You probably thought we ditched our computers, seeing as our last entry was when we were only just starting to watch season 1 of Designing Women on DVD. Now we've finished our obsession with the Sugarbaker Women and it's time to get back on track. Actually, we had a computer meltdown here at Missing Link and have only just begun to have reliable computer access again, we're sorry for leaving you for awhile but baby, we're back.
AFROBEAT AIRWAVES
Come shake a tailfeather for this special night of boiling hot Afrobeat. Featuring solo sets by Matt n' Adam, the madness of King Maxwell, but our special surprise is the addition of our guest dj. All the way from the island of Wales, we are lucky to be hosting a longtime U.K. cratedigger and dj, Mr. Ian Pope. Traveling up the coast with his wife, he's agreed to stop off and play a set with us. Tickets are at the door and are five dollars, show starts at 9pm.
Ok everybody, our 3rd annual American Roots celebration is set for July 7th and we're gearing up for a big one. Not only are we excited to have the wonderful folks from HUMBOLDT HOT DOGS coming to feed y'all but this year, we're renting a giant fan so we don't sweat ourselves silly! Tickets are on sale now at Missing Link Records for $10, with $12 tickets available at the door. Beer will be there if you've got your IDs handy and, as we mentioned, there will be food right out front. We're lighting this candle at 8pm, with doors at around 7:30, so take a nap if you have to, because you wont want to miss a minute of the fun. Here is peek at this year's line up...
You've boogied down at Soul Night to the sounds of Missing Link Records' owners Adam Pokorski & Matt Jackson, now watch as they set the turntables to 78 and blast you with a set of old fashioned dance music. "If you ain't right, get right."
Formed in the fogs of Humboldt County in the spring of 2008, the No Good Redwood Ramblers came together as a ragtag musicians with a common love of the jug. Along with captivating local audiences, their cover of 'The Storms are on the Ocean' has been featured on the compilation album "America Salutes the Carter Family."
The Blackberry Bushes are a Contemporary Stringband from the rain-drenched forests of Olympia, Washington. They take a bluegrass instrumentation, draw from the deep roots of American folk music and add influences from Bluegrass, Appalachian old-time, Indie Rock, jazz, and pop.
A mix of old-time, gypsy, bluegrass, jazz, Irish and ragtime, this eclectic, acoustic dance band plays everything from Appalachian Hymns to Harlem Swing. After blowing the doors clean off Humboldt audiences at this year's Summer Arts Festival, their driving back up from Oakland just to serve you all a second taste.
Growing up listening to Tom Waits, Hank Williams Sr., and the Avett Brothers, these ambitious youngsters combine the best of the old and new to make bonafide foot stomping roots music with a flurry of beards, howling harmonies, and raucous, break-neck banjo licks.
He's been called "a one-man folk revival" by NPR but 26 year old Frank Fairfield seems to buck that notion, instead seeing himself simply as curator of the rich history of American popular music. Playing fiddle, banjo, guitar, as well as his signature foot stomp, this young man can make even the staunchest arm-crossing audience members begin to hoop and holler.
Oooh chile it's almost April and things are heatin' up as the shop prepares to turn another year older (CUE APPLAUSE). We've been riding the crest of a wave what with the whirlwind of Soul Night, Seun Kuti, Frank Fairfield AND Orgone, only to discover the goatload of things we have planned for April staring us right in the face! Expect us to be checking in ALOT over the coming weeks to tell you all about in-stores, music events and what we'll have planned for Record Store Day 5. Since we opened the doors what seems so long ago we've been your town stop for Record Store Day shenanigans. Expect us to keep it up the tradition again this year, pouring over all the emails and lists, whittling out the useless re-issues and fake rarities in order to bringing you a spit shined silver platter this April 21st. For starters though, here's a taste of what's to come for us here at Missing Link.
RABBIT FOOT DUO - INSTORE APRIL 3RD 7PM We've started planning on this year's Jefferson State Old TIme Revue and that means the roots and country records have creeped back into our listening piles again and we find the fiddles and banjoes fighting the horns and strings for airplay. In an effort to promote this battle for musical concentration, we've invited the Rabbit Foot Duo to come down all the way from the far off city of Portland to entertain you. Friends of Arcata's latest musical transplant Corey Goldman (who together with Colin Vance make up Arcata's newest variation on the Smothers Brothers), the team of Sally Jablonsky and Lynne Piper are formerly of the Rabbit Foot Stringband started back in 2009. Now on their own, the two multi-instrumentalists sing hamonies while performing old country songs, traditional folk songs, bluegrass standards & their own original material. Take a listen by clicking HERE.
