Happy New Year from all of us at FrankBlack.net! Our news section is one area of the site that we vow, in this new year, to update more frequently. So, here is part 1 of our resolution!

First of all, Non Stop Erotic (or is it NonStopErotik?) is due out on March 30th in the US and April 5 everywhere else. However, if you want to get a special sneak peak at the record, i might suggest checking out our March 1st edition of the FrankBlack.net podcast...just saying, it should be a special one.

Speaking of special podcasts, back in December we featured 7(!) pieces from the as-still-unreleased Golem box set, and spoke with three musicians involved with that record - Eric Drew Feldman, Ralph Carney and Jason Carter. It was one of the most fun podcasts we''ve ever done, and we hope that you check that, along with all of our other podcasts (including January''s Workout podcast) on our podcast page, and remember, the first of the month, EVERY month, we''re back with another new episode.

If you are a podcast kind of person, check out the most recent episode of Sound Opinions, a great "rock and roll talk show" from Chicago Public Radio and American Public Media that features our good friend Black Francis discussing Doolittle and the early days of the Pixies.

Sad news for all of us East Coasters - Black Francis''s participation in a March 2 tribute to the Who in New York City is no longer happening. Maybe we can convince him into making it up to us with a few shows...

...or if you are a Northern Californian, you have good news regarding some last minute acoustic shows coming up soon. January 30th, you can catch the man at the Hard to Find Showspace in Goleta and Feburay 7 at the Blue Lamp in Sacramento. The Goleta show is all ages, but it appears the Blue Lamp is not.

Mr. Francis, along with his lovely wife Violet Clark, is currently in the studio working on the second Grand Duchy record, tentatively titled Give the People What They Want. We will promise to update you as soon as we get more information.

Future Podcast guests and new friends to the site Joey Santiago and David Lovering have a band called The Everybody and a brand new record called Avatar (don''t worry - James Cameron didn''t touch this!) and a really cool new website which, among other things, features ways for you to collaborate with the band! It is a really cool idea, so go to TheEverybody.com and try to become part of Everybody Else!

And finally, since we all haven''t bought Doolittle enough times already, there is a new "Omnibus Edition" coming out from the Beggars Banquet Archival imprint sometime in the future. We''re being promised a surround sound mix, a Blu-Ray (of what? Audio? Videos? No one seems to know), mastered demos of most of the tracks, and a booklet full of new interviews. (Info from the amazingly titled website, Slicing Up Eyeballs) It actually does sound pretty cool - we'll keep you updated as more information becomes available.

-Brian

Ahoy folks - its been awhile since we've posted news, so let's get started:

First of all, for all us North Americans, the Doolittle tour should be rolling into your town very soon! Please check the tour dates to make sure that you don't miss the show.

On Friday, the Pixies are paying a visit to the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien - make sure to set your DVRs to catch this rare network television performance - Friday, 11:35pm EST on NBC.

Moving on from the Pixies, Black Francis is hosting two nights benefiting Winston Bertrand. I'll let this press release tell you about Winston: Winston Bertrand was born on February 20, 2009 with a double whammy of two extremely rare and life-threatening conditions. Winston was born with two rare complex malformations called Lymphatic and Venous Malformations. Lymphatic malformations are varying sized cystic abnormalities of the lymphatic system occurring in perhaps 1 in 10,000 births. His parents, Jennifer and Chris Bertrand have had to practically abandon their business to assist in around-the-clock in-home medical care for baby.

So what can we do to help out Winston? Well, first of all, you can donate to "Winston's Village" by clicking here. But, more excitingly, there are two gigs coming up that sound like they're going to be great, with all the proceeds going to Winston's Village. They take place December 8+9 at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. The show on the 8th will feature Black Francis "doing band and solo performances with special guest appearances by people like members of THE PIXIES and LOVE & ROCKETS, FLEA, SHE WANTS REVENGE, WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, MICHAEL PENN, DAVID J, THE 88 and GRAND DUCHY...more to be added." The show on the 9th is a night of comedy hosted by Black Francis and featuring "TIM & ERIC (form the Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job!), BOB ODENKIRK, BRIAN POSEHN, DAVID LOVERING, solo performances from Black Francis plus others to be announced." These shows sound amazing, and all of your Angelinos better make it out to one, if not both, of these.

