February 5, 2001
Overwhelming to some, Addicting to many...
Hello everyone. I guess it's really going to happen. This morning we received a box of pre-releases: final versions of Over the Rhine's new record, Films For Radio. CDs with final artwork will follow shortly. The official due date is March 13, 2001.
I'm not sure how to feel. Part of me is very excited. I did one interview already with a magazine based in Philadelphia, and the reviewer had liked what he heard. But this surprised me for some reason. It's a messy, juicy record full of doubts and hopes and tiny epiphanies. It occurs to me that we should try to be more reserved: it might be less embarrassing for everyone.
If you showed up for a date with Karin's voice these days, the door would open, and you would find yourself being wrapped up and kissed keenly on the mouth on the lamplit porch before you even had a chance to clear your throat and speak her name. While singers like Ron Sexsmith and Suzanne Vega make notable careers out of being understated, coy, never breaking into a sweat, it seems to me that Karin sings as if it's her last night on earth, her last ever song, her last blushing gasp.
Overwhelming to some, addicting to many...
Those of us who are addicted are accustomed to closed eyes, blindfolded hearts, outstretched arms, fingers brushing deliciously against smooth fleet dreams and trembling toward downy hidden places enfolded with musky spirituality and melodic sighs.
You might say I'm a fan, and I've had my coffee.
So I sit down here in the library in Cincinnati and look out the lofty windows. It's spitting snow and like always, I have no idea what to expect. I have chosen a life that is irrepressibly unpredictable.
Overwhelming to some, addicting to many...
So anyway, what I want to say is, for those of you who are intrigued by this sort of thing, we're putting the farm up for sale once again. You can pre-order a copy of Films For Radio thru the end of February, by calling our office or by visiting overtherhine.com. At the beginning of March, Karin and I will take a few days to sign and number these CD's reflecting the order in which we received your order. A package with the special goods will be hand-delivered to your door on the 13th of March. You might receive number 2. You might receive number 42. If you order copies for your many exotic lovers around the world, you might receive numbers 61 thru 76. We will also slip in a tiny trifle that is a surprise.
* * *
After we sign all the goods, we'll begin packing our bags and rehearsing for the first leg of our tour. We will be working up a brand new evening of music which will be coming soon to a theater near you so to speak. We've got our work cut out for us, because this record has a fairly broad sonic palette and will definitely push the Over the Rhine envelope in some new directions. We think you're gonna like it.
We have some scattered college shows coming up that we're looking forward to, but the Films For Radio tour will officially begin on March 23rd at Bogarts in Cincinnati. Other cities that we'll visit in the first leg include:
Rochester, Michigan
Cleveland, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Indianapolis, Indiana
St. Louis, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Denver, Colorado
Salt Lake City, Utah
Seattle, Washington
Portland, Oregon
San Francisco, California
Los Angeles, California
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Dallas, Texas
Austin, Texas
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Chicago, Illinois
Detroit, Michigan
et al
You can go to overtherhine.com for more information. We'll post the dates as they are confirmed. A second leg will cover more of the East Coast, South and Southeast.
Note: If you or a friend are on a college concert committee, or just happen to own your very own amphitheater in the desert and would like to book an Over the Rhine concert for this Spring, please contact Stacie at our office immediately: otrhine@aol.com... We'll pass the info along to our brand new booking agency, and we'll try to fit you in. We're open to variety when it comes to concert venues, as you might have noticed.
We would also like to sincerely thank all of you who looked us up last December. We had an absolute blast on our Christmas Tour--I don't know how else to describe it. Our audiences (You) were warm, quick to smile, energetic--you gave so much. Special thanks to those of you who brought flowers for Karin (!), or came bearing tiny gifts: homemade jewelry, a copy of a favorite book, care packages for the bus... Your generosity is always humbling. We are so fortunate to have encountered such wonderful people who call themselves fans of Over the Rhine.
* * *
Rhinelanders! You are a neglected body of jilted lovers. We're sending you all a postcard with a secret website address. You can go to that clandestine place and peruse all the artwork, lyrics and liner notes for the new project, check out Northern Spy #4, and then some. This will bring all your memberships to a close, and we may reinvent some new secret society in the future. An Over the Rhine funny hat club! Whatever we come up with, I can promise you it won't involve me writing regular newsletters.
* * *
The small print. For those of you who would like to pre-order signed, numbered editions of Films For Radio, they are $15 each, and we pay the shipping anywhere in the U.S.A. (Foreign orders, add $5 per cd for shipping and handling.) Phone 513.731.6837 and talk to Stacie. Foreign orders with credit card and shipping info may be faxed to 513.731.9668. (We'll also be posting order info at overtherhine.com. You can take advantage of our secured server if you wish.) These special signed copies can only be ordered through the end of February. Stacie will ship them out for March 13th delivery to your door.
