February 20, 2012
Look at that beautiful piece of handmade goodness. That is the new record coming this Tuesday from Iowa’s own Leslie & the LY’s. Those tiny pants you see on the cover? They’re made from clippings from Leslie’s personal wardrobe, from used gold spandex pants she’s worn and worn out on stages all over the U.S.A. The back of each copy is hand-numbered and labeled with what part of the pants your clipping is from. Will you get the crotch, rump, thigh, knee, or lower leg? This second entry into the MA Limited Series is limited to 200 copies. These are all that will ever be made! Click here to read more about the dance remixes on the record and why you need to own this gem of Iowa history! Then order it! If you pre-order before Tuesday, we’ll send you a free Power Cuddle sticker!
The rad David Lynch Foundation blog Peacetown, USA recently posted a cool piece about the record, which you can read here.
As an added bonus, every copy comes with an exclusive music sampler that can only be had with the purchase of this record! It’s the Iowa Empire music sampler, and it features tons of Iowan artists who are cutting every edge they find. It also includes previews of some records that haven’t even come out yet! Check out the tracklist:
“Torpedoes On Tuesday” – The Poison Control Center – from the album Stranger Ballet
“That’s Why I’m Smiling” – Brooks Strause – from the album Apostatize!
“In Life/In Love” – Jordan Mayland & The Thermal Detonators– from their self-titled album
“Harlequin Bands” – The Lonelyhearts – from the album Disaster Footage At Night
“Life Is Not Always Easy” – Christopher the Conquered – from the album Christopher the Conquered & His Black Gold Brass Decide… The Fate Of A Good Man
“Father in the Sky” – Mumford’s – from the album Triple Trinities
“Revenge” – Nuclear Rodeo – from the album Revenge
“Of Course You Don’t Need Glasses” – Pennyhawk – from the album Sisterbones
“Please Teach Me” – Utopia Park – from the compilation The Beauty Shop Presents: Bedrooms & Basements
“Lord of the Flies (I Wanna Believe)” – Little Ruckus – from the album We Love Evil
“Tony Todd” – Datagun – from the Datagun/Love Songs For Lonely Monsters Split Cassette
“Do You Believe in Angels?” – Lesbian Poetry – from the album Songs About Girls
“None Of This Had To Happen” – Josie Overmyer – from the compilation The Beauty Shop Presents: Bedrooms & Basements
“Berlin” – Mantis Pincers – from their self-titled album
“It Shines” – Derek Lambert & The Prairie Fires – from their self-titled EP
“Ganglion Sister” – Love Songs For Lonely Monsters – from the Datagun/Love Songs For Lonely Monsters Split Cassette
“Untitled” – Tires – from the upcoming album EP2
“Got A Ways To Fall Away” – Sean Huston – released as a single
“Corpse” – Surgery – from the compilation The Beauty Shop Presents: Bedrooms & Basements
“Purple Lighting” – Peace, Love, And Stuff – from their album La Bohemia
“Never Looked Back” – Trouble Lights – from the compilation The Beauty Shop Presents: Bedrooms & Basements
“Natalie Portman” – Lane Weaver – from the album Being Broke Is More Fun Than It Looks
“Song For Judy” – H. Dustin Harmsen – from the album Papoose (to be released in fall 2012)
You would already know all this if you were at Leslie’s sold-out show at our offices in Ames last week, which was as epic as this video makes it out to be.
If you missed that, though, Leslie and her gals are on the road right now through the end of March, and they’ve got a bunch of these records with them, so get yourself to a show and pick up your copy. Here’s a listing of all the shows! (Cool trivia nugget: Derek Lambert of, you guessed it, Derek Lambert & The Prairie Fires, is playing drums for Leslie on this entire tour. Go see him in head-to-toe spandex.)
Oh, I almost forgot, if you order Leslie’s record or any record from our store and live in Ames, Iowa, it’ll be delivered to you via MA Postal, which you can read all about in the previous post below. It involves bicycles and human contact and emotional connections!
In non-Leslie news (she kinda hogs the spotlight, huh?), The Poison Control Center’s Patrick Tape Fleming was asked by the prestigious Daytrotter.com to make a playlist of Daytrotter recordings he can’t live without! We love Daytrotter and you should, too! Check it out here.
