Hazel Manor

Great night! The band is back on track. The sound was good, the energy level was electric and a good time was had by all. Thanks to Randy for helping haul equipment, and Jeff who was a very accommodating host. The sound stage was very quiet and as a result the band was tight. I hope something opens up so that we can get back there soon. Thanks Steve for the great pics and video. Its always great to see you there. Plus, and of course... our #1 fan Kathy made the trip and John was with her too. Next week is the Ellwood Moose! Hope the crowd migrates, but it seems we get a few familiar faces in every club in Ellwood City, but each club has its own crowd.
The band loves playing in Ellwood because the crowds are large, loud and appreciative. It makes me understand why Donnie Iris made it so big as he is from that area originally.

Could Ellwood City be (once again) the spring board for another great band??? Time will tell.

Rick

P.S. I love these guys. What a special group

Retooling for the future

Well.... where do I start. I've spoken to everyone about the Manor Legion performance and we all agree that it was a trainwreck. Although it was still better than most bands out there it was not the southern spirits show most are used to seeing. So, we are recommitting ourselves to making the show much better by refocusing our efforts to control the sound and volume, and not allowing external or internal distractions affect our show.

I plan to.... in the near future.... get the band some good sound reinforcement and transportation for such equipment. I also plan to purchase a fender telecaster and an amp, as well as a volume pedal for my rig as the keys are hardly heard since my rig is not properly amplified. I realize that this will take several thousand dollars so it may take a few months, but we will be so much better with proper sound and lights.

With that said, it is off to the raucus crowds in Ellwood City at the Hazel Manor to put on a much better show than the last two weeks have been.. Like any good team, no one goes undefeated and we have lost the past two weeks after a great long winning streak. Time to start a new one!

Brian is right.... Kathy has sole claim to the #1 fan title. I think she has missed only 1 show. Thanks kath! We all love you.

Rick

Where are my manners?

In reference to the comment to 'Hey Again' by Hughy. (Below) I apologize for not doing this before.

Thanks to Jeff of "Hey Andy's" for giving us a chance to play in his establishment. We all appreciate him taking a chance on having us there, sound unheard.

Thanks also to Antoinette for her aggressive marketing efforts and making this gig (as well as others to come) possible. She has been doing a bang-up job of getting our name out there in an area where we are virtually unknown. I (as well as the rest of the band, I'm sure) appreciate the time and effort that she is putting in to get us playing often. Booking gigs is not as easy as it sounds, and she is doing a great job. Kudos, babe!

Thanks to all who came to see us there. Hopefully, we will gain some new fans. Kathy (holder of the world record for attending Southern Spirits gigs) will have to tell John about it, since he didn't make it.

On a performance note, the timing issues were all mine. I seemed to be daydreaming, but, I was actually distracted by worrying about the set-up and whether or not everyone could hear everything. So, my bad.

Okay. Now on to the Manor Legion!

Brian

Hey Again

Ditto everything Rick mentioned below. Great time, great crowd. Probably the worst night that we've had (musically speaking), but, still not bad. The band just seemed to be a tad off. Personally, I had some timing issues on a couple songs. Possibly, we were due for a not-so-great night. We usually don't have a problem finding "the groove". Possibly the long commute or the strange "split room" set-up may have played a part. Who knows? All in all, still a great time and place. I can't wait for May 16th to go back there to redeem ourselves.

Don't you just love Antoinette's mom? She ROCKS! She needs to come out more often! A pure pleasure to finally meet her.

On to the American Legion in Manor!

Brian

Six Packs Bar and Grill

PACKED!!! Thats the only thing I can say about the show last Saturday night. A GREAT crowd, a full house, and thanks to the staff (Ashley and Kate...no not the Olsen Twins) and Lori for having faith in booking us, and Ed (one of the club owners) for all the kind words and extra incentive at the end of the night. I can't find the myspace page for the bar so I cant see what wassaid, or pictures or nuthin. Bums ne out, but I AM looking forward to rocking the Mon valley this week at Hey Andy's. Antoinette is psyched and we dont intend to disappoint. It promises to be really exciting and the start of a whole new territory for us. We cover about a 50-60 mile radius around Pittsburgh and its GETTING BIGGER! Longer trips for us, but the fans really make it worth it.

The band was great last week as usual and didnt miss many beats for not having played for 2 weeks. there were some rough spots but all in all nobody noticed but the band. We have become really good at covering up mistakes and making it look like a planned "live" rendition of a song. Not really wrong notes, but more oops I missed a cue stuff that extends a song of whih I am most guilty. Take the highway started ot a little rough, was a little fast, but came out just fine. We may have to keep the "pull it out our a** (butt) section of the show. it also allows us to add new music to our list of songs without having the luxury of a practice since we're booked solid and alwas adding dates through the summer. This is a good thing.

Its all good! See y'all out there.

Rick