Minnesota's rocking acoustic pickers Trampled by Turtles officially started the roll-out for their new album, "Stars and Satellites," today. The record will arrive April 10, giving Twin Cities fans one day to learn all the songs in time for the quintet's release party and tour kickoff April 11 at First Avenue. Tickets ($25) go on sale to the general public Friday at noon and should go faster than it takes to change a mandolin string.
As we previously reported, "Stars and Satellites" was recorded over a weeklong stretch at a cabin in the woods near Duluth with veteran local producer Tom Herbers. Frontman Dave Simonett humbly marveled over the sessions when I ran into him a few days after they wrapped last fall. He and the band heavily contemplated an offer from a major label to release the record, but they ultimately chose to stay with Thirty Tigers, the small operation that helped them stay on the Billboard Heatseekers chart for a year and sell 50,000-plus copies of 2010's "Palomino."
To add to the buzz of the album, today's news arrived with a Dan Huiting-directed "making of" video that shows the setting of the recording sessions -- plus a little bit of carpentry work, which every cool band tries to get into its videos these days. The clip also features the gorgeous new song "Alone," which Paste magazine is now streaming.
