artist The Paperbacks

Hi! What's going on at Paperbacks headquarters? Glad you asked:

1. Tour!

Canada's up first on the somewhat slow-to-rollout Lit From Within tour (we thought you would all appreciate some time to sit with the album, first...!). We start in June (aside from a hometown gig in mid-May); the dates below are what's in stone, but there's more to come. Check back here for updates. In the meantime, if you can help out with a show or a place to crash or whatever, contact this fine fellow: shad.bassett@gmail.com

May 14 Wnnipeg - Lo Pub - w/ The Departures and The Ear Drums. June 1 Thunder Bay - Black Pirate's Pub - + Guests. June 2 Sault Ste. Marie - Foggy Notions -  + Guests. June 3 Sudbury - Townehouse Tavern - + Guests. June 5 Montreal -  Quai des Brumes - w/ Mia Verko & Camaromance. June 6 Quebec City - L'Agitee  - w/ Fiction in Motion & Hopeful 16. June 8 Rimouski - Bar L'Après-Match - w/ Modern Sins + Guests. June 10 Halifax - Gus's Pub - w/ Greg MacPherson & The Winning Hearts June 11 Moncton - Plan B June 12 Sydney - Govenor's Pub - + Guests. June 15 Ottawa - Rainbows - 2 Sets. June 17 Sarnia - Paddy Flaherty's - 3 Sets. June 18 Windsor - The Phog Lounge- Opening for Corrina Keeling June 19 Perterborough - The Spill - Early show. starts at 3pm, ends by 7pm. June 24 Lethbridge - The Slice - w/ The Darby and Joan Club + Guests. June 25 Calgary - Broken City - + Guests. June 26 Edmonton - Haven Social Club - w/ We Were Lovers + Guests.

2. New Single! We're releasing a new single off of Lit From Within; the deceptively upbeat "Perpetual Autumn"! Check it out in the CBC Radio 3 music Player!

1. Scratch Records. These guys are our official distributors; American and International buyers can purchase here, Canadian buyers can purchase here.

2. Bandcamp. CDs got you down? Bandcamp is the solution. Purchase all 32 tracks in whatever format you prefer: high quality mp3, AAC, FLAC, Apple Lossless, or whatever the hell OGG VORBIS is. Sounds like it might be the leader of a deadly intergalactic army of snakes, but hey. That might be kind of cool to have. You can also stream the whole album here for free (as well as our previous releases), anytime you like. It's really a great site, and there's lots of incredible bands...take a look while you're there.

3. CD Baby. These folks will have it in physical and digital form on January 12th. They're a fine, reputable service. Sharp as a tack. Well dressed. Erudite.

4. 8 Billion Other Sources. iTunes, Amazon, Amie Street, Didiom, Emusic, GreatIndieMusic, Inprodicon, iSound, Lala, Last.fm, LimeWire, Liquid Digital Media, MediaNet, Napster, Nokia, Rhapsody, Shockhound, Spotify, Tradebit, Verizon will all have it in some manner or another. If you're into any of these services, go nuts!

5. Zunior A Canadian online outlet for digital downloads in FLAC and MP3 formats.

6. Sheer Hope. Sometimes, just the power of belief alone is enough to generate a double CD. Or at least mp3s. You're sort of on your own with this one, but I'm pretty sure if you Google "The Secret" you'll get a few ideas.

If you have any questions about availability, format, whatever, just ask us here or on our Twitter or wherever. We'll help as best we can. We really want you to have this music!

Thanks for everything, everyone. See you on Tuesday, January 12th!

Okay, so we're having a CD release party in our hometown of Winnipeg, Canada on January 23rd, 2010 at the West End Cultural Centre! Our friend Ian Larue is going to knock out a little acoustic intro, then we're going to play for an absolute eternity. Tickets are available here. You can RSVP on the ol' Facebook, too. Rest of the world: we're making plans to visit you, too...be patient.

 "Lit From Within“ is the third full-length release from Winnipeg's The Paperbacks.  The new double album, Produced by Jaret McNabb (Projektor “Tired Atlantic South” EP, The Paperbacks “An Episode of Sparrows”)  is being released on January 12, 2010, on the Parliament of Trees label

 On their new release The Paperbacks continue their exploration of powerful and unlikely lyrical topics. While their previous CD, “An Illusion Against Death,“ questioned the role of art in the life of the artist, “Lit From Within” examines more fully the motivations behind art and activism, their parallels, and the effect of each on the health of the practitioner. Opener Good Lives (For Bad Reasons) looks at a moment of crisis for a veteran social activist (“You’ve had a hard life for noble reasons, and it’s not clear what that’s worth…”), and from there, the 32 song set travels through distractions, addictions, death, abuse and faithlessness to ultimately find its way back to a sense of strength, purpose and recommitment. The sonic adventurousness is not lost beneath the intensity of the subject matter; the band, propelled by McNabb’s masterful production, takes incredible risks and pushes hard in as many directions as the running time allows

 “Lit From Within” marks the debut of the Paperbacks new line-up. Remaining from the original group are songwriter Doug McLean, and  bassist Jaret McNabb. They are joined by guitarist Kevin Andrechuk, drummer Corey Biluk and Kevin McLean on keyboards. "Lit From Within" also features an impressive cast of guest musicians including Jahmeel Russell (Projektor, Kittens), Alison DeGroot, and Rosalyn Dennett (both members of Oh My Darling), Mike Koop (The Bonaduces, The Kicker), Andrew Filyk (Anthem Red, The City Champs) and Ian LaRue.

 “Lit From Within” Disc 1 track listing:  1. Good Lives (For Bad Reasons). 2. Stars (For Claire Massey). 3. The Asheville Period (In Retrospect). 4. Slow Learners. 5.  Triggering. 6. Communicated Through Blood. 7. Regrettable Tattoos. 8. Do You Sleep?. 9. Perpetual Autumn. 10. Caroline. 11. Illness as Metaphor. 12. Crude Instruments. 13. A Year On Trial. 14. You Are a Reservoir. 15. The Coast Starlight.

“Lit From Within” Disc 2 track listing:  1. The Arc of a Light. 2. A Dizzy Chain of Bees. 3. Casually Swearing at the Vacant Coastline. 4. Math Damage/Maggot Age. 5. Umbrella Skeletons. 6. Day Planners 7. Make Art. 8. Patron Saint of Atheists. 9. No Fatalities. 10. Lit From Within. 11. A Hawthorne Sublet. 12. The Empire Builder. 13. Continental Drift. 14. Rolling Blackouts. 15. It Will Take Courage My Love. 16. An Asterisk Beside My Name. 17. Thieves Guild.