We don’t have a song yet, but we do have what appears to be the album artwork – tweeted by singer Charlie Brand – for the forthcoming Miniature Tigers album, Fortress, the follow-up to the very catchy and popular debut Tell It to the Volcano. (I presume, like Volcano, the Fortress artwork was created by drummer Rick Schaier, also the man behind Alvin Band.)

Fortress, co-produced by Chris Chu of the Morning Benders, is due out sometime this summer on the Phoenix-bred Modern Art Records label, a new partner of Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group.

Short of having a tracklisting, I can only assume some of the new material the band has tested out over the past year or so – like Lolita or Egyptian Robe and Dark Tower – will find its way onto the 10-song Fortress. We do know the first single is called Gold Skull (featuring Neon Indian) and will be released in May.

The Tigers relocated from Phoenix to New York to record – don’t expect me to get in the middle of that debate – so their March 23 show at the Rhythm Room with the Morning Benders, part of a national tour, could be considered a homecoming, I suppose. Tickets are $10 and likely will sell fast, if they haven’t already.

• Miniature Tigers | Cannibal Queen (from Tell It to the Volcano)

RELATED:
New Miniature Tigers: Lolita (live, acoustic)
Alvin Band: Temple Pressure (video, mp3)
Miniature Tigers on The Train Tracks (photos)
Miniature Tigers on DaytrotterGuest list: Charlie Brand of Miniature Tigers

Modified Arts, an all-ages venue in downtown Phoenix that has been a staple of the local music scene and a vital venue for touring indie bands for nearly 11 years, will change direction and transform into a space focused mostly on art. (Read more here and here.)

This entry comes from longtime Valley drummer Scott Hessel, who currently keeps time for Source Victoria and Let Go and used to drum for Gloritone (among others), once making a name for himself (and the band) with a fairly shocking 2001 appearance on the Howard Stern Show.

• Source Victoria | Black Luck, Black Label (demo)

When Let Go (ex-Stereo, Pollen, Gloritone) returned from a tour that lasted several weeks in the dead of summer, we were scheduled to play at Modified.

We were dog tired, cranky, and ready for quality time in our own beds. Instead, we rolled into Modified for a sort-of-homecoming show. Because I had never played there, it felt like we were on the last stop in a foreign city.

In sports, some of the best individual performances have been achieved by athletes who were sick or fatigued. Sometimes, the same can hold true for musicians. This was one of those nights for me and the dudes in my band.

This picture illustrates the aftermath of a very memorable, sweaty night at Modified.

(Left to right: Chris Serafini, Jamie Woolford, Scott Hessel.)

Modified Arts, an all-ages venue in downtown Phoenix that has been a staple of the local music scene and a vital venue for touring indie bands for nearly 11 years, will change direction and transform into a space focused mostly on art. (Read more here and here.)

This entry comes from Jason P. Woodbury, a local musician in upstart trio Soft Drink and a frequent contributor to this here blog.

• Soft Drink | Nuclear Armchairs

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the Modified, and exactly what memory resonates most with me. I played a lot of shows at the venue, in a couple different bands. I guess what really strikes me is how often things were the same, no matter what band I was in or what show we had managed to hop on. It always smelled bad. Really bad, the sewage smell was consistent. And it was always too hot. If it was a show for a touring band, there would be beer in the fridge, and we would always get in trouble for drinking too much of it. If it wasn’t a touring act, there we had the parking lot. Tailgating bands and fans could congregate there. I wonder how many Stella bottles I tossed into the dumpster back there.

I played a lot of good shows at Modified. I played a lot of bad ones, too. There was one, on a Saturday afternoon, where we literally played to the other bands, and they were all one-man bands minus us. I think the promoter still owes Ami and Kimber for that one. But even if the shows were crap, it always felt good to play there. I grew up in Coolidge, about an hour south of Phoenix. Drives up to the Modified were a special occasion, and I saw some great bands. I saw The Hold Steady while they were touring their second album. They were too loud for the venue, too loud even after they turned their amps away from the crowd. The Modified felt like somewhere. Each time I played there, it felt a little like I had arrived, a pretty remarkable feeling in a place that smelled like ass, with a underpowered sound system, a sagging stage and no paying customers present. It was all the spirit of the place, I guess.

