Fiery Furnaces' Matt Friedberger Talks Solo Project

Yes, albums. This summer, Friedberger will unleash not one but two solo records on the brand-new label 859 Recordings. The LPs will be paired together, Outkast-style, and will be respectively titled Holy Ghost Language School and, tentatively, A Miserable Life for Nieces.

Currently holed up in Key Club Studio in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Friedberger took a break from recording to chat with Pitchfork about his ambitious new project.

"They sound very nice," Friedberger said of his two bundles of joy. "And entertaining. The one record is a story record, [about] a guy from Chicago [who] goes and starts a business school for English in Japan that operates by xenolalia, you know, to do the business transactions. So they get the Holy Ghost and start speaking in tongues to negotiate." Wow, sounds like a lost Zappa record.

Added Friedberger, "even if that sounds like a silly story, it's just fun for a record because then you get speaking in tongues and you get to have people getting happy on it."

As for the other record? "It's unfortunately got me singing all the time. It's not very aggressive, I would say. Actually, there's a lot of guitar solos, I guess."

True solo affairs, Holy Ghost and Miserable Life will be decidedly sibling- and matriarch-free. "I'm afraid it's just me," Matt joked. "There's a lot of machines playing on it...they have their own personalities. Like, this is kind of weird: This Tapco 4400 Reverberations system has a definite personality. But yeah, there's no other people."

So why the sojourn into solo-hood? "Eleanor's on vacation," Matt revealed. "We have a logjam of records, so [this is] the only way to have something come out relatively quickly."

"And I don't have to bother Eleanor to get her to sing all this crap, so...that's the advantage. It's an act of mercy."

Song titles for the more straightforward record include "Betcha Don't", "Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company Resignation Letter", "Wisconsin River Blues", "Do You Remember?", "Big Bill Crib and His Ladies of the Desert", "PS 213 Mini-School", "I Love You Cedric", "Nola", "Servant in Distress", "Up the River", "Motor Man" (about "the guy who runs the ‘L' train"), "Hialeah", and "Quick as Cupid".

Holy Ghost Language School may include "Seventh Loop Highway", "The English English Teacher" and "ATA Flight 4377" ("That's my favorite one," proclaimed Matt).

Clearly, Friedberger has high aspirations for his art: "I hope they're very friendly," he said of the records. "Nice for people to put on in the background."

So, any final words for Pitchfork, Matt?

"Well, don't make fun of me too much."

No problem, Mr. Burger and Fries. Just kidding!

As previously reported, Matt, Eleanor, and the whole Fiery gang will head out on the road in February. Here are those dates again:

02-10 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
02-11 Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom
02-13 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle *
02-14 Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre *
02-15 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel *
02-17 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder *
02-18 St. Petersburg, FL - The State Theatre *
02-19 Orlando, FL - The Social *
02-20 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds *
02-22 Atlanta, GA - Smith's Olde Bar *
02-23 Nashville, TN - Exit / In *
02-24 St. Louis, MO - Mississipi Nights *
02-25 Champaign, IL - High Dive *
02-27 Indianapolis, IN - The Music Mill *
02-28 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop *
03-01 Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre
03-03 Ithaca, NY - Cornell University
03-04 Providence, RI - Rhode Island School of Design Auditorium

* with Deadboy & the Elephantmen

The Fiery Furnaces: http://www.thefieryfurnaces.com/

Grandaddy Call It Quits

"We've seen an erosion happening," Lytle said. "I use the word ‘erosion' in the most natural way I possibly can. It's not entirely such a bad thing. We have just, throughout the years, always looked at every album coming out as ‘Wow we've got another album, now what?' So that's still going on right now, it's just that it's a lot different. We're not jumping on that big rock n roll conveyor belt that happens when the album's done.

"Everybody has been set free to pursue whatever it is they want to pursue, whether it be amateur poker playing, or [becoming] veterinarians, or working in a hot dog stand."

While Lytle will continue making music, he has no plans to use the Grandaddy name for something it's not (see: INXS, Queen, the Doors, etc.) "I think myself and the rest of the band hold that [name] pretty sacred," he said. "It definitely won't be this random assembly of crap shot players. There are plenty of people who are capable of standing up there and executing the songs. But it wouldn't be comfortable for anyone."

