poems for whales
and texas hold them
Hi everybody! Happy fools day.
What’s up with you? Been online lately? I’ve been scrolling on the substack app lately in my more surrendery moments. It’s better than lots of other possible scrolling I could be doing, but it’s still succumbing to that not-very-mindful scrolling that burns through the life hours. I’m talking about the “home” tab, the recommendations. It’s not quite as sensationally manipulative as the more popular social media but it seems to be following the same clickbaity algorithmic warfare as all of them. But then I get to a link to a good deeper essay and I go there and read it and that’s not so bad. I learn stuff occasionally.
That’s my update for you about my phone use. I use it. I don’t never scroll. I sometimes do and, like everyone, would prefer to never get mindless about it, not even for a second.
Anyway! Here are today’s advertisements:
Item #1- POETRY BOOK!
“Wish The Whale Bell To Be Made Fresh, Poems For Whales”, a collection of many different poets writing (mostly very indirectly) about whales. My poem in there is the same as a song on Night Palace, the nail hit right on the head.
The gifted artist and thing-maker Rachel Corry put this all together for her own Ultraviolet Books and it turned out as an exquisite small book. I’m very happy to be involved. And all proceeds go to The Ocean Conservancy! Thanks Rachel!
Item #2 - Mount Eerie is playing in Texas!
Sometimes people in Texas are all like “why do you never come here?” and I’m like “it’s far, and not really on the way between where I’m coming from and where I’m going, and maybe other reasons too, but mostly that it’s far and life is finite and I can’t go everywhere unfortunately”. But now I’m going there!1
This is the announcement. Tickets will be on sale this Friday, April 4th at 10am CT (cowboy time), via these links:
Tues. June 3rd, 2025 - Dallas, TX - Texas Theatre
Weds. June 4th, 2025 - Houston, TX - The Heights Theater
Thurs. June 5th, 2025 - Austin, TX - Paramount Theatre
item #3 - coffee window is closing
You have a few days left to pre-order your Mount Eerie Night Palace brand coffee beans, my weird and delicious collaboration with Camber. Bean is life, brown drink forever, morning joseph, top of the morning to you, sip the dawn, there’s a fish in the percolator, etc.
Pre-orders close this Friday right about when Texas shows go on sale.
item #4 - last chunk of the Mount Eerie full band tour is about to happen!
I know I’ve been hounding you about this for months. It’s because these shows are kind of special. I haven’t made a Mount Eerie band version in many years and it’ll probably be many years before it happens again. Also: Hana Stretton and Precious Bane are both playing. That never happens! If you can make it, there are still tickets (going fast though) for most of these shows. Get in.
Thurs. Apr. 10th, 2025 - Minneapolis, Minn. - First Avenue (with Alan Sparhawk)
Fri. Apr. 11th, 2025 - Milwaukee, Wisc. - Turner Hall (with Alan Sparhawk)
Sun. Apr. 13th, 2025 - Chicago, Ill. - Thalia Hall (with Hana Stretton and Precious Bane) LOW TICKETS!
Mon. Apr. 14th, 2025 - Detroit, Mich. - El Club (with Hana Stretton and Precious Bane)
Tues. Apr. 15th, 2025 - Toronto, Ont. - The Concert Hall (with Hana Stretton and Precious Bane)
Weds. Apr. 16th, 2025 - Montréal, Que. - Théâtre Fairmount (with Hana Strettonand Precious Bane) LOW TICKETS!
Thurs. Apr. 17th, 2025 - Portland, Maine - SPACE // EARLY SHOW, 4:30 doors, TICKETS HERE // LATE SHOW, 8:00 doors, SOLD OUT (both with Hana Stretton)
Fri. Apr. 18th, 2025 - Cambridge, Mass. - The Sinclair (with Hana Stretton and Precious Bane) SOLD OUT
Sat. Apr. 19th, 2025 - Philadelphia, Penn. - Union Transfer (with Hana Stretton and Precious Bane)
Sun. Apr. 20th, 2025 - Washington D.C. - the Atlantis (with Hana Stretton and Precious Bane) SOLD OUT
item #5- personal update
I hung the gong under the eave of the wood shed. It looks good there:
That’s all for today.
I appreciate you very much for reading.
bye! Phil
current listening: The Real Me by Kyle M
and also: in filth your mystery is kingdom / far smile peasant in yellow music by Dagmar Zuniga
with Bilbo Baggina on second guitar playing a few notes here and there
Love the nod to twin peaks during your coffee advert. Great reading your updates as always.
Texas has been patiently waiting for many moons and thanks you for the nod.