Junebug Show Diaries: 2009

Sunday, December 13, 2009

12/12/09 - 331 Club - Minneapolis

Tonight was Junebug's first show at the 331 Club in Minneapolis. We were joined by Yasen Marie and Julie Puppets, who I may add, are the former band of our Share studio bassist Kai Catudio. So we're all one big happy family. Anthony described this mix of bands as being like a "creamy Oreo." He then advised the crowd not to get any on their jeans, because it crusts up. Indeed.

The 331 was packed. The stage is is tiny little space at one end of the rectangularly-shaped bar. The cramped nature of the place gives it a really nice intimate coziness. Amongst the three bands, there was so much gear that things had to be stacked in strange places to make it all fit. But small venues are great when they're full. That's a fact.

Over half of the material we played tonight is stuff that will be included on our next studio album, Modern Day Fairy Tales. We're dusting it off, working it up, and rocking it out because we intend to record in February. Hold on to your hats, kids.

We have this song called "Casanova," which is to be featured on said upcoming album, in which we often invite a guest from the crowd to come up and do a little freestyle wordsmithing. Tonight it was Russ from the Julie Puppets. Now, something you have to know is that tonight was the Julie Puppets' cowboy-themed show. Russ was a sight to behold. He of course had the five-gallon cowboy hat, some great aviator-like sunglasses, a false trucker 'stache, tight jeans, belt buckle... the whole deal. He brought his own great southern twang to rap improv. And it was beautiful.

As we were telling people to get drinks, even if they're alcoholics, Dustin was playing "Deck the Halls" quietly to himself. That's great music for drinking away your holiday blues. Furthermore, tonight was our annual performance of "A Junebug Christmas." This is a song that we wrote, kind of. The music is basically "Happy Trails," and I (tony) wrote the lyrics. But we only play this song once a year, our last show before Christmas, and the year the 331 Club was the lucky recipient. The video of this performance can be seen below. Warning: may include rudeness and lewdness. Or not enough. Whatever.

Tonight we were trying to push our album, Share. Earlier in the night, Yasen Marie was saying that they needed money to eat. We explained tonight that we also need to eat. Anthony exclaimed that he needed more shrimp for his yacht. I informed them that I needed premium gas for my Rolls Royce. Anthony also needs a new battery for his Rolex. Oh, how far we've come.

I wrote tonight's setlist, and boy was it energetic. Maybe it was just hot in there, but we were all relatively pooped only half-way through. Anthony suggested cutting it short because we were all sweating and breathy, but I said no way! I was having fun. We continued tonight's show with much energy and gusto. So much so that I actually got a sideache during the rock-out section at the end of "Sledgehammer." You see how much I give? Hunred puhcent.

As our set was drawing near to its close, I said, "We've got a couple left if you want to hear them..." There was little response aside from the ongoing murmur of the crowd. Then, one dude said, "Woo!" I said that I'd take that as a yes - that one is all I need. Dustin responded with, "Don't encourage us."

At the close of the show, someone in the crowd showed their approval of our set by exclaiming, "Grease that hog!" I can think of no other more appropriate exclamation.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

10/24/09 - The Terminal - Minneapolis

Tonight Dustin was able to join us on stage! He was still not at 100%, with a bit of flu-fatigue left over, but he was able to play, and that was a very good thing. He didn't sing, though. But it was fine. We had his guitar contributions. When we took stage, he addressed the crowd: "We are Junebug and we can prove it."

Before the show started, however, I experienced a bit of a technical difficulty. As I was putting together all my hardware, I pulled my kick pedal out of the bag and it fell apart - fully. In two pieces. Well, it seems that the pin that attaches the pull chain to the pedal itself had decided to take a permanent vacation. Luckily, Nick went on a mission and found that one of the bartenders had a safety pin. It did the trick.

Anthony introduced us, saying that we're huge in Korea and South Carolina. So if you're in either of those markets, you're probably familiar with us.

We had a pretty decent crowd tonight. It was surely better than the last time we played the Terminal. A number of folks were there for the other bands appearing tonight; Spy Johnson and The Early Effect. There was a good amount of foot traffic as well. People were drinkin' and dancin' and it was all right by me.

Our friend and video producer, Cody Tesnow, was in the house tonight. Anthony announced publicly that Cody is working on the video for "Jumpstart My Rocket" which has been in the works for awhile. Strangely, the track isn't even recorded yet, but the video is in production. So there's some fun news for you. Cody made his presence further known later in the night. Anthony, in announcing a particularly funky song of ours, said that he'd like to see some asses on the dance floor. Well, Cody responded in true form. He came up to the stage, turned his back to us, pulled his pants down and literally showed us his ass while on the dance floor. We were overwhelmed. Nick informed him, however, that he had missed a spot.

We played "Casanova" tonight, and there's a section in the song in which we often invite someone from the crowd to come up and freestyle. Well, no one took the bait tonight, so Anthony filled in with a classic. You see, a couple years ago, we played the song in Aberdeen, South Dakota and an awesome lady named Cheryl came up to freestyle. Her verse went as follows: "Rap, rap, rap, rap, rap. Oh yeah! Rap, rap, rap, rap, OH YEAH!" This performance was repeated by Anthony tonight. Classic.

Tonight, I (tony) did something unprecedented in the history of Junebug shows. I left the stage in the middle of the set to use the restroom. But here's the thing. It truly was an emergency situation as far as my bladder was concerned. One more cymbal crash and I'd have been done. Anthony had stopped to tune his guitar as he often does. This sometimes takes a long time. So I jumped down and took three steps to the men's room. I did my business and made it back to my drum throne in exactly 56 seconds. Not too shabby. Because, my friends, I am a professional.

That is all.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

10/23/09 - Decoy's - Hopkins, Minn.

This first sign of a good night is when you're unloading your gear into the venue, and as you're grabbing a load from the van, a group of guys enters the bar and promptly exits exclaiming, "I'm not going to listen to some terrible band for a cover!" Ah, yes. This is how far we've come.

The second sign is when the opening band takes the stage, says "Thanks for coming out, we're Cryptic," and a couple partying dudes keep cheering for them, saying, "all right, Junebug! You rock!"

The third sign of a kick ass night is learning that your guitarist is still quite flu-ridden and unable to perform.

The fourth and final sign of a great night to come is when the sound engineer expresses the management's wish that it be a lower-volume deal. The sound man, an expressive and friendly British man named Dave, was very cordial and apologetic, saying, "It's more like a paid rehearsal. Grab a drink, lay back and have some fun." As it turned out, we didn't have to lay back too much and the patrons and staff alike seemed not to mind.

After Cryptic played a great set of their own, we took the stage. Anthony exclaimed, "It's Friday! You only get one of these!" "Well," I replied, "One a week." Anthony also added that the more you drink, the better we sound and the less you'll remember tomorrow - which may be a good thing.

I passed along to the crowd that we were again Junebug minus one tonight, saying that "If you guys are throwing up tomorrow, we want it to be because you were drinking alot tonight, not because of our guitarist's flu." The patrons of the bar cheered this heartily and proceeded to drink themselves further into a stupor, which in turn made us sound better. It was win/win, really.

