Height With Friends

Height With Friends is excited to announce the release of our new record, Height With Friends Versus Dynamic Sounds. This record is a period piece set in the late 70’s. The rhymes, beats and recording quality were all designed to emulate live tapes of The Cold Crush Brothers, The L Brothers and other pioneers from the era before rap was put on record.

All the rhymes and routines were written by Height, and performed with help from Emily Slaughter, Eze Jackson, Lord Grunge, PT Burnem and more. Secret Weapon Dave and CX Kidtronik rocked the wheels of steel, and Mickey Free controlled the mix.

Height With Friends Versus Dynamic Sounds is the first in a three part series of records made in this style. The record release party goes down at the Metro Gallery on Saturday, August 3rd with Other Colors, Chester Gwazda, Mickey Free and Secret Weapon Dave.

(Click the pic to get down with this facebook invite)

5/9 - Brooklyn, NY - Death By Audio
5/10 - Philadelphia, PA - Magic Pictures Gallery
5/12 - Greenville, NC - Tipsy Teapot

I’m packing these items in my van, and I’m hitting the road in April. It’s going to be a solo tour. Once again, I’m doing an all old-school / breakbeat set. I hope to see you there!

4/11 - Toledo, OH - Ottawa Tavern
4/13 - Detroit, MI - Division Gallery
4/15 - Cleveland, OH - Pats In the Flats
4/16 - Youngstown, OH - Lemon Grove
4/17 - Pittsburgh, PA - Garfield Artworks
4/18 - Erie, PA - The Crooked I
4/19 - Buffalo, NY - The Vault
4/20 - Kingston, ON - The Mansion
4/23 - Dover, NH - Spun Records~
4/25 - Providence, RI - AS220
4/26 - Northampton, MA - The Bookmill
4/27 - Bronx, NY - Olive Garden (house show, contact me for details)
4/29 - Danbury, CT - Stella Blues
4/30 - New Haven, CT - Heirloom Arts Theatre

We’re going on tour. We’re heading south. We’re doing an entire set of new songs from our forthcoming record, Versus Dynamic Sounds.

The set will be a period piece, modeled after a Cold Crush Brothers or Fantastic Five show. 1978 raps will be said over new breaks and old breaks. The echo box will boom.

We premiered this set in Baltimore last week. To me, it feels like we’re turning to a totally new page. I’m so excited to take this on the road!

3/6 - Richmond, VA - Bainbridge Collective
3/7 - Charlotte, NC - The Milestone
3/8 - Greenville, NC - East Coast Video
3/9 - Charleston, SC - Tivoli
3/10 - Orlando, FL - Peacock Room
3/11 - Lakeland, FL - Evolution Records
3/12 - Whitesburg, KY - Summit City
3/13 Johnson City, TN - Mecca Lounge
3/14 - Athens, GA - Farm 255
3/15 - Asheville, NC - Apothecary
3/16 - Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light

I’m amped to announce this tight show at the Wind-Up Space in Baltimore. We’re going to be holding it down with Eze Jackson (of Soul Cannon), Cusses and Secret Weapon Dave.

We’re going to unveil an entirely new set of songs from our forthcoming album, Versus Dynamic Sounds. We’re putting the live band stuff on pause, and doing a two turntables / echo-box / 1979-style set. Secret Weapon Dave and Jones will man the boards. while Height, Emily Slaughter and Eze Jackson kick the rhymes.

It all goes down on Friday, February 22! Peep the FB invite.

Click this pic to peep our wordpress page. It’s a history of height, from 97 to present. I thought this would be a cooler way to learn about a band than skimming through a bandcamp page or looking through a list of past shows. I put a million songs and videos on this, so it might take a minute for some of the tracks to load.

Please spread it around if it’s interesting to you. I hope you like it!

Last show of the year! I’m playing the Velvet Lounge in DC with the Incorrigibles and Zac Bellas on 12/29. It’s billed as Height With Friends, but it will actually be the first Height solo set in quite a while. I’m going to premier some things from the forthcoming album. Hope to see you there!

