Long rumored but finally confirmed, Frank Black is delighted to announce two very special shows for 2025, where he will be performing the Teenager Of The Year album in full.

The Teenager Of The Year shows will see Frank Black play the London Palladium on Thursday 6th February and Paris on Tuesday 4th February.

The full line up is:

• Frank Black - guitar and vocals
• Eric Drew Feldman - bass and keys
• Lyle Workman - guitar
• Nick Vincent - drums
• Rob Laufer - keys, bass and guitar

Nowhere in the press release were further dates mentioned,
on the other hand, they may just want to see if there
really is enough interest to make further shows make sense.

The full press release is below but I speculate that this tour
has already garnered enough interest to have a few more dates
at least in these venues.

Maybe, and this is just wishful thinking on my part, but maybe
Eric Drew Feldman (who will be on bass and keys!) or
Rob Laufer (everything except drums!) will be up for
including a stop in sunny Saskatoon. Though I'd settle for
Calgary or even Cincinnati if I'm being honest.

All that said, it doesn't matter where, if I have to
drive the Pan American highway all the way to
Argentina of fly across the pond to catch this
TOTY tour, I'll do it. It would just be a lot
easier, you know, if they would come to me here in
Saskatoon. :)

Charles hasn't got back to me yet
on if there is anything closer coming for us non-Europeans but
mark my words, as soon as I know something that
I can share with you all, I will do that
no matter how bad my internet connection is or how
giddy I am for this show in general.

In any case, here is the full press release,
jam packed with a little bit of the
untold history recording the album in
Los Angeles and how Teenager of the
Year came to be despite forest fires and more.

I can't tell you how excited I am!

- Dean

PRESS RELEASE

“Sometime in the early 80s, I'd have to look up the date, I matriculated high school. This school held an awards banquet for some of the departing students at the school. I received an award called the TEENAGER OF THE YEAR award; my brother received the same award the following year. Our award was a 50 dollar credit for textbooks, a TEENAGER OF THE YEAR medallion (my mother still has this), and also the banquet hall dinner, soup to nuts. My brother and I had no complaint about the award (it was given for being all-around-good-guy as best as we could determine). But for such a grand title to be given as TEENAGER OF THE YEAR, I felt the glory had not been amplified enough.

In 1993, I was doing “solo recording” sessions with Eric Drew Feldman in Los Angeles. We had settled on a core band with Nick Vincent and Lyle Workman, occasionally augmented by Joey Santiago and Moris Tepper. Though we had to change studios numerous times for actual forest fires and earthquakes, the whole process was such an addictive musical buffet that Eric and I couldn't stop. We did some vocals at a studio rumored to be owned by Sergio Mendes; in the control room was a wall of television screens broadcasting the brush fire which crept toward us. We eventually evacuated to someplace else. We never met Sergio but we saw him perform a few weeks later when we vacated to Las Vegas after the Northridge earthquake, which had trapped the TEENAGER OF THE YEAR tapes in a studio vault for some time. Our zeal plus empathy from our financiers, they safely observing our travails from London, was enough to keep the money flowing until Eric and I relented and declared “Consummatum est”.

We tried to make it grand. 22 in 62. I called it TEENAGER OF THE YEAR. It is 30 years old now, and the original band will perform the record at various venues in early 2025. 4AD has remastered the LP for a fresh printing. Enjoy.” Black Francis 2024 Meredith, New Hampshire.

Originally released in May 1994, Teenager of the Year, is now widely regarded as the defining statement of his solo career and the best album the Pixies never made.

Pitchfork placed Teenager Of The Year in their Top 100 albums of the 90’s saying “beneath its veneer lie the moments brilliant enough to rival any of the Pixies’ 1990’s work, and Black’s greatest lyrical achievement.” The album is also included in the book “ 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die”, while The Quietus in 2014 said “Teenager Of The Year feels like a lost Pixies album in the way Ram feels like a lost Beatles album. It’s colossal, it teems with innovation.”

