Posted on: August 4, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

We are Northern State. We are pleased to announce that our new album “Can I Keep This Pen?” will be released on Ipecac Recordings this August ’07.

We’ve been friends for a very long time. Our names are Spero, Hesta Prynn and Sprout. We grew up together in deep suburban Long Island and found ourselves living in NYC after college. We have always shared a love of music, and we especially loved hanging out and listening to hip hop off of Hesta Prynn’s computer (this was before ipods even).

One night at a party at Hesta Prynn’s apartment we had the idea to start a rap group. So we did.

We have now been a band for seven years. “Can I Keep This Pen?” is our third proper album, following “All City” (Columbia Records, 2004), “Dying in Stereo” (Northern State Records/Startime/Wichita UK, 2003), and our 2002 independent EP “Hip Hop You Haven’t Heard”, which was supposed to be our demo. We got our start playing gigs all over NYC, and in our seven years as a band we have had the good fortune of sharing the stage in the US and Europe with the Roots, Le Tigre, Talib Kweli, De La Soul, The Gossip, Gym Class Heroes, Tegan and Sara, and Cake.

After “All City” was released, we became increasingly frustrated with the Columbia/SONY machine and left the label. Finally free, we teamed up with producer Chuck Brody of Shitake Monkey (Wu Tang Clan, Yoko Ono etc.) and Adrock from the Beastie Boys. We wrote a bunch of new songs and did an unprecedented amount of singing. We were fortunate to have some talented friends like Mr. Murray Hill, Kaki King, and Katie Cassidy stop by and play on the album. And we are no longer allowed to hold “writing meetings” at the Rodeo bar.

One day we felt like our album was finished, and we named it “Can I Keep This Pen?”

“Can I Keep This Pen?” pushes the limits more than anything we’ve recorded before in terms of what a hip hop song might sound like, what a rock song might sound like, and what Northern State might sound like. The album includes songs about our friendship (“Better Already”), our president (“Cowboy Man”), the apathy that surrounds us (“Cold War”), as well as what may be the first Northern State love song (“Away Away”). Our classic old school hip hop sound runs through the album, weaving its way through a new electro-rock current.

Mike Patton and Greg at Ipecac heard the new record and loved it and we are thrilled to finally be working with a label that encourages us to be as weird as we are.

Oh, I’m sorry..Can I Keep This Pen?

www.myspace.com/northernstate · www.northernstate.net

Northern State Tour Dates 2007 w/ Tegan And Sara

Canadian Tour Dates:

Sep. 21, 2007 Victoria, BC @ The McPherson Playhouse
w/ Tegan and Sara
Sep. 22, 2007 Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom
w/ Tegan and Sara (2 shows this night)
Sep. 25, 2007 Edmonton, AB @ Francis Winspear Centre
w/ Tegan and Sara
Sep. 28, 2007 Red Deer, AB @ The Memorial Centre
w/ Tegan and Sara
Sep. 29, 2007 Calgary, AB @ The Jubilee Auditorium
w/ Tegan and Sara
Sep. 30, 2007 Saskatoon, SK @ The Lakeview Auditorium
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 1, 2007 Regina, SK @ Dorris Knight Hall
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 3, 2007 Winnipeg, MB @ The Burton Cummings Theatre
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 6, 2007 London, ON @ Centennial Hall
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 10, 2007 Ottawa, ON @ The Bronson Centre
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 11, 2007 Kingston, ON @ Sydenham Street United Church
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 12, 2007 Montreal, QC @ Le National
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 13, 2007 Montreal, QC @ Le National
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 15, 2007 Quebec City, QC @ Theatre Petit Champlain
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 16, 2007 Halifax, NS @ St. Matthews Church
w/ Tegan and Sara

U.S. Dates:

Oct. 29, 2007 Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 30, 2007 San Diego, CA @ Spreckles Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Oct. 31, 2007 Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobrero Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 1, 2007 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 3, 2007 Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 5, 2007 Lawrence, KA @ The Granada Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 7, 2007 Austin, TX @ Stubbs
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 9, 2007 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 10, 2007 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 12, 2007 Orlando, FL @ Plaza Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 13, 2007 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ The Culture Room
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 14, 2007 St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 16, 2007 Atlanta, GA @ Roxy Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 17, 2007 Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 19, 2007 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 20, 2007 Northamptom, MA @ Calvin Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 21, 2007 Boston, MA @ Berklee Performance Center
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 23, 2007 Philadelphia, PA @ Commerce Bank Arts Center
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 24, 2007 Washington DC @ Lisner Auditorium
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 25, 2007 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 26, 2007 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 28, 2007 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 29, 2007 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Nov. 30, 2007 Minneapolis, MN @ Pantages Theater
w/ Tegan and Sara
Dec. 3, 2007 Seattle, WA @ Showbox
w/ Tegan and Sara
Dec. 4, 2007 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
w/ Tegan and Sara
Dec. 5, 2007 Chico, CA @ The Senator
w/ Tegan and Sara

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