How did you folks give thanks this year?

Me, I went to the beach, popped into an oyster bar and got lesson in pistol-cleaning etiquette, spotted what I think was a dolphin from our balcony, and witnessed my first legitimate spit-take.

A little re-set was nice, but we’re back at it now, and gearing up to do our last two shows of the year. One’s a return visit to For The Record Music Hall in Florence, AL, where we’ll be sandwiched between April Cries and Lightwatch on Friday, December 8th, before hauling it to a private event in Bowling Green the next day, to turn in our final 2024 performance.

Between trips to various post offices, shipping out copies of ‘Sleepwalker’ (The first pressing of the CD is officially sold out, BTW), we squeezed in a run up to John Brown’s On The Square, in Marion, Illinois, and a support slot with Classic Rock legend Pat Travers at Hop Springs Beer Park in Murfreesboro, TN.

We also did a few new podcast appearances, some of which you can actually view, while others exist in mere audio.

I talk ‘Sleepwalker’ with A-Sides HERE.

Kenny & I hang with the Ages Of Rock guys HERE.

Corey discusses post-classic DIO albums with A-Sides HERE.

I join Viking Stew for an episode of his Hammer Away Podcast HERE.

Oh yeah, before anyone asks - Yes, the “When Love Is The Drug” video is still in production, so please stay tuned for updates on that. In the meantime, ’tis the season, so let’s revisit this Holiday gem, shall we? SANTA LOST MY LIST

Speaking of Santa, my Christmas came a bit early, in the form of this badass, illuminated sign my buddy Woody had made for me! Check it out!

Hopefully Ol’ Saint Nick treats you all so kindly, but remember, there is no greater gift to be given than the ones you’ll find right HERE.

I honestly can’t say yet what 2024 might hold for us as a band, but as soon as we get some idea of that coming into focus, I’ll be sure to update you here, and via all the socials….well, except Twitter, or whatever that’s called now - too much political blather going on around those parts for me.

Stay warm, and as always, be good to each other,
Denny
The Great Affairs
 

So much to talk about, but so little time to chew that fat. Let’s get into (and right back out of) it then, shall we?

’Sleepwalker’ is now just a few weeks old, but gaining momentum by the day. We’ve scared up a few more good reviews, one from “I Don’t Hear A Single” HERE, and another from “Melodic Rock AOR” that you can read HERE.

In addition to reviews, I was recently the subject of an article in Nashville Voyager that you can check out HERE. We dive into my musical history, previous bands, and discuss various mishaps & adventures I’ve enjoyed along the way.

Scott Benting & John Merchant of The Narcissistic Music Disorder Podcast celebrated their 100th episode, and marked the occasion by giving us some mighty kind props during the installment. You can listen to that HERE, and maybe discover a new favorite band or two while you’re at it.

In other news, Kenny had a birthday, I got together with some buddies and paid tribute to The Marvelous 3 before trekking to Atlanta and catching Night 1 of their reunion shows(having my faith in live Rock N’ Roll restored in the process), and we did a proper release show for ‘Sleepwalker’ at The Mockingbird Theater in Franklin, TN.

Here’s our setlist from that show.

Speaking of shows, we’ve got just three left for the year, the first of which takes place this Friday in Marion, IL, followed by one last local date; supporting Pat Travers at Hop Springs in Murfreesboro, TN on Friday, November 17th, before we wrap things up with a run down to Florence, AL on Friday, December 8th.

With any luck, we’ll pick back up in late January/early February, and see if we can’t keep this train rolling a while longer yet, since I believe we’ll be creeping up on our 15th anniversary in 2024, and we should probably commemorate that in some form or fashion.

Thanks again, to all of you who’ve purchased CDs & LPs, downloaded or streamed, and shared or shouted about the new album. We couldn’t do this without you, trust me. Well, we could, but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

Be good to each other,
 Denny
 The Great Affairs

p.s. If you still need a copy of the new record on CD or Vinyl, hit this LINK, and click on the “Buy From Artist” tab to see your options, or simply head over to our MERCH page to make it happen. International customers, you can get the CD from our friends at Kool Kat Music HERE.

Friday, the 13th of October, 2023 - Today’s the day, and worldwide no less. Sleepwalker is out now, anywhere & everywhere you can stream or digitally purchase an album.

