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December 26 We really hope you all had a great Christmas weekend. We want to thank those of you who came out this past weekend and shared a little Christmas spirit with us! We had a longer weekend than usual. It started on Thursday night at The Octane Lounge for their private party! There were about 60 people there, some great food, and the alcohol was flowing. We want to thank everyone at The Octane for being so good to us and asking us to play their party. We will be back out there in about 3 weeks! We played Hardtailz both Friday and Saturday nights. We knew it was going to be slow and we weren't sure what to expect, but it was actually better than we thought it would be. We had a great time the whole weekend. Three nights are a little brutal, but it was worth it. We had Lance from Terashain and Bang Tango and Steve from Whisper Alley get up for a few. Marty from Contraband walked in about that time, so we got him up with them as well. It was pretty cool. We also had Kevin from the Carvin Jones band up on drums and our great friend Rick from Shut Up & Drive played a couple as well. The band exchanged gifts with each other and we just had a really cool Christmas Party with some really cool people. We will be back at Hardtailz in February. Thanks for a great weekend!!! This weekend is the biggie! On Friday, we start off at Papillions Too in Mesa . This is a great little club that is trying to grow the music thing. We have really enjoyed playing here and we think you will as well. We have Saturday night off and then…NEW YEARS EVE AT BLOOZE!!! This will be out 6 th year in a row at Blooze for NYE and we are really looking forward to it! This is always the biggest party of the year and Blooze always rocks! We really want to spend NYE with our friends so we really hope to see you there. There will be no cover and there will be a champagne toast at midnight. Come and help us ring in the New Year… ANGRY JON STYLE!!! December 17 This past weekend is usually a slower weekend for the bars, being the most popular weekend for Christmas parties and all. We still had a couple of good nights though. Cactus Jacks started out slow, but picked up rather quickly as the night went on. We even had a few people showing up later after the Christmas parties they were at got over or got boring. Iguana Mack’s was a little slower than usual as well, but there was still a good crowd and we got to celebrate Will’s birthday, which was a lot of fun. Our crew was having some fun with a certain puppet Will got for his birthday and some funny eyewear. Everyone was just cutting loose and having a good time. This weekend, we really aren’t sure what to expect with it being the weekend of Christmas, but Hardtailz wanted us and so we decided to just call it a Christmas party and have some fun. We will be there on Friday & Saturday nights and we are sure that it will be a blast just like any other time we play at Hardtailz. Come get away from the hustle and bustle of the holi-daze and party with us. We always have great shows at Hardtailz and it would be nice to see you all on Christmas weekend! For the 6th year in a row, we will be playing at The Blooze for New Years Eve! This is always the biggest party of the year and Blooze is a great place to celebrate! There is no cover and it will just be a great time as always! December 10 Does it seem like I am starting to sound like a broken record. Every week it seems like I am writing the same thing about how our shows over the weekend were awesome and great and it never sounds like we have a bad one. Well, we just haven't had one in a long time and it's hard to find different ways to say it. With that being said… We had another awesome weekend at Blooze! On Friday we had a full house all night long. Everyone was in a very festive mood and a giving one as well. We invited our friend Faith out to collect donations for a very special Christmas project she came up with. She is going to give some women at a women's shelter, a day of pampering. We asked every one of they could just kick in a dollar, and our crowd came through once again. They actually went above and beyond. She ended up collecting $248.00. We really thought it was going to be more like $100.00, but everyone's hearts were in the right place for sure. Faith and the band THANK YOU very much for that! Steve from Whisper Alley was out with friends and he got up on guitar for a few songs. Jimmy from Tribe did as well and Kevin, Ed's friend from Jersey, got up on drums as well. It was a great night and a great way to kick off the weekend. Saturday night we were celebrating Charlie and Tumbleweeds birthdays. It was another great crowd and full house. Weed got up for a couple of songs, one with his harmonica, which he played for his dad who was there. His Dad was celebrating his 80 th birthday. It was a crazy night and a lot of fun as well! We learned that night that a couple of friends that we know through the band had been shot in the face the week before. This is very sad and disturbing. Both of these men have children and families. We put out a donation jar to help raise some money for these guys and especially their kids with Christmas so close. We don't know how much has been raised so far, but Tumbleweed still has it out and we may do one this weekend at our shows as well. We will then probably go and by all these kids Christmas presents, wrap them and deliver them, so that will be one less thing for the families to worry about. This Friday we will be at Cactus Jacks for our annual Angry Jon Christmas Party! This is always a fun show and we get to celebrate the holidays with our friends for a night. Cactus is kinda sorta our east valley home, so come out and celebrate the holidays with us. On Saturday night we will be at Iguana Mack's and we will be celebrating Will's birthday. They have some great food and a really cool atmosphere and you get to watch Will get older right in front of your eyes! The good tables always go early here, so make sure to come early! We only have a handful of shows left, counting down to our New Years Eve show at Blooze. So, check the schedule and come celebrate the holidays with us!!! December 3 We know that The Octane Lounge is too long of a drive for a lot of you, but I gotta tell you… THIS PLACE ROCKS!!! Every time we have been out there, it has gotten better and better. It has never been bad, but the place just keeps getting better and better. It is a very relaxed atmosphere. We don’t have to worry too much about how we do things or what we say like a lot of other clubs that we play. Everyone just seems to really enjoy what we have to offer. There is never a lot of dancing going on, but the vibe is still really cool. In the years that I have been doing music, it is usually a bad sign when not many people dance and it was an adjustment at Octane as well. But, I think people just want to kick back, drink and be entertained out there. We really enjoyed this past weekend there and will be back there all through next year. The staff is really second to none. And I do mean the “whole” staff! From Security, to the Bartenders, to the Waitresses and to Management. They just really have it together out there and they let us be exactly what we are, which is rare these days. We will be back there in January. This coming weekend is going to be another good one to catch our shows. We will be playing at Blooze and we will be celebrating Charlie and Tumbleweeds Birthdays! For those of you who have been asleep the last few of years… Charlie is our Drummer and Tumbleweed is the owner of Blooze. This always ends up being a great weekend and will be our 3 rd year of celebrating these guys’ birthdays together. It really does promise to be a helluva weekend and one not to be missed! Their actual birthdays are Saturday, but the pre-party on Friday is a great prelude to the next night! We will be finishing out the year with some great shows!!! We still have our Christmas Party at Cactus Jacks, Iguana Macks, our Christmas Party at Hardtailz, Papillions and of course… New Years Eve at Blooze! Check the schedule on the website or MySPace for all upcoming show information! November 28 Whew!!! What a looooooooong weekend. It was much needed, but it was very busy and I could have used a day off to recover from the five that I had off. I have a lot to report and I want to cover everything, so grab a beer and a brownie and get caught up… I took the day off on Wednesday to prepare for the weekend. I spent most of the day putting lights up on the house for our annual Thanksgiving Too party we have the day after Thanksgiving. After getting done with that, I had to load up the truck and head out to Hardtailz for our Thanksgiving Rocking Eve show. I got there late and got set up just in time for the show. It turned out to be a really fun night. The crowd wasn't a typical weekend type crowd, but we still had a great crowd. Steve from Rizon showed up with some friends and we got him up for a few songs. Tina Bailey was there and she got up and did some Zepplin, which kicked ass! Rick from Shut Up & Drive hung out all night and played a bunch. We also had Howie & Jimmy from Tribe in the crowd as well. So, needless to say, we had a pretty cool night of Jamming with friends and everyone there had a great time. It was really cool to hang out with all those guys. Thursday was another busy day. I was still preparing for the party and then headed over to spend the day with family. It was a nice day and I even got to see one of my brothers that we weren't expecting. I am lucky in the fact that I don't have one of those families that you get stressed out about spending a lot of time with. It was a great time. Eden & I got up fairly early on Friday to get everything in order for the party that afternoon. I cook the turkey every year and I always get a lot of compliments on it. Everyone always tries to get me to give up my secret ingredients, but I won't give them up. Anyway, at about 9:00am I realized (in a panic) that I hadn't thawed out my turkey. I had no idea how I was supposed to thaw out a 23 lbs bird in time for dinner. I'm not going to go into details, but we got it started thawing and went onto to everything else we needed to do. People started showing up at about 4:00pm. Dinner was supposed to be at 6:00pm, but I didn't get the turkey in the oven until around 3:30pm. We had a full house by 6:00pm and the party was under way. Dinner was looking like 8:00pm, so we put out some munchies everyone was really cool about it. Everyone was drinking and visiting when there was a loud “Snap, Crackle & Pop” in the kitchen at around 7:00pm. Our year old over decided it didn't want to work anymore. We finally got it back on, but had called a neighbor to see if we could bring all our food over to finish cooking if the oven quit again. Luckily, it stayed on and we ate at about 8:30pm. After dinner, we started a fire out back and settled into some drinking. The acoustic guitars came out and we did some playing and singing. There was a marshmallow fight and I ended up passing out at about 11:30pm. I guess they dragged me to my bed and that was it for me. It was a very nice time though and even with all the problems, it turned out to be a great time. Saturday morning, I woke up at about 8:00am, went to the couch and then went back to my bed at about 2:00pm. At about 5:30pm I got back up, loaded the truck, took a shower and headed over to Iguana Mack's for our show that night. They didn't have the stage area ready when we got there, so we went over to the restaurant side and had dinner with Ed and his parents who were in town from New Jersey . We started setting up pretty late, after they got the area cleared, but we did start on time. We were all pretty hung over and tired, but it was a good show. The place was packed once again and we had another successful show at the Mack! There are pictures on the website from all of the weekend's activities. On Sunday, Eden and I joined Steve from Whisper Alley and his wife for the matinee show of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Glendale arena. Now, I have been to a lot of concerts in my years and I have seen some really good shows, but I think this might just have been the best live concert I have ever seen. It was amazing. The music was amazing, the sound was awesome and the light show was bigger then almost anything else I have ever seen. They even made it snow in the arena! It was just incredible and we are going to make this a yearly tradition. If you haven't seen them, you really need to try to catch them next year. This weekend, we are heading out to The Octane Lounge in Surprise once again. We will be there both Friday & Saturday nights. This has fast become a favorite place to play for us. It is a long drive, but they really have a great club. The staff is second to none and the crowds keep getting bigger and bigger. Everyone we have met out there has been really cool from, from the crowd to the staff, to security to management. They are located out on Bell Road and Grand Avenue right next door to the U-Haul. Hope to see you there!!! November 20 I think I am still recovering from the weekend! We had another two awesome gigs on different ends of town. On Friday night we were at Papillions Too in Mesa . We had to play the small