Whew! October already, but we’re still not there yet! Where’s the “there,” you ask? We don’t know — but that doesn’t stop We The People of Drag City from racing forward anyway, churning out what we can in the interim — all thanks to our cast of thousands and our Galaxy of stars, of course. “There” could mean the end of the year, I suppose – making it through this one feels like it’ll be kind of special. And for all of you who participated by buying a platter or seeing an exhibition by Baby Dee, Mayo Thompson, Gary Higgins, Singer, Neil Hamburger, Monotonix, Osorezan, Jim O’Rourke, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Silver Jews, Children of the Sixth Root Race, The Red Krayola, Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh, Faun Fables, Suarasama, The Howling Hex, David Grubbs, Sean O’Hagan & Jean Pierre Muller and all the rest, hots on to ya! You helped make our world turn — God bless those big carbon shoes of yours.

So when you sit down at the table for your annual helping of real, imitation or imagined/flipped bird, give yourself some thanks! The cloudman upstairs might’ve brought you here and all, but now that you’ve made yourself comfortable, you probably realize that it’s all up to you. The change you need is in you somewhere — just like it was back in 80-whatever when we leaned out the window and shouted at the neighbors, street gangs and friends waiting for us downstairs that we were mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. Yep, that’s the secret origin of Drag City, believe it or not. And you can make the change too — but if you want to keep getting our Christmas card, don’t let us drop off your radar. It’s always a funny card…and Drag City shit just keeps morphing into something else — you definitely don’t want to miss that either.

Will there be a Christmas future — or even a Christmas 2008, for that matter? Or will warm looks be all we give each other this December? And marked-down warm looks at that! Whether what will be is or isn’t, we’ve just thrown a few hot gift items into the cool of the marketplace — and we’ve got a few more going on sale in the week before Thanksagivin’. Check ‘em on out!

It’s just one of the “small world” parts of our business that leads to coinkydinks like the one we’re presented with (and are in turn presenting you with): two vinyl-only albums to be released in two consecutive months by the following two artists: Brother JT3 and J.T. IV - !?! These are two separate entities, we promise you — but those names! And those eyes! They almost inhabit the same universe as well — loner garage-psych — but are distinctive enough personalities on their own to merit separate description.

Brother JT’s been making his records for several really great years, all of which occupy some corner in the realm of higher (as in altered) consciousness. They riff with guitars and drums, spinning standards established by blues, rhythm n soul and British Invasion sounds from the classic era into their own personal brew. The latest of which is the irresistibly danceable Jelly Roll Gospel, available only on party-rockin’ vinyl and filled with the kinds of genre-bending hits and misses that make a proper album of rock and roll at this late juncture in tha game. As always, we love it and encourage the rest of the world to imbibe. So good!

Meanwhile, J.T. IV is the discovery of Galactic Zoo Disks, an outcropping of Plastic Crimewave’s famous fanzine. Those candy-striped lads do their share of crate-diving and in the process, they came up with a mysterious 7” or two credited to J.T. IV — and as it turns out, J.T. IV isn’t just a band, and isn’t just a man, but is a myth-strewn minor legend unto himself! The music on the vinyl-only release Cosmic Lightning is the music of one John Timmis (the Fourth, natch), a comet who streaked across the skies of the underground (don’t even think about it) ever so briefly in the 1980s, owing not much to any other kind of sound and fading naturally of his own volition after a half-dozen releases. Twisted into a rebellious stance by the repercussions of a broken family, J.T. bounced in and out of institutions as a teenager before landing on the streets of Chicago with a need for vengeance and a desire to serve it up with a healthy dose of rock and roll. Obscure 7” singles like “Waiting for the CTA” and “Destructo Rock” soon followed. Not aligned with any scene in particular or schooled at all in the workaday life of a rock n roller, J.T. never really built any momentum — he wrote an unpublished book, filmed the world's longest movie — and after 1988, he wasn’t heard from again. But now you can hear him again. And until the record comes out, listen to him right here. His LP is a ten-song collection of singles sides cased in a custom sleeve and containing an insert with a few press clippings from his heyday as well as a DVD of video footage found in the barn of his former drummer. It all adds up to one head-scratching delight from the dim annals of rock. On November 18th, J.T. IV Cosmic Lightning strikes again!

Man, were we glad when a recent review of J.J. Got Live RaTX made the distinction between hard rock that’s big and scary and the kind that has a more unfettered and youthful approach. Locating JJGLRTX in the latter category is exactly right, as Jennifer and her droogs are still fighting the adolescent battles that strive to be resolved with a simple rejoinder: “You Should Shut Up.” All throughout the album, RTX chase Jennifer’s fresh-faced exclamations with crunching, distorted rock like the kind you use to fuel your first rebellion. There’s a teenage sensation to all this that gives you the jitters just like that era of budding sex (and breasts) first did (and is doing somewhere else right now). Do we really think that’s what Jennifer and her Guitar Center army’s about? Nah! They just want to make records that make the whole world rock. And J.J. Got Live RaTX is just that kind of record. But if you need a context, that’s as good as any. Now go and buy it, it’s out right now. Punk.

Yes, it’s an awful proposition — on paper. But the unknown is what we’re all after here and we’re all swinging into the shadows on a daily basis to score us some. That’s why we throw our solid support behind labels like Streamline and Language of Stone. They’re bringing to us the equivalent of modern-day private press releases, records that are hints or whispers of what’s going on behind closed doors all around the world. One day you’ll want to know!

