Multi-talented Nashville hip-hop artist (and good friend of the band) Young Hirsch has featured The Superficials on his latest album True Rhythm and Poetry, released on the One Way Out label.  His music is positive and profound.  “Count on Me” from Berry Hill Bungalow has been reworked on track 18.  You can listen to it at http://payplayfm/younghirsch or visit his myspace: www.myspace.com/younghirsch

You heard it right, The Superficials have been selected to perform at Hempfest 2008! The weekend-long, free festival takes place August 16-17^th in Myrtle Edwards Park on the beautiful Seattle waterfront.  This is a massive event, with tens of thousands of people in attendance.  The band takes the Seely Stage (the 2^nd largest of 5) at 3:00pm on Sunday, August 17^th, which is, coincidentally, Paul Johnson’s birthday.  The boys are totally excited about this opportunity, and are looking forward to visiting their “Seattle family” once again! For more info about the event (and the cause), go to www.hempfest.org

If you haven’t heard of Graham Central Station’s Battle of the Bands, you should… because the Superficials joined in last week at the last minute… and won!  They’ll be performing in the semi-finals on June 26th.  Come on out and cheer the Superficials on to victory!

Can’t make the CD release show at the Rutledge this week?  We’ll miss you, but don’t worry.  You can catch the entire show live on streaming video, from sound check to wrap up!  Check out the Rutledge’s live feed here:

www.therutledgelmv.com/video_stream.htm

The band will be doing an in-studio to promote Lights on Radio Free Nashville (WRFN—98.9 FM) Saturday, May 17 from 7-9pm (The Stickman Show).  You can listen to it live at:  http://www.radiofreenashville.org

This is it! The Superficials will be celebrating the release of their newest album Lights with a release party on Thursday, May 22nd at The Rutledge (410 4th Ave. S.) in downtown Nashville. The cost of the show is $10, and includes a copy of the new disc. Initially begun as a demo of 11 new Paul-penned songs, the group had no idea that pretty soon well-known producer and engineer Jim Lightman (india.arie, Hank III) would lend his expertise to the project. With artwork created by friend/graphic designer Cara Manka (during a cross-country road trip, no less!), the album is the best sounding and best looking record The Superficials have released to date. Can’t make the show?  No worries.  Lights will be made available no later than May 20th, first at cdbaby.com, then later through many other internet retailers and regional independent music stores.

Exciting new developments have delayed the release of The Superficials’ latest album, Lights. A home recording comprised of 11 Paul-penned songs, plans for Lights were initially modest, the collection intended primarily for demo purposes.  This changed, however, when the group met Jim Lightman, who offered to lend his well-known ears to the project.  With Jim’s direction and engineering skills, Lights developed into an entirely different kind of monster.  Upon hearing the new mixes (which were just finished this week), the band has decided to manufacture and release the record commercially.

At this point, the release is slated for no later than mid-May.  This should also be around the same time when The Superficials and Jim Lightman will begin work on their first serious studio project since before Paul and Matthew even joined the band, 2002’s Yearbook.  Cara Manka, graphic designer for many of Nashville’s up-and-coming artists (and creator of The Superficials’ logo), has been commissioned to provide the artwork for Lights, and the group plans to have newly-pressed copies included in the cover charge for the CD release party, which is tentatively planned at The Rutledge in downtown Nashville.

 You can hear two new songs from Lights right now by clicking here

Postproduction has started on Lights, a collection of 12 new songs written by Paul.  The project was recorded at home in intermittent steps between May and October.  Paul, Tripp and Erik are the sole performers, often interchanging instrument duties between songs.   “It’s been an enjoyable and relaxing experience”, says Erik.  “We took our time and had fun with it, adding parts here and there.  Sometimes Tripp played drums and I played bass, sometimes it was the other way around.  And of course, we’ve always been fans of Paul’s songwriting.”

Like Berry Hill Bungalow, when work on Lights began, no one was sure what it was to become.  Initially it was thought of as a demo showcasing 12 new Paul Johnson songs.  But eventually, the guys got just as excited about the new tracks as they did with Bungalow (perhaps even more so), and plans are now in the works to release the album in January online and in Nashville-area music stores, with artwork by the creator of the band’s logo, designer Cara Manka.

Immediately following the release of Lights, the Superficials will begin recording their first bona fide studio record since Yearbook.  The band is planning to work with acclaimed Producer/Engineer Jim Lightman at the helm.  Jim has lent his renowned ears to artists like Hank Williams III and india.arie.  It is not yet known if the release will be an album or an EP, but the band plans to include friends and fans in the song selection process.

After a few minor delays, The Superficials “Song of the Month” is here to stay.  At the beginning of each month, the band will post at least one new, original tune on their Myspace site.  In December there are two:  one of Tripp’s called “More Than Friends”, and one of Erik’s entitled “Fare From Here to There”.  They’ve also added an advance copy of a song from Lights, “Life’s Got Rules”.