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index | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000
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January 4, 2006 Rambling Tour Diary – And a Glimpse of 2006 Once again, Hello from Nowhere Farm, Happy New Year. The quilted earth is asleep out here, steeped in winter moisture beneath a soft gray sky. We wanted to send some words your way to thank you all once again for making our December tour better than we could have imagined. Where do we begin? Karin and I were up at 5:30am at the farm on day one, surrounded by snowy fields. Beautiful sunrise snuck up on us as we packed the suitcases and guitars and headed to Cincinnati where we met Rick and Devon and Kim as well as our fine crew: Brandon, Dave and Ryan. Goodbyes to family members and friends. Hugs all around. And we’re off. It was snowing in Akron when we arrived, but the Lime Spider was all abuzz as we tried out new songs for the first time. There was a skating rink across the road with real after dark skaters. Folks from Germany had set up a semi-circle of tents and were selling their crafts and passing out hot mulled wine. The whole evening could have taken place in one of those little snow globes we used to shake up as children. It was all true: We were on the road at Christmas time. Ann Arbor was as festive as ever. The shops around the club were all staying open till midnight and from note one it felt as if the sold-out crowd at The Ark was ready to hop aboard some imaginary train. Once again we were surprised by how the unique electricity of an audience has so much to do with the way the music feels, and our evening in Ann Arbor was truly a highlight of the tour. Thanks to all of you who shared that night with us. On to two sold-out shows at one of our new favorite venues in America: The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. This 400-seat theater is one of the most intimate we’ve found and is run mostly by dedicated volunteers. The folks at Old Town had a grand piano waiting for us on stage, and welcomed us with open arms to one of America’s great music towns. Hard to imagine a better way to spend a Saturday night… We made the trek to Des Moines through the bitter cold and reminisced about our trip to Iowa in a blizzard years earlier to open for Bob Dylan. This time around we had no idea what to expect at Vaudeville Mews on a Sunday night with below zero temperatures. The venue was packed with folks from not only frozen Iowa, but a smattering of surrounding states as well. Wow. There they all were, bundled up stylishly, ready for something good. And yes, at least one person said they had seen us at that Bob Dylan show in Ames years ago, and had kept an ear out for the music ever since. During the show in Des Moines there was a couple standing right in front of the stage that would occasionally lean into each other while the music got itself made. I offer them this scribbled snapshot: Everybody Is Sick Of Love Except for the girl dancing slowly So I am watching the joy on her face, (Or maybe you have seen.) But thanks to her, *** A lovely listener whisked us off to her specialty cheesecake restaurant in the morning for brunch and spoiled us all with a table full of fine food that had been (in the words of my mother) “made with love” and it was like sharing a family meal together. Our sound engineer, Dave Foreman, had celebrated his 50th birthday on the road in Des Moines, so the timing couldn’t have been better. (Dave’s nickname is TDJ: Too Damn Juicy. Once you get to know him, you can just call him Too Damn, for short.) Dave has toured with quite an impressive number of influential American musicians and songwriters, and he is fond of commenting that he has never seen a community of fans who were so open, who wanted to connect with the music and each other so deeply. Dave says songs are prayers we’ve been given for when our wounds are too deep to speak. He really believes that the connections made through music (and prayer) are what holds this ol’ universe together. He really loves being around all y’all and wanted you to know. After brunch, we drove North to Minneapolis from Des Moines and the temperature dropped with every mile and the thermometer was empty by the time we arrived – the mercury had disintegrated. But the Fine Line filled up with warm bodies, and we lived that longed-for sensation of coming in out of the cold to a clean, well-lighted place where music was going to sweep us away somewhere hopefully unimagined. We got to share a quick supper with some new friends – Doug Pagitt and his wife. We talked about holistic medicine and food and adopted families and… And then it was on to Madison where I got to reconnect with an old friend, a painter that we met at an Irish Pub in Dubuque years ago. Tom and I went out for a Thai meal together and ordered the five course feast (Surprise us!) and talked of all the things we cared most about, our families, our life’s work, where we were now and where we longed to be, the many good things we’d been given so far. Tom Metcalf is an American Artist bursting at the seams with energy and ideas, and he has the facility of a fine Renaissance Painter. It’s all beautifully contagious. After the concert we smoked our aromatic cigars and lifted our glasses and Tom’s not worried that he has to be in front of his college art students in the morning back in Dubuque because they need to feel this coming from him – his willingness to be up all night staying keen, wrapping his arms around the gift of being alive. Then we knew it was going to start snowing, and we had to drive to Indianapolis, and we grabbed our coffees and green teas in the morning and made ghosts with our breath. If we’re not traveling on a bus, I promised Karin long ago I would always drive if we ever got into bad weather on tour since I grew up for some years in Montana and went to school in Alberta and then my parents did some time in Northern Minnesota and I know all about driving in the snow. And after school in Alberta I worked for a Mennonite farmer and the cows were so calm as they streamed into the barn and calmly found their assigned stanchions. And every evening after school I backed a trailer about 150 feet through a narrow passageway to where the silage was stored. Little did I know that starting a band one day would involve backing a trailer which to my surprise I realized I knew how to do virtually in my sleep. One wonders from time to time if everything that happens is preparing us for something later in life. So we studied the atlas and decided to bypass Chicago and I drove the nine hours to Indianapolis with snow falling heavily almost all the way. And we pulled up to the hotel and it was laughter and gladness all around, we’d made it, we were alive, and there was still time to get a warm dinner. And Devon got to pile off for a night or two in his own bed. And we had a good crowd at The Music Mill, but some nights it’s impossible for us to tell whether an audience is really tuned in or not, it’s almost as if there is a veil between the audience and the stage, and we’re trying to rip it open, but we can’t seem to break through. But from what we could tell in the end, the music was getting through, we just weren’t sure at first. In