New Juice Music

The Republic Tigers :: Artist Direct Bio

2008-05-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

A good bio on The Republic Tigers taken from Artist Direct...

With their Chop Shop Records debut album, Keep Color, The Republic Tigers have arrived with an impressive breadth of vision that instantly marks them as something extraordinary. Epic yet intimate, tracks like "Made Concrete" and the towering "Buildings & Mountains" see the Kansas City-based quintet weaving future folk, euphoric psychedelia, and exuberant symphonic pop with intricately crafted electronic textures and uncommon emotional depth. The result is a bold and beautiful collection of strikingly human music that holds an aural mirror to our ever more technologically integrated society.

"It's a sound that's half organic and half synthetic, kind of like how all our lives are now," says singer/multi-instrumentalist Kenn Jankowski. "It's the common theme throughout all of the songs and we tried to approach it audibly as well."

A pastor's son, Jankowski grew up all over the US, ultimately winding up in the Springfield suburb of Republic, Missouri. In 1999, he moved to Kansas City where he began playing guitar in The People, a rock outfit later to become known as The Golden Republic. Around the same time, he became friendly with another local musician, Adam McGill, then playing in a local band. The two shared a common interest in modern pop and avant-garde electronica, subgenres that didn't necessarily fit the modus operandi of their full-time bands.

When the Golden Republic split in early 2006, Jankowski immediately reached out to McGill. Demos were exchanged, common bonds reaffirmed and The Republic Tigers were born.

"'The Republic Tiger' was my high-school mascot," Jankowski says of the moniker, "and the name always rang to me in a nice way. I don't like band names very much and I don't like thinking about them either, so I just took something that I knew was timeless to me, and big enough that we could color it with our music and create its meaning with our songs."

The line-up quickly expanded over the following months, with guitarist/pianist Ryan Pinkston, bassist Marc Pepperman, and drummer Justin Tricomi each bringing a new color to the paintbox. "It was what we'd all always dreamed of," Jankowski says, "which was to work with other people kind of like us."

"Everybody in the band is a multi-instrumentalist," explains McGill, "so when someone brings a demo to the table it's usually a close-to-complete song. The stuff that's missing is where the other members contribute. We just pass things back and forth until we're all happy with it."

Over the next year, The Republic Tigers recorded a series of demos, with each member working individually on home-recordings which were then enmeshed into a single unified whole. The goal from the start was to incorporate elements of indie, electronica, pop, and even classical music into something distinctive and idiosyncratically their own. Jankowski was determined to bring "a different approach to each song. I wanted each song to be a story in its own world, like a little book."

A self-released EP emerged in late 2007, but The Republic Tigers' intent was always geared towards the longform and the album more than fulfills their lofty aspirations. From the rapid-fire "Golden Sand" to the swirling chorale of "Contortionists," the Keep Color album is ambitious, imaginative, and utterly unforgettable – all ringing guitars, sweeping orchestrations, and immense marching beats.

The elaborate sound belies the fact that the band continued to record the bulk of the material in the comfort of their own residences, though additional tracking was done at KC's TK Studios, as well as at Run Riot Recordings, where Tricomi works as an engineer. Mixing for the album was done at The Ballroom in Hollywood, CA with engineer Mark Needham (The Killers, Louis XIV, We Are Scientists). Still, the album remains an essentially homespun affair, with Jankowski going so far as to record the majority of his vocals in his bedroom.

"If you listen carefully," he suggests, "you might hear crickets and traffic and cop cars, creaking of the floors and drunk roommates running into the walls."

The Republic Tigers' naturalistic approach includes the prodigious use of acoustic guitars, accordion, trumpet, and trombone, though such old school instrumentation is countered by seemingly infinite waves of blissed-out synths, programmed strings and multi-tracked harmonies. The band revel in blurring the boundaries between the authentic and the ersatz, with the contrast and combination adding up to an ingenious, indefinable sound all its own.

That aural ambiguity is matched by the album's inspired lyrical content, with tracks like "Feelin' The Future" or the incendiary "Give Arm To Its Socket" offering a veritable moebius-strip of textual undertones. Jankowski's "stories" span the political to the personal, as finely etched character studies give way to frank introspection.

