Feelies Side Project Yung Wu Playing Rent Party in March, Debut Being Re-Released

Yung Wu, an offshoot of New Jersey-based avant-pop pioneers the Feelies, will be celebrating the re-release of their debut album performing at The Woodland in Maplewood, New Jersey on Friday March 9. The presenter of these concerts is the non-profit organization Rent Party (http://rentpartylive.com/wp/). Started in 2009, Rent Party is a once-a-month live music event at The Woodlands. The proceeds from these shows help fight hunger in our community. Rent Party supports three local food pantries. They built and maintain a large community garden on the front lawn of the South Orange Elks that raises fresh produce for the pantries they support. Rent Party's BackPack Pals program provides a weekend's worth of nutritious food to about 100 food-insecure kids in our schools. I hope you'll consider advancing this show with a feature, album review or advance blurb. Please let me know if I can send you the music.

Yung Wu was a Feelies side project that released a sole album, Shore Leave, on Steve Fallon's Coyote Records in 1987. Bar/None Records in conjunction with Coyote is proud to be re-issuing this much sought-after, long out-of-print album on April 21, Record Store Day as LP, CD and digital download; this is its first appearance on CD or as a digital download. The album packaging features previously unseen photos and liner notes by Yung Wu frontman Dave Weckerman.

There will be an exclusive Record Store Day version of the LP that includes a limited edition flexi disc of Weckerman's incredibly rare 1980 solo 7" comprising the original version of Shore Leave's title track and "Out Of Baby's Reach," a song only appearing on this single.

Shore Leave featured Feelies' percussionist Dave Weckerman as lead singer and principal songwriter backed by the rest of the Feelies circa the Good Earth album (the same line-up who perform as the Feelies today): Glenn Mercer and Bill Million on guitars Brenda Sauter on bass and Stan Demeski on drums. John Baumgartner from Speed The Plough and the Trypes joined them in the studio playing keyboards. Shore trades the Feelies' neurotic intensity for a more pop gentleness.

After releasing and promoting their album debut Crazy Rhythms in 1980, the Feelies pulled back from touring to concentrate on woodshedding a number of different projects including the Trypes, the Willies and Yung Wu. These outfits shared many of the same members and would take turns opening for each other on Sundays at the Peanut Gallery, a local watering hole in their hometown of Haledon, New Jersey.

In a certain sense the post-Crazy Rhythms Feelies started with Yung Wu. The semi-acoustic approach of Shore Leave is very similar to the sound the Feelies introduced on 1986's The Good Earth. Dave Weckerman brought eight cleverly catchy originals to the sessions which took place at Water Music in Hoboken with Glenn Mercer and Bill Million producing. Shore Leave also boasts a trio of covers songs: the Rolling Stones's psychedelic b-side "Child of the Moon," the equally obscure "Big Day" penned by Brian Eno for the Phil Manzenera Diamond Head solo outing and Neil Young's "Powderfinger," The Dave Weckerman originals certainly hold their own.

AllMusic called Shore Leave "a minor classic of '80s jangle pop ripe for rediscovery." We couldn't agree more.