The Mountain Goats

Get In The Van

We are keeping so busy around here that I hardly know what to tell you. Have you ever seen a dog digging a hole with both paws in a parched back yard somewhere, exposing the wetter darker dirt underneath the undernourished lawn, finding the cool damp a foot down or maybe two feet? You know the look on that dog's face? That is us when you are not hearing from us. Bees in the hive. But even bees gotta breathe. So we are coming out. This is a very late announcement of the tour which begins day after tomorrow. The dates have been up for a while but I figured I ought to send out a "ready or not, here we come." Because it's true! I recommend "ready" over "not ready" any day, because some of us have been confined to very small spaces since the end of the Australian tour, and are fixing to play loud & sing louder. Doug Fir! Edmonton! Sasquatch! Missoula! Calgary! Points between and beyond! Christine & John up in Winnipeg! Warm up the coffee pot and let's stay up late!

I Will See Some Footie Or Know the Reason Why

Yes indeed: we are coming back to Australia! We are psyched. Psyched because we love Australia; psyched because we love playing music there; and psyched because we get there during week three of the AFL Premiership season. We will see you at the shows! And then we'll see you at the stadium! And then we'll see you at some more shows. Can't wait!

Peeking Out

Good people! We, and I, will be briefly emerging from the cave to play a few shows: at right, on the post-it, you'll see a couple of Florida dates that I'll be playing solo foot-stomp style. More immediately, tomorrow night, Tuesday, the same four-piece Mountain Goats whom you last saw at the Bell House in the Brooklyn will be playing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. There will be more news as the spring develops, though for the most part I'm downstairs in the lab pouring green fluid outta beakers into graduated cylinders fulla bubbling clear liquid and laughing maniacally as the dry-ice effects enshroud the whole scene. What can I tell you? Some people use a paper and pen, I use antiquated Universal horror sets I copped on the cheap from eBay. To each his own! See you on TV!

Brought My Doctor's Note, Let Me In

Since Monday the influx of well-wishing I've received has been so moving to me that though I despair of conveying how much I mean what I say here, I still want to try. So: thank you so, so much. May I someday prove worthy of your goodness, your kindness. It's overwhelming, and inspires more gratitude than I could really tell you about. It is hard to put me at a loss for words, but here we are, so again: thank you.

And now the news: I have the all-clear to proceed, at full strength, without mercy, from Friday forward. I will be quite eager to show off just how potent the healing elixirs have been. And for those who sometimes express concern over my longer-term prospects, please let me put you at ease: I always get up no matter how many times I get knocked down and no matter how big the things that knock me down may get. I am descended from a race of giants who age like trees. One of them, over the course of his life, wrote so many songs that my present total pales by comparison, and toured until his feet fell off. My goal is to have my likeness replace his over the family hearth.

See you in D.C.!

John D. to Doctor, Cancels Orlando and St. Augustine, Pledges Fealty

Dear Citizens of Orlando and St. Augustine,

You know how much I love you, I hope, but I am too sick to play tonight and tomorrow. That is all there is to it. I live up the road from you, and I'm going back up that road this morning to see my doctor. I will be back as soon as I can to make this up to you, if I have to walk it. OK maybe not if I have to walk. That is like a stupid long walk. I am really, really sorry about this. Tried to push through but - well, as a former nurse, I could give you a pretty vivid description of some secretions this morning; I always took pride in my charting. But I will spare you, and probably regale you with long stories about it between songs when I see you next.

Dear Citizens of Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, and New York,

I will be resting in a pyramid of chakra-renewing violet fire, etc., from now until Thursday, reclaiming the energy stolen from me by whatever evil bacteria/virus/alien life form has been tormenting me for the last several days. I expect to obtain my return-to-work papers from the doctor tomorrow and to get right back on the road in time for the D.C. show & all further points north.

yours in the expectation of fuller more radiant health,

John D.

