Category: News

Hi everybody, especially those of you with tickets to next week’s shows,

We strive to make our Hanukkah shows unpredictable, and in one unfortunate regard we’ve outdone ourselves this year. I’m going to be a little vague here, but I had a pretty serious health scare earlier this month. I’m well on the way to recovery, but I’ve not yet been deemed ready to Rock. The good news is . . . well, the good news is I’m on the way to recovery . . . but vis-à-vis next week, the good news is that I’ve been deemed ready to sit in a chair and play the concerts that mean more to me, Georgia and James than most anything else we do together. Our sets will undoubtedly be tweaked accordingly. In other words, if you were hoping to be in attendance for our annual airing of “Mushroom Cloud of Hiss,” I’m afraid that is now zooming up the Unlikely chart with a bullet. But we’re confident that it’s going to be a great eight days. We’re looking forward to seeing you all, and to not answering any questions about what happened to me!

As long as I’ve got your attention, I’ll let you know about one other change this year. We’ve filled the walls of Maxwell’s front room with a bunch of posters and other ephemera from our various closets. Some of it will be for sale (all proceeds to charity) and all of it will hopefully be entertaining.

Hanukkahly yours, Ira

Me and Georgia were talking to each other ’bout what makes a man a man.  Our conversation was interrupted by the ding of an incoming email from one of our LA correspondents, Dustin.   Having already given up on his dream of being buried in a Jewish cemetery (as demonstrated by the top of the photo), he contacted the artist Brianna Harden and decided to go for broke.  A rooty–toot-toot to you, Dustin!

 

I believe Vic Godard coined the term: vertical integration.  Put simply, why should we continue to pay others to cart our gear from city to city when we could be paying ourselves?   So the next time you find yourself scheduling a pickup from FedEx, we hope you’ll consider switching your business to YLT.  Remember our motto: Let’s jump into the wagon and drive until the motor falls out.

Bike MS took place earlier today.   We joined our Agoraphone/Other Music teammates just after sunrise and enjoyed a delightful 30-mile circuit of Manhattan.  Here’s me and team captain Dawn Madell arguing about who’s got the cooler footwear during our mid-ride break.

We want to thank everyone who donated to Georgia and me.  Your generosity not only supported a great cause, but earned each of us a complimentary ice cream cone, courtesy of Ben & Jerry‘s.  It’s too late for us to have seconds, but not for you to donate to Georgia and me and Bike MS.

Speaking of marathons, we were unable to interrupt our preparatory regimen of carbo loading and squat thrusts, but I hope you were in Asbury Park to catch James taking part in Oneida‘s Ocropolis.   A photographer on the scene that we are only at liberty to refer to as “Cosmic Charlie” sent us this snap of James along with Shinji Masuko (DMBQ/ Boredoms), Oneida’s Showtime and Hanoi Jane, and Aaron Mullan (Tall Firs/Spectre Folk).  

Hi folks,

I take to the cyberwaves this evening to let you know that Georgia and I will be participating in the 2011 Bike MS ride. On October 2, we’ll wake up at an ungodly hour and head for NYC where we’ll join our teammates on the Agoraphone/Other Music squad and circle Manhattan. If you’d like to support us, we’d be very grateful. It’s a 30-mile ride, so put in your bid now for naming rights to each mile. Thanks in advance!

• To support Georgia, click here.

• To support Ira, click here.

–Ira

Who Asked You?
A Collection of Interviews & Press What-Nots compiled by Nick “Stewey” Morehouse, YLT personal chef/webmaster

• I like how this WBEZ DJ says “Yo La Tengo” in this phone interview with Ira.

• Ira also chatted with the Montreal Gazette during last month’s Calgary Folk Music Festival. James spent some time with Fast Forward Weekly.

 

• And, well, I guess you asked, and Matador Records listened, ’cause today, they re-issue the 1993 album Painful and the 2000 release And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out on vinyl. Both are heavy-duty 120g vinyl, and will arrive with digital download codes. Get ’em online, or at your favorite neighborhood record store.