Forget Eddie Vedder and Ukulele Songs. Everyone knows that America’s favorite ukulele chanteur is Dent May, and to show up Vedder and that major record deal of his, Dent May has announced both a summer tour and a forthcoming single on Paw Tracks.
Okay, so maybe Vedder is completely innocent of cultural appropriation, since Hawaii’s traditional instrument didn’t actually appear on his record — but then, Dent May is too this time. On the new 7-inch, “Fun” b/w “Wedding Day” (out September 13), Dent May discarded the magnificent uke and experimented instead with “cosmic synths, funky guitars, analog drum machines, loopy bass lines, and massive vocal harmonies” — which could also sort of be said for last year’s single on Forest Family, “Eastover Wives.” As we hinted at earlier, Dent May doesn’t exactly have Pearl Jam-level notoriety, and so only 700 copies of “Fun” will be pressed (but on clear vinyl!). As we also said, Dent May is going on tour, which means that if you miss out on the 7-inch, you can possibly pick up the limited-edition cassette version of the single, available only at shows and until someone buys the 100th (and last) copy. And why shouldn’t you see them on tour? They’re playing with Real Estate, for Pete’s sake!
Tourdates (all w/ Real Estate):
07.10.11 - Washington, DC - Red Palace
07.11.11 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
07.12.11 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
07.13.11 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s
07.14.11 - Nashville, TN - Hard Rock Cafe
07.17.11 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean
07.18.11 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
07.19.11 - Toronto, ON - The Garrison
07.20.11 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore
07.24.11 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell
• Dent May: http://www.dentmay.com
• Paw Tracks: http://www.paw-tracks.com