Junebug Show Diaries

11/21/11 - Tour Stop at MasterMix Studio - Minneapolis

2011-11-21T23:11:00.000-08:00

Soundcheck / warmup:

| Please Please Me [The Beatles] | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls |

Set:

This was our second time doing Tour Stop at MasterMix. The first one we did was the first one ever. So, as I understand it, there were a number of after-the-fact technical difficulties which prevented the completion of the materials. This led Student Run Records to ask us to do a second session, which we were more than happy to do.

This one overall went more smoothly. You could tell that the crews have done a few of them since the first one. Everyone has sort of fallen into their positions, and those in charge have a working knowledge of how it goes, rather than just a theoretical one.

After arrival, setup and soundcheck, the band all convened for an on-camera interview with host Eric Bull of Student Run Records. We talked about our music, the studio experience, Beards, and Teletubbies. We then went into the performance space for another short introduction and interview which preceded the playing of a few tunes -- all of which will appear on Beards.

The session flowed like a live performance. We were told ahead of time that there were no second takes. We perform this like we perform a show. If we mess up, we keep going. It was cool like that. It was pretty laid back. There were a couple slip-ups here and there, but we're human and we love it.

The whole time we performed, there were two camera guys in the space. Jose stood stationary to the right of drum kit and swiveled his camera, and Tanner moved around the space. There were also two stationary cameras getting different shots of the room. In the control booth, Peter and Paul (no sign of Mary -- but there was a Mike) captured pro audio. It will all be edited together into a video program and an audio EP. No word yet on how all that will work, but it will.

After the performance, we went over to the other building with the video guys to get some B-roll shots of us walking down a hallway. It sounds less than riveting, but trust me, it'll look cool.

Tour Stop at MasterMix is a cool thing they've got going over at Student Run Records. We're glad to have done it twice, and we hope to do it again if they'll have us.

Photo by Kate Waterloo. See the whole set here.

10/14/11 - Driftwood Char Bar - Minneapolis

2011-10-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

Anthony's Birthday Party

Set:

Tonight we were joined by our dear friends, the inimitable San Haven Chuckle from Fargo. They've been wanting to get to the Cities to play with us for awhile, and now we've finally made it happen. Anthony's birthday is in a couple days, and we figured this was a perfect occasion to party with some music and friends. This was Anthony's birthday celebration, and the place was full of friends and fans. As Anthony said when the show got underway, "I'm one year older and a lot more stupider."

Of further note tonight -- This was Dillon Marchus's very first show as Junebug's bassist. Coincidentally, it was exactly one year ago tonight that former bassist Brandon Johnson had his first show as Junebug bassist. Strange. Kismet.

The first two songs of the night have a dubious connection. Both songs begin with solitary drum beats which are identical. So if anyone was paying attention, they would notice that.

Dillon had his first experience with "Bad Mamma Jamma" tonight. He funked it up well. And when talking about getting out of the mental institution, Anthony gave a shout out to an old band from our youths called Outpatient 13. After this song, we got chants of "one more song!" Which is interesting since it was only the third of the night. Was it a subtle hint? We didn't pick up on it if it was.

Before "Modern Age," Anthony mentioned "we like to believe there's something sacred hidden in both classic rock and facial hair... Some gems, maybe." The we played the song. Afterwards, Dustin said, "As a birthday present, I'll help you write an ending to that song."

When we finished playing "Mystic Princess" tonight, one member of the crowd felt so positively about the song that he shouted out, "Correct! Correct! That was correct!" Dustin informed him that his beat is correct. "Hell yes," I added.

We continued with the show, rocking as you would expect. Some fine, but anonymous, audience member bought us a pitcher of beer, which is one of the perks of the job. But I wish we had known who it was so we could thank them.

We did experience the typical San Haven Chuckle mooning tonight. Any time we play a show with the Chuckle, we can be assured of seeing their big white man butts at some point throughout the night. Apparently, that's what we get for singing their lyrics to our song. They returned that favor, however, in addition to the mooning. They sang our lyrics to their song in a return tribute.

We opened tonight, and let the Chuckle close 'er down. Since it was Anthony's birthday, we decided to play early and let him party down for the rest of the night. No only that, but we're heading into the studio tomorrow for the weekend to work on more of Beards.

Fun fact: 58% of the songs played tonight are from the upcoming new album.

10/11/11 - Tour Stop at MasterMix Studio - Minneapolis

2011-10-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

Tour Stop at MasterMix

Set:

Tonight was the recording of the inaugural TourStop at MasterMix. Using us as their guinea pigs, Student Run Records and IPR launched this new series which caters to local and touring bands. The band comes into MasterMix and plays a short set while engineers record it and shoot video and still photography. There are interviews, and refreshments, and it is a somewhat exclusive event with a limited number of people able to attend. Stuff will be edited together and released online. Good stuff all around.

So this was really a really cool thing. We weren't really too sure what to expect going in. The whole of event was kind of a mystery to us. The way it sounds, since it's brand new and this was the first one, it was kind of a mystery to everyone. All we really knew was the basic idea that we would come in and play four songs and that both audio and video were being recorded.

I arrived around 4:45 p.m. and as soon as I walked in, people were giving me the rockstar treatment. Now, keep in mind, I attend IPR. These are people I see at school daily, people I sit around and shoot the breeze with on a regular basis. But in this context, I guess I was part of "the talent." When I walked in, everyone seemed really welcoming and happy to see me. About five people at once asked if they could help load gear into the building. Of course I took them up on it. All my drum gear was loaded in in about three minutes. It was fabulous.

I then helped Anthony carry his gear in, and by that time, the engineers had already gotten a solid start on setting up my cymbal stands. I just had to basically put my gear in place and then I was free to mingle with the guests.

Eventually, we started a sound check with the recording engineers while the videographers set lighting. Midway through the sound check, we got pulled away to do interviews. We were split into two groups: Anthony & Dustin, and me & Dillon. Dillon and I were interviewed first by Keenan Sattler, a student at IPR. Then, the others were interviewed by Megan Schueller, another student. Then, we all joined together for a final couple questions. It'll all be edited into the program smoothly. In retrospect, I kind of wish that the interview would have been all of us together. Our vibe and sense of humor usually comes from playing off one another in a group setting. And furthermore, with the nature of the questions, Dillon ended up being pretty quiet, due to him being a completely new addition to the band. So, our segment was a little dull, I felt. But I'm confident that it will all play pretty well when it's put together. Anthony and Dustin, however, knocked it out of the park.

After the interviews were taped, it was time to play some music. We gathered in the performance area of MasterMix and the guests crowded into the control room and lounge area to watch and listen to our performance.

Once we got the word that both audio and video were rolling, we opened with "Beards." However, midway through, we completely lost Anthony's guitar. The first of a few technical difficulties reared its ugly head. I think it had something to do with one of his pedals, but I'm not sure. The engineers got it figured out and we moved on in the set.

"Destiny, She Drives a Rolls" was next. It was a solid performance. We've already recorded most of this song in the studio, so it is pretty well established, and pretty fresh in our minds. Piece of cake.

The next tune was one we intend to record basic tracks for this coming weekend. It's "Mystic Princess" and we did an okay job of it. It went pretty well. We closed the set with "Hell-Bent Woman," which Anthony dedicated to his girlfriend Katie, which I found humorous and laughed about heartily.

When it was over, we got the go-ahead to try to re-do "Beards," since we didn't make it through. About halfway through the tune this time, we were stopped by the audio engineer because they ran out of disk space. So while we waited for that situation to be worked out, we played "Handlebar Mustache" in an effort to entertain the guests through the technical difficulty. We're not sure if they could hear us through the whole song, since I think the system was reset, but we played through the whole thing anyhow. It was not recorded.

They got the disk situation under control and gave us the go-ahead to try the tune again. We did. We got it rolling again, and it was a good take. But alas, it was not meant to be. There was another unspecified technical difficulty and we got the word that "that's a wrap." We celebrated by playing a funky, funky jam (which was not recorded) and were then sent out to mingle with the exclusive guests.

There were snacks and beverages, and general frivolity. There were many compliments, and some photos taken, and lots of good-time schmoozing.

When it was all said and done, the four of us went to Stadium Pizza for some beers. Katie joined us as did a couple of the engineers, Bill and John.

We had a great night. This was a lot of fun and I think that IPR and Student Run Records have a good thing going here. It would be fun if we could return sometime later down the road, when some of the kinks are ironed out.

Thanks for having us, IPR!

10/1/11 - Red Rooster Coffee House - Aberdeen, S.D.

2011-10-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

Red Rooster Coffee House 15th Anniversary Celebration

Set:

Encore:

| On the Sidewalk / To the Next Episode |

The Red Rooster Coffee House in Aberdeen, S.D. is one of our favorite places to play in this crazy world. As any follower of ours likely knows, the Rooster is where we played our first show as a full three-man band. That was more years ago than I would like to admit, quite honestly. But the Rooster has always held a special place in our heart. It's was a big part of what we did back in the day. It was pretty much the only place we played for awhile. And many (or most) of the Junebug songs you enjoy so far were debuted at the Red Rooster. In the past, Dan Cleberg, one of the owners, has referred to us as a "quintessential Rooster band." It seems we are a part of Rooster history, just as they are a part of ours. So when they called on us to come celebrate their fifteenth anniversary with them, how could we say no?

We couldn't. We didn't. We played. And it was good.

Back in the old days, when we first started out at the Rooster, we were a three-piece. We have been plagued with a curse of the bassists. We just can't seem to hold on to them. But the core three have remained the same, through thick and thin. We currently do have a bassist. His name is Dillon, as he has yet to play a show with us at this point. But this show was booked before he was with us and he had things to attend to at home in Minneapolis this weekend. Dustin, Anthony and I (tony) were the ones who played all those Rooster shows back in the day, so it seemed fitting that tonight, when we're celebrating the history of the Rooster, that we play this celebratory show in the classic lineup. Classic Junebug. Or Junebug Retro, if you will.

So, while we celebrate the past, we're also looking toward the future. We took the opportunity tonight to play a few songs off of the upcoming album. We opened the set with "Beards" and went right into "Destiny, She Drives a Rolls." When I talked a little bit about the new album, a voice from crowd enquired, "Is it about beards?" "It's about smoothies. Strawberry smoothies," I replied. "It's an ironic title." Dustin added, "It's based on an inside joke. You wouldn't get it."

We continued with the live performance debut of "Modern Age." It was good. Then, afterward, Jeremy Burckhard, friend and sound person, mentioned that Anthony's vocal effects pedal was making some bad distortion come through. In the midst of this conversation, he used the term "mouth rodeo." There's really no significance to this. I simple liked the term "mouth rodeo" and I still do. Mouth rodeo.

We wished Anthony's lady's young one, Cora a happy birthday tonight, and sang her a painfully bad rendition of the traditional birthday song. Really painful. Nobody deserves that kind of garbage on their birthday, especially not a young girl. But what do you expect from us?Honestly. Another thing regarding the date; Dustin mentioned this to be earlier in the night, as did a friend of mine on Bookface. So I mentioned it to the crowd. "Does anyone know how to get ahold of Billy Joe Armstrong? Because it's time to wake him up...." Silence. "September has ended." Quieter silence. Anthony rubbed it in. "That one went over really well, Tony." He then introduced the next song saying, "Well this is a song that Billy Joel loves because he loves Wendy's food." I'm not sure what Billy Joel has to do with this. Rubbing it in.

"Hell-Bent Woman" was on the setlist tonight. But this is a family place and there were kids present. So it was "Heck-Bent Woman" for this performance. However, Anthony left in the line about getting herpes. Not sure how I feel about that.

We talked a little more about memories of the old days, discussing the old layout of the coffee house, before the expansion in 2001. We talked about our biggest fan, Danny Ch., who was present at all the early shows before he moved out of town. A fan shouted out the memory of my leather pants. Yes, I did used to wear leather pants occasionally at our shows. Sadly, I'm pretty sure they would no longer come close to fitting me.

We played "Refrigerator" and in the middle of it ended up talking about Doc and Marty. We played "Downtown Liquor Store" specifically for my sister Wendy who was in attendance tonight. The crowd shouted "drink himself to death" super loud. And they did the "Place" clap during "Bumblebee."

I personally thanked the Red Rooster Coffee House for all they've done for Aberdeen, for the art and music community, and for all the individuals they've helped out, included me. We ended the set with "Bumblebee" which was one of the favorites from long ago.

The show was over and we were started to vacate the stage. But a chant of "Next Episode" started swelling in our ears. "Next episode! Next episode! Next episode!" You have to give the fans what they want, people. So, this silly song that debuted at the Red Rooster as a JOKE in the year 2000 is one of the things they want, nay need, to hear. We started it with a silly abbreviated version of "On the Sidewalk" and kicked into it, forgetting the guitar solos. It was short, but sweet.

Afterward, a couple people were still requesting "Place." I would have loved to have played it. But Anthony either didn't want to play it or didn't hear the requests. It made sense, though. Since this place has been important to us, and this place is celebrating fifteen years, and this place was where we were playing... We probably should have. But we didn't. Next time. Always leave 'em wanting more. (?)

Finally tonight, this was a strange sort of family reunion for me. I had a lot of relatives in the place. My wife, my son, my father-in-law, my brother-in-law Michael, my mother, my sister Kelsey, my sister Wendy, and Wendy's man-friend. It was pretty cool to feel all the family love coming from that side of the room.

Thanks for the fifteen years, Red Rooster. Here's to fifteen more! I wonder if we'll still be playing in fifteen years, to play the Rooster's 30th Anniversary party. Interesting thought.

View the entire show below:

Video streaming by Ustream

9/2/11 - 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis

2011-09-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Set:
| Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | Modern Day Fairy Tales | Vacation to Oblivion | M'Lady | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | Casanova | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | I Am the Walrus [The Beatles] | Crossroads | Jumpstart My Rocket | Sledgehammer [Peter Gabriel] |

This was our first show at the legendary 7th Street Entry at First Avenue in Minneapolis. We saw it as kind of a big deal. First of all, doing well at the Entry is capital toward someday playing the Main Room. The Main Room is where Prince filmed Purple Rain. So you get the idea. Secondly, this was the first show since we've started working with Student Run Records, and there were going to be people from the label there. So we wanted to impress. Like I said earlier, it was kind of a big deal to us.

So it came as a blow a week or so ago when our bassist, Brandon, sent us an email saying he wouldn't be coming back to Minneapolis after his summer with family in South Dakota, though he would play the show at the Entry. It came as a bigger blow when four hours before load-in before the show, I received a text message saying he wouldn't make it after all. That was a major bummer. Major.

I made a quick call to Anthony and sent a message off to Dustin. Unfortunately, the guy we've been looking at to fill the bass position had a previous engagement tonight. So Anthony said he had a short list in mind of two or three people he could call to fill in tonight. The gentleman who answered the call was Anthony's friend Josh Carlson.

As soon as Josh got off work at 6:00 p.m., he headed over to Anthony. There they crammed on a pre-determined and revised setlist. Josh and Anthony went through all the songs and Josh took copious notes. I sent Anthony a text at some point in the evening asking how things were going. "We got this, dawg" was the reply.

Meanwhile, at the venue, Dustin and I had loaded in. I met a few Student Run Records people at the door and they helped load some stuff in. As soon as I set down all the merch, they went to work, counting, sorting and creating an inventory. It was strange, but cool. It was something we didn't have to worry about at all. We had enough to focus on with the strangeness of what has happening. It was nice to have some help.

Anthony and Josh arrived and some of us grabbed some food next door at the Depot. The show started with Young & Tender and we chilled in the basement greenroom. I kept thinking that it was super cool that at this venue, in this greenroom had also chilled such acts as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Husker Du at one time or another. I was daydreamin'.

Chiefs of the North then rocked the stage as we got ready to go on ourselves. Downstairs in the greenroom sat Josh like a champ, doing some last-minute studying.

Chiefs of the North ended, and we set up. (I, the drummer, was the first guy completely ready to go, by the way.) Since the setlist was revised sort of last-minute, I didn't have any printed out for myself or the band. Anthony had texted the set to me earlier in the evening, so I found a setlist from one of the other bands and I wrote our set on the back of it. It was too dark to see on the floor, so I impaled it on my hi-hat stand. It worked surprisingly well. I may end up trying it again.

We got the set started and Josh completely fell right into our groove. Occasionally, he would crouch down by his bass amp so he could better hear himself as he glanced at the notes in his notebook. But usually, he was grooving and feeling our flow.

The strangeness of the whole situation continued through the set. Anthony's effects pedal stopped working properly, so he bypassed it, playing everything dry. And it was loud. Not only that, but he broke a string and didn't have a spare. Dustin worked it out for him, though. Then there were tuning issues. At one point, Anthony turned to me and said, "This is a train wreck." It wasn't quite a train wreck in my estimation, but it certainly wasn't our best showing.

Furthermore, it seemed that most of the crowd that had been there through the night had been there specifically for one band. As it turns out, we shouldn't have played last tonight.

But when it's all said and done, we had fun. It was the Entry, and I had decided that in spite of everything, I was going to enjoy this gig. This I did.

At the end of the show, I realized that the "Who the Hell is Junebug?" sticker that I had carefully affixed to the urinal in the men's room had been removed. I found this to be odd, since the entire rest room was covered in band stickers. One more obstacle to overcome.

At the end of the night, it turned out that our pal Cody managed to snag the poster which hung outside the door advertising the show. He wanted us all to autograph it. I told him that would make it worthless. After I had a little trouble with the marker he handed me (it was a calligraphy marker, it had an, angled flat edge) he made me sign it again, directly underneath. He made the others double-autograph the poster as well. To which I replied, "double-autograph equals double-worthless."