The band is well aware of how their variety of muso craftsmanship can lose its way when taken out of the studio confines. They began playing out mere months after getting together, taking great care to translate the music's elaborate energy to fit the constraints of live performance.

"We have to sift through everything to find what's essential to the vibe," McGill says. "If there are 12 keyboard tracks in a song, you can't really play that many parts in a live setting. You only have a certain number of fingers and let's face it, keyboards just aren't that interesting to watch people play live. So we'll pull the essential tracks and play our live instrumentation along with them."

With the completion of Keep Color, the band has already begun setting their sights forward, looking into new ways of constructing and expanding their beguiling brand of widescreen bedroom symphonies.

"It already feels like more orchestral things will work their way into the mix," McGill notes, "while maintaining that pop songwriting sensibility at the core. That's what we all love. We're not ashamed to say we love pop music; it's not something to be embarrassed of."

"It's growing and it's changing," Jankowski says. "We've been experimenting with writing all together, even occasionally jamming some things. We just want to try as many things as we can think of."

The Republic Tigers - Buildings & Mountains (video)

2008-05-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

The Republic Tigers - Keep Color (album out May 6th)

2008-05-02T02:13:00.001-07:00

The Republic Tigers release their debut LP "KEEP COLOR" on May 6th, 2008. I've heard 5 of the songs so far and they are amazing. So far I've had the pleasure of hearing... Feeling the Future, The Nerve, Buildings and Mountains, The Drums, and Fight Song. Every last song being solid from start to finish, recorded to perfection.

The vocals and the vocal layering is like nothing I've ever heard before in my life, it's obvious Kenn Jankowski has spent hours mastering his voice in Pro Tools. It's paid off in ways unspeakable. Pay close attention to the lyrics too, great lyrics.

Can't say enough about The Republic Tigers, I think Keep Color is going to become an indie favorite along with the likes of Wheat's Hope and Adams, The National's Aligator, Idaho's Hearts of Palm, etc etc... I am very stoked. Buy the album, I promise you this is one that will not disappoint you at all!

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever ago. Very impressive album!

2008-04-24T17:04:00.001-07:00

Justin Vernon moved to a remote cabin in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin at the onset of winter. Tailing from the swirling breakup of his long time band, he escaped to the property and surrounded himself with simple work, quiet, and space. He lived there alone for three months, filling his days with wood splitting and other chores around the land. This special time slowly began feeding a bold, uninhibited new musical focus.

This slowly evolved into days filled with twelve-hour recording blocks, breaking only for trips on the tractor into the pines to saw and haul firewood, or for frozen sunrises high up a deer stand. All of his personal trouble, lack of perspective, heartache, longing, love, loss and guilt that had been stock piled over the course of the past six years, was suddenly purged into the form of song. The end result is, For Emma, Forever Ago, a nine-song album comprised of what's been dubbed a striking debut by critics and fans alike.

Bon Iver (pronounced: bohn eevair; French for "good winter" and spelled wrong on purpose) is a greeting, a celebration and a sentiment. It is a new statement of an artist moving on and establishing the groundwork for a lasting career. For Emma, Forever Ago is the debut of this lineage of songs. As a whole, the record is entirely cohesive throughout and remains centered around a particular aesthetic, prompted by the time and place for which it was recorded. Vernon seems to have tested his boundaries to the utmost, and in doing so has managed to break free form any pre-cursing or finished forms.

For Emma's tracks consist of thick layers draped in lush choral walls, with rarely more than an ancient acoustic guitar or the occasional bass drum providing structure. Vernon sings the majority of the record in falsetto, which painfully expresses the meanings behind its overt, yet strangely entangled words. This newfound vocal path acts as each song's main character and source of melody.

Despite its complexity, the record was created entirely by Vernon with nothing more than a few microphones and some aged recording equipment. This homemade aspect shows itself in sections as creaks and accidentals are exposed in the folds of the songs, but is hidden well by the highly impressive and almost orchestral sound that Vernon managed to produce by his lonesome, within the creaky skeleton of his father's cabin.

You can stream the full album at the following link: Bon Iver @ Virb.com

Recording using Garageband, song #2

2008-04-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I have song number 2 done, you can listen to it here or at Virb. Thanks for stopping by, this is why I haven't been blogging lately, been trying to do something with music on my own... can't wait around anymore on other people.

