From the molten core of 2005, hello again! Our air-conditioned bunker is holding strong  but the minds contained within remain as feverish as ever. What do you expect? Looking backwards, forwards and within all at once is a mind-flayer — but that’s what we do here at Drag City. Time has no meaning for us — all we can do is tell you what we know as of right here, right now.

This newsletter celebrates two or three very special releases — not just for us, but for everyone who cares about anything! Seriously, though…the class of July was on Drag City this year — check it out!

First and foremost is perhaps the greatest reissue of all time you guessed it, Red Hash by Gary Higgins. How did you know? Because we told you, that’s why, jack! Or maybe you were one of the folk-psych/private press freaks who owned one of the original few hundred Red Hash LPs  or one of the CD burns made from one of those LPs. If you were, time to throw them out! This new CD is remastered to sound better than anything — and at least as good as the original. Plus, it’s a couple songs longer than the original, taking the sound of Gary forward in time. Plus, it’s got a fat book, distilling the album artwork and the best of other images culled from the man’s private archives. The reason we did all this? Because of the music! These haunting, intricate songs had a lost feeling to them even before they were lost. Now that they’ve been found again, you can find them and get lost yourself. I know this isn’t the last time we’ll say it, but — Red Hash for everyone!

Accompanying this pinnacle of rare psychedelic folk into the marketplace is a magazine known far and wide for its celebration of rare psychedelia and the folk who make it — the Galactic Zoo Dossier. After a five-year wait, the bigger-and-better-in-every-way sixth issue is done and now available for all freaky, furry fans high and low. Featuring more pages and collaborators than ever before, GZD #6 comes complete with 72 Damaged Guitar Trading Cards and 2 CDs of music (that’s one more CD than ever before!)! For the hand-written (and drawn) low-down on Exuma, Debris, The Mirage, Simon DuPree and the Big Sound and countless others, as well as interviews with Keith Rowe, Pip Proud, John Renbourn, Cal Schenkel and Vanilla Fudge, there’s also meditations on the middle-eastern influence on rock, the rock and psych influence in the comics (profusely illustrated) and the ultimate trip: God-rock (and Jesus-rock too, of course), try the Galactic Zoo Dossier #6! On newsstands now!

Hey, I know it’s been a long year, but…remember Superwolf? The January entry for Best Album of 2004 was a collaborative work of great feeling and depth from the song-and-dance team of Matt Sweeney and Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Since then they’ve toured (most famously playing five free shows in one crazy NYC day) both in America and abroad. But the dust ain’t settling just yet. Bonny wants you to remember what he and Matt gave you — with a little single entitled “I Gave You,” featuring not just the Superwolf album track of the same name, but also a CD-Rom-viewable video of the same name and another three songs that Bonny and Mattie think you’ll really enjoy. Plus a couple of crotch shots (give or take a foot) for the ages!

It’s all out there somewhere now, ready for you consumers to consume. In some of the hotbeds of the world, they’ve already sold out and are re-ordering! If you can’t find it at your corner candy-shop, you can always order it direct from us. Just give it four-to-six weeks  all titles mailed flat! Except flat posters, that is — they’re sent in a tube…

The same week all these new titles fill retail shelves around the country, the prodigal Smog returns to the mean streets of America for his first tour in who knows how long. The A River Ain’t Too Much To Love U.S. tour begins in the dustbowl of the southwest before breaking out every which way but loose! If you live in North America, one of the 29 dates should be somewhere reasonably near you  make it on out to the show to see and hear Bill and the band interpret Smog classics, his great new songs and maybe a few titles that haven’t made it to the public ear yet! Go for the music — stay for the incredible dry Callahan wit, a humor that has eluded hundreds of journalists over the last ten years or so!

In support of their awesome new album Illuminated by the Light, Weird War have been taking it to the nation for the past few weeks with a couple more weeks to go. The south west coasts got their first taste of Weird War in over a year — now it’s time for the greater mid-west to have its fill. Weird War wind up with a big gig in NYC on August 5th and then a homecoming show in DC the following evening. It’s a dance party unlike any you’ve attended this year! Make it happen — with Weird War.

