Press Releases

• Jan 26 2012 Radiation City Smash a Piano After They 'Find It Of Use'...
  Radiation CitySmash a Piano After They ‘Find It Of Use’ In New Video Premiered by IFCAnnounce National Tour Dates + SXSW

  Watch the video for ‘Find it Of Use’ at the IFC Premiere or at Vimeo

  Portland, OR-based Radiation City have debuted a brand new piano-smashing video with IFC for the single ‘Find It Of Use,’ taken from their forthcoming Cool Nightmare EP, set for release on March 6. The band will be selling the EP digitally and on USB sticks attached to the collected piano keys as they embark on their first trip to SXSW as part of a tour that will take them down the West Coast and through the Midwest. After a raucous New Year’s Eve set where the band covered OutKast‘s The Love Below album in its entirety, the dream-pop quintet will revisit these parts of the country again in anticipation of this forthcoming EP, which comes with a story of an old piano whose fate is captured in the video above:

  “The piano has lived in drummer Randy Bemrose’s basement for eons. It’s old, cumbersome, and on it’s last legs. The band used sounds from the piano throughout the recording of this new EP… not just the keys though, the clicks and clacks from the body, the slamming of the lid, and virtually every other sound you can imagine making on the piano. After they were finished, the piano was beat up, out of tune, and falling apart.Having used the old piano of all it’s worth the band feels as though they have to pay just respects to the dying instrument. As a celebration of an intense year, and the successful creation of something new, Radiation City engages in the ceremonial destruction of the old piano. The gesture is a slate-wiping. It marks the end of the beginning. The piano is a relic in their lives– it feels archaic and decrepit. The last sounds the piano ever made were immortalized in the recording of this EP.”Cool Nightmare is the followup to the group’s acclaimed debut, The Hands That Take You, released this past fall on Tender Loving Empire (Typhoon, Loch Lomond). Originally out via cassette on Radiation City founders Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison‘s cassette-only record label Apes Tapes, the The Hands That Take You has been lauded by MTV, ELLE, NYLON, Paste, FuseTV, Prefix, and The L Magazine among others.

  Radiation City Tour Dates 

  2/29 – Pendleton, OR – The Great Pacific

  3/01 – Boise, ID – Visual Arts Collective

  3/02 – Provo, UT – Muse Music Cafe

  3/03 – Grand Junction, CO – Rock Slide Brewery

  3/04 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive

  3/06 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar

  3/11 – Shreveport, LA – Media Star Entertainment Hall

  3/13-03/18 – SXSW

  3/23 – San Diego, CA – TIn Can Ale House

  3/25 – Santa Barbara, CA – Muddy Waters Cafe

  3/26 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Kreuzberg, CA

  3/28 – San Francisco, CA – The Rickshaw Stop

  3/29 – Davis, CA – Sophia’s Thai Kitchen

  3/31 – Arcata, CA – The Alibi

  4/08 – Portland, OR – Rontoms

  The Hands That Take You LP Tracklisting:

    (mp3s Available To Post)

  1. Babies

  2. The Color of Industry

  3. The Things You Tell Us

  4. Summer Is Not An Act 1

  5. Wading

  6. Salsaness

  7. Park

  8. Mammals

  9. Phantom Lady

  10. Construction

  11. Summer Is Not An Act 2
• Dec 02 2011 Radiation City Debut New Single + Remix for

  Radiation City Debut New Single + Remix for “Babies”
  

    Perform West Coast Dates, Return to the Studio for New LP

  “The emergence of Radiation City could be inspiring – or fairly frightening – for a host of electronic-, retro-garage-, chamber-, and just plain “dream-pop” manufacturers. ‘Cause it’s just raised the bar a lot higher.” - My Old Kentucky Blog
  

  “one of the year’s more charming debuts which drifts between moody, organ-driven numbers and more upbeat pop.” – BrooklynVegan
  

   Download “Babies” & the Popopepe Remix at the Death + Taxes Premiere
  
  Watch Radiation City’s “Into The Woods” Live Performance of “Babies”   

   

