Dennis Callaci has announced his new solo album ‘The Dead Of The Day’, which will be out February 14 via Shrimper Records (pre-order). Along with the announcement, he also shared Scoreless the first single lifted from the forthcoming release and the track is available now on digital streaming services. Listen to Scoreless via YouTube below for a little nibble of the album.
The third in a triptych of solo albums by Dennis Callaci of the band Refrigerator began with Bed of Light featuring Simon Joyner, David Nance and The Ghost band, Kevin Morby, and Jarvis Taveniere as a full throated five piece/orchestrated record which gave way to the thirty minute piece The End of Night in 2017. The last piece in this series is the new record ‘The Dead of The Day,’ a stripped down acoustic record minus drums. Guitar and piano ballads, funereal fugues, a fifteen minute instrumental opener and other rough strays sit together with lyrics that play off of one another. Franklin Bruno plays the piano & organ, long-time collaborator Aaron Alcala on a few songs and Allen Callaci’s vocals appear as a ghostly refrain on the track Scoreless.
‘The Dead Of The Day’ track list
1. All Saints
2. The Dead Of The Day
3. Scoreless
4. David Lee Roth Jr.
5. On A Line
6. Broadway Blues Pt. II
7. Coffin Blues
8. Halloween
9. Forecasters Of Hurt
10. Alchemists
11. Gold Painted Palm Trees
12. Penny Whistle
13. The Day Of The Dead
The record release lands on the same day as Callaci’s novel ‘100 Cassettes’ published by Pelekinesis whose narrative ties into the songs on ‘The Dead of The Day’ (pre-order). The book is made of 100 meditations on music, commerce & the abstract. Find early entries of abstraction on Ida Cox, Alice Cooper, Talk Talk, Earl Sweatshirt and Lord Invader to nonfiction-based entries on Tony Conrad, Korla Pandit, Jackie Moore and Black Sabbath. Featuring a foreword by Jonathan Lethem and an afterword by Allen Callaci, the book winds around autobiographical information, the rich culture of Southern California from 1969 to the present day, and all musical points in between.
Dennis Callaci has also announced a West Coast tour with Simon Joyner in support of the upcoming releases. The tour includes in-stores and readings in Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and more begins on street date. All upcoming shows are listed below.
Dennis Callaci tour dates
02.14 – Pomona, CA @ dA Center for The Arts
02.15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Book Soup – 2pm
02.15 – Glendale, CA @ House Show (tickets)
02.16 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Streetlight Record Store – 2pm, Santa Cruz CA
02.16 – Oakland, CA @ House Show (tickets)
02.18 – Portland, OR @ Music Millenium in-store – 7pm
02.19 – Seattle, WA @ Sonic Boom in-store – 7pm
02.20 – Boise, ID @ Record Exchange – 7pm In-Store Performance
02.21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ House Show at Barn Deluxxe (tickets)
* all shows with Simon Joyner
Dennis Callaci founded Shrimper Records in 1990 in Southern California, the same year as the formation of the band Refrigerator for which he plays guitar and sings. Refrigerator has released twelve records over the last thirty years, and is at work on their thirteenth due out at the end of 2020. The band, who is selective about touring & publicity of any kind, was hand picked to tour with Chris Knox, Smog, Yo La Tengo and others for the few tours they have under their belt. Refrigerator began as a guitar/drum/vocal trio with Callaci’s brother on vocals and Joel Connell of the legendary hardcore band Man is the Bastard on drums. Tom Scharpling issued the bands first proper record on his 18 Wheeler label, and when the band was not issuing releases on Shrimper, they could be found on the Communion & Ajax label early on. Joel Connell left the band early on, and childhood friend Chris Jones joined on the drums, followed a few years later by the addition of Daniel Brodo on the bass. Callaci released scattered solo recordings under his nom de plume Paste, as well as collaborative records with John Davis of The Folk Implosion and two records with Simon Joyner sharing half of the songwriting.
Dennis Callaci has issued hundreds of releases on his Shrimper record label over the last thirty years including the earliest recordings of Amps For Christ, Woods, The Babies (featuring Kevin Morby & Cassie Ramone), The Mountain Goats, Franklin Bruno, WCKR SPGT, Lou Barlow’s Sentridoh and others. 2020 sees the release of new music on the label from Amps For Christ, John Davis, Falcon Eddy and others.
