Battleme Announces 'Live At Cactus Cafe' EP - Out 1/20

By: Nov. 29, 2016
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Portland's Battleme is excited to announce the release of Live At Cactus Café - due out on January 20th via El Camino Media. The live EP comes on the heels of the band's first and highly successful European run which saw Matt Drenik aka Battleme reconnecting with his decidedly more stripped down beginnings thanks to a string of solo acoustic dates. No stranger to performing this way, Drenik truly shines while playing through singles such as "Dead Man" and "Burn This Town" with a sincerity and ease that is captured perfectly on this recording from his Austin, TX performance in 2014. Drenik will return to Europe with his full-band in early 2017 followed by another string of solo acoustic dates.

I started Battleme as a solo outlet for some bedroom pop songs I'd been writing in 2009. I think most projects start out that way; alone and with a guitar. Eventually I formed a band, started touring and those initial solo slabs disappeared behind a wall of guitars and feedback. So in the middle of a 4 month US tour supporting Future Runs Magnetic, I decided to do a solo show at the famed Cactus Cafe in Austin, TX. There's not a more appropriate, more intimate venue in the world. Considering Austin was the place where I learned to write a decent song (I lived there for 10 years) why not break up the loud tangled mess of a tour with a quiet, solo set of songs? - Matt Drenik, Battleme

Spanning Battleme's seven-year career, the band has amassed glowing coverage for its brand of blues-tinged psychedelic rock, with Esquire claiming "If the Flaming Lips had written an original song for their Dark Side of the Moon live shows, this is what it might've sounded like" and Blackbook stating that the 2016 release Habitual Love Songs is "Full of sexually charged, slithery, Stones-like blues rockers." Among a slew of successful headline tours, the band's unique style and incredible live show has led to supporting the likes of The Toadies, Veruca Salt and Metric among others. When Drenik isn't on the road or writing music he is often found producing records at his self-built Get Loud studio in Portland, OR as well as contributing his thoughts and stories to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Live At Cactus Café will be out on January 20th, 2017 via El Camino Media, featuring previously unreleased track "Time for Blood" alongside singles "Killer High," "Dead Man" and "Burn This Town" which were all featured on the FX series Sons of Anarchy. Battleme is thrilled to be returning to his roots with this new EP and solo acoustic performances. Confirmed European dates can be found below with more to be announced soon.

Confirmed Battleme 2017 Dates:

2/9 @ Paradiso in Amsterdam, NL - Buy tickets here
2/10 @ Café Wilhelmina in Eindhoven, NL - Buy tickets here
2/11 Belgium
2/12 Belgium
2/14 Luxemburg
2/15 Paris, FR
2/16 Nantes, FR
2/17 France
2/18-21 Switzerland
2/22 Insbruck, AT
2/23 Bolzano, IT
2/24 @ Tetris in Trieste, IT - Buy tickets here
2/25 Prague, CZ
2/26 Berlin, DE
2/27 Hamburg, DE

Stay in touch with Battleme:
Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram



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