The Music Tapes—that gentle collective led by Neutral Milk Hotel sideman Julian Koster—is once again traveling the country spreading holiday cheer, and they'd like to entertain you and your friends, at your house. Allow me to cut and paste, briefly:
"The Lullaby evenings with include songs from The Music Tapes' forthcoming 2011 record, as well as from Music Tapes For Clouds And Tornadoes, The 1st Imaginary Symphony For Nomad, and The Singing Saw At Christmastime, along with new Music Tapes games and stories. The entertainment, though sometimes more exciting than lulling, are all in honor of the comforting moments directly preceding and following sleep when we find ourselves happily unsure of whether we are awake or are dreaming."
The group has finalized the dates for its Lullaby evenings, and now they need to finalize the venues. I'm gonna cut and paste again:
"To invite The Music Tapes to share their magic with you and your friends, simply send an invitation to: [email protected]. Or (even better) a letter to: The Minister of Lullabies at 450 N Harris St, Athens, GA 30601 (letters must be received by October 29th and include all contact information.) The invitations of greatest warmth will be chosen in each area in the order in which they are received. Houses open to welcoming other fans in the area to view the performance will be given special priority. The location and time of your visit will be kept secret. If your invitation is chosen, simply plan your own sleepover or holiday gathering, and you will be given a range of times in which The Music Tapes will arrive and fill your house for nearly an hour with songs, games, stories, and more. The merry band of travelers known as The Music Tapes will then leave you again with your friends, families, and dreams, and continue on to the next house on that night’s list. If you choose to make your house one of the “open” houses and welcome a limited number of other Music Tapes fans in your area, the time and address of your visit will still be kept secret, but be made available by email only to fans in your area (from [email protected]) once the tour begins."
Okay, the dates. Get crackin' on inviting them!
November 4th: Nashville, TN
November 5th: Mountain Home, AR
November 6th: Memphis, TN
November 7th: Baton Rouge, LA
November 8th: Houston, TX
November 10th: Austin, TX
November 11th: Austin, TX (St. Nikolai Game)
November 12th: Dallas & Denton, TX
November 13th: West Texas
November 14th: Albuquerque & Santa Fe, NM
November 15th: Flagstaff, AZ
November 16th: Phoenix, AZ
November 18th: Los Angeles, CA
November 19th: Los Angeles, CA (St. Nikolai Game)
November 20th: Wrightwood, CA (and area)
November 21st: San Francisco, CA
November 22nd: San Francisco, CA
November 23rd: Davis, CA
November 24th: Chico, CA and Eugene, OR
November 25th: Portland, OR
November 26th: Portland, OR (St. Nikolai Game)
November 27th: Olympia, WA
November 28th: Seattle, WA
November 29th: Idaho / Montana
November 30th: Utah / Wyoming
December 1st: Denver, CO
December 2nd: Columbus, NB
December 3rd: Omaha, NB
December 4th: Minneapolis, MN
December 5th: Maquoketa, IA
December 6th: Chicago, IL
December 7th: Chicago, IL (St. Nikolai Game)
December 8th: Cleveland, OH
December 9th: Buffalo, NY (area)
December 10th: Rochester, NY
December 11th: Ithaca, NY
December 12th: Syracuse, NY
December 13th: Northampton & Amherst, MA
December 14th: Williamstown, MA
December 15th: Tivoli, NY
December 16th: Poughkeepsie, NY
December 17th: Marlborough, NY
December 18th: Philadelphia, PA
December 19th: NYC
December 20th: NYC
December 21st: Worcester, MA
December 29th: Winterport, ME
December 30th: Brattleboro & Saxtons River, VT
December 31st: Henniker, NH
January 1st: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
January 2nd: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
January 3rd: Detroit, MI & environs
January 4th: Bloomington / Indianapolis, IN
January 5th: Pittsburgh, PA
January 6th: Baltimore, MD
January 7th: Washington, DC
January 8th: Richmond, VA
January 9th: Raleigh, NC
January 10th: Asheville, NC
January 11th: Atlanta, GA
January 13th: Athens, GA
January 14th: Athens, GA
January 15th: Athens, GA
SINCE YOU MADE IT THIS FAR, YOU MIGHT WIN A PRIZE. We've got a couple of pieces of Music Tapes vinyl to give away: a copy of The Singing Saw At Christmastime, and a copy of Music Tapes For Clouds And Tornadoes. Just send an e-mail here, and we'll pick a winner November 1. US addresses only please.