FLIGHT NYC DEBUT

Hey New Yorkers, sorry for the late notice, but the sleazed out Mississippi psych band FLIGHT are making their NYC debut this weekend. Tonight (3/26/10) they join forces with Philly's READING RAINBOW at the CAKE SHOP in Manhattan. Then, tomorrow (3/27/10) they'll head to DEATH BY AUDIO in Brooklyn, where they play with the riff-heavy Australian girl groop BEACHES. You can hear a couple of their tunes HERE and HERE. Hope y'all can make it!

CATS PURRING BANDS AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST

Here's a list of SXSW shows from four awesome Mississippi bands-- BASS DRUM OF DEATH, DEAD GAZE, THE UNWED TEENAGE MOTHERS, and YOUNG BUFFALO. As anyone familiar with the festival knows, all times are subject to change and you'll most likely end up at a fratty 6th street bar watching a 311 cover band with coked-up midwestern hotties or soaking in a hot tub full of piss and vomit 45 minutes outside of Austin which is probably all for the better. Either way, here's the schedule after the jump...

UNWED TEENAGE MOTHERS 7" OUT NOW

Our favorite new Oxford band THE UNWED TEENAGE MOTHERS (featuring members of Bass Drum of Death, Lover!, and The Sleepwalkers) have a new 7" record out, and it's crammed with four fantastically sleazy pop gems. "IF THAT'S LOVE" is out from TIC TAC TOTALLY and available HERE for the reasonable price of $5. The label's site describes The Unwed Teenage Mothers sound as "power-pop-punk-gumball-gummy-gunk in a quickly shifting lil poppy hurry-up offense," and if that strikes your fancy you can catch these dudes this week at SXSW (show details here) where they'll be selling copies of the EP.

KITTY SNACKS BOOK KLUB MARCH/APRIL SELECTIONS

Attention all literary freakz: KITTY SNACKS BOOK KLUB is back with not one but TWO highly recommended (and short, so don't worry) selections for March and April. A JELLO HORSE by Matthew Simmons and TUMBLE HOME by Amy Hempel can both be purchased at SQUARE BOOKS in Oxford, MS with a 10% discount. Some sort of discussion/binge drinking party will inevitably be planned, so keep an eye on the KITTY SNACKS blog.

DEAD GAZE - "END OF DAYS, WHY NOT YOU?" CASSETTE OUT NOW

DEAD GAZE, once the bedroom project of Jacksonian COLE FURLOW, is now a full-fledged band, and they have a new cassette out via the excellent Charleston, SC label MIRROR UNIVERSE TAPES (Washed Out, Toro Y Moi, Weed Diamond, Truman Peyote, etc). End of Days, Why Not You? is limited to 100 copies, so click HERE to order the damn thing.

Or, if for some strange reason you'll be at SXSW in Austin this week, DEAD GAZE will be selling the cassette there. They've got a bunch of shows lined up, including SHAKE SOME ACTION!, an unofficial 3-day extravaganza organized by a bunch of our very favorite internet dweebs.

We'll be posting more info on Mississippi bands at SXSW, so stay tuned!

BARRY HANNAH 1942-2010

Our hero and friend BARRY HANNAH passed away yesterday. For those unfamiliar, check out WATER LIARS from his awe-inspiring short story collection AIRSHIPS.

We hear that some local writers and students may be gathering to read selections from his work tonight at Proud Larry's beginning around 9pm. This weekend, the Oxford Conference for the Book dedicated to Barry Hannah will be taking place as planned, beginning with a special Thacker Mountain Radio show on Thursday at Paris-Yates Chapel.

We send love to all family, friends, and fans of Barry Hannah.

KITTY SNACKS #3 KEGGER + AFTERPARTY 3/5/10

Our friends at the North Mississippi literary zine KITTY SNACKS are throwing a party on Friday, March 5th at Oxford's POWERHOUSE to celebrate the release of their third issue. The thing's limited to 200 numbered copies and boasts writings by George Singleton, Deb Olin Unferth, Kevin Wilson, John Brandon, Mary Miller, Rudy Wilson, and more!

Issue #3 also features photography by Jane Rule Burdine, Ward Long, and John Oliver Hodges, all of whom will have images on display at the throwdown, which ties in to the OXFORD CONFERENCE OF THE BOOK weekend honoring our favorite writer of all time BARRY HANNAH.

John Oliver Hodges will perform a musical interpretation of Hannah's cult classic novella RAY, and the Kitty Snacks dudes will raffle off goodies from FAT POSSUM, THE LYRIC theater, and others. Admission is $5 to drink or $10 if you want a copy of the magazine as well. Festivities begin at 9 p.m.

The fun, flirty, and totally free AFTERPARTY will pop off at Ajax Diner, where guest DJs AIR BUD (a.k.a. Flight + Dent May) will be spinning cosmic disco, funky R&B, rare psych grooves, and more!

For more info hit up the PRESS RELEASE straight from the Kitty's mouth.

Ecstatic Eyes *a&b*

Like the previous Cats Purring tape, Ecstatic Eyes also begins with a selection picked from 8 discs of field recordings collected by Art Rosenbaum. In a small group of ten and unaware of his musicological background, I studied the life and work of Jackson Pollock under Dr. Rosenbaum at The University of Georgia in 2003. I was pleasantly surprised when in 2007, Dust-to-Digital went on to release over 50 years of music that he documented throughout the states.

KITTY SNACKS #1 DOWNLOAD + ISSUE #3 INFO

Good news for fans of Oxford, MS literary zine KITTY SNACKS:

With the DIY publication's 3rd release just around the corner, the long out-of-print KITTY SNACKS #1 is now available for free download HERE. Literature by JACK PENDARVIS and SAM PINK! Interviews with KING KHAN and Geologist of ANIMAL COLLECTIVE! Oh, and that ultra cute cover art is by our friend and frequent collaborator WILL BRYANT.

Meanwhile, the greatest lit blog in the land HTML GIANT is hosting a Kitty Snacks "guest post," a conversation between John Brandon and Mary Miller, two of our favorite writers with Mississippi connections. Check that out HERE.

After the jump, take a peek at the line-up for the highly anticipated, sure-to-dazzle KITTY SNACKS #3.

THE TRUE BELIEVERS

Two brothers travel to the Pacific Northwest in search of sasquatch.

"Don't be carryin' those kittens all around town with you..." - Cats Purring's Alex Warren (famed drummer of Dead Gaze)

AIRSHIPS BACK TO SCHOOL DANCE-A-THON @ THE LYRIC 1/29/10

Oxford, MS's most highly respected dance party AIRSHIPS returns this Friday! Join David & Dent at THE LYRIC for a memorable evening of:

-nonstop ecstatic dancing
-hanging out
-sipping on zimas (jolly ranchers optional)
-dressing up in stylish outfits
-noodling to string cheese bootlegs
-discussing exciting & relevant topics w/ colleagues
-making connections to get that dream internship next summer
-gettin blackout wasted
-boogieing til your feet fall off
-loads of gorgeous gals
-MORE!

We hope you guys can make it!