If you've been listening, you'll recall that every time I get the chance, I talk about how great it was the last time Dave stopped in to play a set for us. I'm sure I've stuck with my assertion that it was one of the best in-stores we've ever had, and I'll say it again; if I only had 3 quarters to put in the "I wanna hear it again" jukebox, at least one of them would be spent listening to Dave's in-store.

Grammy award winning singer/songwriter/bar-room guitar player Dave Alvin has been a constant force in traditional American roots music, both electric and acoustic, for over 25 years. From his earliest days with roots pioneers The Blasters through his stints with punk rock/folkies X and The Knitters through his various solo releases, Dave has mixed blues, folk, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, country, surf, cajun and even doo wop into his own unique brand of American Music. His songs have been recorded by Los Lobos, Buckwheat Zydeco, Robert Earl Kean, Dwight Yoakam, Kelly Willis, James McMurtry, Joe Ely and Little Milton to name a few, and have been heard in tv shows like The Sopranos. Most recently, he's released The Best of the Hightone Years, an overview of his early solo releases and including 3 unreleased tracks.

Dave will be stopping in for his second Fingerprints in-store and we're opening the pre-order guest list right...now. Either give us a ring or stop in and pick up The Best of the Hightone Years, or any other Dave Alvin release and we'll throw your name onto our guest list. If you want to wait it out, we'll open the first come, first served (didn't want to buy an album) list a day or two before show-time.

Dave says, "There are two types of folk music: quiet folk music and loud folk music. I play both." We're not sure which of these two he'll be delivering when he plays the store, but the part left out is that he kicks serious ass at both.

Check his Myspace page here, or click here to download a couple of NPR features.

Click here to sample/buy The Best of the Hightone Years

Offer valid Friday, November 7th through Monday, November 10th only.

Fingerprints is ecstatic to announce an album release event straight from the imagination of Rivers Cuomo. It's a bit different for us, so read all the way through, including the details at the bottom about how you can join us for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Rivers talked about the event in a recent interview with Pitchfork... here's how he explained what will be happening on our humble little stage on Tuesday, November 25th:

"I am doing a really cool event to promote Alone II on the day of release. It's basically another Hootenanny, but it's a little different. Anyone can be a part of it, you don't have to bring an instrument. But if you do bring an instrument, you will be part of the team that gets to pick the songs we play. It can be any song, in some cases, it might just be one person who says, like, "Oh! Let's play this obscure B-side!", and he may be the only person in the room who knows it, besides me, and then it will just be me and that person giving a concert to the rest of the room. And then the next song, there might be 20 people who know it. So that will be a very dynamic event and very fun for me. And I won't have to bring a guitar [laughs]."
     - Rivers Cuomo

We will be opening the guest list at 11:00am on Thursday, November 6th. The list will be open to people who pre-order Rivers' new album, Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, with a limit of two spots per person. We are looking for both musicians and non-musicians and will be managing the list to make sure we have enough of both, please don't buffalo us by saying you'll play if you won't. Space will be more limited than usual, as we're leaving a bit of extra room to move around with instruments.

** Please note that we will be accepting RSVP pre-orders for this performance via phone and in-person, but purchasing through the website will not get you in to see the performance.

Click here for tracks/more info on Alone II (due out 11/25)

While she's best known for the years she's spent sharing a stage and a studio with Damien Rice, for the past several years Lisa has been branching out by guesting on albums by The Frames and Herbie Hancock as well as contributing to a couple of different benefit albums (the Irish comps Ceol 06 and Cake Sale, where she shared vocal duties with Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol). Now, Lisa's finished her debut solo album and she's brought a few of her old friends along with her, namely Tomo, Shane, and Vyvienne from Damien's band and several others from the Dublin music scene, including Lucy Wilkins who's played with Brian Ferry and Roxy Music, songwriters Donagh Molloy and Gavin Glass and Cathy Davey, who's worked with Elbow and the Sneaker Pimps.

She's currently on tour opening for Jason Mraz (the local date is at the Greek later the same night as the in-store) and at some point her debut will be worldwide, but so far Sea Sew is not available anywhere except her shows and through her website, so aside from being excited to host Lisa's first in-store, we're also very happy to say we'll be the first store in the country to have this incredible album.

We've opened the guest list to all who pre-order Sea Sew and the early interest has been good so please stop in or call us to place your order, as we haven't gotten all the info to get it loaded to our website yet. If there is still space available, we will be opening the guest list, first come, first served on October 31st, but if you want to be sure to join us, pre-ordering is the way to go. Due to Lisa's show at the Greek later the same night, we will be trying as hard as possible to have this start at noon, so please plan accordingly.

You can hear some of Lisa's songs at her site or on her myspace page and you can watch the homemade video to the very playful demo of "My Pirate Disco" with a simple click on those blue words.

** THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED **
We can't think of anyone better than bands called the Kooks and the Whigs to spend Halloween weekend with, I mean really, could it be more perfect? The last time the Kooks came to town they sold out the Troubadour in minutes, this time they are playing their full band, electric shows at both The Palladium and the OC HOB (you can see all of the tour dates at The Kooks' myspace page.)