* * *
Thanks for your time and interest everyone. It's been a wonderful, heartbreaking, stimulating, fantastic ride. We hope to see you soon.
Bon courage,
Linford Detweiler, for Over the Rhine
ps: Our hearty congratulations to Jack and Hazel on the birth of their son, Finlay Joe Henderson.
February 6, 2001
Films For Radio Red Light Special: Whoa!
Hello again everyone,
The phones have been ringing off the hook at the office. It's like trying to win tickets on the radio to the Reading Festival in England or something. So glad that so many of you are looking forward to this recording. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm. Orders have been pouring in. We are deluged with your kindness. We are drowning in good will. Grace has been put on hold, and joy has been monopolizing the call-waiting.
I guess my mysterious letter managed to confuse a few people, and we're still not sure who got it and who didn't. I'm told it hasn't appeared in the archive. At least some people probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Yesterday's letter will be posted at overtherhine.com soon, and the Films For Radio Pre-Order Special should be up and running on line by the end of the day at overtherhine.com. Please order on line using our Secure Server if you can. It will save Stacie a lot of work. Poor girl.
Karin had to hold the phone while she took a pee break.
A few quick clarifications: this special is running for the entire month of February. Come March 1st, it will be over, and there will be no more signed and numbered editions available. But it IS running for the entire month of February, so don't panic if you didn't get through today. We'll sign and number the cd's to fill however many orders we receive during the month of February, whether that ends up being 500 or 5000. (My hand hurts already.)
Stacie will ship these out so that they will be delivered to your door on March 13th. The cost is $15 per signed cd--we pay the shipping anywhere in the U.S.A. Foreign orders, please add $5 per cd for shipping and handling overseas etc.
One other quick aside: someone printed out a copy for us of an on-line article that was recently sent to the Over the Rhine discussion list. We had a wonderful time speaking with Jessica at Kaldi's, but one part of the interview made me feel a little awkward when I saw it. The interview took place last November before our Christmas Tour, and since it was published well after the tour, I'm assuming the editors probably changed a few things in order to make it sound more recent.
Jessica was asking about the line-up that we were planning on taking out in December, and it hadn't been confirmed yet at that time. I answered by saying something like Karin, Jack, Terri and myself and a drummer and a bass player. The editors changed the question to, Who did you take out on tour last December? They left the answer Karin, Jack, Terri and myself and a drummer and a bass player. In my mind, it sounded like, Oh, y'know, Karin, Jack, Terri, myself and some drummer and bass player--like who cares...
Well in case it matters to anyone besides me, we care! Just to clarify, the drummer was Dale Baker, and the bass player was Chris Donohue. If someone would have actually asked me after the tour who we took out, I would have named them with a big grin on my face, because they are a fantastic rhythm section that played such a wonderful part in making our tour last December so enjoyable and memorable. (Wade Jaynes filled in for Chris in Lafayette, Indiana and at The Taft in Cincinnati.)
We always seek to acknowledge the players that we've had the privilege of working with. And Dale and Chris are two of the best ever. Just thought I'd mention it.
Well, I better run along. We'll see you on that Spring Tour that is going to take us to some bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, down to Austin where we'll be drinking from those deep musical wells, and back to Chicago which a friend of mine just described as the #1 city in America for live music. I couldn't think of a reason to argue.
Bon courage,
Linford Detweiler
March 12, 2001
Films For Radio Pre-order update
Hello everyone,
Thanks to all of you who took time during February to pre-order a copy of Films For Radio. Almost 2000 of you took time to call or write in advance for your signed and numbered copy. Thanks for your generosity and enthusiasm. Good things have been happening with the record already, and the official release date is tomorrow! Wow, we made it.
Karin and I hunkered down in the dining room, and got our pens out and played records and talked and talked. It was a lot of work, but we had a lot of fun. We listened to Coldplay, Jim Scott, Sigur Ros, U2, Sarah Vaughan, on and on. In case you're wondering how much time it takes to sign 2000 cd's, we worked from 5:30pm to 12:30am, got up the next morning and worked till 4pm. We hauled everything over to Stacie, and then took Willow for a meandering run through the woods to celebrate.
A quick note on behalf of Stacie who runs our office, our miracle worker, the Power Puff girl behind the curtain who is coordinating everything. Almost all of the orders have been shipped already (in the order they were received). It's a bit tricky, because Stacie was under fairly firm directions from Virgin not to have copies circulating in the real world prior to March 13th. We decided to use UPS so that we could track everything, and we were timing everything quite scientifically. But we had a minor snafu with UPS on Friday--we were supposed to receive a big stash of shipping forms for the weekend, and they didn't arrive. Our Pitney Bowes postage meter was getting low, so we lost a key shipping day for some of the later orders. To make a long story short, everything will ship today or tomorrow, and will arrive very shortly thereafter. Most of you will receive your orders tomorrow as planned. Please bear with us if the precious goods arrive a day or two late. (European orders are a bit hard to pinpoint, but they are in the mail and should be arriving in due course.)
