PALEFFACE’s Brand New Ramseur Records Release: One Big Party

PALEFACE : One Big Party (Ramseur Records, Oct 12 2010)

After releasing his Ramseur Records debut The Show Is On The Road just over a year ago, Paleface and girlfriend drummer Monica “Mo” Samalot are back with One Big Party. The high-energy Indie-folk duo just celebrated the release with a special guest-performance alongside friends The Avett Brothers at sold out Radio City Music Hall (Oct. 13th), followed by a Record Release Party at Southpaw in Brooklyn NY (Oct 16th), an ongoing US tour , and a European tour (late Spring). Also, Daytrotter.com is currently featuring a brand new live recording session by Paleface, which includes stripped-down versions of two songs from the record as well as two tracks from the previous release.

One Big Party is just that – a fun, cheerful romp. Produced by Paul “Ena” Kostabi (Cults, The Willowz, Dee Dee Ramone) in Piermont NY, the record takes an upbeat look at everything from moving forward after the end of a relationship to being stuck listening to classic rock songs on the van radio and not letting that bring him down. Paleface assures the listener that “You Will Get What You Want” on the album’s opening track but later reminds us, with an optimistic grin, that sometimes “You Gotta Move On” when things don’t work out. Even one of the album’s slower tracks, “I Wanna Travel,” explores the process of shaking off the misinformation acquired during childhood in order to discover the world on one’s own terms. In his unique light-hearted but direct way, Paleface reminds us that we’ll be about as happy as we make our minds up to be. He says the album’s buoyant attitude is a reflection of the vibe that he tends to create when playing live. “The songs are sort of upbeat because of the atmosphere that we play in. Who wants to mope around anyway when they go out for drinks with friends?”

Paleface says he wanted “to keep this album very simple”, a trait that drummer Monica “Mo” Samalot greatly admires in him as a singer and songwriter. She says: “For me, ‘less is more’ and I so admire how PF can craft his songs with strong melodies and clean arrangements, as if he was simplifying a fraction to its simplest form”

But simple doesn’t mean shallow. The album’s title track was written after Paleface encountered a woman down on her luck one afternoon in a laundromat. “I was doing my laundry one day, and this woman was sitting on the bench with a cast on her arm, swigging malt liquor out of a paper bag. She said she had been beaten up by her crack-head boyfriend, had just been discharged from the hospital, and was waiting for her daughter to pick her up. I wasn’t sure what was real, but she was definitely a mess – anyone drinking malt liquor in the laundromat at two in the afternoon has got some damage.” He told the woman “what a mess I had made of my life and how things started to improve for me when I quit drinking.” The woman told him “I just wish things were different”. Paleface went home and wrote the bittersweet song “One Big Party”, a cautionary tale against seeking “a party every night,”. Mo sings the song on the album. “With a song like One Big Party i thought it would be cool to have sort of a pop feel to it so i just gave it to Mo. She worked out all the background singing herself and i just said ‘cool i like it”, adds PF.

Paleface wrote much of the album while maintaining a busy touring schedule and found himself being inspired by sources that he wasn’t even aware he was drawing on at the time. “We traveled around for a couple years in a car that had no music other than the radio.” He found most pop music on the radio to be “completely valueless” because “there’s zero playing on it – they take a snare hit, a guitar chord, a keyboard note, auto-tune the voice, and they are done!”. Rejecting this “perfect fast food music for the crazed fast food corporate culture”, the two wound up listening to a lot of classic rock. “After we cut the record, and I had some distance from it, I realized how much classic rock radio had rubbed off on the music. It’s not the only influence because we listen to a lot of indie and folk underground stuff, but it was part of our experience…so it’s in the music”. The song “Rock N Roll” – a fun, easy-going tune with the infectious chorus of “I’m like a rock, will you roll me” was inspired by the road. “We drive a Chevy and all the floor mats say like a rock” says Paleface. “So I just had to write a song about it!”

Watch exclusive video footage by Duke Street Blog of PALEFACE talking about how he came about to writing the song “Rock N Roll”, followed by a stripped down live performance!

Paleface – “Rock N Roll” from DUKE STREET BLOG on Vimeo.

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“Paleface…A neo-folk icon” The Flagpole, Athens GA
“overdue for recognition” The Scene, Nashville TN
“Paleface is one of the Antifolk scene’s best-loved products” Time Out NY

PALEFACE was schooled by friend Daniel Johnston and soon discovered by Danny Fields (The Stooges, The Ramones, MC5) at an NYC Antifolk open mic in 1990. He has since released over a dozen records including two major label releases (Sire, Polydor). He‘s toured nationally with acts such as The Breeders and Billy Bragg, and has influenced a wide range of artists including Grammy Award recipients Kimya Dawson, who described Paleface as “one of my favorite people on the planet”, and Beck who called Paleface “a big influence on my early work” on Annie Leibovitz’s book American Music.

