Verona Red

Sexy Grandmas + Molasses

2012-01-02T11:59:00.000-06:00

Crosby's Molasses Company understands that sex sells.

They also posted some videos on their website if you're into it.

Merry Christmas! All Verona Red Music FREE For Next 24 Hours

2011-12-23T11:54:00.003-06:00

Visit our Bandcamp page to start downloading! http://veronared.bandcamp.com/

Or if you know exactly what record you want...

Pound - http://veronared.bandcamp.com/album/pound
Side Effects - http://veronared.bandcamp.com/album/side-effects
No Way Home (single) - http://veronared.bandcamp.com/track/no-way-home

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who took us up on this offer, all of our music is back up to being a million dollars! We hope you have a great holiday!

Merry Christmas from Verona Red!

Another Reason I Really Like Steven Van Zandt

2011-12-13T11:14:00.000-06:00

I found this article today on the Huffington Post. It's called There's Only One Issue in America and it was written by Steven Van Zandt. If you don't know.him... well you probably do.

He is a founding member of the toughest band of guys to ever come out of Jersey.

...and the second toughest.

And he's the host of what has become by far the best rock and roll radio show in the country.

So anyway I really liked how he breaks it down here, so I thought I'd share. Many people have made these points before, but when he does it, it sounds cooler.

Here it is in full.

--------
There's Only One Issue in America
By Steven Van Zandt

I was obsessed with politics in the '80s. I've recovered and I'm feeling much better now thank you.

By the time I realized, as interesting as it was, I'd better stop this stuff and try to earn a living, I had discovered many of our social problems and quality of life issues could be traced to the same political source: our corrupt-by-definition electoral system. The solution to the problem was as easy to discover as the cause: The elimination of all private finance in the electoral process.

I was working doing most of my research in the area of our foreign policy since WWll, whatever fell under the umbrella of international liberation politics, but I examined and analyzed a fair amount of local issues as well.

I wanted to know how things work? Where's the power? Who's pulling the strings?

The economy of the world came down to the unholy trinity of guns, drugs and gasoline -- military industry, drugs (legal and illegal), and energy -- and now I would add agribusiness as the fourth controlling commodity, and always with the enabling bankers never too far out of sight making their profits far too often from wars and slave labor.

While that readily explained the suffering of the Third World, it didn't immediately answer why in America it was possible for so many people to be unhappy with our government's decisions, both foreign and domestic, when we're supposedly living in a democracy.

A quick analysis of our electoral process revealed the obvious answer. The simple fact is we do not live in a democracy. Certainly not the kind our Founding Fathers intended. We live in a corporate dictatorship represented by, and beholden to, no single human being you can reason with or hold responsible for anything.

The corporation has but one obligation, which is to increase profits for it's shareholders by any legal means necessary by the next fiscal quarter.

They have no moral, patriotic, social, environmental, generational or even sustainable responsibility. They have only a short-term economic mandate and their only responsibility to society is to stay within the law to accomplish it.

This doesn't mean corporations shouldn't exist or even that their directors are evil by their very DNA. It has been a legally acceptable basic flaw in the form of our capitalist system that allows corporations to operate without a moral compass or obligation to society -- but that's a discussion for another day.

The law is rarely a problem because the corporations' legal obligations are pretty much designed first and foremost for their maximum profit by the legislation created by the legislators belonging to our two national political parties, both of which are wholly bought, sold and controlled by Wall Street. The banks and the corporations. In other words the game is rigged. Feel like a sucker? We all do because we all are.

The manipulation, aided by a very willing media also owned by the corporations, has made things easier beginning with what has become the amazing Orwellian staple of every newscast, selling the public on the lie that the Dow has somehow become America's scoreboard!

We're all hypnotized, rooting for them like they're our home team at a football game, cheering for THEIR scoreboard mindlessly forgetting WE'RE THE AWAY TEAM!!

You think your congressman is working all day to get you a job? He may want to. He or she is probably not a bad person. They probably want to do the right thing. But they can't. Long-time Capitol Hill staff and campaign strategists tell me the average legislator spends one-third of their time (or more) every day raising money or on activities related to raising money.

Yes, they are "elected" which creates the mass delusion of democracy to keep the masses from rioting, but congressional races are costing millions of dollars and some Senate seats are going for tens of millions each, and they're predicting well over one billion dollars for the next presidency.

That's some democracy we've created there, isn't it?

Of the people?

By the people?

For the people?

What people?

Democracy in America is a sick joke and the masses aren't laughing anymore.

Yes, we can demonstrate. We can march. We can write and sign petitions to our Representatives. We can occupy.

And we should because it's healthy to vent, and we don't feel so all alone. But the truth is, other than the value of venting, we're wasting our time. It is naïve to expect political results from any of these activities.

Our representative can give us lip service. A lot of sympathy. Empathy even. But we don't pay their media bills, gabeesh?