But if you can't make the show, here's an idea of an average, everyday Weird War show:

http://www.pancakemountain.com/clips.html
(click on "Weird War")

Just kidding! Their fanbase is young, but not that young....

Who’s getting born in August? They are:

Hiroyuki Usui and Ben Chasny

Though born hemispheres apart, and in different eras even, they share a birth-month, as well as a musical and spiritual common ground. And this, along with mutual admiration, has led to the extraordinary genesis of August Born. Ever since the early days of Six Organs of Admittance, Ben’s admiration for Hiroyuki’s L album, Holy Letters, has stayed strong within him. When a mutual friend provided an introduction, Hiroyuki was found to be a Six Organs fan. What better to do but to make recordings? And so they did, by sending tapes back and forth, building the songs of August Born part by part. An eclectic, home recorded album, August Born jams instrumentals, found sounds, gongs and bells, voices and vocals into eleven tracks that highlight the deep nature of each man’s musical soul. It’s heavy, but light  and it will be yours for the taking on August 23rd. Until then, try the mp3 on our front page. When the ides of August are upon us, then it will be time for August Born.

August is also the month of summer jams, pt. 2 for Bonny Billy and his merry men. He covered the European festival circuit exhaustively earlier this month  now, with a couple of weeks to recharge, he’s back at it, playing Ypsyrock in Italy, Pukkelpop in Belgium, Lowlands in the Netherlands and Green Man in the UK. There’s other dates in between, adding up to another two weeks-plus of dates in Europe. What a treat for all you old-worlders! If you’ve got a pocket full of Euros, hitch-hike to the closest date (they still do that over there, don’t they?).

Also kicking off in August is the Alasdair Roberts U.S. tour. In support of his No Earthly Man album, Alasdair Roberts is coming back to America for the first time in over two years. Even though No Earthly Man came out way back in March, this is Ali’s first chance to get over here, being very much in demand in the UK and European countries. His music has touched a nerve there — and for four weeks, Alasdair is going to be in search of a similar nerve somewhere in the hinterlands of North America. It’s an extensive tour, taking him through towns big and small alike — and closing with something like a week in Florida! Alasdair is excited to be playing over here again — and just for the occasion, he’ll be touring solo, accompanied only by his quick-fingered guitar-playing  and occasionally, not even that. Trust us, you haven’t lived — or is that died? — until you’ve heard Alasdair Roberts lull you with an a cappella death ballad. Don’t miss the No Earthly Man tour  featuring Alasdair Roberts, and no other earthly man.

September — one of the richest veins of sales-ore in the entire retail calendar! Why then, do we have but a single release scheduled for this month? Would you believe that’s the way the ball bounces? It’s true; after fifteen or so years riding the razor’s edge of incredible music, we’re still not locked into the bloodless mercenary way of the industry. And that’s the plus side. Still, one release is better than no releases at all. And actually, it’s two releases, really. On the new side, we’re issuing a CD on the Blue Chopsticks label by Susan Howe & David Grubbs, entitled Thiefth. This is a combination of Susan reading her acclaimed poetry and David Grubbs playing his acclaimed music behind it. We’ll be in touch with all your poetry-and-music-stocking bookstores about this in September. Also from Blue Chopsticks, and back from a six-month limbo, will be Bastro’s Antlers: Live 1991. We’re going to stick it back out there in the marketplace again, so those of you who heard about it but couldn’t get it back in February, be forewarned!

It'll be great to have those two records out there, but in some ways September is another step in the process towards releasing a new Silver Jews record. Let's not kid ourselves — between now and then we’ll be riding herd over a crescendo of excitement for the new Silver Jews album, Tanglewood Numbers, set for release on October 18th. This is a great new record with great new packaging including a poster insert for the LP with lyrics, photos and other ephemera from the secret drawers of David Berman. And speaking of which…

With a new Silver Jews record in the works, we’ve been hearing a lot more from David Berman these days. While mopping his brow during one break in the pre-production, he told us that he had a great new feature for this very column  a feature that you’re now reading. We often focus on how hard we’re toiling away here in the bunker — but do we ever really talk about how hard the artists are working? Not really — not until now, that is. Taking David’s suggestion, we’re pleased to inaugurate a new feature entitled “The Hardest Working Artist of the Month.” Of course, we mean Drag City artist — but since we’re focusing on them and not us, we’re not even going to put our name in there — you understand, don’t you dear reader?