Columbus, we were sure, because Little Brothers, although the quintessential dive, was packed and the crowd was wound up tight ready to burst, standing shoulder to shoulder right in front of the stage and shouting out little tidbits of encouragement, and we remembered what that felt like. So then it was home to the farm for a few days to celebrate Karin’s birthday which we did and then of all the possible developments, we lost Karin’s voice there for a spell and thought we were going to have to explain to a few thousand people that our hometown concert was going to have to be rescheduled due to a singer with no sing. But a couple of trips to the doctor and a specialist here and a referral there and some prayer for help tossed into the mix and bless her heart she got it back just a little at a time and got through the night and it felt like the best Taft Show yet. And holy smokes this audience of ours: replaces stolen guitars for us, shows up with 26 dozen white roses for Karin, and converges on this historic theater to pack it to the rafters. And in fact, as we travel from town to town, we are humbled by little gift baskets of goodies left on stage, the occasional bottle of wine, a carefully selected book with a personal inscription, handwritten notes, tiny surprises slipped to us again and again as if to say, Keep it up. You’re not alone. We’ve found each other. In some mysterious way, this all matters. Thank you. And thanks to Amy Rigby for joining us on this special night. And thanks to Kim Taylor for an amazing year – for all that singing and for the laughter. We made it and covered a lot of good miles together. From the departure point of a few Grey Ghost rehearsals, we found our way to both oceans, saw some coastal Redwoods, played Manhattan twice, poked around Florida, and ended up in front of that amazing crowd at The Taft none the worse for the wear. Not bad. And then for a little something extra Karin and I had offered an invitation to gather at St. Elizabeth’s in Norwood the day after the Taft. And Ryan cleaned that ragged old cathedral, and Krystal decorated, and Drew and Wendy took care of the food and wine, and Jody helped us with the coffee, and Brandon and Dave made everything else go, and we actually threw a little party. Some words, some music, some conversation. It was really great to connect with those of you who could make it. This is something we’d like to start doing at the end of every year. We finished out the year in Nashville and were delighted when Buddy Miller hopped up on stage and sat in with us at the end of our set. We’d love to do some dates together with him sometime. He and Julie are special folks. Thanks to all of you who made the effort to join us for this rescheduled date. Sorry once again about the change in plans. And it was awful nice to see Dave Perkins (our partner in crime when we recorded Films For Radio) and his sons Max and Jack – have a little sit down at Fido. And to check in with our occasional side-kick Wade Jaynes. A lot of memories, and a lot of music… So, if you were there and want a little keepsake, or if you weren’t able to join us and want to get a little taste of what you missed, it’s not too late to order the commemorative, limited edition CD that we’re putting together. It’s always an adventure to try to bottle live performances, but we think you’ll enjoy this document of a tour that brought to a close a great year. (Check out overtherhine.com.) Thanks again to Rick and Devon for their inspiring musicianship and friendship. It was a lot of fun to hear how the songs on Drunkard’s Prayer blossomed on the road. Thanks again to Brandon and the rest of the crew for helping make it all happen. We’re going to lay low now for a couple of months to write and recover. We’ll start the year officially in March with a couple of “firsts” for Over the Rhine: Our first tour of New Zealand as a band, and our first-ever appearances at SXSW in Austin. More on all this soon… (Oh, and I guess there will be a couple of small appearances in February. Just a teaser or two.) Another first in 2006: Karin and I will be leading our first songwriting workshop in Santa Fe the first week of August. (The Glen Workshop is hosted every year by Image Journal at St. John’s College.) So if you know of a budding, aspiring songwriter who might want to join us, or if you’re just someone who loves music who wants to observe, keep us in mind. It’s a stunning setting, and a great group of people. More details on this soon as well. Finally, thanks to those of you who signed up at the shows to sponsor a child through World Vision. If you’re interested in helping us meet our goal of getting 200 kids sponsored through the Over the Rhine community, please e-mail OTRhine@aol.com. Please note, all of you who e-mailed before the tour or during the tour, I had those e-mails in a folder that I was planning on responding to when things got a little quieter. Alas, the folder is gone. PLEASE E-MAIL AGAIN and I will respond with a personal note of thanks and get your e-mail forwarded to the right person. Again, for the equivalent of a couple of CD’s a month ($30) we can provide clean water, a support structure and an education for a child directly effected by the AIDS crisis in Africa. Please join us. We wish you all the best in this coming year. Peace, Linford for Over the Rhine PS Happy significant birthday to Bill today! February 7, 2006 Just a quick hello and the latest from Over the Rhine: The limited edition Over the Rhine CD (LIVE from Nowhere, Volume One) is mixed and mastered. We feel like this little collection of concert recordings far exceeded our expectations. We're quite sure you'll be tickled at what we were able to bottle. Sonically, it sounds as good as anything we've ever sent out into this world. And it contains generous swigs of previously unreleased material… Releasing a limited edition collection of concert highlights at the end of each year is a new tradition we want to establish. We think LIVE from Nowhere, Volume One is going to be a tough collection to beat with future volumes, but we're up for the challenge, and when you hear the hoopla y'all make from time to time, we think you'll understand. We're still finishing up artwork and notes, and then it's off to the manufacturer and then Karin and I will sign and number 3000 copies by hand out here at the farm. When they're gone, they're gone. Collectors' items are us. So we're getting there, and we'll keep you posted. (When you hear this collection we think you'll be glad we took the time to get it right.) Here is the track listing: 1. Faithfully Dangerous We'll post some MP3's soon at overtherhine.com and pastemusic.com to give you a little shot glass worth of what's to come. There were some technical difficulties with our recording of The Taft this year, but we included a handful of recordings from The Taft concert in 2004 (just prior to the release of Drunkard's Prayer). The result is a well-rounded document of this chapter in the band's history. We feel like it all worked out. Whew! You can still order a copy of Over the Rhine's LIVE from Nowhere Volume One at overtherhine.com. And we're extending our CD sale of the rest of the catalog until we get these all mailed out. Check out the lowered prices at overtherhine.com