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Elastic No-No Band as a real live band and not just a pseudonym for yours truly (Justin Remer) came into being some time in 2005. I had started attending the Anti-hoot at Sidewalk, and had started scooping up talented performers to play with me. In 2007, we were really starting to cook. Doug Johnson joined us from outside the Sidewalk crowd, and became known as smiliest drummer on the scene (he has also gone onto be an occasional session drummer for the likes of Thomas Patrick Maguire and Brook Pridemore).

And now, five short years later, we're all washed-up. The release of BLACK NO-NO'S, a CD consisting of new studio recordings, live material, and some outtakes, marks the end of an obscure band I sure as shit enjoyed leading.

To celebrate -- because you should celebrate this type of thing -- I'm having a house show at my apartment featuring solo sets by 3 members of Elastic No-No Band: me, Preston Spurlock, and John Mulcahy (also the leader of The Telethons). PLUS Thomas Patrick Maguire, Debe Dalton, Dan and Rachel, and Joe Crow Ryan.

Saturday, April 28, 2012
no cover, but bring tip money
BYOB, but we'll have some B and some homemade food -- first come, first served
Copies of BLACK NO-NO'S will be given away free Read more »

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This Is My Condition, Folkicide, Holly Hunt & Scraping Teeth at the Percolator Art Space in Lawrence, KS (4-13-12)
I lived in Lawrence, Kansas for 5 years from 1988 to 1993. I saw a lot of good live music in that 5 years. At various times I saw: Nirvana, The Pixies and Urge Overkill at the KU Student Union...Fugazi, Jesus Lizard, and Helmet at the Outhouse....I saw: Sonic Youth, Henry Rollins, and Tool at Liberty Hall. I saw The Butthole Surfers, SWANS and even Bo Diddly at the Bottleneck. I saw countless other great shows at house parties and pop-up venues that have come and gone. I don't remember the last show I saw in Lawrence, Kansas but it was probably during this time. I could never have predicted that it would be nearly 19 years before I saw another show in Lawrence, Kansas. I could never have predicted that I'd be driving a rented Chevy Sonic with my girlfriend of 13 years to the next show I would see in Lawrence, Kansas. I could never have predicted that the next show I would see in Lawrence, Kansas would include 2 old friends from back in the day, sharing a bill with a band that was voted 1998's "Worst band in America" by SPIN magazine, in a back alley Art Space. I could never had predicted that I would be enjoying a delicious bowl of Tunisian Chickpea Breakfast Soup and sipping a local Kansas City Boulevard Pilsner beer as I watched said bands. I never could have predicted any of this but I sure did have a great time. Read more »

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NYC to KC Week 1 (April 4/5/6, 2012)
It was a nice sunny day when we finally arrived in Kansas City. We didn't quite make our 2 day goal. After spending the first night in Western Pennsylvania we were going to try and push through but we ran into a nasty rainstorm just outside of St. Louis. After a bit of a crisis trying to figure out how to turn on the U-haul window defoggers, we decided to grab a hotel and drive the remaining 4 hours the next morning. We figured it would be nicer for Nan's first look at KC to be during the day after a good night's sleep vs. two o'clock in the morning after 12 hours of driving.

As we rounded downtown KC and headed into the suburb of Shawnee (where we will be living for at least the next 3 months), I couldn't help but notice what a job the "strip mall" has done on the landscape here. I'm not saying that Shawnee was ever anything like Mayberry or that the concept of the strip mall had not already been introduced to the neighborhood well before I left. But the thing that seems so disturbing, aside from the illusion that all the buildings along Shawnee Mission Parkway (the "Main Street" of Shawnee) appear to be more or less part of one very long building no more than 2 stories high, is that now they are all bathed in the same bland tan or neutral earth tone color as well. I gotta say it makes a real, lack of, impression on someone just driving through. And if I hadn't planned on living here I would probably have completely forgotten the experience by the time I'd reached the edge of town. I really don't understand this trend of light neutral earthy tones- don't get me started on the waiters in khaki pants and white tennis shoes look- but it feels like the entire city Shawnee has been modeled after a retirement community. Read more »

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Dog Got Your Cat Tongue is the sixth song to be released from Schwervon!'s Memphis sessions with Doug Easley (Pavement, Sonic Youth, Cat Power). Urban life informed this tune, especially the 2003 NYC blackout and the frequent circling of NYPD helicopters over Nan & Matt's rooftop in the LES. This is the last song to be released before Schwervon!'s move to Kansas City in April 2012. Stay tuned for more Schwervon! song news later in the spring!
http://www.schwervon.com/