Again tonight, Dustin's absence was felt. However, at the point in "Poet" in which he normally plays a solo, Anthony introduced him: "Ladies and gentlemen! Dustin Marks!" And we smiled quietly to ourselves.

Anthony said "Casanova" was the funkiest thing in our catalog. I told him not to lie. After "Bad Mamma Jamma," he said, "It's all downhill from here, folks." He introduced "Moon Over the Water" as "phsychedelic" and we told him not to put us in a box. Because I don't want to be in his box. Anthony cheered for "Aphrodite" himself, telling the crowd not to worry about it because he's got it. I told the crowd that we like to spread good vibes around. Anthony said, "That's the name of the next song." See how that worked out? We debuted "To the Next Episode" to the Twin Cities (with no intro and no cover inserted into the middle) and we apologized in advance for "Soul Shaker". I dedicated "Crossroads" to my wife tonight, since it was five years ago tonight that we started dating.

There was a good group of people there tonight. PJ was again in attendence with his recording gear, which we love. A couple of the ladies from Yasen Marie (with whom we've played in the past) were there. A number of other friends and strangers were there, too. Also in attendance were a couple somewhat creepy guys who were very intent on giving the ladies, ALL the ladies, copious, and generally unwanted, attention. One of them did not speak English at all and the other translated in very broken English. The men asked my wife and her married friend if they could buy the ladies drinks and dance with them. The men danced with other semi- or un-willing ladies, and even tried to persuade PJ to dance with them. Classy.

All in all, considering all the signs we received early on, we had a lot of fun. We took Dave's advice and just laid back, threw caution to the wind, had a drink and had a good time.

Because, as I said from stage tonight, "Having fun is our M.O. Our modus operandi. Right? Is that right? M.O. - modus operandi? That's what that stands for, right?"

*Silence*

The mighty Junebug soars again.

Friday, October 23, 2009

10/22/09 - Red Carpet Nightclub - St. Cloud, Minn.

Tonight, we ran down the road to sunny St. Cloud, Minnesota to play at the Red Carpet Nightclub. We had never played there before, but it was a pretty cool place. It's big, with all sorts of strange hallways and passages. You can imagine getting lost there.

When I say, "we ran down the road," I mean Anthony, Nick and me (tony). Dustin was at home sick. This was the first time since high school that a show has been played by us under the name "Junebug" without Dustin performing. He had "the piggy pox" as Nick said, at it really was better that he get rest instead of exposing it to you all. But he was missed, surely. There were a number of songs that contain guitar solos played by our Sparkle Sprinkler that were just too thin tonight. For example, the solo section of "Poet" was so empty that I vocally sang Dustin's guitar solo. The solo sections in "M'Lady" and "Jumpstart" weren't so lucky. Additionally, the intro to "Lady Madonna" which Dustin plays was mildly rough and "Sledgehammer" was scrapped altogether. So playing a show without Dustin was certainly doable, it just isn't desireable.

Our old friend PJ Pearson was present tonight, with his show recording gear. So a recording of this strange Dustin-less show exists. In fact, it's playing in my headphones as I type this. I don't think we've seen PJ since our CD Release party on October 17, 2008, so it was nice to catch him again.

Also in the crowd were a few of Nick's old hockey kids, all grown up and drinking adult beverages. They cheered for us, we cheered for them.

Regardless of the fact that we were Junebug minus one, we still had fun tonight. Anthony said we were napalm, gasoline and orange juice all mixed together, that we were highly volatile and the Red Carpet couldn't sue us if we exploded since it was in our contract. He also expressed love for those present. He said "We love you more than we're legally able to love you... you may need a restraining order."

Speaking of love, before "Clone You," Anthony asked if anyone in the crowd loved anyone so much they wanted to clone them and do stuff with them. There was a lone voice that replied, "Myself." Oh, come on. We've all thought about it. He just had the courage to say it. Kudos to that guy.

Perhaps the most enthusiastic person of the night was Jonalyn the waitress. She was extremely friendly and peppy and was dancing to our danceable tunes. She made the show worthwhile. I gave her a CD.

We played this show with Cryptic tonight and used some of their gear, too. The tables will turn tomorrow night in Hopkins.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

10/10/09 - VFW - Aberdeen, S.D.

Junebug & Jackson's Gypsy Day Jam

Encore:
| Crossroads |

Tonight was Gypsy Day in good ol' Aberdeen, South Dakota. "Gypsy Days" is what they call homecoming at Northern State University, and it is generally a huge party night. We were hoping to capitalize on that tonight. We had a good number of our most loyal Aberdeen fans present, and we all had a blast together. Unfortunately, the downtown festivities were better attended than ours out at the VFW. Snakebeard Jackson (our old bassist Josh's band) was playing downtown as well as Pops Blue Rhythm Band, and there was a big event at the Red Rooster for the under 21 crowd. All of these events cut into our attendance, but did that stop us from having fun? Hells. No.

The night started with DJ Rad Jackson spinnin' some grooves for about an hour and then Junebug was up and ready to roll. We got off to a good energetic start and carried it all the way through.

There were three songs that were re-debuted tonight. You see, the album we're working on next is made up of our older material. When Nick joined the band, he learned all the Share material and we're just relearning and reworking all the older material now. So tonight saw the re-debut of "Modern Day Fairy Tales", "Casanova" and "Bumblebee". We haven't played "Modern Day" for a long time. "Casanova" has peeked out from time to time as a jam while Anthony tunes onstage, and "Bumblebee" hasn't been played since August 29, 2008. When I (tony) recited this date onstage, I was met with a barrage of snarky questions -- "What was the weather like? What shirt was I wearing? What color were my socks?" The answer to the last one, by the way, is white. [Note: This date is, by the way, incorrect. The correct date of course is July 13, 2008.]

During a lull in tonight's set, I decided to chat up the crowd by talking about sports. "How 'bout that game?" I asked, referring to NSU's homecoming game which they lost 42-0. No answer. "Well, at least we can take comfort in the fact that nobody was killed on the field... you know, literally murdered before your eyes." No answer. I think it was too soon.

During another lull, I decided to try the sports talk again. I wished aging controversial Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre a happy birthday, which was today. Dustin also proceeded to wish Brent Favre a happy birthday. There were a couple scattered shouts that were unintelligible. I said, "Hey, whether you love Brett Favre or hate him, you have to admit... he's old." I received much approval for this comment and was told it was a very keen observation.

Before "Moon Over the Water" tonight, Anthony was paying his guitar some more attention so I decided to speak once more. I talked about the United States' efforts in a war against the moon. You know, how we sent a rocket up there with the intention of bombing the moon, but how it actually caused a chain reaction that split it apart, hurling it into Earth's atmosphere only to disintegrate before impact. I encouraged the crowd to raise their glasses and drink to the moon that was, before we destroyed it. I introduced the next song as a love song to our former moon. It will be missed. P.S. All the while I talking about this, Dustin was playing "Deck the Halls" as underscore.