He added, "For whoever gives a shit, they can rest assured that it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's no sadder than...I'm likening it to the natural crumbling of canyon walls. It can be sped up or done in by artificial forces. I just think we saw the opportunity to bring it to an end, to do it and still remain friends."

As for Lytle's next step, well, he's not so sure what that will be. "All I'm working on now is regaining a pure appreciation for just playing music, just sitting and playing music. It seems to have been attached to and saddled by a lot of stuff. It's getting fun again.

"I don't intend on ever stopping. I've actually tried to stop a bunch of times, but it's not really possible. Sometimes I hate it so much, because it's something that fatigues me. I'm going to do something, but I have no idea what."

Just Like the Fambly Cat, with its sweeping, fuzzed-out soundscapes and hearty guitar crunch serving as a fitting epitaph for the band. Here's the tracklist:

01 What Happened
02 Jeez Louise
03 Summer... It's Gone
04 Oxygen/Aux Send
05 Rear View Mirror
06 The Animal World
07 Skateboarding Saves Me Twice
08 Where I'm Anymore
09 50%
10 Guide Down Denied
11 Elevate Myself
12 Campershell Dreams
13 Disconnecty
14 This Is How It Always Starts
15 Shangri-La (outro)

In less dramatic Grandaddy news, the band's 1999 Single to Snow Ratio EP is available online for the first time, courtesy of the Rhapsody music service. Comfort yourself with these tracks:

01 Hand Crank Transmitter
02 Jeddy 3's Poem
03 MGM Grand
04 Protected From the Rain

Grandaddy: http://www.grandaddylandscape.com/

Colin Meloy to Gently Rock NPR

And now, Decemberists fans can rejoice for a second time, as Colin Meloy's solo show at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia this Saturday, January 28, will be the latest webcast in NPR.org's "All Songs Considered" program. (A Decemberists show at Washington, DC's 9:30 Club last May was also featured on "All Songs Considered".)

Both Meloy's and opener Laura Veirs' sets will be streamed live in their entireties on NPR.org starting around 7:30 PM EST Saturday, and will be available as a free mp3 download from the website's permanent archive starting Sunday, January 29. Additionally, some selections will be featured on NPR's weekly "All Songs Considered" podcast starting February 1.

NPR has also pumped its cred up a couple notches by gaining a new sponsor for "All Songs Considered": none other than "Hipster Handbook"-approved Pabst Blue Ribbon. How cool is PBR now? About as cool as it was when Dennis Hopper's Blue Velvet character Frank Booth said "Heineken? Fuck that foreign shit! Pabst Blue Ribbon is what you'll drink tonight!"

It's only a matter of time before Von Dutch starts knocking on NPR's door.

The Decemberists: http://www.decemberists.com/
NPR: http://www.NPR.org/music

Aimee Mann Kicks off Acoustic Trek

You'll have the opportunity to get intimate with the inhabitants of Mann's songs starting tonight, when she kicks off a three-week acoustic journey in Boulder, Colorodo. The tour, in support of her 2005 album The Forgotten Arm, will be a more stripped-down affair than previous outings performing the same material. It will include a performance on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" on February 9.

In a recent interview with Billboard.com, Mann said that she does not expect to put out a new album before 2007. "I'm not a fast writer and I usually have a couple of things stockpiled by this time so, yeah, (I'm) wondering a little bit how long it's going to take me to come up with material for another record. But also, you just can't worry about that."

Despondency is a craft worth perfecting, folks, so clutch a bottle at the following times and places:

01-27 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theatre
01-29 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall
01-31 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
02-01 Chicago, IL - Park West *
02-02 Buffalo, NY - The Center for the Arts, SUNY Buffalo *
02-03 Cleveland, OH - The Odeon *
02-04 Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater *
02-06 Toronto, Ontario - The Mod Club *
02-07 Montreal, Quebec - Club Soda *
02-08 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground *
02-09 New York, NY - Town Hall *
02-11 Easton, MD - Avalon Theatre *
02-12 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel *
02-14 Atlanta, GA - The Variety Playhouse *
02-16 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live *
02-17 West Palm Beach, FL - Harriet Theatre *
02-18 Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre *

* with Chuck Prophet

Aimee Mann: http://www.aimeemann.com/
United Musicians: http://www.unitedmusicians.com/

Jeff Hanson Tours U.S., Japan With Shugo Tokumaru

As he strums from Midwest to the West Coast and back, Hanson will be accompanied by Southerly, the anti-folk/alt-country blur known to his mother as Krist Krueger. Then he'll head to Japan for a four-day stint with the luminous Shugo Tokumaru.