Some of you have had it for a minute, either on Vinyl or CD, but those of you who’ve embraced a more streamlined approach to music consumption may have been waiting for this moment to arrive. Well, your wait is officially over. Just click HERE to see the many and varied options for procuring this “future classic”*

*(not really a quote from anyone…just wanted to sound cool)

Of course, for those of you who still wanna drop a needle into the groove, or vacuum your apartment with a DiscMan on your hip, you can head over to our MERCH page and we’ll get you situated in short order. Friends abroad, I believe KOOL KAT MUSIC is able to fulfill most International orders, if you’re willing to fork over 2-3X the price of the item in these currently ridiculous shipping charges that have become standard lately. They also only have the CD, so I hope you Vinyl aficionados on the other side of the planet will be patient with us, as we’re still trying to line up a proper distributor outside of the U.S.

So much other stuff going on…I’ll try to squeeze it all in here, quickly, so I don’t keep you too long.

Kenny did the Local Buzz on 102.9 with Andy Herrin last weekend, and we also filmed some performance footage of “When Love Is The Drug”, with Scott & Nate Moore, so be on the lookout for a new video soon.

The first reviews for ‘Sleepwalker’ have started rolling in, including a very thorough rundown from our friends over at REAL GONE.

I spoke to my buddy Jimi Holl over at the Record Machine Show Podcast, and you can check that out HERE. In addition to playing a couple of tracks from the record, we discuss songwriting, demonic possession, and proper etiquette when eating scorpions.

Tomorrow night, the 14th, we’ll be tearing through a bunch of the new stuff, along with select favorites from our back pages at Mockingbird Theater, located inside The Factory in Franklin, TN. It’s just $10 to get in, with doors at 6:30 PM for this All Ages event. Henry Cruz Band hits the stage at 7 sharp, followed by us around 8. We’ll be hanging afterwards, peddling copies of ’Sleepwalker’, for anyone who still needs it, along with other assorted items bearing our brand and/or likeness, such as pillows with Matt’s slumbering face on them(While supplies last).

OK then, get to spinning, or streaming, or whatever it is you do that gets these tunes into your ear-holes.

….and be good to each other,

-D.

p.s. Here’s to all of you who’ve thrown a few pennies in our wishing well…

Thank you. 
Thank you. 
Thank you.

All of you.

Well, specifically those of you who got in on the pre-orders for the new record as soon as they went live.

(We threw some extra goodies in with those initial orders, by the way.)

To show our gratitude, and possibly owing somewhat to impatience, the first two rounds of orders are en route. Several trips to the post office over the past two days got them all on their way, so you folks should be seeing your parcels as soon as tomorrow, if you’re in the general vicinity of Nashville, TN. For the rest of you early birds, it’s looking like most of these packages have anticipated delivery dates mid-week, but you know how that goes.

In addition to friends on our home turf, TX, CO, IL, IN, MI, PA, NC, OH, AZ, AL, ME, FL, OK, NH, KY, & NY have been represented so far. Amazing!

We love you guys, and simply can’t thank you enough!

If you haven’t yet, and wanna get your hands on a copy now, just click on the image below to be redirected to our Merch page, where you’ll see both the Vinyl & CD options up for grabs. The CDs are almost gone, but we’ll get another pressing shortly, so we can have some on hand for the “release party” at Mockingbird Theater on Saturday, October 14th, the day after the album hits all the streaming and digital outlets worldwide. (You can click HERE to see the some of the various platforms and their pre-add/pre-save/pre-order options, if that’s your thing.)

OK then, it’s almost the weekend, and I don’t wanna keep you…just wanted to drop a line and say we appreciate the support, and let those of you who kindly tossed us some coin know that your goods are in transit, care of the U.S. Postal Service. We’ll keep filling these orders as they roll in, until we run out of stuffing.

Mores dates coming soon, a new video(or two) in the works, and various other things of presently  incomplete nature to discuss next time.

Oh yeah, and for shirts, hats, hoodies, & whatnot, we’ve got this whole Printify Store thing happening now. You can check that out HERE.

You’re the best. Around.

Be good to each other, 
 Denny 
 The Great Affairs

(Click on the album cover to Pre-Order NOW!)

I was sitting in Kenny’s “man cave”/loft/shrine to all things Rock N’ Roll last Friday night, flanked by a vintage KISS pinball machine, and a floor-to-ceiling wall of shelving; loaded with his meticulously curated collection of classic LPs, as he lowered the needle on our first test-pressing of ‘Sleepwalker’, and my anxiety was off the charts.

