We are pleased to announce that Hymns will be opening for Ben Kweller during October. They are playing some very cool clubs and theatres, including The Vic Theatre in Chicago, two nights at Webster Hall in New York and Avalon in Boston. You can see all the dates in our tour section.

Blackland Records is very excited to announce the formation of a Strategic Alliance with Rock Ridge Music which will include distribution throughout the US and Canada through Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA). The official release date for Hymns debut record Brother/Sister is October 10th. Until then you can only buy the CD through this site and at the band’s shows. ADA is one of the leading independent music distributors in the US and is currently bringing such artists as Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Arctic Monkeys, Band of Horses, Calexico, and Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) to stores near you…in 11 weeks you can add Hymns to that list. (They also distribute Gnarls Barkley, Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy, but we forgive them.)

Brother/Sister is the debut record from Hymns. We at Blackland Records have been selling a nice limited edition vinyl version of this record for a few months. We have recently discovered an amazing new compact disc (CD) technology that allows digital reproduction of the same glorious sounds that are on the LP. So we have pressed some CDs and you can buy them now only through the online store of this website (that’s why we call it a “soft release”). The CD should be in your favorite record store by mid-July (this will be the “hard release” that you have heard so much about.) But you don’t have to wait.

Sup Magazine posted a nice note yesterday about your favorite band and their “dreamy, sun-kissed West Coast folk” in the daily “Stuff we think you should know about, LIKE RIGHT NOW” column. For more hyperbole, check this out: http://www.supmag.com/checkit/archives/2006/05/hymns_heads_up.html

For those of you not fortunate enough to squeeze in and see Hymns great show at Pianos last Friday in front of a packed house, the next best thing is to get on over to hymnsband.com and listen to two live cuts from the show. They have posted “First Time” from their record “Brother/Sister” and a Neil Young cover (”Don’t Cry No Tears”) as an added bonus. So if “First Time” is your favorite Hymns song, or you want to be reminded of what great songs Neil can write when he is not creating fictional towns or pontificating from his anti-war soapbox, get your ears over to the hymns site and take a listen. These tracks will have to do for now, but before long you will have the chance to see the real thing at a saloon near you.

On Saturday night, April 22, 2006 from 8-10pm, Blackland President John Kent’s “My Music” show will air on KIKT. JK will be playing favorite cuts from his record collection as well as new music by local Texas bands and pre-release music from national acts. Here is a sneak peek at the playlist: Dennis Wilson (River Song) The Three-Sixtys (Always My Fault) The Strokes (Reptilia) Hymns (Magazines) Waylon Jennings (Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line) Shooter Jennings (4th of July) Evan Dando (Thousand Dollar Wedding) Son Volt (Live Free) Frantic Flattops (Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out) My Morning Jacket (Just Because I Do) Melba Toast (City Life) Pushrod (Smith & Wesson) Brandon Johnson (If I’d Known) Pavement (Shady Lane) Shivaree (657 Bed B) Hank Williams (I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry) Super Suckers (Roadworn & Weary) Fountains of Wayne (Radiation Vibe) Guided By Voices (Glad Girls) The Supahip (Wouldn’t It Be Good) Ryan Adams (Starting to Hurt) Bright Eyes (Take it Easy - Love Nothing) The Hollies (Look Through Any Window) Bob Marley (One Love) Shuggie Otis (Inspiration Information) David Kent & Howie Kweller (Down in Dallas) The Pierces (A Way To Us) Ryan Madewell (Times Like These) Zeemo (Just a Moment) The Southern Sea (Iowa Mountain Tour) Dennis Wilson (Farewell My Friends) Please tune in if you are in earshot of 93.5 FM in Greenville, Texas…if not, look for the podcast on this website.

Check out today’s Sixeyes blog raving about Hymns! Alan Williamson has excellent taste and is now Blackland’s favorite blogger. http://sixeyes.blogspot.com/

Hymns will be playing at Southpaw Brooklyn on May 5th opening for the great Evan Dando of Lemonheads fame. Its A Shame About Ray, but great news for Brian, Jason, Matt & Jeremy (rimshot optional).