  Portland-based dream-pop group Radiation City will embark on a new set of West coast tour dates next week, performing down the coast of California and heading back up to Portland. The band has debuted a new single “Babies” as well as it’s remix from Portland-based artist PoPoPePe, both available for free mp3 download at SoundCloud. Wrapping up a successful two-week recording session at their Trout Lake, Washington mountain cabin, the band will continue to work on their sophomore full-length set for a 2012 release.”Babies” is the third single from the group’s lauded full-length debut, The Hands That Take You, available now through Tender Loving Empire (Typhoon, Loch Lomond). Originally out via cassette on Radiation City founders Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison‘s cassette-only record label Apes Tapes, the album has been lauded by MTV, ELLE, Paste, FuseTV, Prefix, and The L Magazine among others, with NYLON saying, “Their dreamy, faraway sound reminds us of a sunshiny marriage between Reading Rainbow and the Dum Dum Girls…Either way, let’s just say it’s really good.” The band recently released a new sampler Mixed Ape 3 with Apes Tapes and will perform a special Portland NYE’s set covering OutKast‘s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below“ album in it’s entirety.

  Radiation City On Tour:

  12/04 – Eugene, OR – Sam Bond’s
  12/05 – Sacramento, CA – Luigi’s Fungarden
  12/06 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
  12/07 – San Diego, CA – Tin Can Alehouse
  12/08 – Los Angeles, CA – The Satellite
  12/09 – Chico, CA – Cafe Coda
  12/10 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
  12/31 – Portland, OR -  Mississippi Studios w/ Nurses, Wild Ones, DJ Beyonda

  The Hands That Take You Tracklisting:  

  1. Babies (+ Popopepe Remix)

  2. The Color of Industry

  3. The Things You Tell Us

  4. Summer Is Not An Act 1

  5. Wading

  6. Salsaness

  7. Park

  8. Mammals

  9. Phantom Lady

  10. Construction

  11. Summer Is Not An Act 2

• Oct 05 2011 Radiation City Extends Coast to Coast National Tour..

  Radiation City Extends Coast to Coast National Tour     

     Returns to NYC for Performances at CMJ

  “Lizzy Ellison’s gorgeous vocals are infectiously charming.” - ELLE

  “Super dreamy…some of the most pleasing music of the last few decades thoughtfully time-warped into a fresh new tune.” -  My Old Kentucky Blog

  Download Singles “Park” and “The Color of Industry” (mp3s Available for Posting)  

   Listen to The Hands That Take You in its Entirety at Paste’s Exclusive Album Stream

  Portland-based dream-pop group Radiation City have announced a second run of national tour dates in support of their recently released debut, The Hands That Take You, available now through Tender Loving Empire (Typhoon, Loch Lomond). The quartet will weave through the Midwest and return to NYC for several anticipated sets at this year’s CMJ Music Marathon. This new set of dates follow the band’s first ever coast to coast tour, which included two energetic shows in NYC highlighted in a segment by local news affiliate NY1, and a recent sold-out performance in LA at the Troubadour with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.The Hands That Take You, which originally came out via cassette on Radiation City founders Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison‘s cassette-only record label Apes Tapes, has been lauded by MTV, Paste, FuseTV, Prefix, and The L Magazine among others, with Death + Taxes saying, “this is superbly crafted, easily pinpointed yet unmistakably captivating, pop music,” and All Music Guide describing their sound as “influences that range as far as 60′s girl groups, 50′s doo wop, classic indie (sweet) pop and (crunchy) rock, and 70′s singer/songwriters.” The band recently performed a sold-out CD release show at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, and will continue to take their vibrant set throughout the country.

