|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GRASSHOPPER TAKEOVER'S The Official Grasshopper Takeover Email Newsletter To all da hoppers in da haus... Only four more days and we'll officially be able to call our van and this whole wide world our home as we hit the road in support of "International Dance Marathon." But... first things first, before I end up writing endlessly about whatever comes into this mad mind of mine.... We're not sure what other-worldly forces are presently working in our favor, but our song, "Esta Vida," has, as of April 8th, reached the number 13 position on Garageband.com out of tens of thousands of submissions. This is fantastic and shocking at the same time! We are naturally very excited about this as the song/band that ends up at the number one position at the end of April wins some kind of $250,000 deal. If it happens that GTO ends up in the number one position when this contest is over, each and every one of you on our Swarm mailing list is cordially and personally invited to the ensuing party that we will have in every city in the country! (No joke.) Whatever you're doing, it's working and we can't tell you how much we appreciate it. Please keep voting, we're soooooo close!!! When you get a moment, check out the 'Dates' section of our website as it is filling up with show dates from LA to NYC to Florida to... everywhere. There have also been some minor changes to our tour itinerary, including some new additions to the mini-tour dates. We have added a second All Ages show at the Ranch Bowl in Omaha on the 26th of April opening up for the Nadas. Also, our show in Ames on the 20th has been moved from People's to Boheme's. The website is also full of other goodies and is being updated nearly on a daily basis as we ready ourselves to RAWK the U-S-of-A. Please sign our guestbook, check out our road notes, tell friends to sign up to receive the Swarm newsletter, and much more. There is also information on how to order "International Dance Marathon" for those who are wanting to get a signed copy via mail order. Soon, there will be a photo section in which photos from everywhere we play in the country will be posted and you can bet your pretty mug will be up there. Also, stay tuned for live "GTO Road Chat" times and dates, as well as live audio and video streams all coming soon. We will soon have a limited edition pressing of a seven-song CD that is being pressed for promotional use only. This will be a one-time only pressing. While the songs on this promotional CD include seven of our favs from "International Dance Marathon," we are offering a free, signed copy to anyone who forwards us 30 verified email addresses of friends of yours who wish to join the Swarm Newsletter and 'Nation of Hoppers.' Over the last couple weeks we've been doing everything we can to tie up loose ends here in LA before we take off for tour. This is about the time when we get sentimental on yo' asses, so I'll be brief on the sap... but we have to give a special "shout out" to our friends and fans in LA that have embraced us ever since our arrival to "Traffic-Town" over a year ago. We entered this crazy-cool place with not more than a couple friends and, through the power of music, (and possibly our great bodies and model-like looks), we have met soooo many rad and talented people and, with you all, have experienced great times and friendships that we will never forget. But, it's not over. We'll be back. But we just won't be able to hang on such a regular basis for a little while -- prolly 'til we decide to take a break and record our next album (which might be a little while). Keep an eye out for our next LA show date, probably on Wednesday, May 3rd, so we can all hook up once again. We got a real "sign" the other day that it was time for us to go when James went to our bathroom to... well, you know.... When he lifted the toilet cover he noticed -- sickly -- that "someone forgot to flush the toilet." But, upon closer inspection of the 'goods', there was a tail attached to a floating body that was, in fact, a big rat. He freaked out, we all freaked out. We had a dead rat in our toilet! In classic and tasteful style, he picked the rat out of the toilet so that it could be shown to Bob and me. It was this sick, gray, ugly thing that had us scratching ourselves with heebie-jeebie's all day long. Though we have enjoyed our stay here, it's now, clearly and definitely, time to move out of our place and Echo Park. Since we still have a few days left to live here, we're really hoping that the rodent climbed up through a pipe in the sewer, cuz if he didn't come here that way, then we have rats in our house. What a comforting feeling that is.... Also, while we're on the subject of rats, Bob has two parakeets named Hall and Oats (James and I refer to them as "the flying rats") that he needs to give to a good home -- or anyone with a hungry cat with an appetite for live meat. If anyone in LA would like two free birds, a tree for them to hang out in, a cage, and half a bag of bird seed, feel free to contact us. :) I'm sure there's plenty more to write about but it's now 3 in the morning and I'm too tired to write anymore. See you all soon and have a great day. "Spread Your Wings And Fly!" Grubb / GTO |