And finally, the biggest news we've had around these parts in awhile, we are able to announce a brand new Black Francis record! Co-produced by Eric Drew Feldman, featuring several Los Angeles based musicians (including former Catholic Dave Philips) and titled NON STOP EROTIK (or EROTIC - we're not exactly sure yet!). Here is the tracklisting:

1. When I Go Down on You
2. Lake of Sin
3. O My Tidy Sum
4. Rabbits
5. Wheels (Flying Burrito Bros cover)
6. Dead Man's Curve
7. Corrina
8. Six Legged Man
9. Wild Son
10. Non Stop Erotic
11. Cinema Star

Once we get a release date firmed up for this, and for the Golem, we'll let you know!

-Brian

TONS of news trickling into our headquarters lately - and with our news system finally up and running again, we can bring you all the good info:

First and foremost - this coming Sunday, anyone within driving distance to New York City should be checking out "Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy," a night of live music featuring our own Frank Black, as well as the great Vic Chestnutt, The Autumn Defense (featuring Pat Sansone and John Stirrat of Wilco) and many, many more. Tickets are available here. And make sure to pick up the album that the show is celebrating when released September 29th. For more information, including a tracklisting, see our last news post.

You may notice that our tour dates section has been recently updated to reflect the full North American Pixies Doolittle tour, starting in early November. And more tour dates keep rolling in, with the Pixies heading down under for some shows in New Zealand and Australia - we will get those up soon as well.

We are also happy to report some news on 2 long-gestating projects: Der Golem and another new record produced by Eric Drew Feldman (who also produced Der Golem)! Der Golem is due to be released "in time for the holiday season" according to our friends at BlackFrancis.net. Remember, there are only 500 copies available - so grab it as soon as it is out!

Here is a picture of FBF at work in Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles working during the LA sessions for this new record, which will pick up very soon in the UK for the next batch of recordings. Whether or not this will be titled Non-Stop Erotik, as rumored by NME, is yet to be determined.

Blackfrancis.net also reports that a 2nd USB release, Live in Nijmegen, featuring the Bluefinger band of Dan Schmitt and Jason Carter, will be ready for release soon as well.

According to their Facebook page, a 2nd Grand Duchy album, titled Let the People Speak is already on its way to completition. We hope to hear more about this soon.

And finally, here are some quick links to some cool articles of note:

Our old pal Ben Sisario (author of the 33 1/3 series book, Doolittle) recently wrote an article for the New York Times on a rare, vinyl-only collection of the “Best Recorded Screams” as voted on by New York record store owners and - surprise, surprise - Black Francis is represented (by “Vamos”). Read more here.

Magnet Magazine has been all about FB lately - and now looks at his cover of “Hang Onto Your Ego” and pits it against the Beach Boys’ original. The article includes FB’s video, which if you’ve never seen it, is well worth a watch. Read about it here.

Ever wonder what Frank’s favorite Beatles song is? Wonder no more!

FB does a nice Q&A over at RollingStone.com.

And finally, Everybody, aka the Pixies’ Joey Santiago and David Lovering, have apparently collaborated with Matt Sharp of The Rentals on a few tracks - read more over at, you guessed it, Magnet.

We've been stockpiling some exciting news here at FrankBlack.net - so let's get right to it!

First of all, for all of our United States/Western Canadian readers, make sure to try and catch either Grand Duchy or Black Francis solo on their July tour!