stage, which is a bit of a bummer, but it was a great night. We had a pretty good sized crowd and they stayed most of the night, Duane and Nick from Phat Bastard came down and sat in for a couple of tunes as well as Jimmy from tribe. Larry did another awesome light show and we were really happy with the night. On Saturday we were out at Octane. It's a helluva drive, but has become more and more worth it every time we have played there. The place filled up quickly and at one point, there were no more seats available. Apparently they get a lot of calls as to when we will be playing out there, so there is a great buzz when we are there. We will be back at both clubs next month. This week we have a bit of a different schedule. We will be having our Thanksgiving Rocking Eve on Wednesday at Hardtailz. This has typically been a pretty good night to play. It is a great chance to go out, have a couple of drinks, dance and get out of the house and away from the stress of the following days activities. We are really looking forward to it and Hardtailz is a great live venue and has been one of our favorite places to play. On Saturday, after the craziness of a hectic couple of days, you can come out and let loose with us at Iguana Mack's. This is a great club with lots of cool atmosphere. We just never have a bad night at Iguana Mack's! We truly hope to see you this weekend to spread some Angry Holiday Cheer. Keep an eye on the schedule for all the holidays shows coming up through the rest of the year. Our Christmas parties at Cactus Jacks and Hardtailz. Charlie and Tumbleweeds co-birthday Party. Will's B-Day Party and of course… New Years Eve at Blooze. This week officially kick's off the Holiday Season and we want to remind everybody to be safe and take time out from the hustle and bustle for yourselves. Let Angry Jon be your personal stress therapists!!! Well, we did it again. WE REHEARSED!!! God that is painful. Actually, it was cool and we got to hang out a little bit together as well. We went over a few new songs and got a couple of things tighter. You know we hate to practice. It destroys our whole “ Arizona’s hardest working, laziest band” thingy. But, at least we shouldn’t have to do that for another 6 months! We went over to Hardtailz afterwards and checked out terashain for a while and then Ed and I went over to Blooze for Phat Bastard. Both bands sounded great and it was cool to be able to hang out like that. We didn’t even whore the stage, if you can believe that! Saturday night we played at Tailgaters with our ex-guitar player, Harley Harkins. It was a lot of fun and Harley did a great job filling in. Will did show up (in a tux… hahahahahahahahah!) and got up for a couple of tunes. The crowd was great and everyone seemed to have a good time. Thanks to Chris for bringing out “The School Crew”! We won’t be back to Tailgaters until January, which sucks because it has turned out to be a great venue for us, but we were just too booked for the rest of the year. This weekend is a busy one for sure. On Friday, we start out playing in Mesa at Papillions Too. I’m sure which stage we will be on, but our last couple of shows here have been great. This club has great potential as a “Rock” club, we just need to get the right bands and all the people out to support. The owners are very cool and the drinks are reasonable. They also have great wings and other food. On Saturday, we make the trek out to The Octane Lounge in Surprise. This bar has been better and better for us every time we play there. The management and the staff love us and they really try to go out of there way to make sure that their customers get treated right. It’s a bit of a drive, but it is worth it! If you get a chance, you should check this club out! Really quick… Some of you have been asking for updates on Eden. Well, she is doing much better! We had our doubts that her operation wasn’t going to be successful, but it looks like it was. She is feeling much better, other than a few remnants left over from being on heavy morphine for 3 months and now none. It is just really good to see her being herself again. She is cognizant and up and around which is great, because for three months, she could barely function. She asked me to tell everyone who has been concerned that she really appreciated the notes and get-well messages. She should even be out to the shows this weekend. She hasn’t been out to one since the middle of August, so she is raring to go-go-goooooo! November 6 With the weather being nice, it seems that everyone is going out a little later these days. Cactus Jacks started out slow, but really picked up after the first set. It was obvious that everyone was in a party mood for sure and we really turned it up for the crowd as well. The ended up being great and we had a blast. Saturday night at Flicka's, the same thing happened… We started out slow and then it picked up. We had a huge B-Day party of about 30 women come in and then it just got crazy! I also had about 10 co-workers and their wives from UPS come out and they stayed all night. They had a blast and it seemed that everyone else did as well. We wanted to thank the staff from both clubs; we were really taken very good care of. We have shows coming up for both clubs in the near future. We have this Friday off and we will be using it to rehearse some new songs that we tried doing live recently and fell flat on our faces with. We will probably hang out together somewhere afterwards. On Saturday night we will be back at Tailgaters. Will has a wedding he has to go to, so our ex-guitar player Harley, will be filling in for the night. Many of you remember Harley and ask about him still, so this is your chance to come see us with him. We go on at 9:30pm and are really looking forward to the show. Many of you have asked me to report on how Eden's surgery went this past Tuesday. It went well, except that they didn't find what they thought they would. They found a couple of very small things that they removed, but they weren't sure it was endometriosis. She has been in a lot of pain from the surgery, but is doing pretty good considering. When they perform the kind of procedure that she had, they fill the abdomen with air, which translates to a lot of pain n the neck, chest and shoulders as the day goes on. That has been her biggest source of pain so far, but that is finally starting to recede. We will know in the next couple of days if what they did do, will help or not. If not, she will have to see a pain specialist and try to learn ways of coping and controlling it. It has been very frustrating to deal with the past three years, but we do appreciate all of our friends support! October 31 HAPPY HALLOWEEN! What a fun weekend we had at Blooze. Friday night was a little slower than normal, but we kind of expected that with the Halloween Party being on Saturday. Friday was still good though. Marty and Chad from Contraband came out with their ladies. They got up for a song and sounded great. We played a handful of new songs, some were good, some were not so good, but we know what we need to work on now. Saturday night was a killer time! A lot of people showed up in costumes as well as the band. Will was The Flash, Charlie was Captain Caveman, Ed came as Captain Hernia (he just had hernia surgery 2 weeks ago) and I came as Buzz Lightyear. We had almost 30 people in the costume contest and everyone looked great. There were some very creative costumes as well. Check out the pictures to see for yourself. Thanks to everyone who came out. We had A LOT of friends there with us that night and we all just had a blast together. Thanks to Tumbleweed and his staff for another great night! The next time we are at The Blooze, we will be celebrating Charlie and Tumbleweeds birthdays in December. We will also be there for New Years Eve as well.This weekend we will be in Ahwatukee and Scottsdale ! On Friday night we will be at Cactus Jacks. This is one of our favorite clubs and they love us as well. It's always a good time and the staff is great as well. On Saturday night, we will be back at Flicka's! This is fast becoming a great venue for us. It's a big room with a big stage and we have been growing our crowd, each time we have played there. It's a great atmosphere and the food is really, really good as well. They have an outside patio as well, if you want to enjoy the cool night air as well. Check the website for more information on these and other shows that we have coming up. October 25 Well, I think it was a great success playing the big stage at Papillion's on Friday. It was our first time playing over there in the bigger room with the bigger stage and the owners were happy. It took us awhile to convince them to let us play over there, but I think they were glad we did it. It was a great crowd and there were no obstructions and that room sounds so much better. Larry did a great light show for us as well. Thanks to everyone who came out. They said we would be paying on that stage the next time that we are there as well. I think they have a great opportunity to turn that place into a great rock bar! We also want to send out a BIG THANK YOU to John Ogle for coming out and filling in on drums. He did an incredible job and everyone enjoyed seeing him again. The boys from Tribe came out as well and did a couple of songs. On Saturday we were back at Iguana Mack's. We have had some great shows there, but Saturday was unbelievable! The crowd was big and really into it. There were a ton of hot chicks and from what the ladies said; there were also a lot of good-looking men as well. Even though there isn't much of a dance floor there; people kept dancing and the club finally moved tables to give people room to dance. It was a great weekend and we had a great time. Thanks to Ken from Mr Hyde for getting up for a song as well. This weekend is one of “those” weekends that we look forward to every year. It is our annual Halloween Costume Party at Blooze! These are always fun weekends and we are sure this one won't disappoint. The costume party will be on Saturday, but if that's not your thing, come rock with us on Friday night. It promises to be a big weekend and I'm sure there will be some costumes worthy of showing up to see. And you never know what the band will be doing. I, of course, will be doing my annual pumpkin carvings that have become a tradition. It will just be a great time and we would love to share it with you all! We have some really cool shows coming up, so check the website for all the information and updates that you will need to find us!!! October 18 It was nice having a weekend off, but its a little nerve racking at the same time. I went out on Friday night and hung some posters and checked out a couple of friends bands. Between Charlie and me, we stopped by and saw Terashain, Strangeland, Contraband and Tribe. All the bands sounded great, but it’s hard being on the other side of the stage. You’re not sure what to do with yourself and you feel like you should be working. I did see some friends and got the chance to schmooze with people which is always cool. This weekend we are back at it. On Friday night we will be at Papillions Too in October 11 We hadn't been out to Hardtailz in quite awhile, but it was sure worth getting back there. The crowds for both nights were just incredible! It was such a party atmosphere and everyone was in a great mood. People came early and stayed all night. The dance floor was moving all night long. I have said before that we have never had a bad night at Hardtailz and once again, they proved me right. Jimmy and Howie from Tribe came out and sat in for a few songs and totally kicked ass. A big thanks to the staff for really taking care of us and all of the crowd as well. We will be back at Hardtailz on Thanksgiving Eve for a pre-holiday party. We are off this weekend for some much needed rest, but I will be out on Friday night taking care of some band business and checking out a couple of friends bands. Tribe will be at Papillion's in Mesa and Terashain will out at The Blooze. Our friends in the band Contraband (formerly The Wett) will be out at Hardtailz as well. Lot 's of good quality music to check out this weekend! We will be back at it next weekend in the east valley. On Friday, October 20th we will be at Papillions in Mesa and on Saturday, October 21 st we will be back at Iguana Mack's! We have a lot of really cool shows coming up through the end of the year including Blooze on New Years Eve! Check the schedule for more information on all of our shows. October 4 It was another busy weekend! On Friday night we played at Cactus Jacks and it rocked once again. Started out slow, but really picked up by the second set. That kind of seems to be the trend lately. We haven’t had a bad night in such a long time, but lately I have wondered at the beginning of the night. When the crowd did roll in, everyone seemed very ready to party. We had a great time at one of our longest standing gigs. On Saturday, we were out at Flicka’s once again. Again, it started out a little slow but quickly picked up steam. We changed our set list up a little bit and played more danceable stuff and it really worked well there. (We didn’t even play Tool) People danced all night and they stayed all night as well. We even picked up a few more MySpacer’s the next day. Goergie from The Earps was