The Phantom Tollbooth’s News

30th January 2006

Steve Taylor and Michael W. Smith live radio/podcast interview this Wednesday

The Second Chance movie producer, writer, director Steve Taylor and one of the movie’s stars, Michael W. Smith, will be interviewed on the Moody Bible Network’s show Open Line this Wednesday, February 1, 2006, at 8 p.m. Central Standard Time. The broadcast can be heard on MBN radio stations, via live Internet feed, or by podcast. The Second Chance debuts in select markets February 17, 2006.

Station listing: http://mbn.org/GenMoody/default.asp?sectionID=0C1D2DEAB0EC400EB675397E4FE6904A

Live streaming: http://mbn.org/GenMoody/default.asp#

Podcast: http://www.mbn.org/Media/podcasts/openline_pods.asp

Movie homepage: http://www.thesecondchancemovie.com


Miracles of Jesus TV Special Released on DVD

Discovery Channel will be releasing the Miracles of Jesus featuring illusionist Brock Gill February 1, 2006 as a DVD set that includes all three episodes of the special. With a two and a half hour run time, the DVD’s will be available for purchase at www.discoverystore.com for $44.95. The Phantom Tollbooth interview with illusionist Brock Gill is located at: http://www.tollbooth.org/2006/features/gill.html

Viewers tuned in to see Illusionist Brock Gill featured on the Discovery Channel’s the Miracles of Jesus TV special that aired Christmas Eve.

For centuries critics have claimed that Jesus’ miracles never happened or that they were purely illusions. As the lead investigator for the Miracles of Jesus, Brock presents an objective look at the miracles Jesus performed and investigates whether they were illusions or reality. His journey took him throughout the Middle East and Holy Lands, as he ventures to find out: Can ancient miracles be re-created using 21st century technology?

Part of the program was shot on location in Malta at the Mediterranean Film Studios, sharing the space with Steven Spielberg as they worked on Munich. The main actor who played Jesus in the Miracles of Jesus was George Calil, who may be best known for his role in Band of Brothers.

The show also received high marks from a prominent group of leaders, including international evangelist Luis Palau, author Mark Mittelberg, pastor Harry Reeder and apologist Craig Branch. LifeWay Church Resources also encouraged more than 13,000 affiliated student leaders to tune in to and promote the special.

For more information on Brock Gill and the Miracles of Jesus, visit www.brockgill.com.


27th January 2006

Generator Stages, Ride Board return to Cornerstone, Early Access ends soon, New Band Showcase contest underway.

http://www.cornerstonefestival.com

Cornerstone Festival will feature DIY generator stages throughout the event. Click here for the announcement.

The Ride Board is open. Sponsored by The Phantom Tollbooth, this year’s site is hosted on a full-featured forum for ease of use. “The Ride Board is surprisingly popular. It connects people from across the country and around the world who are eager to attend this unique Christian arts and music festival,” said Linda LaFianza, co-publisher of The Phantom Tollbooth. “It harkens back to the generosity and enthusiasm exhibited among believers during the Jesus Movement.”

The New Band Showcase contest, sponsored by Greenville College, is now accepting applications. go to http://cornerstonefestival.com/newbandshowcase.cfm for all the details.

Early access ticket sales end January 31st go to http://www.cornerstonefestival.com for all the details.


26th January 2006

Mutemath tour kicks off with sellouts and CBS’s Late, Late Show

Mutemath is kicking off their CD release party strong with sold out shows and an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’s on CBS Wednesday, February 1st.

For a complete list of tour dates, sample songs and a video blog, go to http://www.myspace.com/mutemath


24th January 2006

Further Seems Forever announces breakup

Further Seems Forever has the following statement on their website, http://furtherseemsforever.com/:

After seven years as a band with various lineups, 3 records and over a thousand shows, FSF agree it is time to move on to other things in our lives. We have enjoyed touring the world over these years, and meeting all of our incredible fans. All of the members of FSF remain the best of friends and look forward to the future, whatever it may bring.

Further Seems Forever will be playing our final shows in early 2006. They will be with the full electric band. We will be doing spot shows in various cities across the country and Canada. We will do our best to play as many places as possible but several members now have full-time jobs and other full time commitments. We hope to see all our fans out at the shows and look forward to playing for you one more time.

