I've been slightly ill for the past few days and I just felt the need to express my frustrations through poetry...


Reasoning with Otitis Media (Ear Infection)
By Tucker Jameson

Ear infection, ear infection,
Please leave me alone
My ear is not a suitable home.
I play music loud in the middle of night
And I’m sure the vibrations will give you a fright.
I clean out my ears with frequent q-tips
And I promise to use anti-biotic.
So go live somewhere harmless, on a stick or a stone,
I don’t care where you dwell
Just leave me alone!

fyi we have been working overtime to get the new EP out this March. The music sounds great and is already getting great reviews. We worked at Horizon Studios for a whole week, which always is a great time along with a lot of hard work. We ate too many Dunkin’ Donuts, had too many coffees and way too much junk food and, undoubtedly, made Vic (the Producer) crazy, but we got all six of the new tracks recorded. Sterling Sound in NYC has completed the mastering process, I have finished the cover
art and everything is set to go. The plan is to put a new song up each week until the EP is duplicated and ready to hit college radio stations, iTunes and the streets.
The first song, “My Best Friend’s Sister” is one of my favs—I hope that you like it as much as we like playing it. Keep looking and listening for the new songs each week and for the changes I will be making to the myspace.

On a more serious note—This past weekend I went to a send-off party for Darren, a childhood friend of mine. He has joined the Marines and is leaving next week for boot camp. I met a few of his buddies, who have also enlisted—they are really cool guys. It’s good to know that our country is being protected by people like them—they are our real rock stars. I can only say that I respect their choice to fight for our country and I’m honored to know them... my hope is that they will stay safe and come home to a stronger, kinder and gentler country. Be well and be safe.

Peace,

Tucker

saturday night. so very cool. always great to play at billy baloney’s, the vibe there is great. thanks to everyone that pulled the show together at the last minute: Matt LiVigni—you rock (thank god I rescued from the crocodiles)! Three Peace—you made the crowd believe and we look forward to seeing James at Berklee. And thanks Vivacity for ending our night with a very cool set! much gratitude to all....most of all, thanks again to all the people that shelled out the $10 to come hear us play. we hope that you like our new songs and will check them out when the EP comes out sometime in March. you guys inspire us, you make it all worthwhile, and we thank you for all your support. hope to see you again soon. don’t forget to watch episodes 8, 11 and 12 of “The Beast” to hear a few of our songs being played during the show. peace, tucker jameson & the hot mugs

The cat is out of the bag, or rather, THE BEAST has escaped.

If you've been following my little "enticements" either here or on Facebook, then you know that "Train Tracks" is going to be aired on a new TV series. You may have already seen the ads for the show on TV, on billboards, painted on buildings or at the movie theaters. THE BEAST, starring Patrick Swayze and Travis Fimmel, premieres on
Jan. 15th on A & E at 10pm. Yup, this is the show—"Train Tracks", Episode 8, approx.
2 ½ minutes of rockin' music. So set your DVRs or tape machines, or better yet, begin watching in real time.

Also, if you are a Swayze fan or a real loyal Tucker Jameson & The Hot Mugs fan, then you might also want to check out the Barbara Walters special on ABC, Jan. 7th at 10 pm.
Ms. Walters is airing an interview with Swayze and the scene that "Train Tracks" is in might be aired as well. Don't know for sure, but the scene was sent to ABC along with a bunch of other scenes—hey, you never know....

I do know this: this is so amazingly cool. Debra, if you are reading this, thanks for the opportunity. You are one fuckin' cool lady! You rock....

Peace,

Tucker

The college radio promo turned out to be very good and very informative. Our music is spinning at 140 colleges around the country and has topped the charts at many of them. The CD is in light and medium rotation which is really cool--it indicates that some of our contemporaries are into the groove of our sounds. (Not bad for a band that no one has heard of!)

