Update: April 2009

Posted April 23, 2009

Much has been happening in the Sons of Bill world over the past couple months, but one thing that has not been happening is this update section. For that we apologize. We never like to leave our attentive fans in the dark. However, we have been hard at work on a number of projects and we were waiting until everything was all cute and packaged up to unveil all at once for you lovely people. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans… So we decided it was high time to at least keep you up to date (updated, one might say) on some recent developments and some burgeoning projects. Here we go…

First and foremost, you’ve been hearing for months that we cut a new album last fall. We even showed you some cuts off it to prove we weren’t lying. Those are still available for your listening pleasure on the “Albums” page of this website. The news is that we’ve had the opportunity to partner with a fine upstanding company out of Nashville, Tennessee called Thirty Tigers to distribute the album. Go check out www.thirtytigers.com to see all the other awesome music they put out. You should buy all of it. They have impeccable taste. Not to mention, they’re named after a Dr. Seuss book. And they put out the latest Jason Isbell album. Definitely buy that one. And the Seuss book.

One Town Away is currently passing through all the necessary warehouses, digital alleyways, and circles of pergatory on its way to being released upon the public no later than June 2009. Keep an eye on this website for the announcement of the official release date in the coming month or so. On that date, you will be able to find the album on iTunes and many other digital distribution sites, as well as in finer record stores throughout the country. You will also be able to buy the album – and a bunch of other awesome stuff – directly from our website (we make more money that way!). A pre-order will also be set up through the website so that you can pay for the album and have it delivered to your door by the release date. How sweet is that?!

In other news, we’re gearing up to hit the road, both before and after the album is released. Currently on the horizon is a show at the beautiful State Theatre near Washington, DC and another in Greensboro, North Carolina. There will be many more shows added as the spring wears on, but those will be your first chance to check Sons of Bill headlining our own show in quite some time. Plus, it’s May! The weather’s nice! Put a few 6-packs in the cooler, roll down the windows, and set the Garmin to “Sons of Bill.” We promise we’ll make it worth the trip.

In terms of updating, it’s come to our attention that we never updated you on the intercontinental/interstellar tour that we undertook with Reckless Kelly in February. Well, it was awesome. Unfortunately, the side-effects of that awesomeness seem to have taken their toll over the past couple months and we can barely recall any hilarious and/or inspiring stories to tell. We seem to recall a raucous evening in the Big Easy that culminated with James getting made fun of by a dude in a dress in a pool hall with toilets mounted on the walls. Another fuzzy memory involves a mid-tour night off with our good friends at the Windjammer in Charleston, South Carolina. As a side-note, if anyone finds themself in mid-town Manhattan with a deep burning hunger for cured meats, make your way to Bloom’s Delicatessen and order a Pastrami on Potato Pancakes sandwich (with swiss and mustard). Seth calls it “The Totwich”. The FDA calls it “the greatest national health crisis since the pre-rolled cigarette.” Enjoy.

On that note, we’ve committed – after our recent drop off the planet – to keep in better touch with you fine people who pay our (meager) salaries. In that spirit, when we’re on the road, this Update Section will also function as somewhat of a Road Journal which we may or may not use to publish self-incriminating stories every couple days. Furthermore, we’ve been convinced by the people who run this industry that people who buy music don’t just want to hear about what you’ve done every few years via your albums, or even every couple days via your blog, they want to hear what you’ve done (and thought about, and eaten…) every couple minutes via their cell phones and mobile internet devices. We think they’re full of shit and we believe that you’re all much more intelligent than that. But just in case, Sons of Bill has signed up for Twitter.

This service will be used by all members of the band periodically so it might be a big mystery whose brain you’re peering into. We’ll probably only be tweeting while we’re together on the road, so don’t expect to hear too much about all the fence posts James digs or all the cute picnics Seth and his girlfriend go on or any of Abe’s budget-conscious Moroccan casseroles or Brian and Sam’s current selection of Zazz spritzer or anything else we do while we wile away our days in beautiful Charlottesville. But who knows, maybe James will take a minute or two out of his 3-hour a day scheduled Myspace time to fill you in on the day to day. If not, you’ll just have to wait until we’re stuck in our van somewhere between Jacksonville and Charlotte with nothing better to do than borrow BJ’s iPhone and tweet at you people. Ah yes, to sign up I believe you go to www.twitter.com/sonsofbill. That may be wrong. We still haven’t quite figured it out yet. We’re hoping we can also figure out how to use it to let you guys know about little goodies like live tracks and videos of us on the road and other fun stuff. As usual, stand by for technical difficulties.

That’s about all for now. Be sure to watch out for more tour dates, as well as the official album release date, being announced soon. See you on the road.

Sons of Bill