The Aristocrats

8/16One Night In Bangkok

Hello everyone! Pardon the punny subject of this all-too-brief post, but we’re just checking in from Bangkok, Thailand on the night before our sold out 700-seat theater performance there. The entire Asia tour has been one amazing experience after another: Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Manila, and now here…we’ve made lots of new friends and we’re so grateful to everyone who’s come out and helped to make this tour such an overwhelming success. Here’s a picture from the stage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam:

We’ve got just three shows left in Asia, and then it’s off to Europe for the final five shows of the Culture Clash World Tour. Here’s our remaining dates:

The Aristocrats
Culture Clash World Tour
Asia Leg

Aug 17 – Bangkok – Overdrive Magazine Anniversary (Aksra Theater) – THAILAND (clinic + concert)
Aug 19 – Tokyo – Club Citta – JAPAN
Aug 20 – Osaka – Big Cat – JAPAN

Final Europe Leg

Aug 28 – Rock On Festival (free entrance) – Martirano Lombardo (Catanzaro), IT
Sep 1 – Porgy & Bess – Vienna, AT
Sep 3 – Harpa/Norðurljós – Reykjavik, ICELAND
Sep 5 – P60 – Amstelveen, NL
Sep 6 – The Woolley Festival – Merkins Farm, Bradford Leigh, Bradford on Avon, UK

If you’re anywhere near any of these locations, we hope you’ll join us to make the final stretch of this world tour something to remember.

Best wishes to all,
The Aristocrats

7/30Asia & Europe Dates, Plus BIG News

Hello everyone – it’s only days before we start our first tour of Asia in three years! So we’ll keep it brief and just send a quick reminder of those dates, plus our now-confirmed select European dates that will serve as the wrap-up of our worldwide Culture Clash tour. But we’ll break some news here as well, we promise.

First, the dates:

THE ARISTOCRATS
CULTURE CLASH WORLD TOUR
SE ASIA LEG

Aug 4 – Seoul – Gunguk University Auditory – KOREA
Aug 6 – Beijing – Mao Live House – CHINA
Aug 8 – Shanghai – Q.House (QSW) – CHINA
Aug 10 – Tai Peh – Riverside Live Music House – TAIWAN (clinic + concert)
Aug 11 – Hong Kong – KITEC MusicZone – HONG KONG (concert only – this said “clinic” in a previous mailing, sorry about that)
Aug 13 – Ho Chi Minh City – HCMC Music Center – VIETNAM
Aug 15 – Manila – Amber Ultra Lounge – PHILIPPINES (clinic + concert)
Aug 17 – Bangkok – Overdrive Magazine Anniversary (Aksra Theater) – THAILAND (clinic + concert)
Aug 19 – Tokyo – Club Citta – JAPAN
Aug 20 – Osaka – Big Cat – JAPAN

SELECT EUROPE LEG

Now for the breaking news:

* An edited version of our live show at Paradox in Tilburg, Netherlands will air on Dutch Radio 6 on August 2, 10-11pm (22:00-23:00) Central European Time. Thanks to Pieter van Hoogdalem and everyone and Radio 6 for making this happen! Listen live at http://www.radio6.nl.

* The bass/drums transcriptions and backing tracks for our entire Culture Clash album will be available at Jam Track Central on September 1. We pushed this back from August 1. It will be worth the wait. :-)

* The BIG news: We are starting work on a live album! Tentatively (and simply) called Culture Clash Live, it looks to be a CD + DVD Deluxe Package culled from multiple shows on the Culture Clash tour. We hope to have it out in late November of this year. More news on this soon!

Thanks again for following along, and stay tuned for some even bigger news about 2015 coming soon. :-)

Best wishes to all,
The Aristocrats

6/15Asia & Europe Tours – This Summer!

Hey everyone – we’re writing to remind our friends in Asia and Europe that we’re coming back for one last leg of the Culture Clash tour this summer! The Asia tour is now completely confirmed and the short Europe leg is firming up as we speak. You can see our confirmed Asia tour dates below:

The Aristocrats
Culture Clash World Tour
Asia Leg
(for full details and ticket links, click here)

Aug 4 – Seoul – Gunguk University Auditory – KOREA
Aug 6 – Beijing – Mao Live House – CHINA
Aug 8 – Shanghai – Q.House (QSW) – CHINA
Aug 10 – Tai Peh – Riverside Live Music House – TAIWAN (clinic + concert)
Aug 11 – Hong Kong – KITEC MusicZone – HONG KONG (concert only, no clinic – sorry for previous bad listing!)
Aug 13 – Ho Chi Minh City – HCMC Music Center – VIETNAM
Aug 15 – Manila – Amber Ultra Lounge – PHILIPPINES (clinic + concert)
Aug 17 – Bangkok – Overdrive Magazine Anniversary (Aksra Theater) – THAILAND
Aug 19 – Tokyo – Club Citta – JAPAN
Aug 20 – Osaka – Big Cat – JAPAN

We’ve gotten some amazing promotional posters from the promoters of each show, and we thought we’d share some of them with you at the bottom of this e-mail. We especially like the Vietnam show’s seating chart, which we’ll show you right here.