if you need to plunge your arms up to the elbows in Over the Rhine's music. You get the point. *** Finally, it's February, and it's great weather to get in the car and find a change of scenery. Put it in drive and take a spiritual journey. Leave behind your care and your worry. Here's the crumpled road map: You can kick back, daydream, scribble in your sketchbook and hear yours truly play the piano, read poems, and reconstruct stories from the past: Linford Detweiler SOLO: This Thursday, February 9, Holland, Michigan, Lemonjello's This Friday, February 10, Long Grove, Illinois, Life on the Vine Saturday, February 18, Bellville, Ohio, Highlands of Ohio, Unitarian Universalist Church (See overtherhine.com for more details and links…) And Over the Rhine's very first show of 2006! Friday, February 17, Lexington, KY, The Dame Another great opportunity to pick up a new hat at the shop next door: You look to be about a 7 & 1/4… *** And if you're in the neighborhood, or feel like finding a little gorgeous summertime on the other side of the world, don't forget Over the Rhine is touring New Zealand in March: Here are the main festival appearances: Tuesday, March 7, Keri Keri, New Zealand, Bay of Islands Arts Festival
We come back to the USA just in time to make our way to Austin, Texas, for a few performances at South by Southwest on Friday, March 17. (Neil Young is the keynote speaker this year.) We're told that there will be a limited number of tickets available to the public at Antone's on Friday night for our *** Hope the New Year is a good one so far. Much more later! Bestest, Linford, Karin and the Office Dogs Hello from Nowhere, It's a beautiful winter morning in Southern Ohio, bright, crisp and cold. Elroy and I walked on the paths, and he's had his breakfast. We saw no rabbits. Karin is about to put the coffee on. The house is waking up slowly. The winter Olympics hockey final is LIVE on TV. Finland vs Sweden - all Scandinavia glued to their televisions for the gold medal game, with powerhouses Russia, USA and Canada eliminated. Karin and I have had the winter games on in the background for the last few weeks. Bobsledding, ski jumping and aerials, ice dancing, figure skating, curling, speed skating… We of course enjoy providing our own commentary. Ice dancing: For this next combination, turn if you will to page 42 of the Kama Sutra. Luge: Man, it's just your ass and a coupla blades. Speed skating: This is the Mennonite girl from Canada. She's won 5 medals. My sister Grace told me about her… I went to high school in Canada. The Canadians taught me to skate on those beautifully lit hockey rinks out on the after dark prairies. (I took the occasional slap shot to the knee.) They taught me to ski in Banff. In Phys Ed, we walked down town, picked up those odd brooms and learned all about curling. I can appreciate the winter Olympics. *** We're packing our bags today and leaving for New Zealand in the morning. We're terribly excited about this trip. I haven't been outside of the country since my trip to visit Jack and Hazel and Finlay in Scotland during Christmas of 2003. New Zealand is a special place for me, not only because it's truly one of the most beautiful places on earth, but because it was there that I decided to start a band. Friends of ours, Sandie and Owen, were playing a festival outside of Wellington and somehow invited me along to play bass. Standing in those mountains in front of 400 kids in the rain who refused to leave reminded me that music was home for me. I wanted to write some songs and see if people would ever care enough about them to stand in the rain and listen. A few months later, back in Ohio, Over the Rhine began recording a handful of first demos. Now, finally, this music is going to take us back to Wellington to the New Zealand International Arts Festival for five performances. We're playing a festival in Keri Keri, and stopping in Auckland for various appearances. Sometimes you just have to raise a glass on a Sunday Morning and celebrate the small victories. I think we're going to make Mimosas. *** Uh oh, I hear Karin whooping it up in the living room. Sweden must have scored. Well, just the news and then I need to go open the suitcase and start filling it with summer clothing. (Yes!) The Limited Edition LIVE CD's didn't make it to the farm in time for us to sign them, so that will all have to happen when we return from New Zealand. Sorry for the delay. They will all be shipped out at the end of March. If you'd still like to order a copy of “Live From Nowhere, Volume One” go to Overtherhine.com. You can see the track listing, the artwork and also check out a few MP-3's for a little striptease. We think you're going to like this special collection that reminds us of a wonderful year on the road with a great band and crew and the world's best music fans to boot. In May we'll be touring the West Coast and parts of the Midwest. A band called HEM is planning on joining us. Stay tuned at overtherhine.com for more info on that. The working title for the tour is “Gorgeously Stoned On You” but whether or not that sticks is anyone's guess. I think I heard my first Kildeer last night, so Spring can't be too far away. That means we'll be seeing you soon. You are missed, Linford Detweiler P.S. Karin Bergquist says: A cup of coffee in the morning and the Swedish Hockey Team, not bad. That little thing about winning the gold medal doesn't hurt either. Life is good. Hello everyone, Springtime. Hope all is well. Thought we'd pass along a little overdue news from Nowhere. (Might want to get comfortable: it's a long one. If you just want the Over the Rhine tour dates, skip to the end.) First, here's the part that was written in March: We're home again, sitting at the dining room table after breakfast, putting a few words to paper. Had a cup of Karin's strong coffee, scrambled a pan full of eggs, toasted some whole grain bread, raspberry jam, glass of cranberry juice, the usual. Elroy is curled up asleep after his morning walk. A couple of the neighbor dogs were poking around in the maple grove, and he tore over there to say hello and make sure all was well. A little tail waggin' in the morning… (Aralee said that Elroy caught his first rabbit while we were away. A big one. She tossed it in the garden. Next day the cloak and dagger turkey buzzards arrived from the top story of the sky and left nothing but the backbone. We can't walk on the paths without a cottontail darting off somewhere.) We came back from New Zealand to find the silvery limbs of the old maples rouged with fuzzy buds. In fact as you look out across the fields, all the tree lines are rosy cheek red with expectation. Winter dumped three inches of snow on the farm to celebrate the arrival of the first day of spring - daffodils blooming in the snow - but I don't think it will last through this day. My father said they used to call that a sugar snow - those late snowfalls that would come during maple syrup season. And the birds are returning for real: robusty robins everywhere, the rusty hinge conversations of the grackles, starlings chuckling like old Tom Waits himself, the whistles and unwinding asides of the redwing blackbirds. Kildeer feigning alarm in the open fields, practicing their distractions for later when their