Album Notes

David Fricke of Rolling Stone called My Education's sound "advanced ecstasy" and announced the band as his "surprise find" at SXSW 2005, but plenty of fans from central Texas and all around the globe already knew that My Education are better than drugs: the pulse-pounding emotion of their visceral live shows and the lyrical beauty and dark grandeur of their recorded output had heralded this from the get-go. Formed in Austin in 1999 by Brian Purington, Eric Gibbons and Sean Seagler, three refugees from San Angelo, TX, the band flirted briefly with the idea of vocals but soon decided they were never necessary to begin with and became a purely instrumental outfit. With the addition of keyboardist Kirk Laktas (Stars of the Lid, Ultrasound, etc.), viola virtuoso James Alexander (Cinders, ecfa) and Floridian transplant guitar god Chris Hackstie, the lineup stabilized and their first album 5 Popes was recorded at the Bubble with Chris "Frenchie" Smith (16 Deluxe, Young Heart Attack) at the helm. The self-released record peaked at number one on many college radio stations across North America. The band has toured Midwest, East Coast, and Canada multiple times since the original release of 5 Popes along w/ showcasing @ SXSW 2003-2006. The first self-released pressing of 5 Popes sold out in December 2003, and was promptly re-released on the Austin, TX-based record label Thirty Ghosts Records in January 2004. In February 2003 the UK-based label, Jonathan Whiskey, released a 7” single for the song Concentration Waltz. My Education also has songs featured on the Rollerderby Records compilation The Speed by Which we Fall, and the Clairecords compilation Test Tones Vol. 2.3. After three years of blood, sweat, and tears My Education finally completed their 2nd CD, Italian, which was released on Thirty Ghosts Records on April 26th, 2005. Mr. Fricke soon chimed in with critics all over the world in their admiration of this fine record, which has been described as everything from "...swirling and swaying and leading your ears and your soul into a trippy, calm world, where the sky is glowing a beautiful shade of pink and the sun is always setting on a cold winter's eve" (Joseph Kyle, mundanesounds.com) to "careening around mischievously, like the score to a fictional film" (Chris Elkjar, trust-me.ca) and "slow-cooked noise bombs (that) left everyone in a daze" (Audra Schroeder, Austin Chronicle). Following up Italian is the EP/remix record Moody Dipper. Along with this new record come changes for the band, as Eric decides to leave to purse his blossoming fine art career (Eric's lovely paintings adorn the covers all four MyEd releases and will likely continue to do so). New bassist Scott Telles of ST 37 fame and vibraphonist Sarah Norris (Benko, Austin New Music Co-Op) join the fold. Accompanying the three new My Education songs on this release are remixes by Dalek, Red Sparowes, Kinski, and Teith (Trevor from Pelican). Due on June 27th 2006, this release will appeal to both the seasoned My Education fan as well as newcomers that are more familiar with the bands creating the imaginative new remixes. The band will hit the road in July to bring the magic to the kids. Look out!