Rad Jackson had a heavy duty fog machine that was working overtime tonight. Fog machines are great, especially along with great light rigs like his. But this one was a little overzealous at times. During one particularly heavy period of fog, Anthony mentioned, "Thank you, Aberdeen! We can barely see you, but we can hear you breathing."

Normally, when people request a song, we play it. However, it should be noted that we denied - flat out DENIED - three requests for "Refrigerator" tonight. It had to be said.

We played "Next Episode" tonight for the first time since the last time we were in Aberdeen. It's currently pretty much just an Aberdeen song. We've never played it in the Twin Cities, but it is slated to be on the next record. So we'll see. Tonight, it was prefaced by Billy Idol's "White Wedding". "It's a nice day to start again / It's a nice day for a... NEXT EPISODE!" The middle of song was taken up by "Misty Mountain Hop" by Led Zeppelin. Why do we do it? Nobody knows. Then, we blasted directly into "Chosen Ones".

For some reason, after "Chosen Ones", the crowd inexplicably erupted into a chant of "One more song! One more song!" It was odd, because nothing indicated that the previous was to be our last. I worried that they were just sick of us and wanted us to play ONLY one more song. Dustin responded, "Only one? How about we play four more songs?" To which I suggested, "Okay, how about we play THREE more songs, then after the third song, you chant 'One more song'. Demand that encore! And pretend we didn't have this conversation." The plan was set.

So we played "Damn the Man" and "Sledgehammer". Then Anthony turned back to me and said, let's just play "Jumpstart" and call it good. I said, "No encore?" He said, "Nah, let's just get off stage so Vinny can start his set." Well, this was a discussion amongst the band members, and the crowd did not hear it. So Anthony announced it was our last song (as the crowd expected per our arrangement). When it was finished, the crowd began chanting "One more song!" Anthony bemusedly looked around at the rest of us, and incredulously agreed. We then played "Crossroads". So the point is that what was supposed to be a fake encore actually turned into a real encore. It was humorous, possibly only to me.

It was a fun show tonight, like I said. We had a great time, and our loyal fans who came out had a great time, too. They danced and sang along and made it all worthwhile. They are the best. It wasn't a big crowd, but it was an awesome, loving crowd. It was just one of those nights that was a victim of location and scheduling. Dustin closed the show by saying, "We love you, Aberdeen... wherever you are."

Then Rad Jackson spun some more, and people danced the night away.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

8/29/09 - Howie's - La Crosse, Wis.

Tonight, we piled into vehicles and headed down to La Crosse, Wisconsin. This was our first show we have played across the Wisconsin border in cheese-head territory. It was totally all right. Everyone was super nice and super cool and we felt totally welcome. Howie's even put our name on the marquee. It was all good.

Howie's is a pretty cool place. It's split into two sections - bar and music venue - and it's surprisingly well sound proofed between the two. The stage area is sizeable and the decor is nice. It's got a sort of wooden, wilderness lodge motif.

I got there early and my wife and I went to dinner with Greg and Mandy Parmeter, some college friends who currently live in La Crosse. We went to a Mexican restaurant just a couple blocks away and it was tasty.

The show started off with the solo acoustic stylings of Nicholas Bjerke, followed by our friends My Lady Four, who will be kicking off their national tour in just about a week or so. Then it was us. We do what we can.

It was a decent road show, I think. It wasn't too heavily attended, but there were enough people there to make it fun. Greg and Mandy brought some friends from the community theater world. And there were just folks there wanting to hear live music. Who are we to argue. It was energetic and it was fun. Hopefully we made a good impression. I wouldn't mind going back.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

8/15/09 - Murphy's - Arnold's Park, Iowa

The whole Okoboji area is a lot of fun, with a lot to do. We had the entire day to just relax and enjoy the lake and corresponding festivities. My wife and I decided to see all we could see while we were there. The previous day, we purchased unlimited ride bracelets at Arnold's Park (the historic amusement park the town was named after). Today, we decided to take a boat tour of the lake on the equally historic Queen II. It's a replica of the original Queen steam boat that would take folks on tours of the lake in the early 20^th Century. The ride took a couple of hours (it's a big lake) and we purchased popcorn and Coronas to go along with the hot summer day. After the boat ride, we visited the Maritime Museum, which featured a boat that had sunk in the 1940s and was raised recently, revealing how well preserved it remained on the bottom of the lake. We then saw the Iowa Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which included a Grammy Award won by the band Slipknot and artifacts relating to the place crash on "The Day the Music Died," among other things relating to Iowa music. I registered Junebug as a musician visitor and we moved on to the mini-donuts stand just down the hill from Murphy's, our weekend venue.

Liza and I returned to our hotel room and invited the other Junebug boys to come over for a beer, hang out and go grab a bite before the show. Nick was with family, who were camping out that weekend, but the others obliged. We went to the Taco House, which was quite good. We then headed to the venue.

It was another great show. There were more folks out tonight than last night. Last night, most of the crowd showed up after we were done, just in time to party with the Isles, but tonight, there was a good number of people present for our set as well. I felt like tonight's set was way better and more energetic than last night's. I was more used to D.J.'s drum kit after playing a whole set on it, so that was part of it. I got off the stage at the end of the night with an awesome attitude and feeling. Nick, however, said he felt last night's was better. So it's open to interpretation, I suppose.

Even if we weren't quite as good as last night, it was still a good show. You can always tell it's a good show when there are a couple ladies down front, hoochie dancing all over one another. It's fun for them, it's entertaining for us, so it's really a win-win situation. That happened tonight. And it got other dancing down front, so it can't be bad.

Then, the Isles again kicked our asses and took our names, because they are freaking amazing. Like I needed to tell you that.

After the show was over, the sound guy, whose name is Nick, praised us and told us he really liked us. He told us a bit about his musical projects and then moved into telling ghost stories about Murphy's. He took us into the basement to show us a creepy room in which everyone feels uneasy and in which the lights turn on and off routinely. They sometimes hear odd sounds coming out of that room and it freaks all the employees out all the time. I can report that nothing paranormal happened when we were down there, but he sure made us feel uneasy in the moment. But we got over it. We went back upstairs and BSed with the Isles peeps and then headed for our sleep places.

In the morning, Liza and I decided to go to the beach. As is usually the case when we're on vacation, the day we chose to go to the beach ended up being unseasonably cold. But that didn't stop me. I wanted to stand in the lake. So I did. Then it was on the road, back to Minneapolis, our home sweet home. It really was a great getaway weekend in a nice little resort town. We just happend to play some music while there. I'd recommend Okoboji as a nice place to spend a weekend.

As a post script, Dustin shot a video of what his and Anthony's night was like in their hotel room in Okoboji. He and Anthony were both half-asleep. I saw it once. When he shares it with me again, I'll share it with you.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

8/14/09 - Murphy's - Arnold's Park, Iowa

Arnold's Park, Iowa is a small resort town located right next to the town of Okoboji, right on Lake Okoboji. The town has a rich history, with an amusement park that is over one hundred years old, complete with a rickety wooden roller coaster (see the video below). Spending any time in this area gives you the idea that it's really only a summer town. The place is probably pretty near deserted in the winter months. But I suppose there's probably decent ice fishing on the lake, so I might not know what the hell I'm talking about.

