What happens when one progressively old-fashioned Asthmatic Kitty artist collaborates with a husband and wife independent book press? One very impressive performance! We are pleased to announce that on Thursday, June 26 our own Half-handed Cloud and London’s Henningham Family Press is transforming the Foundry basement into a spinning 12-foot vinyl record which will be used to perform never before seen or heard art! This is an event that will bring live performances and formats to a whole new level.

Half-handed Cloud (John Ringhofer) has always been a fan of releasing his songs in less-used (some might say more ‘antiquated’) formats. His releases in vinyl and cassingles have one over our hearts, and ears. It follows that  with the screen-printing and book-binding talents of David and Ping* Henningham a collaborative event that brings together the pressing of a vinyl record with the pressing of a book would take place.

This FREE event will take place at the Foundry (86th Great Eastern St.) in London on June 26th at 7:30 pm.

Half-handed Cloud is playing, live and right now at Huckleberry’s Pizza Parlor in Rock Island, Illinois, and through the wonders of modern Internet Technology, Daytrotter is kind enough to post the live video!  Click here to watch (and if you’re reading this later, you can browse Daytrotter’s extensive vault and read a terrific piece on Castanets here).

Ok, sure, it’s been a while since Half-handed Cloud released a full-length album. But in this age of alternative distribution methods and so-called "new media," HHC is bravely eschewing the Ringtone n’ MP3 for Vinyl n’ Live.

Via vinyl, HHC just finished up the third in our Unusual Animals vinyl series, taking up one flip of the wax with piano, silvertone guitar, pump organ, trombone, plus snare-drum and floor-tom in a concise two-and-half minute track titled, "Sewing Wind to Fabric."  His friends Bert Hiscock and Nedelle Torrisi (Cryptacize) assisted with this song on cello and violin.  On the other side of the record are grooves that, when played against a specially designed needle, emanate the addictive and confusing Lite FM pop of Ariel Pink, with "Before Today." We are unveiling this little gem in −CH=CH2 form (aka vinyl), complete with cover by illustrator Jared Chapman, here on our website on or around May 20.

As for live: Half-handed Cloud will be touring from home base in California to Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and then back up to New York. They’re traveling this time around with the Olympia-based musical entourage, Lake. Check out Lake’s MySpace page here, and click here to see the complete HHC/Lake tour. Half-handed Cloud has developed quite a following after years of touring, so make sure you show up early!  "Higher than Merry," Lake

If the phrase Gatefold Sleeve and Matte Finish mean anything to you, or you love Half-Handed Cloud like we do, then you’ll want to know that as of today, The Seven Inch Project has released his six-song Winding Currents on a Spool EP as a hand-numbered vinyl pressing in a limited edition of 500. For those of you with turn-tables in storage, MP3’s are included with each purchase. You can only buy these gems from the Seven Inch Project website, or from John of Half-handed Cloud at one of his upcoming shows (details here) when he opens for Why? this weekend.

Speaking of Why? – Half-handed Cloud recorded a multi-part cover of Why? songs for the US version of their Hollows 12" single. You can find-out more information and pre-order this vinyl on Anticon’s website here.

Half-Handed Cloud is all around these days, so there’s only one good way to do this. Close your eyes for a moment, then envision an Indiana Jones style map of musicography, with John Ringhofer of HHC traveling to and fro leaving little red lines tracing his steps.

Now read this (you might have to open your eyes again):

Start at the record label Happy Happy Birthday to Me, where HHC has left a brand new song entitled, "Couple Kings Close the Road on a Giant, part 1." The compilation is only $10, and features many artists including Red Pony Clock, Keith John Adams, the Melody Function, and Men in Fur. Order it here before the limited press runs dry.

Now, draw a red line from there to the Northwest U.S., where HHC is mini-touring with Olympia Washington’s very own hand-clapping-pop band Lake. Stops include Oakland, Arcata, Olympia, Bellingham, Seattle, and of course the Portland Unusual Animals party.  See the dates here, and read more about the party at this news item.

Ok. Cue dramatic John Williams travel music and chart another line from there to the Seven Inch Project, where HHC has created a wonderful and rare artifact, a six-song, 7" vinyl, complete with gatefold sleeve. The 7" hasn’t transpired yet for wide consumption, but if you wait for a bit (and dodge the swinging axes and poison arrow darts) you can order it here.

Tired?  HHC isn’t!  John is covering a medley of WHY? songs for a new WHY? single on Anticon Records due out in November. Visit Anticon’s website often for details.

To Sounds Familyre, HHC heads next, to pen this tale for perusal by the the readers of blogs everywhere. And, yes, his story does involve poison and Scots!

And finally, one last thick red line to home! HHC is adding to the Unusual Animals Vinyl Series here on Asthmatic Kitty with a 7", split right now its vinyl center with the West Coast’s post-angst Ariel Pink. Watch this space for further information.

To be continued . . .!

Think things are quiet on the Half-Handed Cloud front?  We’re about to prove you wrong, with only three fingers. No wait, four fingers!

ONE: John Ringhofer, the brains and brawn behind the band, just drew a gorgeous rendition of the current HHC lineup which you see previewed above. You can click here to see it in all its Flickr glory here.

THREE: Half-Handed Cloud has a new song entitled "Bees Baked a Loaf for Me (or Flour from Flowers?)" on a compilation from Italian record label My Honey.  It’s good! Very beezy! Information to purchase is on their website.

