It's been almost exactly a year, but finally the Sweetheart Parade will return to Johnny Brenda's on November 11th. We're happy to be sharing the stage with the incredible Blood Warrior, coming through on their national tour, as well as local favorites Drink Up Buttercup and Hop Along. The band itself will be joined by dear friend and professional badass Carl Cheeseman, who will lend his bearded goodness to our dreary heartbroke tunes; you don't want to miss this show. We'd appreciate yr support and patronage.

You can purchase tickets here.

Also, our live album SLOWER ENGINE, will be available in about a month, in physical form as well as on iTunes. And then we're heading into hibernation to record the follow-up EP to SINGS LIKE A PRIEST.

Take care of yrselves, and each other.

Thanks to all the colorful, familiar, and warm beings who came out last weekend; without you all, as well as the talented musicians who accompanied us, we'd have nothing to be happy about. Well, each other... and ourselves... and our families... So, you know what, we'd be okay. But you deserve some appreciation, and we feel good right now. Congratulations.

October will be pretty good to us too: we play in Brooklyn again in a few weeks with Emily "Right By Me" Easterly, then our fifth, top-secret, House Show, and ending (literally) with a Halloween sad-bastard party at Murph's. Ooh, Autumn really is finally coming.

We three kings of orient are meeting soon to discuss tracklists for a new EP, tenatively-titled "Shame Has A Place We Can Go."

Love you.

Here's what we did over the summer, while you were away:

DANIEL --
    got married
    removed the carpeting
    had a successful yard sale
    bought a new car
    took care of the beard

JOHNNY --
    moved out of Mt. Airy
    played Reggae down the shore
    pulled the old bike out
    re-united with Mark Furman for a birthday show
    grew a moustache

JOSHUA --
    recorded some folks
    "finished" a solo record
    worked on an organic farm
    lost a bit of sanity
    started a beard

Autumn beckons. Listen to "Charlie's Song" by Marc Silver.
See you all soon.

There is no reason why you should not go HERE and be absolutely demolished by this beautiful music. Keep yr ear out for this woman; she'll show you a thing or two.