The Living Rooms - I've Been Gone

The Living Rooms @ Myspace
The Living Rooms @ Virb
The Living Rooms @ iSound
The Living Rooms @ Pure Volume

Radiohead remix contest: VOTE FOR ME

2008-04-04T00:24:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, if you have a chance give my remix a listen and if you like it a vote. Thank you very much.

Recent Albums of Good Listening.

2008-03-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

Man, its been a really long time since I've had a chance to sit down at my computer and blog about anything. Im working on putting together a musical project of my own right now to take over the streets of Los Angeles... needless to say it has not been an easy task at all to find cats at the level Im seeking in a city this big, its not that they're not here, they're just already working on projects. I have met alot of talkers though, people who say they can do this and that but can't deliver at all. Anyways...

Some stuff I have been listening to that is definitely Juice Worthy...

Chris Walla - Field Manual
Ratatat - Classics
Holy Fuck - LP
Nada Surf - Lucky
Hal - Hal
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

I can't say enough good things about the Chris Walla solo album. It makes perfect sense that the album is good because the guy has his hands in so many good projects... I think Im most surprised by how well he can really sing. Any way around it, pick the album up and I promise you won't regret it.

Also, Moby has new album coming out really soon, so keep an eye out for it as well. It's titled "Last Night"... If its anything like his previous albums it will be awesome!

That's it for now!

Juice Worthy: Kate Nash - Made of Bricks

2008-02-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

Kate Nash - Made of Bricks, what a great fucking CD! My wife actually talked me into buying Made of Bricks and trying it out when we were at Amoeba Records. I was very hesitant as the industry is getting washed with female indie rock musicians right now and I'm getting a little worn out on it. BUT, Made of Bricks is a gem of a CD, I can't talk enough about how creative of an effort it is. You really just have to buy it to see for yourself. If you're one of the readers that likes most the stuff I like then you'll love this CD guarenteed. You can hear "Foundations" by Kate Nash, below.

Kate Nash - Foundations

Google Theme

2008-02-12T19:59:00.000-08:00

Hi iGoogle users... be sure to swing by google and add the new theme that we created for google. It's based off of Michael Forester's photography of The Republic Tigers. CLICK HERE.

Recording using a MAC, Garageband.

2008-02-11T11:43:00.001-08:00

So, I got an Apple MAC for Christmas because I've wanted to do some home recording of my own music, learn some new stuff, experiment with some ideas, etc... So far the experience has been incredible. MAC has made the experience so painless.

I've been able to get some pretty nice production out of everything just by taking a little extra time during mixing and occasionally doubling up on the tracks. Granted, I have really nice gear (mics, guitars, midi controller, 8 channel mixer, power resources, tube cabinet, etc...). For the Lovers was recorded in 3 days in my living room, solely by me. Everything is organic and from scratch, nothing is sampled.

I’m currently working on a home studio recording project that will span all genres. The project goes by the alias of "The Living Rooms". You can hear "For the Lovers" here at New Juice Music, this is the official first raw indie single of ME (as the living rooms).

The Living Rooms - For the Lovers

http://www.myspace.com/livingrooms
http://www.virb.com/thelivingrooms
http://www.isound.com/living_rooms
http://www.purevolume.com/livingrooms

The Cure, new album in the works for summer 2008

2008-01-23T23:24:00.000-08:00

The Cure are currently in the studio working on a new album. The album should be releasing in the summer of 2008, probably around the month of May. It will be The Cures 14th studio album.

It should be an interesting change, for the first time in more than two decades, the band has no keyboard player after Roger O'Donnell quit last year. Original Cure guitarist Porl Thompson -- married to Smith's younger sister -- has returned for a third stint in the band.

"There's no need for keyboards when you have Porl playing guitar," Smith said. "He can pretty much create any sound you want. He's brought back a sense of urgency and we've got a rock edge again."

Bassist Simon Gallup, in the band on-and-off since 1979, and Jason Cooper, on drums since 1995, round up the ensemble. "Being a four-piece is getting back to a stripped-down stage look and sound," Smith said. "The fact that we can turn out anywhere with very little equipment and play is the old idea of The Cure. It's less grand than things we've done in the past, but we're still planning to play for three hours."