I do hope we get a chance to play the Entry again relatively soon. Though those present all said it sounded good and it was fun, I feel like we somehow need to redeem ourselves and make it a good show. Maybe our CD release show. There's a thought. Let's think about that.

8/15/11 - Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis

2011-08-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

Student Run Records A&R Showcase

Set:

This show crept up on us kind of last minute. I got an email from a classmate, Crystal Statskey, who is one of the folks involved with Student Run Records out of IPR. The email went out to several musicians/bands in the immediate IPR community. She said they were having a label A&R showcase to try to line up an artist to sign. There were a couple slots left on the bill and would we be interested in submitting our interest. I grabbed our EPK and a couple tracks and sent them along. We were very quickly accepted onto the bill.

So the point of this show was not only to rock out and have a good time, but also to attempt to impress the good people at Student Run Records. Because after all this was said and done, they would discuss who they would like to work with.

We played third on the bill, after Sticky Byte and Bruce McLaughlin Band - both very good and fun bands, which are a great mix with our music. We should play more shows with those guys.

We g0t decked out in our colors -- meaning we were all wearing athletic jogging suits of differing solid colors. We took the stage with yelling and high-fiving and general frivolity. We started the set out with energy, kicking it with "Poet," followed by "Casanova" and "Bad Mamma Jamma." It was a good high octane start to the show.

People were into it, which we were really pleased about, for sure. Again, our buddy PJ was in the house, capturing live audio. And our friend Collin was capturing some video with our other pal Bruce's flip cam. One of the examples of these synced together is below. There's more where that came from, too. Word.

This show was really solid all the way around. There were a couple minor mix-ups. "You could have a bumper car flying..." But that's to be expected from time to time, obviously. We ended on a high note and people kept talking about our rendition of "Sledgehammer." Apparently it struck a nerve this time around.

It was a good show. I hope we impressed.

EDIT: It turns out we made an impression. Student Run Records has asked us to work with them. We start tracking our new album Beards within a matter of weeks!

7/12/11 - Chalk It Up! - River's Edge Commons - Elk River, Minn.

2011-07-12T23:46:00.000-07:00

Chalk It Up!

Set:

The Beatles]

Elk River, Minnesota puts on this series in town called "Chalk It Up!" It's pretty cool. Bands play and kids use sidewalk chalk to make art on the concrete. The space was beautiful. It was Rivers Edge Commons in Elk River, right on the banks of the Mighty Mississipp. It was one of those places in which if you snap any picture from that space, it would be postcard worthy. (Do people use postcards anymore?)

I rolled into town and started setting up my gear. Accompanying me was my younger brother-in-law, Michael, who is staying with us in Minneapolis for a week. He helped me in a roadie-type capacity. As I was setting up, both Brandon and Dustin arrived and began setting up as well.

We got set up and waiting for a little while. Brandon drew a portrait of Dustin with some chalk. Dustin relaxed on the grass while playing some guitar (see video below). I chilled with Michael a bit and we all shot the breeze. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone else coming down the hill, expecting it to be Anthony. It wasn't, but who could it be? It was our old pal, PJ! You never know when he'll pop up, but we're always happy to see that dude. Anthony finally did arrive, however, and we got set up and sound checked, just as people were filtering in.

We played a few songs to start it all off. We got to our new song, "Destiny, She Drives a Rolls" and Anthony introduced it as being on our upcoming album Beards. I guy in the audience cheered. Anthony said, "Beards are good. Mustaches aren't bad either." The dude who cheered had a beard.

We continued with the show and during a tuning break I talked about how cool this show was. It was really neat to see the kinds dancing and doing art. I pointed out to the good people of Elk River that not every town does cool things like this. Anthony remarked at how well the kids were loving it, saying that perhaps this has been our demographic all along.

After an apt performance of "On the Sidewalk" (because we were on the sidewalk, by the shoreline), we went into "Beards." Anthony thanked everyone who planned ahead and great a beard specifically for the performance of this song this evening.

We continued through our set, enjoying the beautiful weather, the beautiful sunset, the beautiful scenery, and the beautiful people. During the last few songs, more people were starting to filter down the hill to the show. I saw a number of phones out, taking video of our performance. I encouraged everyone to put the vids on YouTube, but I haven't found any yet.

At any rate, this was a great show. This event was wonderful and we were happy to have been a part of it. We hope you have us back sometime, Elk River!

7/9/11 - Pigout Afterparty - Sixth Avenue Gallery - Aberdeen, S.D.

2011-07-09T23:52:00.000-07:00

Prelude:

| One Note Tour |

Set One:

Set Two:

HIJACKED

Tonight was supposed to be an awesome night. Tonight was supposed to be a top-of-our-game, blow-em-out-of-the-water night. It had been a great weekend for music in Aberdeen, with the Pigout/Music Fest and the Red Rooster's Big Pig Sideshow, followed by the after parties at the Gallery, of which we were a part. There was a chance that there were going to be members of other great bands at this show, and that we could hang with them and make a good impression. You never know where good networking will get you. Well the night didn't turn out exactly as we had planned. More on that as the story warrants.

Tonight marked our first foray into having a visual viewing element since playing anime and Transformers: The Movie on television screens all those years ago. Anthony acquired both a projector and a screen and we put them both to use tonight, projecting trippy visualizations triggered by the sounds of our instruments. That element was pretty successful and cool. We'll be doing that more often.

We took the stage and Anthony thanked the crowd, saying that tonight was part of our "One Note Tour." I counted off ("one, two, three, four!") and we all hit one note... except for Anthony, who hit two. Always giving a little extra.

We opened the show with "Pay the Toll" again tonight. And it seems that we should probably work out the ending on this one again. We've consistently been ending it incorrectly. But since the ending is supposed to signify a train wreck, I suppose it's fitting. Because, boy oh boy. It's been a train wreck. Mission accomplished?

Anthony announced that tonight we were only going to play for about twenty minutes and then go pass out somewhere. We played "M'Lady" and he shouted, "Thank you Aberdeen, GOOD NIGHT!" And began to take off his guitar. "Okay," he relented. "We've got a couple more for ya."

That "couple more" included the live debut of the title track off our upcoming album, Beards. It's called "Beards." There's more where that came from, people. We also played "Handlebar Mustache," also from the Beards project.

We hobbled through the rest of the set. Which included a very shaky performance of "Crossroads," the over-functioning fog machine freaking out Dustin, and the revival of an old bit -- the combination of the "Inspector Gadget" theme and "In the Hall of the Mountain King." From there we went immediately into "Refrigerator." Now, there was supposed to be this weird bit in which we stray from the song and do strange things not easy to explain. As it turned out, I was the only one who remembered to play it, and I got strange looks from the other guys in the band, which made me look an idiot. So after the instrumental section, before I count us back in, I said, "Hey remember that part in which we were going to do that thing? We forgot to do it. Two, three, four!"

Before we played the final song of what we thought was the first set, "Bumblebee," Anthony said that after the break, "we'll be back to blow you away!" I commented, "No promises, no refunds." Dustin introduced the song saying that "this is a song to let people whom you tolerate touch you." And then we rocked it.

So let me back up a second. Above, when I said the night didn't turn out as planned, I don't mean to insinuate that the whole thing completely sucked. No, there weren't as many Pigout musicians there hanging out as we had hoped. No, we didn't perform at the top of our game. But there were some good moments for sure. We talked to a lot of friends that we don't see often. We debuted a new song. Brandon's bass solo in "Godzilla" kicked ass. The screen visuals were great. Our attire was awesome (but I won't really give it away, since we'll use it again). So it wasn't ALL bad.

But now is when things got weird and uncomfortable. Remember when we said that we were going to take a short break and be right back? Well, just as we were coming off stage, there was a mad scramble by the staff to bring up monitors and mic stands, cables and guitars. Just as I had gotten over to the sound board to turn off my recording gear, there were dudes already on stage checking mics. This was not the problem.

It's common for venues to have other musicians fill the set breaks. They don't want silence. They want to keep the people there. If they go outside, they might realize how late it is and just leave. So.. GREAT. Have a band fill the space. It just would have been nice if we had been notified ahead of time. But, as that goes, no big deal.

We were scheduled to play until 4:00 a.m. It's an after-hours venue that goes LATE into the morning. So we had planned to take a 15-20 minute break and then get back up with our 'A' material. Because at the Gallery, the later in the night, the more raucous the crowd, and the more fun the party. So we saved our "gold" for the second set, when everyone was more into it.

Herein lies the problem. After our scheduled break time was up (twenty minutes), this other group was still sound checking. And still checked for ten minutes beyond. --I'll repeat that.-- The unscheduled band that was supposedly going to fill our 20 minute break was still sound checking 30 minutes later. We asked a member of management what was going on. He said they wanted to get up and play and he was giving them a half hour once they got going.

That was kind of a bummer. Because as luck would have it, we had things to do the next day. It wasn't as if we could just stay and play until 6:00 a.m. as management suggested. One of our members had a job to do in the morning and I had to get on the road and drive in the a.m. to join a family gathering that I was skipping to play this show. It would be nice if we could have just said "screw it" to our responsibilities, but that's not how it works. We had all planned on being done by 4:00 a.m. and loaded out by 5:00, as was the agreement.

So when 3:45 rolled around and this other group was still performing, we made a decision that if they were still playing at 4:00, we were out of there. Four o'clock arrived and we started changing back into our street clothes. Management came in at 4:02 and asked if we were ready to go back on. Strange thing was, we had been ready to go back on ten minutes before this unscheduled, unannounced group had started. "We're done," we said. "These guys are on a roll. Let 'em keep playing."

So we went and tore down our gear and loaded out.

When it's all said and done, we stayed for the agreed-upon amount of time, and we still ended up getting paid the agreed-upon sum. We just didn't get to play our agreed-upon sets and felt pretty second-rate, even though we all drove from Minneapolis to be there for this event. And the other band, whose name I don't even remember, was not bad at all. They were really decent and it wasn't their fault. They weren't dicks or anything. It was just a very unfortunate situation for us. There was also an opening band this night called "The Long, Rattling Chain." I came to find out later that they were supposed to be the ones playing our set break. So they got hijacked, too. As I understand it, they left somewhat upset.

So if you missed this show, no big deal. If you were there specifically for us, we're sorry you didn't get what you paid for.

6/26/11 - Twin Cities Pride - Loring Park - Minneapolis

2011-06-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

Set:
| Come Together [The Beatles] | Modern Day Fairy Tales | Vacation to Oblivion | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | The Date | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Refrigerator | Clone You | Sledgehammer [Peter Gabriel] |

For the third year in a row we were asked to perform on the main Loring Stage at the Twin Cities Pride Festival. This is always a good day for us. The festival is always so welcoming with such a strong sense of loving community. Additionally, people are in a festive mood and they dance and sway. A super cool thing is that there are always American Sign Language interpreters on stage. Plus you get a nifty lanyard when you perform. I love being at TC Pride.

Brandon deserves kudos for this show. He's been staying in Aberdeen this month, dealing with some family issues, but he traveled out to the Cities specifically for this gig. It's a good thing, too. This festival is good for us. So click 'Like' on Brandon's decision to make the trip.

We had originally planned to open the set with "On the Sidewalk," but decided against it, since it's such a mellow tune. The emcee, the lovely Sweetpea from Lili's Burlesque Revue, had been introducing acts with much gusto. So if we had kicked into a super mellow tune right after that, some impact would have been lost. So we decided to open with "Come Together." Never mind the fact that we had neither practiced it nor played it for weeks. And was it evident. It probably wasn't a good choice. It was a bit of a disaster that I'm sure will go down in the annals of Junebug vernacular. "Let's make sure not to pull a Come Together."

We continued the set as people danced. Others hula-hooped. Others still sat in the grass simply enjoying their summertime beverages. Though the gig may have started rough, it picked up and felt really good. The sound crew on this stage was top-notch. It's the same group we usually work with on this gig, and we always sound great because of them.

We ripped through "Bad Mamma Jamma" and people dug it. And then, just as we were going to move on, we heard a sweet voice shout out, "REFRIGERATOR!!" I looked a little more closely and it was our old friend, Briana, whom we met at American Burger Bar during the winter carnival. She and the man in the Angry Birds shirt ("you've got a lot of courage," said Dustin) were requesting that greatest of tunes about kitchen appliances. Though Anthony was hesitant at first, I reminded him of our policy about playing requests -- which is, if someone likes us enough to hear a particular song and shout it out, we had better play it. So, we did. When it was done, Anthony said next we were going to play our next appliance hit, "Garbage Disposal." Brandon and I kicked in, but it was not meant to be. Maybe another time.

We finished out the set with "Clone You" and a rockin' rendition of our rendition of Peter Gabriel's rendition of "Sledgehammer." Pride 2011 was a hit, and we're super glad we played again this year. We hope that this becomes an annual thing for us.

We as a band promote love, acceptance, unity and good times. We do our best not to speak out about politics or anything like that, because all it seems to do is divide. This festival is all about inclusiveness, equal rights for all types of humans, unity and love. These are all things that we can get behind. We want all people rock equally.

Peace, love and pork rinds.

5/29/11 - Art & Bicycle Spectacle - Red Rooster Coffee House - Aberdeen, S.D.

2011-05-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

Set:
| Last Night | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | Handlebar Mustache | I Am the Walrus [The Beatles] | Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Modern Day Fairy Tales | Vacation to Oblivion
| Casanova | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | M'Lady | On the Sidewalk | Bikin' With the Devil [Van Halen] | Like a Spy (Not the Stalker) | Refrigerator (country) |

Cheyana's Special Performance:
| Downtown Liquor Store |

As I know I've mentioned before, we always love coming to the Red Rooster Coffee House in Aberdeen, S.D. It was where we started and it's always been a second home. We haven't been here in awhile, though. We've been to Aberdeen, at the Sixth Avenue Gallery, but not the Rooster. So when Dan asked us if we wanted to play the Art & Bicycle Spectacle, we gave a mighty "yep."

The original plan was to have the louder electric acts play on the outside stage and the lighter, acoustic acts would play inside the Coffee House. The weather was playing tricks, however, threatening to drop rain on the event all day long. Dan decided it would be better to not have the electric bands' gear all sitting outside in case the sky decided to dump (which, for the record, it didn't). But we loaded in and caught Small Town Anthem doing their thing. We were next in the lineup.

We started the show with a huddle-up and broke it with the common "Goooooo, Bayside!" This was completely lost on this crowd. It then occurred to me that we are older than most of the people in attendance. It is quite possible that they, unlike us, have not seen every episode of Saved By the Bell. We're showing our age. "I guess you guys are too young for that," I lamented.

We started out by jamming on the song "Last Night." We started in the middle, in the nice little jam section, and after vamping on it for awhile, kicked in and finished the song. Then, after ripping through "Poet," Anthony told the crowd about our new merch deals. (We have two new t-shirts as of this show.) He gave a sales pitch, saying, "We cut out the middle man... then hire him back to do our taxes... then cut him out again. Now he's suing us." A friend and superfan, Ann V. called out, "I'm an attorney!!! I will defend you!!" "Thank you," Dustin said. "We will need that."

We played a couple Beards tunes that are new to the Rooster, followed by "I Am the Walrus." We saw a million faces. We rocked them all.

There was a point in this evening's show in which people were heard speculating on whether I am, in fact, a gremlin. This was odd to me, but not unwelcome. It may have had something to do with me asking for water? They didn't want me to reproduce? I already did, though. But more on that later. I did get a glass of water - from a lovely young lady in the crowd. I've seen her at shows before, but I don't think I've ever met her, nor do I know her name. But she was singing along during the show, so she's a fan. At any rate, thanks for the water. I appreciated it greatly.

The show rolled on. During "Modern Day Fairy Tales," Dustin sat down in the front row while playing. You see, his niece was there and she's a big fan. She was decked out in her Junebug t-shirt and everything. So as he sat next to her, playing the show, she was smiling and happy about it. It was super cute.

Also cute was our old pal Cheryl joining us on "Casanova." As usual, she stole the show with her unique style of dancing and vocalizing. She gave various shout-outs to various entities (people, bands, baseball teams) and turned the stage back over to us. What we do without Cheryl? She's kind of the best.

Tonight I introduced a special fan in attendance. As you may know, I became a dad last month and my son, Josiah, was experiencing his very first Junebug show this evening. I would say that he loved it, but due to the hot pink ear protection he was wearing, he slept through the whole thing. Well, and he's just over a month old. Whatever. There will be more opportunities.

Throughout the show, our pal Roberto and his family kept calling out "Stalker! Stalker!" So, when it came time for there to just be one song left, it appeared that we absolutely had to play that tune. Anthony told them it was coming up next, but unbeknownst to him, Dustin had other plans. He told Brandon to play the opening line from Van Halen's "Runnin' With the Devil" and to Anthony's surprise, we kicked in. However, instead of singing the actual lyrics, Anthony paid tribute to the day's festivities by singing lyrics about bicycles. The chorus was "Bikin' with the devil." It was classic.

After that, we did play "Stalker." But Roberto and his family were not satisfied. They perpetuated screams of "Refrigerator! Refrigerator!" While we could have said, "one per customer," we obliged. But, instead of the version that everyone knows, we belted out an old-time country version of the song. They really didn't know what they were bargaining for, nor what hit them. Spontaneity is a beautiful thing.

So that was it. It was our set. The show was done. We were met with cheers and applause. Except one little girl in the front row was reduced to tears. Oh, she had liked the show. It was nothing negative. Except that she had been hoping with all her heart that we would play her favorite song. The little girl was Dustin's niece, Cheyana. And her favorite song is "Downtown Liquor Store." I had been under the impression that in order for that to be your favorite song, you had to be 21 years or older. But she proved us wrong. She wanted to hear this song so desperately. Dustin, being the nice uncle that he is, suggested that perhaps we give her a special performance of it outside. So we did. Here is the video.

