Just finished the first short leg of our "Three Bands In One" tour.  Huge heartfelt thanks to all who came to see us in Portland, Lake Arrowhead, the Troubadour in West Hollywood (why play anywhere else, when Dan Tana's is next door?), and the BEAUTIFUL Great American Music Hall in San Francisco (hmm, with the Mitchell Brothers next door...).  We were hosted by the nicest, most professional, wonderfully cool people in each of these venues.   Thanks to Heather, Gene, Stu, Vince, Michael, Bobby, Scott, Mary, Ben, Tyler, and Josh (we almost kidnapped you, dude!) for treating us so amazingly well on our sweaty sojourn.  So good to see good friends along the way too, Chris Funk and John Moen and Jim Talstra and Ellen Shee Bee Gee, Tove and Ryan, and hundreds others in Portland, Ward Dotson and Robert Lloyd in LA (thanks Robert for sitting in, we almost kidnapped you too), Mark Eitzel, Kim, Heather, Jim, Eric, Eddy, Dennis, Roy Loney and Vivian, Mary, brother Buck and sister Christy, John and Suzi, Gina, Stephen King from Redeye, etc etc in SF (I'm sure I'm forgetting people...).  And the intrepid fans who came to multiple shows like Donna, Scott, Vince, Emily & Gini (who get some kind of award for coming all the way from Minneapolis for three west coast shows).  You all made us feel so damn good.

Yes, Sir Scott McCaughey is Magnet's guest editor this week, coinciding with the release today of new Minus 5 and Young Fresh Fellows albums, both on Yep Roc.  

Really excited to be performing at TIPITINA'S this Friday with a bunch of great people, and for a great cause as well!  I get to play with the amazing New Orleans group Bonerama, and who knows who else might make some noise...  Apparently Jon Langford and I are scheduled for some mud-wrestling, and we'll probably get Laura "Two Beers" Viers to jump in the bloody muck as well.  Here's the deal:

Musicians Bringing Musicians Home V: a Benefit for Sweet Home New Orleans

Featuring performances from Jolie Holland, Jon Langford (Waco Brothers,
Mekons), Wayne Kramer, Paul Sanchez, Saul Williams, Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, Minus 5,
R.E.M.), Laura Veirs, Vijay Iyer, Erin McKeown, Bonerama, Al “Carnival Time”
Johnson, Martín Perna (Antibalas, TV On the Radio, Ocote Soul Sounds),
Mariam Adam (Imani Winds) and Luke Reynolds (Pictures and Sound).

The concert takes place at 9 p.m. on Friday, May 22 at Tipitina’s Uptown
(501 Napoleon Ave) and benefits Sweet Home New Orleans (SHNO) — a non-profit
organization that provides social services and economic development programs
to musicians, Mardi Gras Indians, and other traditional New Orleans artists
affected by Katrina (www.sweethomeneworleans.org).

Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.tipitinas.com and in person at
the Tipitina’s box office. Admission is $12, with all proceeds benefiting
Sweet Home New Orleans.

The show will be webcast live at www.tipitinas.com — showtime is 10PM CT.

The efforts of many talented artists and Sweet Home New Orleans have had an
positive impact on musicians like Mardi Gras legend Al “Carnival Time”
Johnson, who — thanks to fundraising efforts like the Musicians Bringing
Musicians Home concerts — recently moved into a new Habitat for Humanity
home. Yet there is still much to be done to ensure that New Orleans can
return to its rightful place as a beacon of American music and culture.
“Musicians Bringing Musicians Home V” is part of an ongoing commitment to
this cause.

Sweet Home New Orleans is also announcing its first-ever “challenge grant,”
in which donations received on May 22 and through the end of the year will
be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $250,000. This challenge represents an
opportunity to double the impact of contributions to SHNO at a critical
juncture in the music community’s recovery. To make a donation to Sweet Home
New Orleans, visit www.sweethomeneworleans.org or mail to: 828 Royal Street
#833 NOLA 70116.

Sixty years ago on December 10th, 1948, after careful reflection upon the atrocities of World War II, the United Nations almost unanimously approved the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a formal recognition of the basic rights that all human beings are entitled to around the world, regardless of their race, gender, nationality, political, or religious beliefs. Similar to the American Bill Of Rights, the UDHR includes, but is not limited to: the freedom of speech, freedom of political expression, freedom of religious beliefs, freedom of socio-economic movement, and most importantly the right to NOT be detained without charge, to NOT be tortured, and to NOT be subjected to government sponsored execution, regardless of their so-called legitimacy.

Sadly, there are still 5 major countries who have never signed the UDHR, and these countries include: North Korea, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (does this mean we can be in the Axis of Evil now??). Ah sorry, the old cynicism crept in the for a second. But we have much to celebrate with the ousting of the contemptible Bush regime, and the hope that things will change for the better with our man Obama at the helm!

All over the world, Amnesty International is presenting performances celebrating the power of human rights and democracy, and the 60-year anniversary of the UDHR. In Seattle, the line-up is:

Minus 5 (Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, John Ramberg, Bill Rieflin)
Tuatara (featuring Iraqi master musician Rahim Alhaj, Barrett Martin, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Dave Carter, Kevin Hudson, Gina Sala...)
Barrett Martin and the Wayward Shamans (Afro Beat Jazz)
Thione Diop and Yeke Yeke (Senegalese Drum Group)

We arrived in Prague at 7 a.m. today after a bumpy bus ride from Budapest. Where we (that's R.E.M.) had had an amazing show at the Sziget festival. Well, I didn't sleep much on the bus -- there was pizza and vodka and the umpteenth viewing of the Born Fighters bootleg DVD. It's a BBC documentary about the making of the concurrent Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds records (Labour of Lust, and Tracks On Wax) by Rockpile in 1978 or so. It's something we can't watch too many times, because it's just genius. Not just the music, but the slightly sad drunken mayhem that surrounds it. I'm not condoning it (hmm, maybe I actually am), but you know, it makes great viewing.

We've also taken to repetitive watchings of a bootleg DVD of Colosseum and Ginger Baker's Air Force, among other timely outfits. I'll save that for another time. Dick Heckstall-Smith, where are you? And Graham Bond, may ye rest in peace!

Hey there people... Just put up the M5 version of "Burned" -- the fantastic Neil Young Buffalo Springfield number. It's a "TASTE" of the forthcoming six-song vinyl 12-inch, which Yep Roc has kindly agreed to release in October. And that EP will feature a small "TASTE" of the full-length CD coming out in January, as well as a batch of tunes exclusive to this particular slab of wax, including "BURNED" amongst them. Hope you enjoy! Exclusively, and limited, Scorch McT

The United Nations calls it "the world's greatest humanitarian crisis." The US calls it genocide.

The people of Darfur have suffered for 4 years in a crisis that has left over 400,000 dead and 2.5 million displaced from their homes.

There is something you can do to help them: GO TO A CONCERT on November 10.

MySpace has brought its bands together to help send aid to the people of Darfur.
Join us at our show in Portland, Oregon at The Towne Lounge and a portion of your ticket purchase will go directly to the ROCK FOR DARFUR cause.

More than 30 other bands have united with Rock for Darfur shows that span the globe—all on November 10. So if our show isn't in your neighborhood, then go to "http://myspace.com/rockfordarfur" to find one that is.

Help us send a strong message to the world that this crisis must end now.

For more information on the conflict in Darfur, "http://myspace.com/rockfordarfur"