We won’t be recording a new record but there will be some unreleased material coming out as well as a DVD with live footage and videos.

We would like to thank all the people and bands who helped our band over the years and made it possible for us to do what we love. Without them behind the scenes we simply couldn’t have done this. Special thanks goes out to our families whose love, encouragement and understanding made it possible to be in this band.

We will be keeping our MySpace page current and you can check that page as well as this site for new info on shows, the DVD and any other FSF related news.

We wish everyone a great new year and hope to see you soon.

Jon, Derick, Josh, Chad and Steve
Further Seems Forever


23rd January 2006

Second Chance movie offers a chance to win a Michael W. Smith performance at your church

In conjunction with the release of the new Steve Taylor movie, The Second Chance, for each group purchase of fifty (50) tickets or more during the film’s opening weekend of February 17-19, 2006, the group will be entered to win a chance to have Michael W. Smith come lead worship music at their church. Go to http://www.thesecondchancemovie.com for more details.


21st January 2006

Dylan Virelease

BOB DYLAN - 1975-1982:
ROLLING THUNDER & THE GOSPEL YEARS
Available on DVD
April 4, 2006
Through Music Video Distributors

Music Video Distributors and Highway 61 are pleased to announce the home viewing release of BOB DYLAN - 1975-1982: ROLLING THUNDER & THE GOSPEL YEARS for worldwide distribution on DVD.


20th January 2006

P.O.D. testifies on MTV

With “Testify” releasing this Tuesday, there is so much to be done. So they have asked the P.O.D. Promotions Crew to get the word out to all the Warriors Worldwide! As P.O.D. headed to New York to take over the MTV TRL Studios, they made a stop in Dallas where “Goodbye For Now” is currently #1 on KDGE.

In case you missed yesterdays premiere of the “Goodbye For Now” video or the MTV 2 Special “P.O.D. Makes A Video” you will have more opportunities to do so today, as MTV2 will air it a couple more times. P.O.D. will be the live in-house band on TRL today as well as part of the “Spanking New Rock Week”. P.O.D. is reported to perform 6 songs on TRL. So tune in and get those TiVo’s ready! Be sure to check local listings for all times, because you will not want to miss this special appearance.


19th January 2006

Audio Adrenaline says ‘adios’

One of the industry’s top bands, Audio Adrenaline announced it will add a final chapter to its substantial career with Adios, slated to release later this year. After 15-years of music and mission, Audio Adrenaline is choosing to say “adios,” offering one more nod to its considerable fan base with the album and select live events.

After years of giving his all on stage and in the studio, Audio Adrenaline frontman Mark Stuart is experiencing ongoing vocal challenges. After consulting with doctors, it is clear the toll his voice has taken will prevent his ability to continue a consistent live performance schedule.

“Fifteen years of rock ‘n’ roll takes a toll on the vocal chords, but I wouldn’t trade a day of it for anything,” says Stuart. “Touring and making records with Will, Ben and Tyler has truly been a gift from God, as well as worshiping night after night with the greatest fans on the planet.”

With plans for Adios in its initial stages, fans can anticipate a commemorative look at the expansive career of Audio Adrenaline through the band’s greatest hits along with two newly recorded songs. A special edition Adios package is slated to include a DVD containing all Audio Adrenaline videos, live performance footage and new band interviews. This package will also feature interviews from artists impacted by Audio Adrenaline, including tobyMac and Steven Curtis Chapman, as well as members of MercyMe, Pillar, Relient K and Newsboys, each talking about their shared tour experiences and favorite memories of Audio Adrenaline.


18th January 2006

Switchfoot announcing spring tour

The guys in Switchfoot write, “We wanted to make sure you heard it first, from us, before the press release goes out, that we are planning on announcing our spring tour dates next week. The online pre-sale will begin shortly afterwards, so keep an eye out for the pre-sale, as those tickets always go really quickly.

“In other news, we edited a live video montage together from the fall tour for our new single, “One Tonight.” This isn’t a video for the masses, MTV, or anyone else. This is simply a video to thank everyone who came to the shows this fall for an amazing tour. I’m sure a lot of you will even see yourselves somewhere amidst the chaos. And speaking of new videos, we’ll begin filming our new “official” (whatever that means) video for “One Tonight” towards the end of this month, and we’re really excited about the concept… we think you’ll dig it too. Without giving too much away, it’s something about a ladder, a poodle, and the color blue.”

