01/22/01
Matador & Music Industry Conventions — A Match Made In Biz Heaven — Are there 2 words more despicable in the english language than “label showcase?” This could be a good contest (no SM tickets this time). Anyway, the following artists will be playing at Matador’s officially approved evening during South By Southwest 2001:

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Mogwai
The Soft Boys

(Possibly one additional artist, but we’re not saying who today. Not because it is a big secret, but because we haven’t figured it out yet). The venue is the Austin Music Hall. The date to remember is Saturday, March 17. Austin is the capitol of Texas, the largest state in the Union. We would never in a million years seriously suggest that this great state be handed over to Mexico and would sincerely like to apologize for any confusion or offense that might’ve resulted from an ill-fated promotion that took place during our last visit. The person responsible for that promotion, no longer works for us, but can be reached in care of Warp.

12/06/00
The Soft Boys — Resurfacing in 2001
If we didn’t have enough huge already this week, check this out: on March 13, Matador will be reissuing ‘Underwater Moonlight,’ the classic 1980 album from The Soft Boys. While the band are still shifting through old photos and memorabilia, we can tell you that this package will differ significantly from Rykodisc’s last version of Underwater Moonlight (ie. Additional art, liner notes, etc.), as well as a bonus CD of previously unreleased rehearsal recordings. We’re also planning a vinyl version (though god knows how all of it will fit).

The Soft Boys’ ‘Underwater Moonlight’ lineup of Robyn Hitchcock, Kimberly Rew, Matthew Seligman and Morris Windsor are currently rehearsing for a U.S. tour in early 2001, followed by European dates.