hi all.

hows the summer treating you in your part of the world? better than here in ireland i hope. rain, rain, a little more wet stuff and then a dollop of rain, seems to be the size of it here - oh - with a healthy bit of gusty wind thrown in for good measure. kids inflatable swimming pools purchased in the spring were unfortunately wishful thinking and far too optimistic... at least i dont have to water the plants...

heres whats going on in world of frames and off-shoot projects various...

the final leg of the american touring for the ss comes in sept and october. dates below. i think there are still some tix left for some of these shows, though most are pretty much gone and might be totally gone by the time you read this. again, joe and colm and rob and graham should be present and correct on stage, alongside mar and glen. then i get them all back to europe for a quick shimmy around the countries that we havent been to in an age, if ever. we all break for some down time in late december and then im still in the process of finalising some asian and australian plans for a little jaunt out that way. south korea/japan/oz - probably in that order and most likely between the 10th and 25th january. looking to take in seoul, tokyo, sydney, melbourne, brisbane, freemantle. that should bring us to the end of touring the once phenomenon. its been an interesting and amazing few years to say
the least..

on a side-ish note - theres a lot of you asking for a frames gig, especially on new years eve, but im sorry all - its really, really unlikely to happen this year. the touring with the film/soundtrack/swell season projects still hasnt come to an end yet globally, and everyone is really looking forward to a break through the last bit of dec and into early jan. its also tough to switch from swell season mode to frames mode when youre not immersed 100% in a particular band. the frames will be back, just not this year.

the lads and mar are actually in a studio this week between gigs in america recording some new tracks. dont ask me which particular incarnation its going to end up as, but, they are all VERY much enjoying being creative in a studio situation for 5 minutes... theres a good bunch of new songs been floating around for a little while and, as they had 6 days between the pines gig and the dylan support in saratoga, it seemed like a good idea to go into a studio and try laying some down. talking of studio work, glen and mar, whilst in prague recently, bought liam o'maonlai into a studio and helped him record some solo tracks. they both barely appear on the tracks (id say they were more in a producer/proder/director/pontificator sort of a role), its all about liam, but i know they had a great time and they are totally vibed up about what they came out of the studio with. dont know when or how or it it will get a release, but ill be sure to let you know when we've all had a chance to listen and talk. theres a little more work left to do to finish it off, but, it sounds like it could be a good un.

our very own colm mac con iomaire (fiddler in the frames for those that can't make head nor tail of the previous four words :0) has also been busy and has his own stunningly beautiful solo album out here in ireland on sept 5th. its called the hares corner and go to www.theharescorner.com for a list of dates and sounds etc. OR, if youre myspace inclined, then go to www.myspace.com/theharescorner. (colm now has a myspace presence courtesy of the lovely nika, so, many thanks as ever to you mrs!). he is taking it on the road (with a cast of about 427 musicians on stage at last count, which i think we have to whittle down to about 8) from the 4th to the 9thth sept. colm o snodaigh from kila will be acting as support act for the first 3 shows, the hedge schools for the whelans show (check out their stuff on independentrecords.ie site) and the last two shows in cork have yet to be decided. i think if you like what colm does at all youd be mad crazy to miss these shows, even if its just to see how exactly they fit so many people on such intimate stages.... get along and bouy him up if possible. i know he will really appreciate the support. some are going to be ticketed upfront, but others will be on the door. i guess youll just have to contact your local venue to see what way they are working it. on the merch stand there will be his cd aswell as a classy lookin tshirt to sell too, so bring sheckles if you want merch action. dates below in the list of dates bit...

in other news as they say -
the artists den swell season dvd, gets an august 15th release in ireland. its already available in north america and i think theres plans to get it out in europe soon enough too, but we thought we'd bring some into ireland to have out for now.

robs working on getting some live frames shows up on PlayedLastNight.com. as we've been using that service for selling some ss gigs over the past year and its worked well, we might branch out a bit and get maybe one of the best european and american frames shows up and out there too. seems a shame to me to see them recorded well and collecting dust on the shelf. will keep you posted on that. with rob on the road with the ss, its all about getting the time for him to sit down and do it... more as it happens. theres some GREAT shows he's got in the archive though, which deserve a 'release' somehow.

sheet music for falling slowly available for download now on www.musicnotes.com for all those that are asking and have been for a while!! more to come, but obviously, theres a huge demand for the f.s. track first.
Guitar: http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?item=18450878&cart=3425144663461706&cm_re=289.1.4-_-Results+Item-_-Title
Piano: http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?item=18451581&cart=3425144663461706&cm_re=289.1.4-_-Results+Item-_-Title

an amusing eyebrowy ad for a comedy festival featuring some faces you may recognise...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zYy7UD4MeWU

27th august, theres an open air cinema in dresden, germany that is having a 'once' screening. Filmnachte am elbufer is the name of the night i think.

lovely blog entry from a different perspective at http://blog.masslive.com/feedback/2008/08/_so_the_day_had.html

deluxe frames album with extra video footage available on anti in america at: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=279681380&s=143441

spreading the word about a couple of other artists and friends too:
lisa hannigan's debut record "Sea Sew" is released on September 12 in Ireland and made available exclusively on her website elsewhere. lisa will also be touring Ireland and USA as guest of Jason Mraz in October/ November. you can download the track "Lille" free from her site now.