A new year for music!

2008-01-05T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hi readers who visit our blog! Im still around, just been busy with all the holiday hoopla. Also, I got struck with a brutal brew of the 72 hour flu, it's kicked my ass bad the last few days. I think I'm finally on the up-and-up flu wise, hopefully.

In the meantime go check these guys out... From the UK, they are Soulsavers (click name to visit their myspace page). It's a little dark, a little Leonard Cohen'ish.

With so many people recording these days on their own I expect this to be another great year for independent artist and home recorders. I got a MAC for christmas, it's time for me to polish up my chops and start working on some material myself. Let's see what we can't do with this Garageband software.

Juice Worthy: Foreign Born - On The Wing Now

2007-12-22T11:49:00.000-08:00

I recently heard a copy of "Foreign Born - On The Wing Now" and its great! Foreign Born is a Los Angeles based band, they remind me of something that would be crossed between The Walkmen and The Strokes, but not limited to just that. Visit their myspace page to find out more, Foreign Born.

Vid: Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas and Mark O'Connor

2007-12-13T19:47:00.001-08:00

For anyone out there that appreciates bluegrass... You will love this video. As a matter of fact it's addictive, I've probably watched 40 times and I'm not even close to boredom! It's Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas and Mark O'Connor all on one stage at the same time. Unique moment, enjoy!

Juice Worthy: British Sea Power

2007-12-12T23:31:00.000-08:00

Another great group I found out about while reading music blogs. I found a blog about British Sea Power on the Obscure Sound blog... I don't know a whole bunch about them right now but their music is great! British Sea Power @ Myspace.

British Sea Power - Waving Flags

Juice Worthy: Rogue Wave

2007-12-12T17:09:00.001-08:00

I'm really liking these guys lately... the track that has my attention the most is "Lake Michigan"... but I like all their stuff, they're not just a one-song band at all. I imagine we're gonna start hearing them more on college radio and some of the indie stations very soon. We'll probably even hear "Lake Michigan" on a TV show soon :)

Check them out when you get a chance, here is their myspace page Rogue Wave, and here is their official website Rogue Wave Official Website.

Rogue Wave - Lake Michigan

The Republic Tigers: Jonsey's Jukebox, and New Music Exchange (NME)

2007-12-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

Heads up to anyone who is living in the Los Angeles area or anyone who can pick up Indie 103.1 on their radios… The Republic Tigers will be interviewed by Steve Jones (formerly of the Sex Pistols) on Jonsey's Jukebox December 11th! Jonsey's Jukebox starts at 12pm PST, and is rebroadcast at 6pm PST, so be sure to listen up... maybe they'll play something live! If you can't pick Indie 103.1 up on your radio, DON'T FRET!... I've got you covered, they broadcast live on the internet. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE LIVE BROADCAST AREA ON INDIE 103.1's WEBSITE.

Also, be sure to hit Spaceland on Wednesday December 19th… The Republic Tigers will be playing the New Music Exchange showcase "Club NME" with The Hugs. This is a great chance to get out and have some fun with some great guys from the Kansas City area, while being entertained by their music genius!

The Republic Tigers - Made Concrete (off their previous EP)

Spaceland
1717 Silver Lake Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90026
(323) 661-4380

Photos by Michael Forester.
The Republic Tigers sign to Chop Shop Records

Bruce Springsteen, the boss.

2007-12-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

Bruce Springsteen is like fine wine, he just gets better and better with age. It's true, the guy amazes me on a daily basis now. He's someone that I had no appreciation for early in his career, maybe it was the constant wearing of Born in the USA in my head that left a bad taste on my pallet, who knows. But now he is one of my heros.

I wasn't even paying attention to Bruce Springsteen, or his music, it was the farthest thing from my mind. Until one night I'm sitting around watching the boob-toob, cruising all the channels. I came upon a channel that had Tom Hanks (another guy I like alot) introducing Bruce Springsteen. Out walks this guy looking a little rugged, somewhat like a street performer. He steps up to the microphone, just him, alone. He performs "Devils and Dust", off the album "Devils and Dust", which is clearly a song for the brave troops who are fighting in Cowboy Bush's war.

