It’s June… again.  Summer’s here and the time is right for new and exciting happenings from your friends at Midriff Records.  As so not to waste any of your precious sunning time I’ll get right to it.

The new solo disc by Boston’s creepy crooner Ian Adams, titled Stay Up Late is set to drop on June 23, 2009. The driving force behind legendary Boston motor-punk bands 8 Ball Shifter and Rock City Crime Wave sets a new course with his debut Midriff release.  Adams uses his untrained emotive voice and his 1950’s inspired song writing and surf guitar style to explore quieter, yet nonetheless, nocturnal and creepy places. The songs on Stay Up Late are songs of love at its most dark, romantic, desperate, hopeful, and doomed. The album’s influences swing from late 1970’s NYC street jangle and pop, to mid 1960’s lush crooning, to Adams’ trademark swamp stomp-surf Americana.  Stay Up Late is 12 tracks of Adams’ trademark weirdness, backed by lush arrangements and peculiar instrumentation. It was engineered and co-produced by Eldridge Rodriguez (The Beatings) and Ray Jeffrey (E.R., Wheat, Dropkick Murphy’s board-man) partially at Jeffrey’s Liberty and Union Recording Studio in Taunton, MA.  The album has guest performances aplenty including Eldridge Rodriguez and Dennis Grabowski (The Beatings), and Greg Lyon and Will Scales (both of The Spanish Armada).  Stay Up Late can be ordered or preordered in hardcopy  format and will ship two days before the release date.

Looking to be first on the block to own a copy of Stay Up Late? Then you’ll need to be at the record release party at TT the Bears Place on Brookline St. in Cambridge MA where a limited amount of advanced copies will be available for sale.  Headlining the night will be everybody’s best friends, The Beatings. Check out our Shows page for all the info.

Also keep an ear to la radio for in studio appearances by Ian Adams.  He will be on WBCN FM’s Boston Emissions program on June 14th and will be playing live in the WAAF FM studios on June 21st.   He currently accepting offers from AM as well.

In other Beatings news, the band has completed work on their 6th studio album. The new collection is titled Late Season Kids and is set to be released on Sept. 15, 2009. Late Season Kids highlights the bands more pop leanings and should please fans of the bands earlier albums. The album was recorder by Ray Jeffrey at his Liberty and Union Recording Studios in Taunton, MA and mastered by Eric Baird (Half Son of Audio Mastering).  The album is co-produced by Jeffrey and The Beatings.  An east/southeast coast tour in being planed for mid-August.  We will keep you updated as updates develop.  Peek at their website periodically to whet your appetite.

But wait…there’s more! The Midriff Records 2009 Sampler will be available for free download starting June 12. The digital album comes complete with downloadable artwork and features tracks by all your favorite Midriff bands.  The Midriff Records 2009 Sampler includes unreleased tracks by The Beatings and Eldridge Rodriguez, covers and songs you can’t (or shouldn’t) be able to get anywhere else for free.  And to drive the point home… IT’S FREE!!!! The Midriff Sampler will only be available for a short time.

In our Shows listing this month we want to make a special mention of an upcoming rare appearance by the elusive Kudgel.  The Kudgel only appears once every 5th new moon in the dead of night and if spotted will usually spray or drop it’s pants in an effort to distract as it flees to higher ground.  More details here.