J Church News Archive

Jump to a particular year: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.

Links to external sites are not checked after the initial news posting and cannot be guaranteed to work. News from most of the first year of this site (started Sep 1997) has either been lost or is undated.

24 February 2007: after a long hiatus, mostly due to Lance's health problems, at long last here's an update - new album, recent singles, forthcoming singles, even a couple of shows. Check the news page for more.

10 January

The second split 7" between J Church and Japan's Minority Blues Band, originally rumoured almost a year ago, is out now on Chicago's Underground Communique Records. (That's pretty rapid progress by Lance's standards - the split with Petrograd took at least twice as long to appear!). There are 500 copies on either plain or swirly orange vinyl. J Church tracks are Aeroplane Angel and Ex Lion Tamer (originally by Wire), taken from the Japanese Seishun Zankoku Monogatari CD. Minority Blues Band do Speak Same Old News, Sing Same Old Songs and a cover of My Death by Newtown Neurotics.

You can order this from the label for $5 ppd. in the USA; UCR button & sticker included. Email Justin for details - remove the "KILLSPAM" in the link before sending - or send well concealed cash, check (wait 1-2 weeks for clearance) or money orders to Justin Schwier, NOT UCR, at 1220 W. Hood Ave. #1, Chicago, IL 60660, USA. Contact for international rates; some copies may be available through j-church.com for the UK and Europe but wait for any announcement before sending queries.

Grateful Records, who were supposed to be putting out the split 7" with Flamingo 50, have gone quiet - their Myspace page seems to have been replaced by someone else, unless it's under a major redesign. On the other hand, Underground Communique may be putting out a second J Church split 7", this time with Hirudin. Nothing definite on that yet though.

[Not a great deal more happened band-wise through 2006 due to Lance's illness. The album The Horror Of Life was recorded and two of the above split 7"s finally came out towards the end of the year, though for various reasons j-church.com wasn't updated in time for those. Sorry.]

12 November

J Church tour next week through the south east US, en route to and from their second appearance at The Fest in Gainsville, FL. All shows also feature Japan's finest, The Urchin, so get there early. Here's the itinerary:

16 - Jackson, MS @ The Red Room w/ The Urchin, Toys That Kill
17 - Pensacola, FL @ Sluggo's w/ The Urchin, Toys That Kill, Sexy, This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, Bent Outta Shape, Bloodbath and Beyond
19 - Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds w/Ted Leo, Radon and more. J Church are on at 7:50, The Urchin at 7:20
21 - Atlanta, GA @ Lenny's Bar w/ The Urchin, Black Cougar Shock Unit
22 - Chattanooga, TN @ Ziggy's w/The Urchin, Sexy
23 - Denton, TX @ Hailey's w/ The Urchin

The Fest show should also coincide with the release of the J Church / Flamingo 50 split 7" first mentioned way back on 30 May - see that entry for details. The split 7" with Minority Blues Band, according to that label's website, will finally, definitely be out this month. We'll see...

These will be the final dates until the next album is released. Currently mooted titles include The Horror Of Life (which was also a planned title for what became One Mississippi), Secular Music and Signifier/Signified. The first two are also the names of new songs, lyrics to which - along with two other new tracks - can be found on Lance's Myspace account. No release details yet, though doubtless it'll be on No Idea.

2 July
Here's the final itinerary for the mid-West tour and following Austin shows:

JUNE
30 - Dallas, TX

JULY
01 - Memphis, TN @ Ernestine and Hazel's, 531 South Main St at Calhoun St w/Seein Red, Bury the Living
02 - Chicago, IL @ The Bottom Lounge w/ Groovie Ghoulies, Methadones
03 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Barely Legal House [this is the most recent information from Lance, though No Idea Records' site lists The Twitch House]
04 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock w/Dillinger Four
05 - Carbondale, IL @ Lost Cross House, 407 West Elm Street
06 - Lawrence, KS @ The Haunted Kitchen
07 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory w/Klipspringer
08 - Denton, TX @ JJ's Pizza w/The Pedestrians, Signal Lost
09 - Austin, TX @ Beerland w/ Marked Men, Soviettes, Grabass Charlestons, Apeshits
10 - Austin, TX @ Emos w/DaDa Swing (Rome, Italy), Funeralizer (the new band from ex-J Church guitarist David)
14 - Austin, TX @ Beerland w/Modern Machines, The Ergs, Modern Needs (featuring members of Signal Lost and Storm The Tower)
23 - Austin, TX @ Sound On Sound w/ Onion Flavored Rings

The first of the split single series will be released on Chunksaah Records on 9 August but can be pre-ordered through their store for an earlier shipping date. The track list is confirmed as:

J Church - Who Killed Pasolini? and Psycho Mafia (originally by The Fall)
The Plungers - Lost City Lover and Breakaway (originally by Irma Thomas)

30 May
Some tour and record news. Firstly, the mid-West tour with Dillinger Four mentioned below is now happening (mostly) without them. Here are the dates so far:

[dates removed; see entry above]

At the same time, three of the split 7"s featuring tracks from the Seishun Zankoku Monogatari album are apparently almost ready:

1. split with The Plungers (from New York) on Chunksaah Records. The J Church side features Who Killed Pasolini? and a cover of Psycho Mafia by the Fall

2. split with Minority Blues Band (from Japan) on Underground Communique. This will probably be MBB's last release as they split up at the end of 2004. The J Church tracks are Aeroplane Angel and a cover of Wire's Ex Lion Tamer. Hopefully on gold vinyl.

3. split with Flamingo 50 (from Liverpool, UK), on Grateful Records. J Church do Near 600 Pages and a cover of Just What I Needed by the Cars. Flamingo 50's tracks will probably be from their previously-released split album with Lack Of Reason.

No specific dates are available yet, Discography pages will be added once the records are finally released.

