INDEPENDENCE DAY
Well, perhaps you did what we did and slept right through it, but still, as one of the nation’s leading independent labels, it wouldn’t be right if we here at Drag City didn’t wish one and all a Happy Independence Day! We’re pulling for you, country! And we’d demand nothing less from you in return.

TRUX SMACK RELAPSE!
Yeah, wouldn’t that be something? It’s not true at all, but nonetheless, it’s on the lips of a demi-nation this week – the inevitable reaction to our bulletin of last week, where we stated, quite compassionately, that Royal Trux would be canceling forthcoming dates on their then in-progress US tour due to the dreaded pronouncement of “stress” in the ranks.

As we all know, “stress” means radically different things to different kinds of people. Like when Whitney Houston came down with a case of the stress, it turned out to be a $250,000-a-year cocaine habit. Would that this were the case here: we could wheel out the corpse of Clive Davis and rush a Royal Trux greatest hits LP into the shops. But this is not what stress means in the world of RTX. And Clive Davis’ estate says that he’s still alive. Yeah right – hey, we weren’t born yesterday!

Anyway we’ve got more bad news for the RTX fan in you at least as of right now, all dates are off for the remainder of the year. This means any planned dates in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in continental Europe, and in the island nation of Japan. To repeat: all Royal Trux tour dates are canceled until further notice

The bottom line, for those of you who crave such a thing, is this: as we reported last week in this very space, Jennifer is trying to deal with an apparently terminal illness in her immediate family. After about a week on the road, where Royal Trux were working hard in support of their fine new LP Pound for Pound, it became clear that the pressures of the tour, the promotion of the new record and Jennifer’s personal concerns were going to preclude any further touring comfortably. Too much stress led to a moment of weakness up in Minneapolis, a moment where Jennifer was found with an alcoholic beverage in her hand.

Now, no matter what every journalist in the country has to say about Royal Trux, both Neil and Jennifer have been clean of drugs and alcohol for years. And they want to stay that way. What the incident in Minneapolis told them was that they were coming dangerously close to something like a full-blown relapse. And so, they have returned to the greater DC area to be near Jennifer’s family for the immediate foreseeable future. All tour dates have been canceled, from Lawrence to London all the way to Tokyo. It seemed best not to risk distraction with the stakes so high. After all, where are Royal Trux going to be playing every night? In a bar!

So, Royal Trux are taking a break, with the intention of getting Jennifer back into good health. It’s a surprising thing, since eyewitnesses to the handful of shows they played would all attest that they saw an entertainer at the top of her form but such is the curious dichotomy of showbiz pain as a prelude to pleasure, unhappiness selling records, and so forth. We encourage one and all to buy into these contradictions by purchasing the new Royal Trux release, Pound for Pound, or any of their previous ones, in an attempt to find hidden meaning within their songs which lyric will foreshadow this so-called “relapse.” It’s in one of those records of theirs we put out, you just have to find it – so start the search today!

Meanwhile, we will continue to gather information for when next we meet. Again, we hope you will join us in wishing Royal Trux good luck and good health in the future - the world would be a much shallower pool without their formidable influence over all our lives!

ONE DAY IN L.A.
Of course, this situation Royal Trux are in wouldn’t be complete without something completely incongruous to report – so here goes! Last weekend, Jennifer Herrema was flown out to Los Angeles to make her big-screen debut. The project is called Recycler, and is being directed by Steve Hanft (previously known as the guy who has directed a (literal) shitload of Beck videos). Featured performers include the mighty mite himself (Beck, people...), as well as Hank Williams III, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (best known as Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington from TV’s “Welcome Back Kotter,” but also remembered fondly around these offices for his stellar turn as Joseph Jackson in the Jackson 5 TV movie from a few years back) and Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux. The part she was asked to play, according to Jennifer: “I just went in and shot people...it’s all in the walk.” Yes, dear...the girl's turned into a regular she-Eastwood, eh? This movie is supposed to come out on Propaganda Films sometime in the very exciting future. Don’t worry – we’ll tell you when to be where and why!

Also a part of this bizarre addendum to our Royal Trux update is that the following day, while still in sunny LA, Jennifer was pressed into duty mixing the live signals for Delta 72, who were engaged in some sort of lightly attended festival gig that also involved Modest Mouse, Yo La Tengo, and that “loser” Beck! As Jennifer slipped into her “Eve” persona, ear-witnesses said they’d never heard the Delta 72 sound so fuckin’ great! That’s right, and the curious should check out that new Delta 72 record, 000, for more - after all, it’s an Adam and Eve production.

And to think that it all happened one weekend in LA...

SMOG “OVER” UK
Meanwhile, in another, distant corner of the Drag City Galaxy of Stars, the Smog European tour is finally over. They crammed two months of effort into a week of shows – and it didn’t go unappreciated! As a matter of fact, it went great. Lots of people jammed into some of the larger clubs and dancehalls in England, Ireland, Belgium, Holland, France and Denmark to see it happen right before their eyes. And though there was no dancing, there was a lot of love there. And in addition to the love, a lot of merch sales as well. Which we gotta love! Anyway, the Smog 2000 world tour is done for the moment stay tuned for the next move!

BEING DAVID GRUBBS
The cycle of life continues... as one tour dies, another comes to wicked, vibrant life! This is the case with David Grubbs, whose forthcoming record The Spectrum Between is forthcoming! And fantastic too, of course – a record for the good-time Charlie in all of you out there. He's happy, dammit! Don’t miss David as he tours solo in support of the record he’ll be appearing in a dozen or so dates across the eastern and mid-western states, as well as a couple nights in good old Canada. On pretty much all of the dates, David will co-headlining with The For Carnation, thus making this a provisional Squirrel Bait reunion tour of sorts. You heard it here first! Provisional is probably about as far as it gets though - if David does “Sun God,” it will most likely be solo – Brian hasn’t played that hard in years. We wouldn’t want to strain the lad... anyhow, look for the dates here on the website – it all begins on July 26th.

RELEASE ME, BABY!
Our warehouse is quietly piling itself high with stock, slowly becoming ready for the moment when we take to the streets once again. Sweet emancipation! It’s all we’ve dreamt of here at the sales desk – a day when Smog, Neil Hamburger and David Grubbs can be found together at the cash register of savvy forward-looking shops around the country, getting bought and sold. It’s going to happen. And after it happens, it’s going to happen again, with the Rian Murphy & Will Oldham EP, Movietone, Pita, Mats Gustafsson, Kev Hopper, The Fucking Champs, The High Llamas, The Red Krayola and more! And then it’s going to start all over again.

BULLETIN!
The new releases crystal ball just got a whole lot clearer – starting on Monday, Smog's long-awaited single "Strayed" (from the hit LP/CD Dongs of Sevotion) will be officially "out." That's Monday, July 17th, so look around in your local retailing hole for the subtly pornographic drawings adorning the bright red sleeve. It's available in both 7" vinyl and 5" CDEP format!

Then, after that, it's all about the 31st – July 31st, that is. Yes, Drag City is celebrating our long new releases drought by having two release dates in a three week period! On Monday, July 31st, David Grubbs The Spectrum Between LP/CD, Neil Hamburger "Inside Neil Hamburger" 12"EP/CDEP and Mats Gustafsson Windows – The Music of Steve Lacy will become available to not only our public, but also any public that we're welcome to, we hope! This is still a democracy, isn't it?

Yeah, right....