The Flow Of A Show

Like Rob Gordon says in High Fidelity:  "The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules."

When you play for 3 hours, timing and sequencing are everything.  Acts like Bruce Springsteen, Phish and Pink Floyd are masters of their craft, the Flow.  Springsteen uses the spiritual power of rock 'n' roll, Phish uses the power of the unknown in a jam (read: drugs), and Pink Floyd tell stories, but it all comes down to a few things.


The live show is the same.  Pull them in, then keep them near climax until the finale.  Sounds like sex?  You're a perv.  Head out of the gutter, please.  Get them on your side, then toy with them.  Play two fast numbers, then when their eyes are open wide, hit the breaks.  Play something in 12/8 and get the asses on the dance floor.  Let the band vamp while the singer talks about how much he wants his baby back.  "Oh darling, you hurt me so bad.  I'm comin' to you, crawlin' on my knees, baby. All the men out there know what it's like, and all the women have heard it one hundred times..."

See when the audience is getting restless, hit them with something well known; "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" or "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?"  Something they can all sing and swing their beers to.

Also, know something from every genre.  If a drunk yells out, "Play something country!" and you can do it at the drop of a hat, you have won that drunk's favor and maybe even a few bucks from him.  Know at least one country tune, maybe "Stand By Your Man."  Know one blues tune, or at least something bluesy, like "Cocaine."

If you've got a good frontman, he'll work his ass off to sell the song, which always helps:




Next time: Rehearsal?

One CD release down, one to go.

Saturday was our Louisville release show.  The fantastic Levee Bar and Grill was kind enough to host us once again for quite possibly our best show to date.  We fired up at 9.30, and didn't stop until damn near 11.  We stuck mostly to songs from our album, Cold Friday.  We threw in the covers we love playing, and the crowd was on our side the entire night.  We had so much fun we got back up and ripped through another hour of songs for the hell of it!


We can't thank our fans, friends, and family enough for supporting us the past 5 months as we have been putting this all together.

This Friday, Nov. 19th will be our Bloomington, IN CD release show at 902's.  We are very excited to bring our show to Bloomington with the full band, and 902's is the best venue we can think of to put that show on.  They have a great stage, lighting and sound setup, and it is an amazing venue for fans.  From the second floor balcony, feel free to stare down our low cut shirts, and from the main floor, feel free to stare up our short skirts.  The lovely and talented Kristy Brannon will be opening for us, so come and check out The Acquitted and Kristy Brannon for only $3.  For this show only, you can pick up Cold Friday for a cheap 7 bucks, so you'd be a fool not to buy three.

See you Friday night!

T-Minus Two weeks.

Nov. 13th. It can't come too soon. We have been working the much less fun side of the album now. Templates, files, typefaces, proofs. Thursday we shipped the album off to DiscMakers in New Jersey. We have approved the proofs, the images they send us verifying what we want. Now we wait...

We have it on good authority that we will have "Cold Friday" in our hands the 11th. Let's hope that is true.

The 13th is our release party in Jeffersonville, IN. The Levee will be hosting us, and we are grateful to them for all the help they have given us over the past year. We are very excited for everyone to hear what we've been working on for 3 months! Hope to see you there!

More Cover Art!

Piggybacking off of the cover art post, we had a photo shoot on Thursday. Boy god, someone is going to see us on our album somewhere. Brian and I again worked with Eric G. Hanus, and we had a great time. We shot at three different locations; we shot with and without guitars; we got something that might just be worthy of the back cover of Cold Friday. We have something like 600 shots to look through. One day at a time, we get closer to a release...

A Message From Brian Johnson

Paste Magazine suspended publication today.  For those of you who don't know, Paste was a fine publication.  It introduced me to a lot of great music and supported tons of artists that I love.  It wasn't sarcastic or mean, and sometimes it could be a little too flattering of musicians that were being showcased; but it was a publication that loved music and it always upheld the notion that all culture was to be celebrated. 

It has always been a secret goal of mine to be featured in Paste and I suppose I won't get that chance now.  I think the internet is a great tool, but often times it lacks the editorial control needed for proper journalism.  A weekly or monthly periodical is considered too slow in this day and age, but too often things are posted on the internet without thinking and quality investigation. 

As a society obsessed with pop culture we must keep in mind Facebook and Twitter are tools of promotion and self indulgence, not real insight.  We must strive to keep alive the methods used to bring us quality, thought provoking articles.  I for one will find another periodical in line with my own tastes, although I doubt I will enjoy it as much as Paste Magazine.

I find it horrifying I must post these thoughts on a separate blog because it is too long.  Too long for the internet, and too long for most people's attention spans.

Brian

One week to go.

Rehearsal, Dave's basement.  Amps are fired up, drum heads tuned, mic stands placed.  We discuss any minor business, record update: Mixing begins this week.  Ear plugs are in, and we are ready.  New covers are tried, old ones are finely tuned.  We figure out what works and what doesn't.  Heart of Gold is a great song, but it is still a tad loose.  Stray Cat Strut will give Brian a chance to take a break from the guitar, and me a chance to let a little rockabilly out!  Hey Jealousy will pull in those Gen Xers and Simple Man will get the bikers revved up!

We will see you at The Levee Saturday night!