John Flansburgh is kidding when he says that "idle hands set fires," isn't he?
The bespectacled member of New York wiseguy-popsters They Might Be Giants, Flansburgh says he's itching to hit the road, largely because his band hasn't toured since releasing "Apollo 18" in 1992."We kind of stepped off the treadmill lately," he said from his New York home in a telephone interview. "But we're heading out on the road as a preamble to releasing our new record."
Like the "Apollo 18" tour, the upcoming tour will feature TMBG founders Flansburgh and John Linnell accompanied by a full band, including a drummer, bass guitarist and rotating horn players (Frank London and Steve Bern-stein).
"Besides the social boost, having a band makes us split into factions with full, back-biting gossip," Flansburgh joked.
Flansburgh promised to deliver "the most head-scratching show ever" to Salt Lake fans in a concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 13, at the Utah State Fairpark.
"We've just got so much new material that these fans haven't heard before," he said. "It kind of leaves them in the dust when they're used to chanting along with the songs, and we say, `Well, here's another new one.' "
He also promised that the band will continue the "request" portion of its sets, in which They Might Be Giants play songs that audience members shout out. However, rather than playing their fans' favorites during that portion, they ask that the crowd request their parents' favorite songs.
"We've pretty much played every Kenny Rogers song written, so we want to add a little variety to it," Flansburgh said.
In addition to his band responsibilities, Flansburgh is also busy running the Hello CD of the Month Club, which offers exclusive full-length and mini-CDs from artists such as Frank Black, Andy Partridge (from XTC), the Residents and Scott MacCaughey (from Young Fresh Fellows).
Hello is "not an outreach program for drunk frat guys," he told the Alternative Press in February.
Instead, in 18 months, Hello has managed to snag a few thousand subscribers, and Flansburgh hopes to snare some even bigger alternative-music acts for at least a one-CD deal.
"First and foremost, we like them to be real songwriters," Flansburgh said. "But we're tickled with the way things are going right now."
To receive information and a free brochure about the CD club, call 1-800-HELLO-41 (1-800-435-5641).
Opening the Salt Lake show is electric zither artist Brian Dewan, who recently made his Hello debut.
Tickets for the concert, a Scott Arnold production, are $16.50 in advance from Cosmic Aeroplane, Smokey's Records and Graywhale CD Exchange in Salt Lake City; Sonic Garden in Provo, and the Ogden Graywhale location.