Heist or Hit Records

US visa update for UK bands travelling to SXSW

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:38:49 +0000

—–Original Message—–
From: SXSW Registration [mailto:reg@sxsw.com]
Sent: 06 March 2010 23:10
Subject: 2010 SXSW US Embassy Information

Effective March 1st, 2010, individuals applying for a non-immigrant visa* at the U.S. Embassy will be required to submit a new electronic application form, known as the DS-160 Non-Immigrant Visa Electronic Application.

List of Countries Using the Online DS- 160 Non-Immigrant Visa Electronic Application Form:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_4230.html

Due to unforeseen problems with the new visa application form DS-160, any applicant who has an appointment with a U.S. Embassy the week of March 8 - 12 who is unable to complete this form, may furnish the DS-156. In addition, males aged between 16 and 45 should complete the DS-157 and F and J visa applicants the DS-158. The forms are available on the visa forms page at
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html

Amin Simms
SXSW Registrar
reg@sxsw.com

The Crookes - Rebel Playlist

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:46:47 +0000

The Crookes new single ‘Bloodshot Days’ has been chosen to be part of Steve Lamacq’s rebel playlist competition on the mighty and wonderful 6 Music. All you need to do is to head here and vote vote vote. The pre orders for the single are also going really well so if you want to own a bit of history you better get buying from our shop. We will be sending the records out as soon as they have arrived so you should get them a few days early.

Let us also not forget The Crookes are playing shows here, there and indeed everywhere as of pretty much now. They are playing all over the UK and flying over to SXSW in the next couple of months so it’s an exciting time ahead for the band.

Our Email To The BBC Trust - Save 6 Music

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:02:38 +0000

The deicison to close 6 Music is not finalised until the BBC Trust has agreed. You can email your thoughts to: trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk. Take 5 minutes to make a difference.

We sent the following:

Hello,

As someone who works for a small independent label, the thought that 6 Music could close fills me with sadness and worry. 6 Music really is a music station for music fans and the fact that there is such an outpouring of anger at the decision to shut the station proves how much it means to so many people. On a professional level it gave the label great hope that we could communicate and have our releases heard by real music fans. It also filled us with pride that such musical luminaries such as Steve Lamacq, Marc Riley and Tom Robinson took the time to listen and enjoy what we put out. It has also been with great pleasure that our bands have gone in for sessions with 6 Music where we have had the chance to see the passion and enthusiasm that goes into every show.

I appreciate there has been a call for cuts to how the BBC spends it’s money and I appreciate that as a public broadcaster you need to provide the best quality for everyone. However, the decision to take away two key radio stations (I have read much in support of the Asian Network too) seems like you are stripping the BBC of some real quality. The closest thing we have in this country to 6 Music is XFM – it’s a station mainly heard in London and Manchester and has to target it’s output to attract advertisers. The beauty of the license fee is the unique high quality output the BBC could afford to produce.

Exceptional broadcasters taking risks on brand new music should be something the BBC is proud of and not something to cut back on.

Yours Sincerly

Heist Or Hit Records

LoveLikeFire - Worldwide Release Today!

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:46:11 +0000

After announcing last week that we would soon be releasing the fantastic LoveLikeFire album on CD in the US on April 12th we have now agreed a deal to have the album released worldwide digitally on March 1st. So…that’s TODAY! Get onto your download site of choice and get listening to Tear Ourselves Away. There is also a bonus remix by a certain RonnieVannucci Jr of The Killers fame.

Here’s a list of sites in the US which will have the album:

24-7 entertainment
Play.com
7Digital
Amazon
Bleep
Boomkat
Deezer
DJTUNES.com
eMusic
iTunes
Juno records
Lala.com
Medianetdigital
Mflow
Napster
Nokia Music Store
Spotify
Vidzone

There’s also a bunch of LoveLikeFire shows coming up as the band travels to SXSW. These dates are as follows:

11th March - Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco
13th March - Kilby Court, Salt Lake City
14th March - Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City
15th March - Burt’s Tiki Lounge, Alburquerque
16th - 19th March - SXSW
23rd March - Silverlake Lounge, LA

A reactionary blog.

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:33:44 +0000

As everyone has heard overnight, the BBC may be cutting some of it’s services, one of which is the digital station 6 Music. Let’s be honest and straight up on this one, it would really hurt new music if this is the case.

Over the last few years we have seen Radio 1 sink into a state of ‘celebrity DJ’ over actual music fan so people flocked to 6 Music. For all of Jo Whiley’s annoyances, at least she wasn’t Fearne Cotton and anyone choosing ’Grimmy’ over Lamacq is clearly a fool. But at 6 Music you could hear people like Steve Lamacq, Marc Riley, Lauren Laverne all playing music because they love and understand it. Guy Garvey’s radio show was absolutely brilliant but who else would have given him the slot to do it? 6 Music also gave us the Saturday morning perfection of Adam and Joe, now being nicely run by Collins and Herring. It was broadcasting that was not aimed at everyone but from the ground swell of outcry today, it clearly meant a lot to some. Indeed, the station boasts a listener-ship of 700k people a week, taking £10 of these people’s yearly license fee would save the station. I think we all agree that this money is better spent here than on Chris Moyles or Graham Norton’s wages.

For a small label, like ours, 6 Music is somewhere you could actually aspire to get your music played and heard by some real music fans. I don’t think we would have ever got The Answering Machine as the breakfast show song of the week on Radio 1, but it was something attainable on 6 Music. As James Yuill Tweeted earlier ‘We have to save 6 Music, who else will play my records’. It gave us hope that we could really connect with people, where as without 6 Music, there would be no point in even trying for Radio 1 plays. We would never have the profile or the money to get close.