there and got up for a couple of tunes. The staff was killer and the crowd was really up for a good time! We had a lot of fun this past weekend and love all of you for your support! This weekend we are finally getting back to Hardtailz! We are really looking forward to these shows. We haven’t been there in awhile and Hardtailz is always so good to us. The crowds are awesome and it is a great venue to see a band. We have never had a bad night there and we don’t see one happening for a long time to come! Hardtailz is located on 35 th Avenue and Bell road on the Southwest corner. Last night I went to see my favorite band “Queensryche” in concert. Eden got me tickets for my birthday and I was seated in the second row, right in front of the stage. They did Operation Mindcrime I & II all the way through and it was completely KICK ASS! I have seen them 8 times over the years and they still sound great. Geoff Tate is my favorite singer and he did not disappoint. The band was tight and Michael Wilton threw me a guitar pick. Steve from Whisper Alley went with me because Eden has been too sick to go anywhere. (Please include her in your thoughts and prayers; she is not doing well at all) I saw some friends and met a few people who recognized me from the band and just had a great time. I will have some pictures we took at the concert and of the concert, up on the website in the next couple of days. September 27 I love this time of year. I know that the days are still a little warm, but the nights are awesome. Two shows at two different clubs in one weekend is a lot of fun, but the loading out at the end of the night can be a bitch when it is really hot, but it wasn’t too bad this past weekend. Friday night at Papillions wasn’t our best night there, but it was still pretty good. The crowd stuck around and everyone was completely into it. We still had to play on the small stage, but they swear they are going to put us in the bigger room with the bigger stage next time. This is a cool little bar. If you haven’t been there, they are really trying to turn this into “THE” rock bar in the east valley. Check us out there next month. On Saturday we were back at Tailgaters in Glendale. The night started out really slow and we were a little worried, but buy 10:15pm, people started piling in. The place was packed by 10:30pm and the crowd was ready to rock! It turned out to be an awesome night. Marty from Contraband sat in for a few songs and we saw a lot of friends. We aren’t sure if we will be back there before the end of the year because our schedule is so tight, but we hope so. This coming weekend we have two great shows for you. On Friday we are back at Cactus Jacks in Ahwatukee. The staff is awesome and the crowds are always ready for a party. On Saturday we will be back at Flicka’s. We need you all for this one. They really like us, but we need to stay consistent and it really is a great place to see a band. Big room, big stage and it’s right there in the middle of a college town. There is no cover for either night, so come out and party with us. We just booked a great show for next March. We will be playing Bike Week again out at Westworld, but instead of Sunday afternoon, we will be playing there on a Friday night opening for Bad Company. We are really excited about this show. This is a real stage, real sound & lights and about 3500 people to boot. We will give you more updates as they come our way! September 20 It is always kinda weird to have a night off on the weekend, but I think everyone needed it. I did go out and see our friends “Phat Bastard” on Friday at Blooze. They sounded really good and they got me up for a tune as well. I told them I have to find a way to get them back for the Austin Powers joke they played on me for my birthday and I will find a way!!! On Saturday night we were at Iguana Mack’s and the place rocked as always. The crowd was receptive and even a little forgiving after a rough start to the night. They stuck around and we had a blast once again. We will be back there next month. This weekend we have another two nighter at two different clubs on different sides of town. On Friday we will be at Papillions Too in Mesa. This has been a good place for us to play. We have only been there twice, but both nights were really good and a lot of fun. They are located on Gilbert Rd, just south of Broadway. On Saturday we make the trek out to Tailgaters in Glendale once again. This will be our last show out there for the year because we ran out of open dates for them to book us, but we would love to see you there if you live on that side of town. They have some good food and the staff is awesome. September 13 It was another awesome birthday! I don’t know if I can even put into words how well the weekend went, but I will try anyway. On Friday night, there was a classic hot rod and car show outside of Blooze. There were a ton of people and some pretty cool cars. Some of that crowd stuck around, but we had our usual great crowd as well. The night was good right from the start and everyone was in party mode. Whisper Alley was going to be playing on Saturday, so Steve came out and played a couple of tunes for my birthday. Tumbleweed got up and sang and played his harmonica on a couple and we all just had a great time. Saturday night was my “official” birthday party and what a party it was. It seemed like all of my friends showed up and there was a lot of energy right from the beginning. At the end of the first set, Ed asked me to play a special CD, so I put it in and it was the theme from Austin Powers. I didn’t get why he wanted me to put that in until I heard laughing behind me. I turned around and Austin Powers was dancing behind me. He got up on the mic and proceeded to do his shtick. It was pretty funny and I was a good sport and did everything he asked me to do. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, but we were wondering who sent it. He finally said that the boys from Phat Bastard had set it up because they couldn’t be there themselves and wanted to wish me a happy birthday. Tumbleweed got up and presented Little Debbie a cake for her birthday. She is the bartender at Blooze and we always have our parties on the same night. We wished her a happy birthday and then Tumbleweed had a cake for me and everyone sang to me. Harley was our guest guitar player for the night and played quite a few songs with the band and Tumbleweed got up for a few more songs as well. I want to THANK everyone for being there and for the gifts and cards. You really made this a special birthday and I really appreciated it. There are too many people to try to thank, but you all know who you are and I love you! I was a little bummed at the beginning of the night because my girlfriend was too sick to come out, but everyone was really helpful in making it a great night. Eden asked me to tell everyone “Thank You” as well for making a good night for me. This coming weekend we are only playing one night at Iguana Mack’s on Saturday. We always love playing here and the crowds are really awesome. They have some great food and lots of pretty people that hang there. The place has a pretty cool vibe as well. The only negative is that it gets crowded pretty early and the good seats go really fast. There is always great energy there and we always have a good show. They are located on Alma School Road and Knox Road in Chandler and we start at 9:30pm. I have also had a few eastsiders complain because my B-Day party was to far to drive, so we will just continue the celebration on Saturday. September 6 I thought sure instead of playing on Saturday night, we would be helping to build another Ark! Holy Crap… That was a helluva storm. When we play Octane, I have to travel from Gilbert to Surprise and it is about 56 miles one-way. Driving that in normal conditions can be wearing, but the storm that came thru on Saturday really made it interesting. On the way to the club, I called Will and told him to bring his acoustic guitar, just in case the power went out and we needed an alternative plan. The funny thing about that is when I got the club, their power was out, along with the rest of the street. It came back on soon enough, but it was still kind of weird that I had made that call. Both nights were a blast and the crowds were awesome as well. Labor Day weekend is usually not a good weekend to play, but the club was very busy both nights and the energy was really amazing. Not a lot of people dance there, but they don’t leave either and they make a lot of noise, so it still works great. The staff is really one of the best around. They stay on top of things, they do extra little things throughout the night and the female staff members are completely hot! Everyone on their staff is just a joy to work with from the bartenders to the door guys. We have really been enjoying our shows out there, but won’t be back until November I believe. This weekend coming up promises to be a great one. We are back at Blooze and we will be celebrating my birthday for the fourth year in a row there. This is my favorite club and the one we have been playing at the longest. Tumbleweed and the staff are awesome and my birthday parties are always a blast! On Friday night before we play, Ramjet and Tumbleweed are hosting a Custom Hot Rod show starting at 6:00pm. We will be hitting the stage at 9:30pm like normal, but it might be very busy early. On Saturday we will be having my Birthday Party! These shows are always ones to remember and it means a helluva lot to me to celebrate with so many friends, while I am doing something that I love doing so much! It is going to be a great weekend and we always have special guests stopping by and sitting in. In fact, Harley will be playing a few songs with us on Saturday night. Please come out if you can, it would really mean a lot to me! If you are on MySpace, go to our links page and click on the link to our MySpace page and add us as a friend. We have been having a lot of fun with it and between that and our website, we are doing our best to give you as much info and as many things to look at as we can. We try to update everything as much as possible and we also welcome your suggestions. (If you are reading this on MySpace… forget what I said and just add us!!!) August 30 Papillions is becoming a great place to play. The crowds are always good, with lots of energy. The staff is really cool as well and the food is pretty good. We had to play on the small stage once again, but they are getting the electrical fixed so the bands won’t blow circuits. The bigger room sounds really good for bands and the stage is bigger, so we are looking forward to that. Larry ran lights for us once again and kicked ass. He will be doing a few shows for us from here on out. We will be back there at the end of September. On Saturday we were back at Tailgaters. HOLY CRAP!!! The place was packed to the gills and the crowd was ready for a party from the get go. Seats started filling up before we even started playing and it just kept getting busier. It makes it sooo easy when the crowd is like that. We celebrated Eden’s birthday a second week in a row for all of our Westside friends. Marty and Chad from Contraband (formerly The Wett) came out with their ladies and they played a couple of tunes with the owner of Tailgaters, Scott, on drums. Dave from the band “Head” was out again and got up for a couple of songs as well. We has a lot of friends there and we just had a blast! We will be back there next month as well. This weekend we head out to Surprise again. We will be at The Octane Lounge all weekend. We know Labor Day weekend can be a bad weekend to play, but they wanted us and we want to play, so hopefully a few of you will still be in town and want to come party with us. Octane is a really cool bar and the staff is awesome. They do some cool little stunts as well. They are located on Bell Road and Grand Ave. Next weekend we are celebrating my birthday at Blooze. We will be celebrating both nights, but Saturday will be the “official” bash. This will be my 4 th year in a row of celebrating my B-Day out there and Blooze is always a great time. Larry will be running lights for us that weekend as well and who knows who else might show up or what might happen!!! August 23 It was another great weekend. You people really amaze me with all of your support! On Friday night at Cactus Jacks things started out pretty strong and they stayed that way. The owner presented me with a framed “Thank You” from all the staff at CJ’s, showing their appreciation for the benefit. That was really cool and will be hanging next to the guitar that I received at the benefit that has signatures from all of the bands that participated. We had a lot of friends show up and the night just went really well. On Saturday we celebrated my girlfriend Eden’s birthday at Flicka’s. What an awesome night! A lot of friends showed up and we met a lot of new people as well. The place was pretty full right from the start and we just had a party the rest of the night. Eden asked me to thank everyone who came out for her birthday and to also thank everyone for the presents. We will be booking more shows at Flicka’s real soon. This coming weekend we are splitting the valley. On Friday night we head back to Papillions Too in Mesa. The first time we were there was a blast. A lot of energy