Hello kind folks.
Been awhile. I have been running here and there and just about going out of my mind. 2010 has been a great year thus far and only looks to get better. In this newsletter, I will bring you up to date with all that's going on in mr. Bill's world and also the world of SUNSET. Lots of music to hear and links to follow, here goes. Kickstarter / Album Update
We are in the mastering process of our newest album and we think it's our best work so far. By "we" I mean me and my multiple personalities. Ha. I would be laughing if that medication didn't make it so damn difficult.
It's looking like it will be a double-vinyl release, with c.d. and download as well.
In order to put the album out with the attention, care, and promotion it needs, we have started another Kickstarter campaign. By donating, you can get all sorts of cool goodies: deluxe edition of the album, advance digital download, autographed album, or even a stop on our next tour.
Please check it out here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/860202426/sunset-album-book-megatour-2010-0
In case you have not heard it yet, one of the tracks was leaked at GvsB to much excitement. You can already download that track here:
http://gorillavsbear.blogspot.com/2010/01/late-night-dawning.html
Upcoming Shows / SXSW
Last year I ducked out of SXSW and traveled to India. Didn't realize it would be much crazier than SXSW. Ah well.
We will be playing many shows, most for free, during the upcoming madness:
March 15, 12:15am @ Mohawk -- ATX Emerge -- not to be missed! Lots of special surprise guests, including our friends Califone.
March 16, 7pm @ Club 1808, Ethan Smith made this happen, should be rad. Sleep Good plays right before us!
March 16, 11pm @ Beauty Bar -- Art Disaster -- D. Perlaky's annual blow-out.RSVP here: http://do512.com/c/sx2010/event/2010/03/16/art-disaster-no-1
March 17, 8pm @ 3715 Werner Ave -- House party with White Dress, The Sour Notes, Brackett and co (Scott from Okkervil River)
March 17, 1am @ Baby Blue (1522 E 12th) -- Spuds by Spuds MacKenzie -- lots and lots of great bands. Too many to list here. Lots of friends.
March 18, 1:45pm @Sidebar -- Nail Distribution Day Party w/ Think about Life, Dengue Fever -- our distro company. Good people.
March 19, tba -- another show at Baby Blue! w/ Neon Indian and more tba.
March 21, 9pm -- Six Stages over TX block party, behind Hole in the Wall -- we are playing the "headlining" stage I believe.
After SXSW, we have a few gigs coming up:
April 9 -- location TBA -- KVRX benefit w/ Zorch, Reverse X Rays
April 17, 8pm @ Club DeVille -- Austin Bat Cave Benefit -- a great non-profit helping kids get their creative writing published
April 22, 11pm @ Mohawk -- w/ White White Lights, Morakestra, and New Roman Times
Also, my new project with Sam Sanford, "Spirit World," will be having our first show this Tuesday, March 9th at Trailer Space Records, 1401 Rosewood Ave, next door to East Side Pies. We are playing songs I have written and Sam's songs too. It's going to be great. Also sharing the bill is One Big Owl and MNDBL.
"Spirit World" is also playing on April 1st at Baby Blue with AA EE Jones and "Sandman the Rapping Cowboy," in what promises to be a very interesting show.
Other Tidbits
- Just last week, I taught a class on songwriting at Austin High. That was pretty interesting. Dave Eggers was in attendance and we got along really well. I think I'm gonna print some more copies of the zine I made for the class and sell them at shows? Just a thought. Maybe even hold another free songwriting workshop at Baby Blue or something.
- I was just out at Sundance Film Fest, where music from our upcoming album was part of a film there, "The Freebie." While I was out there, I stayed in a house with the band Califone, who wrote, directed, and composed an original score for their entry into Sundance, called "All My Friends Are Funeral Singers." Very cool film. It will be playing during SXSW, and I recommend one and all to check it out.
- I am collaborating on an immersive video installation with the awesome group, Circulatory System. They create special art exhibitions that travel around the state using a converted school bus. Very excited about this.
- Going for a month-long writing work-study program in May. Taking place at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, where Aldous Huxley and Alan Watts did some teaching. There are hot springs on the premises!
- I am helping to raise money for a music school in Timbuktu. More details on this soon. You can see a video made by the Timbuktu Music Project here.
- My flickr page has lots of new additions, with photos from the Rose Bowl, hiking in Oregon, my east coast solo tour, and Sundance film fest (including my photoshoot with Animal Collective). You can see it all here.
Free Listening
- Stanford radio recently spent an hour talking with me and playing Sunset tunes, as well as tunes by Gene Clark and others.
I uploaded it to my website for your downloading pleasure. It's 55 minutes long, so it's a poor quality mp3 and will take awhile to download, but what the hell. If you've read this far into this email, you probably have some time on your hands. Download here -- > http://www.blondebill.com/interview_stanford.mp3
- For my songwriting class, I made a zip file of songs I really love. I didn't end up giving it to the class, but you can download the zip file if you like, featuring amazing songs from all the obvious greats: Beatles, Bowie, Kinks, Townes, Leonard Cohen, etc. Keep in mind I made this mix for high schoolers and I was not sure of their tastes. There's nothing too challenging or obscure here, just a bunch of classics.
Turns out the students couldn't give two shits about a bunch of old folky hippies and would rather hear about Chris Brown's latest domestic dispute. Anyhow, here's the link, download away: http://www.blondebill.com/mixingitup.zip
Thanks for reading!
And, once again, if you have the inkling, please consider a stop by our kickstarter page for a small donation:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/860202426/sunset-album-book-megatour-2010-0
Thank you and happy internet!
Yrs,
Bill Baird / Sunset
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