Marco thinks they should add a moshpit section and call it “Gaping Head Wound”. :-)

And here’s what we know about our short Europe run, with a couple of dates still to book:

Europe Leg
(for full details and ticket links, click here)

Aug 28 – Rock On Festival (free entrance) – Martirano Lombardo (Catanzaro), IT
Sep 3 – Harpa/Norðurljós – Reykjavik, ICELAND
Sep 5 – P60 – Amstelveen, NL
Sep 6 – The Woolley Festival – Merkins Farm, Bradford Leigh, Bradford on Avon, UK

It’s nice that we’ll end our touring year in Guthrie’s homeland, don’t you think? And yes, we’re going to Iceland. :-)

We also wanted to take a quick moment and speak to our fans in South America and Canada. Unfortunately, though we tried mightily, it doesn’t look like we’re going to get there this year. In South America, our available schedule was in conflict with the World Cup, which made things very difficult for booking. Canada is a different story – to make a long story short, there’s a new law that levies a very significant tax on non-Canadian bands playing clubs. Not theaters, not stadiums, just clubs and bars! It made it impossible for us to put a tour together. If you’re Canadian and you think this is bogus, perhaps you should write your local elected official about it. Until then, we’ll keep trying to find ways to get there without having to hand over our wallets in the process.

Also, we’re still finishing up the bass and drums backing tracks/transcriptions for the Culture Clash album. We believe we’re looking at a July release for those.

And finally (as Guthrie might say), we are just beginning our discussions about the third studio album, which if all goes well, we plan to release in 2015.

Now, please enjoy some Asian tour poster graphics, and thanks so much for being on this very Aristocratic mailing list.

Cheers to all,
The Aristocrats

4/27Next Up: Southeast Asia!

The epic 10-week European leg of the Culture Clash tour is now over, and we’re just stunned, amazed and grateful at the incredible turnout everywhere we went. From Spain to the U.K., from Norway to Italy, and from The Netherlands to Israel, it was a tour we’ll never forget. Here’s a shot from the last show, near Tel Aviv, Israel:

None of this would have been possible without our awesome Italian touring crew, mastermind Riccardo Cappelli (far left) and superhuman driver/tech Marco “Mr. Panda” Musco (center).

And because, why not, here’s a shot of The Aristocrats playing “Three Amigos” (even though the hats are Austrian, not Mexican):

Thanks again to everyone who made our European tour such a great success.

Now we’re proud to announce our next stop will be SOUTHEAST ASIA in August! Here’s the itinerary:

The Aristocrats
Culture Clash World Tour
Southeast Asia Leg
(go to our Tours Page for more show details and ticket links)

Aug 4 – Seoul – Gunguk University Auditory – KOREA
Aug 6 – Beijing – Mao Live House – CHINA
Aug 8 – Shanghai – Q.House (QSW) – CHINA
Aug 10 – Tai Peh – Riverside Live Music House – TAIWAN (clinic + concert)
Aug 11 – Hong Kong – KITEC MusicZone – HONG KONG (clinic + concert)
Aug 13 – Ho Chi Minh City – venue TBA – VIETNAM
Aug 15 – Manila – Hard Rock Cafe Makati – PHILIPPINES (clinic + concert)
Aug 17 – Bangkok – Overdrive Magazine Anniversary (venue tbc) – THAILAND
Aug 19 – Tokyo – Club Citta – JAPAN
Aug 20 – Osaka – Big Cat – JAPAN

We haven’t been to Southeast Asia since our very first tour, back in July of 2011, before our first record was even out! So this is long overdue, and we’re looking forward to seeing our fans in Korea and Japan again, and folks everywhere else for the very first time.

One note: We had originally planned to tour South America in May, and do a short U.S./Canada run later in the year, but events and the calendar have conspired to make that not possible this year. We’re sorry we can’t get there and hope we can put that together for some time in the future.

Some other news: We’re working on bass/drum transcriptions for the entire Culture Clash album, as well as making Boing, We’ll Do It Live! available for digital video download. Plus, we’re working on a week of dates in Europe in late August/early September. More on all that soon.

