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28 May 06 - Brief update Mark has just returned from a brief yet remarkable mini-tour of Belgium, following the release in Benelux of "These Beautiful Ghosts" through Anorak Supersports Records. Dates included Brussels, Arlon, Liège, Huy and the French town of Nancy. Mark came back truly inspired, after meeting old and new friends and talented musicians that could soon become his new backing band after Goldrush have been left free of pursuing their own musical career. A big thank you to them for having helped Mark in making his dream come true. Mark is to be soon again on the road as usual, both on his own and both as a guest vocalist for French duo Rinocerose. While in Japan with them, Mark will find some time to play a solo show in Tokio (Zher the Zoo, Yoyogi, Tokio) next 3rd August 2006. He will also perform as a guest DJ for Robin Guthrie, who is showcasing his animated movie at Oxford's Phoenix Cinema next 6th June 2006. Mark keeps a blog and an updated list of tour dates on his MySpace page - http://www.myspace.com/markgardener - so be sure to check it often for interesting news. For those still waiting to receive the companion DVD which will complete the Limited Edition of "TBG", footage is being edited right now by a NY-based company in-between their paid work, so please keep having some little extra patience... like you I am also anxious to see the DVD, and I am sure that the wait will be worth it.
19 Mar 06 - Extra tour dates A couple of extra dates have been added to the tour starting next Saturday from Norwich, the first one in Winchester and the second in Dublin, Ireland. Details as follows:
5 Mar 06 - Fresh news form Mark's world There is a lot of activity on Mark's side lately and many exciting things to report including releases for the album outside USA, limited edition DVD news, tour dates etc, so let's begin... "These Beautiful Ghosts" has just been released in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg by Anorak Supersports Records and "Snow In Mexico" is receiving airplay on radio stations in the Benelux area. Mark is hoping to be there sometime in April or May to play a few shows supporting the album release. The album should also be released in the rest of Europe, Japan and Australia within the first half of 2006, more news on this pages when available. Mark is also finishing the editing of the DVD that will be sent to the fans who bought the "Limited Edition" of the album earlier last autumn. According to Mark himself "All is happening and ongoing. Further footage is now being edited in between touring, recording and various one off shows with Rinocerose. There are also a couple of clips being edited together from two New York based video and film makers. I’ve also decided to add a number of bonus audio tracks to the DVD including a demo version of an unreleased track called “Turn” and band/remix versions of Gravity Flow and Where are You Now?. Once again I thank you all for your continued patience, understanding and support. I will keep you updated as the DVD nears its completion which will hopefully be soon after my UK tour at the end of March." Talking about gigs, Mark is playing a few dates in the UK in late March as part of a mini-tour organized by Sonic Cathedral:
Other dates include a gig in London, on Thursday 30th March, when Mark will be playing a London show at one of the regular ClubAC30 nights and a performance at this year's SXSW in Austin, Texas on on Saturday 18th March, organized by LA collective Anglophilemusic. It's been three years since when Mark fisrt showcased his solo material at SXSW 2003, so it's gonna be a celebration for the goals reached with the release of "These Beautiful Ghosts"... everythings started there... And, it is cool to see that Mark is gaining respect and appreciation from the indie fans communities, especially from our friends at ExcellentOnline: their end of the year poll for 2005 showed Mark appear in two categories, with the album reaching spot #38 in "Top 50 albums of 2005" and winning the category "Indie Boy of the year". I'm sure he'll be happy to know about this! Until the next bunch of updates, take care and stay tuned.
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Nov 05 - December 2005 Tour Dates - "Special Edition"
Album udpates
Mark will be on the roads of USA and Canada again this December, this time with Goldrush as his full backing band. Confirmed dates so far are:
There have been several complaints lately about the fact that the Special Edition version of the album has not been delivered in a timely manner to those who pre-ordered it from OxfordMusic: as "Ticket To Ride" we are not involved in any way with the making and the distribution of this release, so don't take this as an official statement, but we know that there have been several problems with the manifacturing, including one with the sleeves that needed to be re-printed from scratch. This kind of unexpected troubles were the main cause of the delay: I understand your disappointment, but I'm sure that the final result it will be worth the wait. Anyway, this re-scheduling will have a positive side effect as the DVD that is going to make this edition of the album "special" will be richer that originally planned because it will also include footage to be filmed in the forthcoming tour: Mark has written a note to be included in the copies of the album about to be shipped where he explains this. For what I understand, the album and the DVD will be shipped separately: the cds should be mailed as I write and the DVD early next year when the editing is finished. At the moment deals to release the album in Europe and elsewhere in the world are being negotiated: if these deals are inked some dates in Europe, Australia and Japan should be arranged some time in the first half of 2006. I suppose this is all for 2005, so with holidays on their way, I would like to wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!
