recordings since 2004, and the first time we’ve really played together since a few scattered shows in the summer of 2006. Lots of good things should be happening in the coming months involving these and other musicians, so there’s a lot going on. Thanks for taking the ride with us!

What is Obedia? Well, if you’re a musician and have been doing the digital thing for any length of time, you know how maddening technology issues can be, or what it can be like trying to tweak the technology to get it to do what you want. I’ve spent countless head-scratching hours over the years trying to figure out what these guys seem to know how to do intuitively - so when given the chance to be part of the their affiliate team, I gladly lent my name to the cause! I would only endorse people who are absolute pros and “good folk” - and these guys pass with flying colors. In fact, a testimonial I wrote is right on their home page!

So, for your multimedia and especially audio-based head scratchers, check ‘em out - and tell them who sent you!

That’s right - hot on the heels of the most recent website update, russellstarke.com has taken the plunge and become “blogified”. What does that mean? Well, in addition to it being a heck of a lot easier to update (so expect more frequent posts from now on!), it also means that there are more opportunities for you to interact and leave comments and feedback! Poke around - there’s lots of new material here - and drop a line and say hello!