Junebug Show Diaries: 2012

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

10/23/12 - IPR

Set:

| unknown at this time |

This show was the first ever Junebug show in which I did not participate. This was for an IPR student mixer and Student Run Records asked us to play. I tried to get the afternoon off from work, but it did not happen. Therefore, the other three performed drummerless. Since I, the drummer, am the band historian, I'm not entirely certain what went on. And I do not have a setlist. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the performance will ever be shrouded in mystery.

It's a sad day for the Junebug historian.

[This entry may or may not be edited depending on whether details of the performance ever come to light.]

Saturday, October 6, 2012

10/6/12 - Sidestreet Grille & Pub - Fargo, N.D.

Poster designed by Tony L. Kollman.
Original Hot Glue artwork by Robb Main.

So it was that we found ourselves at the Sidestreet in Fargo yet again. This time it was to play a joint show with an Anthony side project called Hot Glue.

We ended up taking multiple vehicles again, due to conflicting schedules and plans. Because of my work schedules, and since I had to work until 4:00 p.m. today, I didn't get a chance to get to Dustin's place to load my drums, so he was kind enough to pack them up and bring them for me. Immediately after getting off work, I got in my car and booked it out to Fargo.

I got to the venue in enough time. It was a very uneventful drive, thankfully. When I arrived and we began setting up, it occurred to me that I couldn't find my cymbals. I asked Dustin where they were. After a moment to think he responded, "In my basement." We then went into scramble mode, trying to contact drummers we know in the Fargo area. It turns out that the Kamikaze Snowmen came through for us. Paul, their drummer, was out of town, but I was able to contact Josh who had planned on attending our show anyway. He got ahold of Paul, and went to Paul's place to get his cymbals. They were life savers tonight. It is proof positive that they are a force for good in the universe.

We got the party started and rocked it, as usual. It was a mix of stuff off our upcoming album and all the Junebug classics you've come to expect. And we rocked them hard. In fact, after "Refrigerator," Anthony said, "I'm so worn out by that song! Does anyone have a Nuprin?" Little. Yellow. Different. Better.

Before we played "Handlebar Mustache" I took a look at Dustin's face and saw a very real, very tangible handlebar mustache. I figured I'd go for the cheesy intro. "Say, Dustin! That's some mighty fancy facial hair you've got there. Whaddaya call that?" There was a moment of silence, while I waited for his response. "You've got a lot of growing up to do, Tony. I'm kind of sick of your childish bull." Point taken.

The rocking kept happening and we kept rolling. It was hot, and I was getting worked up and thirsty. There were some wonderful boys from the San Haven Chuckle present, and they were providing me with refreshments, but at this point I really needed some water. I asked for some. Dustin spoke up. "The way this guy pees, just don't do it. Please."

Even so, the bartender brought me a full pitcher of cold water with ice. It was glorious. I poured myself a glass and set the pitcher down on the floor next to my hi-hat. That cold goodness really hit the spot.

Anthony kept having some technical difficulties tonight pertaining to his guitar cable and output jack on his guitar. And one point he became frustrated during a song and just gave the cable a heavy yank without looking where he was yanking. The cable flew up and wrapped around the top of my hi-hat stand. I took a brief half-second and removed it from the hi-hat. What I didn't realize is that when it went to the floor, it looped around my refreshing water pitcher. Anthony gave the cable another yank and the pitcher toppled to the floor, spilling all the cool goodness all over the stage. Luckily nothing was ruined. The amps were on stands and his pedals were far away. The bartender rushed up with towels immediately following the song. But of course, our Mr. Anthony had no idea any of this happened.

The technical difficulties carried over into later on. We attempted to start "Crossroads" about three times before Anthony decided he would just sing it and not play it.

And thus ended the show at the Sidestreet. We laughed. We cried. We spilled our beverages. Family and friends gave us love and we gave it back. Then Hot Glue performed. And the sleep happened. And then we drove home.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

9/8/12 - Driftwood Char Bar - Minneapolis

My computer had a sense of humor enough
to snap an image of me discovering that it
hadn't recorded a single second of the show.
You can taste the disappointment.

Again, we returned to the Driftwood Char Bar in South Minneapolis. It's always a fun and interesting place to play.

