Sage Francis album preview from Pitchfork Media.
Sage Francis Teams With Will Oldham on New LP
Though we here at Pitchfork generally treat most hybrid forms of hip-hop and rock with distrust at best, we are pleased to report that Sage Francis' new album A Healthy Distrust will come out on February 8 through Los Angeles-based punk clearinghouse Epitaph Records. Oh, but that Epitaph stuff is not the "rock" part of the rap-rock equation, no-- rather, on January 10, Francis' collaboration with Will Oldham, "Sea Lion", will be released as the first single from the album. The song not only features the talents of the Bonnie "Prince", but was also co-written by him.
Besides Oldham, Sage collaborated with several producers for A Healthy Distrust, including his Non-Prophets partner in crime, Joe Beats, Dangermouse, Alias, Sixtoo, Reanimator, Daddy Kev, Controller 7, and Varick Pyr. Alias turns in some guitar and drum work, while Tom Inhaler and Nathan H. provide instrumentation to the final track, "Jah Didn't Kill Johnny". Combined with these killer producers, the tracklist seems perhaps not quite as tranquil as the image conjured up by "Sea Lion", but we'll let you decide when the LP comes out.
And while the 2005 Sage Francis tour so far has no vitriolic mission statement like last year's "Fuck Clear Channel Tour", it does manage to nearly match that tour's length with 36 dates, spanning the vast majority of February and March. Sage, in his wisdom, also covers almost every corner of the country, so if you miss him this time out, you don't have any damn excuse. Dates:
02-05 Portland, ME - Spacelab
02-07 Winooski, VT - Higher Ground
02-08 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Club
02-09 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
02-10 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
02-11 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
02-12 Baltimore, MD - Otto Bar
02-14 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
02-15 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall
02-16 Chicago, IL - Metro
02-17 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
02-18 Columbia, MO - Blue Note
02-19 Lawrence, KS - Granada
02-20 Denver, CO - Gothic
02-21 Denver, CO - Gothic
02-22 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre & Café
02-23 Salt Lake, UT - Lo-Fi Cafe
02-24 Boise, ID - JD's
02-25 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
02-26 Seattle, WA - Showbox Showroom
02-27 Eugene, OR - Wow Hall
03-01 Chico, CA - Cal State Chico
03-02 San Fransisco, CA - The Fillmore
03-03 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
03-04 San Diego, CA - Canes Bar & Grill
03-05 Las Vegas, NV - Roadhouse
03-07 Phoenix, AZ - Brickhouse
03-08 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
03-09 Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad
03-12 Austin, TX - Emo's
03-13 Houston, TX - Engine Room
03-14 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
03-16 Orlando, FL - Screamer's
03-18 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
03-19 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
Zach Vowell reports
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