9 Aug 05 - Full album details: "These Beautiful Ghosts" released in October
The album, called "These Beautiful Ghosts", will be released in the US next October 11th 2005 by UFO (United For Opportunity) Music, a new, refreshing record label whose attitude and principles seems to perfectly fit to Mark's ones. The tracklist for "These Beautiful Ghosts" is as follows:
UFO Music published an official announcement on their website. If you're a regular visitor of these pages, you should also know that a special limited edition advance version of the album is available exclusively from OxfordMusic.Net. Mark decided to allow his fans to book the album months ahead of its release to put together the fundings needed to complete the recordings. These brave fans will be rewarded by an extra documentary DVD accompanying the album. According to the official sources, "this version of the album will be strictly limited to 2500 copies worldwide and orders will be mailed out as soon as the final edit of the film has been completed and the DVD compiled - mid-September, if all goes to plan. From the middle of August onwards, anyone that has ordered the album in advance online will be able to download MP3 versions of a number of the tracks." A few copies are still available through OMN, so hurry up and order yours! Regarding Mark's gigging activity, he will tour the US in September and October supporting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and he's about to play a couple of shows very soon, the one in San Diego (announced in the previous news shot) and another one in Oxford as part of the Sonic Cathedral club night relocating from London to the city of spires. More details in the tour page. Someone noticed that Mark did not show up as announced at the last Truck Festival, but the disappointment should have been mitigated by the surprise of watching no-one-else-than Mr. Loz Colbert show up and take the stage as a "replacement" for Mark! Following Mark's footsteps our dear Loz is embarking in a solo career: we wish you all the best Loz and don't be afraid to drop us a line and tell us how you're doing. The reason why Mark did not show up is that he was stuck in France for a last-minute extra date with French duo rinôçérôse. Indeed Mark as been a guest on their latest album (to be released in autumn) and has been touring with them this summer providing his "vocal services". OK, enough news for now, see you soon!
26 Jun 05 - Album recording completed, forthcoming gigs and a review Great news as the plans for the album release are steadily taking shape: Mark has flown back from the USA a couple of weeks ago with the master tapes of the completed album, which will feature Cat Martino and Goldrush as guests. Right now I'm not yet in a position where I can reveal details such as the title, the tracklist and the release date (rest assured that you'll be the first ones to know as soon as I can tell you more), but I can leak a few details: a distribution deal has been inked with a North American record label to release the album in the USA in the 4th quarter of 2005 and Mark's management is working hard at the moment to secure a deal to release the album everywhere else early in 2006. What it is available for public consumption though is that Mark will hit the road with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club as their supporting act in September and October to warm up his North American fans before he finally releases the album. Tour dates are available through BRMC's official website. Talking about live shows, something very special is about to happen in San Diego in a couple of weeks time. Mark Gardener, alongside with Rob Dickinson from Catherine Wheel and Adam Franklin from Swervedriver, next Sat. Aug. 13th is to co-headline the 2nd Annual M-Theory Sonic Summer Bash at M-Theory Music in San Diego. This is a FREE In-Store Show, so be sure to get there early enough! More info through the shop's website. Last but not least, Jason from www.lament.us wrote a review of Mark's last San Diego Show, which we fully reproduce here thanks to his kind generosity.
26 May 05 - Album available on pre-order and US/UK dates Mark
Gardener is finally about to complete the recording of his much awaited
debut solo album and he's pleased to talk to the fans to reveal details
and offer them the chance to pre-order an exclusive limited edition
of the record, featuring a dvd with footage from his previous US gigs.
Mark is currently in the USA, finishing the album All the details are explained by Mark himself:
Mark has announced the following dates in the USA: THE MARK GARDENER REVUE SHOW - featuring GOLDRUSH and CAT MARTINO
Anything
anyone can do to help promote these shows would be much Also a couple of UK dates are confirmed for July 2005:
25 Mar 05 - News update (long time due!) It's been a long time since some news have been posted here and many of you might have been wondering what has been going on lately, especially regarding the much awaited debut album from Mark. Well, I want to reassure you that, despite the recent lack of public action, much has been happening behind the scenes, so let me recapitulate... Mark has spent most of his time between France, USA and England, working on the album: half of it has been recorded (with the help of Goldrush) and more songs have been written. Next week Mark will be heading back to the US where he'll be playing a couple of gigs in NY and Miami (details below), but what's more important, to record a few more tracks for the album with producer Bill Racine who has previously worked together with Dave Friedman (and also on his own) on records by Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips, Sparklehorse, Mogwai, Longwave, Phantom Planet and Goldrush among the others. Mark should record and mix about seven or eight songs during this stint and then come back again to the USA in May, when he should put the finishing touches on the album. Hopefully it should be released sometimes next summer, but no dates have been decided nor record label details have been announced yet (we'll have to wait a little more for this). As for the "Live action", since Mark has been concentrating on the album, his appearances has been scarce, the only remarkable one being the Tsunami benefit gig held at the Oxford Zodiac last February 19th. But somethings on the way for you lucky Americans and Londoners... here are the details:
See you there, and stay tuned for more news.
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Besides
this, the album campaign in the US has been going really well. The press
is starting to kick-in and the record is starting to make a strong impression
at both AAA and College Radio: this full band tour in December is going
to be perfect timing.
Only
a few weeks after the first news about Mark's album appeared on these
pages, I'm finally happy and proud to tell you all the official details
as they've been revealed by an official statement by Mark's management.