07/25/11

I'm going to start off this week by saying some sweet things about a couple of great local music groups.  First, the members of Arch Drive Goodbye have been awesome for helping plug my musical efforts. Thanks dudes! Second, I caught a show at the Black Sparrow on Saturday night featuring The Pinstripes from Cincinnati (btw, awesome show!). From what I gather, Lafayette's Green Room Rockers helped promote & get a lot of their fans to the party without being on the bill. A+!

If you get a free second, click on the links above to check out some great independent music & some all-around great dudes!

Moving on...

If you're a friend with me on my Personal Page or 'like' my Fan Page on Facebook, you probably noticed some snazzy new pics. Michael Dick at Image Source Photographic snapped some photos for me last week.  Click their link to get more info. If you need photography, they know what they're doing.

...and I'm not just saying that because they're one of my sponsors. :-)

Speaking of sponsors, I'm about to place an order for the new Chris June IND logo shirts. The back is decorated with logos of local businesses that are in my corner. If you're in the market for a new black t-shirt or want to show that you support independent music and/or small business, the price will be very reasonable. Send me a message with your shirt size & I'll reserve one for you.


Sidenote: a new Sponsors Page will be live on www.ChrisJuneIND.com shortly.


Guess what? There's a bass rig in addition to a drum kit sitting in my rehearsal space. I think it's safe to say that Chris June IND will be rolling loud and nasty starting around October. Keep your fingers crossed!

Until then, I keep adding regional dates to my calendar for my solo/unplugged sets. The first one is this Friday (7/29) at the Knickerbocker Saloon in Lafayette. You can find more info on my Shows Page and/or RSVP on the Facebook Event page.

Also, if you come to the show, I will play you a Journey song...

Thanks for stopping by again!

Next week I'll be posting from Florida.

Over and out

07/18/11

Hey, you made it!

The Andy Wood session at Sound Logic last week was a blast! If that guy ever gets tired of getting compliments, it's his own fault for being awesome. If you have a sec, check out his band: Down from Up. Also, his Rhodes amp sounds really mean... but, don't they all?

Guess what? Rhodes Amplification is on board with DropYa Fightwear, Image Source Photographic, People's Brewing Company, Lafayette Speaker Repair, and Sacred Apple to sponsor Chris June IND! I have some details to finalize with a few others and will have more info on that soon. Promise.

The Knickerbocker show on July 29th with Madison, WI bands Colorphase & Sleeping in Stereo is shaping up nicely. Info is on my Shows Page and even more info is on the Facebook Event listing. If you click on the Facebook Event link, you can let us know if you're attending. While you're on Facebook, maybe you'll throw me a 'like' on the Chris June IND Fan Page too!

Speaking of shows, I'll be playing select dates opening for Rockerbox over the next few months too. Those dates will be posted soon.

Chris Parker and I made it official last week. We're not getting married, but he is my new drummer. Mr. Parker recently played with my friends in Duilliath. If you have any tips on how I can distract him enough while he's playing so that he doesn't figure out how easy the songs are, let me know. This kid has rock muscles, for sure.

I had a great weekend hanging out with friends & family, but it's time to get back to work!

This week's agenda consists of finishing more live tracks, lots of rehearsals, recording vocals for the new CD, shaking down sponsors, meeting with a bassist prospect, photo shoot and lots more.

Come back next Monday for some more dirt!

Over and out.

07/11/11

Thanks to everyone that made it out to the last Chemcoma show. It was awesome for Ken & Nate to have us close down the Mosey!

Here's what you missed, set-wise:

"Runaway"
"In Time"
"SEISM"
"Stitch"
"Lift Me Up:
"Runaway" - Bon Jovi cover
"Run Like Hell"
"Come to Hand"
"Shakin'" - Eddie Money cover
"Helter Skelter" - Beatles, etc. cover
"Something to Die for"
"Boys of Summer" - Don Henley, etc. cover
*Encore*
"Whiskey in the Jar" - Metallica, etc. cover

I'm sure Cody & Em are up to dirty musical dealings. I'll show them some love around here as they start to talk. I'm glad we did what we did over the last 7+ years. We couldn't have put a better exclamation point on Chemcoma than the Mosey performance.


