ubik.

Breaking in the Kraken

2012-01-17T21:27:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 21
ubik. @ The Kraken
w/ Terra Morta
& Pantheon
& Onset the Shores
$5 - 9:00 PM

If the Weather Channel is to be believed, the snow that's freaking all of Seattle out (at the moment) will be gone by Saturday, so it'll be clear sailing to the show-- fear not. With that out of the way, this is our first show at the Kraken Bar & Lounge, and you'll have no problem finding it, because it's in exactly the same spot as the Galway Arms. Pantheon is coming up from Eugene: if they can make it, so can you.

And, even better, not only will we have copies of the new record at the show, but we have shirts again: two designs (one you've seen before and one you haven't) in a variety of sizes and colors. The discs are $10, the shirts are $15.

Spring tour and mobile accessibility

2012-01-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

http://ubik.mobapp.at/

It's been all quiet on the ubik.front for a little bit, but with good reason:

First, we're on a bit of a break because, with the new record out, we're not content to rest on our laurels, so we're taking a little time to work out new material. Not so much of a break that would prevent us from playing the Kraken (formerly The Galway) on the 21st... more on that when we have a poster.

Second, ubik.s booking a tour that will kick off in April, and we're even leaving the safety of the I-5 corridor this time. Not only will we pop up in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Portland, but we're heading over to Spokane, Missoula, Boise, and Salt Lake City. Again: more info when we solidify everything, but we'll be visiting many of our non-Seattle people soon.

Finally, we just launched a mobile app... which isn't earth-shattering, but it's pretty cool for streaming ubik.sounds to your smartphone, and it offers up our mobile facebook and our news feed. Mostly, though, it plays music.

Back to Portland

2011-12-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

Our last trip to Portland didn't go too well-- gear failed, troubleshooting was spotty, and we barely got two songs played... so ubik. owes Portland a make-up show. We're going back down to play a full show at the Plural Mural House. This has a few advantages for us: we can play later, and we have copies of the new album, A Hideous Triumph of Form and Function, with us for the Portland attendees.

Friday, December 16
ubik. @ The Plural Mural House (Map)
w/ Lickity
& Rollerball
& Wax Edison
Show at 9:00

...and, back in Seattle, we're playing on Christmas. If you're done with family and wrapping paper by the time the sun goes down and are bored because everything is closed on the 25th, we're filling that void.

Welcome the new album

2011-12-01T18:28:00.000-08:00

The CD release show was awesome-- thanks to everyone for coming out-- but if you're not in seattle or couldn't make it to the gig, you can get copies of A Hideous Triumph of Form and Function online. The physical discs are available at CDBaby.com, and the album is available as an MP3 download at iTunes, Bandcamp, Amazon... most places you can download MP3 albums.

	CD and MP3s available at CDBaby
	MP3s available at iTunes
	MP3s available at Bandcamp
	MP3s available at Amazon.com

CD Release this Saturday

2011-11-21T23:43:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been a long time coming, eh? ubik.started laying down tracks in July of 2010, and we've been talking about the up & coming record for over a year now... and this is finally it. The CD release show that makes the new album, A Hideous Triumph of Form and Function, available is coming up this Saturday at The Josephine.

We're bringing in Lickity from Portland, Glass Tunnels (which features members of The Ever Changing Sky), and the always-awesome 7 Year Old Blind Girl, our friends and regular line-up-mates... so it's obviously going to be a fun, lively show, and it's going to be another week before the album is available online (them's the breaks), so if you want this record now, you've got to come see us to pick up a copy.

Saturday, November 26th
ubik.s CD Release show @ The Josephine
w/ 7 Year Old Blind Girl,
& Lickity
& Glass Tunnels

Here comes the new album!

2011-11-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

This is it! ubik.s second record, A Hideous Triumph of Form and Function, is recorded, pressed, printed, polished, vulcanized, and submitted to the Library of Congress. We're going to start selling it on Saturday, November 26th... so that means the calendar reads: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Ubik Day.

Saturday, November 26th is the first day you can pick up the new album-- we're making them available at a CD Release show at The Josephine...so come out to The Josephine, see the show, and buy the new album.

(they're selling for $10.00 if you get them from us)

Going to Portland

2011-10-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

We love Portland, but we don't make it down there as often as we'd like to... it's been almost a year since we crossed the Columbia River. That's a large stretch of time, but we're making it good by heading south for a show at The Know on Friday, October 21st. Portland is always good to us, and ubik.s thrilled to be heading down there again... so we hope to see all the Portlanders (yup, all of them. The Know can handle that, right?) on Friday.

Friday, October 21st
ubik. @ The Know (Portland)
w/ Lord Dying,
& Hazzard's Cure,
& Winter in the Blood

Friday at the Galway

2011-10-04T01:12:00.000-07:00

We don't know if you've noticed this, but ubik.s pretty fond of The Galway Arms-- for example, we're going back there on Friday. We've decided that October 7th is kinda metal (check your calendars), so the bill is stacked towards the heavy, but we know you, and we're pretty sure you're okay with that.

Friday, October 7th

ubik. @ The Galway Arms
w/ Chemical Castration,
& Leatherhorn,
& THAC0
9:00PM - 21+

Comet shows, island voyages, and the upcoming record

2011-09-13T02:26:00.000-07:00

ubik.s been playing in the Pacific Northwest for years now... and we've never visited the islands. That's getting fixed, proper and soon-- we're heading to Whidbey Island to play Rob's House of Love this Friday with a ton of bands (many of them Beermetal alumni). This is the spot where we usually post the show listings, but the band list is long enough to overtake the writing, so we'll give you the poster and the link to the show page, just to keep the connective tissue in place.

Friday, September 16th

Rob's House of Love!
...on Whidbey Island
see our shows page for full details

Of course, many Seattlites can't make it out to Whidbey Island... and we get that... so we are also playing next week at The Comet. This is an odd and exciting show for us, leaning hard on the performance side of the live show, with fun and interesting bands we've never played with before.

This is absolutely one not to miss

Wednesday, September 21st

ubik. @ The Comet Tavern
w/ The Fabulous Downey Brothers,
& Shitty Dudes,
& Airpocalypse

There's more on the ubik. horizon: the new record is at the pressing plant, so everything is happening (yay!) and we're looking forward to getting it out and into the world. Also, we're heading to Portland soon-- it's been too long, and we're heading south in October.

Stay tuned...

This Saturday!

2011-08-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

Phew... this has been some kind of week. We played with the metalheads on monday, with the punks on wednesday, so we're closing out this week with a house party. We're down on Eastlake for this one, and it looks like it'll go sort of late, so it'll be a hell of a bash.

And, hey: we haven't played a house party in a while, and we've always liked playing them.

Saturday, August 13
White Trash House Party
ubik. @ 2820 Eastlake Ave E (map)
w/ Weekender (Oakland),
& Party Tribe Trolls,
& Airpocalypse

Metal Madness, Journeys to Oly, and House Parties

2011-08-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

Whoa... that just snuck up on us-- if you're reading this now, get your ass to the 2 Bit pretty quickly, because we're going on tonight. We always, always give more notice than this (and we've been promoting the show on Facebook), but the homepage blog slipped past us. Sorry about that.

Monday, August 8th

Monday Metal Madness
ubik. @ the 2 Bit Saloon
w/ Blood of Martyrs,
& Panzergod,
& Elks Blood
$5 - 21 and over

Then we're traveling south-- we've never played a show in Olympia before, and this is going to be an incredible exploratory journey for us. ubik. has been through Oly, we've stopped there for food on other southbound journeys, and we've heard tales of people living in the town... but we've only seen empty streets in downtown Olympia (with the exception of that one guy on the sidewalk who was yelling at the sky). It's going to be exciting to see a crowd in Olympia... we like playing places we haven't been before.

Wednesday, August 10th

ubik. @ Fou'w'l Farms
6646 Sexton Dr,
Olympia WA
w/ Spracta Snut Skallar,
& Crop,
& weekender,
& Ninjas with Syringes
Music @ 7:00

...and (oh yes, there's more) we're playing an Eastlake house party on Saturday as well-- this is kind of a big week for us. We'll get you more details on the Saturday thing when we can, so stay tuned.

We're goin' camping!