18 May
Following Japan, there will be a short US Mid-West tour at the start of July, mostly in the company of Dillinger Four. The only date confirmed so far is:

July 9 - Austin, TX @ Beerland w/Grabass Charlestons, The Soviettes, Marked Men, Apeshits

2 May
J Church are touring Japan at the end of the month:

May
26 - Kanagawa @ Yokohama Club 24 West w/Hard Skin, The Havenot's, Zero Fast
27 - Tokyo @ Shinjuku Red Cloth w/Hard Skin, The Hapening, The Urchin
28 - Miyagi @ Sendai Birdland w/The Urchin, Deeds Not Words, The End & more
29 - Niigata, Ojiya @ Nile studio w/The Urchin, Spraypaint & more
30 - Kyoto @ Kiyamachi East w/The Urchin, I Excuse, Drag On Me
31 - Aichi, Nagoya @ Huck Finn w/The Urchin, Navel

June
01 - Mie, Ise @ Question w/The Urchin, The Because, Drift Age, Melt Lee
02 - Ehime, Matsuyama @ Hoshizora Jet w/The Because, Drift Age, Forget Me Not
03 - Tokushima @ Crowbar w/The Because, Drift Age, Kiss of Love
04 - Osaka, Nanba @ Saomai w/The Because, Drift Age, I Excuse
05 - Tokyo, Hachioji @ Match Vox w/The Because, Drift Age, Blotto, Browntrout, Peace of Bread

Not sure of the status of the Minority Blues Band split single mentioned below now, as they've split up. The Chunksaah Records site is still making no mention of the Plungers split either. There have been a couple of brief mentions of other potential splits elsewhere online, but there's no point repeating them here unless / until they come to reality.

1 March
J Church are a trio once more. Unfortunately David has left the band as his work commitments don't allow him to tour as much as is planned. No doubt Lance will have more to say on this in his next Newsletter. A number of potential tours of various durations are currently being considered - not yet for the US, other than the SXSW show below - but nothing has been confirmed. More details here if/when they come to fruition.

5 February
J Church will headline a No Idea Records night at this year's SXSW, which of course takes place in Austin, TX. The show is at Red Rum on 17 March, is all-ages and is open to the public (unlike many of the industry-only schmooze-fests of that week). At present the line-up also includes Grabass Charlestons, Billy Reese Peters, Rehasher, Army of Ponch and Strikeforce Diablo but up to three further bands may be added.

On the split single front, the first of the series of seven to feature tracks from the recent Japan-only album will be a split with The Plungers, on Chunksaah Records (the Bouncing Souls' label). No release date is yet available but it's likely to be at least March. The second is likely to be out in July and will be with Minority Blues Band (their second pairing); one of the J Church tracks will be the Wire cover, Ex Lion Tamer.

26 November
Album news #1: The new Japanese album, Seishun Zankoku Monogatari, is definitely now available through Snuffy Smile or your local importer. It includes seven cover versions - some of which are being played on the current tour - and seven originals. A discography page will be added soon.

It is intended that all 14 tracks will also be released in a series of split 7"s, of which the first is likely to be with The Plungers, a New York band who played several shows on the 2003 US tour. Each single will contain an original and a cover. More details as they become available.

Album news #2: In 2005 No Idea records hope to re-release the Quetzalcoatl, Prophylaxis and Arbor Vitae albums - possibly plus extra tracks - as a double CD, currently going by the name The Allied Years. Allied was the label that released all three CDs (Broken Rekids and Rugger Bugger did some of the vinyl) and it closed down in the late 90s. Plans to remaster those albums and release them through Broken were floating around a couple of years ago; I don't yet know if the remastering is still going to happen or if they'll come out in their original format.

Tour news: J Church are likely to be one of the support bands at the last ever Hard Skin show in Stockwell, south London, on Tuesday 21 December, although they're not currently listed on the promoter's site. It's a ticket-only event - click the link for details.

24 November
Here are the details so far of the European tour. As with any shows, these will potentially be subject to change up to the last minute so check with the venue before leaving home.

NOVEMBER
Sun 14 - Exeter, UK - The Cavern, w/Reno Divorce
Mon 15 - Leeds, UK - The Packhorse, w/The Sainte Catherines, Dugong, Buzzkill
Tue 16 - London, UK - Brixton Windmill w/Reno Divorce, Chillerton
Wed 17 - Dublin, Ireland - The Voodoo Lounge w/Langdon Beck, Lebanon Death Train, Disfunktional
Thu 18 - Belfast, UK - Pavillion Bar w/Landegon Beck, Baron's Jar +1 tbc
Fri 19 - Liverpool, UK - Heaven n Hell w/Flamingo 50, The Dauntless Elite
Sat 20 - High Wycombe, UK - Roundabout
Sun 21 - Leicester, UK - Sumo's w/Hardy Street Pros +1 tbc
Mon 22 - Brighton, UK - Hobgoblin, w/The Sainte Catherines
Tue 23 - Lille, France - Le Yeti
Wed 24 - Poitiers, France - Le Curicaume Cafe
Thu 25 - Day off
Fri 26 - Bordeaux, France - Local Universel
Sat 27 - Lyon, France - Grrrrnd Zero w/The Sainte Catherines + Erevan
Sun 28 - Milan, Italy - Leon Cavallo
Mon 29 - Viareggio, Italy - Matilda
Tue 30 - Torino, Italy - Antidox

DECEMBER
Wed 01 - Bologna, Italy - Atlantide, w/Black Candy + False Nation
Thu 02 - Udine, Italy - CSA Di Via Volturno
Fri 03 - Zagreb, Croatia - KSET
Sat 04 - Budapest, Hungary - Marco Polo
Sun 05 - Prague, Czech Republic - 007
Mon 06 - Day off
Tue 07 - Dresden, Germany - AZ Conni, w/The Sainte Catherines
Wed 08 - Leipzig, Germany - Conne Island
Thu 09 - Braunschweig, Germany - Nexus
Fri 10 - Hamburg, Germany - Störtebeker
Sat 11 - Aalborg, Denmark - 1000 Fryd, w/The Very Job Agency + Je Ne Sais Quoi
Sun 12 - Hannover, Germany - UJZ Korn
Mon 13 - Day off
Tue 14 - Oldenburg, Germany - Alhambra
Wed 15 - Dortmund, Germany - JUZ
Thu 16 - Saarlouis, Germany - JUZ
Fri 17 - Nürnberg, Germany - K4
Sat 18 - Munich, Germany - Kafe Kult
Sun 19 - Freiburg, Germany - Kiel
Mon 20 - Bonn, Germany - Bla w/The Zero Three

27 October
Show news: J Church play New Orleans tomorrow at End Of Banks with Vena Cava and The Ghostwood (poss. + 1 more). The Athens, GA, show on 31 October is at the Transmetropolitan, with Carrie Nations, No and Nocturne For A Dying Planet. It's 18+.

