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And so begins a month of weekend-long tours for Romantic States. After staying up until 3am getting wild at the cassette release show in Baltimore on Friday, a Saturday afternoon of soothing dissonance was well-needed. Thanks to everyone who came out and/or volunteered at the matinee Radio CPR benefit show (special shout-out to Ian MacKaye) as well as Mattress Financial and The Creature People for playing their hearts out as always. I'm happy to say we raised a modest sum for the station, and I'm looking forward to getting more involved in the near future.

Romantic States (courtesy of Chris Taylor)

"On this new self-titled record, Romantic States have traded in the synthetic bleeps and bloops of old, the stuttering tape machines, the more “experimental” side of things in favor of more traditional arrangements for guitars, drums, and voices. The result is a poised approach to songwriting, tunes that are skeletal in nature. While it may appear thin, oblique, and fragile, you’ll be surprised just how resilient and mercurial this collection of songs can be." - Gelatinous Blog

Next up for the band is this gig in Newark, NJ on Friday, February 13 at The Hollywood Bungalow (click here to RSVP) with Charm City chums Et Al. and Garden State locals Apparus.

On that same day here in DC will be another great show, this one a benefit for Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center, who is raising funds to open a homeless youth house in the district. The show features radiant dreamers Crimson Wave from Baltimore, activist sludge warriors Jail Solidarity, feminist grunge rockers Hemlines, and local unsung heroes Tereu Tereu and Jack On Fire. Check out the sweet show poster below c/o Rachel Porter and give it a click for more details and to RSVP.

I'm very happy to be involved with this show and am more than pleased with the serendipitous link between the two events happening all in one night at the same venue. Just downstairs will be a reading by contributors to the Collide Zine #3 speaking on the challenges of living with physical and mental illness, and additionally Sean Gray from Accidental Guest Records fostering a discussion on accessibility in the DIY community and spreading awareness of his site Is This Venue Accessible?, a growing collaborative resource to catalog accessible and inaccessible performance spaces.

Hope you get the chance to check out some live music in the coming week - don't forget to bring your lovers and your manners. ♥