Hurrah! That familiar sound of the UPS truck struggling to make it down our narrow streets here in Santa Barbara can only
mean one thing: time for a new release! This time it is the long-awaited swansong from The Fairways called
“This is Farewell” (matcd031). One of the most beloved bands on the international
pop scene, this San Francisco quintet produced highly melodic songs coupling jangling guitars, piano, organ, flute and
strings with the melancholic voice of lead singer Brent Kenji. In one energetic burst at the turn of the century The
Fairways released a brilliant debut single and album, contributed tracks to several international pop compilations, toured
the USA and Japan, and placed a song in a mainstream Miramax film. Despite glowing reviews and an ardent following
across the globe, the promise of a highly anticipated second album never materialized and the band drifted apart. While
bassist Jen Cohen played in fellow San Francisco hitmakers The Aislers Set, Kenji went on to form the celebrated
Matinée duo The Young Tradition. The 13 tracks on this CD include eight previously unreleased songs that
formed the basis of that elusive second album, two tracks from their sold out “Darling Don’t You Think” 45
(matinée 009), a song from a limited split single with The Aislers Set, and two tracks
from a 2001 tour CD. In addition to signature Fairways originals, the album includes cover versions of songs by Japanese
pop group Three Berry Icecream, venerable American songwriter Walter Donaldson, and Scottish indie legends Jesse
Garon and the Desperadoes. You can find the CD in shops on June 28th, or get a copy right now exclusively via the
Matinée mailorder! Fairways fans in the Philippines please note that the CD is released on
Universal Records there on July 16 so look for that soon.
In other top news, the Matinée Artist of the Month for June is The Lucksmiths! As the band with whom we have
worked the longest (first release in September 1998!), The Lucksmiths are responsible for some splendid moments in the
Matinée history. Two of the band’s most popular songs, “T-Shirt Weather” and “Untidy Towns”, first saw release right
here on Matinée. During the last six years, we have released a total of eight Lucksmiths records: the “Untidy Towns” 7″
(matinée 004) in 1998, “Southernmost” 7″ (matinée 008)
and Staring At The Sky 10″ and CD (matlp004) in 1999, “T-Shirt Weather” 7″ and CDEP
(matinée 018) in 2000, “Friendless Summer 7”
(matinée 027) in 2001, “Where Were We?” CD (matcd019)
and “Midweek Midmorning” CDEP (matinée 042) in 2002, and “A Little Distraction” CD
(matcd027) in 2003. The band has also contributed exclusive cover versions to the “A Smile Took Over” EP
(matinée 005), “La Boda Guatemalteca” CDEP (matinée 034),
“Matinée 50” compilation (matinée 050), and the “Romantic and Square is Hip and
Aware” CD (matcd030), covering Boyracer, The Bedridden, The Siddeleys and The Smiths respectively.
Following a bustling 2003 touring the world in support of recent releases “Naturaliste” and “A Little Distraction,” the band
is taking it relatively easy at home in Melbourne, Australia this year. They are presently working on new songs for their
next album scheduled for release in early 2005.
As resident artist of the month, The Lucksmiths have a freshly updated artist page
with a snazzy new photo and links to countless interviews, plus we’ll be adding video clips for “Midweek Midmorning” and
“Downside to the Upstairs” shortly. The page also includes a definitive poll requesting your favorite Lucksmiths song
released on Matinée and everyone who enters has the chance to win a special prize. We’re not sure what it is yet but
we’ll find something groovy for you. The sounds page now features five Lucksmiths mp3s,
including the rare track “Boat” which was previously only available to about 150 people invited to the 2001 wedding of
Matinée mogul Jimmy and his wife Mary. We received so many requests for the song that we decided to make it
available as an mp3 to coincide with the Artist of the Month celebration. Of course, all Lucksmiths titles are on sale at
the mailorder this month only so complete your collection today. A few early titles have sold
out but we still offer most releases so get ’em while you can!
