Eddie Van Halen at Daddy’s Boston…

What a whirlwind trip!  Esentially no sleep for well over 24 hours, but boy was it fun!  We (myself, Barry Goudreau and Lisa Guyer) arrived in Iowa around 1pm on Friday (as I mentioned in a previous post, Lisa and Barry were invited to sit in with presidential candidate Governor Mike Huckabee - he is also a bass player - and his band Capitol Offense) and were picked up by our new pal Wes - he works in the Iowa office of Huckabee for President.  He took EXCELLENT care of us!  I’m sure he thinks Lisa, Barry and I are a little nuts, but in a fun way :)  Thanks Wes!

Anyway, we were immediately put in a vehicle and driven to Clear Lake, Iowa - approximately another 2 hour drive from the airport.  We knew we were close to the legendary Surf Ballroom when we pulled up to Buddy Holly Pl.  COOL!

Now, in case you are not familiar with the Surf Ballroom, it is the legendary venue that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper played their last gig before their plane crashed about 3 miles from the venue.  You could tell the second you pulled up to the Ballroom and especially when you walked inside that you were in the presence of MASSIVE rock n’ roll history.  From the memorial outside the venue to the hundreds and hundreds of photos that adorned the walls inside - it was very special.

Governor Huckabee was doing interviews when we got there as there were a TON of media outlets there - Newsweek Magazine,  local TV stations and national affiliates, newspapers, and on and on, so we decided to do a little exploring of the venue. 

The backstage area was also very cool.  On one hand, it was a typical rock venue (even though the Surf is anything but) backstage area.  Small, cold room.  However, from floor to ceiling and wall to wall were signatures of all the acts that had performed there.  It was crazy!  So of course, the first order of business was to get Lisa and Barry a sharpie

We amused ourselves and hung out in there for a bit waiting for the Governor to finish up his interviews….

We then put Barry to work for a bit with Governor Huckabee autographing items for some of the Huckabee supporters.  Drum sticks, a guitar and show posters…

And then SHOWTIME!  Doors openend and I believe the final count of attendees was somewhere is the 600 range I am told.  The place was PACKED!  Capitol Offense, the Governor’s band, took the stage for two sets, brining Barry and Lisa out for 3 or 4 songs each set.  People went nuts when Barry came out!  A ton of Boston fans in the audience and of course Lisa ripped the roof off the place!

The show ended around 10pm.  Barry gave the Governor a copy of his latest single, “Rockin’ Away” which is the last song that Brad and Barry wrote together.  The Governor, being a HUGE Boston fan, asked Barry to sign it - it was very cool!

So back to Des Moines we go with our new friend Wes. Checked into the hotel around 1am and checked back out around 3:30am to catch a 5am flight.  We got to the airport and it wasn’t even open yet!  As you can see, we are tired

All in all - it was a great time.  A huge thanks to Governor Huckabee and his daughter Sarah Huckabee, campaign manager Chip and of course our pal Wes for having us and treating us so well.  We hope the Governor and Capitol Offense had as much fun with us as we had with you guys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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but, have no fear, I will be back in 24 hours.  It’s 4:15 am and I am gathing myself, Lisa Guyer and Barry Gourdreau and we are heading to Clear Lake, Iowa where Barry and Lisa will sit in with presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (he’s a bass player) and his band Capitol Offense as they perform at the legendary Surf Ballroom.  I can’t wait to see this venue, the pictures on their website promises to be a very unique rock n’ roll experience. 

Blog ya later!

Candi

Boston Music Award Nominations are out today….What do you think?

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Hopefully those of you in the Portland, ME area will be heading over to Daddy’s Junky Music in Portland, ME for the GRAND RE-OPENING sale! Daddy’s Junky Music invites you to check out the newly remodeled Daddy’s in Portland!  Daddy’s Portland has been newly remodeled from top to bottom - you won’t believe your eyes!  Better and brighter in every way!  From the new, bigger acoustic guitar room with more guitars than ever in a perfected acoustic atmostphere, to the new PA stage and everything in between!  Daddy’s Portland has never looked this good!  So, to celebrate we are having a HUGE sale this Friday and Saturday (Oct. 26 & 27) at Daddy’s Portland - check out the sales!

