The Record Exchange just received a shipment of The Head and the Heart tour photo scrapbooks for Tuesday’s in-store, and imagine our surprise when we turned to the last page and saw a photo of the band in Downtown Boise — with The Record Exchange in the background to boot!

How cool is that?

You can hear The Head and the Heart live at the RX on Tuesday (6 p.m.) during Sub Pop Day at The Record Exchange, which just might have to become an annual holiday.

Tuesday, May 3, is Sub Pop Day at The Record Exchange, and we’ll have special sales and a couple of amazing events to celebrate this fine day:

The Head and the Heart in-store (6 p.m.). These Seattle favorites were recently signed to Sub Pop, which re-released the band’s self-titled album on CD and vinyl for Record Store Day. Customers who purchase The Head and the Heart during the in-store will receive a 24-page tour photo scrapbook free with purchase. (See below for more info on The Head and the Heart.)

Fleet Foxes listening party (5 p.m.). Fleet Foxes’ highly-anticipated new album Helplessness Blues comes out on May 3, and we’ll be playing the album on the store hi-fi prior to The Head and the Heart’s performance. We’ll also have a limited-edition silkscreen poster (pictured) to give away with purchase of Helplessness Blues (while supplies last).

The first 25 people to get to the RX for the listening party will be entered to win a nifty Sub Pop prize pack that includes an ultra-limited (100 copies worldwide) white vinyl LP pressing of Helplessness Blues. When you arrive at the store for the listening party, come to the counter and ask for a number. We’ll draw the winning number following The Head and the Heart’s set (you must be present to win).

ABOUT THE HEAD AND THE HEART

So many decisions in life and in the music we love can come down to a critical tug between the logic in our heads and the hot red blood beating through our hearts. Seattle’s The Head and the Heart live authentically in that crux, finding joy and beauty wedged there. Their music pulses effervescently — both explosively danceable and intuitively intelligent. With Americana roots and strong vocal harmonics that swell like a river, this band finds its anchor in solid songwriting that has even the jaded humming along by the second listen.

Leaving a variety of day jobs and academic pursuits, The Head and the Heart came together in the summer of 2009, during frequent visits to the open mic night at Conor Byrne in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. California-transplant Josiah Johnson and Virginia-native Jonathan Russell formed the core songwriting partnership, quickly adding keyboardist Kenny Hensley to the mix. Kenny, then 21, had packed up his piano and moved up to Seattle from California to pursue musical score-writing. The luminous Charity Rose Thielen, violin and vocals, had just returned from a year of studying and playing music in Paris. Drummer Tyler Williams cold left a successful band in Virginia after Jon sent him the demo of “Down in the Valley,” relocating across states to be a part of this. Finally, Chris Zasche, was bartending at Conor Byrne and mentioned one day that he’d be happy to play bass for the nascent band. It all felt right: The Head and the Heart was born.

Whether penning songs on the beach at Seattle’s Discovery Park, or working out melodies in the piano practice rooms at the Seattle Public Library, Charity describes the early months of the band’s existence as touched by a shared purpose and connection. She recalls an email she sent to Josiah that summer, confessing that she was “sleepless and penniless, but inspired nonetheless.”

The band entered Seattle’s Studio Litho in early 2010 to record these songs that had been kicking and twisting in the catalytic development of their live show. Recorded by Shawn Simmons at Studio Litho and Steven Aguilar at Bearhead Studio, the band was selling burned copies in handmade denim sleeves at local shows within a few weeks. Self-released in June 2010, the debut album helped build an impressive head-of-steam for the band through the second half of the year, gaining fans at influential Seattle station KEXP, local record shops (a consistent top 10 seller for Easy Street and the #1 album of 2010 at Sonic Boom), and venues up and down the West Coast, culminating with signing to Sub Pop Records in November. For the 2011 re-release of the album, “Sounds like Hallelujah” has been re-recorded, live favorite “Rivers and Roads” has been added, and the album has been re-mastered.

The songs resulting from those first inspired months pick at the multicolored threads of leaving home, finding home, and through that process of deconstruction, finding yourself. These are songs about crossing rivers and roads to get to the one you love, about family far away, and the desire to chase Technicolor dreams down foreign horizons. When people hear these songs, or see the band live, the first thing they have to do is tell someone else. Their shows are, simply, one hell of a lot of breathless fun. Each song explodes into a potent supernova on stage, where half the audience is zealously singing along with every lyric, and the other half is wishing they knew the words. The band has accepted nearly every show offered to them in the past year, from backyards strung with Christmas lights to coffee shops, open mics, and even high school classrooms in Middle America. From the first months of the band’s life, their reputation as a phenomenal live band has preceded them wherever they play.

The strength of Josiah, Jon and Charity’s vocal harmonies on the album makes it feel like these three were born to pour their voices together, as the band’s songs revel in jaunty bass lines with ebullient handclaps peppering the best moments. A palette of orchestral elements weave their way through the album, including cello, glockenspiel, and violin, all shading in the songs’ development. For all the times your toes tap while enjoying this band, often the lightness will deceptively belie the depth of ache in the lyrics when you sit down to really listen. There is magic in the music, but not magic contrived by trickery or posturing. “It seems actually that the more genuine and honest we are in the songwriting and performing, the more people relate to that transparency,” Charity muses.

