The weather is horrible. The driving conditions dangerous. What do four dead end guys from Ohio to do? That's right, write new songs in the basement and book a bunch of new shows! The Whiskey Daredevils are going to all of the manageable winter drive locations over the next 6 weeks on our official "The Very Best of The Whiskey Daredevils" tour. Let's get to brass tacks here. If you haven't purchased our latest CD, you must have lost your damn mind. This is the one CD you need right now. All the hits in one tasty little package with the John Smerek ka-boom! production is definitely better than that lame Bruce Springsteen record getting shoved down your throat right now. Check it out Covington, Columbus, Cleveland, Youngstown and Erie. There's nothing else to do, so we better see you deadbeats at these shows. We're trying to add Pittsburgh, Dayton, Ft Wayne, Chicago, Buffalo, and Charleston as well. Look for updates as soon as we get 'em firmed up.

The Scene Music awards have reared their ugly little heads. Do us a favor and vote for us here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0Y_2bewR8qH_2bKiqvsZpcWS_2fQ_3d_3d You don't have to fill out any annoying personal information. You just click over there and vote. It will take you about six seconds. Also check out that Cowslingers guitar player Bob "P-Nut Head" Latina is up for Best Guitarist. Vote for him, would ya? It used to be that Robert Lockwood Jr would get it every year. Since he died, it looked like Bob's time had come, but then Lanphier got the nod instead. Thankfully for Bob, Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys and Bob Lanphier were inexplicably left off the list, so this may be his time. Every year his family wants to see that validation for their son, and every year the big party gets cancelled, the cake goes un-ordered, and the balloons are left un-inflated. Give the Lil Shaver a break, would ya?

R.I.P. Lux Interior, the best front man ever.

The problem with New Year's Eve is that the pressure is on to have THE BEST NIGHT OF ALL TIME every single year. How does it usually play out? An overpriced dinner in a restaurant where they serve the same crap they normally serve but provide a "champagne toast" that is usually a split of cheap Italian Asti that will melt your stomach lining. Maybe if you are lucky, they'll give you a paper party hat for the $100 you drop on the meal. Or perhaps you will go to a house party where a pathetic plastic ring of grocery store shrimp cocktail, bowl of smashed tortilla chips, and cooler of Miller Lite (cans) provide you the fuel to get past seeing the exumed corpse of Dick Clark rasp in the New Year.

Bleak. Really bleak.

The good news is that this year is different. The Whiskey Daredevils will open for the legendary Jason and the Scorchers at the Beachland Ballroom this New Year's Eve. Now, in my humble opinion, Jason and the Scorchers are one of the ten best American bands of all time. These are the guys that created the "cowpunk" playbook, and are cited as influences by every cool band you can think of. Without Jason and the Scorcers, there is no Cowslingers/Whiskey Daredevils. I still listen to the "Fervor" and "Still Standing" records every few weeks. Making this show even more amazing is that this is the all original lineup of the Scorchers that will be playing their only show of 2008. This is one of those rare shows that you will kick yourself in the ass forever if you miss it. If you somehow don't know about these guys, check them out immediately and don't tell anyone you know about this lapse in taste.

Tickets are set at $25 each. Look, I know most of you reading this are either A) short of cash or B) just plain cheap. That's why the Whiskey Daredevils have created a way for "our people" to get into the show on the cheap. Check this out... You can buy your tickets in advance for HALF PRICE at www.ticketweb.com if you enter the access code CHEAPDATE when you make your purchase. If you want, you can also buy them direct from the Beachland at this price by mentioning the promo when you call them at 216-383-1124.

I personally guarantee this will be your best option for New Year's Eve this year. Don't blow it like you did last year. Grab your half priced ticket now, and thank me later. The price is only good for another few days, so move fast.

It's a time of transition at Whiskey Daredevils HQ. Bob Lanphier will be stepping down as the Daredevils guitarist after years of horrible van rides, terrible conditions, thankless gigs, and Leo's wheezing. Who could leave all that you ask? Probably a crazy person...But the Whiskey Wagon rolls on as the band will debut new guitarist Gary Siperko this Saturday night at The Garage Bar. Gary has bounced around the seedy indie rock underbelly as the leader of The Mofos, a instrumental juggernaut that found them touring many of the same venues in The Old Country as The Daredevils. Here's two quick facts about Gary. He's a monster guitar player that stands very still. It has not been made clear if he will do any scissor kicks during the show.

The plan is to have Gary play the first set, which will be the stuff he knows as well as two new hits we have worked out in the basement. Bob will step in for set two and we'll play everything else we haven't played. You won't want to miss this historical rock moment as the Daredevils have a changing of the guard. It's like when Jeff Beck stepped in for Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds. Well, maybe it's a little more like when Scott "Pop Tart" Haggerty stepped in for Matt "The Thing" Becher in The Mortals, but you get the idea...

The show starts at 10:00. They've got a great outdoor patio, so if you are anywhere near Cleveland there's no reason not to come and hang out. See you there Cheese!

The 2008 European Tour dates are finalized with an unprecedented five countries on the schedule. Once again, always thrifty Christoph Roth will be The Wheel Man for the tour. The band is anticipating being on time all the time and in horrific hotel accommodations. Graphic artist and hero to Canadians everywhere, Will Ruocco is finishing up a new workshirt for the tour that has already been described as "cooler than some of that shit you guys have now". Get your Euros ready, because you'll be looking good in a just a few weeks.

The Whiskey Daredevils are meaner and leaner, and have bid farewell to rhythm guitarist Dave Bowling. Dave's job situation had forced a move to Buffalo full time, and the 3.5 hour commute each way to the Daredevil home base of Cleveland made things too difficult to continue. The band will miss Dave's expertise in finding the perfect pork rind, room service shrimp cocktail, and raw enthusiasm for all things in the Daredevil Nation.

Another year, another Free Times Music Awards! This year is very exciting though...After a multiple years of being snubbed, Leo P. Love has once again been recognized as the supernatural force that he is by being nominated as "Cleveland's Best Drummer". I can't tell you how great it will be to watch Leo stammer though an acceptance speech if he wins. Trust me, we need your help to make this happen. It'll be a top Youtube video!

Equally exciting is Bobby Lanphier's nomination as "Best Guitar player", despite the fact that The Public has yet to see him with his new bad ass Gretsch guitar set up. (Look out...we played last night, and it sounds great!) Take just a moment of your time and vote for The Whiskey Daredevils (in the garage rock/rockabilly category) as well as Bobby Lanphier and Leo P. Love on their respected instruments. It's really easy, and they don't make you go through any registration or annoying hoops...plus if we win it helps us trick out of town booking agents into putting us into their club because we're "Cleveland's Best Garage Rock Band". http://www.freetimes.com/html/music_vote.html

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was a big day for the Daredevils, as Dave "Lucky" Bowling had a cancerous tumor successfully removed from his kidney at the Cleveland Clinic. In a very quick turnaround, doctors identified the tumor, and targeted removing the growth for the best chance of continued well being. After the procedure, the medical team was very optimistic that they removed all of the cancer and feel the chance of recurrence is "very very low".

Now, you would think that this type of operation would leave you laid up for quite some time. Well, get this...Dave will be on his way home on Friday and is expected to be completely mobile and active in just a week. Can you fathom that? Have most of your kidney chopped out on Wednesday, and drive home on Friday? That's the plan ladies and gents. Look for Dave to start haunting "Cancer Survivor" meetings looking for free coffee and sandwiches in the very near future.

Although it may appear that we have been slacking off here at Whiskey Daredevils HQ, nothing could be further from the truth. "Whiskey Daredevils Old Favorites" is pressed and ready to go, and is being shipped to the Whiskey Wagon right now. If you want a taste of what this hot little platter has in store for you, check out the first ever Whiskey Daredevils video to "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave" right here on our MySpace page

The Whiskey Daredevils have defied expectations and returned from the 2007 German Tour with all five band members. Leo partied for five days in Hawaii, flew to Cleveland to rest for 18 hours, then got on a plane to Germany, setting a transcontinental partying record with 18 straight days of being up until 5:00 am drinking and smoking anything available. Congratulations Leo! A complete and unedited tour diary is going up now on whiskeydaredevils.com with the inside scoop on the entire tour. The full brutal honesty of a low-budget European rock tour is on display...beer, broken rock gear, soccer hooligans, drugs, prostitutes, the Berlin Hell's Angels, and even a gig or two. All the things that make life worth living!

In other big news, the band returned to discover that they had won yet another Free Times Music Award, and for that we owe thanks to anyone that took the 10 seconds to vote for us online. We really appreciate your continued support, and hope to see you at a show real soon so you can collect on the one (1) 12 oz domestic draft beer we owe you for your allegiance. Unfortunately for the Daredevils, no one took us up on the offer to pick up the award for us, so the celebrity presenters of the category took the moment to make some snide remarks and give the the plaque back to the Free Times.

Now that we're back we've got a bunch of shows around the region this spring. Check the show dates on MySpace as well as whiskeydaredevils.com to see when you can head out in your local community to get a dose of No Frills Rock N' Roll!

..The Essential Whiskey Daredevils.. is now available on whiskeydaredevils.com for immediate shipment. Having been called ..the best CD release of 2006.. (by Leo in the van last Friday), this is the mother of all rock records. Don..t be a sap, and buy one today. It makes the perfect holiday gift for someone you love, or for that inconvenient Secret Santa office Xmas party gift. And don..t be buying it and burning it for all your cheapskate friends either! We..re not U2. We need the money so we can afford to make another one.