Okay, friends. Now I'm going to talk to you about something very dear to my heart.

The Rank Strangers are a great, great band. And I can prove it! Go to their myspace thing-- www.myspace.com/rankstrangers-- and listen to "Rayner Park". Or "Khan". Or "My Genius". You'll see.

However, the last two times the Rank Strangers have played in Duluth, attendance has been real sparse. So much so, in fact, that by the time they took the stage, the only people really left in the Red Lion were me, the people I brought with me, and the bitter, old red lion regulars muttering to themselves at the bar ("someone ought to throw these fuckers into oncoming traffic. This is garbage music. Garbage.")

Now most bands would find this deeply demoralizing. But the Rank Strangers are a very resilient sort. Thus-- this Saturday night, at 10:00 PM, the Rank Strangers will be playing with Gus Watkins (who is also excellent-- www.myspace.com/guswatkins) at the Red Lion Lounge. The Cover is TWO DOLLARS, which is cheap cheap cheap, and the black label beer is practically free.

So do come, if you're free. I promise it'll be worth it.