We need to eliminate all private finance from the electoral process.

And let's not be distracted by "reforms." Let's spare ourselves the unnecessary discussions about transparent disclosure, or the conflict of interest of foreign countries buying favorable treatment, or protection after protection being gutted by dangerously diluted regulations, or trying to impose this limit or that limit, etc., etc., etc.

Campaign finance doesn't need reform. It needs elimination.

To accomplish this we must overturn Buckley v. Valeo, one of the two or three worst decisions in the history of the Supreme Court.

The ruling makes the extraordinary decision that money is protected by the First Amendment.

Presumably Chief Justice Gordon Gekko presiding!

These smartest guys in the room actually decided that spending money is the equivalent of free speech. You might wonder why no one in that smart room stood up and said wait a minute, if money is speech, isn't lack of money lack of speech?

You know, as in the rich get to talk, and the poor don't? How are the non-moneyed classes represented by this decision?

I guess nobody stood up then, but it's time to stand up now.

In fact, I am now introducing a new pledge to be signed by our legislators. Of both parties. Indies too. Everybody's welcome.

THE PLEDGE FOR A DEMOCRATIC AMERICA

(We'll need someone more educated than me to draw it up, or we can copy Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge, but it would go something like this.)

I, The Undersigned, pledge to overturn Buckley v. Valeo and eliminate all private finance from the electoral process, thusly restoring America to it's democratic principles. I may take corporate, PAC, SuperPAC, or Chinese money to get elected or reelected (martyrdom accomplishes nothing), but upon my election I will make campaign finance elimination one of my immediate top priorities.

Now somebody should be starting a new Third Party whose platform is dedicated to this one idea. Twenty-five years ago that's what I'd be doing right now.

But the need for a Third Party aside, this idea applies for everyone. Just as much for the Tea Party on the right as the 99 Percenters on the left (the corporate oligarchy actually has no Party affiliation, it just looks Republican).

Both groups should adopt this issue. The Occupiers need not agree on anything else, because frankly nothing else matters, and a bit more focus on the root of our problems for the Tea Party certainly wouldn't hurt them either.

Let's see who's serious about representing the "people."

And you know what?

We might be pleasantly surprised at how many congressmen and senators sign this thing who would rather be doing something more dignified with their lives than spending half their time begging for money.

-----
Link to original article on Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-van-zandt/democracy-in-america_b_1139463.html
-----

First Painting

2011-11-25T17:23:00.000-06:00

My first shot at painting.

Looks like my initials need a lot of work. Other than that, this was pretty relaxing. A lot of respect to people who actually attempt their whole name.

More Ballroom

2011-11-20T12:11:00.000-06:00

Just in time for Christmas.

The Perfect Match

2011-11-10T12:42:00.000-06:00

Drinkify.org. They find the perfect cocktail recipe to accompany any music.

A whole bottle of vodka sounds about right.

Here's your chance to try it out!

Verona Red Live Acoustic Set at the 3rd Annual Chicago Roots Collective Festival
Saturday Nov. 19
Elbo Room (2871 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL)
Show: 9 PM

Doors: 7 PM
Tickets: One-Day ($10) / Weekend Pass ($15): http://bit.ly/mOuliH
25% of festival proceeds will benefit the Old Town School of Folk Music.
21+. The venue strongly encourages folks to buy tickets in advance, as space in The Elbo Room is limited.

Good Work!

2011-11-03T12:50:00.000-05:00

Good work creative ESPN penis sign guy!

2 Nights + 30 Bands = Chicago ROCKANDROLL in November!

2011-10-27T12:38:00.000-05:00

It's our super sexy pleasure to announce that we'll be joining the folks from the Chicago Roots Collective for the 3rd Annual Chicago Roots Collective Festival, hosted by Elbo Room on Saturday, Nov. 19.

The CRC Festival features two floors of music showcasing 29 Chicago-based acts across two nights. (Friday, Nov. 18 - Saturday, Nov. 19).

We'll be performing an ol' jangly acoustic set on the upstairs level of Elbo Room around 9 PM on night two (Saturday, Nov. 19).

Can you dig it?

Saturday Nov. 19
3rd Annual Chicago Roots Collective Festival
Elbo Room (2871 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL)

Doors: 7 PM
Tickets: One-Day ($10) / Weekend Pass ($15): http://bit.ly/mOuliH
25% of festival proceeds will benefit the Old Town School of Folk Music.
21+. The venue strongly encourages folks to buy tickets in advance, as space in The Elbo Room is limited.

