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April 2013 News Archive (older news link at bottom of page)
April 29, 2013
WNYC on May 2
Hem will be on The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC on Thursday, May 2. Listen live online at 12:00pm (ET), or check back here soon after for a listen/download link. In the meantime, here's Dan and Steve on The Leonard Lopate show on December 22, 2009 talking about Twelfth Night.
April 28, 2013
April 19 Chicago Show Review
A review of Hem's Chicago show on April 19 has been added to the 2013 tour archive. The music carried their usual folky sound, but they dropped in elements of gospel, chamber-pop and country to add a richness that isn't heard on the albums.
April 21 Ann Arbor Photos & Video
Click on the little image to the left or visit the April 21 show page to see some photos of Hem and opener Dawn Landes at The Ark in Ann Arbor, MI. Below are a few videos from the show: Hem playing "Strays" (because it's my dad's favorite - sorry to my mom for not recording her favorite "He Came To Meet Me"), Hem playing "The Seed" (because I like the live show arrangement), and Dawn playing "Dig Me A Hole" (because it's one of my most favorite songs of hers).
April 27, 2013
Rabbit Chords Update
Rabbit Chords has been updated to include guitar tabs for all the new Departure And Farewell songs. You can also download a free chords songbook including the entire Hem catalog. (Thanks, Geoff!)
April 19 Chicago Setlist & Video
Click here for the (probably complete) April 19 Chicago show setlist. A few notes about the setlist: 1) "Departure And Farewell" made its debut at this show, 2) "Last Call" got the sing-along treatment it seems to have gotten at every April show, 3) parts of the show were divided into the Divorce, Death, and Love sets mentioned below for the Ann Arbor show, and 4) "Beautiful Sea" (video below!) was an audience request that the band played to close the show. (Thanks, Claire and Bill!) Sorry that this show info is coming so late - I'll have Ann Arbor show pictures and video here by weekend's end. Stay tuned!
April 23, 2013
April 19 Chicago Setlist
The April 19 Chicago show now has its own page! It is, however, sadly bare with just one song ("Jackson") on its setlist. Were you there and have more songs to add to the setlist? Or any photos or video? From this or any show? Email or tweet me!
April 20 Cincinnati Video
There are a bunch of videos available from Hem's show at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati on April 20. They're all on the April 20 show page, and two are below. First is "Half Acre," because it's an awesome song everybody loves, and second is the complete encore, because it's almost like being at a Hem show. (Upcoming tour dates are on the tour page! More dates coming soon!)
April 22, 2013
April 21 Ann Arbor Setlist
The complete setlist is hot off the presses for Hem's April 21 show at The Ark in Ann Arbor. I was at this show and will have photos and video here soon. For now, here are some sidenotes about the setlist: 1) "Last Call" got sing-along treatment, with the audience providing background harmonies since the Hem choir wasn't there, 2) most songs were introduced as being part of thematic sets of Divorce, Death, and Love (with the Divorce group being the longest, and the Love group being only "Stupid Mouth Shut" - Dan said that their goal at shows is to make the audience cry and to not curl up in fetal positions themselves), 3) the Michigan crowd rightly cheered at "Michigan" in "Half Acre," and 4) "Horsey" in the encore was a last minute addition as an audience request. Thank you for a lovely evening, Hem!
April 21, 2013
April 20 Cincinnati Show
The complete setlist is now available for Hem's April 20 show at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati. Finally, "Departure And Farewell" makes an appearance!
Hem on Instagram
Hem's empty Instagram page came to life today! Go follow the band's photo fun.
April 20, 2013
Illinois Entertainer Article
Click here to read a lengthy, interesting interview with Dan about the love of Hem and the making of Departure And Farewell. Find out what made him say "we’ve shared everything from great joy to great sadness, and this is just one part and I couldn’t be an honest writer and not write about it and then not talk about it." You can find a permanent link to this any many other Hem interviews at the articles archive.
April 17 Pittsburgh Show
The complete setlist is now available for Hem's April 17 show at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh. (Thanks, Chuck!)
April 18, 2013
Examiner.com Interview
Click here to read a nice, long interview at Examiner.com with Dan and Sally about Departure And Farewell. You can find a permanent link to this interview and many more at the articles archive. If you're intrigued by Dan saying "we put so many Easter eggs and details in the songs that when you do listen to it closely, it does reward you. So yeah, we want everything to be enjoyed as music, as a great song, as a great melody, as a great lyric. But then, if you really do want to dive in, it’s rewarding in that way as well." then you should visit the meanings page and find some hints to some of those eggs. If you're intrigued by reading that the song "A Wolf In The Woods" "will be released later," then you can look forward to that song and others (likely "The World Is Outside," "No Word From Tom," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," among others) coming out on an EP or two later this year.
April 17 Pittsburgh Pictures and Video
Click on the little picture to the left or right here to see some pictures from Hem's show last night in Pittsburgh at Club Cafe, including the show poster. (Thanks, Chuck!) Also, below watch Hem perform "Dance With Me, Now Darling" at the show as the very last song.
