There's a lot going on. Here's some news.

Artemis is set to release "It's Like This" around September 12. They will be offering a special release including two extra tracks at Borders books. There will be only 13,000 of these. I don't know how I feel about that, but whatever. It's ok. Where will they put those extra tracks? i don't know.

I have been doing some press in Europe, and most of the interviews are via e-mail, at my request, and the journalists who work this way are on my list of nice people. The interviews are much better, I can really soar at my own pace, I don't have to finish it up in one sitting. We put one of those up in Italian at the web site. Put it up in Italian so Italians could read something in their own language, but it should also include a translation, and so it will. I hope to include a German article from Munich, and perhaps soon one from Paris. I have talked to two English journalists, maybe I will put up one of their articles as well.

The shows have gone very well. No one from the record company came, except in Paris, where Michele took exceptional care of me. I stayed at a goofy swank kind of place called...what was that called...i forgot it already. Lots of stars. One of the stars from the titanic came up and was introduced at our table. His eyebrows were perfect.

The journalists in Paris were very cool. Eric from Liberation took us to ManRay. His wife was very nice, and we all had a kind of living it up night. We smoked cigars at the end. It was cool except mine kept going out. Too dry. Which was funny because everything is strictly non smoking around me and my crew.

I taped a t.v. show in Montreal for the festival, you might see that around sometime, a song or two.

I have decided to be more accessible to newspapers when i play. but no, no b roll or anything like that.

I am still deciding on what kind of band I will take out in America.

We have confirmed dates in LA, except I am changing that to a different venue, and in San Diego, Chino, Humboldt, Santa Cruz, Portland, and I think San Fransisco. That might be with Dan Hicks, but I am not sure if that's on. Then Denver. These shows will take place starting around Sept. 18 or so in Portland. I'll list the exact venues and dates soon. Next we will create some dates in New York, Boston, DC, Philly, and probably Toronto and Chicago. That will be it for America for now, as I believe I will be heading back to Europe again in October, but that's not for sure yet. If not, then in January.

It has been a funny tour, playing in a circus tent in Konstance to a opera hall in Oslo. You gotta be ready for anything out here. I gotta tell you though I liked being under the big top. Trapese the height of thee,

I will be doing plenty of t.v. for the record, though I don't do morning shows. We will let you know what I have confirmed as it comes.

Lee Cantelon took the black and white photos you will see in the ads and he also took the photos in the album package. Gene Skala also worked a lot on the art, and his ideas were very helpful, very lovely. Charlotte Rose told us to be sure to use a red color for the script. Last I saw, there was a little red tint to the title.

I'll be talking to Billboard and Playboy, and I'll do Fresh Air for NPR. People seem to like the record alot. That's cool. It's very nice. Interesting to come to the middle of nowhere and find out it's somewhere.

That's all for now.
rickie lee jones.