ground nests are full of young. Cardinals singing a new song, a song they'd never sing in the winter. Haven't heard the bobwhite yet this spring. I'm afraid the hawks were awfully hard on them this winter. I saw the first redwing blackbird in one of the locust trees next to the garden the day before spring. Impeccable timing. I think the redwing is my favorite. We come back from tour, the redwing comes back from God knows where. Those wings dipped in bright paint. *** So New Zealand. Packing our bags at the farm for our first real trip of the year, Brandon dropping us off at the airport... (The crew and band will catch up with us in a few days.) The flight to Los Angeles: I'm thinking a nice nap will be just what the doctor ordered, but then we hear the movie is Walk the Line and we can't help but watch. (I remember reading The Man in Black before I was a teenager.) Karin and I process how fortunate we are to be able to travel together making music we can call our own. We meet up with Glen our manager at good ol' LAX, and then the long flight over the ocean. (My Mother, when I said goodbye on the phone, couldn't help wondering aloud how many planes were lying at the bottom of the Pacific.) Each passenger on Air New Zealand had his or her own movie library available with headphones etc, so we watched Anthony Hopkins in The World's Fastest Indian and then most of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. Then slept as long as we could. Our time in New Zealand felt charmed from beginning to end. It was one of those trips that made us look back and think, We're glad we didn't give up, or none of this would have happened. A few firsts: We had never before arrived in a foreign country on tour and heard our music playing in the International Airport when we arrived. Same when we departed. Drunkard's Prayer was number one on the “Heatseekers” chart and one of the top 20 records overall in the country. (We couldn't recall ever having a record at the top of any sales chart.) And we had never before played four consecutive SOLD OUT shows in one city, let alone beautiful Wellington. Our first stop was Auckland. Thierry and Rae at EMI NZ rented us a great little apartment above an airy and sunny cafe on Ponsonby Road across from a sprawling city park with trees that looked like they were fertilized with fairy tales. We arrived early in the morning after 24 hours of traveling, but we knew we would stay up and drink cafe coffee and have breakfast and explore until the sun went down. Thierry and Rae kept us busy the next few days doing interviews and radio and TV etc, and we did a little invitation only gig (just Karin and I) that was taped for the New Zealand equivalent of VH-1. Then we headed up to Keri Keri to meet Rick and Devon and Brandon and Dave. Everybody had arrived safely so we strolled into town together and Dave said, I forgot my rosary - I'm just going to look for a used book store and get some much needed solitude. But then somehow he took a left turn and ended up at the pub where like Dylan Thomas himself, he had half the sweet intoxicated town gathered around singing and telling stories and still whooping it up long after the sun went down. Fisherman pulling fresh lobster off the truck to broil for the spontaneous American, bartenders slipping home to get their acoustic instruments so they could join in... We only heard the rumors, but later realized that just about everyone in Keri Keri was on a first name basis with our sound engineer. The next day someone was kind enough to loan us their beach house on a remote, secluded bit of sea with bold rock outcroppings and Pahootakowa (sp?) trees big as our farm house back home. We ran headlong into the late summer ocean and combed the sand for heart-shaped rocks and other unexpected bits of underwater artwork. We cooked a meal for each other, having stocked up on supplies earlier in the day, Brandon at the grill. After dark we looked at the sky and saw that the moon was waxing fuller on the opposite side from what we were used to and the stars were not the same stars we saw at home in Ohio, Orion's sword at an odd angle, or maybe that's not Orion. In the morning some of us ran along a river trail in the Keri Keri woods and heard birds crying out that we had never heard before. That evening we played our first New Zealand concert with the band. The songs had found themselves a home, far from home. People gave out little cheers when we started one that they were looking forward to hearing performed for the very first time. Great grin factor and wonderful to enjoy the fruit of good labor. Then onto the little plane headed south in the morning and dropping into the windy Wellington airport… (The locals coached us: it's pronounced Wundy Willington.) Our hotel on the water overlooking sailboats bobbing up and down… The Wellington International Arts Festival in full swing, Spanish flamenco dancers, French trapeze artists, actors and musicians from around the world mingling late at night, and some of the best wine in the world (New Zealand's finest whites and big reds being passed around free as a hand shake…) And those French trapeze artists, gathering around Karin wanting to buy her champagne: what's up with that? I never knew that Karin singing, Swing me on your trapeze, could be so problematic. We met many lovely people, and we look forward to returning as soon as we are able - maybe for one of those winery tours we've been talking about. Special thanks to Thierry and Rae for their hard work and generous spirits. And to Carla and the festival organizers who made us feel so welcome. A good life: Believe in what you do, and do it. *** But now it's April on the farm, another gorgeous day in April, it's not supposed to be this gorgeous. I took my first outdoor shower beneath the cherry tree beneath blossoms once again. But the apple tree in the front yard is waving around in the wind like a big calico dress stealing the show this year - a riot of white blossoms. Hard to imagine it will have energy left over for actual apples. Karin trimmed some apple blossom branches and put them in a vase on the dining room table. Beautiful. Looks like we dropped $100 on a fancy florist. We've been mowing the paths and carrying our breakfast outside while the backyard woodpecker taps out a few quarter notes on one of the maples. The dove is on her nest. Robins are engineers, solid Midwesterners. Their sturdy, mud-reinforced nests are the bird equivalent of a three bedroom ranch with a two car garage. Doves are bohemians. They lay a few twigs crudely on a low branch and hope for the best - a writer's shack, an afterthought. I look up from this letter and watch the patient dove. It's been exactly a year now that our friends helped us load the boxes and furniture into the farmhouse. There are signs of progress. The award-winning poison ivy thriving about the property when we first moved couldn't handle my many attacks last year, and opted to give up trying to come back this spring for the most part. We've seen no snakes, which is fine by me. And there seem to be far fewer ticks now that we've mown all around the garden, and tamed a few wild areas here and there. I don't know how big the garden will be this year because we want to grow a lot of songs in the coming