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]]>http://www.frankblack.net/news/#720http://www.frankblack.net/news/#720Sat, 16 Apr 2011 08:48:00 PSTToday in the news, All of us here at FrankBlack.Net would like to wish Frank Black Francis a happy birthday, the Pixies a happy 25th anniversary (breakup? what breakup?), and Lando Calrissian a happy 74th birthday, too. Yes, that's right, Frank Black and the first black in space a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away share a birthday. Coincidence? Our fact-checkers say yes, but consider this: Lando Calrissian sported a nice mustache; Frank Black once sang a song about a mustache. Lando impresses the ladies with eloquent pickup lines; Frank Black impressed his now-wife with eloquent spoken lines. Lando has been known to frequent outer space; Frank Black has many songs on this very topic. Lando went after Solo; after the Pixies, Frank Black went solo.

The parallels are too many to list but it certainly adds a new twist to the long-standing rumour that the fourth track on the legendary Teenager of the Year album was originally titled Calrissian.

Pop by the forum and wish Frank Black, Black Francis, Charles Thompson, Billy Dee Williams, Merle Haggard, and other celebrities that make today great a happy birthday here!

-Dean ]]>http://www.frankblack.net/news/#719http://www.frankblack.net/news/#719Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:08:00 PSTToday in the news, 2010 was a typically busy year for (if you will) Frank Black Francis, what with the release of NonStopErotik, The Golem score/rock soundtracks and DVD and B-side/demo comp Abbabubba, the staging of the Bluefinger opera, continuing work on the next Grand Duchy album entitled Let the People Speak and of course plenty of shows. The Pixies' extended Doolittle 20th anniversary tour brought them to Latin America for the first time; as it turned out, the band arrived in Chile the night that those now-famous 33 Chilean miners - who had been trapped underground for two months - were being rescued. At the following night's show in Santiago, the band played 33 songs in tribute to each of the rescued miners, in the process playing their longest set ever.

But the Doolittle tour isn't over just yet! The band are taking it north this time, with shows in Canada during April and May this year! Plus lucky fans in Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Paul, Minneapolis can also look forward to seeing the band... check out the tour dates (in the right panel) for the full itinerary. And staying with Doolittle, over 100 local musicians got together at San Francisco’s Public Works on 22 Feb for a live performance recording of the seminal album... and join the discussion on our forum. Meanwhile, the Pixies finally have an official site, which is offering free live shows to download (see link above). Dave and Joey have been talking to Billboard about the possibility of a new album. And in other Pixies-related news, designer extraordinaire Vaughan Oliver recently received a Grammy nomination for his work on the band’s Minotaur Deluxe Edition box set.

…But let’s not have the Pixies hog all the news! Grand Duchy’s new album Let The People Speak is due for release some time in April while The Golem soundtrack/DVD and rock album will get an official nationwide US release on 15 Mar, but there’s a particularly exciting developments for FB & The Catholics fans: work has officially begun on the long awaited "Red Letter Days" boxset (though the title is still to be decided)! The release will include everything from their eponymous 1998 debut to 2003’s Show Me Your Tears, all remastered from the original reels. B-sides, alternate takes and vinyl versions of all the albums are expected to be included in the set. Check out the newly-refurbished blackfrancis.net for further details!

That’s all for now, but be sure to check back soon for more news!

-Carl]]>http://www.frankblack.net/news/#718http://www.frankblack.net/news/#718Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:22:00 PSTToday in the news, Hello out there in FrankBlack.Net land! It’s been a long time and there’s plenty of news (and olds) to catch up on, so here goes… firstly, Frank’s classic “I Heard Ramona Sing” is featured on the soundtrack to new film Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, a comic book adaptation which looks both fun and funny. The song is apparently used quite effectively in the film – if it works any near as well as the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” In Fight Club, it just might make for a classic scene! In any case, the soundtrack is now available on iTunes. The soundtrack also includes songs from Broken Social Scene, Metric, and others.

Meanwhile, a new Frank Black/Black Francis compilation is apparently in the works. Set to be issued through BlackFrancis.net, Abbabubba will contain both B-sides and – in the words of the man himself – “other oddball tracks which have never been formally released.” As yet there are no details of a release date, but we’ll keep you posted. As you may or may not be aware, the Houston-based Catastrophic Theatre have prepared a musical based on the BF’s Bluefinger, a concept album based around the life of late Dutch rocker and artist Herman Brood. The show - which will feature songs from Bluefinger alongside compositions by Brood himself - is set to run from Nov 12 to Dec 18 at the DiverseWorks Artspace in Houston, Texas. Check here for more info. Elsewhere, FB has made an appearance in Don’t Ask Me Questions, a documentary about British rocker Graham Parker. Unfortunately, the film is a little short of funds for a release, but you can help get it out there by donating money here … and check out the trailer (featuring Frank) while you’re at it. Thanks to matto for the info!

