Jim Ward, frontman of Sparta and Sleepercar and founding member of At The Drive-In, has released his debut solo album Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six via his own Tembloroso Recordings. The album is a compilation of his acoustic solo EP trilogy – 2007′s Quiet, 2009′s In The Valley, On The Shores, 2011′s The End Begins – paired with an additional disc of select tracks gone electric. In celebration of the release, Ward premiered the electric version of “Decades” on AltPress.com last week; the track is also now available as a free download here. The Zach Passero-directed video (http://youtu.be/M8kP54WS9qc) for the electric version of album track “Broken Songs” premiered on My Old Kentucky Blog last month; the acoustic version, which features Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara, is available as a download today via Amazon’s Free Song of the Day (here).
Following a sold-out hometown El Paso, TX, record release show at The Percolator, Ward is currently in Australia for three dates. He’ll return to the States on August 19th to launch a four and a half week US headlining tour, which begins that night at Club Congress in Tucson, AZ. The tour will take him up the west coast, through the midwest and southwest before wrapping up on September 3rd at The Mohawk in Austin, TX. Ward has also now announced an east coast headlining tour, beginning September 18th at The Earl in Atlanta, GA, and wrapping up September 27th at The Crofoot in Pontiac, MI. These dates include a September 22nd show in Boston supporting Yuck at TT The Bear’s; a September 24th solo show in New York City supporting Rhett Miller at the Highline Ballroom; and a September 25th performance at the Pop Montreal festival. El Paso’s The Lusitania – whose album Rain and Rivers Ward and bandmate Gabriel González produced in their studio, Clap of Thunder – will support on most dates and play as his backing band.
In related touring news, Sparta has announced they will play their first show since 2008 this November in El Paso. They’re confirmed to perform on November 17th at Tricky Falls, the newly renovated venue co-owned by Ward. Sparta - Ward, drummer Tony Hajjar, bassist Matt Miller, and guitarist Keeley Davis – will also head into the studio this fall to begin work on their fourth LP, the follow-up to 2006′s Threes.
Jim Ward Tour Dates:
AUG. 10 SYDNEY, AUS ANNANDALE HOTEL
AUG. 12 MELBOURNE, AUS EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB
AUG. 13 BRISBANE, AUS ALHAMBRA LOUNGE
AUG. 19 TUCSON, AZ CLUB CONGRESS
AUG. 20 SAN DIEGO, CA SODA BAR
AUG. 21 LOS ANGELES, CA THE SATELLITE
AUG. 22 SANTA BARBARA, CA MUDDY WATERS
AUG. 23 SAN FRANCISCO, CA HOTEL UTAH
AUG. 25 SEATTLE, WA SUNSET TAVERN
AUG. 26 VANCOUVER, BC MEDIA CLUB
AUG. 27 PORTLAND, OR THE BUNK BAR
AUG. 30 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 400 BAR
AUG. 31 CHICAGO, IL SCHUBAS
SEPT. 1 UNIVERSITY CITY, MO CICERO’S
SEPT. 2 NORMAN, OK OPOLIS
SEPT. 3 AUSTIN, TX THE MOHAWK
SEPT. 18 ATLANTA, GA THE EARL
SEPT. 19 CHAPEL HILL, NC LOCAL 506
SEPT. 20 WASHINGTON, DC DC9
SEPT. 21 PHILADELPHIA, PA MILKBOY
SEPT. 22 BOSTON, MA TT THE BEAR’S#
SEPT. 24 NEW YORK, NY HIGHLINE BALLROOM%
SEPT. 25 MONTREAL, QC LE CAGIBI (POP MONTREAL)
SEPT. 26 TORONTO, ON HORSESHOE TAVERN
SEPT. 27 PONTIAC, MI THE CROFOOT
* The Lusitania support on 8/19-9/22, 9/25-27
# supporting Yuck
% solo show supporting Rhett Miller
Sparta Tour Dates:
NOV. 17 EL PASO, TX TRICKY FALLS
