LETTER FROM DEAN

Dear Diary,
Did you know that the Elektra Entertainment Group, after much deliberation and changing of minds decided not to release the new Luna album, The Days of Our Nights? Am I upset? In the short term it was definitely annoying, messed up all our summer plans etc. The record has made its way into the States from Europe and Australia, but we are very close to a deal to get in out domestically in late October, with extra special new artwork. Lawyers are talking to business affairs people. The truth is that I am glad to be gone from Elektra, to escape from our mountain of phony record company debt. I also view it as a small miracle that we lasted at Elektra for four whole albums without ever having a hit. But enough about that...

Did you know that Sean and I did a promo trip of Europe in April? Well we did. We did lots of interviews and even a few little semi-acoustic shows. I played acoustic guitar and the omnichord, and Sean played electric. In Hamburg we played at a little bar called the Blue Peter, over by the Reeperbahn. In Bourges, France we opened for Elliott Smith at a smallish indoor rock festival. By this point the Omnichord was broken, since I don't have a case for it -- I was carrying it around in a plastic bag. The chords stopped working but the little drum machine still functioned. Then we had a day of press in Paris, and on our night off we went to see our friend Dogbowl open for Elliott Smith. That night I became violently ill after having a ham sandwich in Dogbowl's dressing room, which spoiled my first night in Madrid, but I was okay by the second night -- Sean and I played another short acoustic set, at El Sol. We got about three hours sleep before flying to Milan, where we were greeted by many German shepherds at the airport. Somehow we managed to get through another day of interviews, then flew the next morning to Oslo. Did you know that Norway is a very puritanical country? Well it is. Still we had a pretty nice time there, played another acoustic set that night and went to a very nice bar (Teddy's?) where they had lots of old rockabilly on the jukebox.

We finished our trip by participating in the Bowlie Weekender festival (organized by Belle and Sebastian) in the south of England, in a cheap little English holiday resort, complete with go-karts -- it was really a bit surreal. When the bands finished playing there was a disco. Supposedly Jarvis Cocker was the DJ, but I never saw him. Lots of our friends were there: the Pastels, Mercury Rev, other friends. My favorite show of the festival was the Flaming Lips, who have completely re-invented themselves and were incredibly entertaining -- handpuppets, a big gong, confetti, lots of good video footage. Godspeed You Black Emperor, a 12 piece experimental band from Canada, were also noteworthy.

Some CDs I have enjoyed this summer:

Beautiful Stranger by Madonna,
The Soft Bulletin by the Flaming Lips,
The Tennessee Fire by My Morning Jacket,
Places to Visit EP by Saint Etienne (much better than their last one),
Stereo Type A by Cibo Matto,
Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada E.P. by Godspeed You Black Emperor,
and The Capitol Years by Glen Campbell.

I have to go now. I have to fix my omnichord.