Calvin, Don't Jump! is the band of J. Kirk Pleasant, who, when active in the Athens music scene, contributed to albums by the Olivia Tremor Control, the Gerbils, and Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't. As Calvin, Don't Jump! he released two albums--1999's Crystal Clear Mississippi and 2002's A Way with Birds, both of which have garnered cult followings--and a handful of singles. Now he lives in Canada, but recently announced a short tour in Japan, to be followed by the release of a third album. Mr. Pleasant spilled a few details of the upcoming album, Conscious of Conscience, to Optical Atlas.

"The new album doesn't have a release date yet," he writes, "but I'm going to have 50-100 limited edition copies available for the upcoming Japanese tour. If there's any left over (hopefully not...he he), I'll sell them first come first serve from my website. After the tour, I'll probably re-mix the whole thing and touch it up a bit, then try to find somebody to help me put it out. I wouldn't mind doing it myself, like the first record, but that's always expensive and my funds are a little low these days."

The Calvin, Don't Jump! MySpace page mentions that one of his early cassettes will be re-released soon, possibly with more reissues of early material to follow. "The tape EP I'm re-releasing is my first ever four-track recording effort titled Notes from Undersound. It's a five-song EP and will be available in tape format only. I was listening to it the other night while making some tapes and ten years later, I think it's a pretty impressive example of low-fi at its most vulnerable."

He has some Japanese dates scheduled in April and May, but will anything in North America follow? "I don't have any other shows planned after the Japanese tour. Although I wouldn't mind doing some shows around here (Vancouver, B.C.). My friend Keith John Adams is thinking about touring out this way and I'd like to do a show with him. So far, I haven't played a show in North America in about three years, save one open-mic night that nobody who knew me attended. It was lots of fun though. I like doing that sort of thing."

If you're new to Calvin, Don't Jump!, you can listen to some of Mr. Pleasant's music, including a song from the new album, at the band's MySpace page. A Way with Birds is for sale at Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records, and Athens Music is still selling copies of Crystal Clear Mississippi.

Calvin, Don't Jump! in Japan

04/27/2006 - Nagoya @ KDJAPON
04/29/2006 - Kyoto @ NANO
04/30/2006 - Osaka @ Venue TBA
05/04/2006 - Tokyo @ Shimokitazawa440
05/06/2006 - Tokyo @ Yoyogi Zherthezoo