5/19/11 - Driftwood Char Bar - Minneapolis

2011-05-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

Set One:

Set Two:

Encore:

| Downtown Liquor Store |

Tonight we returned to the stage after a two-month (to the day) performance break. Our last show was March 19. After that we took some time to just rehearse and record some stuff for our next album Beards which we've begun. Not to mention, my wife pushed our baby out of her body. It's a pretty big deal. But we're back in the saddle again.

It was our first time playing at the Driftwood Char Bar in South Minneapolis. It's definitely got a "neighborhood bar" feel, with most of the patrons being regulars, it seemed. We had an opening act tonight, Not Quite Canada, from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They're friends of Anthony's and the bassist happens to be an IPR grad. They brought their brand of semi-acoustic, banjo goodness from the northland. We hope to get out to their neck of the woods this summer as well.

We took the stage when their set was up and I decided that I would be addressing the crowd in a faux New York accent all night long. You know how I roll. It was a decision I made, and it was final. No arguments.

We opened with "Pay the Toll," and it should have been an indication. It wasn't too bad, but when the ending came along, it was a train wreck. Interestingly, that's what we try to portray musically at the end of the song anyway, but this time it went well beyond intent.

We continued with an old standby, "M'Lady," and afterward, Anthony thanked Not Quite Canada for having performed. I, in my faux New York dialect said, "Almost Canada, big hand for them. Almost Canada -- that's what they're called, right?" A person in the crowd said, "Not Quite Canada." "Not quite? Ah well, I was almost right." "Not quite," she replied. Maybe it was better heard than read, I'm thinking.

This was followed by our version of "I am the Walrus," which was quite rousing, I felt. When it over, Anthony said "I don't think I have to tell you who wrote that one!" New York Tony answered for the crowd, "It was the Monkees. We all know that."

We attempted a brand new cover tune tonight. It's a song about justice. It's called the "Bed Intruder" song. If you've never heard the original, look it up on YouTube. You won't be disappointed. So we played it. And we will play it again.

The next song on the agenda was "Refrigerator" and Dustin, Brandon and I attempted to play this song in a old country style. I started the train beat and Brandon played a nice bouncy bass line as Dustin played some good ol' country guitar. Sadly, it seemed that Anthony didn't realize we were playing "Refrigerator." He stopped us and announced that he had a sick obsession with his refrigerator, that it lets him touch it in nasty ways. He counted off the song with an extremely slow tempo, which we played. We stopped and regrouped. He counted off an appropriate tempo and I attempted the train beat again. No good. We then played the song normally. After all that.

ANTHONY: This song is off our self-titled album. It's called "Modern Day Fairy Tales."
TONY: It's not self-titled, you know.
ANTHONY: (laughs) I know.
DUSTIN: We take American Express!!

We finished off the first set with "On the Sidewalk," and "Sledgehammer." We somehow forgot how the ending to "On the Sidewalk" was supposed to go. "Painful" wasn't supposed to be one of the choices, but it's the choice we went with. "Sledgehammer" was actually better, however.

Anthony announced our set break, letting everyone know that we were all going to be back after taking this huge dump we'd been holding in. Dustin mentioned that we had already started it, all over the stage throughout the set.

We returned for the second set and in my faux dialect I announced that we were now re-branding the show. It was now entitled, "Rock You Before the Rapture," since this weekend is May 21, the day in which that looney ol' pastor predicted Judgement Day to be. We warned the crowd about the danger of the raptures. They're dangerous, you see, like in that movie about the people on the jungle island. They were running from the raptures, and the raptures learned how to open those doorknobs. You know, the velociraptures. They can learn. I then mentioned that their sight is based on movement, and Dustin interjected to correct me. "No, no, no. Those are the tyrannosaurus raptures." I concluded with, "Watch your butts for the raptures. They'll eat ya. It's rapture weekend."

We ripped into "Come Together" to start the second set. About eight bars into it, Dustin turned to look at me, turned back around and walked off the stage - while playing. He walked into the crowd, greeted some fans - while playing - and then went into the men's room. It was here that he played out the remainder of the song. Taking a cue from Dustin, Brandon walked off stage and went to the back door of the venue - while playing. He then closed the curtain that separated the entryway from the main room - while playing. Had Anthony and I not been virtually tied to the stage, we probably would have wandered around, too. After the tune was over, Dustin explained he journey into the men's room by informing us of the huge dump he took in there.

Anthony introduced "Casanova" by inviting some love-making. "If there's a special someone in the audience you want to make love to, feel free." We played the song and rocked it. Immediately afterward, Dustin boisterously exclaimed, "You just had sex!!"

We rocked an extended version of "Bad Mamma Jamma," which was kind of awesome. There was a great reaction, lots of dancing and singing along. But when it was done, Heidi, the sound person cut us off. "One more, one more, one more, one more," she said. So, basically the idea we got from her was that we had time for one more. Which is odd, because we were only four songs into our set. But looking at the clock, she was right. We decided to play "Hell-Bent Woman," which rocked their faces. For reals.

Just as we were finishing up, we heard chants for "one more song, one more song." We asked Heidi and she responded with "One more, one more, one more, one more." So, basically the idea we got from her was that we had time for one more. So at our pal Donovan's request, we played "Downtown Liquor Store" and invited him to sing along with us. Though he admitted he doesn't really know all the words, he joined us and it was funz.

The crowd loved it, and when we were done, I gave a reminder warning; "Watch out for the raptures, folks. It's rapture weekend."

3/19/11 - Sixth Avenue Gallery - Aberdeen, S.D.

2011-03-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

Encore:
| I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Dr. Phil (Part Two, Dr. Phunk) | Say It Ain't So [Weezer] |

Tonight was our mighty return to the excellent Sixth Avenue Gallery in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The show was billed as being both Junebug and Aberdeen's own lounge lizard Frankie Diamond, Jr. Frankie was supposed to come out of retirement tonight for a special show, but in what some would call typical showbiz fashion, the superstar cancelled at the last minute with little to no explanation. Diamond's people could not be reached for comment. Luckily, local singer-songwriter and a former Blue Orange band mate of mine (tony's), Will Brown, showed up to fill the slot and open the night.

When it was time for our set to start, there were various announcements being played over the P.A. system as if they were coming from a hospital or something, paging various doctors with familiar names to various hospital departments. Such as, "Dr. Bergman to gastrointerology, please. Dr. Anthony Bergman to gastrointerology." It all made sense, however, when the final announcement was "Dr. Junebug to the Sixth Avenue Gallery stage, please." The theme from television's ER played and we all entered the stage area in scrubs, surgical masks and rubber gloves. We kicked into an extended version of "Good Vibes" and the show was underway. Of course, throughout the night we would continue to make references to surgery or being a doctor or other such clever things. "How many of you came from the hospital tonight?" Because that's what we do.

Tonight's show was accompanied by the visual art of Nurse Rachel. Our friend Rachel Blazinski from Minneapolis was at this show, creating visual art, painting while using our performance as inspiration. She, of course, was wearing scrubs as well as a stethoscope. Because just as we are all obviously medical doctors who play instruments in this band, Rachel is obviously a registered nurse who paints alongside us.

For the second song of the night, Anthony explained that the last time we were here we should have played the next song, but didn't because it slipped our minds. But tonight we remembered. And so it was that we played the vulgar "A Junebug Christmas" tonight. In March. It went over well as expected.

After a couple more tunes, we debuted a brand new song. Actually we played it last night in Minneapolis, but this is the second time we've ever played it for an audience and the first for Aberdeen. It's called "Hell-Bent Woman" and it's a rocker. We've still got some minor kinks to work out, but we're rockin' it. It'll be included on the Beards project.

Next we played the extended jam-out version of "Last Night." Located on the stage when we arrived tonight was a piano. Now, we don't usually use piano live, but Dustin was inspired. During the "You shouldn't have gone to sleep at nine" part, he started banging out the chords on the piano. It was actually pretty amazing. It wasn't miked, so all you heard of it was the natural room noise, but since it's a quiet part of the song it worked. It was great.

We announced tonight that Brandon would be offering free mammograms and Dustin would be offering free proctal exams. Doctor humor. Like I said, we're geniuses.

We played "Godzilla" tonight, which is admittedly kind of a kickass song. But halfway through it, I realized something. I hope no one else made the connection, but I started feeling kind of bad that we were yelling, "There goes Tokyo!" in light of the very recent earthquake and tsunami destruction in Japan. Now, of course we didn't think of this ahead of time, and like I said, I hope no one else made the connection either. The song is about a giant lizard attacking the city, not a natural disaster. Regardless... sorry, Japan.

We played a chill out section of the set with "On the Sidewalk," "The Date," and "Spring Fever." Afterward, Anthony said that spring was on its way. Everyone was excited. I anxiously asked the crowd, "Do you have a fever?!?" Cheers of acknowledgement. "Well we have the cure! We're doctors for chrissakes!" various scattered chuckles. "I've been waiting all night to pull that one out." My career in comedy continues.

For example, during "Refrigerator," at the part where everyone stops and then I yell "two, three, four," I first said, "I'm a gynecologist." See what I did there? I referenced the evening's theme. Brilliant.

After "Like a Spy (Not the Stalker)" Dustin said that it was part of our court sentencing that we have to play that song at every show. I pointed out that "Downtown Liquor Store" was part of our other court sentence. During said song, It was a beautiful sound when we cut out and the crowd yelled, "to drink himself to death!" We love that enthusiastic participation. Good on ya.

Next, we revived a cover tune that we used to play in the old Aberdeen days that used to go over well amongst the beer-drinkin' crowd. The old Beatles / Joe Cocker standard "With a Little Help From My Friends." As it turns out, it's still a crowd pleaser. Who knew? Apparently Anthony did.

We took a brief break and came back to rock 'em with that 2008 favorite, "Poet (Who Didn't Know It)." We plowed through a bunch more tunes and had a local rap artist (whose name eludes me) join us on "Casanova." The rock continued through a few more tunes and the crowd rocked with us. We had some girl asking for couple songs or something. Then when we acknowledged her request, she apparently changed her mind. She didn't want that crap. So we hit her over the head with our brand new version of "I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles. And let me tell you, I'm really happy with how this one is turning out. I really think we rocked it hard, and I kind of didn't want it to end. I could have played that song all night, regardless of whether everyone else would have been on board with that.

A couple more tunes and then Brandon started playing a steady quarter note bass riff. I kicked in on drums and then Anthony announced, "We're gonna stop pussyfooting around now!" Boom. "Runnin' With the Devil." Then "To the Next Episode." Followed by "Misty Mountain Hop." Then the ending of "Episode." That's a solid rock-block, my friends. The pussyfooting surely did end there. And please call us Shirley.

Here's a brief little lesson to you regarding Junebug shows. If you request a song of ours, there is a roughly 99% chance that we will play it. We like to keep the people happy. And if there are people who like us well enough to actually want to hear a specific song of ours, we want to oblige that. Case in point: a person tonight (more specifically, Rory Behrens) shouted out, "Aphrodite!" So what did we do? We played it. It's really that easy, people.

However, when people request songs that aren't ours, there are no guarantees. When someone shouted out "Seven Nation Army!" (by the White Stripes), it wasn't met with as much success. Anthony started riffing on "Blue Orchid" (also by White Stripes) and I joined in. Then he stopped and said, "You only get a taste." We played "Damn the Man" instead.

We kept rockin' it. The people kept dancing. The ladies kept screaming. Nurse Rachel kept painting, but took periodic dance breaks. Then, with only song left in the set, our old buddy Drew walked in. If you don't know or remember Drew, he was one of the baddest mamma jammas to ever don a Wendy's uniform. He worked his way up to management back in the day and our song about Wendy's became required listening for his underlings. He even performed the song with us on his 21st birthday, way back in 2007. Sadly (for him) the remaining song on the setlist was not "Bad Mamma Jamma." In fact, this is the first show ever since debuting the song that we did not put it on a setlist.

After we finished "Sledgehammer," the final song on the list, the crowd demanded more. I mean demanded. Not just more songs, but "Bad Mamma Jamma" in particular. They were literally screaming for it. Literally. It was 3:45 a.m. and people were screaming for "Bad Mamma Jamma." Life is good, my friends. We played it, and threw it out to Drew tonight. Meaning, we've played this song at every. single. show of ours since July 2000. But you've got to keep the people happy. And the fact is, it's a damn fun song. Everyone got on their feet and crowded the front of the stage and shook their beautiful booties. It was an extended dance version of the song, and we expended a LOT of energy.

When we were done, there were even still more chants for "one more song!" Anthony said, "I don't think we can top that, guys." But again, they insisted. So we obliged with an extended dance version of that Junebug self-help hit, "Dr. Phil (Part 2, Dr. Phunk)." We have never had such a good reaction to that song as we did tonight. Anthony put his guitar down, picked up his Dr. Phil book and worked the crowd, going so far as to roll around on the floor with his feet in the air while screaming his catharsis. I had never seen him interact with a crowd like that. It was a pretty beautiful thing. The crowd connection we had tonight is unparalleled in our journey so far.

When that song was over, they still weren't ready to stop partying with us. So we pulled out one more final final final song. Final final this time. Anthony encouraged the crowd to sing along. It was Weezer's "Say It Ain't So," and the crowd sang along with every word. Again, it was a beautiful thing, and I can't tell you how much I love Sixth Avenue Gallery. When the song was close to ending, Dustin grabbed a guitar and smashed it into pieces on the stage. Parts flew everywhere and crowd members actually scrambled to grab them up as souvenirs. How odd for us to experience such enthusiasm, but we're happy to accept it.

Finally, tonight I decided to run an experiment in broadcasting the show on Ustream to an internet audience. A number of people actually watched the broadcast and gave really nice feedback. Perhaps we'll continue this experiment, and perhaps we'll work on broadcasting in better quality. A playback of most of the broadcast can be viewed below. The first song is missing, as is the encore set.

The night was a success. We left the stage at a little after 4:00 a.m. and we were all fairly pooped out. We greeted folks and had a couple more beverages up in the VIP room and decompressed a bit. We retold tales of things that happened that night, and things we want to do in the future. Friends new and old laughed and joked along with us. I had a truly beautiful time this night. We love Aberdeen. We love Sixth Avenue Gallery. We'll be back soon, I imagine.

3/18/11 - Memory Lanes - Minneapolis

2011-03-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight we returned to Memory Lanes in Minneapolis. In case you didn't know or guess by the name, Memory Lanes is a bowling alley. The stage is set up right over the lanes, and while we rock, you bowl. Rock 'n' Bowl? Maybe there's a future business venture in that. Anyhow, I have to say it's pretty interesting to finish a song, and before you hear any cheering or anything you hear bowling pins behind knocked down. And sometimes there's no applause at all. I mean, people are there to bowl after all. (For example, see the video below.)

We started it out with "Poet" and ever since we decided to switch it up a tiny bit, it's had more energy. It's now much better as a show opener. Next, I wanted our pal Robb to use my iPod to record video of our performance of "Come Together." But when it was time to start the song, I had no idea where he was. I couldn't see him. I thought maybe he stepped out for a cig or stepped in for a whiz. So I said to play "Modern Day" instead, which we did. Immediately after it started, I looked out and saw Robb directly in front of us with the camera rolling. Sometimes I truly am an idiot. As it turned out, we played it next and he got it. The video exists here on this page.

What is it with the drumkit technical difficulties lately? It happened again tonight. But this time it was the feet on my kick drum. Is it time for a new drum kit? Probably. Can I afford it? Probably not. Anyway, I was a pro and fixed it lickety split. I apologized for the technical difficulties and returned the bowlers to their regularly scheduled program.

After "On the Sidewalk," Anthony said, "That one's going out to Paul Simon, wherever he is." "He's on a beach somewhere, probably," I replied, "with James Taylor." Dustin added, "Didn't he just retire? Or was that Phil Collins? I get them mixed up." It was Phil Collins.

Tonight we debuted a brand new song that you've never heard before. It'll be included on the upcoming Beards project. "This next song we've never played," Anthony expained, "it's brand new. It's called 'Hell-Bent Woman,' it's about women -- how they make you crazy. It's going out to my girlfriend."

After "Jumpstart" tonight, Anthony informed our loyal cheering section that we love them, "like nylon loves the other side of nylon." "Did you mean Velcro," I asked. "Maybe. Either way I like it."

We closed tonight with the debut of our brand new rendition of the Beatles classic tune, "I Am the Walrus." It was a little shaky at the start, but we got into it and really got it rockin'. If you weren't there tonight, you'll probably get a chance to hear it later. We're not giving this one up any time soon. I really like this one.

Tonight we had a loyal cheering section sitting at one of the front tables. They were cheering and singing along, shooting video and taking pictures. These people are priceless. If everyone could be as enthusiastic about what we do as these fine ladies and gentlemen, life would be grand. Thanks for the love, people.

Photos by Rachel Blazinski
Video by Robb Main

2/24/11 - Nomad World Pub - Minneapolis

2011-02-24T22:57:00.000-08:00

It was the Nomad's Minne-Series featuring the Twin Cities' own Pictures of then. This means that every Thursday night this month, Pictures of Then is showcasing and putting together other bands to play with them. Tonight was interesting because each of the four bands participating (Pictures of Then, Capital Sons, Tasha's Laughter, and Junebug) all have members who work at Apple Stores across the Twin Cities. So when Dustin was asked if Junebug wanted to play, we gave a mighty "uh-huh."

Junebug started off the show. According to the Pictures of Then guys, the best slots this month have been the first couple. So we gladly took on the responsibility of kicking things off.

Notably, tonight's setlist was derived by one Mr. Dustin T. Marks. This is notable, because Anthony is usually the brains behind the nights' programs. But Farmer D wanted to give it a go tonight, and it turns out that he didn't blow it. 'Twas good.

