Massive Indie Record Store Gathering Noise In The Basement A Four Day Celebration Of Music, Films And Games Is Slated For September 17-20 In Baltimore

“Search For The Next Great Metal Band” Will Also Kick Off At Noise In The Basement With Special In-Store Appearances From Unearth And Motorhead At Host Retailer The Sound Garden

The folks who brought you the uber-successful “national holiday” Record Store Day will now launch Noise In the Basement, a massive gathering of indie-record stores, representing over 700 stores from the US and Canada, in Baltimore, MD for a four day celebration of music, films, and games (September 17 20).

Among the highlights of the creative conference, rock legends The Pretenders will launch a brand new long player, Break Up The Concrete to be released on Warner Music Group imprint, Shangri-la Records. Shangri-la will work with Reverb (a greening organization with a focus on the music industry) to use the event to educate, inform and demonstrate the “greening” of the music business. To that end, a section of both the CD and vinyl versions of the album will be printed on “seed paper,” a type of handmade paper that includes any number of different seeds and can literally be planted in the ground and will grow flowers.

The release will be augmented by a performance by The Pretenders on Friday, September 19th along with notable guests, NYC’s the Hold Steady.

In addition to the Noise In The Basement events mentioned above, Brian Slagel, ex-indie record store employee, President/Founder of Metal Blade, and the guy acknowledged to have given Metallica their first break, will launch the national indie-record store “Search For The Next Great Metal Band.” The contest will commence with a special in-store event at The Sound Garden in Baltimore by the Metal Blade band Unearth on Thursday, September 18th.

Motorhead will join in this day of metal, by making a rare in-store appearance, along with Valiant Thorr and Year Long Disaster. This search will be made by indie record stores across the U.S. over the next 6 months, culminating around Record Store Day II on April 18, 2009.

Other artists appearing at Noise In the Basement include Tom Morello: The Night Watchman, In This Moment, The Bridges, Brooklyn Academy, Unearth, The Alternate Routes, Colin Munroe, Rachael Yamagata, Black Kids, Noah & The Whale, K’Nann, The Annuals, One Block Radius, The Pink Spiders, Nappy Roots, Janelle Monae, Noot d’ Noot, The Bridges, Kindred The Family Soul, Eric Roberson, and Baltimore’s Almighty Senators. In addition, the documentaries Heavy Metal in Baghdad (chronicling Iraq’s sole metal band) and The Gits (the story of Mia Zapata and The Gits) will be screened as part of various film and gaming events.