04/30/12

Finally, we have a bit of a warmer day here in lovely Lafayette, IN! It's made getting this week's blog done a little more difficult: I'm enjoying hanging with my dogs outside.

Anyway, I got quite a few tasks completed over the last week, so let's get into it!

I did some studio work on Tuesday and headed downtown on Wednesday to assemble band kits for The Taste of Tippecanoe and made an appearance at the Theater.

On Thursday Lindsey Sickler tagged along with me to Frankfort to jam at Applebee's.

Here's the set:

"Before it Gets to Me"
"Pocket and Soul"
"Imagine" - John Lennon/A Perfect Circle cover
"No Second Chance" - Adrenaline cover
"Out of Our Hands"
--------------------
"Zzyzx Rd" - Stone Sour cover
"Settling"
"Amputee" - Oceansize cover
"Dear Reason"
"Guilt that Keeps on Giving"

Post-show notes:

• As always, Jason Wells is a great host on Thursdays at Applebee's and his performances really inspire me. The jams he did with J.T. Kidwell (also a madman guitarist) got my foot stomping a bit. :-) 
• Lindsey has a great cover selection, but I feel the need to muscle her into doing more original stuff. Homegirl's homemade songs are killer!!
• Finally, Mike (or maybe it was Mark, I did tell him I was bad with names) did some work to a mandolin. I really need to get one... and banjo too!

Friday I tagged with the wife to the fireman's ball and stopped at TAP (a craft brew fest) at TAF on Saturday. 'TAP' had 9 (I'm pretty sure local to Indiana) brewers, including IND sponsor Peoples Brewing Company. So, I had to stop over to mingle and drink some strong Indiana beers! What a blast!!

Sunday I had Trevor and Zack from ARCHDRIVE GOODBYE in the studio to start bass tracking. Good news: we finished it all in a few hours! Since we wrapped drum tracks on Tuesday too, it's looking like I'll get to start mixing next week. I'm hoping they can get everything released by our show with them on May 26th at the Knickerbocker.

Sidenote: The mighty Echovox will be joining us on the bill too. It should be a riot of a night!! I'm gonna try to get posters up this week if you'd like to help (wink, wink). INFO & RSVP HERE

Back on track...

After we finished recording, I laid down for a bit to chill out and ended up catching my second wind.

I got up and recorded Station ID's for my hard-working friends at Audikult Radio and HardRockRadioLive.com.

Upon finishing, I received a call from my music bud, James Saqui. Apparently a lot of the Aces Pub crew were in jam-mode, so I headed over.

Here's the set:

"Pocket and Soul"
"Settling"
"Broken" - Seether/Amy Lee cover featuring Kimmie C
"Before it Gets to Me"

I had a blast catching sets from the Desert Island 5 dudes, Martin Clendenen, and Kyle Bledsoe. The highlight of the night was getting Kimmie C on stage to jam a song. We've been chatting about making it happen for a couple of months now...

Don't forget: This Friday (May 4th) my local music/performing artist friends are helping host a benefit show supporting the Tippecanoe Arts Federation and a local shooting victim. In addition to Chris June IND (weapons hot), Minsky Kinks, PLOT, Red & The Roosters, and Traveling, Broke, and Out of Gas are also on the bill. INFO & RSVP HERE

If you can't make it on Friday and still want to support great local causes, swing by Lafayette Live on Wednesday night around 9:20pm and I can take your $5 donation. I'll be there plugging the show and jamming around a bit. That shindig runs from 7-11pm and there's no cover if you decide to make a night of it

Also, you can still get a free download of "Before it Gets to Me" when you pick up Whistle When We Break Down from my Bandcamp page. Surely you have $3 in your couch, right?

That does it for the update.

Remember, you can subscribe to the blog, follow @ChrisJuneIND on Twitter, and 'like' Chris June IND on Facebook. Sharing the links is appreciated! :-)

Thanks for stopping by! I'll see you at the theater on Friday!!!

Over and out

04/23/12

Yay, it's Monday/Blog Day!

I've spent about 40ish hours per week the last few weeks on some non-music-related side work. Though it's been a struggle keep that and music going simultaneously, it seems that my rest has been the only casualty so far.

So, as long as I'm holding up health-wise, I'll keep rolling with my 'I'll sleep when I'm dead' approach...

Ready for the update? Then let's do this...