Two day line-up:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH
(downstairs--full bands)

8:00--Dan Tedesco
8:45--Mike Mangione and the Union
9:45--BandCalledCatch
10:45---The Future Laureates
11:45--Molehill

(upstairs--acoustic acts)

8:30--Andy Metz
9:00---Laura Glyda
9:30--The Western
10:00--The Ewing Theory
10:30--Glendenning
11:00--Claire Wellin and Comrades
11:30--The Down Feathers
12:05--Duck and Goose
12:35--Clare Adella
**************************************************************
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH
(downstairs--full bands)

8:00--Tree
8:45--Todd Kessler and the New Folk
9:30--Goodbyehome
10:15--Jackpot Donnie
11:00--Cobalt and the Hired Guns
11:45--The Local Strangers

(upstairs--acoustic acts)

8:30--Marley Dzis Duo
9:00--Verona Red
9:30--River Rising
10:00---Jess Godwin
10:30---Nelken
11:00---Bassel
11:30--Common Shiner
12:05--Steve Stone
12:35--Jeff Brown

For more info about the Chicago Roots Collective and to hear some great music, go to www.chicagorootscollective.com

To check out the Facebook event click HERE.

Back Log: Tour Recap Day 9: Pearl Street Grill (Buffalo, NY) - 10/15/2011

2011-10-21T18:01:00.000-05:00

I fell asleep in the van after we called it a night in NYC on Friday. I figured we'd drive back to Astoria and spend one more night at Lauren's apartment. Thus I was shocked when I woke up at 2 AM with a Snickers bar being shoved in my mouth. I fought the delicious intruder for only moments before I accepted the delicious mix of chocolate and caramel. "Where are we?" I asked, "At a gas station" someone said, and then I went back to sleep.

Several hours later I woke up to the sound of people slamming dumpster lids and yelling at each other in Spanish. We were parked in a strip mall. "Where are we?" I asked again. No reply. Everyone was fast asleep. I pulled out my phone and google maps suggested we were somewhere near Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The taste of Snickers came back to me and I remembered that we had been driving for a while after I fell asleep. I laid there for a bit watching workers come in and out of the Mexican restaurant, probably wondering what our van was doing in their parking lot at 10 in the morning when they were just arriving at work.

I fell back asleep for an hour or so, figuring I would let everyone else sleep since they must have gotten less time to rest. I woke up to Chad rustling around in the van looking for his shoes. Eventually everyone got up and had a laugh about the restaurant parking lot situation. Off to Buffalo.

The drive to Buffalo was pretty awful. Bad storms and high winds made for a tense drive and Adam noted several times that he was having trouble keeping the van on the road. We crawled into Buffalo taking scenic routes for next five hours.

When we finally arrived we headed to Mike's girlfriend's family's house which was only about a half hour away from our final downtown destination. Liz's family was awesome. They reminded me a lot of my family and there was more than one occasion where I actually forgot I wasn't with my own.

We had an awesome lasagna dinner with salad and chocolate cake for dessert and took by far the best showers of the tour. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long, and we had to jet for the venue almost as soon as we arrived.

Pearl Street Grill and Brewery was a really cool place. It was a big open restaurant/bar and the room was packed and waiting with tons of Liz's friends and family. We received a warm welcome which made for a great final show of the tour.

A huge thank you to Kevin and the rest of the guys from Escape Fantasy for opening up the night and lending us some equipment. The show wouldn't have been possible without you! And of course thank you to the Buffalo Sabres who also played a large role in packing the place.

After the show we went out with Liz's friends and got our dance on at the Thirsty Buffalo. We partied for a few hours and then made the drive back to Liz's parent's house for late night lasagna and sleep.

When I woke up in the morning we all felt rested and ready to take on the 9 hour drive back to Chicago.

Flash Forward:....ok so as you noticed these last couple posts have been "back logs." That's because I wrote them after we got home on Sunday night. We were really busy the last couple days of the tour watching cartoons and Walker Texas Ranger...so naturally there was no time finish these while we were out there.

Now that I've been home for five days, I've had plenty of time to take it all in and get resettled. There's some things I wished I'd said earlier that I'd like to say now.

First THANK YOU to all the people we met who showed us kindness and encouragement. It means so much to know that our music is connecting with you, and that you were happy to hear we are in town.

Next, if we were new to you and you were new to us. I'm happy our paths crossed. Thank you for sticking around and checking us out! Your enjoyment is what keeps us going.

Finally, I wanted to extend our extreme and sincere gratitude to all of you who opened your doors, showers, refrigerators, or driveways to us. We cherish all the time/drinks/stories we share with you guys. You make us feel loved and most importantly we want you to know that WE LOVE YOU!

rockandroll.
Chris
& Verona Red

Back Log: Tour Recap Day 8: Arlene's Grocery (New York, NY) - 10/14/2011

2011-10-20T20:13:00.001-05:00

I woke up half-naked in the van around 9 AM. We were parked in Astoria several blocks away from Lauren's apartment. We left the windows up and apparently the van had gotten so hot that I had taken off my clothes at some point in the night.

My feet were propped up against the window and from where I was laying I could see 10 to 15 small children and what I assumed to be their mothers crowding up around our van. It seemed strange until a large green sign indicated to me that we had parked right outside of Adventureland Day Care.