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Ok, maybe you don’t live in Maine…maybe you live in…let’s say, Iowa and you’re looking for something to do.  Well, oddly enough, I’ve got something for you to do this weekend if you happen to live in Iowa.  Clear Lake, Iowa to be exact

I will be flying out to Clear Lake, Iowa on Friday morning, along with former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau and Mama Kicks singer Lisa Guyer as Barry and Lisa once again take the stage with presidential candidate/former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, Governor Huckabee is also a bass player and plays in a band called “Capitol Offense“.  His band is playing at the legendary Surf Ballroom (this is the venue that hosted the last gig ever of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens before they boarded that fateful flight) in Clear Lake, Iowa and the Governor called me to ask if we could help getting Barry and Lisa out to sit in with his band,  (The Governor played with Lisa and Barry a few weeks ago at Whippersnappers here in NH and had a blast!), so I made a couple of phone calls - bada bing, bada boom - we are on a plane!

This will be a whirlwind trip as we are back on an airplane to come home less than 24 hours later :)  This will be the second time Lisa, Barry and I did a crazy 24 hour trip.  MANY years ago, I got a similar call from the folks at Harley Davidson in Texas looking for a band to perform at a party they were throwing - I want to say it was an anniversary party although I can’t remember for the life of me what number anniv. it may have been….anyway - bada bing, bada boom - we are on a plane to Texas and back home within 24 hours.  Phew..

It will be a great time at a legendary venue - I will have many pics posted here on the blog when I get back.

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Speaking of Barry Goudreau - have you guys heard the new single “Rockin’ Away“?  It’s FANTASTIC!  It’s the last song that Barry Goudreau and Brad Delp wrote together and is was just released as a single last week and it is my understanding that it is doing outstanding!  I am fairly certain its available on itunes…or at least it will be soon.  Of course, you could always call your local radio station and request it. 

FOR ME - meaning, IN MY OWN OPINION(meaning NOT a statement of fact)/MY FEELING IS/MY INTERPRETATION is that it is some of the finest work that Barry and Brad have ever done together and it is kicking some serious ass at radio - so good!  So, so good!  “ROCKIN’ AWAY” is also now available for purchase at www.diskarc.com .  Great song (of course, that’s just my opinion…)

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Clinics - ok, here’s the scoop….

Dave DiCenso clinic at Daddy’s Boston on Nov. 6th is FREE, however, I would get there early because there is limited space and Dave ALWAYS packs the place.

Ed Roland (Collective Soul) Yamaha clinic at Daddy’s Portland, ME on Nov. 6th is also FREE, however, you will need a ticket to get into this clinic - again, space is limited.  FREE tickets are available at Daddy’s Portland, ME.  If you go in this weekend to pick up your ticket - the first 25 on Friday and the first 25 on Saturday will also receive a FREE Daddy’s T-shirt

Johnny A clinic at Daddy’s Manchester (11/14) & Daddy’s Portsmouth (11/15) are also ticketed events.  Tickets for each of these clinics are $10 and are available at ALL Daddy’s locations or online at http://www.daddys.com/ (Tickets on http://www.daddys.com/ are $12 (surcharges)   (FYI -  The Johnny A clinic at Daddy’s Manchester is also Johnny’s Birthday (he’ll be 25 again ) so bring him something pretty!  We might have a few surprises up our sleeve too)  Then on Thursday, Nov. 15th at 1pm, tune into WHEB as Johnny A will be live in-studio with Greg & The Morning Buzz as they continue their yearly tradition of fundraising with “Lend A Helping Can” where they auction off all kinds of cool stuff - always a great time with the folks at WHEB! 

From Blabbermouth…..

St. Louis Concert Postponed…. 

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispath, a concert by VAN HALEN, originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 28, at Scottrade Center, has been postponed due to a scheduling conflict.

Here’s my question, how on earth does a concert of that magnitude have a scheduling conflict? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…… 

 

Thanks to all of you who made it out to Daddy’s Junky Music in Portsmouth, NH this past week for the in-store with Atlantic Recording Artists SHADOWS FALL!  You guys started showing up before I even got there to set up!  As some of you know, Jason Bittner is one of our favorite clinicians to get in, but it was so great to finally be able to get the band in this time!  We hope to have more of these with Shadows Fall in the future - we’ll keep you posted.