Album news: Here's the tracklist for the new Seishun Zankoku Monogatari album (the title comes from a 1960 Japanese film and translates as Cruel Story Of Youth) on Snuffy Smile. A few Japanese online stores have it listed but, not being able to read the language (or confirm with the band), I can't tell if it has just come out or is due soon. As soon as more information is available a page will be added to the discography.

Trepanation Party
The King
Too Late (originally by Snuff)
Just What I Needed (originally by The Cars)
Aeroplane Angel
Prejudice (originally by Crucifix)
Enemy Of Satan
Who Killed Pasolini?
Ex Lion Tamer (originally by Wire)
Psycho Mafia (The Fall)
Flirting With The Bourgeois Dream
Near 600 Pages
Where Eagles Dare (originally by The Misfits)
Time (originally by Richard Hell And The Voidoids)

23 October
As well as the European tour below, there are a few south-eastern US dates on the drive to and from Austin to the previously-mentioned Fest 3 appearance in Gainesville. No venues have been confirmed yet so check local press or the right kind of record shops; they will be posted here if they arrive in time.

October 28th New Orleans, LA
October 29th Gainesville, FL ­ The Side Bar. More details at the Fest 3 site.
October 31st Athens, GA
November 1st Shreveport, LA ­ radio show

10 October
J Church play a headline show (18+) on Friday 29 October at The Side Bar in Gainseville, FL, as part of The Fest 3. Well, technically they're playing at 1:20 AM on Saturday, but it all starts at 8 PM on the Friday. Also playing are Grabass Charlestons, Toys That Kill, The Horror, The Tim Version, Whiskey & Co., The Enablers and Lucky Stranger. You can get a ticket for that night or you can buy a Fest Pass that gives you entry to all eight events that weekend - including two others on the Friday. All venues other than the Side Bar are all-ages.

After that, a November British Isles - and doubtless mainland Europe - tour is being set up at the moment. The only information available at the moment is for the UK and Ireland, and only one show is specifically confirmed. Others will be added as I get details.

6 May
J Church are playing an all-ages show at the opening of the Jon Moritsugu film Scum Rock - in which Lance makes a cameo appearance - tomorrow night in Austin, at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown. The band are on at 9:45 and there's also food available.

21 April
I've heard that the Houston show tomorrow night has been cancelled - it's no longer listed on the Walter's site. There's no official confirmation and the show tonight and Austin on Friday are still listed but if you're planning to go, please check with the venues first.

5 April
Although the album's been delayed until next month, there's another US tour to support it - all east of the divide. The Methadones, who feature Dan Schafer / Vapid of Riverdales / Queers fame, headline on 3 April then support J Church from Milwaukee onwards, except Raleigh where they headline again. And it all ends up with a Friday night hometown (for J Church, anyway) show. As always, check with the venue before leaving yr house.

March
Mon 29 - Fort Worth, TX - 1919 Hempill w/Thought Riot, The Reprehensibles, Censored
Tues 30 - Oklahoma City - Green Door w/The Costellos
Wed 31 - TBA

April
Thu 01 - Kansas City - El Torreon w/Dysrhythmia, James Dean Trio
Fri 02 - St Louis, MO - TBA
Sat 03 - Chicago, IL - Fireside Bowl w/Textbook - Matinee show
Sun 04 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock w/Riverboat Gamblers, Sweet J.A.P., The Wednesdays
Mon 05 - Des Moines ­ Vaudeville Mews w/Firmus, One Lost Moment, SNAFU
Tue 06 - Iowa City - Gabe's Oasis - Matinee show
Wed 07 - Milwaukee, WI - Mad Planet w/McNaughton Skyline, Fly By Night - All-ages matinee show
Thu 08 - Cleveland, OH - Pirate's Cove
Fri 09 - Wilkinsburg, PA - Mr. Roboto Project w/Hit Me Back, Suburban Death Machine
Sat 10 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Cafe Metropolis w/Dead Radical, Fo A Cha
Sun 11 - day off
Mon 12 - Providence, RI - The Living Room w/Camp Climax For Girls
Tue 13 - Brooklyn, NY - North Six w/Officer May, General Miggs
Wed 14 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church w/Armalite, Mountain Saint
Thu 15 - Raleigh, NC - Kings Barcade w/Punch Drunk
Fri 16 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern
Sat 17 - Atlanta, GA - Drunk Unicorn (no website?)
Sun 18 - Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds w/Grabass Charlestons
Mon 19 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum (no website?)
Tue 20 - Pensacola, FL - Handle Bar (no website?)
Wed 21 - Baton Rouge, LA - Rotolo's Pizzeria
Thu 22 - Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington
Fri 23 - Austin, TX - Emo's, w/Ignorance Park, Dragons

24 March
The new album was supposed to be out yesterday but has been delayed until April. In the meantime, here's a few more details. It's seven tracks, but the title song takes up the whole of side 2 (for those of you still committed to vinyl). Songs are: Overconfident, Keep Smiling America (available to download from No Idea's website), Styrofoam, 210, Tree House Of Love, Austin's Shitty Limits and Society Is A Carnivorous Flower. In addition to the dates below, a European tour is potentially being lined up for May - no details yet.

18 February
The new full-length J Church studio album is called Society Is A Carnivorous Flower and will be released by No Idea Records on 23 March. The title track is a 13-minute epic which has been played live a fair few times already. Lance is also re-pressing on vinyl, in extremely limited quantities (like, 20!), the live CDs that he put out a while back through Honey Bear.

The only planned show at the moment is February 28th at Emo's in Austin with Strike Anywhere. There are tentative plans at the moment to tour the new album both in the US and Europe, but nothing definite at the moment.

