Fortunately, all this is going to change. Yeah, we’ve got things going on…does that shock you? Or scare you? If it doesn’t, then get ready — because we’ve got the goods that will shock and possibly scare, depending on your fortitude. We’ll give you the rundown, if you’ll give us a chance. Here goes!

GET OUT THERE!
Before you get too comfortable though, you better ask yourself — am I missing something?  The answer just might be yes! Why, just look at all the tourdates we’ve got dotting the horizon this summer into fall. Even as we speak, there’s Neil Hamburger on the road! (Smog) on tour! AZITA opening for (Smog) on tour! And Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy opening for Bjork on her North American tour! So, really — what are you doing reading this lousy newsletter? Get out there!

And don’t come back — just hang out around the club, waiting for the fall tours to hit  because at that time, we’re bringing out the heavy artillery. The High Llamas, Alasdair Roberts and Monade will all be coming over from their homes across the sea to tour in America. For Monade and Alasdair Roberts, this will be a first-ever tour of our lower 50, but for The High Llamas, it’s a triumphant return to promote an anticipated and acclaimed new album (more about which in a minute)! Also touring will be home-country favorites, Scene Creamers, Neil Michael Hagerty and Papa M — not all together, of course, but that’s just more creamy gravy for you, the showgoer.  And speaking of both home-country favorites and acclaimed new albums, you’ll also be seeing U.S. Maple out there on the circuit this fall. That’s right, this means they have a new album too! Damn, we’re blowing all the surprises up front. OR ARE WE? Read on, rube…

NEW RELEASES!
Yeah, we got new releases coming up. Lots of ‘em. What’s first? Why, the new releases in August, of course. You don’t think we’d let more than one month go by without new releases do you? Sob…how did we let that month get away? There’s money to be made in them there hills…

Huh? Oh, right  August. Well sir, in August we’ve got two releases to lay on you — one sonic-visual, the other literary-musical. Scratching your head yet, fucko? It’s totally obvious — the sonic-visual is from Wayne Rogers, the literary-musical is from Silver Jews!

Wayne Rogers hails from the heavy school of Major Stars and Magic Hour, not to mention Crystallized Movements. These guys have been bringing the guitar rock into our own private dimension for the last twenty years or so and along the way, Wayne took some time out to be a solo artist as well. He’s made a few albums, and what we’ve got here is a reissue of his limited-edition LP from a few years back called Constant Displacement. It’s finally seeing the light of day in CD form, remastered for your glistening pleasure. For fans of guitars, feedback, the p-word, arcane melodies, CDs, and more! If you missed the vinyl, or even if you didn’t, Constant Displacement is for you!

Now then, as for David Berman…back in 1999, noted Silver Jew David Berman stepped out from behind the mantle of Silver Jews, whose music had created a legend in the fledgling world of indie rock,  with a book of poems entitled Actual Air. Rockers and poetry types alike went crazy! The rock people were like, I always said Silver Jews lyrics were like poetry! Then they sucked furtively at their bong. The poetry types held their noses in the air and said, My, what a marvelous new voice in the world of poetry David Berman is! We really are quite fortunate! And thus, the dying art of poetry had its lease on life renewed for another few misbegotten years. Well, here we are, a few misbegotten years later (but really great misbegotten years, nonetheless), and now we’re announcing a David Berman release…does it make you think about the long-awaited sequel to Actual Air? Suck-er! No, we’re here to sell Actual Air to you all over again! This time, though…you’re gonna pay. What else would you expect to do for a deluxe hardcover edition of this fine book of poems? A dust-jacket with all-new art and a full-color photo of the artist slides over cloth boards with Berman’s signature scrawl (or is it scrawled signature? Whatever —) imprinted into them. The book is of an unusual pocket-size variety. Which will strike you as quite deluxe when you see it, trust us. Inside are full-color endpapers, depicting just the kind of tiled floor David often naps upon, leading us finally to the text itself, which is comprised of the same wonderful poems that we all know and love and sometimes mumble in our collective sleep, right? This special, limited edition (500 only) makes a great gift — and for only $30 or so, you can make a great gift of it to someone you love. So get to it.

Wayne and David — together again for the first time! And both in reissue as well. The times they are only slightly a-changin’ eh? What we would do without different formats! Next up, the novelization of Arise Therefore, the TV-movie of Wild Love, The Big Bang Saturday morning cartoon, and the Twin Infinitives virtual reality Xbox game. Don’t miss ‘em!

Look for these new releases on August 19th, 2003.

GET HIGH IN OCTOBER!
…High Llamas, that is. That is, The High Llamas. Yes, they’re back — and they’re a changed band. When last heard from (on 2000’s Buzzle Bee), they chirped and twittered, rocking along in the post-modern fashion we’d all come to expect from them over the course of the 1990s. It was melodic, beguiling, and lots of fun. But times have changed. And so, accordingly have The High Llamas. The change? They’ve become more beautiful.

