| Oboy…we’re late! Late again! And goddamn it, this time late for Christmas! Oh, there’s reasons why this year is different, but isn’t it always like this? Here at DCHQ, the night before Christmas is traditionally spent with the elves cranking out them Christmas cards full-tilt, to the rhythmic exhortations of a sadistic overmaster: “Spread the Joy, Spread the Joy — shovel those cards out the doors, me hearties!” Yeah, we’re late — but who can help it? We’ve got too many important things to be dealing on ya. More on which in a country minute…so don’t hold your breath.
But what….here’s what we can do! We’re not late for December…we’re early for January. Yeah, that’s right. And I think we did this one time before. Anyway, check it out — we’re gonna take a trip through the future. You’re in for a treat — because January is where it’s at!
EARLY FOR JANUARY
Happy New Year!!!! If you haven’t heard that yet…then welcome to Drag City country. Yeah, if you’re at all like us, the year passed in pure, impenetrable silence, broken only by our own breathing and the slight motions of the sentries placed around our front door. As distant guns sound out in the night, we look at the stars and contemplate a life lived far away from the melee — that loathsome yet wonderful world we live in. New Year’s is a crazy time, and we here at Drag City have a responsibility to stay out of it — for who else is left that’s going to represent for our little corner in 2003, eh? Because who else could? I mean, we’re not just putting out records and CDs and books and occasionally a t-shirt. And as we’ve mentioned too many times to recall, we’ve got a coin and a comic book too — and a number of live dates coming up in the immediate, near and not too distant future — not to mention the Slitch DVD+CD due for release within the next month or so…pretty fucking multimedia, wouldn’t you say?
Yeah. So welcome back to Drag City, anyway! As we inscribe this latest news to you on our de riguer tablets of stone, preparations for January, February, March and September are in furious motion. And meanwhile, we’re stocking shops for the holiday, sponsoring a few final shows around the country, fostering television and radio promotions, paying Peter to play Paul, and in general, doing what it takes to make sure the old and new alike on tha roster are getting out there.
So what else is new?
NEW!
Comb through the webpage and you’ll find there a lot of new things for you to dig into. First of course there’s the mp3s — advance sounds from Loose Fur and Scene Creamers (1/28/03 - Too Late! - ed.). We think you’ll like 'em — but don’t go expecting the whole records to sound like these l’il sampler songs. It just ain’t gonna happen! Both Loose Fur and Scene Creamers have too many sides to them to be encapsulated in just one preview — so you’ve got a lot to look forward to, don’t you? And COMING SOON — Bonny’s preview! A very special few minutes with Bonny and a very special guest will soon be posted, to give you an idea of the new Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy LP/CD, Master and Everyone, available with Scene Creamers and Loose Fur on January 28th, 2003.
New also are a couple focus pages for those of you with focus concerns. Checked into the Book Nook yet? You know, the Print Grotto? The Word Hole? It’s our own little print-centric page, a place for Drag City press to really shine! Here, there are no LPs and no CDs — just books, magazines and yes, even a comic book! We’re going to corner the market on this thing called printwork — our plans for 2003 include a resurrection of the unjustly discarded ‘Pamphlet’ format, with perhaps a few Tracts printed for good measure…but in the meantime, you’re still able to sup your word-teats with the now-classic How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life (the late John Fahey’s fiction-memoir), An Emotional Memoir of Martha Quinn (guitarist Alan Licht’s word from the street on the 80s-90s so-called indie music scene), and of course, the runaway hit of this holiday season, Warm Voices Rearranged — Anagram Record Reviews. If you haven’t seen this thing yet, then your gift-sack isn’t quite full! Warm Voices Rearranged is an A to Z listing of bands and their LPs, with the names and titles rearranged anagrammatically to form commentary on said bands and LPs. The results are both hilarious and informative — convulsively so! Oh, the helpless hours you’ll spend laughing! It’s been affectionately dubbed ‘toilet reading’ — but as far as we’re concerned, we’d want you to bring all of our books to toilet!
Yeah, for more fun reading, there’s also Victory Chimp, Galactic Zoo Dossier, the Trux comic...well, what are you waiting for? Get your damn self hence — to the Book Nook.
POST THESE BILLS
And while you’re still in the checking-things-out mode, check into the Poster Page! We’ve been talking about this for a long time — an on-site poster gallery representing for all the terrific promotional posters we’ve been associated with over the years. Yeah there’s a lot of great ones...and in an effort to get disassociated with all the boxes filled with those great posters laying around here, we’re opening up the vaults for you, the loyal fan; you, the rubbernecker; you, the potential mailorderer. What we have left could be yours. The only thing we’ll ask is, Flat or Folded, guv’ner? It’s for real: some posters come to you, unfolded, rolled in a tube. Pure pristine beauty to be framed or otherwise hung and displayed. Come back...to Poster Country.
JANVIER!