I edited-up & posted a live/unplugged performance of "Settling"

Let me know what you think. The footage was from June 29th and Lafayette Live and captured by my good buddy Justin Reagin on his iPhone. If you hang out & get some good video, I will post it!

In case you were wondering,  I've been playing solo with the help of programmed piano lines & a click track until I gather up enough dudes to jam.


*Quickies*

One of the newer heavy hitters on the Rhodes Amplification roster, Andy Wood, will be in town today cranking on a Colossus at Sound Logic. I'll be headed over later to hang out during the session.

I'll be jamming with the drummers again this week. My goal is to only have one of them by the weekend! Also, I'm still hunting and trapping bassists. I hope they're in 'season'.

It's looking like I'll be the local support for Madison, WI bands Colorphase & Sleeping in Stereo when they come to throw down in Lafayette at the Knickerbocker on Friday, July 29th. Mark that one down in your calendar, it's going to be fun one!

Thanks for stopping by!

Over and out.

05/12/11

Hey all! Once again I've let my blog schedule slide, but I've been scheming a lot...

I've still been slaving away trying to get a good mix of "Dear Reason." At this point, I'm more likely to upload the track to my site for you guys to listen to and bypass iTunes until I can afford  to get into a better studio to record with my signature Rhodes amp & have someone mix my songs for me. I think the treatment idea for the "Dear Reason" video is going to turn out really well.

I had a blast playing at Rancho Real's Cinco de Mayo show last weekend. Several of my guitar students made it out. From what I hear, the show has really motivated them to practice harder. I'm super proud of my munchkin guitar army! If you haven't made it out to a show recently, I'm playing in Logansport at the Corner Pub on the 5/14 and in Lafayette at Aces Pub on the 21st.

The Taste of Tippecanoe is just around the corner and all us 'behind-the-scenes' guys are working hard to ensure that it's even more awesome than it usually is. I'm not playing this year, but I'm psyched to be able to chill out & hang with all of my buddies' awesome bands that will be throwing it down. Don't forget: June 18th, downtown Lafayette, awesome music, great food, great cause! More info is available at www.tasteoftippecanoe.org

This is a bit uncharacteristic of my blog, but I'd really like to give a thumbs up to Clint Lowery and Sevendust. I have admired Clint's playing, singing, and writing for a long time and his band, Sevendust, is one of my favorites. Clint has been releasing some really cool music under the moniker 'Hello Demons Meet Skeletons' and I really admire how Sevendust has been helping promote it. That's family.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by! I'm off to studio...

Over and out.

07/05/11

I took the day off yesterday. :-)

So, I'll stop referring to my weeks as 'busy' or 'crazy,' because I'm sure it has become normal.

I posted an ad on CraigsList last week looking for a drummer & a bass player. Well, I'm halfway done. I'm thinking it won't be long til this thing gets loud & mean. If you know any decent bassists, send them my direction.

The last Chemcoma show is this Saturday (7/9) in Lafayette. If you want to see us one more time, the details are on my Shows Page. There should be a nice write-up in the Lafayette Journal & Courier either Thursday or Friday with details too.

I have a fan page on Facebook now! If you like it, then maybe you'll 'like' it. :-)

Alrighty, that's my short weekly update. I'll be spending the rest of the week jamming with new guys, hanging out at the Theater on Wednesday night for Lafayette Live, recording, getting the details for the new Chris June IND shirts worked out, and playing at the Mosey Down Main Street.

Thanks for stopping by!

Over and out

06/28/11

Get ready for a novel, it was Monday the 27th when I started typing this...

Wow, I thought last week was crazy, but today has been nuts!

Last Wednesday I made my open mic debut playing IND material. The short set consisted of "Before it gets to me," "Pocket & Soul," & "Settling." It was a good start for me & a lot of fun. Thanks to Brady for squeezing me in & for running Lafayette Live Open Mic at the Theater. It's an awesome way for musicians to test out new material & get some exposure. If you're free this Wednesday night (6/29) at 9pm, I'll be playing again. I'm planning on busting out a new track: "Out of our Hands." Extra details are on my Shows page.