Post-tour, Hanson will hit the studio to record a new album. It's set to street this fall, just in time for cardigan sweater season.

MMMBop:

01-27 Madison, WI - UWM Union @ Club 770 *
01-28 Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club *
01-29 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle *
01-30 Gambier, OH - Kenyon College *
01-31 Newport, KY - Southgate House *
02-01 Nashville, TN - Muse *
02-02 Baton Rouge, LA - Red Star Bar *
02-03 Denton, TX - Hailey's *
02-04 Santa Fe, NM - Warehouse 21 *
02-05 Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts *
02-07 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture *
02-08 San Diego, CA - Che Café *
02-10 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland *
02-11 San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern *
02-12 Portland, OR - Towne Lounge *$
02-13 La Grande, OR - Mercantile *
02-14 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court *
02-15 Boulder, CO - Outer Space *
02-16 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive *
02-17 Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground *
02-19 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater *
02-23 Matsumoto, Japan - Café Kurakura ^
02-24 Kyoto, Japan - Café Independants ^#
02-25 Nagoya, Japan - Tokuzo ^+
02-26 Tokyo, Japan - O-Nest ^%

*with Southerly
$ with Protest Hill
^ with Shugo Tokumaru
# with Youcan
+ with Ogre You Asshole
% with good music!

Jeff Hanson: http://www.jeffhanson.net/
Kill Rock Stars: http://www.killrockstars.com/

P.O.S. Tours, Works With Slug, Craig Finn

Tracklist:

01 Audition Ipecac
02 Half Cocked Concepts
03 De La Souls feat. Greg Attonito
04 Stand Up (Let's Get Murdered)
05 Bush-League Psych-Out Stuff feat. Slug
06 Paul Kersey to Jack Kmball
07 Safety In Speed (Heavy Metal) feat. Craig Finn
08 The Kill in Me feat. Maggie
09 Yeah Right (Science, Science)
10 Audition M.D.
11 P.O.S. Is Ruining My Life
12 Living Slightly Larger feat. Mictlan
13 Suicide Uma
14 Bleading Hearts Club feat. Slug
15 Teddy Bear and a Tazor
16 Audition Mantra

P.O.S. begins a ridiculous 45-date adventure on Monday, January 30 that will take him all the way to South by Southwest and then some. The "P.O.S. Is Ruining My Life" tour will feature the help of Doomtree members Turbo Nemesis, Mac Lethal, and Sims throughout its entirety, with a few other show openers already confirmed. At the Rhymesayers SXSW showcase in March, P.O.S. will be surrounded by Atmosphere, Soul Position (RJD2 and Blueprint), Brother Ali, Los Nativos, Mac Lethal, and Psalm One. The most impressive feat of the tour, though, might be P.O.S.'s trip to Canada and Maine in February.

P.O.S. Is Making You Scroll Down the Page:

