Well, hello! It’s been far too long hasn’t it?!
I figured, it’s a new year…2009…shit, where has the time gone?! That makes me sound old…damn. Ok, so I thought it must be time for some kind of blog update. We’ve been getting a lot of messages asking if we’ll play this and that show, what we’re up to, when you’ll see us next, or if we’ve found a replacement to fill Eric’s shoes, etc. Hopefully I can answer some of the questions and give you a little insight into what we’ve been up to.
I find that bands like to play games with their fans, and tease them regarding giving them an update, when really it’s some lame attempt to sustain myspace traffic, ultimately, prolonging a legitimate update to some future date. However, Kid Gib doesn’t play that game…and so...that being said, let’s bring you up to speed…

Probably the biggest highlight of the 2008, year for Kid Gib was getting signed to an amazing record label in Japan called Kick Rock Music. Our humble, honest, and hard working label-rep “Masa” took us under his wing and sent us on a ridiculous, luxurious, week-long tour across Japan. We played our first show in Tokyo with:
Four Year Strong - http://www.myspace.com/fouryearstrong
Every Avenue - www.myspace.com/everyavenue
48 May - http://www.myspace.com/48may
Good4Nothing - http://www.myspace.com/good4nothingjp
The GetGo - http://www.myspace.com/thegetgorock

So, our first show in Japan…the crowd was huge! We got stopped in the streets to sign autographs on copies of our new album that kids were carrying around. Getting recognized in a KFC 10,000 miles from home is a surreal feeling hard to convey. We then traveled in a big tour bus to Osaka, Japan’s 2nd biggest city, which in my opinion was a lot more trendy and artistic than the cement and suits of Tokyo. It almost had a more liveable-sub-tropical-laid-back vibe, which I think we all dug. We ran into the dudes in Farewell (epitaph) who actually remembered us from shows we had played with them back in North Carolina more than 2 years ago…crazy!

No Cream!

Back north to Nagoya, where we played a hot packed show, and ate chicken and Mexican style Japanese pizza! Then two more shows in Tokyo. Yes, we played three shows in total in Tokyo. It’s a huge city, capable of supporting the same bands playing multiple concerts across different areas of the city.

Did I mentioned we partied our fucking faces off for like 8 days straight until all hours of the night drinking tall boys in the streets and yelling “chinpo” at locals broads on bicycles?!

Upon our return, we played a few good shows with the likes of Sydney, The Johnstones, Flatlined, Kris Roe – The Ataris, Finger Eleven, Sloan, The Trews, Thornley, Rides Again, and finally, Eric’s final show with Ten Second Epic in our hometown of Kitchener.

So, then reality kicked in…we don’t have a guitar player who can singer and write songs anymore. We looked, but have still yet to find someone who we think will fit what we’re after…especially, someone who lives in our town. As much as this saddened us, it was somewhat of a welcome “rest” – since we had all been living below the poverty line, sleeping in our van for months on end, eating burger king daily (not that there is anything wrong with that), bathing in Walmart Supercenters, getting greasy (not that there is anything wrong with that), and generally busting our ass for the last few years. I’m not saying I don’t love it, but it can eventually take an emotional, physical, and financial toll on a band. At the same time we were having disagreements on future direction between each other, management, and our Canadian label.

At the time, it seemed like so many of our friends bands were breaking up…Seconds To Go, Mugshot, Shotgun Rules, Sydney, Means, The Fully Down, etc. Should we continue touring full time…could we? Were we all reaching a point where we weren’t content working shitty jobs, living with our parents, touring our asses off, and not seeing enough reward for our efforts?!
I don’t know…there are too many variables and personal opinions. We weren’t 20 anymore, and the music industry situation in Canada seemed to be an all time low. Some members weren’t enjoying touring anymore, some couldn’t agree on musical direction for the new album, and others had unfinished business, such as the desire to finish schooling that had been put on hiatus.

So now, Nolan and Eric are busy working and writing music in a new home studio…not sure if any will ever become KG songs, or if Eric will release them himself, but I’m sure whatever he’ll write will be great! Bobby is working part time and at University…and I am finishing up a business degree, selling booze at your local LCBO, and dreaming of warmer countries! Uhh...so where do we stand now? Well, we’re all still great friends, and that is important.Personally, the dream is still alive for me…but I’m still confused about the future of “Kid Gib” regardless of the lineup. As it stands we’re all pretty busy with girlfriends, work, school, and life….BUT, we’re still on the search for a new guitar player/singer….so you WILL hear new music from us at some point in the future…just not sure when. Have faith!

