Bob Mould announces Distortion and Blue Hearts Tour

Mould will embark on the tours this fall

Legendary musician Bob Mould is hitting the road for two separate tours later this year. The five week Distortion and Blue Hearts Tour kicks off on September 16th for 15 shows with his band while the final eight sees Mould performing electric solo shows with bandmate Jason Narducy opening.

Narducy has been the bass player in Mould’s band since 2005. The Evanston, IL-based musician first gained renown in 1982, when at 11 years old, he formed the seminal punk rock band Verböten with his childhood friends in an Evanston basement. Narducy would later go on to front Verbow, releasing three albums with the band (one in its earliest incarnation as Jason & Alison). Since his days in Verbow, Narducy has gone on to tour with such acts as Robert Pollard and Telekinesis. Today, along with playing bass for Mould he performs the same role in Superchunk, and fronts Split Single, with whom he’s recorded three albums with a rotating cast of stellar musicians, including Jon Wurster, Spoon’s Britt Daniel, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, and Wilco’s John Stirratt. Split Single’s new album, Amplificado, is out June 25th.

Mould also marks the 10-year anniversary of his groundbreaking memoir See A Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody by sharing a video clip of him reading from the book and then performing solo ”Wishing Well” from his 1989 landmark album Workbook.

On top of that, he shares a trailer for his fourth and final vinyl box Distortion: Live an 8 LP set that includes live recordings from Mould’s solo career and his band Sugar. This set will be released on July 16th, through Demon Music Group.

“After three years of writing my 2011 autobiography, See A Little Light, I was ‘full speed ahead’ — no more looking back. But over the past few years, during the production of the Distortion reissue series, many of the people, places, and circumstances that fueled those albums came back to life. Oddly, I didn’t see that coming,” Mould shares.

“As for today: the book is ten years old, I’m thrilled that 30 years of my work has been re-released in so many configurations, and I’m very grateful to be able to take these songs and stories to the stage later this year — and hopefully many years to come. As time marches on, I’m learning to embrace my past, enjoy the moment, and still have hopes and dreams for the future.”

As on the previously released box sets in the Distortion collection, the fourth volume sees each album being mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering in Boston and is presented with brand new artwork designed by illustrator Simon Marchner and pressed on 140-gram clear vinyl with unique splatter effects. This box set includes four live albums: Live At The Cabaret Metro, 1989; the Sugar album The Joke Is Always On Us, Sometimes; LiveDog98 (first time on vinyl), and Live at ATP 2008 (first time on vinyl). In addition, the set includes a 28-page companion booklet featuring liner notes by journalist Keith Cameron; contributions from Bully’s Alicia Bognanno; rare photographs and memorabilia, and a bonus LP Distortion Plus: Live, which features live rarities including B-Sides and stand-out tracks from the Circle of Friends concert film.

Bob Mould Band: Distortion and Blue Hearts Tour:

September 16 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
September 17 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
September 18 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
September 19 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
September 21 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Small’s Theatre
September 22 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
September 24 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theater
September 25 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
September 28 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
September 29 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
October 1 – San Francisco, CA – August Hall
October 2 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
October 4 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
October 5 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
October 6 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk

Bob Mould Solo Electric: Distortion and Blue Hearts:

October 15 – Bloomington, IL – Castle Theatre
October 16 – Stoughton, WI – Stoughton Opera House
October 17 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe
October 19 – Kent, OH – Kent Stage
October 20 – Nelsonville, OH – Stuart’s Opera House
October 22 – Cincinnati, OH – Memorial Hall
October 23 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway Nightclub
October 24 – Iowa City, IA – Englert Theater

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com