Sage Francis Recent News

Sage Francis Announces West Coast Dates

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:01:00 -0800

The agent provocateur of hip hop Sage Francis needs some sun. As a result, he has just announced a series of West Coast live dates. If you like your hip hop with an incendiary mix of politics, social observation, atheism, all of it propelled by blasts of visionary sound and beat, you will enjoy this.

3/15 Las Vegas at Daddy Mac’s
3/16 Los Angeles at The Troubadour
3/17 San Francisco at the Independent
3/18 San Diego (Solana Beach) at the Belly Up

ANTI 2010 Fall Sampler Now Available On iTunes

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:12:00 -0800

Above is a chance to preview the amazing new ANTI-Records 2010 Fall Sampler. It’s eleven absolutely essential artists at the peak of their creative powers, including a song from the amazing new album by DeVotchKa, a preview of the stunning Anti debut from talented singer-songwriter Sean Rowe, Grinderman, Yann Tiersen and much more fine music. Click here to get it on iTunes!

ANTI Fall Sampler Track Listing:

1. Mavis Staples “I Belong To The Band”
2. Devotchka “Contrabanda”
3. Bettye LaVette “Salt Of The Earth”
4. Dr. Dog “Mirror, Mirror”
5. Sean Rowe “The Walker”
6. Grinderman “Heathen Child”
7. Lost In The Trees “Walk Around The Lake”
8. Yann Tiersen “Ashes”
9. The Frames “Falling Slowly”
10. Sage Francis “The Best Of Times”
11. Mose Allison “Modest Proposal”

Get The New ANTI Fall Sampler, Along With 9 Albums On Sale For Under $10

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:11:00 -0800

Beginning this week, Anti-Records is pleased to offer our complimentary Anti Fall Sampler with the purchase of any of our recent releases for a limited time holiday recession friendly sale price. So for under $10, you can receive a new album by one of our acclaimed artists and an additional album featuring a mix of songs by a storied roster that includes the legendary Mavis Staples, Nick Cave’s raucous outfit Grinderman, adventuresome French composure Yann Tiersen, iconic jazz artist Mose Allison and more. This offer will only be available at participating independent record stores while supplies last.

Anti Albums on Sale:

Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
Grinderman – Grinderman II
Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame
Sage Francis – Li(f)e
Lost in The Trees – All Alone In An Empty House
The frames – The Cost
Yann Tiersen – Dust Lane
Bettye LaVette – Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook
Mose Allison – The Way of The World

Fall Sampler Track Listing:

1. Mavis Staples “I Belong To The Band”
2. Devotchka “Contrabanda”
3. Bettye LaVette “Salt Of The Earth”
4. Dr. Dog “Mirror, Mirror”
5. Sean Rowe “The Walker”
6. Grinderman “Heathen Child”
7. Lost In The Trees “Walk Around The Lake”
8. Yann Tiersen “Ashes”
9. The Frames “Falling Slowly”
10. Sage Francis “The Best Of Times”
11. Mose Allison “Modest Proposal”

Sage Francis "Love The Lie" Video Premiere

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:08:00 -0700

Sage Francis' brand new video for "Love The Life" premiered today at the Guardian Music Blog! To watch the video for the track co-written with the late Mark Linkous of Sparklehourse, just click here.

Sage Francis In-Store Performance In Austin, TX

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:06:00 -0700

Sage Francis will be performing in-store at Waterloo Records in Austin, TX on 6/15 before his show at The Mohawk later that night! All the info can be found below.

Sage Francis Live @ Waterloo Records
June 15th at 5:00PM

Waterloo Records
600-A N. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.waterloorecords.com

New Sage Francis Music Video Premieres Today June 8th

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:06:00 -0700

The video for the amazing new song "The Best Of Times" from Sage Francis' groundbreaking new album Li(f)e debuted today, June 8th at AOL Spinner.com. The song is a collaborative work between the provocative rapper and renowned French classical composer and multi instrumentalist Yann Tiersen. Francis' strikingly honest lyrical narrative builds in intensity as the atmospheric soundtrack, composed by Tiersen and reinterpreted by Francis, moves from a playful minimalism to a dramatic symphonic pop soundscape. The song caused an immediate sensation with listeners when it premiered on English radio resulting in a deluge of listener emails and comments.