July 6 - Edmonton, Alberta - Starlight (Black Francis only)
July 7 - Calgary, Alberta The Grand (Black Francis only)
July 8 - Regina, Saskatchewan - The Exchange (Black Francis only)
July 10 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock (Black Francis only)
July 11 - Madison, WI - High Noon (early show) (Black Francis only)
July 14 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe (Black Francis only)
July 15 - Easton, MD - Avalon Theatre (Black Francis only)
July 16 - Washington, DC - Black Cat (Grand Duchy)
July 17 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's (Grand Duchy)
July 18 - Brooklyn, NY - Siren Festival (Grand Duchy)
July 19 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East (Grand Duchy)
July 20 - Wellfleet, MA - Beachcomber (Black Francis only)
July 23 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop (Black Francis only)
July 24 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean (Grand Duchy)
July 25 - Chicago, IL - Wicker Park Festival
July 29 - Denver, CO - Walnut Room (Black Francis only)

Now, for all those across the pond who feel left out, the Pixies will be touring Doolittle in its entirety, along with its appropriate b-sides, throughout Europe in October. The tour is celebrating the record's 20th anniversary.

October 1 - Olympia, Dublin
October 2 - Olympia, Dublin
October 4 - SECC, Glasgow
October 6 - Brixton Academy, London
October 7 - Brixton Academy, London
October 8 - Brixton Academy, London
October 9 - Brixton Academy, London
October 11 - Jahrhunderhalle, Frankfurt
October 13 - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
October 14 - Forest National, Brussels
October 15 - Zenith, Paris

In addition to all the live dates, we have a bit of additional Pixies news. It seems that Mr. Black Francis has offered a challenge to Hollywood directors - let the Pixies score your film! “The band needs to work with a film director. Quentin Tarantino or someone like that. It’d be like, ‘Make some music for our film, you guys be the sound of the film’.” Will anyone take them up on this task? Do you see them working with someone like the aforementioned Tarantino, or someone like David Fincher? Or maybe even Judd Apatow!

And finally, we have some sad news from a friend of our website and of FBF, Mark Mulcahy. Some of you might recognize the name as the singer/songwriter behind Miracle Legion and Polaris, both of which featured Catholics David McCafferey and Scott Boutier, or perhaps you recognize the name from the liner notes of Christmass, as Mark provided backing vocals for both "Radio Lizards" and "Don't Get Me Wrong." Or maybe, like me, you saw Mark open for the Pixies in Atlantic City in 2005. Regardless, Mark's wife recently passed away, leaving him as a single dad to two small children. Some friends and admirers, including our Frank Black Francis, have recorded some of Mark's songs for a tribute record called Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy. Check out this AMAZING group of artists contributing:

01 Thom Yorke: "All for the Best"
02 The National: "Ashamed of the Story I Told"
03 Michael Stipe: "Everything’s Coming Undone"
04 David Berkeley: "Love's the Only Thing That Shuts Me Up"
05 Dinosaur Jr.: "The Backyard"
06 Chris Harford and Mr. Ray Neal: "Micon the Icon"
07 Frank Black: "Bill Jocko"
08 Vic Chesnutt: "Little Man"
09 Unbelievable Truth: "Ciao My Shining Star"
10 Butterflies of Love: "I Have Patience"
11 Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne: "Cookie Jar"
12 Frank Turner: "The Quiet One"
13 Rocket From the Tombs: "In Pursuit of Your Happiness"
14 Ben Kweller: "Wake Up Whispering"
15 Josh Rouse: "I Woke Up in the Mayflower"
16 Autumn Defense: "Paradise"
17 Hayden: "Happy Birthday Yesterday"
18 Juliana Hatfield: "We're Not in Charleston Anymore"
19 Mercury Rev: "Sailors and Animals"
20 Elvis Perkins: "She Watches Over Me"
21 Sean Watkins: "A World Away From This One"

The record comes out September 29th (my wedding anniversary!) on Shout! Factory records and was put together by friend of the site, Myles Mangino (who we hope to have on a podcast soon to further talk up the record).

And finally, the writers over at Magnet, one of the best music magazines still standing, have asked a question that has plagued our forum members for years now: Frank Black Vs. the Pixies. Read the funny (and controversial!) article here.

And, keep your ears peeled for new podcasts on the 15th of the month, every month, for the foreseeable future.

