Dearly beloved Reader,

It's almost fall; the most beautiful season of all, Especially after what we've collectively endured this summer. This American mind turns to thoughts of Back To School, sweaters and hot tea, red maple trees balding at the top and a brand new pair of shoes; and once again, we have scraped up enough change from the vending machines* to send you the current NEWS OF THE NIELDS, all the truth and lies that are amusingly or outrageously fit to print, in black and white, from our computer to your mailbox. We've spent the entire summer (from May 3 till right now, August 21) making our new album. For the complete story, please check out our web page (www.nields.com). If you don't yet have a computer, we feel truly sorry for you and we'll organize a fund-raiser to get you one. Just send us your name and shipping address and we ll get cracking on the details. Well, actually WE won't but I m sure Patty will. Especially now that she has all this extra free time, since she's just managing us now instead of booking us AND managing us AND combing our hair AND tying our shoes. But more on that later.

As you can see by our schedule, Nerissa and Katryna will be doing quite a number of shows as a duo. Dar calls this the Probe effect. You have to watch Star Trek to fully appreciate her metaphor, but the idea is that the two of us be sent out as envoys for the whole band, to introduce the Nields and our music to strange galaxies far away. We did our first testosterone free tour this past April in sunny but freezing Northern California and had an absolute blast. While out there, we stalked Anne Lamott, our new favorite writer, as we were staying with our great friends Melissa and Mitch in Ms. Lamott's home town of Mill Valley. We hung around the Whole Foods store hoping to catch a glimpse of her dredlocks.

BUT! What are the Daves going to be doing while their female friends are on the road? Glad you asked. Rumours to the contrary, they are NOT all pregnant and on paternity leave. Dave Chalfant will be using his talents and formidable powers to produce other artists at Sackamusic studio in Amherst. David Nields will be acting in three plays at The Majestic Theatre in West Springfield, MA as well as teaching and directing in the Northampton area. Dave Hower is working on his comic strip entitled The Formative Years of a Great Rock & Roll Drummer. And we will be playing as a full band several times a month amidst all of these projects (please refer to tour schedule), gearing up for a full blown cross continental tour starting in late April 2000 when the New Record comes out.

The New Record is as of yet unnamed although we have several schemes. As I type this, I am smug in the knowledge that we have finished all of our recording duties, awaiting only the appearance of a few more choice studio guests to add their mojo to one song in particular ( "One Hundred Names"). We've been blessed with a little help from our friends. Namely, the Kennedys, Susan Werner, Dar Williams, Moxy Fruvous, Beth Amsel, Jump Little Children, Ben Demerath, Philip from the Maggies, Rani from Salamander Crossing, Gideon Freudmann and a host of instrumentalists who blew our already dangerously unstable little minds (including, but not necessarily limited to: violinists, violists, cellists, oboeists accordionists, tuba players, clarinetists, trumpeters, and this very mysterious Indian tabla player.

MORE News:

-Dave Chalfant and Katryna Nields get married on September 5. He's taking her last name. She's taking his first name.

-Katryna and Nerissa sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park! The Red Sox lost to the Indians. Not our fault.

-We finally got a cut in a big ole Hollywood Movie! It's to be called Seven Girlfriends, starring Tim Daly, Jaime Gertz, Laura Leighton and Olivia D'Abo. The song is "Last Kisses," and they play it on the tape deck after the dude in question gets pelted by what we assume is one of the seven girlfriends.

-We are going to Alaska this fall, completing 50 states that Katryna and I have set foot in (but not played in: we're still missing Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Oklahoma) .

-We signed with Fleming, Tamulevich & Associates, a fine booking agency whose roster includes Dar Williams, Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, Cheryl Wheeler, Eddie from Ohio and many other child prodigies. We are psyched because 1. we'll probably get to play in those missing states; 2. they will probably give us free CDs by these (and other) people and maybe some coffee mugs with their logo on them too. Oh, yeah, and because now Patty can sit back, relax and start planning that benefit to buy you a computer.

*Actually, we didn't find enough change, so this edition of the newsletter--number 26 to be exact-will be available only at our shows. Look in your mailboxes in November for a full blown version complete with Katryna Cartoonas!

© 1999 Nerissa Nields, reproduced with permission