My mind immediately went to all the Verona Red promo condoms and Jenna Jameson playing cards that typically sit strewn atop the dashboard throughout our journeys. I looked to the front of the van and sure enough there was a group of disappointed mothers glaring right through the condoms onto my half naked 27 year old frame laying in the back seat of 15 person passenger van parked in front of their children's' preschool, thinking "this is why I made sure my child gets a head start on education"

I slunk back into my clothes and waited for the parents to leave. Once the coast was clear I woke up Mike and we exited the van, laughing all the way back to Lauren's apartment, where Chad had already gotten started on the morning's breakfast. Pancakes and bacon. Awesome.

We killed the day with some Walker Texas Ranger, watching Chuck Norris burst through several glass window, round-housing pedophiles like only he can.

By 4 PM we remembered that we were in NYC and that it would be really lame if we didn't go out and do something touristy before the show. So we packed up our bags and stepped outside. Unfortunately, the second we opened the door, sheets of rain came falling from the sky. Mike was brave enough to make the long walk to the van. Once he came back, we jumped in and headed over the river to Manhattan.

We arrived at Arlene's Grocery with enough time to load in our stuff and grab some cheap Mexican food.

Everything in the Lower East Side seems to be confused about what it is. For example, one might assume Arlene's Grocery sold foodstuffs.... but they would be wrong...

Or one might assume that El Sombero was a hat store...but wrong again...it's a hat restaurant.

We navigated around town for a bit, but the rain was too much. We headed back to the venue drenched. Luckily we had our clothes with us, so we all got changed and grabbed a seat at the bar.

We didn't have to wait long. The show got started promptly at 7 PM. The K's played a great opening set, and then we took the stage around 8 PM. It was the earliest set we played all tour, so it was nice to have plenty of time to relax and shoot the shit with the crowd after the show. We took some shots and got our gear loaded back into the van to make room for the subsequent groups.

Kassini, the band that followed us, absolutely killed it. Think the Eastern side of George Harrison meets Radiohead and the Black Keys...it was awesome. They've been working on a record for some time, and had originally planned to release it at the show that night. Though it wasn't finished they promised to send a free download of the new record to anyone who singed up for their mailing list. This was a really cool gesture, however, it seemed that someone had forgotten to set up the band's mailing list on the venue's merch station.

Needless to say Verona Red got quite a few emails that night. Looks like we'll have a lot of downloads to send out on the behalf of Kassini when that record is finished :)

By the time the show got done, the rain had let up and we were ready to hit the town. We went from bar to bar taking it in and meeting a lot of fun people/eating pizza.

When the night came to an end we realized we didn't get quite the bitch slap from NYC like we did the first time around. We figured this was a good thing, especially since it wouldn't be the last show of the tour and we had a long drive to Buffalo ahead of us.

Thank you again to all the NYC fans who came out to support us. We love you!

Back Log: Tour Recap Day 7: Bar Thalia (New York, NY) - 10/13/2011

2011-10-18T18:59:00.000-05:00

After scarfing down some volcano burritos we began the the two and half hour drive from Philly to NYC around 12:30 AM.

I was getting pretty tired after all that burrito, but Mike said he was feeling good so we hunkered down and slip and slided our way through the rain into NYC around 3 AM. This gave us ample time to meet up with Mike's friend Ben for a couple drinks and a few games of darts before we headed back to our crash spot for the night. We'd be staying with Ben's girlfriend, Lauren in Queens. She had room for two of us in the apartment, which was awesome because it meant two of us would also get to stretch out in the van.

After an hour of searching near her place we finally found a parking spot around 5AM. This meant someone would have to wake up at 8 to move the van for street cleaning, a ritual they celebrate nearly everyday in NYC which was odd to me as they only do this once a month in Chicago. The argument over who would be the unlucky soul to wake up and drive around for another couple hours in Friday morning traffic looking for another non-street cleaning spot was underway. None of us had gotten any sleep really so far this tour so this was a tense debate. It was decided that either Adam I would do it, and that we would figure it out in the morning... a plan I could already see failing miserably.

Adam and I went up to Lauren's apartment to use the bathroom before we would head back down to the van, when Ben suddenly remembered the greatest news I would hear all trip. Apparently, Sukkot, the Jewish "feast of booths" happened to fall on Oct. 13 this year. And according to the NYC parking website there would be no street cleaning on the 13th or the 14th or any major Jewish holiday for that matter... At 5 AM on Thursday, after not having got a real night's sleep for 6 days, I almost broke down in tears. Adam and I embraced each other in reverence to our new favorite Jewish holiday.

We skipped to the van like little girls and slept like babies. The blaring horns and screaming cabbies that would try to wake us up two hours later didn't stand a chance.

