The John Mellencamp-Stephen King "play with music" received some workshop performances last week in New York, which appear to have led to the securing of some seed money for a production.
"The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" involves two bickering brothers and their father who visit a cabin where the father's brothers had killed each other. The dead brothers' ghosts are part of the story as well.
Mellencamp also paid a visit to  Comedy Central’s "Colbert Report," where things got out of hand and Stephen Colbert challenged Mellencamp to a fight.
“That New York trip last week was very productive," Mellencamp said upon his return to Indiana. "The play went well and so did the visit to 'The Colbert Report.'  I got to work with two guys named Stephen and nobody got hurt ... but it was touch and go with one of them.”
Mellencamp returns to New York on Sept. 9 for  Farm Aid 2007: A Homegrown Festival on Randall’s Island.

Everybody sing: The weather is terrible! There are too many drunk Iowans! Rex Grossman sucks!
International artists Tellervo Kalleinen (Finland) and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen (Germany) are extending an invitation to all Chicagoans to complain about any topic they like and to sing their complaints out loud with fellow complainers.
People may submit complaints and register to participate by visiting Smog Veil Records online at SmogVeil.com or by emailing complaintschoir@yahoo.com. All of the participants, along with Chicago-based musician and conductor Jeremy Jacobsen, will write the song together.  This process will be realized in a workshop consisting of five rehearsals (Oct.16-­Nov. 2).
The premiere performance will take place at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art on Nov.3.
The first Complaints Choir performance took place in Birmingham, England two years ago and since then Complaints Choirs have sung in  Helsinki, Hamburg and St. Petersburg.
Smog Veil Records, in collaboration with the artists and the Danish production company Fine & Mellow are working on a documentary film of the project which will debut in 2009.