The images of the Kyle Harbough directed video flawlessly evoke the intensely introspective lyrics of the song, presenting Francis in his current incarnation as a knowing guide through to the more painful stations of his life. As director Harbough explains, "The theme behind the images is basically if you could attend your own funeral - how would you look back on your life? Would you find humor in things that seemed like the end of the world at the time? And if you could send back advice to your younger self, what is it you would say?"

Harbough says that working with such a unique composition provided added inspiration, "It was just an incredible creative opportunity," Harbough explains. "Yann's music has this grand cinematic feel which gives "The Best of Times" a definite filmic pace; like a three act story structure. And it made it incredibly exciting to design shots which complimented both Sage's lyrics and the tone and pace of the music. You could really just close your eyes and the images would flow freely."

To view the new video for Sage Francis' song "The Best of Times" just go to: http://www.spinner.com/2010/06/08/sage-francis-best-of-times-video-premiere/

Sage Francis 'Li(f)e' Out Today, May 11th On ANTI

Tue, 11 May 2010 00:05:00 -0700

A defiantly original new album entitled Li(f)e by venerated wordsmith SAGE FRANCIS arrives in stores this week via Anti- Records. After notable works of powerful self examination and furious political criticism, the talented Francis now sets his sights on the rampant hypocrisy of organized religion. This timely and provocative lyrical discourse is empowered by an all star cast of artists ranging from ex Grandaddy front-man Jason Lytle, Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Tim Fite, members of Calexico and DeVotchKa, Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse and French composer Yann Tiersen. Each distinctive composition was subsequently reinterpreted by Francis with producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine) and Jim Becker and Tim Rutili of Califone. The result is a undeniably unique and timely statement from an uncompromising artist

Critical Acclaim For Li(f)e:

“Li(f)e is beautiful, sublime and epic; this ranks amongst Sage’s finest work." - Theskinny.co.uk

"some of the most adventurous musical work of Francis’ career ." - Providence Journal

"a watershed album in an already uncommon career." - Alarm

“Cult-status indie wordsmith Sage Francis digs deep and blows the black mold off the diary on Li(f)e (Anti-), while enlisting an impressive roster of indie-rock songwriters. Loyal followers of the veteran slam poet/spoken word maestro receive a hot dose of expert wordplay revolving around the lies and hypocrisy teeming throughout everyday life, but Li(f)e also finds Paul “Sage” Francis at the pinnacle of his vividly entertaining, often self-deprecating introspection.” - Providence Phoenix

“Fleshed out with an unlikely cast, the album produces some spectacular results. On “Diamond and Pearls,” DeVotchKa’s elegant, antiquated folk turns ugly when Francis conflates prison imagery with jabs at organized religion. In ”Slow Man,” he embraces the notion of getting old atop Calexico’s simmering blues. “Little Houdini” tells the saga of a real-life fugitive as ex-Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle unravels a gloomy alt-country sprawl. Even Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla makes good, powering “Three Sheets to the Wind” with a tense Les Savy Fav–style guitar line. Although scrolling through the credits is a trip, it’s Francis — not the visitors — who makes Li(f)e meaningful. He inverts clichés and rearranges metaphors, snaking through scenarios with a brazen, vindictive sense of humanity. If he never writes again (unlikely as that is), at least his swan song will be a doozie.” - Boston Phoenix