2011-07-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

That's right, it's Beer Metal time once again. The list of bands is wild and impressive, the Beer Metal Olympics will be off the hook, the scenery's gorgeous, and the summer season is begging you to do something like this.

See you there!

Working through a financial slump

2011-07-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

That's pretty cool looking, yes? The painting held in roughly the spot Michelle's head would be is the cover of our new record, A Hideous Triumph of Form and Function, courtesy of Joe Vollan. The one hitch here is that... well... ubik. doesn't actually have any money to get the thing pressed. We want to put out the CD, but these things take funds... so... please stand by while we deploy The Button.

We are now deploying The Button.
The Button has been deployed.

The record will come out, no doubt, but if anyone feels like contributing, PayPal will catch whatever you throw ubik.s way. First we have to press the CD, but we want to publish some vinyl of this one, as well.

Stay tuned, and we'll keep you posted about the release.

Northern U - Overtaking The Ave on Saturday

2011-07-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, we've been looking forward to this one-- spirits are up, the sun's out, summer's here... this sounds like the right time to go overtake the Galway. Though most days are pretty good Galway days, this Saturday has more on offer than just their front porch and cheap beer-- we've got a hell of a show. Not only is this a great lineup that will rock the glasses off the tables, but we've got bands the play fast and loose with the traditional definitions of what it means to be "a punk band" or "a metal band." This one is not to be missed.

Saturday, July 9
ubik. @ The Galway Arms
w/ 7 Year Old Blind Girl
& Burning of I
& Numb
$5 - Show at 9:00

Out of Town (and back)

2011-06-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

We're travelling north, which is something we don't do all that often, so if there's any ubik.people up in Everett, we'll be visiting you this sunday-- it's Josh Stallsworth's (DWIght Powers) birthday, and we're heading up to celebrate... it'll be a bash.

Sunday, June 19
ubik. @ Tony V's Garage
w/ 7 Year Old Blind Girl
& Cake n' Bowls
& Gutter Gourmet

And, if you're not Everett-bound, we're back in Seattle almost immediately, setting up at The Funhouse on Tuesday.

Tuesday, June 21
ubik. @ The Funhouse
w/ Obol
& Terror Eyes (TX)
& Moya

Back from break

2011-05-23T23:37:00.000-07:00

Heading home from practice at Chophouse last week, after trying to figure out how we were going to re-emerge in June (and not quite sure how it was going to go,) someone was yelling from the practice space's top floor windows-- Slave Traitor nearly-literally dropped a gig in our lap. Suddenly, our comeback show was set. Yay!

Thursday, June 2
ubik. @ The Highline
w/ Slave Traitor
& SinDios
& Evangelist
Show at 9:00

Down time is anything but

2011-04-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

I know, I know... no ubik.shows booked. With the upcoming release of the new record, A Hideous Triumph of Form and Function, we're feeling ambitious: it's time to dig in, keep to ourselves for a bit, and write some new songs.

This always takes work and time. ubik.songs can veer towards the complex (not always, but it's been known to happen) and it takes time to work out all the changes and get these weird little contraptions assembled, living, and moving under their own power.

...and, hey-- so far so good. We've been working, writing, jamming, and figuring our some new songs. The consensus was two months, so we'll be taking April and May for this under-the-hood band stuff and pop back up in the world in June.

See you then.

Making Sundays Worthwhile

2011-03-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday has been scientifically proven to be the most couch-bound day of the week... well, ubik. doesn't believe in couches (of the four of us, only Joel owns one, and it recently tried to kill him,) and we're joining an excursion to make Awesomeness happen this Sunday. Head to the Josephine-- there's tons of fun to be had, we're joining Same Sex Dictator and Carrion Cathartid, and this is the 2nd (I think... does tour kickoff count?) stop on Yellowthief's tour.

Sunday, March 27
ubik. @ The Josephine
w/ Same Sex Dictator
& Yellow Thief
& Carrion Cathartid
Show at 7:00

This Friday: St Patty's Recovery Show

2011-03-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's day is on Thursday, so we're playing the after-party: The Galway Arms is a default destination for this holiday, and when you're finally shaking off the previous night's revelry, we're setting up for an insane show in the newly remodeled pub (new sound system too! woo!) It's a Friday, you'll be recovered and well enough to be out when the show kicks off at 9:00 (and this one really starts at 9:00), and it's going to be one hell of a show.

Seriously-- we've got a weird one for you. We're used to being the strangest band in any line-up, but this show features saxophones, a baritone guitar, and lots of guys in dresses. Ponder that for a second...

okay. We'll see you there.

Friday, March 18
ubik. @ The Galway Arms
w/ Mountainss
& The Mother's Anger
& Prawnyxx

Free show on Thursday

2011-02-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

The Eastlake Zoo Tavern occasionally puts on free Thursday shows-- we've been meaning to do one of these for a while, and ubik.s finally on a Zoo Tavern bill. These shows are notoriously awesome, we have a good lineup for the night, and it's been a while since we did a free one, so this is a can't-miss. Free shows are cool like that: you always get more out of them than what you put in.

Thursday, February 24
Zoo Tavern
w/ Throne of Bone
& Future Kill
Free - 8:00

Summoning Flames

2011-02-18T01:06:00.000-08:00

It looks like ubik.s in need of a new bass cabinet... because (has this ever happened to you?) our Ampeg 8x10 actually burst into flames. We were playing a show on Christmas, and, as Joel plugged in and checked his sound for the set, we went through the classic stages of Speaker 'Splody:

Um, what's that smell?
Did you guys turn on a fog machine?
Hey-- it's coming from your speakers!
Holy shit! Fire!

Then we hauled a box the size of a refrigerator outside, removed the speaker, and pulled out hunks of flaming insulation.

What's strange about this is the Ampeg 8x10 is one of the most common bass cabinets in the world: these things are everywhere. They're heavy as hell, but they practically live forever-- these suckers get passed from bassist to bassist and sold and resold so often it's a wonder Ampeg still makes them. You'd think the world would be at the Cabinet Saturation Point by now.

Since none of ubik.s amps are super-powerful (no crazy 1000 Watt, circuit-blowing, speaker melting monsters), our ability to make speaker cabinets into incendiary devices is probably based on spooky supernatural powers.

ubik.s going to Burning Man

2011-02-08T00:39:00.000-08:00

Reportedly, there's a dearth of live music at Burning Man... so ubik.s working on fixing the problem. We're assembling a camp of bands and like-minded revelers to caravan down to the desert with us in August, because the gospel of variety needs to be spread, and it seems like the Burners are in desperate need of a camp that bumps something other than dub-step.

A meeting for this illustrious project will be held at The Highline on Saturday, February 12th, at 2:00PM, so you can grab some lunch and a drink. We'll all hunker down and work out the whos, hows, whys, and wherefores of the caravan and the camp: we need bands to come and friends to participate, so come on down-- this one's going to be an adventure.

At the Comet on Thursday, Feb 3

2011-01-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

We're rolling on over to The Comet next Thursday, because (let's face it) February needs a little help in the fun department. We're firing up the sounds with Ahyahuasca Travellers, Serial Hawk, and Noise-a-Tron... a multi-faceted show, with a lot of different colors on the palette.

Thursday, February 3

ubik. at The Comet
w/ Ahyahuasca Travellers
& Serial Hawk
& Noise-a-Tron
Show at 9:00 - $6.00

First listen

2011-01-18T16:26:00.000-08:00

We've been talking about it for a while, and yes: there is a new album in the works. We're done mixing, ready to move forward, but here's a glimpse of one song from the upcoming A Hideous Triumph of Form and Function:

Play eltit gnos

We've got to ship the album off the the mastering engineer now... but there it is-- proof that we do have songs recorded and ready to go. Hooray for the new album!

Christmas Show!

2010-12-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

Not to blow your minds, but... Christmas is boring! Even if you've got family in town (and Seattle is a city full of expatriates), most Christmas festivities are done by 4:00, presents are open, there's wrapping paper on the floor, food's been eaten, and there's nothing left to do for the rest of the day: everything's closed. Even the 24-hour grocery stores are closed on Christmas.

Well, we're fighting the good fight-- there's actually something going on this Christmas.

