Here are the details for this years NYE party at Quaker Steak and Lube..  It is pretty much the same as last year.  All you can eat and drink for $50. ($90./ couple.)  They also have a great hotel deal if you are interrested.  Here is the link to Quaker Steak's website http://www.quakersteakandlube.com/Madison_WI/

If you have any questions please contact us and we will do all we can to help you out.  It is going to be a great party!!! 

I haven't blogged in a while and I am feeling all backed up... I will just give you a recap of what has been going on.. The Wednesday's in the Dells at the Showboat have been a real hoot, and we are proud to say that the we didn't get fired this summer!! I guess the third time really is a charm. We only have 2 left so if you want to come up and party with us, your time is running short..

We have made a couple of trips out to Michigan since I last blogged.  Bells and Founder's Brewerys were great to us, not to many people out due to festivals, but we shall be back in Dec or so to take another crack at it. 

Some other shows that stand out were the Backyard Rib Cookoff at MickeyFinns in Libertyville, Shullsburg Concert in the Park, The Busted Lift and The Spring Green Family Funfest... 

MickeyFinns is one of the most awesomest places to play ever.  John and Brian, know how to treat bands, hospitality second to none.. Which would explain how drunk and fat we got... Also, we shared the bill with The Nadas and Hello Dave... Both seasoned veterans at the post show party, and good friends of the Bus..  The Nadas invited Nic and McGoo (from Hello Dave) up to have a guitar duel for the ages.. Then in true Hello Dave fashion, Heimbaugh invited all of us up to sing at the end of their show.. I can't say I remember it sounding all that great, I guess it sounded about as good as 10 drunken tards trying to harmonize "Can't You See" by Marshall Tucker and "Drift Away" by Doby Grey could sound.. Especially when they called me up to sing a verse, and I had NO idea what the words were.... oh well, nobody complained about the crap I made up... I forsee us doing much more with these two bands, its a pretty good fit, Hello Dave from Illinois, The Nadas from Iowa, and The Short Bus representing Wisco...  That was a long drive home, including a trip to McDonalds, a quick puke break on the side of the road, and a lost wallet.....

Shullsburg Concert in the park was wonderful, nice weather, lots of attentive small town folk, my sophmore history teacher Mr Fraundorf, and my freshman English teacher Miss Osterday, who is now Mrs. Staver :( were there...  I frown because she was by far the hottest teacher I have ever had, and she went and got married... Anyhoo, she still looked great, and confessed that it is now her who has a crush on me, and when the blood returned to my head, I remember feeling good about that..

The Busted Lift was cool, just because its like a second home to us sometimes, and we haven't been there in forever.  Its always really hot and people love to get a little rowdy.. You can change the name to 180 Main, but to the Mighty Short Bus, that will always just be the address that we send the posters to..  Posters that say BUSTED LIFT!!

I put Spring Green in with these not because it was necissarily cause it was a good show, but because it was memorable..  We were really looking forward to this show.  As a band that plays original music in Wisco you don't get the opportunity to play the small town festivals.  That privelege is reserved for the cover/tribute bands.. This isn't how it is other places,, just Wisconsin..  I will get back to that sentiment in another blog from my personal page, in the mean time I will try not to digress. We were excited because we got to bring our huge sound system and all of our lights, and we were going to rock that beer tent!!! Unfortunately the beer area was outside of our enclosed tent.. And everyone thought there was a cover charge since there was a cover the night before to see Super Tuesday...  Long story short, we played a killer show for 100 people while the other 500 stayed outside the fenced in tent...  Like I said, memorable, but a bummer..  For more info on my feelings toward cover/tribute bands please visit my personal myspace page..  Much love to everyone, Frank

Alot of the details are a little fuzzy, but thats just cause we are in the post-all star break of Beer Drinking Season and we are looking to make the playoffs.  This week we gained a couple of games ;).

    It started on Wed at Quaker Steak and Lube's Bike night.  Despite a small rainshower during our setbreak the night was great..  Even "The Legendary Wheel" was there to take in the show, (if you want to know who The Wheel is you have to watch Almost Famous, I think they based a character off of him.)  After the show there was plenty of naked van driving and pants dropping at the Club Tavern.  But those details are just kinda boring.

   Thursday we headed down to Dubuque, IA for a show at Murph's South End Tap... Pam Murphy proved herself our hero again by kicking out some drunk stumbly dancer in the first song.  The rest of the night was filled with beer and stuff... I think.  Oh yeah, the strippers and hookers at the dive hotel we stayed at were great, they really had a lot to add to our late night bible study class....  I think it was a good idea to sleep on top of the covers.

