Old-school Tampa scenesters remember Julian Koster well as the upstart provocateur behind such groups as Chocolate USA and Miss America, and psych-pop fans everywhere may know the guy (now a longtime associate of the Athens, GA scene) from his The Music Tapes project, as well as contributions to albums by such luminaries as Elf Power, Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal and even They Might Be Giants.

Julian's probably most famous for his skill at playing the "singing saw" - coaxing haunting, almost theremin-like melodies out of your garden-variety hand saw with a violin bow. He's got a new Christmas album of saw-driven tunes out this year, and he's taking some friends on the road to carol at the homes of friends and fans alike.

Full releaseage:

Julian Koster releases details and dates for his Holiday Cheer caroling tour.

Julian and the saws are planning a tour to several cities and are offering to come caroling at your house.  All you have to do is invite them!  At each house, Julian will play a few songs of the Music Tapes, and the saws will play a few of their holiday favorites for hosts and their assembled guests.  And then, on they will go to the next house.

Households that would like to invite Julian and his friends to come carol may do so up until the night before the carolers arrive in your town by sending an invitation to musictapescaroling@gmail.com or by mailing a written invitation to:

Music Tapes Caroling
c/o G. Stewart
175 Talmadge Street, Apt. 1
Athens, GA 30605

Written invitations will be given priority, should arrive a few days before the carolers arrive, and include an email address or telephone number for reply.  Invitations where the inviters indicate that they would be willing to entertain outside guests on caroling night are preferred. Once the limit on houses on a given night has been reached, the address of each house that will welcome guests will be distributed via email to all who email musictapescaroling@gmail.com and ask to attend. The addresses of the houses will not be posted online.

These will be caroling events (not house concerts) and there will be no monetary recompense of any kind asked for.  People who wish to make a donation to the Carolers Travel Fund via the orbitinghumancircus.com website where all Caroling updates and information will be found.

Caroling Dates:
Nov 11th Savannah, GA
Nov 12th Chapel Hill, NC
Nov 13th Charlotte, NC (afternoon) / Atlanta, Ga
Nov 14th  Athens, GA
Nov 16th Nashville, TN
Nov 17th St. Louis, MO
Nov 18th Memphis, TN
Nov 19th Hammond / Baton Rouge LA
Nov 20th Houston, TX
Nov 21st Austin, TX
Nov 22nd Denton, TX
Nov 24th Lawrence KS
Nov 26th Minneapolis, MN
Nov 27th Madison, WI
Nov 28th Chicago IL
Nov 29th Grand Rapids/Lansing, MI
Nov 30th Ann Arbor area, MI
Dec 1st Toronto, Canada
Dec 3rd Buffalo, NY
Dec 4th Geneseo, NY
Dec 5th Oswego, NY
Dec 6th Bennington, VT
Dec 7th New London, NH
Dec 8th Boston / Cambridge, MA
Dec 12th Philadelphia, PA
Dec 13th NYC
Dec 14th NYC
Dec TBA  Maine