The bourbon hadn’t kicked in yet, and after a long, hot day of only semi-successful maintenance on our beloved Jean-Claude Damme Van(always a central character in this ongoing saga), I was spent, frazzled, and ill-equipped to suffer disappointment, should Round 1 of these pre-release copies be subpar.

Thankfully, good fortune saw fit to shine upon us, perhaps in part to make up for the dismal service record our aging road whip has had of late, or maybe credit is due to Michael Saint-Leon, for his outstanding work on the vinyl master, and/or the good folks at United Record Pressing, for nailing it on the first at-bat. Either way, the results were nothing short of glorious, and hearing this stuff on wax was a legit revelation!

I do believe it to be entirely true that the sparks just don’t fly the same on CD as they do on vinyl. It’s different strokes, I know, but let me go on record as saying that I prefer being massaged in analog.

The highs aren’t so sizzling hot, and the lows sound like they’re meant to be enjoyed exclusively from the comfort of a leather, 70s bean bag chair. Certain items moving in the mix feel more slippery, and glide from place to place, as they do similarly in the digital realm, just with a bit more subtlety and a less machined quality. OK, it’s unexplainable, more a feeling than a fact, and tough to articulate, but I’m telling you, it’s a thing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the CD sounds fantastic as well, but to my ears, the vinyl walks away with this one, undisputed.

Listening down to the record, front-to-back, made me even more proud of the work everyone did on it. More than 13 years, and 8 LPs later, we still had a rabbit or two left to pull from the old hat. I feel pretty damn good about that.

So, take it for a spin. 10/13/23. Yep, Friday the 13th. Mark those calendars, buy a new belt for the turntable (I had to), and most importantly, give us your money, so maybe we can do it again sometime. It may be less expensive to MAKE a record these days, but it sure as hell isn’t getting any cheaper to press one, and all this Ramen isn’t good for my sodium intake.

Cheers, 
    Denny 
    The Great Affairs

p.s. Oh yeah, if you missed the prompt up top, just click HERE to be redirected to our official Merch page, where both the LP & CD pre-order links are live now, or HERE, to peruse a variety of streaming options, some of which include a pre-save function. Just FYI: as soon as we have the vinyl in our possession, we’ll start shipping orders(CDs may go out a bit sooner), and with any luck, you should have your physical copy/copies before the album hits the streaming services on 10/13. Initial supplies ARE limited on both formats, so please try to get your orders in early. Another run of vinyl could be months away, with turnaround times what they are.

p.s.s. For you Nashville-area folks, we’ll be doing a release show, with Henry Cruz Band in support, at Mockingbird Theater in Franklin, TN on Saturday, October 14th. Come on out and help us make a little noise, as we celebrate the record with a proper Rock show, at one of our favorite venues. We’ve got some curveballs to try out on ya.

p.s.s.s. Alabama, we’ll be headed your way in two weeks, to share the bill with An Abstract Theory at For The Record Music Hall in Florence. Check out our events page for more details, or this flyer…I’m pretty sure all, or most of what you need’s right there.

Prescription Filled -  When Love Is The Drug - OUT NOW!

I’ll get to all the “what we’ve been up to” stuff in a minute, but let’s waste no time in announcing that our latest single, from the right-around-that-corner ‘Sleepwalker’ LP is available for streaming NOW! Just click on the cover art below, and be whisked to a landing page loaded with platform options, all of which feature “When Love Is The Drug”, as of August 11th, 2023.

A few radio stations have already added it, so you may have gotten a taste by now. If not, it’s readily available wherever fine music can be streamed and/or downloaded(if that’s still a thing).

As for ‘Sleepwalker’, we hope to have Vinyl & CD pre-order links live sometime in the next week or two. In fact, we may already have some product in stock….

(What's in the box?!?! What's in the box?!?!)

…but, in the interest of rolling things out on schedule, we’re allowing our ducks to get a bit more orderly before making any final announcement.

So, what HAVE we been up to?

Rehearsing the new material for shows coming up in AL, TN, & IL.

Building a new online Merch store. You can check out exclusive T-shirt designs, Caps, Mugs, Hoodies, and  even a Jigsaw Puzzle HERE.

Rizzo & I each did separate appearances on the A-Sides podcasts, with him tackling the first four Dio records, and me yammering on about the first 4 Warrant releases. You can check those out by clicking on the corresponding image below. They’re a good time, but we go pretty deep on the subject, so casual fans beware-maximum music nerd stuff abounds.