    Friday we left early and spent the day bumming around the hub in Cedar Falls.  Nic and Josh were happy cause they got a Pablo's Burrito, but Ben and I know it's still not as good as Q Doba.  The show attendance was kinda light due to Ragbrie, but its always a good time at The Hub.. Thanks to Ana for making us feel at home, and Josh the soundman for making us sound good.  And thanks to Beth and Jessica for buying cd's and buying us shots.  We would like to NOT thank Corey and Mason for the Kickin Chicken (Wild Turkey) That we almost yacked up on stage :-/.  Next time we will pick the alcohol...

     It's a long drive from Cedar Falls, IA to Kearney Neb.  And I have the left arm trucker tan to prove it.  It was all worth it once we arrived at Cunninghams.  This may be our favorite place to play.  It is built absolutely perfect.  We played outside in their patio complete with misting sprayers to keep you cool..  Which was good cause it was about 90 degrees.  Thankfully our bartenders Kylie, Lindsay and the Beautiful Tara (and Tina) kept us hydrated with cold Miller lights (and jeagerbombs... and patron.)  Our old buddy Bill was there to make us feel like rock stars, and we played an extra 30 minutes because they just wouldn't let us stop.  Man I love that place..

   Sunday was the longest day in the history of longness... We left our hotel in Kearney (the posh 1st Gold Inn..) around 9:30 am for the 6 hour drive to Pomeroy, IA.  We had our first show at the Legendary Byron's in Pomeroy.  This place is insane!!  First of all the town of Pomeroy has 700 people, but you wouldn't know it by driving through it.  I don't think we saw anyone on the streets the entire time....  Byron's is the most entriguing little bar I think we have ever been to.  He only does shows twice a month, and only on Sundays.  He only books regional and national acts that play original music.  He is a hardcore hippie, constantly wearing tie dies, he drives a prius and is a staunch republican (althogh not a bush supporter.)  The hospitality was second to none.  The people that paid the $10. ticket hung on our every note as if they hadn't heard music in years.  But the truth was that they hear great music every 2 weeks, thanks to their friend Byron.  They made us feel like Gods, and we hapily autographed every poster, cd, and ticket they could scrounge up.  The only people that didn't buy our cd's were the ones who won them in the raffle during our setbreak.  Needless to say we can't wait to come back, hopefully sooner than later.  After the full 4 hour show we set our Garmin for Madison... And six hours later we were home.  Just in time for Josh to take a shower and go to work.. :).  Thanks everyone for your continued support in our quest to not have real jobs anymore.!!  See you all at a show.  F

Hello everyone, or at least the three people who read these ramblings :)...
Wed again, but this week we had a guest to share the Showboats dimly lit stage..., Country recording artist Chris Knight (not the guy from The Brady Bunch.) He was well received by the cowboys in the audience and afforded us a little bit more drinking time, which was appreciated.
Thursday we played the first of two Bowl-A-Vard Bike nights we have scheduled for the summer. The Mosquitos prevented much of a turnout, but those who were there had a great time, and despite losing a pint of blood to the insects, we did too. Special thanks to Cary, and all of the barstaff out at Bowl-A-Vard. See you again on Aug 21st!! We got a good nights sleep on Thurs after the show cause we had a big day planned on Friday.
We had to be at the Summerfest Grounds Friday by 10:30, so we were up and on the road by 9:15 and thanks to Milwaukee's lovely interstate construction project, we got there about 11:00.... Undaunted we proceeded to the US Cellular Leinie's Lodge for our 12:30 spot. The show was great, the crowd was amazing, growing to over 700 people before the end of the set. Thanks to all who made the trip from Madison, and thanks to all of the people who have never heard of us before, but still listened intently and cheered like it was their job. We had a blast, sold lots of merch and gladly signed our names a bunch of times :). Special thanks to Randy and Tracey Rueth our stage manager and photographer.
Unfortunately we didn't have much time to hang out, we had to boogie to Richland Center for a post-Star Spangled Celebration at O'Finleys Pub.. And despite severe exhaustion and dehydration, the show was a lot of fun.. We had a great group of Musbuh regulars and buckets full of newbies, and for one full set the Mighty Short Bus was a country band... It was quite the hootenanny,, or hoe-down.. The jury is still out as to which it was.
Just when you think the weekend is over..............

