Pitchfork

Photo by Daniel Arnold

In between rocking countless shows and recording fine record after fine record, the Black Lips find plenty of time for out-and-out fun. Whether it's leading a parade and inspiring people to get arrested, playing a show at a WhirlyBall rink, acting in a movie, or hanging out with little kids, these Atlanta schemers always seem to be stirring up some sort of mischief.

For their latest move, the Black Lips have started their own hotline, with Boost Mobile footing the bill. Dial or text 949-836-7407 (or, if you will, 949-TEN-SH0P) and, in the unlikely event you miss the busy signal, you should be greeted by either Cole, Jared, Ian or Joe.

Apparently, the phone has been ringing off the hook; according to their publicist, they've received calls from as far away as France, Austria, and Qatar (the latter call from a soldier.)

On their blog, the Lips wrote, "We got a new phone and don't know what to do with it so we started a hotline. It's inspired by CB and Hamm radios, because people don't use those anymore, and we think truckers are cool. It'll give us something to do in the van. The minutes will probably expire, and I'm not paying for that shit. Give us a ring if you are in trouble, need advice, or are just plain lonely."

And, hey if it gets really annoying, they can always chuck that sucker out the window of the tour bus. Which reminds me: the Lips' tour-- the U.S. leg of which wraps over the weekend in their native A-town-- just got a little bigger, with a new trip to Europe in the first half of next month. As previously mentioned, they'll hit the UK pretty hard in May, with a stop along the way at the ATP vs. Pitchfork Festival in Rye, England.

Black Lips:

03-21 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone #
03-22 Atlanta, GA - The Earl #
04-01 Berlin, Germany - Matnet Club
04-02 Hamburg, Germany - Molotov
04-03 Malmo, Sweden - Debaser
04-04 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
04-05 Oslo, Norway - Bia
04-06 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
04-07 Cologne, Germany - Loppen
04-07 Cologne, Germany - Tsunami Club
04-09 Athens, Greece - Gagarin 205
04-11 Paris, France - Motel Mozaieque Festival
04-13 Brussels, Belgium - Domino Festival
05-01 Cardiff, Wales - The Point
05-02 Swansea, Wales - Club NME @ Club Sin
05-03 Dublin, Ireland - Crawdaddy
05-04 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands 2
05-06 Sheffield, England - The Plug
05-07 Leeds, England - Brudenell Social Club
05-08 Birmingham, England - Club NME @ The Place I Love
05-10 Rye, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (ATP vs. Pitchfork) $
05-11 Cambridge, England - The Junction
05-12 Oxford, England - Zodiac
05-13 Bristol, England - Thekla
05-14 London, England - 100 Club
05-15 London, England - 100 Club
05-16 Brighton, England - Great Escape

# with Quintron and Miss Pussycat
$ with the Hold Steady, Jens Lekman, Caribou, Hot Chip, Les Savy Fav, No Age, Of Montreal, Vampire Weekend, Man Man, Los Campesinos!, Glass Candy, Dirty Projectors, Times New Viking, Jay Reatard, Meat Puppets, the Black Angels, Marissa Nadler, Wooden Shjips, Deerhunter, Shit and Shine, Sebadoh, Ween, Redd Kross, Pissed Jeans, Yeasayer, Fuck Buttons, Apse, A Place to Bury Strangers, the Clientele, Black Mountain, Harmonia, Born Ruffians, Howlin Rain, Car Sick Cars, Even