On Monday June 16th the band took home some awards from the 2008 Review Magazine Awards.

Best Original Band

Best Varitey Band

Review Artist of the Year

Rock Rookie of The Year

Best Instrmentalist- Melissa May

Best Female Rock Vocalist-Melissa May

Best Rock Drummer-Matt Kramer

Thanks to all of you who nominated and voted for us.

If a city tree falls, who is responsible?  The Kings and Queens can do no wrong says the City of Saginaw.  Relying on the doctrine of sovereign immunity, the City and it's liability insurance company deny that the City is responsible for it's trees and the destruction they and the cities heavy equipment cause.  If the city is immune, why are the taxpayers paying for the city to carry liabilty insurance?

On May 18th at 1:15pm two large, rotted trunks of a City of Saginaw owned tree fell onto Mel's truck, The Purple Haze, crushing the truck beyond repair.  The City had just given a parking permit to park in front of her house while he driveway was blocked by construction.  Construction that 2 days prior had cut a gas line and one day after a sewer line.  The type of construction occuring was started by ripping out the old road, which sounded like bombs going off as they smashed away the concrete, then digging new sewer lines deep into the ground.  This tree was 20 feet away from the street they just worked on.   This was not an act of God.  The tree fell on a Sunday, not during construction and was the only reported fallen limb in the city that day. The City of Saginaw has denied Mel's claim on the grounds that governmental agencies have blanket immunity from liabilty.  So they are never responsible for anything because they are the government?  We are not contending that cities should pay for ever tree branch and limb that falls.  We are merely contending that the city is responisible for the trees when they force you to park in their streets, in a construction zone, with rotted trees.  The tree across the street fell over last year, the one to the east, the year before.  A few years ago a city tree that was just north of this one fell onto a car and pinning a 9 year old boy.  I think they might have a problem here.

The city is now being investigated by the FBI for money they OVERPAID to knock down abandoned houses in the city.
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=6159828"/>

FAQ
We are poor musicians and have PLPD, this was not an auto accident.
The truck only had 42,000 original miles.
No we can't afford a lawyer.
No this is not us doing purple haze.

We are now trying just to raise some money to get back on the road while we deal with the city, we have had many offers, so we set up a PayPal for donations for Mel for those who wish to contribute.  Please feel free to contact  the City of Saginaw Bureau of Information at (989) 759-1480 and let them know you disagree with them denying her claim.   Check here for City Council members email addresses.  Please be kind. http://www.saginaw-mi.com/Government/Departments/CityCouncil/index.php"/>

Mel's Video Tribute

So we played...

Friday-Mainstreet in Midland

Saturday-Hill’s Bar

Monday- Farmers Home(Mel’s Bday part 1)

Wed-Whites Bar- Mel’s Birthday part two

Friday- Czars

Saturday-Elbow Room in Ypsi.

So we played and partied pretty hard, to awake to phone call of the crazy snow falling in our destination of St Joseph MI.  What do we do? get in the van and drive right into it, because we have a show. Here is some vid of the highways on the way there......

Thunderchickens like to keep it fresh
By JACK WALTON
Tribune Correspondent


Four Thunderchickens hatched from the union of two songwriters in Saginaw, Mich.

Josh Jekel and Melissa May were both playing solo acoustic gigs when they met, then they worked for a while as a duo. Last year, they made the decision to add a rhythm section — Matt Kramer and Justin
McKinnon — and Thunderchickens was complete. Jekel plays guitar and May sings lead vocals as well as contributing violin and harmonica.

The group already has two releases, an EP called "Bootleg Egg" and a brand-new full-length CD, "Straight From the Coop."

Although the band is very much electric, Jekel’s fingerpicking acoustic guitar roots have had a major impact on Thunderchickens’ sound: He eschews the plectrum and uses only his fingers to pick his guitar.

"When I started playing guitar, I was really influenced by the old Delta blues, and those guys never used a pick," he says. "Besides, when you’re hanging out with a bunch of people, someone will always say, ’Yeah, I play guitar. You got a pick?’ That’s always the first question out of their mouths. I wanted to be able to play without one, so I started to adapt my own style."

Jekel’s decision to go with only his fingers has led him on some interesting sonic adventures.

"Especially now that I’ve become an electric guitar player, there is something about the tonal quality of the fingernail versus a nylon or plastic pick. Sometimes it can produce some really weird noises, too. And sometimes it can be a pretty horrific sound," he says with a cackle.

He uses this style to guide his group through songs that sound like 10,000 Maniacs playing in a garage, or Patti Smith fronting a hippie band. Thunderchickens shows still involve about a 50/50 split between original songs and covers, and the cover song selections reveal some of the musicians’ influences: Songs at live shows have included Count Five’s "Psychotic Reaction" and The Standells’ "Dirty Water." The band respects that "B-list" of rock classics, great garage hits that haven’t been quite as radio-saturated as some of the oldies.

"We don’t do the predictable bar band covers," Jekel says. "A lot of the ones we do, nobody knows if they’re covers or originals. Sometimes, they’re rearranged and whatnot. Sometimes we’ll go just from memory, so I’m sure there are a couple of places where we’re doing some rearranging of chords. It’s more gratifying to us to put our own taste in it than just to emulate 100 percent what’s been done before. It keeps things fresh."

Live gigs and more songwriting are in the band’s summer plans.

Jekel says the band is not searching for a record label and is content instead to "get the CD out there, play for people and spread the word about the bird."

And just exactly what is a thunderchicken, anyway?

"Mel has a Polish eagle tattoo on her shoulder," Jekel says. "And she got sick of explaining to people what a Polish eagle is, so she just started telling them it was a thunderchicken. And people would say, ’Thunderchicken? That’s really cool!’ So we thought it would be a funny band name."


http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080315/Ent/707682528/1043/Ent