We get up early and drive 6+ hours to Marquette, MI.. If you don't know where that is, just get a map of the US and look at the top.. There is still snow up there!! No foolin.. Despite the 20 degree drop in temp and our lack of pants and sleeves, we were looking forward to the show very much, as our last outing there in May was a blast. This trip did not disappoint.
Sat night should in all honesty have its own blog entry, but I will try to summarize as best I can. The Up Front and Co. is simply one of the best venues in the Midwest, even though it is almost in Canada... Its a great room that is always packed with a mixture of college students, post graduate professionals, middle-agers, and flat out old people.. But everyone is there for one reason.. To listen to live music and party. We knew it was going to be a great night when our friendly hostess Krista, informed us that she made it manditory for all of her friends to not only come to the show, but buy a T-Shirt. It was solidified when the 22nd birthday party for Alex showed up and vowed to get as crazy as the we did.. By the end of the night, the bar and dance floor were both packed with screaming and gyrating people. yes, they were gyrating...
After checking into our hotel, and thanks to Nic's remembering the address, we walked about a half a mile to the birthday boy's afterbar.. After a frightening display of Karaoke by the locals, we made our way out the porch for an exhibition in Shot Gunning cans of beer, led by Dr Ben Stitigen... We also discussed how the U.P. should be a part of good ole WISCO.. Nobody disagreed, except Krista, but she is from Chicago anyways so we all just ignored her ;).
Next week, Dells, Finn's in Edgerton, and two days in Savannah, Did someone say FOGHAT?? Yes we did ;)

Ok, Where should I start... Probably Wed at the Showboat in the Dells. It was fun, people danced, and our newfound respect for Hootie and The Blowfish was well received. On to Thurs....
Back up to the fox valley for the infamous Waterfest in Oshkosh. This years lineup, The Short Bus, Road Trip (or Toad Rip, as was playfully referring to them that night.) And quintessential 80's rockers NIGHT RANGER. The show was great, Night Ranger was very friendly and we love Road Trip, mostly cause after we drank our case of beer (in about 15 min) they gave us theirs!! I would have taken Night Rangers, but the security guard wouldn't let me in their dressing room, no matter what I tried... :-/
It was especially nice to see some short bus regulars, or Musbuhteers as we like to call them, Cabo Wabo Tony, Shaun (clownpuncher,) Caroline, Anna Kinsmen, and even a couple of our friendly bartenders from the Showboat made the trip up, although they didn't get there till after our set...
Friday it was back up to the Dells for Nic, Ben and myself for a night of acoustic short bus that could leave a nun wanting.. Thanks to the barstaff for getting us all messed up, although we failed to shotgun the 24 oz Kegs of Heineken as promised... We made some new fans from the Quad Cities, and the Twin Cities.... So thats like 6 cities... Alright ;)....
Sat was the long anticipated Cuba City Street Dance.. And thanks to such a large number of our fans from across the Tri-State area, it was a Huge Success. Over 1,000 people came through the gates and danced the night away with the Bus.. Making it the biggest Street Dance in Cuba City history... We are gonna need a raise next year ;-).

This week is a big one for the SHort Bus... Wed is the obligatory Showboat acoustic show/beer drinking competition... Thurs is our first of 2 Bowl-A-Vard Bike nights (horray east side!!) Friday we are at SUMMERFEST 12:30-2:30 then to Richland Center for a post-star spangled celebration at O'Finleys Pub. And we just recently added a show at the jewel of the Upper Peninsula, UP Front and CO in Marquette, MI... That place is awesome! Until next week,,,, Listen to the Short Bus :)

Thats a new Short Bus Record!!
We started the week out at Quaker Steak and Lube for our first Bike Night of the year. Despite ominous clouds we got the green light to play outside. We didn't get long to hang out afterwards because Nic, Ben and I had to high-tail it to The Dells for our weekly Showboat show, which went off without a hitch... With the exception of our failure to play a Hootie and The Blowfish song... We will be better prepared next time :)

Thursday morning we stopped by our good friends at 105.5 WMMM for a quick show Pantry-thon (we mistakenly thought it was Panty-thon.) Then it was down to RIBCO (Rock Island, IL) to play a show for the best sound-guy in the midwest, Colin and Shelby, Colleen and her fiance and a bunch of barstools.... It sure did sound great though!!

