So I just got wind of U.S. Section 338 tariffs from our shipper and it looks like most vinyl record orders (from our bandcamp store) will escape further duties charges.
Unfortunately, orders for T-shirts going to the US are going to be subjected to an addtional 50% duties charged. Obviously this sucks tremendously, but there’s not much we can do about it at the moment. So far as I can tell, you folks south of the border can go ahead and order, but you might want to wait a while, to get a Slips shirt at a reasonable price…
Everyone has safely returned to their respective home towns now. Rad Owl had a matinée show in Red Deer on Sunday along with the Offsailors and Trashed Ambulance, but we just checked out of the hotel and drove back to Calgary to catch a 2:20pm flight back to Vancouver.
Saturday night in Edmonton turned out to be a particularly fun and crazy night. I had no idea there was stormy weather warning–it was maybe clouding over a bit on the way back to the venue. I felt a drop or two of rain pulling up out front of the Starlite, but I later heard that roads massively flooded and there was apparently torrential downpours while we were playing. I also heard Shane’s buddy from Teenage Bottlerocket had to turn his car around halfway to the venue due to the impasse of water.
The vibe inside was super cool though. Parents with their grown up kids, (Hi Pauly) and a few stalwart Dough fans from the olden days, full of stories.
Davin from Cutoffs was determined to outgun Shockker’s guitar antics from the night before, and he had plenty of homies in the room to egg him on. Our VERY long soundcheck proved to be worthwhile because they sounded great.
When I took the stage to join Rad Owl for “Numbered Days” and “I Won’t Write You a Letter”, suddenly there were phones out everywhere and I kind of had to close my eyes to focus on actually hitting the notes. These four Minnesota dudes did the songs proud and I felt very honoured to have the opportunity to sing them again with such a punishing and dedicated lineup.
At a certain point, “Are you the band that was staying at the Days Inn?” was heard, so I guess the folks we bumped into in the elevator showed up too. Oh, and I kissed Brian during “Hurrah Hooray” without completely fucking up what I was playing.
Shockker won the “guitar battle”, I would say, but I kinda rigged it in his favour by calling the vote when Davin was out in the alley. You snooze, you lose, buddy!
Since Büddies Fest last year, when Shockk threw his guitar onto the roof of the gear truck sidestage at the end of the set, it has kinda become a thing. In Calgary, he just kinda tossed it onto the floor, making a hell of a racket. This time he hung it up on some cables on the wall. What will he come up with next?
Our Dickens show was an early one before the Emo DJ Night, so we were done in time to be able to get lost on the way to Tubby’s (underpasses can be tricky) and still meet up with Darren and the JSM folks. I was pretty beat and falling into a food coma after a Stan Mikita Dog and a Straightedge Pale Ale, but Shockk and Dave probably closed the place down. Shockk woke me up with Mork and Mindy on the TV at like 3:30 am.
There are a ton of people to thank, and it was awesome to put faces to names and voices. Bill sure hit it on the head when he said, “If 50 people like your band, well, 50 people like your band!”
With our Alberta shows coming up, Brett Baumback was kind enough to host me on an episode of the Rad Dads Podcast. We got pretty deep into it, so I hope you guys enjoy! You can stream on Apple Music Podcasts or your favourite pod platform. There’s also a video version on the Rad Dads Youtube channel if you want to see my messy kitchen in the background.
Jeremy Jessen of Rad Owl will also be featured on the next episode in a week or so, so be sure to check that out as well!
We’re continuing our weekend warrior ways with two more shows in support of Overtime in July. First to announce is this all ages one at Starlite Temple in YEG. Calgary show should announce within a few days.
Both shows will share the same awesome lineup of Slips plus our beloved Minneapolis büddies, Rad Owl, and Edmonton’s own Cutoffs!
Advance tickets for Edmonton are on sale from ticketweb now. Needless to say, we are ALL super stoked!
Well that was a flurry of a day for many reasons, but our new record is finally out!
Huge thanks to Scott and Sherise at Halo are in order, as well as to Chad at NoRules, and of course, to all of you who watched, liked, and shared the new video, pre-ordered, and ordered vinyl on day one!
We’re getting support from awesome radio stations like CKCU, CKMS, CFUV, met Radio CJTM, CFBR (the Bear), WITR, KOWS, and a bunch more. Its super appreciated.
I have yet to deliver records to any mom & pop shops in Vancouver, but I promise I’ll get to Red Cat and Matterhorn soon. If you’re in Toronto, I hear Rotate This is your best bet. If you’re elsewhere in Canada or the US, you can have your favourite record store order stock from Cobraside Distribution in Glendale.
Of course I’m always happy to fill orders through our Bandcamp too!
I definitely got my heart rate up yesterday, carrying all nine boxes of records upstairs! Once again, amazing service from Pirates Press (and I suppose Fed Ex) despite crazy sub-zero weather in Memphis the other day.
I busted one box open and checked out one of the records and wow, the orange crush vinyl colour is SO rad. Here’s the back cover:
Another couple of boxes got delivered to Cobraside in Glendale, CA so if you’re inclined to pick up a copy of any of our records from your local mom and pop record store, you can tell them to order stock there.
Otherwise, you can pre-order from us here or come grab one at the merch table from Wayne on the 6th or 7th.
For those of you looking to stream stuff, the official release date for DSPs is February 20th. We have chosen to continue our boycott of Spotify, but you’ll be able to stream on Qobuz, Apple Music, and most of the other platforms by about 9pm pacific on that day.
Oh, and before I forget, for those of you awaiting physical copies for review, those will start going out this week.
So the release date for our new record is getting closer! To celebrate, we are throwing a couple of parties and have invited a few Büddies to join us. The first one is in Victoria at Lucky Bar:
Advance tickets are available here. It’s an early show, so you can check out the out of town bands and be home on the couch in no time!
The second one is in Vancouver the very next night at one of our favourite spots:
We just approved the test pressings of our sophomore 12″ EP, “Overtime”. There’s still a ton of work to do, but we should have vinyl awfully soon in the new year. The Official Release Date is currently set for February 23, 2026, so expect to hear more soon in the usual places, along with announces of a couple shows we’re working on.
I’ll be setting up a pre-order on our bandcamp for you special keeners ASAP!
