Elephant 6 Holiday tour 2008 (more by Lori Baily)

Though the full set of dates hasn't been announced yet, it looks like the Elephant 6 collective is going on another "Holiday Surprise Tour," though this time the holiday is whatever happens in March. The NYC shows are March 22nd at Knitting Factory and March 23rd at Le Poisson Rouge. The latter lists the following:

Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour
w/ Elephant 6 orchestra featuring Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, Peter Erchick, John Fernandes , Julian Koster, Scott Spillane, Andrew Rieger, Laura Carter, Derek Almstead , Heather McIntosh, Bryan Poole, Theo Hilton , Robbie Cucchiaro and others play the music of The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Circulatory System, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Gerbils, Nana Grizol, Major Organ and and Adding Machine, Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't , plus games, films & other surprises

This news comes hot on the heels of Saturday's private Jeff Mangum show, and Jeff did in fact join in the fun in 2008, but of course there are no guarantees and it will be great either way. Tickets are on sale for both shows (just click the links above). Stay tuned for all dates.

Meanwhile The Music Tapes aka Julian Koster is now on his own holiday tour.

by Andrew Frisicano

Nesey Gallons

Julian Koster (NMH), William Cullen Hart (Olivia Tremor Control), Scott Spillane (NMH), Laura Carter (Elf Power), Eric Harris (Elf Power), Nesey Gallons and many more [along with The Singing Saw, the 7 Foot Tall Metronome, Static the Television and many others] will join together as a traveling variety show this October. Julian describes the evenings as "a big orchestra, variety show, silly happy thing." The large gathering of Elephant 6 members will be playing the music of The Music Tapes, Circulatory System, Scott Spillane, Gerbils, Elf Power, Olivia Tremor Control, Nana Grizol, Nesey Gallons and more...

The 13-date "holiday surprise tour" will swing by the Knitting Factory in Manhattan (before it moves to Brooklyn in January) on October 11th. Tickets are on sale.

The tour also marks the debut of the "Major Organ and the Adding Machine" short film, directed by Joey Foreman and Eric Harris. The film will screen at the beginning of each show on the Holiday tour.

The film is currently being submitted to film festivals and will be coming out as a CD/DVD set in the Fall of 2009. Accompanying the Orange Twin DVD Edition will be the expanded version of the film's soundtrack, originally released in early 2000, that includes several unreleased bonus tracks and illuminating new liner notes by co-director Harris. The film and album stand as the consummate collaboration of the Elephant 6 collective, and feature musical and theatrical contributions from Jeff Mangum, Kevin Barnes, William Cullen Hart, Julian Koster, Andrew Reiger, Dixie Blood Moustache and all and sundry who participated in the hypercreative halcyon days of late-90's Athens, Georgia

Mangum-spotters can take note that past sightings have occured at various Elephant 6 NYC shows: Mangum sang briefly withOlivia Tremor Control at the Bowery in August 2005, with Elf Power in November of the same year at the Knitting Factory, and then with the Instruments at the Cake Shop in 2006.

Also, generally mysterious leader of Neutral Milk Hotel Jeff Mangum is said to be in the movie as well; although he is dressed in a lobster suit so it could possibly be anybody. [Wikipedia]

Post-tour, Julian Koster (of NMH, Major Organ, Oliva Tremor Control) and others is scheduled to return to NYC with The Music Tapes on October 25th to play the Merge CMJ Showcase at Mercury Lounge (the rest of that lineup TBA). The band just released Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, and Koster is set to release The Singing Saw at Christmastime (currently streaming at Merge) on October 6th.

Elephant 6-ers Of Montreal will also visit NYC at the Roseland Ballroom October 10th as part of their tour supporting the forthcoming LP, Skeletal Lamping. (There's a listening party tonight - Sept 8 for the album in Portland, OR). Kevin Barnes also appears in the movie.

All tour dates and the "Major Organ" trailer (and cast listing), below....

Continue reading "Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour, Music Tapes + Major Organ and the Adding Machine - film, Merge, 2008 Tour Dates"