Please don't call or e-mail Stacie to check on the status of your order. They are all shipping even as we speak. After they're all shipped, later this week, if you want to call the office to commend Stacie on her excellent work, that's all fine and good. In short, Stacie, you rock.
Well, now what? We're going to rehearse this week, and we'll be seeing all of you before we know it, I would imagine. We'll keep in touch, and keep you posted on the latest. overtherhine.com is always a good resource for tour dates and general news, or the occasional pithy quote.
Thanks for everything and thanks especially for discovering our music and making it some small part of the story you're writing with your life,
Linford Detweiler for Over the Rhine
Hello folks,
I'm stealing a rare moment at home in the attic of the Grey Ghost to write this brief letter of thanks, and to let you know a little of what the rest of the year holds for us.
First of all, to those of you who joined us at any of the 50 or so concerts we just completed, Thank you! Thanks for giving us the best tour we've ever had the privilege of experiencing. It only ended yesterday, and it already begins to feel surreal, like a distant dream. You have taught us how drowning works.
Metaphors aside, we continue to be blessed with some of the warmest, most encouraging fans/followers/friends of just about any band going. We appreciate all you've done for us, and for allowing us to continue making music and recordings for over ten years, whether or not the mainstream media was aware of us, diligently raising the pop music flag high over the Ohio River.
The garden is growing these days, and we've been working very hard. (Or is this an exhausting form of play, the sort of thing that made us flop down smiling as children, lungs heaving, staring at the sky while we caught our breath, lost in the sculpture of clouds?) We've been home now for less than 24 hours (after being away for much of the last few months), and in a few hours Karin and I are flying to Paris. We've never been there, and we get a day off to rest and walk around before we begin doing interviews and "promotion". Then we travel to Brussels for more radio and press, then Cologne, then Amsterdam, then back to Paris. We got to sleep in our own bed for one night last night, and because it was only one night, Willow was under the covers with us like a smiling, seventy pound mole.
It's exhausting to write this at the moment, but we'll be joining the Cowboy Junkies later this Fall (late October thru late November) for an extensive tour of Europe. Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, France, etc--so many places where Over the Rhine has never had the occasion to go "sur le Rhin". We'll post the dates soon, and we're looking forward to getting to meet those of you who have faithfully written for years, asking when we might visit your country. We'll be opening for the Junkies as a trio, and then sitting in with them again--should be great fun, and an eye opening trip. We hope to take the full band to Europe next Spring.
We're planning a special tour again for this December back in the USA, and there will be scattered appearances over the summer, as well as another jaunt out to the West Coast this Fall in one of those Prevost tour buses that we've come to think of as home away from home. So hopefully we'll see more of you. But thanks again for all your support of Over the Rhine. You've enabled us to do what we dreamed of doing.
Good things have been happening with Films For Radio. The album was embraced by AAA Radio across the country, entering the top 5 of many stations' playlists. Virgin/Backporch is going to begin working on other formats over the summer. We'll see what happens with this complex little collection of home movies. Stay tuned. We may never run with the popular crowd at school, but it feels as if we are uncovering a secret world.
Finally, just for fun. Several literary magazines and publications have in recent months approached me about the possibility of contributing some of my writing to upcoming issues. I was thrilled to contribute part of a memoir to a journal that I've subscribed to for years called Image. (The issue will be coming out later this year. We'll post more info on this and the other publications at overtherhine.com.)
Writing is something that has interested me immensely, and writing is the reason I became a songwriter. After studying piano in college, writing a handful of songs and starting a band was the only option open to me where I could conceivably play around with words for a living. I felt it was the only serious choice at the time.
I didn't really understand why critics from the beginning referred to the music of Over the Rhine as literate, poetic, full of the "wine dark sparkle of inspired phrase"... We were initially described as quite "bookish" and so on and so forth. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was a writer trapped in a songwriter's body. Maybe it was because I dreamed of writing. Maybe I was cramming that longing into the lines of my songs.
Anyway, what's my point? Along with music, I hope to pursue writing with just about everything I can muster in the coming years. But it has occurred to me that as I enter the world of editors and publishers and begin to think seriously about writing, I will inevitably "lose my innocence" in regard to the craft of writing. I will be increasingly forced to think about what I am doing, rather than just writing because I felt the impulse, because I had to to make sense of this life I was given and the world I found myself lost in, because I insisted on opening my eyes and paying attention.