18 November
J Church will be touring Japan for eight days in the run-up to Christmas. Minority Blues Band, with whom they shared a split single a couple of years ago, are also playing at all shows except the first one. The dates are:

Tue 16 December - Fukuoka - Kieth Flack, w/Pear Of The West, Practice
Wed 17 - Matsuyama - Hoshizora-Jet, w/Practice, Drift Age
Thu 18 - Tokushima - Jitterbug, w/Practice, Hush Puppy, Hamk
Fri 19 - Kyoto - East, w/Practice, I Excuse
Sat 20 - Nagoya - Tsurumai@K.D.Japon, w/Navel, I Excuse
Sun 21 - Tokyo - Shinjuku@Red Cloth, w/The Happening, I Excuse, The Urchin
Mon 22 - Sendai - Birdland, w/Deeds Not Words
Tue 23 - Yokohama - Club 24west, w/Zero Fast, Three Minute Movie, Raise Mind

5 September
Clean And Obscene is a newly-released track that appears on the World Famous Kintama Boxers compilation album on Chicken Katsu Records (website under construction). More information here as and when I have it, or see this article from the Honolulu Star Bulletin.

7 August
Latest schedule for the J Church / Honey Bear records Summer tour. All shows feature J Church, DFI and Storm The Tower, with additional bands in some cities. Don't forget to check details with the club before leaving home.

Final details: The New York / Hoboken shows are now confirmed as the dates below, as per the clubs' websites; the Boston show is now confirmed at the Middle East; the show that was scheduled for Cleveland has been replaced by a house party in Colombus.

JULY
Thu 24 - Austin, TX - secret show at the footbridge on Lamar Blvd w/J Church, Storm The Tower and Attack Formation
Fri 25 - Phoenix, AZ ­ Modified
Sat 26 - San Diego, CA ­ Ché Café, w/30 Years War and Vena Cava
Sun 27 - Los Angeles, CA ­ Chain Reaction, w/Knockout
Tue 29 - San Francisco, CA ­ Bottom of the Hill
Wed 30 - Portland, OR ­ house party
Thu 31 - Seattle, WA - 2nd Ave. Pizza (no website?)

AUGUST
Fri 1 - Vancouver, BC - The Underwear Farm, w/Subtracttozero, Chuck Norris and Paper Lanterns
Sat 2 - Boise, ID (venue unknown)
Mon 4 - Minot, ND (venue unknown)
Tue 5 - Fargo, ND - VFW Hall (no website?)
Wed 6 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock, w/Heads And Bodies
Thu 7 - Chicago, IL - Fireside Bowl, w/Calvary
Fri 8 - Columbus, OH - house party
Sat 9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Roboto, w/Forward Motion
Sun 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Calvary Church (no website?)
Mon 11 - Boston, MA - Upstairs at the Middle East, w/Agape, Shallows And Flats and The Allegory
Tue 12 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's, w/The Plungers
Wed 13 - NYC - North Six, w/The Plungers
Thu 14 - Washington, DC - St. Aloysius Church
Fri 15 - Baltimore, MC - Talking Head Club, w/Tenwatch
Sat 16 - Chapel Hill, NC - Go Room Rehearsals, w/Dead Things
Sun 17 - Atlanta, GA - Echo Lounge, w/Dade County Resistance
Mon 18 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern, w/Dade County Resistance
Tue 19 - Gainesville, FL - CG Coffeehouse
Wed 20 - Orlando, FL - Will's Pub
Thu 21 - Pensacola, FL - Handle Bar (no website?)
Fri 22 - Houston, TX - Fat Cat's (AKA Mary Jane's)
Sat 23 - Austin, TX ­ Emo's

27 May
The J Church / Storm The Tower split release will be officially released on CD and 12" on Broken Rekids on 8 September. However, copies should be available on the tour, at least from San Francisco onwards. The J Church tracks are Terror Or Love, Ghostwriter, Wonderful, The Satanists Convene and Mature Shower Curtains, while Storm The Tower contribute Feeding The Filth Eater, We Are The Ice Age, Into The Jaws Of Death and The Greatest Weapon. And in case you can't wait, here's a preview of the front and back covers.

30 April
Dates have been announced for the Honey Bear All-Stars US Summer tour (my title, not theirs). J Church will headline and DFI - i.e. new J Church guitarist David - and Storm The Tower, featuring new drummer Chris (of whom more below), will support. There may well also be local bands.

[dates removed - see latest schedule further up the page]

There are tentative plans for tours further afield later this year or early 2004, but there's nothing more to say on that just now.

Two new records are awaiting release. One is the new album, including the already-infamous 15-minute song Society is a Carnivorous Flower (a slogan which you may know from the inlay of the Camels, Spilled Corona... cassette), which may come out on Honest Don's. But before then, probably on Broken Rekids, will be a split 12" with Storm The Tower.

And if you want to catch one of Chris's other bands, Severed Head Of State, they're a week or so into a 63-day tour of Europe. They played London last night, continue round the UK and Ireland for another 10 days then head to Scandanavia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. See the full list here.

16 February
There is a new band line-up - and J Church is now a four-piece. Jeff has recently moved to Florida and Adam has a new child to care for, so joining Lance, who's still on vocals / guitar, are:

Ben White - bass
David DiDonato - guitar (sole member of the band DFI)
Chris Pfeffer - drums (from Severed Head Of State, Storm The Tower and others)

J Church will be playing Emo's in Austin on 27 May alongside Rainer Maria.

Also,the Honey Bear records website, hbrecords.org, is currently suspended due to problems with the domain name. Hopefully these will be resolved soon.

08 September
It must be about four years since I got an email from the Luxembourg band Petrograd concerning a split 7" with J Church. At long last the single is ready and will be released on 29 September. At the moment it will only be available direct from the band's label, Christopher's Records for $4 plus postage (which will be €3.50 in Europe, $4.50 elsewhere. Check the website or email for more information. Petrograd will also be playing a benefit show for Lance in November and they will be asking for practical donations (i.e. CDs, computer stuff) to send him.

