We finally have something new on the An Umbrella front, which is a new animation called If It’s Pretty, Don’t Fix It. You can check that out by going to www.AnUmbrella.com and clicking “Mark My Words”.

Screenshot from If It’s Pretty, Don’t Fix It.

The Books are releasing their first DVD, Playall, this month. The disc is filled with all of the music videos from their past live performances, and also includes three new tracks. You can now pre-order it from the Garage at the official Web site. Plans are set for me to create a new room on the site to give fans a closer look at the DVD later this month.

Cover art from The Books’ upcoming DVD, Playall.

I just posted a cluster of new tour dates on the Unwed Sailor Web site. As usual, they’re in a near-constant state of touring, along with preparing to release a full-length album called Little Wars this year.

Photograph of Johnathon Ford by Jaret Ferratusco.

I just recently finished revising the front page of The Books site to reflect the new tour they’re embarking on this month. Go take a look at thebooksmusic.com to see if they’re coming to a city nearby!

The Books spring 2007 tour image by Paul de Jong.

Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything! I just returned from a trip to Las Vegas, where I recorded demo versions of the final two songs for the full-length, 50-minute Grimfeather debut album we’re hoping to record later this year. The new songs are called “Invisible Posture” and “Conversations and Opinions”, which fall into similar categories as “Newer Vogue” and “Mood of Solitude” respectively, which we played on tour with The Books last year. The complication with getting the album recorded now mostly has to do with getting Erik and Robby Ogden into the studio in Iowa at the same time. This proves a bit difficult seeing as though Robby lives in Michigan and Erik is preparing to get married in California. However, we’re pressing on with writing in the meantime, and looking forward to getting this stuff all nicely recorded for you!

Erik Brown plays with Grimfeather in Denver, CO. Photo by Jeanne Jebbia.