It's been since December since I have updated this thing...

NEW PROJECTS!!!

First and foremost. Lameocracy is selling really well. It's available at our shows as well as on our website losersoftheyear.net via a secure link on paypal. Justin recently brought it to my attention that its worth noting Lameocracy is not a crappy EP or demo. It is a full length (15 songs) CD in a plastic case, printed disc. And it's only $5.00 dollars.

Second. New Merch is coming. We have a few new logos. So expect new shirts very soon. Got a lot of good ideas. There is already new Online-Only merch (aka Websclusives) available at our spreadshirt store.

http://70285.spreadshirt.com/

However sales from the online store do not benefit the band. We get 0 money from the online sales it all goes to the spreadshirt.com people. We'd prefer if you bought a shirt at one of our shows unless you absolutely have to have one of the websclusives. If you do buy one, do us a favor and wear it places where lots of people will see you. Concerts, Malls, School, Movie Theaters, Fairs, etc.

Third. The acoustic album we had planned is on hold for now. We're still going to do it but it may be down the road a bit.

Fourth. The DVD we're putting together is going to chronicle the first 6 (or so) years of the band not just that one show we filmed. So its going to take some time. It will feature interviews with and commentary by the members of the band, backstage footage, behind the scenes footage, personal stories from our shows, discussions about the inspiration and meanings behind several LOTY songs, an exclusive performance, rare never before seen video, audio and photos from the early days as well as testimonials from you, the fans.

The best part is everyone who showed up to the special show we did last April gets a free copy of the DVD when it's finished!

Fifth. The New Full Length Album. The new album is still in the writing process we are planning to realease it in the fall. So keep checking back for status updates on that. We have however started performing 3 of the songs off that album. They are called "Get Out" "The City Where I was Born" and "Making it up to you."

Sixth. Remember that old crappy orange bus we bought? The one with the busted engine?




Yeah, that piece of crap. Well my brother Kyle, our father and I reduced that thing to a pile of aluminum and steel. We recycled that crap and got ourselves a better bus.



Look at that monster of a god like, tank like, piece of awesomeness. Yes it is our new tour bus. It is big. It is bad. It puts our old dodge van to shame. But best of all. IT RUNS!!!! Its fully functional.

The only thing we're working on with this bad boy (making it a project) is the inside. We are converting it for a national tour usage. We've had it for 10 days and have already put in carpet, put in a couch and some bean bag chairs. Taken measurements and are getting prices for custom bunk beds. Finished all the paper work at DMV. Have a flat screen to put in which we will eventually hook to a laptop/dvd player. Have plans laid out for a multi-speaker sound system, and are purchasing chairs (maybe tables too) for us to sit in.

It will be an awesome touring machine. We hope to have at least the important stuff done by July 1st so we can take it to our show at the Orange County Fair. Where do we get money for this kind of stuff? We all work day jobs. lol

Anyway that is the stuff we're working on right now! Be sure to check in for updates on this and other cool and exciting things!

Hey everybody.
It's Josh. We haven't written a new blog in awhile so I thought I would let everyone know what we are up too...

First and foremost the CD is finished and done and you can get a copy of it by coming to one of our shows or purchasing it at our website:

http://www.losersoftheyear.net

Yes, it is available for purchase on-line for a special price of just $5.00 dollars (us) plus $1.60 shipping and handling. Shipping and handling may vary for orders outside the continental United States.

That is some pretty good news for those of you who have been complaining about our lack of new merchandise. But thats not all the band is working on new T-shirts, Posters, etc since many of you already own every piece of LOTY merch we have ever made and want something new. That stuff should be done and available sometime in early 2009.

Also, we are in the process of setting up a CD release show in our home town area. Most likely in January, we just need a venue that is easy to find (centrally located) allows all ages to attend, and is willing to work with us to make it a kick ass show. If anyone has any suggestions let us know in the comments. Heck even if you're just interested in attending let us know.

The band is also going to be heading back into the studio sometime in the next month or so so to record and very quickly release an acoustic album which will contain acoustic versions of several songs from our new CD Lameocracy as well as some favorites from our first CD and some new songs that may or may not appear on future disc's.