Before that inevitable loss, which happens whenever we begin to pursue something we love, I'm going to weed through some of what I wrote in the last decade while I was still only discovering I was a writer, and collect it into a book that can serve as a document of what I was writing before I knew what I was doing. Before I had the audacity, the hubris, the nerve, the insanity to think of myself as a "writer". Before it occurred to me, as one writer put it, that I should turn joy into cash!
Well, many of you have asked me when I was going to publish my first book, and I have an answer now: July. The working title for the collection is, Close Enough to Share One Spine. And I'm also going to put the finishing touches on a new collection of solo piano recordings, (Lord willing, I can hear my father say) tentatively called, A Book of Matches and A Satellite Dish. This too will be available in July, but the title might change. A Book of Matches and A Reel to Reel is an option. Also, Michael Wilson has the following great line in one of his books: "hymntime in the land of abandon". But I'd have to check with not only Michael, (who was generous enough to leave the words "I Don't Think There's No Need to Bring Nothin'" on our answering machine), (part of an invitation to dinner), but also Jeff Bell, who wanted to use Hymntime in the Land of Abandon as the title for one of his screenplays.)
We're still working on the title. What It Takes To Please You is no longer available, so it's tough.
As we are prone to do in the Imaginary Apple Orchard, we're going to run one of those red (delicious) light specials and allow the faithful few to reserve signed and numbered copies of these labors of love in advance.
For those of you interested in copies of the book *and* the new piano cd, this is Stacie's pre-order special: $25 includes shipping and handling for copies of both the book and the cd after they arrive hot off the presses in July. Those of you interested in one or the other (or neither) can order (or not) later in July after they are added to the catalog. The cost will be $15 each plus shipping and handling at that time. (Office note: to clarify, the special is only for those interested in pre-ordering signed and numbered copies of both the book and the cd.)
To place your pre-order, you can call Stacie between 10am and 5pm EST, Monday thru Friday at the Over the Rhine office, fax your order with shipping and credit card info to 513.731.9668, or go to overtherhine.com. Our wise webmaster will be posting info soon on how to take advantage of the July fireworks via secured server.
Thanks again everyone for keeping abreast with us on this "troubled sea that we sail for free". We hope your lives will grow increasingly vivid and rewarding. Keep in touch and we hope to see you soon,
Linford Detweiler for Over the Rhine
approved: willow
Subject: Update Letter from Linford
Hello fellow travelers,
A welcome breeze blew in yesterday evening. The trees waved goodbye to the heat as things cooled down a bit. I love how they turn their leaves inside out in expectation. This morning the world is grey and it looks as if the rain could stay awhile.
I'm in the attic again. Later this morning, Karin and I will drive across Indiana, into Illinois. We're playing an acoustic concert this evening in Wheaton--a grand piano, a few guitars, a voice. We'll see what happens.
The year filled up and ran over. We're standing ankle deep in superfluous life. And rising.
Here is the latest from the Imaginary Apple Orchard.
JULY 2001
The manufacturers have assured us that we will have the new instrumental CD before the end of this month. We're a little nervous--it's getting close, but I guess we'll take their word for it. I recorded the music at home, and if you hear the record, I think you'll feel as if you were here, sitting at the table, or poking through one of the bookshelves on the South wall upstairs. As soon as we receive the CDs, I will sit down with pen in hand, and Stacie will mail the signed and numbered copies out to those of you who ordered copies in advance. For those that did not pre-order, we will post info later in August about how to obtain copies.
The release date of the book has been pushed back to August 29th. When I started working on the project earlier this year, I had wanted to collect together some of my scraps of writing that had been lying about in half-filled notebooks. When I was in the final stages of sifting and gathering, I happened to see the sky out in Western Illinois, and the book took an exit ramp without warning, pages fluttering throughout the car, spilled coffee, and I began a new piece of writing which seems to want to take over the lion's share of the space available. Finishing this new piece became the focus of the project, and we are just now entering the production phase. I've never done this book-thing before, but I can see that writing is unpredictable and dangerous. Again, those of you who pre-ordered will receive a signed, numbered copy, postage paid, as soon as we receive them. Everybody else can look for more info later in August at overtherhine.com.
In the meanwhile, if you'd like to whet your appetite, I have an excerpt from a memoir published in the current issue of Image magazine. I've been a fan of this journal for years, and have managed to collect every issue they've ever put out. It was a real honor for me to be included. If you'd like to order the latest issue of Image, and see for yourself what feels like my first real published piece of writing, you can go to www.imagejournal.org, and order online. Many quality bookstores also carry the magazine.
