TMBG Information Bulletin Archive/Fall 1991
This pamphlet was mailed out to Information Club members in the fall of 1991.
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Arcana From The Archives...[edit]
To celebrate the release of TMBG's b side/remix compilation album, MISCELLANEOUS T land the return of the first two Giants' albums to wide availability after some months of being very hard to find due to the reorganization of Restless Records), we rummaged around in boxes & drawers and found this stuff.
- TMBG's very first record, the 7" flexi-disc single of "Everything Right Is Wrong Again" released by TMB Music in 1985 also included an early version of "You'll Miss Me".
- A postcard advertising Dial-A-Song, featuring a still from the Giants' first video, "Put Your Hand inside The Puppethead".
- A caricature of John Flansburgh by J. Otto Siebold, co-director and co-animator of the Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" video.
- Cartoonist Mark Marek's label art for 1988's "(She Was A) Hotel Detective" maxi-single.
- An early TMBG leaflet, circa 1986, answered questions about Dial-A-Song.
- TMBG & associates on tour, Louisville. Kentucky, April 1987 (left to right): Bill Krauss, the Giants' first live sound man and producer of their first 2 albums. John Flansburgh, Giants manager Jamie Kitman and John Linnell (with acoustic guitar).
- They Might Be Giants on stage with a giants-sized blowup of William Allen White's head at Sardine's in Oslo, Norway, Fall 1987.
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...of They Might Be Giants[edit]
- The "Shrine" on the cover of LINCOLN was built by TMBG's long-time friend and associate, visual artist and musician Brian Dewan.. Here, the Shrine is seen under the trees- an unused shot from the LINCOLN cover photo shoot. The two photos on the shrine are of members of the Johns' Families. The bearded gentleman on the left is John Linnell's great-grandfather, Louis T. Linnell, the uniformed gentleman on the right is John Flansburgh's grandfather, who, believe it or not, bore the unlikely name, "General Hospital".
- The Invitation to the original album release party for LINCOLN, from 1988, featured the now infamous line: "Be who you are with the open bar".
- Shrine-builder extraordinaire, Brian Dewan (left) and an unidentified man holding a stick, during the LINCOLN cover photo shoot. Those of you lucky enough to own a copy of the 2nd Bar None Records sampler album, TIME FOR A CHANGE, will remember Brian's classic song, "99 Cops", which was recorded at John Flansburgh's Hello Studio in Williamsburg.
- The cover of the original Australian 7" single of "Ana No" released by Restless/Liberation Records in 1989 shows John & John with guitar & accordion at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Giants played 10 sold out shows in Australia in the Fall of 1990.
Credits
THEY Cover Photo- Beth Baptiste
Lincoln Cover Shoot Photos- Carol Kitman
Lincoln Memorial Photo- Paula Court
Louisville Photo- Robin Watkins
On Stage Photo- Steinar
Research & Captions- Bo Orloff
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TMBG Information Bulletin - Fall 1991[edit]
We're Really Sorry[edit]
that it's taken us so long to get out this issue of the TMBG Info Bulletin. What can I say, except to offer our sincere apologies and the usual excuses- we've all been incredibly busy here at TMBG World HQ, taking care of the business of managing TMBG and 6 other bands and John & John have been incredibly busy writing and recording their next album, so there just hasn't been that much in the way of new TMBG news this year. You may rest assured, however, that that's all about to change, as the next few items will attest!
Miscellaneous T: The B Side / Remix Compilation[edit]
In the last issue of this newsletter, we announced that this long-awaited album would be released in late Winter or early Spring. We were wrong. Due to a variety of circumstances beyond our control, the release of MISCELLANEOUS T was delayed until... NOW! That's right, as I write this (the first week of October) truckloads of cassettes and compact discs are rolling out of the factory, heading for a record store near you. MISCELLANEOUS T collects all the b sides and remixed a sides from TMBG's first three maxi-singles, one rare cut, "Hello Radio" (which was previously available only on the Bar/None Records sampler album, TIME FOR A CHANGE), and four (count 'em- 4) songs that have never before been released in these United States: a hauntingly melancholy swing tune, "Birds Fly", a rollicking instrumental cover version of the old standard "Lady Is A Tramp", Joshua Fried's entrancing dub remix of "The World's Address" and a rocking new single, "Hey, Mr DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal" (if you're not hearing it on the radio as much as you'd like to, call your favorite college or commercial alternative station and request it!)
Progress Report From Mission Control[edit]
As you read this, John & John are hard at work on an all new album at an undisclosed location somewhere in New York City. The album, entitled APOLLO 18, is scheduled for launch on Elektra Records early next year. Among the songs being recorded for probable inclusion on the album are "I Palindrome I", "Hall of Heads", "My Evil Twin", "See The Constellation", "The Statue Got Me High", "Dinner Bell" and "Mammal". Recording is scheduled to continue through the fall and (barring any unforeseen circumstances) a brand new TMBG album should be in stores in March 1992 (to be followed, of course, by another worldwide tour.)
It's Hard To Believe It's Been Five Years[edit]
since TMBG's first album came out, but it has, so we decided to have a party. John & John and lots of past and present folks from TMB Productions, Bar/None Records, Hornblow Music Management and Dubway Studios (where THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS was recorded) gathered at a Manhattan eatery earlier this month along with family, friends and assorted hangers on to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Giants' debut album. It was great seeing all those folks together again for the first time and a swell time was had by all.
A They Might Be Giants Songbook[edit]
seems like a great idea to us, so we're working on putting one together. We'd like to hear what types of things (besides the usual piano arrangements, etc.) the aspiring musicians amongst you would like to see included. Send your suggestions to: TMBG SONGBOOK PROJECT, P.O. Box 110553, Williamsburg Station, Brooklyn, NY 11211.
Due To Those Infamous "Circumstances Beyond Our Control"[edit]
the TMBG video collection has been temporarily unavailable for the past few months (as those of you who've tried to order one recently have learned). The bad news is that as of this writing it's still unavailable. The good news is that it should be available again soon, hopefully before the end of the year. Stay tuned.
Catalogs[edit]
In addition to the familiar TMBG mail order catalog, you'll notice we've also enclosed a mail order catalog from our friends at the Bar/None Records label. They've got some pretty groovy discs for sale that are sometimes hard to find in stores, so give it a look. Please don't send orders for stuff from their catalog to us (send them to the address in their catalog).