and everyone stayed all night. We hear that people have been asking when we are coming back, so it sounds like it will be another good one. On Saturday we head to the west side to Tailgaters. This has been another great club for us. I guess we are extending Eden’s B-Day party to this Saturday for all the people on that side of town. This wasn’t our call, this is just what we were told! So, we expect another fun night there as well. Two great clubs on both sides of town!!! We will be having my annual Blooze Birthday Party on September 9 th. We will be there the whole weekend, but my party will be on Saturday. It has become a tradition to have it at Blooze every year, so this will be the 4 th one and hopefully the biggest! Check the schedule for more dates, directions and addresses of all the clubs that we play at. August 17 I swear to god, we could have driven to Las Vegas Friday night and it would have been a shorter trip than going home after the show at The Octane Lounge. It was a great weekend though and worth the drive. We played there both Friday and Saturday nights and they were both good nights. I have the feeling this is going to be a great club for us. My concern with playing out there was just the fact that it is so far out of area’s that we normally play and that we wouldn’t see a lot of “our” people and that was the case. The good news is that we saw A LOT of new faces and met a lot of new, really cool people. Friday started out pretty busy and stayed that way for a long time and even as people filtered out, new people came in. Everyone was a little laid back on Friday, but the feedback was really good. The weather probably fed into that a bit as well. Saturday started a little slower, but built quickly. People were dancing right off the bat and the night just kept getting busier and busier. As the night went on, the energy just kept building and we had a great time. The owners, the staff and the door guys were all just super cool and very accommodating. The new people that we met were very nice and really enjoyed the band. I am really looking forward to our upcoming shows out there and to next year as well. This weekend we have a couple of good ones for you as well. On Friday night we return to Cactus Jacks. We expect this to be a good show just from the residuals of the benefit show from two weeks ago. Cactus is always a good gig for us and we always have a lot of fun there. On Saturday we return to Flicka’s! This is a really great club. It has real Mexican Cantina feel to it. We will also be celebrating my girlfriend Eden’s birthday! Her b-day parties are always a lot of fun and she hopes you come help her celebrate! Cactus Jacks is located in Ahwatukee and Flicka’s is in Scottsdale. We hope to see you all there!!! August 9 I don’t think my heart could be any more full than what it was this past weekend! Our Angry Against Aids event went way better than expected. It turned out to be a huge success and the day just totally rocked! We started the party out at my house on Friday night with a BBQ for all the bands and volunteers. That was fun, but it got started really late! We were going to have food at 7:00pm, but it ended up being 9:00pm because everyone got there late. It was blast though and the food was great. It was cool to just hang with everyone and talk and mingle and get to know each other, outside of a gig. All the guitar players took turns playing guitar, while some of us sang and others of us just laughed at the ones who were playing and singing. It was a great time! On Saturday, I got up early and headed over to Cactus Jacks to start getting set up. There was Me, Eden, my two daughters Kirsten and Skyler, our friend Larry, our ex-guitar player Harley and of course our hero and soundman for the day… Jimmy Hamm. Ed came down as well to help get things going. The first band was Help Me Rhonda. They didn’t have many people to play to, but they still did a great job and sounded really good. It was my first time hearing them and I was impressed. Their drummer and guitar player, Paul & Kriss, were in Angry Jon at one time, so that made it even cooler. The next band up was Rizon. They almost couldn’t make the gig, but thanks to their ex-bass player, they did make it! They rocked the house big time! They were having fun on-stage and put on a very energetic show and sounded great as well. They even got me up for a tune. After they finished up, our good friends from Shut Up & Drive loaded their whole trailer and the kitchen sink on stage at about 4:00pm. They were the BIG equipment band of the day. They sounded incredible! They are such a solid, great classic rock band! Pat even played the flute on a Jethro Tull song. The crowd was growing more and more as each band took the stage and SUAD really added to the vibe and could feel the energy growing. At about six, it was my pleasure to introduce The Legend, The Myth, The Man… Chuck Hall. When Chuck first started playing the crowd was a little laid back. They had just seen 3 rock bands and here come a guy in a tee shirt and cowboy boots with a pompadour. All it took was about one song and the crowd was mesmerized. Chuck laid down a set of blues that left everyone speechless and every guitar player in the room wanting to quit playing guitar. He truly was nothing short of amazing! Whisper Alley was up next and the energy in the room was way up there. They hit the stage with their 80’s rock show in high gear and the crowd really responded. Rusty as always was a great entertainer and the band just tore it up! When they finished it was time for Angry Jon. We had been there all day and we were all pretty tired, but the people at Cactus Jacks really lifted our energy level. The place was packed and people wanted the rock to keep on coming! We took the stage and the room went nuts! We played a few songs and then my girlfriend; Eden came to the stage with a gift for me. It was a guitar that her and my band mates pitched in and got and was signed by all the bands. I had been fighting emotions all day, but this pushed me way over the edge! I pretty much just broke down right there in front of everyone. I asked Harley and Ed to sing a couple so I could collect myself and then I came back and we finished our set. It was just incredible to hear and see the crowd and feel the love in that room. It was nothing short of amazing and I am not kidding! After we finished, we had the guy’s from the band Tribe got up and played 4 songs. It was my first time seeing them and I really liked them. They were a good bunch of guys and they all had good hearts. They also had a lot of energy on stage. After them, we got Pat from Shut Up & Drive and Fred from Rizon up with Ed and Charlie for a few songs. Then rusty from Whisper Alley got up for a couple. Myself, Will, Ed and Charlie finished the last couple of songs and the Fat Lady Sang! We were done. 16 hours after we started and I finally got to sit down. Of course, that didn’t last long. We still had to load out!!!!!!! Throughout the day and night, we were holding raffles to raise money and we raffled some really cool prizes for that. We had a $10.00 cover to get in and I only saw a handful of people turn themselves away at the door because of it. We ended up raising $3200.00 for Body Positive and that ain’t too shabby! All the bands said that they want to do it again next year, so we are already starting to plan it! I need to thank a few people whom, without their help, we would have never pulled this off… First, a big thanks to all of the bands! Without them, there would have been no benefit! To Cactus Jacks, Dallas, Benny and the staff who really put the support behind this thing and came through big time. To Body Positive, Bizarre Guitar and all of our spnsors. To Harley, Ed, Will, Janell, Larry and Jimmy for being there all day and helping without question or complaints. To my daughters Kirsten and Skyler for working all day and making sure that the raffle ran smoothly. And a really big THANK YOU to my girl Eden who stuck by and helped and supported from day one and every minute there after until the last speaker was loaded. And last but not least… to you!!! You guys were amazing in every aspect! Your energy, spirit, love and support will never be forgotten! Let’s do it again next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This weekend, the band will be playing in Surprise at The Octane Lounge. They are located on Bell Rd and Grand Ave. This is our first full weekend there and we would love your support for another new club. You can find the address and directions on our schedule page on the website. We start at 9:30pm both nights and the place is really cool! July 26 DAMN IT’S HOT!!!!!!!!!! Loading in and out this past weekend really sucked. I guess we knew we were in for a bad one this summer, since we didn’t have much of a winter. It was also hot in the bar. This was probably our best weekend ever at Shenanigans. It never gets very crowded there, but we had two pretty good nights. Friday night, the mood was great right off the bat. As soon as we started, everyone was into it. It’s always nice to start off that way. My daughter came out and helped sell tickets for our charity’s raffle, which we did pretty well with. Marty and Chad from The Wett came out and Marty got up for a couple of tunes. The dance floor seemed to be moving all night as well. On Saturday, we decided to get into the whole Luau thing and Ed, Charlie and I all came in our Hawaiian/Tourist garb. The crowd was a little slower to build, but it as we got going, so did the room. We ended up with another good crowd and we helped our buddy Butch/Big Rock celebrate his birthday. Steve from Whisper Alley came out with his wife and got up for a couple of tunes as well. Butch was going to sing one with Steve, but then Steve got too drunk. (Big surprise huh?) Steve the Balloon Guy was there both night and made some really cool balloon art for people. Everyone seems to love Steve, so he will be out to more shows as well! It was a good weekend and the crowds surprised even us. This weekend we head back home!!! Blooze has been our longest standing gig and we are always stoked to get back there. We will be there both nights and ready to party all weekend. Tumbleweed and the staff is always top notch and we always have a blast there. We know this is going to be a great weekend, so we hope to see you all there! Remember… Next Saturday, August 5 th is our Angry Against Aids Benefit show at Cactus Jacks in Ahwatukee. There is a copy off the poster on the front page of the website with a band schedule and you can also find more information throughout the website and our MySpace page. Please come out and support this great cause. It will be a $10.00 donation to get in and we have 6 great bands and lots of cool stuff going on all day and night. We want to THANK you in advance for your support! July 19 It was another successful weekend for the Angry Nation. We got to see a lot friend’s and we played two great clubs. Friday night at Cactus Jacks started out pretty strong and just built from there. Robin was in the house with her friends to celebrate the big “30”. We had a really good time and the dance floor was moving all night. Everyone seemed like they were in a good mood and we all had a blast. On Saturday, we played a new club called Papillons Too. We weren’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a really kick ass night. We were celebrating our friend Ringo’s 50 th birthday with all of his friends and the bar was full. It continued to get busier as the night went on. We had to play on their small stage this time, but will be on their big stage next time that we play there. The staff was really awesome and they were right on top of things all night long. We also had our friend “Larry the Light Guy” doing lights for us. He was our original light guy and we are going to bring him back for more shows as well. The light show was really cool. We got a lot of compliments and we really enjoyed ourselves as well. We will be back to both clubs next month. This weekend, we head back out to Phoenix and Shenanigans! It is their anniversary and we understand that the whole month has a Hawaiian Luau theme. They will be running some drink specials and I’m sure there will be some other things worth seeing. I mean, come on! Angry Jon, alcohol, grass skirts and coconut bras? You have to admit… That is a pretty dangerous combination and one that inspires all kinds of imagination. I’m sure you won’t want to miss it! Shenanigans never get extremely busy, but we always seem to have fun there. Don’t forget… August 5 th is our Angry Against Aids benefit show at Cactus Jacks. Starting at noon, you get Help Me Rhonda, Rizon, Shut Up & Drive, The Chuck Hall Band, Whisper Alley and of course Angry Jon. There will be some great stuff that we will be raffling all day long. They are extending their menu to include some special items, drink specials and much more. Make sure you mark it off of the calendar. Not only is it a great cause, but you will also get 6 great bands, all day long! July 12 Once again, Hardtailz doesn’t disappoint! You guys were awesome this weekend. Friday night started out pretty busy and steadily got busier. Joe and Lance from Bang Tango came out and got up for a couple of songs, (as well as a couple or 10 drinks) and rocked the house. We