Since we last spoke(virtually, of course), we've been to Cincinnati and back, playing a long one at The Southgate House Lounge beset with some logistical and audio issues that made it something of a struggle, but to those of you that soldiered on with us, thank you very much, because YOU got us through it. We hope to be back up that way again before Summer's end, under better circumstances.
The new t-shirt design(merch) has been a hit, which has dramatically improved our previously-shaky bottom line and righted our finances substantially, so we may be back in the studio before too long, to crank out a new batch of stuff for the kind of folk that still look forward to such things. I do, for whatever it's worth.
Where else have we been? Columbus, GA. Had a good time at a new stop for us called The Loft. This place was top notch. The staff were entirely too good to us, which made the long haul to and fro a passing concern. We're due back in November. In the meantime, I will be upping my workouts to prepare for the rigorous demands of the load-in, or hiring a migrant worker at a nearby gas station to hump my gear up their stairs. I'm too old for that business.
This past weekend, we were slated to perform outdoors at the West Nashville Block Party, revisiting our stop there last year. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to piss all over that shindig, about an hour prior to the time we were due to take the stage. Undaunted, we dragged whatever we needed to make noise into British Audio Service, while their crew set up a makeshift sound system, and we just moved what was left of the attendees to a weatherproof locale, for a scaled-back hoedown. It turned out to be a righteously good time. We scrapped our set list, in favor of playing whatever the hell we felt like playing, or whichever song titles were shouted the loudest and most frequently. You can read more about all that here: Hearing Things, A Times Blog
This week we're off to Knoxville, for what boils down to 3 shows in 2 clubs, over 2 nights. Friday, June 28th we're playing an acoustic set upstairs at Preservation Pub, around 9, before we move downstairs to play the middle slot(plugged-in) on the main stage. Our friends in Far Far Away put this one together, so we'll be joining them and another great Knoxville-area act called Ravenhill. I'm really looking forward to this one. From there, we roll up the road 120 miles or so to do a 4 set, all-nighter at O'Mainnin's Pub in Bristol, TN on the 29th. This will be our first time in Bristol, so if you've got folks up in that area, please pass the word along. Thank you kindly.
In July, we've got 2 Illinois dates…the 5th in Marion at John Brown's On The Square, and the 6th at Trendz in Creve Coeur, where we'll be headlining the official "Slash after-party". I'm hoping to see a few faces I've missed over the last couple of years. It's been a long time since Patrick & I have brought the whole gang up that way, so please don't let us down, or Henry & Kenny will think we have no friends back home, and probably start asking for a bigger cut of the proceeds, based on our overall lack of popularity.
We're off for a few weeks after those shows, but we'll be working on a few things while we're away, and building a better mousetrap, so to speak, AND I'll be off on my own for a pair of shows on the West Coast, including an acoustic show on Thursday, July 25th, 7PM at the Sunset Strip Market. The next night I'm playing a set at 7PM(Friday the 26th) at Molly Malone's in Hollywood, with my former Best Of Seven bandmates Shane Tassart & Joshua Ketchmark, and I'll also be doing a solo set there at 9PM, so get there early, and stick around for the double shot. This is the kickoff of a week-long+ International Pop Overthrow Festival, Los Angeles edition, so there should be a mess of great bands on the bill that night.
I think that's about all for now…more as things develop. I'm still waiting to hear more of the Tommy Edwards tracks I worked on, as he gets closer to wrapping up his parts with the engineer…and Kenny & I are still working as diligently as our schedules will allow to get the "Nothing's Broken" record closer to the finish line. All in due time, I swear.
Cheers, and happy pre-4th Of July…..see you all soon,
D.
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