The Dick Brothers’ new records Uncle Brother and the Straight Up EP are, as promised, available now for free downloading at our free albums page. Enjoy!

Welp hi.

The Dick Brothers (Andrew and Michael Iafrate) will grant you access to two new releases come November 1, both through the wonders of the digital gift economy facilitator we call THE INTERNETS.

The first is an 8-song LP called Uncle Brother and it will feature some traditional Appalachian songs as well as tunes by Dolly Parton, Will Oldham, Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, The Folk Implosion, and Paul Simon. One tune features a guest appearance from the Brothers’ sister Janet. Consider downloafing it and give it a listen whilst you clean clothes in the washtub or whittle away, with blade, at a stick.

The second is the two-song Straight Up EP featuring a cover of Paula Abdul’s touching ballad of the same name backed with a much-too-drunk-to-go-on-side-one cover version of R.E.M.’s “Wendell Gee.”

Both will come your way November 1, giving you plenty of time to dump them on your iPod and waddle down to your local polling place and cast your vote for the right folk.

We may be graced with an “MP3 Release Party” over the Christian holidays. Pray for it.

M Iafrate’s “My Terrible Twin” available again… digitally!

After a long while of unavailableness, M Iafrate’s 2002 lo-fi EP My Terrible Twin is available again as a downloadable mp3 album at downloadpunk.com for the mere pittance of $3.99. We expect the similarly lo-fi M Iafrate / S Decker split CD to become available in a similar fashion, quick like on the heels of the Twin.

And we might also mention that 2008 marks the tenth anniversary of M Iafrate’s twin debut cassette releases, The Struggling Efforts of My Boyish Tongue and Total Science!, both on the now defunct, but still fondly remembered, Cole Slaw label. To mark said anniversary, something will occur. Let’s stay posted to see if factory R will be involved in this occurrance!

Iafrate is busy learning how to play clawhammer banjo and is prepping two albums: a solo album tribute to the St. Louis Jesuits called The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor: Songs of the St. Louis Jesuits and a new M Iafrate & the Priesthood record tentatively titled No Matter How Deep the Darkness, He Descends Deeper Still.

Andrew Iafrate doing very good and cool things

As many of you know, Andrew has moved to Louisville, KY and has been involved in the music scene there. He is still getting mucho acclaim for his recent release The Ravages, and has put together a live band to accompany him on trips up Prophet Mountain. Be sure to catch him at one of his many gigs in Kentucky, including an upcoming show with Paul Oldham’s (kin to Will) band Speed to Roam.

Drown Culture’s new one

Drown Culture has independently released a fantastic new record, Contest of Human. You can stream the whole thing at their MySpace page, but you should also buy a copy directly from them at a show or through the mail.

Andrew Iafrate’s The Ravages is available now from CDbaby.com! CDs or MP3 “virtual recordings” are available!

We just received these gracious words from our recently re-located pal, Andrew Iafrate, regarding his upcoming factory R release:

The Ravages LP is completed and has been sent off for mass production. The subject-to-change release date for the record is November 13, 2007. It will soon be available to purchase directly from Prophet Mountain, CD Baby, iTunes, eMusic, and select retail stores in the Louisville area. Release celebration shows are being planned for Louisville and Huntington, WV, though no further details are available at this time.

There you have ‘er!

Well we thank you for not giving up on factory R. We have finally brought the site back to working order and we have thus added some released to our catalog that had been straggling behind without the benefit of the factory R super promotions engine, particularly the debut CD from COBRA which features four ex-members of the now classic metal group The Minus Tide. Email us for info on how to order this beast of a record. Or download an mp3 version at Download Punk. Sample tracks are available here.

We are excited to report that The Dick Brothers were together for a short while a few weeks back and decided to record a couple songs as a follow-up to their self-titled collection of recent memory (still available for FREE at this site). The result is a two-song single featuring two surprising cover songs: Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” and Folk Implosion’s “Natural One.” The single, in fact, is conveniently called “Straight Up.” Download the Abdul tribute at The Dick Brothers’ Virb.com profile. The B-side is coming soon. Both tracks anticipate the day of their inclusion on a proper full-length follow-up to the self-titled masterpiece.

Finally, Andrew Iafrate has played us a large portion of his next CD, which is entitled The Ravages and which will probably be released via factory R unless Lost Highway decides to snatch him up first. A track from that album, “Poison From a Cup,” is available here.

M Iafrate is working on two music projects: 1) cuttin’ demos for a new M Iafrate & The Priesthood record and 2) throwing away his nearly completed tribute to the St. Louis Jesuits, The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor: Songs of the St. Louis Jesuits, and starting from scratch!

The factory R Supercenter is currently being updated. Please check back for the re-vamped site.