Catch SAGE FRANCIS On Tour Now:
2010-05-12 Middle East Downstairs Cambridge MA
2010-05-13 Higher Ground Burlington VT
2010-05-14 Port City Music Hall Portland ME
2010-05-18 Alvins Detroit MI
2010-05-19 Bottom Lounge Chicago IL
2010-05-20 Turner Hall Milwaukee WI
2010-05-21 First Avenue Minneapolis MN
2010-05-22 Blue Note Columbia MO
2010-05-24 Gothic Theater Englewood CO
2010-05-25 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City UT
2010-05-26 Badlander Missoula MT
2010-06-01 Showbox SoDo Seattle WA
2010-06-02 Berbatis Pan Portland OR
2010-06-04 Fillmore San Francisco CA
2010-06-05 The Catalyst Santa Cruz CA
2010-06-06 Henry Fonda Theater Los Angeles CA
2010-06-07 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach CA
2010-06-09 Glass House Pomona CA
2010-06-10 The Clubhouse Tempe AZ
2010-06-11 Club Congress Tucson AZ
2010-06-12 Sunshine Theatre Albuquerque NM
2010-06-14 Granada Theater Dallas TX
2010-06-15 The Mohawk Austin TX
2010-06-16 House of Blues Houston TX
2010-06-18 Club at Firestone Orlando FL
2010-06-19 The Loft Atlanta GA
2010-06-21 Cats Cradle Carrboro NC
2010-06-22 Rock n Roll Washington DC
2010-06-23 Otto Bar Baltimore MD
2010-06-24 Trocadero Philadelphia PA
2010-06-25 Webster Hall New York NY

Sage Francis Talks With BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:04:00 -0700

Sage Francis talks to British DJ Zane Lowe about his new song "The Best of Times" from the upcoming album Li(f)e (in stores May 11th). Pre-order Li(f)e at the ANTI Store today!

Sage Francis' "The Best Of Times" Radio Debut Creates Buzz With Fans

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:04:00 -0700

There’s something extraordinary about the song "The Best Of Times" by Sage Francis, something that catches people. BBC DJ Zane Lowe felt it immediately. The fast talking Brit tastemaker was the first to play Gnarls Barkley’s massive hit “Crazy” and a major force behind the rise of than unknown acts Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Editors, Kasabian and Kaiser Chiefs. When a fan tipped Lowe to the new Francis track, the man sensed something and gave the disc an afternoon spin. All across England, listeners stopped in their tracks, connecting with the intensely confessional lyrics and atmospheric sound. Messages of excitement and appreciation instantly began filling the show’s boards. The same thing happened again when Radio 6 DJ Lauren Laverne played the song and when Prefix Magazine streamed the track on line.

"The Best Of Times" has currently reached the #28 spot on the UK iTunes Alternative song chart well in advance of the album’s release.

"The Best Of Times" is featured on the new album Li(f)e by the incendiary artist Sage Francis - the music written by French composer Yan Tiersen. The result is something powerful and unique. The album arrives May 11th.

As a bonus for his many fans, Sage has written notes on each of the 12 songs from the Li(f)e describing his inspirations and offering personal insights:

Little Houdini

Christopher Daniel Gay broke out of captivity enough times for him to be dubbed "Little Houdini" by the press who managed to cover his story. I first came across news of Christopher in 2006 and decided to keep up with his escapades. I saved the details of his prison breaks in hopes of doing a song about him at some point. The first time he broke free from the law was to visit his dying father. The second time it was to visit his dying mother. The third time was for good measure. There wasn't much press about this story at all. Nothing national at least, which I still find strange. I put together what details I could and used a few lines from the actual news stories. The original article said, "This is what country songs are made of." I thought to myself, "Sure...but this is also what a rap song can be made of."

At the tail end of this song there is a recording of an interaction I had with a couple Jehovah's Witnesses who visited my house one morning. Luckily, I had my digital recorder close by so I clicked the record button and put the recorder in my shirt pocket. As you'll hear, and as you've probably heard before, they like to offer us the world.

Three Sheets To The Wind

The phrase "three sheets to the wind" is something people use to describe someone who is sloppy drunk. After hearing the phrase my whole life, and even using it a couple times myself, I became curious as to where the phrase originated from. Apparently it's an old sailing term. The "sheets" are actually the ropes that are attached to the sail. When these ropes come loose they flop around like a stumbling drunk person, their movement at the mercy of the wind. Once I found that out, the rest of the song flowed from there. Heck, my mom is a sailor. And I talk like one.