Big thanks to the folks at Bull Moose Music for coming in and hooking some fans up with CD’s and an GIGANTIC thanks to our pals over at WHEB/WGIR for all the love :)  We heart you!

Ok, on to some more biz….

To round out October, don’t forget to check out Joe Stump at Daddy’s Boston for the “6 O’Clock Hang” on Tuesday, October 23 @ 6pm - and as always - all the FREE Dunkin Donuts Coffee you can drink (or at least until that monster canister runs out - which ever comes first )

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We kick off November with the incomparable DAVE DICENSO!  If you haven’t seen Dave play drums yet - you have NO idea what you are missing!  Groove and feel just seeps outta his pores!  His playing is just…well…yummy…and gooey…and filled with lots o’ love! (how’s that for a description!? HA!)  You’ll definitely make “the face” when you watch and listen to David play.  David will be performing a FREE drum clinic at Daddy’s Boston on Tuesday, November 6th @ 6:30pm.

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And for all of you MAINE customers, also on November 6th, I am happy to announce that Daddy’s Portland, Me will be hosting a FREE Yamaha guitar clinic with none other than Collective Soul frontman ED ROLAND!  Details coming VERY soon…..

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And to finish up the clinic season, we are going out with a bang with 2 performances with the legendary JOHNNY A and his band!  Johnny will be performing at both Daddy’s Manchester, NH and Daddy’s Portsmouth, NH!  Seating is VERY limited to both of these performances so get your tickets early - you can get them online here or visit ANY Daddy’s location!

  

Oasis, Jamiroquai to Follow Radiohead.

UK Telegraph…..By Harry Wallop and Lucy Cockcroft

Some of the music industry’s biggest names are considering offering their music free online following the success of the experiment by the band Radiohead to let fans download their new album without charge.       The band’s website topped the chart of music websites with an 11 fold increase in internet hits after the announcement, according to internet monitoring agency HitWise. Now Jamiroquai and Oasis, two major names that are not contracted to a record labels, are rumoured to be considering following Radiohead by offering work for free, according to industry sources. Radiohead refuse to reveal how many fans have pre-ordered their seventh album, In Rainbows, but figures from HitWise show the move pushed the site up from number 43 to the top slot for music websites in the UK. Google say that searches for Radiohead have increased tenfold this week as fans log on to the band’s site, with the majority – according to the band’s spokesman – spurning the opportunity to download the album for as little as 45 pence and instead signing up for the £40 box set, which includes vinyl records, CD and artwork. The Charlatans are also offering fans their next album completely for free if they visit the site of radio station XFM. The performers that give away their music for free are expected to make their money from sales of concert tickets and merchandise. “They’ll all be thinking about it now,” said Stuart Clarke at Music Week. “Any big name that is out of contract such as Jamiroquai and Oasis will now see it as an option.” Oasis has already announced that its next single, Lord Don’t Slow Me Down, will be available only to download for 99 pence. Meanwhile rumours abound that Madness, a band with a loyal fanbase amongst 40-somethings, is considering giving away its next album for free. David Enthoven, founder of ie:music, Robbie Williams’s management company, said: “I think a lot could follow. You’ve got to be sure about your fan base but why would you sign your career away to a record label when CD sales are falling so rapidly?” While CD sales are falling dramatically, download sales have grown from zero in 2003, to 26.5 million in 2005 which then doubled last year to 53.0 million. However, according to the British Phonographic Industry, for every track that is paid for, twenty are downloaded illegally for free. Yesterday, Alan McGee, the manager of the Charlatans, said he was astonished by how popular the experiment was proving, even though fans were not yet able to download the album. “The record industry is obsessed by age and fashion. And so you get these amazing British bands like the Charlatans and the Happy Mondays that were massive 10 years ago and are still great, but are out of contract. How do you get them profile? You give away the record.” He said that the initial feedback had been so positive that the he was already considering booking larger venues for the band to play in when they tour next year. “This experiment is going to work, I feel,” he said, adding he was confident that merchandise and concert tickets will make up for giving away the free album for free.