The Isles asked us to play a weekend in Arnold's Park with them at a bar called Murphy's. Well, we'd be crazy to turn down a weekend on the road with The Isles, because those cats know how to put on a show and we always have a good time with them.

We knew as soon as we walked in that it was going to be a good weekend. Right after we entered the bar, our eyes were drawn to a television screen which was playing Harold & Kumar Go to Whitecastle, right at a bare boobies scene. If that's not a good omen, nothing is. Come on. Boobies.

We loaded our gear in. My gear was minimal since we were sharing The Isles' drum kit. All I loaded in was my cymbal bag, stick bag, and merch box, then I was free to go relax until showtime.

My wife and I grabbed some nachos and beers at the bar next door. I forget the name of it, but it was some Texas grill type place. Dustin later joined us, right up until our call time.

It was a pretty solid show. I personally felt a bit shaky tonight, but I was assured that it all sounded good from the crowd. The energy was fine, and people were there drinking and enjoying the atmosphere. It was pretty typical as far as Junebug sets go. Nice and steady and bangin'. Nothing too abnormal to report.

After we were done, The Isles started and the place packed out. They pretty much ruled, like they always do. Nobody gets me dancing at shows the way they do. I had a blast during their set.

We're both here tomorrow night, too. We'll check out some of the sites and recreation tomorrow and then rock some more tomorrow night.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

8/12/09 - Uptown Bar - Minneapolis

Tonight we played a rare mid-week show, supporting touring Canadian band, Violent Kin. It was the Uptown Bar, and it was Wednesday, baby! That being said, there was a pretty good crowd there considering it was Wednesday night. Enough to make it worthwhile, anyhow.

When we took stage, Anthony introduced us saying that at our last show we were compared to a cross-between Weezer and Frank Zappa (which is a true story - we were told that). He then went on to explain that he felt it was a bit in error. Anthony feels were are more like Hanson meets Rush. Regardless of which is correct, they're all big shoes to fill as I (tony) pointed out.

We had a good, solid set of bangers. Nothing crazy happened. There were a moments of dead air, but whaddaya gonna do. After "Clone You", Dustin treated the title of the song as an insult. Instead of saying "F___ you," he said, "Clone you!" Here's hoping that it catches on, because I quite like it, honestly.

I've been doing this thing lately in which I take a picture on my phone at some point in the show and upload it to popular social networking sites, MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. So those at home can get a real-time update. Whatever. I did that tonight. The picture appears here as well.

It was a fun show. It was a fairly uneventful show as far as Junebug shows go. We loaded in, played a show, loaded off, and enjoyed the other bands. Mission accomplished and accomplished well.

Post script: We had no way of knowing at the time, but this was the final show that Junebug played at the Uptown Bar in Minneapolis before its unfortunate closing in November of 2009. The Uptown gave us our first booked show in Minneapolis and they were always welcoming. Furthermore, they always recorded the shows at the sound board and made a CD available to us. We'll miss the place.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

8/7/09 - O'Gara's Garage - St. Paul

Tonight we were invited by Twin Cities band (and all around nice guys), Jug, to open the show at O'Gara's Garage in Saint Paul. Fresh off the Fox 9 Battle of the Bands, we were ready to rock full force with a full set.

The setup process was fraught with drama. I (tony) had been made aware that there was going to be one drum kit to share. It's not my preferred situation, as you probably know, but I was resigned to it. However, I still had all my gear in my car from last night's show at the Fine Line. When I arrived, Jug's drummer and I were in discussion and I got the idea that though he offered the use of his kit, he understandably didn't really want stuff moved around too much. He mentioned the possibility of me setting up my kit in front of his to alleviate all discomforts. I thought this was a good idea, so I specifically asked the sound guy if this was something that would be okay. He said it was fine. In fact, he said it was peachy. I took him at his word. I loaded my gear in, put it all together, and when Jug finished their soundcheck, Soundguy told me to set up. So I did. Then when it came time to mic the kit, apparently the sky fell. Soundguy seemed upset about something. He informed me impatiently that he only had one set of lines for drum mics (Jug's drummer had his own mics) and he indicated that I was making his life difficult and that we were a pain in his ass. I told him that I didn't know about the line situation but that was why I had asked ahead of time. One of Jug's guys offered to bring in his own cables, but Soundguy quickly shot this down. He continued laboring, sighing and muttering things about either me or the situation (I didn't catch which) being stupid. I said, "I asked if this was okay and you said yes." "Yeah, but I thought you'd think it was too much of a hassle and not do it," he replied. "Well, you said it was okay, man. I'm just going by what you said. That's why I asked." I went on to explain that had he said it wasn't cool, we would have figured something else out. Nick and Dustin tried to smoothe things over by telling him that in putting on a good show, we're all on the same team, but he said he felt he was on the opposition and angrily said again that we were a pain in the ass. After he told me that he damn well better hear some excellent drumming, we got the show underway. It was too much drama, really. But afterward, I think he felt bad. He told me I sounded good and he later conveyed apologies to Nick for his attitude. So that counts for a lot. You have to give him credit for that. He also told Anthony that we sounded like Weezer meets Zappa. We all agreed that we'll take that.

It was a pretty decent set. Sadly, I'm not too sure if the crowd wasn't too much into it. But we're pros. When the chips are down, we bring it. We give our all no matter what, because you never know who is going to hear you. We rocked it, rolled it, funked it and everything in between.

We played "Place" tonight, which has become a bit of a live rarity. We went for it, and during the intro I was able to snap a photo of Dustin and upload it to Facebook/MySpace from the stage before I came in on drums. The picture can be seen above.

Our band has been cursed with string breakage lately. Tonight it was Anthony. It threw him off a bit psychologically, but he still sounded good. It just diminished some of his morale, I think. But we finished out our set with "Damn the Man" and "Jumpstart", two solid, rockin' tunes.

Tonight's show was actually pretty solid. We took the negative energy from before the show and transformed it into gooey, chewy rock goodness. Our energy was really good, as usual, in spite of any setbacks. Anyone who chose not to come out to this one truly missed something good. Just sayin'.

Friday, August 7, 2009

8/6/09 - Fox 9 Battle of the Bands - Fine Line - Minneapolis

Set:
| I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Clone You |

Tonight was the big Fox 9 Battle of the Bands finale at the Fine Line. After five weeks of voting often and hard, every hour on the hour, every day of the week, this was it! We were totally excited and pumped and ready to walk away with the studio time, retail CD package and gear package. We had worked hard getting people to vote and getting the word out, and this was it!

I (tony) arrived to find Nick already present and loaded in. I found out we were soundchecking last because we were starting first. Yep. We were opening the show in a six-band battle of the bands. If any of you have ever participated in one of these things, you know that's pretty much an instant death sentence. No matter, we kept our chins up, laughed about it, enjoyed some free pizza and water and resolved to still kick some ass.