We've gotten them both to agree to stop in for an acoustic set, since they're touring together, this will be a great way to get a taste of one of this season's hottest tours. Since we're thinking some of you might have one of these records already, we're just gonna open the list, first come - first served, to everyone in our Live Music Club. **SORRY, THIS IS SOLD OUT**

You can sample a few of The Kooks' songs at their myspace page. Same deal if you want to sample The Whigs.

Click here to buy/sample The Kooks' Konk and The Whigs' Mission Control.

The last time Brett played here it was our biggest turnout for a lunchtime event ever; and now we've got him back for another appearance, at the much more friendly 7:00pm on a Friday evening. Translation: This will be a capacity show. The list is definitely filling up, if you want to be sure to get in you should grab a copy of Brett's excellent new CD Hope for the Hopeless and guarantee yourself a spot. The word is that Brett will be playing a bit longer than a regular in-store, so it's gonna be good. Also, just so you know, we will be recording this show for future release (so if everything goes as planned, you'll be able to say "I was there" when you hear it in your friend's car).

You can sample a few songs at Brett's Myspace page.

Click to buy Hope for the Hopeless.

Offer valid Thursday, October 16th through Sunday, October 19th only.

Offer valid only Thursday 10/09/08 - Monday 10/13/08

Daniel hails from the thriving metropolis of Cold Spring, Kentucky and he makes gorgeously sparse, acoustic indie folk music that is sure to appeal to fans Jose Gonzalez, Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, and Iron & Wine. Daniel's story is the indie rock equivalent of feel-good sports films like Rudy; he sent an unsolicited (read: unlikely to get listened to any time soon) demo to the Sub Pop offices, and after months of dusting off his phone, he moved to Costa Rica to work at a bed & breakfast. In the meantime, Sub Pop got through a couple of their tubs of mail, and started looking for this great new artist they'd found. Fast-forward about a year and Daniel now has his debut album finished (it's out this week), with a little help from Joe Chicarelli (who produced the Shins, U2, and The White Stripes) and a handful of new friends, including Jesca Hoop and Petra Haden.

By way of introduction, Sub Pop says, "...as simply as Daniel Martin Moore thinks of Stray Age, it's rich with understated complexities that take you to places that people like Nick Drake and Neil Halstead have been cited as doing. There's a soft swing in the vocals reminiscent of Chet Baker. But the one thing with Moore, that we like to think of as separating him from the pack, is he's looking forward. He wants to go places, he wants you to come with him, and we're finding him right in that moment." Here's a little downloadable Daniel Martin Moore that you can carry with you, until you get in to pick up your copy.

The first 40 people to pick up a copy of Stray Age will also get a bonus CDR featuring four songs currently unavailable anywhere else.

You should set your clicker for his myspace page and keep hitting play until you realize that missing this in-store would be a mistake, then call us and we'll add you to the guest list, no purchase required (though one is certainly encouraged).

Click here to buy Stray Age

Hopefully you were lucky enough to catch Greg Laswell's record release in-store last July, it was fantastic; if you weren't able to join us, we have a double dose of good news; first Greg is playing a special Schooled in Song/University by the Sea Festival kick-off show Saturday night at the Blue Cafe, with an appearance by local faves One F. Second, not only do we have advance tickets available at the store, but the first 200 people who buy a ticket (either at the store or at the door) will get a free copy of a handful of tracks from Greg's July in-store. Advance tickets are $10 and at the door they're $12, so we shouldn't have to tell you where the smart money is going to be. If you can't make it to the show, we will also be offering the Live at Fingerprints disc free with the purchase of either Three Flights from Alto Nido or Through Toledo. Good stuff and only available while they last.

You may remember last year when we presented Schooled in Song at the Carpenter Center. It was an evening of fantastic music created by a veritable who's who of Long Beach musicians and the proceeds went to funding after-school music programing. Well, this year the Schooled in Song gang has joined forces with the folks putting on University by the Sea for a full day of art, education, lectures, and killer live music. Due to a few generous donors the event is free, fun for the whole family and, once again, it's on track to raise some much needed funding for school music programs and scholarships for area songwriters and musicians.

The live music is coming courtesy of Grand Ole Party, Dengue Fever, Crystal Antlers, Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, Pawn Shop Kings, The New Fidelity, Molly Jensen, Blank Blue, Brett Bixby, Shave, The Year Zero, Chris Hanlin, Jay Buchanan, forcefieldon, Deccatree, Jameson, Leldon, Greater California, Loie Fuller, Marliese, CPO, One F, George Fryer Combo, and others still to be announced. It's a pretty great line-up for a free event with way more artists than we can include here, so check the myspace page for the full list, and put a big circle around October 5th and plan on spending at least part of the day at the corner of First St & Linden in Downtown Long Beach.