weeks and months. But I do clearly remember the sensation of reaching underneath our vines and pulling out a plump tomato for lunch and thinking that the curious weight in the palm was almost as pleasurable as cupping one's hand on a breast. Almost. I didn't know when we bought the farm if I might want to just stay out here more and more and turn into a bit of a hermit writer or something. But no, I look forward to traveling city to city now more than ever. I couldn't just disappear into the land. I need music, and the energy of people. But thank God for a place to retreat. If you could see the view from this porch, I think you'd agree. *** The big news is we got a call from our friend Tracy who knew of some folks who were moving and needed to find a home for their seven-month-old male Weimaraner. We looked at each other and realized that we might be ready to get a buddy for Elroy. Maybe it was time. We figured it couldn't hurt to look. He lives with us now. We had forgotten the crazy, unpredictable, and often hilarious intensity that is the young Weimaraner's world. Every meal is a pie-eating contest. Every photo is a photo with a Weimaraner in the middle. Every walk is a game to see who can be in the very front. Every flowerbed calls out, shred me. Every cat, smell my ass. It's a commitment, but we're up for it. I've had to learn about being the pack leader, which is hard for me sometimes as I increasingly prefer the relaxed and groovy Zen approach to life. But the dogs need a pack leader, and for our world not to explode, that pack leader has to be me right now. I'm working on my calm, assertive, no bullshit Daddy voice. And a well-rounded dog life: exercise, discipline (training), affection. So say hello to Shakey Jake Lewis. (Karin decided he must have been a blues guitarist in a former life.) We have to take quite a few Jake breaks so that Elroy doesn't get too worn out. We think he's gonna turn out good. And Drew Vogel sent along these words today, which resonated so well with how we were feeling: I am constantly pleasantly surprised at the capacity of the heart -- you loved Willow with all your heart. That love is not diminished as your love for the new puppy grows -- your heart expands to be able to accommodate it without taking anything away from the memory and love of Willow. Well said. *** But hey, wanna get together? We're going to tour the West Coast this spring and a decent bit of the Midwest and South with a band from Brooklyn called Hem. Like us, they're in love with the American Songbook and hope to be making music for a long time. Should make for a lovely evening all around. We still enjoy playing songs from Drunkard's Prayer and Ohio and a smattering of earlier tunes as well. But new songs have been making themselves known which we are itching to debut. We'll be touring with Devon Ashley on drums and percussion, and Rick Plant on bass and guitar. As far as we know, this will be our last tour with Rick as he and his family are planning a move to Melbourne, Australia. Our recent trip down under must have done a number on them! Rick has been with us for much of the last three years. He will be missed. Here are the dates, and do join us. It wouldn't be the same without you. Over the Rhine and Hem (see notes for particulars…) Sweet Intoxication Spring Tour 2006 May 6 Bellingham, WA - The Nightlight (Over the Rhine only, No Hem.) Home to the farm for a break… May 30 Chicago, IL - The Double Door (Over the Rhine closes show.) (PLEASE NOTE: Some shows may not have tickets on sale yet. Check out overtherhine.com for more info.) Enjoy this time of year bursting with newness, and hope to see you soon, Linford *** Hello again, We wake up on Nowhere Farm on a Saturday morning and let the dogs out. Mist lying in the fields, bobwhite whistling from hidden places, doves bending a few notes from slender throats… Hummingbirds darting up to the back porch and hovering on a single vibrating note, like tiny musical instruments with invisible strings. No cars going by, no people, just the songs of birds and the fields and the open air and the new light of morning. Heck of a show for an audience of two. Are you going to make the coffee or am I? Yesterday morning, first thing, Elroy spied a black dog snooping around the garden while we were walking on the paths and he and Jake tore off around the bend after it. I expected this to be a short-lived bit of excitement, but by the time I rounded the corner, I saw Elroy in perfect Greyhound race track form, and I watched stunned as he disappeared over the horizon at full speed in pursuit of the black dog, the black dog running for broke while somehow simultaneously embodying the dog essence of, Oh Shit. Jake, the new Weimaraner, who has been making lovely farm dog progress all around, processes this new development in his devious Weimaraner brain and decides to go into Catch-me-if-you-can mode when I whistle for him. I have to turn it into a game and finally coax Jake back into the fenced yard and latch the gate. As I set out through the thigh-high wheat field, across the creek and toward the distant tree line where I last saw Elroy, I hear Jake behind me wailing and griping and yelping like someone is beating the puppy, utterly offended that his morning walk has been cut short, cursing me and the day he was born. I have to ignore him and continue through the wet fields in pursuit of the ghost of a Great Dane. Eventually, I crest a hill and see Elroy down on the edge of a woods facing east, looking contemplative. I holler his name. He seems to snap out of a trance, and turns loping toward me soaking wet, happy tongue lolling out. I can't scold him for coming to me. And he leans on me as if to say, I'm just doing my job. The Weimaraner puppy is more than enough. We don't need no more dogs around here. I understand. We begin the slow trek back to the farm. As we come into view of the old house I see Karin on the back porch in her nightgown looking amused, waiting for the first story of the day. It's not all peace and quiet. ** So we have this weekend at home on the farm, a holiday weekend low key and alone, just what we need right now. Tuesday, our world will shift the other way as we head for Chicago to start the second leg of our Spring tour. Now that we have this off-the-beaten-track piece of earth that we can disappear to, I find myself looking forward to these musical gatherings in the city more than ever. We had a fine run down the West Coast with Hem. We had a great evening in our hometown at the Ava's Hope Benefit. We'll see if we can top it as we work our way South and then back up through the Northeast. We'll be dipping liberally into the songs of Drunkard's Prayer, Ohio, Films For Radio and Good Dog Bad Dog. We'll also continue introducing new songs that have recently arrived. Makes for a good night all around. Here's the skinny (and check out overtherhine.com for more details). Paste Magazine Presents: Over the Rhine and Hem Tue May 30: Chicago, IL, Double Door Thu Jun 01: Bloomington IN, Buskirk-Chumley Theatre ALL AGES Fri Jun 02: Nashville TN, Exit/In ALL AGES Sat Jun 03: Atlanta GA, Variety Playhouse ALL AGES Mon Jun 05: Charlotte NC, Visulite Theatre ALL AGES Tue Jun 06: Asheville NC, Grey Eagle ALL AGES Wed Jun 07: Chapel Hill NC, Local 506 