This is an album for people who unabashedly sing and drum along on the steering wheel, and also for those who appreciate a well-crafted collection of songs that build into something wholly beautiful.

There is in this music a counter-cultural optimism, with roots that grow deep and melodies that lodge themselves far into that place inside you where the head meets the heart.

Shook Twins will perform live at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Downtown Boise) at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 28. As always, this Record Exchange in-store performance is free and all ages.

A CD release party will be held later in the evening at the Linen Building (7 p.m.). Tickets ($12) are available at The Record Exchange and include a complimentary copy of Shook Twins’ new CD Window. Full details on the CD release party can be found HERE.

LISTEN TO WINDOW ONLINE HERE.

Shook Twins (shooktwins.com) are not your average folk duo. The sisters, Laurie and Katelyn, have some tricks up their sleeves. You wouldn’t expect a small-town girl from North Idaho (Sandpoint) to drop a beatbox in the middle of a song. Katelyn plays the guitar, glockenspiel and mandolin, sings opera into a telephone and bocks like a chicken. Laurie plays wah-wah banjo and loops various melodies and beats to make it sound like more than just two identical twin sisters. Together they sing in twin harmony, which is a whole different experience from non-twin harmony.

Shook Twins’ sound is sculpted from the artists who inspired them most: The Beatles, Ani DiFranco, Joni Mitchell, Feist and Bjork. They bring an exciting, lighthearted energy to the stage wherever they play, and have performed with artists such as Ryan Adams, Mason Jennings, Michelle Shocked, JJ Grey and Mofro, Darol Anger, BoDeans, Elephant Revival, The Head and the Heart and many more.

Jonathan Warren and the Billy Goats will perform live at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Downtown Boise) at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 22. As always, this Record Exchange in-store performance is free and all ages.

The self-described “Progressive Psychobilly Folk Grass” band’s new album A Little Something Stronger Than Wine will be available at the in-store. Later that night, they’ll perform at a CD release party at Tom Grainey’s (10 p.m.).

In April of 2007, Jonathan Warren (jonathanwarrenmusic.com) packed up his life and his guitar to move from Knoxville, Tennessee to the Northwest. He brought with him strong roots in traditional bluegrass and old-time music inherent in the Southern Appalachians. Warren teamed up with David Sather-Smith, a vocalist and classically trained cellist. Shortly afterwards, Idaho native Ty Clayton traded in his electric guitar for a mandolin to play with the Goats. Austin Clark brings a fresh energy on the violin, and Conner Madden, originally from New York, finalizes the band with percussion.

What is Progressive Psychobilly Folk Grass?
It’s a goat chewing on a can, it’s a cat scratching at your door, it’s foot stompin’ music that makes you want to eat a biscuit. Melodies you wake up humming in the morning, and stick to your bones like peach cobbler.
It’s new-timey, post-retro, pre-apocolyptic, southern Appalachian gypsy porch swing. It’s Jonathan Warren and the Billy Goats. Enjoy.

Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE) will visit The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Downtown Boise) for a meet-and-greet at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 24. As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages.

The punk-rock legend will meet with fans and sign autographs prior to his show next door at Neurolux (8 p.m.). The Record Exchange will have a special tour poster and CD and vinyl copies of Watt’s latest album Hyphenated-Man. The meet-and-greet will include a special performance by Jumping Sharks, who are opening for Watt at Neurolux.

Twenty-six years after Minutemen‘s landmark Double Nickels on the Dime, Mike Watt returns to the familiar punk and jazz influenced sound he and his band made famous. This time, it’s more refined and more mature without lacking any of the energy or urgency of yesteryear. Hyphenated-Man features thirty songs in forty-seven minutes with Watt on bass, his deep baritone singing melodies and reciting spoken word while the Missingmen (Raul Morales and Tom Watson) wail on drums and guitar.

Add to all of this a special redrawn cover by legendary artist Raymond Pettibon, and you’ve got an album worthy of the history that led up to it. Watt is a legend and his output over the years (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, three solo efforts and currently his role with Iggy and the Stooges) has not only influenced several generations, but also helped to create and maintain an entire music scene.

Jumping Sharks‘ new full-length album Dreams of the Dying, Light of the Living was recorded at Audible Alchemy in Portland, a studio that has recorded many well-known bands, including Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. Music veteran Steven Wray Lobdell, who recorded and co-produced Built to Spill’s You in Reverse, produced, recorded and mixed the album.

In their short time on the music scene, Jumping Sharks (Zane Norsworthy, Reggie Townley, Mike Swain, Ben Wieland) have earned a reputation for their powerful musicianship, well-crafted lyrics, and wild, extended breakdowns. While their sound is distinctive and resists immediate categorization, influences include classic rock ranging from the Beatles to the Grateful Dead — as well as indie band favorites Ween, Flaming Lips and Super Furry Animals — with a little Tex Ritter, Woody Guthrie and Miles Davis thrown in for good measure.