A bulk of this song is about the disciplines I maintained as a kid in order to achieve what I wanted in life. When kids would go get high or drunk I decided to stay focused and work on my music. I lost a lot of friends because of that. Hell, it probably turned me into a recluse of sorts. The more time I spent on myself and in my own head the more I came to realize where all my hate and anger was coming from. I was masking my fear. Most of us seem to be fueled by fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of amounting to nothing, fear of having no purpose. We pick our poisons as a means of escape. We all have our crutches and we all have our addictions. I always thought I wanted to live forever. Couldn't imagine the possibility of that not happening. Until I could.

I Was Zero

In this song we take the listener from pre-birth to the afterlife in a universe ruled by creationism and intelligent design. Overburdened by rules and structure, the narrator develops himself from nothingness into somethingness while adhering to the ridiculousness of both man's law and God's law.

Slow Man

This song went through quite the journey before it became the official version people are now hearing. It's been over a decade ago since I had my short stint as a resident of Brooklyn, NY but much of the song has me reflecting back on that time, applying it to my current living situation. I'm not sure if it was because of the energy of that city or because I was still young and impressionable, but it definitely made its impact. Everything between now and then seems like a blur, but of course back then nothing was moving fast enough for me. The slow man likes to hurry up and wait.

This song's lyrics were written a few years ago (soon after my first release on Epitaph) and here I am finally incorporating them into a song 5 years later. I remember writing these lyrics as if it were last week. The main purpose of this song is to explain how I feel like the world is moving too fast around me and I'm tired of trying to keep up with it. There's nothing young about what we do.

Diamonds And Pearls

Ever been lied to so much that it becomes easier and healthier to accept the lie rather than confront the truth? This song was originally inspired by a liar of that sort. Once I started writing the lyrics, a greater concept evolved and that's what saved it from being tucked away into a notebook and/or burned at the stake. It's not about diamonds or pearls and it has nothing to do with Prince.

Polterzeitgeist

At its core this song is about co-dependency. It's broken down into segments that highlight various manifestations of co-dependency including, but not restricted to, over-the-counter drugs, under-the-counter drugs, significant others, insignificant others, God, Satan and all the possessive little demons in between. Leave this body, leave this body, leave this body, BE GONE!

The Baby Stays

This song navigates through a sensitive subject matter I don't think I've ever heard addressed in a song. Not in this way at least. The song originally was written from the perspective of a man who has to deal with the reality that he has no choice as to whether a baby he helped conceive gets to be born or not. I developed it from there, quantum leaping the narration which goes from his perspective to the woman's perspective to the baby's perspective. Social stigma aside, this fight scheduled for two rounds. It's an abortion Vs. The birth of an unwanted baby.

16 Years

I lowered the bucket inside of myself and retrieved a collection of unfettered reflections going back 16 years. Going back to the time when life got "really real" for me and realizing how differently I interpret myself and the world around me since that point. The ambiguity of the writing provides just enough comfort and padding for my good conscience.

Worry Not

This is a self-affirmation of sorts. It's a reminder to myself, and hopefully to others, that we need to shed ourselves of the needless stress bestowed upon us via our home, work, school and religion. Certain types of stress are good for us. It can assist in our development, productivity and evolution. However, when we measure our worth by the arbitrary demands made by the institutions we are born into, there needs to be an awakening at some point where we think for ourselves and do for ourselves. That's the best way to serve others (if you do, in fact, have a desire to serve others.) Since I tend to get wrapped up in my own work and responsibilities, this is as much a reminder to myself as it is to the listener.

London Bridge

I got to thinking about the meaning behind the original "The London Bridge is Falling Down" nursery rhyme. I researched it and discovered it had all the ingredients I needed to cook up something fun. As a native New Englander, I had the story of the Boston Tea Party crammed down my throat all through school. As diluted as that lesson may have become through the years, the Boston Tea Party remains to be one of the greatest examples of direct action and acts of political defiance in US history. London Bridge got me thinking about The Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party got me thinking about Gandhi's Salt March in India, which was also a great political protest against Great Britain. All of these connections unfolded into a song about bully empires, civil uprisings, the decay of national monuments, social collapse and ultimately the death of all tradition.