You can now contact us at 903.568.8222…Or email John at jk@blacklandrecords.com…Or email Tim @ twheels@blacklandrecords.com…Contrary to popular belief, we DO want to hear from you!

Good Records, the premier independent record store in Dallas, is now carrying the limited edition vinyl of Hymns debut release “Brother/Sister”. Visit their store at 1808 Lower Greenville Avenue and ask CJ, a veritable human encyclopedia of rock music, to turn you on to other new sounds that are almost as cool as Hymns. Their moto is that they only sell records which they consider to be “good”. If you are not exactly around the block from Good Records, we will be happy to ship it directly to your doorstep, just click on the store tab on this website.

Each Saturday night at 8pm, Blackland President John Kent’s “My Music” show is carried on on KIKT radio. JK plays favorite cuts from his record collection as well as new music by local Texas bands and pre-release music from national acts. The playlist for Saturday, March 18th went something like this: Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited, The Wallflowers- The Difference, The Blue Van- Revelation of Love, The Strokes- You Only Live Once, Tom Petty- A Higher Place, The Band- The Weight, Gram Parsons- Big Mouth Blues, Adam Green- Jessica Simpson, The Bens- Just Pretend, Brendan Benson- Tiny Spark, Mason Jennings- Sorry Signs on Cash Machines, Juliana Hatfield- Cry In The Dark, Cat Stevens- First Cut Is The Deepest, Kings Of Leon- The Bucket, Candy Butchers- Falling Into Place, Melba Toast- Don’t Breathe On Me, Silversun- Julia, Dr. Dog- The World May Never Know, Fastball- Out Of My Head, Johnny Lee- Lookin? For Love, The Band- The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Ben Kweller- I Can’t Help, The Byrds- The Christian Life, Lucinda Williams- Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, Johnny Cash- Sea Of Heartbreak, Kings Of Leon- King of the Rodeo, Frank Black- Headache, The Lemonheads- Confetti, The Pierces- Louisa, The Southern Sea- Viva La Guadalajara Bob, Hymns- Brother/Sister, The Beatles- Wait, Sam Cooke- Bring It On Home. Please tune in if you are in earshot of 93.5 FM in Greenville, Texas…if not, look for the podcast on this website, some weeks the podcast will go up, some weeks it won’t and you can enjoy a previous weeks show, it will be a surprise to all of us!

Hey everyone, the shipment of Vinyl for Hymns debut record, Brother/Sister, has hit the Blackland offices and will be sent out to all of those who pre-ordered next week. If you have been waiting to order you limited edition vinyl until it was no longer a “pre-order” your wait is over…so go to the Blackland store and claim yours now.

On Saturday night, March 11th 2006 at 8pm, Blackland President John Kent’s second “My Music” show will bless the airwaves in and around Greenville, Texas on KIKT radio. JK will be playing favorite cuts from his record collection as well as new music by local Texas bands and pre-release music from national acts. Here is a sneak peek at the this weeks playlist: Space by Red Five ~~~ I Need You Back / Hospital Bed by Ben Kweller ~~~ Whatcha Gonna Do by Good Time Women ~~~ Friends of Mine by Hymns ~~~ Odessa by Kieren McGee ~~~ Hungover Together by Super Suckers ~~~ Family Tradition by Hank Williams Jr. ~~~ Three Days by Willie Nelson ~~~ Shake Your Tail Feather by Ray Charles ~~~ Small Town by Pushrod ~~~ Scream by Brandon Johnson ~~~ Last Night by The Strokes ~~~ American Girl by Tom Petty ~~~ Kaw-Liga by Hank Jr. ~~~ Wasn’t That Love by The Toms ~~~ Thoughts of You by Dennis Wilson ~~~ Fire and Rain by James Taylor ~~~ You’ve Got A Friend by Carol King ~~~ Drive South by John Hiatt ~~~ Favorite Mistake by Sheryl Crow ~~~ Allison by Elvis Costello ~~~ The Power Of by The Pierces ~~~ Under Control by The Strokes ~~~ Hello, Texas by Jimmy Buffett ~~~ Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance? by Bonnie Raitt ~~~ Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots ~~~ Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon by Neil Diamond ~~~ Look? by Southern Sea ~~~ Transatlantacism by Death Cab For Cutie ~~~ Please tune in if you are in earshot of 93.5 FM in Greenville, Texas…if not, look for the podcast on this website, some weeks the podcast will go up, some weeks it won’t and you can enjoy a previous weeks show, it will be a surprise to all of us!