BEACH BALL AT ATL - APRIL 7TH A benefit for Friends of the Dunes & Humboldt Surfrider, join us after Arts Alive the first Saturday in April for the 2nd annual Beach Ball. We're packing up a set full of classic soul, RnB and surf goodies alongside DJ Red and Humboldt's own Grass Band. It's a chance for us to pull out some of the more garage-y dance numbers in our crates and we can't wait. With door prizes, a light show and enough room for those of you who might have been skunked out of our last Soul Night, the Beach Ball is $10 in advance and $15 at the door and starts at 7pm. TIckets are available right here at the shop!
A NOTE TO OUR SOUL NIGHT FANS Speaking of those who got skunked out of this month's Soul Night, we'd like to apologize to you for not being able to get in, we wish everyone could fit inside and dance with us but it isn't physically possible. So when the sold out sign comes up, please don't ask one of the managers, or the performers to try and sneak you in or work some kind of door magic, at that point there isn't anything they can do. The next soul night will be April 20th....yes that 420...and yes we probably will break out the fog machine.
Also, we've been listening to feedback from the community & the venue and we've hit an impass. Each night seems to be selling out earlier and more and more people are getting turned away. We love doing Soul Night at HUMBREWS and, until we learn magic, the room won't get any bigger. So, we're going to be printing advance tickets to ensure that those of you who can't get there at 9 for one reason or another won't have to worry so much. That being said, the other suggestion has been to raise the door price by a few dollars in an attempt to deter some of incoming crowd. These dollars, we've all decided, would go towards making more elaborate door prizes, light shows, james brown masks/fans and other ante-upping ideas but of course, we're hesitant to ask anyone for more money to come see our five asses geek out onstage. Seeing as this is just as much your party as it is ours, we thought we'd open the discussion up and ask you all what you think. Would you fret at paying more knowing that advance tickets would stay at the five funky dollars? Is the $5 price tag an indivisible part of what makes this party so special? Would you pay a little more if it might increase the chances of spots left at the door? Do you think it would work? Inquiring minds want to know...
APRIL 28th AT HSU Man oh man are we excited for this show, we even washed our hoodies so we wouldn't look like slobs in from of the Turn Keys (Waterhouse's band). April 28th at the Depot will be the amazing Nick Waterhouse. Many of you have already had us harangue you about listening to this guy's music and even some of you went out and found the 45 but please EVERYBODY get out and catch this show. Beyond the fact that it's five dollars, it's also free for students meaning it might very well might sell out before you can get there, just like Charles Bradley did. Don't miss your chance to witness live and in stereophonic sound the power of rock saxophone.
RECORD STORE DAY - SO IT BEGINS
This is our first little alert about the day the will not speak its name just to tell you a few reminders of the rules. 1. NOT ALL STORES WILL GET WHAT THEY ORDER We all order the same time from the same guys and some ancient Babylonian goddess gets to decide who will receive the Phish Box sets. 2. WE CANNOT RESERVE ANYTHING FOR YOU All items are put out that morning and are first come first serve, we also encourage you to limit the amount of an item you grab to 2 in order to give everyone a chance to get something. 3. WE DON'T CARE WHAT THE WEBSITE SAYS We ARE a participating store for record store day, have been since we opened, but that does not mean that since we are listed on some website that we are definitely getting a title you are hoping for (no store can say that with certainty until orders are shipped), or any of the promotional material that they might be listing (that is unless you ponied up the dough and did the right dance in front of the volcano). 4. WE OFFER SPECIAL RELEASES & LIMITED STUFF ALL YEAR LONG As our friends at Aquarius Records in San Francisco pointed out, you can come down to your local record store ANY day of the year and find some amazing rare and limited stuff in our bins...and you don't even have to wait for the third week of April to do it.
CHARLES BRADLEY HELPS US RE-DISCOVER NIRVANA Coming soon from the fine folks at Daptone, the cover that made you wet during the sound checks of their last tour, Mister Bradley and the Menehan Street Band originally took on this tune for a SPIN magazine tribute to the Seattle giants and the cover shone so brilliantly that it had to be pressed on wax like lightning has to be trapped in a jar.
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS keep diggin' those crates, --Matt n' Adam.
The Blackberry Bushes are a Contemporary Stringband from the rain-drenched forests of Olympia, Washington. They take a bluegrass instrumentation, draw from the deep roots of American folk music and add influences from Bluegrass, Appalachian old-time, Indie Rock, jazz, and pop.
A mix of old-time, gypsy, bluegrass, jazz, Irish and ragtime, this eclectic, acoustic dance band plays everything from Appalachian Hymns to Harlem Swing. After blowing the doors clean off Humboldt audiences at this year's Summer Arts Festival, their driving back up from Oakland just to serve you all a second taste.
