Strangely enough, we've been nominated for Best Rock Band for a third year in a row. Even though we're not a band any longer, the panel wanted to honor us for our accomplishments during 2006. Which is nice.

We were fortunate enough to win this award in 2005 & 2006 along with Best Band Overall (2005) and Best Male (Larry - 2006). We want to thank you all for making that happen.

So, follow the link below to cast your vote and remember, you can only vote ONCE!!

CU MUSIC AWARDS

The awards show will take place at the Highdive (51 E. Main, Champaign) on Thursday, April 5th. Rumour has it that Larry might be opening the night with a DJ set. Stay tuned for details.

xo,
lg

Some clips from our Rouge show at the Midwest Music Summit.

HEAVY

RUN THERE/WAKE UP

PUSHIN' UP (new song)

Larry's diary of our southern tour has been published by the fine folks at PLAYBACK STL magazine.

CLICK HERE

Thanks to all of our dear friends who braved the cold and travled some questionable miles to support us this weekend.  Here's a brief recap....

THURSDAY (12/1) - Elbo Room - Chicago, IL

5 carloads of fine Champaign folks plus our favorite Chi-town homies stopped by to make this an exceptional evening.  Played well and got to meet up with Patrick Grueber (an A & R guy whom we've been in talks with for a few months).  Patrick had good things to say and we'll definitely be working together in some capacity very soon.  Representatives from Smoke Off Vinyl, Bruiser, Ripley Caine and Darling Disarm were in attendance.  Great to see musicians supporting musicians.

FRIDAY (12/2) - House Of Rock - Eau Claire, WI

Our third time in Eau Claire - by far the best crowd to date, although overall it was considered a "dead" night.  Played very well (got a bootleg recording of the night!).  Shared the stage with a HOT band from Minneapolis, The Melsimatics - GREAT sound.  Check them out if you get the chance.  The headliners were a local outfit called The Drunk Drivers which received the following descriptions:

"What I would imagine Bruce Willis' band sounds like"

"Primus without the math"

"A slightly drunker Guided By Voices"

"Springstein with a punk band"

They drank and played for almost 2 1/2 hours.  Their crowd consisted mostly of 30-something Wisconsin natives in stocking caps and flannels hoisting their Old Style bottles well above their heads.  Good times.

SATURDAY (12/3) - Red Sea - Minneapolis, MN

Our third time in the twin cities as well.  We stayed with our pal Ana Tharp (who is, the GREATEST host in the WORLD).  She let us sleep in, fed us and took us shopping.  It had been pre-determined that Jesse was to remain sober and drive us back home after the gig (8 hours plus) so that he could attend his drum students' recital on Sunday afternoon in Champaign.  Knowing that the drive was no one elses responsiblilty AND that the night-time wintery trek was going to be painful - Eric, Josh and I decided to apply massive amounts of alcohol to our bodies.  Played a FEROCIOUS set and shared the stage with two locals (Somatic Fuzz (great guys) and The Backdrop (who not only saved the day by coming on the bill late, but also ROCKED!!!).  We met some great folks and got to see some of our old pals from previous trips.  Got a recording of this night too, but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.  Jesse made it about 7 hours before tapping out.  Josh had been behind the wheel a grand total of 40 seconds before having a CLOSE call with a semi somewhere south of Rockford.  Made it back in one piece. 

Didn't keep a consistant playlist this time, but here's what I remember about the drive back before I passed out.

Johnny Cash - The Essential Collection

Public Enemy - Apocalypse 91

DangerMouse - The Mouse and The Mask

Spoon - Gimme Fiction

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

James Brown - 20th Century Collection

Damien Jr. Gong Marley - Welcome to Jamrock

We made it back to New York this week.  Jesse and I played our Tuesday night residency at the White Horse (a "charming" campus bar for those of you who aren't hip to it).  Then climbed in the van and left Champaign promptly at 2:00 AM - destination: New York City. 

I had a total of 90 minutes of sleep over the course of 2 days when we climbed onto the stage at CBGB.  But nevermind the fatigue, we were playing Rock & Rolls Holiest of Holies (again) - not to mention some of our favorite people were watching the live video feed on the clubs website.  So, with every ounce of scrappiness in us, we plowed through a rousing set and left the place cheering. 

Night two in New York was even more rewarding as we dazzled a packed house at the historic Bitter End (made famous by the likes of Bob Dylan, Billy Joel & Etta James).  I also got to see 4 hot girls from L.A. do a Missy Elliot cover (Hi Mona!).

After our East Coast Host (Mark Zelasko) and I SCHOOLED greater New York in "beer pong", I vaguely remember a rather racey conversation with a female cab driver and my efforts to overtake what appeared to be a 2 lb hamburger. 

Day three (or is it four now?) required a beautiful autumn drive upstate to Northampton, MA.  A delightful town - charming really.  The whole place had the look of a romantic comedy.  Despite my vocal chords being severly wounded the night before, I managed to howl my way through the set and scurried back to the quaint bed and breakfast style Inn we had declared "home" for the night.  There would be no D.C. show - my voice was spent.  Not to worry, a phone call to the club had proven the D.C. gig questionable and we felt comfortable with the cancellation.

The final night was spent in Cleveland, Ohio drinking Belgium beers and longing for a 24 hour bowling alley.

Here's the playlist of our rides to and fro the coast.  Thanks to Lindsey for the Sedaris library.  Thanks also to Liam and Savannah for the KICK ASS goodie bags!  Great way to spend a drive. 

Champaign to New York (11/8/05-11/9/05)

Paul Simon - Anthology Disc 1

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice Disc 1

Mos Def - Black on Both Sides (twice)

L.L. Cool J - Bad

David Sedaris - Naked Disc 1

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

David Sedaris - Naked Disc 2

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (again)

Some Shit You Should Hear - Various Artists (hip-hop mix)

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Kayne West - Late Registration

Northampton, MA to Champaign (11/12/05 - 11/13/05)

David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice Disc 2

Old 97's - Too Far to Care

Headlights - EP 1

Beck - Guero (Japanese import)

The Living Blue - Fire, Blood, Water

David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice Disc 3

Space Monkeys vs. Gorillaz - Remixes

Cameron McGill - Murderesques & Ballads

D. Lo & Spinnerty - Casual Funk

DangerDoom - The Mouse & The Mask

Lorenzo Goetz - Live @ Cowboy Monkey 10-28-05 (YAR!...BLEH!!)

Wuk - Loveless Mix

Beta Band - Zeros to Heroes

Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly

David Sedaris - Barrel Tunnle

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (God...I have SUCH a crush!!)

Stay tuned for more tales from the road.

xo,

larry