Author Archive
The Pernice Brothers will play Carnegie Hall (yes, the one in New York) on Oct. 10, 2007 as part of an all-star tribute to the music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The show, which also features Joss Stone, Aimee Mann, Shawn Colvin, Phoebe Snow, Roger McGuinn, Lloyd Cole, Raul Malo, Brendan Benson and others, is a benefit for Music for Youth, which supports music education for underserved youth. Twenty artists in all will perform one song each. The show is produced by Michael Dorf. Ticket information at www.carnegiehall.org.
I called Joe early last Sunday morning and asked, “What are you doing? Are you sitting down?” He replied, “I’m scrubbing the toilet. Seriously. Hold on. Just let me put the brush down.” I said, “Don’t bother, that’s perfect,” and told him the news.
Joe, Bob Pernice, Peyton Pinkerton, James Walbourne, Patrick Berkery, Jose Ayerve and Mike Deming will perform as well, and they plan to do “Daniel.”
Saturday, September 1st, 2007
Here’s the press release:
For Immediate ReleaseContact: Joyce Linehan joyce@ashmontrecords.com
JOE PERNICE SIGNS DEAL WITH RIVERHEAD BOOKS, A DIVISION OF PENGUIN BOOKS USA, TO WRITE FICTION
Joe Pernice has signed a book deal with Megan Lynch of Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Books USA, for world rights. Joe will write a novel for them, which is about one-third done, but if you ask him when he’ll finish his face turns all red, and he yells, “When I finish!” If we were betting people though, we’d bet that that the next U.S. President will be celebrating his or her first 100 days in office around the time it “streets,” as they say in the music business. If you ask Joe what the book is about, he sticks his fingers in his ears and sings “la la la la la, etc.” Primarily known as a recording artist, Joe wrote the novella Meat is Murder for Continuum Books’ 33 1/3 series in 2003. That book remains one of the bestselling pieces in that series, and Joe is working with Neal Huff, an actor who appears regularly on HBO’s The Wire, on the Meat is Murder screenplay. Again, he is not forthcoming on when that project might see the light of day. He also previously published a volume of poetry called Two Blind Pigeons, on his own Ashmont Books imprint. That remains the bestselling (only) piece on Ashmont Books.
Said Joe, “I am really excited to join the Penguin family, where I get to be label mates with writers like Homer.”
Joe Pernice began his recording career in the mid-90’s with the Scud Mountain Boys, in Northampton, Massachusetts. They released two records before signing to Seattle’s Sub Pop in 1995 and releasing Massachusetts, along with The Early Year, a compilation of the two pre-Sub Pop recordings. In 1997, he disbanded the Scuds to form Pernice Brothers, whose debut Overcome By Happiness was released by Sub Pop, as was Chappaquiddick Skyline, more of a Joe Pernice side project in 2000. Big Tobacco, a Joe Pernice solo record was released in Europe in 2000 (and later in the US). Later that year, Joe left Sub Pop and he and his longtime manager Joyce Linehan established Ashmont Records, based in Boston, where they have released several Pernice Brothers records: World Won’t End (2001), Yours, Mine and Ours (2003), Nobody’s Watching/Nobody’s Listening live album and DVD (2004), Discover a Lovelier You (2005) and Live a Little (2006).
Joe Pernice’s music has been featured on television shows The Gilmore Girls and Six Feet Under, the movies Fever Pitch, On Broadway and Slaughterhouse Rule and in commercials for Sears and Southern Comfort.
Joe is also an accomplished television star, having made a 45-second appearance as a troubadour-wannabe in a 2006 episode of The Gilmore Girls.
Pernice grew up in the Boston area, and attended UMass Amherst, where he received an MFA in Creative Writing. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife and young son.
Monday, July 16th, 2007
Joe, James and Menck are in Boston doing some recording, and they’re working REALLY hard, as evidenced by this photo.
Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
Joe’s song “Chicken Wire” has been named “#1 Most Exquisitely Sad Song in the Whole World” in AOL/Spinner.com’s list of 25 exquisitely sad songs, finishing ahead of songs performed by giants like Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday and Elvis Presley. “Chicken Wire” of course appears on The Pernice Brothers’ debut album, Overcome By Happiness (Sub Pop, 1998) of which you all have a legally obtained copy, but if you’d like to sadden any of your friends, I’m happy to sell you a copy in the store on our website.
Spinner’s list, with audio clips, can be found here:
http://www.spinner.com/2007/05/03/the-25-most-exquisitely-sad-songs-in-the-whole-world-no-25/
The Pernice Brothers/Ashmont Industries would like everyone to know that if there was a statuette or plaque or anything else associated with this, they believe they would refuse the honor and award it instead to Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again, Naturally.” Not that they’re not grateful. Joyce would actually give the honor to Sammi Smith’s “Toast of 45,” which pretty much sums up her life. Joe’s personal exquisitely sad list is posted on spinner.