Saturday, December 25
802 NW 49th
Seattle WA
ubik.
7 Year Old Blind Girl
Numb
6:00-9:00

Yup, music starts and ends earlier than normal because it's a house party, and neighbors tend to get cranky when really loud things happen late into Christmas night.

Sunday: Music and Movies at the Highline

2010-12-06T22:40:00.000-08:00

For all the Seattlites that didn't get to see the show with ubik. and Absence of Light down in Portland, we have good news for you: we're bringing Absence of Light up here.

Sunday is movie night at the Highline, the awesome vegan restaurant on Broadway, so we're bringing bands for sound and silent films for visuals. This one's on the books for Sunday, December 12th. We've had some last minute shake-ups, and we're going to bring in another band to cover a cancellation, but for right now, we have Absence of Light, ubik., and The Bell Witch (which features members of Lethe).

We'll keep you posted when we finalize the line-up, but you should definitely come to the Highline on the 12th.

Big weekend between Seattle and Portland

2010-11-30T01:43:00.000-08:00

ubik.s taking a weekend-- we're back at the Galway on Friday night (with Order of the Gash up from Portland), and then we're going down to Portland on Saturday... so, a large Seattle/Portland exchange this week. This is pretty excellent, especially since we don't get out of town as much as we should.

Friday, December 3
ubik. @ The Galway Arms
w/ Order of the Gash
& Barefoot Barnacle
& Guns of Barisal
9:00pm - 21+

Saturday, December 4
ubik. @ Pocket Sandwich
5245 NE 15th Ave
Portland, OR
w/ Absence of Light
& Fugue
& Honduran
House Party - donations at the door

Halloween (sort of)

2010-10-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

Halloween's on a Sunday, so we're easing the party up a day (anyone want to argue the superiority of sundays over saturdays? anyone? Motion passed) and playing our Halloween show on Saturday night. We're playing at the Galway in the University District, there's a great line-up, and we think we've got our costumes sussed...

Saturday, October 30th
ubik. @ The Galway Arms
Halloween Bash
w/ Squalora
& Barefoot Barnacle
& Salo
9:00pm - 21+

ubik. and Rollergirls

2010-10-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

guess the silence got out of hand... We didn't mean to tune out for so long, but we've been doing some writing, and the last couple weeks also had ubik. in our mixer's studio, working on the new record. So, there is newness in the pipe.

Beyond that, ubik.s back on stage this Friday-- we're with the Rockers and Rollers 5 fundraiser. This might be plagiarisy, but I'm going to grab the writeup from the Tilted Thunder Rail Birds:

Come and join us for Rockers & Rollers 5, a fundraiser for Seattle’s non-profit banked track roller derby league. We've got an awesome line up (SHEDU, Lucid Spiral, and ubik.) and while you're rocking, you'll be helping us get one step closer to rolling on our banked ...track! With your help, we've gotten oh-so-close to getting our track - come and help us make our dream a reality! ...and don't forget, the sooner we HAVE a track,... the sooner you'll be able to WATCH us bout on it!!

So the show post looks like this:

Rockers and Rollers 5
ubik. @ Chop Suey
w/ Lucid Spiral
Shedu
$10 (tickets) - 9:00pm - 21+

Chop Suey on Saturday

2010-08-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

So ubik.s been playing a lot after emerging from the studio, but this is the last one on the books for a while... also, we've been playing some lower-key, DIY style shows lately, and this next one's up in a bigger club, so it's going to be a much different show than the last couple. We're on board for Witchburn's CD release show this saturday at the Chop Suey-- this'll be a large one. There are even tickets on sale (that's not a usual thing for us).

Saturday, August 21
Witchburn's CD Release @ The Chop Suey
w/ ubik.
Stone Axe
Supernauty
$8.00 - 8:00pm - 21+

Overtaking Ballard this saturday

2010-08-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

It is time once again to descend upon the Josephine, Ballard's DIY venue (over by the Tin Hat), which is a neat, low-key space with... er... slightly fewer rules than your more standard venues. We've got a good line-up for this one (ubik.s wanted to play with Goly Gim again ever since our first time with them), so here's all the relevant info for this one:

Saturday, August 14th
ubik. @ The Josephine
w/ Goly Grim
Carrion Cathartid
Somnomballistic
$5 - 21+

Extra special show on Saturday

2010-07-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

ubik.s show on Saturday night would be special if it were just Tyler's birthday, and it would be special if it were just The Ever Changing Sky's last show, but both? Friends, that's an extra special show. It's scientifically verifiable (we checked). Combined with the fact that we're holding this event at the Monkey Pub, the most fun, homey, informal venue in town, where every gig is a party and the drinks are fantastically inexpensive, that may make it an even more extra special show... but the maths to verify that are too complex for us to work out.

Saturday, July 31
ubik. @ The Monkey Pub
w/ The Ever Changing Sky
& Scyphozoa
$5 - 21+

This one's going to be an actual party, because it's Tyler's birthday, and there's no reason not to see the Ever Changing Sky's last show... this is one of our favorite Seattle bands, and we're really going to miss them.

Galway on Thursday, and then camping

2010-07-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the short notice on this one (I doubt our feed reader will even post this note to the ubik. Facebook account until after the gig... but so be it), but we're opening a show at the Galway Arms tomorrow. Touring bands need our (and by extension, your) support. And gas money.

Thursday, July 22
ubik. at the Galway Arms
w/ The Mall
Adarna
Lasers for Eyes
8:00PM

and we're opening: ubik.s on stage at 9:00 sharp, so don't be late.

After that, it's off to Beer Metal Summer Camp, which is going on all this weekend. Out at Lost Lake, there will be tons of bands there, and ubik. will be playing on Saturday night.

our return: the Rendezvous

2010-07-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

ubik.s been out of the live show game for a little bit, taking time off for the studio. So, yes, the next record is finished (well, recording, anyway-- there's still mixing and mastering to be done), but so is our break: we're returning to the stage this Friday at the Rendezvous, which has always been one of our favorite venues.

ubik. at The Rendezvous
w/ Labryrinth & the Desert
& Fire or Flood
& Michelle Pannell
10:00PM

Miss Us?

2010-07-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

Phew... the studio is hard work, and it kind of precluded updating the shows page for a while (don't worry-- it's updated now). ubik. hasn't been seen in the clubs for a little bit, but shows have been booked, and we will be playing out and around for the rest of the summer.

Past that, we've put the mics on the instruments, laid down the tracks, stuck Michelle in a vocal booth... all that fun stuff, and now everything's been recorded. There's still mixing to be done, of course, so there's going to be a bit of wait before you get a new ubik. record, but it is absolutely on its way.

Time out

2010-05-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

So this has been a massive block of activity by your friends in ubik. And now it's done. ubik. is officially on hiatus-- we're buckling down for practice, writing, and solidifying our as-yet-unrecorded material... because June is going to see us into the studio.

Yup: The World Is A Glorious Biomechanical Nightmare is nearly two years old, and it's about time for ubik to put out a new album. That's the plan for our immediate future... we'll emerge from the cocoon in July.

Sunday night at El Corazon

2010-05-10T23:44:00.000-07:00

We know the last post said that we were done playing shows for a while... which was true at the time, and yes: we are taking June off for recording, but Mongoloid Village is coming to town, and there was an opening on the bill. So, long story short, this Sunday will be our last show for a while. Period.

Sunday, May 16th
ubik. @ El Corazon
w/ Slave Traitor
and Mongoloid Village
8:00 - $6 - 21+

Thursday night at the Funhouse

2010-05-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

ubik.s coming to the end of a pretty dense block of shows: we're up on Thursday night at the Funhouse, and this is going to be our last show for a bit. We're playing with BLCKWVS from Germany, Ninth Moon Black from Eugene, and The Ever Changing Sky (from here, like us). Here's the listing:

Thursday, May 6
ubik. @ The Funhouse
w/ Ninth Moon Black
& ~~BLCKWVS~~ (canceled)
& The Ever Changing Sky
9:30 - $6 - 21+

ubik.s the opening band for this one (don't be late), but we're heading into the studio to do the next album (yay!), so it's going to be a while before the next one.

