August 2006	The recently declassified 'Sparklehorse Fact Sheet' mentions that "Linkous and Dangermouse are planning a new, as yet untitled project for 2007". In a recent interview with Billboard Mark elaborated: "We're definitely going to do a proper collaboration at some point, like the Danger Doom record [on which Linkous played bass] - but maybe something like DangerHorse. We're not sure what we're going to call it." Support acts are being lined up for the upcoming tour. Tyler Ramsey plays in Asheville on September 9th, Danny (Daniel Johnston) & the Nightmares join the band for the Houston show on the 13th, Nada Surf and Elvis Perkins are at Emo's in Austin on the 16th, and Sol (Sophie Michalitsianos) Seppy warm-up in New York on the 19th. The good folk at Slight Records are in the beginning stages of starting to launch 'That Horse Yonder - Intrepretations des chansons de Sparklehorse'. If anyone has a song or two to offer to the web-based covers project, please be sure to visit the aforelinked page. A new retrospective is being distributed with promotional copies of 'DFLYITBOAM' entitled 'Stained Glass Tears '95 -'06'. The compilation features tracks from the first three albums, and will not be available commercially. See the discography for a tracklisting.
July 2006	The fourth Sparklehorse album, 'Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain' is due to be released on September 26 on the Astralwerks label in the US, and on Parlophone in the UK. NME has the story. The reported "unreleased" track featuring Tom Waits on piano turns out to be the recording of 'Morning Hollow' that appeared as a hidden track on 'It's a Wonderful Life'. The formerly fan-run Sparklehorse Myspace looks like it is getting some 'official' attention. Listen to 'Don't Take My Sunshine Away' from the new record, and read the new press kit poem there. An extensive tour is planned for September and October taking in the American South, including the aforementioned Austin City Limits Festival, before heading to Europe. Shows follow in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, France, Belguim, and the Netherlands.
May 2006	Sparklehorse are on the rather splendid line-up for the Austin City Limits Music Festival which you'll find happening in Zilker Park, Austin, TX, September 15th - 17th. Some of the other names among the 130 acts on stage are: Iron and Wine, Calexico, The New Pornographers, The Flaming Lips, The Shins, Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band, Massive Attack, Willie Nelson, Van Morrison, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (I'll admit a soft spot for Free Fallin', won't you?). Check their website for all the details. At the risk of editorialising, I would say this could confirm the planned September album release, and would work in well with a wider US tour...
April 2006	The official site has been updated, and boasts that "the NEW Sparklehorse LP is finished" and a "tentative" release date is set for September. While some of the new tracks were made by Mark solely in the Static King, others feature the talents of long-time collaborators Johnny Hott, Sophie Michalitsianos, Stephen Drodz, and Dave Fridmann, as well as new friends Christian Fennesz and Dangermouse. The new album will also include a previously unreleased track with Tom Waits on piano from the 'It's a Wonderful Life' sessions. Additional mixing to that done at Static King was made at Butch Vig's Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin with Dangermouse, and engineered there by Alan Weatherhead and Beau Sorenson. Hit the flying yellow bird on the official site to read this and some other news for yourself. The tour that High Road Touring was promoting for February and March evidently didn't eventuate, and due do a change of date Mark didn't play at Daniel Johnston's recent London gig. Madison music mag 'Rick's Cafe' interviewed Mark in February while he was in town mixing at the aforementioned Smart Studios. They have a pdf of the interview available to download from their site.
January 2006	You may remember way back when there was a tall Australian cellist in the Sparklehorse touring band, who played and sang her way onto the 'Good Morning Spider' and 'It's a Wonderful Life' albums. Sofie Michalitsianos now has her own studio upstate New York, and her first record under the name 'Sol Seppy' is out in February, preceeded by the single 'Move'. See the Sol Seppy site for more. In other family news, former touring guitarist Todd Kelley has set up his own studio, Altamont Recording, down the road in Asheville, North Carolina. As they say on the site, "Before beginning the work at Altamont, Todd was rebuilding a Flickinger console for Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse for his Static King studio as well as occasionally playing shows with the band". Speaking of playing shows, the band are currently taking bookings for shows in February and March, according to the High Road Touring website. Mark is already due to appear at a Daniel Johnston show at the Barbican in London on March 12th, which has already confirmed Jason Pierce from Spiritualised and Jad Fair. It'd be a good time to be releasing an album...
November 2005	News from the North Carolina hill-tops, where Sparklehorse have been working on their latest long-playing record. Mark has set a date in December for the album to be mixed, and once that happens, a release date should be finalised! Remember; good things, those that wait, etc!
October 2005	Mark plays bass on 'The Mask', the third track on the new Dangerdoom lbum 'The Mouse and the Mask'. The collaboration between producers MF Doom and Dangermouse also features cameos from Ghostface Killah (also on 'The Mask' - it's like Sparklehorse jamming with Wu-Tang... !), Cee-Lo, and Talib Kweli. Dangermouse was responsible for 2004's 'The Grey Album' which fused 'White Album' Beatles loops with 'Black Album' Jay-Z rhymes. MF Doom released 'Madvillian' last year as well as 'Venomous Villain' under his Victor Vaughn alias. Playlouder says, "Though Doom is mostly synonymous with his Madlib collaborations, the Danger Doom project looks like a mouth-watering heavyweight encounter on paper alone, and in many senses it doesn't disappoint. 'The Mouse and the Mask' is weaved together with the usual dexterity you'd expect from the mighty 'mouse, however for some of us this is made null and void by the fact we're not familiar with Cartoon Network's 'Adult Swim' on which the whole concept, and most of the tomfoolery, is based. It's rather like sitting through a stand-up routine where the comedian spends the entire time taking the piss out of people from Michigan - you get it but it means fuck all if you're not from the US."
August 2005	Teresa Linkous, Mark's wife, writes: "I wanted to write and let you know that very soon the sparklehorse.com site will be up and going we will have lots of new info and photos. FYI Mark is in the studio recording the fourth LP and i think it is going to be great. Some pop songs and, as always, the kind of head phone stuff we all love. Just wanted to drop you a line so that you could give the fans a heads up that the site will finally be updated". So all is well! There is a tantilising teaser site at www.sparklehorse.com at the moment.
January 2005	Mojo's November issue, featuring the Man In Black on the cover, comes with a CD of cover versions of songs popularised by Johnny Cash. Alongside the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Giant Sand, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Steve Earle, and Shelby Lynne you'll find Sparklehorse covering the Merle Travis track 'Dark as a Dungeon'. Scott Minor is keeping up with his solo production work under the name "Parice Scott Minor", his latest project (since working with Beth Orton and Christian Fennez) is reworking a Twilight Circus Dub Sound System track for the remix album "Remixed: Abstract Beats".
May 2004	Gammon Records recently announced more details of the Daniel Johnston tribute album. The record is entitled 'Discovered Covered - The Late Great Daniel Johnston', and has a 'street' date set at August 22nd. The record will not only include a collaboration between Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips on the song 'Go', but also a first release by 'The Rabbit'. Thanks to some sleuthing by one D. Potter, The Rabbit in question has been revealed as Mark and Scott's long-forgotten side project, which may ultimately have less to do with traditional Mexican cooking than initially thought (see the 'Good Morning Spider' Press Kit). Gammon Records says the record is a still-developing beast.
April 2004	Mark is to produce and Sparklehorse, with a 'special guest', to appear on a forthcoming Daniel Johnston tribute album. The other contributors named so far are Mercury Rev, M Ward, Tom Waits, and Beck. No word yet on just how far along the pipe-line this record is, or a release date. Gammon Records says only that they "are here to confirm truth to the rumours that we are currently working on a compilation of Daniel Johnston covers songs. What we won't tell you is the names of the Artist and bands that will be on it. This compilation we surely blow your mind. You'll see it on the shelves in your favorite record sooner then you think! Oh yeah the producer of this project is Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse". See also the Daniel Johnston site Rejected Unknown. The recent remake of George Romero's 1978 zombie classic 'Dawn of the Dead' made use of some Sparklehorse atmospherics on the teaser trailer. Apple.com has clips here. Sounds odd, but as the One Liner says, "I'll confess up front a predisposition to liking this film. After all, anything that uses a Sparklehorse tune in the trailer can't be all bad. While this admittedly unnecessary remake might run a shade too long, for most of its runtime it's a rather enjoyable zombie-filled gore fest that anyone with a passing interest in the horror genre ought to appreciate..." Kendall Meade, who has spent forty-odd months playing bass and keyboards with a band called Sparklehorse and happens to be the band's manager's sister, recently released her second album under the name 'Mascott'. Sparklehorse/Sound of Music man Al Weatherhead produces, and Scott Minor provides a musical cameo. The Daily Cardinal reports that Meade "wrote most of Dreamer's Book on the road over most of last year playing keyboard for the distortion-rock (?) band Sparklehorse, using soundchecks to craft songs. 'I think there is definitely a little bit of Sparklehorse on the album,' she said 'I was playing primarily keyboard with them and I was using many different keyboard sounds and vintage samples. I was playing a lot of different keyboard harmonies with [Alan] Weatherhead, who is in Sparklehorse, and he was in the Dreamer's Book band. He and I were used to playing a lot of keyboard layers together and I really liked the way it sounded. We did that on the Mascott album too'." More info at Red Panda Records.
January 2004	Sparklehorse played a show with Christian Fennesz back on September 8th at Geneva's Casino Theatre. More info and press kits at the La Batie Festival site. Basic.ch has a realaudio stream of the show, plus plenty of the other La Batie gigs. The band also recorded with Fennesz while they were in Geneva, and the first official release of that material is on a new compilation from Touch Records, called 'Spire: Organ Works Past, Present and Future'. Aquarius Records describes it thus: 'Spire also features the first fruits of the collaboration between Sparklehorse and Fennesz (!), with Sparklehorse's drummer Scott Minor offering a smattering of mellotron and Wurlitzer samples for Fennesz to run through digital aesolization of bleary eyed distortion and fanciful detailing'. Check the Aquarius site to buy the cd or listen to an mpeg of the track 'Dwan', and also try the Touch Records site for more info and samples.
July 2003	The horse is saddled up and is currently on the road in Europe; the band headline a handful of dates around the UK, play with Portishead's Beth Gibbons at an outdoor gig at Somerset House, rock the Dour Festival in Belgium, and then opening for three R.E.M shows in Italy including the Neapolis Festival in Naples. See the tour dates page for the details. Todd Kelley is the latest member of the touring band, playing guitars and keyboards. NME seems to think that a new album may be forthcoming as soon as the second quarter of 2004. The band has played a couple of new songs at the recent UK shows, 'It's Not So Hard', and 'Sunshine 2'. In an interview with the BBC, Mark mentioned plans to record with Vienna guitarist/lap-topper Christian Fennez in Switzerland, and also another indie-electronica musician Jimmy Tamborello (aka DNTEL). Mark also says "the new stuff tends to be more pop ... I've been trying to get over my fear of ... making pop music. I'm trying to write 70's AM radio pop songs but make them instrumental and really intriguing and make them sound like something you've never heard before". A recent appearance at the LA Film Festival saw the band putting a live score to the early German expressionist film 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1919). As the Film Festival's press kit says, "Equal parts slow, elegiac melodies and layered aural experimentation, the music of Virginia's Sparklehorse is the perfect accompaniment for 'Caligari'. Performing their original score live, Sparklehorse will unite their evocative music with Robert Wiene's vision for an evening that promises to be dark, sinister, and achingly beautiful."
May 2003	Three UK shows have cropped up for July, which could possibly maybe be part of a more extensive European tour. Mark plays casio on the new Goldfrapp single, called 'Train', which also features Adrian Utley (from Portishead, appeared on 'It's a Wonderful Life' and most likely the follow-up) on guitar and bass. A recent interview with e-zine Kevchino revealed that Mark is in the writing stage of a new album, and dividing the rest of his time between fixing up an old 60s mixing console and avoiding the Great Smoky Mountains' American Black Bears.
April 2003	The Sparklehorse is going to be galavanting all over North America this summer, having scored an opening spot with the Flaming Lips (playing what they describe as a "mini-set"), and being one of R.E.M's special guests for a leg of their 2003 World Tour. The Mark Linkous produced Daniel Johnston album 'Fear Yourself' was released back on the 25th of March. The full-length's release was preceded by the limited edition 7 inch 'Mountain Top/Living it for the Moment'. Ink Magazine has an excellent interview with Daniel about the new record. See also all the info on the site fearyourself.com.
October 2002	The official site has been updated with news, some new photos, and the dates for the upcoming European tour (US fans - your time will come!) The band also hopes to have Portland band Norfolk and Western along for the ride. Mark and Scott have begun work on a new Static King setup in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, where they will weather the winter while recording LP No. 4. Maddius has launched a new fan site, mostly in Italian, at www.sparklehorse.it.
September 2002	Gammon Records reports that the Mark Linkous and Daniel Johnston collaboration is all finished, and have set an initial release date of January 2003. Watch this space, however, for some previews of the sounds and visuals. Mark quietly made his major motion picture debut recently, when 'Laurel Canyon' debuted at the Cannes film festival. Mark plays himself in the film, which also makes use of his songs as material for the fictional band portrayed in the movie. For more info see the 'productions' page of the site, or visit Magic Lantern. Scott Minor appears on the new country-flavoured Beth Orton album, which also has guest appearances from Emmylou Harris and Ryan Adams. Scott is credited for 'programming' on the songs 'Paris Train' and 'Daybreaker', and for 'percussion' on the track 'Thinking About Tomorrow'.
June 2002	Matt Linkous (who used to play with Mark in 'The Johnson Family/Salt Chunk Mary' and went on to form 'Spike the Dog') has been the latest beneficiary of Mark's production skills. The brothers have been busy at The Sound of Music studios working on an as yet untitled record for an as yet untitled Matt Linkous project. The 'Piano Fire' single was cancelled, and not delayed, although there is a miniscule chance it may eventually get a release. Capitol have given Sparklehorse the go-ahead on album number four. Recording should begin later in the year. The promised North American tour to support the release of 'It's a Wonderful Life' is no longer on the cards, but mention has been made of a tour of Australasia early in 2003!
April 2002	Mark and production collaborator Al Weatherhead have been busy finishing a couple of projects down at the Sound of Music studio in Richmond, Virginia. The duo have just polished off Mary Timony's new album, 'The Golden Dove' [Matador], which is due for release on May the 21st. Mary did some recording for the album in Mark's Static King Studio back in December. Mark and Al have also been producing/engineering the new album by Daniel Johnston (who wrote 'Hey, Joe' and 'My Yoke is Heavy'). 'Fear Yourself' [Gammon] is slated for release midyear.
February 2002	Mark has recently being helping out with production for Richmond band Denali. One of the collaborations, a track called 'Time Away', can be found on the CD sampler which comes with 64 Magazine's 2nd annual Jan/Feb music issue. An album is out April 16th on the Jade Tree label. Some handy links for more info: The Denali Website; The 64 Magazine site; and the Jade Tree Records site, which has a separate Denali page.
December 2001	The 'Piano Fire' was delayed a couple of times, and now seems to be cancelled altogether. The 'waiting for the jets to land' line may have had something to do with the decision. On a brighter note, Californian indie label Devil in the Woods is releasing the LP version of 'It's a Wonderful Life' in the US on December the 11th. The LP features a bonus track, 'Maxine', and comes packaged in a lovely gatefold sleeve. Mark spent the week of Spetember the 14th recording with Daniel Johnston at the Static King studio, at the insistence of their respective Mommas, who are buddies from way back. The resulting album is called 'Fear Yourself', and is due out sometime around the middle of next year. Pitchfork Media report its sound as being 'eerie and epic'. Matador Records reveals that Mary Timony, whose musical time is split between her solo career and the band Helium, spent some of this month doing some recording out at the Static King. Apparently she's undecided on whether the results will be for a solo album or a Helium one. Mark also managed to find time to do some production work on a few tracks for the next Cracker album. 'Forever' is due out in January. A short story of Mr Linkous', 'The Horse and the Crow' was published in the October? 'Jane' magazine. Mark's cover of 'Galveston' has been included on the Loose Records compilation, 'New Sounds from the Old West Vol 3'. The song was written by superstar songwriter Jimmy Webb, but you might be more familiar with Glen Campbell's version.
September 2001	'Piano Fire' is the next single from 'It's a Wonderful Life', and I'm guessing that'll hit the UK soon. No word yet on what you should expect to hear on radios in the US. The b-side for the single is the track 'Shade and Honey' which Mark Forbes says is "very catchy". The Japanese release of 'It's a Wonderful Life' has the extra extra track 'Ghost in the Sky', which is apparently an "uptempo rocker" not unlike, say, 'Happy Man', according to import-buying John R. The release also has a lyric sheet in Nihongo and English, so could be worth shelling out for. If you're looking for something new and good check the 'A Camp' album, out recently in the UK. Featuring Nina Persson and produced by one Mark Linkous.
August 2001	The US version of 'It's a Wonderful Life', which is out on the 28th, features the track 'Devil's New' which aint on the international release which you might already own. The track was also a b-side on the 'Gold Days' single. I'm not sure if the US album has the international's hidden track 'Morning Hollow' as well or not. As with UK release, the album will be available for a limited time in a pretty digipack, before being relegated to the good old plastic case. Capitol are ushering in the new album by releasing a 12 track retrospective 'Chest Full of Dying Hawks 95-01'. See the discography for a full track-listing, but the CD basically features three songs from each album, plus 3 rarities: Waiting for Nothing, London, and Wish You Were Here. The 'Wonderful Life' short films have been completed and are expected to air at the Edinburgh Film Festival this month, and on the Sundance channel nearer the end of the year. A full list of songs and directors and biographical information can be found at the Capitol Records Sparklehorse Site.
July 2001	'It's a Wonderful Life' was released in the UK on June 11th. The album is available for a limited time with 'special' digipack stylistics. The official release has one more song than the promo, the bonus track 'Morning Hollow'. The first single is 'Gold Days', and was released on July 2nd in the UK. The US release is on August 28th. Australian and New Zealand fans, the record's out now. New tour dates have been announced, and some previously announced dates and venues have changed. See below for the up-to-date listing. The band play the V2001 festival and Pukkelpop. Don't expect any videos this time around, because the whole album is being set to short films. The first three such films are completed, 'Sea Of Teeth', produced by Jonathan Donahue of Mercury Rev; 'More Yellow Birds' by Jason Lytle from Grandaddy; and 'Heloise Rex Remix', a 'Gold Days' B-side, by Scott Minor. The videos have a premiere screening at the Electric Cinema in London on June 11th, but the whole film should be part of the Edinburgh Film Festival in August. The other directors include Tom Waits, Will Oldham (Palace Bros), Garine Torossian (who directed the Happy Man video), Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Danny Clinch (the famous photographer), Guy Madden, and The Quay Brothers.
May 2001	A date is set for the fans from the good ol' US of A. August 28th is The Big Day. Fill in the time until then with hot drinks and idle conversation, all the while jealously looking across the ocean at the purring British fans. Or just order the import. Amazon UK have it available for advance order. Australian and New Zealand fans distract yourselves somehow 'cos your date's not even set yet. The band play a show with ex Pink Floyd guitar maestro David Gilmour at the Royal Festival Hall in London on June 22nd. The concert is part of Robert Wyatt's Meltdown festival, which is some kind of artistic endeavour, and more info can be found at the Meltdown site. A short tour of England and Ireland should take place not long after. Round about the end of last year Mark produced an album by 'A Camp', a project involving primarily Nina Persson, the Cardigans vocalist, and Shudder To Think's guitarist Nathan Larson. The production was done at scenic Bearsville Studios, and the resulting CD should be released in August sometime.
March 2001	More details of the new album emerge... the final title is 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Rumour is that the album will be released at different times in the UK and US, as 'Good Morning Spider' was. UK fans watch out for a very definite June 11 release. Fans from the home-country (who don't want to pay import prices) might have to wait until as late as September. The band played three shows just recently at the Borderline in London. NME wasn't ecstatic, saying it'd sound better on record, but the fans enjoyed themselves. The playlist for the three shows was thus: It's a Wonderful Life Gold Day Piano Fire Sea of Teeth Apple Bed Eye Pennies 100s of Sparrows Babies on the Sun Little Fat Baby Hammering the Cramps Yellow Birds Morning Hollow Cow Homecoming Queen The album is rumoured to have a pretty similar listing, minus the old tracks of course.
January 2001	'King of Nails' is the working title for the new Sparklehorse album, and word is that it'll be released in June. Spin's website reports that the new "album has been recorded in such places as Barcelona, NYC, Woodstock, and California". Pj Harvey sings on a track called 'Eye Pennies', and Tom Waits plays on 'Dog Door'. 64 Magazine issues a commerative issue along with a CD of Virginian music, past to present, featuring a brand new Sparklehorse track 'It's a Wonderful Life'.
December 2000	Bearing in mind that there has been no 'official' word on Sparklehorse's third album yet, touring manager Matt Johnson says it's "practically finished". Unconfirmed radio reports reveal some of the outside help on the album. PJ Harvey contributes vocals to one song, and also appearing is John Parish, Portishead's Adrian Utley, the Cardigan's Nina Persson, and of course Tom Waits. Nuff respect to Vince for that report. No word of a release date or suchlike yet.
September 2000	Rumour is that Nina Persson will appear on the new album, along with the already named Tom Waits and PJ Harvey. A story emerged on a PJ site that her appearance on the new Sparklehorse album was all hearsay. Fortunately she got hold of Mark to talk about it, and they decided it wasn't a bad idea at all, so it's confirmed now... I guess! The Distorted Ghost Ep was released in the UK on July the 20th, and the few reviews I have seen have been positive.
April 2000	Mark and Scott spent some of last month at Dave Fridmann's place in Cassadaga NY, probably doing some work for LP number 3. Fridmann, who has produced The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, is alledgedly "the man these days" when it comes to production credits and lo-fidelity outfits, so this is not just news, but gooood news. (Thanks to Roman for that info). The Distorted Ghost EP, feat. a new un-chaotic version of 'Happy Man', was released back on February 1st on the Capitol subsidary Odeon Records. Although the opener is now called 'Happy Man (Memphis Version)' and not 'Happy Man (EV11 Mix)', the disc is pretty much identical to the promo version some of you folks would've picked up late last year.
January 2000	Sparklehorse recently scored the Jem Cohen documentary "Blood Orange Sky". Mark is also working on some sounds for Brad (not Wes) Anderson's "Happy Accidents". Mark and David Lowery recently recorded a un-crackeresque song of the latter's called "Eyes of Mary" at the Static King. Will Oldham is supposed to be stopping by the studio to do some rural-style recording at some stage, and also (hopefully) Catpower's Chan Marshall and Smog's Bill Callahan. Sparklehorse LP3 is also keeping the sixteen track and the tube gear at the Static King humming. Tom Waits is playing on "Bloody Hands", and PJ Harvey is up for singing somewhere. Other songs Mark has recently recorded are the Johnny Cash popularized "Dark as a Dungeon", Jimmy Webb's "Galveston", and Neil Young's "Powderfinger", which Mark hopes to have Johnathan Donahue's vocals upon.
December 1998	Sparklehorse are stopping by Australia and New Zealand mid-January. They play 4 Big Day Out dates, in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, and the Gold Coast. They also play separate shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Check the tour dates page for details. The band is planning a North American tour to follow up the release of 'Good Morning Spider' in the States. They should be on the road mid-March through mid-April. Mushroom Records in Australia is reissuing 'Viva...' at a 'mid-line' price.
November 1998	A Sparkleforce Fan Army is being recruited to help promote the record in the States, and the upcoming Australasian tour. Photographer Danny Clinch has a new book out, which includes Mark in his '68 Charger alongside shots of Thom Yorke, Shannon Hoon, Vic Chesnutt, and many more. Take a look for yourself at the Razor Fish Studios site. Scroll across in the bottom frame for the shot of Mr Linkous. The band play Australia and New Zealand in January. More details and dates soon.
October 1998	'Sick Of Goodbyes' was released on the 5th. Look out for a 2 part CD single and a clear vinyl 7". CD1's b-sides are 'Happy Place', originally written for Susannah Hoffs, and 'Happy Pig [BBC 1 version]' ('Happy Man' with a bit of 'Pig' on the end.) CD2 has 'I Shot A Dog', written about the 'accident', and 'Gasoline Horseys [live]'. The vinyl's b-side is a BBC version of 'Good Morning Spider'. I'm told the packaging is both "very beautiful" [1], and "extra cool" [2]. The band play a few US dates in early November, including opening a show for Polly-Jean Harvey. Check the tour dates page for more info. Sparklehorse hope to come down Australasia way in February. No details yet, but chances are they'll play shows in both Australia and New Zealand. Stay tuned! From the 'coming soon' department, Parlophone intend to bring some Sparklehorse goodies onto the market. So what do you want to be able to pick-up? Videos? T-Shirts? Wall-rugs? Send me some mail, and who knows what might happen! [1] Johan Goeminne [2] NLMPR
August 1998	'Sick Of Goodbyes's video was shot mid-month at Mark's house, and directed by Sophie Muller of No Doubt's 'Don't Speak', Blur's 'Song 2', and Bjork's 'Venus As A Boy' fame. The vids for 'Pig' and 'Sunshine' were also shot, all back-to-back on Super 8 film. For some background info on Sophie Muller check the Oil Factory's bio page. 'Good Morning Spider' is released in Australia and New Zealand on the 24th, through Ozzie label Mushroom's White Records division. Fans in the States can expect the 'horse to ride on in on the 26th of January. The band are traversing around Europe again, playing a couple of dozen dates from Spetember 14th. Check the tour dates page for the particulars. Further down the track, Sparklehorse play in CMJ, New York in November.
July 1998	Sparklehorse play with Spike the Dog at Alley Katz in Richmond, VA, on the 17th. Locals can call Alley Katz on (804) 643-2816 for more info. The second singles off 'Good Morning Spider' were released on Monday the 6th of July. The double A-Side of 'Painbirds' and 'Maria's Little Elbows' comes with the B-Sides 'Wish You Were Here' (with Thom Yorke) and 'Haint'. The CD, which is limited edition, also has an early vid of the band called 'The Dirt Bike Wreck,' aka the EPK. The singles were also released on limited edition 7". While 'Good Morning Spider' is finished and ready to rock the UK on July 20th, the rest of Europe won't see it until later in the year, and in won't cross back over the ocean to the States until early '99. No word on an Australia/New Zealand release date just yet. The band play a couple of radio shows just after 'Good Morning Spider's release. UK listeners can tune into GLR Radio on the 22nd, and then XFM on the 23rd. A full European tour is planned for later in the year. The tour should kick off mid-September and run through October.