Speaking of the future, LOTY is in the mid song writing stages of their third album with at least one song already finished (and being demoed at our shows) and several more on the way.

And as we have said in the past the band has acquired a tour bus...


Unfortunately the engine is dead. So we are saving money to get it running so that we can get the band back out on the road the price of a new (rebuilt) engine is anywhere between $5,000-$10,000 dollars. So if anyone out there has some spare change, or knows how to fix Detroit Diesel engines we would greatly appreciate any help we can get.

We have started piecing together what will be the bands first DVD, it will be somewhat of a documentary outlining the bands first 5 years. It will feature interviews with and commentary by the members of the band, backstage footage, behind the scenes footage, personal stories from our shows, discussions about the inspiration and meanings behind several LOTY songs, an exclusive performance, rare never before seen video, audio and photos from the early days as well as testimonials from you, the fans.

The best part is everyone who showed up to the special show we did last April gets a free copy of the DVD when it's finished!

We are also always looking for more shows/parties/events to perform at as well as filming stupid/funny(?) videos for your on-line enjoyment.

So yeah, thats whats been going on with us lately. I'll keep you posted on all of these projects as they develop further. Until next time.

RRrrock Rrrock, on!
-Josh

Hello, Josh here.

I started writing an e-mail to someone who had some questions about the type of equipment we use and decided I should make this a blog entry so others who are interested in this type of stuff can read it as well.

As with our last album we recorded the whole album ourselves. Only this time instead of recording it in our parents living room, we recorded Lameocracy in a studio we literally built from the ground up in our backyard. The biggest improvement of this album verses our last one was the techniques we used. In our last album we all set up in the living room, mic'd everything and played live like we do at a concert. The whole album was recorded that way and it kind of shows. It was actually believe it or not much more difficult for us to record in that fashion due to the fact that sound quality suffered tremendously and Jason (who did the engineering for that album) really worked his ass off to make it sound as good as it does.

On this new album Lameocracy, we took a more traditional approach recording each part separately allowing for much better quality and clarity. For recording the drums I decided we would use Light-snake cables which was a big gamble (nobody has ever done it before) but really paid off. The Light-snake cable is a XLR to USB cable that was never meant for studio use. Its sort of a casual consumer product. But using them allowed us to make each individual drum on the drum-kit an individual track in the mix. Thus each track could be altered after the fact independently. Basically it gave us more control over the drum-set.

Instead of having to mix everything down perfectly before you can even start recording and then make adjustments and do take after take after take listening to the playback, adjusting the volumes on the mixer over and over again many many times until it sounds right. We we able to just set the volumes once and to change it on the computer after the fact if need be. That saved us a ton of time that would have been wasted doing take after take after take.

With our first album when we set up the mixer the drums sounded great but then once everything was recorded we'd notice small things like the kick might not have stood out as much as we would have liked. And we were forced to either let it go or make adjustments on the mixer and then rerecord the entire song again. Needless to say I can't even imagine going back to that way of recording.

For the Guitar cabs we used Cobalt co7 Microphones. We DI'd the bass from Jason's amp into the mixer. I use a Peavey Supreme, Jason uses a Peavey Bass Cab/Head and Justin uses a Marshall. I recorded most of my guitar parts on a Les Paul standard. But recorded the song Overdue on a Jagmaster which gave it a heavier tone. Justin used a few different guitars for his tracks mostly his 2 Ovations and I think Jason may have used a few different basses for his tracks but mostly Fender P-Basses I think. Justin and Jason have forever evolving instruments as they are constantly changing their pickups and such to get different sounds. Jeremy used a Ludwig drum-set. We recorded the album with a single bass pedal (yes even Kill the Scene)

The other thing that is kind of interesting is that we were on a very narrow (almost non-existent) budget for our album, and the Light-snakes worked out so well for the drums that we decided to do the whole album fully digital so instead of using our standard mixer for the guitars and bass and stuff we bought an Alesis Multi-Mix. The multi-mix takes 8 XLR inputs, mixes them into one signal and sends it to the PC via USB or Firewire. So theres no need for a special I/O card or interface, theres no fiddling with the sound-card or using adapters analog cables and such to get it into the computer its all done digitally via USB or Firewire.

