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

04/09/12

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

03/28/12

As promised via Tweet, here's this week's blog... on Wednesday!

Last week didn't pick up steam until the weekend, so I'll start there.

On Sunday Zack from Arch Drive Goodbye stopped in at IND HQ to sing on a couple of songs; meaning we only have half of a song left before the vocals are wrapped on their CD! It's looking like the May deadline 'may' be met!!

Because of a long nap, I almost missed jamming at Aces later that night, but I hustled over there with enough time to crank out unplugged versions of "Out of Our Hands" and "Settling." Afterward I shared several cokes and talked shop with my new buds James and Marty until 3am.

Being wired and getting home so late (or early), I started some extra studio work.

I've had a plan to record a stripped-down version of "Before it Gets to Me" for a little while now. I wrote the song in late 2006/early 2007 with the help of Matthew Groschen (ex-Chemcoma) and have been playing it a lot in my unplugged sets over the last year.

After wrapping guitar tracks by 7am and grabbing another nap, I got some guest tracks from Matt Amos (The Cocaine Wolves) on triangle and Brady Joseph (Lafayette Live) on djembe and tambourine. Later in the night Drew and Chris stopped over to record bass and bongos, respectively.

I wrapped up vocals yesterday and bounced down a mix this morning.

So, how would you like to get a free download of it?

I had a few more guests lined-up to throw down some tracks, but it didn't work out with my deadline. So, hopefully I can get another tune worked up for them.

Moving on...

Did you catch Episode 10 of The Dig N’ Graves Radio Show on AudioKult Radio last night? Well, the results for the Burial Brawl were announced at about the 19:04 mark...

 

In what was described as a landslide, “Out of Our Hands” won! Also, the band will receive a 30 minute Burial Brawl Arena showcase show on AudioKult Radio, advertising on their site for 30 days, and potentially 20 ShamWows!!! :-)

They may have been joking about the last part.

 

Thanks again to Dig, Graves, Nikki, and Sarge for featuring the track and to all of you that helped us get the win!

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! :-)

If you're out and about at Lafayette Live at the theater tonight or at Applebee's in Frankfort tomorrow night for Jason Wells' open mic, I'll see you there.

Sidenote: Mr. Wells has a cool new video for the song "Friend or Foe." Check it out HERE.

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

Over and out

02/27/12

I started off last week getting some more touch-up ink from Eddie at Sacred Apple. We've been working on the sleeve on my left arm for almost two years now! Luckily, it's almost done...

On Tuesday, my buddy Brian (from The Mound Builders) and I made the trip to Chicago to check out the In Flames show. This being my third time seeing them; I can definitely say that those dudes never disappoint. Their new CD is pretty sick too. I'm not into 'metal' as much as when I was younger, but their hooks can not be denied. I was pleasantly surprised to see Trivium get back to what I initially liked about them; more like Ascendancy, less of a Metallica/Machine Head copy cat.

Speaking of The Mound Builders, they were included in Heavy Planet's March Bandness Tournament (starting on Wednesday, February 29th) to be crowned the best Stoner Rock band. Think we can all send some votes their way on Wednesday?

Back on track...

Tuesday's tickle in my nose/throat had grown to full-blown sickness by the time our set for Lafayette Live rolled around on Wednesday; setting the pace for the rest of the week. Drew and I were there to plug our shows for the weekend and we soldiered on.

Here's the set:

"Settling"
"Pocket and Soul"
"Out of Our Hands"
"Dear Reason"

By the way, it was good to see Hillary Tribbett back in action on Wednesday. She's such an awesome writer and performer. It's a good idea to check her out before she skips town. No, really, she's setting up shop in LA in the near future...

Sending thanks messages to radio stations, guitar lessons, and IND practice on Thursday and Friday provided a nice change-of-pace from the coughing and nose-blowing and helped usher in Saturday for the week's main event at Aces Pub.

The Journal and Courier did a nice write-up and 93.5 was blasting ads to promote the show. Our buddies in Born Under Burden kicked off the night of mean rock and my crew kept it rolling.

