Black says he put a lot of thought into planning this season’s trek.

“I’m not rushing into my next tour,” Black told Billboard at the end of September. “I want to figure out which would be the best clubs to play in – maybe weed out some of the other clubs that we would play. I don’t want every day to be some kind of 600 mile drive or travel ordeal.”

It looks like Black’s booking agent honored his wishes of short travel distances as the band’s monthlong North American trek sticks to the Eastern seaboard. Kicking the tour off is a five-night-run at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.

Following the Catholics outing, Black will treat fans in Little Rock and Dallas to a couple of solo gigs.

After a string of record company difficulties that kept him from finding a substantial audience, Black seems to have solved the problems with a new label. Dog In The Sand – his third album with the Catholics name – was nominated for best album of the year for the 2002 AFIM Indie awards.

The group released two albums in August: Black Letter Days and Devil’s Workshop.