Show and tour announcements are all the same: A fancy flyer, a list of shows, a bunch of links and maybe an exclusive download of some kind. But when it came to announcing the local date for Beach Slang’s 2016 North American tour, May 19 at the Sinclair in Cambridge, Bowery Boston had not just a leg up, but an arm as well.
As the story goes, Bowery promoter Josh Smith allegedly waked into Pino Bros Ink in Cambridge and got a lantern design tattooed on his arm by Dave Norton, with the words “There’s a light on those filthy streets / Where the throwaways get weird and free” circled around it. Those lyrics come from Beach Slang’s song “Throwaways”, off last year’s acclaimed LP The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us. Underneath the tattoo, scribbled in temporary ink: “Beach Slang 5/19 at the Sinclair.”
The video was posted yesterday before news of Beach Slang’s full North American tour run, which includes dates at South-By-Southwest and a coast-to-coast swing, was unveiled. Writes frontman James Alex on Facebook: “Josh is the most hardcore (in the sweetest way) promoter ever. I love the tattoo. So much. I mean, my heart back-flipped when I saw it. Wear those words like boxing mitts, my man.”
Smith says the ink is a reflection of both his love for music and his job. Though admits he didn’t get the Beach Slang tattoo just to announce their show in Cambridge.
“I booked almost 400 shows last year so I’d have some issues if I got a tattoo just to announce a show, though I do want to get more creative in promoting and developing bands when we can,” he tells Vanyaland via email. “Posting album artwork and band photos with ticket links, while getting the information out, gets a little boring.. This is a fun job and we should have fun while working with some of our favorite bands… If records like The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us weren’t getting released I don’t think I’d have the motivation to keep doing this… thankfully there are important bands releasing incredible music that needs to be heard.”
Joining Beach Slang on their tour will be Dyke Drama and Northampton guitar-rock trio Potty Mouth. Watch the tattoo video announcement below, peep Beach Slang’s full run of dates down below, and read our 2015 interview with Alex here.
BEACH SLANG | MAY 19 | THE SINCLAIR | BOSTON, MA | with Potty Mouth & Dyke Drama ????
TICKETS:https://t.co/aHAMBQEOkY pic.twitter.com/fGOzYMexlz
— BEACH SLANG. (@beachslang) February 8, 2016
2016 Beach Slang North American Tour (w/ Potty Mouth and Dyke Drama)
3/17-19 – Austin, TX – SXSW
4/20 – Brooklyn, NY- Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/21 – Albany, NY – The Hollow
4/23 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
4/24 – Madison, WI – The Frequency
4/25 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
4/27 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
4/28 – Salt Lake City – Kilby Court
4/29 – Boise, ID – Neurolux
4/30 – Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
5/1 – Portland, OR – Analog Cafe
5/3 – San Francisco – The Rickshaw Stop
5/5 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
5/6 – San Diego, CA – The Casbah
5/7 – Phoenix, AZ – The Rebel Lounge
5/9 – Dallas, TX – Three Links
5/10 – Austin, TX – Sidewinder
5/11 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
5/13 – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees
5/14 – Nashville, TN – The High Watt
5/15 – St. Louis, MO – The Firebird
5/16 – Chicago, IL – The Bottom Lounge
5/17 – Detroit, MI – Shelter
5/19 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair
5/20 – Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
5/21 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
7/8 – Halifax, NS – Gridlock Festival