-Brian

Good news for us East Coast fans who haven't had an FBF sighting in our timezone since 2006! Grand Duchy will be joining Built to Spill, the Raveonettes, Frightened Rabbit, Monotonix, Micachu and The Shapes at the 2009 Village Voice Siren Music Festival, held at Coney Island in the hipster capital of the world, Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, July 18 from Noon to 9pm. Details are slowly being released, but one thing is for sure - as in years past, this festival will be FREE! So even if you're not from the area, who can pass up a free festival, surrounded by the legendary Cyclone roller coaster, the beach, the boardwalk, AND Grand Duchy? Look for me there! -Brian

As promised, here is a recap of the twelve "Cultural Positions" taken by the Duke and Duchess of Grand Duchy over at Magnet Magazine Online this past week. Things started off with a Q&A wit the band, followed by a look at the films of Woody Allen, a discussion of Pink Champagne, the genius of Tommy Wiseau, The Cars, Atomic Ranch Magazine, the Pompidou, the comedy stylings of Tim and Eric and Zach Galifianakis, a post on happenings, the Italian crooner Paolo Conte, 21st century heath and healing remedies, the punk rock trailblazers Mick Jones and Tony James, a.k.a. Carbon/Silicon and finally, hotels.

It was quite a varied dozen - and although we are sad their week as guest editors is over, we are excited that in the morning we will officially be treated to the North American release of Petits Four. And, it appears that we will be treated to three iTunes exclusives - "Donnes Moi," "Ma Carrefour" and "Beg" - and the best part is, they are available as individual downloads (unlike so many iTunes exclusives which are only available as part of an album) - so if you would prefer a physical copy of the record, make sure to pick up the three bonus tracks on their own.

-Brian

This week, Grand Duchy is guest editing Magnet Magazine's website - this means that twice a day, we get mini-posts, called "Grand Duchy Cultural Positions," from the band about things they dig. The first such article, about Woody Allen, can be found here.

Also, Magnet did a Q&A with the duo, which touches on the Starland Vocal Band, Larry of the Three Stooges, and being "heavily into Google Translating."

Keep checking the site for more updates throughout the week, as well as a full recap from us this weekend!

-Brian and Dean

R.I.P. Duane Jarvis

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of occasional Frank Black Francis collaborator, and all around great guy Duane Jarvis.

According to the L.A. Times, Duane passed away Wednesday morning, surrounded by family. He was 51.

Duane has played with FBF on the Fall 2006 North American tour, and his playing appears on Fastman Raiderman, as well as on the forthcoming Der Golem.

Duane was a true gentleman, and was amazingly kind to me the few times our paths crossed.

Rest in Peace, Duane. We miss you already.

Matto writes to let us know that Pitchfork has a video, along the lines of the secret videos on GrandDuchyMusic.com of an unknown song followed by a fun clip of what sounds like an early demo (with video) of "Come On Over To My House". Preceeding all this is a bunch of Grand Duchy stock footage which is sure to entertain if not promise the video a spot on MTV.

You haven't heard of the secret content on GrandDuchyMusic.com? You didn't even know there was a GrandDuchyMusic.com?? Well, go and check it out. As for the secret videos, we don't want to ruin all the fun for you, but enter your favourite country's two-letter code after the URL and you could be in for a treat. Just a few of the examples...

grandduchymusic.com/lu
grandduchymusic.com/be
grandduchymusic.com/fr
grandduchymusic.com/nl
grandduchymusic.com/de
grandduchymusic.com/uk

-Dean

At last, details of the Grand Duchy May warmup tour are starting to surface. While we still don't have most of the venues confirmed, the band will start just shy of the Canadian border in Bellingham, Washington, and work their way down to Santa Barbara, California over the first ten days of May. It is doubtful there will be time for many more shows in the springtime, as the Pixies are playing festivals in Europe come June. However, Grand Duchy should be annexing most of North America, city by city, starting in July.

Keep an eye on our list of tour dates (to the right) for upcoming dates and venue information as it becomes available.

May 1	Bellingham, WA
May 2	Tacoma, WA
May 3	Eugene, OR
May 5	Santa Cruz, CA
May 6	Oakland, CA
May 8	Costa Mesa, CA
May 9	San Diego, CA
May 10	Santa Barbara, CA

-Dean