We woke up around noon feeling refreshed and decided to kill the day using Lauren's internet and watching Flintstones cartoons. Chad cooked up some awesome potato, cabbage, sausage breakfast casserole and we all ate some home cooked food.

Around 6 PM we made the drive over to the Upper West Side to perform at a private party at the bar that Ben manages called Bar Thalia. Bar Thalia was a ritzy little lounge located right under Symphony Space theaters.

Ritzy would be understating it. The clientele looked like this.

And by day 7 we looked like this

It was an obvious match.

We homelessly launched into our set around 10 PM and after about 2 and a half minutes into the first song, the mic's went down and the power to the amps behind us suddenly disappeared. After a few minutes of assuming it was because we smelled, we were informed there was a Celtic musical going on in one of they Symphony Space theaters above us. It reminded me of the good ole days, when the neighbors used to call the cops every time we got together to practice. It was understandable though, and we were happy to push back our set an hour when the theater goers would leave the show and come down to the bar.

We began our set around 11 and performed for a small but lively crowd for an hour. We had a great time hanging out with Lauren and Ben after the show, and it turned out most people were not offended by our smell, probably just a few.

The Celtic group eventually came down from the theater upstairs and serenaded us for the rest of the night while we took shots of Irish whiskey and played Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Thank you so much to Ben and Lauren for all support and hospitality! Night one was a blast!

Tour Recap Day 6: The Grape Room (Philadelphia, PA) - 10/12/2011

2011-10-13T15:23:00.001-05:00

Our last trip to Philadelphia ended in a bar brawl, cops, the venue closing early and none of the bands getting paid. We were hoping to set the bar a little higher this time, and kept our fingers crossed as we arrived in Philadelphia around 6:30 PM. We were happy to see the neighborhood we were playing in was a lot more happening than last time.

That said parking was a lot more difficult.

The Grape Room was a cool place.

There was a fan that spun like a fan...and a lot of pictures of Abraham Lincoln getting high.

We enjoyed two really great sets by Mackenzie and Flux Capacitor. It was another small turnout, similar to the night before in Pittsburgh, but we met some really cool people. Quality over quantity can be alright on a Wednesday night so we were happy.

We grabbed some Taco Bell after the show and started the drive to NYC, excited for back-to-back dates this Thursday and Friday in Manhattan!

Tour Recap Day 5: The Thunderbird Cafe (Pittsburgh, PA) - 10/11/2011

2011-10-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

We woke up around noon on Tuesday morning and thought we may have lost Chad. I remembered he crashed in the van, but was nowhere to be found in the morning. We couldn't get a a hold of him for a while and for a moment thought maybe he was kidnapped. It turned out he was just at a coffee shop down the street.

Relieved to find Chad, we got on the road to Pittsburgh around 1 PM. I'm always excited to visit my family in Pittsburgh, so the drive kind of flew by.

Once we arrived in the city we were quickly reminded about the uselessness of GPS in Pittsburgh. There are just too many hills, windy turns and overlapping roads for the Garmin to handle. After the Garmin recalculated our route 75 times we ended up in the Penguins parking lot...right before a game... It was a bitch getting out, but we eventually did and Google Maps guided us to my Uncle Randy's house another 20 minutes away.

We ate a great lasagna dinner (thanks Aunt Cindy) and headed out to The Thunderbird Cafe at 6 PM.

We bandaged up Adam's hand, still unable to find a normal band-aid and then settled in for a great set by The Hawkeyes. I was really excited to get these guys on the bill. I've had Double E stuck in my head for a few days since.

We performed after The Hawkeyes and then watched another great performance by Triggers.

The bands were great and although we had a small crowd (not totally unexpected for a Tuesday night), it was still a fun time.

We made the trek back to my Uncle's house and were happy make it an early to bed kinda night.

Tour Recap Day 4: Skully's (Columbus, OH) - 10/10/2011

2011-10-13T14:35:00.002-05:00

After a quick rest area sink shower we got back on our rout to Columbus. Luckily when we got there we were able to connect with one of Adam's old roomates who let us use his shower to get a proper wash. Thanks Brendan.

We arrived at Skully's shortly after and sat down to watch the Bears on Monday Night Football for an hour or so while we waited for the other bands to finish loading in/sound checking.

The Bears ended up being the low point of the night. Hubbard Stew and The Up All Nights set the bar pretty high in terms of good times. Hubbard Stew played a great opening set, and The Up All Nights turned Monday night into party night in Columbus.

After the show it was off to party with The Up All Nights. Drinks had been flowing pretty steadily all night, so although we had a trip planned to the next bar, the party was rerouted to the sidewalk.

For some reason this tree became a the focal point of our good times... Adam and Yo Yo, the drummer from The Up All Nights, basked in it's falling leaves and climbed it's sturdy trunk.

Then a random ex-stripper who caught sight of all this and was equally enthralled by the tree, decided she wanted to re-live her glory days.