22 August
Lance now has a new address: 1730 E. Oltorf #135, Austin, TX 78741

31 July
Fire update - extracts from a message from Lance to the mailing list:

"I want to assure everyone that I plan to carry on with the band and the label and whatever other things I was planning to do. As much as is financially possible, I'm gonna be working the DFI and J Church records coming out this Fall on Honey Bear [the Storm The Tower 7"s were destroyed] ... I REALLY don't want people to get any misinformation about what happened. I mean, TWICE in the last decade there have been rumors that I died and that created huge problems for me as you can imagine ... Hopefully, life will start to get back to normal the weekend after next when I at least move into my new apartment.

"Everyone is asking how to help and I really don't know how to reply to that. I'm very flattered that people have offered to do benefits and send money. But I feel a little weird taking peoples money. Here are the things we are trying to replace if for some strange reason you have extras: Computer. Stereo. Records - if you are at a record label and are on my list, I probably love your label and would love to get whatever promos you've got lying around."

If you can help, email Lance with the details.

29 July
If you're on Lance's mailing list you'll already know about the fire at his block last weekend. Lance is uninjured (one resident died and a fireman was hurt) but just about everything he owns is gone. As that includes the computer, you may not see any mention on the Honey Bear site for a while, so in case you're wondering, here's the practicals as far as J Church is concerned:

All Honey Bear mail-order merchandise, singles club material, master tapes, DATs and CDRs are destroyed.

If you are expecting a mail-order item, Lance will try to re-imburse you. However, understand that this may take time.

The singles club (including the online version) is on hold for the forseeable future, and probably longer, as it is likely that every unreleased recording was destroyed.

For the same reason, the various releases mentioned below (other than those that have since come out) will now not be happening unless Lance has already sent out the tracks. If you've sent him an invite to appear on a new release, the band will have to decline until things get sorted.

More updates will appear on here and the mailing list as and when information becomes available.

20 June
As mentioned in the latest J Church Newsletter, this site will be hosting a singles club - one exclusive track a month, every month for a year. At present there are no other details to add to what's in the Newsletter; I will post more as soon as anything is definite.

05 June
A couple of qualifications to the release list below. The Amadou Diallo benefit album actually hits the streets on 25 June but available now on pre-order through the label's site. And I believe that the Law Of Inertia compilation is actually a free CD that comes with issue 10 of the label's self-titled zine, rather than a 'proper' release, though I'm double-checking on that.

14 May
No full releases but a lot of compilations have surfaced so far this year. Is anyone still trying to be a completist? Until I get more information for the discography, here's a quick rundown (and if you know more, get in touch):

• Arm The Cyclist records comp. - an acoustic track called Worth Killing For, about the Manson family.

• 1157 Wheeler Avenue: A Memorial to Amadou Diallo (Failed Experiment records) - the monumentally titled song is Off The Pigs: Nobuyoshi Araki And William Vollman As Personified Arguments Against The Vice Squad and the CD is out on 4 June.

• Quantity Before Quality (Kinetic records - presumably not the one at kineticrecords.com, which is a division of Warner Bros.) - 30-second song comp. including Ghost In Your House.

• Love Songs For The Proletariat (that's a working title, the label is unknown) - an old acoustic track called Mission Dolores.

• Law Of Inertia records compilation - a cover of Not Proud Of The USA by The Mice, originally from '85 or thereabouts.

• 3 Chord Rocket Science (Suckerpunch records) - Mary Provost, the third outing for this cover. Out now.

• Fake Plastic Creeps - a CD bootleg of Radiohead covers which features Creep from the Kittums In A Coma single.

Also forthcoming: a split 7" with Petrograd - this one's been in the pipeline for a few years, their website says it will be out this month but I'm told there are some mastering problems. Rabbit records are reporting that their CDEP of new songs (first mentioned a year ago) is still a "work in progress" - as of a week or two ago they still didn't have the completed tracks. No other proper new J Church release is scheduled but in the Fall / Autumn there will be an 'odds and sods' compilation called Palestine, featuring old tracks, some fully recorded, some demos and others which have been given a 21st Century reworking. This may be the first of a few such releases.

24 April
Lance is auctioning a whole load of rarities on eBay - J Church releases, test pressings, singles from his distro and various other things. This is an ongoing sale so keep checking back. Search on 'HONBR' to get the current list.

05 November
The third of the new releases mentioned way back on 10 July is being pressed right now and will be coming soon to a distro near you. The split 7" with Annalise is released on Beat Bedsit records out of Brighton (UK) and each band contribute two tracks. J Church do Fuck School and Asphyxia By Submersion (that's the whole title, it's not a cover version) while Annalise, without doubt one of the best bands in Britain, contribute Head Held High and You Take The Records (I'll Take The Rest). Available from the label for £2.50 post-paid in the UK, write to them for overseas rates.

30 July
A slight change to the Bay Area mini-tour mentioned below: the headline show (August 13, if you can't be bothered to scroll down) with Tiltwheel and The Urchin is now at the Voodoo Lounge on Mission and 25th and is, unfortunately, a 21 and over night. The potential show in Sacramento is definitely not now happening. Also, CDNow is giving a release date of 14 August for Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding.

10 July
More new release updates:
The Australian single mentioned below should be out in September; it's a split release on Rabbit / Deplorable Records and it'll be a 'concept' piece with seven short songs run together.
The UK release will be now a split single on Beat Bedsit records with the very excellent Annalise, not the compilation previously mentioned. The Annalise website gives a tentative August release.
Definitely out in early August will be the Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding singles compilation.
The Japanese single - the split with Minority Blues Band on Snuffy Smiles - is out now.
Another five live J Church CDs have been released on Honey Bear, featuring three shows from the mid-'90s and two from 2000. See Newsletter 9.5 for full details.

30 June
J Church are playing a few shows in mid-August, mostly in the Bay Area - book these dates for your diaries:
11 August - Bottom of the Hill, SF (supporting Citizen Fish)
12 August - Gilman Street, Berkely (supporting Citizen Fish)
13 August - CW Saloon, SF (with The Urchin and TiltWheel - Mike of Broken Rekids promoting)
There may also be a support show with Citizen Fish on the 14th in Sacramento but that's not yet confirmed.