On Saturday night, March 4th 2006 at 8pm, Blackland President John Kent’s first “My Music” show on KIKT radio will debut. JK will be playing favorite cuts from his record collection as well as new music by local Texas bands and pre-release music from national acts. Here is a sneak peek at the first playlist: Dennis Wilson (River Song) The Three-Sixtys (Always My Fault) The Strokes (Reptilia) Hymns (Magazines) Waylon Jennings (Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line) Shooter Jennings (4th of July) Evan Dando (Thousand Dollar Wedding) Son Volt (Live Free) Frantic Flattops (Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out) My Morning Jacket (Just Because I Do) Melba Toast (City Life) Pushrod (Smith & Wesson) Brandon Johnson (If I’d Known) Pavement (Shady Lane) Shivaree (657 Bed B) Hank Williams (I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry) Super Suckers (Roadworn & Weary) Fountains of Wayne (Radiation Vibe) Guided By Voices (Glad Girls) The Supahip (Wouldn’t It Be Good) Ryan Adams (Starting to Hurt) Bright Eyes (Take it Easy - Love Nothing) The Hollies (Look Through Any Window) Bob Marley (One Love) Shuggie Otis (Inspiration Information) David Kent & Howie Kweller (Down in Dallas) The Pierces (A Way To Us) Ryan Madewell (Times Like These) Zeemo (Just a Moment) The Southern Sea (Iowa Mountain Tour) Dennis Wilson (Farewell My Friends) Please tune in if you are in earshot of 93.5 FM in Greenville, Texas…if not, look for the podcast on this website.

HYMNS VALENTINES SHOW: If you and your Valentine (or just you and your bad self) are near the lovely island of Manhattan this evening, please drop by the big FAT BABY club (essex & rivington) for a very special hymns show at 9pm. Not tempted yet: Young Lords will also be Playing Go-Go Dancers will be Dancing (Jason may also dance if tipped generously) Still not tempted? Drinkers will be Drinking (Free Booze from 9-10) That’s all that we can do…get your asses over there!

You better check out the new Hymns website before traffic to the site gets so thick that the entire world wide web grinds to a halt! www.hymnsband.com

Big news from the Big Apple: Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced this morning that Brooklyn based bands Hymns would perform two more shows at the Pussycat Lounge: a March 21st show to mark the official beginning of Spring in Manhattan and a very special Tax Day show on April 15th begining at midnight so that after dropping off their returns at the post office, taxpayers will be treated to the smooth stylings of the Hymns boys.

John Kent, President of Blackland Records, Inc. announced today the official launch of his record label. John, longtime drummer for Ben Kweller/Radish and frontman for Pony League, and his partner Tim Wheeler have been developing the business plan for Blackland over the past year and with the end of John’s recent world tour with Ben feel that the time is right to begin operations. John will now start the process of building the roster of Blackland artists, and expects the label’s first releases to hit the street by late 2005 or early 2006.

OK, now we are getting somewhere…we have a myspace page specificaly for the label at www.myspace.com/blacklandmusic. You can stream a few songs from the upcoming Blackland Records release “Brother / Sister” by Brooklyn based band Hymns and see cool pics of those teen hearthrobs, the Hymns boys. You can also see and hear more Hymns related pics and songs at www.myspace.com/hymnsband. Enjoy.

Please check out the tour section for three (3) new Hymns gigs that have just been finalized. If you are on the fine island of Manhattan on New Years Eve, January 10th or February 4th 2006, please stop by to join the boys for a rockin’ good time!