This was a bummer when we heard about it, and we were hoping that it was a joke, but guitarist, singer and sometimes keyboardist Andy Molholt confirmed that it was true. Genial psych-pop outfit The Armchairs are breaking up citing “differing goals, differing musical and creative directions, increasing interpersonal tension, the law of increasing atrophy (the 2nd law of thermodynamics)”. You can read the rest of the message that they posted HERE. They’ll still be performing at Pilam’s Human BBQ this Saturday, and their final show will be May 13 at Johnny Brenda’s with pals Orbit to Leslie, Circadian Rhythms, and Dinosaur Feathers. Hopefully you can make it out and wish them your best. We are sure that we’ll find them involved in the local music community one way or another. Much love to The Armchairs! - The Deli Staff

It’s reassuring to know that a band like Bardo Pond, a beautiful Philly success story who formed way back around ’91, is still going strong. If their latest self-titled release is any different than the way things sounded back in the day, it’s only that they sound more muscular and refined. Not dreamy enough to be shoegaze and slightly too lazy for grunge, their guitars revel in a kind of supreme stoner-rock overdrive. Some may try and relate their music to trippy experiences (not that I can blame them), but it’s hard to determine how much of their sound is drug-induced and how much of it is just the results of searching high and low for a particularly gnarly fuzz-tone. They’ll be complimented well by New Zealand’s blissed-out Surf City and Toronto crooners Snowblink. Danger Danger Gallery, 5013 Baltimore Ave., 8pm,$5 - $10 donation, All Ages (Photo by Dan Cohoon) - Joe Poteracki

Diplo tweeted a link yesterday for where you can find your first look of the characters for his new Major Lazer cartoon show coming to Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. They were created by Ferry Gouw who also did the cover art for the Major Lazer album. You can see your “one-armed Jamaican ex-commando and nightclub owner who battles the forces of darkness while making reggae-tinged booty-shaking jams” above, and you can also view some of the other characters HERE. Enjoy! - The Deli Staff

Toy Soldiers are back with a new EP Get Through the Time and the band’s lineup is a little more scaled down, but it all seems part of their plan to get back to their roots. Life is hectic sometimes when you are in a band while still in college, and it doesn’t get any easier once you have graduated and are faced with more obstacles from the “real world”. Well, for Ron Gallo and crew, it seems that the answer is to just keep on playing to “get through the time”. We had a chance to find out a little more about life for Toy Soldiers after leaving the ivory towers of higher education and the release of their latest effort Get Through the Time, which the band will be celebrating tonight at Johnny Brenda’s and making available tomorrow digitally. Check out what they had to say HERE!