19 June
Got some more info (courtesy of Newsletter 9.4) on the international releases alluded to in the last update. The Japanese single is a split with Minority Blues Band, on Snuffy Smiles. Don't have a release date but the J Church songs are both cover versions - the Subhuman's People Are Scared and Cringer's Petrograd. Which neatly segues into a possible split 7" with the anarcho band Petrograd, who are from Luxembourg; unfortunately nothing more on this just now. There are also two new songs headed for compilations. Asphyxia By Submersion will be on the Beat Bedsit compilation in the UK - not sure of the label (possibly Spanking Herman), while All The Wars is a cover of a song originally by the old British band Anthrax and will be on the the next AK Press release. No date for either of these but the next J Church singles comp. (see below) should be out in mid-August.
A little bit of non-band news. You may be aware that Lance is writing a book on the late '70s / early '80s anarcho punk scene (as detailed in Newsletter 9.3, MRR and no doubt elsewhere). I'm sure a lot of this is well-organised by now, but I'm equally sure any extra assistance - either with articles from the time or contacts for people in the scene - would be appreciated, so if you can help, send him an email.

30 April
Lots of new and forthcoming releases to tell you about:
A) The first four CDs in Lance's series of live shows, home demos and other J Church ephemera are out now - to start with, four shows between '93-97. These releases - on Honey Bear records - are only available from Lance, each $6 post-paid in the US (I'll try to get the non-US prices too). There will be more in the series soon.
B) Nostalgic For Nothing has got a re-release on an very limited split 7" with the Long Island band Contra - 300 only, pressed up for the birthday of Craig, the drummer from Contra. The J Church song is not a re-recording and I have no idea if you're going to be able to get it unless you know someone in either band. That should put the collectors in a frenzy.
C) A year on, there's finally a sighting of the 'missing' song from the One Mississippi sessions. Palm Tree was on the first album tracklist I got but was one of two tracks dropped from the final release (the other being Closing Time In An Early Town). It's going to be on a forthcoming compilation by New Disorder records - don't know the title or date just now.
D) The fourth J Church singles collection should be out some time during the summer; twenty songs on Honey Bear records entitled Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding, a 'tribute' to The Who's Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy album of many years ago.
E) I've also seen mention of three other possible single releases on labels in Japan, the UK and Australia later this year - more news if/when they ever come to fruition.

11 April
A whole bunch of news in the latest Newsletter (#9.2) - new releases, re-issues, the Honey Bear singles club and more. Rather than me repeat it all on this page, head over here and read Lance's words in full. Then start saving your money.

28 March
Last minute Bay Area show - got an email from Mike at Broken Rekids: J Church and Songs For Emma (Mike's band) are playing an all-ages show at the Anarchist Bookfair benefit in Oakland. It's TOMORROW NIGHT - Thurs. March 29, at the AK Press/Broken Rekids Building, 673 23rd St. & MLK, doors at 7PM. Five dollars on the door - call 510 208 1700 for more info.

09 February
More tour news. Leatherface, Hot Water Music and Small Brown Bike join the Fat line-up for the New Orleans, Houston and Austin shows. And more importantly, J Church will play two headlining shows before the big Fat Wreck trek, in:

Feb 26 - Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 27 - Denver, CO (venue TBA)

07 February
Updated from 22 Jan. - tour schedule for the March 2001 Propagandhi / Avail / J Church / Fabulous Disaster US tour.

* - 2 shows, at 5PM and 9PM
** - Provisional. The Fat Wreck website shows these dates for Propagandhi and Avail but there's no comparative Honest Don's listing for J Church

24 January
According to the latest Newsletter, there may be up to four more dates added to the end of the tour, including a potential headline show in San Francisco.

23 January
Six years or so after the last outing, Lance is putting together another Honey Bear record club. There will be six 7"s in all, featuring songs "from J Church, Cringer, Cilantro and more [...] Each 7" will be limited to 100 copies. That means that almost none of the records will be available in stores". The cost is $45 postpaid (in the US) and you can either post your money to Lance or buy online through a Yahoo Pay Direct account - details to follow.

6 January
If you haven't already read the latest Newsletter (8.6), here's what you've missed.
Firstly, a US tour is planned for March in the company of Avail, Propagandhi and Fabulous Disaster. No dates / venues announced yet, I'll let you know as soon as I have them.
Secondly, as of 3 January there is a J Church discussion group on eGroups. Last I looked, there were 10 members - hey, it's early days - and no-one, including me, has yet had the courage to send the first mail... If you want to join up, send a blank email to JchurchTalk-subscribe@egroups.com.

16 November
The Honest Dons website says that the Belgian show on 29 November will be at the Kompas in Sint-Niklaas. The Leni Riefenstahl... 7" is out next week and will be available on the December section of the European tour, or you can contact Loveboat direct. I should also be getting a few of my own copies to sell.

08 November
News from Andrea at Loveboat records. The Leni Riefenstahl... 7" he's putting out should be released at the end of next week (i.e. 15-17 November). He also says that support at the J Church show in Torino (1 Dec.) will be from Frontiera, "which is 2/3 of the legendary Italian punk band Kina". And on the same subject, Pink Kross will be opening in Glasgow.

20 October
This is how the mainland Europe section of the tour now looks.

27 Nov. - Zwischenfall, Bochum, Germany
28 Nov. - AZ, Aachen, Germany
29 Nov. - Hasselt, Belgium (tba)
30 Nov. - Coupole, Bienne, Switzerland
01 Dec. - El Paso, Torino, Italy
02 Dec. - Rome, Italy (tba)
03 Dec. - CPA, Fierenze, Italy
06 Dec. - Wild At Heart, Berlin, Germany
07 Dec. - Arm, Kassel, Germany

18 October
A couple of bits of miscellaneous news. Extra support bands will open at the UK shows, including: Brighton - Blocko; London - Travis Cut and Southport; Leeds - Skimmer; Manchester - Inside Right; Derby - Wat Tyler; Winchester - Southport and Portiswood. And the Loveboat Records site is giving a tentative release date of mid-November for the Leni Riefenstahl... 7". The track Harvest is a lo-fi cover of the Neil Young song, "complete with weird hospital-found sounds".

