Independence

ubik.s an independent band... always have been... so it's pretty cool that we've got a photo of us with Lloyd Kaufman (and Toxie, for good measure).

Kaufman, if you don't already know, is an independent film director and head of Troma Films.  You could say that Troma is kind of like Dischord records: they make their own movies, far outside of the mainstream Hollywood system.  There is no one to tell Troma that their movies are too weird, too gross, or too off-color... they make the movies they make because they want to make them.  They play outside the safe, cordoned-off area of mainstream films but usually feel a bit like a party-- while you're watching one of their pictures, it always feels like a lot of fun was had on the set of a Troma movie.

Any band operating on their own has to feel a little love for Lloyd and the citizens of Tromaville: they've been standing on their own for decades, and they've always made it work.

Sure, their movies aren't for everyone... but neither are we.

Seriously: how many ubik.reviews include the disclaimer that "ubik.s not for everyone?"

Downtime

it's been a bit quiet on the ubik.front, and for good reason: we've taken January to retreat to the practice space and hammer out some new material.  With playing shows as regularly as we do (and... c'mon... we do play around town quite a bit), it means that a lot of our practices are spent preparing for the next show.  Time off lets us slack off the old songs for a while and spend a few weeks working out all of our weird riffs and ridiculous, complicated changes... and jam on comfy, catchy progressions until they evolve from jams into songs.

That's us: we play both sides of that field.  But it still takes time and work.

Don't worry, though, because we're back in February-- we've been invited to compete in Grudge Rock, the Family Feudish show that takes place the first Thursday of every month at the Re-Bar.  That sounded like a lot of fun to us... but we'd only sign on if we were playing against a band we loved, and so: ubik. and Barefoot Barnacle!

And, honestly: we played our first show with Barnacle in 2007... we couldn't have a better face off than this.

Plus-- we'll have new material!  Hooray, writing hiatus!

Hail Santa!

There wasn't a post for our Radgoat Friday (with Rotties and Sioux City Pete and The Beggars)... which is our bad.  No post, no poster. Sorry about that: we're horrible, horrible slackers. 

Hail Santa III

at The Josephine       8:00PM

Friday, December 14 - Blood Etchings Tasty Gore Shaded Enmity Skinwalker Chemical Castration Divinorum

Saturday, December 15 Skelator Phalgeron ubik. Sarcalogos The Godbeast Inebriator V.D.

Suggested donation: $6-$10

To make up for it, here's what everyone that's even the slightest bit awesome in Seattle is doing this weekend: Hail Santa!  This is a full-on, two-day affair that is ubik. and twelve metal bands.  There are even custom shirts for this event (and the guy making them thinks it's hilarious that he gets to draw our name metaltastically, with blood dripping off the letters).

Everything's starting 8ish, and-- in traditional Josephine fashion-- donations are welcome at the door.

 

 

 

a hell of a run

Nasalrod at The Hop

That was a big block-- thanks to everyone who came out and saw us on the road.We had an awesome time touring with Nasalrod, covered a lot of ground, finally made it to Spokane, and finally played a show in Boise.  We have also been informed that we've been mispronouncing both cities for a long time.

Well, maybe not Spokane.  No matter which way you say that (spo-CAIN or spo-CAN), there's someone there to tell you it's pronounced the other way.

Anyway-- Right after we got back, we played with (waning), up from Sacramento. It was good to see them again, though the line-up lost one of the bands due to injury, so it was just us/them.

Then Odyssey came in from Spokane-- they got us our gig at The Hop; we brought them in and played with them at The Kraken... and Burning of I was there!  Yay! (ubik. loves Burning of I)

...and now that we've done all that, there's a little breathing room.  Michelle's now the Friday-night booker at The Mars Bar, and we're playing there at the end of next month.  We're also playing Hail Santa! this year, right around Christmas (obviously), and that's going to be fantastic as well.  As usual, upcoming shows are always on our show page.

Past that, we're going to take some time and do more writing, and we may be clocking some studio time soon as well.  More on that as it develops, but for now, check out this awesome write-up of our tour kickoff at the Funhouse.

ubik. & Nasalrod - mini-tour

We're hitting the road again-- just a quick jaunt this time-- but we're looping through Spokane and Boise to make up for the shows that got missed on our April tour.  We're bringing the awesome, awesome Nasalrod with us to, so we're kicking off in ubik.s home (Seattle) and closing up in Nasalrod's (Portland).

And... officially:

Wednesday, September 19th

ubik./Nasalrod mini-tour kickoff @ The Funhouse
with Nasalrod, Slave Traitor, & The Vatican
9:00PM - 21+

Aside from being our tour kickoff, this is almost definitely the last time ubik. will play The Funhouse before it closes down for good in October.

Thursday, September 20th

ubik./Nasalrod @ The Hop (Spokane)
with Nasalrod, Mercy Brown, & Dysfunktynal Kaos
7:00PM - All ages - $5 Tickets / $7 at the Door

Friday, September 21st

ubik./Nasalrod @ Ash-Hole Studios (Boise)
with Nasalrod, Gernika, 1d, & Raid
7:00PM - All ages - $5 Tickets / $7 at the Door

Saturday, September 22nd

ubik./Nasalrod ...
and things keep getting cancelled
We're figuring it out.