From their the party moved from the sidewalk to the street where Adam and Yo Yo wrestled in the middle of 3 AM traffic, which luckily isn't that busy on Tuesday morning in Columbus. This was the result.

After stopping at a gas station to try and unsuccessfully find some kind of bandages we gave up and crashed in the van for the night. It was a fun and random night. We were worried Monday would be slow, but not so.

Tour Recap Day 3: The Rutledge (Nashville, TN) - 10/9/2011

2011-10-10T18:22:00.000-05:00

We woke up in the van sweating Double Down sandwiches around 9 AM in a driveway next to the house where hung out with some new friends we made after the show at Third Street Cafe.

We split for McDonald’s and then spent about a half hour retracing our steps trying to find the house where I left my backpack with all my belongings from the night before. Losing stuff on these trips is becoming my forte. This one was a new high point. Whereas I usually just lose a phone, or a charger, or a coat, this time I nearly lost everything I brought, which would have been a new personal best.

Close but no cigar.

Luckily, Adam remembered how to get back to the house where I found my backpack sitting on the porch…right where I left it apparently.

The drive into Nashville seemed longer than what we had expected, but we still made it into town with enough time for Mike to practice his parkour moves.

The show was a lot of fun. The Rutledge has a fantastic stage, sound and crew. And again Nashville provided a fun crowd on a Sunday night.

A huge thanks to Frankie Diana from 17 Stories for taking some really cool photos of our set.

Frankie was a cool dude, and it was awesome meeting him and the rest of the guys from 17 Stories. We had a great time sharing the stage with them and Abbot Martin who closed out the night.

We got on the road and started our trip to Columbus right after the show, stopping after about 20 minutes when we all started to fall asleep. So in short, we had a great time and I still have my all my shit. Success.

Tour Recap Day 2: Third Street Dive (Louisville, KY) - 10/8/2011

2011-10-09T17:34:00.001-05:00

We woke up around 9:30 and got on the road to Louisville. When we arrived in the afternoon, we decided to usher in our upcoming show in Kentucky with Double Down sandwiches at KFC. It was the best I ever had. I suspect the bar is pretty high for any KFC in Kentucky though.

After that it was off to the Walmart Supercenter to pick up a new merchandise bin. We've been carrying around a pretty dilapidated bin for sometime now. Bloomington proved to be the last straw for the old bin, and after two years of transporting our merch it finally ripped to a point beyond repair during load out.

We took careful measurements to ensure the new one would fit in our Tetris-ish packed van.

After Walmart it was off to Starbucks for coffee and some free internet. They commemorated the restaurant that formerly owned the site with a mural on the wall. It was kind of like having the moose head of the small business you displaced on the wall. They probably didn't put them out of business, but the idea was entertaining.

We played some football and frisbee in a giant parking lot of an abandoned theatre across the street for a couple hours and then headed to the Third Street Cafe for load-in around 9.

The folks at Third Street Cafe were great. The crowd was amazing too. We had an absolute blast, and cannot wait to come back to Louisville soon. We met tons of cool people and enjoyed an awesome set from Izzy and the Catastrophics to end the night.

Next stop... The Rutledge in Nashville!

Tour Recap Day 1: Bear's Place (Bloomington, IN) - 10/7/2011

2011-10-08T17:15:00.001-05:00

It feels so good to be back out on the road. Just four cool guys having adventures and snacking on Oreos.

Touring can be stressful when you haven't done it enough to know what to expect. This is the most relaxed I think we have ever felt and so far this one actually kind of feels like a vacation. It could also just be that night one went really well. Bloomington, IN shows get better and better and our fans always show us so much love and hospitality.

We left Chicago at 4pm and rolled into B-town around 9:30 local time. It was a hectic load-in and we caught bits and pieces of Apollo Quad's set which was a lot of fun. They dropped it like it was hot several times ... on its head. I had to stop setting up guitars completely during their rendition of "99 Problems."

We got going around 11 and got the first date jitters out pretty quick. This was our first time performing with guest bassist Chad Mowbray. He did great and it was a pleasure to have him up there with us.

We closed out the night with "No Way Home" featuring guest percussion performances by Kris Murphy and a tambourine girl.

Fluffer closed out the night with real mind-expanding jams. At one point they were joined by a guy who looked freakishly similar to out friend Joe Wilson.

Who's the real one ... go ahead, guess.

We closed out Bear's Place and headed out on the town with our friends Kris and Kate. We stopped in The Bluebird Nightclub to catch the tail end of a Dot Dot Dot show. The Bluebird was a cool place. Like most hipster joints it was even better in 2004.

After that we grabbed some pizza and called it a night.

THANK YOU WENDY AND DAVID FOR THE HOSPITALITY AND BREAKFAST!

Night One is in the books and we 're feeling great. Looking forward to good times tonight at Third Street Dive in Louisville!