It was great for using multiple Mic's on a cab or a Direct In plus a Mic. Or even just doing vocals. The USB mixer worked like a pre-amp almost. It also has built in effects and stuff. We didn't use any of that but its nice to have the option. We used a few different audio recording/mixing applications depending on what we needed done. Mastering was done in Vegas, noise removal was done in Audacity and the first two songs were recorded in Kristal. I can't remember the name of the Mic we used for vocals. I think it was an MLX mic. But it wasn't great, I would like to experiment with a few different ones next time around, maybe a ribbon mic even. Due to our budget we took what we could afford and made the best of it.

Our live stage show is pretty basic. We use the same instruments and cabs we did in the studio. We wanted the album to sound as close to a live show as possible. For vocals we're currently using Peavey Mic's live but plan on buying a set of SM58's here pretty soon. We use a 500 Fender Mixer/PA combo for the vocal unless we're doing a really big show that requires more.

And that's basically it. If anyone has any questions about specifics feel free to leave a comment and I will answer as best I can.

We are putting the remaining design of the artwork/lyric booklet be in the hands of you... the fans.

The theme of the album is political/anti-war, but if your art is just plain ol' fashioned kickass, it will be considered as well.
We are just hoping to have it fit in with the rest of artwork we've already designed.

2 winners will be chosen, because we only need to fill two pages in the booklet.

The winners will recieve our new album "Lameocracy" in a merch bundle, which will be sent/delivered before anybody else can get theirs.

Artist will be credited 100% inside of album and on website, or anywhere else if we were to pimp out the artwork.

We would pay or offer a cash prize, but shit... we poor.

Not many rules, but here are the few:

No stealing other artists' work.
No using MSpaint.

So, submit your paintings/pictures to us via
Our myspace or losers@losersoftheyear.net.

GET TO IT!

-Justin
LOTYboy 4

The ticket system is flawed at best and completely backwards at worst. In order to understand why you must first understand one simple but crucial fact.

Music is a service.

That's the bottom line. You wouldn't make a photographer pay you before he can photograph your wedding. Baseball players aren't required to sell tickets to the Dodgers game before they're allowed to play. So why is it bands are expected to pay up front before they can perform? For those of you who may not know, some venues (particularly those of the shady variety) require bands to pay up front to perform in one way or another. Now the venues know this is wrong and backwards so they have created a little scheme to try and make it seem less like a scam.

They do this with Tickets.

The way this scam works is genius in its simplicity. The venue contacts the band and asks them to perform at their club. But theres a catch. To perform the band has to sell a certain number of tickets to the show. We'll call this number a quota. The quota varies from show to show and venue to venue but is generally somewhere between 25-50 tickets at anywhere from $5-$12 a ticket. The most common from my personal experience is a quota of 50 tickets at $10 dollars each for a grand total value of $500 dollars earned for the venue before you can perform.

If the band doesn't meet their quota the band doesn't get to perform. But don't get any ideas about taking whatever money you did manage to earn and going home. Not only would that cause problems for you and your fans but the venues have thought of this. In most cases the Bands are forced to purchase the 50 tickets outright and upfront and then sell the tickets in order to recoup their money.

 
And that's the real issue. The problem with this system is that instead of paying the bands to perform they are creating a situation where the band promotes the show, sells the tickets, performs and then gets nothing for their work, time and talent. The venue keeps anywhere from 90-100% of the profit and the band gets nothing. This is complete bullshit. I understand the venue cannot stay open if they do not make money, but they need to understand the fact that they need the band more than the bands need the venue. Bands can play anywhere. Parties, parks, other less shady venues.

Without live music the venue is quiet, empty and boring. Sure, they could hire a DJ but will they hold him to same standards as they do the bands? Will they try to force him to sell tickets before allowing him to do his thing? No. They would not stand for that. So why are bands any different? They are the soundtrack for the night. They are the entertainment. They are not there for your exploitation. They are providing a service. You are hiring talent to entertain and draw a crowd.