We kicked it off with a rockin' rendition of "Poet" and moved on to "Refrigerator." If you've been reading the Show Diaries, then you know the past few shows have been fraught with technical difficulties dealing with my kick drum pedal. There's a broken part on it that I'm MacGuyvered a couple times and another part that just plain comes apart relatively often. Well, tonight, that wasn't to be a worry since the Pictures of Then drummer graciously offered the use of his kit. So midway through the first chorus of "Refrigerator," the kick drum pedal stopped working. I must be cursed. I continued playing sans kick drum up through the half-time bridge. Then at the part in which I shout a count-off and we come back in, I motioned to the others that it would be a moment. As fast as I could, I jimmied the necessary hardware into place. Meanwhile, the other members of the band played the theme from television's popular police drama, Law & Order. Anthony narrated a brief mystery tale. When things were fixed, I joined it. When there was a natural break, I counted off "two, three, four!" and we kicked back in to finish "Refrigerator." That's live spontanaity, folks. I love it.

We played "M'Lady" and afterward, Anthony explained that Dustin is the reason that this song has 30% less sodium since the last time we played it. I added, "It's like 'The Biggest Loser' up in here."

We continued on with a solid, bangin' set, which the crowd responded to very well. We felt a good energy tonight. Furthermore, the other bands kicked ass, too. Overall, this was a great show, and it was a great lineup. We can't wait to play with these bands again.

2/16/11 - Whiskey Junction - Minneapolis

2011-02-16T23:56:00.000-08:00

Encore:
| Golden Girls Theme [Andrew Gold]|

Tonight we played at Whiskey Junction. Down the block at the Cabooze, nationally known Galactic was playing. Earlier in the night at the Junction, a band called Soap played a Pre-Galactic party. So apparently, it seemed that Junebug was playing the During-Galactic party... But that didn't matter too much. There were still people at our show. This included, I might add, my mother, sister Laurel and niece Angell. They completely surprised me. I was loading in and I heard someone say, "Hey, is Junebug playing tonight?" It was my family members, who live in North Dakota. They surprised me! Plus, this was my mom's FIRST Junebug show ever. It was a momentous occasion, and I'm glad they made it out.

I'm glad I made it out, too, since they were there. I've been getting pretty sick with a head cold and today it was so bad that if tonight had been simply a rehearsal night, I would have cancelled. But the show must go on, stuffy head, runny nose, sweaty hands and all.

We opened the show with "Pay the Toll" and my kick pedal technical difficulties reared their head again. The dang thing fell apart in the midst of the song, but I was able to jerry-rig it mid-song. MacGuyver strikes again, dudes.

Anthony let the crowd tonight know that rock and roll will never die. It doesn't rust. "You can leave it in the fridge and it won't mold." I added that if you want to, you can use a little bit of jewelry cleaner on it every now and then to prevent tarnishing.

We played "Destiny, She Drives a Rolls" again tonight. However, this was significant since it was the first time we have played it for a Minneapolis crowd.

After "Godzilla" tonight, Anthony warned the crowd to "hide ya kids, hide ya wife." "And hide ya husband," I added.

"We don't write a lot of songs about appliances. But when we do..." "They're winners."

Since my family members were here tonight, we had to oblige their requests. Laurel particularly wanted to hear "Downtown Liquor Store," so we simply had to give in. (I'll tell you a little secret; we were going to play it anyway.) I added a little commentary after the song. "You know that part where we say, 'Now I'm playing blackjack with a two dollar whore because I had the balls to rob the downtown liquor store'?" I asked. "I bet my mom was very proud of me." It seems I was right, since she gave me a big thumbs-up after that.

We played another tune, and then came time to honor the wishes of another family member. My niece Angell really wanted to hear "Dr. Phil," and since we originally had planned on playing it in the second set, we bumped it up for her since they had to turn in early. "This is going out to the three hottest ladies in the room," Anthony said, pointing at my family members' table.

An interesting phenomenon took place tonight that I like to call the reference portion of our program. Someone said something about words to live by. Then Dustin said, "one to grow on." I said, "Now I know, and knowing is half the battle," and then added, "The more you know." "After these messages.. we'll be right back." "The Lakewood Mall." "Sight on Sound!" "Country Furniture really wants your business!" If you know what any of that means, good on ya. If you don't, my apologies for wasting your time.

We played "Place" and then did a set break. It was pretty much okay, too. Because at this point, the crowd who had been there at the beginning had filtered out to the Cabooze for the Galactic show. There were maybe about fifteen people still there, including barstaff (!). Ouch, right? Well, we took our set break around eleven o'clock or so and decided that maybe we'd hang out, get some food, and wait until more folks filtered in. No sense in spending our gold on stage when no one's there to enjoy it. So I visited with my family and some friends that were there. The other boys got some wings, I took more cold medicine, and we laughed and enjoyed one another's friendship. My family got going, since they had an early appointment and driving ahead of them, and we got back onstage around midnight.

As we were getting ready to play, some dude yelled out, "Freebird!" Yeah. "There's always one guy," I said. So we played it. Well, what we know of it, which was the first verse or so and then it fell apart. We've never played it before. So as I said tonight, a lot of people ask for it, "and then we make them sorry." "Everybody begs for it till they get it," Anthony added.

"Casanova" was dedicated to sex tonight. "Bad Mamma Jamma" was dedicated to all the fat chicks in the house. "The Date" was dedicated to all the ganja in Jamaica. It was a night full of dedications.

As the evening went on, more post-Galactic folks were trickling in for a couple more drinks. People were dancing, we were having fun. It was all good. After we finished off the night with "Sledgehammer," the remaining crowd began chanting for one more song. So being the good friends we are, appreciating all of the wonderful people still there, we played the Golden Girls Theme to thank them for being a friend. At the end of the night, I was exhausted and still sick, but it was a darn fun night, in spite of it. Good times.

2/4/11 - American Burger Bar - Saint Paul

2011-02-04T23:47:00.000-08:00

Encore:
| Poet (Who Didn't Know It) |

Tonight's show was a bit of a last-minute deal. It was pitched, booked, and promoted in less than a week's time. But when we were approaced to play a Winter Carnival party for the Vulcans in beautiful downtown Saint Paul, we pretty much had to do it. For a little background on the amazing, artistic, partying, fun-loving group called the Vulcans, read this article from the City Pages: Meet the Vulcans: The Twin Cites' most controversial partiers.

We decided to re-hash our sports/workout theme from our previous show. It hadn't been done yet in the Cities, so we went for it. It was good except that there was a dude who felt Brandon's Track & Field shirt was no good. It should have been Hockey, he insisted. The man even bought us all drinks under the condition that we all pretended that Brandon's shirt in fact said "Hockey." Hey, it doesn't take much for us to do stuff. Free drinks? We'll take it. Thanks, guy.

We started out the night following a setlist, the same setlist from our previous show in Aberdeen, as a matter of fact. But we quickly abandoned it. These Vulcans really wanted to party and kept asking for different types of songs. "Something rockin'!" "Something slow so we can dance with our women!" Who needs a setlist when you're feeling the vibe of the folks? It was good. After rockin' a little while, Anthony asked the crew, "Are we partying hardy, or hardly partying?" The answer was clear. We were partying hardy. Partying so hardy that a Vulcan dude had a referee whistle that he was blowing in rhythm during our songs. Someone said they could have done without it, but I loved it. I think it belonged there tonight.

There was a bit of a lull while Anthony tuned his guitar and he was trying to fill time by talking a bit without saying much. A dude in the crowd yelled out, "Less talking, more playing!" "Yes!" I shouted. "That's what I like to hear."

We continued with the playing, keeping it diverse with "Stalker," "Downtown Liquor Store," "Refrigerator," "Crossroads," etc. Everyone was digging it, dancing, drinking and having a fantastic time. We partied ourselves out a little bit and needed to take a break.

During our break, some kind of magic happened and the bar which was pretty well hoppin' already packed in even more. So we kicked in with "Come Together" and "M'Lady" and the party was resumed.

One of the servers from the bar walked past us with a notecard stuck to her forehead which read, "Weezer or White Stripes?" So we played "Say It Ain't So." It's nice to be able to give the people what they want.

We kept it rolling and got a little funky with "Dr. Phunk," "Casanova," and "Bad Mamma Jamma." It was around this time that my mother-in-law Diane and brother-in-law Michael joined us virtually via the miracle of Skype. That's right. They were sitting in their living room in Aberdeen, South Dakota watching our show at American Burger Bar in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The wonders of technology. It has certainly got me thinking about the possibility of live streaming shows in the future for those out-of-towners who want to keep up with us. Is that something we should think about?

When we were to play "Next Episode" tonight, we were going to open with the first verse of "Runnin' With the Devil" by Van Halen. However, once we started it, it was clear that the crowd was WAY too into it to abandon it after just one verse. So we pretty much played it for the song's entire length, though I'm pretty sure Anthony didn't have all the lyrics. The crowd didn't care, though. They were totally getting down and singing the lyrics themselves. Then we kicked into "Next Episode" and the crowd surprisingly seemed to like it just as much. After we were done and basking in the cheers of the crowd, Dustin said, "American Burger Bar? Who knew?" Indeed. Who would have guessed that this place would have the amazing atmosphere that it does?

Sadly, the night had to come to a close. We played "Sledgehammer," announcing it as our last song. And while the people voiced sadness at it being the last of the night, they danced extra hard. After it ended there were consistent chants of "one more" and "encore!" After a brief deliberation, we decided to play "Poet." Again, the folks danced extra hard and enjoyed the final song of the night. After it was over, there were still chants of "one more" and "encore." But the management had turned on the lights and house music. In the biz, that means "it's over." I tried explaining this to the gal in the blue top and sunglasses, but she was adament about wanting us to play more, almost seeming to be on the very edge of anger. Ah, yes. Keep them wanting more.

Finally tonight, there was young spunky lady named Brianna who was totally into the show. She was dancing, getting her friends to dance, chatting with us and being an all around sport. She said that we should rename our band The Beardies. I let her play my cymbals and I gave her some CDs to reward her for her enthusiasm.

That's one of the things we like, folks. Hope to see you all at the next one!

Photography by Tony/Liza Kollman

1/29/11 - Sixth Avenue Gallery - Aberdeen, S.D.

2011-01-29T23:38:00.000-08:00

Encore:
| Eye of the Tiger [Survivor] (tease) | Say It Ain't So [Weezer] |

We had heard about the Sixth Avenue Gallery before. Some of us had been to shows at the Gallery, and some of us know some of the guys who are running the place. What we didn't know, however, was how much fun it would be playing a show there.

The Gallery is a little bit different from any other venue we've played, in the sense that shows go until 4:00 a.m. Not only that, but it's a facility that encompasses a mattress store, an art gallery, a bar, a tie-dye supply store, a tattoo shop, a music venue and more. It's very unique. The bar stops serving at 2:00, but the party continues all night long. When the other bars in town close, the patrons make their way to the Gallery and the good times keep rolling.

Rad Jackson got the party started a little after 10:00 and the night promised to be epic. After he pumped out the beats for awhile and got people's grooves rolling, it was our moment. Rad Jackson threw on some Jock Jamz and the announcer (me, tony) introduced "tonight's home team -- yourrrrrrr Juuuuuuunebuuuuuuuuug!" We sprinted out into the crowd in our athletic gear, high-fiving the patrons and shouting things like, "Let's do this!" All the while, the Jock Jamz were pumping and the lights where flashing. We jumped on the stage and ripped into "Pay the Toll." The event had begun.

We continued on with an uncharacteristically high-energy first half of the first set and Anthony told the crowd, "Rock and roll never dies. It doesn't rust." Dustin added, "But it does stay in shape!" and we encouraged more exercise from everyone. "Work out with us! New Years resolutions start now!"

Tonight Aberdeen heard "On the Sidewalk" for the first time -- a new version of "Chosen Ones." "Imagine if Paul Simon decided to do a Junebug song," Anthony explained. I added, "What if Junebug decided to do a Junebug song." "You're freakin' me out right now, man," Dustin responded.

Anthony introduced the next tune saying, "We're gonna take you to a place now. That's the name of the next song." He struck the first chord and abruptly stopped. After recoiling, I said, "Let me take you to a place where we're in tune."

After rocking a bit, we took a moment to address the die-hards that were present tonight. "I know a lot of you have loved Junebug for a long time," Anthony explained. "It means the world to us. So let's celebrate life and liquor stores!" Bam. Next song. Because we're that clever. Then, after the song was over, a voice from the crowd shouted, "Junebug is your mom!!" Whatever that means. Shortly thereafter, someone yelled out, "Wendy's!!" Anthony replied, "No, we don't play that song any more." A great sound of disappointment went up and it surprised me. First, it seemed that people believed it, and secondly, it seemed that people were truly upset. Classic.

We wanted to move on with the set, but sadly, my piece of crap kick drum pedal came apart and I had to perform some emergency maintenence. Being the pros we are, however, the others kept the show moving with an improvisational loungey jam. Lyrics included; "Has Tony figured out his technical issue? / He's really making me look like a jerk trying to kill some time / I gotta talk about something interesting." I fixed it, hooked it back up and joined the jam. When it finished, the crowd applauded, but Dustin forgave those who didn't, saying, "You don't have to clap for that. It wasn't actually anything."

After an impromtu Doors medley, we launched into a brand new song from our upcoming Beards project called "Destiny, She Drives a Rolls." This Aberdeen audience was the first crowd to hear this song. It's been awhile since Aberdeen has heard any new material from us. We hope to change that the next time we're in town (March!).

Before playing the last song of the first set, Anthony announced that he'd better see everyone back for the second set, because we are going to rock it to the next episode, possibly into next season. "See what he did there?!?" I interjected. "He referenced a song of ours!!" A collective "Ahhhh" went up from the crowd. "There are clues hidden everywhere," Anthony said.

Then we played "Bumblebee," and afterward, Anthony shouted "Don't go anywhere! This is a marathon!"

We returned for our second set at 2:00 a.m. Yes, that's right. The time in which we're usually finished and packing up was the time our second half started. This was actually pretty perfect, because the bars had just let out and people still wanted to party. Not to mention the bartenders. Those cats get off work and now they have something to do. And the local strippers. Don't forget them. They gots ta party somewhere, sometime as well.

The second set started with us jumping back onstage with a cry of "Are you ready to get physical??" Then, "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John was supposed to play, but it didn't work out. So we all ended up doing stretches and lunges on the foot of the stage in silence. But I think the effect still came off.

Further technical difficulties plagued my kick drum pedal tonight. It just broke. It literally broke. In a different place than the piece that tormented me earlier in the night. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Anthony was fully aware of the situation, as he attempted to perform "Dr. Phunk" even though I wasn't playing. It sort of fizzled out painfully. But being the resourceful S.O.B. that I am, MacGyvered that sucker with a safety pin. The drums kicked in and it made everything a-okay.

We were joined by a special guest tonight on "Casanova." It was none other than the Hub City's own ShubRock. The crowd was groovin' and we kept it going with "Bad Mamma Jamma," followed by "The Date." After all the dancing I reminded everyone to make sure to drink their electrolytes.

We played "Last Night" next, and it was a super-long extended jam out version. Our good friend Rory gave some important crowd participation tonight. It's our dream that someday everyone in the crowd throws up their middle fingers on the line, "Yeah, they stuck up the middle finger to gravity." Rory helped us out tonight. Won't you join him in flipping us off?

Next, Brandon wowed the crowd with the hottest bassline ever in rock and roll. That's right. We busted out "Runnin' With the Devil" by Van Halen. The HOTTEST and most intricate bassline ever. But it was all a ruse, as "Next Episode" reared it's ugly head. Isn't that just your luck? As "Episode" ended, however, an interesting and unplanned jam was born from the ashes of the previous tune. It was one of those beautiful, spontanous moments that comes from having such a great time in a great place with a great crowd. We jammed, we rocked it, the crowd danced, and rocked it. How far? To the next...? You decide.

After playing "Jumpstart" we noticed that we only had one song left on the setlist. But these people weren't in any mood to stop partying. I said, "If you want to keep rockin' we'll see what we can do." Many cheers. Then came the dilemma of what do we play, since we played most of our songs already. I turned to the audience for help. "Do any Junebug fans have any requests?" This was met with very loud laughter from one audience member. I didn't get the joke. But someone called for "Cake," which we then played. It was a little bit of a rocky start since we haven't played that song in ages, and I'm not sure Brandon has ever played it live. But we made it happen. Gotta keep the peeps happy.

After giving the people what they wanted with "Sledghammer" and an extended jam out version of "Moon Over the Water," we left the stage. But we were met with chants of "one more song!" So we decided we'd "slaughter one more," in Anthony's words.

So, in keeping with the athletic theme of tonight's show, we ripped into "Eye of the Tiger." This, of course, was not our true encore, as we don't actually know the song. So they got "Say It Ain't So" instead. They were satiated.

As the song ended, Anthony summed up the night. "Good night ladies and gentlemen, we love you. We are Junebuuuuuuuuug! Baseball, Football, Soccer and Track & Field, TOGETHER!"

It really was a magical night. We really loved it and we look forward to our Gallery show in March. This show was our latest running show in Junebug history. We ended at roughly 3:45 a.m. and after all the mingling and schmoozing afterward, I didn't get to bed until around 5:30 a.m. I love it. Aberdeen should have had a place like this when we lived there.

Fan video, uploaded by Marisa

Fan video, uploaded by Marisa

Photography by Liza/Tony Kollman

11/20/10 - Sidestreet Grille & Pub - Fargo, N.D.

2010-11-20T23:27:00.000-08:00

Fate brought us back to Fargo. That, and our various vehicles. Once again, we ended up taking three different vehicles, which you wouldn't think would make sense. But different peeps gots different plans. So it was.