Oh and I almost forgot the Indy-pants-off tradition ...

Tonic Room (Chicago, IL) 9.16.2011, Plus Good Times in Champaigne and Decatur

2011-10-06T12:14:00.001-05:00

Wow the days have just gotten by me here. Getting ready for our fall tour (kicks off this Friday!) has taken away from my all my precious blogging time. I sat down today and realized that it's been nearly a month since I posted pics from any of our shows. eeeyikes.

So here's the short and sweet of it.

Memphis on Main (Champaigne, IL) 9.10.2011
On Saturday September 10, we rolled into Champaigne for a show at Memphis on Main with Neoga Blacksmith and Devout Sinners. Both sets were really fantastic. It felt like a dark stormy night on a backwoods porch somewhere in Mississippi. Lots of talk of devils and moonshine, and amazing harmonies from Devout Sinners.

The fuel tank bass above was pretty awesome...I'm not sure if that's what it was, but it had one string and you had to wear construction gloves to play it... nice.

We toasted the night with beers in jars.

Tonic Room (Chicago, IL) 9.16.2011
Six nights later we were sobered up for our Tonic Room show in Chicago. This was our first time at the Tonic Room and I have to say it might be one of my new favorite places to play here at home. There was a "who gives a fuck attitude" to the night. You were all clearly cramped and hot, and I'm sure all the dancing only made it worse. You absolutely made it the kind of night we wait for.

Oakwood Block Party/LSB After Party (Decatur, IL) 9.24.2011
The following weekend we strolled into Decatur with guest bassist Patrick Byrd (back of head pictured below) for the Oakwood Block Party. It was grand ol' time and always fun to catch up with our friends in Decatur. We played an after part that night at Lock Stock and Barrel with Ashley Riley (big ups to Doosh Mcgoosh). The good times rolled on through the night and we even made some new friends, one of which was an investigative reporter for the local news (I'm expecting a 10 PM news shout out, Paulina).

So that brings us to today...a little over 24 hours before we embark on our fall tour. Getting the bags packed and the fantasy football roster preset as we speak. Check out all the dates HERE! See you in Bloomington!

Fall 2011 Tour Dates Announced!

2011-09-30T12:14:00.007-05:00

Tour dates with links to FB events below. Feel free to RSVP and spread the word around if you know someone that you'd like us to meet in one of the places below. We can pick up the money they owe you too.

Thanks for the love!

Friday, 10/7/2011 - Bloomington, IN
Bear's Place (1316 E. 3rd St.)
CLICK FOR DETAILS

Saturday, 10/8/2011 - Louisville, KY
Third Street Dive (442 S. Third St.)

CLICK FOR DETAILS

Sunday, 10/9/2011 - Nashville, TN
The Rutledge (410 4th Avenue South)

CLICK FOR DETAILS

Monday, 10/10/2011 - Columbus, OH
Skully's (1151 N. High St.)

CLICK FOR DETAILS

Tuesday, 10/11/2011 - Pittsburgh, PA
The Thunderbird Cafe (4023 Butler Street)
CLICK FOR DETAILS

Wednesday, 10/12/2011 - Philadelphia, PA
The Grape Room (105 Grape Street)
CLICK FOR DETAILS

Thursday, 10/13/2011 - New York, NY
Bar Thalia (2537 Broadway at 95th Street)
CLICK FOR DETAILS

Friday, 10/14/2011 - New York, NY
Arelene's Grocery (95 Stanton Street)
CLICK FOR DETAILS

Saturday, 10/15/2011 - Buffalo, NY
Pearl Street Grill and Brewery (76 Pearl Street)
CLICK FOR DETAILS

Sunday, 10/16/2011 - Cleveland, OH
TBD
CLICK FOR DETAILS

Doug Funny Is An Orgy Guy?

2011-09-23T12:29:00.000-05:00

Hilarious.

Doug Funny's Gangbang - watch more funny videos

Oakwood Block Party And Lock Stock and Barrel After Party in Decatur, IL This Saturday 9/24!

2011-09-20T15:34:00.001-05:00

So excited for this! We're pleased to announce we'll be performing at this year's FREE end-of-summer Oakwood Block Party in Decatur, IL on Saturday 9/24.

The festival is happening on S. Oakland in the West End of Decatur. It's FREE to get in! Here's the line- up... we're stoked.

9:00 - England Chambers Band
7:30 - Emerson Holliday
6:15 - Matt Livasy
4:30 - Verona Red
3:00 - Cal Street Band

If a full day of drinking isn't enough, and I hope it's not, we'll be performing at the official festival after party at Lock Stock and Barrel (129 S. Oakland Ave.) at 10 PM!

Let's get weird Decatur.

