Greetings and Happy New Year everybody!

Here’s a rundown on the latest….

We had a great time on the Unlimited Sunshine Tour this past December to finish our year of road living and spent the holidays curled up with books, pets, and comfort food. Thanks to everyone on the tour—bands, friends, fans—for making it all easy and fun. Special thanks to Main Drag Music and Ludlow Garage for making everything work as intended.

We’re starting our new year tonight with a quickie one song Bob Dylan tribute. Yes, we know, there’s alotta friggin’ Dylan out there. Albums, memoirs, documentaries, Cate Blanchett, blah blah blah. We’re adding our own spin to the accumulated noise of all things Dylanological tonight with The Royal Albert Hall Project an event that kicks off the 2008 New York Guitar Festival. Us – and tons of other artists – are playing Dylan’s Royal Albert Hall set in sequence. It’s FREE and in the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center. Directions are in the link above. It’s a little tricky, but it’s in Battery Park City basically between Ground Zero and the Hudson. A few of us—Rachel, Jesse, Pat and our friend Ezra—are playing first! So if you’re coming, please get there early (by 7:30 the latest), have a few, and shout ‘Judas!’ at us the whole time. Last year the fest did a Nebraska tribute and Springsteen himself showed up. We doubt Dylan’ll be there, but maybe Richard Gere??

We’re also playing the Knitting Factory in NYC on a Leap Day dream bill with our BFF bands Oneida, Company, and Mike Bones to celebrate the release of the new Company platter Old Baby on Brah Records. We could heap superlatives on all the bands involved, but best you come to the show and see for yourselves. More info in shows.

Our latest record I’ll Follow You is still available on Merge if you’re wondering what to do with all that holiday cash. We recommend the vinyl, which not only includes a grander view of the super badass cover art by Maya Hayuk but also includes a coupon for a free digital download of the whole record. Some critical minds out there in the Best-of-2007-album-culling quarters of the print and digital worlds have been giving I’ll Follow You some propers. Time Out New York, Washington Post, Harp – to name a few – we thank thee. Thanks to all the bloggers shouting us out as well.

One last note: please check out our encore performance at Daytrotter , one of the most awesomest sites on the innernets. A couple of Iowa brahs record touring bands live-in studio with no overdubs ala John Peel as they stop between Chicago and Omaha and post the results online. They are awesome. We are fans.

Hope to see you at Dylanfest or at least Leap Day if not some time in the nearer future…

xxxxx
oakley hall