NEWS 6/10/2001

BACK FOR MORE
We’re back — and if you’re reading this, then so are you. Congratulations: another triumph. There’s much on the boil to talk about — so take our hand, and we'll get started.

ACRE VIBRATIONS
It’s just two weeks old — and yet Acre Thrills shows every sign of setting the various rock-loving nations of the world aflame with its kicking combination of freshness and maturity. The album is out on the street and doing great in both formats (including the awe-inspiring vinyl 180gm vinyl format, a true sonic and visual delight, to all those passionate about their art) — and the band will soon follow, with a series of U.S. dates, some of which are even posted on our website (including a big Chicago show at the Double Door! See below!). Then European live dates, Japanese live dates and more and more live dates, including one at All Tomorrow’s Parties in LA in September, will follow. Which reminds us, we got a nice response to our anti-ATP tirade last week from an impassioned punter — read on:

“On behalf of all those who did U.S. Maple wrong at Camber Sands I would like to apologise, even though I was not there, worse luck. If I had, I would've taken care of the group myself out of my own pocket, as they were the only group I wanted to see in the first place! I just wanted you to know that not all of us Brits are petty, penny-pinching concert promoters who do over their charges at every opportunity; some of us are dedicated, hungry fans for cool music and care little for the home-grown rubbish we are told is great rock — it plainly is not. Acre Thrills is a fantastic album that beats anything I've heard this year so far, and I hope to tell the group that one of these days.”

We hope you can too Kevin — keep your eyes on this space for U.K. tour dates in the near future. And thanks for all those fine words, we'll replay them in our minds before bed every night — every night we actually go to bed, that is.

THE SMOG SHOW GOES ON!
Last time on this page, we hipped you to the possibility of an unexpected double bill — Smog and (band x). We don't really want to repeat their names now and have your expectations ballooned all over again — but the Llamas really couldn't get it together, and that’s all there is to it. Meanwhile, however, the Smog show still intends to hit the road in less than 30 days, with most of the dates yet to be booked. The attraction is mysteriously packaged “Smog and Friends” — what sort of Rolling Thunder Revue are we in for here? It’s good they’re booking the big rooms this time — as it is Smog's first US tour in about three years (and a mystery tour, to boot). So pony up, Smogareenos — the show goes on in June, in the municipality nearest the one next to you!

MORE TALK ABOUT LIVE SHOWS
Yeah, that Smog tour, that’s really gonna be something. But what about this little show that’s currently creeping up on you fast — the bill we’re talking about has already been nominated for Show of the Month here in Chi-town...yep, Saturday May the 26th. It’s gonna be U.S. Maple, live at Wicker Park’s lively Double Door facility. In celebrating the issuance of another stellar LP (the all-new Acre Thrills), they are taking it to an all-new stage — namely the one at the Double Door. And opening up for them, The Marquis de Tren and Bonnie Billy, presumably playing some of the riffs and hymnals from their Palace Records release “Get On Jolly.” But who knows what the fuck’s gonna happen? The way to insure the answer is to be there on that day hence, and see for yourself. Then, and only then, will you truly know what the fuck happened.

And speaking of fucking happening, what about The Fucking Champs? Those total music motherfuckers are tearing it up again. As in: Live in the USA. They've been out on the road for a couple weeks now, cleaning up. They just played a couple of rapturous nights in New York. If you were there, you know — you couldn’t get in the door, could you? Hardcore devotion was on display, and when it was all done, two nights were hardly enough. Overheard was the lament of one of the faithful: “I would have gone both nights if someone had not dropped AC/DC tickets in my lap on Tuesday!” Ah, sweet pain — it hurts us too.

As we so very often say at this juncture, you should please check on the Tours page to grab all the messy details of how you too can be entertained by these shows. But also to sum up: it’s going to be a great two weeks for shows in Chicago. And we’re not talking about any of that Noisepop shite, either. Ah, but come for the hype anyway — and stick around for the tremendous shows that The Fucking Champs, U.S. Maple, and The Marquis de Tren & Bonny Billy are destined to play. They are going to be awesome. So stick around. Just come to Chicago and plan to look at it as a two-week vacation from reality. You'll find that living on the street around here is surprisingly easy. And when you see these special performers perform, it will all have been worth losing everything for.

