Ben Gibbard Grows Facial Hair In Preparation For Upcoming Solo Tour

"I've packed a change of clothes and it's time to move on."

Perhaps it’s all those years of vegan eating with Zooey Deschanel, but Ben Gibbard looks like he’s supporting about a 28 inch waist and a frame that’s thin enough where he could have auditioned for her stunt double in (500) Days Of Summer.

Thank goodness that Ben is supplanting his emaciated body with facial hair to at least give the appearance that he’s healthy enough to rock your balls off on his recently announced solo tour.

The tour is a mere 13 dates long-as two weeks of shows would surely drain the remaining bodily fluids left in his body to cause dehydration.

In the press release below, Gibbard makes an underhanded attempt at redeeming some of his manhood by professing his love for the Seattle Mariners and penning a theme song for Ichiro Suzuki, who’s now a fucking Yankee.

That bid for additional testosterone points is then cancelled out by Ben who decides to donate all the proceeds from that song about the former-Mariner to a community program sponsored by the Seattle team.

Next up, Ben plans to write a song about the Seattle Supersonics with proceeds going to an old coffee shop Gibbard used to visit that is now in danger of closing.

[Tuesday, August 14, 2012, Seattle, WA] This fall Death Cab for Cutie frontman Benjamin Gibbard will release his first solo record and embark on a 13-date North American tour. The album, Former Lives (Barsuk), is set for an October 16^th release and the album art is available now. The tour begins October 14^th in Toronto, ON. "Along the way Gibbard will hit Chicago, New York, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles and more with the tour wrapping up in mid-November with soon to be announced shows in the songwriter’s native Pacific Northwest."  Advance Base and Damien Jurado will be joining him in opening slots. A complete list of tour dates is available below.

Recently the singer has been in the news for penning “Ichiro’s Theme”, a tribute to long-time Seattle Mariners’ outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who was recently traded to the New York Yankees. “I wrote "Ichiro's Theme" in 2010 while living in LA and missing The Mariners.  I had always loved Ichiro and decided he needed a theme song that didn't suck.  Hopefully, I achieved this goal." “Ichiro’s Theme” is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon, All sales proceeds will benefit the Seattle Mariners Refuse to Abuse Program.

In addition, Gibbard is the first contributor to a new initiative called “90 Days, 90 Reasons” launched by Dave Eggers and McSweeney’s. This is an effort to remind voters that there’s an election fast approaching and that President Obama deserves another term. Every day on this new website a concrete reason to vote for Obama will be given, with a cultural figure such as Judd Apatow, Win Butler, Roger Ebert, Aimee Mann and others detailing the reason. Reason  #1 by Ben Gibbard: “Obama is the first president in U.S. history to acknowledge the right of gay couples to marry and enjoy the full benefits of marriage in the eyes of the law. “

BENJAMIN GIBBARD FALL 2012 TOUR DATES & TICKET INFORMATION:
Pre-sale tickets for this tour are being held exclusively for the Death Cab for Cutie fan club beginning Wednesday, August 15 at 12 noon local venue time.

Please visit www.dcfcunion.com for more information on becoming a member of the DCFC Union Local #1138, or to log in to your account and gain access to the pre-sale. By buying tickets through our pre-sale, you will be able to get your tickets before anyone as well as save money on service charges.

Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, August 3. For further ticketing information, please visit Ben Gibbard's website.

Wed Sep 26 - Big Sur CA @ Henry Miller Library

Sun Oct 14 - Toronto ON @ The Danforth Music Hall

Thu Nov 01 - Minneapolis MN @ Assembly Hall at The Women's Club w/ Advance Base

Fri Nov 02 - Chicago IL @ Athenaeum Theatre w/ Advance Base

Sun Nov 04 - Somerville MA @ Somerville Theater w/ Advance Base

Mon Nov 05 - New York NY @ Town Hall w/ Advance Base

Wed Nov 07 - Glenside PA @ Keswick Theatre w/ Advance Base

Thu Nov 08 - Washington DC @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue w/ Advance Base

Sat Nov 10 - Saxapahaw NC @ The Haw River Ballroom  w/ Advance Base

Sun Nov 11 - Atlanta GA @ Variety Playhouse w/ Advance Base

Tue Nov 13 - San Francisco CA @ Palace of Fine Arts Theatre  w/ Damien Jurado

Wed Nov 14 - Los Angeles CA @ Wilshire Ebell w/ Damien Jurado