In An Alternate Universe, This Post Would Be A Tweet

And frankly, nobody should be surprised if it does come to that at some point, dynamic nature of the web being what it is and the pointlessness of resisting dominant paradigms w/o compelling political motives to do so being the transparently silly thing the ever-present future has exposed it as. Or strongly suggested it to be. Jury still out. Anyhow. WFMU emergency marathon goin' on. They played our stuff when other people couldn't handle the Unbending Truth Of The Grinding Wheel. Their programming cures diseases you don't even know about before they hit the street. Their premiums are so rad. So throw a bone their way if you got one! The band thanks you.

What's Up Johnson Avenue

Show added in San Luis Obispo. Memory vortex ahead: train radar on the heart of the tunnel!

Tugs forelock, kicks dust

Hi everybody! Busy crazy times around here but I wanted to check in briefly before we go out on tour, and mention - belatedly, not that people hadn't noticed by themselves, once again generally reaffirming my faith in the proposition "people are more clever than marketing theory would have you believe" - that we have abruptly landed in the 21st century and opened an online store. See the link up there at the top of this site that says "store"? It'll lead to to what's on sale, or to what's been on sale; some stuff is sold out. I mention this now because in grabbing boxes of stuff to take out on tour, I ran across what are, to the best of my knowledge, the last boxes I have (or, more accurately, "had") of the 3bos editions of Nothing for Juice and Zopilote Machine. They should show up on the site before long, and will probably be gone a little while after that.

So I thought I'd mention that! So excited to come out and play music for you all! Got surprises in store! People please do not let scalpers get to the tickets before you do in the bigger cities! I wish I could stop them from trying to fleece you, but I am not Bono! When I become Bono I will fully put the smack down on the scalpers but until then you are on your own! See you out there!

Shouting Hosannas Out the Windows of Passing Cars

Too busy lately to do much besides practice & prepare for the busy season ahead, so quite glad to see that Rian J has saved me the effort of better describing this, which, as Rian points out, we'll be presenting at Housing Works on 4 October. It's something we're both really proud of; more screenings are being set up, too. See you at some of those, or out at the shows, or on the tube. Speaking of which! Note that if you haven't heard the new album, it'll start streaming at Colbert Nation tomorrow, so have a listen if you like! I now return to the total solitude of the pre-tour isolation chamber, where deep breathing isn't just a suggestion, it's a direct order from the Absolute.
late edit! no sooner do I post the news than the details come in! forgive artless copy-and-paste of details plz, resistance to the Abbreviative Age is futile, even the strongest among us cnnot stnd agnst it!

Date - Sunday, 10/4
At - Housing Works - 126 Crosby St.
Presented by - Other Music
5:45PM - Doors
6 - 7PM - Film Screening
7 - 7:30PM - Q&A/Post-screening discussion with John and Rian
7:30 - 8:30PM - Cocktail Hour
Admission is free / open to the public / first come, first served
Album will be on sale early at this event

Chicago
Date - Monday, 10/5
At - Chopin Theatre - 1543 W. Division
Presented by - Reckless Records
8PM - Film Screening
Admission is free / open to the public / first come, first served
Album will be on sale early at this event

Seattle
Date - Monday, 10/5
At - Sunset Tavern - 5433 Ballard Ave. NW
Presented by - Sonic Boom Records
8PM - Film Screening
Admission is free / open to the public / first come, first served
Album will be on sale early at this event

Hands to Work

In your hearts you knew I couldn't stay home too long!

all shows from 21 August through 15 October are John & his guitar & maybe a piano when he can wrangle one
August
21 - 2nd annual "Durham, Be Easy" here in Durham, NC

September
18 - Ithaca College Ithaca, NY

October
9 - Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL
10 - QEH, London, England
11 - Ruby Lounge, Manchester, England
13 - Point Ephemere, Paris, France
15 - Magnet, Berlin, Germany

all U.S. dates from 4 November through 2 December are full band shows, and all shows will be opened by the great & magnificent Final Fantasy, about which you can imagine how amped I am