Friday night, with Black Breath

2010-04-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

ubik.s the opening band for Black Breath's tour kickoff this friday... and that's pretty awesome. They're heading out this weekend, and we're seeing them off: it's going to be a big, loud, fun show. If you want to see ubik. on Friday, you've got to come out early-- we're playing first.

Here's the show post:

Friday, April 30
Black Breath's Tour Kickoff at The Black Lodge
w/ Black Breath
& Anhedonist
& Christian Mistress
& ubik.
9:00 - All Ages

Happy Birthday

2010-04-09T00:08:00.000-07:00

It looks like April is Birthday Month-- we've got two birthdays to break out for you.

The first is Octal's birthday party this Saturday:

Saturday, April 10th
ubik. @ The Morgue
w/ Neutralboy
Goly Grim
Mindless Thuggs
8:00 - All Ages

and then we've got Timm's birthday at the Funhouse on the 24th:

ubik. @ The Funhouse
w/ Rum Rebellion
Jesus Fucking Christ
The Mother's Anger
9:00 - $6 - 21+

Keeping current

2010-03-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

So there's a lot different over at ubik.crumpled.com-- we've heavily redesigned the entire site, and re-worked the news feed. It really wasn't up to us (google and blogger.com kind of forced the issue), but the whole thing is charging along pretty well now. The bugs are pretty much worked out of the new layout... but the whole site runs a lot better on Firefox than Internet Exploder.

...and, of course, we've got a show on Saturday-- we're at the Galway Arms, Honduran is coming up from Portland, and Sworming is completing the bill. If you haven't been to a show at the Galway: this place is always nuts-- it's a small bar, there's almost no separation between the band and the crowd, and things always get pretty insane at Galway shows. Here's the listing:

Saturday, March 13
ubik. at The Galway Arms
w/ Scourge Schematic
Sworming
Honduran
9:00 - $5 - 21+

Sunday show in Georgetown

2010-02-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

ubik.s got an afternoon show in Georgetown tomorrow, opening for some touring bands.

February 28
The Morgue
w/ Nux Vomica
Order Of The Vulture
5:00 - $6 - All Ages

big doings in the subculture

2010-01-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

first off, tomorrow is the official release of the Subcultural Awakening compilation, which features a bunch of excellent Seattle bands in a wide variety of genres (including ubik. Happy to be a part). The releasing of the comp has been riddled with obstacles and fraught with danger... but it's finally swinging over the last lava pit, jumping the last crocodile, and arriving tomorrow.

so we've got that going for us.

ubik. is also playing Subcultural Awakening's No Guitar Fest, spanning february 6th and 7th at the Josephine. We're playing on saturday, the 6th... and there'll most likely be an official show post very soon, but for now, it dovetails nicely with the comp release.

Monkey Pub show on Saturday

2010-01-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

Good news, party people-- even though The Monkey Pub doesn't do live music any more, they're making an exeption for us. ubik. has always loved the Monkey, our home away from home, and those shows are always tons of fun. We're going on with Slave Traitor and Evangelist, and the whole event is going to be a riot: our Monkey Pub track record is pretty fantastic (any public vomiting incidents are easily overshadowed by panda and bunny suits).

ubik. at The Monkey Pub
w/ Slave Traitor
& Evangelist
9:00 - $3 - 21+

Not only is this one of the cheapest shows you can see, it's also a rare breed-- Monkey shows are hard to come by, and they've always been some of our favorites.

Michelle's Birthday-- House show tomorrow!

2009-12-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

ubik.s playing a house party for Michelle's birthday in Northgate tomorrow. We've always loved playing house parties, and this one's sort of for us (we've been waiting for Michelle to turn 13 for a while now. It's very exciting)

December 19
ubik. @ The 526 Trashcan House
w/ 7 Year Old Blind Girl
& Shadow of the Torturer
& Churchburner
8:00 - Free!

ubik.s back. everybody dance!

2009-12-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

RESCHEDULED... (we're back on)

this has officially been ubik.s longest break-- we haven't played a Seattle show since our tour kickoff. We know you all missed us, but we're about to set the world to rights: we've got a new home base, we're working on new material, and we're playing a new show.

Damn skippy: this is a show post.

Sunday, December 13
ubik. at The Comet
w/ He Whose Ox Is Gored
Dirty Sidewalks
Into The Storm
8:00 - $5 - 21+

Back in Seattle

2009-09-25T22:19:00.001-07:00

Ha! Made it!

ubik.s taken our first run down the west coast, and the band members, Joe (who did merch for us the entire time), and Bruno (the 1977 Dodge van, pulling a trailer full of gear) all made it there and back again in one piece. We'll go farther and longer next time (the first run made sure that we could do this without the van bursting into flames), but so far, so good.

Back in Seattle, ubik.s taking a little break: something we've never done before. We've put off playing shows to write and record, but the band has never actually had time off: it's been twice a week (plus shows) for a few years now. We'll be back out in the world in November.

Thanks to everyone who came out to all of our shows on the road: we had some excellent shows while we were out, played some fun places, and saw some great bands. Though things can turn out less than stellar, and a band can find itself playing a sports bar in Redding, CA, the grand whole of the tour was a great success, and we'll keep everyone posted about when we're heading out again.

We've got to throw some extra thanks to all of the kind, generous, and selfless people that really helped us along-- people who gave us space crash or couchsurf, fed us, bought us beer, and even made us breakfast, and all of the bands who waived their cut of the night's money to ubik. to keep gas in the van... these are people that really improve our view of the world. They make everything better.

Thanks again to everyone who helped us out, everyone who came to the shows, and finally to Joe: Joe came along with us, lived in a van for two weeks, and manned our merch table for no reward other than to just go out on tour with us (Joe was also a balancing presence in the mix, and probably contributed to us all surviving).

You'll be hearing from us soon, but right now, ubik.s on break.

On Tour Now!

2009-09-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

On the road...

Of note: we've had one cancellation: We're in the bay area on Friday the 18th, but the venue we had booked backed out on us... so we're going to be in town, we want to play, and we're up for anything. If you've got a line on a show, get in touch with us: ubikband@gmail.com

We're heading out-- come see us off on Friday.

2009-09-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

Friday night is ubik.s farewell show, as we head out on tour. The kickoff show is at the Joesphine with The Ever Changing Sky, and after that we head south. So we've got this show:

Friday, September 11
Tour Kickoff @ the Josephine
w/ The Ever Changing Sky
More Bells, Then Whistles
Armed With Legs
9:00 - All Ages!

And from there... we're on our way, so we hope to see everyone in Portland, Eugene, Sacramento, Stockton, San Fransisco, and Oakland (come on out, all). We'll post the big tour schedule/map to keep everyone current

(though, if you're reading this in Facebook, you've got to click View Original Post to see the tour schedule)

Big show this friday

2009-08-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

This is a big one: we've got a slot opening for Jucifer this Friday, which is a hell of a bill to be on. Not only do we have the famously loud (and altogether huge-sounding) headliner, but some of the best Seattle bands around are also on the bill with us.

Friday, August 28
Jucifer @ El Corazon
w/ Lesbian
& Plaster
& ubik.
& Sod Hauler
8:00 - $10/Adv. $12/DOS - 21+
Buy Tickets

This is our last show before we kick off our September tour, so you should definitely come se the show on friday: it's a great lineup, and we want to make the show a raging success. Because it's a bigger show, it's a Tickets at Ticketswest kind of deal... but that's the way these things work.

Coming in August

2009-07-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

July is almost gone, so ubik.s hiatus is pretty much done-- we're gearing up for our August shows, and then for our tour down the west coast in September.

First thing's first: ubik.s playing a Subcultural Awakening benefit show on Saturday, August 1st. These have been held on the first saturday of every month throughout the summer, and we're playing the last of the lot (summer, we hardly knew ya)... so it's us, The Abadox, Fortress Of Victory, and Barefoot Barnacle. These shows always go down at The Josephine, which is an all ages, DIY venue, and when the shows are done, Subcultural will be releasing a compilation CD of all the participating bands.

Then, on the 14th, we're playing another DIY show The FBK House down in Georgetown, this time with Requin (and most likely a third band... we're working on that). FBK shows start late-- music is at 11:00-- but this one's a house party and there's no charge at the door.