Here's the set:

"Settling"
"Guilt that Keeps on Giving"
"Dear Reason"
"Feed Me a Lie"
"The Shadow I Will Leave"
"Boys of Summer" - Don Henley/Atari's cover
"Pocket and Soul"
"My Rx"
"Out of Our Hands"
"Point #1" - Chevelle cover
"Something Else is Something More" - Adrenaline cover
"Stuck" - Adrenaline cover
"Amputee" - Oceansize cover
"Before it Gets to Me"
"No Second Chance" - Adrenaline cover
"Heartkiller" - H.I.M. cover

It was a great night and great crowd. Set-wise, it's been a lot of fun rehashing some of the old Adrenaline tunes to mix up the set. They've been holding up really well with the new stuff. Honestly, I don't think the crowd noticed they were hearing some 10+ year old originals from some Clinton County teens.

If you missed it, we'll be hooking up with the Born Under Burden crew for some more shows in the future. Our history makes for some fiery performances and below-the-belt jokes. Don't miss 'em!

I wrapped up the week back at Aces last night running open mic. At one point we had about eight people on stage jamming hot fire. It was nuts! Thanks to Dan-O, Brady, Jay, Dennis, Tommy, Jim, Kimmie, and CP for throwing down.

That does it for the update.

Don't forget that I'll be unplugged at Java Roaster on Friday and weapons hot at La Parranda on Saturday. I hope to see you out!!

Whoa, we're already to the point where I type that you should follow @ChrisJuneIND on Twitter and 'Like' us on Facebook... :-)

Thanks for stopping by.

Over and out 

02/06/11

Ugh... *scratches head*

I'm still recovering from last night's Super Bowl shindig. It's a good thing I started on the blog yesterday!

Last week started off great with the addition of a new(er) van. Well, it might as well be a bus. I think I can get my crew, stage gear, PA, and another full band in there. Perhaps another Lafayette-based band wants to travel with us...

Big thanks to Ben from The Enders for the hook-up!

Since it's February now, the shows on the calendar are almost here. So, we jumped on the line-up at Lafayette Live on Wednesday night to start getting in the mood.

Here's the set:

"Something Else is Something More" - Adrenaline cover
"Pocket and Soul"
"Before it Gets to Me"

We'll be back this week too (& plugged in). If you can make it, put Wednesday (2/8/12) 9:20pm at the Lafayette Theater (600 Main St. Lafayette, IN 47901) on your calendar.

Consider it a short warm-up for the Animal House show in Frankfort this coming Saturday (Show info & RSVP).

Sidenote: I'm gonna try to do enough filming this week to compile a "Guilt that Keeps on Giving" video. If you're free to help, I could use it!

Back on track...

Last Thursday I made a trip over to Frankfort to jam at the Applebee's Open Mic & to plug the Animal House show.

Here's the set:

"Amputee" - Oceansize cover
"My Rx"
"Pocket and Soul"
"Before it Gets to Me"
"Out of Our Hands"

Jim Voelz, vocalist for The Mound Builders, tagged along to help spread the show gospel, hang up posters, and deliver a killer set too!

That does it for the weekly update! Before I go:

-Today should be the last day for "Settling" on iTunes and Amazon, but "Dear Reason" and the Whistle When We Break Down tracks are still there!
-I'll pull my gear ad from Craigslist in the next few days. Get your tax return? Have a credit card on file with PayPal? Let's make a deal so I don't have to list it all on eBay!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Over and out

01/16/12

Happy MLK Day! Do you have the day off? Not me...

I met most of the Lafayette Music Scene last Monday night at the City Council meeting to speak out against the proposed entertainment ordinance. Good news: the ordinance was tabled! You can find more info HERE. Check out the chump in the bottom right corner of the picture. :-)

Drew & I jammed out some newer tunes (newer to the acoustic set, that is) Wednesday night at Lafayette Live. It was great to make new friends & have some dudes join us on the last song!

Here's the set:

"My Rx"
"Guilt that Keeps on Giving"
"No Second Chance" - Adrenaline cover
"Amputee" - Oceansize cover

I ended the music week by stopping by the Hoot Night show at the Lafayette Brewing Company. The Moundbuilders, Threat Level, and I-Exist threw it down!

