While the winter snow buried his hometown of Milwaukee, Brett Newski hibernated to South Africa, touring, couch surfing and writing songs for the Hi-Fi D.I.Y. EP, which releases in the US on February 19th.  His car broke down on day one of the tour, food poisoning set in on day five and his train car fell under attack by robbers on a trip from Johannesburg to Durban, inspiring the song "No Anchor," a song about diving face-first into the world alone with no safety net.  Following that globetrot, Brett returned home to record new material. Fellow Milwaukean and Violent Femmes cofounder, Victor DeLorenzo, produced Hi-Fi D.I.Y. at Howl Street Recordings in Milwaukee. The two geared up for the Hi-Fi sessions by holding coffee drinking contests on Victor's front porch, demoing tunes on an old snare drum and ragtime guitar. The five songs are a blend of Newski's anxiety-rich indie rock, along with tongue-in-cheek power acoustic tunes like "DIY," about playing "the worst show of your life to four people on a sh*tty Monday night in St. Louis." 

Despite the misfortunes of touring, Newski gained a quick addiction to road life and documenting the shi*t that hits the fan. Most of his possessions were eventually moved into his Euro tourmobile, aptly named "Chuck Ragan The Car," which served as home for over two months during his 2015 European tour. This bizarre DIY lifestyle led to the birth of a weekly YouTube series, "Crusty Adventures," exposing the dark underbelly of touring and the strange events that unfold between gigs. In the series, Brett and tour manager, "Danimal," tell their tales of blackmail in Germany, flaming brake rotors down the Norwegian mountainside, and terrorism in Brussels during the wake of the Paris attacks. Watch 13 Episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLmoR72aYJjEfsn6vbDkDqPdFddJQvA5qQ&v=g18hko2Uv34

While living in Saigon, Vietnam in 2010, Newski landed a job writing music jingles for national television campaigns, most notably a line of tampon ads placed in movie theaters and public establishments across Vietnam. The wild success of these campaigns coined him "The Vagina King of Vietnam" by his creative director. “The King” transitioned to a completely nomadic lifestyle after two years living in Saigon, playing 1000 shows across Europe, South Africa, Asia, Australia and the US. He released In Between Exits in 2011 under his own name before Tiny Victories with his band, The Corruption. Both were recorded across Asia. These releases were followed by American Folk Armageddon in 2014 on Milwaukee’s Good Land Records in the US and Make My Day Records in Europe.

Continental Club: Tuesday, March 15 / 10:20 PM - 1315 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704

Dizzy Rooster: Wednesday, March 16 / 4:00 PM - 306 E 6th St., Austin, TX 78701

Shangri La: Thursday, March 17 / 6:45 PM - 1016 E 6th St., Austin, TX 78702

Sidewinder: Friday, March 18 / 12:30 PM - 715 Red River St., Austin, TX 78701