The next day we trekked across IL through high winds and dust storms to arrive in St Charles for a show at McNally's Irish pub... One must be careful.... Lots of cougars down there in the burbs... Then after spending the night in the DUMPIEST days inn east of the Mississippi, we heading to downtown Chicago for an early show at Chicago's RibFest./
The Show was good, the ribs were tasty and the watermelon was wet... and melonny... We quickly rounded up the horses and headed north for the last show on our weekend tour.. We only had to drive through a few tornados and torrential rains to get to LaCrosse, WI for a show at The BlueBird Campground... It was interesting to say the least... but we survived and made it home for a few days of rest before our 5 show week this coming week.. I am wondering what kind of natural disaster awaits us next.... Locusts?? Volcanos?? Maybe an attack from a Yeti?? Only the road knows :)

Wed was great a the Showboat in the dells, we ended up afterbarring with some fine people after the show, it made for a long Thursday. Friday was our first show at Fin's in Newville, not a big crowd, but very friendly staff and great food, not to mention cheap Patron. Then came Saturday night....
We stayed (by we I mean, I) relatively sober because it is a long drive home. But when Tracey turned off all the lights to the stage and we didn't have anything packed up yet I kinda figured we were staying, and we didn't have much of a choice... So I we all decided to do it up right and start drinking like we are from Wisconsin. Long story short, Ballyhoo's is out of Patron and Everclear. One more shot and I was gonna turn into an apple pie. When we woke up the next day there was no sign of a hangover. Luckily Josh passed out early and was able to drive.

Hello everyone,
We returned home around noon on Sunday from the 10 hour drive from Kearney to Madison, but at no time did we feel like we were going to fall asleep at the wheel. We were all to excited about our new western most outpost, and home, Nebraska.
For some reason Nebraska, although flatter, and windier, feels alot like Wisco. The people are friendly, the women are beautiful, and they sure do enjoy their rock and roll... We played Thurs in the legendary confines of Lincoln’s ZOO BAR. Where legends such as Buddy Guy, BB King, John Lee Hooker, and The YoungBloodz Brass Band have played. And reining blues greats like Lil’ Ed and The Imperials still play. We had a very generous band called the Allendales warm up the stage for us and have us over for a few beers afterwards.
Cunninghams in Kearney is a Shang Ri La for hard working rock bands like The Bus, everything was perfect. And we never realized that we has such dedicated fans in Nebraska, such as Bill O’Malley who saw us at summerfest 2 years ago, and came to all three shows. Not to mention filling up our Van with gas, and buying us a case of beer, he knows the true way to the Musbuh’s heart. And Luke Cocheran who is going to have us out to his lake to play Lukefest this summer. Sounds like a blast. As for Cunninghams in Kearney, Looks like we will be back in mid July for Cruise days. Where we will wear out the joke,,, "I wonder if that thing has a straight six." Until then, the bus shall keep rolling.

At approximately 7 am on Sunday July 8th, our beloved van and compadre lost its life due to a cancer of the drive shaft.  Thus ending its service with the Mighty Short Bus.  Known by many names she was loved by all who rode in her, they dubbed her The Spuce Moose, The Tank, The Dutch Oven, and Smitty's Lounge to name a few. 

  Her last hours were spent in the good company of her close friends, Ben, Frank, Nic, Josh, Rob and Foreigner.  "As we listened to Juke Box Hero" we knew this would be the last time we got to listen to it as a group.  We knew her time was nigh" The Mighty Short Bus' Drummer Ben Stitgen proclaimed.  The Moose had been plagued by a number of ailments in her later years, including a chronic starteritis, a herniated gas tank, and finally cancer of the Drive Shaft.....
   Although she is gone she will never be forgotten, especially since she is still sitting, all broken down, in our parking lot.  You will never be forgotten dear Moosey... Since that first day we impulsively bought you, only to be sideswiped by a dodge neon streetracing that very same day... Till your last triumphant march through scenic South Dakota.  We owe you a debt of gratitude for always keeping us safe.... Although cold in the wintertime, and hot as hell in the summer.  She warded off the evil vanpires that would try to take us down...  Although I must say that you could have made it the last 50 miles so we didn't have to get you towed....  Man this blog is getting long.... I had better stop and get a hotel room.  F

Thanks to the thousands of people and the over 1100 bikes that came out to Quaker Steak and Lube last night.  It was the biggest bike night in the history of the Madison QS&L.  Thanks also to everyone who signed Clownboy's get well card.  See you all at a show near you.  F of The MSB