The second wave of updates to The Books site is now in development, which will (hopefully) include: A new Web store where you can purchase merchandise directly from The Books, including new shirts, albums, and spoonboxes.
2. The practices with Erik are going excellently, and the Taxidermy Penguin material is developing quite nicely. Among the songs planned to be included on the EP are “Phyllis” and “Candlesmoke” for those of you who have any recollection of those.
3. Photographs are being taken by several different people for the An Umbrella site, and an initial map of this new world has been drawn. We’re hoping to start production right after The Books site is finished.
4. Blake and Robby have recorded a demo of their new material, and I should have a listen to it soon — It’s great to hear that they’re continuing to progress with new music, and when/if shows are scheduled, they’ll be posted here.

After a month of development, I finally launched the new Web site for The Books last night. Nick, Paul and I are quite excited to have everyone see it, so check it out at www.thebooksmusic.com! This is only the first stage of the site’s renovation, and there should be another big update arriving on April 5th to coincide with the release of their excellent new album “Lost and Safe.” If you’re curious, you can listen to the full version of a song called “An Animated Description of Mr. Maps” by going to the aforementioned site and entering the living room. It’s one of my favorites off the new album.

In other news, I’m preparing to head out to California this weekend to practice with Erik for the planned upcoming recording, and collaborating with him and my brother Wes on the long-in-the-works An Umbrella Web site.

I spoke with Blake recently, and to my great delight, he informed me that he and Robby are preparing for live performances in Iowa. According to Blake, the plan at this point is to play three songs which make up a 30-minute show. The set will include a song that we had been practicing in Iowa as a group called “Silverlace Evening” along with a new one Blake’s been working on for about a year, with the third song now being written by he and Robby. I’ll let you know the details of their shows as soon as I get them!