Promising upstart label Gypsy Eyes has signed the Apes. The pick-up gives the local label a much-needed entree into D.C.’s vibrant punk scene. And the Apes finally get a local home—and some stability—for their heavy riffage, zany lyrics, and street-theater style performances.

What this means for you: The Apes’ long-unreleased LP, Ghost Games, should see a release early next year.

Says Gypsy Eyes co-owner Kalani Tifford: “We’ve been friends with them for a long time. Always really liked their music. They needed a label and we liked them. It was easy. It just made sense. We’re all friends.”

Tifford goes on to gush about Ghost Games (“I definitely think it’s their best record”) and the band itself. “It’s even more appealing when you have really driven and focused musicians in the band.”

The Apes’ Amanda Kleinman says the decision to join Gypsy Eyes was a logical one. “I’m really happy. “This is the first label we’ve ever been on that’s D.C. That’s been awesome. We’ve had face to face meetings four or five times. We’ve gone over to Kalani’s house. It makes so much more sense. In the past we worked with friends who were hundreds or thousands of miles away. But working with people locally, it’s just infinitely more efficient.”

The band had some encouraging discussions with Dischord, Kleinman says, adding that those discussions were extremely gratifying—hey, it is Dischord, after all—but they ultimately did not yield a full-fledged deal. Perhaps, though, they did spark the idea of keeping Apes a local endeavor.

Of Gypsy Eyes, Kleinman says: “They’re always doing something. That counts. They’re always holding events….[Kalani’s] always trying to find some creative ways to get exposure for his bands.”

The Bag had to ask how it felt to be the biggest band on the label.

“In theory—I wouldn’t crunch numbers and put a graph to that,” Kleinman says. “Maybe their longest existing—the band that’s logged the most mile in a van.”

Kleinman says they’ve started to mess around with video production and plan on leaking songs from the new album soon.

Of the video stuff, Kleinman says: “Right now, people have been offering to do things for us. We said sure go for it: budget zero. And we’re also going to do our [own] stuff, we made our green screen in the basement of our practice space, that’s been a blast and a half.”

To watch an Apes video, go here.

Stay tuned here for some new Apes music soon.