Hey there -

"St. Sebastian of the Short Stage" 10" EP is here! You can get it at:
http://www.teamsciencerecords...com

Or... at the Mercury Lounge show Nov. 16, where, in late-breaking
news, I'll be playing with good ol' Demander and Hoots & Hellmouth.

Reviews incoming: http://www.idiomag.com/peek/..98839/franz_nicolay

About "Guignol & Mischief Brew Fight Dirty":
http://www.adequacy.net/2009/..10/guignol-mischief-brew-..fight-dirty/

I'm wrapping up a few weeks in Europe with Mark Eitzel and Marc
Capelle. Believe me when I say that if you have a chance to see this
show, do. It's one of the best performances I've ever seen.

Nov 11 - Julius Singer Press Benefit Show (the publisher of my
upcoming book) @ Public Assembly
70 N. 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY
w/ Girls In Trouble (Alicia from Golem, Aaron from Old Time Relijun)
and more.
I'll be reading and playing.

Nov 14 - Hartzveytik! A Heartbreak Survival Society Social
(sponsored by BUST Magazine)
Southpaw, 125 5th Ave., Brooklyn NY
W/ Soft Power (Mary Timony), The Shondes, a craft fair, vegan treats,
"celebrity heartbreak mixtapes," and a lot more from the look of it.
I'll be playing a short (20 min) set.

ALSO! I'll be making a guest appearance at Amanda Palmer's show at
Music Hall of Williamsburg later that night.

Nov 16 - Mercury Lounge
w/ Demander, Hoots & Hellmouth

Nov 21 - THE HOLD STEADY @ Butterball, Mpls

In December, two more weeks in Germany and Austria supporting the
mighty Moneybrother.

Happy rainy November,
Franz

Coming right back, to play some big rooms supporting the great Moneybrother aus Sweden (www.myspace.com/moneybrother):

01.12.09    Dresden, Germany; Beatpol   
02.12.09    Essen, Germany; Zeche Carl   
03.12.09    Bielefeld, Germany; Kamp    
05.12.09    Berlin, Germany; Postbahnhof    
06.12.09    Hamburg, Germany; Grünspan    
07.12.09    Köln, Germany; Stollwerck    
08.12.09    München, Germany; Backstagehall
10.12.09    Karlsruhe, Germany; Substage   
11.12.09    Innsbruck, Austria; Weekender 
12.12.09    Ebensee, Austria; Kino   
13.12.09    Wien, Austria; Wuk    
14.12.09    Darmstadt, Germany; Centralstation

PRE-ORDER


Artwork by Nicholas Gazin

(I might also point out that Team Science is offering a Franz Nicolay pin-and-corkscrew set, so you'll probably want one of those...)

Sep 29 - Winchester, UK @ The Railway (w/ Chuck Prophet)
Sep 30 - Bristol, UK @ Fiddlers (w/ Chuck Prophet)
Oct 1 - London, UK @ The Garage (w/ Chuck Prophet)
Oct 2 - Bedford, UK @ The Civic (w/ Chuck Prophet)
Oct 4 - Exeter, UK @ Phoenix (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 5 - London, UK @ Windmill Brixton
Oct 6 - Winchester, UK @ Tower Arts (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 7 - London, UK @ St. Giles Church (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 8 - Brighton, UK @ The Basement (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 9 - Kafe Antzokia, Bilbao, Spain (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 10 - FIZ Festival, Zaragoza, Spain
Oct 11 - Matadero, Huesca, Spain (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 12 - Heliogabal, Barcelona, Spain (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 14 - Joy Eslava Festival, Madrid, Spain

Oct 24 - Music In Mind Festival, Brugge, Belgium
Oct 25 - Sentier des Halles, Paris, France (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 27 - Music Star, Norderstedt, Germany (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 28 - Cafe Zapata, Berlin, Germany (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 30 - Aarhus, Denmark @ Music Cafeen (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Oct 31 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Music Cafeen (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Nov 1 - Echo, Utrecht, The Netherlands (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Nov 3 - St. Bonaventures, Bristol, UK (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Nov 4 - Birmingham, UK @ Glee Club (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Nov 5 - Manchester, UK @ St. Margaret's Church (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Nov 7 - Edinburgh, UK @ Cabaret Voltaire (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Nov 8 - Newcastle, UK @ Cluny 2 (w/ Mark Eitzel)
Nov 9 - Leeds, UK @ Brudnell Social Club (w/ Mark Eitzel)

Hi there -

I've moved back to Brooklyn and going through a decade-late purge of my boxed past. So many trash bags...But then I'm leaving on a two-month tour ping-ponging between the Hold Steady and my first European solo tour, supporting Chuck Prophet and then Mark Eitzel. Also! two readings of new stories about complicated gardening and veterinary techniques Wednesday night, one in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn.

