thesurfactants

You can now buy all of our music via iTunes and Amazon!

This "new" album is actually just our first two mini-albums mashed into one amazing new package. You can now get both of our albums in one shot for $9.99 on iTunes and $8.99 on Amazon, or just buy the songs you like and forget the rest. Whatever works for you.

This was all made possible by TuneCore, a very slick music service that does a lot of the work for you. Obviously we highly recommend it to anyone trying to sell their music.

So, for love of everything, tell your friends. Thank you.

Hey everyone!

The Surfactants have recently made a massive overhaul to the website. It's the same old address, just a whole new look and much sleeker functionality. You can now add it to your RSS feeds to stay up-to-date, and you'll be able to track down all the photos and posters and anything else with ease. We will be posting everything there first, so make sure to check it often for new music and show schedules (and the new album cover!)

This also means that this LJ page is basically shut down. We'll keep it alive for as long as possible, but there probably won't be any more updates ofter this one.

See you at TheSurfactants.com!

( morz )

We're on first, so get there before 8pm!

We have a new exclusive web-only supertrack for you. It's our cover of Iron Maiden's Wrathchild! You may have heard it at one of our live shows. Well, now you can hear it any time you want. Just right-click and save it to your persocom, digital audio player, flash-drive or whatever it is you use to steal music from the RIAA. Enjoy.

Here is our interview with the awesome Duluth-based High Plains Drifter Magazine. We played at their issue #3 release party at Pizza Luce in Duluth and had a great time. Massive thanks and respect goes out to Jimi and the gang for putting together a great local zine with some really nice photography. We hope to see more and more from them in the future.

You can see some very nice photos of the show here.
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High Plains Drifter Magazine: First and foremost, the band doesn’t all live in the same city, how does the band stay together, not to mention produce great music?

Marcus: Technology. We all have digital audio workstations at home, so usually Zac writes some music and posts it to an FTP site where the rest of us can download it.
We each then write and record our own parts and repost them to the FTP, where Zac pulls them all in, then arranges and mixes them. Nerds.

Zac: Yeah, we all have varying degrees of anti-socialism; so being able to work alone and at home is a great way to reinforce it. Plus, any experienced musician knows that it's not always easy to be creative at a specific time, so this way we don't have to waste time noodling around in a room with everyone else. We can slack off as much as we want and get the work done at our own pace.

HPDmag: How did the member of the band meet? How or who hatched the idea to start a band?

M: We are all longtime members of the HDC (Hog Damage Collective), a group of bands that has included Both, Sleepfarmer, thevirginmarcus, Humanoid, The State Champs, and others, dating back to the early nineties. As for The Surfactants, this was a dream of Zac's. He is the architect. He got the songs together, recruited Bret and Eric to play on them, and kindly obliged me when I insisted on being his lead singer. Since I outweigh him by about one hundred pounds, me thinks he was in no place to refuse.

Z: Brett and I have been in bands together since the mid-90's (Holiday with Abner, Omega 2000, Both). Marcus has been playing in bands around the Duluth/Superior area since God was a babe, and Eric just keeps showing up to shows. I don't know who he is.

HPDmag: You’ve stated that most of your first record was recorded and mixed well before you guys had actually sat down for a live practice. Could you please explain a little bit about how this is humanly possible?

M: It was made possible by the loyalty and enthusiasm that this project engendered in all of us from the very beginning. Long hours of practicing in front of our respective computers didn't hurt either. Then factor in our collective genious, and voila. Wait, did I really just misspell "genius"? Fuck.

Z: It's not humanly possible. Unlike a lot of musicians, instead of throwing our own feces around and hooting like horny gorillas, we use both technology and the Internet correctly. That is, we share information that is our legal right as copyright holders to share. Anyone who does otherwise is an evil sinner, and to cleanse their souls should send us all of their illegally copied files immediately. We pass our files through what I understand to be a series of tubes, then mold them into something resembling a song. I then take out everyone else's ideas and just do everything myself.
Anyway, this is how we got to know the songs before our first real practice. It was a bit strange to get together the first time and play the songs as though we had been playing them together for months, which in a way we had been. As Marcus said, we are all very forward thinking and dedicated to the music, so while other bands my have struggled to communicate their ideas around all the new technology and techniques, we thrived on it. The Surfactants are all about pushing ourselves and finding new ways of being awesome.

HPDmag: It seems that you tend to play more shows in the Twin Cities, but lately you’ve been playing more shows in the Twin Ports. Could you share some insight on the differences and or similarities between the two scenes?

