Frank's Wild Years demos

The collectors out there might be interested in knowing some demo recordings (primarily with material from the Frank's Wild Years sessions) have (re)surfaced.

Apart from the titles, there's very little info about these 24 tracks available. If you should know anything about them, feel free to drop a line in the comments.

Don't ask me for any info about obtaining this material, I'm sure you can find out for yourselves.

A new book

According to Amazon.com we can look forward to another Waits book:

"In Hard Ground, [Michael] O'Brien joins with renowned singer-songwriter Tom Waits, described by the New York Times as "the poet of outcasts," to create a portrait of homelessness that impels us to look into the eyes of people who live "on the hard ground" and recognize our common humanity.
For Waits, who has spent decades writing about outsiders, this subject is familiar territory. Combining their formidable talents in photography and poetry, O'Brien and Waits have crafted a work in the spirit of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, in which James Agee's text and Walker Evans's photographs were "coequal, mutually independent, and fully collaborative" elements. Letting words and images communicate on their own terms, rather than merely illustrate each other, Hard Ground transcends documentary and presents independent, yet powerfully complementary views of the trials of homelessness and the resilience of people who survive on the streets."

Publisher University of Texas Press has no information about the book on line for the moment.

(via Jarlath)

UPDATE (Nov. 24): The Guardian and NME have both picked up on this news via Twentyfourbit.com, which nicely refers to my blog).

ANTI- talks about 'the haunting and impassioned poetry of Tom Waits' and also mentions Michael O'Brien's is the photographer who shot the  Glitter and Doom Livealbum cover.

And the University of Texas Press has put some info - including a couple of pictures - about the book on line as well. They have also confirmed the book will be published in March 2011. Their site puts the price at $40 for the hard cover edition (184 pages), but with a 33% website discount it will only put you back $26.80 (which is roughly the same as the $26.40 Amazon charges).

Waits in London next year?

The British Academy has what seems to be some great news for English Waits-fans: in an interview for the RA by Sarah Greenberg, architect Will Alsop seems to suggest Mr. Waits might be performing in London early next year.

 "...(Alsop) tells me he is converting the cavernous ground floor beneath his Battersea studio into ‘Testbed 1’, a ‘space without an agenda’ for performance, art, music and socialising. ‘Bruce McLean did the first performance and our official launch is in February, with composer Gavin Bryars and Tom Waits."

(via Matt C.)

UPDATE (Nov. 19): The Gavin Bryars camp indicated the Testbed 1 venue might be used to launch/publicise the release of the Opera North cd Mercy & Grand, but a Tom Waits appearance is rather unlikely, let alone a performance. But then again, you never know....   (via Jarlath)

Preservation Hall vinyl and record player release on video

Preservation Hall has posted a video of the upcoming release on line. The 78rpm vinyl record with two Tom Waits tracks and the record player will be available for in-person purchase at Preservation Hall in New Orleans on November 19 (from 10am-5pm Central Standard Time), and for online purchase at preservationhall.com at 12:01am CST, November 20.

Giant Orphans album in London

From tomwaits.com:

A giant version of Tom Waits’ 2006 album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards has been created as part of a unique art installation in London. The Portobello ReCollection opened last week on the Portobello Road in West London, transforming a 100 m long wall into a giant record collection charting the musical influences of the neighborhood. Artists Natasha Mason and Teresa Crawley asked residents for their input on which records they would like to see represented. The result is a colorful celebration of the neighborhood’s musical heritage prominently featuring Waits acclaimed three CD/7 album set . The installation is scheduled to be in place for six months, so get your picture taken with a giant Tom Waits album while you can.

Vinyl releases

Tomwaits.com is offering limited edition 180 gram red vinyl versions of Closing Time, The Heart of Saturday Night, Nighthawks at the Diner and Small Change.

According to their Facebook message, these red vinyl limited editions (1.000 pressed of each title) will be available exclusively at www.tomwaitsstore.com and are available for pre-order now.

Rhino will celebrate Waits this December by reissuing Waits’ first four Asylum albums on 180-gram heavy vinyl each packaged with their original artwork. Released on December 21 at retail outlets, including www.rhino.com.