    
February 2013 Newsletter
Hey peeps! 
Love is in the air! It's February and Cupid is love-drunkenly zipping around to and fro, getting all nutty with his arrows. Or not, depending on your current romantic sitch :) If his enchanted arrow has missed your butt, don't worry - somebody out there is looking for you right now. Or maybe they're not even looking, but either way your paths are going to cross the moment that you least expect it... or even want it. That seems to be the way it always happens, as world famous actress Loretta Young once said "Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you". That appears to be both personally and historically accurate :) Another quote that may ring true for some is by philosopher Aristotle, who said "Love is a serious mental disease". Yes. This too, is accurate. To balance out these two points of view, lets have one final quotation, this one from Nietzsche, who went on to elaborate that "There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." So whichever of those quotes you choose to relate to the most, just take a simple "Happy Valentines Day" from us here at HQ :) You are special and the Sheath loves you <3 Be ours!!
Beyond that, here's some pretty freakin' gnarly stuff that has happened in this month's Science News Round-Up! - Minerals found in the subsurface of Mars, a zone of more than three miles below ground, make for the strongest evidence yet that it may have supported life, according to research "Groundwater activity on Mars and implications for a deep biosphere," published in Nature Geoscience on January 20, 2013. Seems like we're getting really close here! - More about Mars: Ridges in impact craters appear to be fossils of cracks in the Martian surface, formed by minerals deposited by flowing water. Water flowing beneath the surface once again suggests that life may once have been possible on Mars. - The first of NASA's three next-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), known as TDRS-K, launched at 8:48 p.m. EST Wednesday, January 30th from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The next TDRS spacecraft, TDRS-L, is scheduled for launch in 2014. TDRS-M's manufacturing process will be completed in 2015. The TDRS system provides tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include the International Space Station and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. - Most mammals, including humans, see in stereo and hear in stereo. But whether they can also smell in stereo is the subject of a long-standing scientific controversy. Well, definitive evidence now shows that Moles can smell in stereo :) - And in utterly futuristic news, Scientists at the University of Essex have been working with NASA on a project where they controlled a virtual spacecraft by thought alone. Hahaha, wow!!!! Ok, ok, ok, we could go one about this stuff all day, but we understand you probably aren't kickin' around this newsletter to catch up on your Science :) Lets talk about the Science of music and its social relevance! Hope you guys enjoy the February Newsletter, we'll catch up again at the end to say G'bye!! Enjoy!! We're now taking preorders for the 3rd vinyl pressing of Caspian's 2009 masterpiece Tertia. This pressing comes in three new colors, you can check them out below :) The band will be on the road soon with Junius and Native, and you can check out tour dates HERE (more on this tour below). These records are in production and preorders should be shipping by the end of the month or early next month, depending on when the pressing plant gets them to us. Looky! Bloody Gold Splatter, limited to 100 Maroon/Gold Swirl, limited to 100 Translucent Pilsner, limited to 400 Preorder this bad suna'bitch RIGHT HERE! Again, we're shipping these hopefully by the months end, possibly early March - we'll keep ye posted! Gifts From Enola Midwest Tour Gifts From Enola will be heading out for a brief midwest run in March. The dates include a few shows with best buddies If These Trees Could Talk. They are touring in support of their newest album A Healthy Fear, which is available for streaming/purchasing HERE. And heeeeere are the dates!:
3/6 Akron, OH - Annabelle's +
3/7 Chicago, IL - Reggie's +
3/8 Detroit, MI - Paycheck's * +
3/9 Columbus, OH - Carabar * +
3/10 Pittsburgh, PA - Kopec's *
* = If These Trees Could Talk
+ = The End of the Ocean
They probably won't be playing in these areas again this year, so be sure to head out and show the boys your support at these dates! They will also have the last available copies of A Healthy Fear on baby blue vinyl. Minot 7" Preorders Shipped! Jams Out Now! 
All preorders for the Minot 7" have been shipped out and the songs are now available digitally from all DSP's :) Thanks to everyone that preordered a copy of the 7", we're nearly sold out of the translucent blue version, so if you're on the fence... JUMP! You can order it HERE. The band will be playing with Maserati next month in San Francisco at Bottom of the Hill, so if you're in the area be sure to check out a freakin' awesome show! RSVP on Facebook HERE. You can purchase advance tickets HERE. And if you haven't, be sure to follow the boyz on Facebook and Twitter :)
Caspian/Junius US Tour
 
Our fam in Caspian and Junius have joined forces once again to trek across the country together. It's been a while since they've toured with one another, but the first time we actually finally had the opportunity to see either band perform live was when they played a show together at The Anchor in Nashville back in '08. It was the first of many shows we watched them play together, including two unforgettable Mylene Sheath SXSW showcases. To celebrate this 2013 tour, we'll have various sales and contests going online during the tour to win free records, CDs, and other merch from the bands. Each band is playing additional dates on the tour as well, Caspian with Native, and Junius with Silver Snakes, respectively. Head over HERE to view full tour dates. Suh-weeeeeeeeet!!!
USPS Shipping Rate Increase
In unavoidable, yet always shitty news, the USPS has once again increased international shipping rates (as well as a minimal domestic increase). This occurred on January 27th. They also changed the name of First-Class Mail International to First-Class Package International Service. Sounds much classier? I dunno. But it's more expensive. These price increases are reflected in our webstore now, and we wanted everyone to know it wasn't a change we implemented by choice. We're already working on various ways to decrease the new shipping & handling charges as this process evolves, so please bear with us, as this change affects us all.
We'll most likely be coming up with some International Package Deals from now on to make the weight vs. cost make more sense for our international customers, especially during preorders. These would be simply set up as an item in the webstore like any other package deal, but shipping would already be included in the price, etc. More on all of this soon, as we figure out all the best ways to save you guys some cash flow. We're on the case!
At the same time, don't hate on the USPS too hard for the rate increase. As rude as their customer service can often be when you're dealing with them (ugh! what's up with that???), they do have to try to stay in business - and the fact is that they're 15 BILLION dollars in debt. Rates increase for everything, every year, which means that their own costs have increased, which inevitably must be passed down to their customers. If they go out of business, you DO NOT want to know how much shipping via FedEx or UPS would cost! The USPS is a self-supporting government enterprise that receives no tax dollars or government funding. They rely solely on the sale of postage and their products to stay in business. And we need them!
Caspian You Are The Conductor
Test Press Artwork Contest
The finalists have been chosen for you to vote on! Three designs, a few days left to vote, and one winner will have their artwork immortalized as the packaging for the ten test presses that were pressed for Caspian's debut 12" You Are The Conductor. Head over HERE to check out the designs and vote for the winner!
Furthermore, anyone that places an order within the next few days, up until the voting period ends, will also be entered in a raffle to win a copy of the test press! Again, you can head over HERE and check out all the details and vote!
Wrap Up
That's gonna do it for another month of Sheathy shenanigans! To summarize, remember to head over and preorder the repress of Caspian's Tertia 2xLP HERE, get out and see Gifts From Enola & If These Trees Could Talk terrorize the midwest (dates HERE), check out the new Minot 7" HERE, catch a show on the Caspian and Junius tour that you won't soon forget (dates HERE), vote for the winner of the You Are The Conductor test press artwork contest HERE, and disregard this massive run-on sentence :)
Enjoy your month everyone, and if you happen to be in the Northeast, try to stay safe and warm during the upcoming storm - you guys are really getting hit hard this year :/ Anyways, our thoughts are with you, BE SAFE!!!
See y'all mofo's once again in March <3
xoxo, Lindsay & Joel
p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEATH SHERIFF!!
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