Foreign Telegram » live

Reaching to you, Santa Clara

eve — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 06:09:35 +0000

Lately, we’re spending a great deal of time looking at profiles of people living in Santa Clara and it’s surrounding areas, so you may have recently received a message from us or joined our group. We want to say ‘hello!’ and ‘thanks!’

Also, we want to meet you in person! On Friday the 13th, we’ll be coming to the Claran Lounge, in Santa Clara. We’ll be playing with a band from Japan, who’s come for their first American tour. They’re called Lin Clover, and they are making a big noise in Japan. More about them here. The show is being hosted by our friends at Shibuya Airwaves, who are busy broadcasting Japan-centric music to the masses, and by Japanfiles.com, dealing exclusive Japanese music, on the web.

We’re also allegedly playing with someone else, but we’ve seen mixed signals as to who. We’ve heard that it might be Thee Out Mods, Art Beat, or someone else??!? What is certain is Lin Clover and Foreign Telegram are going to bring a show you shouldn’t miss.

13,000 Is A Lucky Number

eve — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:13:56 +0000

13,000 Is A Lucky Number
You’ve given us another 1,000 plays, so it’s high time we give you an update. This time, we count over 13,000 plays! Incredible. We want to thank each and every one of you personally. Let us know that YOU are listening! Reply here or leave us a brief comment on our profile and we’ll return the favor with a comment and gratitude. It’s even better to note that our two demos for our next album were responsible for a healthy slab of those plays. That’s a warm initial reaction to our new material, and you haven’t heard anything yet!

How To Buy People
Those demo mixes are promising, but they were done months ago. Since then, we’ve been grinding down the arrangements, tighting the joints, and galvanizing an entire album of new music. The working title of the upcoming album is How To Buy People. We begin recording, shortly after our current gamut of shows. Our approach this time is to record until we capture the energy of our live performances, electrified, passionate, and edgy.

Foreign Videogram
We haven’t had an opportunity to play for a lot of you, yet. We want to reach you as soon as possible, and not being able to do so is heavy on the conscience. So here’s what we can offer you. Below are two videos from a little private performance, where we unveiled our latest creations. What’s more, they are two of our newest songs, which will be on our next album. You can see how varied each song is, which begins to evidence the breadth of material on this album and what we are capable of in 2007. On the one hand, you have Again, a stripped down rocker, muscular and hungry, with a boot-heavy beat. On the other hand you have East of Elysia, sweet but bitter, dissonant in all the right places, and focused on the art of execution. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Yosuke for the video.

Now, you may have noticed a camerawoman in the video. That is Ai Sugano and she is also responsible for some of our recent, very sunny, very “golden state” photographs that we are featuring. You’ll notice in the Band Members section of our profile, 4 portraits in front of a gorgeous California backdrop. We’d like to thank Ai for her work and hope she’ll be shooting with us for a long time.

Our next show is at the Rockit Room, in our homebase, San Francisco. This Thursday, we will rendezvous at this very swanky club in the Richmond District, and let it all out. What we want is the same of you. If you are anywhere in the city, you can make it to the Rockit Room. We’re so lucky in this city with ample public transportation, bikelanes, and rich cultural attractions in each of San Francisco’s social micro-climates. Thursday, we tap into another climate at 406 Clement Street and 5th Avenue. We can’t wait to see how the locals operate, but we want to bring our friends from other climates to share the experience with us. We’ve visited this club before and we know you’re going to enjoy yourself. Long-time friends and friends to be, if you live in San Francisco, make it to this one event.

Again, thanks for listening. We really want to hear from you, even if it’s just a short note. Let us know what you think, what you want to know. If you have questions about our album, Skin Jobs, which is already up for sale, just drop your question here. Our blog is your blog.

FOREIGN TELEGRAM

12,000 hits in 2006, plus exclusive photos

eve — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:32:30 +0000

Twelve thousand song served and still counting!! All the rehearsal, the recording, the lugging equipment, it really pays off to know that you’re listening to the music that we put our hearts into. Something we care about is something you care about. That synergy makes it all worthwhile.