We had our two songs ready. You see, when we earned our spot through thousands of votes in the voting rounds, we were then informed that each band would get exactly two songs to wow the audience and judges. If you know us, you know we're more of a longer-form band. We work best in a full-length album situation or a full set, even if it's only a set of five songs. With that, we're able to show who we are and show all of you a good time. What we don't necessarily excel at is proving who we are in two songs or less.

At any rate, we had our two songs ready and the man announced us. We took the stage to near silence. There were some cheers, but aside from our loyal Junebug cheering section, they were just polite. I enthusiastically said into the mic, "All right! Fox 9 Battle of the Bands, huh?" Silence. I'm talking near pin-drop, cricket whisper silence. I burst into laughter at the sheer absurdity of what was going on. Here we were, on the Fine Line stage, with eighteen-year-olds and parents staring holes through us, scrutinizing us before we had even begun. We had a number of people there supporting us, but a majority of the attendees were there to see other bands (one in particular, more on that later) and every band was completely different.

And so it was that we started our first song - "I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's)". Now, as you may know, this is a funky song. People like to get down to this one. I can't remember an audience in the history of Junebug that did not at least tap their feet to Bad Mamma Jamma. It's one of those that requires you to move in some form or another. Oh, but last night's concertgoers could not be swayed. It's the first time I've ever seen an audience standing completely stock still with arms crossed and mouths crooked during that song. I mean, you'd think it was a song about poop and boobies the way these people seemed to disapprove. No matter. We kept our energy high and we rocked it out the way we always do. Becuase nothing was going to get us down. We were there to have fun, even if all the night's evidence was against us. And have fun we did. Heck after Bad Mamma Jamma, the crowd even applauded. Though, aside from our loyal Junebug cheering section, I think it was simply good sportsmanship.

Anthony introduced "Clone You" by saying something about, "the person you have on your arm at this moment... what if you had two of them?" I then added, "Imagine the possibilities!" A bunch of people chuckled, but one older lady in particular had a very sour look on her face at that description. It actually made me happy. It wasn't the idea of three-way sex with yourself possibly being offensive to her that made me happy, but rather, that we actually elicited some form of emotion from this particular segment of the crowd. That was a plus.

I would say that "Clone You" went off without a hitch, but that simply isn't true. Nick's setup had a technical difficulty and his bass completely cut out at one point. He fixed it though, like a pro. Before Nick's malfunction, I actually hit myself in the face with a drum stick and dropped a beat. I know that Dustin noticed. I'm not sure if anyone else did. But the judges most likely did. Whatevah.

We played our two songs, determined to have fun and that's what we did. We stayed positive and all that. We listened to the other bands and enjoyed a couple of drinks while we visited with a number of showgoers.

Eventually the final band played and the judges went to their deliberating. After hearing the other bands, and knowing how our "set" went, we weren't really too expectant of anything. Out of six bands, there were three places to win. Third place went to Steve Sullivan and the Factory, a talented blues/rock band. Second place went to F.A.I.T.H., my personal favorite performer of the night. They had incredible energy and their rock was good. Her bassist also happened to be Reuben Rodriguez, a dude we knew from Aberdeen. It was good to see him.

First place went to Select 3. You see, there was a talent agency that decided they wanted to put together a musical performance group. They held auditions and selected three (get it) fellows to be the focal point of the band. There is also a drummer and a bassist, but they mostly hang out in the lower lit background area of the stage while the three other fellows sing and play guitar and/or keyboard up front. If you want a good idea of what's going on, think of the Jonas Brothers or any other sort of Disney-esque, sugary, make your teeth hurt kind of act. They had the eighteen-year-olds and older ladies in the palm if their collective hand. They wowed the crowd and evidently, the judges.

Not appearing on the winners' platform were well-established and celebrated reggae/hip-hop act, Dred I Dread (whose singer, Peewee Dread, was so kind as to offer me a blessing in the stairwell) and both Section 30 and Junebug (each of which played the Basilica Block Party earlier in the summer).

Once we got into the night, we didn't really expect to win. We were hoping for a place in the top three, but we didn't count on it. The crowd was very torn at the results and very vocal about it as well. I personally did not participate in any kind of shouting or hollering, but I heard things, let me tell you. The front section of the crowd was very pleased with the winner, but as I worked my way toward the back of the room, there were some very unpleasant reactions as well. Shouted and softly spoken negative comments were heard, along with both cheers and boos. A number of folks disagreed with the judges, quite obviously. It was too much drama for me, so I booked it out of there.

So that's how it turned out, folks. It was an experience. And that's what life and rock 'n' roll are all about. The experiences, whether awesome, crappy, or just odd, are what makes up this whole crazy thing. Thanks for all your votes, people. For reals. We would not have had this experience without the love, time, energy, and support you've doled out to us. You people are loyal and we love you. You make it worth rocking. We'll keep it up if you will.

Monday, August 3, 2009

8/3/09 - North Metro TV Studio - Blaine, Minn.

This was a fun thing we did. I (tony) had been cruising the musician listings at Craigslist and I came across North Metro TV in Blaine looking for a musical act for their monthly "Inside Entertainment" program. I responded and they felt we were a good fit. And so it was that we convened at their television studio and set up our gear. I arrived a bit, I might add, but it wasn't too late. I was still set up and ready before the shooting was scheduled to begin.

We met Ben, Damian and Danika, the hosts of the show, and chatted a bit off-camera about public television stations, the Twin Cities music scene and the Basilica Block Party. Everybody, crew included, were perfectly friendly and totally cool. We got a real good vibe off of everyone and they all made us feel very welcome and comfortable.

"Inside Entertainment" isn't a live show, but rather it's prerecorded. When everyone was set and things were to begin, we taped all the bumpers all in a row. We did roughly thirty seconds of four different songs ("Chosen Ones," "Last Night," "Found My Boogie," and "Moon Over the Water") that were used during the program when the show went to and from commercial breaks. We had to decide decent starting and ending points for each song clip. It was easier than I thought it would be and it went well, with the exception of "Last Night". I think Anthony forgot the point at which we were going to end and he kept playing for a couple extra seconds after the rest of us had stopped.

After we completed the bumper clips, the hosts went on to do the show, which was made up primarily of movie reviews and taped interviews with personalities from the films reviewed. During this time, we sat in the studio and observed the taping for a bit, then went to the parking lot and enjoyed a tasty beverage.

When that portion of the taping was complete, we went back to the performance area and pounded out "Bad Mamma Jamma" with a vengeance. Following that, Ben Hayle, one of the hosts of "Inside Entertainment", interviewed Anthony in the performance area. He asked about the Basilica Block Party, fast food, and the origins of the band. Following the interview, Ben threw it back to us to play them out with "Poet (Who Didn't Know It)".