After a long recovery from alcohol abuse which nearly claimed his life in the late 90s, Paleface returned to NYC’s Antifolk scene in the early 2000s and befriended, influenced and inspired a new breed of artists including The Moldy Peaches, Regina Spektor, Jeffrey Lewis and Langhorne Slim. It was around this time that Paleface began self-releasing some of his best work yet. After finishing his Americana gem, Just About To Burn, Paleface met The Avett Brothers, who loved his work. Seth Avett has said the album is his “favorite all-time record by a friend”. Paleface and The Avett Brothers developed a strong bond based on respect and admiration for each others’ work. Paleface often shares the stage with the Avetts, and his vocals, instrumentation, and songwriting have been featured on three latest records including a guest performance on the Avetts’ Rick Rubin-produced release I And Love And You (Columbia).

On April 2009, Paleface returned with his Ramseur Records debut and first label release in over a decade, The Show is on the Road. Soon after the record released it landed on the CMJ Charts and PASTE Magazine featured the duo as “Band Of The Week“ describing the tunes as “songs you’d be glad to hum for the rest of the day”. Paleface and drummer Mo spent the next year touring from coast to coast in support of the album, including performances at festivals such as Pickathon (Portland, OR), Riverbend (Chattanooga TN) and Bristol Rhythm And Roots (Bristol, VA-TN), as well as showcases such as Tennessee Shines @ Bijou Theatre (WDVX Knoxville TN), Non-com (WXPN & World Cafe Live, Philadelphia PA), and South By Southwest Festival (Austin, TX). And right after SXSW Festival, The Denver Post featured Paleface as one of the “Top 10 Live Performances of SXSW 2010”!

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Record Release Tour Dates:

-Aug 26: LEXINGTON, KY @ The Green Lantern
-Aug 27: MORNING VIEW, KY @ Whispering Beard Folk Festival (w/ Those -Darlins, Trampled By Turtles…)
-Aug 28: FRANKFORT, KY @ Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe
-Sep 01: TOLEDO, OH @ Frankie’s Inner City
-Sep 02: GRAND RAPIDS, MI @ Founders Brewery
-Sep 03: PONTIAC, MI @ The Crofoot
-Sep 04: CLEVELAND, OH @ The Beachland (Tavern)
-Sep 09: CHATTANOOGA, TN @ JJ’s Bohemia
-Sep 10: NASHVILLE, TN (Americana Music Association Fest, amseur Records Showcase @ Hardrock Cafe
-Sep 16: CHARLOTTE NC @ The Neighborhood Theatre
-Sep 17: RALEIGH, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
-Sep 23: BRISTOL, TN @ O’Maininn’s
-Oct 01: EMORY, VA @ Emory And Henry College
-Oct 02: KNOXVILLE, TN @ Barley’s Taproom
-Oct 05: GREENVILLE, NC @ Tipsy Teapot
-Oct 06: RICHMOND, VA @ The Camel
-Oct 07: ARLINGTON, VA @ Iota
-Oct 13: NYC @ Radio City Music Hall (Paleface guest-performs on “An -Evening with The Avett Brothers”_
-Oct 14: BOSTON, MA @ House Of Blues (supporting The Avett Brothers)
-Oct 15: SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY @ Skidmore College
-Oct 16: BROOKLYN NV @ Southpaw – PALEFACE’S RAMSEUR RECORDS RELEASE PARTY w/ Chris Cubeta & The Liars Club, Two Man Gentlemen Band, Pokey LaFarge, and The Hot Seats!
-Oct 20: PITTSBURGH, PA @ Thunderbird Cafe
-Oct 21: ATHENS, OH @ Jackie O’s
-Oct 22: NEWPORT, KY @ Southgate House – Parlour
-Oct 23: CHICAGO, IL @ Schubas
-Oct 25: KALAMAZOO MI, @ The Strutt
-Oct 26: GRAND RAPIDS, Mulligan’s
-Oct 28: CHICAGO, IL @ The Horseshoe
-Oct 29: DUBUQUE, IA @ Monk’s
-Oct 30: MADISON, WI @ The Frequency
-Nov 01: KANSAS CITY, MO @ Record Bar
-Nov 04: ST. LOUIS, MO @ The Gramophone
-Nov 05: LEXINGTON, KY @ The Green Lantern
-Nov 06: HUNTINGTON, VA @ Shamrock’s Pub
-Nov 11: ATLANTA, GA @ 529
-Nov 12: Rock Hill, SC @ Mc Hales
-Nov 18: BOONE, NC @ Boone Saloon
-Nov 19: ROANOKE, VA @ The Water Heater
-Nov 20: HARRISONBURG, VA @ Clementine’s
-Dec 02: CICNCINATTI, OH @ Mayday
-Dec 04: CHICAGO, IL @ Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival
-Dec 05: Great Dane Pub, Madison WI
-Dec 10: NASHVILLE, TN @ Foobar
-Dec 11: CHATTANOOGA @ Discoteca
-Dec 17: Winston-Salem @ The Garage

And many more…

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For more info:
www.PalefaceOnline.com