When it comes down to it bands should be paid for performing regardless of all other circumstances. The only prerequisite for payment should be whether or not the band showed up to perform. Just as the actors in a play are paid for every performance despite attendance. Bands are no different. It does not matter whether the venue has made a profit, it does not matter whether the entire place was empty. That is not the bands problem. That is the owners responsibility. The promoters responsibility and ultimately out of the bands control.

No independent Band can guarantee a high turnout any more than Major League Baseball players could guarantee the same for a game. And any band that could make such a guarantee would not be performing at a shady venue, they'd be at the stadium downtown making money hand over fist. So for the sake of simplifying things just remember this simple rule.

Band performs = Band gets paid. Period.


Another (though more rare) instance in which monetary compensation is not necessary is when we have the chance to share the stage with a well known band. Such was the case when we opened for The Matches in 2006 and The Pink Spiders in 2008. We were not paid for those shows, we performed for free because we wanted the bragging rights and yes the possibility for exposure.

The point is, it's not necessarily about money, but compensation.

Now for those of you in bands who are reading this, or those hoping to start bands soon, there are other ticket schemes to be aware of. One of the most prominent right now is what I call the 50+ scam. As in the above scheme, the venue tells you to sell 50 tickets for the chance to play. If you sell 50 tickets and give the venue the money you get to perform and you are paid nothing. However, there is a slim chance to make money for yourself. You see after you sell the first 50 tickets you will then be given 10 additional tickets to do with as you please. The idea is you can sell these 10 tickets as well and make yourself a cool $100 dollars.

Think about that for a second. You just made $500 dollars for the venue which so far has not lifted a finger to earn it. You most likely called in every favor, talked to every devoted fan you have and bugged your friends and family for days in order to sell these 50 tickets. Yet you do not get a single penny! But if you manage to find 10 MORE people who want to buy a ticket you can make a measly hundred bucks for you and your band mates to split. Awesome right? You made a sweet 16.5 cents per ticket. The venue kept the other $9 dollars and 83.5 cents.

Yet the band members are the ones promoting the show, selling all the tickets, setting up the gear, performing and entertaining the crowd. The venue did nothing. They charge your fans for food and drinks, they flick on the house lights when its time and they sit by the door collecting all of your hard earned money. If you are lucky they also have a sound guy who fucks up your whole set by not knowing what the hell he is doing.

So once again I call bullshit. And that is why as a general rule my band (Losers of the Year) does not do ticket shows. We make exceptions here and there when there is some form of compensation as I mentioned above, some sort of benefit for our trouble. But other than that we do not pay to play. And we do not support the flawed system that screws bands over left and right. No band should. No other performers put up with this sort of crap. So why should bands? Let these venues find out how hard it is to fill a club without live music. Let them find out how expensive it is to hire a DJ and pay him whether or not people show up.

Of course it doesn't have to be this way. And at many clubs it is not. There are fair ways to conduct business that does not result in anyone getting ripped off. If the club is going to be open regardless of who is there, the additional cost of putting on a live show is dismal. The lights are already on, the sound system is already on. At the end of the day the additional electricity to run a few guitar amps for 3 hours is virtually nothing. This makes ticket sales unnecessary. Which is why most respectable clubs simply split the door with the bands.

If a bunch of people show up to see the show everyone makes a lot of money, if nobody shows up nobody makes a dime. This encourages everyone to do their part in promoting the show. Some venues go a step further and let the band(s) split the money made at the door amongst themselves and the venue makes money off the sale of drinks and food. After all the band is providing a service and the club was going to be open anyway. Having a band only helps bring in business.

Another common setup includes the bands performing for free, the venue charging a cover at the door and keeping 100% of it but the bands don't have to sell tickets and are allowed to sell merchandise. This is not the ideal scenario. But its better than investing time and money into selling tickets. After all if the crowd likes us we'll make money on CDs, Shirts and other merchandise.