To that end, we’ve just issued two new Language of Stone releases and one new Streamline release. Red Favorite previously enjoyed life as a CD-R on the Spirit of Orr label. For this new release, Streamline has brought its mystery and magic to vinyl. Each of the grooves resonates with an ageless quality; the sound of a man making music in the decayed isolation of his own company. Just like it used to be 200 years ago, when records were really records! But seriously, Red Favorite is a fabulous trip. And it's a lot more than some 200 year-old piece of shit! This is tomorrow's sound, via yesterday — but here today.

At this point in their year-and-a-half existence, Language of Stone is expected to deliver something shimmeringly acoustic and something resonating woodily, all of which speaks to the “we-generation” that so audaciously raised their freak flag several years back. Too bad, Language of Stone-rs! The releases from Heavy Hands (entitled Smoke Signals) and Mythical Beast (entitled Scales)are rich with the sounds of electric guitar and heavy with the thudding beats that we call “rock.” In the case of Mythical Beast, those beats are more implied than pounded for our ears to hear, but that doesn’t change the rumbling intent. Both these releases are set to be issued on vinyl as well, maybe even as soon as next month, we’ll see — so if you want to do your bit for the environment, think about it. Then go get the CDs (and/or vinyl in the case of Heavy Hands) — they’re out now!

We’re pleased to introduce yet another tendril of our ever-mutating operation, the Drag City sub-sect known as Twos & Fews. In partnership with everyone here in the Ivory Bunker, they’re going to be bringing out music that we couldn’t possibly have predicted doing even as recently as the beginning of this newsletter (c’mon, it wasn’t that long ago!). For see, Nathan Salsburg, curator of Twos & Fews impeccable selection, has access (and willingness to access!) the Library of Congress archives, many of which haven’t ever seen the light of day! One such set of recordings is the November new release, I Want to Go Where Things are Beautiful by coal-miner, union activist and gifted singer Nimrod Workman. Over the course of nearly an hour, Nimrod goes through a number of traditional family favorites, a few originals and some reminiscences to boot, rounding out a really swell record of unaccompanied singing with truly folksy charm (and not that shite they’re currently whipping up rallies with around the country). Look for it on LP and CD coming November 18th.

The wacky craft of Harmony Korine has certainly left a few abandoned wrecks in its viscous wake. Some are in the past and remain forgotten — but no longer for his fanzine series released in the late 90s through various NYC galleries, in and out of collaboration with Mark Gonzales! See, we’ve put them all back together again and plan to offer their spurious delights in two separate formats: one a collectors-item limited-edition box-set with precise replicas of the original zines and a bonus poster item with Harmony’s own reflections on each issue, the other a more-affordable paperback collection of the mags that won’t lack for appeal all on its own. Why now? As Harmony would probably say, I don’t know why now. We don’t either. But we dig it. And you perverts will dig it too. The Collected Fanzines! November 18th! Nuff said.

The winter’s coming on and — geez, things are really winding down here. Sure we’ve got a slateful of releases we’re working on, but where that special something to get our blood pumping? A few live shows are on the calendar, but it seems that most of our stable is wintering elsewhere. Those who do dare to relieve the boredom can all be found all around — Baby Dee (playing dates in the U.S., Latvia, Austria, Greece and the UK), Meg Baird (at home in Philly), Brother JT3 (rockin’ Cleveland!), Children of the Sixth Root Race (now that’s something! In eastern US states), Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh (taking a break from their second album recording session with some Japanese appearances), Ghost (in Japan, with Damo Suzuki!), David Grubbs (France, NYC, Philly, Belgium and the UK), Neil Hamburger (at ATP and London’s Soho Theatre), Major Stars (Arlington, MA), Monotonix (still more US dates! Then the UK and ATP and hopefully home to rest!), P.G. Six (Castellon, Spain), Six Organs of Admittance (Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Turkey, France, Spain, Portugal), RTX (all over Europe) and Mick Turner (sweet home Australia). Wow, now that we mention it, there’s plenty of excitement coming up! Duly noted.

Sure, we want you to go to your local store for the new releases described so deliciously above. Those places are the backbone of this industry and they should have first crack at your business. But don't forget, all this stuff is available right here on the Drag City website. In fact, you can preorder next months exciting new releases — Nimrod Workman I Want to Go Where Things are Beautiful LP/CD, J.T. IV Cosmic Lightning LP+DVD and Harmony Korine The Collected Fanzines Paperback or Deluxe Ltd Edition Box Set — right here. If you're the forgetful sort, why wait to be last on your block to get this essential new cultural artifacts? Go direct — we did, and look at how we turned out.

What’s new in the new year? Royal Trux on vinyl! Not new, say you? What if you’d never heard of Royal Trux before? Plenty haven’t, you know. So what’s going to happen when we take it back to jump street with LP reissues of the first two Royal Trux albums, Royal Trux and Twin Infinitives? We’ll tell you in January, the day after they hit the streets. Also in January is a fantastic trip to Six Organs Past, a triple-album/double-CD collection called, oddly enough, RTZ. Also on that date is the Peter Liechti film Kick that Habit starring those wizards of household electonics, your old friends Voice Crack.

And then releases from AZITA, Death, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Charlemagne Palestine + Christoph Heemann and tons more. That’s 2009 — not just another year, but a new age! Hang in there and see you there too.

Rian Murphy
October 2008
Drag City, Inc.