We had never played the Sidestreet before, but I (tony) heard from some family members that it was a hoppin' joint. When we arrived, we were greeted by a big ol' Budweiser poster on the door advertising both that particular brand of beverage and our rock and roll show. (After the night was over, I grabbed it for our rehearsal space... because we never tire of looking at our own faces. Or maybe it's just me.

We ordered a tasty and zesty taco pizza which we enjoyed heartily with some lovely hoppy adult beverages. The San Haven Chuckle played some killer tunes, as usual, whipping out brand new, never-before-heard material. However, they opened the show with the beginning of our very own "Chosen Ones," after which we all needed new pants. Because, you see, we were so overwhelmed with our own egotism that we couldn't control our bodily functions.

There were many, many wonderful people in attendence. Two of my sisters and two of my nieces were present as well as many of their friends. Sarah and Katie were both there. So were the Trumbos. Plus, our old pals PJ and Bryan were both there. They're our buds from high school and they both live in the general vicinity of the Twin Cities... which makes it odd that they were at a Fargo show. But there were there and we are happy about that. In fact, PJ taped the show. A torrent link appears below. Aside from these amazing people were establishment regulars and tons of folks we don't know. The place was full and they seemed to be having fun.

Our set time arrived, so we donned our white shirts and wigs and stormed the stage. We broke out "Found My Boogie" right off the bat and got it started out right. Early in the set, we played "Back in the U.S.S.R." exclaiming that we had to celebrate the Beatles finally being released on iTunes. Later in the night, we played "Come Together" to keep the dream alive. "It's a big event," Anthony mused. "It's huge." "Just think," Dustin interjected, "of the money that isn't going to them."

We barrelled on, right on through "Casanova" (no guest rapper) and when it was finished, Anthony asked, "Was there anybody having sex in the room during that song? If you were makin' love during that song, just imagine throwing some Wendy's fries into the mix. Hot fries!" Boom! We hit 'em with "Bad Mamma Jamma." That's the way it goes at a Junebug show.

We played "Refrigerator," by request of Travis from the Chuckle (though we were actually going to play it anyway... shhh, don't tell him). What happened next... we knew it was going to happen at some point. The Chuckle came to the foot of the stage and showed us their butts. "It's a full mooon!" Dustin shouted. Then, quite appropriately, we played "Moon Over the Water" (with the obligatory Chuckle lyrics).

After "Fargo Gypsy Girl" Anthony informed the crowd that we were actually IN Fargo, and that we can't play that song in Williston and have it mean the same thing.

We took a set break, had a drink, visited with some folks and then got back on the ol' sage. "We'll try to make this one good," I said. "We apologize for the first half of our portion of the show." Dustin shouted, "It's YOUR fault!" I'm not sure who he was talking to. It may have been me.

Anthony introduced the second set saying we were going to "get all fudged up, if you know what fudgin' means!"

A few more cool things happened tonight. We played a new version of "Chosen Ones" that we call "On the Sidewalk" for the Fargo crowd, and those who know the song enjoyed the newness. We had a guest vocalist on "Golden Girls" tonight. A gentleman by the name of Eden Parker is a Fargo/Moorhead musician and he performs the song as well. So why not? He nailed it. Good stuffs.

The fun-ness continued. We had a revival of an old self-help tune. Dr. Phunk returned tonight. We asked how far you wanted to rock it. "Outer Space" was the answer. So that's what we did, with a little Zeppelin thrown into the mix.

Even more fun times rolled on. We invited Bud and Travis up to perform Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" with us. "Get ready for some audio sodomy," Travis warned. He wailed, Bud shredded, The Reverend jumped up and shouted some Japanese jibberish into the mic (says Bud, "it's not functional Japanese, but it is actual") and we brought down the house with that one.

And I can't forget the lone dancing girl, which is becoming more and more common as shows go on. This one even knew the words. Lone dancing girl, we salute you.

There was a winter storm rolling in, so as Anthony & Katie and Dustin & Sarah went to their lodging for the night, Brandon and I braved the ice and snow and got on the road back home to Minneapolis.

Torrent this show in its entirety at The Trader's Den.

11/11/10 - Merlin's Rest - Minneapolis

2010-11-11T23:11:00.000-08:00

11:11, 11/11
Merlin's Rest
Minneapolis

Tonight was an incredible occasion. It only happens twice a year, both times on the same day. Tonight we were celebrating 11:11, 11/11. The eleventh hour, the eleventh minute, the eleventh month, the eleventh day. A day and time we like to call "Eleven Eleven Eleven Eleven." We arrived ready to celebrate. We distributed party hats, noise-makers, and general excitement amongst the crowd. We had clocks onstage so everyone could keep track of when the big moment was getting close.

After opening with a couple of old standbys, we revived our rendition of the Beatles' classic "Back in the U.S.S.R." We haven't played this one for years, but we felt like it belonged back in our repertoire. So there it is, for our enjoyment and yours.

"Casanova" had a guest vocalist tonight, which was Russ from the always entertaining Julie Puppets. It's a pity there was so sound engineer tonight. Maybe then we could have heard Russ's vocals a little better. They sounded like they were probably pretty amazing. *sigh*

We played "Bad Mamma" tonight, and at the end Anthony says "give it to me ___ times," I think he forgot that it was his line. He looked back at me as if he was waiting for something. He eventually remembered. But it was so wonderfully awkward, I needed to share.

I then announced that we had four minutes before 11:11, 11/11. We launched into "Poet" and luckily finished just in time to celebrate the big moment! We all put on our party hats, blew our noisemakers, took a drink, sang "Auld Lang Syne," all made a wish, and kept the party going.

After "Place," Anthony told the crowd and the dancing girl that they made him believe again. This elicited laughter. I'm not sure it's what he was going for, but so it goes. After "Aphrodite," Anthony called out, "THANK YOU, GOODNIGHT!" Of course, it wasn't the end of our set. So all he did was get the crowd's hopes up. But we dashed those hopes by continuing, because it's what we do.

Tonight, we debuted a new song of sorts. It's a re-worked version of our song "Chosen Ones," but done in our interpretation of the style of Paul Simon. Junebug covering Paul Simon covering Junebug. We call it "On the Sidewalk."

After that we ripped into "Sledgehammer." Afterward we all felt kind of pooped. I said that song really takes it out of me. Dustin replied, "In the words of Lethal Weapon, I'm gettin' too old for this shit."

Also appearing tonight were our friends in Yasen Marie. Cody brought some friends. Tony's brother-in-law also stopped by -- all the way from Denver. Wha..?

Tonight saw the resurgence of an interesting phenomenon. That is the occurance of the lone dancing girl. We've had this creature appear at shows in the past and I'm sure we'll have it again in the future. The lone dancing girl is a creature that is really into what we're doing, feeling our vibe, perhaps feeling the effects of some substances, and generally "celebrating life." This is how tonight's lone dancing girl, Alana said it. Another important characteristic is that dancing girl is doing this completely by herself. Alana was a perfect example. She was loving tonight and danced to our tunes for the entire second half of the show. After our set was over, she approached each of us individually, congratulated us on our performance, hugged us, called us either "baby" or "honey" and kissed some of us on the cheek. This was someone for whom 11:11, 11/11 obviously held a lot of meaning. We appreciate your deal, Alana the lone dancing girl! We'd like to see more of that.

Be sure to come out next year when we celebrate (say it out loud, now) 11:11:11, 11/11/11.

10/14/10 - Ho Do Lounge - Fargo, N.D.

2010-10-14T23:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we've been to Fargo, and this was the first time since our album Modern Day Fairy Tales was released. So we came back, celebrating that. And celebrating the fact that Fargo people are good people to play for. Also notable tonight, this is bassist Brandon Johnson's first show as a member of Junebug.

So we gathered 'round at the HoDo, donned our fanciest Christmas sweaters, trimmed the tree, and played some classic tunes befitting of the season. October, that is. It's October.

We started out the night in much the same manner as we usually do. "Pay the Toll," "Modern Day," etc. After "Poet," Anthony informed the crowd that the song is "huge in Japan, Sweden... places you'll never go."

Patrick "Bud" "Two Sheds" Hess joined us tonight on "Casanova," performing vocals during the guest spot. He's done this with us before, and he usually does a verse of "Clint Eastwood" by Gorillaz. He did this again tonight, much to our approval. After "Casanova" was over, Anthony said something in the mic about that song being about procreation. Dustin leaned over to me (tony) and said procreation was something I happen to know a little about. That is, of course, because my lovely wife Liza is pregnant. I announced it publicly tonight for the first time. Yeah. I procreated. Cools, right? Anthony then said he hopes our child grows up to work at Wendy's. Chuckles all around. "That was your cue, guys." Bam! Right into "Bad Mamma Jamma!" "That's right," he exclaimed. "We're peaking early. You can leave after this one and be home early."

A couple songs later, there was a lull while Anthony tuned. "Tell a joke," someone called out. "The jokes I'd tell would not be jokes you'd want to hear." "Not true," was the reply. "It's not that they're dirty," I explained, "They're just not funny." Apparently, that was a joke in itself. "That was a good one," Dustin said.

Anthony introduced the next song: "This is the title track off our album called Share, it's called 'Share,' off our album called Share, it's the title track called 'Share.'" "What's it called?" asked some jackass in the crowd. "Share," Anthony eagerly replied.

The fun continued and we sang an ode to refrigerators. I started to get a little carried away with the serious insults. You know, like "Up your nose with a rubber hose," "outta my space toilet face," and "up your butt and around the corner." Dustin then indicated that I should be cut off -- no more drinks for the drummer. "That's not true," I interjected. Simply not true.

We ended up taking a set break, though I felt we could have powered through. Turned out a bunch of folks left, but that's the game I suppose. Dustin and I sat at a table and each enjoyed an adult beverage. Our old pal Jeremy Grabinger approached us, congratulated us on a good set and asked, "Are guys gonna play some holiday songs or something?" Dustin and I looked at each other and shrugged. "Why would we play holiday songs? It's October?" He backed away and left, bemused. His night may have been ruined. I'm not sure.

We came back low key, slowly fading in to "Spring Fever," and then sucker-punching into "Last Night." After "Clone You," Anthony said that song is an advocate for stem cell research. Dustin noted that yes, we've now become political. I continued, "Because politics don't divide, they unite." "Why is it called partisan?" asked a crowd member. "It's a party!" I responded. Politics is a party, uniting all of us.

"Do you want to rock it?!?" "Yeeeaaah!" "How far do you want to rock it?" "To the next episode!" "You wanna rock it to the next episode?" "I wanna think about it at least!"

After plowing through a few more tunes, the band decided to have a meeting. "Band meeting, everyone!" Dustin said. "You're not included." "Get ready for drama," I added. The result of the meeting was as follows: We decided to play "Sledgehammer." Riveting stuff.

We brought back an old thing we liked to do in the old days. And that is a medley of Doors tunes. You have to hear it to appreciate it, truly. Maybe you will if you come out to a show. Then we closed the show out with the classic "Jumpstart My Rocket."

Dustin's parents were in attendance tonight, as were two of my sisters and two of my nieces. Plus there were many friends from both our Jamestown days and Anthony's Fargo days. There were also a bunch of Junebug newbies and Ho Do regulars. Fun times, y'all.

7/24/10 - O'Gara's Garage - St. Paul, Minn.

2010-07-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our anticipated Modern Day Fairy Tales CD release show in the Twin Cities. O'Gara's ended up being the venue and we had musical support from The Upshot and Capital Sons. We had a warm reception in Aberdeen, and we hoped to have as great a time here tonight. We a decent turnout. Contrary to what you may have read posted somewhere online, there were more than ten people present. It was closer to sixty-five, according to the door man. But there's no need to squabble over it.

We took the stage and Anthony exclaimed that we had a special surprise for everyone -- chocolate-covered bacon! "If you're a true Junebug fan, you might want to devour some bacon." Of course there wasn't any chocolate-covered bacon for real, but sometimes Anthony likes to dream. He then went on to plug our new album, Modern Day Fairy Tales, saying that "Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow" is the title track. Unbeknownst to the rest of us, Anthony changed the title of the album, after it has already been printed, distributed and sold.

We plugged on through the opening tracks from the album, including "Casanova." Anthony informed the crowd that we had just tripped them out with "Vacation to Oblivion" and now we would funk them out with this one. The dance floor desperately wanted the crowd to dance on it as well. When it came to Lil Buddy's rap portion of the song, we hadn't planned ahead for a guest artist to join us, so as we were playing through it, Dustin told Anthony to do the rap. He laughed through it, spouting some of the lyrics here and there, intermingled with some Anthony-speak that we love. When the song was over, I encouraged people to pick up the album to hear how the song is actually supposed to sound.

We took a brief detour from Modern Day to play Share favorite, "Poet (Who Didn't Know It)" and "Come Together," which we wrote back in the Sixties. Except for one lyric, which was written tonight: "One thing I can tell you / You should buy our CD!"

The next tune featured a special guest performer who goes by the name of Anna Wosika. She performed on our album and knocked this song out of the park. She gave it exactly what it needed and took it to heights we couldn't have reached on our own. She sang chorus vocals on "Bad Mamma Jamma." As she took the stage, I introduced her as "our friend and lover," then backtracked with, "well, one of our lover." Because you see, our bassist Nick is, in his own words, "totally hittin' that." "I ain't lying," he went on, "the girl's fine." Before the song started, Anthony said, "There's a backstory that goes with this. Way back in '72 I was driving down an old Alabama road..." He stopped short. I enthusiastically said, "Tell the story!" "And there shined a shiny demon," he concluded. I have an idea there was probably more to the story. Will we ever get it out of him? Only the demon knows.

We continued plugging along with "Cake" and we encouraged people to rob liquor stores in the neighborhood. Then, Nick announced that we were on the radio just last night. We were on KFAI's "Minnesota Sountrack." We started off the show with none other than... "Refrigerator." Nick said he was pumped to be on the radio, but then it was that song. Dustin seemed quite pleased, however, exclaiming a gleeful "yes!"

"Crossroads" was dedicated tonight to my sister Joni. "I say, don't go, little darlin' / Don't be like a rainbow / that vanishes when I get too close. / 'Cause I will wander for decades / in clothes worn and ragged / to find you / next to that gold."

After the mood was softened with "Crossroads," Anthony asked if anyone wanted to rock it. "How hard do you want to rock it?" Somebody shouted out, "The hardest!" Dustin then asked, "How FAR do you want to rock it?" Our friend Cody shouted, "To Tokyo!" So we busted into "To the Next Tokyo!" Not once did we say the word "episode." We all spontaneously sang "Tokyo" each time and the result was brilliant, if I'm allowed to say so myself. During Anthony's solo section, Dustin informed that it is his favorite lead guitar part on the entire album. Because of his "Tokyo" suggestion, this song was dedicated to him.

Anthony then explained that Cody gets a back-to-back dedication, since Cody has been talking about doing a video for "Jumpstart." Here's the thing, though. Cody's been talking about doing a video for that song since we were all still students at Northern. Will it happen? Only the demon knows. I was so wrapped up in this thought that I missed my initial drum hit in the intro, but I didn't realize it and hit late. "Did I miss it?" I asked incredulously. Yes. Yes, I did.

I offered a deal to the crowd tonight. The first person to rush up to the foot of the stage and correctly name every member of the band would win an autographed poster of Junebug. The first person to do so was Cody Tesnow, after a long gap of confusion. There was already a poster signed and ready to go, but Cody grabbed a blank one and a marker and demanded afterward that each of us dedicate our autograph to his genitals. You stay classy, Mr. Tesnow.

Our buddy PJ was present at this show, and as you may or may not know, he likes to record live shows and tonight was no exception. There are two options below for immediate, FREE download.

MP3s in a Zip file! 192 kbps, 108 MB
FLAC torrent 460 MB

Finally, at one point tonight, Nick came over to me on stage and shook my hand, saying that this was the most fun he had had on stage in a long time. The sad thing about this is that, though we didn't know it at the time, this would regretfully end up being Nick's last show with Junebug. Unfortunately, he didn't get an opportunity to say farewell to the Junebug fans like he would have liked to have. For limited details, please read this post at the Junebug Flow blog.

Photos by Liza Kollman

7/10/10 - After Party/CD Release / Red Rooster - Aberdeen, S.D.

2010-07-10T23:01:00.000-07:00

Encore:
| Hangin' Out in a Soundproof Room | Place | Crossroads |

Ah, yes. The fabled Red Rooster Coffee House. Earlier today we performed at the Pig Out in Central Park, and now, tonight, it was time to properly celebrate the release of our second album, Modern Day Fairy Tales. The Rooster was so kind tonight as to offer to stay open late to accomodate an After Pigout Party and to celebrate our CD release. The show didn't get started until around 11:00 p.m. Dan Cleberg, co-owner of the Rooster, one-time bassist for the band, and all around swell guy, introduced us tonight. He mentioned that this is our CD release party. He went on to explain that a CD release party is where there's a party to release CDs. Because, you know, it's kind of confusing. He explained tonight's concept of Junebug Karaoke. Four songs tonight were to be sung by four lucky audience members. Dan also explained that Saliva was still playing at the Pig Out, still in the midst of warming up for Junebug.

We opened with the first three tracks from the album, back-to-back-to-back, when Anthony then explained the goal was to play the new album in its entirety. I then explained that this new album is made up of old songs, so that the people where we live now can get to know us better and the folks at Rooster can relive some good memories. Dustin pointed out that once we played at show at the Red Rooster, and that it happened to be our first. And that some of the songs we played at that show were on this album.