Then watch this great performance/interview video of the band on Serious Business on BreakThru Radio out of New York City. The interview is excellent. And it features a ridiculously amazing performance of “Church On Mars” from their 2011 record Stranger Ballet.
Alright, y’all. Last words of wisdom: Go see Little Ruckus on tour. Go see Leslie & the LY’s on tour. If you can’t see those, check out our shows page. Always new stuff being added. Derek Lambert & The Prairie Fires are playing with Murder By Death. That’s really cool, right? Go get alive.
Oh, and sign up for our newsletter right here, right now. You’re gonna want to because the next record we are putting out is Christopher the Conquered’s long-awaited follow-up to 2009′s You’re Gonna Glow In The Dark. This new LP is 100% more epic. It’s called Christopher the Conquered & His Black Gold Brass Band Decide… The Fate Of A Good Man. You’re gonna have the chance to stream the whole thing for free before it comes out, but only if you are on our mailing list! Otherwise, we have no way to hook you up. So get yourself hooked up!
Love Forever.
-the MA Crew
P.S. Speaking of Christopher the Conquered, we’ve officially added them to our artists page. Check out how amazingly cool it looks now. We feel really rad to have such a great group of artists in our fort.
February 18, 2012
That headline says it all! Starting this week, we are implementing a new delivery service for residents of Ames, Iowa who order records from our website. One of our bicycle-riding couriers will bring your order to your home and deliver right to your door! You are welcome to treat them to coffee or to spin a side of the record and talk about how excellent the music is. Why are we doing this? Because we think it’s a good idea. We hope you think it is, too!
And, because we are excited, and because it is a Saturday, here is a free song from The Poison Control Center’s lost album A Nice Old-Fashioned Romance With Love Lyrics & Everything: Right-click here to download “You’re No Stevie Ray Vaughan/The Rise And Fall Of Commercial Rock”
We love ya. Keep it on top.
-the MA Crew
February 13, 2012
Hello, dear friends! There is so much happening right now that we have to bring you up to date. Ok?
First of all, the most exciting thing that we have going on right now is the new Leslie & The LY’s dance remix record that we are putting out very soon! Pre-orders are still available through next Monday, February 20th! Order yours right here, right now. We are extremely pumped because Leslie & crew are coming to our offices at The Ames Pantorium on Wednesday night to put on a show for the people of her hometown! The show is going to be an epic party to celebrate the beginning of her national tour (w/ Iowa’s own Pennyhawk and Ramona & The Swimsuits) and, of course, the release of her new record! Come to the show on Wednesday and you can get a copy of the record for only $5 with admission! Tickets are limited and going fast, so you may want to pre-order here and get the deal on the record right now! We’re very honored to have both The Ames Tribune and Ames247 do rad pieces about Leslie’s tour and the record! Check out the Tribune’s piece here and Ames247′s piece here.
If you, for some inexplicable reason, are not jammed to the max for this show and record, watch this:
Then, watch this video of Pennyhawk:
Then, listen to this from opener Ramona & The Swimsuits:
There.
Moving on.
The 15 hour music marathon at The Space For Ames. Wow. Seriously, if you were there, you are a professional. You can die now. 50 bands came and started a new universe. Words truly do not suffice. There are tons of amazing photos by the photographers of the Iowa State Daily, including shots of a number of our artists, right here! Here’s a killer one of Mumford’s tearing up the house:
There are also lots and lots of great videos popping up all over the web, so use your browsin’ skills and live it up! Here are some we think are pretty great:
So… after all that, you must be thinking, “Damn, something in Ames is happening.” You are right. And it turns out some of the students over at Ames High agree with us, and they made an amazing video just to say it. Check this out, it features Nate Logsdon (our prez and leader of Mumford’s, Bryon Dudley of Strong Like Bear, and studio whiz and Nuclear Rodeo/Tires rocker Phil Young):
It turns out, by the way, that it isn’t only happening in Ames. It’s happening all over the state, and this week, we are highlighting the one and only community of Fairfield, Iowa and our good friends at Sweat Power Records! This community knows how to make it happen and make it happen pro. Check out these amazing videos and feel good about existing.