also ran our 50/50 drawing for our charity and everyone was very generous. We ended up giving away $182.00 and donated the same back to the charity. Saturday night started out pretty slow and we were a little worried at first, but the funny thing about Hardtailz is that it can be slow one minute, then you turn around and all of a sudden, the place is full. The crowd was big quick and the energy in the room was just amazing. Everyone was in a party mood! The dance floor started moving and everyone was very vocal. Our friend Dave from Thieves in the Temple came up and played guitar for a couple of songs and really kicked ass. We decided to run our drawing again and once again, everyone was very generous. This time, the person who won, donated their winnings back to the charity. All in all it was a great weekend and the band sounded great. We have really gotten things tightened up and I am so proud to share a stage with these guys. This weekend we have two shows on the east side of town. On Friday we will be back at Cactus Jacks. We will also be celebrating one of our most loyal friends and followers, Robin A.K.A. Red Dress. Cactus is where we will be holding our benefit show on August 5 th, so we are looking at this as a kind of warm-up. We will be running our drawing once again and partying all night long. On Saturday we will be playing a new venue in Mesa called Papillion’s Too. They have a new owner and they just built a new stage as well. They are fairly new at having bands, but they are hiring good bands. We would love for you to come out and help us break in a new club. Our old friend “Larry the Light Guy” will be doing a full light show for us here as well. We will be celebrating another friends B-Day that night, our buddy Ringo! (Some of you may know him as Sammy Hagar’s look-alike) It should be a blast and this is the furthest east that we have played yet, so we hope to see all of you Mesa/Gilbert/Chandler and A.J. friends! We are hopeful that this club will fill the east valley void that Mr Bolo’s left when they went tit’s up. They are located on Gilbert Road, just South of Broadway. July 5 We hope you all had a great 4th! Ed is still in Jersey, but will be back in time for the show this Friday. The rest of us saw each other a couple of times over the weekend and it was nice to just hang for a weekend. I want to send out a big THANK YOU to the guys from 68 Guns. We stopped by their show this past Friday and they were kind enough to let us run a raffle for our charity. It worked out very well and all of their fans were very generous. That was very cool of them! On Sunday night Eden and I went to the Poison/Cinderella concert with Marty from The Wett and his wife and friends. We saw a lot of other friends while we were there as well. All the guys from Whisper Alley, Lance from Bang Tango, Stephen from Group Therapy, Scott from Third Degree, our ex-drummer John Ogle and many, many friends who recognized me from Angry Jon. It was a lot of fun. Cinderella was really good. I didn’t realize their singer was as an accomplished musician as he is. He played guitar, steel slide, harmonica and saxophone as well. Poison put on a great show. Not the best musicians, but you recognize all of their songs and they are great showmen. It was better than I expected it to be. Thanks to Marty and Tina for dragging us along. On Tuesday night we went over to Bazaar Guitar for the owners annual 4th party. He is the guitar player in the band Sluggo and they played in the parking lot. They had some food and Will and I got up for a song as well as the boys from the Wett. We watched the fire works that were set off at Steel Indian School Park, just down the street. That was a blast. They are talking about involving Angry Jon in the festivities nest year. We enjoyed the weekend off, but we are really looking forward to getting back to playing this weekend at Hardtailz. Hardtailz is always a good venue for us and we are excited to be getting back. We will be there both Friday and Saturday nights and on Friday we will be running another 50/50 raffle to benefit our Angry Against Aids charity. We don’t well when we have a weekend off, so this should be a very fun show! We are primed and ready to wreak some havoc! Hardtailz is located on the Southwest corner of Bell rd and 35th Ave. Get there early for the best seats and we look forward to seeing you there! June 19 It was another great weekend at The Blooze! We had two nights of great crowds and more fun than should be legal. The staff was awesome once again, but we never did see Tumbleweed. Apparently he was on vacation, but that guy works so hard he deserves it. We saw a lot of friends we hadn’t seen in awhile and that is always nice. We celebrated my daughters 21 st on Saturday. She got drunk too fast and was puking by the third set, so we made her sit down and fed her water the rest of the night. She really enjoyed herself though and wanted to say “Thanks” to everyone for all of their kind words and making her feel welcome. Our old friend and ex-guitar player, Harley showed up and jammed a couple of tunes as did Rusty & Steve from Whisper Alley. My girlfriend had bought me a new digital camera for Fathers Day and we spent the weekend trying to figure out how it worked. So if some of the pictures are a little funky, that is why. By the way… The new A/C unit that the club just installed kicked ass! The Blooze might just be the most comfortable bar in Phoenix now. This weekend we are splitting the weekend. On Friday we will be playing our last show at The Vine in Phoenix. They just haven’t had much success with the band thing, so they have decided to stop having live music. It’s too bad that it never caught on there. It’s a nice place with great food and a really cool staff. We have been the “last” band at a few clubs over the years, but at least they are going out in style! On Saturday we will be back at one of our most favorite clubs… Iguana Mack’s! There is always a great crowd and the energy is always high as well. They have some really good food and there are always lot’s of pretty people to look at! We will be taking next weekend off. Ed is flying home for the fourth and the rest of us thought we would just enjoy the four-day weekend with our family and friends. You never know though… You might be able to spot us out and about at some of our friends bands shows. June 12 That was a long weekend!!! We started out the weekend on Friday night at Joe’s Grotto playing a show with Whisper Alley. We played first and we felt like we really rocked the joint. The crowd was receptive and we were pretty tight. We played until about 11:15 and then hurried off the stage so Whisper Alley could kick some ass and that they did! It was Steve’s birthday and he didn’t get too drunk! That was the most amazing part of the night. We all had a good time and everyone seemed to like the “Angry Alley” one-two punch! We saw a lot of friends we hadn’t seen in awhile and a lot of old friends as well. Maybe we will do it again in the future. On Saturday, we all got up early (early for us) and went and played a private party for our old guitar player, Harley. His Daughter and son had just graduated high school and he hired us to play a party for them. Harley of course played a few songs as well and it was cool to play with him again. Will and Harley even did a few songs together. It was outside and it was hot, but we were under some shade and there was a breeze, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We had a lot of fun doing it, but by the time we were done, we were all pretty tired and we all had to go home, shower and head out to Tailgaters to play that night. Tailgaters rocked once again. This has become a great place for us to play and the staff is excellent! Bruce from the band Phat Bastard came out and recorded the audio from our show. He is starting a new side business doing this an has been using us as guinea pigs. We were a little worried, just because we had all had such a long weekend so far anyway, but we played and sounded better than expected. Bruce said that the rough cuts sound really well. We will get them soon enough. Marty from The Wett came out with his wife Tina and they were celebrating their 16 th wedding anniversary. They also had their friend Sarah with them who was celebrating a birthday. Scott, the owner of Tailgaters and the drummer for 3 rd Degree got up and jammed with Marty and Bruce, so we had our own little all start jam. It was cool. We were really burned out by the end of the night and I don’t know about the rest of the guy’s, but I just planted my ass on the couch on Sunday and didn’t move unless nature was calling or I needed more food. This weekend we are looking forward to getting back to our longest standing gig… The Blooze. I talked to Tumbleweed last week and they have installed brand new air conditioners and he says the place is an icebox now. If you remember, it always has gotten very hot in there, but now it should be really nice. The staff is always great at The Blooze and we always seem to have great shows there. We will be celebrating my oldest daughters 21 st B-Day on Saturday night, so that should be interesting. We will be there both Friday and Saturday nights and we would love to see you. Come show Angry Jon and Tumbleweed some love!!!!!!!! June 5 6. 6. 06 The number of the beast!!! I didn't feel so evil today. Hey ya'all… We had a great weekend! Friday night we were at Cactus Jacks and had a good time. We saw our usual friends and made a couple of new ones. It was a little slower than usual, but it was also the hottest day of the year and they got the ad in the New Times wrong. We still had a great time though and we love Cactus Jacks! On Saturday night we played a new venue for us, Flicka's! What a great place! We got there early to eat dinner together, but the place was packed to the gills with people watching the Suns game. People were even sitting around the edge of the stage it was so packed. Of course the Suns lost and the mood was a little down. By the time we went on stage a lot of the people who were bummed about the game had stumbled out already. We turned the mood pretty quick and the crowd grew steadily for the rest of the night. We had a great crowd and they all stayed. We had met a balloon artist the week before and decided to hire him to come in and work the crowd. We weren't sure how that would go, but it worked out pretty well. People really seemed to like it. We were happy to see a lot of our friends there as well. Our friend Bobby who used to sing for Lockdown showed up both nights and sang a bit with us. We were also happy to see the guy's from the band “The Earps” there with their ladies as well. We may even do a show with them in the future. All in all it was a good weekend and it looks like Flicka's wants us back some more. This coming weekend should be another great one. On Friday we are going back to Joe's Grotto. We will be splitting the night with Whisper Alley! A lot of people have been asking for this show, so we finally got it pulled together. It will also be their guitar player Steve's Birthday, so it really should be a kick ass night of rock and roll. We will be playing from 9:30 to 11:15 and then Whisper Alley will take the wheel for the rest of the night. On Saturday we will be back out west at Tailgaters. This place has become very good for us. The crowd is always great and we will also be recording this show as well. Come and be heard. The staff is awesome and the food is good too. You can check the schedule for addresses and maps. These are going to be great shows, so we hope to see you there. We will be back at The Blooze next weekend. They just installed brand new, huge air conditioners. So you will be able to beat the heat at one of our favorite bars to play. Tumbleweed and the staff there is totally kick ass!!! May 30 We hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. It was pretty much what we expected. We played at Shenanigans, which never really fills up, but we always seem to have fun there. Friday night wasn’t as bad as we thought it was going to be. There were some people already in the bar watching the Suns game as we set up and even though they lost, people were still in pretty good spirits. I’m sure the fact that it was a three-day weekend didn’t hurt either. The rest of the night was a lot of fun. Mike and Tina brought out all of their friends as they always do and we love them for it. Marty and his crew from The Wett came out and we got them up for a few songs as well. We always have fun when they are around. On one of the breaks, Ed, Marty and myself, decided to run up the street to Hardtailz where Shut Up & Drive were playing and I jumped on stage with them for a quick tune and then hurried back to Shenanigans just in time to start the next set. Saturday night was much slower. We still had fun, just with less people. Steve from Whisper Alley came out and got up for one song and our original guitar player, Dave got up for a few songs at the end of the night. We made a new friend as well… Steve the Balloon Guy! I could describe the things he made for us, but it would be better if you just looked at the pictures on the website. We stopped into Hardtailz on Sunday to check out Shut Up & Drive playing a rare Sunday afternoon gig. I gotta tell ya… These guys are really good