Tonight in Central Park, NYC! John Roderick will sing a duet with Aimee Mann as part of the SummerStage 25th anniversary celebration, featuring the songbook of Simon and Garfunkel. More information can be found here.

The Long Winters have definitely put the 'long' back in 'taking a long time to make a new album', and we're not complaining (too much) because we know that whenever it's done it'll be great. However, we were very excited to learn that John Roderick recently recorded a very special acoustic version of not moving to portland with his and our friend, the amazing and talented Kathleen Edwards, and that he has donated the recording to the excellent and worthy local charity project GIVE Seattle. You can watch a charming video that John made for the song and learn more about the project on the GIVE Seattle site, but basically, for a very reasonable price, you can get exclusive songs from a ton of Seattle bands and songwriters, including Barsuk family like Pearly Gate Music, David Bazan, and Ben Gibbard.

The new DVD from The Long Winters and DorsiaFilms, live at the showbox, is out now, and it's incredible. Recorded in Dolby 5.1 surround sound, and featuring bonus commentary by John Roderick and The Long Winters, and a preview of the forthcoming Long Winters documentary, the new DVD is a must-have for both fans of The Long Winters and fans of the rock 'n' roll spirit in general. Shot at the final show of an expansive North American tour, at the largest Seattle venue the band has ever played, live at the showbox captures the infectious enthusiasm of a group of road warriors celebrating a triumphant homecoming.

We have a limited number of copies, so get yours soon!

John and Nabil from The Long Winters will be doing a special all-grunge, all-vinyl DJ set at Linda's in Seattle (707 E. Pine St) from 9-12 on Wednesday night 7/9. Happy 20th anniversary, Sub Pop!

There's a great interview up at Spin, in which John Roderick of The Long Winters talks about preparations for recording their next album (which we hope will be out in early 2009). Read the article, or listen to the phone conversation now on Spin.com.

On Saturday, April 19, independent music stores across the country will be taking part in the first annual Record Store Day, celebrating those wonderful and unique places where music fans can find satisfaction. Several of Barsuk's artists will be taking part in this event — be sure to check out your local record store to find out what events they have planned.

Here's where you can find our bands:

• Aqueduct performance at Sonic Boom (Ballard) in Seattle, WA at 4pm
• Mates of State performance at Newbury Comics (on Newbury Street) in Boston, MA at noon
• Menomena foosball tournament at Jackpot Records (SW 9th) in Portland, OR from 1pm to 3pm — anyone who beats the band members at foosball will have their name put into a hat; at the end of the tournament, one lucky winner will win a special gift. The band will also be DJ'ing during the event.
• Nada Surf performance at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ 2:30pm
• John Roderick (The Long Winters) DJ set at Sonic Boom (Capitol Hill) in Seattle, WA at 3pm
• Jesse Sykes performance at Easy Street (Queen Anne) in Seattle, WA at 5pm

The concept: gather together a bunch of bands in a house that will be destroyed. All bands play one song each, and perform their song twice, and then the house is destroyed. Capture everything on film, and release it on DVD.

For the Seattle edition, Death Cab's Ben Gibbard gathered together a bunch of great local bands: The Long Winters, Jesse Sykes, David Bazan, Harvey Danger, Tiny Vipers, The Cave Singers, Minus The Bear, Eddie Vedder, Kinski, Spook The Horse, The Can't See, The Blue Scholars, Triumph of Lethargy Skinned To Death, and, of course, himself. Released by Trixie DVD, but available here while supplies last.