10/14/11 - Driftwood Char Bar - Minneapolis

Anthony's Birthday Party

Set:

| Beards | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | Modern Age | Hell-Bent Woman | Mystic Princess | Moon Over the Water | Fluffy Little Hands | Handlebar Mustache | Soul Shaker | Jumpstart My Rocket |

---

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

Tour Stop at MasterMix

Set:

| Beards (partial) | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | Mystic Princess | Hell-Bent Woman | Beards (partial) | Handlebar Mustache [not recorded] | Beards (partial) | Funky Jam [not recorded] |

---

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.

Red Rooster Coffee House 15th Anniversary Celebration

Set:

| Beards | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | Modern Age | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Hell-Bent Woman | Handlebar Mustache | Mystic Princess | Moon Over the Water | Found My Boogie | Jumpstart My Rocket | Refrigerator | Like a Spy (Not the Stalker) | Downtown Liquor Store | Bumblebee |

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