TMBW:This Might Be A Zine/Issue 6

Welcome to Issue 6 of This Might Be A Zine, where you can get caught up on all the latest TMBG news and things, hosted on this very website, TMBW!

John Henry vinyl sold out

John Henry released on vinyl on October 9 with a limited run of 1000 copies, and sold out only a few hours later. You can still buy the new John Henry merch including a T-shirt, beanie, tote bag, and sledgehammer on tmbgshop.

New Album 24 news

Many details about TMBG's Upcoming 24th Album have been released this month, through John Flansburgh's TikTok livestreams and Tumblr asks.

• On September 8, Flansburgh posted a clip on his Instagram story of the band practicing a previously unheard song at their Brooklyn rehearsal space, which began with the lyric, "This is what you get."
• Flansburgh confirmed on Tumblr the band was tracking at least five songs, and a short clip was uploaded of Linnell playing a Jenco celesta.
• On a September 26 Instagram livestream, Flansburgh played very brief instrumental clips from two new songs, one from the album and one featuring horns that didn't make the album.
• Flansburgh has also said that Album 24 will not be out for six months.

September shows

In late September, TMBG played five shows including the first Flood-focused setlist on The Big Show Tour, and they did Instagram and TikTok live streams for many of the shows. The September 26th show marked the first performance of Withered Hope since 2016.

Screen recording of 2025-09-26 set 2.

Screen recording of 2025-09-27 set 2.

Screen recording of 2025-09-28 set 2.

Sally Boy Candy Bar location found

Sally Boy's was a candy store and bodega that is mentioned in the song Sally Boy Candy Bar. Recently, the TMBW discord found the location of where the store was. Sally Boy's was at 43 Madison St, New York, NY in the Two Bridges neighborhood, a few blocks south of Chinatown.

New TMBW daily game!

TMBW has launched a new daily game called Wiki Detective, where players must identify a TMBG song based on its lyrical and musical themes from its article page. Check it out!

What do you want to see from Album 24?

I asked the TMBW discord about what they want to see from TMBG's Upcoming 24th Album! Here's what people have to say:

wildstorkmel:

I hope that one day when they say the album is coming out that it will mean the album is actually coming out

universalhopping:

i would love to see tan minivans, even if that is a BOOK outtake. people are also saying killing a lot, which has inadvertently hyped me up for it haha

marvinmarvmarv:

i really hope to see more accordion. last album (BOOK), we had no accordion at all, which is sad since i really like it. i think the band will do like six songs live, im saying this because since it's probably releasing next year, and the 40th anniversary of the pink album is also next year, so they'll definitely be doing some pink album shows.

snappy710_88537:

I really hope to listen to whatever song Linnell was playing on that celesta while recording the album (seriously)

iamabirdlion:

Killing!! And more accordion! A single would be nice also.

someasker:

Other than the accordion, I hope to hear at least one microtonal song. And a quiet return of the stylophone.

laylaclvr:

more accordion and bass clarinet. also i wish they could venture into more unknown genres in the new album.

ekul8456:

everyone's saying accordion so I sort of feel lame also saying accordion, but yeah, we NEED more accordion. Overall I'm just generally hoping for a quality record, and given the fact that it's been 4 years since their last release, it should be damn good! This is slightly far-fetched, but most of all I'm hoping for a lot more of that fun electronic/experimental stuff they did back in 2018 in particular (i.e Push Back the Hands, I Am A Ring, I Haven't Been Right Yet, Thankful for Your Service). Such a fun sound, I love hearing them branch out to wacky productions despite the backing band behind them. I also hope it's mastered decently.

sloop_goop:

I hope for a teaser of the album art or title soon!!! I predict there will be at least one car crash related song.

transcommiefromouterspace:

I'm fine with whatever, as long as the band has fun with what they're doing.

hailey821:

if Killing isnt on the album i will boycott

ruddythebirdwiththecandybarhead:

I guess there's not much in particular I want. I just want it to be good which I'm sure it will be

deejaymicrobe:

Honestly I'm just excited to hear new music from the band! I'm hoping for at least one track that's big and dramatic... The horns....... It'd also be sick if there was a multimedia aspect to it like the BOOK book.

giggledome:

I don't really have any hopes, I'm just excited for more TMBG! I really would like to see more of the accordion in the future, I feel it's been a while since we've seen it in the studio.

A conversation with Jonathan Feinberg

Jonathan Feinberg is a musician and TMBG's first touring drummer in 1992.

1. How did you become a drummer?

I've been making music since I was a toddler. We had a piano and a guitar in the house always, and my parents gave my a toy drum set when I was 4 or 5. I got my first real snare drum in 5th grade, and built a set out of parts. I studied a bit in 5th grade, then started practicing in earnest when I was 15 or so. I took private lessons throughout college, then even went to music school for a year, in Los Angeles.

I still play guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, and I've been studying singing for a few years now. Singing is incredibly interesting!

2. How did you first find TMBG?

I don't remember how I first heard Flood, but I can tell you that, once I did hear it, it was on my turntable pretty much all the time, for months. Even when I was in music school, studying jazz theory and playing really technical music, my real listening was Flood.

3. How did you get into the band as their first touring drummer?

In 1990 I dropped out of music school to move to NYC, where my musician friends were all moving.