ALL AGES Thu Jun 08: Alexandria VA, Birchmere ALL AGES Sat Jun 10: Lancaster PA, Chameleon Club Mon Jun 12: Boston MA, Paradise Tue Jun 13: Philadelphia PA, Theatre of Living Arts ALL AGES Wed Jun 14: New York NY, The Concert Hall ALL AGES Thu Jun 15: Northampton MA, Iron Horse Music Hall ALL AGES See overtherhine.com for more… Special thanks to the good folks at Paste Magazine for their help in getting the word out regarding these dates. We're honored to have Paste as a presenter of the tour. If you haven't had the pleasure of subscribing to Paste Magazine as of yet, it's easily some of the best writing about music (and film and books and…) that you'll find in America today. Check out this link for a special offer for fans of Over the Rhine and/or Hem… https://www.pastemagazine.com/offer/otrhem And for those of you able to attend one (or more) of the concerts, don't forget to check out our new shirts, the limited edition tour poster, and the few remaining copies of Live From Nowhere Volume One, as well as the plethora of additional Over the Rhine treats at our little traveling boutique. We have a lot of fun designing our wares, often with the help of long time friends. Enjoy this holiday weekend, and do join us if you can. It wouldn't be the same without you. Lookin' forward, Linford for Over the Rhine This is the letter that went out. Please post on website. Drew, If you can post it on the Orchard, and Brandon -- MySpace, that would be great. Thanks, Linford Hello, Hello, It's been awhile. (Might want to get comfortable, pour a glass of something… This could take a little time.) How have you been? It's an unseasonably warm November day today in Ohio. The fog snuck up all around the farmhouse in the wee hours this morning - we couldn't even see the barn from the upstairs, East bedroom window. It was like waking up in the sky. Most of the leaves have left the trees, and it's supposed to be a bright 70 degrees today. Fall in Ohio is soothing and delicious. We have turned our clocks back. In the early evening, the windows of the farmhouse glow warmly now as mist rises up on the fields. Night comes before the evening meal. The air is moist and alive. Chilly breezes kick up now and again and flirt with the pines. I've been meaning to write for some time. Sometimes it's important to be quiet for awhile. Listen deeply. Learn a little. Labor well in obscurity. Disappear. Lose your life to find it. It's harvest time on Nowhere Farm. We grow songs mostly. This is what we've got for you. 1. Snow Angels After talking about it for years, we have finally made a new Over the Rhine Christmas Record. We're on pace for one every decade. Snow Angels is our second. It's a record full of upright bass and piano and percussion and little surprises and of course Karin's increasingly soulful singing. I think it feels a little unlike any other Christmas Record I've heard. (Which might have to do with the fact that we wrote almost all of the songs.) We hope that Snow Angels is a record that becomes part of the landscape for small gatherings of people who love each other. A record that's a good companion for long winter afternoons spent alone. A backdrop for road trips across wide open spaces after dark. And we hope that you'll feel drawn to revisit various songs on Snow Angels all year round. If you're hungry for something a little different to pass out to friends and family this year, something soulful, something alive, please keep Snow Angels in mind. We hope this music gets itself shared. (We tried to package Snow Angels as beautifully as we could. Thanks to Clinton Reno for the wonderful illustrations, to Michael Wilson once again for stunning photographs, and to Owen Brock for helping put it all together. The package includes all the lyrics, extensive (characteristically rambling) notes, credits and more.) Snow Angels will ship in early December, rubbing shoulders with other presents in the US Mail, flying in planes over the Atlantic to points beyond. We're going to begin taking pre-orders very soon at overtherhine.com. (We'll send out a note and let you know when we're good to go). We've never done this before, but those that pre-order will be given a web address to a secret archive of Karin's Nowhere Farm sketches - Karin's earliest outlines of many of the songs that became Snow Angels . Fun. Those that pre-order can begin listening to these intimate performances right away. (Please note: If you're planning to see one of the first Over the Rhine Christmas Concerts this December, it may make sense to just pick up your copy (or copies) of Snow Angels at the show rather than having them shipped during a busy month…) We're making Snow Angels available directly to fans of Over the Rhine this December, and are planning a national release for this project in 2007. Check out overtherhine.com for more details. 2. LIVE From Nowhere Volume Two This is a new Over the Rhine tradition we've started. We signed and numbered 3000 copies (Oh, my hand…) of Volume One, which Sold Out. Now for Volume Two! Basically, we're going to gather the juiciest highlights we can come up with from our December 16 Taft Theater show, our Christmas Tour, and maybe we'll even pull a treat or two from our Sold Out tour of New Zealand earlier this year. (We also taped a couple of the concerts when we were out with Hem this Spring and Summer - so there's a lot to choose from.) If you enjoyed Volume One, we think we can make you real happy with Volume Two. (Due to various lengthy, earnest letters, not unlike this one, which we received from those who weren't able to get a copy, we are making Volume One available digitally at I-Tunes etc. But the real, signed, numbered copies of Volume One are no longer available.) We'll be taking pre-orders for Live From Nowhere Volume Two , which will ship in March of 2007. (We're giving ourselves a little breathing room.) Karin and I are going to sign and number 3500 copies this time around, and we'll include a small gift for those that pre-order. Get 'em while they last if you want 'em! Check out overtherhine.com for details. 3. Let's Throw a Little Soiree Sunday, December 17th, at 3pm, the day after our Cincinnati homecoming concert at the beautiful Taft Theater in Cincinnati, Karin and I are inviting you once again to join us at St. Elizabeth's in Norwood, Ohio, for some acoustic music, spoken word, festive food and drink, conversation, and basically a chance for us to have a little holiday gathering with our extended musical family before we call it a year. We really enjoyed this last December, and hope to see even more of you this time. Check out overtherhine.com for more details. 