M: The main difference between the two right now is that MPLS actually HAS a music scene. Unfortunately, Duluth's two live music bars and one coffee shop do not a "scene" make. What Duluth DOES have is music...lots of it and much of it quite excellent. The problem seems to be that the local club owners can't make any money having original bands play in their establishments, and the handful of bands that DO draw big crowds all have banjos in them. I don't know what that has to do with anything. I just wanted to point it out. As for similarities, only one comes to mind: everyone is at least 15% less awesome than they think they are. Myself included.

Z: The main difference for me is that I know more people in the crowd. The same ratio of miles driven to people attending seems to be about the same at 100:1.

HPDmag: The current album is amazing. You’re also on, ‘And The Heroine Screams Help . . .” compilation. Could you give us the lowdown on when we can expect the next album to be out?

M: The new record should be out by spring. It will be another EP-style self-release, probably with six to eight songs on it. The new record will have some of the songs we've been doing live for a while, like "Us Against All" and "You Can Say No", to name a few.

HPDmag: I don’t believe that you guys have been on an official tour yet. Are there any plans on touring inside or outside of the Midwest?

M: With our second album coming out and momentum starting to form around us, a regional tour seems likely. Perhaps by summers end. Check in at myspace.com/thesurfactants or at thesurfactants.com from time to time for news.

Z: The best way to see us in a skanky club near you is to book us a show there. Seriously. Give them a call. I've still got a lot of "Twilight Princess" to play and can't be bothered.

The Surfactants' Minnewiki.

As far as I know, we had nothing to do with this. It's aways cool to find unexpected stuff like this on the web. Sign up and feel free to add to it. Cool site!

First off, thanks to everyone who has been able to make it to our Duluth shows! We have one more to go in our Duluthland trilogy, then it's back to Minneapolis at the end of the month.

In other news, we will be featured in a future issue of High Plains Drifter Magazine, and we will be sure to remind you of it when it's released. Also, new album! Well, not right now, but we've been working on the recording for some time and hope to get the recording phase done in the next month or two. We'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for the continued support, and we hope to see you at the shows!

Hey everyone,

Just a quick note to tell you that our next show is very important not just to us, but to the entire Duluth and greater Minnesota music scene.

Without Eric Swanson, the Duluth music scene would be missing both of its arms and a leg. We won't even try to explain why as it would be inadequate. If you know, you understand.

One of his baby daughters, Pearl, went into acute heart failure last month and was diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy. To help pay for ongoing hospital fees, there is a massive benefit in her honor. You can find all the info here: http://pearl.perfectduluthday.com/

We are honored to be part of the schedule and we sincerely hope that everyone will make it a point to drop everything and make a trip out to one of the shows. Hopefully you will come to see us on Saturday December 9th. This is going to be bigger than any run-of-the-mill Homegrown-type festival. We are going to do our homework and pump out two or three brand new songs just for the occasion. If this doesn't get your butt through the door then maybe you're better off hiding your head in shame at home. SO THERE!

From pearl.perfectduluthday.com:

BENEFIT FOR INFANT HEART PATIENT TO FEATURE DINNER, AUCTION AND THREE-DAY CONCERT SERIES DULUTH, MN

Pearl Swanson might be a little girl, but she's bringing out a lot of heart in a lot of people. Pearl went into acute heart failure last month and was diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Her story has caught the attention of many in the Duluth music scene, where her father, Eric Swanson, is a well-known recording engineer at Sacred Heart Studio. "We'll do whatever we can for Eric, Patty, and their family," said Al Sparhawk, a local musician and front man in the nationally renowned band Low. "If we can play a show and help them pay a few bills, that's what we'll do. And it's amazing how many people out there want to do the same thing." The benefit, scheduled for December 8, 9 and 10, in a variety of Duluth venues, has already booked many of this area's finest bands, including Low, Charlie Parr and Trampled by Turtles. Pearl, who along with her twin sister, Ruby, was adopted from Ethiopia this summer, has suffered multiple illnesses since traveling from Africa. While Ruby thrived and grew rapidly, Pearl became increasingly frail, and her parents became more and more suspicious that something was seriously wrong with her health. Their intuitions were realized when, a few weeks ago, Pearl was diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, a disease that physically attacks and weakens the function of the heart muscle itself. She is currently receiving treatment at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. Eric, twin sister Ruby, and mother Patty (Sobczak) have been staying in the Twin Cities to be with Pearl, who is undergoing a battery of tests. It is unclear at this time how her disease will progress, and she is currently being evaluated by the University Heart Transplant Team. In the meantime, Eric is unable to work, and medical costs are mounting. "We knew we had to help," said Scott Lunt, who's helping organize the city-wide benefit, "and the response has been great. We just need to line up a few more silent auction items, and maybe we can make a difference." The Pearl Swanson Benefit is in need of items such as locally-produced CDs, books, works of visual art, gift certificates for local businesses and similar items, but any donation would be appreciated. A bank account has been set up in Pearl Swanson's name. Contact North Shore Bank of Commerce at 218-525-1977 for more information.