Jon Wayne (from Jon Wayne and the Pain) was in the house tonight, after having played at the Pig Out. So, who better to guest vocalize on "Casanova"? He freestyled well, and afterward I gave an interesting piece of trivia: that Anthony, Dustin and I went to high school with Jon. It was met with silence, as my comments usually are. I then conceded that it was a boring piece of trivia.

What followed next was the first installment of Junebug Karaoke. The guest singer was Brian Hoesing and the song was "I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's)." He pretty much ruled it. He took control of the stage, knew all the words and worked it out. At the end of the song, he told us to "give it to [him] twenty-seven times!" We were only too happy to oblige. We used the consistent mathematical formula, though. Of course. Thanks, Brian! You did great.

We continued the show with an old tune of ours, "Cake." Anthony introduced it by saying it was the first song we ever played at the Red Rooster Coffee House all those years ago. The crowd dug that. The next tune was another moldy oldy, written specifically for our friend Crystal's answering machine back in the NSU days. Dustin dedicated it, saying, "This goes out to Crystal, wherever you are." "North Carolina," I answered. "You know, you can leave some mystery, Tony," he chided, "it's okay." Evidently I can't.

There was a special deviation from the intended setlist tonight. We played "Like a Spy (Not the Stalker)," which does not appear on Modern Day Fairy Tales. However, last time Roberto saw us, he wanted to play it and we didn't. So we did tonight, just for him. It served double-duty because it's my mother-in-law's favorite Junebug song, too, and she was present. So everyone was happy.

Up next was the second installment of Junebug Karaoke! The song was "Downtown Liquor Store" and the guest singer was to be Pat Marler. But he was nowhere to be found. Anthony wanted the ball to keep rolling and Stacy Smith volunteered to do the honors. She came up and we started the song. About halfway into the first verse, Marler bounded up onto the stage and we started over with both Pat and Stacy on the mics. It was a little rocky, because as Dustin pointed out, this is probably the most difficult song to choose. There are about six or eight verses and it's hard to keep them all straight. But Marler and Stacy held their own, it was fun, and everybody enjoyed it, including us. When the singers left the stage, Stacy said it was horrible. I said it was fun. Which it was. Good job, Stacy and Marler.

We played "Refrigerator" after Anthony told us that out of all the songs he has written about refrigerators, that was probably the best one. The song was over and there was a brief lull while Anthony tuned and the rest of us took a drink of water, coffee, etc. Suddenly, with no warning, the crowd erupted into spontaneous applause. It was incredible. Then, after playing "Episode," I informed the crowd that "yes, we actually spent good time and real money to record that song in a studio." They seemed pleased and incredulous at the same time.

Next up was tonight's penultimate Junebug Karaoke performance. The song was "Jumpstart My Rocket" and the singer was none other than Red Rooster co-owner and onetime Junebug bassist, Daniel Leon Cleberg. Dan mentioned that he had to print out the lyrics to the song because he didn't know them. I warned him that it is full of F-bombs, which I think he may have actually believed for a moment. He said that he had meant to listen to the song many times, but his battery died. An audience member shouted out, "Jumpstart it!" That proved to us that his performance was meant to be. And tell you what: he rocked it. He's got that great front-man stage presence and energy that every band desires. His performance was incredible. There are a couple clips of his performance in the playlist embedded here. Check 'em.

Junebug Karaoke continued and concluded immediately with the next song. We played "Found My Boogie" with special guest vocalist Chad something. Sadly, I didn't catch his last name. It was a fun run-through, and afterward Chad thanked us for the opportunity, since he's starting his own band and this gave him a little confidence. We're glad to help. Junebug Karaoke went over very well. We enjoyed it and it really seemed to be a hit with the Rooster crowd. There are now murmurs of sometime in the future doing an entire Junebug Karaoke show. Think that's a good idea?

After "Found My Boogie" we only had one song left on the setlist, but since we still had so much time left, we figured we'd open up the floor to requests. We played some old favorites and then, just as Anthony was explaining that this song would be our last song, Nick turned to me and said, "Come Together!" So, he and I unexpectedly busted into "Come Together." "I guess we're gonna play this one," Anthony relented. After paying tribute to the Beatles, Anthony said that okay, NOW we're playing our last tune. It was "Bumblebee," just like our typical show-closer of old.

However, that was not enough to satisfy the still nearly full-house crowd, apparently. There was a persistent chant of "one more song!" I asked Dan how much time we had left, seeing how late we could go since they were open late already. He said we could keep going. So while the stringed instrument players retuned, I took a drink of water. Someone shouted out, "Rockin' Out in a Soundproof Room!!" Dustin replied, "We just played it! Just now!" I corrected him that it wasn't actually that, but our newest song, "Hangin' Out in a Soundproof Room."

We closed out the night by playing two great songs to properly put everyone to bed: "Place" and "Crossroads." When those concluded, it really felt like an appropriate end to a fantastic day. It goes without saying that we adore the Red Rooster Coffee House and everyone who dwells therein. In fact, Modern Day Fairy Tales was dedicated to the Rooster Crew. We will always view that place as home.

Thanks again, Dan, Kileen, Angela, Zion and everyone else. We love you immeasurably.

Photos by Tabith Leigh De Voss

Post script: Here is a video put together by Jeremy Burckhard, comprised of photos of tonight's show by Tabitha Leigh De Voss, with a soundtrack by Captain Swayzor and the Planeteers and Friends. It is one of my favorite things.

7/10/10 - Great Aberdeen Pig Out - Aberdeen, S.D.

2010-07-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

And so it was, that Junebug returned to the Pig Out two years later in 2010. This year, the festival was held in Aberdeen's Central Park, rather than the traditional Main Street. Also different, there were no cookoffs or eating contests... which is what I thought the Pig Out was named after. So, it's pretty much become a music festival now, with some vendors. At least that's what I saw. The face of the fest is changing. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen. Oddly, there's no shortage of controversy in that town over anything dealing with enjoyment for young people. A few years ago, there was a free festival-like show in Melgaard Park that we were a part of, and people wrote nasty letters to the editor about not being able to get their Sunday nap because of all the noise in the park. Likewise, with this year's Pig Out, there were letters to the editor about the swear words coming from the fest. So this is what the town is dealing with in putting on music festivals. There are all sorts of unnecessary politics going on in the community and among the organizers. It's goofy. But we decided we were just going to get up on stage, play our hearts out and have a good time. Because that's what it's about -- having fun.

Due to a last-minute schedule change, we were taken off the main stage, and put on the secondary stage. It seems that the promoters accidentally left Jon Wayne & the Pain off of the lineup schedule and they had to scramble to fix it the day before. We ended up with a later slot, though, so that actually made the change a good thing. There were more people in the park at the later time than the original time.

It was a hot one, for sure. There were two stages, and they were both arranged in east corners of the park, which meant that the sun was beating down on them the whole time. The stage we played had a black floor, so that helped absorb the heat and turn the performance area into a sauna, which is exactly what you want on a 95º day.

We did a very brief line-check while the band on the main stage was finishing up. Then when the mighty Scott Sauer behind the soundboard gave us the signal, we started right up. "We're Junebug, we're gonna rock and roll you," Anthony announced, "then kiss you goodbye." We opened with the Beatles' "Come Together" and got the party started.

After the palates were whetted with a few tunes, Anthony announced that our brand new album is now available -- at this very show! It's the first time it has been available, and we decided to give away a free CD to the first person to run down to the foot of the stage and tell us the name of the third track on our first album, Share. The answer is, of course, "Share." Nobody seemed to know it and Dustin said that was a good sign. In the end, a young man in the crowd did know the answer, so he got a free copy of Modern Day Fairy Tales.

As I said before, it was a very hot day today. So I let the festival-goers know that across the street Wesley and the Jones family were selling cool, tasty and refreshing lemonade in an effort to raise money to go on their mission trip to Moldova. "My friend lived in Moldova for awhile," Dustin said. "Mine, too," I added. Dustin explained, "It's the same friend." Chuckles.

Anthony introduced the next few tunes telling the crowd that "we're gonna get funky. It's okay though," he went on. "We okayed it with the City. We filled out a funk license." Bam!

It was a good, short, concise set, designed to keep the crowd wanting more. Which is just what they'll get tonight at the Red Rooster. We saw some old friends today, including Junebug's former bassist, Josh Rieck. He was playing with the Sherpa String Syndicate, and we got to visit with him a bit. The Pig Out was good, if a little disorganized. And a security guy tried to take my video camera. And we almost didn't get our full compensation. But it all turned out well in the end. The Pig Out was good.

Photos courtesy Stargazing Photography

6/26/10 - Pride 2010 - Loring Park - Minneapolis

2010-06-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

We played again this year at Twin Cities Pride 2010. This festival is such a wonderful display of peace, acceptance and togetherness. I have been to a bunch of festivals, but never have I felt such a great, loving sense of community than I have at Pride in the Twin Cities. There's little to no judgementalism and everyone just wants to have a good time and celebrate life and humanity with other human beings (and some canines, too). People of all ages, shapes, sizes, races, walks-of-life, belief systems, political views, et cetera are present with positive attitudes and open minds. This is, therefore, a perfect crowd for a band whose primary goal it is to spread good feelings and a fun atmosphere.

I (tony) had to work today. But it was okay, I was working AT the festival. My employer, Downtown Dogs, has a booth at Pride and I was operating a lure course for folks' dogs. My shift was over at one o'clock, so I headed over to the Loring Stage, where our friends Yasen Marie were already on stage. I had a quick chat with the stage manager as well as the master of ceremonies, a fabulous drag queen named Gosh Alice Jones, and then we were ready to roll.

We took the stage and received a rousing introduction from Gosh, including a tidbit that we were featured in Who Cares magazine. "Who cares?!? WE DO!" she exclaimed. If only the rest of the world was as enthusiastic as Gosh...

After our first tune, Anthony welcomed the beautiful crowd, warning them that they were a little TOO attractive, a little TOO beautiful. "It's okay," he assured us, "I'll try not to get too excited." There were plenty of others getting excited, however. There was an older man who, during "Casanova," we could tell was just dying to grab the mic and join us. He didn't though. We remember the lesson of Dot Com. But he continued to be enthusiastic, however, and encouraged the crowd to get up and dance with him though "Bad Mamma Jamma."

Anthony introduced "Clone You" using the tamed-down explanation. "It's about loving somebody so much that you want to clone them so you can have two of them... at the same time. Yeeahh, that's it!" Nick interjected, "Or clone yourself so you can watch." "Easy," I butt in. "It is a family show, guys."

Before we started our last tune, I made sure to let everyone know that we are always happy to play this event and that we stand in solidarity with the meaning of this festival. Anthony then described the ultimate dream. Getting back to the planet where you came from and eating some Tollhouse cookies and milk. "Jumpstart My Rocket" finished our set.

The stage and sound crew at this gig were exceptional. Everyone was polite and patient and all around cool. The drunk kit sounded exceptional. Like last year, we had a sign language interpreter, which is both fantastic and surreal. I found myself watching her through much of the set. I kept thinking, that's what our songs look like?

Do any of you guys know who Ross Mathews is? You might know him as "Ross the Intern" from Jay Leno's show. Well, he wasn't present at our set that we know of, but he was at the festival. Both Anthony and I said hello to him. I just figured I'd throw that in there.

6/5/10 - Go Pink! - Tiffany Sports Lounge - Saint Paul

2010-06-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

So, it turns out that breast cancer really sucks. People are fighting it pretty hard and scientists are trying to figure out how to vanquish it from existence. I used to often wonder why people focused on breast cancer so much more than other cancers, such as bladder or testicular cancers, which we in Junebug have lost loved ones to. Well, it turns out that humanity is closer to figuring out breast cancer than any other form at this point. Heck, they've even gotten pretty close to developing a preventative vaccine for breast cancer. If we as a species can figure out how to cure breast cancer, well that just opens the door to figuring out all those other piece-of-crap cancers. So, pouring money and effort into getting rid of boobies cancer is more important than ever. Seeing as how we in Junebug are four heterosexual men, we are quite concerned about saving the boobies as well, for our own selfish reasons. The fact is everyone can appreciate them. Even my gay male friend Travis thinks boobs are funny sometimes. So we figured we would do something so simple as playing a show in order to join the growing fight against this riduculous plague.

Victoria Stromme, a friend of Nick's and a fan of Junebug, is taking part in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure. She gathers pledges and raises cash and walks/runs/jogs/limps/crawls for thirty miles over three days. Seriously. This raises both money and awareness to this excellent cause. As part of her fundraising, Victoria put together a rock show called "Go Pink!" Tiffany Sports Lounge donated the stage (taking no financial cut from the door) and the bands donated their talents as well as merch items. Furthermore, numerous local businesses donated door prizes.

The show included Will Hutchinson, 36Sunrise and Junebug. There was supposed to be another band, too, but because of set times they disagreed with upon arriving, they gathered up their toys and went home before their set time. That only meant that Junebug got a longer set and the people that came to see them still paid their money to the cause. So there really were no losers, except the dudes that decided not to play. They lost out on being part of a great event and looked like chumps in the process. I was looking forward to hearing their set, too. I had heard good things. Lame.

The place was very well decorated for the festivities. There were pink balloons, pink feather boas and pink banners decking the halls. Victoria also provided several pink apparel items for band members to use if they wished. However, we didn't need much augmentation, as is apparent in photos taken tonight. We decided the best way to perform and to show our support was to completely deck out tonight. All of us wore many variations of all pink and white apparel, striking lust in the hearts of all who saw us, and awareness into the minds of the enlightened.

If you've followed Junebug for awhile, then you know that every now and then, a character named Randy shows up to play drums at our shows. He was present at the 2007 10,000 Skates show in Aberdeen, S.D. as well as at the Basilica Block Party in 2009. He looks strikingly like me (tony), but a lot more sleazy, with Elvis sunglasses and a trucker moustache. Rumor has it, Randy is my long-lost brother from Colorado, but others think it's me in disguise. Well, Randy was here tonight, playing drums and cracking wise.

We played a typical set of "bangers" tonight, including a recent addition to our repertoire, "Come Together" by the Beatles. At the very end, I reminded the crowd of the theme tonight, as we sang "Come together right now," I finished it off with,"over boobies."

On "Casanova," we had a fella named Zach from the crowd join us to freestyle. He did a fantastic job soliciting donations to the jar on the stage, shouting, "For the cure! For the cure!" It was a beautiful thing.

After "Casanova," Randy removed his necktie (which was actually a ladies' scarf) and tied it around his head as a headband. "It's getting hot in here," he explained. "It's a fashion statement, too."

After "Bad Mamma Jamma," Anthony told the crowd that this is as good as it's going to get tonight. Then Randy proceeded to take off his suit jacket.

After "Modern Day Fairy Tales" we mixed it up a bit with "Crossroads." This is, as you know, a couple-skate and there were some folks slow dancing. A few drinks were held up in the air and were swaying.

We played a couple more rockin' tunes and Randy asked, "Is it in poor taste to say that we're offering free breast exams ourselves?" He also added a disclaimer that there was no guarantee to the accuracy of the exams. Nick responded that it probably was in poor taste. "I'm gonna go with 'yes,'" he said. "It's in poor taste? Okay, cool. We're offering them."

Of all the shows in our history, none seemed more appropriate to revive an oldie of ours called "Breasts." This song was originally played in the Aberdeen / Red Rooster era. It's a song that we wrote as younger men who really desired breasts. "If I had breasts / What a happy world it would be / ... / Women have breasts / Why don't they show them to me?" Anthony said, "Now this song is being used tonight to save breasts. We've come full circle."

In the midst of all the fun and festivities, we took a moment to remember a fallen hero. My friend and yours, Rue McLanahan, one of the stars of The Golden Girls passed away this week. Much like we did when both Estelle Getty and Bea Arthur passed, we commemorated their impacts on us by playing the Golden Girls theme song. Furthermore, I shared some trivia with the crowd. In Season 1 of The Golden Girls, Blanche was two years younger than Sex & the City's Samantha is now. Think about that for a moment. The crowd tonight pondered it deeply. At least that's how I interpreted the stunned silence.

Anthony introduced "Clone You" in the usual way, explaining that if you love someone enough, you might want two of them, which could enhance certain bedroom activities. After thinking about it for a moment, Randy said, "I'd probably do it with myself in that case... I'm just thinkin' out loud." Dustin added that in a case in which there was a cloned woman, then there would be four boobies to save.

We then played "Downtown Liquor Store" and invited the crowd to join us in robbing a liquor store later tonight.

Next came an energetic and high-octane performance of "Sledgehammer," which got us all sweating like hogs. We announced that the next song would be our last of the evening, but there was still time to donate to the cause. Nick said that if you donate $20, Randy will make out with you. Anthony replied that he wasn't sure whether that was encouragement or a deterrent. "One thing it's definitely not," Dustin added, "is a guarantee." Then Randy took off another layer; his button-down pink shirt, leaving a tight pink t-shirt. "Jumpstart My Rocket" blasted into full force.

The song rocked on into the "breakdown section. Then Randy took his t-shirt off, revealing his sweaty, hairy, flabby body. All the women swooned, because Randy is too much man for them to take. Randy continued to rock the drum kit, glistening in his own filthy stink.

When it was all said and done, the night was a success. At the end of the night, Victoria informed me that we had all raised over $1,000 for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day For the Cure. That's a show well played and boobies well saved. We went Pink, and we are proud.

5/7/10 - Primetime Sports Bar - Burnesville, Minn.

2010-05-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

We were asked to be part of the special reunion of Inebriation tonight. So we did. Plus it was Nick's wife Anna's birthday bash tonight and she used to sing with Inebriation back in the day. We played at Primetime in Burnsville, a venue we had never played before tonight. As we first pulled into the parking lot, I balked a bit at the idea that a bar/venue was located in a strip mall. But it turns out I'm a chump, because the place was huge with a professional-sized stage and excellent sound. It's a case of not mixing metaphors by judging the venue by its cover.

