Ever since the band was booked for the Ann Arbor Art Fair this coming Friday (July 23rd), people have been wondering if Joe will be joining Tally Hall on stage since he was absent from the band’s most recent tour back in March; the reasons of which have never been officially revealed.

As of a few weeks ago, I asked the band if they could give me an official answer on if Joe will be performing at this show. I was told that no official answer could be given at this time.

Tonight, I was informed that another fan wrote to Andrew asking the question again and received a response. The following is an excerpt from it, which I regretfully must pass on to you all:

“Joe will not be performing at the Ann Arbor show.”

This is now, obviously, much more than a fluke. This does not bode well for Mr. Hawley.

Yes, there are some things I know about the situation but there are WAY more things about it that I do NOT know… and I have to take a stand at this point and make a public plea to the band that they make some sort of official statement about what’s going on in the near future.

EDIT:  Casey Shea has informed me that he will be filling Joe’s shoes once again, as he did during the March tour, for this show in Ann Arbor tomorrow. (7/22/10 4:56pm)

UPDATE: I’m told the information regarding this rumor is incorrect.
Apologies to Tally Hall and the readers of Hidden In The Sand.

Hello, all. I know a lot of people have been wondering where Tally Hall will be during SXSW 2010.
I just got these directly from Andrew:

THURSDAY, MARCH 18th
12:15am – Emo’s JR – official SXSW showcase – 603 Red River

FRIDAY, MARCH 19th
3:45pm – Six Degrees of Chain Reaction Dayparty – District 301 – 301 West 6th

SATURDAY, MARCH 20th
4:30pm – Carrera Escape – The Cedar Door – 201 Brazos (acoustic show)

I’m sorry, I don’t know any further details like age restrictions. The band will hopefully be posting more info soon – or just contact the venue ahead of time.

It’s been a hectic time for your ol’ pal Coz, trying to keep up on all that’s happening with Tally Hall this week. More updates have been tweeted in these last few days than ever before. It would have been easy for many to have missed something important.

So let’s recap what’s happened up to this moment:

• The tour with Jukebox The Ghost & Skybox began.
• Joe is MIA for this tour. He is “OK” but at the last minute, he had to bow out for reasons unknown. Casey Shea was selected as Joe’s replacement.
• They debut a new song called Who You Are and re-title the song “The Gap” into “The Trap” and play both on the first night of the tour. [UPDATE:  Who You Are was previously known by the name "You Are" and was played during the Union Hall residency in February 2009] Listen to The Trap HERE.
• They debut the long-rumored song “Out In The Twilight” on the 2nd night of the tour in NYC. Listen HERE.
• The album title is revealed! It’s gonna be called Good & Evil. The release date has yet to be announced but there’s a possibility that the date was decided last night after the Bowery Ballroom show. The interview in which the title was revealed is a very informative read. See it HERE.
• Jill publishes her FanJournal on HITS Blogs of the 3/3 show in Boston. LINK.
• J2 publishes his FanJournal on HITS Blogs of the 3/4 show in NYC. LINK.
• Jill uploads photos from 3/3/10 (Great Scott) to HITS Galleries. LINK.
• Peter uploads photos from 3/4/10 (Bowery Ballroom) to HITS Galleries. LINK.
• After inspection of the setlists provided in the FanJournals, it’s noted that there are no NEW “Joe songs” being played so far, but this could just be because Joe sings the lead in them and Casey doesn’t know them yet.
• Casey Shea writes a short blog on his experience with Tally Hall so far and sheds some light on how they met (even though many of us old-timers remember when they played together first). http://caseysheamusic.com/blog/?p=3156

That’s all for now.  I know some people are starting to reconsider going to their respective future tour date, but I urge you to go.  Not only is the uniqueness of this event (first time (hopefully last time) without Joe) worth it alone, but they are changing the songs around slightly to account for Casey’s not-yet-total comprehension of the songs.  And people are still having amazing times at these shows, from what I see on the Twitterverse.  And uh, in the very worst case scenario, since we’re all still trying to figure out what’s going on with Joe, you kinda have to consider that this might be the last time they ever tour.  Just sayin’.