In other news (I think Stacie already mentioned it), Karin will be sitting in with Cowboy Junkies for a few dates on the West Coast later this month, a working holiday:
7/29 Humphrey's, San Diego
7/30 John Anson Ford Theatre, Hollywood
7/31 House of Blues, Ventura
8/1 Late, Late Show w/Craig Kilborn (CBS)
You can check out cowboyjunkies.com for more info.
AUGUST 2001
Karin and Jack and I will be doing our own version of On The Road in August. We're going to be playing material from Films For Radio and the earlier records as a trio, as well as trying out some new songs for the first time. There will be about 10 dates on this tour:
8/9 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH
8/14 Iota Cafe, Arlington VA
8/16 Maxwells, Hoboken NJ
8/17 Mercury Lounge, NYC
8/18 Tin Angel, Philly PA
8/19 Middle East, Boston MA
8/22 tba, Richmond VA
8/23 Grey Eagle, Asheville NC
8/24 tba, Knoxville TN
8/25 Lynagh's, Lexington KY
8/26 Southgate House, Cinci OH
These shows will be more conversational, loose, unpredictable. A fair number of the venues are new to us. Check the website for more info as the last few dates are confirmed. Hope you can stop by and say hello.
SEPTEMBER 2001
Karin and I will be opening for Cowboy Junkies and joining them for their set as well. We'll be posting the dates soon. A good number of them are in the Southeast. The Calvin College date will be rescheduled.
OCTOBER, NOVEMBER 2001
We're off to Europe. More dates opening for and sitting in with Cowboy Junkies. Films For Radio has been released in many European countries (a first for us). We've sold more records in Paris than we have in Cincinnati! This is our first extended tour of Europe. We hope to return often.
Karin and I got to fly Over the Rhine in Koln (Cologne) for the first time last June. The Germans reminded us that the Rhine has long been considered a source of inspiration for artists and poets, so there were definitely additional layers of significance to the name in the Old World.
Et mon Dieu: Paris. There are no words for that first walk along the Seine after dark. No words. If you haven't been to Paris, put her down on your list of things to see before you die.
DECEMBER 2001
We'll be doing our Christmas tour once again with the band. The date of the big Cincinnati show at the Taft is December 7. More dates will be posted at the site when we get a little closer.
That's about it for now. I better go pack that tweed suitcase.
Dive into the deep end,
Linford
As we walked off stage after our concert in Hoboken, New Jersey, this past Thursday, we received word that Karin's mother had suffered a serious stroke and wasn't responding. Because no flights were available, we checked out of our room in NYC and drove through the night back to Ohio. Upon arrival, we learned that a brain hemmorage had caused her to lose consciousness. Fortunately, she had been talking on the phone to a friend when this occurred, and an emergency crew was able to break into her house, resuscitate her, and get her to the emergency room. She was then transferred two hours away to the surgical intensive care unit of a large hospital. The right side of her body is showing signs of paralysis, but she has begun breathing without a respirator and the next few weeks will involve a lot of waiting to see what develops. (Barbara Bergquist is 69 years of age, and Karin is her only child.)
We are uncertain what will be possible for us this Fall at this point, but we have canceled some of our August dates so that we can focus on the important family decisions that will need to be made.
If you would like to send a note of support to Karin in the meanwhile, mail will be forwarded to her from this address:
Over the Rhine
P.O. Box 12078
Cincinnati, Ohio 45212
We'll post any developments with the band's schedule etc at overtherhine.com. Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated.
That's all for now,
Linford
Hey folks,
It's Linford here with a quick update for you all.
First, Karin sends her thanks for the heartfelt words of encouragement that so many of you took time to send regarding her mother's health. They meant more than you know. Look for a longer update from Karin as things continue to progress. Karin's mother is still trying to regain her speech and the use of the right side of her body, following the brain hemmorhage, but she is in stable condition, and continues to make tiny improvements. She has been transferred to Cincinnati, and it has been a very difficult time, but we continue to hope for the best. Immense thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.
I did do some touring with Cowboy Junkies in September in order to help pay a few band bills, but I was home just in time to celebrate wedding anniversary numero five. So in spite of a lot of what's been happening, life has had its good moments during these blustery October days. Indian summer. Crows gathering in the trees.
We were deeply saddened and of course stunned by the tragic events that unfolded in NYC, Washington DC and Pennsylvania on September 11. Like so many artists and musicians, we were at a loss for words. We too had to ask ourselves, What place does art and music have in times like these?
Our hope is that we can somehow participate in tiny redemptive acts in the coming months and years, that may (even if in ways embarrassingly small) help to heal this broken world of ours. When any of us encounters beauty, we subconsciously dream of a more perfect world, the door is flung wide on new possibilities that we can't yet imagine, we breathe more deeply and wonder if we have more to offer than we know. Although I couldn't imagine making my own music for quite some time after September 11, the music of others held me at times and was a comfort somehow.