The night started with our friend Jon Wayne playing some acoustic tunes, followed by us. We were set up (drums and all) on the front of the stage, while the drum kit for the headlining act was set up on the drum riser. Like I said, though, this place had wonderful sound. The balance was good on my drum kit and for once, my vocal mic was at the right level. I pretty much appreciate that.

We took the stage and Anthony asked the crowd enthusiastically if they were wearing their party pants. After a meager response, he said, "Are your party pants on? Huh? Depends?" And a split second later, I totally got the joke.

We had two guest duelling rappers tonight on "Casanova." Idara and Bona Fide were both present and took us up on our invitation. It was pretty much the best guest spot we've ever had. Those guys are pros, and if you missed it, you're probably sad about it.

We moved right along with our program, and Anthony introduced "Bad Mamma Jamma" saying, "We hope Wendy's either endorses us or sues us." "Either way, we win," I added. Too true.

After wishing Anna a happy birthday from stage, we broke into our newly rehearsed version of "Come Together" by the Liverpool Lads. It's getting better every time we play it, and I love playing it. As I mentioned earlier, my mic was at a proper level tonight and it was a good thing, because at one point in this song, Anthony had some kind of guitar issue as was attending to that, which caused him to miss some lyrics. I was able to cover for him, and many folks didn't even know the difference. So it's good to have a proper vocal mic balance.

In addition to the numerous acts performing tonight, there was also a booth by the entrance/exit to the venue. The organization was called Tits & Giggles, and they were raising money to help in the fight against breast cancer. During a song break, I informed the crowd that Tits & Giggles was there and that it was an important cause. In fact, saving the boobies is a very big, important and personal cause of mine. Because face it, boobies are cool. We need to keep them around. Tits & Giggles. It's a funny name.

With three songs left on the setlist and the m.c. telling us that we had fifteen minutes left, Anthony announced, "This is our last song." We had to backpedal and apologize to the crowd for getting their hopes up. We were actually playing more than just the one.

Anthony introduced "Damn the Man" tonight saying, "It's the weekend! You don't have to work! Your supervisors aren't here!" I meekly said into the mic, "Mine might be..." You see, later tonight DJ Diesel performed, along with the Minneapolis Vix go-go dancers. Well, as it turns out, I work with a woman who is part of this particular dance troupe. In fact, she is one of my supervisors. I've never seen her perform, and she has never seen me perform. I was halfway hoping to run into her tonight, but no dice. There were only three of the Vix present tonight, and my supervisor was not one of them. Just to be safe, though, I wasn't too emphatic during "Damn the Man." Which is a shame, right? It's almost like I'm a scab crossing a picketline. But you've gotta do what you've gotta do when the man (or scantily-clad woman) is present.

After we were done, DJ Diesel and the Vix took the stage, followed by Full Throttle Monkey and finally Inebriation. It was a great party atmosphere tonight. The show was run very smoothly, too. We had a designated m.c. who was giving us regular updates on how much time we had left, he introduced the bands, and kept things moving right along. It was one of the best organized shows I can remember.

We had fun, Primetime. Oh, and Tits & Giggles.

4/17/10 - Red Sky Lounge - Mankato, Minn.

2010-04-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

Again we rolled into Mankato, ready to rock and ready to roll. We had never played the Red Sky Lounge before tonight. It looked less like a music venue and more like a semi-swanky night club. I could see the ladies in short skirts milling about waiting for the party to get thumpin'. But alas, it was a rock and roll night. They may have been disappointed, but I'm not too cut up about it.

We all arrived and loaded in and decided to go grab a bite to eat at a bar and lounge down the block. We had some beers, some good visitin', and good camaradarie time with all of us boys and our ladies.

It was at this time that we were approached at our table by a young lady. A very young lady. She was a girl scout. In a bar. It was okay, though, her mom was with her and she was selling cookies. She was pretty adorable and we had all had just enough drinks to really have a hankerin' for some tasty girl scout cookies. We all bought some and also promised not to tell anyone that she sold them in a bar. I guess I broke that promise just now, but we never got any names. So no one's in trouble and we ate some cookies. Everyone wins.

Originally The Islez were scheduled to play with us tonight, but it wasn't in the cards. They ceased their operations before the night arrived. We got back to the venue just in time to catch the start of My Lady Four, our friends and the Islez's replacement.

Between bands, I was warned by Carp (ML4's drummer) that I was going to need to play lightly because the acoustics of this room really bring out the drums - maybe a little too much. Then a friend of ours in the crowd, also a drummer, named Tony Bartholomew warned me of the same thing. Then Nick mentioned it to me. As did the sound guy. Finally, Anthony took me aside and said it was really important that I play lightly tonight. So, I'm pretty sure I got the picture, believe it or not. So I got on stage and played lightly. I could barely hear my snare drum myself so I decided to just go easy on the cymbals. During our set break, I was told my drum volume sounded fine. I continued to play normally.

Our second set began with a disclaimer from Anthony: "This second [set] is going to be a lot more offensive. So if you don't want offensive, go home and watch Grey's Anatomy, you f-cks!" You stay classy, Junebug.

Folks were having a lot of fun tonight. Our friend Tony B., whom I mentioned earlier was having a grand old time. He was dancing, singing, screaming and generally doing what people do when they have fun. If only there were about five of him in every crowd...

However, Dustin's girlfriend Sarah nearly got kicked out of the venue. Sometime during the second set, Sarah went to a soft bench seat to lay down and wait out the rest of the show. A bouncer came over to her and, assuming she was wasted, told her that she couldn't sleep there and she'd have to leave. She didn't though. It all worked out.

As we played our show tonight, the televisions on the wall kept running, complete with closed captioning. Normally in a situation like that, the televisions would be broadcasting some sporting event or sports highlight show. Not these. The patrons of the Red Sky Lounge were being treated to CSI while they listened to our music. There was a television very near to the drumkit, actually, and I found myself drifting into drumming auto-pilot while I watched the program and read the captions. It wasn't very good, and as I announced to the crowd, "we provide a really shitty soundtrack to CSI."

It's true.

4/2/10 - Private Party - Shakopee, Minn.

2010-04-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

Set One:
| Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Modern Day Fairy Tales | Casanova | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Found My Boogie | Chosen Ones | Downtown Liquor Store | The Date | Dot Com's Power Rangers Jam | Like a Spy (Not the Stalker) | Lady Madonna [The Beatles] | To the Next Episode | Sledgehammer [Peter Gabriel] |

Set Two:
| What I Got [Sublime] | I Love Rock & Roll [The Arrows] | Say It Ain't So [Weezer] | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | Clone You | Brown Eyed Girl [Van Morrison] | I Love Rock & Roll [The Arrows] | Come Together [The Beatles] | Damn the Man |

Tonight was a private party in honor of a graduate named Brooke down in Shakopee. We didn't really know what to expect, since we didn't previously know any of the people involved. We were contacted by the folks putting on the party who were looking for an indie band. They heard our stuff on MySpace and decided we were the right fit. So the contract was signed and we showed up for the festivities.

The party was being held both in the house and in the sizeable driveway under an event tent. The band stage was under the tent, along with the food, the tub full of ice and beer, and a few tables.

As we were setting up, there was a gentleman asking what kind of music we play. He was enjoying some frosty adult beverages and well on his way to having a good time. He said he hoped that we'd play some Elvis. I asked whether he meant Memphis Elvis or Vegas Elvis. He responded by singing something I didn't recognize. He shared with us some details of his rock and roll memorabilia collection, including an autographed picture of Aerosmith's Stephen Tyler, whom he said he partied with not too long ago. This gentleman was often heard pre-show shouting his catch-phrase: "Dot Com," which is what he would come to be known as for the rest of the night.

We originally had a basic outline for a setlist tonight, but I didn't get a chance to actually arrange it, as Anthony had charged me. He had a list of songs in his iPhone, though, that we used as a guideline. As the night went on, however, we realized there was really no point in a "setlist" per se.

We opened with "Pay the Toll," which had a couple people bobbing and swaying, which was a good sign, I suppose. After "Modern Day" there was one solitary cheer -- from our buddy Dot Com. It stood to reason then, that when we introduced "Casanova" and asked for a rapper, Dot Com jumped at the chance. Before we even got to explain what was going on -- that he was intended to freestyle on one verse -- he grabbed the mic and began singing some improvised blues a capella. Dustin and I joined in, followed by Nick and Anthony, while Dot Com kept it up. When the jam ended, he kept singing. So I started "Casanova." He continued to sing into the microphone on the stage, and the Dot Com machine was engaged.

We moved on to "Bad Mamma Jamma." It was funky, people were dancing and butts were shaking. Furthermore, Dot Com was on a roll. He came up again, took the mic and went to town.

After we received a request for something by the All-American Rejects and turned it down, Dot Com offered to tune Dustin's guitar for him, which Dustin said he had full control over. The absurdity continued with children happily dancing to "Downtown Liquor Store." Anthony censored it slightly, "Right now I'm playin' blackjack with a two-dollar Hrrmmm."
We took another moment to congratulate the graduate, saying, "We all graduated from high school, and we hope that you have better plans for the future than we did." See what I did there? Self-depricating humor. Or was it... ? There wasn't much of a response. Maybe reality was a little too real.

Dot Com came up on stage and joined us for another jam that sounded suspiciously like the Power Rangers theme song. Though, Anthony later said it reminded him of Rage Against the Machine. Whatever it was, it was ragey and rangerly.

We had plenty of requests tonight. Not for our own songs, but for popular songs like you might hear at a wedding dance. The classic "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Brown-Eyed Girl" requests, you see. However, we went into this show under the impression that we were not allowed to play covers. We think there was a gap in communication somewhere along the line, because the woman in charge told us eventually that covers were fine. So in the middle of "Episode" we threw in "Birthday" by the Beatles, but subsituted "graduation." Did it work? Maybe. Does it matter? No. We closed the set with "Sledgehammer" and then took a short break to grab a drink and take a breath.

Right as we were starting to set up for our second act, a dude came up to us and somewhat urgently requested, "Can you play some Sublime? These guys are about to fight." Sure enough, at the opening of the tent there were some men seemingly in the beginnings of a scuffle. It was the weirdest justification for a request that we've heard, so we played "What I Got." And sure enough, some guys were seen rushing past the opening of the tent, presumably to either break up the fight or join in. We weren't sure if Sublime was requested in an attempt to stop the fight from happening, or if that was their preferred fightin' music. Either way, we were there to serve them.

Next, since we were playing requests, somebody asked for "I Love Rock & Roll." We started playing the song and in a moment of inspired brilliance, Anthony began singing the lyrics to "I Love Rocky Road," which is, of course, Weird Al's parody. It didn't go over too well and a woman named Sheila jumped up on stage and took the mic. She sang the correct lyrics and appeared to be having a ball. That is until she (and we) realized that we didn't actually know all the proper chords to the song. We struggled through it, and while she had a good time, you could tell that she wasn't truly satisfied.

We decided to keep the energy up with another one they might know. We started Weezer's "Say It Ain't So." From the back of the tent, Dot Com's eyes lit up and he charged onto the stage. Anthony got about the first half of the first verse out when Dot Com grabbed the mic and sang his own lyrics and melody throughout the rest of the song. Being the professionals that we are, we continued to play the correct music.

We played through a couple originals with no interruptions or occurences. Then we brought it back around to playing what the people wanted to hear. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. We are now apparently a band that plays "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. We couldn't resist inviting Dot Com to come up and sing on it. However, when it became apparent that he didn't fully know the lyrics and continued repeating the same phrase, Sheila came up to save the day, much to Dot Com's chagrin. Sheila knew all the words and sang them with gusto. It was like karaoke provided by Junebug.

Sheila was a rock star, though. When we finished "Brown-Eyed Girl," Sheila took command, proclaiming, "We're gonna start this party up! This one's going out to the graduate, Brooke! It's called 'I Love Rock & Roll!'" She turned to us and called out, "Start it up, boys!" After a second of contemplation of her apparent dissatisfaction with the previous performance of this song, she added, "Let's get it right this time." So it was that we got a second shot at getting the music right and Dustin got a second shot at the guitar solo. As it turned out, it wasn't too bad. The second time we played it. The second time tonight.

We had time for two more, and out of our behinds we pulled "Come Together" by the Beatles - a song we had never played or practiced before. It wasn't great, but you know, it wasn't horrible either. And Dot Com got another chance to rock out. We ended the night with "Damn the Man," and it went much like "Say It Ain't So," with us playing the song and Dot Com doing his own thing. It all worked out in the end.

All in all the night was a success. We had a crazy time and the folks present had fun dancing and singing and taking turns performing with us. Private parties are something we'd like to do more of. It was quite unique.

Songs on which Dot Com rushed the stage: Casanova, I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's), Downtown Liquor Store, The Date, Say It Ain't So, Brown Eyed Girl, Come Together, Damn the Man

3/20/10 - Nomad World Pub - Minneapolis

2010-03-20T23:57:00.000-07:00

We came together tonight to celebrate the EP release from Nervous Hands. We met Peter from Nervous Hands at Fur Seal last month. He was in to pick up the EP that his band recorded there and we visited a bit, resulting in an invitation to play with them at this show. This invitation, we happily accepted. In addition to it being an EP release show, Nervous Hands also debuted a killer music video.

The lineup tonight included The Humbugs, Junebug, Twin Star Rocket Bug, and Nervous Hands Bug. That's our little joke, of course. There were only two "bug" bands.

Dustin wasn't available to play this show, sadly, because he is currently on tour in Europe with Wive. So I (tony) took the beloved Princess Leia stand-up from our rehearsal space and put a big ol' Dustin face on it, so he could be with us in more than just spirit. He stood on stage with us, mic'ed up and everything. He gave a bit of an understated performance. It left something to be desired, surely.

Tonight was a short set, clocking in at right around 30 minutes. But we made up for it in energy. It was a good, light-hearted, rockin' set. There was actually a decent sized crowd tonight, and they were diggin' what we were laying down. There was dancing, drinking, screaming, maiming. It was perfect.

Tonight we met a friend and former co-worker of Nick named Anne. She qualifies as one of the newest Junebug superfans, telling Anthony and me the titles of the songs off of Share that she "love loves." She was dancing and having fun. She reminded me a lot of Brittany from the Elizabeth show. By the end of the night, she may have been somewhat partied out, but you know what? Good. That's the goal, right? To cut loose and feel good on the weekends. Way to be, Anne. We salute you.

While Anthony was thanking the rest of the bands in the lineup, he gave an accurate description of who we are. "We're the middle child that nobody really cares about. We get okay presents on Christmas." Spot on? I think so.

Anthony introduced Dustin again, saying he was unusually shy tonight. I then confessed to the crowd that after looking at the cutout of him tonight, there'll be a problem when he comes back. I won't be able to look at him in the same way. I'll be aroused in a strange way -- and that could be a problem.

All in all it was a fun show. All the bands tonight were a good mix. It would be fun to meet up with them again in a similar fashion.

1/30/10 - Silver Dollar Saloon - Elizabeth, Minn.

2010-01-30T23:46:00.000-08:00

We had never been to the Silver Dollar Saloon in Elizabeth, Minnesota before tonight. We didn't know what to expect going in. But boy, we didn't know what we were missing. Those small-town folk know how to have a good time on the weekend. We almost didn't know what hit us by the end of the night.

But I won't get ahead of myself. First things first. Nick wasn't able to be with us tonight. He had to head back to the Twin Cities early this morning. So filling in on bass tonight was our old high school friend and current guitarist for The San Haven Chuckle, Patrick "Bud" Hess. We had originally thought that he would jump up on a few tunes here and there, but he played the whole dang show, and he exceeded expectations. He knew every song and then some.

But I'm getting ahead of myself again. After we soundchecked the drums and we were just going to start, I inexplicably felt myself leaning back on my drum throne. I hadn't planned to lean back. Had I simply had more drinks than I had thought? Suddenly, I fell back all the way, nearly kicking over my hi-hat and snare with my flailing foot, but not spilling my drink. I stood up to realize that the post of my drum throne completely broke in half. It just broke. It didn't bend, it broke. It was like a clean cut. It was only holding on by about a centimeter of metal. Luckily, Lunchbox, the sound guy, had a spare drum throne in his back room that he was able to lend to me. I set my broken throne on the very front of the stage, as a monument in remembrance of me, and then the show began.

Forgive me. I'm getting ahead of myself yet again. The San Haven Chuckle played with us tonight, rocking and rolling our faces off as always. The Chuckle are primarily an originals band, but they have a wide range of covers as well. I couldn't help but shout out a few requests of covers I know they play, but have never heard. Among them was "Sledgehammer," with which they subsequently closed their set. So we opened our set with our own version of "Sledgehammer." Which is hilarious, because the crowd heard the song basically twice in a row. Comedy at its highest, my friends.

The comedy continued during "Poet" when during Dustin's guitar solo, Anthony decided to have a seat on the broken drum throne at the foot of the stage. Not surprisingly, it broke even further, and Anthony stumbled backward. Pure physical comedy genius. After that, "M'Lady" was dedicated to Mary Lou Retton.

As you know, the Junebug song "Moon Over the Water" and a portion of the San Haven Chuckle song "May They Wake" sound strikingly similar. This is, of course, because the Chuckle are shameless thieving bastards. I kid, I kid. It has become a bit of a tradition when we play together to sing each other's lyrics on those songs. Tonight, however, the Chuckle guys came onstage and sang the "Moon" lyrics in their own harmonies. It ended up rocking our faces and being pretty incredible. I wish you had been there to hear it.