I convinced Jeremiah to let my band Hands on Fire open for Blitzen Trapper there. I was excited; their album “Furr” had been getting a lot of play in my car stereo. I figured their sloppy rock would work well with ours. A newer band called Fleet Foxes were scheduled to open. We played an OK set, and after we cleared off, the members of Fleet Foxes shuffled on stage. We chatted about gear and the Velvet Underground. When they started playing, of course, I was mesmerized. I knew I was witnessing something important, a band that would do more than just entertain a crowd. Within a few months they would release one of the decade’s finest albums. Within a couple months they’d be touring the world and selling out venues far bigger than Modified. But tonight they were playing to a hushed 50 people in downtown Phoenix. I remember Kimber telling Zane, my bass player and best friend, and I to shut up as we tried to explain to a crazy woman over our merch table that no, we weren’t signed to Sub Pop. But it was nights like that at Modified that made me think that maybe I could be signed to Sub Pop, or something equally awesome. Because the bands on stage at Modified shared that feeling, that we were going somewhere, even if it was just another Modified gig a couple weeks later. Especially if it was another Modified gig.

PREVIOUSLY:
Ami Johnson (booking manager)
Jared Bell (Lymbyc Systym)
Stephen Chilton (Psyko Steve)
David Jensen (Art for Starters)

In what is shaping up to be a show I’ll regret missing for years to come (thanks, work), it appears Jimmy Eat World is playing a full-band “secret” show tonight at Modified as the venue winds down its 11-year run as an indie music venue.

Though not officially announced by the band as I type this, Jimmy Eat World did send out this tweet earlier today: “Stay tuned today for a surprise announcement. If you live in PHX and have plans for tonight, cancel them.” And, well, it’s in the press now, too.

So, if you’ve never seen Jimmy Eat World at a 150-person venue (I did … back in the Clarity years), now’s your chance. Reubens Accomplice, Source Victoria and Ian Stupar of El Oso Negro will play acoustic sets prior to JEW’s performance. Should be epic. Someone please take lots of video.

• Jimmy Eat World | A Sunday (from Clarity Live)
• Source Victoria | A Punch to the Nose

Modified Arts, an all-ages venue in downtown Phoenix that has been a staple of the local music scene and a vital venue for touring indie bands for nearly 11 years, will change direction and transform into a space focused mostly on art. (Read more here and here.)

This entry comes from Ami Johnson, the booking manager at Modified who recently was named “best bouncer” by Phoenix New Times.

I will be the first to say I am not an expert on Phoenix and everything and everyone that has helped shape it and dream it into the stimulated hot spot it is today. I moved here from Flagstaff only 5 years ago with, essentially, “big dreams”. But since being thrust into the culture a couple years ago, it’s been my goal to learn as much as possible from those successful and inspirational people around me. The kind of people that create, the kind of people that create change.

That is one of the main reasons I’m going to miss Modified Arts. Meeting new people everyday that have such an impact on those around them. Hearing people connect with others through their music. Seeing an absurd amount of show attendees packed into a small area just catch a little glimpse of something amazing. It was a special place where those life changing musical experiences would happen no matter if there were 20 people in the room or 200.

As I come upon my last week with Modified in my care, I know my woman hood will get the best of me and I will cry. I already got a little watery eyed during the Sea Wolf show a couple months back. I’m gonna miss turning on the vents because it smells, but then turning them off because it’s so cold. I’m gonna miss holding my breath watching the speakers sway when the crowd would start to jump or dance around. Definitely gonna miss running to Circle K because we ran out of change and them saying, “This is the last time!”

And no matter how many times I say I won’t, I will miss answering questions like, “Oh, is that beer in the cooler?”, “Can I leave and come back in with this stamp?”, “What is this stamp a picture of anyway?” and of course the crowd favorite, “Can you turn on the air conditioning?”. I just wish I took a tally of how many times I heard “Can I get my girlfriend in?”. I admit, I love it. I had a great time taking care of a simple building that had the ability to be such a huge and essential part of so many people’s lives. At first, I was scared out of mind but the community welcomed me with open arms. Thanks so much for that. I’ve had a blast sitting up front, it has made me into an extremely lucky person to have had the experiences I’ve had there.

My only regret is I never got to play on the stage myself. Well, I did once, but no one was there. And it was awesome.

