Bob's Road Notes: 3/31/2000

The Saga Continues.......

First off, before I get to the road notes, I wanted to extend a big thanks to everyone who has been emailing us with your thoughts, love, suggestions, and support for the band. This tour will be our biggest trial as a band to date and without the support of our fans and friends, our biggest "trial" could easily become our biggest "tribulation."

We will be keeping you informed of where we are and how we are doing every few days via our road notes. Keep an eye out for when we'll be in your area, as we look forward to meeting and rockin' with you all!

We played three great shows in the last week and it's only making us more excited to be on the road full time. On St. Patricks Day we played in Vegas at a club called the Boston, a big place that has all the makings of a true rock and roll venue: stale smoke smell from the night before, cheap drinks, and a handful of odd regulars that always seem to keep the night exciting.

We played a solid 45 minute set full of our favorites, and a few that we dusted the cob webs off for a good time. The club was packed and we had a great time playing, especially for the two big drunk guys who just couldn't get enough beer or loud guitars.

We are starting to develop a fan base in what I have dubbed, "The City of Eternal Evil," which is (ironically) nice to see. While I do actually love playing Vegas, I call it the City of Eternal Evil only because everytime I go there I lose money at the casinos (my own fault... :). The people in Vegas are either really happy, or really pissed and in shock from how much money they lost at the tables -- no in between. I think it takes a certain type of person to actually live there with all that constant stimuli, although I'm guessing that the people that do live there, don't hang out "on the strip."

We played a great show here in LA on my birthday at The Gig on Melrose. We like this club, but are sometimes baffled by why the crowds are always scared to come up in front of the stage. People step on each other's toes and stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the middle and back of the club looking cool, but act like the 15 foot semi-circle in front of the stage is wired with explosives!

We broke out our newest song, "Take Me With You," to be released on our full length national debut International Dance Marathon in a few weeks. This song kicks some serious ass and we are excited to have it as a new addition to our set. I, personally, had a great show and a great birthday, thanks to all for the good wishes.

Last night we played in Tempe, Arizona. It was our first time there, but definitely not our last. We played at a club called The Green Room that was right on campus. Since we only knew one person in the whole city, we knew our chances of bringing in a bunch of people to the club -- on our name alone -- was 'nill' at best. So, we did the only thing we could think off -- promote shamelessly.

We asked the owner if she would be cool with us trying to round up people off the street to come to the show if we could put them on a discount list and she agreed. So we grabbed some cds and a fresh pad of loose leaf and headed up to Tempe's version of "the strip." We split up and walked up and down the street telling people about the show and promising them a good time if they came. To our surprise, the people of Tempe were super cool and many signed our list. By the end we had collected about 30 names and, overall, it was a refreshing experience.

I guess we are a little jaded by the whole LA scene, where trying to get people out to a show is like trying to sell ice to an eskimo. As an independent rock band, we know the only way we can effectively make each show better is by getting out and seeing and meeting the people in each city. So, in the future, if someone walks up to you and says, "Wanna go to a rock show tonight?" Before you say "no thanks," turn around and see who it is -- it could just be one of us!

I can not express my excitment for the ensuing tour! We hope that we can bring not only great music, but a good time to each city and everyone we play for.

Thanks again to everyone that has been supporting us or just writing to say 'hi', you make it all worth while. Stay in touch with us and stay tuned for more road notes as, The Saga Continues.......

Best wishes to all and may rock be with you!

Bob Boyce / GTO