Click here to sign up for our newsletter and always be up-to-date regarding this and our other upcoming releases! All subscribers also get the bonus of being automatically entered into give-aways, access to private online listening parties, and more! Oh, and if you sign up before Valentine’s Day, you are gonna get a special present from us. It’s a secret, but we will say it has something to do with The Poison Control Center.
Alright, we are very much outta here.
Much Love,
-the MA Crew
P.S. Tons of new performance dates, featuring our artists, have been posted here.
February 1, 2012
Cool down, boys!
In the near distant future, somewhere between the 23rd and 24th century, when the history of Ames music is first telekinetically scribed, one name will rise above as queen of all things Iowa and gem – Leslie Hall.
Since the inception of Leslie and the Ly’s in 2005, Leslie Hall has taken the nation by storm – infusing Iowa hip-hop with esoteric fashion, death-defying stage moves and heart-breaking body rolls. To date, Leslie has released five albums, including the 2011 album Destination Friendship.
Since coming off the road two years ago, Leslie – also a gem sweater curator, spandex pants designer, visual artist and marriage officiant – has kept very busy writing tunes for Destination Friendship, touring with Yo Gabba Gabba, and becoming the first Ames artist to land a spot on The Jimmy Fallon Show.
When we at Maximum Ames discovered Mother Gem was releasing a brand new album featuring remixed tracks from the legendary likes of Fairfield’s Utopia Park and mashup artist Titus Jones, we were dying to get involved and help share the tracks on the ultimate dance floor medium – vinyl. With her brilliant foresight into the future, knowing that robot overlords would destroy all digital music in the 22nd century, Leslie agreed, with the hopes that music would survive for centuries to come when the Maximum Ames vinyl vault is discovered buried in the plains of Iowa in the year 2347.
This special edition vinyl – packaged with a hand-made touch by Mother Gem herself – features a remix of “Tight Pants/Body Rolls” by Utopia Park and “Blame the Booty” by Titus Jones. Limited to only 200 copies, this historic and heavenly white vinyl – white to represent the purity of virgin ears before hearing the tracks – represents one of the most mind-slaughtering and altering collaborations of Iowa musicianship. Every copy also comes with a free Iowa Empire Music Sampler from Maximum Ames Records!
And yes, we know what just happened. Please, take a moment, change your pants and then continue reading. We’ll wait for you.
Everything bright and shiny? Good.
Like we were saying, don’t be late in ordering – only 200 copies will ever exist and you don’t want to be the sad friend who doesn’t own an original Leslie Hall masterfully packaged vinyl from the Prom Queen of all Prom Queens. As an added bonus, all pre-order sales come with a collectible Power Cuddle sticker.
Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of gemstory and Iowa history.
Pre-order a copy of Leslie’s limited edition exercise record here and nab a collectible Power Cuddle sticker, while supplies last! You can also order a ticket to the tour kick-off and release show in Ames, Iowa (these tickets are very limited, as the space is small!) with the record and save big! Only with Leslie, friends!
Check it out:
Hit up Leslie’s website to check out all of her tour dates! She is almost definitely going to be in your area if you live in America.
January 25, 2012
There isn’t much to say here, people. Look at that thing. And that’s just the vinyl! Next week, we’re gonna be announcing all the details regarding what you’ll get when you order this ridiculously rad and very limited release! Considering Leslie just appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and she’s one of the internet’s top celebrities, you might want to get ready to pre-order one of the 200 copies (that’s 2-0-0 and no more ever…that’s the founding rule of the MA Limited Series) on February 1st when they go on sale! Until then, head over to her website to see where Leslie is gettin’ her gem on near you on her U.S. tour in February and March with Iowa’s other lovers Pennyhawk and Ramona & The Swimsuits. Then, watch this:
See you right here on February 1st! Oh, almost forgot: Check out this event for the 15-hour nonstop music marathon going down in our very own Ames, Iowa on Saturday, February 4th! If you even kinda like what we do, then you’ll love this. Anyone that has any sort of involvement with Maximum Ames will absolutely be there.
Much Love,
-MA
