It’s the first day of the rest of your life and welcome to it! Like scales falling from your eyes, the hypnosis of your existence up until now is fast receding, and with open eyes and ears, along with whatever else you can ratchet open (like your heart — come on, people!), you’re moving forward to greet the inevitable: your destiny. And so, mister and ms fresh young thing, it’s time to drag. Drag City, that is. For those of you out there who’ve lost your illusions (or are using them to create good rather than evil), Drag City can provide entertainment for your new consciousness as it probes its way through a world that only becomes more fascinating and beguiling by the day.

Yeah, a new day and your birthday too! For every day that Drag City releases something new is like a birthday in your soul, not to mention all the physiological parts of you that are mysteriously attached. The ears, for instance — the conduit for which Drag City was created in the first place. But of course, the eyes are important too — how else to scan over the libretto-like accompaniment to whatever music we have to offer (the visual is of course a necessary analogue to your musical experience, is it not?). And so eyes and ears travel hand-in-hand.

You’re in luck, friends – your birthday comes ten times this year by the Drag City calendar. Your next birthday is October 23rd — and boy have we got some goodies for you then. But before we get into all that, how do you like the gifts we just gifted you?

The Red Krayola have been in the game a long time and have buried an era or three over the course of it. Their compositional base includes pop, psychedelic, avant-garde, improv, punk, jazz, new wave and post-rock, and they’ve been super-influential over the years in their various forms. Never content to stand in the spot they once impressed you in, Mayo Thompson and his ever shifting hands continue to come up with allusive, encompassing and yet highly original creations that display a multi-hue of styles in service of the song. They’ve done it on recent masterworks such as Introduction, “Red Gold” and now Sighs Trapped By Liars, in which a legendary acquaintance is remade with their old friends and foils Art & Language. Putting together A&L’s words with Mayo’s music has provided highlights for both outfits dating back to 1976 — and Sighs Trapped By Liars is no exception. Mayo’s guitar-duels with Tom Watson provide the bed for Krayolettes Sandy Yang and Elisa Randazzo to lead-vocalize the whole album through. The twinned female vocals twist something into Art & Langauge’s lyrics in best Red Krayola style — and with the whole brew mixed down by Jim O’Rourke, a gentle 70s-eseque sound results, poppy at times, deep and dark at others, but always rhyming and chiming in with pleasing regularity. A great new record from a great old band in a great new phase that we can’t get enough of! Neither should you. And you don't not have to either — it's OUT NOW.

History contains all tales eventually. The outsider sounds of Sun City Girls, collected among the myriad of sounds of the early 80s, was unthinkable outside of underground circles — but perseverance along with continued incredible releases through the years earned them a name in the history books. And today, their muse is very much a part of the cultural organism that young children find their way into year in and year out as a means of passage. Though the Sun City Girls are no more, the heroism of charter member Sir Richard Bishop carries their flag forward, though under his own auspices. With nothing more than a guitar, he’s slain thousands upon thousands over the course of five albums — the latest a proud trophy on the wall of Drag City. This new album is called Polytheistic Fragments and it contains a variety of styles that Sir Richard has made mastery over — jazz, Spanish, Appalachian-folk, modal and surf guitar among them – combined to create a colorful progression that is as unlike his former records as they are to it! As ever, humor threads crazily through everything Sir Richard does (even his compositions), giving way like the wind to something more or less ominous as quickly as it takes to form a new chord. We’re crazy for Polytheistic Fragments — and whether or not you’ve heard Sir Richard, west-coasters can catch him opening up for Bill Callahan October 5th thru the 14th — and then back in the Seattle-Vancouver area without Bill. Guitar heads, your latest inspiration is here!

After nearly eighteen years in the biz, we here at Drag City have amassed quite a rolodex of friends, acquaintances and artists. In that time, we’ve seen friends of ours become artists of ours, and friends and artists become acquaintances (would that it weren’t true!). We’ve seen artists become labels as well — witness the emergence of Palace Records from the Palace Brothers/Songs/and Music and the formation of dexter’s cigar by Gastr del Sol (as well as the subsequent formation of Blue Chopsticks and Moikai by the component parts of Gastr del Sol, David Grubbs and Jim O’Rourke respectively). Now, we’re here to witness it all over again with the premiere of Language of Stone, a label recorded and produced by Greg Weeks and curated by Greg and his wife Jessica.