You said it couldn’t be done! But now, Beet, Maize and Corn is here to prove you wrong. Stripping away the layers of electronics, eschewing the dynamics of a modern pop band (like drums, for instance), The High Llamas have reinvented themselves. Melody, always a highlight of the classic Llamas experience, comes shining to the fore, backed by spare string and brass arrangements. Bouncing rhythms are intact, albeit in slightly subdued fashion. Even if they’re not being played by the de rigueur rhythm section our ears have come to expect from pop music, they’re still there for you to groove to. In this rearranged sound-picture the songs of Sean O’Hagan are emphasized, and their beauty is haunting. For those who saw Sean perform his songs in solo performances around America and England in late 2001, Beet, Maize and Corn will remind them of the astonishment they felt upon hearing High Llamas songs stripped of their considerable filigree. It’s a remarkable reinvention — and you’ll feel remarkably reinvigorated upon tasting the flavors of Beet, Maize and Corn — street date October 7, 2003.

If that’s not a special enough treat, you Americans out there will be able to catch The High Llamas in concert shortly following the release of Beet, Maize and Corn. They’ll be coming to our troubled shores for several weeks in late October. Expect a presentation redolent of classic Llamas values — which will take their new songs and put them into the way-back machine! It going to be a religious experience when The High Llamas come to town — reserve your meditation mat today.

A TASTE OF MAPLE
Also on October 7th, the whole world will witness the return of U.S. Maple — vinylly! This is a band that hasn’t been heard from since 2001’s Acre Thrills. And while that release definitely packed two years of thrills into it’s acre, it left all and sundry jonesing for more. There was a little action in the meantime; U.S. Maple played a show here and there — here being Chicago and there being Italy. But what about the worlds that separate us from Italy? They love U.S. Maple too! It is for these worlds in-between that the Maple scrambled up their new batch. And for those of you who love a pinch of Maple between your cheek and gum, this taste is for you.

For their fifth album, U.S. Maple luxuriated in the creative process. Their goal: to bring to their worldwide audience an ultimate collection of sounds, rhythms, poetry, theatre, dance, cinema, politics…yer basic cultural meltdown, done justice by the searing redemption of rock and/or roll. See, U.S. Maple know what their fans like. They know how much taste and class is expected of them. And it’s no problem — they’ve got it in the bag. Delivered with their usual sense of flair, and not a moment too soon, it’s Purple on Time..

In classic U.S. Maple fashion, the vinyl will hit the streets a month in advance of the CD, to spread the word properly. For the record, U.S. Maple have assembled their most out-there package yet — a combination of 21st Century graphics, die-cutting, 180-gram vinyl, photographic portraiture, and ruthless self-mutilation. Austere to the max, it will also cost your ass. You’ve got to really want it — but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it. The CD is cool too, don’t worry — and it’ll be out a month later, on November 4th. By then, the band will be steaming up the country with live shows strewn all over the place. It’s domination time for U.S. Maple — and high time for Purple on Time..

VAMPIRE VULTURES
October’s a scary month…and it’s not getting any less scary this time around. What would you say to a sudden appearance of Vampire Vultures? It’s a terrifying prospect, but get a hold of yourself — it’s just a book, that’s all. A book…by a dead man! Now that’s scary. From beyond the grave come the musings of one of America’s finest, the late John Fahey. When we issued How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life back in 2001, Fahey was the proverbial lion in winter, accepting the accolades due a veteran musician with several decades behind him, planning releases for his Revenant label (including laying the groundwork for the Grammy®-winning Charley Patton box set) and touring the world on occasion. Bluegrass Music was an eye-opener for many, a memoir with vaguely hallucinogenic properties; a collection of short works that wove in and out of fiction and non-fiction with seamless ease. The critics loved it, the book sold like crazy, libraries ordered it and even today, three whole years later, it’s still a strong seller than never fails to freak people out and make them offer words of praise. Pretty cool; but this is even cooler. For those who feared they’d heard their last from the twisted mind of John Fahey, take this! Expanding and extending the thoughts and words of Bluegrass Music, Vampire Vultures is darker and even more out there. And don’t worry — this was a second collection that Fahey was preparing before his death — it’s not just some sort of cheap cash-in. Although the title does sort of suggest that, doesn’t it? Anyway, if you are the kind that reads, get ready for another heady trip through John Fahey’s America — a land that no longer exists.

Adorned with an original painting by Fahey himself, the Vampire Vultures paperback is set for release on October 7th, along with The High Llamas Beet, Maize and Corn LP/CD and U.S. Maple’s Purple on Time. LP. What a date that’ll be!

ONWARD AND UPWARD!
From there — we’ve got nothing but more. Also slated for release before the end of the year are new things from Brother JT3 (a full-length), Papa M (a single or two), Scene Creamers (a tour single), the Purple on Time. CD, and another couple things that haven’t become clear yet — our crystal balls need cleaning!

Keep your eyes on the shops, the clubs, and, as ever — the skies.
Drag City’s a-comin’!

Rian Murphy
Drag City Inc.
August 2003