CD release parties: You’re invited to them all

If you’re keeping track, the late-spring/early-summer months are going to be an interesting time for new music in SGF. Not only are there several new albums dropping in the next two months or so, but it’s an unusually diverse collection of artists, with hip hop, indie, hard rock and reggae all coming down the pike. Furthermore, each of the bands involved is putting together a show for you to experience the music firsthand, too. What can you expect to see in the next few weeks? We mentioned a couple of them recently, so we’ll revisit those a little bit here and add some more you’ll want to know about after that. Naturally, if we missed one somewhere along the way add it into the comments and we’ll see about adding it in.

The Spacetones, May 5

As we have mentioned before, the new Spacetones mixtape comes out on Cinco de Mayo, which happens to fall on a Thursday this year. Since the hip-hop act’s man behind the turntables, DJ Geeg, holds down a weekly gig at The High Life Live Martini Lounge that same night each week, you can imagine where the release party will be. According to Geeg, though, this will not just be an ordinary LemonDrop DJs night with a Spacetones guest performance. Watch for guest performances by the group’s rapper friends, which, given the role of its members in the LemonDrop arts ambassador organization, opens up a lot of potential doors in that regard. Copies of Welcome to the Planet of Drugs and (e)Money should also be available.

Glass Bottom Boat Ride, May 6

GBBR has big plans for Dirt Luck, which it releases on a Saturday night at The Outland Ballroom as the May edition of Q102‘s Homegrown concert series. They’re pushing hard to have the five-track EP pressed and back in time for the show, for one thing. For another, there’s the release concert itself, an affair that boasts an excellent cast of support bands: hardcore metal powerhouse Murlesque, rap-meets-rock group LuciD (whose album we recently reviewed) and retro-meets-modern metal group Motherstar.

The North Decade, May 20

This is shaping up to be quite the indie-rock party. It has been a long time coming, but TND frontman Ryan Spilken says What You’d Give Up Tomorrow You’ll Pay For Today will be pressed and in the band’s hands within the next couple of weeks. With that in mind, the band is dropping sneak-preview cuts from the album every Wednesday on its BandCamp site and readying a show together with Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Osage Orange (formerly known as The Verbs (Redux)) at Lindberg’s.

The Seed, May 27

With A Better Way coming out May 1 online and later in the month in physical form, local chill-reggae group The Seed actually cooked up two CD release parties. The first comes in St. Louis May 21 with a show at Broadway Oyster Bar. The Springfield debut will come Friday, May 27 at The Outland Ballroom with opening act Solid Groove. Given past Seed shows at the Ballroom, though–particularly the one for its last release, Big Outside, with guest musicians and even live painting onstage during one of the songs–it seems safe to say this isn’t the end of the announcements or surprises surrounding this concert.

J-None, June 10

Jason Nunn, known previously as the lead singer of reggae-rock group Roots of Mankind, is delving into his rap roots both as a DJ and MC, has been hard at work on a solo rap record in recent months and plans for a FREE release show at Salad Days on Friday, June 10. The finished product is titled Adhittana, a Buddhist word meaning “the foundation of determination,” and is currently in the process of being mixed and mastered by fellow SGF rapper Trak Masta Tom in time for the release show. No word yet on opening acts, but we’ll get you details when they’re available.