We would love to personally invite you to the 5-year anniversary celebration of SELF AWARE RECORDS on June 13-14. It’s been a long 5 years and we look forward to many great years to come. Joining us to celebrate are: Old Flings, Museum Mouth, Late Bloomer, No Power, Mike Bell & the Movies (PA), Pullman Strike, One Another, Oddczar, Means Well, Totally Slow, and Self Aware newbies Alright and Black Market. Also playing are special guests Muscle & Bone (Black Numbers) and Junior Astronomers (Broken Circle).

The event is two days at local Charlotte, NC venue, The Milestone. Tickets are $10 for the two day event and $7 if you just want to go to one day. As you can see, getting a two day pass is a way better deal. Purchase your two-day ticket here!!!

Unfortunately Viewfinder, Center of the Sun, Bandname, and Andy the Doorbum will not be able to make the event. We also would like to say thanks to Lowbrow, Calormen, Meth Mountain, Just Die!, World Champions, and Yardwork for being our guinea pigs and letting us figure out this label crap. After 5 years we are doing a little better on knowing what we are doing, but we’d be happy to keep learning and growing. Can’t wait for the 10-year celebration, looking forward to seeing you in 2019!!!

Happy Easter, or if you are into that sort of thing, Happy 4/20. So this is a short update. Preorders for the new Museum Mouth LP, “Alex I Am Nothing,” will be announced tomorrow or the next day (depending on the new cycle). At that point you will be able to preorder the new LP. The records will ship near the end of May, and the official “street date” is May 27th. The first 100 records are on CLEAR BLUE VINYL, so if you want that, then you need to preorder it asap!

We have more releases to officially announce in the coming weeks and months, we want to thank all of you for your support! You keep us going. Love you. Now go eat some candy, eggs or dank nugs.

 

I think we start every post by apologizing for not updating the site more often. Well, here we go again. We’ve been busy pushing the Totally Slow LP and it has been going very well. The band has been working their asses off and that definitely helps out a ton. If you live in the southeast, you need to check them out if they roll through your town. They are an amazing live band and always bring the noise.

Next up on our plate is the Museum Mouth LP. Not exactly sure when it will be out, but we are hoping for a late May/early June release. It all depends on Karl Kuehn, who is currently recording, tracking and mixing the final touches on it. Please bug him via twitter and demand that he hurry up. 

After that we will be helping with the 2nd Late Bloomer LP, “Things Change.” That is looking like a June release as well, so it will be a busy summer. Also in the pipeline are releases by Neil Mauney, Viewfinder, and One Another, which we have previously announced in previous updates. Not much more to update, just wanted to let you know about that and wanted you to know that we are still alive and are doing very well. Thanks so much for the support.

We will now go back to bulking up our distro and just simply making sure we are the best label we can possibly be in 2014! Please follow us on twitter and facebook, you are bound to get a lot more updates that way. Go buy something from the distro and check us out on bandcamp.

It’s that time of year again, the best time of year, THE FEST time of year. For Self Aware Records, FEST is like Christmas to us. Like xmas for any good parent, it is also a very stressful time of year. We are scrambling to figure out how we are getting down there, and also figuring out how to get awesome records available for you to buy at the fest flea market!

This year is really exciting, because we have 5 artists playing THE FEST. That’s up from ZERO last year, so we are doing well. Who is playing you ask? Well Old Flings, Late Bloomer and Museum Mouth. Neil Mauney (of Late Bloomer) and Matt Evans (of Old Flings) are also playing solo sets, so that counts as well. Go check out our sampler and also take a gander at what time our “artists” are playing!!! Museum Mouth is still working on their LP and we expect an early 2014 release, but Karl Kuehn is lazy, so we will see. We mentioned this briefly above, but we WILL be at FEST check-in at the flea market, slinging records, shirts. We will have FREE coozies, stickers, buttons and download cards with the sampler on it. We have some awesome shirts this year that you have to see to believe!