This time we were joined by our new friends, Back Pocket Hymnal. This band is great and you should hear them. Plus, their singer, Kay, lent her vocal stylings to our upcoming album Beards.

Now, I wish I could tell you more about this show than I can. Truth is, I was really sick and saturated with Nyquil. My throat was raw and I didn't sing. My head was stuffed up, and it took all my energy just to play a decent show. I really can't recall much of it. I just remember that we seemed to play well, the crowd seemed to respond well, we all had fun, I drank a fourth of a glass of beer, which was too much in my cold-medicined state, I packed up my gear, went home, crashed HARD on my pillow, and got up for work in the morning, sick as a dawg. (Not the animal, but the Randy Jackson devotee.)

Normally, I make some sort of recording of these shows in case some memory lapse like this happens. This time, however, the application on my computer which I use to record video of these shows was on the still-picture setting and I didn't realize. Cruel computer gods.

I can only rely on my memory for this show, which doesn't really do anyone much good.

Poster designed by Tony L. Kollman

Saturday, August 11, 2012

8/11/12 - Sidestreet Grille & Pub - Fargo, N.D.

Hide your daughters, because... These guys.

Fargo has always been good to us, so we try to get back whenever we can. Notably, this particular trip marks only like the third time or so that we've all traveled to an out-of-town gig in just one vehicle. Seems odd, but that's us.

Lately, when we've been coming back to Fargo, we've been playing shows with our good friends, The San Haven Chuckle. However, this time around, we've realized that we've been inadvertently neglecting another great group of friends: The Kamikaze Snowmen. The 'Snowmen started in Aberdeen, back in the day and lately, they've been blowing up the Fargo comedy scene. They've got a podcast called the Kamikaze Snowcast, and they've been consistently putting out new music. They were even played on the Dr. Demento Show, which is kind of a big deal. Two of them live in Fargo, and the third lives out of state. We played tonight's show with them, and as a pleasant surprise, their performance included their full lineup. It was a bit of a momentous occasion for us and them, since we haven't actually played a show together in about a decade.

Another interesting tidbit regarding tonight's show is that I played with a badly injured hand. Less than a week ago, I accidentally put my right hand through a window and sliced it up. It was a horrible, bloody mess, earning me ten stitches. So, I'm still healing, and I've got big old gauze, wrap, and bandages happening, but that doesn't stop the rock. The show must go on. And it did. And it rocked on quite nicely. And though I did feel the effects of the rock afterward, my hand lived to tell the tale.

We got our set underway, and it was a gay ol' time. Since we were playing with friends who do comedy in their band, we were feeling squirrely and silly. After "Destiny, She Drives a Rolls," which was our third song, we thanked the crowd and informed them it was our last song of the night. Someone called for an encore, so we obliged with about eighteen more songs.

The 'Snowmen and the 'Bug join
forces on an improvised song for their
podcast. Song title:"Sasquatch
Cheerleaders of Doom"

When I was in high school, I was always fascinated watching Max Weinberg on Late Night when they'd throw to commercial. On the way out and on the way back, his face was always so stiff -- frozen into a cheesy smile, his lifeless eyes staring at one fixed point beyond the camera. I decided to try this myself during "Refrigerator." The fixed point I chose to stare at was the face in the crowd of Paul Tebben, drummer for the Kamikaze Snowmen. I didn't look away once during the song. He said he wasn't uncomfortable at all, but I think that may speak more to his crazy than my own. How can you not be unnerved when dead eyes are staring at you, bearing a fake smile? Paul.

We kept rockin' and making the people keep a-dancin'. We ended our first set on "Jumpstart My Rocket." At the end of the song, if you've heard us play it live, Dustin likes to make fun sounds happen with his effects pedals, to make it sound like a rocket lifting off. Tonight, he did that as he normally does, but then he just kept playing with it. Anthony and Dillon both set their guitars down and started visiting with folks. I was pretty interested in what Dustin was doing, so I stayed behind the drum kit and listened to him doodle. After it had been happening for nearly five minutes, the sound engineer had to ask if the song was over. He was wondering if he could turn up the house music. "Yes," Dustin replied. "We've been done for a long time."