The performance is amazing, heart felt and about as tight as you can get. I can do the performance no justice by just talking about, I've attached the performance below for you to enjoy yourself.

His new, album "Magic" is great in my opinion and worth mentioning. I think the songs that stick with me the most are Devils Arcade, Long Walk Home, Magic and You'll Be Coming Down. Devils Arcade being my favorite, Magic being my second (the fiddles and use of instruments and backing vocals is amazing on Magic). You'll Be Coming Down sounds like somehing Paul Westerburg would have wrote with him, it has a great pop feel to it. I not sure where ol Bruce has got this breathe of fresh life, but it sounds great and I wish I could get ahold of some of it!

The harmonica part at around 2:40 is what got me the most in the below video, along with the lyrics its powerful. Who knows, maybe someone will be bored with it... I really appreciated it.

"Once" on DVD December 18th...

2007-12-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone... This is just a heads-up that "Once" comes out on DVD December 18th!

Synopsis: A Dublin-based busker and vacuum-cleaner repairman enter into a fruitful relationship with a piano playing florist in a toe-tapping "video album" directed by John Carney and featuring a cast comprised entirely of professional musicians. He (Glen Hansard of The Frames) was a six-stringed street musician. She (Marketa Irglova) was a flower woman who can't afford to purchase a piano of her own. One day, after admiring the musician's songs and asking if he would take a look at her broken vacuum, the flower-pushing piano player discovered that she shared a remarkable sonic rapport with the mechanically savvy guitarist. Their musical sensibilities quickly converging to striking effect, the talented pair soon determines to record an album together.

New Juice Music Audio Player

2007-12-04T23:55:00.000-08:00

I added an audio player, located on the right side of the blog... check it out, I'll try to keep it updated the best that I can :)

Vid: Glen Hansard - Finally

2007-11-29T19:11:00.000-08:00

I had to post this video because Glen's raw emotion in it is unbelievable... granted, Mr. Hansard has songs that I like much better. I think the thing that gets me the most is the way he strums that old beat up Takamine ...and the vocals, you can totally tell he means every word of what he is singing. He gets that look on his face, then he turns a little red and the veins start to bulge out of his neck... its pretty rad, judge for yourself.

Vid: Assembly Now - Graphs, Maps & Trees

2007-11-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Assembly Now has a video out for "Graphs, Maps & Trees", check it out below. Learn more about Assembly Now. I really like these guys alot and I have a feeling about them and their sound.

RIP: Hawthorne Heights Guitarist Casey Calvert

2007-11-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

Hawthorne Heights guitarist Casey Calvert passed away in his sleep Saturday November 24th. Hawthorne Heights posted the following on their official website. http://www.hawthorneheights.com/

“Today is probably the worst day ever. Its with our deepest regrets that we have to write this. Casey Calvert passed away in his sleep last night. We found out this afternoon before sound-check. We’ve spent the entire day trying to come to grips with this and figure out as much as possible. At this time we’re not sure what exactly happened. Just last night he was joking around with everyone before he went to bed. We can say with absolute certainty that he was not doing anything illegal. Please, out of respect to Casey and his family, don’t contribute or succumb to any gossip you may hear. We don’t want his memory to be tainted in the least. Casey was our best friend. He was quirky and awesome and there will truly be no others like him! His loss is unexplainable. As soon as we know more we will let you know.

Sincerely,
Hawthorne Heights
Eron, JT, Micah and Matt”

Thought: Ryan Adams, Follow the lights [EP]

2007-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here listening to the newer Ryan Adams and the Cardinals EP "Follow the lights" and I'm listening to the title track when I notice... "Ryan Adams sounds remarkably similar to Willie Nelson at times". I'm serious, I'm following the chorus "Follow the lights that line the streets connecting telephones, follow the lights from house to house and they will lead you home", and I had to listen again really hard to make sure Willie wasn't tracking that part with Ryan. They are both on the same label "Lost Highway"... which btw is a great label, Lucinda Williams is also on Lost Highway.

