Last night in Berkeley, Shaun O’Dell of Sword & Sandals and WR/DS (words) debuted a series of new prints on paper at Paulson Bott Press. The opening was accompanied by a live musical performance by WR/DS (Shaun O’Dell, Randy Lee Southerland & Jeff Anderson) pictured below at an opening for Daniel Higgs and Kyle Ranson. You can read more about the opening and the prints HERE. If you are in the Berkeley area then make your way over and take them in.

Then on THURSDAY January 20, 6-9pm, Gallery 16 will “attempt the improbable”. In their left hand they will present a new exhibition of prints by artists Amy Ellingson, Stefan Kirkeby, Shaun O’Dell and Inez Storer. While those balls are in the air, their right hand will attempt the ambitious book signing for the release of the long awaited book, These Are The People In Your Neighborhood, also featuring Shaun’s work. Empty Cellar artist Sonny Smith will provide the sonic backdrop for the evening.

Read more about that opening and book righta here.

Listen to the romantic opener – Throw My Ashes From This Pier When I Die: [audio:http://www.endlessnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01-Throw-My-Ashes-From-This-Pier-When-I-Die.mp3]

Empty cellar is excited to announce Sonny & The Sandwitches, a new 7″ e.p. by Sonny Smith (out 12/14). You can pick up your own personal copy here. Pitchfork and a slew of other online hot-sheets beat us to the punch, but for those of you who haven’t heard… here is the full story:

Not long ago, Sonny Smith (Sonny & The Sunsets) survived a near-drowning off the coast of northern california. The experience affected him profoundly and led to a wealth of output including a play, a novel, and a stack of songs. Sonny’s critically acclaimed “100 Records” project is itself a direct product of Sonny’s fight with the sea. A novel he began, “Adelard the Drowned”, broke into 100 pieces. Four of those pieces come as songs on this 7″ e.p., each bound to the next by a twisted braid of water and death. Through the fog and the haze, however, there lies in these songs a shared sense of redemption, transformation, or reawakening. Featuring appearances by Heidi and Grace of the The Sandwitches and a long-lost band called The Transients, this record features Sonny’s songwriting at its strongest, staring death in the face. Perhaps, this is in part why the ocean gave him back. Recorded in San Francisco and mastered by Paul Oldham, each record includes a comic book, four full-color album covers, and a high-quality digital drownload.

Preview the intensely personal comic penned by Hank Champion and illustrated by Teppei Ando:

After a short break, Sonny & The Sunsets are back on tour. They will be joining another excellent retro-cali-sunshiney pop outfit for the majority of their shows, Best Coast! Meanwhile Empty Cellar is still anxiously waiting on Sonny’s latest release – a 4 song 7″ E.P. featuring harmonies from the Sandwitches – from the pressing plant.

Tonight in Chicago is the first night of a grand eastern-by-way-of-midwest tour with Sonny & the Sunsets and Kelley Stoltz. The bands are going to melt into each other in a seamless coexistence… It will be fresh.