Monday, May 7th, 2007
Since being named Time’s Person of the Year, I haven’t been blogging/posting much. Rather, I’ve been contemplating the awesome responsibility thrust upon me with that honor. Maybe I haven’t appreciated the heft of my position. So, I stepped back to take stock, feeling bad about the fibs I’ve told and the half-truths I’ve planted, all in the name of selling records. But recently, I realized that I’ve done nothing more than perpetuate the industry standard, taking my rightful place within the proud traditions of record promotion, carnival barking and the bloodsport of politics. So, I went to confession and with a clean slate, I give you this humble update.
First, I am very, very angry, because some band that I will not name, because that’s what they want, stole my idea for the creation of the next Pernice Brothers record. This unnamed band has agreed to let their record company seal them in a huge plastic bubble where they’ll write and record their new record. I totally planned to seal the Pernice Brothers in the Corita Kent gas tank off the Southeast Expressway (sans matches of course) to make their next record. But now I can’t. I formed an exploratory committee and everything. So instead, the band will hole up in the attic of a lovely bungalow near Ashmont Station in Dorchester, which, when I feel like it, serves as the world headquarters of Ashmont Records and when I don’t feel like it, serves as my home. I can’t wait. There’s nothing quite like a house full of guys hopped up on coffee who think they’re really funny when I’m trying to watch TV. Charlie’s looking forward to it though. He’s a lot more like them than he is like me, if you know what I mean.
I said Pernice Brothers record, but before you get all excited and email Pitchfork, I can’t say that’s what it is. Here’s what I know. Joe, James Walbourne, Ric Menck and some guy from Quebec whose name is too difficult to spell (I hope it’s not the guy from Voivod) are coming. I’ve been asked to rent Morphine’s drum kit, hit up Phil Sullivan Electric, Inc. for every microphone he has ever owned, and make up the guest rooms. I was also given the following shopping list, which I promptly passed along to the minions: bongos, cowbell, duct tape, towels, coffee, pop rocks, the most recent issue of The Economist and Satisfaction on DVD (starring Justine Bateman). That’s all I have. If any of you have heard anything about a release date or title, by all means, let me know.
Also, inspired by a recent piece of fan mail from Ryan from Minnesota, who claims to have passed his GRE test as a result of repeated listenings of Joe’s songs, we’ve done a licensing deal with Kaplan Test Prep. They will pay us to make sure that certain words are used in future songs, and then Pernice Brothers records will be distributed with those big fat test prep books as study guides to people taking standardized tests. (Working titles for new songs include “My Abstemious Life,” “One Parsimonious Fellow,” “One Neuron Shy of a Synapse,” and “Her Eyes Were Refulgent When She Crushed My Spirit.”) In this day and age, with the death of retail, and because we’re too old to really know how to use the internets, we had to find a new means of distribution. We’re hoping that this innovative plan will be profiled in Business Week, because as you know, Business Week readers now make up 28% of our audience.
Tomorrow night, in Somerville (that’s right, Somerville), I’ll be seeing the world premiere of a movie called On Broadway, by a guy named Dave McLaughlin, which has a couple of Pernice Brothers songs in it. I believe “Weakest Shade of Blue” runs over the end credits. You can see the trailer with the song at www.onbroadwaythemovie.com. But the really cool thing about it is that the movie stars Joey McIntyre, and thus, the Pernice Brothers and New Kids on the Block finally cross paths. I of course, being from Dorchester, have had brushes with NKOTB before. In fact, I have a card autographed by four of the five of them (it’s missing Donnie) on one side, and by Ronald Reagan on the other side. I’m pretty sure it’s one-of-a-kind. But it’s Joe’s first NKOTB encounter.
That’s it for now. As soon as someone tells me what they’re recording in the attic, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I have nothing new to sell you. Only old stuff. But I have plenty of that. As if you don’t know, you can find it at www.pernicebrothers.com, in the store.
Thanks for your support, which we can feel even in the quiet times.
Joyce (and Charlie Ashmont)
Dorchester, MA
P.S. Stuff I’ve enjoyed recently, for the one guy who is still reading.
Books: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
Theater: Mike Daisey’s Invincible Summer at the American Repertory Theatre, Souvenir and Miss Witherspoon at the Lyric Stage of Boston
TV: Greater Boston’s Beat the Press, Rome, 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights
Music: I got nothing.
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007