Now perhaps if tickets were easy to sell there would be no need for me to say any of this. Hell if it were easy I'd be telling you to get a hold of as many tickets as you possibly can and go make yourself rich off ticket sales. But the fact of the matter is selling tickets is incredibly difficult. Especially if you're on tour in a place where you have a very limited (or non-existent) fan base in that city or area. Which often results in no tickets being sold. Maybe you're a new band and no one has ever heard of you. Maybe the venue is small and nobody likes it or even knows it exists. These two things make it very hard if not impossible to sell tickets in advance to complete strangers.

But even if you do make your quota of ticket sales there is still a very good chance you will perform to an empty room. Why? Because pre-sold tickets are little more than a very expensive flier. And they usually end up in the same trash can. And even though people paid money for the ticket things come up. Bad weather. Previous plans they forgot about when they bought the ticket. Family emergencies. Maybe they realized after the fact that you were playing at the club that smells like sewage and has the crappy sound system that sounds like shit. Or maybe they just wanted to support an independent band trying to make it on the road and they had no intention of ever showing up.

There are a lot of reasons why the ticket system is flawed and failed. And my band has no reason to play that game.

At the moment Losers of the Year averages about $150 bucks for playing small private parties. Thats 100% profit without having to sell tickets or do anything other than perform. Usually we perform to a "built in crowd" of party goers for as long or as short as we want. Some people pay us more, some people pay less. Sometimes we'll just play for tips and rake in a few hundred bucks. But at the very least we always get gas money and exposure to a full house of people looking to have a good time.

In closing why should any band pay to play or buy into some ticket scheme designed to make money for the venue? It's supposed to work the other way around! If a plumber comes to your house, turns on the garbage disposal and that somehow fixes your problem you still have to pay him because he showed up. He couldn't be anywhere else so you are paying for his time. If you call tech support because your computer isn't working and it turns out you forgot to plug it in they still charge you for the phone call because you used valuable time and resources. If you go to the eye doctor and your eyes are perfect you still have to pay for the eye exam.

Bands are no different. We consider ourselves professionals. We conduct ourselves in a professional and respectful manner. And we expect to be treated as such. Being at one venue means we can't be at another venue making money. So if a venue schedules us and we show up to perform we deserve to be compensated regardless of whether or not the venue made a profit. If the band fulfills their end of the deal the venue needs to fulfill their end of it too. Even if its just gas and food money.

Band performs = Band gets paid. Period.

The end.

Josh Barkdull is the lead singer/rhythm guitar player for the band Losers of the Year. If you are interested in booking the band and aren't a scam artist, ticket scheme douche bag please send the band a message on Myspace.

Thank you for your interest in booking the band Losers of the Year for your venue or event. The fastest way to book the band is to send them a message on Myspace. The band checks it every day and will respond promptly to your questions and requests.

A few things to consider.

The band will perform free of charge if at least one of the following provisions are met.
1) The event is for a non-profit organization, charity or cause the band supports.
2) The event is hosted by a friend or family member of the band.
3) The event is free and open to the public.
4) There is a notable headliner for the event that the band would like to open for.
5) The event is a contest in which a prize can be won.
6) The band just wants to play for free for some reason. (this actually happens a lot)

If just one of those provisions are met the band will most likely perform for free.

The band does not have a set fee for performing.
Losers of the Year is always willing to work with you to come up with a price you feel is fair and affordable. We are not greedy, but gas is expensive.

The band will only pre-sell tickets if at least one of the following provisions are met.
1) The event is a fundraiser for an organization, charity or cause the band supports.
2) Ticket sales are not a prerequisite for performing.
3) There is an incredibly awesome headliner that the band would like to open for.
4) The band is guarenteed payment of an amount at least equal to tickets sold by us.
5) The band can be guaranteed (money back guarantee) they will perform in front of at least 500 people.

If just one of these provisions can be met the band will be interested in pre-selling tickets. Otherwise they are not. If you would like to know why please read this.

Losers of the Year would love to play your private party.
Below are some questions we may ask.
1) Will the band be indoors or outdoors?
2) Is there a clean/dry place to set up and play?
3) If not is there room outdoors for us to set up our portable stage?
4) When is the party? (Proposed day and time)
5) Will we be getting paid? (at least gas money for our giant van?)
6) How many people do you expect at the party?
7) What is the average age of people attending?
8) Would you say most of the people attending like Rock music?
9) How long would you like us to perform for?
10) Can we bring a friend or two?
11) Will there be food? How about drinks?