Anyway, the artist in profile this month is none other than David Berman of the Silver Jews. Putting together Tanglewood Numbers has been a 23-7 obsession with David, who’s been splitting his time between album artwork, PR meetings, promotional photos, and the correspondence that comes of having a forthcoming record. Plus, he’s even found time to brainstorm a new idea or two for little old us! Come October 18th, everyone will hear the fruits of his hard labor  but in the meantime, join us in saluting our “Hardest Working Artist of the Month,”  David Berman.

Since the release of his latest gut-busting comedy classic, Great Moments at DiPresa’s Pizza Parlor, Neil Hamburger has found himself driving in the fast lane — not the faster carpool lane, but the actual fast lane! 2005 will go down in history as the year that Neil debuted before the cameras of an actual major motion picture, as well as the year he finally got back into the porn scene (a very lucrative scene, for those who don’t know). Here’s the 411:

In a movie to be released in 2006, Neil plays an unsuccessful comedian (it’s a bit of a stretch  but no-one ever said Neil could act!) who shares a stage with musical-comedy sensations, Tenacious D! Yeah, it’s their movie he’s co-starring in (working title, Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny) — but don’t blink, or you’ll miss his star turn! Now that his scene is “in the can,” Neil reports that he enjoyed his time on the set and that he was well treated by most of the crew  he says they even fed him! Pretty good for a journeyman comedian who carries his own canned fruit cocktail with him from gig to gig.

Tenacious D is a scene from their movie featuring Neil Hamburger (not pictured)

"Going Hollywood” has been the best career move Neil’s made since — well since way before he chose the comedian career in the first place! After a recent gig in tinsel town, Neil was pleased to shake the hand of legendary funnyman, Danny DeVito, and have a drink or two with him and his family. They enjoyed the act immensely and as DeVito said, “I’ve never seen anything like that in years!” With his star growing, Hamburger is taking extra public-relations gigs, like the night recently that he surprised a group of Bingo enthusiasts at the Hollywood Holiday Inn by sitting in and helping call the numbers. Look for Neil at high-profile Bingo games in your community soon — if your community is Beverly Hills, that is! It’s upward and onward for our Mr. Hamburger.

Speaking of which, did you hear about the Neil Hamburger fan convention? It’s scheduled for September 10th, in Phoenix Arizona. Hamburger aficionados will gather to talk about all the latest happenings in the world of Neil Hamburger, as well as to eat and be entertained (there may be a juggler). Neil himself will be there, hopefully with some new routines for his fans. And of course he’ll sign copies of the October issue of Hustler, which features a 1-page Hamburger feature! Neil hopes this will lead to regular assignments for the magazine (and others like it), as he has many jokes that he believes could be made into effective cartoons for their readers. You can make money doing this!

Hot on the heels of their debut down in Austin, The Howling Hex (featuring Neil Michael Hagerty) are planning another couple shows this fall, in anticipation of their musical DVD release (set for November) titled You Can't Beat Tomorrow. Chicago and New York are the destinations currently being mulled, which is good news for Chicago and New York! The word on the Austin ‘Hex show was that it was “wild” and “crazy”, a bunch of people grooving together on stage too small for their size, with the man himself occasionally ducking beneath a rug for purposes unknown. They rocked ‘em in Austin — Chi-town and NYC, you’re next!

If you’ve paid attention to Drag City Newsletters over the course of time, you already know that we’re just crazy for the The Red Krayola. We loved their records before we were “in business” and we’ve loved the records that Mayo and crew have sent us. We’re prepared to tell you all about it at the drop of a hat — but this month, we don’t have to. This month, you can get the whole story — or at least a few miscellaneous chapters — in the new (August) issue:

Nuff said, innit? Except — God bless ‘em!

Nuff said indeed — we’ll be back with all the latest latest in another few weeks.
Until then, make yours Drag City!

Rian Murphy
Drag City Inc. U.S.A.