Now that we have that out of the way, here is another update about One Another. We aren’t really sure when the LP will be done, to be honest. We thought it would be a mid summer 2013 release, but it looks like it will be an early spring 2014 release, if all goes well. The band realized they wanted to spend more time in their studio, and I definitely don’t fault them on it. Definitely excited to see what they have been toiling away at. In the mean time, we are trying to get Viewfinder to go record their full length. The plan is to release the effort on cassette/digital formats, and maybe do a full package with it and make it all look really snazzy. Later on down the line, we are talking to Neil Mauney (of Late Bloomer//Pullman Strike) about releasing his debut full length on tape as well. 2014 looks really promising/busy. Other than that we are working our current release(s) by Means Well and Totally Slow.

Now that we are on the subject on Totally Slow, I figured I would let you know where the vinyl release stands on that. Due to pressing plant issues, that has since been resolved, the project is taking a bit longer to get released than expected. By the time you read this, you should expect to see the record very soon. If you preordered the record, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and really appreciate your patience. The release is available digitally at anywhere you can get music in its digital format. We have it up over at our bandcamp, its on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, Googleplay, and so many more. Definitely go check it out, such a good record!

I believe that concludes our transmission. We hope you have a good holiday, we appreciate your support and PLEASE come see us at The Fest if you are attending!!!

 

It’s been a while since our last post, and I’m pretty sure that is how all of our posts begin. The preorders for the Means Well cassette tape are now up and you really need to check this band out. Means Well features an ex member of Calormen, and if you have been following SELF AWARE, then you know that this band must be good. Imagine if Butterglory, Promise Ring and Weakerthans had a music baby.

Next up in the pipeline we have LPs by Totally Slow, Museum Mouth, and One Another. This is an uncharacteristically busy season for us but we couldn’t be more excited. First up will be the release of the Totally Slow LP. The Greensboro, NC band features ex members of Eagle Bravo, Rights Reserved and Decoration Ghost. The release was recorded by Kris Hilbert at Legitimate Business and sounds amazing. A nice little tidbit of info here is that some of the art was done by David Hayes, former owner of Very Small Records and Lookout Records. After that we will be helping Museum Mouth (Wilmington, NC) to release their third full length, “Alex I Am Nothing.” Both Totally Slow and Museum Mouth are expected to be October releases. After that leads us to One Another. The band is currently finishing recording and mixing/mastering will follow. We anticipated a fall release but it looks that it might be a winter one, but that’s ok with us. You can’t rush brilliance.

The last little bit of information is that we will be working with relatively new band, Viewfinder from Boone, NC. Their debut ep, “EPonymous,” really knocked our socks off and we couldn’t refuse working with them. If you dig Built To Spill, Sparklehorse and Dinosaur Jr., then this band is for you. Not sure on the timeline for the release yet, but we will keep you posted. Welcome Viewfinder to the family and tell them you love them.

We are very excited to announce that we will be releasing One Another‘s debut 12″ LP, “Make Not Take” on Self Aware Records with help from Powerstance Records. The band has been kicking around the Charlotte, NC area since 2008, and have definitely paid their dues by gigging up and down the east coast, releasing their own EPs, and playing in a myriad of awesome bands. One Another features ex and current members of Minority Party, Columns, Hungry Girl, Yardwork, Les Wright, and many others. The band is currently demoing songs and will record in a couple weeks. Expect a fall release. We are very excited to help out some good friends, and possibly one of the most talented groups in Charlotte. What do they sound like you ask? Well imagine Braid mixed with Piebald, and maybe even a little bit of Jawbreaker. You can check the band out on facebook, twitter, and bandcamp, and your really should do that right now!!!

For those of you still waiting on your Center of the Sun preorders we are very sorry for the wait. It looks like the plant got backed up and so it took a lot longer than we expected. Thanks for your patience. The plant says that they shipped the records today, so we hope to receive them by Thursday. That means we will be packing records over the weekend and hope to have them shipped on monday. We apologize for the wait, thanks so much for your support.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!! Preorders for the Center of the Sun LP and the Late Bloomer LP are both live on the webstore. You can even buy both records in one package for a little bit cheaper. Who loves you? Self Aware does, so at least you have that one not so secret admirer.

Old Flings released a third music video, so go check that out, exclusively on Punknews. At this rate they will have a video for every song on the album. Oddczar did not release a music video, but their LP that we released a while back is still awesome, so go check that out.

Check out the webstore, there are so many new packages to order and so many new distro items have been updated. Keeping this update short, just go explore and pick up some records!!!