01-30 Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry (record release)
01-31 Duluth, MN - Pizza Luce %
02-01 Madison, WI - Annex %
02-02 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub %
02-03 Bloomington, IN - Rhino's %
02-04 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop %
02-05 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig %
02-07 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace %
02-08 Ottawa, Ontario - Babylon %
02-09 Montreal, Quebec - Zoobizarre %
02-10 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground %
02-11 Portland, ME - Space Gallery %
02-12 Boston, MA - Great Scott %
02-13 New York, NY - Knitting Factory %
02-14 Providence, RI - Living Room %
02-15 Philadelphia, PA - The Fire %
02-16 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *
02-18 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle *
02-19 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn *
02-20 Orlando, FL - Will's Pub *%
02-21 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds *%
02-22 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon *#
02-23 New Orleans, LA - The Howlin' Wolf *
02-24 Austin, TX - Emo's *#
02-25 Denton, TX - Hailey's *#
02-27 Albuquerque, NM - Moonlight Lounge *#
02-28 Tempe, AZ - Clubhouse *#
03-01 San Diego, CA - Casbah *
03-02 Pomona, CA - Glasshouse *
03-03 Los Angeles, CA - Echo Lounge *
03-04 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill *
03-06 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall *
03-07 Portland, OR - Loveland *
03-08 Vancouver, British Columbia - Buffalo Club *
03-09 Seattle, WA - Vera Project *
03-10 Missoula, MT - Higgins Alley *
03-11 Bozeman, MT - Zebra Cocktail Lounge *
03-13 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue *
03-14 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge *
03-15 Ft. Collins, CO - Starlight *
03-17 Austin, TX - Emo's (Rhymesayers SXSW Showcase) &
03-20 Lawrence, KS - Record Bar *
03-21 Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground *
03-22 Sioux Falls, SD - Washington Pavillion *
03-23 Iowa City, IA - Gabe's Oasis *

* with Turbo Nemesis, Mac Lethal, Sims
% with Cyne
# with Mes the Jive Turkey
& with Psalm One, Los Nativos, Brother Ali, Soul Position (RJD2 and Blueprint), Atmosphere

Rhymesayers: http://www.rhymesayers.com/

Pearls and Brass Launch American Jaunt

In celebration of their new release, Pearls and Brass are playing a gazillion shows over the next two months. And it starts...today! So anyone in Philly who didn't already have plans for tonight now officially does: cheese steaks, a rock show at the Khyber, and avoiding Old City yuppie trendsters.

P&B will be playing all over the country, so if you want to see them you'll undoubtedly get a chance. Unless you live somewhere crappy, like Holland, Michigan. Oh man, would that ever suck.

Cities that are cooler than Holland:

01-27 Philadelphia, PA - The Khyber *
01-28 Baltimore, MD - Talking Head
01-29 Richmond, VA - Legend Brewery
01-30 Charlotte, NC - The Milestone
01-31 Atlanta, GA - Smith's Olde Bar
02-01 Birmingham, AL - The Nick
02-02 Little Rock, AR - Downtown Music
02-03 Denton, TX - Andy's
02-04 Austin, TX - Emo's
02-05 Houston, TX - Rudyard's
02-07 Tucson, AZ - Plush
02-08 Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
02-09 Goleta, CA - Hard to Find Showspace
02-10 San Francisco, CA - 12 Galaxies #
02-11 Big Sur, CA - Fernwood Resort $
02-12 Santa Cruz, CA - The Attic %
02-13 Albany, CA - Ivy Room @
02-14 Eugene, OR - Luckey's
02-16 Bellingham, WA - Chiribins
02-17 Seattle, WA - Funhouse %
02-18 Portland, OR - Towne Lounge %
02-19 Arcata, CA - The Alibi %
02-21 San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern %
02-22 Long Beach, CA - Que Sera
02-23 Pioneertown, CA - Pappy and Harriet's
02-24 Las Vegas, NV - The Cooler
02-25 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo/Ex_Plex (Arthurball) &
02-27 Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad
02-28 Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory
03-01 Lawrence, KS - Replay Lounge
03-02 St. Louis, MO - Way Out Club
03-03 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle %
03-04 Urbana, IL - Iron Post
03-06 Nashville, TN - Springwater
03-07 Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light
03-08 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
03-09 Washington, DC - DC 9
03-10 New York, NY - Cake Shop

* with Jack Rose, the Photon Band, Vincent Black Shadow
# with the Fucking Champs, Boyjazz
$ with Six Organs of Admittance, Enoch Emery
% with Plastic Crimewave Sound
@ with Saviours
& with Joanna Newsom, Brightblack Morning Light, Unknown Instructors, OM, Colleen, Entrance, Mi & L'au, Starter Set, Winter Flowers, Society of Rockets

Pearls and Brass: http://www.pearlsandbrass.com/
Drag City: http://www.dragcity.com/

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