Highlights included loud tube amps, lots of rocking, and adult drinks. Buddy from I-Exist is also a Rhodes Amplification artist and we spent some time chumming with Mr. Rhodes himself.

If you get a chance, ask Buddy why he was rocking a Tele that night. :-)

Coming up soon...

February 25th the IND crew will be joining forces with Born Under Burden at Aces Pub in Lafayette for a night of loud rock tune-age. RSVP/Show Info HERE.

Audiokult Radio will be rockin' Whistle When We Break Down in the near future.

Finally, I'm selling some gear that I haven't been using. If you need some new toys, are looking for a screaming deal, or would like to contribute to the student loan fund, I have the stuff listed HERE.

That's does it for the weekly update. Thanks for stopping by!

Over and out

01/09/12

Hey all!

Last week started out great! I started off by picking up my younger brother from the airport and getting him back home for the first time since he left for Afghanistan.

As the week progressed, I picked up a few unplugged shows to get out and play. Plus, this was the first time that all 3 of us bros got to hang at the shows. *That rhymed*

Drew tagged along too and kept the low-end solid.

First up was a short set at Lafayette Live on Wednesday night.

Here's the set:

"Out of Our Hands"
"Settling"
"Pocket & Soul"
"Before it Gets to Me"
"Zzyzx Rd" - Stone Sour cover

Side note: I'll be back at the Theater this Wednesday (1/11) to do another set. All the details are listed on the Shows Calendar. I hope to see you out!

My slot last week was right after my buddies Arch Drive Goodbye. We have a blast with those dudes, so Drew & I teamed up with them for 2 more extended sets at Java Roaster and Uncorked on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Here's the set (Yeah, yeah, cliche rock n' roll trick of playing the same set...):

"Settling"
"Guilt that Keeps on Giving"
"Something Else is Something More" - Adrenaline cover
"Dear Reason"
"Amputee" - Oceansize cover
"Before it Gets to Me"
"My Rx"
"Out of Our Hands"
"Pocket and Soul"

Since most of those tunes are pretty serious, we mixed it up by throwing in covers of Chef songs too. :-)

Thanks to everyone that came out, IT WAS A BLAST!!!

Switching gears to a more serious topic, the Lafayette Music Community was tipped off to the City Council's attempt to pass an ordinance to make promoters/venues/artists apply for permits to have shows in town. You can find info HERE and HERE.

The Lafayette Music Club has mobilized on Facebook in an effort to get this blocked. Please join up!

The City Council was supposed to consider the ordinance tonight at Lafayette City Hall (20 North 6th Street, Lafayette, IN) at 7pm. Though the 'consideration' is being delayed, we still plan to attend tonight's meeting.

That does it for this week's update.

Before I jet, kudos to all my new 'like-rs' on the Fan Page. Also, if you hip to picking up my music digitally from iTunes and Amazon, you only have until February 6th to download "Settling."

Thanks for stopping by!

Over an out

10/24/11

Hey, the blog surpassed 1,000 views last week! Wait, there's no award for that? Oh well...

Remember, if there's content that you're not seeing on the blog that you'd like covered, let me know.

Ready for last week's breakdown? Here we go...

On Tuesday I helped run sound at Black Sparrow for the Psychic Twin, Love of Everything, and Common Loon show. Not one of these bands had more than 2 people and all sounded huge! I was especially digging on the electronic elements of Psychic Twin & Common Loon. Overall, it was an awesome show!

I made my regular stop at Lafayette Live on Wednesday night. There wasn't anything crazy to report, but it was fun and, if you're reading this, you should start checking it out. :-)

I got a nice treat on Thursday; getting to listen to a mix of "Out of Our Hands." The acoustic guitars I tracked last week really beefed (and pop-ed) up the choruses. I hope the guitar solo for this song kills people.

Literally...

Imagine spending your entire weekend designing & assembling a merch display.

That's what I did.

Although it should be very useful, this is one of those thankless, time-consuming efforts that you have to do to make 'playing rock 'n roll every night' work.

There's not really anything there that's not on the site, but it's in-your-face & QR crazy.