To celebrate, we’re switching out Proto and uploading a working mix of one of our new songs, Grass Pillow as well as a new mix of Violet. Grass Pillow has made it into our live set, but has never before been available on Myspace. Check it out and let your friends know about it. Don’t forget, you can click Add on the Myspace player and add the song to your profile, giving your friends a taste of some cool underground music while they look at your page.

This next Saturday we begin recording some of the newest, bleeding-edge tracks, that are yet unheard outside of the studio. These will be included on our next album, How To Buy People. We want to release this album as early in 2007 as possible. With diligence, we may be ready to do so by spring. Any visual artists that would like to get involved, you should feel welcome in contacting us. It’s never too early to start developing an art concept, and we’d like to do so with an inspired artist. Get in touch.

That’s about it for 2006. We had a great time at The Knockout on November 29th, and our warm regards go out to all of our friends, new and old, who came out to the show and made it a real party. Our next gigs are in January of 2007. We want to wish all our friends around the world a happy new year.

Black Wednesday, The Knockout SF

eve — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:41:29 +0000

Black Wednesday at The Knockout SF

** UPDATE: Girl Band added to the Wednesday, November 29th date at The Knockout SF. Check out their raw, sneering rock’n'roll, as only 4 girls can do it. **

The holidays are here. Ahead of you, a stress-inducing overtime, lay-over delays, your friends leaving town, angry parents tearing cabbage patch dolls from your grasp, and traffic for days. This is your last chance to gather together with the people that make a difference in life, your friends, and share a drink, exchange plans, laugh off the coming chaos of the holidays. It’s Black Wednesday and you’re at The Knockout SF.

The Knockout SF is pretty much the best, most unpretentious and fun venue in the Mission with pool, Ms. Pacman, pinball, a photo booth, drinks, bingo, a video screen with classic music videos and movies, art, and good-natured responsive bartenders.
http://theknockoutsf.com

Performing:

FOREIGN TELEGRAM, debuting Ronnie Matatquin on drums. Let’s give him a warm welcome. Throbbing beats and unstoppable bass lines echo through a frozen cavern of icy guitar melodies.
http://myspace.com/foreigntelegram

GIRL BAND, a sneering, rock’n'roll experience and proof that girls talk dirtier than boys.
http://myspace.com/girlbandsf

Friday, August 11, meet Foreign Telegram in Space, 10pm

eve — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 08:39:36 +0000

News flash. Foreign Telegram to play Space Gallery, Friday 11th, 10pm.

Make the Space Gallery your meeting point to get your weekend underway, and show some support for local artists and an up-and-coming art gallery. Chase it with a drink at the gallery’s bar or the Hemlock Tavern, just next door.

Space Gallery
Polk @ Sutter (next door to Hemlock)
http://www.spacegallerysf.com

Attention, kids. Space Gallery is a 21+ venue, so don’t forget your fake ID’s.

Photos from SUBCULTURE

eve — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 08:09:34 +0000

SUBCULTURE feat. Foreign Telegram, Que Sera, Vomica

eve — Wed, 24 May 2006 02:29:36 +0000

New event, new drummer, new songs. New, new, new. Live music. Dancing in the dark. Saturday night. Return to the underground.

Vomica Vomica’s classic brand of punk and hardcore is immediate and familiar, but their cross-cultural pollination brings Japanese style and flavor to fans of punk in the west, and true grit American riffs to fans of punk in the east.

Foreign Telegram Throbbing beats and unstoppable bass lines echo through a frozen cavern of icy guitar melodies. All the while, the captivating voice that guides you becomes increasingly distant, lost in emotional tangles and speaking in tongues.

