3.16.2005 - BELOVED REVEALS ITSELF

I am on my way to Japan after spending 12 days in South Africa. My time there opened my eyes to many things and I met and enjoyed the company of so many people. I can only say I was deeply moved. In the course of my visit my heart was warmed, broken, moved, and my thoughts were filled with many questions; answers on many are still cloudy. I was impressed by the devotion that people I met there have for their country. I think no situation is without hope but it will take some head scratching from a series of benevolent geniuses and the passage of a few years to lift the lots of those who have yet to fully benefit from all the changes that have taken place. But it?s certainly a country that is fueled by much optimism.

My show last night, where I played an hour's worth of songs in the middle of two excellent sets by local youngin's the Bang, was very well received the joint (the Blues Room, with a very kind staff at every level) was packed, and the Saturday nighters and REM curious were very patient considering I was presenting the mellow sounds of KS--hitherto unknown in ZA. Anyway, I also lightened up my vibe by hopping up with the Bang and banging away on Replacements and REM covers! It sounds corny but by the time it was happening, ample lubrication made everyone slippery enough to accommodate my sliding up there...ahem

Many thanks to Rob C. and all the Sheer folks for putting together my solo press and show activities there, as well as showing me some of their town (incl. Soweto and Wandie's Place! Thanks to Kenny for directions and company) and to DJ Barney for his Posies and KS enthusiasm! And to the Warner Music Dist./Big Concerts folks who were very friendly on the REM side.

The REM shows themselves were incredible...really, you could feel that people were ecstatic that this band had arrived at last--we played to about 50,000 people over the course of 5 shows--15,000+ a night in JoBurgyes, it blew our minds. The Durban fans standing in the pissing rain and loving it. It had been since REM's show in Irvine Meadows last Oct. that we had played outdoors--I forgot how much I love it.

Listen folks, I am just nailing down one more date and I will announce the Australia KS tour; in the meantime, I am heavy lidded and ready to take advantage of the remaining 7 hours of flight time for some hush eye.

Love
KS
On Cathay Pacific flight from Johannesburg to Hong Kong
Mar. 14

LONDON, UK-Rykodisc International is proud to announce the upcoming release of "Soft Commands" the new solo outing from Ken Stringfellow.

The special international version will contain two bonus tracks, his own interpretations of classics "Never My Love" and "Down To The Wire."

Ken Stringfellow is just another one of those guys who has founded a critically acclaimed band, toured as part of both R.E.M. and Big Star,and been drawn into the pop collective known as the Minus 5. You know the type.

They rope you in with every new dewy note they sing and play. That's Ken.

Ken first caught the world's attention in the early '90s with the Posies - one of the great power pop bands of that decade. But critics and fans weren't the only ones who took notice. When the Posies broke up, a steady stream of the most universally cool musicians came knocking on Ken's door. First, Alex Chilton recruited Ken to tour with Big Star, and later, he toured with R.E.M. as a backing vocalist and musician. Recently, Ken has become a steady member of Scott McCaughey's revolving door of pop discovery - the Minus 5. But through it all, he's never stopped crafting his own personal brand of endearing pop gems for your listening pleasure.

The style on Soft Commands moves from Wings' style blue-eyed soul on "Let Me Do" to piano-laden "Known Diamond" and Beach Boys-esque "When You Find Someone", to the reggae-tinged "You Become The Dawn."

Ken will perform selected solo dates in the UK and Europe to showcase the material from "Soft Commands." In 2005, Rykodisc will release 2 more of Ken 's "projects," new studio albums from two newly reformed seminal American bands-The Posies and Big Star.