An Introduction

My name is Tom Smith, and I am at a perpetual loss. I am skeptical of vanity journalism, but I also must admit that I'm as vain as they come, so... perhaps I've found an ideal narcissistic berth. Fuck, I really just wanna talk about the music I and my compatriots create, and use this space to elaborate on underlying themes, political, cultural, and personal nuances, and whatever else manages to make sense. It will also be the place to turn to for morning-after updates on the forthcoming God and Country Rally! tour. (Or, if post-performance activities prove too time consuming, afternoon-after commentaries will perhaps be published.) I never thought I'd be doing anything with this crazy band again, and here I am recanting all the dismissive and scabrous statements I made in 2000, ramping up the (low-level) hype machinery for another wild spurt of Shave stubble, and honestly, digging the fuck out of the prospect of making this dog howl like never before. The '04 assemblage is just perfect, and it's mine to foul. I feel a tremendous responsibility to live up to expectations - mine, the band's, and the motherfucking freaks out there who've actually paid attention, who've been gracious enough to allow us to intrude into their lives, who cede us relevance and spur us to apostasy. Yup, I do not want it to suck. There's one major last-minute hitch to sort out (our Providence contact had a bit of an aneurysm and forgot to secure a booking for us; we've been working on finding an alternate venue for a week now... still nothing), and I'm still piecing the text together. (Meaning, I'm dicking around, downloading albums and Daily Show episodes instead of working on my lyrics.) We begin rehearsals on September 9... Tour begins on September 10th! This has the potential for being an appalling disaster. It also holds another sort of promise... I lean toward the latter.