It was a very fun evening and we enjoyed it greatly. Doing TV shows is always fun, and we very much appreciated this opportunity. We had a great time.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

7/10/09 - Basilica Block Party - Minneapolis

This is pretty much the coolest thing we've done up to this point. I knew this when I arrived. I pulled my van into the loading area, parked it, and opened the rear door. I grabbed my snare drum and a rack tom and walked up the loading ramp to ask the stage manager where to put my stuff. He pointed me to the correct spot and as I headed back for the next load, I saw about four or five guys all carrying my gear up the ramp. I thanked them out loud and they replied, "Hey, it's our job." When I got back to the van, Dustin was standing there with his arms up and shoulders shrugged, saying "I didn't even get a chance to grab anything!" So basically, the point I'm getting at is that roadies are a nice luxury, and these guys treated us like rock stars.

After we loaded in, we got word that sound checks were running late and we wouldn't be needed for a while yet. So we picked up our "All-Access" lanyards and went elsewhere for a little while. By the time we all got back, the Jayhawks where soundchecking and we got to sit on the grass on watch that. Or watch from backstage, or on the stage, whatever. All-Access, you see. We also had a nice little tent backstage with our name on it, featuring snacks and a cooler filled with waters, sodas, energy drinks and beers. We also had access to our own port-a-potties backstage, so we never had to wait in line. It was sweet. Furthermore, our all-access passes got us into the catering tent to eat a very nice meal. They called us sir, and also treated us like rock stars.

It was also way cool being listed on the same bill as The Black Crowes, Mat Kearney and the Jayhawks. Anthony said that one of his most prized possessions now is a picture of him standing by a sign that includes both Junebug and The Black Crowes.

When it was time to start the festivities, we took the stage and Marshall from Cities 97 introduced us, saying, "These guys are a lot of fun. They're a great party band." He was one of the judges at the Minnesota Bands competition that got us here in the first place. It's nice to have him on our side. When we started our set, Anthony exclaimed "Cities 97 thought we were cool -- who are we to argue?"

Our energy was high and we were pretty well focused. Unfortunately, the early portion of our set was plagued with technical difficulties. During "Poet", Dustin's guitar pooped out and he had to frantically work on it on stage. During the breakdown at the end of the song, Nick had the presence of mind to cover Dustin's part, since his output was silent. We started "Bad Mamma Jamma" even though he wasn't completely set, and then my vocal mic went out. I have to give kudos to the stage crew, who ran right out in the middle of the song and worked on it fervently, resulting in it being fixed. Again, roadies are a nice luxury. Dustin eventually solved the problem and was good to go. But hey, we're Junebug. It wouldn't have been normal if there hadn't been some kind of issues happening.

We were told earlier in the day that during our set the Basilica bells were going to chime. We were prepared for this, and toward the end of "Found My Boogie", sure enough, there they went. (See the "Boogie" YouTube video below.) Apparently they weren't too terribly out of place, since an audience member was heard saying, "Whoa, when I heard that I thought it was part of the song." I made the remark that this was a Junebug first -- being accompanied by church bells. Dustin then played the riff from "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC and Anthony said we might run into legal issues with that one. Someone offstage mentioned spiritual issues. But none of us have been sued or struck down yet.

Tonight, "Clone You" was dedicated to the amazing stage and sound crews. We're not used to this kind of attention and treatment and these guys were earning their pay. They were all very personable and kind and we would like to clone them so we can take their clones with us where we go. Then somebody, I don't know who, said into a mic, "Thanks for coming out and support the band that didn't get paid." That's us.

It was cool. We had a good reaction. People stopped to listen to us and stayed for our whole set. People bought merch. People cheered. It as a truly great experience.

Finally, later in the night, I wanted to check out the Black Crowes. Well, I took my handy-dandy all-access pass and went backstage and watched part of their show from on their stage. Rock star treatment, I say. Then, when I was exiting their port-a-potty at the end of their show, I almost literally bumped into them on their way off stage. While I was exiting the toilet. That's rock 'n' roll.

View the photo gallery, shot by Junebug's official Basilica Block Party photographer, Kelli Wencl.

Enjoy these YouTube videos from this show uploaded by Heather Everhart.

Friday, July 10, 2009

7/10/09 - Basilica Promo Appearances - Minneapolis

Set:
| Last Night | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | M'Lady |

Part of winning the Battle for the Basilica was getting TV spots on the morning news. Both Junebug and Section 30 made appearances on local stations, with Junebug showing up on Channel 5 and Channel 9.

We had to get up pretty early this morning. It was the earliest I (tony) have been up in a long time. Even with that being said, I was the last to arrive. In fact, when I was between my house and the Basilica, Dustin called to ask where I was, noting that Junebug may have been on TV already by that point.

Anyhow, I arrived: trucker moustache, my wife's robe and all. We had rehearsed acoustic arrangments of "Last Night," "Poet" and "M'Lady" and they were a little different, so after we got ourselves situated, we ran through them again while the cameras weren't rolling, just to stay on the safe side.

Rusty Gatenby from KTSP Channel 5 visited with us for a bit on air, promoting our upcoming set tonight and he even took a couple tries at playing "Stairway to Heaven" on Dustin's guitar. He was a really friendly dude off air, too and we had a good time with him.

Our appearance on Fox 9 was as background music for an on-air Jimmy John's sandwich eating contest. We were also mentioned by name and our set was plugged, as was our current involvement in the Fox 9 Battle of the Bands.

After the news appearances were over, I decided I wanted to get a look at the view from the stage. It is without question the largest stage we will have ever played to this point. I'm looking forward to tonight.

Additionally, extra sandwiches were given away after the eating contest and I got an awesome veggie sub. It hit the spot.

Monday, June 29, 2009

6/28/09 - Fine Line Music Cafe - Minneapolis

This was our fourth in a series of four shows in a row this week. Tonight was the Rising Sounds Local Band Showcase. Rising Sounds is a show on Cities Live Internet Radio. We've been guests on the show before and we recently wrote and recorded an opening theme song for them. So when Dickey and C-Love ("champions of local music" as Nick said) told us they were putting together a local band showcase at the Fine Line, we were all over it. In fact, for the second song of the set, we decided to play the aforementioned theme song. It lasts eighteen seconds, so why not.

Tonight was really laid back. The crowd was medium sized and we knew that everyone was there for a good time. We felt a very conversational vibe tonight. The crowd talked to us, we talked to them. It was all very familiar and nice. So when I (tony) completely disregarded the setlist and started "Last Night" at the completely wrong place, and was then taken aback when Anthony started the actual next song, everyone was very forgiving.

"Crossroads" was again dedicated to the lovely and departed Farrah Fawcett tonight. But before we got a chance for that, Dustin said that the next tune, "Poet (Who Didn't Know It)" would going out to our fallen brother who was a poet and didn't know it, Billy Mays. Now this upset me greatly, and I said that I don't know if I can handle looking at my Mighty Putty again without breaking down. And I have a broken chair leg to fix.

After the song was over, Dustin said that he was getting a little too choked up to play the song. So the sour notes you heard were all Billy. "No amount of Mighty Putty," he added, "will fix my broken heart."

Dustin furthermore mentioned tonight that out of all the shows we've played in the past four days that this show definitely had the best sound. That's something I've noticed about the Fine Line, and it's part of what makes it such a fun room to play. Dustin also calmly mentioned that he surmised "we're really raising the roof tonight".

