Hiya - On Saturday Chris was in good shape - the best I've seen him since the seizures. Moving his medication to the evening has made his days more alert and active. We went for quite a long walk where I received a loud, incredulous 'WHAT!!???' when I told him that Barbara and I had discussed getting him a dog. Later, after we watched a DVD, I had what could almost pass as a quick conversation, where his responses to questions about the movie were rapid enough & obvious enough that deliberate thought wasn't required. Quite good really.

Roy

Hi All - The album has been released digitally in the US by Merge & will be out on CD there on 23rd of Feb. It is the same as the NZ copy with one exception. Jeff Mangum (of Neutral Milk Hotel fame) has recorded 'Sign The Dotted Line' which is included in the US release. We were hampered in NZ by our production deadline coming up to the Xmas period and unfortunately Jeff's track was not ready to be included. You can download Sign The Dottend Line for a buck from Merge.

I haven't seen Chris yet this week but rumor has it that he is a bit brighter eyed & less foggy than on the weekend.

Roy

Howdy - I saw Chris twice over the weekend. He has returned home finally - obviously he is very relieved to get out of the hospital/rehab environment. On Friday he was looking tired but by Sunday he seemed a bit more engaged and as if some of the fog from the seizures was lifting. We watched the Leonard Cohen Isle of Wight DVD & then a Beatle DVD - Chris enjoyed them both but had to take a nap before the Beatle one finished. Thanks to Graham Reid for dropping off said discs.

'Stroke' will be back in shops tomorrow I am told (when the ink will be dry!).

Mr Merkin

Hi - Chris suffered two seizures on Sunday within a brief period of time. He was taken to Accident & Emergency. Apparently it is common for people that have had strokes to have seizures but of course Chris is also an epileptic (although he hadn't had a seizure for about 20 years). It's very sad as he seemed to be making significant progress & we were starting to feel as if we all had a path forward with Chris' recovery. We are told that no further brain damage has occured but it's a blow for us to see Chris foggy and less capable than he was a week ago. And of course poor Chris feels the shift & that is hard to watch. We're hoping that over the next week Chris will recuperate from the seizures & be back to where he was with his recovery.

On a brighter note, on Saturday night Pearl Jam performed in Auckland & did 'Not Given Lightly' with Neil & Liam Finn to a crowd of 30,000 who sang along. It was by all accounts a very special moment (The YouTube clip has been added to the Knox Box).

Actually it does occur to me that news of 30,000 people singing NGL may have induced the seizures and NGL was, after all, on the album Seizure ......

Roy

PS 'Stroke - Songs For Chris Knox' will be back in stores early next week. It takes two coats of ink to obtain the desired effect & it's a bit slow to dry.

Hi All - Sorry the blog's been quiet for a while, I've been winding down after the events of the previous week. There have been several meetings over the week with therapists & funding bodies to ascertain the best way forward for Chris. It was gratifying to hear from the Rehab team that Chris has made significant cognitive improvements over the last few months. His stamina has improved & he is much steadier on his feet now. His speech, however, remains minimal & it is time for the family to look more seriously at incorporating other means of communication (thanks for the blog comments with suggestions, we're working through them).

Chris will be going home soon. It's been a long 5 1/2 months of hospitals & wards with nurses' visits & snoring neighbours - Chris has bourne it very well. We're about to enter a new phase of Chris' recovery & one which will take some time to understand & come to grips with.

We're working on the US release of 'Stroke - Songs For Chris Knox' which will come out around Feb 2010. I mis-credited 'My Only Friend' as being by Willl Oldham when it should read as being by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - my sincere apologies to Will: it will be fixed on the US pressing (making your Kiwi version more valuable as a rarity - so maybe you need two copies?).

Roy

Howdy - 'Stroke - Songs For Chris Knox' has sold out of its first NZ pressing & we await more stock to be delivered on Monday the 30th of November. Thanks so much to everyone who has bought a copy to help Chris' recovery & if yer still wanting to buy one as a stocking stuffer for Xmas please don't blow yer bucks on just any other disc of muck - patience is a virtue! Wait a week then get 'Stroke'.

Oh, and it's also No 8 in the album charts ... like a little yellow egg sandwiched between the Scots, just below Fleetwood Mac and just above Rod Stewart.

Rod Merkin

Hi All - The album is selling well & may even make the charts this week. So I'd encourage all of you in NZ who may be intending to buy the album to buy it this week to help it on its way!

Chris was a very happy chap on Saturday but was wiped out by all the excitement. It's definitely good for him and his mood to be back performing though - it's who he is. And yeah, it is very inspiring, life-affirming stuff as many have pointed out - and we all need more of that eh?

Rod

Hi All - It was an amazing night! Sorry to all those who couldn't get in to the show - we sold out very early on & as music fans we've suffered through too many horrbly packed gigs to want to inflict that on anyone else. I had a great time playing with David Kilgour & we even did a number with Chris. There was lots of footage shot which I'll post on the site as soon as I get a copy. (The TV3 website has some footage and there are some clips on the Launch Party Page).

Chris had a fabulous night and stayed til the end - merrily swaying away with his friends to Shayne's set of past songs (& even a Gordons cover!). There was so much love for him there.

Big thanks to Trilby who was one of the major stars of the event. And thanks to Neil & Sharon, Don, David, Shayne, Graeme, Sean & all their bandmates - we hope you had a blast.

All the best

Rod Merkin

PS There's been some teething problems with digital downloads which I apologise for but it should all be fixed now - here's the soluition from the guys at Amplifier for those affected -

"It has been bought to our attention that due to a technical issue the
audio for the first 9 tracks of disc 2 of Stroke on the iTunes Store was
incorrect.  This problem has now been corrected.  For those of you who
purchased Stroke through iTunes you can re-download the correct audio by
following these instructions:

*    When you receive your invoice for the purchase, the album will
be listed on there.
*    Click the "Report a Problem" link that is associated with the
affected tracks / album.
*    This will take you through to a web page where you can initiate
the re-download. "

PS ...... Ahhh Barry - you should have come over!