And now I’ll take on those headlines in reverse order.

As soon as Todd Smith makes the changes on the pages, we’ll have a new link replacing all existing merch-buying links all over the site. This one link will take you to the Cedar Creek Music merch web page, which will feature all my stuff, books, CDS, the T-shirts, everything, and all the transactions will be taken over by my Cedar Creek partner, Russ Riddle, who I guarantee will radically improve customer service and order fulfilment. I’m resigning as order-fulfillment dude and this is good news for all of us. I was never terribly efficient at it ever, but lately with all the craziness, the last month or two especially, I’ve really been sucking eggs. So this change can’t happen soon enough.

And I humbly apologize to all you nice people awaiting your books and record orders placed since, oh I think the last week in July up until right now. I want you to know I have the padded envelopes and the stock and I’ve got a day off from work tomorrow just to do nothing but catch up on artist biz, and ye shall have merch on it’s way to you soon. To help make amends, you will all be recieving a special gift, a gift that very few people have. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you keep it a secret that you have it, at least for a while.

We are looking at a late-January release for “There, I Said It!” January 23rd has even been mentioned specifically but that’s not definite. I’m excited. Things are coming together. We have publicity lined up, distribution lined up, working on lining up radio and that’s where we’re at right now. It feels good to be putting together the whole package, like a record’s supposed to be released, for the first time in a damn long time. Maybe this one will get heard a bit because if it. I hope so. It deserves it. I’ve done a lot of records I’ve liked before but this one… this one’s good. I’ve never made a record like this one. This one’s special. I can’t wait for you to get to hear it.

I had a blast Tuesday as part of a workshop writing a song with 8 USA Today staff writers, and then I had a blast the next night, LAST night, among a lot of those same people at The Bluebird for Freedom Sings. For you USA Today folks I met who should visit my humble corner of the web, look for my next rant under The Current Rant heading (coming soon, maybe not tonight, but soon) because I want to extemporie to you on my pre-song diatribe which certainly kept the place in stitches, which is great, but I never said a lot of what I wanted to say, points I wanted to make, etc. So look for ruminations there coming soon.

New gigs are finally up on the tour dates page, to showcase another task I haven’t exactly been attacking with a herculean work ethic either. But they’re up. More to come.

Looks like I’m booked to play sometime around 3 PM in Louisville at Iroquois Park with Wilco as the headliner Sunday, October 8th. Band gig. Should be fun!

Really looking forward to Friday, October 13th at the Exit/In. I’m first on the bill for the 20th Anniverary Reunion Show of the mighty, fantastic original Royal Court of China. They were kings on the Nashville rock scene back in those ’80s glory days. The Cheese did shows with them all the time. I was put first on the bill because initially I was going to be an acoustic act, but now I’m doing it electric. For the same solo act fee, mind you, but fuck money for this. This is going to be a reunion not only of the band but all the old rock faces from those great days. I don’t want to go out there with a wooden guitar. I want to rock! And rock we shall! Hope to see you there.

Thanks to all the words of support about the kidney stones, and to all of who who apparently think my recent kidney stone rant is my funniest rant in a while. I’m so GLAD that the burning sensation and swollen balls in my future can give you a good laugh and a respite from the world’s problems. I’m here to serve.

God bless,

Tommy