Hey everybody,

The Surfactants are in yet another contest! This time we are in direct need of your help. Go here:

http://www.mnrollergirls.com/contests/battle_vote.php

...and submit your vote for us to play for the Minnesota Rollergirls Battle of the Bands on January 6th. You'll have to use a valid email address, so you can expact to start getting some Rollergirls updates in the future! =) But hey, it's a small price to pay to help out your favorite band, right?

Remember, you can vote once a day, so bookmark it and make sure to vote as often as possible!

Thanks!

Now that we've had a bit of a break, it's time for another flurry of fury from The Surfactants!



Both of these are free shows, so there is no good reason, barring massive internal bleeding or severe loss of limb, for you to miss either of these shows.

See you there!

Hey Duodenums,

Two Surfactants shows coming in the next two weeks! Get your asses out and have a beverage with us...or don't! That's OK...I had some stuff to do anyways.

Here are the details:



THE SURFACTANTS w/ The Lid, Sick Of Sarah, & Apryl Electra
Friday September 29th @ 9:00 pm
Club Underground | 355 Monroe Street NE Minneapolis
$5 Cover



THE SURFACTANTS w/ Casanatra, Great Girls Blouse, Ponofo, and Espionage!
Thursday October 5th @ 8:00 pm
7th St. Entry | 701 First Avenue North Minneapolis
$5 Cover | Unless you want to come, reply to this post and we'll get you on a guest list

As always, for more details, please visit:

http://thesurfactants.com
http://myspace.com/thesurfactants

Do you want to be on the guest list?

Gary Holdsteady runs an awesome (and very well produced) podcast called Independent Stream. He was nice enough to feature us on his newest show. Here's the direct link.

Download it. Listen to it. Review it. Link to it.

Big thanks to Holdsteady for the support!

Also, here are a couple upcoming shows we hope to see you at:

September 29th — Club Underground (with The Lid, Sick Of Sarah, & Apryl Electra) Minneapolis, MN
October 5th - 7th St. Entry (with Espionage! and more TBA) Minneapolis, MN

Here's another (super short but good) review, this time from Rift Magazine:

"The Surfactants - Demo - This band had a release show back on the 13th at the 400 bar which I wanted to list on the Rift E-Newsletter but missed it. These guys mix electronics with standard rock sounds, which ends up sounding pretty good."

Cool.

"...rank right up there with Boards of Canada or GSY!BE...One of the most satisfying electro-hybrid albums we've ever heard - ever." -Perfect Porridge

Thanks guys!

Here's a short notice show!



We hope to see you there. Looks like it's going to be a really fun night.

So we played the Red Sea bar in Minneapolis last Saturday, the 19th. It's over on the west bank next to the 400 for those that don't know. Apparently nobody knows that, or they know and either don't care or preferred to stay away that night. Thanks to Buddha's buddies for coming out, though. Oh well, it was fun anyways...it just would be nice to play for more of a crowd. That bar is pretty cool. Good sound, good soundman, cheap ass beer (Guinness bottles for $2.50!!!) big, dark, long room...etc...in any case, it was not well attended.
This is my next attempt to get you guys from the Twin Cities area out of your homes and into the bar with us. We play at Station 4 in St. Paul next Saturday, the 2nd. I will give you a ticket that gets you in for FREE if you want to come out. We can go ahead and rule that excuse out, for this show. No expensive cover here...good bar, good band...what else do you need?

Station 4 is at 201 E 4th St | corner of 4th & Sibley | St. Paul | Doors @ 8 PM

Get yr asses out here and finally check us out! You might even like it.

Email me for a ticket if it pleases you: contact@thesurfactantsdotcom

...or just print out this ticket (right click to save) and you're in! That's right, free tickets for all. Station 4 rules!

Hope to see some people there!

(STATION 4 is located in historic Lowertown St. Paul near Mears Park & 2 blocks from the St. Paul Farmer's Market only 8 blocks from Xcel Energy Center)