I'm still trying to figure out how to pipe in subliminal messages to get nearby folks to get out their wallets. :-)

Looking ahead...

Tonight's show at Nate's House on the West-Side is canceled. We're trying to reschedule it for a later date. Apologies to those of you that were ready for an early-week hellraiser!

On Wednesday night Drew & I'll be throwing it down unplugged-style for Lafayette Live at the Lafayette Theater (6th & Main St, downtown). The show runs from 7-11ish pm and I think we'll be in the middle somewhere. Lafayette Live at the Theater is a free all-ages event with a bar area for 21+.

The show on Saturday at Jerilee's has had a bit of a line-up shift. While Our Albatross and the IND crew are still good to go, Draekon has been swapped out with Colasi's Omen from up North. Josh (their bassist) and I did several shows together back in the Chemcoma/Driven period. I'm looking forward to catching up & rocking out!

Outside of shows, this is my heavy week for guitar lessons and I need to book some more shows for the group. Also, if things pan out, I should get to proof the mix of the final track for the Whistle When We Break Down EP tonight! WOOT!!


I'm SOOOO ready to get this puppy done & out.


Thanks for stopping by! It's busy-time.

I'll see you at the shows & back here next week!!

Over and out

09/12/11

Hey, it's Monday! I'm glad football is back, but watching it all day yesterday wrecked my schedule.

The tracks for my new EP, Whistle When We Break Down, have made it to Detroit for mixing and I'm cranking away on finishing the artwork. Here's the front cover:

After a few more days of tweaking, I should be able to declare the back cover done; allowing me to send everything off for duplication when the audio masters get back...

In addition to the two indie singles that I put out earlier this year, the band has been playing all three tracks from the EP and mixing in a few others. It's looking like we'll be in 'show' shape on schedule & I'll start adding dates to the calendar.

Speaking of shows...

As noted last week, my buddies in The Mound Builders just got their new CD back & are having their Release Show this Saturday (9/17) at Jerilee's in Lafayette. Local rockers The Enders & Our Albatross are on the bill for the show too. It's going to be a great time, for sure!

That does it for this week's *short* update. I have to get going on completing the weekly IND Agenda so that I can hit up tonight's show at Preston's, Lafayette Live on Wednesday, TMB's Release Show on Saturday, and attend Taste of Tippecanoe meetings on Sunday & next Monday.

See you next week!

Over and out

03/07/11

Yay, it's blog day!

First, apologies to the North Central Indiana Chemcoma peeps for having to cancel Saturday's show in Elkhart. There was a scheduling conflict with the venue. The good news is, we'll be up there on April 23rd. Perhaps that will work better with your schedule. :-)

It's been a great weekend for the IND biz with the "Settling" video going live on YouTube & ChrisJuneIND.com. Thanks to a lot of help from friends and family, we got it past 300 views. In my opinion, it's a victory for small-time efforts. I sincerely appreciate the help you've done spreading the word.

I have a flyer printed to help promote the song and video now & I'll be starting the Lafayette Pound the Ground Campaign to spread the word. If you feel inclined to help, send me a message through the 'contact' form at ChrisJuneIND.com & I can pass on more info. *Sorry, I won't post my email address online because I'm spam-a-phobic*

If you're free Wednesday night, I'll be hanging out at the Lafayette Theater for Open Mic Night. It runs from 7-11pm. I'll be down there a bit late because of a scheduling conflict with a guitar lesson; so maybe I'll be there 8:30-ish. I went last week & was blown away by the performers; and I had no idea who they were! I guess that, although Lafayette isn't huge & I have been a music scene contributor here for 13-something years, I still get surprised. I still stand by my claims that Lafayette, IN has more talent per capita than anywhere. Apologies for any beef I might start, but the 4790 owns.

Next week I'll have an update for how this weekend's video shoot for Chemcoma's "Something to Die for" goes. Plus, I'll give more info on internet radio and video distribution details for "Settling." Hopefully I'll make a 100% decision on what the follow-up song is going to be (I have it narrowed down to 3 songs)!

Once again, thanks for the help!

Until next week...