 

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are staring Christmas straight in its money grubbing face. If you are looking for cheap gifts for friends and/or family then feel free to check out our webstore for different SELF AWARE releases, distro items, and our infamous shirt designs. We have a crazy big distro and are always adding new releases monthly and sometimes weekly.

On the label front, the Old Flings album is now out and in select stores all around the east coast. The band is playing a record release show on December 1st in their home town of Asheville, NC. Self Aware and Bitter Melody Records will be in attendance to peddle the new release. Thanks to everyone that picked up preorders, bought it from the webstore, or from the band on their recent Northeast tour.

Next up we have a 12″ release by Charlotte, NC band, Oddczar. Check the previous month’s entry for more details. Oddczar will be releasing the record on December 15th. In support of the release they will be throwing a party at The Milestone and playing songs from said release. Joining them in their celebration will Apart (Mayfly Records), Barrow, Radio Reds, Old Flings, and Muscle & Bone (Bitter Melody). If you live in NC/SC/GA/TN/VA, then you should come out!!!

Lastly, we are already working on a couple of releases for early 2013. We previously reported on Late Bloomer and their debut LP. We will be releasing their self-titled album with help from Lunchbox Records. The album was mastered by Carl Saff and sounds amazing. Expect a January or February release. After that we will be releasing Center of the Sun‘s LP, “Machine Gun” with help from Mayfly Records. Hopefully that will be out in March, if all goes well.

http://latebloomer.bandcamp.com/track/tooth-decay (Preview track from upcoming LP)
http://centerofthesun.bandcamp.com/album/machine-gun (Stream Center of the Sun)

It is almost the best time of year, the “fest” time of year. This year is going to be a good one with performance by Negative Approach, 7 Seconds, Braid and Latterman. Sadly, no Self Aware bands are playing this year but we will be at the Fest Flea Market selling things from our distro and other goodies. Please come visit us and say hello.

We are working on some new releases, but first the Old Flings LP… It should be shipping from the plant very soon (Monday, hopefully) meaning that we will have copies with us at FEST. After we get back we will be mailing copies to the multitudes who preordered it.  After that we are working again with Bitter Melody Records on Charlotte, NC’s own, Oddczar. They are a young(ish) band playing screamo/scramz in the vein of Joshua Fit For Battle, Saetia, Taken and newer bands such as Touche Amore. I have nostalgia for this style and these boys do it well. It is amazing to help a young band release their debut LP. I expect good things. Shortly after that we will be working with Lunchbox Records, helping them with the Late Bloomer LP. I’m super excited for the world to hear this record after working with them on their demo tape. This record is miles beyond that tape, and if you like 80/90s SST/Dischord bands then you will find something to love about this record. After that expect a repress of the No Power “No Axis” 7″ to support their LP this December on Sorry State Records. Lastly in the pipeline we have an LP from Center of the Sun. The band features members of Young and in the Way, but instead of blackened metallic hardcore with a black metal slant you get shoegaze/dream-pop with soaring female vocals. Helping with the release is none other than Mayfly Records. We are super excited for the rest of the year and early 2013! Please check out the store for our expansive distro…

 

 

Preorders for the Old Flings record have been up for a couple weeks now. I hope you have taken advantage of the special edition of the preorders. There is limited RED copies of the record, 100 to be exact. Bitter Melody Records has 40, We have 40 and the band has 20. From what Grant tells me, Bitter Melody is almost out of their copies. I have some left, but they won’t be around long. Old Flings has also released a music video for their song, “Grip.” Check it out below:

Old Flings- Grip

Next up, we have two releases that will hopefully be out by the end of the year. First up, Oddczar (Charlotte screamo/post-hardcore) will be releasing their debut LP on Bitter Melody Records//Self Aware. We are stoked to be helping our good friends in Oddczar get an amazing record pressed and distributed. After that, we will be working with Lunchbox Records and
(with whom we released a cassette earlier this year) on their LP. We are excited, equally, about both projects. 2012 is shaping up to being an amazing year for Self Aware Records. If you are reading this before FEST 11 (oct. 26-28) then make sure you come visit the Self Aware table during check in. See ya aroundskies.