Sunday night's action in the Slowtrain basement, aka the Subterranean Lounge, included a headlining set by The Devil Whale, the first act slated to be featured on the label. The band's new album will arrive this fall in a limited edition of 250 colored-vinyl sets, with original artwork by Maht Paulos. Roughly 75 folks pre-paid for the release, garnering them a spot at Sunday's show, a copy of the album when it's ready, a copy of the band's Young Wives EP released earlier this year, along with some tasty beverages. Oh, and a birthday cake, of course!
The pre-release party is part of Slowtrain's way of having the local music community support the artists and the label by helping with the production costs of the album up front, a trend that seems to be growing.
Slowtrain owners Chris and Anna Brozek also announced what the second release will be on Slowtrain Records: a collection by Portland-based multi-media artist Alexis Gideon. Expect to see that release arrive sometime this winter.
Here's a taste of Gideon's style, both visual and musical: