[OTR Announce] September Letter from Over the Rhine

[Announcement list for the band Over The Rhine]

Dear ones,
 
Hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend.
 
Is it just me or are there strong hints of autumneverywhere? 
 
The birds have gone mostly quiet in the mornings. 
 
The staghorn sumac is already turning crimson, the field ofgolden rod is starting to turn, evening mist is creeping into the low fields.The acorn and butternut squash are lying exposed in the garden. The school busesare picking up children on back roads.
 
Yes, there is something about the light and air that isforeshadowing fall.
 
Karin is down in Louisville acting in an independent film withsome heavy hitting songwriters – John Doe, Aimee Mann, Loudon Wainwright IIIand Joe Henry. I got to spend the weekend down there and drink in some of thevibe. It was especially good to reconnect once again with Joe, who as you know,helped us catch and release The Long Surrender.
 
Joe always thinks of September 1 as New Year’s Day, “the gateway into fall; marking the time to set asidedistractions and truly engage in the soul's real work; to rededicate yourselfto love and service, forgiveness and mystery.”
 
(That’s the kind of small talk that emerges overa very cold gin martini with Joe.)
 
But yes, Amen, in that spirit, it’s September: Happy NewYear!
 
Karin and I are still writing for these next few projectsthat are taking shape. It reminds of me of our first trip to Scotland. We tooka ferry to the Isle of Arran (where I first attempted to drive on the left sideof the road: I grazed a few mailboxes and nudged a  sheep or two into the ditch, but other than that weeventually arrived unscathed at the youth hostel.) But anyway, we pointed to asmall Scottish mountain one afternoon and decided to pull the car over andclimb it. How long could it take? 
 
The thing is, once we started climbing and neared the top,we realized we had further to go. And we would climb, and climb some more, andthen from that new vantage point, we would see we were still not all the waythere. 
 
And so on. 
 
It was nearing dark and quite cold when we finally made itback to the car. Later, after a change of clothes, we opened a door to theheartwarming glow of a Scottish pub in the middle of nowhere, families havingdinner, pints being poured all around, noisy laughter and conversation, dogslying on the floor in front of a roaring fire place. Unforgettable.)
 
But that’s the thing about writing. You think you’re nearingthe end of the long climb, and then you realize there is more. Sometimes thedoors just keep opening. One thing leads to another. A new song might make youaware in your mind’s eye that there is an unexplored adjacent room full ofdraped furniture that seems to be calling your name. 
 
Anne Lamott compares this idea to driving at night. We can’tsee the destination when we set out, but we can see as far as our headlightsshow us. And we drive that far and then we can see a little further. Eventuallywe get there.
 
Ray Bradbury said, Walk up to the edge of the cliff. Jumpoff. Build your wings on the way down.
 
It’s been good to surrender once again to the music, and feelit take us to wherever we need to go. It’s been good to be surprised by somenew songs that have made themselves known late in the process. Yes, they oftenseem to be tugging us somewhere we cannot fully name. But I have a feeling,much as it was with that Scottish pub, we will eventually stumble in out of thecold to a place of warmth and laughter and camaraderie.
 
(Interesting side note: when we were walking across thebrushy field toward the mountain, we criss-crossed a number of small flowingstreams etc, but occasionally with no warning, one of our legs would suddenly plungethrough the low growth into three or four feet of silty water. We were all soonsoaked to the skin and a bit perplexed, but we were young and determined topress on. Later we were told we had crossed one of those infamous Scottishbogs, where people sometimes disappear and never resurface. Another metaphorfor writing in there somewhere I suppose… Tie a rope around me, I’m goin’ in.)
 
But yes, I promise we will be announcing our new plans forthese projects very soon. We are once again going to invite you all along andsee where this next chapter takes us.
 
In the meanwhile, we have some lovely evenings planned forthis fall. Lots of new songs we are anxious to try out on all of you... Andsome familiar ones as well, of course. Some listening rooms, some gorgeoustheaters, some historic music venues… it’s gonna be good.
 
But it’s not the same without you. Hope you can come findus.
 
Rock on, rave on,
 
Linford (and Karin)
 
+++
 
WALTZ ACROSS TEXAS (When Karin’s movie shoot wraps earlynext week, we’re hitting the ground running and heading back to Texas. Joinus!)
 
Thursday, September 13: Wimberly, TX: BLUE ROCK STUDIOS
Friday, September 14: The Woodlands (Houston), TX: DOSEY DOE
(Saturday, September 15: Austin, TX: Private Concert)
 
KENT STATE FOLK FESTIVAL 
Friday, September 21, Kent, OH: KENT STAGE, with specialguest Girlyman
(A festival with a lot of history just a stone’s throw fromHartville where my family lived when I was born. Beautiful in late September!Hope to see some familiar faces.)
 
NORTHEAST AUTUMN LEAVES TOUR (We are going to venture intothe heart of Fall, and watch trees light themselves afire from within. Watchthe faces of the trees blush at the prospect of standing around naked allwinter. In short, we are leaving home in search of “a little kickass beautybefore we die…” Road trip anyone?
 
Thursday, September 27, Pittsburgh, PA: CLUB CAFÉ
Friday, September 28, Harrisburg, PA: MIDTOWN SCHOLAR
Saturday, September 29, Sellersville, PA: SELLERSVILLETHEATER
 
Monday, October 1, Northampton, MA: THE IRON HORSE
Tuesday, October 2, Boston, MA: CLUB PASSIM (Two shows: 7pmand 9:30pm)
 
Thursday, October 4, Fall River, MA: NARROWS CENTER FOR THEARTS
Friday, October 5, Fairfield, CT: FAIRFIELD THEATRE COMPANY 
(K&L 16th Anniversary – Gonna be a sweetshow.)
Saturday, October 6, Londonderry, NH: TUPELO MUSIC HALL
Sunday, October 7, Pawling, NY: TOWN CRIER CAFE
 
ADDITIONAL FALL DATES:
 
Friday, October 26, Dayton, OH: THE VICTORIA THEATRE
Saturday, October 27, Canton, OH: MALONE COLLEGE(Homecoming)
 
Saturday, November 3, Bloomington, IN: BUSKIRK CHUMLEYTHEATRE
 
Thursday, November 8, Bloomington, IL: BLOOMINGTON CENTERFOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Friday, November 9, St. Louis, IL: OLD ROCK HOUSE
Saturday, November 10, Louisville, KY: BOMHARD THEATRE
 
Friday, November 16, Seattle, WA: THE TRIPLE DOOR
Saturday, November 17, Seattle, WA: THE TRIPLE DOOR
 
+++
 
We’ll be announcing CHRISTMAS TOUR dates soon as well. (Thisyear, we’re actually kicking off the tour at The Taft in Cincinnati on December1. Sunday soiree is December 2. Save the dates. More to come.)
 
+++
 
And finally, we are taking another musical TRAIN TRIPSeptember 2-7, 2013, in ALASKA! Join us if you dare for a musical adventure/conversationin the last frontier. We announced this trip to our train “alumni” a few weeksago, and many of the available tickets disappeared instantly. But there isstill room for you! More info/make reservations here:
 
http://www.rootsontherails.com/2013-trips-alaska---kenai-peninsula
 
+++
 
Check out overtherhine.com for more info on all the above.Please share the above freely.
Peace like a river, love like an ocean… L&K
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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