Yesterday I wrapped guitars for the new EP I'm working on. I haven't decided on a title yet, but today I've been jokingly referring to it as '5'7 & Hell on Wheels.' Yeah, that's probably not going to happen. Maybe one of you has a better or maybe funnier suggestion. Anyway, I have 2 more songs to get bass done on before moving onto vocals & drum stuff.

I finally got around to doing a formal Facebook fan page. As always, if you're digging what I'm doing and/or are down with the cause, please 'like it.' All of the content on there is the same as www.chrisjuneind.com, but it'll give me a little more web presence. Plus, I signed up for a Sound Cloud account to get things moving. That should allow me to post more demos, live stuff, and other goodies.

Before I forget, thanks to everyone that made my Saturday awesome. My main man Scott Freeman had me over for a cookout that had a lot of Fiddlers' Gathering performers around. I rubbed elbows with some of them before having to bail early to go catch my little brother's first show singing with Thor. Joey does the cookie monster bit better than most guys I've seen in town. Don't let him know yet, I don't want him to get a big head. After all, Tim Brouk did give him a shout out in the Journal & Courier. Here's a link to the article. Great job at the show guys & thanks Tim! After the Thor show, I headed down to see my buddies in Born Under Burden catch fire at LafayetteMetal.com's HardnHeavy Showcase. This was B.U.B.'s cd release show. Please go check out their music, buy it, & watch them live. Trust me, they are worth your time. :-)


That's all for now. I'll be spending the rest of the week recording, giving guitar lessons, getting more ink & meeting up with some dudes that have hit me up to play my music loud.

Thanks for stopping in again. Have a safe & awesome 4th. Try not to blow any limbs off. If you think about it, light a few bombs off for my little brother Jordan. He's over in Afghanistan until December. I'm sure he and his USMC crew will appreciate it.

Over and out.

06/20/11

Hey all, I've received a few messages about the blog lapse...

I've been short on time. Apologies.

As you may have heard/seen Chemcoma is coming to an end. If you'd like to have one more good time with us, you can catch 'what will likely be' our last show at the Mosey Down Main Street on July 9th at 11pm. The Mosey's are very cool. Basically, Main Street in Downtown Lafayette is blocked off from 6th to 14th Streets & a party happens. There are some vendors, multiple bands on several stages, and as far as I know, you can BYOB & have fun in the middle of town. We'll be playing the stage at 6th & Main Street (in front of the Lafayette Theater). The event is FREE & lasts from 6pm to midnight. Hopefully we'll see you out!

Did you make it to the Taste last weekend? Holy cow, I had a blast. I was down there close to 5am to make sure setup went according schedule, hung out during the event, & stayed until about 3am to make sure everything was cleaned up. It was an endurance test & my sleep schedule is really messed up. :-)

We had a stacked roster this year & I don't think any bands disappointed. I personally saw Johnny Bhive, The Green Room Rockers, & Michael Kelsey tear a hole in the sky. I missed sets by Root Hog, Uncle Buck's Mojo Box, & No Apparent Reason for various reasons, but I'm sure they all threw down hard too! Lafayette locals always represent the town well. Please check these guys out when you get a chance.

Before I forget, thanks to the bands & volunteers for making the Taste virtually painless. I can't wait til next year!

Since the band is going kaput, I've been spending all of my time putting legs on the IND. I've been splitting my time between recording new songs & getting the material in a position to be out on a stage. Actually, my buddy Travis was over earlier to jam around & help me work out some bugs on the new tune-age. Thanks dude!

Speaking of that, I may be playing at the open mic at the Lafayette Theater (6th & Main) on Wednesday night (6/22). I think the lineup is full, but I'm a reserve in case someone cancels or catches on fire. So, I have no idea what the time will be if I do get to play. Anyway, come down on Wednesday. The show lasts from 7-11pm &, if nothing else, I'd love to hang out & talk shop.

If you haven't had the chance yet, check out my indie video for "Dear Reason": 

The dogs & I had a great time putting this together. Also, the song is on iTunes, Amazon, & other digital music stores if you'd like to own it and/or support the cause.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...