Watch the video for the single Headache from Teenager Of The Year.

“Initially it was a 14-song album. It was mixed. Eric Idle was staying nearby. He kept telling me to change the songs around. Al (Clay)had to run off and go to his next project. We weren’t completely happy with what we had. The solution: record more songs. Eight more were born. Whole shebang was remixed by David Bianco. The day before we were to start the remix, the 1994 Northridge earthquake occurred. Charles, Jean (Charles’ first wife) and I escaped to Las Vegas, ate many shrimp cocktails, and we saw Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’99 perform. Sergio was especially good. After about five days we returned to the mixing studio and the deed was done.” -Eric Drew Feldman.*

The new re-mastered version of Teenager Of The Year will be released by 4AD later this year.

Along with Frank Black, the band for the tour features Eric Drew Feldman, Lyle Workman and Nick Vincent who originally appeared on the Teenager Of the Year album.

Tickets for the Teenager Of The Year shows are available from 10am CET Friday 14th June here: https://blackfranc.is

The full Teenager Of The Year dates are: February
04th - Paris, France -Le Trianon
06th - London, UK - The Palladium ]]>http://www.frankblack.net/news/#701http://www.frankblack.net/news/#701Fri, 15 May 2020 02:18:00 PSTToday in the news, A new collaboration from Frank Black and The Residents reflects the mood of the day, complete with a video of Covid-19 spiky balls rolling around the screen. But Frank Black told Rolling Stone that the song was recorded pre-COVID in San Francisco.

“It was pretty intense. I almost felt like I wasn’t going to be able to do justice or something. It was so dark, I didn’t know whether or not I was going to be able to pull it off. So after I got over that first hump of shyness or whatever, I was able to kind of get into the murdering kind of frantic mode. You know, it’s been a while since I’ve recorded something so frantic and angry-sounding.”

The Residents claim that the song was originally written by a long lost bluesman named Alvin Snow in the mid-Seventies. There is some question whether Snow actually exists. In the same Rolling Stone article, they wondered who could inspire such animosity. “Then, without warning, the world was quickly captivated and consumed by the COVID-19 health crisis. And as the pandemic grew, eagerly enveloping an entire civilization both physically and emotionally, one voice stood out from the cacophony generated by a world gravely stricken with suffering and pain. And for the Residents, something about that voice was familiar… not the actual voice itself but its tone… larger than life, sneering and utterly empty of empathy, love and compassion. And in that moment, almost 50 years of reflection back to the Seventies was complete. ‘Die! Die! Die!’ became ‘Now! Now! Now!’ A perfect parallel with its all too eager protagonist snidely and indifferently turning his back on a world whose approval he so desperately sought.” ]]>http://www.frankblack.net/news/#329http://www.frankblack.net/news/#329Sat, 22 Feb 2020 20:05:00 PSTToday in the news, No official reason was provided, but there is certainly speculation that the recent outbreak of Corona virus is at least part of the cause. Offically, the dates are postponded and not cancelled outright, so there is still hope for fans that a replacement show may be scheduled.

-Dean]]>http://www.frankblack.net/news/#722http://www.frankblack.net/news/#722Tue, 30 Dec 2014 18:24:00 PSTToday in the news, The day has finally arrived. We've updated the news on the main page. Oh, and it's official: There will be a Frank Black & The Catholics Boxset! At the time of posting this news, there are approximately 100 of a total 200 limited edition boxsets remaining which come with a signed Charlotte (the coverart, done by FB) print. Moreover, when you pre-order you get access to some other gems including FB comments on various songs and a few exclusive streaming tracks. If you don't know which FB song tells the story of Spanish colonization in California, head on over to Pledge Music's page and get yourself a copy, find out the answer, and then listen to a rocking live version of that song.

Now, for the news...

