THE WORLD KEEPS GOING ROUND
Yeah, the records come out, the world goes round, the records come out, the seasons change, the records come out and the world keeps going round! It’s all we know really. And thus, we have a sudden case of summer on our hands here at Drag City. So far this year, we’ve brought you sixteen new releases, including block-busting records from Flying Saucer Attack, Will Oldham and Smog. Naturally, the staff is exhausted. And we’re now staring longer, hotter days square in the face. Everyone wants to fuck off to the Caribbean for a week or two. But who will mind the stores? Who will sell the Royal Trux records? Who will do the press mailings? Yes, the world keeps going round. And we’re here to take the promo requests.
PUTTING ON THE POUNDS
It’s almost time! The hype has been building, the freaks have been massing in odd corners of the country, the press photographers have been leaving messages with our publicist. In a little over three weeks from now, Royal Trux’s brave new LP, Pound for Pound, will be in the public domain. We just got promo CDs in the house and now it all makes sense! The music, the lyrics, the stitched lettering and the velvety backdrop of the cover Pound for Pound is an elegant statement - not really art-rock, it’s rock-art instead, the perfect summertime soundtrack, cruising music, music for the head! As completists, perfectionists, and consummate rock and rollers, Royal Trux records are all things for everyone – provided everyone wants all things. And sometimes people don’t know what the fuck they want, you know?
SMOG UPDATE
Good news! Dongs of Sevotion is still selling strong. Hundreds of LPs and CDs on not only the new release but also his back catalog have changed hands over the last week. Recently, three Smog live appearances in Australia pleased old fans and netted a few new ones. And that tedious Cat Power covers record is selling briskly, which is good for Smog in that it has a (tedious) cover of his classic “Red Apples.” Plus, a piece of press on Dongs said that in “Bloodflow,” : Callahan plays shaman in the vein of Jim Morrison’s “Not To Touch the Earth.”’ He’s a shaman, he’s a showman! So everything is going like clockwork. There are still no US live dates to bray about, but the truly fanatic fan is encouraged to catch Smog in Europe at the end of June. Tickets are now available plane tickets, that is. At which point the “Strayed” 7” and CDEP will be available worldwide. Plus there’s word of an EP release in the fall. Yep – Smog keeps rolling on how could we not dig it?
GRUBBS UPDATE
David Grubbs was unable to make it out of the country to begin his European tour last week due to illness and an strike by the spoiled workers of Air France. As a result, his date in Köln was missed. David apologizes to all who missed him at the Funky Chicken, but take it from us, you’ll never get an apology from those smug Air France employees, not even now that they got what they wanted! Hopefully the other five dates of the tour will go off without a hitch. Oh, and we found out who Amor Belham Duo is - they are an avant-pop duo from Paris, France, (via Tucson, Arizona), using guitars, vocals, sampler, drums and percussion to combine pop songs, improvisation and experimentation in their music. They’ve even got a couple records out with special guests Joey Burns and John Convertino. Apparently, their goal is to find a national independent label, a national booking agency (no word on what nation) and a U.S. distribution deal. Labels take heed! These guys want you!
THE NOT-SO-DISTANT FUTURE
We’re checking our growth charts and pie graphs and it seems like there’s a few artists that you the loyal and informed fan should be hearing something new from very soon. They include Silver Jews, US Maple, Red Krayola, Edith Frost, and Plush. It all depends on how well they respond to pressure. I mean, trying to convince these people to put out a record that is just going to sell and make them some money is a lot harder than you might think. Who’da thunk that the algebra teacher was right? Mathematics will help you in life. Is there a tutor in the house? We know a few artists that need to go back to school. |