25 September
Here's the almost-complete dates for the One Mississippi tour, part one. There will be more touring in the US and elsewhere next year. UK support is confirmed as The Urchin, support at the October shows (except Las Vegas) comes from The Dismemberment Plan - I've seen 'em, they're great, so get there early. These are all taken from the latest edition of the J Church newsletter.

Oct. 24 - Balcony Lights, Las Vegas, NV
Oct. 25 - Solar Culture Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Oct. 26 - Che Café, San Diego, CA
Oct. 27 - Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 28 - Jerry's Pizza, Bakersfield, CA
Oct. 29 - Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco, CA
Oct. 30 - UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA
Nov. 14 - Philadelphia, PA (tba)
Nov. 15 - Brownie's, New York City, NY
Nov. 16 - Middle East Café, Boston, MA
Nov. 20 - The Lift, Brighton, UK
Nov. 21 - Camden Underworld, London, UK
Nov. 22 - The Cockpit, Leeds, UK
Nov. 23 - The Star And Garter, Manchester, UK
Nov. 24 - 13th Note, Glasgow, UK
Nov. 25 - Victoria Inn, Derby, UK
Nov. 26 - Railway Inn, Winchester, UK
Nov. 27 - Zwischenfall, Bochum, Germany
Nov. 28 - Aachen, Germany
Nov. 29 - Wild At Heart, Berlin, Germany
Dec. 01 - Chez Heinz, Hannover, Germany
Dec. 02 - Stuttgart, Germany
Dec. 03 ­ 05 Italy (tba)

12 September
Got an email from Jeff West to say that he's going to be putting out the next Cilantro 7" on his label Explain It To Me, Central Pennsylvania. But as he doesn't yet have the DAT, no release date is scheduled.

4 September
OK, it's not just the Brits now. Here's four dates in Germany for December - support comes from, I think, Japanese pop-punkers The Urchin.

27 November - Bochum, Zwischenfall
28 November - Aachen, AZ
29 November - Berlin - Wild At Heart
01 December - Hannover, Chez Heinz

In other news from the latest Mailing List missive, there will be a 7" on the Italian label Love Boat soon, featuring Leni Riefenstahl's Tinder Box and non-album tracks Closing Time In An Early Town and Harvest. See their website or write to Andrea at Love Boat Records, C.P. 215, 10064 Pinerolo (TO), Italy.
The second Cilantro 7" is also now fully-planned (don't have a date or label though). The track list is Sexy Sadie - the title track and a Beatles cover, Karine, Mission Dolores, Worth Killing For, Jazz Butcher On A Work Night and Tricky.
And finally, Lance is moving to Austin, Texas for a few years but no, the band is not splitting up. It'll just make rehearsals a little harder to co-ordinate.

18 August
I don't know the venues yet, but immediately following the UK shows below, Lance and co. will be playing across the continent. The European tour ends on 7 December.

16 August
At last - some tour dates! Just the UK for now - US and non-UK European dates are also being planned for this year but I do NOT have any details yet. Honest! Shows so far announced are:

20 November - Brighton, Free Butt
21 November - London, Camden Underworld
22 November - Leeds, The Cockpit
23 November - Manchester, venue TBA
24 November - Glasgow, 13th Note
25 November - Derby, Victoria Inn
26 November - Winchester, The Railway Inn

See you in London and hopefully the last two as well.

31 May
Honest Dons have given the release date of the new album as 18 July. Mark your calendars.

10 May
Lance is interviewed in the current edition (no. 37) of Punk Planet. It's a fairly short piece, mostly about his recent illness. If you can't find a copy of PP, don't worry 'cos the piece will be on here just as soon as I can type it up.

13 April
The new album will be called One Mississippi. It could be that Lance is an afficianado of British football songs (try singing "One Mississippi, there's only one Mississippi" to the tune of Guantanamera) but it's probably a literary reference. Anyway, that aside, the album will be out soon-ish - possibly May, but that's not definite. Also planned but not yet detailed - I don't know any more than is written here, honest - are 3 tours, a short one in the US, one to South America and one to Europe, following the album's release.

5 April
... and another SF show - an All Ages on April 15th at the Bottom of the Hill club, with "someone on K and someone on DeSoto. I forget who" (that's Lance's memory, not mine). Supposedly the last Bay Area shows in a while, at least until the new album is out. More 'proper' tour news soon.

30 March
The Anarchist Bookfair takes place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on 15 April and, like last year, J Church are playing a benefit show. Catch them and Songs For Emma on Tues 11 April at the Cocodrie in the North Beach area of town.

20 January
J Church will be playing a few shows in San Francisco in February. If you're in the area, head for:
Sunday 6th: Howling Bull toy store - free show, with songs from the new album.
Thursday 17th: The Bottom Of The Hill, opening for Limp and Nerfherder. An all-ages show.
Sunday 20th: Cocodrie (not fully confirmed yet, check with the venue nearer the time). All-ages show with Discount. That's the band Discount, not money off at the door.

7 January
The new album is finished. Almost. Here's the tracklist (not the final running order), followed by a few extracts from the J Church newsletter, courtesy of Mr Hahn:
No Jazz, New York Times Book Review, The Track, Where The Trains Go, Sunshine, Quickstep, Your Mother, She Says, Never Happy, She's So Mean, Diet Coke, Imaginary Friends, Anybody, I Reach For Her Hand..., Cut The Shit, Leni Reifenstahl's Tinder Box, Sadie Mae Glutz, Jane, Vanessa And I, Gulf Breeze, Florida, The Doctor, The Devil And I, Rich And Young And Dumb, J Church Sucks, Reaching For Thoreau, Palm Tree, Closing Time In An Early Town, Christmas Lights, Stars Are Exploding
"In some ways it's really epic (28 songs, an hour long, piano and guest vocals not to mention other studio trickery) and really small (16 tracks instead of the usual 24, less practice and more improvisation, very, very, VERY little sleep) at the same time. A lot of people are going to think it's very pretentious. A lot of people are going to think that it's our worst, though most adventurous record. There may be a little for everyone. But as a result, very few people will like the entire opus ... All I ask is that you try to listen to it all in one sitting. It works better that way ... I can't think of a time where I felt like all the work I put into a J Church project really paid off. It's a record that's really allowed us to go in directions we were only able to dabble in before. I don't know what the label thinks of that. Hopefully this is our Zen Arcade and not our Warehouse: Songs And Stories."

