** Holiday Special **

I am offering a holiday special on my LP The Deer Convention. Free shipping on US orders until December 31st, as well as a 10% discount- just enter 'yule' at check out. I also added a (free) gift wrapping option. To order just visit the Bandcamp page. Give vinyl for the holidays!

If they (or you) don't have a record player, or if your shopping is very lat minute (like mine!) there is always iTunes. They let you gift a download, and you'll have three releases to choose from. While you're there, check out the wonderful review they wrote for the Tiny Specks of Delight EP. I simultaneously blushed and smiled reading it but ultimately I have to say I'm very happy about it.

A happy holidays  season to you all, whichever it is you celebrate! There will be more holiday cheer on this blog next week hopefully. Elves are hard at work over here.

Where to get your vinyl in Europe

As I mentioned before, I visited a great record store in Bordeaux, Total Heaven. The owner took a few copies of The Deer Convention in consignment, so if you live or find yourself in Bordeaux, do go and pay Martial a visit, and ask him for a copy. He'll play you any record you want to hear in his store, and he has a great selection!
Total Heaven is at 6 rue de Candale in the very center of town, near rue Sainte Catherine.

If you live elsewhere...well the record is now available through a very cool online vendor called Hands and Arms. It's only 17.50 euros, and that includes shipping for France. Cheaper (and faster!) than ordering through Bandcamp (but do visit Bandcamp if you just want the download). Read about them here (in French). I met the owner at a Boutique Sonores show (more on that later) and was intrigued by his collection - from Gainsbourg to Britpop, with some obscure or otherwise lesser known bands thrown in for good measure. I bought him a sweet little Field Mice reissue...memory lane!

Thoughts on French food and politics

In France right now, where I will be for the next month. I'm slowly getting situated, and the jetlag is not too bad this time around. It was very hot until yesterday, and got a little cooler and overcast today. The food is amazing as expected...yesterday I had lunch in a nice organic, local produce only restaurant with my sister-in-law. Right in the middle of the town, facing an old church, and with a funny slogan:

(nourriture et vin non issus de la pensée unique)

Interesting to see a kind of politics I'm used to see in the Bay Area at work here too. Lots of flyers in the bathroom, with another quote, from Hippocrates (along the lines of 'let food be your medicine'). Meanwhile the police came slowly driving or  strolling by at least 3 times (we had a long lunch, but still...)- a lot of them everywhere it seems. I even saw soldiers with machine guns in the Montparnasse train station, standing guard at either side of the main stairs...


Meanwhile, what I've come to call the Deer Convention Vinyl Project had a glorious start! 
I need your help to make the dream come true, so please click this link: http://kck.st/cjWe5e to check it out, watch the video, pledge, and spread the word!

NEW ALBUM - The Deer Convention

Great news! the new album is finally ready to be released! it's about 40 minutes long, has 11 songs, they're all in order and mixed. Also, as you've guessed, it's named. I'm incredibly excited about the way it sounds, there's been some really fantastic collaborations going on during the recording process.

I'm planning a release for the Fall, and decided to fund it through Kickstarter, since I'd really like to make it available on vinyl - and that cost a little bit of money! The way Kickstarter works is a little like having the opportunity to preorder your copy of the album, or just the digital version if you so wish. For every amount pledged there is a corresponding reward, and I came up with some pretty special things for you (you could even be credited as executive producer, get an exclusive recording of the next, not-yet-named album - or have your own private concert!). So the best thing is for you to go and check out that link, find out more about the project and what the money will be for, read the little blurb, and watch the video. I'm pretty proud of that one too!

And please, SPREAD THE WORD! Every repost counts, as we have a deadline, and the more people know about this, the more likely we are to meet our goal. Thanks a million!

Yellow Vinyl!

Today, Bumblebee is coming out on a split seven inch. Isn't the yellow vinyl pretty? like the rising sun of summer. And look at that cover...I can't wait to hold one in my hands (very soon!), let alone put it on the record player. You can go and get yourself a copy from the excellent folks at Autumn Ferment Records. I will celebrate in San Francisco on July 20th (an amazing bill at the Cafe du Nord)- and throughout California over the summer. Check the side bar for details - and let me know if you'd like me to play a town near you!