After visiting with my family members, Anthony's family members, and other people who I'm sure are someone's family members, we got back up and got it started. We played some standards, as well as a cover tune we've been kicking around lately: "Time" by Pink Floyd. Tonight it was dedicated to Josh Trumbo and Paul Tebben, two of the 'Snowmen who are also former bandmates of Anthony's in the Cosmic Kibosh. "Time" used to be in their set, too.

Anthony poses next to a sign for a
very fortunately named rest area.

We kicked into our old hit, "To the Next Episode." There's a part in the middle that changes show-to-show, and just when we were about to get to that part, we realized that we hadn't planned for it. We didn't know what was going to happen. It pretty much fell apart. But, hey. It's "Episode." It's not supposed to be beautiful. When it was over, Anthony asked, "Can we all agree that we just rocked it to the next episode? Otherwise, we'd be stuck in the last episode, and where would we go from there?"

We continued on, and delivered the gooey goodness we were contractually obligated to provide. We rocked them well. We rocked them hard. And when it was over, they demanded an encore. We've always got "Say It Ain't So" in our pocket, so we whipped it out and gave them what they wanted. It was a good night.

Afterward, we partied late into the night. I literally fell asleep to the sound of Anthony and his mom singing Cracker songs a capella. In the morning, we recorded an interview for the Kamikaze Snowcast. Then we got back on the road to home. Mission accomplished.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

6/23/12 - Red Rooster - Aberdeen, S.D.

Tonight was a bit of an anomaly. We're not sure what happened. Maybe everyone who experienced our awesomeness last night at Slackers was too tuckered out to enjoy it here, too. Or maybe it's just not the best idea to book two shows in two different venues in the same town back-to-back nights. Dunno. But the reality of it was that there was hardly anybody at the Red Rooster.

But we took the stage. We were a little late getting started, because we kept hoping that more people would come through the door. Instead, it seemed the people that were there started to leave. But we try to do what we do. We powered through. Though, it's sometimes hard to find that energy when the seats are empty.

We had planned to do Junebug Karaoke tonight -- where people sign up to sing a song with us. It has been a fun hit in the past. Unfortunately, only two people signed up and of the two one wasn't there and the other was the coffee house owner. And as it stands, since we started late, we didn't even get to his song before we had to pull the plug.

Sometimes you just have to realize when things aren't working in a room. I dunno. It wasn't happening tonight.

I don't mean to diminish anyone that WAS there. There were a few folks there that stayed for the whole show and we visited afterward and a couple folks bought some t-shirts and CDs. We know you guys were there, we felt your presence and we love you with all our hearts.

On the positive side, we played "Hell-Bent Woman" tonight. Since the Rooster is a family-friendly environment, we did change the lyric to "Heck-Bent Woman." Although Anthony still sung the line about getting herpes. So it goes.

Next time.

Poster designed by Tony L. Kollman

Friday, June 22, 2012

6/22/12 - Slackers - Aberdeen, S.D.

This was a great return to good ol' Aberdeen. This was Dillon's first time playing in Aberdeen and we had told him all kinds of stories of how great this place is, and how amazing and beautiful the people are. Additionally, this was the first time Junebug had played Slackers, a new-ish bar in downtown Aberdeen, just a half-block away from our old haunt at the Red Rooster. I'm happy to say that Dillon's first impression of the Aberdeen crowd was a great one. Slackers really came through for us.

As soon as the night began, people were into it. The beers flowed like wine, as they may say. People were loose and ready to have a good time. Plus, the bar must have had some great specials going on, or our fans are really generous, or both, because drinks just kept coming up to us faster than we could enjoy them. We had them lined up, waiting to be consumed. And they kept coming.

Oh, and the people were dancing. They just kept dancing. It was the kind of show you dream about. People who knew the songs were singing along, and even if they didn't know the song, they would stay on the dance floor and feel the flow.

And it was HOT. Sweat poured down our faces and the faces of the crowd. We took a brief intermission at one point and stepped outside. It was a beautiful night. Warm by most summer evening standards, but a cool reprieve from the sauna we had created inside. The cold beers I had lined up behind the drum kit, whose cans were sweating profusely, were a nice welcome present when we resumed our rocking.