Also appearing tonight were Mayda and Section 30.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

6/27/09 - Twin Cities Pride Fest - Minneapolis

It was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect and there was love in the air. This was Twin Cities Pride '09 and Junebug was playing the main stage. The whole of Loring Park in Minneapolis was full of vendors, political action groups, church groups, performers, onlookers, and amazing and diverse people.

The Loring Stage, or main stage, was right in the middle of the park, so we had to find parking (which was intensely difficult) and haul our gear to the stage. Luckily (in this case) there was a house kit that all drummers would use and it was set up like mine. So all I had to bring were my cymbals and sticks.

The backstage area was barricaded and security was guarding the entrances and we had a nice little tent area with complimentary waters and sodas to quench our individual thirsts.

I (tony) arrived to the backstage area before my wife, Liza did. Therefore, I was talking to her on my cell phone, trying to give her directions to where I was. The problem was that my cell phone volume does not go as high as I would sometimes like and there was a band on stage. We could not hear each other well and I was apparently getting frustrated. She hung up and I looked up to see a man wearing S&M-type leather on the other side of the chain-link fence. He smiled and looked at me and said in a soothing British accent, "Oh, you're so adorable. All is forgiven. Marry me!" Sadly for him, I had to inform him that I'm already married.

This was a fun festival setup. There were a good number of people parked out on blankets and lawn chairs, while others walked past and filtered in and out. By the end of the set, probably about 150 had parked their butts in the general vacinity to hear the music. All together, there were probably about 800 to 1,000 people who heard us today. It all seemed to be a good reaction, too.

The show went smoothly. The crowd loved the "grab your ass" line in "The Date" and Anthony said that "Last Night" was our big hit in Sweden. I thought I saw a look of confusion on a couple guys in the crowd, as if they were trying to decide whether he was joking or not. And of course we were met with a positive reaction when Anthony talked about "peace, love and harmony" and mentioned menage é trois in conjunction with "Clone You".

Part of what made this show so good was the decent backline and the skilled sound technician. This isn't to rip on anyone we've worked with, but it was nice to play a show and have the sound guy know what channel to turn up during a guitar solo. No solos were missed by the crowd in this show. And I have to say, that drum kit sounded stellar. If I could get my snare drum to sound like that, I'd be a very happy little monkey indeed.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that we had an American Sign Language interpreter on stage with us. It was fascinating to have this boisterous lady on stage dancing and signing the lyrics to a group of three women in the crowd. It's safe to say that this is likely the first time our lyrics have been translated into sign. And it was very interesting to watch.

Finally, when it was all over, I talked to our friend Cody (from Six-Ton Productions, one of the guys who shot the "Last Night" and "Chosen Ones" videos). He was very impressed with the show. Hearing us in a festival setting was something that he said we should do more often and he said that "Junebug sounds good outside." I loved it too. I could definitely get used to this.

6/26/09 - The Terminal - Minneapolis

Souncheck:
| Like a Spy (Not the Stalker) |

Tonight's show was the second in a series of four shows, four days in a row. We had never played the Terminal before, so we weren't sure what to expect. It was a smaller stage, with not a lot of people there tonight. Between the first band's set and ours, there were maybe about 25-30 people milling about, but as soon as we started, we cleared the room. Awesome?

After starting strong with "Pay the Toll" and "Poet", Anthony had trouble with his guitar falling out of tune again, so we jammed on the "Casanova" riff a bit. We're in the process of reworking that song, so we've been jamming on the riff a bit at shows here and there. It'll come along.

Tonight "Bad MammaJamma" was dedicated to Nick's unborn son, because they just found out today that it's a boy. We know he'll grow up to be a freakin' bad mamma jamma himself, so there it is. Afterward, Dustin said, "Thanks for dancin'." There were, of course, no people dancing. After "Found My Boogie," I thanked the two girls sitting at a table individually and the guys playing the Star Wars: Episode I pinball machine. Nick said that if they didn't have quarters in the machine they'd be gone, too. It turned out they were playing in the next band. So they had to be there. But I had to set Nick straight on which Star Wars film Episode I was. So disappointing.

We're still reeling from yesterday's shocking deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. We teased a portion of "Beat It" tonight. We don't actually play that song. "I wish," said I. So we played "Clone You" and dedicated it to Farrah. Because if we had cloned her, she could still be with us, "instead of dead," according Dustin.

Tonight's show was brought to you by the letter B. We are the Badass 'Bug who just won a Battle of the Bands for the Basilica Block party and whose Bassist is having a Bouncing Baby Boy.

Friday, June 26, 2009

6/25/09 - O'Gara's Garage - St. Paul

Basilica Battle Finals

Tonight was the Final round of the Basilica Block Party's Minnesota Band competition. The first round consisted of Cities 97 crew selecting twelve bands from over seventy. The second round consisted of four groups of three bands with one band from each night advancing based upon audience vote. Tonight's finals consited of these four bands performing for a panel of judges. Additionally, voting would take place and the top two vote-getters earn bonus points. The two bands with the highest scores win slots at the Basilica Block Party. I (tony) am happy to announce that even though we didn't get any audience vote bonus points, we got second place, behind Section 30, earning a place on the Basilica stage on Friday July 10!

Postina opened the show, with Junebug second, followed by Section 30 and the Brian David Band.

This was a very, very fun show. Our energy was high, we had fun and we were very musically on. Our set was comprised of sure-fire crowd pleasers and we took no prisoners. We were pretty nervous, however, once we heard the other bands. The judges said that all four bands were worthy of the Basilica. It's cheesy, but it's true. Everyone was really good, so we were pretty pleased when they said our name.

In spite of the fun we had tonight, it was also a sad day. This was the day that both Michael Jackson and our beloved Farrah Fawcett passed away. Michael - what can we even say about him? He influenced us all even if it's not readily evident in our music. And Farrah - we used to have a pre-show ritual at the Red Rooster Coffee House in which we would all drink communally from a Farrah Fawcett mug. Since then we've also kept posters of Farrah up in our rehearsal space. Tonight, "Crossroads" was dedicated to her because we will meet her there someday.

Furthermore, Dustin (somewhat wonderfully inappropriately) mentioned her "perky tits."

That's that for this show, kids. We made it through and we're playing the Basilica Block Party on July 10^th! Thanks for all your support, folks!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

6/12/09 - O'Gara's Garage - St. Paul

Set:

We all showed up on time, we got on stage and played a set at O'Gara's in Saint Paul. When we were done playing, we listened to the other bands and then went home. I have now said all that needs to be said about this show. Was it our worst ever? Only those present will ever know.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

6/6/09 - Red Rooster - Aberdeen, S.D.

Aberdeen was the second half of our Dakota Junebug weekend. It was the Junetacular Junestravaganza Mini Tour! The poster was designed by me (tony) with a big top circus theme. Well, as luck would have it, my father-in-law had some radio advertising time that he donated to us. He put together an ad that sounded like it was promoting a circus. It ran on 106.7 and 94.1 in Aberdeen and it was hilariously wonderful.

