Good news from Uncle Sinner. In one of his very rare online appearances (on FB) he announced: "I am booking a week off in August to record my tracks for the next album. I have the songs all picked and arranged, give or take the possibility of whims occurring. Thanks for your patience." Patience is a virtue. And you really need to be equipped with a large dose of patience when waiting for the new album. The date for the release was earlier set to December 2011 as a "firmly arbitrary deadline". However, Uncle Sinner dislikes deadlines and the feeling that he owe people something. Therefore, it will be likely ready when its ready and not before. But, in this context it's only fair to mention that Uncle Sinner actually released a collection with outtakes and rarities, "A Pocketful of Glass Eyes" as a fundraiser in March 2014. It slightly eased the longing for the new album. The tentative album cover is made by Gal Stark Arad-Kabiri. If the album sounds like the album cover then I’m reassured. Uncle Sinner may not have the highest production rate in the "gothic country" genre, but in return 100 percent artistic integrity. And this is a not very common virtue these days.

Lately, I've done some thinking of what drives some people into the "gothic country" industry. I guess the conversation at the Guidance Office went something like this:

Student: I like to pursue my ambition and become a musician in the "gothic country" vein.

Guidance Counselor: First of all, I think it's very positive that you have future plans and a clear aim. However, there's no job security, very low return on investment, irregular income and occasionally travels under very simple conditions. There's also a very hard psycho-social environment with extremely poor working conditions which eventually could lead to severe health problems. This choice will also put a strain on relations with family and friends. The burn-rate (of people) is empirically very high in the industry. I would strongly advise against this and therefore like to suggest some other line of work with more normal working conditions.

Student: OK. Thank you for the information. But, I don't care. I'm going in anyway.

Well, the decision to enter the "gothic country" industry isn't based on any short or long-term economic calculations, work environment considerations or retirement plan evaluations. On the contrary, it defies all logic and reason. But logic and reason is one thing. Dedication is another and probably more important thing. With this perspective on the matter the choice to enter the "gothic country" world isn't conspicious and maybe not even a choice but a calling. Where from is, however, an open question.    

One important aspect of my interest in gothic country, southern gothic, gothic americana, american gothic and dark americana and ...whatever is collecting the albums in a physical form (cd). This may seem to be a bit odd and old-fashioned, but I prefer something tangible and lasting. The last time I changed format was in 1990 when I (literally) ditched all my vinyl and went for cd. I'm not going to change format again (to digital, that is). I'll stick to cd no matter what happens. My preference of format makes it hard for me to (literally) get my hands on the albums in the "gothic country" genre. In several of the articles on this website I have highlighted the problem with the cd format: very small editions released on record labels that often no longer exist (or the re-release is zero) together with the fact that I’m living approximately 5000 km away from the local market. The day of the last album produced in cd format is approaching inevitable. However, it's not entirely frustrating trying to get hard-to-find albums. As a matter of fact, it's very rewarding when your efforts suddenly and unexpectedly pays off. I don't want to reveal any of my searching methods, more than to say that you have to adjust your methods depending on what your looking for. When it comes to cds, I have fortunately (?) been equipped with the patience that withstands a comparison with Job. It's also important to have some luck. But there’s no luck, without endurance and patience.

However, the above shown albums have hitherto eluded me ("the four missing albums"). From left to right:

Carl Nemelka Family Photographs - O'Death (2004), cd-r, self-released, number of copies: unknown (at least for me)

One Year Lost At Sea - Reverend Glasseye (2009), cd, self-released, number of copies: 50 or 100 (figures vary)

Podunk - The Monads (2010), cd, self-released, number of copies: unknown (at least for me)

Pope Crow - Spitfire Tumbleweeds (2009), cd, TXMF Records, number of copies: unknown (at least for me)

I have never seen any of the albums for sale new or used in the cd format online (I don't even know how the Podunk album cover looks like, hence the generic cover image above). I will, of course, continue to search and will go through fire and water to get them, but these albums are on the verge of impossible to get. If you against all odds have a copy and want to sell it, please contact me. In any other case, this will probably be "the four missing albums".

On May 22 2014, Jayke Orvis & the Broken Band announced the start of their European Tour on their FB-page. The sad news was that this would also be the last tour for the Broken Band as we know it. You have to face the facts. "Nothing lasts forever. Even the longest, most glittering reign must come to an end someday." James Hunnicutt (guitar) will continue with his solo act. Jared McGovern (upright bass) and Liz Sloan (fiddle) will be moving forward with the Urban Pioneers. Jayke Orvis will almost certainly return with a new line-up of talented musicians. But will he ever be able to recreate a band that can match this line-up? In my opinion, it’s not possible. The line-up with James Hunnicutt, Jared McGovern and Liz Sloan is without any doubt the ultimate “dream-team”. Not only as individual musicians, but also in the way they interact musically on stage. Tonight, I had the privilege to see Jayke Orvis & the Broken Band play at Club Nuggets in Stockholm, Sweden (see picture right). On their FB-page they wrote: “we've hit it hard since day one, and we feel like the right thing to do is go out with a giant bang instead of a sad love tap.” And they didn’t go quietly into the night (however the sun sets 10.01 PM this time a year). On the contrary - as promised - they went with a giant bang. They played hard like there was no tomorrow. Jayke Orvis & the Broken Band are so talented, experienced, perfectly attuned and without any tendency to idle. They never lose their commitment. The songs that linger on from this evening are: Shady Grove, Feelings Like This, Dreadful Sinner, In The Pines, Raise The Moon and Lead Me Astray. After leaving the venue, I thought about how different band splits can be. Sometimes, it’s a very bitter end with infected disputes about the musical direction, ambition level or money (however, there’s not much money, if any, in this particular genre), harsh words that never can be taken back, things that should have been said, but never was or just getting very tired of each other. It’s therefore really encouraging to see Jayke Orvis & the Broken Band split up in such a friendly way (but still with a giant bang). 

As stated in my blog entry on May 18, 2014 "The Devil is in the details" I*) bought and installed a product (Extended DB Music) for making it easy to fill and update the sections Artists, Albums and Lists. However, there was a major software bug in the product. And the software bug hasn't yet been fixed by jVitals Digital Technologies Inc. That's bad and not very confidence inspiring, to say the least. I therefore turned my eyes to the "Rolls Royce" of data-base music products, namely Music Collection (see picture left) and read more about the product here. Music Collection is more than twice as expensive as Extended DB Music, but its content and functionality is vastly superior to Extended DB Music in all aspects. There are also 16 (!) add-on features to the product. And more important, it really works. Goodbye Extended DB Music and Hello Music Collection. Penny-wise, pound-foolish. My advice to you is: always go for tried, tested and already available products. The Devil is in the details, but you can sometimes buy yourself out of the problems you got into. After configuration has been made, I will begin filling the data-base with content in an industrial scale.

*) actually it was my friend Mikael (site architect and advisor) who helped me out with this (as with Music Collection).