PREVIOUSLY:
Jared Bell (Lymbyc Systym)
Stephen Chilton (Psyko Steve)
David Jensen (Art for Starters)

Modified Arts, an all-ages venue in downtown Phoenix that has been a staple of the local music scene and a vital venue for touring indie bands for nearly 11 years, will change direction and transform into a space focused mostly on art. (Read more here and here.)

This entry comes from Jared Bell, who with his brother Michael form Lymbyc Systym, whose excellent new LP, Shutter Release, was released on Mush Records earlier this month. The one-time Phoenix duo has plotted a West Coast tour with a Jan. 13 date set for The Sail Inn in Tempe with Helios and What Laura Says.

• Lymbyc Systym | Ghost Clock

Modified smelled bad. It had a shitty PA, and the sweat lodge atmosphere from the swamp cooler in July put me on the verge of heatstroke more than once. But, as it turns out, that is the perfect recipe for one of the most unique, dynamic and memorable venues we have played. In over four years of extensive touring around the world, I still have not come across a place quite like it.

Modified managed to function as a legitimate venue without sacrificing the intimacy and raw energy of a house show. It is was one of the very few places where a nationally recognized touring act could play to a crowd of forty people as though it were their first show. Perhaps that is because Phoenix has an apathetic scene and Modified was the only place catering to a specific type of music. But, I’d like to believe it’s because Modified was a bullshit-free venue. It was located in no man’s land (at least at the beginning). There was no bar, no air conditioning, no sub woofers, and it was not exactly an ideal atmosphere for loud conversation or picking up girls. At the same time, it lacked the austere, pretentious and limited vibe associated with most “art spaces.” In other words, people came there simply for the music. As a musician playing on the Modified stage, you could really feel the purity and sincerity of the crowd. And for me, when it comes down to it, that is the reason I play music – to have an honest connection between human and sound. Modified is one of the few places where I have really felt that connection deeply, and I think a lot of others have, too.

Modified served as a home to us, and it will be deeply missed as music venue.

PREVIOUSLY:
Stephen Chilton (Psyko Steve)
David Jensen (Art for Starters)

Modified Arts, an all-ages venue in downtown Phoenix that has been a staple of the local music scene and a vital venue for touring indie bands for nearly 11 years, will change direction and transform into a space focused mostly on art. (Read more here and here.)

This entry comes from longtime Valley promoter Stephen Chilton (aka Psyko Steve), who also wrote some thoughts on the changes at Modified here.

I have written a lot about Modified lately and so for this post I thought it would be fun to make it more personal. The first show I ever set up as a promoter was in the fall of 2000 when I was still a senior in high school. Modified was the kind of place that would let anyone set up something if it sounded neat. The first several shows I set up were all for local acts that were my friends. Back then my shows always worked out because it was just good friends playing for other good friends.

Not long after I started doing shows I had a show on a Friday night and a month or so before the show a promoter down in Tucson named Nick Celi hit me up about getting two California bands on the show. The crazy part was I knew who the bands were! Not in a sense I knew them personally, I just knew who they were! I was a fan of the one of the bands. At the time it seemed crazy to me that two legit bands wanted me to book them a show, I was kind of green to how hard this business could be. Remember this was before most bands had Web sites or even MySpace pages. I don’t know if I was even using email at the time and the band mailed me a cassette tape so I could hear their new songs. I just recently found that tape again and don’t think I could even play it now.

Day of the show a van pulls up and Limbeck roll out wearing OP Short Shorts, tank tops and big sunglasses. They looked like they were going to the beach not a rock show in Phoenix. The show was a huge success, at least the way I remember it. That was the first time I had ever booked a show for a national act.

Since then I have done more shows for Limbeck than I can count, I have done shows that sold out, done shows that were far from it, done shows for them in a living room in Tucson, and watched them play in four or five states, and last year I did two crazy packed nights in a row at Modified for them. They have become some of my most cherished friends. For Patrick’s bachelor party we all went camping in Joshua Tree National Forest (not the most orthodox bachelor party but a whole other story nonetheless). Next year one of them will even use Modified Arts as the site for his wedding reception.

One of the things I love about what I do for a living is not the great bands I have worked with over the years but the great people I have become friends with. So many of the relationships I value most and have had the longest either started at Modified or have revolved around it. I am looking forward to watching the new owners make Modified into something new again.

PREVIOUSLY:
David Jensen (Art for Starters)