(Everyone’s been kind, but curious, about the state of the Government Cheese reissues. Here’s an annual report, so to speak from an “accountant” (me) who leans way towards the Bob Newhart “if you get within a few bucks of it” tradition of bookkeeping. If you’re interested in helping us re-release Government Cheese’s music, ALL of it, plus outtakes and rarities, please read to the end, or skip right to there altogether. Thanks! TW)

First, a list of contributors, their identities slightly disguised, and the grand total we raised from the Government Cheese fund drive in the spring of 2006.

John & Susan B $400.00
Tom L $100.00
John & Claire M $350.00
Dan C $350.00
David “Skip” W $500.00
Kenny D $100.00
Scott F $20.00
John W. C $400.00
Bob B & Lindsley G $50.00
Jeffrey S $50.00
Ken & Marta K $50.00
Amy S $100.00
Lisa F K $30.00
Virginia A $60.00
(Erin M) ($150.00 Unclaimable)*

TOTAL excluding () $2560.00

4/20/2006
Purchase of a Glyph Hard Drive upon which to store the Cheese tunes
- $256.74

ADJUSTED TOTAL - $2303.26

4/23 – 25/2006 Reel-dumping to digital formats onto hard drive
- $500.00

ADJUSTED TOTAL - $1803.26

Then I took the rest to the track.
Okay, I didn’t do that!

*(Erin’s contribution is tagged “Unclaimable” because she sent her $150.00 contribution via paypal to my tommy@tommywomack.com e-mail address. I don’t have paypal thru that address, only through tommywomack@bellsouth.net. I don’t know how to unlock the money. Advice? If we can unlock Erin’s contribution then that $150 would bring our total up to $1953.26)

TWO MONTHS AGO, after carrying around all this money in my checking account for over a year, for no good reason and making myself nervous doing so, I went to the bank and started the Government Cheese Reissue Fund savings account. I did it because AT THAT MOMENT I was doing what I had done too many times, which is dip my toe into that money juuuussssttt long enough to make a big score and then I put it back and breathe easy again. Although there was supposed to be 1803.26 to be deposited, I started the account with $1750, plus the added feature of $25 being deducted from my checking account each month, which, two months later has yielded us a statement for 1,800 and something dollars. I found the receipt for the hard drive but I can’t find last week’s bank statement. Anyway, we’re roundabout where we should be.

So that’s where things stand financially. Obviously, it’s going to take a lot more money than we have to really do this how we want to do it (2-CD comprehensive music release, DVD, audiobook of Cheese Chronicles, plenty of classic Government Cheese T-Shirts, etc.) it’s going to cost a pretty penny.

SO IF YOU FEEL LIKE HELPING OUT. Here’s the deal, if I remember right. - $350.00 or above gets you an Executive Producer Credit, $100 to $350 gets you an Associate Producer Credit, and anything under a hundred gets you a thank you credit as a special contributor. Everybody who contributes gets a free record and obviously, the more you contribute the more records you can have. Somebody correct me if there was more to the deal. Send the checks to GOVERNMENT CHEESE REISSUE FUND c/o Tommy Womack, 4709 Abbay Drive, Nashville, TN 37211 and they’ll start earning interest the day I get them.

SO WHEN IS IT COMING OUT? Before “Chinese Democracy” I’ll promise you that! We’re behind. I’M behind, but gratefully so, because my new record’s been doing so well that I’ve had less time to devote to the cheese project than I’d like. But in the end that brings blessings too. For instance, last week I received a DVD of ultra-rare footage from 1986 at Picasso’s, when we were at the top of our game and the picture of youth. I’d been searching everywhere for that footage! (Thanks Theresa!) So think of it that way, the longer this takes (without dragging it out ridiculously) the better the odds that at the last minute we’ll find some gem that really adds to the package.

Rest assured, though. We’re working on it. And your support means more than we can ever say!

Meeting adjourned.

Tommy