Drinking Mercury is playing a show!

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I get excited about every show I play. You never know how a show is really going to go, it could look like it’ll be a great crowd and then the response is tepid… the room could be empty before you start and then suddenly fill up with enthusiastic, awesome people. The band could be a well-oiled machine but then inexplicably fall off the rails for no real reason, or you could be under-rehearsed and then totally nail the set. Every show has the promise of something new and exciting and I hope that never changes.

This Friday I’ll be playing the first proper show in over two years by my very first band Drinking Mercury. We’re playing at GTG House with Brook Pridemore, Elroy Meltzer, and Rent Strike. This band has continued to exist for over 16 years because the sheer joy of making music together is something that we can’t get away from and even when we don’t do anything for extended periods of time we can always pick it back up where we left off. We’re currently recording for a new split LP that we’ll all be talking about plenty in the not-too-distant future but as is the nature of the band it could be another little while before we play live again and, well, playing live is incomparable to anything else. Get some insights into our recording and rehearsal process on the band facebook page and try and get as excited as us.

I don’t really have more to add. Just excited! Being excited is cool, right? Kids still use that word still… “cool”? – Tommy

Fledge Fest 2016!!

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GTG Fest may still be four months away, but a summer fest in the same spirt called Fledge Fest is this weekend in Grand Ledge, MI! Music from noon to midnight on Saturday June 18th featuring The Plurals, the Hunky Newcomers, Frank and Earnest, Carm, Cavalcade, Jason Alarm, Blaine and His Keyboard, Devils Cut and many more! Check out the schedule below, as well as a free sampler of some of the bands playing. More info can be found hereThanks to Andy Fox, Jerry Norris, and everyone at The Fledge for making this happen!

BRIDGE STREET PLAZA STAGE LINEUP (213 S Bridge St, Grand Ledge, MI 48837)
Off The Ledge
12pm-12:30pm
Sumarah
12:40pm-1:10pm
Stop Bobby Hatch!
1:20pm-1:50pm
Scary Women
2.00pm-2:30pm
Carm
2:40pm-3:10pm
Worn Spirit
3:20pm-3:50pm
Jason Alarm
4pm-4:30pm
Jake Simmons & the Little Ghosts
4:40pm-5:10pm
Cavalcade
5:20pm-5:50pm
Frank and Earnest
6:10pm-7pm

THE FLEDGE STAGE LINEUP (325 S Clinton St, Grand Ledge, MI 48837)
Blaine and His Keyboard
5:30pm-6pm
Doctor Magnum
6:10pm-6:40pm
The Meat Flowers
6:50pm:7:20pm
The Hunky Newcomers
7:30pm-8pm

COMEDY @ THE FLEDGE
8:10pm-9:10pm
Brandon Bonebrakee
Taylor De La Ossa!
Cole Tunningley
Nicki Wrightt
Sonny Pandit

AFTER PARTY @ THE FLEDGE
Tidal
9:20pm-9:50pm
Ribcage
10pm-10:30pm
Bike Tuff
10:40pm-11:10pm
The Devil’s Cut
11:20-11:55pm
The Plurals
12:10pm-?

GTG Sessions – Episode 14 – Jeremy Porter & The Tucos

Jeremy Porter & The Tucos brought their Detroit-made powerpop n’ roll to GTG House when they were touring with the Plurals earlier this spring and we’re happy to kick off the summer-ish time by releasing the latest episode of GTG Sessions, featuring four tunes by this power trio. Check out more of their music and tour dates here.

GTG088 – Junior Battles / Bong Mountain available!

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You can finally order the new Junior Battles/ Bong Mountain split cassette from us! Only 75 of these suckers were made so hurry up, they won’t last long! Bong Mountain just wrapped up a Canadian and east coast tour but will be playing in Flint this weekend at Vehicle City Fest alongside The Plurals, Frank and Earnest, The Hunky Newcomers, City Mouse and a bunch of other cool artists including Sean Bonnette, Worship This!, Signals Midwest and oh so many more.

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Junior Battles are, as always, sweet, kind, perfect gentlemen. Now here’s a picture of Tommy Plural’s dog with Sparty!

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GTG088: Bong Mountain/ Junior Battles Cassette!

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GTG Records is very excited to be releasing the brand new cassette split from our good friends: Grand Rapids’ Bong Mountain and Toronto’s Junior Battles! Bong Mountain has been tearing it up across the Midwest over the last year and a half with their brand of gruff, jagged pop punk. You may remember them from the GTG showcase at Mac’s Bar in February, and since then, they’ve continued to build momentum and are building a ton of buzz. Junior Battles formed in 2007 and has been peddling a solid, unique brand of cynical pop culture-laden indie rock/punk. We met these guys in 2009 when they played a huge, raucous show at GTG House and it feels good to be able to work with them again.

The cassettes are hot off the press and will be available for the first time TONIGHT at BIKE TUFF // BONG MOUNTAIN // LITTLE AMERICAN CHAMP // WORN SPIRIT in Lansing (and on the web shortly after), and both bands will be playing Pouzza FEST in Montreal this weekend. We couldn’t be more excited to help bring these four new songs to life. GTG088!

GTG Sessions – Smashing Blumkins

Oh man, it’s just… it happened. Friday the 13th!

GTG May 2016 Lansing Shows!

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Current events for the GTG family in Lansing, MI this May. Thanks as always to Corey Marie for the sweet flyer-age.

Stoopfest!

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This Saturday, April 23, in Lansing there’s a fantastic all day show called Stoopfest happening at six house venues on the lovely Eastside. A few years ago we at GTG tossed around the idea of trying to have a multi-venue house show weekend fest thing in Lansing but we never seriously pursued it, so it’s been really cool seeing a similar idea come to fruition completely independently of us – and it’ll also be cool to mostly just be spectators and get to take it all in! The Plurals close out things at Lamp House at 10 PM but throughout the day at all of the houses there’s tons of great music, comedy, and more happening. My biggest bummer of the day is that I won’t be able to get to see Lucy because I’ll be busy setting up and then playing at a different house during their set! The schedule is below and they also have a bandcamp page where people can sample the lineup. Can’t wait!

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GTG April Shows in Lansing!

Check it out! Shows at the Avenue, Mac’s, Green Door, house shows galore, Record Store Day, etc etc! Spring!

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GTG Sessions – Episode 12 – Little American Champ

Let’s get April moving right with the latest GTG Session starring Little American Champ. Little American Champ are a Lansing-based group that we’ve collectively been playing shows with since 2010 or something. They’ve played all of our spaces and multiple GTG Fests, and in fact just held their record release party at GTG House at the end of March. Their debut LP is out now via Save Your Generation Records, and you can hear live versions of 3 of the songs from it at this very session. Hooray!