“The DC Public Library Foundation is set to release a compilation album featuring several luminaries of the DC music scene entitled ALB’s Rock the Stacks”

From a press release:

“The DC Public Library Foundation is set to release a compilation album featuring several luminaries of the DC music scene entitled ALB’s Rock the Stacks. The release will come in both vinyl and digital format. The Foundation will host a local music festival and release party at the MLK Library on February 24, 2017. The proceeds of the album and all events surrounding it will go to the DC Public Library Foundation. ALB’s Rock the Stacks came together in memory of Annie Lou Berman, an essential member of the DC creative community and board member of the DC Public Library Foundation, who succumbed to cancer earlier this year.

Some of Berman’s favorite bands have donated recordings to the project while others collaborated to make fresh recordings in the state-of-the-art Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library recording studios. Some of the bands and musicians appearing on the album includeThievery Corporation, Deathfix, Fort Knox Five, Shortstack and Small Doses. The release party will feature many of the bands on the album, including Elmapi, Furniteur, Warm Sun and The ALB Allstars (a supergroup of members appearing on Rock the Stacks).

The project is being headed by a committee that includes Anna Fuhrman (Proper Topper),Brendan Canty (Fugazi, Deathfix), Jim Thomson (Gwar), Ben Gilligan (musician and restaurateur), Vida Russell and Jerry Busher (Deathfix, French Toast) as well as members of the library and Berman’s family members, including husband MJ Berman, sister Johanna Howeand cousin Kevin Bayly.

“That MLK library has taken on the mantle of preserving our local music is perfect,” says Brendan Canty, former Fugazi drummer and current member of the band Deathfix. “Not only are they the epicenter of DC, but they are free and open to the public, giving us truly democratic access so that we the people can enjoy music devoid of commercial context,” continues Canty.

The vinyl version of the album, which has 14 mostly original tracks, is being produced by local vinyl pressing company, Furnace, located in Fairfax, Virginia. A digital download of ALB’s Rock the Stacks will also be available and will include additional songs. More information can be found here“