Laughing Pain by Toy Soldiers

Where Is My Mind?: Toy Soldiers   - by Q.D. Tran Toy Soldiers are back with a new EP Get Through the Time and the band’s lineup is a little more scaled down, but it all seems part of their plan to get back to their roots. Life is hectic sometimes when you are in a band while still in college, and it doesn’t get any easier once you have graduated and are faced with more obstacles from the “real world”. Well, for Ron Gallo and crew, it seems that the answer is to just keep on playing to “get through the time”. We had a chance to find out a little more about life for Toy Soldiers after leaving the ivory towers of higher education and the release of their latest effort Get Through the Time, which the band will be celebrating tonight at Johnny Brenda’s and making available tomorrow digitally. Check out what they had to say below! The Deli: Is Get Through the Time a self-released EP? If so, why are you not working with Mad Dragon this time around? Ron Gallo: The Get Through the Time EP is self-released. After the way things have gone and are going, it seemed like everything was telling us to step back and get back to the roots. Not necessarily as a duo making dirty garage band demos but something between that and a freak orchestra with strings attached, deadlines, and budgets. Plus we had the means (the recording genius of our bassist Bill McCloskey and drummer Dom Billet) and the energy to do it all ourselves. TD: Where was the bulk of the EP written and recorded? How long did it take to make it? Bill McCloskey: The EP was recorded at Millersville's Recording studio. We did it ourselves in about 24 hours, during a snowstorm crushing zah (pizza)! RG: “Long Gone” and “No Fool of You” were both written a few years ago in my room of my old house. The chorus to “Get Through the Time” was written while I was riding a bike and maybe missing someone. Then the song later got finished a few months ago. I wrote the words to “Back Rider” and “Laughing Pain” during the last tour we did in August and made them into songs at home. “Desire” was a song that our bassist Bill wrote that I put some words to, and we pretty much finished that one in the studio a few minutes before we recorded it. TD: Were there any differences from the writing and recording process from your last full-length? RG: Definitely. Making Whisper Down the Lane was basically us laying down the foundation and then me calling friends up to come in and do whatever the hell they wanted on the songs. Get Through the Time is a much more cohesive collection with a solid, set band. Recorded guerilla style, pressure on - the new EP is also much more open sonically and not really heavy electric guitar chord driven at all. It’s raw. Let’s the songs breathe a bit and not very produced or with fluff. TD: What inspired the EP? What is behind the name Get Through the Time? Ron Gallo: This EP is definitely a reaction to something specific as opposed to just a collection of songs. We went with that title, which shares the name of the third track on the EP because we all felt it summed up the whole feeling behind it. Also, that track might be the most “epic” (?) of the ones on the record. TD: You recently won the Indie Music Awards Best Blues Song category for "Throw Me Down". What did you do to celebrate? RG: I was napping while driving when I heard the news so out of sheer joy I drove off a bridge into a river actually. The truth is: Thursday at Johnny Brenda’s is going to be the celebration of everything that’s happening and will happen. TD: Where does your love for the blues come from? RG: I don’t know where it comes from. It just feels gooooooood! TD: What are some of your best tips to manage life being in a band when you are still in college? RG: I graduated in January 2010, and back then the band wasn’t nearly as busy or crazy as it is now. We could only tour over winter break and summer which aren’t great times to hit the road. My advice is that if you’re only going to focus on your music post graduation, then save yourself some money and get ahead of the game. BM: Drop out of college. Not really, but you need to balance priorities. It's a lot easier now that we're all graduated. TD: Were you looking forward to graduating or would you rather hide out in college for awhile? RG: I surely was before I did! TD: We’ve noticed that you have been performing a lot solo and with other combinations as well as other members of Toy Soldiers doing their own side projects. What does that mean for the future of Toy Soldiers? RG: As far as all our other projects, I think we all consider Toy Soldiers our main squeeze, so it’s like having a lot of different girlfriends, and you can run to a different one when the wife’s out of town. Of course, it’s less emotional than that, but you get what I’m saying. Me playing solo is something I’ve started doing a lot more over the few months. I started getting a few steady solo gigs each week and just ran with it. It toughens the skin and has been good practice in learning a lot of new songs. BM: I think it's safe to say we're all pretty committed to Toy Soldiers. In today’s world where information is disseminated a lot easier, bands don't have to tour for a year at a time to have some measure of success - that doesn't mean there isn't countless hours of preparation, recording, and shows in order to promote yourself. As of now, there is a healthy balance between the other member's projects and Toy Soldiers. It allows us to do something different which helps us become better musicians by expanding our musical experiences, and allows us to find new outlets and contacts that could help us in the future. TD: You are heading down South on this tour. What do you look forward to the most about tour? What do you look forward to the least about tour? RG: Looking forward to Bojangles, Elvis’ piano, Jordan Hull, the people we’ll meet, playing every night for 11 nights, and just getting out of town and being a stranger for a bit. Hopefully the weather is nice. Not looking forward to the potential disasters of everyday life that are heightened by touring. Knock on wood. TD: What’s your favorite city in the South and why? RG: New Orleans is a mystical gem of a town. It’s a mirage of how life should always be, if only it were real. Favorite towns to play in are Knoxville, TN and Hattiesburg, Mississippi. TD: Would you rather bourbon or Irish whiskey? RG: Bourbon. BM: Irish Whiskey for sure - 12 year Jameson! Matt Kelly: Irish whisky, because it makes me warm and happy, unlike bourbon which leaves me in an urban canal vom sesh. (Urban canal vomit session that happened this past weekend in Maryland.) TD: What are your favorite southern comfort food dishes? RG: Oh man. This band has a fried chicken problem. Also very into biscuits, po-boys, gumbo, and fried chicken again. TD: What's your favorite thing to get at the deli? RG: The news!         National Ads (NY, SF, LA, Nashville etc.) Target Music Lovers! Book Notes - Various Authors ("Re: Telling") Hear Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig Cover Paul Simon Library Of Congress Recognizes De La Soul's '3 Feet High & Rising' New Music: Bow Wow – ‘She Got It Goin” Briefly: Bonnaroo Artist Additions – G. Love, Galactic, Lewis Black and More Gedeon Luke [Swedish Pop] Frantic Sunday – The City Is Listening Read more... Buy a Blogad!     Toy Soldiers Get Through the Time

