New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, supergroup The Baseball Project shared the music video for their song "Disco Demolition" off their recently released album Grand Salami Time! (Omnivore Recordings). Made up of former
R.E.M. members
Peter Buck and Mike Mills, Steve Wynn (The
Dream Syndicate), Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5/Young
Fresh Fellows) and
Linda Pitmon (Filthy Friends, Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3), The Baseball Project's Grand Salami Time! marks their first release in nine years.
One of the many baseball stories the band tells on Grand Salami Time!, "Disco Demolition" is about a very unusual night in baseball history. On July 12, 1979, the
Chicago White Sox held an event at Comiskey Park in between games of a double-header against the
Detroit Tigers where they invited fans to bring their disco records to literally blow them up on the field in between games.
Disco was at the height of its popularity at the time, and was receiving major backlash from rock music fans, so much so that the
Chicago White Sox decided to take advantage and use it as a promotional opportunity to fill seats during a disappointing season. Approximately 50,000 people showed up (30,000 more than expected), many of whom came to see the explosion rather than the games. After the detonation of the records, the fans stormed the field and a riot ensued. The field was so damaged from the explosion and rioters that the White Sox ended up forfeiting the second game to the Tigers.
Disco Demolition Night remains well known as one of the most extreme and bizarre promotions in US sports history.
To commemorate this event which took place 44 years ago today, The Baseball Project is excited to share the music video for "Disco Demolition."
Produced by formative
R.E.M. producer Mitch Easter (Let's Active, The dB's), Grand Salami Time! brought together former
R.E.M. members in the studio again for the first time in over three decades, and it's The Baseball Project's first release in nine years. The new album was recorded at Easter's fabled Fidelitorium Studios in Kernersville, North Carolina, with the entire band performing live together in the same room, a joyous experience that seemed impossible to imagine only one year before. Grand Salami Time! also features guitar work by Easter as well as appearances by Stephen McCarthy (The Long Ryders) and Steve Berlin (Los Lobos).
True to their name, The Baseball Project has been fortunate enough to perform full sets along with the
National Anthem and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" at major league parks in cities like Boston,
Chicago and Philadelphia. They've also had the pleasure of throwing out some exceptional first pitches at these games. It's all part of an unusual arc and fun story of a band whose first gig was an appearance on Late Night With
David Letterman followed by a festival in a medieval Spanish city.
Grand Salami Time! is the follow-up to the band's third album, 2014's 3rd, which was critically acclaimed by The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, USA Today, Stereogum and many more including the MLB.
Pre-order Grand Salami Time!: omnivorerecordings.com/shop/grand-salami-time
The Baseball Project - 2023 Tour Dates:
August 8 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn
August 9 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
August 10 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt
August 11 - Charleston, SC -
Music Farm
August 12 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheater *
August 13 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues *
August 15 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
August 16 - Richmond, VA - Richmond
Music Hall
August 17 - Washington, D.C. - The Hamilton
August 18 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Made
August 19 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
August 20 - Ridgefield, CT - The Ridgefield Playhouse
August 22 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
August 23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Thunderbird
Music Hall
August 24 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
August 25 - Kalamazoo, MI - Bell's Beer Garden
August 26 - Indianapolis, IN -
Deluxe @ Old
National Centre
August 27 - Evanston, IL - Space
August 28 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
August 31 - Evanston, IL - Space
September 1 - Louisville, KY - The Whirling Tiger
September 2 - Memphis, TN - Overton Park Shell
September 19 - San Diego, CA -
Music Box
September 20 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
September 21 - Menlo Park, CA - Guild Theatre
September 23 - Tacoma, WA - Spanish Ballroom
September 24 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
* with Jason Isbell
Grand Salami Time! Tracklist:
1. Grand Salami Time
2. The Yips
3. Screwball
4. Uncle Charlie
5. Journeyman
6. Erasable Man
7. New Oh In Town
8.
Disco Demolition
9. Stuff
10. The All or Nothings
11. That's Living
12. 64 and 64
13. Having Fun
14. Fantasy Baseball Widow
15. The Voice of Baseball