Thanks again for following along, and remember to follow our Facebook Page and our Twitter Feed for more constant updates!

2/05Thanks U.S. West & Mexico – Hello Europe!

Hello from Bilbao, Spain! The “Culture Clash” tour just finished up a great run through the U.S. West and Mexico (including first-ever shows in Denver, ABQ, Phoenix, Vegas, Mexicali and Mexico City), and we hereby thank everyone who came out to see the show. Here’s a composite shot (click for full version) from our gig at the NAMM Jam in Anaheim, CA, as part of a bill with djenters Periphery and metal legend Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel:

Now it’s time to bring this thing to Europe. Our 10-week adventure starts right NOW:

THE ARISTOCRATS
“CULTURE CLASH” EUROPEAN TOUR
WINTER 2014

February 6th – Bilbao, SP – Cafe Antkozia
February 7th – Madrid, SP – La Sala Live
February 8th – Valencia, SP – Sala Loco
February 9th – Barcelona, SP – Luz de Gas
February 11th – Nice, FR – B Spot
February 12th – La Valette du Var, FR – Le Vox
February 14th – Paris, FR – Le Zebre
February 15th – Eeklo, BE – JH de Route
February 17th – London, England, UK – The Garage
February 18th – Bristol, England, UK – The Fleece
February 19th – Leamington, England, UK – The Assembly
February 20th – Manchester, England, UK – Band on the Wall
February 21st – Newcastle, England, UK – The Cluny
February 23rd – Edinburgh, Scotland, UK – Liquid Room
February 24th – Dublin, IE – The Grand Social
February 26th – Tilburg, NL – Paradox
February 27th – Verviers, BE – Spirit of 66
February 28th – Zoetermeer, NL – De Boerderij
March 1st – Esch Sur Alzette, LUX – Kulturfabrik
March 2nd – Munich, DE – Backstage Werk
March 4th – Berlin, DE – Kesselhaus
March 5th – Hamburg, DE – Fabrik
March 9th – Dortmund, DE – Domicile
March 10th – Cologne, DE – Kantine
March 11th – Ludwigshafen am Rhein, DE – Das Haus
March 12th – Reichenbach, DE – Bergkeller
March 13th – Dresden, DE – Tante Ju
March 15th – Warszaw, PL – Progresja
March 16th – Krakow, PL – Lizard King
March 17th – Olomouc, CZ – Jazz Tibet Club
March 19th – Velden, AT – Bluesiana Rock Cafe
March 20th – Milano, IT – Live Forum
March 21st – Rubigen, CH – Muhle Hunziken
March 22nd – Castegnato (Brescia), IT – Gasoline Road Bar
March 23rd – San Giovanni alla Vena, Pisa, IT – Blitz Live Music Pub
March 25th – Modena, IT – Mac 2
March 26th – Verona, IT – Officina degli Angeli
March 27th – Moncalieri (Torino) IT – Audiodrome
March 29th – Larvik, NO – Larvik Guitar Festival
April 1st – Perugia, IT – Afterlife Club
April 2nd – Teramo, IT – Arts Factory
April 4th and 5th – Athens, GR – Athina Live Club
April 7th – Roccaforzata (Taranto), IT – Saloon Public House
April 8th – Caserta, IT – City Life
April 9th – Rome, IT – Planet Roma
April 11th – Istanbul, TR – Roxy Club
April 13th – Herzliya (Tel Aviv), ISRAEL – Zappa-club Herzliya

As always, go to the Tours Page for the full details and ticket links on each show. Hope to see you out there!

1/13The Aristocrats CULTURE CLASH U.S. West/Mexico Tour Starts NOW!

Hey all – we’ve got just enough time to announce that the U.S. West/Mexico Leg of our CULTURE CLASH tour starts right now! And then we hit Europe immediately afterwards. Full tour dates below in text form, but be sure to check out the Tours Page for full details and ticket links. Plus, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, where we’ll have constant updates from the road.

Hope to see you out there!

THE ARISTOCRATS
CULTURE CLASH TOUR 2014
U.S. WEST/MEXICO LEG

1/13 – Denver, CO – Quixote’s True Blue
1/15 – Albuquerque, NM – The Dirty Bourbon
1/17 – Phoenix, AZ – Pub Rock Live
1/18 – Mexicali, Baja, MEXICO – Casa De La Cultura
1/19 – Las Vegas, NV – Las Vegas Country Saloon
1/21 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
1/24 – Anaheim, CA – The Grove (private Charvel Guitars event with Periphery and Red Dragon Cartel – NAMM credential/ticket required for entry)
1/25 – Whittier, CA – The Center Theater (CalProg) –
double bill with The Stickmen (Tony Levin, Pat Mastellotto and Markus Reuter)
1/26 – San Pedro, CA – Alvas Showroom
1/28 – Mexico City, MEXICO – Centro Cultural Roberto Cantoral
1/30 – San Luis Obispo, CA – SLO Brew
2/1 – San Francisco, CA – Biscuits & Blues

EUROPE LEG

February 6th – Bilbao, SP – Cafe Antkozia
February 7th – Madrid, SP – La Sala Live
February 8th – Valencia, SP – Sala Loco
February 9th – Barcelona, SP – Luz de Gas
February 11th – Nice, FR – B Spot
February 12th – La Valette du Var, FR – Le Vox
February 14th – Paris, FR – Le Zebre
February 15th – Eeklo, BE – JH de Route
February 17th – London, England, UK – The Garage
February 18th – Bristol, England, UK – The Fleece
February 19th – Leamington, England, UK – The Assembly
February 20th – Manchester, England, UK – Band on the Wall
February 21st – Newcastle, England, UK – The Cluny
February 23rd – Edinburgh, Scotland, UK – Liquid Room
February 24th – Dublin, IE – The Grand Social
February 26th – Tilburg, NL – Paradox
February 27th – Verviers, BE – Spirit of 66
February 28th – Zoetermeer, NL – De Boerderij
March 1st – Esch Sur Alzette, LUX – Kulturfabrik
March 2nd – Munich, DE – Backstage Werk
March 4th – Berlin, DE – Kesselhaus
March 5th – Hamburg, DE – Fabrik
March 6th – Worpswede, DE – Music Hall
March 9th – Dortmund, DE – Domicile
March 10th – Cologne, DE – Kantine
March 11th – Ludwigshafen am Rhein, DE – Das Haus
March 12th – Reichenbach, DE – Bergkeller
March 13th – Dresden, DE – Tante Ju
March 15th – Warszaw, PL – Progresja
March 16th – Krakow, PL – Lizard King
March 17th – Olomouc, CZ – Jazz Tibet Club
March 20th – Milano, IT – Live Forum
March 21st – Rubigen, CH – Muhle Hunziken
March 22nd – Castegnato, Brescia, IT – Gasoline Road Bar
March 23rd – San Giovanni alla Vena, Pisa, IT – Blitz Live Music Pub
April 4th and 5th – Athens, GR – Athina Live Club
April 7th – Roccaforzata (Taranto), IT – Saloon Public House
April 11th – Istanbul, TR – Roxy Club
April 13th – Herzliya (Tel Aviv), ISRAEL – Zappa-club Herzliya
March 18th through April 10th – ITALY/EASTERN EUROPE & MORE TBA

1/06U.S. West Tour Contest: Donuts With The Aristocrats…In Albuquerque

Happy 2014! We’re kicking off the new year with a couple of cheeky promotional thingies to help spread the word about our first-ever shows in the U.S. Southwest. The first one is special for the kind folks of Albuquerque, NM – it’s called Donuts With The Aristocrats, and if you click that link, you’ll be taken to a page that tells you how you could win a chance to – you guessed it – have donuts with The Aristocrats at Rebel Donut, as well as get a $100 gift certificate to Grandma’s Music & Sound. Hint: it involves spotting our animated likenesses around the city. Fun, right?

There’s more contest stuff coming up soon, but most importantly, here are the dates for the U.S. West/Mexico tour, starting in just a week!

The Aristocrats “Culture Clash” Tour
U.S. West/Mexico Leg – January 2014
(for details on all dates, visit The Aristocrats calendar page)

1/13 – Denver, CO – Quixote’s True Blue
1/15 – Albuquerque, NM – The Dirty Bourbon
1/17 – Phoenix, AZ – Pub Rock Live
1/18 – Mexicali, Baja, MEXICO – Casa De La Cultura
1/19 – Las Vegas, NV – Las Vegas Country Saloon
1/21 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
1/25 – Whittier, CA – The Center Theater (CalProg) –
double bill with The Stickmen (Tony Levin, Pat Mastellotto and Markus Reuter)
1/26 – San Pedro, CA – Alvas Showroom (Two shows: 6:00pm and 8:00pm)
1/28 – Mexico City, MEXICO – Centro Cultural Roberto Cantoral
1/30 – San Luis Obispo, CA – SLO Brew
2/1 – San Francisco, CA – Biscuits & Blues

Stay tuned,
The Aristocrats