***5/08 - 5/09***

4.MAY.2008 - PETE'S CANDY STORE
W/ EMILY EASTERLY + J. SEGER

9.MAY.2008 - BURLAP + BEAN
W/ THE ABSOLUTE ZEROS

10.MAY.2008 - PUCK
W/ FROG HOLLER

11.MAY.2008 - DAWSON ST. PUB
W/ UNSPARING SEA + DAN GALLAGHER

27.JUNE.2008 - JOHN + PETER'S
W/ THE NEW TIME + KETTLE POT BLACK

11.JULY.2008 - GRYPHON CAFE
W/ DAVID JANES

8.AUGUST.2008 - FERGIE'S
W/ DAVID JANES + WILSON'S RESERVOIR

16.AUGUST.2008 - MURPH'S
W/ THE NOWHERE BOYS

22.AUGUST.2008 - BURLAP & BEAN
W/ HEZEKIAH JONES

23.AUGUST.2008 - LYNDZAPALOOZA
W/ MANY PEOPLE

30.Aug.2008 - JOHN & PETER'S
W/ CROW VS LION + HEZEKIAH JONES

13.SEPTEMBER.2008 - DAWSON ST. PUB
W/ THE NEW TIME

20.SEPTEMBER.2008 - FERGIE'S
W/ CROW VS LION + THE ESTELLES

27.SEPTEMBER.2008 - PUCK
W/ MARC SILVER + THE STONETHROWERS

28.SEPTEMBER.2008 - TIN ANGEL
W/ DANIE OCEAN + THE ADAM MONACO BAND

4.OCTOBER.2008 - PHILA. INDEPENDENT CRAFT MARKET
W/ WES MATTHEU + THE NEW WAY DOWN, THE NEW TIME + YOUR MIDWAY HOST

25.OCTOBER.2008 - MURPH'S
W/ JOE DUFFEY

15.NOVEMBER.2008 - CHAPLIN'S
W/ MARK DEROSE

22.NOVEMBER.2008 - JOHNNY BRENDA'S
W/ MARC SILVER + THE STONETHROWERS, THE NEW TIME + PAPERTREES

29.NOVEMBER.2008 - FERGIE'S
W/ TJ KONG + THE ATOMIC BOMB

2.DECEMBER.2008 - STUDIO LULOO

4.DECEMBER.2008 - AUCTION HOUSE
W/ MICHAEL ANDREW GALL, JOHN FRANCIS + MICHAEL BAKER

6.DECEMBER.2008 - MURPH'S
W/ JIM TRAINER

12.DECEMBER.2008 - DAWSON ST. PUB
W/ DAVID JANES

13.DECEMBER.2008 - JOHN + PETER'S
W/ THE PROS FROM DOVER

20.DECEMBER.2008 - FERGIE'S
W/ MARK PALUMBO + PAPERTREES

30.JANUARY.2009 - BLINKIN LINCOLN
W/ EMILY EASTERLY

8.FEBRUARY.2009 - GOGGLEWORKS

12.FEBRUARY.2009 - DAWSON ST. PUB
W/ JOHN FRANCIS, DAVID JANES + JIM TRAINER

28.FEBRUARY.2009 - GREEN LINE
W/ JIM TRAINER + VICTORY + GOOD HUNTING

13.MARCH.2009 - FERGIE'S
W/ TJ KONG + THE ATOMIC BOMB

21.MARCH.2009 - JOHN + PETER'S
W/ THE ACCIDENT THAT LED ME TO THE WORLD

11.APRIL.2009 - BLINKIN LINCOLN
W/ THE GREAT UNKNOWN + THE NEW TIME

24.APRIL.2009 - THE FIRE
W/ TRES BIEN + HEZEKIAH JONES

2.MAY.2009 - MURPH'S
W/ EMILY EASTERLY + J. SEGER

Though the Sweetheart Parade is on extended hiatus, many good things are happening to the friends we hold dear and admire. Just visit each of our top four to discover more about:

PAPERTREES currently recording their debut;

THE NEW TIME releasing their incredible first album, An Incomplete History, next week;

DAVID JANES and his band finalizing his debut, Deathcard, and looking at a September release;

METERMAIDS playing shows all summer with and for some of hip-hop's most respected and recognizable contributors.

We're happy for all their successes and wish them an awesome Summer, full of more of the same. We love you. A lot.

GOOD GRACES

There are birds beneath your skin,
o, figure eight of sky.
O, frail pile of dirt,
there are snakes in your eye

but night erases our good graces.

The buffalo is free to roam
in your heart if he desires,
but I will burn in this city
before all the flames expire

and the light confuses my lovely muses.



JEZEBEL

You were a girl once, a child, a baby that had
no reservations, frustrations or faults with your dad.
But you grew into the woman he could not contain
and when I met you I tried to relieve you of pain

and you said you hate him, he hurts you, it's awful.
Each day I tried to take you away.

You want to say that you need me like nothing you have,
you want to say that you have me and you'll never give me back.
When you're tired and unwinding you look like you're mad
and I get frightened that you'll think I hate what we have.

You want to say that you need me and you love me
to death, but, see, you've run out of breath.

And now your father is hitting you in the head
and you're just wishing that you could go back to bed,
but I'll just go home instead.

I was awakened by nightmares and thoughts of my mom
becoming quiet and distant, reciting a psalm:
"I know your deeds and your love, your service and faith,
and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

And you want to say that you need her, you love her.
But then, she's just misleading them."

So we're on Facebook. If you're not on Facebook, there is apparently too many things wrong with you to mention. Get there and Facebook all your friends; they are there, wondering where the hell you've been since high school. And they've got so many pictures of you, it's bananas. They might even scribble on your wall, if you're into that. Go on, say hello to Daniel.

Sorry, kids, Twittering is for birds and vaginas.

JB.

We'll be performing numerous times throughout the next few months with a fellow named Jim Trainer. He has been a big supporter of the Parade. He's got his Workingman's Blues Band, but he's also been focusing on solo material.

You should see him at least once every few weeks. He's a hard worker, with his heart built from oak + a voice full of flames.

I am going to help produce his first collection of solo songs. We're going to try to start working on it soon.

Visit his page here.

JB.

Record news:

SMOKE + VEIN will be released February 24th. It will feature songs from the out-of-print EPs as well as unreleased tracks.

Also, while we've promised for some time, SINGS LIKE A PRIEST will finally be available for purchase on iTunes + Amazon.com in the next week or so, if you've not already acquired a hard copy.

Lastly, copies of SMALLER CONSTELLATIONS will be sold at live shows beginning January 30th. Only fifty more copies were printed + it may be out-of-print once these last 50 have vanished.

Stay warm.
JB.