IT’S EUREKA ALL OVER AGAIN
Meanwhile, the life of Jim O’Rourke is continuing — secretly, across the globe, in variety of those quiet places where the sun don’t shine. Don’t misunderstand us people — we’re talking about recording studios here. Yeah, that’s where Jim is most comfortable, whether he’s singing, playing or passed out on the couch in back, whether he’s manipulating sounds or coaxing them out of a particularly unlikely group of players. It’s what he does, it’s who he is. Yeah, and right now, he’s hard at work on mixes for the new Wilco record. Several insiders (whose names we can’t mention because they are also what you could call ‘spies’) report that Jim’s touch to the tunes is magical, and this Wilco album will be their most original work to date. When not mixing through the morning, through the night, he’s also scoring Todd Louiso's Love, Liza — which stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kathy Bates (and is also terrific, according to our nameless fink sources). And while he’s doing this, audiences around the country are turning the stiles for Shinji Aoyama’s Eureka — which, if you don’t recall, is one of them heavy-hitting, Cannes prize-winning new films that’s been cleaning up all over the place and is now on a special run in U.S. moviehouses. And Jim’s song of the same name first helped inspire the film, then took its rightful place in the soundtrack. So, O’Rourke fans — get thee to the filmery! There’s something about Jim you haven’t seen yet!

And what's happening over at Moikai? The two new releases slated for issue sometime in June or July are a typical pair of Moikai titles — mysterious, perhaps previously unheard, unique and finally, sonically engaging. From the extended camp of Chicago post-jazz fusionists comes the debut of Orton Socket. It a medley of powerbooks bits of sound arrayed in such a fasion that Moikai have suggested a new genre: "Melancholy Electronics." Get ready to start saying this phrase over and over again, boys and girls. If this isn't exciting enough, then dig — the progenitor of Orton Socket is none other than Rob Mazurek, known to many of you from solo work, from Isotope 217, from the Chicago Underground Duo, as well as sessioneering work with Stereolab and all the rest. And he's brought his buddies like Bundy K. Brown, Jeff Parker, John Herndon and the ubiquitous Matt Lux in the digi-picture, most for the enjoyment of the audience out there ready to jump all over this shit! As somebody in that ensemble would surely say, "Burnin'!" And when you finally have the opportunity to buy 99 Explosions (for that is what it’s called), be sure to consider the vinyl, where Orton Socket’s subtle, playful sound teasing will be rendered in shocking pink vinyl! But that’s not all. Also on the Moikai plate is a record called simply Triangles. In order to start a movement, you need more than one party involved. And so, the “Melancholy Electronics,” genre has two heroes, with Triangles joining Orton Socket in this distinction. Here’s the Triangles take on Triangles: “A hodgepodge of bleeps, scrapes, white noise, motor-like sounds, schmaltzy organ drones, sluggish acoustic guitar strumming, a morose piano note or two, an apoplectic fit of crunching and crackling and a clipped voice occasionally muttering something. Triangles use guitars (both electric and acoustic), piano, organ, PZM scrape and scratch as well as analog synthesizer and other modern electronic music producing equipment. Cold at times, serene at others, spacey, maybe gloomy for a few moments — you can throw harsh in there too. All that in just 38 minutes. Moikai rides again!"

Hey, by the way, has anyone noticed that O’Rourke is basically like, totally in Sonic Youth at this point? It’s true — where they go, he goes, and he’s currently out on the road with them in sunny Europe at present. They will be some soundtracking to do with them (the new film by Oliver Assayas!) and the recording of another Sonic Youth album. And meanwhile, he’s be working on the earth-shattering sequel to his much-beloved Eureka, the much delayed Insignificance.

But if you want fresh Jim, you know where you want to go? Make sure you’re at Tonic in NYC on Sunday, May 27th he’ll be participating in an all-star tribute to the late John Fahey. Who else is on the bill? Who cares! Fahey and O’Rourke — not even the grave could separate them. Participate in the tribute — pay to be there.