  Radiation City On Tour:

  10/10 – Pendleton, OR – Great Pacific
  10/11 – Missoula, MT – The Badlander
  10/12 – Bozeman, MT – Filling Station
  10/13 – Sioux Falls, SD Latitude 44
  10/14 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club
  10/15 – Chicago, IL – Ultra Lounge
  10/17 – Pittsburgh, PA – Garfield Artworks
  10/18 – Boston, MA – TBA
  10/19 – New York, NY – CMJ  [Big Hassle Media Party] @ Pianos – 1pm
  10/19 – New York, NY – CMJ [Paste Party] @ Living Room – 4pm
  10/20 – New York, NY – CMJ [Gluttony Is The New Black Party] @ Pete’s Candy Store – 10pm
  10/21 – New York, NY – CMJ [Distiller Promo Party] @ Knitting Factory – 1:35pm
  10/21 – New York, NY – CMJ [Self Group] @ Lit Lounge – 8pm
  10/22 – New York, NY – CMJ [Baeble Music Party] @ Spike Hill – 3pm
  10/25 – St. Louis, MO – Lemp Arts
  10/26 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
  10/27 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
  10/28 – Salt Lake City, UT
  10/29 – Boise, ID – Visual Arts Collective
  10/30 – Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern

• Sep 20 2011 Radiation City Gets Personal with Second Single

  Radiation City Gets Personal with Second Single “Park”

   Paste Offers Exclusive First Listen of The Hands That Take You
  
  “Lizzy Ellison’s clear-blue voice…that’s the real selling point” - The L Magazine
  

  “Super dreamy…some of the most pleasing music of the last few decades thoughtfully time-warped into a fresh new tune.” -  My Old Kentucky Blog
  

  “Radiation City unapologetically tap several tried indie-band descriptives — sunny, 60s, dreamy, etc. — and succeed in carving out their own compelling sound” - Death + Taxes 

  Stream “Park” at MTV Hive  and Download “The Color of Industry” at Tender Loving Empire      

  Listen to The Hands That Take You in its Entirety at Paste’s Exclusive Album Stream

  Portland-based dream-pop group Radiation City has debuted the second single, “Park,” off their forthcoming full-length debut, The Hands That Take You, with Tender Loving Empire (Typhoon, Loch Lomond). Paste is hosting an exclusive full-length preview of the band’s 60′s girl-group-inspired album in advance of its release date on September 27th. The band recently wrapped up their first ever coast to coast tour, including two energetic, packed-to-the-gills nights in NYC highlighted in a segment by local news affiliate NY1, and a recent sold-out performance in LA with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.Cameron Spies [guitar/vocals] revealed his personal sentiment behind the single (which was also featured on Baeble‘s most recent mixtape) explaining, “['Park'] was conceived just after I first met Lizzy [Ellison, the band's co-founder and keyboardist]. “I was still living down in San Francisco, and she was living in Portland. The song was simultaneously a lament about the distance between us and excitement about knowing her.” Radiation City is scheduled to return to New York in October for this year’s CMJ Music Marathon.

  Radiation City Live

  9.24 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir (CD release show)
  10.18- 22 – New York, NY – CMJ Music Marathon

• Aug 02 2011 Radiation City Announces Coast to Coast Summer Tour, Prepare
  Radiation City Announces Coast to Coast Summer Tour   

   Prepare For Fall Release of Debut LP The Hands That Take You

  “pure magic…” – WOXY Future Sounds   

  “‘The Hands That Take You’ is a gem; subtle and beautiful and strange…” – The Deli Magazine
  

  “easy to place, impossible to ignore.” – Refinery29.com 
  Download First Single “The Color of Industry” (mp3 Available to Post)
  

  Portland-based dream-pop outfit Radiation City have announced a coast to coast US tour behind their debut full-length, The Hands That Take You, out September 27th with Tender Loving Empire (Typhoon, Loch Lomond). Recently performing at Portland’s PDX Now Festival, Oregon Music News applauded their stage presence noting, “a huge part of Radiation City’s draw is how well they compliment each other live on stage. Their communal presence blends style, chemistry, and skill perfectly.”

  Radiation City originated when founding members Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison first put their heads together founding DIY cassette tape label, Apes Tapes, among a wellspring of other projects. Running a record label put the duo in a position of musical saturation, and after participating in multiple bands and side-projects, they decided to sit down and do it right. The Hands That Take You, first surfaced in February 2011 on Apes Tapes, and after only a few live performances, the band was being lauded as “one of Portland’s more polished and promising young acts…(Willamette Week).” Following the local and national attention they’ve received from these recordings, they’ve now signed with Tender Loving Empire to release the album nationally on CD and vinyl and are headed to a city near you!