the wonderful mark geary comes back from Czech dates with the Swell Season to plug his great new single 'Angel' from his rather fine album Opium. The brand new remix of 'Angel' is available to hear at www.myspace.com/independentrecordsireland and is worth checking out. marky then has a run around ireland from nov 6 - nov 29th. all dates at http://www.markgeary.com/

first up on the dates front are colm's dates:
04 september 2008 :: colm @ busker browne's the hall, galway
info: http://www.buskerbrownes.com/ | +353 91 563377

05 september 2008 :: colm @ belltable theatre, limerick
info: http://www.belltable.ie
Phone: +353 61 319866
Email: info@belltable.ie

06 september 2008 :: colm@ station house, clifden
info: http://www.thestationhousehotel.com/ | +353 95 21699

07 september 2008 :: colm macconiomaire @ whelan's
tickets: http://www.wavtickets.com/
info@wavtickets.com
info: http://www.whelanslive.com/listings/

08 september 2008 :: colm @ sirius arts centre, cobh
Info: http://ireland.iol.ie/~cobharts
Phone: +353 21 481 3790
Email: cobharts@iol.ie

09 september 2008 :: colm @ cyprus avenue, cork
info: http://www.cyprusavenue.ie | +353 21 4276165
Email: eoin@cyprusavenue.ie

THEN ITS ALL SWELL SEASON FROM HERE ON IN: FIRST OF IN NORTH AMERICA AND CANADA
17 september 2008 :: rumsey playfield in central park
info: http://www.summerstage.org/index1.aspx?BD=18302
DOORS: 17:30pm rain or shine music starts at 20:00pm
General Admission; standing room only
Tickets on-sale now

19 september 2008 :: agganis arena, boston
info: http://www.agganisarena.com/
support: Bill Callahan (SMOG)

20 september 2008 :: massey hall, toronto
info: http://www.masseyhall.com/home.cfm
support: Bill Callahan

21 september 2008 :: byham theater, pittsburgh, pa
info: http://www.pgharts.org/venues/byham.aspx
support: Bill Callahan (SMOG)

22 september 2008 :: palace theatre, columbus, oh
info: http://www.capa.com/columbus/venues/palace_about.php
support: Bill Callahan

24 september 2008 :: ryman auditorium, nashville, tn
info: ttp://www.ryman.com/
support: Bill Callahan (SMOG)

25 september 2008 :: the brady theatre, tulsa, ok
info: http://bradytheater.net/index.htm
support: Bill Callahan of Smog

26 september 2008 :: acl festival, austin, tx
info: http://www.aclfestival.com/default.aspx

29 september 2008 :: palladium ballroom, dallas, tx
info: http://www.thepalladiumballroom.com/
support: Iron and Wine www.ironandwine.com

30 september 2008 :: popejoy hall, albuquerque, nm
info: http://www.popejoyhall.com/
support: Iron and Wine - www.ironandwine.com

02 october 2008 :: rialto theatre, tucson, az
info: http://www.rialtotheatre.com/
support: Iron and Wine

03 october 2008 :: sdsu o.a.t. theatre, san diego, ca
info: http://as.sdsu.edu/ent/oat.html
support: Iron and Wine - www.ironandwine.com

04 october 2008 :: greek theatre la, ca
info: http://www.greektheatrela.com/
support: Iron and Wine - www.ironandwine.com

THEN THE SS INTO EUROPE..
01 november 2008 :: belfast opera house ireland
tickets from box office only (028) 9024 1919
https://www.goh.co.uk/

05 november 2008 :: maroquinerie, paris, france

07 november 2008 :: Berlin, Schillertheater germany
for berlin, dresden and munich www.kartenhaus.de
Tickethotline: +49.(0)1805-969 0000

09 november 2008 :: Denmark, Copenhagen, Pumphusset
+45 70 263 267 www.billetlugen.dk

10 november 2008 :: Sweden, Gothenberg, Stenhammarsalen

11 november 2008 :: Norway, Oslo, Rockefeller

12 november 2008 :: Sweden, Stockholm, Berns

16 november 2008 :: Germany, Dresden, Kino

17 november 2008 :: Germany, Munich, Postpalast

18 november 2008 :: Germany, Cologne, E-Werk
for cologne www.cts.de
Hotline: +49 (0) 1805 570 070

20 november 2008 :: Belgium, Gent, Handelsbeurs
info: http://www.handelsbeurs.be/info.php?c=32 tel 09 265 91 65

21 november 2008 :: netherlands, The Hague, The Royal Theatre
'Crossing Borders' festival

24 november 2008 :: uk,royal albert hall, london
info: http://www.royalalberthall.com/

02 december 2008 :: the olympia theatre, dublin ireland sold out

03 december 2008 :: the olympia theatre, dublin ireland sold out

then a collective phew!, a sit down and a grin at each other and a bit of a sleep....
take care out there.
cx

www.theframes.ie