May 1998	'Good Morning Spider' is all set for a July 20 release in the UK. The release will be followed by four concerts in support of the first single. Head to tour dates for details. No word on US or Australasian release dates yet. For Mark's word on the new album's sound have a look at an article from NME. The 'Chicago Cab' soundtrack on Loosegroove has been pushed back until August. In other soundtrack news, Sparklehorse have a track on the 'Burn' disc. The movie is co-executive produced by Counting Crow Adam Duritz. Other bands included include Counting Crows, Blind Melon, Deftones, and Dog's Eye View.
April 1998	Sparklehorse have a track in the soundtrack to the new John Cusack film, Chicago Cab. 'Hammering the Cramps' is included on the disc which is due in early June. It also features songs from Supergrass, Critters Buggin', Page Hamilton of Helmet, Hi-Fi Killers, Brad, Hovercraft, the Grifters, Joey Altruda, and Fu Manchu. The movie stars Cusack, Paul Dillon, Gillian Anderson, Julianne Moore, and Laurie Metcalf. Sparklehorse's music appears in another recent film, this time by director Eric Drilling. 'River Red' has music scored by Johnny Hickman, and has Cracker's David Lowery playing the part of a bartender. The movie also features music by other bands that the two have worked with, including Lauren Hoffman, F.S.K., and September 67. Red House Painters frontman Mark Kozelek is putting together a tribute album together for John Denver. Sparklehorse is slated to appear on the record along with His Name Is Alive, Tarnation, Innocence Mission, and Clod Hopper. Other artists that Kozelek is waiting to hear back from are Elliott Smith, Hope Sandoval, J Mascis, Acetone, Palace, Kim and Kelley Deal, and Primus.
March 1998	'Good Morning Spider' is the working title for Sparklehorse's new album. The record is now around 90% finished. Some tracks to look out for are 'Painbirds', 'Junebug', 'Come On In', and 'Pig'. No word on the first single just yet. Stay tuned. The first single is out! Slowriver have just released 'Come on In' b/w with 'Blind Rabbit Choir'. George from Slowriver spaketh thus: "it looks and sounds really good - i don't think anyone will be disappointed." The 7" is expected to sell out real quick, so to pick it up, head over to Slowriver's page [see links]. It's just $3.50 US postage paid in the US, or $7.50 US postage paid for the rest of the world. But wait! There's more! Mark has been really enamored of another release on Slowriver called "des incurables" by the band Disque 9. I haven't heard the album, but "imagine Pram and the Residents hanging out at an S&M club while Tom Waits DJ's at an old rickety three-legged Victrola." [quote c/o Milk] If you grab the Disque 9 LP for $12 US postage paid in the US, or $15 abroad, you can ask for the Sparklehorse 7", and it's yours free.
December 1997	Sparklehorse's new album is around half recorded. No more details at this stage, however a new single is out on Slow River very soon.
October 1997	'Chemistry: A hundred years of EMI,' containing Sparklehorse with Thom Yorke on 'Wish You Were Here,' comes free with the November issue of 'Vox.' Unfortunately the CD is only available if you buy the mag in the U.K. because of licensing or somethingerrather. In addition to the dates I already had, Sparklehorse are also playing 7 shows in the U.K. from the 13th of November. See 'Tour Dates' for more info. The band was supposed to play in hometown Richmond on the 8th. Unfortunately the show was cancelled at the last minute, something to do with the Radiohead tour.
September 1997	Sparklehorse are soon to tour Europe, playing 22 shows inside a month. The tour starts on October 10th. See Tour Dates for more info. 'Come Again' was released on the 9th. It features various EMI artists covering other EMI artists. Sparklehorse have collaborated with Thom Yorke (of Radiohead) on Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here.' Thom sings backing vocals over the phone, and plays with his TV set...
August 1997	Sparklehorse are to contribute a track to a covers album to celebrate the centenary of EMI Records. Word on the guestbook is that they're doing Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here.'
June 1997	Sparklehorse are recording new material for an album due out at the beginning of next year. Sparklehorse will be on tour opening for some Radiohead shows round August (probably only in the U.S)
January 1997	Rollingstone votes 'Vivadixie...' into its top 50 of 1996, and NME votes 'Vivadixie...' the tenth best album of 1996.

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