and they are just really cool people as well. Will, Charlie and I got up for a couple of songs with their bass player Jeff, who was celebrating his birthday, and he did a great job with us and we had a blast. Check these guys out if you haven’t already! May 23 This was a very long weekend! We played at The Vine on Friday and as expected, there wasn't much of a turnout. They are still so new at having bands and the word just isn't out yet. We had a good though and the people that were there had a good time as well. We are going to continue playing there with the hopes that it will turn around. The staff and managers are really cool people and they are doing there best as well. On Saturday night we played what will probably be our last show at O'Kelley's. I don't want to go into too many details, but let's just say it hasn't been working out there. The good thing was that we had a great crowd. A lot of people showed up and we saw a lot of friends as well. Steve from Whisper Alley came out and sat in with us as did Stephen from Group Therapy. We had a great time and you never know, maybe we will be back there sometime in the future. This weekend we are playing at Shenanigans in Phoenix. We know it is Memorial Day weekend, which usually isn't a good weekend to play, but they really wanted us for this weekend and we like playing there. If you're in town and you want some cheap fun, come and join us! We will be there both nights and we will be partying with whomever is there! The staff is really cool and they have some pretty decent food as well. I figure it's better to get the partying out of the way by Sunday and use Monday to recuperate. The club is located on 23 rd Ave and Bell Road . We start at 9:30pm both nights! I would also like to ask a favor. My girlfriend Eden's son has been in the hospital since last Thursday. They are still trying to figure out exactly what is wrong, but they have determined that the problem is fairly serious. She has been spending most of her free time up there and the families have been talking turns staying with him in the hospital. So, needless to say, everyone is pretty worn out. I would just like to ask that everyone's prayers and thoughts will go out to and for this boy and the families who are attending to him, as well as the medical staff at Phoenix Children's Hospital. I have never been to better-run hospital in my life. They really are amazing there. So, please include clay in your prayers. May 16 It was good to get back to Hardtailz on our own. We have played a few times there in the last couple of months, but they weren’t our shows. Both nights were a little slower than usual. On Friday we had to compete with the Suns game, plus it was Mothers Day weekend and also graduation time for many schools, but it was still a fun weekend. We had great crowds who were very responsive and seemed to be having a great time with us. We helped Marty from The Wett celebrate his birthday and he got up and helped out on a few songs. Lance from Terashain/Bang Tango was out with his wife and bought a couple of rounds of Jager and got up for a few songs. We decided to mess with him a bit and wouldn’t let him leave the stage and kept throwing songs at him that he didn’t know, but he did a great job. All in all it was a great weekend and we will be back there in a few weeks. This weekend we have two shows at two different clubs. On Friday night we will be at The Vine in Phoenix. This is only our second time playing there and they haven’t had bands for very long and they are still building a reputation, so we would love to see you. It is a cool place and the food is really good! On Saturday night we will be back at O’Kelley’s. We haven’t been there for a while and this may be our last show there, so come out and let’s blow the roof off of this place one last time! The Vine is located on Indian School Road and 28 th Street. O’Kelley’s is located on Guadalupe, just west of Dobson Road. We start at 9:30pm both nights. We could really use your support this weekend so we hope to see you there! We have all the bands lined up for the Angry Against Aids benefit show and we will be making our first announcements about that show very soon. There a couple of details that I need to wrap up this weekend and by next week, there should be a page up on the website with all of the benefit information. It will be on August 5 th and it will be held at Cactus Jacks. Keep checking back for more information. May 9 We had Friday night off, but we did get together at Will’s house. His wife and he cooked and really great dinner for us all and then we sat down and started writing Angry Jon’s very first original song!!! That’s right, we decided to write some original music. The timing felt right and we figured if it didn’t go well, we could just say we gave it the old college try and move on. Well, it actually went pretty well! In fact, we are getting together this Saturday before our show to finish it up. I feel really good about what we came up with and after we polish it up a bit, you should be able to hear it sometime in the next month. After we finished at Will’s, we ended up heading over to Joe’s Grotto check out Whisper Alley. They rocked the house and even got us up for about 4 songs. That was a lot of fun and they are just a bunch of great guys! On Saturday night we were back at Iguana Mack’s. This place always has a great crowd, but they had just had their big Cinco De Mayo bash the night before and nobody was expecting much. Well, it turned out to be the busiest “day after Cinco De Mayo” ever! It was a really good night and everyone was having a good time. We have really come to love this club. They take very good care of us and the crowd is always a lot of fun. It’s funny, this past Saturday was exactly one year to the day from the first time we played there, so we must be doing something right! We are booked there one more time next month I think, but they told me that they will be having us back for many more shows to come! Sunday was pretty rough! We had agreed to play a benefit for a young boy who recently came down with bone cancer and also the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. We were scheduled to start playing at about 8:00pm, but a couple of us decided to go down early to support our friends in the other bands that were playing. The Wett started things off at about 3:20pm and they had all kinds of PA and sound problems. I really felt for them. Whisper Alley was up next and they had one of the highlights of the day. Rusty’s daughter got up and played guitar with the band and she did a great job. She surprised us all. Rasin Cain was up next. We don’t really know them, but the were really good! Terashain was up next after they did some raffle’s and auctioned off some things. They played all originals and I must say… They write some really good stuff. We were up next and that’s when I realized just how bad the PA was. It was horrible sound on stage and nothing felt or sounded comfortable to us. Everyone out front said it sounded great, so I guess that’s all that counts. Bang Tango got up after us and they sounded really good. The father of the boy with cancer, got up and played guitar with them, which I thought was cool. It was a good day with some good friends. It’s just too bad there had to be soooo many problems with the sound. I do want to send out BIG PROPS out to Marty from The Wett. He was trying to help them get the sound better and he even went home and got some equipment to help out. He really went out of his way to try to make sure that the bands coming up, had better sound than even his own band had. You’re a good man Marty! Thank You!!! May 2 Damn Suns!!!! On Friday we had to wait until the Suns game was over to start playing, so we didn’t go on until about 10:15pm. I hate doing that, but what made it worse was that the Suns lost! We waited all that time for disappointment. That doesn’t help get people in the mood to party. But, we did have a good night. It wasn’t our busiest night there, but it was still a good one. Once again, the staff was great and everyone had a great time, which is what it is really all about. We will be back there next month. We had Saturday night off, so the guys (and girls) from the band came over and my girlfriend made her world famous enchiladas. It was nice to hang out together outside of the bar. We had some really good food, some great conversation and we didn’t even drink! The guy’s in this band are just the best!!! This coming weekend we will be in Chandler on Saturday night at Iguana Mack’s. This is a very cool bar with a lot of atmosphere. They also serve some really good food and the staff is really cool and there are always lots of good-looking people there as well! If you plan to go, I would really recommend going early. There aren’t that many good seats to watch the band from to start off with anyway, so come down early and stay late! On Sunday, we have agreed to play a benefit for a young man who has cancer being putting on by the guy’s in Bang Tango at Hardtailz. There will be a lot of bands throughout the day starting at 4:00pm with Whisper Alley. We will be playing around 8:00pm and some of the other bands include Terashain, Rasin’ Cane, Bang Tango and many special guests. There will be free food with a donation and shot specials. It’s for a good cause and you get to see some really great bands. We hope to see you this weekend. April 25 Thank you all for making this past weekend a very successful one! We had a great time and a great weekend. The place was busy both nights, something that hasn’t happened at Blooze the last couple of times we were in there. On Friday night we started out strong and the crowd just grew and most stayed all night. The guys from the band Rizon came down after their show down the street and they brought a bunch of people with them as well. They got up for a couple of tunes and kept everyone dancing! Tumbleweed brought a mini chopper on stage and sang a song from that. The fumes almost killed us, but we survived. On Saturday, it started a little slower, but built quickly. T took everyone a little bit to get rev’ed up from their hangovers, but everyone got into it and the dance floor started hopping! Steve from Whisper Alley got for a few songs while Will was enjoying some female attention! It was just a really cool weekend and we had a blast. It seems like it has been awhile since we have had a bad show. They have all been great and we really appreciate you all making that happen! This weekend we head back to the east valley. We haven’t been on the east side in about five weeks and we are really looking forward to seeing all of our friends from that side of town! We will be at Cactus Jacks on Friday only and we will be taking Saturday off for a little R & R. Cactus Jacks is always a party and since we haven’t been over here for awhile, we are expecting a good night. They charge a $2.00 cover after 9:00pm, so if you want to avoid that and get a good seat, come out early and stay late. It will be a party!!!! Cactus Jacks is located on Elliot road and 48 th Street in Ahwatukee, about 2 miles West of the I-10. We hope to see you there!!! April 18 We had another very fun weekend. On Friday night we played a new club for us called The Vine. There are a few Vines around town, but most don't have bands. In fact, this Vine just started having bands, so the word isn't really out there yet. But, we did have a good time. The crowd wasn't huge, but a lot of our friends were there. A big thanks to all the women, and the show that they were giving the band. Our original guitar player, Dave showed up and we decided to really mix things up. Dave played guitar, so Will went over and played Bass. Then Ed went back and played drums and then Charlie got up on the vocal mic. We all had a great time, including our friends, the staff and the new friends that we made. On Saturday night we were back out at Tailgaters for our second time in there. It turned out to be an amazing night. The staff was incredible and they were all hot as well. The crowd was with us right from the beginning and nobody really left until the end of the night. It seemed like they just kept coming in and no one was leaving. It was a great weekend and we will be back at both clubs in the next few weeks. April 11 This past weekend kicked our butts! Three shows in three days are a little too much, even for us. But, it was a lot of fun. On Friday and Saturday night we played with Bang Tango. It wasn't without it's rough spots, but over all it went pretty smooth. The guy's in Bang Tango are all really cool and didn't treat us like a second rate or opening band. We actually split time pretty evenly. Our set on Friday started out a little shaky, but we pulled it back together and the dance floor packed out the whole time we played. Saturday night was probably the best we have played together yet, since Will joined the band. We were really on and it was really cool to feel that gel that only happens with time and playing together. Bang Tango did mostly covers just so people who didn't know their originals would still recognize the music. It was fun, but I still much prefer us playing by ourselves. It's less stress and work that way. On Sunday afternoon we played out at Westworld for the final day of Cyclefest for Arizona Bike Week. We knew that we