We blasted through a quick set in support of Buckcherry, at Hop Springs in Murfreesboro, TN. You can get a gander at that HERE, as we serenade the throng with ‘Lyvia”, from our last record ‘Everybody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt’. We must’ve done something right, because they’re having us back to open for Pat Travers in November.

I think that’s about all the news I can share at the moment, but keep your eyes peeled for that pre-order announcement, and your ears full of “When Love Is The Drug”.

And, as always, be good to each other, 
    Denny 
    The Great Affairs

It’s almost July, and both the final installment of JayStock, and our show with Buckcherry are now but fond memories. If you weren’t in attendance, we have photos, and I’m sure there’s some video swirling around the internet, should you feel compelled to go down that rabbit hole.

(We suspect Jean Claude Damme Van had a touch of penis envy.)

The big news though, is that we have officially completed all tracking for album #6, working title: Sleepwalker.

The stragglers are trickling in, as Mix-Master Mike Street-Lion gets down to the dirtiest of business behind the scenes, where all manner of sonic witchcraft is afoot, things we make him swear not to let us in on, that we might maintain plausible deniability.

10 songs, and maybe a little “post-credits scene”. Relatively short, and reasonably sweet. If you like us rough around the edges, there’s plenty of that on offer this go-round, but we did dabble in some more sophisticated arrangements, in the interest of not repeating ourselves, or making just another record. Having Rizzo on board really elevated some of these tunes, and I think it pushed us to try a few things, guitar-wise, that we may have previously shied away from. It’s got some teeth.

Once we decide on a final sequence, get the master together, and assemble the artwork, it simply becomes a matter of settling on a possible release date.

Of course, that means there’s probably another single/video on the way, so keep your ear to the ground.

In the meantime, I suppose we should hunker down, and figure out how to play this stuff live, so  we can get out there and promote it when the time comes.

Until then, be good to each other.

-Denny
 The Great Affairs

(A-Sides Podcast host Andy Halleen models our swag and ponders Rizzo's hair-care regimen.)

 Since our muffler(and the better part of our exhaust system) did NOT fall off the van en route to Clarksdale, Mississippi’s Shack Up Inn this time around, we took advantage of the extra minutes afforded us by this good fortune, and headed down to The Crossroads on our way out of town, to see if we could swap our souls for a bit of success. For whatever reason(s), only Matt’s was deemed worthy, so I guess we should all watch for him to join Coldplay, or achieve some sort of solo stardom in short order. It pays to pray, people.

 While Matt’s still in the fold, we’ve been trying to make the most of our remaining time with him, first squeezing in a hometown show at The Vinyl Lounge Nashville, followed by a trip back to The Switchyard, where we made reasonably quick work of laying down the bulk of the tracks needed to get us over the hump of finishing our next album. A few vocal overdubs notwithstanding, we are most definitely in the final phase of production on this thing, at long last, so I’d imagine we’ll have some legit release news very soon.

 Oh yeah, I almost forgot - Matt was a little under weather, and thus a couple of hours late for the session. I like to handle these things in a lighthearted manner, mainly because it helps me pretend I’m not nearly as pissed-off as I actually am. Usually, this frustration manifests itself in little ditties, often entirely inappropriate, but occasionally somewhat amusing. I present to you my latest, inspired by this incident of tardiness and tummy troubles. Simply click on the photo below to check out the new video for that.

 With all that behind us now, our next order of business is playing our buddy Jay Smart’s annual soiree in Marion, IL on Saturday, June 10th.

Billed as the final installment, it’s a private event, but if you know Jay(and most of Marion apparently does; I believe, including law enforcement (thankfully, because thing goes down **loud** outdoors each year), you’ve probably already gotten an invite. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for good weather, no plague of winged insects, sudden thunderstorms, broken guitar straps, overheated P.A. systems, or additional global pandemics, so JayStock can ride into the sunset on a high note, and we can witness the setting of a new World Record for Jameson consumption.

 A few days later, on Wednesday, June 21st, we’ll be opening for Buckcherry at Hop Springs Beer Park in Murfreesboro, TN. To grab advance tickets, just click HERE.

From there, we’ll be turning our full attention to applying the last coat of paint to this LP we’ve been calling ‘Sleepwalker’.

 We’ve got some other dates taking shape for the Summer too, so keep your eye on our SHOWS page, if you care to be in the know as to these goings-on.
 
