ALL AROUND THE WORLD
What’s new? Who’s got time to talk about the latest when we’re living it every day around here? Yeah, it’s been like a month since we last talked at you lovely hard-core fans – but it feels like nothing more than a couple of days or a fortnight or something at the most. It’s tough on us sometimes, but the work we do here at Drag City takes us all over the world in a day. This leads to superhuman things that not even presidential hopefuls get into – working in four or five different time zones at a pop, using phones, fax machines and the dreaded modem to get across, talking in different dialects (of English, natch), dealing with the British, Japanese, German, Italian and even French peoples from time to time (when they deign to call – the snobs!) and dealing with Canadians, on top of it all. Is it any wonder we barely got the gun out of our mouth to write this (the latest in a series of hot hypesheets) to your ass?

NEW, NEWER AND NEWEST
Ah, that’s right we’ve got new releases! The way we’ve been putting them out lately, there’s three kinds of new to pull on – new, newer and newest! Let’s start with the newest, shall we?

This time next week, we’ll be shipping the brilliant new Red Krayola EP, “Blues, Hollers and Hellos” to shops and distributors worldwide! It’s a sharp new Red Krayola thing, a music stripped almost bare and thus exceedingly sensual. Ever slept with a record you just met? You just might, since the voice filling in the gaps is the that of country gentleman Mayo Thompson, who is only happy when wandering off into parts unknown – it must be them Texas bloods flooding through his system still (57 varieties, at last count). The name of the game is still recontextualization and so musical properties such as ‘beauty’ and ‘pop’ (and in this case,’EP’) are recontextualized, given new meanings and sent back out on their merry way, funnier than ever before. It’s a hoot! There’s plenty of dry, whimsical prose coming at you from left field, as well as the aforementioned reconsidered music formats. And continuing on in the Red Krayola tradition of having elegantly ass-kicking cover artwork, “Blues, Hollers and Hellos” has got it, with some arty, sexy pictures and some post-psychedelic lettering. It looks great! Yes, “Blues, Hollers and Hellos” is a mammoth ‘EP’ that will have you splitting your time between loving it and wondering what an ‘EP’ ever was to begin with! We dug it now you too will dig it.

That’s the new newest – then there’s last week’s new thing. Last time out, we shipped The Fucking Champs IV to hundreds of excited stores and distributors, but only on CD. Yeah, the group was headed out on the road, but the vinyl wasn’t ready to go. Shame, too, since it’s that heavy, 180gm shit that makes most people forget that CDs ever existed. Plus the image of the group with that metallic sun behind them is so much bigger and therefore, more awesome. Having only the CD was better than none at all, but now we’re getting it straight. Yes, shipping with The Red Krayola is the highly anticipated vinyl version of the same record, The Fucking Champs IV.

And what are people saying about the record? Well sir, there’s a lot of love, and there’s a lot of laughter. Those who love to move and groove are blown away by the sounds and the non-stop rhythm of the record. And those who dig “concepts” have found a new teat to suckle at with The Fucking Champs! With that “devil-may-care” band name...those hilarious song titles...the imagery on the front and back covers...and finally the fucking album itself! We find our label going boldly where it just ain’t been before now that The Fucking Champs are on board. So grab a fat vinyl copy and catch the action.

So, to continue the recap, at the time that we were issuing this earth-shattering Fucking Champs CD, we were playing catch-up on the new releases from the time before. See, Movietone and Kev Hopper are artists from that mystical country known as Great Britain. And what this means is, their records come out over there with the aid of an odd black magic that we Yanks (as those Brits call us, the tossers!) couldn’t possibly match. Yes, despite living in a more civilized country (USA), we have less control over the dark forces, which totally sucks! Anyway long story short, those damn UK dudes are forever putting out their versions of the records before ours! And then of course all the little freaks over on our side of the pond, they don’t know any better so they go out and buy an expensive import instead of our superior (almost-priceless collector’s item) domestic version. We care too much to let that happen, so what we did with Movietone’s The Blossom Filled Streets and Kev Hopper’s Whispering Foils was, we sent the CDs out into the marketplace to stake their rightful claim, leaving the LPs to bat clean-up a couple weeks later. It was an unconventional sales approach, but we got our country believing in us again – from Bristol, Connecticut to Bristol, Oregon, it’s a Drag City nation. And to prove it, they’ve got Movietone and Kev Hopper in both formats everywhere on Drag City records.

So that’s it with the newest and newer new records – then there’s them old new records to talk over! You’re probably most aware of these the pure genius of Rian Murphy & Will Oldham “All Most Heaven” EP, David Grubbs’ heartfelt The Spectrum Between album, Smog’s “Strayed” single (featuring non-LP material in both formats!) and the latest reissue from Moikai, the unspeakably noisy (and melodic) Get Out, by Pita. These records lit up our election-year summer, reminding the young and almost-young that the world at large doesn’t have to be all about politics. No, there’s the politics of entertainment, to be considered as well.