You will be held responsible for any damage inflicted to the band members/equipment by guests of your party.

LOTY would love to perform at your wedding/bar mitzvahs providing you meet one of the following provisions.

1) You are a crazy person.

Seriously, if you have listened to our music and you still want us to perform at your Wedding or Bar-Mitzvahs you may be crazy. We mostly play fast, rock music. But hey if thats what you're looking for sign us up!

Justin here,
Yeah, I normally leave the blogging to Joshua, but he's busy, flying a kite, shaped like Batman.
It doesn't really look like Batman, 'cause he's purple, but he got it for free.
He jacked it from some blockhead in a yellow shirt.

With no new shows confirmed yet, we are basically up to nothing.
But, we have 3 projects to work on.

First: Book more bigger and better shows.
Second: Get the street team something to do.
Third: Record our music video for the song Stoners Like You off our new CD Lameocracy, due out just in time for Summer.

So, we're taking this time to actually get some great things done.

I want to thank everyone who participated in the Victorville Relay for Life.
We had a blast, and I heard some peoples got some good pictures of us, so those will be up as soon as we get them.
And, credit will be given where credit is due, maybe, if you tell us your name.

The press was even at the Relay, maybe we'll see our faces in the paper tomorrow, and not in the Megan's Law area this time.

Laterz!
-Justin

Losers of the Year


P.S.
We are ALSO going to be uploading a lot more content for your enjoyment.
Anything from live performances, to us running around being idiots, to hanging out with fans, to off the wall sketches of us pretending we can act.
The only acting we're good at is acting like a bunch of losers on stage, and that's not really acting.

The band Losers of the Year will be doing a photo-shoot/LIVE CD/DVD taping on Saturday March 8th in their home town of Victorville California and need YOU to be a part of it. The band will be performing live and recording the entire thing on video and film as well as an audio cd.

The band hopes to get quality photos and video to help them book a major west-coast tour in the near future. The band will be performing live in person, therefore it is important to have a live audience. That is where you come in. The band has already signed up somewhere between 30-40 people to be a part of this shoot. But we need somewhere between 50 and 200! So if you haven't already signed up below are a few details about the event.

1) The event will be indoors and only people who sign up via Myspace will be allowed inside. So sign up by sending us the info requested at the bottom of this bulletin.

2) The event will take place between the hours of 7pm and 10pm on Saturday March 8th inside the Victorville Activities Center on Hesperia Road. There will be short breaks through out the night. Directions are available for those who don't know where it is.

3) This is an all ages event and security will be present. We want to make this event is as safe as possible for everyone involved. Feel free to invite your parents if they're unsure about letting you attend. The more the merrier. Securities job will be to stop trouble makers as well as protect the property of the city of victorville. Not to stop anyone from having fun.

4) This is a PHOTO-SHOOT. While it should go without saying I have to warn you that there is a 90% chance your picture will be taken as part of the crowd watching the band, your likeness may be captured on film, and your voice may in fact be recorded by our audio microphones. Most people WANT to be in the video, and WANT to be in the photos, etc. But if you are uncomfortable with any of this it would be best for you not to attend.

5) Being a photo-shoot and all the show will be unlike most LOTY shows. There will be no other bands, and no real time constraint. The three hours the band has alotted themselves should be far more time than actually needed to play every song on their new album, their favorites from their first album as well as any covers they can possibly think of. Thus expect some delay and banter between songs, the possibility of certain songs being played more than once and some posed or rehearsed photos being taken.

6) Because of the very real prospect of having EXTRA time we will be taking great care to make sure every song comes out right, every photographer has every opportunity to get the shots they (and the band) want and that our slave labor video crew understands their marching orders. We want this to be as authentic as possible, but due to the large sum of money required to reserve the building we will go out of our way to get the shots/recordings we need.