Que Sera (from Los Angeles) “A mutant hybrid she-male rock regime of interlocking parts…hypnotizing you and beckoning you down dark corridors, into bright caves, humming with late-night industry, clanging with third-rail train-rhythm lullabies.” – Esther B. Langs

Design By Eve

Still Life from Victoria Theater

eve — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 13:04:55 +0000

FREE iPod-ready videos at FOREIGNTELEGRAM.COM

eve — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 11:41:29 +0000

So, you’ve got a brand new shiny iPod, and you want some video to go. You could download the new Nickelback, Beyonce, or Madonna videos from iTunes for $2 a pop, or you could grab some independent videos at FOREIGNTELEGRAM.COM for FREE. Support indie rock on the micro level (2.5″) and enjoy a FOREIGN TELEGRAM concert anywhere, anytime.

If you’re already a registered member, just go to the Members-only section and you’ll find all the videos posted for your enjoyment. If you haven’t registered at our message board, yet, it’s free to do so. All you need to do is click the Register button, choose a nickname and password. That’s it! Enjoy the videos!

NEW LIVE VIDEO ~ Spy Thriller Disco Scene

eve — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 14:47:05 +0000

We’ve got a brand new live video on our site. Check it out at http://foreigntelegram.com

New photos from 12 Galaxies

eve — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 05:30:42 +0000

Ohayou!

FOREIGN TELEGRAM has a bunch of new photos from our recent 12 Galaxies performance on October 28 and our prior Victoria Theater video premier and concert. They’re up on our personal message board at: http://foreigntelegram.com

Come over and check them out and leave comments. While you’re there, register your personal Nickname and Password, and you’ll have access to the special Members-only section of the message board. Registration is free and anonymous! As a Member, you will be allowed to upload your own photos, and you will have access to exclusive Members-only music and video downloads. We will occasionally offer free MP3 downloads that you won’t be able to get anywhere else.

Registered Members also can create their own profile and upload a photo avatar to go with all their posts on the boards. It’s a lot of fun. Try it out!

Thanks again, for your letters and support.

e v e
FOREIGN TELEGRAM

Tonight (Fri) ForeignTelegram + CookieMongoloid @ 12Galaxies

eve — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 14:22:37 +0000

Hey Everyone,

FOREIGN TELEGRAM is performing, tonight (Friday) at 12 Galaxies. This is our first time playing this stage, so we really need you to come out. We go on promptly at 10 o’clock. Don’t miss the beginning of our show! Also, check out our new merchandise — 3 new models of shirts and a cute new sticker — and chat with us before the night kicks into high gear. We’ll have international DJ, Masami (Gumna/ngoma) spinning records, who’s here from Tokyo, Japan. Doors open at 9pm. Come early, and avoid the line.

After FOREIGN TELEGRAM, it’s HATE BREEDERS, a total-Misfits cover band. Is there any better time to see them in their element than Halloween weekend? When the Misfits existed, I was too young to see a show, with or without a fake ID, but I would have loved it. I remember seeing them in Thrasher magazine, when that was brand new! Finally, I can experience all the attitude, the energy, and the howling.

Then, the headliner of the night is infamous, in the Bay Area — COOKIE MONGOLOID!! (brought to you by the letter C, and by the Devo coverband, MONGOLOID). They are going to blow the doors off the club with their full-bloat stageshow. Do you want to spend your Friday night the same old way, or do you want to see something really weird and fun? Here’s what Laughing Squid has to say about COOKIE MONGOLOID:

“Cookie Mongoloid is Sesame Speed Metal. See the Cookie Mongoloid in all his blue, furry, googly-eyed glory backed by the baddest of gender mixed metal bands as they decimate and regurgitate your childhood favorites in an abrasive metal wrath. See their harem of gothic gyrators, the Cookies, demonstrate such elemental concepts as up and down in a blaze of lights, smoke and pyrotechnic cookie shrapnel.”

Doors will open at 9pm. Come early to avoid the line. 12 Galaxies, located at 2565 Mission Street (near 22nd) is a beautiful club with a 2nd floor balcony and good sound. Check out the photo gallery at http://12galaxies.com. We’re going to have a great show. Call me, if you need anything else.