Also, our first show of the new year will include fireworks and snow, which is always an exciting combination:
1/23 - near Salt Lake City (during the Sundance Film Festival) — free show!! for details, check out: http://www.thecanyons.com/otm/eventsdetail.aspx?id=-7867965117602203470

“And lastly, (and I do mean lastly), we’ll be playing the Last Call with Carson Daily show on January 24th, so if your a night owl, or a TIVO geek, or just a geek, mark your calendars… I know I will!”


15th January 2006

Rundman returns from sabbatical

Here’s a name that hasn’t graced the Tollbooth’s news site in a while. Folk-rock singer/songwriter Jonathan Rundman, who has been on sabbatical since July of 2005, will return to his touring and performing schedule with shows in the Twin Cities this month.

Tuesday, January 17th, 9PM
Minnesota Music Academy Annual Meeting and Showcase
Turf Club
1601 University Ave
St. Paul, MN
651-647-0486
http://www.turfclub.net/
Jonathan plays a 30 minute acoustic set.

Sunday, January 22nd, 7PM, $5 (or $15 per family)
Edina Community Lutheran Church
4113 W 54th St
Edina, MN
952-926-3808
http://www.eclc.org/
Jonathan’s official post-sabbatical return show in America!

Back in July of 2005 Jonathan Rundman announced that he would be going on sabbatical for the remainder of the year. Rundman had been touring the country as a full-time performing songwriter since 1996, and this would be the first significant break in his schedule. Rundman used his time this past Fall to lay low in Minneapolis, rest, and care for his 2-year-old son. While Rundman was staying at home, his music continued to find its way out to the world. In the past two months Jonathan Rundman’s songs have been licensed for use in an upcoming BBC documentary film “Specky,” and have been featured as thematic music on daytime TV talk program The Ellen Degeneres Show.

Now in 2006, Rundman has begun his tenth year as an independent musician and has returned to performing and traveling. Two weeks ago he journeyed to Finland and Sweden, playing his first post-sabbatical shows at Bar Mendocino in Helsinki and at Club Mondo in Stockholm. Additional shows are already scheduled in Arizona, Wisconsin, Texas, South Dakota, and Chicago for later in 2006. His first official post-sabbatical show in America will be on January 22nd in Edina, MN, as part of the concert series at Edina Community Lutheran Church.

Rundman was born and raised in the Finnish communities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He emerged on the national music scene in the late 90s as Chicago-based folk/pop touring artist. In 2002 Rundman relocated to Minneapolis.

Rundman’s newest CD Public Library, released in late 2004, is produced by Walter Salas-Humara of acclaimed Americana band The Silos, and features The Silos and other New York indie-rock luminaries as Rundman’s backing band.

Jonathan Rundman’s songwriting has earned much critical acclaim since he began his full-time touring career. His three previous solo albums have been likened to the work of other Midwest natives such as Marshall Crenshaw, Paul Westerberg, Liz Phair, and Matthew Sweet.


Flaming Fish closes online store

Big things are about to happen here in the next couple months with Flaming Fish, long known as the place to go for industrial and electronica. Don’t believe me? Check this out: “We’re closing the online store. “WHAT?!?!,” you say? OK - it’s not as crazy as it sounds. On Feb. 1 we are selling the store to another guy, who will continue on with it. The guy in question is Kelson Herr - he’s been handling the FFM orders for the past 6 months and also runs Greenhorn Records. I’m totally confident that he will do a great job! The new store will be located at antiphonic.com, but we’ll have a link to it, so don’t worry about memorizing that just yet.”

“In order to make the store transfer as simple as possible, we’re going to try to sell off as much of our current inventory as we can. If you’re reading this and want to place an order, just enter the coupon code “06FFM10″ in the checkout thingy and you’ll get 10%. This is for the month of January only. Also, watch for other specials throughout the month. One note: we’re already getting low on a lot of items and once they sell, they’re gone so you may not to wait too long on some things.”

