In-Store Event:

Velocity Girl album release party

Join us Friday, August 16, for an album release party with Velocity Girl!

 

 

Ultracopacetic, an alternate history remix of the band’s 1993 debut album on Sub Pop records, arrives in stores that same day, and to celebrate its release, Mojomala will have the boys of Velocity Girl in the shop from 6pm-8pm. (Vocalist Sarah Shannon, unfortunately, is in Seattle).

 

Hang out with guitarists Archie Moore and Brian Nelson, bassist Kelly Riles, and drummer Jim Spellman and listen to the album with the folks who made it. In addition to giveaways and tasty treats, enjoy a special Q&A with the band on the process of remixing the album moderated by Eric Tischler (Hurricane Lamps, Jet Age).

 

Velocity Girl, formed in 1989 at the University of Maryland, achieved international renown through the mid-90s as Sub Pop recording artists. The band bucked the grunge trend of their label mates at the time by combining “English-inspired noisy shoegaze fuzz with scrappy US indie rock and classic '60s-style pop songwriting.”

 

 

Copacetic, the band’s first record on Sub Pop, garnered positive reviews and was well received by the public. That said, the band itself was underwhelmed by the production. They felt the album turned out to be a rather stripped-down affair, lacking the lushness of their live sound and prior recordings.

 

 

Fast-forward a few decades: Guitarist Archie Moore developed a career in audio work, and decided to revisit Copacetic. Starting from scratch with the original 2” tape reels, he remixed the entire album and even added a few bonus tracks. The approach was not to make a 2024 sounding record but rather to go back to the 1992 mindset and create the record the band should have made then. The result, Ultracopacetic (Copacetic Remixed and Expanded), is how the band envisioned Copacetic should have sounded all those years ago.

 

 

Velocity Girl (just the boys this time) Celebrate “Ultracopacetic”
WHO: Velocity Girl
WHEN: Friday, August 16, 6pm-8pm
WHERE: Mojomala Books, Records & Cool Stuff
8401 Colesville Rd. #140, Silver Spring, MD, 20910
COST: Free admission; standing-room only
PARKING: Use the county lot one block west at Cameron St./2nd Ave.

 

Shout out to Docs in Progress

Mojomala was the subject of a short documentary video!

 

 

Docs In Progress, based in downtown Silver Spring, is a “non-profit organization that seeks to educate, inspire, and transform the way people view their world through documentary film.” Among the many seminars and classes offered by Docs In Progress, they have a summer program for high school students interested in learning the ins and outs of documentary filmmaking.

 

 

And I got to see their excellent work first-hand. Ellison, Maddie and Bryce (pictured above with their advisor Melissa Daoulas) spent three days on site blocking out shots, interviewing and filming “b-roll” for a short video story on how Mojomala came to be and what we offer. I had a blast meeting them all, and only hope I didn’t mumble too much while on camera!

 

 

Docs In Progress provides valuable services to the local community and to documentary filmmakers, and I’m happy to support them. Thank you, Docs In Progress, and I’m eager to see the finished video on Friday, August 2.

 

Mojomala t-shirts coming in September

Want to be cool at school this Fall, and at the same time show your support for your friendly neighborhood books-and-records shop? Mojomala is getting a fresh stock of branded store t-shirts! We’re still nailing down the design but hope to have them in the shop by mid-September.

 

 

If you are interested in reserving a shirt, please shoot me a note and let me know your size preference. That’ll help a lot with ordering. They’ll likely be black t-shirts with a one-color design with an estimated price of $15-$20, depending on production costs.