Wednesday is really when the music side started picking up. I received the Artists United promo posters. Again, this is a benefit show on May 4th (the next big rock show) supporting the Tippecanoe Arts Federation and a local shooting victim. We'll be joined by our buddies in Minsky Kinks, PLOT, Red & The Roosters, and Traveling, Broke, and Out of Gas. INFO & RSVP HERE

Kudos to the crew at Express Print for doing a great job on the posters with the quickness.

Also, I met up with Buddy from I-Exist to grab a new rack case for my PA and had Nate from ARCHDRIVE GOODBYE in the studio to work on drum tracks for their new CD.

After finishing that up, I headed downtown to start distributing posters. Lindsey Sickler was doing a set at the theater and, once again, I got to join her for "Saving Grace." WOOT!

I have loose plans to do another single release as a follow-up to Whistle When We Break Down. My idea is to do both versions of "My Rx" (The Bb minor acoustic version is more eerie and droning than the uptempo F minor band arrangement). So... I'd like to do the acoustic track completely indie at IND HQ (hopefully getting Lindsey involved); kind of like "Before it Gets to Me."

On the flip-side, I'm hoping to get the boys over to Sound Logic to knock out the bigger/meaner track.

Typically, I don't let the cat out of the bag on future plans, but I'm thinking that blogging it will help push it along. :-)

Fingers crossed...

Thursday, I met up with Kristine from Minsky Kinks to finish distributing posters before giving a couple of guitar lessons. My student, Brett, has been gearing up for his school talent show and we've been hard at work getting him prepared...

Drew and I ended the week back at the Lafayette Theater to jam for our friends', Hans and Brittany Rees' wedding.

Here's the set:

"Settling"
"Before it Gets to Me"
"Amputee" - Oceansize cover
"Imagine" - John Lennon/A Perfect Circle cover
"Pocket and Soul"
"Out of Our Hands"
"My Rx"
"No Second Chance" - Adrenaline cover
"Faithfully" - Journey cover

I met Hans and Brittany through Lafayette Live and have enjoyed watching their bands Frank Muffin and Little Boxes (and talking shop with them) over the last year. It was a pleasure share the stage with them again and our friends Jeff Anderson, Jerome Hemersbach, Lindsey Sickler, and Lint.

Thanks for making us a part of your special day! CONGRATS DUDES!!!

Speaking of being a part of awesome things, "Out of Our Hands" and "Pocket and Soul" will be on the soundtrack for Maiden, a novel written by C.L. Marin. Luckily, she digs the music and the lyrical content works into the theme. We're happy to be included and wish her luck with the project!!!

That does it for the update.

Remember, you can subscribe to the blog, follow @ChrisJuneIND on Twitter, and 'like' Chris June IND on Facebook. Sharing the links is appreciated! :-)

Btw, the blog stats have been going way up recently. Please SEND FEEDBACK about what I'm doing here. I'd love to know what you like or what can be better regarding these posts. 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!!!

Over and out

04/16/12

Man, am I dragging ass after a busy week of music... My fingers are crossed that I won't have a 'case of the Mondays' today.

Ready for the recap? Here we go!

Last Monday night we finished vocal tracks on the new ARCHDRIVE GOODBYE CD. I may have previously mentioned that those dudes just recently grew out of their 2-piece acoustic act into a 4-piece rock group (or pop/punk, whatever). :-)

Anyway, my recording schedule is a little backwards from most. Specifically, I tend to leave drums and bass for last. So far it's worked out pretty well in their situation, since they didn't have a lot of those parts worked up or ready by the time we needed to start tracking. With vocals and guitars wrapped, the hard stuff is done and we're halfway done with the process! As you can see in the pic, Earnie and I felt it necessary to celebrate this with some cocktails.

Tuesday I spent some time on foot downtown doing Taste of Tippecanoe work and hit up the board meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Actually, we only have a couple of monthly meetings left before the event goes down. That's right, Taste of Tippecanoe: June 16th, 2012! If you haven't checked the site to get the scoop yet, take a look HERE.

After the Taste meeting, I picked up Zack from ADG and we made the trip to Logansport to do some promoting for our show on Saturday. My buddy James Saqui runs a jam at the Neighborhood Tavern in Logansport on Wednesday nights too, so I steered the van in that direction and played some tunes.

Here's the set:

"Settling"
"Pocket and Soul"
"Before it Gets to Me"
"Out of Our Hands"
"Imagine" - John Lennon/A Perfect Circle cover

Thursday I made the trip to Frankfort to meet up with Jason Wells to grab a copy of Monday's run of the Frankfort Times. Check it out: FRONT PAGE!! :-)

Thanks to Jason for snagging the paper for me and to Shelley Smith for working up the article!