7) Guests are welcome, just be sure to explain the event to all of your guests so that they understand what they are getting themselves into. This should be a fun and interesting night, but nothing is fun or interesting to someone who doesn't WANT to be there. So make sure this is cool with your guests before you bring them!

8) Desired dress code for the event is casual. We want as accurate of a picture as we can get of the bands fanbase. So dress as you normally do, however weird that may be. We do ask that you avoid wearing shirts with corporate logos like Pepsi, Billagong, etc. Simply because those companies could sue us for depicting their logo in a photograph. Band shirts are okay. Especially LOTY shirts.

9) I cannot stress this last one enough. HAVE FUN! As a band LOTY feeds off of your energy and likes to give it back a million times in return. So please jump around, dance, scream, cheer, circle pit. Bring and wave homemade signs or whatever you want. The more awesome you are the more awesome the photos and video will be. Just be respectful of each other and equipment/building.

If anyone has any questions please leave a comment below or send the band a message. Below is the information we need from you if you wish to participate in this awesome event.

Full Name:
Age:
Gender:
Myspace URL:
E-Mail:
Phone (just in case):
Number of Guests:

Hello,
It's Josh from Losers of the Year. Many of you have signed up to be part of the photo/dvd shoot the band is doing. I want to say first and foremost THANK YOU for signing up, your name and info has been added to the list. That list will decide who is and is not allowed into the facility on the day of the event. The event is being helf at the Victorville Activities Center on Hesperia Road in Victorville.

If you're reading this and you haven't signed up to participate yet please do so. We are still looking for people who wish to come to this photo shoot and be an energetic member of the audience. We are hoping to get somewhere between 50 and 200 people to show up. For information on how to do that, as well as what this is all about please keep reading.

Ok first up the date has been officially set with the City of Victorville to use their facility for our photo shoot on March 8th. I know I told a lot of you that we were planning for February 16th or 23rd, unfortunately someone else had already booked the building for both of those dates and the next available opening is on Saturday March 8th. Thus that is when the event will be taking place. Instead of a sneak peek at the new CD as we had called it before, its going to be more like a CD release party since the album will either have just come out or will only have been out for a few weeks.

But thats not the important part. The important part is this is a free show that will be recorded in the form of a photo-shoot first. A DVD shoot second. And a LIVE CD recording third. It is limited to the first 200 people who sign up. So if you're one of those lucky few who get to be part of this its gonna be pretty cool.

We need everyone to RSVP via the Myspace Events Page. Even if you have already given me your info. The info you gave me was for the guest list at the event so you will be admitted, the RSVP is so I can more easily keep track of how many people are coming. If you would like to sign up to participate feel free to RSVP and leave a comment about wanting to come I will contact you with more info, otherwise just fill out the information provided at the bottom of this blog post. The exact address of the Activities Center is listed on the Events Page so you can get driving directions if you need them.

Just so you know the Photos/Video will be used in the bands press kit first and foremost. A press kit is a packet of information bands put together and give to potential venues when trying to book a gig. We plan on putting together an impressive portfolio of images, video and music that will make any and every venue want to book us. Second the photos/videos will be posted on our website/myspace accounts. Third a DVD of the show could potentially be sold or given away. The same goes for the audio recording of the event. We HOPE to package the LIVE CD/DVD together as one cool product.

To get these pictures we're hiring a professional photographer. You may be asked to sign a permission slip when you show up. Or have your parents sign it beforehand if you are under 18. We just want to make sure you understand you are being invited to take part in a photo shoot and there is a very real possibility your picture will be taken.

We plan on having audience members check in at 6:00pm the show is set to start at 7:00pm and will most likely go until 10:00pm or so. The shoot will be indoors. For those of you who have worrisome parents feel free to invite them as well. The more of a diverse crowd the better. It is worth noting that this event is not open to the public. Anyone wishing to participate must sign up via myspace. We are screening those who sign up to filter out anyone who may be a potential troublemaker. There will also be security guards inside the event. We want energy but we don't want anyone getting hurt. Or anything getting broken.

As such we are taking every possible precaution to ensure this is a safe event for everyone involved.

