Pitchfork

We don't mean to lionize, but Ted Leo is one happening dude. A dude's dude. When he isn't breaking up scuffles, doing punk-rock Pilates, or killing raccoons with his ear-to-ear smile, Leo's hopscotching across the continent, mulling the plight of the opening band, and beefing up his forthcoming LP with bonus disc that includes a Chumbawumba cover. And it's not even "Tubthumping"!

Believe it: when Leo and the Pharmacists' Touch and Go debut Living With the Living goes live March 20, the first pressing edition will come bundled with a free five-song bonus EP. Said article collects new tunes Ted put to tape in December 2006 at Brooklyn's Wild Frontier Studios-- including a cover of the Wumba's pre-fame non-hit "Rappaport's Testament: I Never Gave Up" (from 1990's Slap!)-- and one of those oh-so-cool hidden tracks (so actually, a six-song bonus EP). Vinyl hounds needn't fret: initial LP pressings will include a coupon to download the entire album in digital format, and the bonus disc too, all for the price of that bandwidth you're stealing from your neighbors.

And that's not all: Leo takes centerstage in the latest Touch and Go 25 Festival video, up now on the imprint's website. Watch Leo discuss why he loves his new label and why new bands have it bad, then stick around for a Leo/Pharmacists live rendition of new jam "The Sons of Cain" from last September's celebration. Don't forget to swoon at Leo's regular-guy valediction, a gruff "ANKS e'rybuddy." No, dude, thank you.

Finally, as previously noted, Mr. Leo and company cut rugs across North America beginning this March.

Living With the Living bonus disc:

01 Nothing Much to Say
02 Old Souls Know
03 Living With the Living
04 Already Too Late?
05 Rappaport's Testament: I Never Gave Up
06 [Hidden Track]

Live Living:

03-02 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall (Noise Pop)
03-28 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
03-29 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03-30 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
03-31 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
04-01 Orlando, FL - Social
04-02 Miami, FL - Studio A
04-04 Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea's Cafe
04-05 Houston, TX - Numbers
04-06 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
04-07 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa
04-09 Tempe, AZ - Clubhouse
04-10 San Diego, CA - Epicentre
04-13 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
04-16 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
04-17 Seattle, WA - Showbox Showroom
04-18 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
04-20 Boise, ID - Venue
04-21 Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound at In the Venue
04-22 Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre
04-23 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
04-25 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
04-26 Madison, WI - Club 770
04-27 Iowa City, IA - Picador
04-28 Chicago, IL - Metro
04-30 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
05-02 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
05-03 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
05-04 Boston, MA - Avalon
05-05 New York, NY - Webster Hall