The debut release from Language of Stone (LOS001) is by Orion Rigel Dommisse. Her album is entitled What I Want From You Is Sweet, and is indeed a sweet and scary set of classical and folk melodies enlivening her lyrics of destruction and doom. A body count high as the Brothers Grimm is presented in similar fashion — as entertainment and instruction. Drawn into its irrevocable web, you’re bound to learn something, about life, humanity, music or just plain Orion herself.

LOS002 is Mountain Home, which finds Ilya of The Shining Path collaborating with Joshua (aka J. Emery Blatchley) and supported by a casement of friends, including the inimitable (not to mention mysterious) Anonymous on vocals. Down-home acoustics and slowly unfolding vocal melody lines find new life in the reverberant psychedelic whirlwind, making this album a haunting introduction to the Mountain Home sound.

Look for lots more activity from Language of Stone in 2008 and beyond — releases from such far-flung names as Ilya Monosov, Ex Reverie, Woodwose, No Babyaof, Festival, La Secta, Mythical Beast and Wiseblood are on the schedule. Clearly, Language of Stone is a tongue for you to familiarize yourselves with.

And such were the four releases we laid upon in mythical September, a month that may even still be going as you read this. But what of October? Our promises were rife with promise...read on to fulfill your wild expectations.

Who knew that 2007 was going to be the magical, epic kind of year that could possibly contain not one but two Ghost releases! The band that brings the rarified “Far Eastern Magic Underground” sound came at us swinging back in January with In Stormy Nights, a deep dark violent ‘gasm of marching, charging beats, protest shouts and clouded sound-scapes; an exceptional response to the crazy days (and nights) we’re living on in. Even then, the plan for a next release was fully formed — but Overture is no “companion piece” to In Stormy Nights, a record that walked (and wailed) alone if there ever was one. As In Stormy Nights pushed Ghost’s compositional reach to its furthest frontier, Overture was conceived as a chance to return to the stimulating roots of Ghost’s tree of life — roots of improvisation, utterly free. And where better to do it than in completely live environs? A converted warehouse space on the Yokohama docks was chosen for its ambient space. An audience was invited there and told they couldn’t leave until Ghost was finished. Now, before you start thinking that Ghost’s “free improvisation” is somehow related to the violence and spree of free jazz...it is. But that doesn’t mean Ghost is going to play blurt and spuzz on this rarest of occasions. No, the concert that became Overture was a time of listening and responding, of composing collectively, by instinct — taking the energy that the audience brought into the room and playing with it as well. A light show was part of this collaborative effort, as was a camera crew. And the result was a massive and sprawling rebirth for fans and band alike.

The DVD of Overture reproduced what happened live in that Yokohama warehouse. Once performed and recorded, the music Ghost made was edited to create a different experience — one that doesn’t involve the visual stimulii of either being there or watching a three-camera team’s recapture of the evening. And so the Overture package combines two versions for the price of, let’s say one-and-a-half. Two ways to blow your mind on two discs in one little CD jewel case. When picking up your copy of Overture, be sure to ask for a compimentary copy of the poster for the release — the photo of Ghost that adorns the cover of the CD is blown up to a more comprehensive size, where it turns out to be one of the more priceless photos of the group ever taken.

Brothers and sisters! Whiteys! Bluesmen! Pearls and Brass fans even! The time has come to chill your blood to the sounds of Randall of Nazareth. Starting in late October (the 23rd, to be precise), the Pearls and Brass lead guitarist is taking his finger-picking badness, keening moan and stark blue tunes into a solo acoustic realm with equally dark and dazzling results. Randall of Nazareth isn’t just a case of Randy without his roaring rhythm partners — the material here is performed in solo mode, with a sorry lonely breaking sound that says the blues in a manner that could only come from Randall of Nazareth. And indeed, Randy recorded, played, sang and mixed it all — and somehow stayed alive! With the voice of a man trapped in a well, Randall of Nazareth calls to you in the night from the shadow of death, but with the steel of a survivor carrying his words. Knifelike in its playing, brooding in atmosphere and deceptively devastated, Randall of Nazareth is the new blues come back to walk this earth again.