Also, if you haven't checked the myspace page for a while, we are getting together in CT in January to head to Horizon Music Studio to record some new tunes. While we are in town, we booked a gig at the very cool, Billy Baloney's in Danbury. When we were there in the summer, we met the guys from Meat Machine II and had one of the greatest times and most lively gigs ever. If you missed them and us last summer, reserve this date, JANUARY 10th, so you don't make the same mistake of missing the show. It will prove to be wild and wonderful. The FANS there were INSANELY GREAT—into singing, dancing and really letting loose in expressing themselves. We hope to see them all there again. Also, fellow Westonite, Matt LiVigni will be opening the show up with an acoustic act of his very cool tunes. It will be a good way to bring in the New Year and to have some fun before settling down to another semester. It is an all ages show, so no excuses—bring everyone you know.

And there is more exciting news. It looks as if "Train Tracks" is going to be heard on a new TV show which begins in January. We are so psyched! It is already into an episode, has been contractually approved and has been "locked" as of this week. Which means, it is more than likely that it will be used, but we are told to be on the safe side and not mention the specifics just yet until the episode goes through its final mix. Besides "Train Tracks", "Mr. Brown" has also been mixed into an episode, but that is further away from being finalized. And, "Summer Whine" may work its way onto the series—in fact, Seth, is working on remixing it to satisfy the director's vision of the scene. We are really, really excited about all this.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting home for Christmas break and seeing my family and friends. Good food, comfy bed, my own bathroom and a TV!!! Happy holidays to all!

Peace,

Tucker

Following our CD release summer tour, Randy decided that performing on a regular basis was not really what he wanted to do, so he announced that he would leave the band. He remains a student at Berklee and a friend to us all. We wish him the best of luck and thank him for his contribution to the beginnings of Tucker Jameson & The Hot Mugs.

Of course, as is said in this business, "the show must go on!" All us Mugs went right to work when we returned to Berklee, auditioning many talented guitarists to take the lead spot. We spent many hours meeting with and listening to guitarists from around the world, trying to find that perfect match. (We all now have a greater appreciation for the teachers and musicians that ran the auditions for our admittance to Berklee—such a daunting task to choose from such a group of talented and committed musicians!)
Having said that, we hit the Texas Hold 'Em jackpot! Just when we started to think that the auditions would never end, in walks Blake Powell, the guy with a celebrity's name and the talent to go with it!

I cannot say enough about Blake. As soon as he picked up his guitar and started jamming with us, Seth, Dan and I looked at each other and shared knowing smiles that Blake was the one! In short, he is an awesome player and a great guy. Trying to keep it professional, we went through the motions of finishing the other auditions, meeting with Blake to discuss our goals and commitments, auditioning him a second time and then, finally, offering him the lead guitarist spot. (We really wanted to just ask him immediately to join the band, but thought it best to go through the entire process.) Anyway, Blake's musical roots are in blues and rock, he grew up listening to BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Miller and Tom Petty. He studied with guitar masters Rusty Cooley, Joe Stump and Joel Gregoire and is a sophomore at Berklee.

This is such an exciting time for The Hot Mugs. We recently entered into a promotional program with the Planetary Group, a Boston based promoter, that is promoting our CD to college radio stations across the country. Early reports are very encouraging—in fact, after only three weeks since the Add Date, the album has reached No. 1 at KFLI in AZ, No. 9 at WECS in Willimantic, CT and No. 25 at WBMB NYC.
The CD is spinning at over 60 colleges already and is expected to reach over 200 stations nationwide. One of the stations even submitted the CD to CMJ, which is a big deal for college radio promotions.

To start off the new year, during our Christmas break, The Hot Mugs are getting together in CT to record some new tunes. We will, once again, record at Horizon Music Studios for at least one week before heading back to our second semester at school. At the same time, we will be taking some more photos with Blake and the whole band.
So, keep checking out the MySpace page to hear some new songs, see when and where we will be gigging and to get updated on our progress. We hope to see you at one of the gigs to welcome Blake and hear our new sounds! Until then, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all!