weren't going to have a huge crowd for this show, just because it was early afternoon on a Sunday, but it was a really cool experience. The stage was massive and the sound system was incredible. This was the same stage that Blue Oyster Cult and Foghat had played on that week. They also had a massive light show that we didn't get to enjoy until our last two songs. I guess they figured it was too early in the day or something. After we started, people slowly started coming in and listening and a run just got back as we were finishing up, but it was still a great experience. We want to thanks our new friend Steve and his wife and also Rockem & Sockum Motorcycle co. for hooking us up with shirts to wear. And a big thanks to those of you who did show up to support us. They said that they really liked us and that they want us back next year as well, hopefully on a weekend night opening for one of their national acts. You can see pictures from all the shows under the media link on the website. This Friday we will be playing at a new venue for us called The Vine. They are located at 28 th St and Indian School . We don't know what to expect because they have just started having bands. So, we would really appreciate your support for this show. On Saturday night we are heading to the west side, back to Tailgaters. We played there back in December and it was a really cool place to play. They have some pretty good food and a kick ass staff. It's a big place, but if you want a decent seat, you will want to get there early. They are located at 61 st Ave and Bell Rd. We start at 9:00pm on Friday and 9:30pm on Saturday. April 4 We really weren't sure how the gigs over the weekend were going to go. Shenanigans never gets really busy, but we do seem to always have a good time there. Well, Friday night ended up being pretty busy. A lot of credit for that has to go to our “Super Fans”, Mike and Tina. It was Tina's brother Rick's birthday, and they brought a ton of people out. It was a lot of fun and the crowd was really into it right from the beginning. Our buddy Dave Townsend came out and played a few songs with us and we even got thru 3 new songs we hadn't rehearsed yet, and they sounded pretty good. Saturday night was a little slower, but we still had a pretty receptive crowd. For the first time since Charlie joined the band, he actually got drunk. It was hilarious!!! That guy is really funny when he is drunk and he still kicked ass on the drums. Aubrey and Paul from Tunesmith came out and got up for a couple of tunes. Steve and Frank from Whisper Alley came out and brought a very cool surprise with them… Wild Mick Brown! For those of you who don't recognize the name, he is the drummer for Dokken and was also the original drummer for The Lynch Mob. He is currently drumming for Ted Nugent as well. It was really cool to meet him. He was a totally cool guy and a lot of fun. He even got up and played guitar and sang. Steve and Frank got up for a few tunes as well and everyone just had a blast. It was just one of those really fun weekends and we got to meet some really cool people. Lately, it just seems that ever gig we play has been awesome. The people are coming out in support; they're bringing out new people who seem to really like what we are doing. Will has been with us long enough now that the gel factor is really starting to kick in. The clubs have been awesome to us and it just seems like a great time in the band right now. This coming weekend we have some really cool shows lined up for you. It is the last weekend of Bike Week and all of shows coincide with that. On Friday and Saturday nights, we will be at Hardtailz playing the first half of each night with the band Bang Tango finishing the night up. We are stoked to be playing with these guys. They are all really cool and they have a kick ass set! We weren't planning on doing this show until a couple of weeks ago when their singer, Joe LeSte (also of Beautiful Creatures) came out to our show and dug us a lot. So, he asked if we could do it. We had to re-arrange the schedule a little to do it, but we thought this was a great opportunity for a couple of killer shows. The best part is that there will be no cover charge, but it will be crowded, so if you want a decent seat, you will want to be there early. On Sunday we will be out at Westworld for the last day of Bike Week. We will be playing in the Handlebar Saloon from 1:00pm until 4:00pm. This is a huge event and there will be a lot of cool stuff to check out as well. If you want more information about the event, check out www.azbikeweek.com. We hope to see you this weekend! March 28 Two clubs in two nights. That can be a little rough with loading in and out, but this weekend was definitely worth it. We had a great show at Cactus Jacks and helped our friend Ed (not Dalley) celebrate his birthday. We saw quite a few friends and had a great time. On Saturday night we were back at Iguana Macks and the place always rocks. We met Mrs Bike Week Arizona 2005, Sarah and helped her to celebrate her birthday. We had the dance floor hoppin and everyone was in a party mood for sure. We appreciate the staffs from both nights and the crowds were excellent! We will be back at both clubs in the next few weeks. This weekend we head out to Phoenix for two nights at Shenanigans. We have fun here, but they are still getting their name out there for having live bands, so we would love to see you. There is always a pretty good party atmosphere there and the staff is really cool. They do serve food as well, so you can catch a dinner and a show. What a deal! We have some really cool shows coming up next week as well for Bike Week. We will be at Hardtailz for two nights with Bang Tango and then at Westworld on Sunday for the last day of the big bike week event. Check out the website for more details! March 21 I think we are going to have to pay for repairs to the roof at Hardtailz, because we blew it off this weekend! Holy Crap!!! That was a helluva weekend! We had a packed house (and I do mean packed) both nights. Everyone seemed to be in a party mood this weekend. It was just unbelievable! We saw a lot of friends and made a ton of new friends! We had many special guest players this weekend. Our friend Bob has a new band called Howler who got up for a couple of songs. Three of the guy’s from Shut Up & Drive (great band) were there and they got up for a few. Steve from Whisper Alley came out both nights and jammed a few songs. It’s always cool to jam with him. The highlight of the weekend had to be Joe & Lance (Lance also plays with Terashain) from Bang Tango coming out and rocking with us. They both played a few songs with us. Joe was really cool and loved the band. In fact, he asked us to come and play with them during Bike Week at Hardtailz on April 7 th & 8 th. So, we will be sharing the stage with Bang Tango that weekend. We are really stoked about it! We took a ton of great pictures that you can see on the picture page and we got a few more for the friendlies as well! We want to THANK everyone who came out this weekend and we want to send a really big THANKS out to the staff at Hardtailz. We will see you again in three weeks! This weekend we will be back on the eastside for a couple of shows. On Friday night we will be at Cactus Jacks. This has become our east valley home base and we love to play here. On Saturday night we will be back in Chandler and Iguana Macks. There is always a great crowd there and also lots of eye candy! We start at 9:30 both nights and we won’t be back to the eastside for five weeks, so we would really love to see all of you eastsiders this weekend! We have added quite a few new shows and a couple of new venues, so check out the schedule page on the website for up-coming shows! March 14 I know we needed some rain, but Damn! Apparently it was saving up for one big whopper. Flagstaff got pelted and the ski resort is having a hard time staffing up to re open this weekend. They had kind of given up hope and laid everyone off and then they get four feet of snow all at once! If it wouldn’t have been raining so hard down here, we might have driven up to play in the snow. Instead, I went and hung some posters for shows coming up and checked out a couple of bands. That was cool but it reminded of how weak the rock cover scene is here in the valley. I saw some friends and even ran into the guys from 68 Guns hanging out at O’Kelley’s. Other than that, it was a pretty laid back weekend. We Order some Barro’s pizza and wings, went out to Chili’s one night, bought some more DVD’s, played cards, smoked too much and got enough sleep for two days in a row! It’s a good thing we don’t ever have more than one weekend off in a row. I can barely get through one weekend without playing! If we did take more than one weekend off in a row, my family would probably just move out. Well, this weekend it is time to get your Irish On! I’m Scottish, but I’m willing to play along! We are really excited to be getting back to Hardtailz for this weekends shows! We haven’t been there since January and we are really looking forward getting back. We have been having some great shows out there. We are supposed to be playing with Bang Tango this Friday, but it looks like that may not happen. They had a booking mishap and are trying to get out of it, but it doesn’t look good. Regardless, we will be there and we will be ready to rock your socks off! (or hopefully at least your blouse) We also just added a show at Westworld and The Handlebar Saloon on April 9th for Bike Week. Check the website over the next couple of weeks for more details. We have been working on our MySpace site and it is really starting to roll now. Please stop by and check it out and if you have a MySpace page of your own, add us to yours! There is a link on our “links” page to get you there! March 7 When someone said that The Octane Lounge out in Surprise was going to be a long drive, they neglected to mention that I could drive a couple of more blocks and play the slots at Cesar's Palace while I was there. I think the air is even different out there. That is most definitely… WEST SIDE! But I have to say; it was a really cool place to play! We had a great time and the only downer was that we didn't get to come back the next night. Even though we only had two days to advertise, it was still a great night. They really liked us and will be booking us for more dates out there. On Saturday we played another new club in Ahwatukee that we weren't sure about. When we walked in and saw the linen and stemware on the tables, we thought that we might be a little out of our element. Surprisingly though, it turned out to be a great time. They are located in deep Ahwatukee and it wasn't our typical club, but it was a really fun night. We saw a few of our friends from Cactus Jacks and made a few new ones as well. All in all it was a really good weekend for us. Two new clubs, one with no advertising and we are looking forward to going back to both. We will be off this coming weekend, but we come back the next week with a ROAR! We will be playing at Hatdtailz the following weekend. In fact, on Friday, which is also St. Patrick's Day, we will be sharing the stage with 80's metal band… Bang Tango! We will play the first half of the night with Bang Tango finishing it up. We will be back on Saturday for the whole night. This should be one of those weekends not easily forgotten with a lot of cool memories! I'm sure that there will be many photo ops as well! February 28 Did not everybody get the memo? We were at Blooze this past weekend and it was a lot of fun and a really good time, but the crowd was smaller than usual. We saw a lot of our regulars out there, but not as many as we normally do. We love playing out there and once again the staff was second to none! Tumbleweed got up for a tune on Friday night and our buddies from the band Rizon came out and we got their singer Fred, up for a couple as well! It was a good time and we look forward to our next show there in April. This weekend we have a couple of new clubs to play. We got a call today to find out if we could fill in for a band that had to cancel out at The Octane Lounge. We have heard some good things about the place and have been trying to find a workable date to play there. Luckily, we had this Friday open and we are happy to finally get out there and show them what we got! On Saturday we will be at another new club for us. It's called Shenanigans and no, it's not the Shenanigans in Phoenix. This one is located in Ahwatukee. (No relation to each other) So, we get two new clubs in the same weekend and we hope you will be able to join us for at least one of them. You can get directions and addresses to both clubs on the schedule page of the website. February 21 This was an interesting weekend. We started it out at Cactus Jacks on Friday and we had our usual good crowd and a rocking night. Cactus is always a good time and the people there really show us their appreciation. Saturday night we were back to O’Kelley’s. Out of all the clubs that we play, we have had the hardest time at this one, pulling a good crowd. It was pretty slow once again, but it turned out to be one of the most fun nights we have had in awhile. We goofed off a lot, but everyone that was there was having a good time. It was half music, half comedy hour. I haven’t