The BBC are looking at quality over quantity in the future and this is actually something I would agree with. 6 Music is the quality that should be saved. So should amazing imported shows like Heroes and Mad Men. Their website also might be cut which again is madness. The BBC is something this country should be very proud of but it seems they are just wanting to run it into the ground so we are left with characterless radio DJs and TV that is beyond dull.

I hope we can look back on this blog and realise that it wasn’t needed; that the truth was that 6 Music was always safe but until it is, people who really care for new exciting music need to speak out.

LoveLikeFire’s Album To Be Released On US iTunes

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:47:34 +0000

After a great 2009 winning many new fans in the UK, LoveLikeFire are now setting their sites on their native America with lots of gigs and lots of incredible music to be released. The first stage of this will be on March 1st when their brilliant album Tear Ourselves Away will be launched digitally online. Until now there has only been a few tracks available but we feel now is the time to unleash the full album. It’s packed with hauntingly beautiful tracks and foot stomping hits, all being led by Ann Yu’s amazing vocals. The online version also comes with a bunch of extras including a remix by a certain Ronnie Vannucci Jr. A full physical release of the album will also follow on April 12th for all you traditionalists!

The band also has the following dates ahead:
The dates are as follows:
11th March - Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco
13th March - Kilby Court, Salt Lake City
14th March - Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City
15th March - Burt’s Tiki Lounge, Alburquerque
16th - 19th March - SXSW
23rd March - Silverlake Lounge, LA

The Crookes - Bloodshot Days

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:58:40 +0000

Heist Or Hit are delighted to announce we will be releasing the next single from The Crookes. Hailing from over the Pennines in Sheffield, the band have been on our radar for a while now and we are certain they are a band ready to take 2010 by storm.

The single is out on April 5th and is called Bloodshot Days - we have had the tune in our life for a couple of months now and it is a thing of brilliance. The release is strictly limited to a run of 500 vinyl and each copy comes with a hand made lyric sheet and a free download of the tracks. There is a few copies in our shop for pre-order but we expect these to go quickly so move fast to secure a copy of the single.

Poms On The Road

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:45:48 +0000

As mentioned previously, Pomegranates are heading to SXSW and playing a bunch of shows on the way. We have now got further listings, plus some more exciting news. in April the band will be playing some dates with the very good Aloha. That’s a double bill of bands we would love to see.

Here’s the dates and support slots:

Fr Mar 5 Newport KY Southgate House
Tu Mar 9 Bloomington IN Video Saloon ^
We Mar 10 Louisville KY Zanzabar ^
Th Mar 11 Nashville TN The End ^
Fr Mar 12 Athens GA Caledonia Lounge ^
Su Mar 14 Denton TX NX35 ^
Mo Mar 15 Houston TX The Mink ^
Tu Mar 16 Austin TX Art Disaster SXSW Preparty – Beauty Bar
We Mar 17 Austin TX SXSW
Th Mar 18 Austin TX SXSW- Maggie Mae’s
Fr Mar 19 Austin TX SXSW
Sa Mar 20 Austin TX SXSW
Fr Apr 2 Athens OH Casa Cantina
Tu Apr 13 Atlanta GA Drunken Unicorn *
We Apr 14 Chapel Hill NC Local 506 *
Th Apr 15 Washington DC DC9 *
Sa Apr 17 Brooklyn NY Knitting Factory *
Su Apr 18 Cambridge MA The Middle East *
We Apr 21 Pontiac MI The Pike Room *
Th Apr 22 Chicago IL Empty Bottle *
Sa Apr 24 Cleveland OH Grog Shop *
Su Apr 25 Pittsburgh PA Brillobox *
^ with Jookabox
* with Aloha

LoveLikeFire Tour Dates

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:18:20 +0000

LoveLikeFire are another Heist Or Hit band headed for SXSW this year. They join Pomegranates and another soon to be confirmed member of team Heist in playing the festival in March.

On the way to the festival, LLF will be warming up with a bunch of shows to perfect some new of their brand new tunes.

The dates are as follows:
11th March - Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco
13th March - Kilby Court, Salt Lake City
14th March - Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City
15th March - Burt’s Tiki Lounge, Alburquerque
16th - 19th March - SXSW
23rd March - Silverlake Lounge, LA

Just a quick reminder on the Pomegranates tour dates again:
9th March - Video Saloon, Bloomington
10th March - Zanzabar, Louisville
11th March - The End, Nashville
12th March - Caledonia Lounge, Athens
13th March - Treehouse, Hot Springs
14th March - NX35, Denton
15th March - The Mink, Houston
16th March - Art Disaster, Austin
17th - 20th March - SXSW

The Crookes

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:17:15 +0000

Sheffield four piece The Crookes are the latest members of Team Heist Or Hit. We are humbled and delighted that George, Alex, Daniel and Russell have agreed to release a single with us and excited about all that is ahead for the band.

They were brought to our attention by our great pal Sean who also did all the design work for The Answering Machine. Sean had heard good things about The Crookes and urged us to check them out. It was a pretty no brainer really. Sometimes you just see a band and they are playing songs that you have to tell people about. A&R can be the simplest job in the world.

The single, out April 5th, is called Bloodshot Days and it’s been bouncing round my head for weeks now. The b-side is also well worth checking out too. Remember the good old days when bands put effort into B-sides?Well The Crookes have done that here. Finally if you head over to iTunes on release day, there will be some other goodies to download.