There seemed to be a lot of audience participation tonight. It's generally good to have a healthy back-and-forth with the crowd, and they were all about it tonight. Before we played "Place" tonight, Anthony introduced it saying, "I'm sure you've got a place to go in the middle of nowhere..." and before he finished a dude yelled out, "Elizabeth!" Gotta respect pride in your community. After "Chosen Ones" we heard the clapping of one solitary person. Dustin said, "Thank you. You know who you are." Anthony commented that he didn't know if that particular room could handle how awesome we are. In response, some dude called out "Play some Styx!" We're not that awesome, dude. Not yet.

We attempted to continue our own brand of awesomeness, however, with the long-awaited return of the song "Fargo Gypsy Girl," which will be included on our upcoming album. Anthony introduced it. "This song's about sex! You know what I'm talkin' about!" Yeah, Bergs. I think we always know what you're talking about. But as a sidebar, the song is about a dude that falls in love with a mannequin. So sexy indeed.

Tonight saw a return to the spontaneity of old. Some dude in the crowd came up and asked us if would play "What I Got" by Sublime. Now, as you know we're not a cover band. But we thought, what the hell. Why not? Keep in mind, that we've never played this song before, whether it be live, rehearsal or just messing around. We as a band have never played it. But we did. And it made the dude happy and he got his buddies on the floor and they stayed there for the rest of the set.

We decided to play another tune that folks would recognize, to keep them interested. We busted out "Lady Madonna" and rocked it well, complete with a back-to-back between Anthony and Bud.

We closed the first set with an energetic "Bumblebee," which Bud said he had been looking forward to very much. But before we played it, Anthony told the crowd that in the second set (which would be after our ten-minute meth break) he expected people to get naked. The reasoning was that there was probably a better chance of it happening tonight than during the week. Someone shouted out that we should get naked first. So I stood up and lifted my shirt. Protruting gelatinous belly, hairy nipples and all. Hey, give the people what they want.

As soon as the first set ended, a girl came up to us as we were at the bar getting drinks. Her name is Brittany (Britney? I didn't have her spell it). She had had a few drinks already and was definitely having a fun night, which is what we encourage. She began requesting all sorts of songs, but it seemed that "Lump" by the Presidents of the USA was the most emphatic of her requests. Again, this is a song we have never played, so we didn't make any promises.

We took the stage again to start the second set, and somehow in the ten or fifteen minutes that we were down, the place filled up. The Silver Dollar in Elizabeth was pretty well attended by this point. Brittany followed us up to the stage and requested "Lump" one more time. Anthony addressed the crowd. "We talked about getting naked, and it's not happening. I'm disappointed." I added that shaking booties and shaking boobies are all encouraged. And again we got the run-around. But we're rock stars, dang it!

Much to Brittany's delight, we played "Lump," though we had never played it before. I knew this song had a pretty specific drum part, that would sound crappy if not played pretty close to the original. But I couldn't remember what it was. I was a bit amazed though, because once I counted off the song, I played the right part. Brittany was ecstatic and totally into it, and was getting her friends into it as well. "I tip my invisible had to you, Brittany," Bud offered. "It's your job to get people on the floor. Round 'em up!" They followed. We played a bunch of our dancers next, including "Pay the Toll," "Casanova." The hoochies were feeling it. Until the end of "Bad Mamma Jamma" where there was a brief lull. The ladies started leaving the floor, and I asked them not to.

At this point, Brittany yelled out "Weezer!!" We looked around at one another, because strangely, we had talked about possibly throwing "Say It Ain't So" into the set anyway. Take note, though, that we also do not play this song. We've played it maybe twice in messing around in the rehearsal room, but aside from a private garage party in 2007, I don't think we've ever gone through it beginning to end. No matter. We whipped it out tonight and delighted our newest fan. With the playing of this song, all the asses were on the floor. There was a large group of hot chicks right down front dancing to what we were playing. That doesn't happen often with us, so we have to mention it when it happens.

Bud had to remind the crowd that "Again, we were told nakedness would happen." But still nobody took the bait. Except the other Chuckle boys who upped their game. Normally they moon us at shows, but this time, they mooned us with "Junebug" written on their butt cheeks. "June" on one cheek, "bug" on the other. So, apparently, we got our nakedness. But I would argue that it doesn't count.

"Dance now, because you only live once," Bud advised. "Speak for yourself!" was my retort. Take from it what you will. "Tip your bartender, for godsake!" I shouted. "For your health," Dr. Steve Brule (Dustin) added.

The time was winding down and the show would be ending soon. In one last ditch effort, Anthony said, "We were promised nudity. I'm just sayin'. We encourage that kind of behavior." Inexplicably, from the crowd came a woman's voice shouting, "It's not rape if you're willing!" I'm not sure how that applies to what was being said, but the fact remained that there still was no nudity.

We closed the set with "Damn the Man" and called it a night. The crowd at the Silver Dollar was a great crowd. Like I said earlier, these small-town peeps know how to cut loose. Especially Brittany, it would seem. After the show, she hung around Bud and me pretty closely, telling us how great she thought we were and that we should definitely come back to Elizabeth. Lunchbox, the sound engineer, liked us enough to invite us to sign the wall of fame, which we did.

It was a fantastic night, which we raved about all the way home. It was definitely the most fun Junebug show I have played in a long time. Even without the nudity.

1/29/10 - Nestor Tavern - Fargo, N.D.

2010-01-29T23:17:00.000-08:00

We've been to the Nestor in Fargo many times in our little musical experiment. Some crowds have been big, some have been tiny. Some have been right in between. Tonight was one of those nights in which the crowd was right in the middle. But that's not a negative thing. The peeps that were there were having fun and that's what matters.

It was a bit of a family reunion for me (tony). Three of my sisters were there: Wendy, Laurel, and Tammy. Also, my nieces' boyfriends Seth and James were there (my nieces, Angell and Allisyn, aren't quite 21 yet). All of them brought friends. Additionally, our old friend Kelsey was there and she presented me with a container full of shortbread cookies. You see, I had mentioned on Facebook a couple days ago that I was craving them. Kelsey took a cue to make my day. I shared them with the others, of course. Because I am a nice boy.

Our good friends, The San Haven Chuckle, opened tonight and warmed up the crowd real well. When we took the stage, there were already a couple partied-out girls dancing and flailing. At the end of our very first song, "Pay the Toll," one of them bit the dust. "Girl down! Girl down!" Dustin exclaimed. A concerned Anthony inquired, "Did we rock you too hard to where your body couldn't handle it and you collapsed?" No reply. "'Cause that was our goal." She got up and left, presumably to find a place to pass out. Kudos to you, San Haven Chuckle. You inebriated our crowd a little too well.

Tonight's set consisted of a lot of material from our upcoming album, Modern Day Fairy Tales, since we're going into the studio to record it next weekend. This is our last attempt to solidify these tunes. Our final cram session before the big exam, if you will. Included tonight was the return of an old instrumental tune called "Vacation to Oblivion." This tune is Anthony's spacy, trippy Oddyssey, and we haven't played it live for years. So, welcome back, "Oblivion."

The title track off the upcoming album is "Modern Day Fairy Tales." We played it tonight, and I thought we played it well. However, an entire table of people, around eight or ten, got up and left. "That's how you clear out a table," Dustin announced. Trust him. We're experts.

"Who's thinking of getting married?" Dustin asked. A couple friends cheered. "Okay! This song's not about that." We played "Downtown Liquor Store" next.

Tonight's guest rapper on "Casanova" was the San Haven Chuckle's own Patrick "Bud" Hess. Frosty adult beverage in hand, he delivered a stirring redition of the song "Clint Eastwood" by Gorillaz. We much enjoyed this particular guest appearance on this song, and wish all of them went this way. (Sidebar: Bud will be filling in for Nick on bass tomorrow night at our show in Elizabeth, Minn.)

Before the show started tonight, I noticed a sticker on one of the Chuckle guys' instrument cases. It read, "I'm in a band. Now show me your hooters." I shared this with the crowd tonight and let them know that we in Junebug encourage this kind of behavior. Then, as I said it I realized that I had three sisters in the crowd. I had to quickly backtrack and add a disclaimer that they were exempt from this particular Junebug promotion. Upon hearing this, Anthony considered protesting my disclaimer, but allowed it to stand. Then Nick suggested that it would be okay if they had a note from my mom. I was still not fine with this arrangement. We played the next song, and when it was over, I mentioned that nobody had shown us their hooters yet. So my friend Travis, a skinny, pale gay man promptly lifted his shirt in our direction. I suppose I should have mentioned that the promotion was geared toward females. But, he did it, so we gave him credit.

The members of the Chuckle stepped it up a notch, though. Of course. During the next song, "Lady Madonna," they lined up in front of the stage and displayed their bare behinds. Now, I've said it before, but it's truly not a real Junebug show in Fargo if those guys don't moon us. So it made the night complete. Nothing is quite as satisfying as mutilating a Beatles tune while looking at men's asses.

We had originally planned on playing two sets, but when the first set ended, we said screw it and continued on. It's a marathon, you see. Not a series of sprints. And we're athletes up there. Or not. We continued on with the rocking, rolling, dancing, and grooving. We even had a request for the song "Share" tonight. We haven't played that song in months, but generally, our policy is that if somebody likes our songs enough to request them, we play them. So we did.

But not always, I suppose. Bud was a friend of ours in the early days and even still he's a fan of an old song, "Rich & Poor." So when we said we had one song left, that was what he wanted us to play. We teased him with it a bit, but didn't actually play it, much to his chagrin. But it couldn't have upsetted him too much, since after the final song of the night, "Jumpstart My Rocket," when Dustin shouted, "GO HOME," Bud nodded at us saying, "Approve. Completely approve."

Well then, mission accomplished I suppose.

1/15/10 - Whiskey Junction - Minneapolis

2010-01-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

It was another good show at Whiskey Junction. This was our first show in the brand new year 2010. Furthermore it was our second show with great Twin Cities band, Burnin' Hyder. Plus, it was a reunion of Nick's old band, Stereoscope. And finally, it was Nick's 52^nd birthday! Okay, he's not 52. And I don't think anybody heard me (tony) when I announced it from stage. So I'm safe.

We started the year off well, with a really fun, and high octane show. We kept it light-hearted and we kept it fun, which is what we are all about. The crowd was sizable for the Whiskey, and they liked what we were bringing. There was drinking and dancing, and one young lady was wearing a Junebug t-shirt. We can definitely get behind that.

Brian "Carp" Carpenter was invited on stage tonight to freestyle during "Casanova." In the midst of it, drink in hand, he made a prediction that tomorrow the Vikings will defeat the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs, which elicited cheers from the crowd, and from me. [Note: The Vikings did indeed beat the Cowboys the next day, quite handily. So it seems Carp was a bit clairvoyant in the middle of our goof-off song.]

There was one particular lady in the crowd so inspired by Carp's participation that she wanted to come onstage and join us as well. She kept asking if we had a shaker or maracas or a tambourine. Heck, if I had had any of those things with me, we would have let her jump up with us. As it was, she was bummed. But I'm pretty sure she still enjoyed the rest of the show.

There is one particular dude that we have seen many places. He was at the Cabooze both times we played there and the same with Bunkers. He has also been at the Whiskey the last two times we've played there. He wears a hat and he lets the music move him. He dances like no one's watching. For those who know our friend Rory Behrens, he is what I imagine Rory will be like in twenty years. I don't know this man's name, but he always has a blast at our shows. So if you ever read this, hat-man, keep coming to our shows. We love to see you.

Well, our frivolity continued. Before a particular song, Dustin tantalized the crowd. "Before we play this next song, I just have to ask you people a question -- Was anybody here BORN IN THE USA?!?" There was a smattering of cheers and applause. "Okay, well... here comes 'Found My Boogie.'"

Likewise, more toward the end of the night, I said, "How many of you here have a special lady in your life? A lady who might have brown eyes? A BROWN-EYED GIRL?!?" Very little reaction. "Cool, well here comes 'Chosen Ones.'" It's a well known fact, you know, that jokes get funnier on repetition. Solid fact.

Anyway, this was our last Twin Cities show until after our studio sessions next month. Stay tuned.

12/12/09 - 331 Club - Minneapolis

2009-12-12T23:51:00.000-08:00

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.

10/24/09 - The Terminal - Minneapolis

2009-10-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-10-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-10-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-10-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-08-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-08-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-08-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

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.

8/12/09 - Uptown Bar - Minneapolis

2009-08-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

Set:
| Found My Boogie | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | M'Lady | Chosen Ones | Crossroads | Clone You | Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Jumpstart My Rocket |

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.

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

2009-08-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

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'.

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

2009-08-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-08-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

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.

7/10/09 - Basilica Block Party - Minneapolis

2009-07-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

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.

7/10/09 - Basilica Promo Appearances - Minneapolis

2009-07-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-06-28T23:41:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-06-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-06-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2009-06-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-06-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-06-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-05-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

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.

5/23/09 - Cabooze - Minneapolis

2009-05-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

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.

5/22/09 - Ed's (No Name) Bar - Winona, Minn.

2009-05-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

May 22, 2009
Ed's (No Name) Bar
Winona, Minn.

We all packed into my (tony's) van and headed to Winona, Minnesota. By "we all" I mean Anthony, Dustin, Liza and me. Nick drove himself. That's one of the bummers of not having a vehicle that fits the band, the gear, and the merch girl. We end up always having to take at least two vehicles. It sucks, especially in a world in which we're trying to be more environmentally conscious. But that's what we did.

We were invited by Peter Boysen of Good Luck and Godspeed to be a part of this bill. Tonight's show was one of their guitarist's final show, so people came out to bid farewell to him. The gig was at Ed's (No Name) Bar. We found out soon why it's called that. There were no distinct name markings anywhere on the building. There was a sign out front that had some shapes on it, but no letters, numbers, etc. It was only by reading show posters on the window that we could be absolutely certain that this was the correct place to be. Ed's is a cool and interesting place. It is a bar, but it has a very distinct coffee house feel to it. It's very cozy and couches, coffee tables, art on the walls, and warm colors make up the decor.

We played last tonight and it was another one of those bangin' shows in which we really tried to keep everyone grooving and in the venue, since most of them probably came for GLaGSpeed. We didn't want to be the room broom of the night, if you know what I mean. Like I said before, it was a very cozy room. The stage pretty much just accomodated the drumkit and the amps, with the others standing on the floor in front of it. And boy, was it hot. Luckily, though, there was an open window right next to the stage and from time to time, I could feel a heavenly cool breeze. It was a really fun room, though, and we were sure to tell the staff that we loved it.

After the show we had a really friendly chat with Priscilla from Maudlin (she and Dave were both there to catch GLaGSpeed and stuck around for us) as well as a few other dudes. It turns out that she and I (tony) know a couple of the same people, since she spent some time in South Dakota as a kid.

When it was all said and done, Peter had offered us a place to crash, but Dustin had to work in the morning and it's only a three-hour drive. So we got in our vehicles and departed. Nick pulled over to sleep at one point, and we got pulled over for a dead headlight. Just a warning though, so no worries. It's fixed now.

The fun continues.

5/16/09 - Nomad World Pub - Minneapolis

2009-05-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

May 16, 2009
Nomad World Pub
Minneapolis

Tonight was our first time playing at the Nomad World Pub in Minneapolis. It's a nice place, kind of long and narrow with a stage at the back end. What the stage lacks in width, it makes up for in depth. We had to stagger ourselves in a pretty strange formation in order to all fit, but it all worked out. The sound guy (whose name eludes me) was a perfectly nice guy who helped us out and talked us through it.

We played the show tonight with Maudlin, The Invincible Kids and Supercollider, so we had expected there to be a pretty decent crowd. Well, as our luck goes, there was a huge show going on down the block at Triple Rock. So parking was terrible and most of the parked cars contained people who went to the Rock. The people that did make it out to the Nomad though all had a good time, obviously. I mean, look at that lineup.

I (tony) had a tiny bit of an issue again tonight. My back irritated me somewhat again tonight, but thankfully, my amazing bandmates helped me a little bit, and once the music started I was good to go.

Before the show tonight, Liza and I were pretty hungry. We wanted to each get a slice of pizza, but there were no cheese or veggie slices, so Liza went down the block to get us some Greek food. I had this awesome pita-ish thing. What I didn't realize was that it was going to be the spiciest, most painful food I had ever put in my mouth. It rivaled the one and only time I tried Da Bomb: Ground Zero. Eh, whatever. It was fuel for my rock machine, I say.

The show was solid, as has been the norm lately. We ripped through some high-energy goodness and had a good time.

Afterward, we had a couple beers and Dustin and I had a good conversation about the direction of the band and how we think things can progress. It was all very positive, and the future of the band looks good. Rock it, ladies and gentlemen. Rock it.

5/2/09 - Stasiu's - Minneapolis

2009-05-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

May 2, 2009
Stasiu's Place
Minneapolis

Tonight's show was put on by Positively Tangled and Junebug was sort of a last-minute addition. Our previous experience at Stasiu's was mixed, whereas there weren't a lot of people there, but our energy and show were great. It seems that the same thing happened this time as well.

But the people who were there loved our set, that's true. We have a knack for putting on a full show even when the chips are down (is that a saying?). The energy was high and everyone who stuck around felt that.

It was a pretty rockin' set full of bangers, including the impromptu resurrection of an old Junebug standard, "Casanova". It's one we've been re-working in rehearsal and Nick digs the riff. He started playing it tonight, so I (tony) joined in and then everyone did as well. So we rocked it well. The re-working of that track continues. We also played "Place" tonight, which is is notable since we don't play it live very often these days.

Lynn and Matt Klundt, a couple friends of ours from Aberdeen were in town this weekend for the Flight of the Conchords show and they caught our set tonight. Nick's father-in-law was also present. It was nice to have them all in the crowd.

Other than that, not much else to say, I suppose. Something about Stasiu's always brings out some kind of rockingness in us and that's A-okay.