Your Garbage friends have been remiss in reporting our doings

to ATN. We can work all sorts of complicated musical gear, but can't figure out

how to send e-mail from Europe. Anyway, thanks for waiting, and here's what

we've been doing. Made it through the snow and ice to Pittsburgh to our first

in-store signing (turnout was somewhat better than Spinal Tap's), and a

sold-out show that went especially well, despite our confusion caused by the

Pittsburghian tendency to put the French fries on the inside of the sandwich

rather than in a cardboard container where they belong. Sometimes these

on-the-road cultural discrepancies can be enough to drive you bonkers, as

Shirley would say. More on the total lack of ice cubes in England later. Then,

it was off through another life-threatening storm to SnOasis! This was a

mid-afternoon concert on a ski hill in New Jersey in sub-zero weather featuring

us, Stabbing Westward, God Lives Underwater, and Noel Gallagher acoustic for

two songs.

Garbage Road Wisdom: If at all possible, try to avoid

mid-afternoon concerts on ski hills in New Jersey in sub-zero weather.

We

discovered that gloves and guitars don't mix, but we muscled through the set.

We'll now stick to indoor gigs in the winter, thank you. Onward to beautiful

Cincinnati, humming the "WKRP" theme song, and Indianapolis, where an

excited fan

somehow managed to cover the front rows with pepper spray during "Milk," our

quietest song--somewhat spoiling the vibe. When we got to our hometown

(except

for Shirley because she doesn't live there) of Madison, Wisconsin, we were

proud to hear that the mayor had proclaimed show day as "Garbage Day," complete

with an official-looking proclamation. We were sad to discover that you don't

actually get paid cash for these sort of things, but we had a great over-sold

out show anyway, and celebrated to a greater extent than perhaps we should have

afterwards at the Sidecar. Madison saw the world debut of our "Gizmotrons,"

weird electronic devices that whirr, sparkle, and flutter, and don't

actually do

anything at all. But they look cool! Will Garbage fall prey to further rock and

roll excess and on-stage debauchery? Stay tuned.

(To be continued...)