Yep Roc signs Philadelphia's Marah- Tour and SXSW Dates Announced!
March 8, 2004, 2:31 pm

PHILADELPHIA'S MARAH SIGNS WITH YEP ROC

20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY to hit the streets on June 29!


THE BOYS ARE BACK

After a too-long, two-year break from the road, Philadelphia's MARAH (pronounced Muh-rah) is back with a spring tour and a new album. 20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY, the band's fourth full-length, will arrive in stores on June 29th on Yep Roc Records and their tour will hit almost 30 U.S. cities this March and April with additional dates throughout the year.


Since the release of their last LP, Float Away with the Friday Night Gods, MARAH parted ways with Artemis Records and began work on 20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY. Taking matters back into their own hands, the band's leaders, brothers Dave and Serge Bielanko (Bah-lanko), set up their own imprint, PHIdelity Records, bought a handful of recording gear, and crafted 20K STREETS between May 2003 and March 2004 in their South Philly garage, a ranch house in Phoenix, AZ, and a basement studio in Brooklyn. They completed 20-plus tracks, eleven of which will make the album's final cut.


20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY, a title borrowed from Patrick Hamilton's 1930 novel about the seedy side of London street life, finds the Bielanko brothers in a similar storytelling mood. Says Serge Bielanko, "Peering through the colliding chords and beats of Lou Reed, Springsteen, The Ramones, The Ronettes, Dylan, Marvin Gaye...all of those big wonderful records...we were as attracted to the stories they were telling us as we were to the music itself. It was our literature. The best rock 'n’ roll artists could do that. We've always dreamed of being able to do that too." And so MARAH set out to tell their very own rock & roll narrative. (Not to be confused with a rock 'n’ roll opera, mind you.)


Their stories touch on such diverse subjects as "pigeons, cocaine, pizza, young love, bullets in the head, transvestites, a beautiful little baby, and the strange optimism one might feel watching jets take off in the evening at Newark Airport," says Serge. "We've always been attracted to raucous music that could make people dance or French kiss or bash out air guitar as well as reflect upon ex-lovers or feel bad about their mistakes.


"I guess you could say 20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY is our love letter to people everywhere who, just like us, keep waking up everyday hoping to turn it all around. [It's] the record me and my brother have wanted to make for most of our lives."


Like the critically acclaimed Let's Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later on Tonight and Kids In Philly, MARAH self-produced the new album, this time with friend and multi-instrumentalist, Kirk "The Barber" Henderson. Drummer Jon Wurster (of Superchunk) and lap steel whiz Mike "Slo-mo" Brenner are also on the new album and will be touring with MARAH.


MARAH will also reissue an expanded and remastered version of their long out-of-print debut, Let's Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later on Tonight on their PHIdelity Records imprint, which will include six bonus tracks and new artwork and will be available through Redeye Distribution later this year.


Nearly four years have passed since MARAH performed in some of the cities listed below. [All dates below are confirmed.]


MARAH

Wed 3/10 Asbury Park, NJ @ The Saint

Thu 3/11 Philadelphia, PA @ Tin Angel

Fri 3/12 New York, NY @ Sin-e'

Sat 3/13 Arlington, VA @ Iota

Mon 3/15 Athens, GA @ Tasty World

Tue 3/16 Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco's

Thu 3/18 Austin, TX @ Continental Club (11:00pm)

Fri 3/19 Austin, TX @ Ginger Man (5:00PM)

Sat 3/20 Austin, TX @ Yard Dog (5:30PM)

Wed 3/24 Tempe, AZ @ Long Wong's On Mill

Thu 3/25 Tempe, AZ @ TBD

Fri 3/26 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland

Tue, 3/30 Dallas, TX @ Gypsy Tea Room

Wed 3/31 Fayetteville, AR JR's @ Lightbulb Club

Thu 4/1 Little Rock, AR @ Sticky Fingerz

Fri 4/2 Oklahoma City, OK @ VZDs

Sat 4/3 Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge

Thu 4/8 Charlotte, NC @ The Room

Fri 4/9 Raleigh, NC @ Pourhouse

Sat 4/10 Winston-Salem, NC@ The Garage

Wed 4/14 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway

Thu 4/15 Chicago, IL @ Schubas

Fri 4/16 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar

Wed 4/21 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe

Thu 4/22 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place

Fri 4/23 Lancaster, PA @ Historic Blue Star