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[jefflewis]

At this point, based on my discussions with a couple different record label situations, it seems there's no way my new album is going to come out until 2025 at the earliest! Which is a bit frustrating because the recordings were finished in 2023! But these things just take a long time these days. I hope I can get this sorted out ASAP because it's already been a long-ish time since the last album, Bad Wiring was released in 2019! That's a long time ago.
In the meantime, I've been continuing to release my home-made recordings on Bandcamp, plus I've been continuing to experiment with releasing other recordings into the streaming-realm (Apple, Spotify, Tidal, all the usual streaming locations).
So even though the official new album seems like it won't be out for a long time there will still be some new stuff coming out here and there.
The most recent thing I've put out is the song "It Could Be Worse", a recording from 2022, which is now on streaming as of about a week ago.
I've got more stuff lined up for streaming release in the coming weeks and months!

[neverstop]

Hi Jeff!

This is a bummer. Self releasing on bandcamp is no option?

Best.

[jefflewis]

Yeah Bandcamp is always an easy enough option, and also releasing into streaming is easy to do. But these things don't seem to count as "real" releases, when I'm trying to book concerts and tours, the clubs and festivals only want to know when my most recent "real" release has been!

[dazmann]

Any news on the next album? When is it coming out?

It seems such a long time since the last one...the annual tapes are nice, but they aren't a proper fix.

There seems to be a steady-stream of vinyl re-issues so I guess that getting the LP pressed isn't the delay...

[jefflewis]

I've been working on getting the release set up! It's been keeping me very busy, since the Oct 28 end of the USA tour, but here's the status:
1) The audio is mastered and finished, for CD and LP.
2) The LP packaging and CD packaging are essentially finished and laid out on the manufacturing templates, but this has been confusing and time-consuming and annoying! It's been four jobs, basically: templates for UK LP, and UK CD, and USA LP, and USA CD. I guess it must have always been this way, but this just feels extra confusing and annoying this time for some reason. But anyway it's mostly all finished, I already sent the finished UK art layouts for LP and CD to the manufacturer, but I have to wait to receive updated USA templates for LP and CD before I can do the same finished layouts for the USA editions.
3) I have been trying to confirm a NYC album-release gig for Thurs March 20, I thought I had something confirmed but then I haven't gotten any new emails about it, probably because nobody is working here in the USA during Thanksgiving week!
4) Mallory in my band has been doing most of the work of booking a USA album-release tour (mostly thru the Midwest USA), a 2-week tour, from March 21 to April 5th.
5) After April 5th, we should be doing some UK/Europe album-release touring, but I'm using a booking agent to organize this stuff, and he has not provided full details on what the exact plan is. It seems there will be a few Scandinavian dates, sometime in late April, and possibly some Germany or France or UK gigs at that time also, maybe late April/early May. Maybe it would be a two or three week UK/Europe album-release tour, late April-early May.
6) I'm supposed to be starting to make some kind of music videos for a couple of songs on the album, so I've been emailing some video-making people that I'm friends with, to try to start the process of scheduling and having some ideas.
7) Really I wanted to spend Nov-Dec-Jan working to make my Statics issue #3 comic book, to hopefully be able to print it in early 2025, but this process of preparing for a proper album release is taking most of my time and focus!
The plan is that the album is being released in partnership with Blang Records for UK/Europe and in partnership with Don Giovanni Records for USA/Canada.
9) What else...
10) Oh yeah I actually do have a whole separate new batch of home recordings for a "2024 Tape" already recorded, but I think I won't release it at this time, because I don't want to have to tell people "Hey I have a new release called 2024 Tapes" and then have to tell people "Hey I have a new regular album" just a couple months later! It seems like too much to ask for people's attention that much. I guess I'll just focus on the "real" album release and maybe I just won't do a "Tape" release this year. The "Tapes" were originally just a way for me to continue to do stuff alone, from home, during the pandemic times with Bandcamp (plus putting other unreleased stuff on Spotify), but now that I'm hopefully returning to putting out "real" albums (or at least one new "real" album) it seems like it's too much to do that "real" stuff plus the Tapes too.
11) And also I recently did the vinyl LP reissue of "Manhattan" and a new recent October LP reissue of "Em Are I" (because the 2021 LP reissue of 'Em are I was sold out), and I'm trying to do another LP reissue now of "12 Crass Songs," but it's really all too much! I don't know what the heck I'm doing, now that I've been making this stuff for more than 20 years, it's too crazy trying to keep all these different comic books and records in print. I don't really know what to do. I can't keep EVERYthing in print all the time. I think I will try to move to some phase where I make sure that every year I have something like 3 records in print, even if all the other ones are out of print. I just don't have the space or the money to make thousands of these things, if I made some gigantic amount I guess they would stay available for a longer time. I'm just glad people are still interesting in buying and checking out this kind of stuff! And I'm super glad people are still interested in coming to concerts! After the pandemic I was worried that live music might never return... So I'm glad I'm staying very busy with stuff!