And... since I was in Frankfort on a Thursday night, I jammed a little at Applebee's. Coincidence? Alright, you got me.


Here's the set:

"Pocket and Soul"
"No Second Chance" - Adrenaline cover
"Before it Gets to Me"
"Out of Our Hands"
"Faithfully" - Journey cover
---------------------------
"Settling"
"Dear Reason"
"Amputee" - Oceansize cover
"Guilt that Keeps on Giving"
"Imagine" - John Lennon/A Perfect Circle cover

As always, I had a blast hanging with the Applebee's crew. It was a pleasure to meet and talk shop with JT Kidwell too!

I spent quite a bit of time on Friday on booking new shows and finalizing some designs for the Artists United Benefit that I'm organizing. The process has been hectic, but I'm glad to have great buds in Minsky Kinks, PLOT, Red & The Roosters, Traveling, Broke, and Out of Gas, and the folks at the Lafayette Theater helping to see the show through. Yes, the original show in March was canceled, but this shindig is going down on May 4th at 9pm. The $5 cover *that everyone will pay to get in* goes to the Tippecanoe Arts Federation and a local shooting victim. MORE INFO & RSVP HERE




Finally, Saturday was our main event/plugged-in and nasty show at the Corner Pub in Logansport.

Here's the set:

"My Rx"
"Out of Our Hands"
"Heartkiller" - H.I.M. cover
"Settling"
"Boys of Summer" - Don Henley/Atari's cover
"Pocket and Soul"
"Something Else is Something More" - Adrenaline cover
"No Second Chance" - Adrenaline cover
"A Veil Lifted"
"The Shadow I Will Leave"
"Stuck" - Adrenaline cover
"Before it Gets to Me"
"Face to the Floor" - Chevelle cover
"Guilt that Keeps on Giving"
"Feed Me a Lie"

No lie, the set felt really really good. Chris, Drew, and I are getting into a great flow. Women flashing in front of the stage may also backs this up. Perhaps it could be an indicator of alcohol consumption too... :-)

Anyway, we had a blast sharing the bill with the ADG & the Bridge Between dudes, the soundman Chris had everything sounding nice, and the Corner Pub staff took great care of us! Also, it was a nice surprise to have Josh Hassett (O for 2, Epstein's Mother), one of my local guitar heroes, in the audience for the show!! Thanks to all that came out and those of you who picked up the Whistle When We Break Down EP.

Speaking of that...

I'm still hooking up free downloads of "Before it Gets to Me." The conditions are below. Additionally, if you have already picked up Whistle When We Break Down, I owe you the track... Hit me up.

That does it for the update.

Don't forget to subscribe to the blog, follow @ChrisJuneIND on Twitter, and 'like' Chris June IND on Facebook. Sharing the links is appreciated! :-)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!!!

Over and out

04/09/12

Did everyone live through the crazy Easter (or your preferred celebration) weekend? I think this is the first year that I didn't scam on some eggs and peeps.

The boys and I played several shows last week. So, 'show content' is going to dominate this week's entry.

As mentioned in last week's blog, we started out at Aces Pub on Sunday (the 1st). Drew went to town on a djembe for IND songs & I got to play a couple of tunes with Azul.

Here's the set:

"Wonderwall" - Oasis cover w/ Azul
"Out of Our Hands"
"Before it Gets to Me"
"Pocket and Soul"
"Settling"
"Broken" - Seether/Amy Lee cover w/ Azul

We made our normal Wednesday stop at the theater for Lafayette Live and got the opportunity to sit-in with Lindsey Sickler on her song "Saving Grace."

Thanks to Jessica for capturing the moment. It made my life. :-) I'm telling you, the tune is WAY WAY WAY catchy.

After a short break for other acts, Drew and I jumped back up to do some promo for Friday's show.

Here's the set:

Out of Our Hands
Pocket and Soul
Before it Gets to Me

We were happy to have Brady from Little Boxes jam along on the last song. You can still get a free download HERE of our studio jam of "Before it Gets to Me" with both Brady and our friend Matt from The Cocaine Wolves throwing down with us.

Sure, there's a catch, but it's a very very small catch! Get the bonus track by downloading Whistle When We Break Down from Bandcamp for a whopping $3.00 or upload a fan pic of yourself to the Chris June IND Facebook page. Easy right? :-)

Friday night I had an unplugged show with my little brother at Java Roaster.

Entertainment writer Tim Brouk stopped by IND HQ on Tuesday to do an interview with us and grabbed this pic:

If you were wondering... Yes, I am wearing a new DropYa Fightwear shirt in the shot. Kudos to their crew for the hook-up.