Just wanted to give you a heads up that the Night Train DJs are back at it again this evening at The Barbary! It will be the first time Ian St. Laurent and Dennis Wolf.Fang have performed together since Night Train ended. It will also be the first Philly performance of Raw Urgency (Ex-Spooks). As we had reported earlier, The Spooks broke up during their recent tour to SXSW. Well, three of the four members decided to stick together, write new songs, and finish the tour all the way back from Austin so here’s your chance to hear what they’ve been up to lately. Buddies Far-Out Fangtooth will also be spinning this evening as Undercover Zero, and there will be beer reps around giving out free beers. So get your air guitar tuned up! - The Deli Staff

Whether it’s been for Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox, or during Best Fest (which we are very sad to hear will not be happening this year), Clark Park has managed to host some interesting music events over the years. And since they have all managed to celebrate the diversity of music by featuring rock, jazz, folk, metal, and then some on the same lineup, they have all been festival that walked to the beat of their own drum. The same thing has to hold true when you host a benefit for the sake of said music festivals, and that’s exactly what Cloud Entertainment has in store when they host one at Millcreek Tavern tonight. Indie pop darlings Arrah and the Ferns will be playing one of their first local shows since coming back from tour with The Armchairs. And psychedelic rock quintet The Tressels will be keeping the crowd in good spirits with songs from their latest album Bourbon Legend. Meanwhile thrash metal band Samsara will unleash a little destruction, and Psychic Teens will bring the noise. Millcreek Tavern, 4200 Chestnut St., 9pm, $6, 21+ - Bill McThrill

New Philly starry-eyed pop group Roman à clef are performing an opening set at Johnny Brenda’s tonight. The band, featuring Ryan Neymeyer and Anne Fredrickson of A Sunny Day In Glasgow, bring along wispy indie sensibilities from their other group to make moody, hazy twee music. They only currently have one demo posted (which you can check out below), but “The Prisoner” shows promise for this fledgling offspring and hopefully this show opening for Cloud Nothings is a sign of more to come. Hope to see you there! Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ - Adam G.

The keyboard experiment that is The Synth Sircus will be finding out if they can make the folks dance (or at least nod their head in approval) in the second floor South Street bar Lickety Split. Originally started by Agent Moosehead’s John Briley and Andy “of the Future” Schwartz as a call for other keyboardists and musicians to join them on stage and jam, the project has taken on a life of its own with rotating members from the local music community, and they even have been laying down some mind-fucking dance tracks of down-tempo futuristic soundscapes. Joining them on the bill will be Synth Sircus contributor and dark, sludgy garage rock songstress Avataria. The show is free so you’ll have more cash for social lubrication. Lickety Split, 401 South St., 8pm, Free, 21+ - Alexis V.

Synth Sircus & Funtown On Stage PARTY!

Diplo retweeted earlier details about the release of the FINAL tickets for the SOLD OUT Day Glow Philadelphia: Escape Reality Tour (“World’s Largest Paint Party”) that is happening at the Naval Yard on April 15. The release of the last 200 tickets will be at 4pm today. Damn that shit is expensive! But here’s your second chance to take a lot of psychedelics and smother yourself and others in day glow paint while wilding out uncontrollably to Diplo spinning. And you don’t even have to clean up afterwards. Well, maybe yourself, but not the place. You can purchase the final tickets HERE. Good luck! - The Deli Staff