“Probably the only item that will make it in time for this sale is Automata 9.0, which is now in the store. Get it - it’s a good one! Check out the details here: http://flamingfish.com/storev2/customer/product.php?productid=16464
Coming soon (probably February): full-length albums by Voxis and Breather, as well as a limited edition release of some rare Sorrow of Seven/Aleixia/Sill material. More details later.”


This Holiday Life plans release party

The band said, “We’re excited to usher in 2006 with a brand new, full-length record, FRICTON. Join us on Jan. 28th as we celebrate at our all-ages San Diego CD Release Party!”

Preview tracks from FRICTION at MySpace.com/thisholidaylife


Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan on tour

David Bazan will have a solo show on 01/25 Wed - Columbia SC - University of South Carolina

Then David will be touring with Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), Will Johnson (Centro-matic), and Vic Chesutt as part of the Undertow Orchestra Tour. They’ll all be onstage together, taking turns playing songs while the others back them up on various instruments. Don’t miss this amazing tour.

Wed. Feb. 8 : Athens, GA / 40-Watt Club
Thurs. Feb. 9 : Carrboro, NC / Carrboro Arts Center
Fri. Feb. 10 : Arlington, VA / IOTA
Sat. Feb. 11 : Arlington, VA / IOTA
Sun. Feb. 12 : Philadelphia, PA / World Cafe Live
Mon. Feb. 13 : New York, NY / Bowery Ballroom
Tues. Feb. 14 : Boston, MA / Museum of Fine Arts
Thurs. Feb. 16 : Grand Rapids, MI / Calvin College of Fine Arts
Fri. Feb 17 : Chicago, IL / Park West
Sat. Feb. 18 : Madison, WI / Orpheum Stage Door
Sun. Feb. 19 : Minneapolis, MN / First Avenue
Mon. Feb. 20 : Ames, IA / Maintenance Shop
Tues. Feb. 21 : Lawrence, KS / Granada Theater
Thurs. Feb. 23 : Denton, TX / Hailey’s
Fri. Feb. 24 : Austin, TX / Parish
Sat. Feb. 25 : Houston, TX / Walter’s on Washington
Mon. Feb 27 : Memphis, TN / High Tone
Tues. Feb. 28 : Nashville, TN / Belcourt Theater
Wed. Mar. 1 : Atlanta, GA / Variety Playhouse


13th January 2006

Mike VS. Mike Tour Rolls On

The ROE VS. PRITZL 05/06 Winter Tour
featuring Michael Roe (77’s/Lost Dogs) and Michael Pritzl (The Violet Burning) continues.

1.14 (Sat) Kansas City, MO @ House Show
1.15 (Sun) Paducah, KY @ Cornerstone Community Church
1.16 (Mon) Louisville, KY @ Sunergos Coffee (http://www.sunergoscoffee.com)
1.17 (Tue) Nashville, TN @ Bongo Java (http://www.bongojava.com)
1.18 (Wed) Chattanooga, TN @ 1st Baptist Church Chattanooga (http://www.1stbaptistcha.org)
1.19 (Thr) Athens, GA @ Calvary Athens
1.20 (Fri) Marietta, GA @ Vineyard Community Church Marietta (http://www.vineyardshows.com)
1.21 (Sat) Gainesville, FL @ Vineyard Gainesville (http://www.vineyardgainesville.org)
1.22 (Sun) AM Spring Hill, FL @ Love Outreach Church
1.22 (Sun) PM Orlando, FL @ TBA (407.222.7497, jaelker@yahoo.com)
1.24 (Tue) Jacksonville, FL @ Murray Hill Theater (http://www.murrayhilltheatre.com)
1.27 (Fri) Longview, TX @ Lifepoint Church (http://www.lifepointonline.com)
1.28 (Sat) Dallas, TX @ The Door (http://thedoordallas.com)
2.2 (Thr) Pasadena, CA @ The Undergrounds (http://www.theundergrounds.org)
2.3 (Fri) San Diego, CA @ TBA
2.4 (Sat) Oakland, CA @ Regeneration (http://www.regenerationweb.com)
2.5 (Sun) Available
2.6 (Mon) Loomis, CA @ The Fishbowl Cafe

For more information on each show, contact the venue directly. For more information on the tour and artists, go to 77s.com.