Anyway, Tim did a pretty sweet write-up in the Lafayette Journal & Courier and the show went great!

Here's the set:

Settling
Dear Reason
Pocket and Soul
Bed Intruder - Autotune the News cover
Before it Gets to Me
No Second Chance - Adrenaline cover
Amputee - Oceansize cover
Guilt the Keeps on Giving
Out of Our Hands
Something Else is Something More - Adrenaline cover
My Rx
Imagine - John Lennon cover

On Saturday we stood up and plugged for a throw-down with a small (but very vibrant) crowd at the Animal House in Frankfort.

Here's the set:

My Rx
Out of Our Hands
Stuck - Adrenaline cover
Settling  - Adrenaline cover
Heartkiller - H.I.M. cover
Pocket and Soul
Something Else is Something More  - Adrenaline cover
No Second Chance - Adrenaline cover
Dear Reason
A Veil Lifted
Shadow I Will Leave
Face to the Floor - Chevelle cover
Guilt that Keeps on Giving
Feed Me a Lie
Boys of Summer - Don Henley cover

We shared the night with our chums in ARCHDRIVE GOODBYE and I-Exist. ADG's flourishing in their 4-piece/loud rock incarnation and we're looking forward to our show this Saturday with them in Logansport (INFO & RSVP HERE). Also, we'll try to get their new EP finished up May-ish so those dudes can put it out & keep ramping up.

I go way back with the I-Exist dudes and they've been awesome for a long time. If it's possible, they proved to be more than the full package last night: great tunes, stage energy, tightness with the track, and video and lights synced to the set. It was intense! Check out I-Exist's new track "Giving My Life," it'll get you moving.

Sidenote: I really enjoy the opportunities to talk shop with Buddy (I-Exist guitarist and fellow Rhodes Amplification artist). That cat has great taste and nice toys!

That does it for update.

Remember, you can subscribe to the blog, follow @ChrisJuneIND on Twitter, and 'like' Chris June IND on Facebook. Sharing the links is appreciated! :-)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!!!

Over and out

04/02/12

Great, April is here and I think the Pages/Timeline is live and I didn't get all my updates ready. Figures.

I'm trying to get back into my Monday blog routine, so here we go...

Did you get the new track last week?

I can't put into print how much fun it was to record this song! In addition to Drew on bass and Chris on bongos, there are guest tracks from Matt Amos (The Cocaine Wolves) on triangle and Brady Joseph (Lafayette Live) on djembe and tambourine. Although it should go without saying: yes, I did guitar and vocals...

Last Thursday I stopped in to jam at Applebee's in Frankfort to jam for Jason Wells' open mic.

Here's the set(s):

"Pocket and Soul"
"Settling"
"Imagine" - John Lennon cover
"Before it Gets to Me"
--------------
"No Second Chance" - Adrenaline cover
"Out of Our Hands"
"Amputee" - Oceansize cover
"Faithfully" - Journey cover
--------------
"Wanted Dead or Alive" - Bon Jovi cover
"Come Together" - Beatles cover

The last couple tunes I jammed along with Jason. Honestly, I didn't even know the Beatles' song. I picked up the main riff during the intro & took chord cues on the fly. What a blast!

My contact from the local paper showed up for the show to chat and grab some pics of me playing. If the article makes it to print by the end of the week (and I don't sound & look silly), I'll tweet a link. :-)

Finally, last night I stopped by Aces to jam a little. The lovely and super-talented Ms. Azul was hosting and I was ecstatic to get to jam with her.

Here's the set:

"Wonderwall" - Oasis cover w/ Azul
"Out of Our Hands"
"Before it Gets to Me"
"Pocket and Soul"
"Settling"
"Broken" - Seether/Amy Lee cover w/ Azul

Drew was around to do a little hand-drumming too. That's right, Drew is my bassist, but there's not much that dude can't do!

Well, that does it for the update.

I'm going to make an attempt to play almost every night this week: Tonight in Logansport, Wednesday night at the Lafayette Theater, and Thursday night in Frankfort to promote the next few shows: Java Roaster on 4/6, Animal House on 4/7, and Carole's Corner Pub on 4/14.

I'll have space for anyone that wants to tag along. If nothing else, wish me luck! :-)

Remember, you can subscribe to the blog, follow @ChrisJuneIND on Twitter, and 'like' Chris June IND on Facebook. Sharing the links is appreciated! :-)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!!!

Over and out