MP3: Califone – “All My Friends Are Funeral Singers”
MP3: Califone – “Pastry Sharp”

The last time Califone played San Diego, its lineup had changed significantly from what fans had grown used to.

With longtime members Ben Massarella, Jim Becker, and Joe Adamik on a never-ending tour with Iron and Wine, Califone mastermind Tim Rutili had recruited former Red Red Meat bandmate Tim Hurley and his Sin Ropas collaborator Danni Iosello to play a few west coast gigs. The shows were stripped down, enveloping, and amazing, and included songs from all three projects.

Not much has changed since then, but that’s not to say Rutili hasn’t kept busy. Last year, Califone released two of its classic albums — Sometimes Good Weather Follows Bad People and Roomsound — on vinyl (neither had been released on vinyl before). This March, the band will reissue its 2004 Captain Beefheart-inrpired effort Heron King Blues on vinyl. You can pre-order that one here.

Rutili also recently contributed to the soundtracks for Kelsey Grammar’s Starz show “Boss” and the PBS Independent Lens feature “Beauty Is Embarrassing.” He’s almost finished with a new, as-yet-untitled Califone album, too.

To celebrate all this, Rutili, Hurley, Iosello, and Griffin Rodriguez will hit the road for another west coast mini-tour. According to Rutili, the band will play “some brand new songs and some old ones too.” Rutili is also planning a tour of U.S. living rooms in the spring.

Blues Oblique and San Diego’s Little White Teeth will open for Califone on February 27; get your tickets here.

Califone on tour
2/27 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
2/28 – Los Angeles, CA – The Satellite
3/1 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe du Nord
3/2 – San Francisco – Noise Pop Festival (Live sountrack to Man Ray’s “L’etoile de Mer” & Germaine Dulac’s “La Coquille et le Clergyman”)