Anyway, just a rambling thought :)

U2, The Joshua Tree, re-release (20 yr. anniversary)

2007-11-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

U2's "The Joshua Tree", the infamous album that lifted U2 to elevations of greatness is being re-released to mark it's 20th anniversary (I can't believe it's been 20 years, god I'm getting old). The remastered/remixed album is a 2-disc set that includes quite a few bonus tracks among all the Joshua Tree greats, all sounding clearer than ever before.

This deluxe twentieth-anniversary edition (the latest installment in what's becoming U2's annual holiday package) adds a disc of rarities and — if you buy the box set — a DVD. The DVD has the Outside It's America documentary (for extremely serious fans only) and a 1987 Paris concert.

Here's the track listing...

Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers Of The Disappeared

Luminous Times (Hold On To Love)
Walk To The Water
Spanish Eyes
Deep In The Heart
Silver And Gold
Sweetest Thing
Race Against Time
Where The Streets Have No Name (Single Edit)
Silver And Gold (Sun City)
Beautiful Ghost/Introduction To Songs Of Experience
Wave Of Sorrow (Birdland)
Desert Of Our Love
Rise Up
Drunk Chicken/America

Off the Shelf: Whiskeytown - Pneumonia

2007-11-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

Today the album to take off the shelf is "Whiskeytown - Pneumonia". This album is incredible, one of Ryan Adams finest pieces of work… so pull that 2001 album off the shelf and give it a whirl!

For those of you who aren't aware, Ryan Adams used to front the band Whiskeytown, an amazing Alt-Country band from Jacksonville.

Juice Worthy: Trespassers William

2007-11-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

Trespassers William has a spot in my favorite bands of all-time. They've been around for a while, originating in San Francisco and now residing in Seattle. Their music takes me back to an earlier era in Alternative music. I fit them in real snug with the likes of indie legends the Red House Painters, Idaho, etc...

Id suggest that you buy both their LP's... "Different Stars", and "Having". Trespassers William @ Myspace.

Explosions in the Sky

2007-11-16T16:15:00.001-08:00

This is more for clarification and notification more than anything else… Some of you will already know this, and those of you who don't, need too.

I've been asked repeatedly if I know who does the music for the TV show Friday Night Lights, and the answer is yes. It is the same guys that did the original soundtrack for the actual MTV motion picture, they are "Explosions in the Sky", they've been around for quite some time, hailing from of Austin, TX.

Visit Explosions in the sky @ MySpace.

Juice Worthy: Assembly Now (London)

2007-11-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

Assembly Now, from London England.

Check them out when you get a chance, I dig the shit out of their stuff.

Assemby Now @ myspace.

Juice Worthy: The Wombats, Debut Album

2007-11-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

The Wombats caught my attention a couple years ago when they released their "Moving to New York" single. Since then I've been trying to follow these guys on their overseas endeavors, anxiously awaiting a full release... they are quite unpredictable. I originally heard that their first full-length album was going to be named "Go pop, pop, pop", but Needless to say that never happened.

Well, finally, it's happening. The Wombats are releasing their first full-length album titled "A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation".

The Wombats are a 3-piece band, formed in 2003 at Liverpool's Institute of Performing Arts. The Wombats @ Myspace.

U.S. label to release Radiohead's "In Rainbows"

2007-11-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

Radiohead has completed a deal with Dave Matthews' ATO Records Group for the U.S. release of its new album "In Rainbows", which will be realeased on Jan 1, 2008. XL Recordings is taking charge of the UK release.

Radiohead will support "In Rainbows" with world tour dates beginning next spring. The group returned to action with a live Webcast Friday on its site, featuring performances of songs from the new album.

Other ATO acts include Patty Griffin, Gomez, My Morning Jacket and Crowded House. Matthews co-founded New York-based ATO (According To Our) Records with his manager and two associates.

The Republic Tigers sign to Chop Shop Records

2007-11-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Kansas City band "The Republic Tigers" recently chalked up a record deal with Chop Shop Records out of Pasadena, CA...

I assume they are working on a record, which will hopefully include some of the songs we've had the pleasure of previewing on their myspace profile. Songs like "Patterns", "Made Concrete", "Air Guitar Remix", and "Whale Fighting" caught my attention immediately and proved through action that these guys have an abundance of goodness built up in them. Look for big things out of these guys in the future, they have a wonderful knack for harmonies.