Everyone who signs up will receive a brand new 2008 LOTY Wall Calendar. They're about 18 inches long and 10 inches wide. They work great in lockers and bedrooms, offices, whatever. You will also be able to purchase the new CD as well as other LOTY Merchandise. Since the whole band will be there with you the entire time, we'll be more than happy to sign autographs and answer questions throughout the evening.

So if you're interested in being a part of this, and want to see us play live please message me with the following information...

Full Name:
Age:
Gender:
Myspace URL:
E-Mail:
Phone (just in case):
Number of Guests:

Note: If you plan on bringing guests please fill this out for each of them as well.

From this moment out I will update everyone who has signed up via this blog. Feel free to post comments asking questions or any other concerns you might have so I can answer them. I would also like to suggest you subscribe to this blog so that you will be alerted by myspace when I have more information. I will always post a bulletin about new information being posted but bulletins are not always reliable.

As the date gets closer I will contact each of you via a message on myspace to confirm whether or not you still plan to attend. I would appreciate it if you could let me know in advance if your plans change and you can no longer make it for one reason or another. I want to do everything possible to make sure this goes off without a hitch.

-Josh
LOTY

NOTE: Very cool and important band related info included.

Hello fellow Losers,

Welcome to Band Update. For those of you new to band update this is where I post the lates happenings of the band. New things we're working on and setting up. Things we need your help with. That sort of thing. I always encourage people to subscribe to this blog so you'll be alerted when I make a new post and you can be the first to read about our latest and greatest adventures.

The last Band Update was on April 2nd 2007, which is odd because a TON of stuff has happened since then. So much in fact I'm not even going to try and recap it all. I posted blogs about most of it. I just didn't post a Band Update blog. So if you wanna read previous installments of Band Update feel free to go through our blog archives.

Okay enough of that. Heres whats new. We have a new show! Finally. Christmas and all of the madness that comes along with it is over, so the band members are back to regular work schedules and can start setting up shows once again. At the moment our next show is on Feb 13th 2008. It's all ages and FREE!

Feb 13th Show

The new CD has been recorded. We have 1 track which is technically done but we want to add some trumpet too. If that happens that will be awesome and we'll be finished. At that point we will be doing a small photoshoot for the album cover and some inner artwork stuff. Once that is finished it will go into mass production and the CD will go on sale the moment we have it in our hands. It will also be available on iTunes asap.

To celebrate the CD's release we will be doing a FREE LIVE SHOW which we will be calling a CD Release Party. This party will serve as a back drop for a live Photoshoot/DVD shoot/Live CD recording. It will be free. It will be all ages and we are hoping 50-200 of you guys will want to participate. We need anyone willing to be a respectful yet energetic member of our audience to send us a message on myspace. Feel free to RSVP if you would like to participate and we will send you more info.

Photo/DVD Shoot

Another cool thing we have been doing lately is the LOTY Q&A. It is a video segment in which we answer fan e-mails. There have been two installments so far. We have one or two questions waiting to be answered but we are always looking for more so I thought I'd remind all of you. If anyone has a question they would like answered by a member of the band send us a message with the subject LOTY Q&A we will respond with a video answer.

One other cool thing is we have 2008 LOTY Wall Calanders that are pefect for bedrooms and lockers and refrigerators. If you'd like one they are free we just need money for shipping. Which with the poster tube and all that costs about 3 bucks. We'll be setting up an online payment system for that as well as our soon to be launched merchandise website.

I also want to remind everybody that we do play Private Parties. We are not above that. There is generally a fee for having the band come down set up and perform. But we are available. Private parties are actually where the vast majority of our band finances come from and how we are able to afford all of the cool things we discuss here on band update. In general Venues do not pay bands to perform and when they do its very little so if you're having a party or event and would like a kick ass rock band to perform you know how to contact us.

We're also working on scheduling some out of town shows. We hope to do a mini tour of California by the end of summer. There is also talk of doing a music video for a few of the songs on the new album so stay tuned for that. And don't forget to subscribe to this blog so you can be alerted whenever we make a new post.

Until next time.... Riggity Roll!

-Josh
Losers of the Year