Big news announced earlier today…

Our 3rd LP — now entitled 2012 — has an official release date: Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012.

Additionally, we will be playing a record release show at Mercury Lounge in New York City on that same date — April 3rd — sharing the bill with Kitty, Daisy & Lewis.

Tickets for the record release show go on sale on Friday, January 13th at 12pm.

More details on the album coming soon…

It’s been three years since World Blanket has released an official new recording.

And here it is… (again maybe…)

The third track from our forthcoming third album, now entitled 2012.

Enjoy.

Over a year in the making, here’s the first official preview of our forthcoming 3rd album, Create/Roadshow — a 1 minute sample from “The Blues.”

Enjoy.

First, let me say, work is still be completed on World Blanket’s 3rd album, Create/Roadshow.  It will be finished soon.  But there is still work to be done.

Meanwhile, unfortunately, we’ve gone from dozens of shows a month to nearly none at all.  So to fill that void, I announce “Baby Blanket.”

Late last year, I purchased a Little Martin Acoustic Electric to become my fulltime travel guitar.  The 3/4 size instrument is a little beast with surprisingly sturdy sound and I immediately found myself wanting to test it out live.

On Thursday, Febraury 3rd, I took it for a spin at Goodbye Blue Monday in the Bushwick part of Brooklyn — using it to play a cadre of World Blanket tunes past, present and future — and I had an amazing time.  Thus “Baby Blanket” was born.

Baby Blanket shows will continue during these times when the band is not playing (and possibly beyond).  They promise to follow two rules: 1) always the baby instrument, and 2) a focus on World Blanket material.

I’ve already announced Baby Blanket shows #2 & #3…

Baby Blanket #2
Thursday, March 10, 2011 @ 8pm
The Local 269 in Lower East Side, Manhattan

Baby Blanket #3
Thursday, March 31, 2011 @ 11pm
Goodbye Blue Monday in Bushwich, Brooklyn

Both shows are FREE.  I hope you will attend.

[Photo of my Little Martin resting on my couch taken with my cellphone]

I’m going to be doing a rare solo acoustic show on October 27th at The Delancey in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Start time is 7pm sharp. $10 cover.

I’ll be playing songs from the forthcoming album, Create/Roadshow, as well as a few classic TWB tunes and a number of brand new songs never played live before anywhere.

I would love to see anyone and everyone there.

[Photo via The Delancey website]

Just a quick update on the recording process…

Dropped by Serious Business Studios in the SoHo area of New York City to begin recording vocals with Shannon Ferguson.

Things started a bit slow, but after getting a little “vocal juice” in me, things progressed even better than expected…

We wrapped the songs “The Greatest Trainwreck” and “The Holiday Song (For No Holiday in Particular.”  Sounds amazing and we even got Shannon’s assistant Hans in on the action for a little impromptu “hey-heying.”

Mixes are still at least a few weeks away, but know we’re still plugging along.

Oh, and tell Kat we got the cowbell part down while we were there too…

[Image via the Serious Business Music website]

We were so excited to have the Calder Quartet — one of the country’s premier string quartets — help us out on a few of the recordings for the new album.

Above is a photo I snapped of my dear friend, Andrew Bulbrook, working on an overdub.

Taken with my cellphone in Pete Min’s studio on August 4th, 2010.

From Wednesday, July 28th until Wednesday, August 4th, the incarnation of World Blanket you see above collaborated (along with some special guests) to create the foundation for an amazing record.  Well, you can’t really see Jon, but trust me… he collaborated.

All that is left are vocals which will most likely be recorded in New York City next month.  Then mixing.  Then we will have our record.

The track listing for Create/Roadshow is precisely what has been promised: seven amazing songs that I can’t wait for the world to hear.  But I don’t want you to hear it before it has reached its final level of perfection.

We will keep you posted …of course.

Very big, last minute, pseudo-secret show…

THIS THURSDAY, JULY 29th, 2010 at MOLLY MALONES in LOS ANGELES, CA.

Start time is 11pm.  Please arrive by 10:30.

This will be our only show of 2010.
We will be performing the new album, Create/Roadshow, in its entirety.

We are extremely excited and hope you can join us.

I am excited.

The dates are set.  The travel booked.  The hotel…  Well, I still need to handle that.

Recording for World Blanket’s 3rd LP — still tentatively titled Create/Roadshow — will commence on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010, in Los Angeles, California.

We are proud to announce that the record will be helmed by producer Pete Min.

Pete agreed to help us after we approached him due to his success working with our friends The Airborne Toxic Event, whose eponymous debut album spent nearly all of 2009 on the Billboard Top 200 and brought the band and Pete to the #1 position on the Heatseekers chart.  TATE has become renown for their use of strings, and we’re anticipating Pete will be able to help capture and guide The World Blanket’s string-focused sound.

I am also extremely proud to announce our core line-up for this recording: Joining me (Mike Pomranz) will be Katherine Fong on violin, Dean Moore on bass and Jonathan Flax on drums.  Combined, these three musicians have amassed an impressive and eclectic array of professional credits performing and recording across the country.  Beyond being a dream team of performers, I consider them all close friends and we look forward to making a truly unique and inspired album together.

Additionally, the band has already began to cull a number of guest musicians who will contribute to making this record not only our most impressive on paper, but certainly musically as well.  More on these top secret details to come…

Create/Roadshow is a project now nearly two years in the making.  Fitting that I write this while sipping a glass of port.  Like that fine dessert wine, we hope to create an album with unmatched character and depth that will be as dignified to the senses today as it will be after years of aging.

Plus I want this album to get you drunk…