Hello fans and friends!

Has it really been so long since we've kept in touch? You haven't changed a bit. Well, your hair's a bit different, but I can tell those eyes from a mile off. I'm sorry we've been a bit incommunicado. John has even taken a brief break from his hectic schedule of waking up, Twittering, eating, Twittering, and then Twittering in his sleep. If you haven't been following JR's Twitter site, you can follow him HERE.

The reason we've been so quiet recently is because we have finally put the pedal to the creative metal and hunkered down on those last little bits of the new record we've put off for far too long. Also, we've been rehearsing for some super special festival appearances this summer -- the first at the Doe Bay Festival on Orcas Island in WA, the second at the Bumbershoot Festival, and third as a part of a very special Barsuk Records showcase for Musicfest NW in Portland, OR.

This has been a difficult process because, as you may or may not know, Nabil accepted a job as Label Manager for 4AD which requires him to spend less time in a van traveling our great country and more time sitting behind a desk in New York and shuffling papers. We are super excited for his rise to prominence, and are glad to hear that the label's uniform policy was updated to allow ridiculous sideburns and mustaches specifically as a part of his contract. That being said, we now have the daunting task of filling Nabil's shoes. As John posted on the Long Winters Message Board:

"For Doe Bay we're going to have famous American Mike Musburger, formerly of the Fastbacks and Posies, (and innumerable others), and for Bumbershoot we're pleased to announce that Nabil will be flying out to play one last show. Both of these guys are amazing musicians and each show will have it's own unique character. After that, look for us to have a permanent replacement fro Nabil by the time we play in Portland in mid-September."

We are excited to be back on stage and playing new and old favorites for you again. If you'd like to catch up with what's been going on in our months of uncharacteristic quiet, you can check out the YouTube channel 13SongswithJohn, which, only 8-episodes in, has already featured throaty chuckles, tears, and near-death experiences. Who says John gives run-of-the-mill interviews?!

For those of you unable to make it, we hope to keep in better contact over the next few months, both here, on Facebook, and on the band's Message Board.

We will be seeing you all soon!

The Long Winters