April 17, 2013
New York Magazine
Hem showed up in the highbrow/brilliant box of this week's Approval Matrix in New York Magazine with their "Seven Angels" video. Hem was last in the Approval Matrix in July 2009 with their awesome Twelfth Night music.
Artists ROC Workshop Photos
Click here to see some photos of Dan and Steve talking music and Hem at the Morris Arts Artists ROC Workshop on April 13, 2013. Just the Hem-related photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
More Tour Dates on the Way
In case you missed the news on Hem's mailing list, more tour dates are coming soon for the West Coast and for the UK. I'm guessing June for the West Coast and September/October for the UK. Stay tuned! In the meantime, sign up for Hem's mailing list if you're not on it already.
April 14, 2013
Meanings Update
The Rabbit Songs and Departure And Farewell meanings pages have been updated to include some new tidbits about the songs "Horsey" and "Tourniquet" from last week's Hem interview at Stereo Subversion.
April 10, 2013
New Tour Date
Congratulations to Philadelphia, the latest city to have a new Hem tour date. Hem will be at World Cafe Live on June 13. Tickets go on sale April 12 at 10am. Other details for this show are on the tour page.
April 9, 2013
April 13 Workshop
Dan and Steve will be presenting the "Music" session at the Artists ROC Workshop at Drew University in Morristown, NJ. Visit the organization's website to pre-register ($15, $20 day-of) and get more information about the entire Workshop. Presumably they will not spend the entire session discussing Sun Kil Moon's "Moorestown," although maybe they will if you ask since the name is so close and the song is so nice.
Stereo Subversion Article
Settle in and read this nice long interview with Dan and Gary about Departure And Farewell. The article is basically an interview transcription, and you can totally hear Dan and Gary's voices in the words. As introduced in the article, Dan and Gary are "upfront and candid at explaining the time between Hem records, how the band almost didn’t make it, and why they’re eager to make a new record." Thank you, Stereo Subversion! You can find a permanent link to this article at the interviews archive. (By the way, the "transcendent" show they're talking about is surely the March 15 show in Brooklyn - Gary's words here about the show are very similar to what he said to me during the March Extravaganza of Hem News. And Gary's mostly right, I think Hem's first "tour" show was outside Amsterdam in Zwolle, in Feb. 2002.)
Making of the "Tourniquet" Video
You have now seen the wondrous video for Hem's song "Tourniquet" (but if you haven't, it's here!) and are probably wondering how the animals came to life. Read this interview with artist Jordan Bruner about how she got involved with the project, her process for making the video, and whatever happened to all the animal models. There are also a bunch of interesting pictures of the actual puppets.
April 7, 2013
Departure And Farewell CD Images
More pictures have been added to the Departure And Farewell album page. The new images are select parts of the really great CD packaging. (Buy the CD! It's wonderful!)
Departure And Farewell Gallery
The Departure And Farewell Gallery has been updated to include some new promotional pictures of the band plus some alternate versions of photos that were posted here earlier this year. The new images start with the first picture in the third row.
Hem's Blog
Hem's blog has started to be updated following the official site's re-launch last week. Go say hi!
April 3, 2013
Departure And Farewell Lyrics
Complete Departure And Farewell lyrics are now available. They're based on the lyrics in the CD booklet (which is completely great, as is the entire CD package, which even comes with a "hidden" black and white CD sleeve tucked inside with choice lyrics printed on either side). You can find lyrics to all Hem songs on the main lyrics page.
Louisville Show Contest
Headliners Music Hall in Louisville is holding a contest for a merch package and two tickets to Hem's show on April 18. Hometown girl Dawn Landes is opening the show, along with most of Hem's other shows on this week-long April tour run. All you need to do to enter the contest is enter your name and email address in the online form. Contest ends April 17 at 12:00pm ET.
April 2, 2013
Departure And Farewell Release Day!
It's a very exciting day! Hem's new, long-awaited album Departure and Farewell is in stores TODAY! Why are you reading this? Go, buy, now! I'll be here when you get back!
Official Site Re-launch
Hem's official site is back up and running with new content. You may especially like the store (digital downloads, CDs, a poster, and a shirt), sounds (previews of all albums and one EP - full discography here), and sights (videos and pictures - some photo versions are also at All About Hem's Departure And Farewell photo gallery).
April 1, 2013
New Yorker article & "Seven Angels" Video
Today, The New Yorker has an article about Hem and a brand new video for the song "Seven Angels." Find the video below. Click here for the article, which includes words from Dan about the sound of Hem, making Rabbit Songs, and various things about Departure and Farewell. The Departure And Farewell meanings page has been updated with some tidbits from the article about "Seven Angels" and the album's title. You can find a permanent link to this article and many more at the articles archive.
Making the "Tourniquet" Video
A video for "Tourniquet" hit the scene before the "Seven Angels" video. Click here to read an interview with artist Jordan Bruner about her creative process for making the video.
Click here for older news

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This site is fan run and is not affiliated with Hem in any way. You can visit Hem's Official Website here. You can contact me at Christina@AllAboutHem.com