Pitchfork

Photo by Shirley O'Houghlin

As a producer, Jim O'Rourke is no stranger to putting his distinctive stamp on a record, but as a songwriter and bandleader, the Red Krayola's Mayo Thompson is used to having the final say when it comes to his music. Thus, O'Rourke's mix of the Red Krayola's 1999 album Fingerpainting fell by the wayside when Thompson wasn't feeling it.

But wouldn't you know it? Almost a decade after the original record came out, Thompson revisited O'Rourke's mix of Fingerpainting and liked it. Thus, Drag City is reissuing the record in its O'Rourke-ified form under the name Fingerpointing. Like the original, Fingerpointing juts noise freakouts up against more traditional songs and features the writing and/or playing contributions of Thompson, Frederick Barthelme, David Grubbs, and Minutemen drummer George Hurley, among others.

Drag City will release the limited edition Fingerpointing on September 23 July 22.

A couple months before, on July 5, Mayo Thompson will play his first ever solo show at St. Cecilia's Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland. The show takes place as part of Three Blows, a self-proclaimed "weekend of all-sound acoustic performance by contemporary visual artists and musicians." On Thompson's same bill are Tattie Toes, Correcto, and Richard Youngs, while the next night of the festival features Sarah Ketchington, Tony Swain, Rude Pravo, and Keith Rowe. Also during that Three Blows weekend, Thompson and Rowe will participate in an event called "Talking About Music", which from its name sounds like...a panel discussion about music.

What's more, Thompson and the Red Krayola will play London's Somerset House on July 20, sharing the bill with Joanna Newsom. This marks the first Red Krayola gig in London in some 20 years.

Fingerpointing:

01 Freeform Freakout 0
02 Bad Medicine
03 Freeform Freakout 1
04 There There Betty Betty
05 Freeform Freakout 2
06 Vile Vile Grass
07 Freeform Freakout 3
08 Mother
09 In My Baby's Ruth
10 Freeform Freakout 4

The Red Krayola:

07-05 Edinburgh, Scotland - St. Cecilia's Hall (Three Blows Festival) (Mayo Thompson solo)
07-20 London, England - Somerset House *

* with Joanna Newsom