A TOUCHING DISPLAY
The Drag City retail display contest is officially underway - look at this!
Neptune Records - 503 S. Main - Royal Oak, MI
The response to this terrific opportunity has been widespread, with shops phoning up all the way from Portland Oregon all the way out to Portland Maine, predictably enough! They’ve gotten in touch to request promotional CDs, posters and flats for the hot new Royal Trux release, Pound for Pound. And why shouldn’t they? This is a record that sells great, looks great on shelves when it isn’t busy selling, sounds great in CD players (whether they are playing in stores or at home), and displays really well, with tasteful, artful graphics on posters of varying sizes ready to go up on the wall, in the windows, on the ceiling, the floor or wherever else you might have in your local shop. Retailers, listen up! Take the opportunity to compete today let us know you want some POP and get your old brownie cranked up for an old-fashioned picture-taking! And you too will be displayed proudly on our website. Don’t forget the prize for Best Display – something free!
LAST NIGHT WAS THE NIGHT
Well, it’s all over but the shouting the Smog US tour is finally over! Smog and Mick Turner capped off the most awesome one-date national tour in Drag City history with a duel at the Park West Auditorium here in gorgeous Chicagoland, USA. Park West staff couldn’t recall a greater walk-up turnout than last night’s but that’s because they’ve never put on a Drag City showcase before! We’ve got the market cornered on street freaks, let me tell you. Anyway, the packed house was treated to quite a show! Highlights included film projections during both the Mick Turner and the Smog sets. Mick’s projections were composed of paintings he himself made, often as the cameras rolled. Smog’s film was a shot of his right eye, rolling around watchfully, which, after having viewed for the entirety of his set, we are prepared to declare a masterpiece of what, we’re still not sure. One staffer noted that the eye looked more like the eye of a young girl. Meanwhile, onstage, the full-bodied Mick Turner group impressed everyone with their epic, swaying textures. Mick also impressed many in the crowd with his seeming inability to handle a microphone during his incomprehensible between-song rants. Now, that’s entertainment! Smog was also a big brawny group for a night, and Bill Callahan fronted the band with bravado and machismo, often spreading his legs wide apart in a stance that recalled James Hetfield at his best, all the while delivering this year’s signature lines ”There are some terrible gossips in this town,” “Oh I know I have strayed,” ”Can I borrow your machete,” and finally, “Oh God, I never ask why.” It was totally hot! But it’s all over now you missed it. Smog over America 2000 it was a gas. And so - on to the Old Country! Smog over Europe starts this weekend in Dublin, travelling on to the Meltdown festival in London, then continental points eastward. As always, more exacting tour information is located elsewhere on this site. But travel information is not. Call your agent today!
AYE, THERE’S THE GRUBBS!
Haven’t you heard? Coming up in July a long-playing David Grubbs album to beat all David Grubbs albums to date! The Spectrum Between is gonna fulfill all the dreams you had for David that you didn’t even know you had yet. Direct and succinct, yet poetic, David’s new songs are disarmingly direct. Is this the same guy who wrote the song with all the street names in it? All in all, The Spectrum Between is an amazing record from a writing standpoint. And don’t even get us started on the musical standpoint for it too cannot be articulated in the limited space we have here. Suffice to say, “Dude it rocks!” won’t quite cover it. Although, what the hell, it’s a start. And a few of the songs do, in fact, rock (hint: check out the MP3 on our home page). Once the record hits the streets in July, well, U.S. people, get ready - though David doesn’t tour a lot (or enough) in these united states, this tour, involving a series of solo performances of this and other of his material, is going to turn crowds everywhere on their collective ear!
TO THE PEOPLE OF BERLIN
Then there’s Stephen Prina, whose incredible Drag City release Push Comes to Love was co-produced by David Grubbs, who also played instruments and wrote songs on that record. Talented kid, that! But Prina’s pretty much an art-genius himself, you know. He’s always running around the world, doing modern-art installations everywhere! On tap this month is a little thing at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Berlin, the so-called “Hamburger van Hoff.” Stephen will be singing and playing bass with a small string section. Also playing with him will be the man once known as machine, Tortoise contributor John Herndon. The piece is called, amusingly enough, “To the People of Berlin.” So, people of Berlin, take heed. This one’s for you.
THE RTX GOES ON FOREVER
So, as we mentioned above, Royal Trux are in the shops, on the road, in your face, off the wall, up to their old tricks, and it’s all down to you to make sure you don’t miss it! What more can we do, people? We’ve got you completely up to speed the live dates are right here on this website and the Pound for Pound tour is already afoot in America. This week Pittsburgh, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis don’t miss 'em! Meanwhile, the world has taken a little time to get comfortable with the new RTX opus, and the man on the street has taken a total shine to Pound for Pound. Several of our New York operatives have reported that the sound of the record creates instant excitement among first-time listeners. Well, duh! Pound for Pound is a physical record up front one fan opined that it was thematically organized for working out on the crosstrainer down at the Y (we wish!) - and it’s only upon repeated listening that the weird and wondrous sounds that Royal Trux are known for begin to come to the surface. Then the fun begins! And with tunes like “Call Out the Lions,” “Sunshine and Grease,” and Small Thief,” this record is busting with hits! We’ve worn out a couple copies and are anxiously awaiting their arrival in our town this Friday to catch the live explosion as well! |