Fro9 opened the show, followed by A Month of Sundays, moving on to Junebug. Anthony had hoped it was going to be a nice, sunny, mellow day so that "Spring Fever" would make sense. However it was 42 degrees and rainy. In June. But we played it anyway, although it was more upbeat and peppy in an attempt to fool the masses into believing it really was nice outside. Also, we started it before Nick was even on stage. He was waiting in line for the rest room. But he joined us soon enough at it was all good.

At one point tonight, I told the crowd that we used to live in Aberdeen. It was met with a loud, "Bull crap!" So we had to defend ourselves by letting everyone know we still have 605 area codes on our cell phones and we even whipped out our South Dakota driver's licenses to prove something or other, I'm not sure what.

Something happened tonight that leads us to believe we must be doing something right. At one point during "Poet" a pair of ladies panties flew forth from the crowd and got hooked onto Anthony's thumb while he played. He finished the song with the undergarment attached to his hand. This is rock and roll. This is why we do it.

It's also a sign of a good show when there is a dogpile in front of the stage. Sometimes this happens in Aberdeen. It did tonight. It's kind of baffling and my thirteen-year-old brother-in-law wasn't sure what to think of it. Was it cool? Was it not cool? He alternated between approving laughter and shocked disbelief. But that's really the kind of thing we're used to as members of this band -- utter confusion.

One of the reasons that it's always fun to play the Red Rooster is that as our former home base, we're able to get away with pretty much anything musically. In the Cities we don't always play some of our more mellow tunes, but at the Rooster, people appreciate them. So we were able to whip out songs like "Share," "Place" and "Spring Fever." We're also able to do our more experimental numbers like "Jamming Out in a Soundproof Room." This one was actually requested tonight and we were happy to oblige, though Nick had never practiced it.

We hadn't been to Aberdeen since March and we won't be back until October, but it's always worth it to be at the Rooster. We love all our Aberdeen fans and can't wait to see them again.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

6/5/09 - Nestor Tavern - Fargo, N.D.

June 5, 2009
The Nestor Tavern
Fargo, N.D.

We embarked upon our Junetacular Junestravaganza Dakota mini-tour! First stop: The Nestor Tavern in Fargo! The show started with our dear ol' friend, Kelsey Lee, followed by Pat Lenertz & Friends, finally leading to Junebug. This show was really cool because there were a lot of old friends in attendance. Our crowd was made up of probably 90% Jamestown High School alumni, which has never happened before to our knowledge (aside from that one show that Tony and Anthony played as a duo in 1996 AT JHS). There were people from our grade and the class below us as well as two of my (tony's) sisters and people who went to JHS with them in the '80s. So throughout the night, it was fun to just throw occasional shout outs to JHS and hear them holler. Nick proposed a toast to the Jamestown "Cougars" but then asked what our mascot really was. Everyone shouted "BLUE JAYS" and at one point I sang the Blue Jay Booster, much to Joey Schmuhl's delight (although she kept requesting "I Want Kathy", which we don't play).

Also in attendance were Bud and Travis from the San Haven Chuckle (who are also JHS alumni) and their ladies. They were shaking their booties and it was nice to see them.

It was a pleasant turn of events that there were no natural disasters this time around. We halfway expected there to be a tornado or severe hailstorm or something of the sort. Earthquake, hurricane, Godzilla, [insert SimCity disaster here (excluding flooding, we've already done that one)].But there wasn't even so much as a famine. Sadly, it seems our powers of devastation have faded.

With Anthony and Tony deciding that all our songs will now be known as their initialisms ("Moon Over the Water" now known as "MOTW"), seeing the Chuckle's bums again, and Travis G. air-humping Dustin's guitar solo, it was a pretty typically crazy Fargo show.

With a lot of our old JHS friends there tonight, "Place" was dedicated to Pete.

We seriously underestimated our set time tonight and came to the end of our setlist before our alotted time was up. So we took a break, even though the peeps in the bar wanted us to keep going. We formulated a new mini-set, however, and returned for a kick-butt encore set. This was a first. We've done one- and two-song encores before, but never an encore set. So for what it's worth, there you go.

A few songs into said encore set, an entire corner of the room, which was occupied by my sisters, Wendy and Laurel, began chanting "Downtown Liquor Store"! I said that Wendy is a known felon, so we'd better do what she says. And we did. She actually joined us for a very brief moment, but then jumped off the stage far too soon. She should have sung the whole dang thing. Seeing as how she actually did rob a liquor store, I'd say she's earned it.

Well, that was our Fargo show, folks. Tomorrow, the Red Rooster in Aberdeen.

Friday, May 29, 2009

5/28/09 - O'Gara's Garage - St. Paul, Minn.

May 28, 2009
Battle for the Basilica
O'Gara's Garage
Saint Paul

Tonight was the second round of the Battle for the Basilica. The first round consisted of judges' review of our album and promo sheet. Out of 70 submissions, we were among the top twelve selected to compete in the second round. Twelve bands were split up into four nights of three bands each. One band from each night advances to the finals on June 25, with two of them winning a slot at the Basilica Block Party. This amazing weekend includes such bands as The Black Crowes, The Hold Steady, Tapes 'n Tapes, Counting Crows and the Jayhawks among others.

Again, tonight was the second round. Junebug was the first of three bands playing with the winner to be determined by audience vote. We brought out our A-game tonight. Tonight was our first time at O'Gara's and we loved it. The stage is nice and roomy and there's a drum riser which I (tony) appreciate. However, the ceiling is low and the killer light rigs are really close to the performers. So while we had fun, it was HOT. All of us were sweating like crazy.

Junebug fans came out of the woodwork tonight to support us and vote for us. They were dancing and cheering and hollering and having an awesome time -- and so were we. We all felt very positive about this show, and we just banged right through a high-octane set with not a lot of break or banter, just full-on less talk, more rock.

And whatever we did worked. We won this round and we move on to the finals on June 25, again at O'Gara's. Exciting, peeps! We'd love to play the Basilica Block Party.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

5/23/09 - Cabooze - Minneapolis

May 23, 2009
The Cabooze
Minneapolis

We returned to the Cabooze for a full night of loud rock with Smiling Politely and Cryptic. This show ended up being better than our previous show at the Cabooze. Cryptic has a pretty solid and loyal following and so does Smiling Politely, so there were plenty of folks present.

We're pretty sure there were some peeps there to see us as well. There are a few faces that we're starting to recognize here and there and there were a couple dancing faces there tonight.

Since our co-performers are both known for their harder-edge sound, we decided that tonight was a good night to play a set of all bangers and dancers. No wussing out and getting all sentimental tonight. It was a time for loudness.

It was a good set and we played very well tonight and had fun. Afterward I (tony) overheard a girl clutching a newly purchased Share disc, raving and lecturing her friend on how she should have arrived earlier because this Junebug band was "really, really rad."

Other than all that, we hung out in the green room, had a few beers and had some good chats with the other bands and talked more about where we're headed as a band. We're all positive, folks. The dreams are big and we'll keep on chasing them.

That's about all for tonight. The Cabooze is a fun room to play and we look forward to playing there again.