The “Special Guest” line-up for the, much anticipated Quactus CD release party at The Mint on August 28th is growing and will now include Cubensis drummer, Steve Harris behind one of the kits for a song or two and a 5-6 player drum jam.

A month after the release of the much anticipated “A Sense of We” album from Los Angeles’ fastest rising jamband, Quactus, the band will host a CD release party at the legendary MINT nightclub in Hollywood on August 28th.  The event is billed as “and Friends” which will include special appearances from Mike Mangan of  Big Organ Trio, Viking from Delta Nove, Josh Baldwin from Exactly and Keith Erickson from Harbingers.  The show will include an amazing visual light display by VJ- DBlock, hula hooping by Hoopsoul’s Meryl Aydin and live painters.   Tickets are $15 and will INCLUDE A FREE CD!

On “A Sense of We,” featuring guest artists Steve Molitz from Particle and Mike Mangan from Big Organ Trio, Quactus has brought some major players on this album to add to an already exceptional group of musicians.  “A Sense of We” has a unique cover, spelling out “A Sense of We” with photos of hands sent in by fans of the band.  If you sent in your hand, check out the cover to see if you can find your hand.

Quactus commented on their website, “After the many months of recording, editing, mixing, and more mixing, we are thrilled that you all get to finally hear what we’ve worked so hard to create for you.  We hope you dig it.  If you do, let us know, and let your friends know too!”

You can sample the first two tracks below for free but you’ll have to buy the album to get the whole Quactus experience.  “At Ease” was featured as the Editor’s Pick of the Month in Relix magazine three months ago.  Well deserving and a great way to start an album.  “Superflitious” features Mangan’s amazing Hammond B3 stylings.

Quactus has added additional dates to their CD release tour including a September 2nd Winston’s show in Ocean Beach, CA and September 3rd at Golden China in Ventura, CA.  Each show will include it’s own group of “And Friends” but the Mint show will, no doubt, be the epic jam that you won’t want to miss.

You can find the album for download on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, and CDBaby.  You can also order a hard copy directly from Quactus by going to the Merch page on their website, www.quactus.com.

Track Listings for “A Sense of We”

1. At Ease
2. Superflitious
3. Fearless
4. Wine
5. Drinko – A Quactus Toast
6. Van Winkle’s Nightmare
7. Roger Waters
8. Finally Free
9. Better Days
10. The Offer
11. Hot Whopper

Environment California needs your help:

With only a few weeks left to pass a ban on single-use plastic bags, you can help give turtles a voice — and put our campaign over the top.

Floating in the ocean, a plastic bag looks a lot like a jellyfish to a sea turtle — one of their favorite foods. And the chilling fact is that turtles can choke on these bags or starve to death with stomachs filled with plastic.

In order to bring much-needed attention to the damage the 19 billion single-use plastic bags California uses each year does to wildlife and the environment, we’re taking a giant, 25-foot inflatable turtle on tour through the state.

Building the turtle and paying for travel will cost us about $10,000 — which we need to raise by next week. Can you help make our plan a reality by donating today?

We’re at a critical moment in our campaign to ban single-use plastic bags in California. And with our opposition lobbying hard against us, it’s going to take an extra push to pass the ban.

A ban on single-use plastic bags would be a game changer — reducing the number of plastic bags we use each year by billions and billions, and would cut the waste that’s littering our streets and beaches and accumulating in the oceans.

Big opportunities call for big turtles.

Here’s our plan:

* Build a giant 25-foot turtle, and bring it up and down the coast holding rallies for the bag ban, with stops in San Diego, Long Beach, San Barbara, San Luis Obispo and San Jose.

* Cut through the opposition’s smoke-screens. Chemical industry lobbyists are claiming this problem can really be solved through better recycling. We want to remind people of the bottom line: The 19 billion bags we use each year hurt our environment, especially the sea turtles who mistake the bags for food. We can’t recycle our way out of the problem.

* Get local mayors, city-council members and other elected officials to join with us in calling for a statewide single-use plastic bag ban. This campaign started at the local level and will end with their strong support.

Whether you donate $25 or $250, your contribution today brings a ban on single-use bags one step closer:

https://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/oceans/turtle-tour?id4=ES

From CREDO ACTION:

News has just emerged from the Gulf Coast that BP is burning endangered sea turtles alive.

A boat captain who has been leading efforts to rescue the endangered turtles says BP has blocked his crews from entering the areas where the animals are trapped, effectively shutting down the rescue operation.

BP is using “controlled burns” to contain the oil spill. Shrimp boats create a corral of oil by dragging together fire-resistant booms and then lighting the enclosed “burn box” on fire. If turtles are not removed from the area before the fire is lit, they are literally burned alive.

Kemp's Ridley Turtle

The sea turtle most affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the Kemp’s Ridley which is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Parties responsible for killing the endangered turtles are liable for criminal penalties that include prison and civil fines of up to $25,000 per violation.

As a result, BP perversely has a financial incentive to allow the endangered turtles to burn rather than allow rescue crews to cull them from the burn boxes before the containment fires are lit.

“They ran us out of there and then they shut us down, they would not let us get back in there,” said turtle rescuer Mike Ellis in an interview with conservation biologist Catherine Craig that was posted on YouTube.com.

Sign the Petition to Tell BP: Stop burning endangered sea turtles alive.