IN THE WORKS
That’s where we done been but whither to are we going? Glad you asked. Because after the October 9th release date (as discussed above, The Red Krayola “Blues, Hollers and Hellos” 12”EP/CDEP and The Fucking Champs IV 180-gram vinyl LP), we’ve got more in the chute! Check this out:

OCTOBER 23, 2000 NEW HIGH LLAMAS
ALBUM ON DRAG CITY!
Yes! The High Llamas bring their eccentric, eclectic crystalline pop soundtrack sounds to Drag City. And it’s about time. For years, UK contemporaries such as Broadcast, Turn On, FSA, Movietone and even Stereolab have cast their giant shadows over our imprint for the occasional (excellent) release. And now to that list we proudly add Buzzle Bee, the latest full-length LP from High Llamas. It’s all-new! It’s not remixes! And it’s excellent, too. The Llamas have fully integrated the most happening of electronic sounds with their familiar brew of the world’s music. Split between faux-soundtrack music and immaculate pop magic, Buzzle Bee is definitively latest-era High Llamas, more uncanny and strewn with melody than ever before, and all NEW!

We have no idea as to whether they’ll bring their brand-name chamber of pop to your local listen-dom, but this record should tide over anyone who needs a fresh shot of High Llamas. Buzzle Bee is a nifty entertainment, short, sweet and to the point. And on the street in late October, 2000 on Drag City.

At that time, our master plan includes the release of another exciting title, this one only on vinyl. For years, we have championed the new traditionalism and future pioneering of Japan’s mysterious Ghost. Over the course of six LPs, they’ve taken us across all three worlds we have here on planet earth, as well as cruising related parallel dimensions. Well, apparently we aren’t their only fans, as they are currently to be found in our nations’ record shops on the new Damon and Naomi CD release. When we heard there wasn’t going to be vinyl on this release, we said, “Oh no there isn’t not!” or something like that. Anyway, we said we’d do the vinyl. And making good on that promise, we’re releasing Damon and Naomi with Ghost on big, beautiful vinyl on the same day as the High Llamas, October 23, 2000. Sounds great, looks great – see you there!

ALSO IN THE WORKS
Beyond the brilliant High Llamas / Damon and Naomi with Ghost date, it’s hard to tell. Sometime in November or December, we’ve got a new EP from Smog featuring a few new tunes and a few retooled old favorites done in an all-new way. Smog’s got a real way with a song and a melody. He just tugs at your heartstrings, that boy does. Then he freezes you with a look and cuts you dead. This new EP is called “Neath the Puke Tree,” and it features a couple of really hot photos...of a cowboy hat. And in one of those photos, the hat is sitting on Bill “Smog” Callahan’s head. Don’t miss it. It’s a Christmas gift just waiting to happen.

Also around that time, Drag City will unleash a party album of mammoth proportions. It took Chestnut Station to make the next move in the musical comedy field, and in this case, it’s a rump-shaking LP and CD called In Your Living Room because that’s where you’re gonna listen to it, right? So that’s where the party will be. Spontaneous partying should erupt whenever this record is playing, particularly if there’s spontaneous (or even pre-planned) drinks erupting as well. It’s tuneful and tons of fun – more than that we must refrain from speaking at this time. After all, we don’t want to spoil the party.

ON TOUR
And don’t forget to catch them bands on the run! Theres’ a number of DC artists flogging it out there at the moment. October finds Damon and Naomi playing gigs from east to west – why do we care? Because of the presence of great Ghost member Michio Kurihara. Their West Coast dates will feature other Ghosts Masaki Batoh and Kazuo Ogino as well. There’s also west-coast dates in October for David Grubbs and The Red Krayola, playing together and apart on the same bill. Also in October – Jim O’Rourke will be playing at the Kultuburo 2000 Festival in Sweden. And US Maple in Champaign! And when November finally arrives, look for Movietone to play selected shows around the US countryside. And in December, Bonny Prince Billy and Mick Turner hit the road for a series of East Coast dates together.

We’re not telling you anything you can’t know by looking elsewhere on the site – check the Tour Dates page for more in-depth information. The point is, it’s happening Live!

But nowhere is it liver than wherever The Fucking Champs and Neil Hamburger are tonight. Both acts have been drawing raves (and crowds) all over the country as they grind their way across America’s heartlands! You should have seen Neil Hamburger in LA his act was a total showstopper! Nobody deals with the hecklers better (or more often) than Neil Hamburger. He’s also picking up a lot of new fans all along the road – the word out of San Francisco was that on his recent show there, Hamburger merch outsold Trans Am’s! We’re not surprised – but we are delighted. And The Fucking Champs, they’re having a hard time making it out of whatever town they’re in without getting TORN APART. Their fans are just that committed to seeing them in the flesh. We’ve never seen anything quite like it. Anyway, both Neil Hamburger and The Fucking Champs are hurtling towards the East Coast, where it all ends in New York city and elsewhere the first two weeks in October. Make it, make it, make it!

HOW BLUEGRASS MUSIC CAME BACK IN STOCK
Print heads! We’ve got news. John Fahey’s How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life is back in print! It’s been only a couple weeks, but in that time alone, we’ve backordered hundreds of books. Those who got zeroed may now hope again the memoir of America’s finest fingerpicking eccentric is in it’s third printing! Since the book’s release in April, it’s drawn critical raves across the country, as well as landing high on Amazon.com’s best-selling list. So if you haven’t checked it out from the Drag City library (permanent rental cost: $20), you may now do so again.

IN PARTING
New and new-used! Reissued. Readable. Raved-over! In the studio and on the road – it’s the Drag City 2000 Model. If you haven’t invested, start today.