Eve
FOREIGN TELEGRAM

Foreign Telegram

Cookie Mongoloid

Hate Breeders

Solay aka Masami

Video Premier of ‘Nana’ and Live Performance (Sunday Oct 16, 2005)

eve — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 10:29:01 +0000

You are cordially invited to attend FOREIGN TELEGRAM’s first video premier for ‘Nana’ at this historic theater. The Victoria Theater has been a landmark since the early 20th century and is San Francisco’s oldest operating theater. Now in 2005, FOREIGN TELEGRAM will show our first video on the silver screen and perform a live set during Intermission, on the same stage that 20th century luminaries such as Mae West once shared. It is a profound honor to be the first band to take the stage since her time.

We are also honored by the presence of Koichi Tamano and his Harupin-Ha Butoh Dance Troupe. Koichi is a master of the Japanese Butoh dance style, and has performed around the world for several decades. Having studied under the founder of the Butoh dance style, Tatsumi Hijikata, his master likened him to “a bow legged Nijinsky”. This artform of contortion and interpretation is highly moving, and we are pleased to include his performance with understudies Ronnie Baker, Johnny Kim, and Hiroko Sadamori with direction by Hiroko Tamano in our new music video. We are also benefitting from the talents of several actors, including Annie Fox, Lauren Hart, Lloyd Rivera, Terry Borrero, and Taylor Ray. Of course, it would not be possible without EPI Productions and a crew of 13 film makers, who will be present at the showing. Guests of the Foggy Eye Film Festival will have an opportunity to meet the folks that make such great films happen.

The independent film festival will also show independent films by other local film makers, before and after the FOREIGN TELEGRAM premier. Guests will also be able to relax and enjoy the art of Marco Mejin and photography of Sung Jib Kim. The reception will start 30 minutes early, at 6:30pm, giving guests a chance to socialize and enjoy the artwork. Then, at 7pm, the film festival begins and lasts around 3 hours.

Your presence at our premier is highly anticipated! The Victoria Theater seats several hundred people. Guests who receive this invitation are encouraged to bring two friends to the event. Please help us ensure that this is a highly successful and memorable event. We hope that this helps to garner more attention for the San Francisco Bay Area music and art scene, and further promotes creative exports beyond our borders.

Sincerely,
FOREIGN TELEGRAM

FOREIGN TELEGRAM Video Premier and Live Performance / Oct 16 / 7pm

eve — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 09:23:26 +0000

FOREIGN TELEGRAM’s music video for ‘Nana’, featuring the Butoh Master Koichi Tamano and the members of his Harupin-Ha Butoh (http://harupin-ha.org), will be premiered at an independent film festival, produced by EPI PRODUCTIONS (http://epiproductions.com). We’ll be there to enjoy it for the first time on the sliver screen with everyone else and perform at intermission. Dance on film? A Band at the Victoria? Sweating and dancing at an indy film fest? Medical fetish and NATO scrubs? Showa gothic and Mission sushi chefs? What the?

Thanks to our friends, from FOREIGN TELEGRAM

eve — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 09:44:52 +0000

Thanks everybody, who came out to see us at Madrone, tonight. There were a lot of you who were new to our music, and some folks we didn’t get a chance to meet. However, we are looking forward to it, so send us a message or meet us at our next show (probably our record or video release party). To our many longtime friends and our new friends, who came out, we really appreciate it and had a great time hanging out.

So, if you haven’t done so, please join our private bulletin board at http://foreigntelegram.com where you can talk directly with the band and check out some members-only videos and music downloads. On Myspace, you can listen to FOREIGN TELEGRAM, but on our personal bulletin board, you can download music to your iPod or computer, and do with it as you please. It’s free to sign up and totally anonymous, just the way we like it. You can build up a profile if you want to put your personal touch on it, or just lurk. Sign up!

Thanks again. Write us.