FOUR: We checked our mail the other day and nestled in between the grocery coupons, bills, and flyers for the weekend fish fry was a nice package of 150 copies of Half-Handed Cloud’s limited edition I’m So Sheepy EP! Beautifully crafted and printed by Jonathan Dueck, these 150 discs deserve good homes.  Say, your home looks nice! Buy it here for only $7 plus shipping.

Tyrone Davies of loaf-i productions conjured up this magical video of Half-Handed Cloud’s "Feed Your Sheep a Burning Lamp," from Halos & Lassos. Thanks Tyrone!

Using the crystal clear, bi-directional technology of the Landline Telephone, Half-Handed Cloud will be performing on WMBR 881.FM‘s Phoning It In: Boston, the Radio Show, on January 11, at 7:30pm EST. For the show, Half-Handed Cloud will employ the soothing voice of John Ringhofer, as well as his esteemed guitar and piano prowess.Though always pathbreaking, John will nevertheless be following in the footsteps of the many esteemed musicians that have appeared on Phone It In, including our very own Castanets.

And just because WMBR is recording the show via telephone, no such device is required for listening! If in the Boston area, a radio (quartz or otherwise) tuned to 88.1FM will suffice. No radio?  No air for radio waves to travel over? No problem! "Tune" your favorite Internet World Wide Web browser here at that same time to hear the performance – live!

Once done live(d?), WMBR will archive the performance here, for the future generations that still have internet access after the ice caps flood all continents but Australia.  

[WMBR 88.1FM]
[Castanets on Phoning It In]
[Phoning It In Archive]
[Phoning It in on MySpace]

John Ringhofer (aka Half-handed Cloud), man of many hats, has performed with wind-up sheep, coke-bottle glasses, felted panoramas, and as a cheerleader and militia man (for Sufjan Stevens), to name a few. He plays guitar, banjo, trombone, trumpet, and melodion, sometimes while chewing an apple! Is there anything he can’t do? This month, Mr. Ringhofer tries on a new outfit (military musketeers style, hearts on sleeve) playing bass guitar in the grand and spirited Danielson with the strange and visionary Daniel Smith in the driver’s seat. They are playing all throughout Europe! This will be a tour to remember! Please come out and sing, clap, and dance in support of our road-weary friends as they travel the world bringing you the fruits of rock and roll.

Thur. Nov. 23rd  Brussels, Belgium – AB-Box  w/ Woven Hand
Fri. Nov. 24th  Antwerp, Belgium – Trix  w/ The Long Winters
Sat. Nov. 25th  Liège, Belgium  – L’Escalier
Sun. Nov. 26th  Lille, France – La Malterie
Mon. Nov. 27th  Brighton, England – Komedia
Tue. Nov. 28th  Bristol, England – Thekla
Wed. Nov. 29th Manchester, England – Klondyke Club
Thu. Nov. 30th Glasgow, Scotland – King Tuts   w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Fri. Dec. 1st Hull, UK – The Adelphi Club   w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Sat. Dec. 2nd Nottingham England – The Social w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Sun. Dec. 3rd  London England – The Luminaire w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Mon. Dec. 4th Rouen, France – L’Emporium w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Tue. Dec. 5th  Paris, France – La Maroquinerie   w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Wed. Dec. 6th Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
Thu. Dec. 7th  Utrecht, Netherlands – Theater Kikker w/ JL
Fri. Dec. 8th Darmstadt Germany-Oetinger Villa w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Sat. Dec. 9th  St. Gallen, Switzerland – Palace   w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Sun. Dec. 10th Dudingen Switzerland  Bad Bonn w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Mon. Dec. 11th Lyon, France  Grrrnd Zero w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Tue. Dec. 12th  Barcelona, Spain – La 2   w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Wed. Dec. 13th  Bilbao, Spain – Azkena   w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Thu. Dec. 14th  Bordeaux, France Son’art w/ Jeffrey Lewis
Fri. Dec. 15th Den Haag Netherlands – State X New Forms w/ Sonic Youth

John Ringhofer, the brains and brawn behind Half-Handed Cloud, has released a new single on Sanitary Records. But instead of employing unreliable digital technology like iPods or mp3s, which you might accidentally forget to backup, or which you may or may not own, or may or may not be sued for owning, John has instead opted to provide this single on quality Chromium2 Tape (aka CASSETTE) as part of Sanitary Records retro-revolutionary Cassingle series.  Anyone ever hear of the RIAA while listening to that $90 yellow Sport-Walkman?  Exactly. Maybe Older is the New Newer.

Of course, while you’re checking out Half-Handed Cloud’s Cassingle, make sure you order #5, which features our very own The Curtains.And not only is John shunning Digitalia with music, but also with speech. Sure, he has a new-fangled web-log with which he uses to communicate with the Intertubes. But he talks to people too, using his vocal chords, as demonstrated by two witty and informative pieces. In one discussion with the sfist, John reveals that he’s reading a book by a Swissman that loves his knickers, and at The Other Journal, interviewers Josh Golden and Chris Keller manage to tease out John’s long repressed summer camp memories.

Of course, if you don’t want to mosey off the AK-Ranch just quite yet but feel a hankering for some HHC-action, check out John’s newest sidebar post, which includes 103% more waffles than a cassette or an interview.