Thanks to everyone who came to the August shows. Here's some great pictures from Harrisburg:
http://www.moemoephoto.com/Bands/FranzNicolay/08-11-2009/

Sep 1 - FRANZ NICOLAY @ Bushwick Book Club
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway, Brooklyn NY

Sep 2 - FRANZ NICOLAY reading at InDigest 1207 Reading Series
(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker St., NYC; 7pm
Readings by 2-3 writers that "read something of their own and then bring in another piece of work to read that inspired them in some way, positively or negatively." I'll be joined by Canadian short-story writer Neil Smith ("Bang Crunch"). Doors at 6:30, reading at 7; in the LPR bar/gallery. www.indigestmag.com

ALSO! 9/2 FRANZ NICOLAY reading at Friends With Benefits; 9:45pm
Bruar Falls, 245 Grand St., Brooklyn NY
Also reading: Mike Edison (former Editor-in-Chief of Screw & High Times; author of "I Have Fun Everywhere I Go")
Leni Zumas (Author, Farewell Navigator)
Vincent Cacchione (Soft Black)
Jesse Sposato (Sadiemagazine.com)

Sep 10 - THE HOLD STEADY @ Islington Academy, London
Sep 12 - THE HOLD STEADY @ Cois Fharraige Festival, Ireland
Sep 13 - THE HOLD STEADY @ End of the Road Festival, UK
Sep 13 - FRANZ NICOLAY @ End of the Road Festival, North Dorset, UK

THE HOLD STEADY CANADA:
Sep 17 - Anchorage, AK @ Beartooth Theatre
Sep 19 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
Sep 21 - Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room
Sep 22 - Calgary, AB @ The Warehouse Nightclub
Sep 23 - Saskatoon, SK @ Odeon
Sep 24 - Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre
Sep 26 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
Sep 27 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace

FRANZ NICOLAY
Sep 29 - Winchester, UK @ The Railway (w/ Chuck Prophet)
Sep 30 - Bristol, UK @ Fiddlers (w/ Chuck Prophet)

OK! "St. Sebastian of the Short Stage" and Guignol release news soon. See you somewhere...

Franz

It's touring time again -

A college friend who's now a botanist Ph.D. at Rutgers got in touch
because he needed to go on a plant-collecting roadtrip, in search of
Japanese Stilt Grass (Microstegium vimineum), and wanted a driving
buddy. It was time to go on tour again anyway. Car contents will
include guitar, accordion, banjo, plant press, lots of plastic bags
and about 20 pounds of silica gel. We can be spotted at high
elevations, rivers, wet spots and drainage areas during the day, and
local rock establishments after dark.

FRANZ NICOLAY (& ARI NOVY, SCIENTIST):
Aug 4 - Social, Orlando FL
Aug 5 - Cafe Eleven, St. Augustine, FL
Aug 6 - Village Tavern, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Aug 7 - The Milestone, Charlotte, NC
Aug 8 - Night Light, Chapel Hill, NC
Aug 9 - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Charlottesville, VA
Aug 10 - Black Cat (downstairs), Washington, DC
Aug 11 - Abbey Bar, Harrisburg, PA
Aug 12 - First Unitarian Church Chapel, Philadelphia, PA
Aug 13 - Maxwell's (FULL BAND), Hoboken, NJ (w/ Ida Maria)
Aug 14 - Union Pool, NYC (FULL BAND) w/ Doug Gillard (ex-Guided By
Voices) & Pearl and The Beard

also:
Aug 30 - THE HOLD STEADY @ V Fest, Meriwether Post Pavilion,
Cambridge, MD

---

Maybe you've noticed I've been doing a bunch of writing recently. I
wrote two long features but I think they're worth the read -

- a career-retrospective feature on the Subhumans for Impose, on the
occasion of the re-master and re-release of their six classic
records:

http://www.imposemagazine.com/..work-rest-play-die-the-..subhumans/19630/

- A long analysis of "late-style" Bob Dylan: "LOVE, DEATH & KNOCK-
KNOCK JOKES: Adorno, Said, & Late Style in Dylan". If Christgau can
call himself the Dean of American Rock Critics I'm the semiotics
professor.

http://spectrumculture.com/..2009/07/love-death-knock-..knock-jokes-adorno-said-late-..style-in-dylan.html

I'll be doing a few readings of new material in September, but more on
that then. Gotta find a new apartment before tour. I will say I'll be
doing a "surprise set" at the End of the Road Festival Sept. 13 in
Larmer Tree Gardens, North Dorset, UK - I guess I can't say where or
when, but if you're at the Hold Steady set you won't miss it.