 Thanks to everyone who’s grabbed some of the new merch recently. It seems the “Space Dust” design is a hit, and we should have some more fresh swag to accompany the next single and eventually the album, but that’s talk for another time.

 We hope to see you all soon.

      Be good to each other,
                    Denny
                    The Great Affairs

It’s late afternoon, on a rather dreary, overcast Thursday here in Nashville. I’ve poured my fourth and final coffee of the day, and with the sweet rush of caffeine coursing through my veins, I shall now attempt to bring you all up to speed on the latest happenings in our camp.

Our St. Patrick’s Day show was a proper throw-down, even devoid of green beer as it was. Matt found himself almost pulled off the stage, not by an amorous female, but rather a drunken one who decided to use his lower torso for support when her own legs failed her and she’d tumbled in his general direction. It was on this occasion, and due to this distraction that Mr. Andersen hit; for the very first time during one of our performances, a bad note.

He’ll have a chance to redeem himself when we head back down to Clarksdale, MS, and The Shack Up Inn for a show on Saturday, April 22nd. We’re gonna blast through a straight 2 hours at this funky joint just up the street from the infamous Crossroads, where legend has it Robert Johnson struck his deal with The Devil. I should probably pack my Tele and a Pignose, just in case.

From there, we’re doing a hometown show the following weekend, and making our debut at The Vinyl Lounge on 3rd Ave. South, with support from Nathan Picard and our former 4-stringer Henry Go’s new band Salmon In The Current. Doors open at 7, with Nathan on at 8, Hank & Co.around 9, and us batting cleanup. It’s 21 & up, and 10 bucks gets you in. You can find more details on our SHOWS page.

We’ll have some new merchandise at these dates, having finally re-stocked our road inventory with a couple of fresh tees- Space Dust & All Alright. If you can’t make it to a show, remember you can always grab either one of these, along with a plethora of other exclusive designs from our STOREFRONTIER page.

OK then, this album we keep yammering on about….the final track-list has been determined, and we’re headed back into The Switchyard early next month to cut the two remaining numbers we’ll need to call this thing a done deal. 10 songs( and maybe a bonus tune that we’ll call a “hidden track” just to rankle Scott Benting from The NMD Podcast), that I think do a pretty fine job of pushing the envelope, while maintaining our identity. Plenty of loud guitar and big drums, but also a couple of rather tender moments that we roped in a guest or two for, and hopefully enough room for Rizzo to really show off what he’s brought to the table as well. If you’ve dug what we’ve done, I believe you’ll dig what we’re doing.

My mug is empty, and I’ve got songs to finish, so this is where I leave you.

Be good to each other,
    Denny
    The Great Affairs

It’s the morning after a somewhat stressful rehearsal, one fraught with odd technical difficulties (and a police search…but that’s a story for another time, about helicopters and hooliganism), like an acoustic guitar with electrical issues (The irony, I know.), and a digital mixer that may have gone Skynet on us, and in its newly sentient state decided to wage some form of audio-psych warfare by arbitrarily adjusting our individual in/ear monitor mixes.

We were attempting to whip ourselves into shape for a show on St. Patrick’s Day, in Marion, IL, where we’ll be busting out some new, some old, and some weird, to keep thing interesting for the folks at John Brown’s On The Square, who you’d think would be sick of seeing and/or hearing us by now. Assuming they’re not, we’re gonna give them an early show, starting at 7PM that night, as the green beer flows.

Speaking of new stuff(No, the album isn’t done yet.), we’ve got a new Tee-Shirt design, “Space Dust” available over at our STOREFRONTIER page(Just click on the image below to check it out). We should be having a few of these pressed, along with the “All Alright” design, and with us at the merch table for Spring/Summer shows, but for now, a lot of these designs are exclusive to the online shop, so please feel free to have at ‘em.

As for that album? No news on that front at the moment, but if I have my way, we should have a development to report by the next time one of these updates rolls around.

That’s about it then, I think. This ended up being a very concise, far less melodramatic entry than I’d originally envisioned. I was gonna tee off about how I’d rather tuck my left nut into my right shoe and jog laps around Opry Mills Mall than chase down shows or update another social media platform, but I figured I might just bum everyone out with my lamentations on the piss-poor state of the music industry and our lowly status as purveyors of song therein, so I abstained, and merely presented the facts. You’re welcome.

As always, be good to each other.

D.