November
4 - Ladies Literary Club (Calvin College), Grand Rapids, MI
5 - the Metro, Chicago, IL
6 - High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI
7 - Cedar Cultural Centre, Minneapolis, MN
10 - the Showbox, Seattle, WA
11 - Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
14 - the Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
15 - Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA
18 - Antones, Austin, TX
19 - Granada Theater, Dallas TX
20 - Mercy Lounge, Nashville TN
21 - the Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
23 - the Social, Orlando, FL
24 - Café 11, St. Augustine, FL
27 - 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
28 - Theater of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
29 - Wilbur Theatre, Boston MA
December
1 - Webster Hall, New York, NY
2 - Bell House, Brooklyn, NY

Berlin, Paris, Nashville, Manchester, Madison, Orlando - it's been awhile! Be advised, as many other towns in my path will tell you, that if your local independent music retailers have New Age and/or vintage CCM and/or decent grindcore sections, I will clear you out.

Seriously cannot wait to see you all out there!

the Good News

Kept busy all spring and I'm here with the news.

1. 1 Samuel 15:23
2. Psalms 40:2
3. Genesis 3:23
4. Philippians 3:20-21
5. Hebrews 11:40
6. Genesis 30:3
7. Romans 10:9
8. 1 John 4:16
9. Matthew 25:21
10. Deuteronomy 2:10
11. Isaiah 45:23
12. Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace
The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come
release date 6 October 2009

The album was recorded between April and June: first at Electrical Audio with Brandon Eggleston; then at Sonic Ranch with John Congleton; and finally at Baucom Road with Scott Solter. Scott also mixed the entire album at Baucom Road. The band is still Jon Wurster, Peter Hughes, and me; Owen Pallett did string arrangments & played on the Electrical session. The third song in the tracklisting above is a link to the song itself - enjoy!

I guess the obvious question is going to be: "John, have you had some sort of religious awakening?" and while I guess lots of people might want to be coy about answering that, that's never really been my style, so: no. It's not like that. It's not some heavy-narrative-distance deal either, though, and it's not a screed. It's twelve new songs: twelve hard lessons the Bible taught me, kind of. More than that I'd want to wait to say until some people have heard it, which won't be long. Will there be more news soon, quite soon? Like, next week, even? Oh yes there will!

We Are Stardust, We Are Golden, Etc

Yes: it's time for Zoop II, and not a minute too soon. I was so sad when I couldn't do it last year, and I am eleven different kinds of stoked to do it this year. I'll be there, playing two solo sets; Peter Hughes will be there, playing no fewer than one solo set; owing to my inability to get ahold of him today, I asked Farm Sanctuary not to list him officially, but the plan is to also have John K. Samson there, playing his wonderful songs. Last I heard from him, that was the plan, but he's been on tour and so you gotta consider John K. a "won't it be awesome if John K. can make it" for now, OK?

But that's a possible-but-you-can't-say-I-promised quality. Actual real-life promises are as follows: I'll be there; Peter will be there; we'll be playing solo sets, and on the second night, I'll be taking nothing but requests; and that registration's limited. So sign up, act fast, and I'll see you there; without wanting to get maudlin, the last Zoop! was for me one of the absolute highlights of ten-plus years as That Guy From The Mountain Goats.

Dudes! We're gonna have Zoop! again!

Seasons Change, Venues Change, I Want You, I Want to Feel You By My Side

Although our efforts to get Expose to help us sing "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature" have come to nothing, yet must we report a venue change - the Chicago show has been moved to the Portage Theater. Please update your calendars accordingly!

Home Cooking

Did I forget to list the show at the Duke Coffeehouse on March 19? Looks like I did! Is the situation remedied now? Yes it is!

Added dates!

Hello everybody let me just poke my head out from under the avalanche of goings-on here deskside to point you in the direction of two added dates on the yellow post-it to yr right! One's on the "Gone Primitive" tour, at Colgate University; the other's another springtime solo tMG throwdown, this time in St. Augustine. Ah, St. Augustine! You have always kept it real with tMG! Can't wait to see you again!