According to an interview just published at AnnArbor.com, the title of Tally Hall’s upcoming new album will be called GOOD & EVIL.

Source: http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/tally-hall-preview/

All information known about Good & Evil remains in the same place on the Tally Hallmanac wiki page, which has now been renamed.
http://www.hiddeninthesand.com/wiki/index.php?title=Good_&_Evil

Beginning tomorrow, Jukebox The Ghost teams up with Tally Hall and Skybox to tour the eastern and southern US, including the SXSW festival.

Hiddeninthsand.com has been given the opportunity to interview Jukebox The Ghost (who, like HITS, calls Philly its home).  I know there’s a lot of Tally Hall fans out there who’ve gotten into JTG recently… and I know others would like to know more.  So I’m leaving it up to YOU guys to tell me what YOU want to know about Jukebox The Ghost!

Leave your questions below as comments, or send them to me via Twitter, Facebook, or email them in!

But hurry… I stop accepting them on Sunday night, March 7th!

And keep your browsers tuned to HITS Blogs for the full interview to be posted once completed!

Since HITS Blogs was introduced as a group blog powered by WordPress in June of 2009, I’ve been trying desperately to get some sort of oAuth working; a way for people to not have to create a user account on HITS Blogs and instead log in using their Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. accounts.  Anything to make it easier and encourage more participation, y’know?

So for awhile I had Google FriendConnect login option, but that was causing too much confusion.  The Facebook plugins all seem to conflict with some other plugin and I’ve never been able to get that working successfully.   OOooooh, so frustrating!

BUT NOW… I think I’ve found a Twitter one that, so far, seems to work perfectly.

So — unless we encounter any issues down the road, you can now log in to HITS Blogs the usual way, or by using your Twitter account.  Use it to leave comments or write your own HITS Blog to share with the world!

NEW CATEGORY!!!!

Due to some requests on the Tally Hall forums, a new Fan Fiction category has been added.  Get creative.  Have fun.  Keep it clean, ladies… *suspicious glare*

As previously reported/rumored, Tally Hall will be joining Jukebox The Ghost and Skybox on a tour in Spring 2010 which mainly focuses on the east coast and a little mid-west….  PLUS an extended stay in Texas to play at South By Southwest again!

Skybox has posted the dates on their website and JTG has posted them on their Myspace. So here, for all the Tally Hall fans, I shall bring you the list of dates as I know them:

UPDATE:  The lineup for each night will put Skybox on first.  Most shows list Tally Hall as the headlining (final) act but there are a few that indicate Jukebox The Ghost is the closer.  I have indicated these shows using the # and @ symbols (a key is at the bottom).   All shows will feature all three bands, but each venue may decide to include another local act into the very beginning of the lineup.

March 3, 2010 – Great Scott – Alston, MA #
Doors at 9pm | 18+ | TICKETS

March 4, 2010 -  Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY #
Doors at 7:30pm | 16+ | TICKETS (on sale 1/20)

March 5, 2010 – The Haunt - Ithaca, NY #
Show starts at 8pm | ALL AGES | TICKETS

March 6, 2010 – Toquet Student Coffee House – Westport, CT ?
No details yet.

March 7, 2010 - Mr. Smalls – Millvale, PA #
Doors at 7pm | ALL AGES | TICKETS

March 9, 2010 - The Blind Pig – Ann Arbor, MI #
Doors at 8pm | ALL AGES | TICKETS

March 10, 2010 – The Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI #
Doors at 7pm | ALL AGES | TICKETS (on sale 1/21)

March 11, 2010 – The Frequency – Madison, WI #
TBA | 21+ | TICKETS

March 12, 2010 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL #
Doors at 7pm | ALL AGES | TICKETS

March 13, 2010 – Firebird – St. Louis, MO #
Doors at 7:30pm | ALL AGES | TICKETS

March 15, 2010 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX ?
No details yet.

March 16, 2010 – House of Blues – Houston, TX ?
No details yet.

March 17-20, 2010 – South By Southwest – Austin, TX

SXSW SCHEDULE HERE: http://www.hiddeninthesand.com/blogs/2010/03/tally-halls-2010-sxsw-schedule

March 22, 2010 – Rocketown – Nashville, TN ?
No details yet.