At the end of the month, we're playing with Jucifer at El Corazon... and that's a pretty big deal for us: it's a Friday night at a bigger club with a touring band (we don't get to do that much). Sod Hauler and Plaster are on this bill with us (along with one other band, as yet unnamed), and because it's a bigger show, there are tickets on sale at Ticketswest.

Finally, the tour is getting booked, so we're setting up to hit the road and visit everyone south of Seattle (there's people down there, right?) We've got a show schedule that will keep current as we add more dates:

changing times

2009-06-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's a little unofficial, but ubik.s playing at the Manifesto Hotshop on Friday night. This glass studio has been Michelle's home for a while now, and, though it's closing down, it's going out with a bang... the party should be pretty outrageous. It's not a show, and it's not a venue, but it's okay if we invite friends, and that includes all of you, right?

Similarly, we're coming up on the first Saturday of the month, and that means there's another Subcultural Awakening show at the Josephine. These shows are always all-ages, and they're benefit shows for the first Subcultural Awakening comp, a multi-band CD of largely unheralded Seattle music... because there's more to this town than just indie-pop.

big, big atmosphere: coming this friday

2009-06-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

A june show and a june show post: ubik.s returning to the Rendezvous on Friday (June 19)... which is a great venue for us: we sound really good there, they have a screen for projections, and it's a really comfortable room (a lot more comfortable than the December show we played there. Hooray for summer).

Friday, June 19
ubik. @ The Rendezvous
w/ Same-Sex Dictator
& Anon Remora
10:00 - $5 - 21+

Rendezvous shows usually start kind of late, so the show's at 10:00, and ubik. is the opening band... mostly because these shows feel their best when they get heavier as they go on. This bill is extremely interesting because all three bands have a lot of spaciousness and atmosphere built in, but there's also plenty of crushingly heavy density in there as well. This is a really cool line up, and a great show to be a part of.

Sunday at the Bit

2009-05-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the upcoming show was sent out on our mailing list and on the ole' myspace... what else? Oh, yeah: there's a show tomorrow and there's no show post. Let's fix that.

May 24
ubik. @ The Bit Saloon
w/ Sod Hauler,
& Sindios
8:00 - $5 - 21+

Fixed.

We're pretty excited about this one: it's a Sunday, but everyone has Monday off (yay!), and we get to play with Sindios and Sod Hauler... who are awesome.

forward...

2009-05-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

so, the Josephine's kind of an odd venue, eh? Last night's show turned out to be a lot of fun (and fairly foggy), but we're moving forward. ubik.s got a tour coming up in September, where we will bomb down I-5 as fast as the big blue van will carry us, crashing into venues as we go. We're also finishing up a recording of Cyclocosmia, which is going to be released on a 10" vinyl spit with The Ever Changing Sky... because that band and that medium both rule.

(though it will probably be streamed as an mp3 once we're done, too, so all the vinyl-haters will get to hear it. It'll be on the new album, too, when we get a new album out)

That, and Michelle's currently booking Subcultural Awakening benefit shows, which also happen at the Josephine, on the first Saturday of every month. These shows are highlighting the Seattle underground... the kinds of bands that don't get massive hype in the normal channels, mostly because they don't sound like everything else. The Subcultural Awakening shows are benefits-- the bands play for free-- and the proceeds are split between paying for the venue and putting out a Subcultural Awakening comp, which will be released in the fall. ubik.s going to be on there, too: we're playing the last show of the season, August 1st.

Before then, we've got a show coming up on Sunday, playing the Bit Saloon on May 24th with some excellent, excellent bands-- Sindios and Sod Hauler. But that's a few weeks off, and will get a proper show post in future.

Well that was interesting

2009-05-01T02:14:00.001-07:00

But what can you expect playing last on a Wednesday night? We decided to just wing it and have a little fun. It was pretty loose. This was the first time we've ever played a show without a setlist. And we couldn't play certain songs because of a problem with Michelle's vocal processor. But we'll get that fixed. Plus, we filled the Funhouse with fog! I couldn't see my drums for the first song. By the time it cleared just about everyone that was there for the other bands had left leaving our friends right up front. Michelle got someone to dance his ass off on stage for a shot. And so we finished with "Gwen", broke down, and went home.

Next up, we're playing at the Josephine with two out of town bands and one local. Abiku from Baltimore, JonnyX and the Groadies from Portland, and Are You a Cat? from Seattle. It's all ages too, which we haven't done in a while. This is going to be a fun, strange show.

It looka lika dis:

The Josephine
Abiku,
JonnyX and the Groadies,
ubik.,
& Are You a Cat?

9:00 - All Ages!

-The guy that hits things with sticks

Post Monkey-- we're at the Funhouse on Wednesday

2009-04-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

Though there are few things as riotous and just plain fun as a Monkey Pub show, we're topping off yesterday with an upcoming gig at the Funhouse. This one's a party being thrown by the Dead Baby Bike crew, so it will probably get pretty crazy.

Wednesday, April 29
ubik. @ The Funhouse
w/ Skwish,
& Fairies Wear Boots (Black Sabbath cover band)
9:30 - $3 - 21+

Saturday Show at the Monkey

2009-04-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

ubik's up this weekend at the Monkey Pub, one of our favorite neighborhood haunts-- The Monkey is an excellent little place in the U-District where the drinks are cheap, and if you smoke, you can have a great time giggling at the spectacle across the street in front of Dantes. We're playing with Blicky, who are excellent (you may have seen them play with us before), and the whole thing is as much fun as a bar show can get. The show post looks like this:

Saturday, April 25
ubik. @ The Monkey Pub
w/ Blicky
9:00 - $5 - 21+

coming soon...

2009-04-03T01:45:00.000-07:00

ubik.s usually in motion (we don't tend to do much resting) so there's plenty on our horizon-- we are about to head into the studio to get some recording done, which is pretty exciting. ubik.s planning to do a vinyl release: a split 10" with The Ever Changing Sky(who rule... we wouldn't split vinyl with just anybody). We're taping this weekend, so it'll be a little bit before mixed, mastered, and reproduced records are going to be available, but we'll keep you posted.

We will be laying down Cyclocosmia, which is the song that our patches are referencing. Patches and shirts (you know we have new shirts, right?) are available at shows, and speaking of shows...

Also, there's been a lot of booking in our world. This stuff is always available at our shows page, and this sort of thing is widgetable for quick reference.

The next one is at the Monkey on April 25th, and that's just the first of the batch.

come see us Saturday

2009-03-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

another show coming up, another show post for the world: we've got the opening slot at The Funhouse this Saturday (March 14) with Slave Traitor and Hellgrammite, and the crushingly dense Nine Worlds are in from Salt Lake City for this one (yay!)

We also have a new addition to our merch table-- ubik.s got shirts! (and you should definitely buy one)

March 14
ubik. @ The Funhouse
w/ Slave Traitor,
& Nine Worlds,
& Hellgrammite
9:00 - $6 - 21+

as promised

2009-02-17T02:01:00.000-08:00

toldya there'd be more...

so we have locked down an opening slot for Nine Worlds' visit to seattle come March 14th, at The Funhouse, which is plenty exciting for plenty of reasons. First off, we dig Nine Worlds. Second, an opening slot means we're breaking with our Funhouse tradition of going on at around 12:30/12:45. Third, our friends in Slave Traitor are also on the bill (we've been trying to set up a show with those guys). Add Hellgrammite to the mix and this is looking like a really excellent show.

Block, blocked

2009-02-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Well, that was a healthy block of shows, eh? Three in less than a week... I think we need a little break.

Much love and thanks to everyone who came out and backed us: everyone in Portland who hadn't seen us before, all of our friends down south who took care of us, all of the Seattle people who traveled south to show support... and tons of love to the die-hards who made it out on Wednesday (seriously-- you guys are core. Nobody goes out on Wednesdays)

And there's more to come. We'll have more set up soon, and we are working on getting some studio time, because it's about time for us to be recording again.

If you need to be in the loop, our mailing list signup is right here:

Home in warm beds until we rock wednesday

2009-02-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

Portland was fantastic-- much thanks to our awesome showmates and all of the J people that took care of us while we were down there (seriously: everyone's name starts with a J. They booked us, fed us, drank with us, gave us a place to sleep... Js one and all). We had a great time: it was our first Portland trip, and we're looking forward to going back.