The second set went over as well as the first. And it was longer, because people kept wanting to party with us. When our setlist ran out, they pretty much insisted on an encore. We hadn't planned for it. So we had to discuss it briefly. While were were discussing, a couple people started chanting "Bumblebee! Bumblebee!" Dustin turned to them and said, "I don't hink you understand our relationship -- we tell YOU what songs we're gonna play." And then, we didn't play "Bumblebee." Because, well, our bassist doesn't know it yet. What we DID give them was a fresh cut off the upcoming album. And then when they asked for more, yet again, we followed up with "Say It Ain't So," which has long been a great show closer for us.

Again, the chants of "one more song" echoed through the bar. But we were actually done this time. Some clever someone turned the "one more song" chant into "drink more beer," which quickly overpowered the previous. The owner of the bar was heard saying, "Well, don't just yell about it, actually do it!"

We hung out long after we finished playing, enjoying more free drinks, courtesy of our fans. We were then invited to an afterparty at a new art gallery across the street where we hung out and visited and wasted away the early morning hours.

Well done, Aberdeen. This is why we keep coming back.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

5/30/12 - Raise the Woof - Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis

Raise the Woof!

Set:

Tonight we were hoping to reprise the goodness that we were able to bring on the Wild Tymes stage. I'm happy to say that in my opinion we did.

Tonight's festivities were entitled "Raise the Woof." It was a benefit to help out Can-Do Canines, a fantastic organization which provides service dogs to those who need them and cannot afford them. We're always down for a good cause, y'know. That's the kind of dudes we are.

The show was at the legendary Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. We had never performed this venue before, so it was good to add it to our roster of places played. The space was fun, the sound was good, and the people were beautiful. I ran into a lot of folks that I hadn't seen since graduating from IPR in January. I chatted a bit and it was really nice to see them.

I had a meal with a former teacher right there at the Triple Rock (I had the fiesta veggie burger with tater tots - delectable). After eating and before performing I went to wash my hands in the rest room. I looked up to where the mirror should be, but instead there was bare wall covered with graffiti scribblings. The most prominent being right at eye level which read, "You look fine."

It was a super fun, high-energy set. We played mostly material off the upcoming album, with a couple oldies thrown in. Much to the chagrin of our friend Briana, however, we did not play "Refrigerator." I told her I'd do what I could but that ultimately it was up to Anthony. Sadly, things did not go her way. Hopefully, she doesn't abandon us because of this. The set was a little short tonight, but give us a break. We're still getting our feet wet with the new guy. But overall, people liked it. I had several friends who had never seen us live tell me that we were great, which felt good. A few folks said they couldn't wait for the album. Mission accomplished? We'll see.

We had fun. Other people had fun. Good music was made. Money was raised. The night was hosted by Kate Waterloo, dressed like a dog. Other bands performing tonight were Under None, Daddy Jive, and David Yellen Band.

Friday, May 11, 2012

5/11/12 - Wild Tymes - Saint Paul

Set:

This was the first show we've played in seven months.

And it felt good to be back on stage, to be sure. We took a lot of time off because we've been working on our album, Beards. Strangely for Dillon, the last show we played back in October was his first show with us. So there was a lot of catching up for him. He knows the Beards stuff inside and out, but as far as our back-catalog, he was almost completely in the dark. So tonight's set was about half new Beards material and half other.

It was the first time we'd ever played Wild Tymes and it felt good overall. I told the crowd that the name Wild Tymes reminded me of another great band called Wyld Stallyns. "What did they do? Oh, not much. Brought peace to the galaxy." Deedleedeedleedee!

Anthony told the crowd that rock and roll never dies, won't rust and never molds. And we proved it. The show went so smoothly that our friend and frequent attendee Robb said afterward that we sounded as if no time had passed at all. (No rust or mold to be found.) A lot of our friends came out, probably partially because it's been so long since we've played. And my sister Wendy and her man-friend Jon came all the way from Fargo for a night away and to take in the show. It was a really nice surprise to see them. I had no idea they'd be here.

In short, we had a great night, Dillon did great, we sounded solid. We can't wait to get ourselves out there more now that the recording process is finished!

Thanks to Small Town Anthem, Hounds of Finn, and Megan Hirsch who all performed tonight.

Junebug Show Diaries