Check out the new video for Steel Cranes’ song “Today Is The Day.”
Oakland based duo Steel Cranes continues to break down barriers with their new album Tango.
The duo, consisting of out drummer Amanda Schukle (who also plays bass, guitar and keys) and Tracy Shapiro on guitar and vocals, has evolved their sound from the “raw, relentless power” highlighted on their 2013 debut album Ouroboros.
Initially, the two women were stalled when trying to work out the logistics of recording Tango, a much more expansive album. With the time-consuming sonic refinements they wished to make to their music, a traditional studio environment was not the best option.
The best option, it appeared, was for Amanda and Tracy to record and mix the record themselves.
Shapiro recalls, “Amanda has been recording her own music for years, and she began obsessively learning more about recording and mixing. As soon as we decided to do everything ourselves, the control freaks in us were unleashed!”
No longer bound by the confines of creative deadlines and traditional studio environments, the duo took full advantage of the new work environment.
The end result is a more passionate and layered version of the Steel Cranes sound.
“We wanted time and space to let ourselves stretch in new ways,” Shapiro says. “In ways that don’t come easy when you’re aware of how much it costs to spend three hours experimenting with the fucked-up tones on your old Casio keyboard.”
Steel Cranes has released a video for their song “Today Is The Day” off Tango. In it, the ladies parody sports drink commercial themes. Schukle jokes that “playing militant coaches of a misbehaving track team wasn’t too far of a stretch for our actiigng abilities.”
Shapiro says she channelled a 15 year old Gatorade commercial that featured women’s soccer but the “soaring cost of shin guards” convinced them to land on the “delinquent track team motif”.
Schukle describes Tango as having more of a post-punk vibe combined with grunge and a little classic rock.
Tango will be available on August 5, 2016.
Watch the video below for “Today Is The Day”
Check out Steel Cranes tour dates:
08/04 Tucson, AZ @ Flycatcher
08/05 Phoenix, AZ @ Rips Bar
08/06 Los Angeles, CA @ Redwood Bar & Grill
08/07 San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar
08/09 San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Donut Co.
08/10 Fresno, CA @ Dynamite Vinyl
08/12 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
08/13 Oakland, CA @ The Golden Bull
08/14 Pacifica, CA @ Winters Tavern
08/16 Medford, OR @ Bamboo Room at King Wah's
08/17 Eugene, OR @ The Boreal
08/18 Portland, OR @ World Famous Kenton Club
08/19 Seattle, WA @ Blue Moon Tavern
08/20 Olympia, WA @ McCoy's Tavern
08/21 Tacoma, WA @ Real Art Tacoma
08/23 Boise, ID @ High Note Cafe
08/24 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
08/26 Denver, CO @ Lion's Lair
08/27 Omaha, NE @ Barley Street Tavern
08/28 Lincoln, NE @ Vega
08/29 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
08/30 Iowa City, IA @ Gabe's
08/31 Minneapolis, MN @ Amsterdam Bar
09/02 La Crosse, WI @ Root Note
09/03 Madison, WI @ BOS Meadery
09/06 Milwaukee, WI @ Linneman's
09/07 Chicago, IL @ Township
09/08 Bloomington, IN @ The Back Door
09/09 Evansville, IN @ PG
09/10 St. Louis, MO @ Schlafly's Tap Room
09/11 Columbia, MO @ Cafe Berlin
09/12 Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon
09/14 Wichita, KS @ Kirby's Beer Store
09/15 Norman, OK @ Red Brick Bar
09/16 Albuquerque, NM @ Burt's Tiki Lounge
09/17 Santa Fe, NM @ Boxcar
Learn more about Steel Cranes: