mojave3online.com

I’ve
recieved the following (and very interesting!) news from Dyani
@ Beggars:

4AD
/ Beggars Group has just released Neil Halstead’s new album “Sleeping
on Roads” which is a wonderful collection of folk ballads,
and dusty road songs. Neil recently played 5 amazing North American
shows and is returning in late March / April to jump in a van
and do a full US tour. We are currently working on a web project
to document Neil’s US tour wanderings throughout the Spring. A
visual tour diary will be put together and eventually reside on
the Beggars US website. We’re asking everyone to help contribute
to the project by submitting any photos, artwork, video / film
of Neil playing shows performing in-stores or just traveling through
your city for both the recent dates and upcoming ones. Anyone
contributing material will be credited on the site and have the
satisfaction of being a part of a great archival project for an
important emerging voice in contemporary songwriting.

Digital
files can be sent to:

matt@beggars.com

Or
send materials to:

Neil
Halstead Tour Diary
580 Broadway, #1004
New York, NY 10012

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this here!

I’ve
added ‘Lonesome Fools’ to the Bootlegs page.
Enjoy! (Thanks Jeff!)

discuss
this here!

Today
I upgraded the account this site runs on, to provide more storage
space and greater download bandwith. This month we nearly hit
the monthly transfer allocation (2GB)…. must be all the nice
mp3s

The
plan is to increase the number of files available for download
- and keep them online for as long as possible, thus the upgrade.

This
also means, that as soon as I’m ready, I can bring the new site
online. Probably, Saturday..

(so,
now I’ve bored you too death… go check Neil’s session on KCRW!!!)

discuss
this here!

By
luck, I came across this
link, on KCRW,
where you can hear the Neil Halstead session! Listening now..
sounds very nice!

(you
need the Real Player).

discuss
this here!

Alison
has posted a link to her
photos of Neil’s gig in Toronto, on the messages boards. Thanks
Alison!

Some
other things… did anyone hear Neil on KCRW?! I missed it ;-(

Over
the next week, don’t be suprised if I don’t update the site, or
answer your mails very quickly - I’m in the process of doing a
site redesign! If you have any news or articles to post, it would
be better to leave a note on the message board.

I
hope to launch the new site within the next week or so, fingers
crossed. The new site design will allow YOU to post news to the
front page, articles to the site, add photos to the gallery etc
etc, without having to come through me. If it works as planned,
it should be good!

Until
then….

discuss
this here!

I’m
a little late in posting this:

“Neil
Halstead Honey-toned singer Neil Halstead has a solo acoustic
session planned for Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am Will air
Friday, February 22, 2002.”

The
session can be accessed at http://www.kcrw.com/shows/mb

Thanks
to both Torr & Brian for passing that info on!

discuss
this here!

Neil’s
live dates in Germany have been confirmed at Beggars
Germany!

NEIL
HALSTEAD

20.03.02
München, Orangehouse
21.03.02 Berlin, Knaack Club
Booking: Karsten Jahnke Konzertagentur
Tickethotline: 040 / 41 80 68, online bestellen!

Of
course, this is great news for those of us in Germany! If I get
details of any futher dates, I’ll let you know.

discuss
this here!

axis4ad
has posted a few great links over on the message boards:

“Here
is my “picture report” of Neil’s Toronto show from February
15. At 3PM today he’ll be at local Toronto store Soundscapes for
an instore. Wooo!
http://members.rogers.com/redshift2/neilhalstead/“

and

Now
Magazine, Toronto:
http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2002-02-14/music_feature5.php

Eye Magazine, Toronto:
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_02.14.02/music/halstead.html

Thanks
axis4ad!

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this here!

Due
to the kindness of Debbie@Beggars, I now have another 10 posters
to give away! So the next ten winners out of the bag are: J.Keibel,
Vlad70xl, Doug R.H, w.song, Acoustic Brad, ksowislo, Alexis.W,
Brian.K, Clint.W and Twncocteau.

You’ll
get an email from me in the next day, confirming your mailing
address etc.

So,
for the moment, that’s it. No more giveaways ;-( But don’t worry,
I’m sure that we’ll have some nice stuff in the future

PS.
Happy Valentine’s Day!

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this here!

Check
this
post over at the 4AD message boards.. it seems that Neil is
doing quite a few instore gigs over in Canada/USA.

Feb
13 Philadelphia, PA Spaceboy In-store 6:30 PM,409 South St. Philly

February 16th Toronto, at 3PM at Soundscapes.
Feb 17 Seattle, WA Tractor
Feb 18 Seattle, WA Sonic Boom In-store 7:30 PM,2209 Market Street
NW
Feb 19 San Rafael, CA Borders In-store 7:30 PM,588 Francisco Blvd,
West San Rafael
Feb 20 San Francisco, CA Cafe du Nord
Feb 21 Los Angeles, CA Largo
Feb 22 Long Beach, CA Fingerprints In-store 7 PM

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this here!

Sorry
for the delay… here are the first batch of winners for the Neil
Halstead Posters + Stickers!: Nils R, Simone D, Christian H, Johansson
A, Henrik, Hilde N and S Mundt.

You
lucky ones will get an email from me in the next day, confirming
your mailing address etc.

If
you didn’t win, don’t worry.. I’m trying to get more at the moment!
Also, many thanks for all the nice comments many of you sent with
your mails… now how about all you guys/gals start posting on
the message board hmm?

discuss
this here!

Started
a new section on the Audio Page, where
I’ll be posting mp3s of live bootlegs etc. Take a look, as the
first track is very interesting!

discuss
this here!

Just
2 updates at the moment. It’s Monday… and I’m slow….

-
I’ve added the lyrics to See You On
Rooftops - thanks to Brad for sending them in!

-
I received over 40 entries for the Neil Halstead poster/sticker
competition! Seeing as I only have 8 sets.. so quite a few of
you will be disappointed. Which is why I am trying to get some
more organized! yeaaaa! Maybe we’ll have a few more to giveaway…?

So
please be patient. Hopefully I’ll know one way or the other in
the next day. Then I’ll notify all winners by email. Fingers crossed!

GIG
update: Neil is playing in New York TOMORROW! If you are going,
feel free to send any gig reviews, photo’s, bootleg live recording
etc to me!

Tue
02/12/02 - New York, NY Fez Under Time

discuss
this here!

If
you haven’t sent in your email yet, then you have until Sunday
to do so!

Oh,
and I hope I don’t dash anyone’s hopes, but my email subject is
a little bit mis-leading. Just so you know, Neil won’t be on your
wall.. the poster is a rendition of the album cover - nice orange
with the wave etc.. oh hum

Even
so, it’s great - so mail me quick if you wanna win!

discuss
this here!

I
have about 8 Neil Halstead Posters and Stickers
to give away! They are both in the deisgn of the new album, and
are ROUND! They look Very Cool.

If
you want one.. send me
an email, with the subject “I wanna pin Neil to
my wall!“. At the end of this week (10.02.02), I’ll do
a little random raffle of the entries, and 8 of you lucky people
will get both a poster and sticker..

Winners
will be posted here, this time next week.

Good
Luck!

discuss
this here!

Over
at the 4AD boards, there has been an effort to start a ‘4AD Band
of the Week’ thingymagig. From that, the idea came up to have
a little Chat Room to discuss such things…

I’m
currently trying out various different chat room services, and
at the moment quite like the Yahoo Chat Room, which is part of
our Mojave3Online Yahoo Group. (You need to sign up to the group
to be able to access the chat room).

Because
it’s all rather ‘up-in-the-air’ at the moment, I’ve only setup
a temp. page where you can find information about joining in.
You’ll find that page here.

If
the idea lives on.. then I’m guessing we might have set ‘drop-in’
times.. where we can meet up and go blah blah blah. If so, I’ll
post times here too! Either way, maybe we can use this for Mojave3Online
anyhow. Take a look, and tell me what you think on our message
boards.

discuss
this here!

Over
on the audio / video page, you can find
a new version of the BBC mp3.

BBC
London 94.9FM interview and live performance - (right
mouse click, save as..) - 3.8MB
MP3 - courtesy of BBC
London

A
nice interview, with ’see you on rooftops’ and ’such a shame’
performed. This was played live on the radio station, but unless
you were very lucky, I doubt you would have heard it!

discuss
this here!