laughed that much at a gig in a long time. We always have a good time, but we were off the hook on Saturday. I know some of it had to do with the smaller crowd and we know we can’t get away with that much goofing around at our normal shows, but it was just a fun night. I just wish I could figure out why we can’t draw our normal crowds there. This weekend we head back to The Blooze! Tumbleweed and the crew always take great care of us and the crowd is always up for a party. We will be there both nights and we are really looking forward to it. We always see a lot of friends there and we already know of a bunch of our friends who will be out this weekend. We have some new songs that we haven’t played there yet and there is always a great vibe in the place. They don’t rape you on drinks either. This is probably the most reasonably priced club that we play. We haven’t been there since New Years Eve, so we expect a great turn out both nights. Come early and stay late! I might even buy some beer for those of you who earn it! February 14 Weekends off suck! This time it was Ed’s fault. He wanted to go to Vegas with his girl to celebrate his birthday or some nonsense like that. Will and I went to Blooze on Friday to hang posters and checked out a new band called “Rizon”. They had some ex-members from The Reason and they were pretty good. They asked me to get up and sing a tune with them, so I did and then Tumbleweed got up and blew me away! That guy can sing. If you get the chance, check them out. We will be putting up a link to their site soon. I have heard through the grapevine that Will was seen out on Saturday night at Shut up and Drive and The Wett’s shows. He was wearing a sheriff’s outfit and kept saying “Wait a minute while I whip this out”. We also got reports that Charlie was spotted at one of the casino’s waiting tables. That was until they figured out that he didn’t work there and that he wasn’t a girl. Apparently Chucky cannot be left unsupervised on weekends that we don’t have gigs. Luckily, he runs really fast and the overweight security guards couldn’t catch him. This weekend we take the freak show to the east valley. We haven’t been on this side of town for a few weeks, so we are really looking forward to seeing the Eastside Delegation of the Angry Nation! We will be at Cactus Jacks on Friday night. They seem to be our busiest club on the east side and we haven’t had a bad show there in what seems to be forever. On Saturday night we roll into O’Kelley’s. Our last show there was much better, but we really need you out in full force at this club. It’s a great venue and probably the best sounding room that we play. We haven’t had really big night there in awhile, so help us show O’Kelley’s that Angry Jon is more than just a pretty name! It’s a way of life!! We just picked up a couple of new venues to play in the next few months, so keep an eye on the schedule and also the rest of the website for changes and updates. February 7 Well, Shenanigans wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We have never drawn real well there, but I guess no one does. They were thrilled with our weekend, so I guess that’s all that counts. We did have a fun weekend though. We celebrated Ed’s birthday on Friday and there was way too many shots of Jager and other stuff sent to the stage. Neither one of us could drink them all, but we gave it the old college try! Saturday was a little better then Friday, crowd wise, but everyone that was there was having a great time. The dance floor was moving pretty well both nights and we even got some new pictures for the friendlies page! We need to send a BIG thanks out to Mike & Tina. You guys rock! They brought people out the whole weekend. They really helped make the weekend a lot of fun with a lot of fun people! We will be back there in the next couple of months. We have this coming weekend off. Ed is off to Vegas to celebrate his birthday while the rest of us try to figure out what to do with ourselves. We will be back at it the following weekend at Cactus Jacks and O’Kelley’s and then we will end the month at Blooze. We have a couple of new clubs coming up and we are in contact with a couple more for future dates. Just keep checking the website and schedule page for updates. I know that a few of our friends bands are playing this weekend. If you go to our links page, you can see where they might be playing. I will probably include a couple of them in my weekly e-mails. January 30 This rehearsal thing is getting out of hand! We rehearsed for the second time in a month. Can you believe that? We have gotten some new songs knocked out though, so I guess it was worth it. I am just worried that we might become one of those bands that actually try to get better. Saturday night we were back at Iguana Mack’s. We had some technical difficulties right off the bat and the first set was kind of rough. The crowd was a little laid back and people were still coming in during the first, so we soldiered our way through to the break. We got some things figured out and by the time we were into the second set, the place was on fire. It ended up probably being our best night there yet. The crowd was super responsive, the staff actually thanked us for a great night and we sounded great! It was Will’s wife Janell’s birthday and when we brought her up to blow out her candles on her cake, I dropped the cake just before she could blow them out. Needless to say, no one got any cake. She was a good sport about it and I still swear somebody yanked it out of my hand! Thanks to everyone who was there, it was an awesome night! This weekend we head back out to Shenanigans in Phoenix. We haven’t been there for awhile and weren’t even sure we were going to go back, but they really wanted us, so we are going to give it another try. We are there both Friday and Saturday nights and we would love to see you there. It actually a pretty cool place. They have two floors, so you can watch the band from above if you’d like. They serve food and the staff is really good as well. They are located on 22 nd Ave. & Bell rd. We hit the stage at the usual time both nights and we will be ready to party with you all. You can also come and hear the news songs we learned REHEARSING! (I’m only a little bitter about that) January 24 Cactus Jacks is truly becoming our east valley home base. We had another great night there this past Friday. The place was full and everyone was ready to party from the get-go! There was a pretty big group there celebrating their buddy Seth’s birthday. They were a very fun bunch and partied from start to finish! Our friend Sammy from the band Legend, got up and played a song with us on guitar and rocked it! We also met a new friend from the band North, Kristopher. He got up and sang a song as well. It’s always nice to meet new friends and we made a few that night. We will be back there next month. This Saturday we head back to Iguana Mack’s. This has become a great gig for us and we are looking forward to the show. The room is always full and the vibe is most definitely always in party mode. They have great food next door in their restaurant and lot’s of pretty people hang out there. If you want a decent place to though, you really have to go early. The place fills up fast, but that is a good thing! As always, we hit the stage at about 9:30pm. We hope to see you there! Next week, we head back out to Phoenix and Shenanigans! We haven’t played here in months and we weren’t sure we were going to go back there, but they called and really wanted us back, so we will see how it goes! It really is a good place to hang out and the staff is hot from what I remember ... especially the guys. January 18 Well, we did it. We rehearsed!!!!!! It was pretty painful, but we hired a stress counselor to sit in on the rehearsal to help us deal with all of the extra stress and shock that we would be dealing with. In fact… It went so well; we are going to do it again in a couple of weeks! After rehearsal, we decided that the only thing that would make us feel better was for the whole band to go whoring together. Our friends in 68 Guns were playing at Joe's Grotto, but we weren't able to make over there. We heard that they had a pretty good show though. We ended up going around the corner to Hardtailz and seeing our friends in the band Terashain! They were rocking pretty hard and they got the whole band up for a couple of tunes. We pounded down a few there and then headed over to Blooze to see our buddy Tumbleweed and the guy's in Phat Bastard! We hadn't seen them in over two years, so it was cool to check out what they are doing now! They sounded great and they also got us up for a couple of tunes. They also kept buying rounds of Jager and you know how much we like Jager. Needless to say, it was a fun night and we even got to take out ladies along and party with them as well! Saturday night we played O'Kelley's. It started out pretty shaky! I had just bought new sub-woofers that day and we were excited to try them out. Well, the Broncos/Patriots playoff game ran until 9:15, so we had very little time to set up. As we were hanging the lights out front, the support on the bar that we were hanging them from broke. So, we had to figure that out. We were just glad it happened then instead of when everyone was dancing. Will had a pedal go out on him on the first song of the night, so needless to say, things weren't going real well at first. That did turn around though. We got the subs dialed in pretty good, thanks to our buddy Jim Ham from Whisper Alley, who got our sound figured out for us so that we could play. We also had a good crowd. One of the best we have had there in a long time and Will soldiered on thru the night and we sounded and played pretty good. Because of the late start, we ended up playing two really long sets. All of the boys from Whisper Alley were there, so we got them up to play 4 songs thru the break. It was cool that there was no break from music the whole night. Thanks to those guys for helping us out! We will be back there in February! This Friday we are back at our East Valley home base… Cactus Jacks! We are always happy to get back there. We always know we are going to have a good night when we play there. The staff is always on top of things and the crowd is always ready to party Angry Jon style. We hit the stage at about 9:30 and we hope to see you there! January 11 What a way to kick off the New Year! Hardtailz was really rockin on both nights and everyone was really into the shows. Friday was a little slow right at the beginning, then all of a sudden we turned around and the place was full and stayed that way pretty much all night. Saturday started off busier and stayed busy all night! The band had a blast and we really appreciated all of you coming out and partying with us. We saw our buddies Scott from 68 Guns and Stephen from Group Therapy who drove a very long way to come out. Also, our friend Bruce from Phat Bastard came out and recorded our show and also got up on guitar for a couple of songs as well. We saw a lot of friends and made quite a few new ones. It was just a great weekend and we are looking forward to our next shows at Hardtailz. This coming weekend we will be at O'Kelley's in Mesa on Saturday! It has been quite awhile since we have been there and really looking forward to getting back there. We would love to see you all to help us blow the roof off of the place. We have Friday off, but will be rehearsing 4 new songs for the weekend. After rehearsal, we will be heading over to Blooze to see Tumbleweed and to support our friends in Phat Bastard. We have some great shows coming up and hope you will help us make this a great year! We are constantly trying to find new venues and plan special events in an effort to keep things as fresh as possible! Hope to see you all soon! January 4 Another year is upon us and I am tired already! I need a week just to recover from the holidaze! We had a very nice holiday season and we hope that you did as well. This past weekend at the Blooze wasn't stellar, but it was still a lot of fun. Friday night was the who's who of the local cover scene. We had all the guys from Whiskey Farm come down and play a few songs. The entourage from The Wett was on hand, but snuck out before we could get them up to play. Steve & Rusty from Whisper Alley came out as well and got up for a few songs. It was a nice prelude to the next night. New Years Eve was a little slower this year, but still a lot of fun. We have heard through the grapevine that it was slower everywhere, but it didn't stop us from having a great party. We still had a full room and everyone was in great spirits. We, of course had our midnight toast as we rang in the New Year. The guys in the band even got the chance to dance with their ladies, which never happens because we are always on stage. It was a nice evening and it was great to once again ring in the New Year at Blooze with our friends. We kick off the new year at another one of our favorite clubs in phoenix, Hardtailz. We haven't been there for a couple of months, so we are looking forward to playing there again. We have been having some great weekends there and we expect this weekend won't disappoint! Once again we want to thank you for all of your support over the last year and look forward to doing it again this, but better! |