Sunday, September 23rd

ubik./Nasalrod @ The Foggy Notion (Portland)
with Nasalrod & Ix
9:00PM - 21+ - $4.00

Canadian Imports

Friday, July 21

ubik. @ The 2 Bit Saloon
with Marching Mind,
Barefoot Barnacle,
and Slut Penguin
21+ - $6.00 - 9:00 PM

Canadian progressive outfit Marching Mind is rolling south from Vancouver, and we seem a pretty good fit for their Seattle tour stop, yes?  We're meeting up at the 2 Bit Saloon (the first time we've played there for reasons other than Monday Metal Madness) next Friday and-- bonus!-- we're playing with Barefoot Barnacle.

We haven't played with those guys in about a year and a half.

Rounding out the bill is Slut Penguin, who are pretty new, so we haven't heard them yet... but you're pretty much guaranteed to see something you haven't seen before at this one-- Marching Mind are from out of the country and Slut Penguin has only played a few shows so far.

coming soon...

September is going to send ubik. east again-- we're not too keen on having cancelled a show.  Up until a tire blowout stopped April's tour from reaching Spokane, ubik. never failed to climb onto a stage come showtime...

So we're going back.

ubik.s kicking off a mini-tour: We're teaming up with Nasalrod (out of Portland) and kicking off on September 17th from The Funhouse, and then hitting Spokane, Boise, and Eugene before coming home.  It's basically a big weekend, but it brings us across the mountains and lets us fill the Spokane and Boise shows we didn't get to play earlier this year... and, hey, it lets us play The Funhouse one more time before the venue goes away from good in October.

Before that, we've got another show in August, but that'll get its own write up.

Big, Big Weekend

We're into the middle of July, so that can only mean one thing: Beer Metal Summer Camp! ubik.s getting out into the woods early this year, because we're all pretty stoked to be there. This is also Michelle's first year running the Beer Metal Olympics-- anyone who knows Michelle knows the Olympics are in good hands, and will obviously be better than the games in London later this month.

Saturday, July 21

ubik. @ the Rat & Raven
with Aranya, IX, and Cerebral Cortez
$5.00 - Show at 9:00 - 21+

ubik.s coming back from the woods on Saturday, though-- we've got a show at The Rat & Raven. We had a good show with Aranya down in Portland when we were on tour, and we promised to bring them up to Seattle to return the favor... and here it is.  This is a good show for anyone who wants to get on the other side of the Block Party.

And hey, anyone who wants to see ubik. but aren't at Beer Metal this year, we're splitting the bet.  Cool, no?

Free show on June 15th

ubik.s never played in Queen Anne before, so we're breaking in the neighborhood.  Plus, hey-- Free show!

Friday, June 15

ubik. at Floyd's Place
w/ Disruption
9:00PM - 21+

Come one, come all: We're setting up at Floyd's place, on 1st Ave, and playing with heavy groove rockers Disruption on the 15th.

And it won't cost a dime...

Hellgrammite Tape Release

Friday, May 4
Hellgrammite Tape Release
at The Josephine
w/ Don Peyote
& Beseech the Queen
Donations Accepted

We're back-- miss us?

ubik.s first post-tour show is this Friday in support of Hellgrammite's first release in three years.  We're setting up at The Josephine again-- one of our at-home, low-key places to play.  So this is our homecoming, Hellgrammite's tape release show, and Don Peyote is here after an absolutely glowing response to their showing at day two of Coicefest (day one of Choicefest was our tour kickoff... see?  all the threads intertwine)

2012 Tour

We've got a new album out... so it's time to hit the road and play the new songs out in the world!  We're heading east this time, crossing the mountains before turning south, so-- even if you're not in the I-5 corridor-- we might be stopping by your town.

There's a few ways to keep up on our dates, line-ups, bill mates, etcetera:


1. The Facebook Event Page for our 2012 tour
2. Our shows page.

If you look at the full listing, you'll see there's some TBAs in the mix-- so if you're in a TBA town and you have a venue, show, or band that will clear our "to be announced" placeholder, let us know.

Saving the Funhouse

I'm sure everyone we know is seeing the massive posting on this... but, for the record: The Funhouse is a current, vibrant part of Seattle culture and the music scene. Plenty of touring groups make their Seattle stops at this club, so bands locally, across the country, and throughout the world will feel the impact of this loss.

Currently, the razing of this club is not concrete, and the developer hasn't put up the money yet-- so this is the kind of thing that can be stopped.

Save the Funhouse!

The meeting, put on by the Seattle Department of Planning and Development, will be held on Wednesday, March 21, at 6:30 PM. The official notice is at Seattle.gov, posted here.

Since the news began spreading, there has been a lot of heated talk, but (to keep it in perspective) the facts are: The Funhouse is not going to be demolished tomorrow, next week, or next month.  This is an invite to a land development meeting to chime in on the future of this space.  For anyone who values the venue as a part of music culture in Seattle, being part of the conversation is important... but now is not the time to chain oneself to anything.  Just go to the meeting.

Breaking in the Kraken

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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+