The Decemberists

Points of Order:
• 3/5 of The Decemberists to perform at Oct. 12th fundraiser for US Senate candidate Jeff Merkley
• The Decemberists say: REGISTER TO VOTE!
• Register voters and have Colin Meloy perform solo at your college!
• Upcoming US Tour dates
• Pre-order "Always the Bridesmaid: A Singles Series" vinyl now!
• Holy *&^%: we're nearly done with our new record!

Adored Mailing List Recipients,

Such tumult! Such excitement! Such. . . hopefulness! These are heady days, heady days. The promise of true progressivism in at least two of our three branches of government seems so near, you could almost poke it with a summer squash. And while we Decemberists have already thrown our proverbial hat into a certain Illinois senator's ring, it's hight time we all take a moment to recognize that Mr. Obama's potential *FDR-redux-new-progressive* administration would be NUTHIN (in the parlance of our day) without a strong majority of like-minded Senators and Representatives to enable said progressivism! Gentle Mailing List Recipients, we are sooooo close to that magic 60 seats. . .

And what better way to support that endeavor, than to support a guy who has a startlingly good chance at kicking Oregon's current GOP Senator Gordon Smith to the curb: Democrat Jeff Merkley. On October 12th, Colin Meloy, Chris Funk and Jenny Conlee will be joined by fellow PDXers China Forbes and Thomas Lauderdale (of Pink Martini) and Laura Veirs (performing as Two-Beers Veirs) at a fundraiser for Merkley's campaign. The show is at Doug Fir here in Portland (www.dougfirlounge.com), tickets are $25. Doors at 6 pm, show at 7. Check out www.jeffmerkley.com for more info about Jeff and about the event.

Also, Colin is participating in "The Ultimate College Bowl" - a competition between colleges and college students to encourage voter registration. The college where the highest percentage of the student body registers to vote this Fall will win a free concert by Colin some time during the academic year.

You can register to vote, and learn more about the contest, by visiting www.myspace.com/ultimatecollegebowl

The voter registration deadline is upon us in many states (and passed already in some) so you may have one last chance to help your school win the contest and participate in the 2008 election. Click Here to Register to Vote today.

And as a reminder: we Decemberists are poised to hit the road at the end of October for a short tour in support of our new singles series, "Always the Bridesmaid." Tour dates are as follows:

10-30 Georgetown, TX - Southwestern University (public onsale 10/8)
10-31 Wheaton, IL - Edman Chapel at Wheaton College
11-05 New York, NY - Terminal 5 (SOLD OUT)
11-06 Boston, MA - The Orpheum
11-07 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
11-08 Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live
11-09 Ithaca, NY - Cornell University, Barton Hall
11-11 Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theatre
11-12 East Lansing, MI - Wharton Center at Michigan State University (public onsale 10/10)
11-24 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
11-25 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
11-29 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
11-30 Seattle, WA - The Moore Theatre

(Note: all shows are expected to sell out in advance, so ye best get on it.)

In related news: Click HERE to pre-order "Always a Bridesmaid: A Singles Series." Have 'em shipped to your home as the release, or in one big drop in December. The first installment, "Valerie Plame," hits record stores and doorsteps on October 14th, while the single will be available digitally on all your favorite DSPs the same day. In the US, these singles come in the form of tasty 180 gram 12" vinyl. In the UK, our good friends at Rough Trade are releasing as 7" vinyl. Check out the Rough Trade Shop for more info: http://www.roughtrade.com/site/shop_detail.lasso?search_type=sku&sku=305380

In other news, we've officially closed the book on tracking our next record and mixing starts tomorrow! We're all tremendously pleased with the outcome thus far. It's called "Hazards of Love." That's all we'll say now.

Yours,
The Decemberists
www.decemberists.com