First off, the Little Brazil news. Guitarist Greg Edds e-mailed to tell me that the band is planning to release its second full-length Tighten The Noose, Feb. 20 on Mt. Fuji Records. “Right now, we’re waiting for layout and design work to be finished by local artist Mindy Leahey and Jamie Massey from Ladyfinger/Race For Titles,” Edds said. “We have one show left sometime in December before our 3-month tour starts on Feb 1.”

Edds also said the band is in talks with SubPop Germany, “which should push a little bit more in our foreign markets. From that point on, we’re on a mission to tour non-stop for the rest of 2007 as well as tear apart many stages and after parties. Basically, just do what we do.”

Hmm…. New album on Fuji, a European deal and a year’s worth of touring? Little Brazil could be on the verge of taking it to the next level.

You’d think that would be enough for Edds, but no. He recently joined Coyote Bones as a guitarist. “We will be leaving for a small two-week tour starting Oct. 31,” Edds said. “We’ll be doing dates all the way out to the East Coast and back with a two-night stint at CMJ. Coyote Bones also has a record that is fully finished, titled Gentlemen On The Rocks. That should be due out sometime in early 2007 on a label yet to be determined.” If you haven’t had a chance, you can check out Coyote Bones at a couple upcoming shows. They’re opening for Now It’s Overhead Halloween night at Sokol Underground. Or wait until their Nov. 11 gig at the Saddle Creek Bar with Eagle*Seagull and Jake Bellows.

Moving on… Saddle Creek Records’ monthly update was a bit more newsworthy than usual. The highlights, for those of you who didn’t get the memo:

— The Faint are hitting the road for a few weeks worth of shows. They’ll be testing out some new songs and playing some old favorites. The band is currently hard at work in their studio, crafting the follow-up to 2004’s Wet From Birth. Among the dates are two Omaha shows: Dec. 16 with Baltimore dance-rock band Celebration, and Dec. 17 with Tilly and the Wall, both at Sokol Auditorium. Tickets to the Omaha shows go on sale Nov. 4 at onepercentproductions.com.

— Cursive is making the tracks for “Bad Sects” — one of the stand-outs on their new album, Happy Hollow — available for anyone and everyone to download and create their own remix. The best effort will be included as the b-side on a future Cursive single. Details are at http://www.badsects.com/.

(Speaking of Robb Nansel, the Saddle Creek label executive sent out an e-mail last night begging people to spread the word about a show he set up for Nov. 7 at The 49’r with Ontario band Tokyo Police Club. Yeah, they do sound pretty cool, judging by their myspace page. Opening the show is the dominating rock onslaught called Bombardment Society).

What else… oh yeah, only what will likely be one of the best shows of ’06 tonight at Sokol Underground. The following, written for The Reader:

Seriously, you don’t miss this one.

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