While our government launches the bombing campaign in Afghanistan, we are troubled by many conflicting feelings. My heritage is one of pacificism, but it seems presumptuous to wax eloquent about loving one's enemies when I enjoy the relative safety and prosperity of a land well-guarded. It is the duty of governments, I suppose, to protect themselves and their people. I do believe if the men flying those planes on the 11th could have killed 5,000,000 instead of 5000 they would have done so. It's unsettling to know that there are people who would happily eradicate Western Civilization. And yet as we start blowing things up in Afghanistan, it is inevitably the poor who will suffer, families huddled along the sides of roads, and it just feels so damn archaic somehow. With all the intelligence and resources that we have available to us, couldn't we help the world invent a different way? And yet it seems there are many (even in Washington) who are struggling to see the big picture.
Well, I'm sure you've all been thinking some of these same things. As usual when it comes to things that matter, there are no easy answers. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims and their families.
Moving on to things Over the Rhine for the time being, again, in spite of everything, we are going to go forward with our tour of Europe. We feel it's the right thing to do, and we will have the opportunity to introduce our music (God willing) to thousands of new people. Hopefully our guardian angels will have a relatively uneventful trip apart from a lot of sightseeing and some unusually inspired music.
And finally, I have another update on my book project. We had to cancel about 30 shows recently to deal with a family crisis, and I was left with a book project that I suddenly couldn't pay for. I pulled the plug on plan "A". In the meanwhile, I was absolutely delighted and surprised when a small press in Kentucky that I have admired from a distance for years, offered to print a limited run of my project. Larkspur Press has been making beautiful, handmade, letterpress books, and chapbooks for years. I had purchased several of their editions of Wendell Berry poems or short stories, and had always thrilled to see their commitment to fine bookmaking. I'll be meeting with them later this year, and I can't believe my luck, frankly, that they are willing to be involved.
Now the thing is, they are all Luddites at heart down at Larkspur, and they warned me that they don't pay attention to deadlines. All they would commit to is getting me my book sometime next year! I, for one, am willing to wait, and eager to see the result of their efforts, whenever that may be.
Karin asked me the other night how many had pre-ordered my book during the little special we ran back in June. I said, Oh, about 250 people. She said, That's definitely enough for an angry mob.
Well put.
Here is where we are: This book is going to be limited to a run of 500 copies. If you pre-ordered one last June, some time next year you will receive your signed and numbered Larkspur Press edition. If you would like to get your money back because of the delay, just e-mail Stacie at otrhine@aol.com, and she will send you a check for $15.00 and take you off the list.
I'm guessing that, at the end of the day, most people won't mind waiting, so let's assume that 250 are spoken for. I would like to give 100 to family and friends, so that leaves 150 that are still available. These will sell for $15 plus $3 shipping, and we will be putting them up on the website catalog soon. If you would like to reserve a copy, you can do so while they last. Because there are a limited number, I'll go ahead and sign and number these as well.
(For those that pre-ordered, to buy Grey Ghost Stories and the book separately costs $36 with shipping, so you saved $11. We do apologize for the change in plans.)
And last but not least, after an unforeseen two month break, we are thrilled to be doing a few intimate shows this wknd. Friday, we're playing at Brady's in Kent, Ohio, and Saturday, we're playing in the tiny town of Dalton, Ohio, a stone's throw from Kidron, which is more or less in the heart of Amish country. You can catch the Amish flea market and cattle auction during the day in Kidron, buy a few heifers to feed over the winter, and then hear our own unique brand of sorrow and love flowing mingled down that evening in Dalton. It's part of a new concept we're working on: weekend getaways with
Over the Rhine. Wonder of wonders, my parents will be attending this show. Anything could happen.
(Brady's is the sort of warm, glowing establishment that Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry would have loved after several days of tiresome trekking.)
Go to overtherhine.com for all the pertinent info. We hope to see you.
Until then, be brave and free and inspired,
Linford Detweiler
October 10, 2001
Hello again,
We have gotten many dozens if not hundreds of perplexed letters from fans of the band over the years that have expressed dismay, lack of comprehension, amusement, disgust or grave offence over things they have read on the Over the Rhine discussion list. And we've watched the list shrink over the years to a few hundred people while our other mailing lists or announcement lists have grown to thousands and thousands. Many of the people that took time to write, signed up on the list with great enthusiasm, and then felt they (regrettably) needed to move on for whatever reason. (99.9% of those who wrote wanted to make sure they could keep abreast of all developments with the band, they just didn't want to do so through the discussion list.)
The common theme of all the letters has been, What does 99% of this stuff have to do with you or your music?
The people who have taken time to write want to know why we give "these people" an unmoderated forum in which they can bicker about religion, slander founding members of the band, flood e-mail boxes with the equivalent of off-topic inside jokes ad nauseum, "flame newbies" etc.