4. Over the Rhine Blend Just for grins and to keep life interesting: Join us for a cup of good coffee - the kind we now wake up with every morning at Nowhere Farm, specially blended for artists, writers, musicians, day dreamers and night walkers! Karin and I made an important discovery recently: fresh-roasted, organic, fair trade coffee roasted in small batches by someone who approaches the whole process like an artist is truly eye-opening. Fresh, organic, fair-trade, made in small batches - we hope it sounds suspiciously like Over the Rhine's music… This unique blend is fresh-roasted exclusively for Over the Rhine by Chuck Roast. You order, the beans are roasted the day they ship, Oh my. Order yours at overtherhine.com. (Coming soon.) 5. We're traveling to you. You're traveling to us. We're getting closer. (Or something like that.) We had an unforgettable year on the road in 2006. It started with two beautiful weeks in New Zealand where we had the time of our lives playing Sold Out shows and fraternizing after hours with French trapeze artists and Spanish flamenco dancers. We had a lovely time cavorting around the USA with Hem in the spring and early summer. Our songwriting workshop in Santa Fe this August was a truly charmed week (which alone could easily fill it's own separate letter. Thanks again to all who participated.) We got to play a benefit concert for Africa with Aimee Mann and the Indigo Girls a few weeks back, and performing at Tall Stacks down by the river in Cincinnati (with Wilco, John Hiatt, The Blind Boys of Alabama and dozens of wonderful musicians) was simply magic. Thanks to all of you who found us. But notwithstanding the above, for some odd reason, we look forward to these upcoming concerts all year long. Something about bundling up, dodging the snow (hopefully), coming in out of the cold, and making music with all of you ¬¬ - our extended musical family - at this time of year… Well, it's just our idea of a good time. We really hope you can join us. (This week: We're hopping on a train across Canada with Cowboy Junkies and others for some cozy evenings of music on the train as we make our way across the prairies and through the Canadian Rockies. We'll be looking out the window for the Northern Lights and I'll give a shout out to my old high school in Alberta as we sneak through Calgary. Come find us in Vancouver when we hop off if you can.) Wed Nov 15: Vancouver BC, Regent College, 8:00pm, all ages Fri Nov 17: Dayton OH, Canal Street Tavern, ages 18+ Sat Nov 18: Dayton OH, Canal Street Tavern, ages 18+ ***OVER THE RHINE Snow Angels Tour 2006*** Thu Nov 30: Columbus OH, Little Brothers, ages 18+ Fri Dec 01: Bloomington IN, Buskirk/Chumley Theater, all ages Sat Dec 02: Chicago IL, Double Door, 21+ Mon Dec 04: Holland MI, Hope College (Knickerbocker Theater), all ages Tue Dec 05: Kent OH, The Kent Stage, all ages Thu Dec 07: New York NY, Joe's Pub, all ages Fri Dec 08: Philadelphia PA, Theatre of Living Arts, all ages Sat Dec 09: Annapolis MD, Ram's Head, 21+ Sun Dec 10: Washington DC, Jammin Java, all ages Thu Dec 14: Nashville TN, 3rd & Lindsley, all ages Fri Dec 15: Lexington KY, The Dame, 21+ Sat Dec 16: Cincinnati OH, Our Homecoming Concert at the beautiful Taft Theatre, all ages. Special Guest: Mary Gauthier. (If you haven't heard Mary's music, check out her CD, Mercy Now . You are in for a treat! Wow. Road trips are us - hope you can join us for this special evening.) Sun Dec 17: Cincinnati OH, Gathering/Soiree/Exclusive performance at St. Elizabeth's, all ages. You're all invited! Much more at overtherhine.com… Well I need to go pack for a train trip. And the Canadian Rockies. Hope to see you all soon, Linford - - - Hello again, Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. We've been having beautiful Indian Summer weather in Ohio. Sunny, mild… At night the stars have been bright and close, Orion's sword pointed at the roof of the farmhouse. We've seen one twinkling star or planet (we're overdue for a refresher map of the night sky) winking white, green, red and blue. This morning the dogs did it again (for the second time since we've lived here): we were walking on the paths as the mist was disappearing from the fields, the sun just getting started, a few winter birds flitting through the bushes, all peaceful, when Elroy spotted a big whitetail buck and a doe about 50 yards away to the East, silhouetted by the sun like a picture you'd see on an old hardware store calendar. I didn't know whether to be proud or pissed off as our Great Dane mix (who looks like an oversized Greyhound when he runs) and our year-old Weimaraner (sleek, rippling muscles, the nose of a blood hound) took off full-bore, wide open, flat out, everything on ten after the offending wildlife. The deer waved their white tails around a bit and began loping away. But then the buck realized that these dogs weren't going to lose interest anytime soon - in fact they singled him out and these dogs were damn fast - and he changed his tune pretty quickly and began covering some ground real quick, rack tucked back and hoofs blazing away. Have you seen a large animal with antlers try to outrun a pack of wolves recently? It awakens certain latent primal instincts. I watched the chase for about a half a mile before the dogs and the buck disappeared over a grassy slope and down into a wooded creek area. I'm sure once the buck got into his element, and jumped a fence or two, the outsmarted dogs found themselves with nothing but burning lungs and mud-splattered tummies. But in the meanwhile, it's an odd feeling to be standing on the edge of a small farm that once had beloved dogs and suddenly has none. I ran slowly about a mile through the fields toward the East, whistling, calling. Elroy! Shakey! Nothing. A large hawk flew down out of one of the tree lines and circled away toward the north, the sun making the white feathers on the inside of his wings flash like mirrors. About 15 minutes later, just as I'm starting to wonder what life will be like without them and begin circling back, I see the black and white head of a loping Dane begin to appear over a small grassy hill in the distance like the head of a distant trotting horse, and then here comes the rest of him and shortly thereafter a Weimaraner, tongue flopping out the side of his grinning mouth, ears waving hello. Well, Karin had said this would be a good day to give them a final pre-winter bath, so we're going to get the hose out and wash them down. Karin will say things like, Elroy, Did you run away from your forever home?! And the dogs will listen, and we'll wonder how much they understand, and they will flop down on the porch and gaze out into the open air happy on the farm. (And you know you live in the country when your dogs chase a buck over the horizon and you come home and tell your wife and she asks, How many points?) +++ Well, it's about time for those of us in Over the Rhine to chase our dreams over the horizon as well. They always outsmart us, but they make us happy. We come home with the musical equivalent of burning lungs and muddy bellies. Here's a recap once again of what we've got for you. SNOW ANGELS. With eleven original songs, we think you'll find Snow Angels a quintessential Over the Rhine recording. We had a great time recording this one, our 2nd Christmas CD in ten years. If you order your copy (which will ship in early December) at OvertheRhine.com now, we'll send you an address where you can download eight of Karin's Nowhere Farm sketches: early, bare boned versions of many of the songs that eventually became Snow Angels. (And if you just can't wait, Snow Angels is available now on i-Tunes, E-Music etc.) LIVE FROM NOWHERE VOLUME TWO. A little tradition we started last year… We collect the best 2006 concert highlights we can come up with onto a limited edition, signed and numbered CD. Pre-order yours at OvertheRhine.com. (Volume One is sold out, but is