In with the new and…well…

On the eve of our new Web site…

So there’s really no "out with the old." All your favorite archived material remains; in fact, it looks very much the same…for now. Soon, we will have a swarm of interns in to help with the massive conversion effort (can anyone say "three and a half years"?), but until Christmas break kicks in next week, you may have to follow a link to the old site. (Or, actually, vice versa until we get the new and old sites switched.) (Trust me; I know very little of this Web lingo; I’m just repeating what I’ve been told.)

We’re pretty proud of this redesign. We are bowing at the feet of Paul Bordeaux, our friend and amazing Web designer, for all his time and talent. We, too, have put in long hours to make sure everything’s ready as we go live December 1. (Yes, we know: There are many more long hours to come.) We hope you like it. Know that the first few weeks may be a bit bumpy, but it will all be worth it in the end. In the meantime, feel free to if something’s really not working, or if there’s something else you’d like to see. (The latter may take a while, but honest: We’ll take it into consideration.)

In music news, we got some good news today: Our friends in Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s have been signed by Artemis Records. Their 2005 debut, In the Dust of Retreat (Standard), was easily one of the year’s best in my opinion; we’re super happy to see them getting the recognition they deserve. Artemis will be releasing a remastered version of Dust in early 2006. While we try to bring the band back to St. Louis, those of you on the East Coast should check your local listings, as they’re up and down the coast the early part of December.

In other singer/songwriters-we-love news, if you’re in St. Louis, you have absolutely no excuse not to catch Cameron McGill at Select Nights at Contemporaryartmuseumstlouis tomorrow night (Dec. 1). It’s a free event, drinks are only $1, there’s free food, and it’s culture. You can take in the art while you mingle and listen to the music. Cameron’s another one who’s close to some major recognition, so take your chances while they’re handed to you. Be sure to stop by the PLAYBACK:stl table while you’re there and say hi.