Our response has always been something to the effect of, Well, we don't really take time to read most of the posts, and the discussion list is not for the faint of heart. Our hope has always been that out of relative chaos would come beauty, and maybe, even more importantly, friendship. And I point to Jay and Lindsey tying the proverbial knot as an example of a most wonderful flower that sprouted from such, supposedly, thorny soil. (Which raises the question of whether they are still on the list.) I also point to the "listies" going way out of their way to rendezvous with one another and share meals before and after Over the Rhine shows. That's pretty cool.
That being said, it gets trickier when band members we've hired do check in on the disscussion occasionally, and then come to me and say, Linford, for God's sake man, pull the plug.
I've put off doing so for some reason, but I do begin to wonder if this forum has run its course and needs to evolve into something else.
The urge to re-examine the Over the Rhine discussion list came to me when somebody sent me an excerpt (more or less immediately) following the events of September 11th in which one of the posts said something to the effect of "Well, it's about time." After I realized I was physically ill, it became one of the rare moments in the last ten years when I regretted recording a single note of Over the Rhine's music, because my band's name was loosely attached to that sentiment on a piece of paper that someone printed out and handed me. My first response was to respond with outrage, but then I reconsidered the wisdom of doing that, and tossed my letter into the digitial dust bin.
When much of the recording industry went digital, we musician-types discussed at great length ways to keep the warmth in our recordings. Digital recordings tended to be a bit thin-sounding, even harsh, and tended to lack the well-rounded sound of the analog tape recorders we had grown accustomed to. And those funky old reel-to-reel tape recorders were a lot more fun. They even smelled good.
I used to spend hours every week writing letters to friends. I would buy old stamps from the 1940's and 1950's at face value for the envelopes and pick odd paper to write on (discarded blue prints, the covers of vintage paper backs, scraps picked up here and there in my travels...) Or maybe I'd pull out the old Smith Corona my Dad had given me and clatter away--the bell ringing at the end of every line. When somebody responded to one of my letters, and I pulled one of their letters from my own mailbox, it would change the tone of my entire day if not week. They were little prizes, little pieces of humanity, cause for celebration. And I love associating handwriting with somebody. It says so much. The way people write is closely linked to their sense of humor, or the way they smile, what they care about. I was a fountain pen junkie. I loved having ink stained on my fingers.
I miss those days. E-mail is a whole 'nother world, as my wife would say.
When we record our songs digitally, we jump through every imaginable hoop to keep our cd's sounding as warm as possible. When I send an e-mail, I try somehow to keep some of the warmth of being human in whatever I send, and it's not easy. The digital world, perhaps technology in general, can suck the warmth out of what makes us humans human.
I guess that's my complaint about at least some of what I read on the discussion list on a regular basis: it lacks warmth. In a place where, theoretically, we've invested a few thousand dollars over the years to bring people together to discuss something as wonderful as music or art and how these intersect with their lives and beliefs, some of what I read on the discussion list is surprisingly, just so damn cold. I wish the tone of much of what I read was warmer somehow. I hope our music exudes a certain warmth, and I like to pray that it does.
And maybe that's all that many of our fans have asked at the end of the day. They came expecting warmth and a community that could somehow celebrate and respect the diversity of the many people from around the world who have come to discover Over the Rhine's music. To their surprise, they often found, well, something else.
And I think the list has weathered some storms. Maybe it's hard to maintain equilibrium when people are constantly coming and going.
At any rate, offensive stuff aside, on behalf of the band and those who work for the band, let me just request generally that those who do choose to participate on the discussion list agree to love one another. Let's be known, if we are to be known for anything, as a place where people can come to relate music to the whole of human experience, and do so with warmth.
When we started the band, we got in a huddle and agreed to play for anyone that would walk up the sidewalk and buy a ticket. Believe me, we never imagined the diversity of those that would do just that. We've played in dives, churches, street festivals, beautiful theatres, on breath-taking campuses (Kenyon College anyone), at folk festivals, hippie festivals. We've shared the stage with punk bands at the Daily Double in Akron, Ohio, as well as string quartets in Finland. We even played one high school prom. On paper, doesn't it seem like a good idea to put all you folks (who are willing) in a room and get you talking? That was our intent.
So make friends. Respect one another. Laugh outloud, but enjoy the diversity of others. Be patient, good dog, y'know, stuff like that. Warm. Avoid, whenever possible, blasting off the verbal equivalent of a digitally-guided Tomahawk missile. These are human beings that we're talking about.
