Sunday 5^th October, 2003

 Those of you on the mailing list, or who have been keeping an eye on the Gigs page will know that Case Hardin has somewhat reneged on her promise not to play live for a while.

 This is principally for two reasons. The first is that a couple of the shows are acoustic. Del & I do these as often as we can. They allow me to try out new songs, sometimes even before the band get to hear them & it also lets Del loose on all those instruments usually only seen at ‘The Grand Old Opry’ as we let our country hair down.

 The second is the two "band" shows we have accepted were too big for us to turn down. Simple as that.

 Monday 27^th October sees a return to ‘The Borderline’ in Soho. We are supporting a guy called Andrew Bird as part of the ‘Beyond Nashville 2003’ Festival. It will be good exposure for us and to be part of such a large event is a real privilege. I do not know too much about Mr Bird, but I do have a CD on order.

 Following that, on Thursday 11^th December, we are at ‘South Street’ in Reading. Case Hardin will support Loose Records recording artists, ‘Horse Stories’ who are on a promotional tour for their new album, ‘One Hundred Waves’. It was reviewed in this months Uncut (..with REM on the cover) & got four out of five stars.

 I have the previous record ‘Travelling Mercies (for troubled paths)’ and it is a beautiful piece. Lo- Fi, melancholic & in Toby Burke they have a voice that reminds me of what Thom Yorke would have Radiohead do if his experimental leanings had taken him to ‘Sparklehorse’ instead of ‘Aphex Twin’.

 This is an equally important show for us. I have tried to get Loose records interested in CH previously & I am informed that representatives from the label will be at the gig.

 Andy will forward all the details as & when, so I hope we can crave your indulgence a couple more times this year. The ‘Horse Stories’ gig is a day before Del’s birthday & he has promised a free drink to all those who come & support us!

 That aside we have been keeping our promise to bring some new songs to the shows… this now may also include a cover of Steve Earle’s ‘Guitar Town’.. We have also continued to pursue the idea of recording. I will let you know more details as they are finalised.

 So there you have it. Steve Earle’s new album is predictably good. The real highlight is a cover of Townes Van Zandts ‘Rex’s Blues’. Next month Ryan Adams has a new record out & Jay Farrar comes to these shores to play some UK gigs, as does Emmylou Harris. Tickets are still available from Ticketweb. May see you there.

 Speak soon,

 Pete