Greetings friends,
As we hope you've noticed, we've been lying low on the emails, trying to avoid being part of the last-minute discount, order-now-before-the-holiday-crush deluge of spam that is presently blowing up your inbox.
That said, we do want to thank all of you out there for making this, yet again, a great year for Wilco. Thanks to you guys for supporting the band & the entire Wilco org. by continuing to turn up in droves at shows and frankly, for buying stuff. Your support makes everything possible.
We've got a lot to look forward to in to '09 -- many cool things on the horizon. First, we (w/ Nonesuch) will be releasing Wilco's first concert film/DVD, and despite the obvious negative connotations associated with that category, we think you'll really like this one. It's called "Ashes of American Flags" and was put together by our friends Brendan Canty and Christoph Green at Trixie Films (Sunken Treasure, Burn to Shine, etc.) Filming took place on the band's February '08 tour and includes material from Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, The Ryman in Nashville, and more. "Ashes of American Flags" should hit store shelves and the internet in February/March '09. Look for clips and other information at Wilcoworld.net beginning in January.
Post-holidays, the band will head back to the loft to resume work on their next studio album which we suspect will see the light of day in Spring '09. Again more details, streams, photos etc. coming to the site soon. So hang in there.
Re: touring: Well, there's not much until Spring. Jeff Tweedy has a handful of solo shows in late January (Kalamazoo, MI; Champaign, IL; Ann Arbor, MI). Ticket information here. Nels Cline also has a run of shows in January, info here. And there'll undoubtedly be other solo-ish events popping up here and there. But Wilco have no shows planned between now and April as they'll be pretty much hunkered down in the studio. We are in the final phases of working out a handful of gigs in southern US (April) and an extensive tour of Spain (May) followed by, most likely, the usual summer hijinks with a new record and gigs everywhere imaginable.
So, without further adieu, happy sledding through the holidays and into the New Year. And remember, when it comes to gift giving, it truly is the thought that counts (spoken like a true last minute shopper....). On that note, we'd be remiss if we didn't add that there's a sale on in the Wilco store and we've extended it through January 15. So feel free to, you know, order something and put a note in the card, saying "coming soon....", or whatever.
thanks again for everything. Here's to you guys. Happy Holidays... with love.
the HQ staff.
W I L C O