[jefflewis]

PS - How ironic, I see my previous post about new album stuff was dated Wed Mar 20, 2024, and now here I am talking about March 20. 2025 as the actual hopeful release date! A whole other entire year, geez.

[misshelenc]

You sound like you’ve been flat out my friend, I know we will get our music eventually and that you and the band are worth waiting for.
_________________
Never trust a heart so bent it won’t break.

[jefflewis]

Thank you!
The current record label situations are a bit strange and unique, I'm trying to make a new way to do things that will hopefully make sense for me. I'm basically self-releasing the album, because I'm the one paying for the recordings, paying for the manufacturing, and paying for the PR. But I'm putting these record label logos on the CDs and LPs (Don Giovanni Records in the USA and Blang Records for UK/Europe) because those labels will be assisting me in a few ways.
One way is that the Blang label in the UK can handle all of the Uk/Europe mail-order and store-distribution, so that the LPs and CDs that people can get in UK/Europe are not having to be shipping all the way from the USA, so the records will be available much cheaper instead of as "imports." (and the record label can share the income from those sales, that's how they will be paid for their help) And the other thing that is super-helpful about Blang Records is that they can actually hold on to all of those LPs and CDs, so that I can get access to them for my tours when I'm over there.
It will be a little different with Don Giovanni Records in the USA, because I can do my own mail order (and warehousing) here. For the USA it will be like I'm selling albums to the label, who is then selling them for a profit to their distributors. So it's more like the label is a sub-distro, handling the communication with the distributors, and getting a percentage of the sales income, but I'm the one paying to make the records and paying to ship the records.
The financial benefit to me is that I don't have to share the streaming income with the labels, I can just upload the album myself to Bandcamp and Spotify and whatever. Also I don't have to pay the record labels to get copies of my own albums, instead they would have to pay me for those copies.
The benefit to the record labels is that whatever money they make is with zero investment from them: they didn't have to pay anything to record or manufacture the records, and they don't have to buy any from me that they haven't already sold.
Something like that!
But it does make more work for me, making me a bit more hands-on with the process of manufacturing and hiring PR in each country.
It will be an experiment!

[misshelenc]

Oh wow, you’ve been trying to solve the uk distribution issue since forever, it’d be good to finally let go of that. I understand it’s a bit of a balance between having less work yourself and relenting some control of the process especially after years of doing it one way. I think you have got it right in that you don’t have to produce what they want or think will be commercially more successful but some of the slog work will free you up a bit. I can’t imagine how many telephone calls and emails to sort this out for us all but I can’t imagine say for one I totally appreciate it. I don’t mind paying a bit more even so they can take their cut but you guys still do okay.
_________________
Never trust a heart so bent it won’t break.

[jefflewis]

And the discussions are still going on regarding UK and Europe gigs for sometime around April-May, seems like some good possibilities. There's so many cities that I haven't been back to play at since our final pre-pandemic Europe tour of Feb-March 2020. Supposedly I'll be able to announce full tour info sometime in January.

[misshelenc]

That would be great if you could. My house is available if you need it. I know it takes a lot of organising when you have plenty on as it is. Whenever it is I will attempt to be there, although I’ve got Scandinavia booked for the end of may so hopefully they won’t coincide. If not then next time! Thank you for all you’ve put into everything.
_________________
Never trust a heart so bent it won’t break.

[jefflewis]

Thank you!
More info soon!

[lauragek]

Hi there! Its been a while since I last checked the message board. It's good to see there's a new album coming out! Can't wait to hear the title or did I miss that announcement too? It's weird, I now also finally switched to listening to my music almost all digitally. But when a new album comes out I always still buy the CD because of the artwork that comes with it. Of all the musicians I follow, Jeff's is always most elaborate.

Looking forward to the European tour announcement too! I came here because I dreamt that I stumbled into a gig of Jeff's: I was staying at a hostel and he happened to be there the same day! If only it happened like that in real life... Keeping my fingers crossed there will be a date close enough to my little northwestern corner of the continent that I can attend. Would be lovely seeing you again Jeff.

[jefflewis]

Happy holidays! Brother Jack (and his little 4-yr-old daughter) are staying with me i NYC this week so it's pretty busy. When the holidays are over and things start getting back to normal in January I think that's when there will be all the various things starting to happen - the new album announcement, hopefully some kind of new video release, the announcement of UK/Europe tour dates.
I already got the LP vinyl test pressing from the UK manufacturing plant, and that sounds fine to me, but I'm awaiting the USA test pressing to approve before they can start making them here too.
I'm not sure if all the announcement stuff is supposed to happen on Jan 15, or Jan 20, there's some disagreement between the different people involved. And I'm supposed to release the new video that day, but there's no new video! I'm trying to talk to filming friends who might be able to quickly film something, there's so little time. Maybe just some footage of my band playing in a rehearsal room. Anything! Just because I'm supposed to have SOMEthing to put out.
In the meantime, just family holiday stuff.