OK bye -
Franz

Hi there, it's me, Franz. Here's what's up:

** New video from "Major General"! Our old friend and multimedia artist Scrapworm (http://scrap.j-3.org) did a great film for "This World Is An Open Door". It also features Demander's Karen Correa, In Cadeo's Jared Scott, and me in a funny hat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8UIKHA__Rg

** "Major General" comes out July 15 in Europe and the UK on Decor Records (http://www.decorrecords.com/news/index.html), with two bonus tracks - "The Black Rose Paladins" and "There Will Be Violins" (from the demos) - and I'll be supporting Chuck Prophet and Mark Eitzel on European tours this fall.

It is UNCUT's 4-star "Debut Album of the Month" in this month's issue ("exudes a suitably exuberant self-confidence...Few side projects have as much character as the witty and full-hearted 'Major General'); and gets three stars in Q ("Recasting the windswept folk artist as someone with piratical swagger, he comes over like Nick Cave leading an American Pogues, and every see-saw rhythm is shot through with a potent, whisky-drenched drama. In other words, the man's a ham, but a terrific one").

** Shows, of course...

THE HOLD STEADY:
7/2 The Ritz, Tampa FL
7/3 Rothbury Music Festival, Rothbury MI
7/7 El Rey Theatre, LA (w/ El Bronx)
7/10 Majestic Theatre, Madison WI
7/11 Basilica Block Party, Minneapolis MN

7/14 FRANZ NICOLAY @ Bushwick Book Club
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway, Brooklyn
Songs about Miranda July's "No One Belongs Here More Than You". w/ Corn Mo, Emilyn Brodsky, and more.

7/24 THE HOLD STEADY @ Starland Ballroom, Sayreville NJ
7/25 THE HOLD STEADY @ XPNonential Music Festival, Wiggins Park, Camden NJ

----

I just finished a recording session with circus composer Sxip Shirey and ex-Dresden Doll Brian Viglione, the results of which will be out in two different releases, about which more soon. I've been wanting to work with Sxip for years, it's very exciting that it's finally happened and the results are extremely cool. And I'll be doing solo dates from Orlando up to NYC in early August (www.franznicolay.com/shows.html), finishing up with full-band shows at Maxwell's 8/13 with Ida Maria and Union Pool 8/14 with Doug Gillard (ex-Guided By Voices).


OK, 'til next month...

Franz

Hi there!

Sorry I'm late with this one. My computer committed seppuku last month. Shows list only slightly out-of-date, and I sure am sorry if you missed the "Watchmen" edition of Bushwick Book Club on Tuesday. This blog can show you what you missed: http://www.geekanerdblog.com/2009/06/video-ballad-of-hollis-wadsworth-mason.html

There's a special edition of the Book Club Wednesday, though, before the THS show, at a beatrice.com book release party. Songs about books with adolescent protagonists. See below.

"Major General" blue vinyl is now available at Vinyl Collective. With your order, you're entered into a contest for the test pressing:
http://www.vinylcollective.com/2009/06/01/tppo-franz-nicolay-major-general-lp-blue-vinyl/

Also, I'm pleased to announce that "Major General" is being released in Europe and UK, with two bonus tracks ("There Will Be Violins" and "The Black Rose Paladins" from the now-defunct "Black Rose Paladins" demo CD-R) by Decor Records (www.decorrecords.com) in July. It'll be UNCUT's featured debut record that month, and I'll be touring over there in the fall with Chuck Prophet and Mark Eitzel.

I wrote a brief piece on the "Song of the Decade" for Spectrum Culture: http://spectrumculture.com/2009/05/as-the-decade-comes-to.html

So, shows. Four nights in NYC and six with Dave Matthews, of all people:

6/1 DEMANDER @ Mercury Lounge
w/ Art Brut

6/2 FRANZ NICOLAY @ Bushwick Book Club
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway, Bushwick, Brooklyn NY

THE HOLD STEADY
June 7 - 9:30 Club, Washington DC
June 8 - Bowery Ballroom, NYC
June 9 - Bowery Ballroom, NYC
June 10 - Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY

June 10 EARLIER! BUSHWICK BOOK CLUB @ Slipper Room
167 Orchard St., NYC
Members of the Bushwick Book Club, including myself, Phoebe Kreutz, Tom Curtin, and more, play a reading by debut novelists Therese Rebeck, Matthew Aaron Goodman, and Sung J. Woo. Each novel is about adolescent protagonists, so we're writing songs about famous books with adolescent protagonists. Sponsored by Beatrice.com. 7-9pm.