SALES, AT LAST
Wow, we’ve been talking about all things new for a little bit now, and besides the OUT-NOW new U.S. Maple LP/CD (Acre Thrills), we haven’t mentioned the names of any new records to you this time. It isn’t because there aren’t any, or that there are some but they’re no good — no, much to the contrary — we’ve got a cannon full of blockbusters for you fans of listening pleasure out there. And one of those new discs that richly deserves a bit of disc-cussion is the only record on our release schedule at the moment. It’s the latest full LP from Edith Frost, and its called Wonder Wonder. The street date is July 17th, which seems so far away at the moment. But it won’t be long, trust us. And in the meantime, you can savor an advance taste of Wonder Wonder on this very site — the single that never was, “Cars and Parties,” awaits your downloading command. It’s a hint of the wonder to come when you hear the whole thing a few ballads, a blues of course, and more uptempo pop in the “Cars” vein. This time, a delicate musical web was woven around Edith to showcase not only her voice, but also the woman behind it. Simply put, after you finishing listening to Wonder Wonder, you will know Edith Frost as never before. It’s a delightful record, and we’re counting the days until it can be shared by one and all.

Also preparing for launch is a classic work of entertainment that will go down in history for it’s unique approach to ensemble play. The title of this seminal release is Tramps, Traitors and Little Devils and the group that made is listed, enigmatically as Drag City Supersession. What, you ask, could this be? We’ll let you in on a little secret — it’s a Neil Michael Hagerty production, featuring, what else, some of the excess of the cream of the crop from the Drag City talent farm. In this case, let’s be bold — we’re talking about playing and singing from Bill Callahan, Edith Frost, and producer man Neil Michael Hagerty. They sang and played guitars, keyboards and whatever else they needed to do in order to make an entertaining forty-five minutes for you all. Take it from us — it is. You’ll hear Bill, Edith and Neil in ways you never have before. And they’ve been joined by other hot rockers, such as Jim O’Rourke and Tara Key in the lead guitar chair, as well as the Brothers Murphy (from Chestnut Station) on drums and percussion. It’s a family affair, and what of it? Ahem. You’ll find a sample of the sound of Tramps, Traitors and Little Devils right next to the Edith mp3 — check it out!

In other sales news, we’re still watching the Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Appendix Out, Neil Michael Hagerty, Chestnut Station, Papa M, Galactic Zoo Dossier and more go out the door. It’s a good good feeling — if you haven’t already, share it with us — seek these new releases out.

ATTENTION, MAILORDERERS!
Yes, attention please! We’ve got a few items you can’t miss. First of all, we’re now offering both CD and 2xLP copies of C4AM95 III. In other words, The Fucking Champs III. These records and CDs are selling for $12 each so hurry up and order, supplies are limited. Additionally, we are in possession of a couple rare items: two Making Losers Happy (Xpressway comp) CDs, as well as one final copy of Concentric's Tender Machines CD. Now instead of sending money, why not email us, reserving your copy. The people who respond to this first are the ones who will receive the goods — provided they follow up with the money. All these will be sold at regular mailorder rates — $10 for the CDEPs, $12 for the full-lengths, plus whatever global shipping for you international mailorderers out there. Make your bid for these rare items today!

DRAWING BOARD ROCK
On the production table before us, we have records arrayed in varying states of completion — and exciting things, as well: all new ones from Smog, King Kong and Silver Jews! And not new EPs, either — no, these are dead-on, total commitment, classic to the core, full-length albums from all of them. Once they get done and get named, we’ll be keeping you further informed. In the meantime, let your imaginations tantalize you — what will these guys sound like? The first thing that will happen is the King Kong, probably, then the Smog. And then comes the band that we’ve received so many requests for more from, The Silver Jews. Their record won’t even be recorded until August — but the fact that there’s an LP at all from them will have Jews fans dancing in the streets all over the country! What it means is that other than the impending armegeddon, we’ve got much more to look forward to in late 2001 and on into 2002 — please try to be there.