  Radiation City Tour Dates

  8.8 – Pendelton, OR -  Great Pacific
  8.9 – Boise, ID - Visual Arts Collective
  8.11 – Provo, UT – Muse Music Cafe
  8.12 – Grand Junction, CO – TBA
  8.13 – Denver, CO – Yellow Feather
  8.14 – Lincoln, NE – Clawfoot House
  8.16 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry
  8.18 – Chicago, IL – Strobe session
  8.20 – Chicago, IL – Hideout Inn
  8.21 – Youngstown, OH – Cedar Lounge
  8.22 – Pittsburgh, PA – TBA
  8.23 – New York City, NY – Pianos w/ Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis
  8.24 – Brooklyn, NY - Spike Hill
  8.26 – Baltimore, MD – TBA
  8.27 – Philly, PA – JR’s Bar-Gracie w/ Rivka
  8.28 – Charlotte, NC – Snug Harbor
  8.30 – Chapel Hill, NC – The Nightlight
  8.31 – Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
  9.1 – New Orleans, LA – Siberia w/ King Rey, The Jonesbirds
  9.3 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
  9.5 – Albuquerque, NM - Burt’s Tiki
  9.6 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
  9.7 – San Diego, CA – Tin Can Ale House
  9.8  – Los Angeles, CA -TBA
  9.9 – Los Angeles, CA – House Show
  9.14 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom Of the Hill w/ Blackbird Blackbird
  9.16 – Davis, CA – Sophia’s Thai Kitchen w/ Birds and Batteries
  9.24 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir (CD release show)

   

• Jun 29 2011 Radiation City Announces Forthcoming Debut LP...
  Radiation City Announces Forthcoming Debut LP
  The Hands That Take You with Tender Loving Empire

  “pure magic…” – WOXY Future Sounds 

  “‘The Hands That Take You’ is a gem; subtle and beautiful and strange…” – The Deli Magazine

  “easy to place, impossible to ignore.” – Refinery29.com

   Download First Single “The Color of Industry” (mp3 Available to Post)

  Portland-based dream-pop outfit Radiation City are proud to announce their debut album, The Hands That Take You, set for a September 27th release with Tender Loving Empire (Typhoon, Loch Lomond).

  Founding members Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison first put their heads together when they founded DIY cassette tape label, Apes Tapes, among a wellspring of other projects. Running a record label put the duo in a position of musical saturation, and after participating in multiple bands and side-projects, they decided to sit down and do it right. The Hands That Take You, first surfaced in February 2011 on Apes Tapes, and after only a few live performances, the band was being lauded as “one of Portland’s more polished and promising young acts…(Willamette Week).” Following the local and national attention they’ve received from these recordings, they’ve now signed with Tender Loving Empire to release the album nationally on CD and vinyl.

  Influenced by 60′s bossa nova and Chicago jazz, their version of this classical sound developed dynamically with the addition of irresistible pop vocal hooks and their minimal electronics that implement rhythm but leave plenty of space. Ellison leads both vocally and with the driving warmth of her Wurlitzer. Spies’ telecaster and vocal harmonies accompany Ellison’s hooks, rounded out by bassist Matt Rafferty and drummer Randy Bemrose. Radiation City is preparing for an extensive national tour starting in August in support of The Hands That Take You. Dates to be announced shortly.

  Upcoming Tour Dates

  June 30 – Seattle, WA- Hi-Dive

  July 14 – Portland, OR- Holocene “Into The Woods Quarterly”

  July 24 – Portland, OR- PDX POP NOW!

  July 29 – Portland, OR- Doug Fir w/ Tu Fawning

  Sept 24 – Portland, OR- Doug Fir (CD Release Show)

   

   The Hands That Take You Track Listing

  1. Babies

  2. The Color of Industry

  3. The Things You Tell Us

  4. Summer Is Not An Act 1

  5. Wading

  6. Salsaness

  7. Park

  8. Mammals

  9. Phantom Lady

  10. Construction

  11. Summer Is Not An Act 2