On March 23rd, 2015 Frank Black And The Catholics release the complete recordings box set on Cooking Vinyl. The 7-CD box features all of the band’s 6 studio albums plus a bonus CD entitled "True Blue" which is filled with songs that, according to Ben Mumphrey, "were recorded with the intention of being demos, to be sent to the Catholics band to learn before they traveled to Los Angeles to record the album Black Letter Days. We recorded in the temporarily empty 'B' room in Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, where many of Mr.Black’s local musician friends came by to help out. In return, exquisite evening buffets were provided for all, which Frank Black himself brought to the studio nightly and spread out. Everyone played, ate, talked, and was merry."

All six formally released albums (self-titled [1998], Pistolero [1999], Dog in the Sand [2001], Black Letter Days [2002], Devil’s Workshop [2002] & Show Me Your Tears [2003]) have been re-mastered from the original live 2-track and 1-track recordings. The release contains well over a hundred songs. True Blue is a disc of “technical demos” that Ben Mumphrey (who engineered all of the mobile recordings) found in his New Orleans recording archive.

The box set will have the songs in alphabetical order as opposed to presented in album format. Frank Black (or as the kids are calling him once again, Black Francis) explains, "[Alphabetizing the songs] feels like an approximation of randomness and it's a way to randomize something, especially if it's [arranged by] titles... We get away from the preciousness of LPs we put out and it's more about the body of work, the good times that we had." See a video of FB talking about the boxset (including artwork) here.]]>http://www.frankblack.net/news/#721http://www.frankblack.net/news/#721Sat, 7 May 2011 12:28:00 PSTToday in the news, Now that the Pixies have wrapped up their Canadian Doolittle tour, you might be asking what's next? 'Might' is probably the wrong word to use here, we've seen the emails. First of all, rumour on the street is that the Pixies are still looking to bring the fantastic Doolittle tour to new locales in the US with what we have affectionately dubbed here in FB.Net land, the "No Cities Left Behind" tour. If the Pixies have never been yo your town, let us know about it on the forum.

Others in far-flung locales across the globe or who just want some new material are not to be disappointed, either. Black Paisley, a collaborative project between "Frank" Black Francis and Reid Paley is slated for release this year. Their first record will be titled "They Walk By Night" and is produced by Jon Tiven. Those not familiar with Reid's work probably are. You may recall previous collaborative efforts in songs like I'm Not Dead (I'm in Pittsburg), Dog Sleep, and Golden Shore just for a few examples. Of course, you can always check Reid's website and hear "Take What You Want" which was also covered by FB. The track listing, according to BlackFrancis.Net follows:

• 1. Curse On You
• 2. Last Song
• 3. Crescent Moon
• 4. Praise
• 5. Ugly Life
• 6. Deconstructed
• 7. Magic Cup
• 8. Country Song
• 9. Seal
• 10. On the Corner

That album is expected this fall. But that's not all, there's a new Grand Duchy album coming out this year, too, though which will come first is an open question. The new record, Let the People Speak, is the second release from the kingdom and meanders sonically between a Petit Fours and solo Black Francis records with occasional forays into more uncharted territory for the duo. And you heard it here first, we have what appears to be the current tracklist:

• 1. The Lopsided World of L
• 2. See Thru You
• 3. White Out
• 4. Where is John Frum
• 5. Annie Bliss
• 6. Illiterate Lovers
• 7. Dark Sparkles and the Beat
• 8. Silver Bosy
• 9. Two Lies and One Truth
• 10. Face (If You Could See My)
• 11. Esther
• 12. R.O.T.C.
• 13. Let the People Speak

The Bureau is also rumoured to be releasing an album for a band that is NOT a Frank Black project, which, if true, would really mark a foray into being a (black) label. Who is this band, so blessed? None other than the Bennys, a name many old Frank Black fans will recognize from opening gigs back in the heady days of the Catholics and the reason that there was a Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day session which may well have been one of the first leaks on the internet.

So as you can see, in spite of the fact that FB is finally enjoying a little bit of a breather and some time at home, there is plenty in the pipeline to feed your cravings through to 2012.

-Dean]]>