June 11 - THE HOLD STEADY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY

THE HOLD STEADY w/ Dave Matthews Band
6/12 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
6/13 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
6/14 Castaways, Ithaca, NY (no DMB)
6/15 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH (no DMB)
6/16 Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, OH Series 2-2009
6/17 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, MO
6/19 Post-Gazette Pavilion Burgettstown, PA
6/20 Post-Gazette Pavilion Burgettstown, PA

6/21 THE HOLD STEADY @ Taste of Randolph St. Festival, Chicago IL

Two great records to add to the discography are now available in various forms: Emily Hope-Price "The Crux and the Bluestocking" (myspace.com/emilyhopeprice) and Pearl and the Beard "God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson" (myspace.com/pearlandthebeard). Buy them and be pleased.

Off to DC. The Hold Steady was invited to take a private tour of the White House, so we're doing that tomorrow. The first family is out of town though. Crap! Upcoming: details on the Franz Nicolay 10" vinyl from Team Science, a collaboration with Sxip Shirey, and writing about Dylan, the Subhumans, and the best one-hit wonder of the '00s.

OK,
Franz

Wow, big day. Stereogum is debuting the video for "Jeff Penalty", a starring-and-directing tour de force for Thomas Bayne, of Adult Swim's Venture Bros. Like so!:

http://stereogum.com/archives/video/new-franz-nicolay-video-jeff-penalty-stereogum-pre_063591.html

(It was a pretty fun shoot - Susan Hwang took some pictures; more hamming here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanhwang/sets/72157615246390122/)

----

Also! Daytrotter, if you don't know, is a great podcast which brings artists to their studio in the midwest to reinterpret their and other songs (check out the Mountain Goats version of "Red River Valley"). Also they make nice illustrations. Anyway, here's a review, which i think they really nailed: "[S]ongs that float between the odes of men ready to make amends and men wanting to break things...It’s good to just be prepared for the next right and the next fire that will consume and burn up everything in its path." And four songs, downloadable, including a tack-piano version of "Dead Sailors" and, at long last, a studio recording of "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo."

http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/franz-nicolay-the-same-rush-from-a-thrill-and-a-catastrophe-concert/20030488-3737776.html

OK! See you next week on the west coast, maybe.
F

Hi there, from the calm, secluded campus of some Christian college in the Upper Peninsula. Anarchy in the U.P. We're a few days into the Hold Steady tour out to Coachella, then I'm heading out solo for ten days up to Seattle and back, with the great Swedish singer Moneybrother (www.moneybrother.net). I will have vinyl "Major General"! Check it out:

THE HOLD STEADY
Apr 1 - Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf Music Hall
Apr 2 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Calvin College Fine Arts Center
Apr 3 - Urbana, IL @ Illini Courtyard Cafe
Apr 4 - Bloomington, IN @ Jake's Nightclub
Apr 6 - St. Louis, MO @ The Gargoyle
Apr 7 - Iowa City, IA @ Picador
Apr 8 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Apr 10 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater
Apr 11 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Apr 13 - Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar
Apr 14 - Stateline, NV @ Harrah's Tahoe South Shore Room
Apr 15 - Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's Night Club
Apr 17 - Indio, CA - Coachella Festival

FRANZ NICOLAY WEST COAST
all shows w/ Moneybrother
Apr 21 - Bottom Of The Hill, SF, CA
Apr 22 - Redding Downtown Eatery, Redding, CA
Apr 23 - Ike Box, Salem, OR
Apr 24 - Sunset Tavern (late show), Seattle, WA
Apr 25 - East End, Portland, OR
Apr 27 - The Press Club, Sacramento, CA
Apr 28 - The Cellar Door, Visalia, CA
Apr 29 - Spaceland, LA CA

Also this month - April 7, to be exact - comes "A Positive Rage," a full-length Hold Steady documentary from the fall 2006 tours right after the release of "Boys & Girls In America"; packaged with a live album from Halloween at the Metro in Chicago last year and two bonus tracks from the "Stay Positive" sessions ("40 Bux" and "Spectres" - see if you can catch the pun on the latter...) That's here: http://www.amazon.com/Positive-Rage-Hold-Steady/dp/B001TH15WK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1238699854&sr=8-1

Bushwick Book Club is getting some attention: http://www.nypress.com/article-19606-what-they-sing-about-when-they-sing-about-books.html

The Major General show at Roseland with the Pogues was great. Konstantin took some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/violentgrind/sets/72157615249632870/

Someone asked me to write about comfort food on tour. I like Subway: www.franznicolay.com

Coming up: "Major General" videos! New solo material on a 10" vinyl from Team Science!

OK, see you on the West Coast.
Franz