Mike Graff

I am told that C.o.E. was the first band to perform at the Curtain Club in Dallas. If this is true, it would have been for the release party for Telepathic Last Words in 1998. No matter what, it was a good story, as told from the stage by members of IN MEMORY OF MAN, who performed the COURSE OF EMPIRE song "The Information" in tribute, at the end of their set on Saturday Jan. 23, at the Curtain Club's 18th Anniversary party. It was a high honor indeed for us to hear a young band tear into that guitar riff…

Read more

Friends, thanks to everyone who came out to the gig at Club Dada with Bravo Max! and MUR. We really enjoyed the evening. There was a bit of competition from ART CON and the Tattoo Festival, but we had enough friends in the room to get the energy up, and the feedback was good. We ended up having to cut our set short, following our version of The Psychedelic Furs "Love My Way" due to the schedule. MUR sounded great and made it all look so easy. All in all, it was just more evidence supporting the realization…

Read more

Well friends, other aspects of life have garnered my attention during June and July. So I haven't been focused on booking live shows for the summer. Some interesting things are working in the background, though... I'm looking forward to being able to report about them publicly. In the meantime, gotta just keep working! Please check back for more news. Enjoy the sunshine! -G

Friends, I'm really looking forward to playing next at The Deep Ellum Arts Festival. The stage will be at Elm and Crowdus. The first time I played at that corner was on July 4th, back in 1988. It was the very first show for COURSE OF EMPIRE. So this will be an interesting moment for me, to play play the same spot, 26+ years later! I'll be joined by bassist MIKE DAANE and drummer DUNCAN BLACK. We'll be playing at 9:00 PM, after HA FOO and before HAWK VS DOVE. There may also be a surprise appearance by the…

Read more

Hello friends. So Mike Daane, Duncan and I had a blast playing at The Doublewide on Sept. 13th with Black Dotz and DJ Gabriel Mendoza. Loved seeing everyone! We're looking forward to doing another gig with The Dotz sometime soon...

So here's what's coming up in the fall... We're discussing the idea of doing another event in association with Hal Samples Gallery in mid November. Hal says there will be 25 artists showing work. Should be an epic event. We'll try to keep you posted when it's solid.

It looks…

Read more

Fiends,

just an update here, regarding the progress of the new Halls Of The Machine album, presently titled IONIC STROLL. On Sunday Jerome flew in and spent the day with us at Van Eric's studio dumping files to a hard drive. The plan is for us to mix in Los Angeles August 18 - 22. Will the seas part? Will the stars align and allow this to actually happen? Stranger things have happened...

Friends,

if you want to order the new C.o.E. set, just go to www.paypal.com and send $25 to courseofempire2004@yahoo.com.

If you would like to upgrade the package to include "Phone Calls From The Dead" live cd, then it's $30.

To find out more info, click on the entry below. 

Thanks!

G

 

Friends,

it seems that over the years, I have become the sole archivist of Course Of Empire music. Like the night watchman at the Course crypt, I continue to make sure that those who come to pay their respects are rewarded with fresh flowers every few years. And so I delve deeper, dusting off ancient recordings to satisfy the wish of those who want to hear more...

I now have two new Course Of Empire titles available on the band's own DIY label, Lustrejaw.

I see these two titles as bookends to the bands…

Read more

Over the years, a lot of people have asked me who did the strange voice over on "Ptah!" from the first Course Of Empire album. I shared this story with a friend earlier tonight, so I figured I'd share it here too.

The man who did the voice over on "Ptah!" was named Ted Gardner. (No, not the famed manager of Jane's Addiction and Tool...) He was the audio instructor at SMU, where the first Course Of Empire drummer Anthony Headley and I were going to film school. He was very much like the classic John… Read more

OK. So on Sunday, drummer Duncan Black and I made a run down to Austin to make an appearance at the Mass Gallery, on the East end of 6th St. Our host Thomas Fang graciously invited us to be part of the evening's line up, which was presented by the Church Of The Friendly Ghost. I found CotFG to be a great network of friends who are capable of appreciating extreme minimalism in sound design and live performance. Extreme minimalism isn't for everyone, so I appreciate these folks when I find them. It seems to…

Read more