And happy birthday Eric.

So now we have time to get some rest tomorrow, let the ubik.bassists wash their white shirts on Monday, head to Belltown on Tuesday (ubik. drinks in Belltown every tuesday night, at the Lava Lounge and/or Shortys... and you are all invited), and then go up to Capitol Hill on Wednesday night to play The Comet. We haven't played Seattle in a while, so you ought to come on down.

February 4th
ubik. at Comet Tavern
w/ One Undone
& Breviamor (OR)
8:00 - 21+ - $5

Hello Portland!

2009-01-30T01:19:00.000-08:00

While overplaying has presented a few drawbacks and led to us playing fewer shows, fewer shows have led to BIG GAPS in posts... which is its own problem. We are making the most of our time: ubik. now has patches, we're finalizing our T-shirt design (shirts soon, folks), and we're locking down our first ever cover song. So: time well spent.

But not to detract from the present: we're playing Portland this weekend, and however many Portland people we have really ought to attend, as we don't get down there very often. Or, ever. Seriously, this is our first trip.

So this is a repost of our show post... now with fliers.

January 30th
ubik. @ Slim's
w/ Mongoloid Village,
& Exit Collapse,
& Brown (of Tecumseh)
8:00 - 21+ - Free!

January 31st
ubik. @ The Know
w/ Order Of The Gash,
& 57 Octaves Below
7:00 - 21+ - $3

Taking a weekend in Portland

2009-01-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

Well, taking the zombies downtown for New Years Eve was a lot of fun-- lots of love to everyone who turned pasty and bleeding and took up the moaning hoard of a marching band through Seattle. Definitely one of our better celebrations.

next up, we're heading south. We're booked in Portland for Friday the 30th and Saturday the 31st (you know, making the most of our travel time). This is our first Portland trip, so any support our southern people can send our way would be awesome.

Here are the listings:

January 30th
ubik. @ Slim's
w/ Mongoloid Village,
& Exit Collapse,
& Brown (of Tecumseh)
8:00 - 21+ - Free!

January 31st
ubik. @ The Know
w/ Order Of The Gash
8:00 - 21+ - $TBA

what's this white stuff? why does the traffic suck?

2008-12-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

Super ultra-thanks for everyone who came out and partied on Friday... most of the town was pretty well snowed in, and the ubik.van has a new set of chains (never knew we needed chains until this show), but the whole thing was fun, even if Requin and Slave Traitor didn't make it. The Ever Changing Sky were excellent as always, and Jeremy from John Wayne Autopsy filled in last minute (thanks, Jeremy!) after all the cancellations.

... and, with any luck, we'll catch up with Slave Traitor and Requin a show or two down the line.

From the Monkey to the Vu

2008-12-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, the Monkey rocked (though there was slightly more puke than at most of our shows. Not sure how much, it's something we've never quantified) and we're setting up for the next one. The Next show's at the Rendezvous, on December 19th for Michelle's birthday.

December 19th
The Rendezvous' Jewel Box Theater
Michelle's birthday party!
w/ Requin,
Slave Traitor,
& The Ever Changing Sky
10:00 - 21+ - $5

up and coming

2008-11-10T22:46:00.000-08:00

ubik.s got a show on the horizon-- we're at the Monkey Pub on Saturday, November 29th with Barefoot Barnacle. That's nothing but big happy goodness: we love Barnacle, and we love the Monkey (it's as close to a house party as a venue can get-- playing the Monkey is like being home with friends). The show post looks like this:

November 29th
Monkey Pub
w/ Barefoot Barnacle
9:00 - 21+ - $5

beyond that, we've been taking our downtime and working hard. There'll be a new song in the setlists soon (maybe for the Monkey Pub, maybe not-- this is one of our fast, complicated ones), and we're settling into our new practice space. Also on the horizon, we're looking into some vinyl: November might be a recording month for us.

Saturday Show, updates and directions

2008-10-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

So, about the show on Saturday: The Greenhouse said we should advertise the show, so we've got a map. It's a DIY house party show, so chances are, not everyone knows how to get there...

and, we've got the updated show post:

October 25th
ubik. @ The Greenhouse Halloween Party
w/ Sod Hauler,
& Anon Remora,
& Brothers of the Sonic Cloth
8:00 - ALL AGES - Suggested $3 donation

Greenhouse lineup change

2008-10-23T12:21:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, Lesbian had to cancel their headlining spot at the Greenhouse Halloween show as well as some of their upcoming tour. So Sod Hauler will be taking over. Don't worry, this is still going to be a great show. Don't be late because we're playing first!

busy week ahead

2008-10-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

we're pretty excited about our show next saturday-- we're playing at the Greenhouse (an awesome house known for great house party shows) with amazing bands: the amazing, dirgy Lesbian, and Tad Doyle's new epic outing, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth. This has been a big star on our calander for a while, and the we've got posted like this:

October 25th
ubik. @ The Greenhouse Halloween Party
w/ Lesbian,
Anon Remora,
& Brothers of the Sonic Cloth
8:00 - ALL AGES - $3 suggested donation

and then we got a call-- a band dropped out of an opening position on the Creature Feature show down at Studio 7. That makes this one kind of a wierd bill for us to be playing, and kind of a short notice listing, too... but that's one of the cool things about this show: it's very different from what we usually do.

October 23rd
ubik. @ Studio Seven
w/ Creature Feature,
Black Houses,
& Girl On Fire
7:00 - ALL AGES/BAR W/ID - $10 Adv./$12 DOS

#20 in the Monkey Pub jukebox!

2008-10-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

We're happy to announce that we are now in the best jukebox in Seattle! So next time you're having a drink at the Monkey, put on some Melvins, Killing Joke, Skinny Puppy, Toadies, Pixies, Ween, and oh yeah, us!

Thanks Anthony!

5303 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105

Oh, by the way, keep in mind that the last song ends with over 3 minutes of cymbal squealing. The choice is up to you. ;)

ubik. needs a place to live

2008-10-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

after a successful voyage to Everett and back again, ubik.s back to work fleshing out new material and, with any luck, we'll be back in the studio doing some work on getting a split 10" done (it'd be cool to have vinyl)

Besides that, we were supposed to be out of our old practice space September 1st... but we just don't have a new place to play yet. If anyone's got a line on a practice space, let us know. We're in need. Seriously.

Last, we've got a show coming up on the 25th, which is going to be awesome.

back to everett

2008-10-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Everett tends to see us as a pretty strange band... but so be it: the crowd is always pretty responsive, and we make an impression. Friday's show went remarkably well, even if we were the only one of three bands to play a real set. It was actually sort of gratifying; we filled about an hour because of the other two bands' complications (departing members, singers too sick to sing), and could have filled more if we had to. Being the "Girls Rock" showcase, it was undoubtedly the place to play Let's Hunt and Kill Gwen Stefani.

Anyway, it looks like we're going to play fewer shows-- three weekends in a row to empty floors and/or blank faces can get a touch depressing, and, honestly, it does us very little good. On one hand: a friend mentioned her band stripped their schedule down to playing one show every three months, and at the shows they did play, attendance skyrocketed. This point is made more clear by several people who like us saying "You're playing in 2 weeks right? I'll just catch you next time."

On the other hand, if the show is packed full of people who already dig us, then we have missed out on every opportunity to play a little show where we impress one or two people who had never heard us before.

The happy medium, which is what we're probably going to be doing, is to cherry pick: only take the really good shows, play a little more sparsely (twice a month, maximum). The real trick would be to begin opening for bands more popular than ours, and exposing this music to people who didn't know about us-- by no means is it a bad thing for us to play shows for our fans and friends, but "headlining" when you're as underground as we are... well, it has its limits.

ubik. in Everett on Friday

2008-09-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

so it's to be another northward trek for us on friday-- which is cool, because we've only played Everett once before. The tagline on this show is "Girls Rock!" (which, though true, only applies to 1/4th of ubik.), so we're opening for two other female-fronted bands out at Flights Pub. It's a free show, but we are opening, so broke is cool, but late isn't going to work out.