The word seems to be spreading, so if you'd like to catch one of the hottest underground hip-hop acts out there, this is your opportunity. We don't do too many hip-hop in-stores, because quite frankly there aren't that many hip-hop artists who want to come in that we have any interest in having play for you. Sure, call us gatekeepers if you must, we prefer to think of ourselves as bodyguards, keeping your life free of bad hip-hop. People Under the Stairs are a whole different ball of wax, they mix jazzy samples, danceable beats, intricate rhyming skills, and laid-back humor that recalls hip-hop heavyweights like De La Soul, J-5, Ugly Ducklings, and Ming & FS. Their new release, the cleverly titled Fun DMC came out this week (9/30) and we're opening up the guest list to music Club Members who buy a copy. We'll also include a free event poster so you can gussie up your place with some signed schwag.

You can check some of their songs on their myspace page.

We wouldn't ask you down for no bogus beats, this will be the real deal. Please join us if you can.

Click to sample/buy Fun DMC

We've been hinting around about a couple of big in-stores and well... It's time to announce Numero Uno: On September 23rd Downtown Records will release Loyalty to Loyalty, the second full-length by the only band in Long Beach that could make just about anything else you might have planned into a difficult choice - The Cold War Kids. That's right, the little band that could is coming in for their second album kick off with an acoustic performance right here on our humblest of humble little stages. We'll be opening the guest list to everyone who's in our live music club (and if you're reading this, you're in the club) with those who pre-order the album getting first shot at the spots. The pre-order starts/guest list opens on Thursday, Sept 11th at 10:00am for folks who come down and 11:00am for those who want to let your fingers do the walking (that's old-school for using the phone, our number is down at the bottom.) There are three versions available, a regular edition, an LP, and a deluxe including a bonus DVD. We will not be accepting online orders for the show, but since all the pre-orders will include an event poster, we will include one with online orders, while they last.

You can hear a couple of versions of the new single "Something Is Not Right With Me" at their myspace page.

You can also catch the boys recording an Outdoor Stage performance on Jimmy Kimmel on the 19th, at the San Diego Street Scene on the 20th, and in their full-set, big show at the Henry Fonda on the 24th. We very well may be at all of them within an hours drive, hopefully we'll see you there (and here).

Love You Moon is the acoustic-oriented side project of Matt Embree of RX Bandits and The Sound of Animals Fighting, his influences for this project fit nicely into our favorite artists list; Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, and Elliott Smith. RX Bandits are known for rock with strong socio-political lyrics, and while Love You Moon trade the signature keys, horns, and electrics for an acoustic guitar, they keep the political thread running strong, while managing to hold on to the energy that's made RX Bandits such a compelling live band.

Love you Moon's debut release, Waxwane is due out on Sept 9th and the guest list is now open to Live Music Club folks who pre-order a copy. Any remaining spots still available on 9/07 will open up first come first served. If you want to guarantee your place at this event, pre-ordering Waxwane is the only way to pull it off. Pre-order price is $11.99 and it includes one of our free event posters. Drop by the store or give us a call (562.433.4996) to pre-order.

Matt Embree playing "Why Pop Stars Sell Silicon" acoustic and playing "Masters of War" live.

Some recent press:
"Waxwane features 10 songs that span a variety of styles and paces, ranging from Embree's patented upbeat socio-political diatribes ("Screams In A Vacuum" and "The Last Words Of Nicholas Berg"), to more unexpected Billy Joel-esque jams ("David's Birthday") and Elliott Smith-inspired poetry ("Brown Shingle Berkeley")...4/5 stars"
     - Alternative Press

"Combining influences from multiple genres, including acoustic, folk, and sometimes jazz, Love You Moon has put Waxwane together beautifully, and has produced an album to rival the best releases of 2008 to date."
     - Absolutepunk.net

"It takes a special kind of person to single handedly spark a thunderous clapping session in a dark room full of too cool twenty-somethings. But by the end of Love You Moon's acoustic set at Koo's Art Center in Long Beach, any worries of judgment or anxiety had been sucked out of the front doors of the paint slathered gallery to freeze in the midnight air. Huddled together in the darkness, unity and power spread like a fever in the crowd."
     - OC Weekly

Click here to buy Waxwane

Every few minutes it seems like another band catches on blog-fire, most of them flash like a flare and burn out quickly, but the really good ones just keep on going. Birdmonster is just such a band. Their sound combines a new wave jangle with an early Greenwich Village folk meets very cool back-porch instrumentation; banjo, melodica, and cello sitting nicely alongside a Fender Rhodes and the usual blog-fire band instrumentation. This time out, the organic side takes the driver's seat and makes for the much richer, resonant, and more mature sound of a band finding their own voice.

The guys have slipped us an mp3 of the track "Born To Be Your Man", which is one of my favorites.

Check their myspace page for a few of their other/older tracks. You can also click on over to youtube for a nice version of "Only One" recorded in the studios of "The Current" from Minnesota Public Radio.

Click to preorder From The Mountain To The Sea (out 9/2)