available for download on i-Tunes etc.) Volume Two will ship in March with a small treat for those that pre-order. OVER THE RHINE CHRISTMAS GATHERING. Karin and I would like to invite you to join us on December 17th at 3pm (the day after our Taft Theater Homecoming Concert) for a holiday gathering featuring an acoustic performance, some spoken word, some conversation and of course some festive food and drink. We did this last year as well, and it's a great way to end our working year, surrounded by our extended musical family. See OvertheRhine.com for directions and more details. OVER THE RHINE BLEND. We're now up and running: Join us for a cup of good coffee - the kind we now wake up with every morning at Nowhere Farm, specially blended for artists, writers, musicians, day dreamers and night walkers! This unique blend is fresh-roasted exclusively for Over the Rhine by Chuck Roast. You order, the beans are roasted the day they ship, Oh my. ***OVER THE RHINE Snow Angels Tour 2006*** Thu Nov 30: Columbus OH, Little Brothers, ages 18+. Take a dive with us! It's always amazing to us how you transform this piss and vinegar club into a warm, inviting room full of music, laughter and conversation. Consistently one of our favorite crowds anywhere. Fri Dec 01: Bloomington IN, Buskirk/Chumley Theater, all ages. This lovely theater in one of the Midwest's best-kept-secret towns is a beauty. Bloomington features no Interstate Hwy, and the widest array of Int'l Cuisine that you'll find just about anywhere. Two Tibetan Monasteries, great Thai food, our favorite recording studio - you can be sure we'll be taping this concert for LFN Volume Two. Join us for a special evening (an easy, beautiful drive from Cincinnati). Sat Dec 02: Chicago IL, Double Door, 21+. Time to turn the volume back up. This was one of our favorite evenings on the OtR/Hem tour earlier this year. Mon Dec 04: Holland MI, Hope College (Knickerbocker Theater), all ages. Come find us in a quaint Northern town, where the sun sets early this time of year. Tue Dec 05: Kent OH, The Kent Stage, all ages. Another one of our favorite theaters with red velvet seats and a piano with a broken heart. Thu Dec 07: New York NY, Joe's Pub, all ages. (Two Shows). This venue is a regular stop for everyone from Emmylou Harris to Nellie McKay. Our first time - come find us in the Big Apple at Christmastime. Order dinner, stay awhile. Fri Dec 08: Philadelphia PA, Theatre of Living Arts, all ages. One of our favorite venues, this is the first year we get to play a Christmas Concert at TLA. Sat Dec 09: Annapolis MD, Ram's Head, 21+. Last time we played Ram's Head it snowed and snowed and snowed. We'll see what the grand piano can conjure up this time. Sun Dec 10: Washington DC, Jammin Java, all ages. Cozy room, great food and drink. Thu Dec 14: Nashville TN, 3rd & Lindsley, all ages. Look for a musical guest or three. Fri Dec 15: Lexington KY, The Dame, 21+. We love that hat shop next door, and we love the warm folks that find their way to The Dame whenever we show up. Sat Dec 16: Cincinnati OH, Our Homecoming Concert at the beautiful Taft Theatre, all ages. Special Guest: Mary Gauthier. (If you haven't heard Mary's music, check out her CD, Mercy Now. Wow. Road trips are us - hope you can join us for this special evening.) Sun Dec 17: Cincinnati OH, Gathering/Soiree/Exclusive performance at St. Elizabeth's, all ages. You're all invited! Check out OvertheRhine.com for maps and more details. Please pass along this info to any family and friends who might be interested. STREET TEAMS. We've always known that our music couldn't survive without your help. If you'd like to assist us in getting the word out about upcoming concerts (namely, print out and post some fliers up at your favorite neighborhood haunts) please join our street team. (Please note, we're starting a separate mailing list for those that join - you'll be the first to hear about upcoming concerts, and we'll try to have some fun along the way.) More info and downloadable fliers at: MERCH VOLUNTEERS; We need at least two volunteers for each of our Christmas concerts to help manage the Imaginary Apple Orchard Boutique. Lots of music, t-shirts, hand-screened posters - the good stuff. It's a good opportunity to meet some great people, and we appreciate your help. We'll give you tickets to the concert, and you can help make it all work. Please e-mail Brandon@overtherhine.com with the words “OtR MERCH VOLUNTEER [City/State]” in the subject line. If you don't hear back from us, don't worry - it just means we're already covered. Well, I think that's about it for today. Make sure the people you love know they are loved. And hope you can join us - we'll see you soon. Linford for Over the Rhine Hello fellow travelers, Just a quick hello and a note to let you know what's shakin'... We've had a great time on the road these last few weeks and in spite of the fact that there's a nasty bug going around, we're fighting back. We're strong when we're together. And we're lookin' forward to seeing many more of you this week as a good year winds to a close. Hope you can join us. OVER THE RHINE IN CONCERT: Tonight, Thursday December 14: Over the Rhine with special guest Swan Dive at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, TN. Friday, December 15: An evening with Over the Rhine at The Dame in Lexington, KY. Saturday, December 16: Our holiday homecoming concert at The Taft Theater in Cincinnati, OH. Mary Gauthier joins us at this beautiful, historic venue just a few blocks from The Genius of Water. Sunday, December 17: Our 3pm gathering at St. Elizabeth's with wine, coffee and festive food. It's not too late to get your name on the guest list. There'll be music and conversation and general conviviality -- we really enjoyed ourselves last year. Hope you can make it. Check out OvertheRhine.com... (If you order a ticket, or have done so recently and it hasn't yet arrived, don't worry, we have your name on the guest list. And your welcome to bring a friend or your family along.) *** All Snow Angels CD pre-orders have shipped and it's not too late to order copies for family or friends. Eleven original Over the Rhine songs, with genuine Over the Rhine, thrift store-clad super-heroes on the cover, extensive liner notes and more. File it under: "And now for a little something different..." Check out OvertheRhine.com for details... (If you're in Cincinnati, you can pick up a copy at Shake It Records, Everybody's Records, Joseph Beth Booksellers or at Barnes and Nobles.) And the word is in: People love our Over the Rhine Blend: organic, fresh-roasted, fair-trade coffee shipped direct to your door! And we love the fact that it's got y'all talkin'... Y'know, real conversation and what not. It's a great stocking stuffer, and we guarantee it will be the best smelling stocking in the room. Order yours at OvertheRhine.com... You can also pre-order your signed limited edition copy of Live From Nowhere Volume Two at, you guessed it, OvertheRhine.com... Thanks for a great year. And hope we see you this week. (The weather they're calling for in Ohio this week is beautiful, sunny, mild. Spontaneous road-trippers welcome.) Peace, All of us in Over the Rhine PS (And we're currently workin' on rescheduling the DC and Annapolis shows in January.) |