Okkervil River Sign to Virgin/EMI in Europe

Okkervil River’s Black Sheep Boy hasn’t had quite the Neutral Milk Hotel-sized impact some of us hoped for, but Virgin/EMI is going to do its best to change that. The folks over at the mega-label liked the Austin sons’ Tim Hardin-obsessed story-saga so much that they are re-releasing it in Europe. The April 28 release will take the form of a double-disc set featuring Black Sheep Boy and the accompanying Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP and will include “The Next Four Months” (originally from the “For Real” CD single) as well as the videos for “For Real” and “It Ends With a Fall” as bonus materials. It will be distributed everywhere throughout the UK and Europe, with the exception of Italy. Che cazzo, Virgin/EMI?

 

And to keep themselves fresh in European hearts and minds, the River will be sailing (okay, more likely they’ll be flying) to Europe for a month-long tour starting April 29.

 

For Real:

04-29 Brussels, Belgium - Les Nuits De Botanique Festival
05-01 Paris, France - TBA
05-03 Leeds, England - The Cockpit
05-04 Nottingham, England - The Social
05-05 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tut's
05-06 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
05-07 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan's
05-08 London, England - Cargo
05-10 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
05-11 Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
05-13 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Rotown
05-14 Munster, Germany - Gleis 22
05-15 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
05-16 Hamburg, Germany - Knust
05-17 Copenhagen, Denmark - Musikcafeen
05-18 Gothenburg, Sweden - Pusterviksbaren
05-19 Oslo, Norway - Garage
05-20 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
05-23 Munich, Germany - Atomic Cafe
05-24 Vienna, Austria - Chelsea
05-25 Frankfurt, Germany - Brotfabrik
05-26 Hannover, Germany - Cafe Glocksee
05-27 Neustrelitz, Germany - Immergut Festival
05-28 Beverungen, Germany - Orange Blossom Festival
07-13 New York, NY - Castle Clinton

The band has also been busy writing a ton of new material for their next album. Songwriter Will Sheff is finishing up a three-month long writing road-trip, but according to the Jagjaguwar website, before he left, the band held "a barn-storming... loose, rollicking and - dare we say - booze-soaked session," where they recorded 22 new songs that call to mind "the carefree spirit of Dylan & the Band's Basement Tapes and the Stones' Exile on Main Street, complete with ridiculous lyric matter, genre hopping country and R&B numbers, inspired covers and easily a half dozen moments of pure genius, all tied together with a bouquet of good times and late nights." The band claims it was only for fun and won't be released, but if Levon Helm guests on the next album, you'll hear no complaining from us. Hey, if Neko Case can get Garth Hudson to play on her record, we can dream.

 

Posted by Dave Maher on Tue, Apr 25, 2006 at 12:00am