• JODI EXPLODI's Shipyard EP is out and available, after a few delays here and there. It's the first disc from the band since the four-song Demo-Arigato from 2006. It appears to have some kind of zombie theme to it, but we haven't caught a listen yet.
• MEANTONE has added CAT to play stand-up bass for an acoustic sound that features Meantone on banjo and resonator, a set-up that debuted July 4. This is a sizably different sound than the heavy blues you might be used to from Meantone, featuring YOUNG BRETT on drums, which you can hear July 24 at Geno's, the one "rock" gig of the summer for Meantone.
• Be on the lookout for TONY MCNABOE's alter-ego, RIKKI AVON, who rocks a perm and a mustache and manages to combine cheese with inappropriateness. There's talk of an album called The Sexual Evolution, but we're still sort of waiting for the release of McNaboe's new solo record, which should come just about any day now, so it's unclear when Avon might drop his effort.
• Looking to record in the woods of South China? Studio vets GRACE FALCONER and GARY CLANCY have opened OLD SKOOL PRODUCTIONS in that lovely burg and are looking for clients. The recent success story is country artist MARK KNIGHT, a country artist who charted a bit with "Betty's Beauty World."
• A double-dose of big concert announcements for local indie and/or NPR fans. The too-cute-to-be-annoying likes of MATT & KIM and IDA MARIA (along with RA RA RIOT and others) are among the acts announced for the KAHBANG MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL on the Bangor waterfront on August 15. (See kahbang.com for details.) Better yet, two solo virtuosos — ANDREW BIRD and ST. VINCENT — flaunt their intrepid talents at the South Portland High School Auditorium on October 24. $32.50 tickets go on sale July 10 — steep, but worth it. Trust us.
• LOST CAUSE DESPERADOS report that their latest album, Desert of Broken Glass, ought to be out by the end of the month.
• GYPSY TAILWIND's latest, Grace, is number 10 on BILLBOARD's most recent TOP HEATSEEKERS chart for the Northeast. DEAD SEASON's When Everything's Lost... spent six weeks on that chart last summer. (Hey bands, if you're charting on Billboard, let us know!)
