Morning State vs. Livewire
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
THEY ONLY LOOK HOMELESS: Morning State
(photo courtesy Indie Outlaw)
In this week’s issue of CL, I wrote a story about Livewire Recordings, home to ATL bands such as Warm in the Wake and (formerly) Morning State. I first got a tip that Livewire was going under last December. After talking to several people and managing to get label co-owner Colin Cobb on the phone for a few minutes, it’s clear that the label suffered from serious money problems. Cobb claims that Livewire is only going on hiatus, but it is unclear if he will ever re-launch it.
Meanwhile, Morning State has been vocal about its frustration with Livewire. As the article explains, Morning State was one of two bands that was unable to get its album out before the label went on hiatus. (The other was Lake Charles, La., band Tuesday’s Debut.) However, manager/publicist Ian Wheeler sent me an e-mail today clarifying that Morning State is not “homeless.” The group plans to issue its debut album in April on Indie Outlaw, a boutique label set up by Wheeler.
Morning State’s “You Know People, I Know People” is slated for a late-April release on indie outlaw. The album was re-recorded over the past 10 days in Athens with Asa Leffer and features guest performances by members of Hope foragoldensummer, Dark Meat, and Gnarls Barkley collaborators. The band and myself feel that this new version of the album is 1 million times better than the previous take. The band will be playing multiple shows at SXSW this year, including the official indie outlaw showcase. They will also be touring with De Novo Dahl at the end of the month.