Peace and Rock n Roll,

Tucker

Each of us spend the summer time doing different and, often, exciting things: mountain climbing, visiting other countries to learn about other cultures, coaching, lifeguarding, internships, traveling, attending Olympic events, working at various shops and businesses or, in my case, making music. Hopefully, whatever the paths we have chosen to take this summer have brought us lots of gratification.
For me, making music during any season gives me the most satisfaction. I love every part of the process, whether it's writing a song, recording, or performing. Performing has the added benefit of being able to share my excitement with my friends and fans. To watch their reactions, to hear them sing-along, to see them groove and dance to each tune is nothing short of wonderful! I know I speak for all The Hot Mugs, when I say that we loved to see and hear the audience groove with the music. The tour this summer, provided us with the very satisfying feedback that we, as performers, love to get. Memorable, indeed!
Some of these moments are captured on film. I have amateur and professional videos and photographs in abundance. Friends and family have provided me with a mountain of memories, some of which I have posted. For those of you whom attended the shows, these will hopefully, remind you of our shared experience--and for those who couldn't be there but want to share in some of the highlights, these pics and videos provide glimpses of these moments.
FYI, our music video that was shot during this summer when The Hot Mugs were together is now up on YouTube and our MySpace page. We had such a great time shooting the footage for it and are hoping that you will share our enthusiasm for its release. If you would like to watch in HiDef, below is the link (click on the "Watch in Best Quality" line beneath the video). I also put "Get High" back on—this is the full band version.
In the meantime, thanks to you all for your support and good luck with school and whatever you might be doing!

Peace and rock 'n' roll,

Tucker

Well, the tour is over and done with. We did so many things—from shooting footage for a music video to playing live on TV, and I am afraid that the rest of the summer will be quite boring. I am both exhausted and exhilarated. But, even though I am tired, I wish there were more gigs in more cities to play, cause playing to you guys is the best feeling in the world!

The Hot Mugs have left—back to Texas, California and New York. We gave our all to all that came. We are left with many memories. We learned from each other, got to know each other better and had lots of laughs. We are looking forward to spending some time with our friends and families, but also to begin gigging again back in Boston.

For now, the story ends. Wait, not quite yet… There will be many things that I will be announcing—the addition of several videos taken at some of the venues, lots of pics and hopefully, a full-fledged music video in September (complete with special effects)!
So please, keep on checking out the myspace for any announcements, gigs and/or new songs that might pop up occasionally. Also, I just got the word that the Newbury Comics in Boston, around MA and New Hampshire have ordered the CD. It is official—we are about to be on store shelves! Very cool feeling—very cool indeed!

Thanks again to all for your support—it means so much to all of us!

Peace and rock and roll,

Tucker

Saturday night was the official CD party at THE SPACE in Hamden, CT. It was awesome.
To all our fans, many thanks for coming and for buying all our CDs and beer mugs.
We really appreciate your support. After the gig, we headed back to the house to party the night away. The evening was incredibly hot, in every way imaginable. Wine, women and great food—swimming, hot tub, dancing and great music blasting through the stereo speakers. Under the stars with everyone loving life—it doesn't get much better than that!
Around 3 AM the euphoric state of mind changed rapidly to reality—two of my friends and I got stung from some very nasty yellow jackets lurking under one of the chairs waiting to inflict their poisonous venom. What a bitch… One of the guys, my friend James, is highly allergic to bee stings, so we called the EMS and had them come to check him out. Fortunately, he is okay. Never let it be said that one of our parties is boring—never a dull moment!
Anyway, I feel as if I am saying this a lot lately, but more thanks are needed – thanks to Johnny Action Figure, the band that opened the gig—you guys are great and we wish you lots of luck with your tour. Most of all, thanks to mom and dad for all you have done and are doing to help promote our band and to make all of us enjoy – you guys are AWESOME! You have been so cool in dealing with all of our craziness—I know I speak
for all us mugs—we really love you!
Enough of my gushing. We went to the studio on Monday and started to lay down some tracks for three new songs. Last night we went to Two Boots in Bridgeport and had a great time playing for our friends there. Cool venue—we will be back to play to a weekend crowd. Tomorrow, weather permitting we head to the WPLR beach concert in West Haven. From 2:30-3:30 we will be on air intermittently, so tune in to 99.1 to hear our music and interviews. Better yet, come down to the beach and join the party. WPLR gives out free lunches and we will be on the main stage. Then, it all ends in Boston on Friday—quite fitting since it all began for Tucker Jameson & The Hot Mugs in Boston.
Yes, as The Beatles lyric goes, "I get by with a little help from my friends"!