Here's the show post:

October 3rd
ubik. @ Flights Pub
w/ Truth Failed
& Holophrase
9:00 - FREE! - 21+

hmmm... online music sales

2008-09-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

no one in ubik. really uses iTunes, so we're a little out of this loop... but The World Is A Glorious Biomechanical Nightmare is actually available for sale at the iTunes store. Lots of people use iTunes, so if any of you lovely, wonderful people are logged in, plugged in, and iTuning, you can shoot us some reviews in the iTunes world, and we'd love you for it.

ALL AGES show this Friday

2008-09-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

We don't play nearly enough all ages show, so it's excellent to have this one in the mix.

September 26th

ubik. @ The L.A.B.
w/ Point Blank Range
& Enemy Camp
7:00 - $5 - ALL AGES!

Come to the High Dive: Sunday, Sep 21

2008-09-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a little late on the show post... but we've sent out the mailing list and done the MySpace event invites, so everyone's probably already in the know.

But show posts are a tradition, so:

September 21st

ubik. @ High Dive
w/ 200 lb. Spider
& The Ever Changing Sky
7:00 - $5 - 21+

Shows coming up

2008-09-10T16:21:00.001-07:00

Remember-- there isn't a show at the LAB on September 13th. (well, there is, but it doesn't have anything to do with us, and is therefore meaningless. Ha!) I know this stuff is on our shows page, but we don't want anyone's night to go south because they didn't know.

We are, however, at the LAB on September 26th... it's still a weekend (a Friday), it's still, all ages, and it's still free.

Even before that, though we're at the High Dive on Sunday, the 21st (which will serve you booze and charge you money, so it'll be sort of a different vibe), where we will be debuting a new song... if all goes according to plan.

...and then we go to Everett

Also-- ubik. is in the market for a practice space again, so if anyone knows of a place we can play on Wednesdays and Sundays (usually after 7:00PM), let us know.

new toys! ubik. on Twitter

2008-09-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Not to be left out of the thundering progress of the internet machine, ubik. can now provide all of you wonderful people with Twitter status updates. What's cool about this, you ask? Well twitter is a micro-blogging tool that does short bursts of info (I think it tops out at 150 characters), but is integrated into pretty much everything, and is a big deal in the Web 2.0 landscape. It's already the default Status ticker at ReverbNation, for example, and we've got it at the top of our News page as well.

Since Twitter can be updated by cell phone, it's pretty keen for at-the-show updates (as in: when we are going on) and keeping people posted while we're on the road and away from computers.

Abort! Abort!

2008-09-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

Okay... a couple boffs, mix-ups, and random hits have taken a few shows off the boards.

First-- There is no show on September 6th in Queen Anne. We're not going to play that show, but will probably play Floyd's in Queen Anne at a later date.

Second-- No all-ages show at the L.A.B. on September 13th. There's a really crappy story behind that, but we're not there on the 13th. We are penciled in for September 26th, and we will probably be playing then.

It's better to play shows than not, but these things happen.

CD for sale online!

2008-08-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

CD IN STORES NOW!

ubik.s album The World Is A Glorious Biomechanical Nightmare is available now both online and at record stores around seattle. Buy it online here:

... or you can find the CD at these stores in Seattle:

Cellophane Square - University District
4538 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 634-2280

Silver Platters - Queen Anne
In Lower Queen Anne (at the old Tower location)
701 5th Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 283-3472

Silver Platters - Northgate
9560 1st Ave NE,
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 524-3472

on sale now: our new album!

2008-08-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

the first ubik. album, The World Is A Glorious Biomechanical Nightmare, has just been released, and is currently available at Silver Platters record stores in Queen Anne and Northgate. We'll have these available at our shows, of course, and we're going to have them for sale online very soon (for anyone outside Seattle). For now, we're just happy to have the discs in-hand, and thrilled to have them in stores.

This is where you can get them:

Silver Platters - Queen Anne
In Lower Queen Anne (at the old Tower location)
701 5th Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 283-3472

and

Silver Platters - Northgate
9560 1st Ave NE,
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 524-3472

Come play with us on Thursday

2008-08-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

We're setting up at the Funhouse again this Thursday (August 14th), going on with the King's Cabaret and Burlesque show. Kind of an unusual gig for us... but that's a good thing. Points for variety and the rest of the fun stuff.

The show post looks like this

August 14th

ubik. @ The Funhouse
The King's Cabaret Burlesque
w/ Dino Haak
9:30 / $5

...but that's not even the half of it. There are tons of performers and acts for this one, so this should be a fun night out.

keeping it going...

2008-08-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to everyone who came out to see us at the Rendezvous-- It was a Wednesday show (never anyone's favorite going-out-night), it was too hot to move (and even hotter in the Jewelbox Theater, where we played), and we didn't start until after 1:00AM... so, for everyone who saw us, you are the die-hards, wonderful people all.

Sorry we only played for about 20 minutes, though; it was just the way the night went, and we had to shut down before we could play all the songs on our setlist simply because the Rendezvous was closing down.

If you want to see a bit more, though, we're playing again really soon: an all ages show this sunday at the Squid & Ink, down in Georgetown. It'll be a longer set (promise), and it's always good to play all-ages shows.

last wednesday, this wednesday

2008-08-02T23:04:00.001-07:00

ubik. had a great show at the final party at the Happy Lucky houseparty-- we love playing house parties, and were really lucky to have Jinza there to keep people off the pedalboards and to keep the mosh pit off the band. We'll be reuniting with the King's Cabaret later this month, even though the Happy Lucky Place is shut down, we're getting together at the Funhouse on the 14th.

...but that's still to come. This Wednesday we're playing a Ladies Choice Presents show, returning pretty quickly to the Rendezvous. That mean's we're running the visuals with the show... though it's important that the class not get so rowdy the teacher has to flip the lights on during the filmstrip (that was a real buzzkill last time).

oh, wow...

2008-07-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

jesus... now that was a fucking Monkey Pub show!

the show completely kicked ass, several of us drank way too much afterward-- the whole night was a big ball of good. We have to thank everyone that came out, not only skipping the Capitol Hill Block Party (which, as far as we can tell, is largely haircut based), but also The Melvins. For as much as I love me some Melvins, saturday was one of the amazingly fun ubik. shows. Yay!

we've got a lot on our plate right now-- we have a house party to play on wednesday, to a Ladies Choice show at the Rendezvous on sunday, and more... check out our shows page for more details.

Also, the CD is at the pressing plant, and we're pretty excited to get those discs pressed in everyone's hands.

Saturday show at the Monkey...

2008-07-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's Monkey Pub time again-- this time ubik's up with the B-Side Project. Everyone probably knows by now how ubik. feels about The Monkey, but this time it's enhanced by a panda suit. Joel will be in full panda garb, matched by Monkey Pub stalwart (and bartender) Anthony in a bunny suit.

This will make everyone else in the room look comparatively normal. Face it-- you can't pass up that kind of opportunity.

Here's the show post:

July 26th
ubik. @ The Monkey Pub
w/ The B-Side Project
$5 / 9:30

Thanks for all the orders

2008-07-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, crew, the pre-orders on the new ubik. album are now closed-- thanks to everyone who placed an order, but now it is time to count our pennies, fill out the forms, and send that puppy off to be mass produced. So if you didn't pre-order a disc, you'll have a crack at the instant gratification version (hand us money, get a disc!) in another show or two. We'll also be selling them online.

Coming slightly sooner than the album, ubik. does have an upcoming show at the Monkey Pub, with the B-Side project. It's a saturday night show at one of the few bars we always go to-- the people are good, the drinks are cheap, and (when we're not playing) the jukebox is fantastic.

Last Chance to order

2008-07-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

ubik.s just about ready to send our stuff off to the plant. This disc is ready to go, and go it shall. We've got to get these into production in order to get the pre-order people their copies by early August (as promised)... therefore, this weekend is your last chance to get on the pre-order bus.

Come monday, you'll just have to wait.

The link's still the same... but here it is, regardless:

$6.50*

*The pre-order has closed-- we're putting in the order and will have physical CDs for you soon.

Pre-order the new ubik.EP today!

2008-07-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

The 6-song CD, The World Is a Glorious Biomechanical Nightmare, is finished and will be packaged and printed before the summer is out. Pre-ordering helps a band finance the physical production of the disc, and speeds up the process of getting them produced.

