Welcome to the twenty third "unofficial" Cheap Trick newsletter. This includes a review of the 3 recent shows in Colorado and New Mexico which I hope you find it interesting. {Newsletter Review - colorado.htm}

Current live dates announced on the official CT website are as follows: 8 Sep - Lincolnshire, IL; 9 - Chillicothe IL; 14 - Pomona CA; 15 - Tulare CA; 22 - Huntsville AL; 23 - New Orleans; 10 Nov - St Petersburg FL; 11 - Fellsmere FL; 30 Dec - Mt Pleasant MI. As always, these dates are subject to confirmation and change, please check before travelling. Following on from the 2 hour acoustic show at the end of June in California, the band played a 1 hour, free, acoustic show in Boston on 3rd August, at short notice. The traditional New Years Eve show seems likely to take place in the Midwest, but no firm news on that as yet.

At the end of August, Cheap Trick's manager, Dave Frey, kindly gave me an update on various items of news. Dave was very open and forthcoming, and his help is much appreciated.

- The 16-track "Authorised Greatest Hits" CD is due for release by Sony in the USA on September 19. As yet there is no news on the release date elsewhere in the world. Past experience in Europe would suggest 4-8 weeks later, but I understand the band's management are still in discussion with Sony Music about the release of this CD outside of the US.

- Sony Music have indicated that the "Busted", "Standing on the Edge" and "The Doctor" albums are all being dropped from their catalogue. If you never quite got around to buying those on CD, now would be a good time. In the UK, import copies of these can still be found in larger branches of music stores like Virgin and HMV at reasonable prices, or can probably still be ordered from the USA.

- There is currently no release date for the video and DVD of the Rockford 25th Anniversary Show. This is still in production, and the process is complicated by the need for 3 different audio mixes. There is the 5.1 audio for the DVD, also the stereo movie and stereo audio tracks. Since there was well over two hours of audio to begin with, this has meant that something like seven hours of audio is having to be mixed, which is a major task. The plan is still to release both VHS video and DVD in the US.

- The "Music for Hangovers" DVD is being held up by various legalities beyond the control of the band and their management. The legalities involve the company that will be distributing the DVD. There is no indication of when the DVD will be released, but I understand that all parties are eager to see this out on the store shelves. As with the Rockford video/DVD, I do not know if this will be released outside the USA.

- There is currently no information about further "Re-mastered" CD's, as Sony are concentrating on the release of the "Authorised Greatest Hits". The band should shortly gain ownership of their "Woke Up with a Monster" album, which will allow them to consider remastering, bonus tracks and/or other additions to this.

- The band have worked on new material over the past 18 months in Rockford, California, Florida and Austin. I understand that they plan to start recording tracks in earnest for the new CD from November. There is no target date as yet for when the new CD will be released, though I understand that the recording and production process is planned so that the whole album will be consistently strong.

- The second "Bun E's Basement Bootleg" CD may be released in late 2000/early 2001. I asked Dave about the pricing structure, since some fan's had commented on what they regarded as a high price for #1. Dave explained that the pricing was due to the limited number of CD's produced (1,000). The set-up costs are a static amount, whether the run is for 1,000 or 50,000 CD's. With a smaller production run, there are less CD's to spread the basic costs across, and this series was always meant to be an opportunity for fan club members to purchase rare recordings. As previously mentioned, Bootleg #2 is to be a "Best of Soundchecks". I will let you know if/when it is available for the public to order. As with #1, members of Trick International are likely to be offered the opportunity to purchase the CD before any remaining disks are made publicly available to order.

A reminder that the third "Alt.Music.Cheap-Trick newsgroup" fan tribute CD is now available for order. The order form for this 19 track CD featuring amateur/fan musicians from around the world can be found online at www.studio411.net.

As ever, the official fan service, Trick International is at 1957 - 86th Street, PMB #149, Brooklyn, NY 11214 USA and can be contacted via e-mail at TRICKINTL@aol.com. Merchandise is available from Trickstuff and the current range can be viewed on the official website (see below). Orders/enquiries should be sent to Trickstuff, PO Box 1911, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA. The official Cheap Trick internet website internet is at http://www.cheaptrick.com .

All past issues of this newsletter, interviews, reviews and photo's are archived on my internet site - http://website.lineone.net/~kgisborne5 And the "Cheap Trick Global Webring" link on the Entry page will take you to a list of great fan sites around the world!

I hope you've found this issue informative. If you receive this by paper mail, I'd be grateful you could send a sae (or more) or IRC for the next issue. If you (or any other Trick fans you know) would prefer to receive this newsletter by e-mail in future, please write to or e-mail me. The next issue is planned for early November..