Got rhythm? Of course you do — the magic of syncopation is within us all. Of course, it’s buried deeper in some of us, perhaps even beneath layers of immovable concrete of the soul...and that’s where Jens Hannemann comes in. A self-confessed master of time signatures, Jens’ first language is the language of rhythm — which only begins to explain why he imparts his secrets in an accent we can’t quite pin down! This “surfer dude” from the California coast has channeled all his percussive knowledge into a few unforgettable songs that will teach you things about the drums you never hoped you’d learn. His new DVD, Complicated Drumming Technique has all the answers, even to questions that nobody asked. In a lightning-fast thirty minutes, Jens covers the bases, showing neophytes and sophisticated skin-bashers alike a few tricks that are bound to spread his Hannemann sound across the planet. If you dig rhythms but are numbers-illiterate, you need only one instructional drumming technique DVD this year — Jens Hannemann’s Complicated Drumming Technique, presented by Fred Armisen.

Ah for the days when the world was simpler and more complicated. Wait a minute — life’s better now! We’re closer to End Days, that’s for sure, but still — if we’ve got enough money, we could rocket to India in just a few hours any day now. And that used to take eight months, a couple of sailing ships and a herd of oxen! Plus, everything that the 19th century had to offer can be found in the eerie and eerily gratifying music of White Magic. It’s true — Mira Billotte has managed to take the ageless sounds of yesteryore and translate them into music that speaks so richly to the children of today with exquisite construction, opulent melody and a mystery as old as the hills. The mini-album “Through the Sun Door” presented a wild-thin mercury version of her muse, followed by last year's double-album Dat Rosa Mel Apibus which slowly unraveled velvet layers that are unraveling still. But White Magic don’t care about time — they’ve completed another little record, this one an EP entitled “Dark Stars.” Mira and her accompanicist Doug Shaw are four songs strong on this one, with webs of guitars and keys spun out and glinting in the backdrop of their darkling muse. Songs come and go, but White Magic is forever. And the energy that comes from “Dark Stars” may outburn a thousand suns.

You’ve got reasons to give thanks this year, and not just for the continued protection of our most valuable resource, freedom, in the various dark corners of the world. Don’t forget, you’ve got a birthday coming up in November! For the occasion, we’ve got cakes coming from some of our fanciest chefs — names such as Six Organs of Admittance, The Valerie Project, Major Stars and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. The sounds range from sweet to loud, the songs from death to sorrow. Elocution will become electrocution in the moment it takes you to shuffle from Bonny Billy to Major Stars! On the busiest shopping day of the year, look for ‘em. In stores that won’t be dying soon, they’ll be there.

What can we say about Joanna Newsom that hasn’t already been said — and that her parents can read at a family gathering, you pervo freaks! Well, as the dust dies down to a gentle roar (that only very special dust can create), Joanna is preparing to head into longhair country the first time ever. This time, and in highly selected areas only, she’ll strike up a band that will be numbered in the dozens — for Joanna Newsom is playing a set of super-special orchestral dates! They’ll play the arrangements of Ys and Joanna’ll play a few more for good measure with her devoted bandmates Ryan Francesconi and Neil Morgan. The contrast will be incredible, as will the sound, the venues, the entire experience and the ticket price as well. Open up your ears and your savings account and check out Joanna at any of these fine-arts venues around the country:

But don’t stop there! Coming up this fall, we’ve got Boris with Kurihara rocking it loud and quiet all across the USA! Free shows on the west coast from Six Organs of Admittance! Shows that cost money on the west coast featuring Bill Callahan and Sir Richard Bishop (can a sitcom pilot be far behind?)! A rare tour (only the second this year) from RTX! Scottish sensation Alasdair Roberts live in the US! Major Stars Mirror/Messenger tour! The one-and-only tour of The Valerie Project playing accompaniment to the bizarre classic Valerie and Her Week of Wonders! White Magic’s “Dark Stars” tour! And other, equally improbable but potentially incredible occurances!

It’s a horrible fucking world! We have a solution to help ease your troubled mind! Buy more Drag City records! See more Drag City bands in concert! Download more Drag City records and play them for children of all ages! DO IT!!!

Buy now,

Rian Murphy
Drag City Inc.
September 2007