This is a rock and roll story as old as the music itself.  Two guitars, bass, and drums.  Pretty simple stuff right!?  Not always.  This is a band of four like-minded, but extremely different individuals.  Three native Minnesotans and a New Yorker.

The backgrounds aren’t that different though.  Many years apiece in the “cover” scene playing Brown Eyed Girl for the drunk chick cuz that’s her song.  Yeah, I bet you know her too!  But this is where the story changes.  We’re all in our thirties and have jobs and mortgages and such.  Our weekends are supposed to be Little League games and trips to Home Depot.  And they are.  But the rock and roll bug is still biting.  So we play on.  And on.  And “On and On” by Stephen Bishop.  (we like that one)  The list is conservatively in the 250-300 song range with more added on the fly on stage with the help of a drink or two!  (Hey, they’re comped, what would you do?)

Yeah, o.k., a cover band.  Cool.  They're fun, but what else can they do?  Turns out we all have that inner demon that makes us reach for a pen to get something out.  I like it!  But I digress…

O.K., from the top:  Bill and I have played together in a band for the better part of twenty years.  I’m 2 1⁄2 years older so, in the early days he didn’t have a choice!  I think I made him play bass too cuz I wanted to be Paul Stanley of KISS.  Come to think of it, I still do.  Anyway, for better or worse, we learned it all together.  We had a lot of buddies along the way that were absolutely huge in our development/undoing in life.  The reason we still play.  Wally, Tim, Brian (Boozer), Marky.  You know who you are and thanks!  Later on we got Kevin O., Kevin Z., Scott and Rog.  Again our thanks and respect to all.

Things change.  Life changes and for the most part, we follow the course.  We’ve all been through the ups and downs, the highs and lows.  Champagne to shit, sometimes in one night!

Travis and I met a few years ago.  He was in a band, that for the most part, was our shadow.  They were younger than us, kind of cocky and cool.  I got to know he and his bandmates and even gave them the name “Big Guns”.  Dennis, Doug, Tom, Matt, Darys:  You guys rule!  I watched them grow up and I liked what I saw.  Travis and I began playing an acoustic show together.  Two singers, two guitars, and just enough swagger that people kept coming back.  I doubt anyone thought we were the next Simon and Garfunkel, but hell, we had fun and sold a lot of drinks.  Bars like that!

Anyway, around the Y2K b.s., Bill decides he’s had enough.  In retrospect, maybe I’d had enough too but couldn’t admit it.  Our buddy Chad takes Bill’s place on bass.  Business as usual.  Then drummer Paul has surgery and is sidelined for 4 months.  Now what?

Enter Dave.  The East coast kid.  Great look, good drummer.  Life is great.  Except I’ve been in this band too long.  It’s getting harder to go to work on Saturday night.  I’m not so much tired of the guys in the band as I am in me.  Same old, same old, know what I mean?  Besides, I want to be in a band with Travis.  He’s become one of my favorite singer-guitarist’s ever.  So we take our little acoustic show and decide to go full scale.  Travis, Bill, Dave, and me.  Great idea, except Dave quits and Tommy joins in on drums.  A terrific guy that lasts only a short time.  Unfortunately, it just doesn’t quite click.  Anyway, Dave comes back and we decide to give this thing a ride.  Hello Red Dot Garage.

We book studio time with an ex-bandmate of mine (Hey Mike) and begin hashing out originals on the fly.  That’s my method, I don’t encourage or condone it, but, don’t fix what ain’t broke.

This puts you up to speed.  We have nine songs recorded, with a few more to go and the CD release will be here in late fall come hell or high water.  None of this would be possible without our new buddies Mark Z., Mike O., Skip, or Brian L.. I wouldn’t be writing this right now if it weren’t for the backing of those guys.  Nice to have friends in high places.  One guy I haven’t mentioned so far is my mentor/nemesis in all of this.  Kevin’s the guy who’s stoked me through this and pisses me off at the same time.  (usually cause he’s right!)  He probably should have got more text, but my pride and his ego wouldn’t allow it!  (We love ya Rueben!)

Many more to thank but we’ll do it when the CD comes out.  We hope you’ll enjoy the disc.  Four writers makes for a cool album we think.  Time will tell.  Play it with friends, play it alone.  Play it sober or play it……  Well, you get the idea.  See ya at the rock show!

Can’t thank you enough for all the time!

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