Geez — so look at how busy we are! We’re already getting places in this update covering lots of topics and we haven’t yet told you about the most exiting day yet to come. That day would be January 28th. It’s a release date and what’s more, it’s the first release date of the rest of our lives!
But what really makes it special is that it’s a trio of releases that are going to net a lot of interest from a lot of different quarters! That makes for a sales and promotion bonanza, which is, I don’t think I have to tell you, money in the bank. You know who we’re talking about here — Loose Fur, Scene Creamers and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. All three are offering full-length releases on LP and CD simultaneously. It’s going to be a madhouse — because with Loose Fur, we’re dealing with fans of Jim O’Rourke (a rabid bunch) plus fans of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche. None of whom are going to be disappointed by the sights and sounds of Loose Fur. We’ve sent the promos out already and promo recipients are pumped!
Ditto goes for Scene Creamers. We shipped their wildly attractive digipak-jacketed debut CD, I Suck On That Emotion, to many different comers — and the reaction has been electric, eclectic and challenging right back at us. See, Scene Creamers press the buttons, and the world responds to the shocks that they apply. It’s an all-new thing for Drag City, leaving behind the machinations of The Make Up and even Ian and Michelle’s collaboration with Señor Neil Michael Hagerty on last summer’s Weird War album. Purple with passion, rich with rock and roll, foaming with hysterical creative energy and funky to boot, I Suck on that Emotion will make great party music and more in the year 2003. Scene Creamers will be touring the country, spelling it out for you on your local scene — so look for them!.
Finally, what can we say about Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy that hasn’t already been said, left unsaid, blurted or spurted already? Well, with a record like Master and Everyone, plenty! Or perhaps nothing at all — as listening to it thus far always leaves us silent and gaping. It’s an intense album — as in, intensely entertaining, intensely tuneful, intensely moving. It seems to be the desire of many Bonnie fans to see their 'Prince' stripped. Master and Everyone will satisfy that desire in spades. Start pining now...and you too, will be ready for Master and Everyone.
THE (SMOG) RECAP
It was a busy season for (Smog) — filled with tours, recordings and the occasional television appearance. 2002 began with US tour dates for his chart-busting, heart-breaking Rain On Lens release of late 2001. Then came the compilation of Accumulation:None, a precedent setting-and-breaking selected singles-and-rarity release. The world of (Smog) was so chaotic, what with all the busting and breaking of ceilings, standards and expectations! Late in the summer, (Smog) held sessions for a new record in Chicago. All the best cats in town came by to blow! And more than a few were told to. The only problem was, (Smog)’s new tunes were so touching that the musicians were falling out, either crying or more often, laughing along with the songs! Damn, it was good — and you’re going to be able to get in on the fun in March, when Supper will be served. (Smog) though, he couldn’t stop there! He hit the road to support Accumulation:None, playing classics, a healthy sampling of the single-and-rarities, previews of the new tunes and more! But nothing from Forgotten Foundation, damn his eyes! That record has its fans you know, Mr. (Smog). Ah well, anyway — as 2002 bows, (Smog)’s back home on the ranch, working on his novel again, as well as some comedy sketches and other short pieces. Yeah, and he’s filling canvas after canvas with his distinctive painting style as well. The motherfucker is a goddamn renaissance man, I’m telling you! Where will (Smog) turn up next? On Conan or Kilborn? Place your bets now — and we’ll have more on this in the 2003.
KONG! KONG! KONG!
2002 was, among a scant few other things of significance, the year King Kong made their triumphant return to our all-too-human world. The release of The Big Bang and the national tour that followed showed one and all the power and the glory of King Kong’s fun-(and funk-)filled secret world. Capping off this impressive tour of duty, Ethan Buckler appeared on the Chic-A-Go-Go television show, leading the dance party with his signature groovy moves. What could possibly follow up such a prestigious engagement — the MTV video awards? The Today Show? An audience with the president? No…an audience with Mancow! On December 20th, the Kong played their “weird stuff” (according to the ‘cow) on our new “favorite” radio station, Q101. Hundreds of thousands heard, thus extending the kingdom of Kong. Sweet! They’ll follow this triumph up with more tour dates promoting The Big Bang in eastern and southern states starting in February. A dance party may be coming to your town! Keep your eyes out for... King Kong.
ON BEYOND ZEBRA
As the year 2003 unfurls, we’ve got a full complement of talent ready to go up on display. In addition to what we’ve discussed (Loose Fur, Scene Creamers, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, (Smog)) there’s full-length records from AZITA and Imitation Electric Piano, Neil Michael Hagerty and Monade. There’s Alasdair Roberts, finally shedding his Appendix Out mantle and going forth to greet the world as himself. There will be Papa M singles, of this you can be sure. On the books front, we’ll have a hard-cover edition of David Berman’s Actual Air and another volume of John Fahey writing. There’ll be a High Llamas record in there, some more titles from both Blue Chopsticks and Streamline, tourdates, radio shows television appearances, the occasional new t-shirt and…what, what?
|