3SidedSingles.com

After a year of playing shows, Blue Sky Blackout is glad to finally release some real recorded material. The band was formed by songwriter/guitarist Jon Hunt in early 2009. Hunt, a longtime fixture of the local music scene in bands like Shatterproof and Lunar 9, had spent the previous few years in LA and was anxious to start something new on his return to Minneapolis. Before moving back, Jon had already recruited most of the band and recorded demos of a dozen songs. The final lineup – with Christian Erickson singing, Jon Hunt singing backup and playing guitar, Mykl Westbrooks and Brandon Dalida on guitars, Tim Ritter on bass and Marc Iwanin on drums – played its first show in July, 2009.

Various combinations of us have played with each other before in bands like Astronaut Wife (Erickson and Ritter), Landing Gear (Hunt and Westbrooks), and Medication (Iwanin, Dalida and Hunt) and many of those bands were either released by Susstones or recorded at Flowers Studio. Despite the long history, this isn’t just a re-hash of what we’ve all done before. Jon’s flair for melodic Brit-pop influenced songs is still there, but with a heavier rock vibe thanks to a six-piece band that includes 3 guitars.

The idea behind 3-Sided Singles was cooked up over a few drinks by Ed Ackerson, Paul Kolderie and Christian Erickson one night as they were lamenting the loss of the “B-side”, the one place where even the most commercial bands could show a more adventurous side. The concept was to give bands a chance to show 3 different sides of what they do. And we think that’s what we’ve done with this release.

The tracks included in the 3-Side are:

1. Somebody Said That You Loved Me.

2. Libertine

3. The Drugs Don’t Work

Also included is some digital cover art and some behind-the-scenes photos taken by singer Christian Erickson during the recording sessions, which were produced by Ed Ackerson at Flowers Studio.

We hope you dig it.

Download: Free

High-quality MP3 files with artwork and photos.

Tracks:

1. FFF

2. Gotta Girl

3. Moonlight (Lunar Eclipse) remix by Christian Erickson

Mercurial Rage have been raising the roof around here for the last couple years with their uniquely
infectious, ultra danceable sounds. Taking influence from the finest exponents of electronic pop’s first
Golden Age (think Depeche Mode, The Cure, and dance-rock bands like Happy Mondays and Primal
Scream), The Rage add their own totally unique lyrical stamp and jaunty melodic personality. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a step-by-step guide to downloading and enjoying 3Sides…

To use your 3Side:

1. Un-zip* the download package. A folder with the name of the 3Side
should appear on your desktop (or other designated download folder)

2. Drop the uncompressed folder onto your iTunes application icon

Read the rest of this entry »

We’re updated the Two Harbors (former Colonial Vipers Attack) 3Side to reflect the band’s new name. There’s cool new artwork and appropriately modernized metadata. The tunes, of course, rock regardless of the name on the t-shirt.

Download: Free

320 kbps MP3 files with artwork information documents

Unzip the files and drag the 3Side into iTunes or your favorite music app. Image and info documents will open with Preview or any other PDF viewer.

Susstones released my second solo album ackerson2 last December. We all felt that the record kinda got lost in the shuffle of the holidays, election, economic panic, etc. I’m super proud of the record, and I wanted to release a 3Side that would highlight a couple of my favorite tracks for people to check out.

The track listing is:

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been in 3 bands in the last couple decades. The first, Judgement of Paris, was usually considered an “electronic” band even though we used a lot of acoustic/folk instruments like hammered dulcimer. The second was called Passage, a moody acoustic, goth-folk group that again used hammered dulcimer as the lead instrument. Then came Astronaut Wife, an electronic pop “girl group.”

I think the best way to describe these 3 songs is as a kind of mashup of the styles of all 3 of those bands. I recognize that there are probably only 10 people who have ever heard all my old stuff, so I’ve posted more release notes and some links over on my own blog.

Hopefully, these stand on their own and are interesting even without any other context.

Download: Free

Unzip the files and drag the 3Side into iTunes or your favorite music app.

320kbps MP3

256kbps AAC

Camp Street Studios is proud to present the new 3Side from Joshua English. Issued in conjunction with his full length CD and vinyl release “Kill for Sport.” In addition to new art and complete credits this 3side offers “Sheep’s Clothing” from the record, an early demo version of the album opener “Promised Land State Park”, and a new take on Minor Threat’s “I Don’t Wanna Hear It”. Watch out kids, there’s some dirty words in there.

Download : Free

320 kbps MP3 with artwork and additional information (18.4 mb)

Colonial Vipers Attack are one of my favorite Minneapolis guitar bands-powerful, noisy, melodic, but light on their feet when the song calls for it. This 3Side marks the premiere of the new model CVA featuring bassist Jeremy Bergo, along with founding members Chris Pavlich, Shawn Grider, and Kris Johnson.

As individuals these guys are all very well known here in Minneapolis- Pavlich for his City Sound rehearsal complex, Shawn for his work with Faux Jean and other bands, Kris J. for his KJaudio amplifiers and Twin Town Guitars, Jeremy for playing with Attention, the Stereo and others. I think it’s time for them to become BEST known for their damned fine rock group!

Download : Free (limited time only)

320 kbps MP3 with artwork and additional notes (40.15 mb)

The Mood Swings - Electrical Beauty 3Sided Single

“Electrical Beauty” is the latest evolutionary step for Minneapolis garage/space/pop band The Mood Swings. The three songs are larger, freakier, tighter and catchier than anything the band has done before. Ashley’s ever-expanding noisemaking chops are very much to the fore, as are her and Sallie’s vocals. Recorded at Flowers Studio, with some odds and ends at Flowers Lab.

Track 1: Nothing New
Slide guitars echo and beams of theremin arch across the skies. Lead vocal by Ashley.

Track 2: No Place to Hide
Storming, proto-punk riff rocker with attitude. Sallie takes the lead.

Track 3: It’s So Easy
The band pays tribute to a core influence, the misunderstood and magnificent Hawkwind. Sallie handles the verses, joined on the choruses by Ashley and the Susstones Community Choir.

Download: Free

320 kbps MP3 with artwork and additional notes (36.3 mb)

The 3Side is a new format for music releases, designed to be something more “real” than downloading a couple of MP3’s off some site. The 3Side or 3-Sided Single is a self-contained miniature release which includes songs, artwork, credits, and whatever other media the artist chooses. Artists want to create “releases” rather than random, context-less solitary tracks. Also, serious music fans would like more information and value from digital music downloads than is provided by the current digital model. The 3Side is a perfect, bite-sized way to satisfy the urges of both artist and listener.