I drifted into a large and wonderful community of musicians. Most relevant to the story was Brian Woodbury, who I started working with in the early 90s. He was himself part a community of musicians and artists, including Megan Cash, Brian Dewan, the Johns, and many others. I used to go to Brian's house for solstice singing parties, where I'd be surrounded by amazing musicians, and I'd feel abashed.

When TMBG decided to put a band together, Brian was one of the people they came to for recommendations, and he recommended me for the job.

Getting the call to audition was one of the most exciting and surreal events of my life to that point.

They gave me a tape of many songs to prepare for the audition. I remember there being 35 songs, though that seems insane and is probably wrong. But I can tell you for sure that I prepared by transcribing the precise drum part of every song, and then practicing until I knew them all really well.

I was one of 3 people who auditioned, and I got the role. My guess is that my preparation gave them the most comfortable experience, i.e., they wouldn't have to give up on the cues and feels they were already familiar with.

4. What was touring with the band like compared to other gigs around the same time? Do you have any stories you can remember from the tour you were on?

I remember many things from the tour.

Both Kurt Hoffman and Tony Maimone were very kind to me. I was by far the youngest person in the band or crew, and I wasn't very grown up. I felt a little lonely and out of place, but Kurt and Tony were like good big brothers to me.

Mostly life on tour was waking up on the bus in an alley behind the venue, going for a walk in a fairly abandoned downtown area, finding stuff to do until load in and soundcheck, soundcheck, dinner, show, bus, shower at a hotel, back on the bus, Super Mario Brothers, crawl into the bus coffin bed, repeat.

Highlights include being served a beautiful meal by the staff at the Warfield in San Francisco; being given a handmade piece of jewelry by a young woman when we played Duke U; my day off in Hawaii, which I spent at Kilauea; my week in Japan, including the ramen joint I went to for lunch 3 times in Tokyo; playing in front of 75,000 people in my hometown of Chicago just a few days after we started playing shows at all, where I met Pete Thomas and Steve Naive who were playing with Glenn Tilbrook; being shaken awake from a deep sleep on the tour bus and being told "we're on; let's go!" at the Nyabinghi in West Virginia.

5. What was your favorite song to perform?

Birdhouse or Racist Friend.

6. What was your experience being on The Tonight Show? Had you done a gig for a show like that before?

It was really fun. Branford Marsalis and the band were really welcoming and enthusiastic. We had Syd Straw with us, and I loved her. It was just fun.

I had done a little TV before, but nothing at that scale. Honestly, it didn't feel like any more pressure than other big gigs.

7. Do you have any regrets leaving the band?

I wish that I had left it more intentionally, rather than sort of accidentally quitting by saying "hmm, unfortunately no" when I was asked about my availability for a couple of dates. I didn't understand I was being asked if I wanted to continue at all, ever.

Having said that, no, I have no regrets about how the rest of my musical career and life have gone! I wouldn't have been satisfied to be They's drummer forever.

8. Have you kept up with the band or listened to any of their newer stuff at all since Apollo 18?

No, and no, with the exception of No! which I love and listened to with my first kid a lot.

9. What were some of your other favorite gigs that you got besides TMBG?

My 13 years in NYC were intensely full of music, and just about everything I did was rewarding.

I especially love to remember my work with the band Church of Betty. I also had a really fun ride with Lisa Loeb--we had a #1 single, which took me all over the place, including Late Night with David Letterman. This year is the 30th anniversary of the record "Tails". We did a few festival shows last year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the single, "Stay".

And in the past bunch of years I've been writing and producing music myself, and collaborating on albums with many friends, which has been my favorite music I've ever done. I'm very proud of my work on Sigh Figh.

10. Do you have any advice for aspiring drummers?

The most important thing that ever happened to me as a young musician was when an older, more experienced keyboardist stopped me during a rehearsal to tell me that my tempo wasn't steady. The shame I felt was a strong motivator for practice with a metronome. So I'd say keeping good time is the most important thing, really feeling the passage of regular intervals of time as something independent of your emotions in the moment. Practice with a metronome always, and attend to it.

Also, feel is way more important than technique. Listen to Zenyatta Mondatta or I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight as master classes in how much you can do with few notes.

Happy Birthday to Dan Miller!

October 3rd was Dan Miller's birthday! We'd like to wish him a belated happy birthday!

marvinmarvmarv:

happy birthday dan miller!

ekul8456:

happy birthday Dan! I got to meet you outside of a TMBG concert once, and you were nothing but patient and kind.

sloop_goop:

happy birthday Dan Miller!!! You are awesome!!!

hailey821:

Happy birthday dan! I love Infinity and think the song deserves more love

universalhopping:

happy birthday mr daniel miller! may your coffee always be white with no sugar

deejaymicrobe:

To Dan Miller, I hope you had the happiest of birthdays! You are such an inspirational guitarist and an absolute delight to watch on stage. Also, I dig the PIZZA shirt.

giggledome:

happy birthday to Dan Miller! Hope you get a chance to relax with a nice cool tumbler of John Daniels

r/TMBG's TMBG Playlist!

I asked the TMBG subreddit to give me songs, and I have compiled a playlist of all of those songs here!

Puzzle Page

Guess The Pixelated TMBG Covers

TMBG Connections

Figure Out The TMBG Song

That's the end!

Have a great rest of your October, and thanks for reading This Might Be A Zine! Tune in next month for more neat TMBG-related things!

This Might Be A Zine is written and assembled by Sadsack07.

Issue 4 art drawn by Patrick.

This Might Be A Zine name by TitanicFog.