8 December
Thanks to Niki for pointing out this on the Honest Don's Records site:
"J Church are currently in the studio recording their second full-length for Honest Don's. The band has two new members. Jeff Bursley - Bass and Adam Pfahler (ex-Jawbreaker) - Drums. Look for the new album to be released sometime in February 2000. Look for them on tour in Europe in March."

25 November
There are tentative plans for three separate tours next year, to Japan, the UK and around the US. No further details yet, it's still only a vague plan as it mostly depends on Adam (drums) who has a) a child and b) a video store to take care of.

23 October
A whole lotta news from the latest J Church newsletter. There's a new track - from the final sessions with Gardner - on the compilation that comes with the new edition of Cool Beans zine. It's yet another ELO cover, this time Sweet Talkin' Woman. Andee drums on it and Harriet Scott also sings.
Also the live 7" on VML is getting a re-release on a comp. CD together with similar tracks from the Young Pioneers, Sicko and Naked Aggression. "The single sold embarrassingly well" says Lance, though "We are always sort of a wall of noise live. Not very tuneful." A new Cilantro EP has completed the mixing stage but there's no label to release it on just yet. Looks for more information on these on the regular pages just as soon as I get it.
Finally, and most importantly: "We just started work on our fifth album last week. It's pretty crazy, but we're recording 28 to 30 songs for this opus. Yeah, whenever I mention it the label sorta freaks out. I don't know. They'll freak out more when they actually hear it. We're a week into the recording and we've got three weeks to go. It's now looking like a February release date. I know, 28 songs is a little silly (even for us). But it is our first album since '96 and there's been so much chaos. Give us a little slack..."

21 August
There is going to be a new studio album. According to Lance, all the songs have been demoed and songs in this format may be appearing on a few compilations. (Oh god, not *more* compilations, says the stressed site-owner!) The working title of the album is The Horror Of Life but that may change. The line up of the band - for the album at least - will be Lance, Adam (ex-Jawbreaker/Moons) and Jeff (of Nothing Cool). It'll almost definitely be recorded with Tim Green (of The Champs, ex-Young Ginns, Nation Of Ulysses) who's also worked with The Melvins, Lowercase, Unwound, The Lies and others. Don't expect to see it in the racks before next year though.

19 August
There are a few more compilations doing the rounds but they all feature old tracks. The Japanese label Snuffy Smiles have put out a J Church compilation CD called Slanted, with many tracks taken from the My Favourite Place and Travels In Hyper-Reality EPs plus a few excerpts from band-related radio broadcasts. The band are also on three new 'various artists' comps. - Love Songs For The Broken Hearted, Hang 10 and a Vagrant Records 'best of'. See the Compilations pages for more details.

15 August
There's a previously unreleased track J Church track to get. It's called Tightrope and it's on The Return Of The Read Menace, a new CD from AK Press/Honest Don's. However, I believe it's actually another ELO cover so it's probably not that new - I'm guessing it dates from 1998.

15 March
J Church will be playing an all-ages benefit show in San Francisco on 24 March at the Bottom Of The Hill club with the Tom Brooker Band. It's a show for the Anarchist Book Conference which is in SF on 27 March at 9 Avenue and Lincoln Way.
It's fairly old news now but in case you hadn't heard, Gardner has left J Church. The reason? He was tired of touring so much. It's a damn shame, but it's been done so we'll have to just get used to it. Scott and Adam have played a couple of shows now with Lance but I still have no idea how permanent a fixture they are / will be.
The Argentinian split 7" that Lance spoke of last June is now available. It's with Restos Fosiles.
The Fuelled By Ramen Discount / J Church split is, as far as I know, still on hold. Discount put out their would-be contribution, 5 Billy Bragg covers, independently. The J Church songs were to be the ELO covers that have already surfaced on the Turn To Stone single and Mailorder Is Fun comp. CD.

12 October
J Church are finally getting back on the tour circuit - their first show in San Francisco for a year is at the Cocodrie on Sunday 22 November. Other bands include PEE, Disgusteens (Japan), WaterCloset (ex Sprocket Wheel) (Japan) and Songs for Emma (Tommy from Strawman's band). It's an all ages *evening* show - I've been told to tell you "don't go to the afternoon show that day unless you want to see Earth Crisis". The J Church line up will be Lance, Scott on bass (from Moons) and Adam (Moons/ex-Jawbreaker) on drums.
In case you hadn't noticed, the line-up has changed quite significantly. Andy will be playing drums for PEE and might be playing "sometimes" in J Church. And Gardner has left J Church because he was tired of touring so much. It's a damn shame, but it's been done so we'll have to just get used to it. I don't yet know whether Scott and Adam are short, medium or long-term band members.
There's also the possibility of J Church playing at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, which, if it happens, would be Lance with Andee on drums and their friend John (from Andee's other bands Tick War and A Minor Forest) on bass.

7 October
According to CDNow, the third singles compilation, called Altamont '99, was released on 22 September.
The new album on Damaged Goods is called Cat Food and came out on 5 October. I haven't seen a copy yet but all details will be here as soon as I do.

28 June
News from Lance as to future band plans (received at the end of June):
"We have a 7" coming out in Argentina soon. There will be a new Japanese CD of stuff available in the States and Europe. It's just for Japan... Au Go Go in Australia is doing our third singles collection which will also include the out of print extra tracks from the vinyl of Arbor Vitae. We'll start our fifth album at the end of the year. I guess we'll only do one tour this year." He also said that the almost-impossible-to-find Travels In Hyper-Reality 10" EP is being re-released on CD on Helter Skelter records "soon".

Date unknown
Fuelled By Ramen records are putting out a split covers LP between J Church and Discount. The J Church side features the ELO songs that were originally going to be on an FBR 7" while Discount do a number of Billy Bragg tunes. Don't know the release date yet, though.

Date unknown
Marigold Records have released the Empty Soda Can 7" by Lance's side-project, Cilantro. It's four-track recordings of 6 J Church songs that never made it to official releases.