Love The Lie

In this song we run through the adventures of a sick person unwilling to seek professional help and all the fun things that happen to children who have to juggle the realities and fallacies they've inherited from a broken home. Pick your lie and love it if it loves you back, that's what I say.

The Best Of Times

This is a string of raw and revealing moments from my upbringing that seem to have molded my adulthood. Vulnerable and embarrassing tidbits of info that sit in the back of my head at all times. The thesis of the song seems to be about how we tend to fool ourselves into thinking that the tough and embarrassing moments of our life are much bigger than they actually are. Especially as kids, when we believe that every obstacle we encounter seems like the end of the world. That’s probably the greatest lie of our lives. It’s a lie that is so convincing that some of us kill ourselves over it. It’s important to remember that when all seems lost it really isn’t. As the old credo goes, “This too shall pass.”

New Sage Francis Track From 'Li(f)e' Debuts Via Prefix Magazine

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:04:00 -0700

An extraordinary collaboration from SAGE FRANCIS' upcoming album Li(f)e premiered today at Prefixmag.com. The song, entitled "Best Of Times," features a stark and introspective narrative by FRANCIS which gradually evolves into a potent treatise on individualism and resilience. Sample lyric: "Don't listen when they tell you that these are your best years/Don't let anybody protect your ears/It's best that you hear what they don't want you to hear/It's better to have pressure from peers than not have peers." This vivid lyricism has been powerfully enlivened by an evocative musical landscape created by noted French multi instrumentalist and composer Yann Tiersen, known for his post punk influenced avant-garde classical works as well as his many film soundtracks. This surprising yet effective partnership between vanguard rapper and visionary classical composer, while initially unorthodox, seems to have inspired a truly compelling and special work.

As FRANCIS explains: "The instrumental piece that Mr. Tiersen sent has a slow build that gradually gets more chaotic until it crescendos. This certainly isn't the kind of music I could plop backlogged lyrics on top of. In order to maintain an organic feel I had to write the lyrics to the builds of the music. I eventually referenced an old letter I had written to my girlfriend a couple years back. The first line was, "It's been a long and lonely trip but I'm glad I took it" and the rest flowed from there. What resulted was a string of raw and revealing moments of my upbringing that seem to have molded my adulthood. The thesis of the song seems to be about how we tend to fool ourselves into thinking that the tough and embarrassing moments of our life are much bigger than they actually are. That's probably the greatest lie of our lives. It's a lie that is so convincing that some of us kill ourselves over it. It's important to remember that when all seems lost it really isn't. To put it in fewer words, "this too shall pass." It's time for something new - a new ending and a new beginning. All I can think to say in order to wrap this whole li(f)e up is: ‘It was the best of times. It was the end of times.'"

SAGE FRANCIS' new album Li(f)e will be released May 11th on Anti-Records. FRANCIS will be performing a series of North American Dates in support.

SAGE FRANCIS Tour Dates:

05-12 Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA
05-13 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
05-14 Port City Music Hall, Portland, ME
05-18 Alvins, Detroit, MI
05-19 Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
05-20 Turner Hall Milwaukee, WI
05-21 First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
05-22 Blue Note, Columbia, MO
05-24 Gothic Theater, Englewood, CO
05-25 Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
05-26 Badlander, Missoula, MT
06-01 Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
06-02 Berbatis Pan, Portland, OR
06-04 Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
06-05 The Catalyst, Santa Cruz CA
06-06 Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles CA
06-07 Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
06-09 Glass House Pomona, CA
06-10 The Clubhouse, Tempe AZ
06-11 Club Congress, Tucson, AZ
06-12 Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque NM
06-14 Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
06-15 Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY
06-16 House of Blues, Houston, TX
06-18 Club at Firestone Orlando, FL
06-19 The Loft, Atlanta, GA
06-21 Cats Cradle Carrboro, NC
06-22 Rock n Roll Washington, DC
06-23 Otto Bar, Baltimore, MD
06-24 Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA
06-25 Webster Hall, New York, NY