Jesse Michaels, best known for his iconic vocals in both Operation Ivy and Common Rider will be performing a solo set as a part of the opening night of his new art show "Cataclysm" along with Portland's Doug Burns of the bands The Observers and The Red Dons. The art/music show will be on October 25th at The Onsix Gallery which is at 60 6th Street in San Francisco. Here's a description of the art that will be shown:

Doug Burns and Jesse Michaels will explore cataclysm, or a state of catastrophic change, through two very different but complimentary painting cycles. Michaels’ current work consists of oil paintings on the theme of war. In his nine new paintings, faceless combatants square off in a style reminiscent of early modernism and also recalling the painterly strength sought by the abstract expressionists. The paintings are rendered in oil with a penchant for bold lines and clashing fields of color. “With this work I tried to capture the feeling I had as a young boy drawing war pictures; that strange combination of innocence and naive fascination with violence.” Doug Burns’ paintings address the theme of cataclysm through the exploration of Ayyam Al Jahiliyah, a term which refers to the time before Islam in Arabia. Burns’ works combine great technical ability with a love for abstraction and the random patterns created by dripping paint applied in moody washes. The paintings depict the ancient Bedouin people in a state of mourning over their lost culture and spontaneity.

Here are the full details:

Saturday, October 25th 2008
@ Onsix Gallery
60 6th Street, San Francisco

"Cataclysm"
Featuring the Art and Music of
Jesse Michaels and Doug Burns

Gallery Opens at 7pm
$5 after 8pm
Music Starts at 9pm

In a departure from The Cost's big post-post punk onslaught, former guitarist and vocalist, Sean McArdle, just self released a 7" of all accoustic songs entitled, "Still Working". His sparse ballads celebrate love, loss and the virtues of insomnia, and have been described by the Washington Post as "queer and quirky." We're super proud of Sean, and love his latest direction. You can buy the record from his website or check out his Myspace.

After the unnecessary violence that plagued the streets of Minneapolis during this year's Republican National Convention, Ted Leo went into the studio and recorded two brand new songs as well as an Amebix cover and a Cock Sparrer cover. The Rapid Response EP is just that: a way to turn feelings of anger and frustration into a positive outcome. The E.P. which is exclusively available from Touch and Go Dot Com benefits Democracy Now and the Minneapolis chapter of Food Not Bombs, two organizations that were targeted during the convention. You can catch Ted and the Pharmacists out on tour all Autumn long supporting Against Me! and then headlining for a week in November. Check out the Tour Page for dates.

The Engine Down DVD entitled Beginning to End is now available! The DVD has over three hours of content including: a documentary shot on the band's last tour, the entire last show, rare and unreleased tracks, the band's home movies, music videos, a photo gallery, and much more! The DVD is packaged in a beautiful DVD digipak printed on 100% recycled board and with a 100% recycled plastic tray.

Also, check out the store for their Lookout! release and $5 t-shirts!

Finally, Denali, featuring Keeley of E.D., will be playing a show in Brooklyn at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on September 26th! Go Here for more info and tickets!

The Oranges Band are featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming independent film FrontRunners. Here's how the filmmakers describe the film:

"FRONTRUNNERS is a smart and funny political documentary that follows the student council presidential campaign at one of the country's most prestigious public high school: Stuyvesant High School in New York City
A microcosm of the U.S. Presidential elections, Caroline Shu's film shows politicking and pluralities through the lens of the adolescent experience.

Here is a list of where and when FrontRunners will be showing across the country:

Oct 15 -- NYC's Film Forum
Oct 24 -- Los Angeles Nuart
Oct 24 -- Berkeley Shattuck
Oct 24 -- San Francisco Lumiere
Oct 24 -- Philadelphia Ritz at the Bourse
Oct 24 -- Denver Starz Film Center
Oct 24 -- Boston Brattle Theatre