Your Black Star

The artist of the day is Your Black Star [ yourblackstar.com ] [ myspace ]

Someone once said Louisville KY based “Your Black Star is a long stretch of highway on a hot summer night. It is a blanket of pitch-black sky pocked with thousands of points of light. It is your headlights searching the road ahead, a mystery unfolding as you roll forth into the darkness. It is a sense of calm as you roll off into the void, more curious than frightened.”

Now the indie band who has released “Sound from the Ground” on Wonka Vision Records and the ep “Beasts” this past July on indie Hawthorne Street Records is ready to bring some of this mysterious new rock back to the east coast with a run of dates this February.

Feb 12-Harrisburg, PA-Ceoltas Irish Pub
Feb 14-Washington, DC-The Velvet Lounge
Feb 16-Providence, RI-The Penalty Box Bar
Feb 17-NYC-The Annex w/Fresh Kills, Apollo Heights, Irv Irving
Feb 18-VA Beach, VA-South End Pub
Feb 22-Athens, GA-Go Bar
Mar 15-Louisville, KY-Headliners w/Pelican
*more dates to be announced shortly.

Your Black Star was formed in 2001 by singer/guitarist Jeremy Johnson and drummer Andrew Osborn, two kindred spirits bonded by their love of bombastic, fearless rock ‘n’ roll. Like a lot of bands, the birthing process proved difficult; bassists came and went before a true fellow traveler was discovered in Brandon Duggins. They have taken a decidedly unorthodox approach to building a fan base. Rather than fall into the trap that some bands fall into, Your Black Star resisted the temptation of becoming a bunch of local heroes who only play before adoring friends and neighbors. Rather, they threw themselves on the crucible that is the never-ending tour, taking the show on the road to test themselves before unfamiliar audiences. A friendship with the Japanese band Drum:Kan prompted Your Black Star to venture to Japan, where it quickly developed an unlikely connection with rock-starved fans. Tours of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom provoked a similar reaction, as well as positive international press and numerous spins on the influential BBC. “You can sit around and wait for that one big break to happen,” said Johnson, “Or you can put yourself out there and give yourself as many opportunities as you can.” Overseas buzz led to deals with labels in Japan, England and Australia, but the band was a bit of a mystery back home, more well known in Tokyo and Sydney than in the nightclubs of Louisville. Seeing this as less a problem than an opportunity, Johnson, Osborn and Duggins have spent the better part of the past two years rampaging through the states, playing in the esteemed South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin and the CMJ Festival in New York as well as sharing the stage with Sleater-Kinney, The Hold Steady, Pelican, The New Pornographers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Catfish Haven. -Thomas Nord

What are others saying about Your Black Star?

“Epic indie rock with big, hairy balls.”
-Kerrrang!
“Kentucky’s your black star might be the band to spark American indie-rock’s true resurgence.”
-Prefix Magazine
“A lightning bolt straight out of kentucky. 9/10”
-Blunt magazine
“Soaked in intensity, choking on dark, sprawling soundscapes.”
-Fasterlouder.com
“Sonic landscapes and stoner vocal vibes that make Explosions In The Sky sound like Westlife.”
-Roots and Branches
“If this is what happens when the punks grow up, I’m all in.”
-Punknews.org