The CD sells for $5.00, but we need to cover shipping and packaging (we need to buy a bunch of CD mailers), as well as covering PayPal's back end, so the flat price for the Pre-Order is $6.50. That gets the disc on your doorstep as fast as the postmaster general gets the CDs to us.

Benefit show on Saturday

2008-07-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

ubik.s playing the Benefit Show for Metal in Iraq this saturday, which is a benefit show for Acrassicaudi (the band that is the subject of the documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad, which played at SIFF this year).

July 5th
ubik. @ the Rendezvous
w/ The Keeper
& Shogun
$5 / 10:00PM

The Rendezvous is one of our favorite places to play, and we'll have our video backdrop rolling for the set (the Rendezvous is fantastic for video).

mutantfest pics, anyone?

2008-07-01T20:27:00.001-07:00

so... ubik. had a great time at the autonomous mutant festival, but we don't have any pics of the shows. I know, I know, if we wanted photos, we should have made arrangements, but if anyone has any ubik. at mutantfest pictures, please send them to us.

We're at ubikband@gmail.com

MutantFest 2008

2008-06-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

ubik. partook in the Autonomous Mutant Festival (or AMF) last weekend, and man, what a weekend. We pulled in on Friday just in time to catch (A)symetric Warfar(e) start their show at Wondercamp at sundown. Then it was Red Rapture, then ubik., then In The Age Of Terminal Static, Wondercamp's hosts. That first night was fraught with difficulties as we tried to work out generator power and basic Show At Camp fundamentals (which we'd never had to deal with before). Michelle's processor hates generators, and we powered her with the electricity from (A)symetric Warfar(e)'s completely kick-ass tour van (a former bread truck).

ubik.s sound is fairly dependent on Michelle's ability to echo and distort... that Digitech vocal processor (the purple people eater) has been tweaked and customized over time to the point where Michelle really plays it like an instrument over several songs-- recording the EP (almost done!) was a crash course on how inimitable that thing is. You can't take a dry vocal and make it sound like Michelle sang it through the Purple People Eater with post-effects-- you have to use the original effected vocals. We can't live without it.

We played pretty much every song we knew that night... we didn't have a setlist, and everything ended with "what should we play next?" We didn't exactly put on a "show," but we played for a long time, to a big crowd, and everyone had a good time. We closed with The Planet's Kerploding!, and since Tyler's toes had frozen, we had to stop.

Saturday night at AMF went more smoothly, after we'd learned about generators, camp setups, and how to get all of this done. Red Rapture, ubik., and then In The Age Of Terminal Static again at Wondercamp-- (A)symetric Warfar(e) played over at Unicorn Camp that night, to one of the best mosh pits I've seen in years. ubik.s set leaned towards the mellow and the trippy, simply because Michelle's scream seems to scare off some of the more chemically enhanced campers. Of course, we still played Seven Feet Under, and we closed with No Such Thing As an Open-Ended Equation, but it was the kind of night where we brought out Silence, which isn't on our setlist too often.

The voyage was... eventful. After testing the ubik.van (now possibly named Rita, Edith, or Bruno) past Portland, plus another hundred-plus miles on Route 26, we learned that we do, thankfully, have a spare tire in there somewhere, but no jack. ubik.van was also carrying Andre, of Red Rapture, and Andre and Joel worked out a frightening-looking contraption out of a rock, a piece of lumber, and two borrowed jacks... and the wobbly, oversized spare tire happened. After limping to Madras for nearly an hour on a temporary spare (emblazoned with "do not exceed 55mph"-- I don't think we exceeded 45, due to wobble), we did learn that Les Schwab is the most awesome franchise in the country-- those guys had us rolling again in less time than it took to buy camp groceries.

We also had an odd issue where the van lost power and needed a jump. A nice woman attempted to pray over the engine (lord, please let this car start), but, for some reason, that didn't help. Jumper cables did, though. I think our van is more into Science than jesus, but, hey, whatever floats your boat. They were going to look us up on MySpace, and we don't want to seem ungrateful (we really needed that jump), but I can't imagine them digging a song like External Retraction... which is fairly overt in its anti-religious message. (unlike Glitch. I had to have that one explained to me.)

Regardless, we made it, there and back again. Andre maintains that the four of us actually manage to be more odorous than Jeremy (the other half of Red Rapture. If you're not listening to Red Rapture, it's your loss. Seriously)... but that was after a few days of camping. We're all really happy to be back in the land of toilets and showers again. Playing out of state let us meet some Oregoneons, and hopefully have a line on playing Portland sometime soon, which we've always wanted to do.

ubik.s playing in Seattle again in about two weeks, 4th of July weekend, and we're all geared up for the Autonomous Mutant Festival next year, too. We might stay longer and play later. We'll work it out.

camping gear

2008-06-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

ubik. is packed and ready to go-- we're southbound, playing the Autonomous Music Festival down in Oregon this weekend. The festival's already underway, buy we're there and playing on Friday and Saturday... so if you're coming down, we'll see you on the grounds (and we hope you have one of those huge, house-like tents, with a full bar).

If you're not camping, wish us (and our van) luck, and a speedy return.

new song

2008-06-12T20:00:00.001-07:00

proof that we are actually doing some mixing and will eventually deliver that EP we've been promising, a new recording of !!!!!! is up and online now.

ubik. never seems to name songs conventionally, but !!!!!! is practically Aphex Twin in its unpronounceability.

thanks for the wednesdays

2008-06-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone that came out on a Wednesday: it's not a big show night for most people, and it was good to see so many people come out. It was a really wild line-up, too, with Blicky and Black Noise Cannon. The sonic progression of the night was very cool.

ubik.s set was fraught with technical difficulties... but that sort of thing happens. As far as we can tell, the setlist is cursed. We tried to play it at Jimmy Z's, but it got chopped because of a couple line-up mix-ups and truncated stage times. Last night we attempted to play it again... but, like I said, this setlist is cursed. If Black Noise Cannon didn't loan us a bass amp, we wouldn't have gotten to play at all (we really owe them for that one). Setup difficulties meant we had to chop songs out of the accursed setlist again...

we didn't even know a setlist could be cursed.

ubik. @ the Central on the 11th

2008-06-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

This show was flying below radar and just popped up on us: ubik.s playing at The Central this coming Wednesday, Jun 11. Even though it was fairly short notice, we brought in some really good bands and have a solid line-up for the show. So here's the show post:

ubik. @ The Central
w/ Black Noise Cannon
& Blicky
$5 / 9:00 PM

The EP is chugging along and a ton of shows are up and listed for the near future, so we've got a busy couple of weeks ahead of us.

road gig

2008-06-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

Yay! ubik.van made it to Everett and back without exploding or leaving us stranded, curbside, with an uncarryable amount of gear (this was a watershed event for us). All in all, we had a successful night, though something got fouled up, and our line-up was married with another to create a 6-band bill. Craziness abounded and setlists were cut short, but it turned out to be an excellent show for pretty much everyone. We have to send out super-love to The Keeper for playing the opening set (going on fairly early)... it was a rough spot to fill, but they offered to do it, and helped a lot of people out in the process. And they covered a Tad song.

It was also very, very cool for so many people to make the Seattle-Everett trip to come see us-- that rules, and we love you. We needed some support on our first ever road gig, and it was really encouraging that you came out. Also-- man, we met a lot of new people in Everett. That was a great, positive environment, with lots of new folks hearing us for the first time and really digging the ubik.thing. We love that: it was great to play for all the people who just stopped by Jimmy Z's for their Saturday out not knowing what was going to happen. People were really in rare form for this one.

Some time fairly soon, we will have another gig in Seattle, hopefully before we head south to play Mutant Fest.

Saturday Night in Everett

2008-05-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is looking like your special day for northbound fun-- face it, you just don't make it up to Everett as much as you should. And if that's not convincing enough for you (why wouldn't it be?), ubik.ll be playing a show up in the Green Room at Jimmy Z's with The Keeper and The Ever Changing sky... which makes the show post look something like this:

ubik. @ Jimmy Z's
w/ The Ever Changing Sky
& The Keeper
1712 Hewitt Ave,
Everett, WA 98201
8:30 / Cost: $7

Remember: ubik.s in the Green Room, so enter the venue at the Green Room door, or you'll end up paying for the bands on the other stage.