Rivalry's first show as a four piece band was at Vinnie's Rock Bottom in March of 2008. Vinnie's later relocated directly across the mighty Rock River in Jefferson, WI.
Hello two-thousand nine! I am quite proud of myself for not yet needing to void a check for printing the wrong date; although it was a close call this afternoon when I paid my rent. And what did I learn, looking back at all the accomplishments of 2008? Well I know that having a sound guy at our live shows is absolutely awesome (thank you Darren). I also know that covering a rocking song by Ronnie James Dio with Katie at the mic works out pretty well, even if Katie's alter ego, Linda shows up. For the past couple of months, I've been taking guitar lessons with a 46 year old rocker named Marv in my hometown of Elkhorn and that alone is one of my biggest accomplishments of 08. Someone at work once asked me, "DJ, why are you taking guitar lessons? Don't you already know how to play guitar?" My response remains the same, you can always get better!
My bass player Dan compiled a list of shows we've played in 2008 and I count (insert drum roll here) 29, woho! From our first show in February at Vinnie's Rock Bottom, we've played Jefferson, Darian, Middleton, Madison, Sauk City, Elkhorn, Fort Atkinson, Helenville and even a biker rally in Hubbleton. Since I last spoke with y'all, we played at the Boar's Nest in Darian, home of the largest urinal in southern Wisconsin (I may have to upload a picture... yes I took a picture of the largest urinal in southern Wisconsin). My mother's immediate family lives down in Illinois and I know, nobody is perfect, but they all decided to come rock out with us in Darian which was way cool. So I had Aunts and Uncles from both sides of the family sharing the dance floor and it wasn't even Christmas yet.
So, I'm sitting in my living room watching the news over my lunch break on the day prior to new years eve when Katie calls me and says, "Our new years eve show has been cancelled". Yikes! Long story short, I knew our good friend Eric at the Velvet Lips Lounge was looking for some live entertainment for... well, TOMORROW! So on a whim, I rang him and he was more than excited to have us. So with 1 day notice we posted the news on our site, sent an email to our mailing list and if you weren't there, you wouldn't believe how many people showed! It was absolutely incredible. The day before at practice we cranked out the needed tune, Auld Lang Syne which luckily is a simple 3 chord progression which we played in the key of F for those wondering. The Lips had a wonderful 2am all-you-can-eat buffet free of charge for those still brave enough to buy a drink. Our fav-fan Kari took some amazing photos posted here. New Years Eve, 2008 was one to remember.
What is on the plate for 2009 now that we're finally here? I thought I'd never ask! Rivalry's first album!!! We are finishing up the final 5 songs as I speak. This coming weekend, I'll be up in Madison at Megatone Studios with Dan compiling our various takes and adding necessary guitar and bass ear candy. I have got to give a shout out to our sound engineer, Paul over at Magatone Studios in Madison. He has been a pleasure to work with and has done a superb job with our recordings. Paul's professionalism and ear for perfection has made our coming album shine with brilliance. Plus, he's a guitar player so he is fine by me. I highly encourage any bands out there looking for a quality recording experience to give Paul a ring.
Tomorrow's practice will be held without the graceful presence of our drummer, Tim as he thought it would be fun to take a vacation to Mexico! I thought for sure he was going to invite me, but instead invited his lovely wife. Oh well! The three of us with our axes wielded will be working on a couple of new covers which will not be disclosed at this time. With our first year as a band behind us I welcome the opportunities and joyous ventures to come in what I know will be a fun filled musical experience called 2009.