The unfortunate reality of so many people leaving the list, is that much of the mail we receive directly should be on the discussion list! People write us and tell us all manner of stories, and ask questions that we never dreamed of. I find myself thinking, what a shame that more of this stuff doesn't find its way to the people that stepped forward at one time and said, I'd like to discuss the music of one of my favorite bands. Maybe it's time for some of you who have written us letters to come back to the list, or to sign on for the first time. Maybe it's time for some of you who have left in disgust, to help set a different tone if you can.
Consider it an experiment whose days may be numbered!
And post away.
Yours,
Linford Detweiler
Hello everyone,
The late November sky in Ohio is a gray goosedown comforter flung gently over our town, held aloft by leafless trees. It rained before the sun came up. The branches are dark and slick and feminine. An American flag ripples gently on a front porch down the street. A housewife backs her car out of the driveway: the children are at school. Telephone wires out the attic window cut the world into slung crescents, as if this life was painted a slice at a time.
Someone said that J.R.R. Tolkien expressed disappointment that we would use the word "tree" to describe towering sources of shade. Maybe that's partly why he felt compelled to invent his own language.
Good heavens, we apologize for the technical glitches with the digest version of the discussion list yesterday. The boys in Boston said that a loop was unwittingly created that spewed out messages by the dozens. Good thing God created the delete button. Sorry about the mess in your e-mailboxes.
Well, this is really just a short note to say we made it back safely from touring 13 countries in Europe and the UK. It was the trip of a lifetime in many ways. So many beautiful cities: Dublin, Copenhagen, Oslo, Berlin, Stockholm, Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, small tucked-away towns in Italy etc. Words seemed to want to fall out of my mouth as I looked around.
Italy is a leatherbound book.
We walk on marbled endpapers
beneath the glass blown sky.
There is something about a
mountain vineyard that seems
to suggest, Hope is not
lost. All may be well with the world
after all.
It was surreal to have the opportunity to perform our bag full of songs in such faraway places. We found the audiences to be warm and curious about a band called Over the Rhine. The Germans were especially protective, explaining that the Rhine has long been considered a source of inspiration for writers and musicians. If we could only name the band after a river in every European country...
Thanks to all who made us feel so welcome.
The beds in Scandanavia seemed to want to wrap us up and comfort us. The Norwegians and Swedes in particular have put alot of thought into their duvets and goosedown pillows. Unbelievable. I now understand why some thick blankets are referred to as "comforters."
Quickly, if we had to appoint an apartment--start a new life abroad with European goods--and were only allowed to take a few things from each country, this is how we might go about fluffing the nest:
>From France: Wine and Food
>From Italy: Clothing, Shoes, Leatherbound Notebooks
(Or Vice Versa)
>From Scandanavia (sorry to lump it all together): Beds and Furniture
>From Germany: Cars, Interior Design
>From England: Literature, Rock and Roll, Newspapers
>From Ireland: Guinness, Music, Literature
>From Scotland: Single Malt Scotch (Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Balvenie etc.)
>From Holland: Fresh cut flowers, Bulbs, The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh
>From Belgium: Beer and Chocolate
You get the idea.
We definitely need to spend more time in Spain and sunny Portugal. Those countries seemed to slip through our fingers too quickly. We're planning on a follow-up European, Over the Rhine tour in the Spring--we'll keep you posted.
I suppose I was surprised at how good it was to get back home to Ohio. If Europe is a lovely, infinite maze, America is a funky, scrap heap of possibility. We run our errands or heat up leftovers and it all feels as if we've won a prize. We're home!
Well, hope you all are well back here on this side of the ocean and that you had opportunity to feast with family and friends this past week--lift a glass to the good things.
We wanted to make sure you knew you were invited to join us for our December tour, and especially our homecoming show here in Cincinnati on December 7th where we'll be joined by Buddy and Julie Miller and Erin McKeown. It's been a hard year in many ways, but a good one. Music feels especially good to me right now for some reason. Hope to see you. Check out the website for the particulars, and we're going to do something we've never done: e-mail you a tiny poster that you can print out and give to friends and family if you wish. Or you can discreetly post a copy in a cafe 2000 miles away. In case you were wondering, here is the line-up for the December tour:
Dale Baker: Drums
Wade Jaynes: Bass
Jack Henderson: Electric Guitar
Linford Detweiler: Keyboards
Karin Bergquist: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
We're hoping to have Kim Taylor sit in on a few things over the course of the
tour, and at the Taft show in Cincinnati, we'll try to get everyone up on
stage for a few rousing numbers.
We were encouraged by many of the thought-provoking responses we received directly or via the e-mail discussion list regarding the history and future of the list. More on that later. In the meanwhile we encourage you to participate, and we're going to try to make appearances on the list when we can.
I believe that's about it for now. Hope to see you down the road somewhere before year's end.
Peace on earth, goodwill to you and yours,
Linford Detweiler for Over the Rhine