TOUR WRAP-UP

I’m back in Bmore after a long tour. We played almost everywhere we could possibly play in the US and Canada, opening up for the Dan Deacon Ensemble, along with Chester Gwazda and Alan Resnick. After twelve years of booking my own tours in the DIY world, this was our first chance to consistently play larger shows. I’ve wanted Height With Friends to do a tour like this since the beginning, and we finally got a chance to make it happen.

I feel lucky to have had this experience, and I want to thank Dan D for inviting us. I also want to thank Kevin O’Meara, Gavin Riley, Jen Rice, Patrick McMinn, Joel Herring, Brendan Richmond, Mark Fraser, Justin Barnes and Jordan Weeks for being the friends in Height With Friends for the last six months.

Thank you to everyone who bought an album, signed the mailing list, or stayed in contact with us in any way. It means more than you know. We’re still fighting to build a fan base. We’ve been around a long time, but our story is just beginning. Nothing would be better than seeing you at the next show or knowing that you’re checking out the next batch of tunes.

UTILITY FOG TWO

From now on, some of my blog posts and email updates will come with a free download of something from the height archives. This time, click this pic to download Utility Fog Two: Now Not Waterproof. Take a trip back to 2007 and hear me rap about rap. (You have to grab it this week though)

This is our new video. This song is called “I Can’t Stop Eating Sugar.” It’s a cover. The words were written by the amazing Ed Schrader, of Ed Schrader’s Music Beat.

PT Burnem, King Rhythm, Mickey Free and Drew Swinburne all contributed to this track. Team G did the video.

The new album is here! Click this pic to stream it at Spin.com. You can order it from FriendsRecordsBaltimore.com. Let’s Go.

This is the second single from our new album! It’s called Hard Work. (click the pic to get down)

Check out the premiere of our new video!!!

We’re hitting the road this summer and fall with Dan Deacon Ensemble, Chester Gwazda and Alan Resnick! After a quiet winter, we’re very excited to be getting back on the road in a big way. Here are all those dates, plus our release party and our other summer shows. More dates are being added to our August run, so check back here for updates. We hope to see you out there!

6/29 Richmond, VA, Strange Matter
7/14 Annapolis, MD, Metropolitan Kitchen
8/10 Baltimore, MD, Floristree (Record Release Party)
8/11 Youngstown, OH, The Lemon Grove
8/12 Erie, PA, The Crooked I
8/13 Buffalo, NY, The Vault
8/14 Burlington, VT (house show, message us for details)
8/15 New Market, NH, Crackskull’s Coffee and Books
8/16 Dover, NH, Spun Records
8/17 Chester, NH, Sleepy Hollow Homestead
8/18 Bridgeport, CT, Rampage Skatepark
8/29 Cleveland, OH, Beachland Ballroom *
8/30 Columbus, OH, Outland *
8/31 Indianapolis, IN, Earth House *
9/2 St. Louis, MO, Firebird *
9/3 Louisville, KY, Kentucky Museum of Arts + Crafts *
9/4 Nashville, TN, Exit / In *
9/5 Huntsville, AL, Flying Monkey *
9/6 Knoxville, TN, Pilot Light *
9/8 Charlottesville, WV, Jefferson *
10/3 Richmond, VA, Gallery 5 *
10/4 Greensboro, NC, Blind Tiger *
10/5 Asheville, NC, Orange Peel *
10/6 Atlanta, GA, Terminal West *
10/8 Birmingham, AL, Bottletree *
10/9 New Orleans, LA, Maison *
10/10 Houston, TX, Fitzgerald’s *
10/11 Austin, TX, Beauty Ballroom *
10/12 Dallas, TX, Club Dada *
10/13 Norman, OK, Opolis *
10/16 Santa FE, NM, Sol Santa Fe *
10/18 Phoenix, AZ, Crescent *
10/19 San Diego, CA, Irenic *
10/20 Los Angeles, CA, El Rey *
10/22 Santa Cruz, CA, Catalyst *
10/23 San Francisco, CA, Great American *
10/25 Portland, OR, Hawthrorne *
10/26 Vancouver, BC, Biltmore *
10/27 Seattle, WA, Neptune *
10/29 Salt Lake City, UT, Kilby Court *
10/31 Denver, CO, Bluebird *
11/2 Lawrence, KS, Granada *
11/3 Minneapolis, MN, Cedar Cultural Center *
11/5 Madison, WI, Majestic *
11/7 Chicago, IL, Lincoln Hall *
11/8 Detroit, MI, Magic Stick *
11/9 Toronto, ON, Lee’s Palace *
11/10 Montreal, QC, SAT *
11/11 Burlington, VT, Higher Ground *
11/12 Portland, ME, Space Gallery *
11/13 Boston, MA, Paradise *
11/14 Brooklyn, NY, Music Hall *
11/15 Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer *
11/16 New York, NY, Bowery Ballroom *
11/17 Washington DC, 9:30 Club *

