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
No details yet.

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.

Disclaimer: This blog post contains some potentially boring updates about this website that I hope you take a moment to read anyway.

1.  FEATURED VIDYAS. I’m trying out a new feature on the front page.  “Featured Videos” is what I’ve decided to call it after many moments of deliberation and arguing with myself.  It’s simply a place to showcase a current must-see Tally Hall video and a must-see fan-made video.  The idea is to grab the attention of people not too familiar with Tally Hall and show them the current, most interesting videos on YouTube.  Today, we’ll launch this feature with the current Boralogue and one of the best covers of a Tally Hall song in recent history.

2.  SOCIAL MEDIUMS. For those who may not have noticed, HITS has a presence on all the major social media outlets.  Tumblr, FriendFeed, Myspace, YouTube, and of course Twitter, Facebook, and LiveJournal.  There are icons in the Main Menu at the top to all these places.  Tumblr proved to be a great place to combine all the major feeds of HITS and string them together for everyone.  But apparently Mr. Tumblr requires a log-in at least once a week or else they stop importing those feeds (which has happened twice already, since I thought I could “SET IT AND FORGET IT!”).  So if you use Tumblr, please follow HITS so I know you’re using it or else I’m gonna kill it off.

You can also find these links at the bottom of every page, now.  Almost 2 months after The Tally Hallmanac was launched, Google still barely knows about it.  So I’ve added text links to the bottom of every page in hopes that Google will be able to find the darned thing.

3. FLASH ANIMATOR. I’ve been desperately seeking a Flash animator to help me with a HITS-related project for a while, now.  Can’t seem to find one.  Do you know someone?  Please have them get in touch with me ASAP!

4. GET INVOLVED. Remember, HITS is not a place to just view information.  It’s a place for everyone to provide information.  Since there’s no tour at the moment, the FanJournals and Galleries are seeing no action.  But the entire Tally Hallmanac wiki is open to the public to share what you know.

WAIT A MINUTE…….. TOUR..!!  I JUST REMEMBERED!   TALLY HALL’S TOUR WITH ROONEY AND CRASH KINGS STARTS NEXT FREAKING WEEKEND!
I sure hope you’ve bought your tickets!  I have.  I’ll be at the West Chester, PA show wearing my HITS t-shirt.  Hold on, I need to start a new numbered list item….

5. HITS SCHWAG SHOP. Seriously, in the HITS menu at the top… click ETC. and then SCHWAG SHOP.  This is how you get your official HITS gear to wear to shows and show off your super-fandom-ness.  OK, here’s a quick link to The HITS Schwag Shop.  See you soon!

Update: The dates keep slowly trickling in. I’m adding a “NEW” next to the most recently added dates.

Rooney Tour Poster

It’s my understanding (although I have not received official confirmation) that Tally Hall is finally beginning to record their long-awaited major label debut record. Yes, debut. Since Marvin’s was essentially all done before the Atlantic signing, neither the band or Atlantic considered it “Atlantic’s”. So this forthcoming release will hopefully have the big push behind it that we all know it deserves.

Based on my own calculations, they’ll probably be out there from around now until mid-November. At that time, they’re going to tour around a little with Rooney. This will probably not be an international tour by any means. I suspect the purpose is to revisit areas they’ve played to inform the people “the new album’s coming, here’s some music from it, and please keep in touch so you know when it comes out so you can buy it.”

Maybe they will tour their way back to NYC, hooking up with other bands along the way? Whatever the case may be, don’t get upset if you don’t see your city listed below. The tour you’re gonna want to really pay attention to is the one that happens around the time the album is released, which I’m still predicting will be in the first quarter of 2010.

Keep an eye on this blog entry, befriend HITS on Facebook, or follow HITS on Twitter as they will all be updated when more info comes in (and more info will be coming in!).

So far, all the dates are opening for Rooney except those that are detailed otherwise. EDIT: Crash Kings will be joining for many/all dates. Harper Simon is also listed as an opener for some dates. Here are the dates we’re aware of:

11/27/09
Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
8pm | ALL AGES
w/ Rooney and Crash Kings
Tix: PURCHASE

11/28/09
Pomona, CA – The Glass House
7pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

11/29/09
San Fransisco, CA – Slim’s
8pm | Ages: 6+
Tix: PURCHASE

12/1/09
Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
8pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/2/09
Seattle, WA – El Corazòn
8pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/4/09 NEW
Orem, UT – Hillside Elementary School
?pm | Ages: ?
Tix: ?

12/4/09
Salt Lake City, UT – In the Venue
6:30pm | Ages: 18+
Tix: PURCHASE

12/5/09
Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
9pm | Ages: 16+
Tix: PURCHASE

12/7/09
St. Paul, MN – Station 4
8:30pm | Ages: 18+
Tix: PURCHASE

12/8/09
Chicago, IL – House of Blues
6:30pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/9/09
Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre THE MAGIC STICK
EDIT 12/8: THIS SHOW HAS BEEN MOVED FROM THE MAJESTIC THEATRE TO THE MAGIC STICK (Which appears to be a different stage in the same building)
7pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/10/09
Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
8:30pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/11/09
New York, NY – Webster Hall
6pm | Ages: 19+
Tix: PURCHASE

12/12/09
Baltimore, MD – Sonar Club Stage
7pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/13/09
Cambridge, MA – The Middle East Club (Downstairs)
8pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/14/09
West Chester, PA – The Note (Bam Margera’s club)
7pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/16/09
Atlanta, GA – The Loft
8:30pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/17/09
New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s Uptown
10pm | Ages: 18+
Tix: PURCHASE

12/18/09
Houston, TX – The Meridian
6:30pm | ALL AGES* (*read this)
(Tix are on sale, but Ticketmaster isn’t showing link yet) PURCHASE

12/19/09
Austin, TX – Emo’s
10:45pm | ALL AGES
Tix: PURCHASE

12/20/09
Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre
7pm | Ages: 14+
w/ Rooney and Crash Kings
Tix: PURCHASE

TALLY HALL WILL NOT BE ON THE FOLLOWING WILD ONE TOUR DATE:
12/22/09 NEW
Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
7pm | ALL AGES
w/ Rooney and Crash Kings
Tix: PURCHASE

Hear ye, hear ye! Tally Hallics, Tally Phobics, and all Tally Hall Monitors alike!
HIDDENINTHESAND.COM version 2.5 IS HERE!

I’ve been working for the last couple months (albeit slowly) on a more efficient design for HITS and I’m very excited to finally present it to you. There are lots of improvements found all around the site — plus a few totally new things going on. I’m calling it 2.5, but I’ve never really officially kept track of site versions till now. This is big enough of a change to call it 3.0, but the over-all “look” of the site didn’t change too much, so I’m giving it the ol’ 2.5. It’s basically what Snow Leopard is to Leopard (for you Mac Heads out there).

Anyway, I hope you’ll take a moment to read about all that’s gone into this version and seeing what’s new:

Read more »