March 23, 2010 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA #
Doors at 8:30pm | 21+ | TICKETS

March 24, 2010 – Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC ?
No details yet.

March 25, 2010 – The Black Cat – Washington DC @
Doors at 8pm | ALL AGES | TICKETS

March 26, 2010 - Sonar (Club Stage) – Baltimore, MD #
Doors at 8pm | ALL AGES | TICKETS

March 27, 2010 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA @
Doors at 8pm | 21+ | TICKETS

# = Tally Hall is listed as the headliner
@ = Jukebox The Ghost is listed as the headliner
? = Headliner is undeterminable

QUESTIONS ASKED:

1. ANDREW: Before Marvin’s was made, the band’s creative process, as I understood it, was 80% individual and 20% collaborative concerning the songwriting process. Is this album written in the same manner? Has the band’s approach to songwriting changed?
2. JOE: What song in history do you wish you’d written?
3. ROSS:  The fans love the Boralogues. Is the final content decided by the band, your management, the label, or Bora himself?  We’ve gotten a kick out of analyzing them to figure out what’ll be on the album.  Is there  a conscious decision on letting some of those nearly-hidden teases be visible?
4. ZUBIN:  There was some annoyance on the part of you guys during the release of MMMM because most, if not all, of the songs had been heard by many people beforehand. We’ve seen/heard a lot via Boralogues and live shows…. are you leaving any surprises?
5. ROB:  What do you want people to admire most about Tally Hall?
6. ANDREW:  From what I know, it’s a whole different ballgame once you’re signed with a major label.  What’s been the most surprising aspect (good or bad) since you’ve signed with Atlantic?
7. JOE:  Where does The Tally Hall Internet Show season 2 stand?
8. ROSS:  The creative output has really been stunted over the last 4 years with all the record label signings and touring. There’s probably a lot more than just this record you wish to start putting out there again. With all this is mind, where do you see Tally Hall in 5 years?
9. ZUBIN:  You often use lots of additional orchestration in your studio recordings. Have you ever considered adding additional members to the band?
10. ROB: Earlier indications of a concept album have faded.  But there is a definite theme and what appears to be some medley-eque concepts happening.  What can you say about that?
11. ANDREW:  This is technically the second time you’ve recorded with Atlantic, the first time being general polish-work on Marvin’s, which probably gave you somewhat of an idea how they work.  Is anything different this time around? (How did the decision to hire Tony Hoffer as producer happen?)
12. JOE:  Are any new music videos in the planning stages? (Who decides which songs get released as singles w/ videos)
13. ROSS:  You’ll have a tour in Spring 2010 to promote the release. Its rumored to be with Jukebox The Ghost and Skybox. Are there plans for international touring?
14. ZUBIN:  What do you NOT want people to admire about Tally Hall?
15. ROB: Which song of Tally Hall’s that was not your own composition do you wish you wrote?
16. ANDREW:  Leigh Lust appears to get the most credit for getting you signed with Atlantic.  Tell me about how that happened.
17. JOE:  Whats the most challenging thing about being in Tally Hall?
18. ROSS: Zubin has one song (more?) on this record. Do you plan on, or have you done any songwriting?
19. ZUBIN:  You’ve progressed from wonky to fabloo.  What kind of music is Tally Hall writing now? (Do you regret the whole wonky/fabloo thing?)
20. ROB:  What’s the story behind Light & Night, your collaborative song with Nellie McKay?  Who wrote it, how’d it come about, how’d you hook up with Nellie? (Was there supposed to be more of a commercial release behind it?)

To find out the answers, please watch the videos below!

Read more »

The website www.concertideas.com is reporting Tally Hall, Jukebox The Ghost, and Skybox will be touring together and are looking to book in the northeast on March 5 and 6, which tells me this is the hopeful start to their tour to promote the new album.

If so, this could mean a release date just prior of the tours’ start. Could we be looking at a late February release? Maybe March 2nd (which is a Tuesday, the day all new music is released)?

This information is not yet confirmed, though, so consider it all rumors and speculation at this point.