Marshall Crenshaw Releasing New Music in Innovative Way

Crenshaw will be launching his new EP subscription vinyl/download series on November 23rd with the release of the first EP of the series, I Don't See You Laughing Now.

"I wanted to think of a different way of working that would inspire me and keep me motivated," Marshall Crenshaw says of his newest endeavor: a subscription-only service that addresses the recent seismic changes in the music-industry landscape by cutting out the record-company middle man to distribute his new recordings directly to fans.

The subscription service, which the veteran Crenshaw recently launched via a successful Kickstarter funding campaign, will provide fans with a steady stream of new Marshall Crenshaw music via a series of exclusive three-song 10-inch, 45-rpm vinyl EPs on Addie-Ville Records, six of which the artist plans to release over a two-year period. In addition to the vinyl discs, subscribers will also receive a download card for high-quality digital versions of the EP tracks.

Each EP will consist entirely of newly recorded, never-before-released material, encompassing a new original Crenshaw composition, a classic cover tune, and a new reworking of a time-honored favorite.

"I really do think that vinyl sounds best, and that playing a vinyl record is still the optimum listening experience," Crenshaw asserts. "And with the sound quality that you get at 45 rpm, I think that these things are going to deliver the goods, sonically."

The first subscription EP's A-side is the brand-new Crenshaw number "I Don't See You Laughing Now," recorded with longtime cohorts Andy York (John Mellencamp, Ian Hunter), and Graham Maby (Joe Jackson, They Might Be Giants). The record's double B-side features a memorable new reading of The Move's 1971 post-apocalyptic anthem "No Time," recorded with veteran New Jersey rocker and frequent Crenshaw collaborator Glen Burtnick; and a new version of "There She Goes Again," whose original version appeared on Crenshaw's eponymous 1982 debut album, recorded live with alt-country icons the Bottle Rockets.

All three tracks were mastered for maximum awesomeness by legendary engineer Greg Calbi, who will handle mastering duties on the entire EP series.

Earlier this year, fans made the subscription project a reality by pledging more than $33,000 to Crenshaw's Kickstarter campaign, above and beyond Crenshaw's original goal, in increments ranging from $1 to $5000.

Crenshaw is excited that his new subscription model allows him to embrace his love for singles, while allowing him to make music on his own terms, free of record-company politics and the emotional baggage that routinely accompanies the making of full-length albums.

"I've always put a great deal of care into the albums I've made," Crenshaw states. "But as a listener, I've always been a singles guy and an individual-tracks guy. I'm looking forward to creating a steady output of music in small batches, rather than being stuck in a cave for months and stockpiling a whole bunch of music and dumping it out all at once. Now, when I finish something, I get to put it out, instead of having to wait until I've got 12 more."