The Slip

Modern avant-rock trio The Slip formed when Marc Friedman and brothers Brad and Andrew Barr moved to Boston together after graduating from the same high school. In 1996 the trio of recent Berklee dropouts put out their first studio album independently and began establishing a dedicated fan-base around the northeast through relentless touring and utterly effective grassroots promotion. An explosive new brand of improvisational psych-rock emerged; Van Morrison meets Keith Jarrett meets Talking Heads. By 2001, the band’s rigorous tour schedule had brought them to sold-out headlining shows at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, successful tours in Japan, and a record deal with Rykodisc.

Throughout the next few years on the road, their sound continued to evolve and their instrumentation expanded radically. The Slip grew from young, earthy, avant-gardes to strong and mature contemporary-rock composers, crafting lush new sonic landscapes that drew equally from U2, Tom Waits, and newer interests like Built to Spill, Wilco, and Broken Social Scene. By 2003, the trio’s non-stop touring produced Aliveacoustic and Alivelectric, a companion set of live releases that also represented the inaugural release of their own independent label, 216 records. These two albums represent the most coherent articulation of the bands’ distinct sides to date. The tender, intimate, and dusty Americana found on Aliveacoustic perfectly complements the thunderous and expansive instrumental work present on Alivelectric.

In the five years following their last studio release, the band has spent more and more of their time off the road in their home studios, gradually honing a new and innovative approach to recording and distilling their unique songwriting vision. Coming out of this, their heaviest state of growth and development in years, the band recently entered Q-Division Studios in Somerville, MA and collaborated with producer/engineer Matthew Ellard (Elliot Smith, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Morphine). The much-anticipated result is the band’s finest work.

They continue to write new music and tour.

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THE UPCOMING ALBUM

The Slip’s soon-to-be-released, as-yet-untitled, 4th studio album stands as the most cohesive and evocative work they have created thus far - raw analog passion and accessible melodic songcraft combined. Showcasing lush production and thickly layered instrumentation, the new album ranges easily from intimate, hushed vocals to thunderous big-beat, anthem sincerity.

FEATURING:

“Even Rats” – the first single officialy released, already featured in the extremely successful Playstation2 game Guitar Hero and chosen to be one of only 10 songs pre-loaded on the new SanDisk .mp3 player - 4.5 million of which shipped March 2006.

“Children of December,” - the demo version of which was awarded the Heineken USA/ASCAP Foundation Grant for Best Pop/Rock Song in Boston.

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THE NUMBERS

* The Slip has sold a total of over 50,000 albums independently.
* The band is a self-sufficient touring entity, having performed between 75-100 shows per year for the past 7 years.
* The Slip has toured Japan 5 times (In Tokyo, Kyoto and Yokahama).
* Street Team: Over 250 active members around the US and Canada.
* E-mail List: Over 15,000 active members internationally.
* MySpace: 4,500+ friends / 35,000+ profile views / 60,000+ plays since 10.05

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TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Tokyo: 1300 paid (Shibuya O' East)
Boston: 1200 paid over two nights (Paradise)
Providence: 1,100 paid (Lupo’s @ The Strand)
New York City: 700 paid (Bowery Ballroom)
Philadelphia: 600 paid (Theater of the Living Arts)
Chicago: 600 paid (The Double Door)
Burlington: 500 paid (Higher Ground)
Austin: 500 paid (Mercury @ Jazz)
San Francisco: 500 paid (The Independent)
Montreal: 450 paid (Le Swimming)

OTHER MARKETS WITH A DRAW OF 300+

Portland, ME / Los Angeles, CA / Hartford, CT / Portland, OR / Brooklyn, NY / Seattle, WA / San Diego, CA / Denver/Boulder, CO / Atlanta, GA / Santa Cruz, CA / Asheville, NC / Baltimore, MD

RECENT FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES

SXSW (2006) NEMO (2005) Pop Montreal (2005)
True People's Festival, Japan (2004) Austin City Limits (2004) Bonnaroo (2003) Bumbershoot (2003)

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