* With Dan Deacon Ensemble, Chester Gwazda and Alan Resnick

It’s time to announce this new Height With Friends album. It’s called Rock And Roll. It’s coming out on August 14th. We’re going to celebrate with a release party on Friday, August 10th at Floristree in Baltimore.

The title is not a reference to the guitars on the record, but a nod to the spirit that inspired the songs. The theme of the album is trying to keep faith and cut loose in a cynical reality.

Mickey Free and Franklin Yaker recorded and mixed it. Gavin Riley,Jen Rice,Drew Swinburne, Emily Slaughter, Andy Stack, Jenn Wasner and PT Burnem all lent vocals, guitars and loops to the operation.

This is the first single. It’s called “I Can’t Stand To Be Refused.”(click the pic) Thanks to stereogum.com for premiering it.

The new Height With Friends full length is on the horizon. (This is a still from one of the first videos)

Fun Youngs, the sophomore Shark Tank album, has been out for a few weeks now. I didn’t get to do much internet yelling about it, but I thought I would write a little bit about it. Here’s a breakdown of each song….

We Just Stepped Off The Plane
This comes from a freestyle session we had, while driving back from an Atlanta show. We started each verse with, “I just stepped off the plane.” Just like in the freestyle, it’s unclear where this plane is going or why we’re all on it.

We all introduce ourselves as John Height, John Grunge and John B. Rich. I first started introducing myself as John Height during a string of solo shows last year. I told Grunge about it, and he suggested we all become Johns.

Do Your Thing Thing
I like to think of this as Grunge’s libertarian rap anthem. We’re eating these fries, making our doctors cry and sharking it out. This was my first time using the word jawn in a rap.

Fun Youngs
Ironically, this title track is the only song from the new album that we aren’t going to add to the live set. Sometimes the more epic a song is on record, the more it can fall flat onstage. We decided to keep it on wax.

Dirt
I liked this hook ever since I heard B. Rich kick it years ago, but he never really found the right beat for it. Grunge hooked this tight beat up and we were in like flynn.

Interview
I thought this was a slick way of addressing the lyrical absence of Mickey Free.

No Shit


Yes.

Ladies Is Chilling
I’ve loved this beat for years, and I was happy we got to use it. Grunge struggled with this rhyme for a long time, not wanting to come off too serious or self-involved. I think he knocked it out of the park.

Gas Up
This is B Rich’s second Shark Tank song paying some form of respect to his Pops. In this case, it’s a picture of his Dad as a young working man. Jim Richmond… Stand Up!

Victory Fishes
Grunge was moving the week after our last session, and he was sorting through literally thousands of CD’s and CDR’s he had accumulated in twelve years of touring. This led to a discussion of how 99 percent of these bands no longer exist. Everyone is fired up about their project for a second, but they almost all disappear after a few years of struggle, leaving a bunch of shitty-looking CDR’s behind.

I had some other line about CDR’s, but Grunge suggested I change it to ‘fuck you and your CDR’s.” It’s harsh, but I stand by it.

No Years To Burn
It was an honor to work with Mike Jeans on this track. Some of his fans were shocked to hear such a high caliber artist appear on this grimey rap album, but it is what it is.

Oh Canada… Pt. 2


B Rich killed this Canadian rhyme and we added something real tight to the realm of Accent Rap. I think it even gives this a run for it’s money. Someday I want to break out the Baltimore / Pittsburgh remix.

Thanks for reading!