There’s plenty of activity on the Grand Duchy front, too. Frank and Violet are currently putting finishing touches to Let The People Speak, a new album set for release early in the new year. You can take a look at the unofficial track list on the forum! Oh and by the way, NJ singer-songwriter Pete Yorn’s new FB-produced, self-titled album is due for release on Sep 28.

Elsewhere, Frank – as Black Francis, of course - is busy fulfilling his current US tour commitments in time for the Pixies North and South America shows. All four Pixies have been giving interviews over last while, which you can check out at their respective links… there are BF interviews with The Monterey Herald, the Boston Herald, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Have a listen to an interview with Joey on the Wayward Blog where he talks about the rigours of touring, cycling, and his solo work; read up on a conversation Dave had with Austin Town Hall, or listen to Kim dissing "Make Believe" and chatting Breeders with The Cleveland Scene. Although you might find an interview with Kim’s sister and fellow Breeders member Kelley more relevant - if only slightly.

The Pixies DVDs Acoustic: Live In Newport and Live At The Paradise In Boston have just been released together on a single Blu-ray, which is available from the FrankBlack.Net Store.

And finally, Brian and I would like to welcome Carl to the FrankBlack.Net News team and thank him for volunteering with the ongoing FB.Net project as well as writing this news update. Hopefully this is the beginning of a much more active news section.

-Dean]]>http://www.frankblack.net/news/#717http://www.frankblack.net/news/#717Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:04:00 PSTToday in the news, The Golem is on sale NOW!

That's right, our friends at BlackFrancis have officially released the limited edition Golem Book - 5 discs, a 50 page book, and only 500 copies! Take a break from reading this news and go over to the BlackFrancis webstore...

...ok, are you back? Hopefully you got one. If you didn't, we've been assured that a rock songs version will be released in the future featuring just the full-fledged songs, but not the interludes/score/etc.

Check out the making of video here, and while you're there you can watch the WHOLE FREAKIN' THING on the blackfrancisnet YouTube account. I'll give you some more time to go do that...



But we're back with even MORE exciting news! Many of you have no doubt seen this on our forum or around the interwebs, but we have a cover and press release for the upcoming NonStopErotik (we can finally confirm that spelling!). I'll let the press release do the talking:

I finally came into possession of an old guitar someone had given me at a nightclub in San Francisco awhile back; Eric Drew Feldman had been holding it for me there on Haight Street. He convinced me that it looked cool (it was black) and had been given in the spirit of benevolence. Every time I picked it up a nice chord came out and so I lovingly cleaned it with red wine in the dressing room the following night and began to write. I told the tour manager that we would drive in my Cadillac directly to a recording studio in Los Angeles (and could he book one, oh, and a rhythm section, too?) from the gig in San Luis Obispo which would put us at the studio at about 4am. It all happened according to plan and we cut the initial tracks there in the wee hours over a few days, and then moved on to an equally haunted studio in London and Eric Drew Feldman joined us there and we finished the record in St. John's Wood. Like I said the studio was haunted and I wrote many a couplet by candlelight in the studio accommodation, slept very little, and only felt the need to get the fuck out of there fast on the last night. The spirits had not ever bothered me, other than low drama moral support, but I was informed that they had heard enough and it was time to move on; plus I had a gig in Ireland.

When I was a boy the plant we boys called a fern was code for vagina, and to this day I love fern plants. In my heart the vagina is almost everything, and almost everything else could be summed up in what cock and seed have to offer; and everything else? The love of the father, dead or alive, the pain of too much pleasure, till death do us part, the voice of another song man from the other side, with or without God, Teri and the Possibilities, where ever you may be, the smell of sex in the air, seduced, slain, on my knees in prayer, sucking at the only thing that matters, my own personal Meret Oppenheim, I am Man Ray and I want you and to be all the way inside you, the cameras whirring as we put some elbow grease into the scene, the audience watching us in the dark. - Black Francis January 2010, Central Oregon

Very interesting stuff, indeed. Now, if you can't wait until March 30, tune in March 1st for our FrankBlack.net NonStopErotikast - a podcast full of discussion and music from NonStopErotik plus a few other little surprises!

Until then,
Brian]]>