Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)
Bio
Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) is undoubtedly a band on the move. The Michigan quartet’s latest 7-inch, Year Of The Rabbit (available from Count Your Lucky Stars Records), is proof of that. Conceived in 2006 as a solo project of Keith Latinen, Empire! Empire!’s first release, When the Sea Became a Giant, received critical acclaim from press and peers alike. It was the kind of record that created a rush of nostalgia for fans 90s’ indie / emo. Now, backed by a full band, Year Of The Rabbit continues down that same path forged by Latinen, but offers even more definition and purpose to the unmistakable sound.
Unabashedly fueled with passion and honesty, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) is a band intent on touching the listener. Latinen describes the sound as “a throwback to really pretty, heart-on-your-sleeve, gut-wrenching stuff — that when you listen, you can tell the artist is pouring their heart out.”
This is what epitomizes the music of Empire! Empire!; it strives for a visceral connection between artist and listener. Year Of The Rabbit finds the band honing their skills and moving even closer to that goal. The instruments rise and fall as they carve out their own niche behind the charismatic Latinen. His vocals are moving and his words breathe sincerity. Harkening back to a simpler time — when emotion was real and never calculated — it’s impossible not to feel Empire! Empire!. The band leaves no doubt they are growing into something amazing right before our eyes. We’re just lucky to have the opportunity to watch it all unfold.
Bio courtesy of the good people at Count Your Lucky Stars Records.
Music
Video
Recent Tumblr Mentions
a thing. Thu, Mar 28, 2013
a thing.
Hey everyone! We are playing some sweet SXSW showcases in March again this year with Joie De Vivre & Warren Franklin & the Founding Fathers and making our way down there through a few select states. We need a little help booking the tour, so if you have a basement/house/DIY?
See you in March!
Check out this lineup. Ready to get sad for a good cause? See ya in March.
Show in our home-state tonight with The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die at the DAAC in Grand Rapids, MI! http://www.facebook.com/events/447843085273742/
The World is a Beautiful Place & I am no Longer Afraid to Die
james brown kings of soulmo
http://theworldis.bandcamp.com/
Empire! Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate)
the emo sister hazel
http://empireempire.bandcamp.com/
saintseneca
leadbelly tribute band
http://saintseneca.bandcamp.com/
Running Shoes
jangly punk-a-long kid-rock
http://runningshoes666.bandcamp.com/
Soft Roars
aimee mann/velvet underground collab
http://softroars.bandcamp.com/
SRVVLST
if rites of spring were any good
http://survivalist.bandcamp.com/??
6P/$7 - 01/03/13
@ The DAAC
115 S. Division St, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
All ages - always. - No drinking! No drugs!
http://www.facebook.com/events/447843085273742/
Our 100 Words Or Less Podcast with host Ray Harkins is back with Keith Latinen of Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) and Count Your Lucky Stars. Ray?s conversation with Keith covers paying in a band with his wife, defining success,bands moving up, and much more.
Follow the podcast on Twitter here, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here, and stream the new episode with Ray below by clicking ?Read More.?
Here are the tour dates with the Reptilian!
05.11.12 UK Sheffield @ Tye Die Tapes HQ
http://www.facebook.com/events/501354379889686/06.11.12 UK York @ Stereo
07.11.12 Scotland Glasgow @ 13th Note
http://www.facebook.com/events/178763022256461/08.11.12 Scotland Dundee @ Club Kage
You can now download our entire discography for FREE! It?ll be up free for a week! ? Head over to our Bandcamp page (http://empireempire.bandcamp.com/) and go wild! All of the albums say ?Name Your Own Price? but you can put zero orrrr anything you wish ;) The albums are in relative order?
Our favorite midwest sweethearts Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) are headed overseas for a two week stint in the UK. Dates are below (formatted DD.MM.YY for you non-Americans):
- 05.11.12- TBA
- 06.11.12 ? UK ? York ? Stereo
- 07.11.12 ? SC ? Glasgow ? 13th Note
- 08.11.12 ? SC ? Dundee ? Club Kage
- 09.11.12 ? SC ? Edinburgh ? The Wee Red Bar
- 10.11.12 ? UK ? Leeds ? Wharf Chambers
- 11.11.12 ? EIR ? Dublin ? The Twisted Pepper
- 12.11.12 ? EIR ? Cork ? Cyprus Avenue
- 13.11.12 ? UK ? Bristol ? venue TBA
- 14.11.12 ? UK ? Falmouth ? Fish Factory Art Space
- 15.11.12 ? UK ? London ? The Blackheart
- 16.11.12 ? UK ? Southampton ? Joiners
- 17.11.12 ? UK ? Brighton ? The Green Door Store
- Sirs are headed out with Spook Houses starting today.
- Pianos Become the Teeth afre in Euope and the UK for the next three weeks.
- Slingshot Dakota have a run of EU / UK dates with The Static Age coming up.
- Prawn is hitting the road with Calculator starting tomorrow.
- Suis La Lune is on tour right now in the UK.
- My Fictions have some dates in support of their new EP out August 14.
- You Blew It! is winding down their East Coast / Midwest / Canada tour.
- The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die have a string of amazing shows along the East Coast in August.
- Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) is in the final stretch of their tour with Perfect Future.
- Into It. Over It. will be on the road AGAIN ? this August with Polar Bear Club.
For a semi-comprehensive list of all of our band’s shows, check out our tour page!