May Artist of the Month poll respondents selected “Baked Alaska” as the favorite Slipslide song, with “Sleeptalk”
and “Palm House Crawling” close behind. Thanks to everyone who voted!
Our next release is the brilliant new Would-Be-Goods album “The Morning After” (matcd032).
We’ve had a slight delay with the release due to licensing issues but all looks resolved now and the CD is moving forward
at the manufacturing plant. We should have copies available for preorder next month. As reported in May, the tracklisting
is 1. Pantomime Devil, 2. Morning After, 3. Bluebeard, 4. Big Cat Act, 5. Le Crocodile, 6. Too Old, 7. What Adam and
Eve Did Next, 8. I Broke the Spell, 9. The King of Lace, 10. Miss La-di-dah, 11. Innocent Abroad, 12. Dear St Valentine.
We believe it’s the strongest Would-Be-Goods release to date so mark this one on your shopping list as an essential
purchase. You won’t be disappointed. In the meantime, have a listen to preview tracks “Morning After” and “Miss
La-di-dah” on the catalog page.
Our friendly new postman has just delivered a wonderful CD containing demos of 10 brand new songs from Brighton duo
Harper Lee! The songs are simply magnificent and if all goes as planned the band will finish recording the
album later this month. Provisionally entitled “All Things Can Be Mended,” the album will include typically cheery songs
called I Don’t Need to Know About Your Wonderful Life, This is the Sound That a Heart Makes When It’s Breaking,
Left-handed, Let Me Know, Everything’s Going To Be OK, Stupid, There is a Light In Me That’s Gone, Everybody Leaves,
Isn’t This Where We Came In? and possibly one more. Expect signature Harper Lee melancholy with splashes of
flavor (including trumpets!) that recall the poppier moments of lead vocalist Keris Howard’s former bands Brighter and Hal.
Look for more details next month.
Other albums nearing completion include the third full length “Everybody Hates” from Lovejoy and the sophomore
effort “Inner North” from The Guild League. Watch this space for release details. The Guild League play a rare
live show this month in Australia, while Pipas embark on a mini-tour of the UK and Lovejoy heads to Sweden for a festival
appearance. Here are confirmed dates for June and July:
12 June: Pipas w/ Language of Flowers in Glasgow, Scotland @ The Winchester Club
18 June: The Guild League w/ Duckdive and Paul Greene in Melbourne, Australia @ The Empress
21 July: Pipas w/ The Frenchmen and The Cut Outs in London, England @ The Arts Café
22 July: Pipas w/ The Frenchmen and The Cut Outs in Nottingham, England @ The Rescue Rooms
23 July: Pipas w/ The Frenchmen and The Cut Outs in Sheffield, England @ TBA
24 July: Pipas w/ The Frenchmen and The Cut Outs in Leeds, England @ TBA
23/24 July: Lovejoy in Malmö, Sweden at the We & You Festival
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the t-shirt poll in the May update. We are still accepting input so if you
are interested in sporting any of the Matinée bands on your chest please let us know on the
fanclub page. We plan to have a few new designs ready next month.
In May hit parade action, Pipas edged out the “Romantic and Square is Hip and Aware” CD for the top spot with their
new “Bitter Club” EP (matinée 052), while May artist of the month Slipslide slipped back
into the top ten thanks to some strong superlatives we threw your way in the last update. We’re a sneaky lot, no?
Here are the top sellers for the month:
10. Slipslide – The World Can Wait CD
9. Lovejoy – Who Wants To Be A Millionaire CD
8. The Guild League – Private Transport CD
7. Pipas – A Cat Escaped CD
6. Harper Lee – Everything’s Going To Be OK CD
5. Matinée t-shirt
4. Various – Matinée 50! CD
3. Various – The Matinée Autumn Assortment! CD
2. Various – Romantic and Square is Hip and Aware CD
1. Pipas – Bitter Club CDEP
Back in 30 days with the latest.
take care!
Jimmy
x