<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="3">Hello from Ohio,<BR>
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There's a chicken hawk that has been shadowing the neighborhood of Norwood these last few weeks. The pigeons have never been so nervous. The hawk doesn't really fly. It hurtles in perfect silence from some high vantage point, slices the air outside of our kitchen windows, rounds the corner of the house and is gone. Its ways are above the ways of the neighborhood birds. It came from some outside place with more air and space. It feels foreign here. Overqualified. Its beauty is too wild.<BR>
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As we prepare to leave this neighborhood, I can't help but see this bird as some sort of sign. It feels like it was sent to fetch us, to kill some illusion, to open our eyes. It seems like it was sent to let us know that it's okay to go. We're leaving the city. The farm beckons. More air and space. <BR>
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We'll have to wait and see what happens. We'll keep you posted.<BR>
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***<BR>
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But for now, this!<BR>
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You can now pre-order your very own copy (or copies) of Over the Rhine's new cd, DRUNKARD'S PRAYER.<BR>
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Why should I order in advance you ask?<BR>
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1)</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="3"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="3">Karin and I will sign by hand all the cd's that are pre-ordered. This strange little ritual takes a day or two. You can participate in a sort of benevolent torture. Fun!<BR>
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2)</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="3"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="3">You'll receive a small surprise from the band with your signed cd, if you order in advance. (Karin suggests authentic Norwood pigeon feathers.)<BR>
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3)</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="3"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="3">When you are kind enough to pre-order through the band's website, most of the money actually goes directly to Over the Rhine, which helps with touring costs, food for Willow, Elroy and the cats while we're away, and get this, farm fencing!<BR>
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4)</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="3"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="3">Avoid the disappointment of going to a record store on March 29th only to discover the cd is sold out, or hasn't yet arrived. (Unless something unforeseen goes severely haywire (or you live in a distant foreign land) you'll have your signed copy the day DRUNKARD'S PRAYER is released. We have a plan.)<BR>
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Every time we release a new project, we can't help but thank our growing community of listeners for giving us the opportunity to continue to write and record songs for a living. You all continue to surprise and inspire us with your encouragement and support. We don't hesitate to view all of this as mildly miraculous. Thank you again. As Karin likes to say, Without you, we're homeless.<BR>
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DRUNKARD'S PRAYER feels like the most personal record we've ever made. An interviewer recently asked me what I hope people get from this record. I said that whenever I encounter a work of art that moves me in a significant way, I always walk away wanting to be a better human being. I feel it all over my skin. This chemical reaction is a mystery. I don't begin to understand it. But I said I hope this is what happens when people hear this music. I hope people breathe more deeply and find ways to be more courageous, more open, more generous, more fearless, more loving.<BR>
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May it be so.<BR>
<BR>
Details, particulars, and old rabbit trails at overtherhine.com…<BR>
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***<BR>
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We'll be debuting barebones versions of many of the new songs in the Northeast next week. We're very happy that our former Grey Ghost housemate Kim Taylor is opening the shows and then sitting in with Karin and I. We've been rehearsing in the living room right here where we recorded DRUNKARD'S PRAYER. We crack each other up quite a bit. Hope you can join us.<BR>
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Monday, February 28, Annapolis, Maryland RAM'S HEAD<BR>
Tuesday, March 1, Vienna, Virginia JAMMIN' JAVA<BR>
Wednesday, March 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania TIN ANGEL (Two shows)<BR>
Friday, March 4, Northampton, Massachusetts IRON HORSE MUSIC HALL<BR>
Saturday, March 5, Lancaster, Pennsylvania THE CHAMELEON CLUB<BR>
Sunday, March 6, NYC, NY MERCURY LOUNGE<BR>
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Tuesday, March 29, DRUNKARD'S PRAYER USA RELEASE DATE!<BR>
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HOMETOWN DRUNKARD'S PRAYER RELEASE CONCERTS:<BR>
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Thursday, March 31, Cincinnati, Ohio TWENTIETH CENTURY THEATER<BR>
Friday, April 1, Cincinnati, Ohio TWENTIETH CENTURY THEATER<BR>
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Tickets for the Cincinnati shows are now available. Europeans and Brits: come on over. Canadians: come on down. Cheap flights abound.<BR>
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We're also looking forward to a long weekend at one of our favorite venues, Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Ohio, as well as a long overdue trip to the West Coast in April. Check out overtherhine.com for more.<BR>
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Karin's got dinner on and the pasta is smelling good on a Friday night right here at home. The dogs are sprawled out. There's a smattering of snow outside, and it's cold, but it's warm inside. What can I say.<BR>
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Be well,<BR>
<BR>
Linford for Over the Rhine<BR>
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PS Speaking of the West Coast, we've got shows booked in Seattle, Portland, Eugene, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. We're still looking for shows on April 24-26 between Eugene and San Francisco. If you'd like to recommend a venue or music-friendly coffee house, or if you know of someone en route who is a successful house concert host, we're open to suggestions. Please e-mail Dave Palmer: davepalmerinc@yahoo.com…<BR>
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Thanks!<BR>
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