A MOMENT OF SILENCE
Look around you – you’re alive! You made it! As did we all. Our civilizations have passed successfully into the year 2001. There was no hype this year, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some gambles being taken as the clocks turned over this time. And now, all bets concerning the future are officially off: we’re finally here, in a brand-new, purist-endorsed new millennium!
It makes us feel good – but as we head off to meet what will surely be our destiny, we here at Drag City are experiencing a moment of silence – not in memory of anything, but simply because our future is in front of us still – and other than preparations for this new, partially unknown destiny, we got nothing for sure today!
UPCOMING
Let us explain...we’ve got a fine set of new releases, all slated for later on this year – but as of today, few have solid release dates. Which is okay, of course – they’ll shine when they shine – ever heard that one? That old country saying is not only true of February, March and April – it’s also applicable to the very January that we speak to you from!
As we said last year, we have planned for January to feature Chestnut Station’s full-length debut In Your Living Room – a classic, fun-filled party LP, in addition to “The Galactic Zoo Dossier” magazine (a completely hand-written-and-drawn psych/pop culture fanzine which comes complete with a similarly inclined compilation CD and a set of Damaged Guitar God trading cards). We’d also projected that January might also include a third new title, a rare new Sea Note release, the “Papa M Sings” CDEP. In which, if you haven’t guessed, that old Papa M himself, David Pajo, does in fact, sing.
But now we’re not so sure. Some time later this month, we’ll have the Chestnut Station out for sure. The other two...might be ready then or a week or two later. Not sure yet. Then there’s February: we’ve talked of putting out the fantastic new Appendix Out LP/CD, The Night is Advancing, as well as Neil Hagerty’s hauntingly much-discussed solo debut, Neil Michael Hagerty. Also slated: The Anomoanon by The Anomoanon, on Palace Records – this new, self-titled LP/CD is sure to be your favorite yet! Then comes March, and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, whose follow-up LP to I See a Darkness is entitled Ease Down the Road and will be blowing you all sometime that month.
It’s going to be great, we’ll tell you lots more as we go. Like when everything’s coming out. Don’t forget to stay excited – each and every new release we just mentioned is worth more than just a little piece of your memory.
LAST YEAR IN RE-REVIEW
SO that’s the first awesome chapter of the year to come with part two will come new records from US Maple, Edith Frost, Jim O’Rourke & Jeff Tweedy, Papa M and more - but that doesn’t mean you can forget about the year that’s vanishing behind us! In brief, the year 2000 in collaboration with Drag City brought us (you) mind-altering substances from Flying Saucer Attack, Will Oldham, Royal Trux, Van Oehlen, Tied + Tickled Trio, Rafael Toral, The Red Crayola, Ray Russell, Kevin Drumm, Smog, John Fahey, Half Japanese, Space Ponch, Aki Tsuyuko, David Grubbs, Neil Hamburger, Mats Gustafsson, Rian Murphy & Will Oldham, Pita, Movietone, Kev Hopper, The Fucking Champs, The Red Krayola, High Llamas, and Damon & Naomi with Ghost.
It was a mouthful then and it ain’t getting any less mouth-filling – all these artists and plenty more are now officially in the back-catalog of Drag City, forming a best-of list not just for 2000 but for the all-time! Don’t limit yourself to single-century thinking, people – your average Drag City release usually offers the best entertainment for several hundred years around.
SPECIAL OFFERS ARE IN THE HOUSE
You mail order kids should not forget to check out the Special Offers page – I know, I said this last time, but check it out – there’s already something new up there! Yes, and some of you are so quick on the draw, you’ve already ordered this mysterious item. You people know who you are and you know that you’re on top of things, one of the true, fully privileged people at large in the world today. But what about the rest of you? Will you just keep reading this bulletin, waiting patiently for the moment when you’ll finish, and move on to the Special Offers page, there to ascertain the identity of our latest Special Offer? Sucker!
THE PRIDE OF ASHEVILLE
Don’t forget about our retail poster contest! Whizz Records of Asheville, NC, didn’t. They carefully crafted their entry, then sat back and watched the sales come in. Once the dust cleared, they forwarded the following image our way:
See, Whizz buyer (and seller) Jeff Breeze is the kind of guy who has a foolproof angle on moving records – he knows what people really dig, and he tailors his pitch to whoever these people are, each and every time. In the case of this graphic here, Jeff did a cut-up on the Llamas posters we provided to him, creating the visually arresting suggestion of a maze, arching through a multicoloured backdrop. The product name is clearly posited at the center of the maze – and a fully purchasable CD is located nearby, for all those so-called impulse buyers to grab onto! It’s amazing what kind of commerce one can inspire with a scissors and a staple-gun (and a spleef or two). And so, as the sun sinks on Asheville, NC – another sale!
M IN/M OUT
Good news! As we mentioned above – fresh stocks of weird new Papa M are on their way in! The new “Papa M Sings” CDEP is going to be out on Sea Note in the immediate, undetermined future. In the weeks between now and then, you can content yourselves with buying the other titles: “M Is...,” “October,” Post Global Music and Live From a Shark Cage – but not the original M opus, the self-titled record that some of you kids call Self-Titled or “As Performed By,” and the one that some of us around here call DC114. Yeah, the CD for that baby is out for remodeling. We have none left to sell! And when it returns in a month or so, it will feature an all-new, digi-pak format, thus making the wallet-folder version (with shiny red inner-sleeve) a finite thing! Run, M punters – run to the shop of your choice and drain their CD supplies of this title! The new-model CD of Self-Titled will feature all the original artwork and nothing more – no secret, hidden extras thrown in. Or are there? Dang, we forgot to check before we sent the films to the renderer! Fuck! In less interesting news, the LP packaging for Aerial M Self-Titled will remain exactly the same.
LIVE
This month, our Tourdate page has fewer entries than ever! But the shows that will happen promise to be memorable ones. First, Jim O’Rourke will be doing two nights of collaboration at Tonic in New York City. Collaborating with who, you ask? Why, Tony Conrad, Arnold Dreyblatt and Thurston Moore – so bring earmuffs, headphones, your laptop and your girl/boyfriend – and above all, look sharp! You know Jim will. Right after that, U.S. Maple will launch a tour of the upper midwest – namely, Chicago, Madison, Iowa City and Minneapolis. They’ll be playing material from their forthcoming record, Acre Thrills, scheduled for an April release. In Chicago, support will be offered by Chestnut Station, playing material for their immanent new release, In Your Living Room. So with the hometown crowd and all the forthcoming material, that’s going to be a big party.
But that’s really it for the live bulletin at the moment. Greater detail can be obtained by checking into our Tourdates page, of course. And then later this Spring, we’ll have more tourdates from the likes of Neil Hagerty, The Fucking Champs, U.S. Maple and many more. Stay (de)tuned.
FUCKING CHAMPS ARE FUCKING CHAMPS
Now that we’re back in the office, the reorders are pouring in from around the country. Retailers and wholesalers alike are bellying up to the bar, anxious to get their slice of the DC pie back in stock, to sell it out again! Yeah, they’ve been ordering a lot of different titles yer Smogs, O’Rourkes, High Llamas, Oldham/Palaces, Royal Truxes, Grubbseses – but also, each and every order that’s come through has had a short ton of Fucking Champs LPs and CDs requested! These guys rule. First they get the best press around, then the record blows up! What next?
Our guess is...more sales.