When I get around to it, I will be making a DVD which will showcase live performances, drunken antics, and behind the scenes tour footage taken between 2004-2008.

Also, we have loads of CDs and merch kicking around that I will be sorting out and putting online for rock bottom prices.

In other news…best shows I’ve seen this year:
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in Toronto
- Four Year Strong & Every Avenue in Tokyo
- Everytime I Die & The Bronx in London

Currently listening to: The Streets – Everything Is Borrowed

Keep in touch…we miss your love,
Nick & Kid Gib

http://www.myspace.com/kidgibnick

So...I never post on here or even ever really use myspace for anything other than to check up on the happenings of the Gib every once in a while. But i need to use it now for a very important notice.

There's been a lot of things going on in my life within the past 8 months or so. Growing up, Japan, new jobs, writing music, people moving away....and everything seems to be pointing in the same direction. This is one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make but it did not come easy and i will never regret anything I've done up to this point...but I have made the decision to part ways with Kid Gib.
There are millions of things that i will not share with you guys. Not because I don't respect you as fans or want you to hear it....There's just things that you won't understand. I have spent the past 6-7 years travelling, writing, playing, eating, sleeping and breathing with my 3 best friends in the whole world and I will never look back on that with any sort of regret. I have experienced and seen things that some people only dream of. I consider myself very lucky to have been given the opportunity to do the things I've done. It's time to close that chapter of my life and move on to new things. I think there's a time in everyone's life where you come to a fork in the road and you need to make a choice. I have been at that fork for a long time, never really knowing whether to go right or left. I don't know when, how, or why it happened for sure...but i know that i'm making the right coice for me and just like everything else I've ever done...I have no regrets. I'm a firm believer that everything you've done in your life makes you who you are today and I like who I am. I like thinking back about everything from the beginning of the band until right now. There are so many stories and so many experiences that all...in some way or another...contributed to who i am today and what i will become tomorrow. I love my best friends with all of my heart and will still be friends with them until the day I die. Blood is thicker than music, and school, and jobs, and all of that bullshit. And we've been friends for longer than I've known that 2+2=4. That kind of thing doesn't go away.
I also thank everyone around the world that contributed to the best years of my life. The friends, the fans, the fans who became friends, the friends who became fans, and everyone else in between. You all, in some way or another, have made my life better and have given me memories that will stay with me forever. I will not mention any names because to me, every one of you played a part. From the sweetest, cutest fan...to the asshole promoter...you all made my life just a little bit better. Over the years, that adds up to a lot. I fucking love all of you and you will be missed...but never forgotten.
I'm still writing music and will always be playing. I don't know if this stuff will ever see the light of day but i think I'm okay with that. I'm taking some time for me right now to be creative and see where that leads. I have no plans for other projects for a while, but i have to say goodbye to this one. It's been a slice.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You will be missed.
Eric

Hey everyone!

So its been a little while since I brought you that super brief version of our Japanese Tour blog. Here I am again, hoping to shed some light on the goings on over here.

Japan!
Hands down the Japanese tour was the greatest experience ever for us as a band. Everything about it was incredible from the hotels, to our record label in Japan, Kick Rock Music, to the friends we made, to the crews on the tour, the fans, and most of all to the amazing guys, and our newest friends, in Four Year Strong, Every Avenue, and 48 May!

The Japanese people welcomed us with open arms, and made us feel right at home from the moment we arrived at the airport. To our main man Masa at Kick Rock Music who made this a tour to remember for us, we are forever indebted to you my friend. A thousand thank yous.

So, our album is out now in Japan, so, if you live in the great land of Japan, and you're reading this, make sure you get out to HMV, or Tower Records, and pick up a copy of our new CD!

We have put up a bunch of tour pictures in the photos section for you all to check out, and hopefully get an idea of what it was like over in Japan. I've actually just posted a few more live shots from our first show in Tokyo. Check 'em out! We also took a ton of video while we were there, and we will have a Japanese Tour Video Blog up on the site as soon as we can. Good times were had, and we can't wait to share!


Update!
As some of you who frequent our page have noticed we are keeping it pretty quiet on the shows front at the moment. We had been considering long and hard our touring future in Canada over the last half year, and it just doesn't seem to make sense for us to head out on the road right now. We'd love to say to everyone that "we'll see you soon", whenever someone asks, but we're going to be sticking close to home for the next little while, and here's why....

....Our album, which was released in Canada in 2007, was actually recorded in 2005, and written over the year before that. It has been a long time since our band has been able to sit down and really create new music, simply as a result of touring, and always being preoccupied with booking our own tours, and promoting constantly. DIY, you know how it is. We have decided as a group that it will be most beneficial for us to stay put, create the best music we can possibly create, get it out to you, our fans and supporters, and really see what you think. The music industry is tough these days, and its only getting tougher. Above it all, we still believe in the power of music to move people, so we're going to make the best music we possibly can, and with any luck someone will believe in us as much as we believe in ourselves, and we'll be able to continue doing what we love to do, and that's write and perform our music for you.

We are all so excited about our new music, and we can't wait to share it with you. Eric has been writing some amazing new songs, some of the best songs I've ever heard, and I truly believe that, and we all believe you will be moved by them just as much as we are.

This may seem like a backwards approach to some people, but this is where our band sees ourselves right now. We didn't want to sugar coat anything, so this is why I'm here just telling it like it is for all of you to read, and hopefully understand.


News from home
In addition to writing our new music, we are all trying to enjoy a little bit of our summer, and get things shaped up for the fall.
We have a huge festival show called Rockstock coming up on August 16 @ the Chatham Airport that you should all be stocked about! We're playing this year along side bands like Finger Eleven, Sloan, Rides Again, Thornley, Flatlined, and tons more! It is an all day festival, and tickets are $50, which is well worth all these bands. Go to www.rockstockconcert.com for all the details. We will be unveiling a couple new songs at this show, so if you want to be the first to hear them make sure you come out!!!

I guess that's all for now. We hope that you're all having a great summer thus far, and we will be speaking with you again soon. Until then keep your ears open for new music in the coming weeks and months.

Love always,
Bobby, Eric, Nick, and Nolan
KID GIB

Yo yo yiggity yo!

What's up everybody? So, here we are, writing to you from Tokyo, Japan, in the back room of an HMV where we just finished our in-store acoustic performance. Things have been crazy busy for us this week, so we haven't been able to write as many blogs, and post as many pictures and videos that we would have liked to.

All the shows so far have been amazing. Four Year Strong, Every Avenue, and 48 May are all amazing bands, amazing dudes, and we couldn't be happier to be touring with all of them. It's an honour for us.

We have a bunch of video and a ton of pictures that we want to share with everyone too, so we'll get that up on the MySpace the moment we get home!

We have our final show tomorrow night in Tokyo night, and we fly home on Friday. Its going to be a sad moment to leave all these bands that we've had such a good time with.
With the time difference we arrive only two hours after we leave on Friday night...and the flight is 15 hours!!! Crazy.

Alright, that's all I can throw at you for the moment, but as soon as we get home (and sleep for five days....kidding) we'll get as much photography and video up as we can.


Talk to you soon!


Love always,
KID GIB

Here is a great write up for our Japan tour:
http://gekirock.com/special/beyondtheblue/

Interview Bobby did with gekirock.com:
http://gekirock.com/interview/2008/05/kid_gib.php

Hey everyone!

We are so incredibly stoked to finally announce that our album will be released this May on Kick Rock Music in JAPAN!!! We have been keeping this quiet for a little while, and we are all so excited to share the news with you.

What's even cooler is that we will be heading over to Japan next month to head out on tour with our fellow Kick Rock label mates FOUR YEAR STRONG, and EVERY AVENUE!

STOKED!

We have just posted the show dates, so check 'em out!!!

Also, we have posted a tentative date for Cambridge, ON this spring, so keep your eyes open for more shows!

Love always,
KID GIB

OK, so I came up with an idea...however, it requires a tad bit of effort and technology, but it could be really fun!

If you really love KID GIB...

Use a digital camera with video, cell phone, or even a video recorder and film yourself....because we want you to tell the world:

- What you love about KID GIB?
- Why you think others should listen to KID GIB?
- For those who have never heard KID GIB, why should they give us a chance?
- Your most memorable KID GIB experience etc?

Keep your video to 30 seconds max.
Maybe say where you’re from, and close your msg by saying "so go visit myspace dot com slash KIDGIBROCK!"

Send us a msg and i’ll give you my personal email address where you can send it to. We’re going to put these all over the internet and on youtube.


AND if you have your own youtube account, post it there in the "KID GIB FANS ARE THE BEST!" section :)
http://www.youtube.com/kidgibrock

Thanks xoxo

PS - There is NO deadline