MusicOMH.com
have an interview with Neil, which you can find here,
and a review of Neil’s gig at the Arts Cafe here.

discuss
this here!

Posted
on the Message Boards, by the Milkman!:

“The
review for Neil Halstead’s Sleeping On Roads is now available
in this month’s issue of themilkfactory (www.themilkfactory.co.uk),
alongside reviews of new albums by 310, Alog, Greg Davis, Beige,
Arve Henriksen, Sandoz, Telefon Tel Aviv and Charles Webster,
and an extensive interview with 310.
Plus, in an effort to shamelessly promote ourselves, we now offer
you a couple of wallpapers to download…

themilkman
Editor
www.themilkfactory.co.uk
London“

They
say, “Sleeping On Roads prove if needed
be that Neil Halstead is one of the most talented songwriters
of his generation. Here, without the protection of the Mojave
3 shell, his genius emerges bare and untouched.” and
who am I to argue?

discuss
this here!

Over
at Hear/Say
you can find another Sleeping on Roads Review. They seem to like
it!

“Neil
Halstead’s debut solo album Sleeping On Roads is a refreshing
delight from the singer/writer/guitarist, not to mention the sum
total of everything that has been missing from the last two Mojave
3 albums.“

And
Other Music
said:

“The
best release on 4AD since.well, a very very long time. Neil Halstead,
formerly of Slowdive and then Mojave 3, blasts past any ensemble
work he’s ever done on this solo debut. And it’s probably the best
singer-songwriter record I’ve heard released in at least
five years. It doesn’t hurt that his voice has a folky rasp of the
best British folk and, to get more specific, the smooth phrasing
of Nick Drake. Any fan of Drake (and, I know, there are a lot of
them now) will NOT be disappointed w/Halstead. It’s not an overt
rip, but Halstead distills the same essence out of Drake that Belle
and Sebastian did a few years ago. His production style is certain,
airy and unobtrusive, resting on a foundation of light ripples of
piano and the rustic strum of a guitar. His songs take that amazing
dramatic path, leading you from wallowing in sorrow to soaring in
hope. Absolutely remarkable and recommended to everybody. [RE]”

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this here!

Over
on the audio / video page, you can find
the following new download!

BBC
London 94.9FM interview and live performance - (right
mouse click, save as..) - 15MB MP3 (smaller files
to come soon!) - courtesy of BBC
London

A
nice interview, with ’see you on rooftops’ and ’such a shame’
performed. This was played live on the radio station, but unless
you were very lucky, I doubt you would have heard it!

Due
to the size of the file, you probably only want to download this
via a ‘work’ internet connection I will try to get some smaller
versions of this up soon….!

discuss
this here!

Q
Mag have a review of Neil’s disc over
here.

discuss
this here!

Jenn
has pointed out on our message
boards, that there is a release party in NYC tomorrow!

“This
Wednesday, January 23rd @ 85A Ave A b/w 5th & 6th streets. 10pm-2am
-There will be cool giveaways!! Free admission!!!”

If
you are in NYC - go get me some freebies!

discuss
this here!

With
Sleeping on Roads being released between now and next week(depending
on where you are living),
articles are starting to pop up all over the place! You’ll find
a nice album review at MusicOMH,
a new artist page for Neil at Beggars,
as well as at 4AD

MusicOMH
say that Sleeping on Roads is “heartfelt and heartwarming
album of dream music. All self-respecting music lovers should
own a copy” - and quite right too!

Over
at the Beggers page, you’ll find a great interview as well as
a Track-by-Track guide to the album from Neil -

Hi
Lo & Inbetween “I came up with that song after I read a newspaper
story about this guy in America who got a load of weather balloons
and tied them to his deck chair and got a six-pack of beer and
a shotgun. The idea was to let himself float up really slowly
and when he wanted to come down he’d shoot the balloons and make
a descent, but he shot up so quickly and to such an outrageous
height he was too scared to shoot the gun - he actually got spotted
by the pilot of a Boeing 747. I don’t know how they got him down,
but I think he had an admirable plan.”

Please
let me know if you see
any more album reviews on the web, or in the press!!

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this here!

discuss
this here!

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this here!

Neil
Halstead
Arts Cafe, London
3 stars
Betty Clarke
Guardian Unlimited
Thursday January 17, 2002

Fate
has been kind to singer-songwriter Neil Halstead. He found indie
success with his first band, Slowdive, chord-chugging shoegazers
of the highest order. Next came critical plaudits for the country-tinged,
Gram Parsons-esque melancholy of Mojave 3. Now, just as a sensitive
soul and an acoustic guitar have become de rigueur, he has chosen
to go it alone. It’s the simplicity of his melodies and sentiments
that have enabled Halstead to move with the times. With his fragile
voice, full of too much heartbreak and too many cigarettes, he
was never going to become a rock god or star of plastic pop.Instead
he is content to sing about emotions and expose intimacy to public
inspection without regret.

Which
makes it all the stranger when he starts playing with a toy beaver.
He holds the toy up to the microphone, presses a button to allow
a gurgle of tinny beaver-like sounds to spill out, and his tortured
exterior slips away. In fact, he looks comfortable for the first
time. The moment punctures the heady atmosphere of awe that smothers
his every utterance, as bemused expressions fall on the faces
of those sitting at his feet.

Not
that he looks like a man who seeks to be worshipped. Dressed down
in a white T-shirt and jeans, his boyish good looks and shy nature
make him appear a hopeful newcomer. But when Hi-Lo and Inbetween
begins, its intro eerily reminiscent of Lionel Richie’s Stuck
on You, his experience and ragged edges become clear. As with
much of the material featured on his debut album, Sleeping on
Roads, there is an air of movement to the song, both in terms
of actual motion and a sense of letting go.

The
album’s title track has an outdoors feel, influenced by Bob Dylan
and the theme tune to The Waltons, its cynicism and homespun goodness
reflecting the contrariness of love. Martha’s Mantra (For the
Pain) includes the gorgeous observation that “Heaven is the place
that’s open when all the bars in town are closed.”

Halstead
knows that a little humanity goes a long way. He forgets lyrics
and laughs at inopportune moments, and when a blue harmonica refuses
to cooperate, he simply abandons its wheezing sound. At one point
he looks up from his strumming fingers to say: “This is a typically
professional performance.” In his voice there’s a hint of pride.

discuss
this here!

Forgive me for any crimes I might commit,
but the last thing in the world that I am, is a Journalist! Hell,
I can barely write… In fact, I’ve found it hard knowing how
to describe the album… perhaps it’s easier if you don’t know Mojave
3’s material - then it’s a simple case of yet another Male Singer/Songwriter
- just put the record next to all the other serious young men
with acoustic guitars.

Except
that this album is really nothing of the sort. It’s kind of a
surprise that Neil’s solo album should be a far more elaborate
affair than the last Mojave 3 records. Every track drips with
a certain something that will seep into your heart, and take you
hostage. Though I love Mojave 3, there have been times when I
thought that their songs succeeded in craftsmanship, but never
really held my heart. (especially on EFT). Here, every one of
the nine songs sound perfect and natural. If this was a Mojave
3 album, it would be their best yet.

Songs
like ‘Dreamed I saw Soldiers’ and ‘Hi-Lo And Inbetween’ will break
your heart and then some more. For those two songs alone, the
album is an essential purchase.

Now
that Neil has proved he can do it ‘alone’, and has shown yet again
that he’s one of Britain’s best songwriters - waiting for the
next Mojave 3 record has become even harder. In the meantime,
you have surely one of the best records this year to keep you
company.

Buy
the album from here: 4AD
or here!

(Have
you heard the record? Or when you do, post
your own reviews here!)

NEIL
HALSTEAD: Sleeping On Roads
Format: Compact Disc
Catalogue Number:CAD 2202CD
Release Date:28/1/2002

Track Listing:
1 Seasons
5.21
2 Two
Stones in my Pocket 4.24
3 Driving
With Bert 6.14
4 Hi
Lo & Inbetween 4.47
5 See
You On The Rooftops 6.34
6 Marthas
Mantra (For the Pain) 5.09
7 Sleeping