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=203819139654738

Our Last Chicago Summer Performance And The Lessons We've Learned So Far

2011-09-08T16:42:00.007-05:00

Join us for our last show of the summer (and sadly one of our last Chicago performances of the year) on Friday, September 16, at the Tonic Room. After the cover-a-thon that was Summergasm, we're absolutely itching to send off this Summer with one final "back to our roots" kinda show.

UPDATE: THE PARTY STARTS AT 8:30 WITH A PRE-SHOW DJ SET FROM VERONA RED AND JAI HENRY OF MINNEAPOLIS HENRYS.

We're looking to book-end all of our Summer 2011 experiences with this one...and give ourselves some time to reflect on all the important lessons we learned.

"But you guys are dumb...right?" Well kinda, but we did learn something...here's a glimpse:

Most importantly, Tony looks like Bill Paxton from True Lies when he wears this wig

The rest of us could double as undercover French spies from the 70's.

Short shorts are fun to talk about..and that's about it.

You can get a lap dance while you sing Karaoke in Hot Springs, AR.

Mike is made of Kool Aid

You can dance with a banana, but it will attract gorillas

Summergasm made some people happy and other people really angry.

There is such thing as too many Schlitzes

We're all much better runners than we thought.

Adam looks legit as a Blues Brother.

If you can deep throat a pickle in Dallas, they will let you keep it.

Other things we learned that we didn't capture with a camera

Our friend Brad can drive endless amounts of hours on end with no sleep or conversation
Prince is even more amazing when you sit down and try to learn a few of his songs as a band. Also, I never noticed it before this summer, but the production quality on Purple Rain is strangely awful. Great songs get by I guess.
Tax season for a band is a bitch when you decide to tell the government that you're looking for more than just a good time.
Someone needs to invent a cartoon about the three Gibb brothers as babies called Baby Gibb.
"People in St. Louis kill gypsies on sight" is the number one reason you shouldn't sleep in your van according to the local law enforcement.
The Bee Gees are an amazing group. I've never really given their music a fair shake until the Saturday Night Fever Summergasm show. I downloaded all of their music and my mind has been expanded by the forceps of pop genius as a result.
The kids in the suburbs are worse than the gangs in the city...at least when it comes into breaking into our van and/or stealing our gas.
Gay guys in Austin LOVE us (a trip back to Momo's reaffirmed what we'd already learned at SXSW earlier in the year).
You can stay with meth-heads on the road...but don't expect to get any sleep if you leave one of them with a children's book to read.
Verona Red fans REALLY like to drink at our shows, regardless of how frequently we have them. Thanks for showing us a good time.

Needless to say we thank you guys so much for an amazing summer, and an amazing year. Summergasm taught us a ton of new covers for the repertoire...many of which we'll probably keep in our back pockets for when you least expect a Wham! classic. ...you've been warned.

But the end of Verona Red's summer just wouldn't feel right with out a 100% no-filler, full on, ROCK AND ROLL show that's true to us and the band we've become.

The Tonic Room (2447 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL)

Friday 9/16

With:

UPDATE: Pre-Show DJ Set Feat. Verona Red and Jai Henry of Minneapolis Henrys - 8:30 PM
Jai Henry of Minneapolis Henrys - 9:30 PM
Verona Red - 10:30 PM

Doors: 8 PM
Cover: $5
21+

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163401953741474

Off to Memphis on Main in Champaign, IL This Saturday 9/10!

2011-09-07T12:26:00.001-05:00

Verona Red returns to Champaign this Saturday, 9/10 to perform at Memphis on Main! We always have a good time down there. Garbage picking, singing with the homeless folk, Tim Wilson...all good times.

Can't wait to get down this Saturday at..
Memphis on Main (55 E. Main St., Champaign, IL)

Saturday, September 10

Neoga Blacksmith: 11 PM
Verona Red: 10 PM
Devout Sinners: 9 PM

Doors: 8 PM

Cover: $5

When Worlds Collide

2011-09-03T16:46:00.004-05:00

Last night in my girlfriends apt lobby...

Then the next morning

SUMMERGASM NIGHT 5 AT ACE BAR (CHICAGO, IL) & MUDDY BUDDY (MINNEAPOLIS, MN) 5/27/2011-5/28/2011

2011-08-30T16:23:00.001-05:00

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the final night of Summergasm 2011! This summer will stick out as one of my favorite Verona Red memories. It was one of those things that we decided to do without really knowing if we could or if anyone would really be into it. You guys made us feel really awesome with all the support you showed, even as we hacked our way through the Bee Gee's catalog :) We are already already excited for Summergasm 2012.

I can't say how much I appreciate the fact that you guys made every night fun, and that so many of you made it out to each and every Saturday we played at Ace Bar this summer.

You guys gave us so much energy throughout this, that we were able to stock pile it up and use it to power on through to Minneapolis for a 9 AM show at the Muddy Buddy race in Afton Alps ski resort the very next day. Huge thanks to Brad for staying awake and driving our asses through the night.

Here's some pics from the final Summergam show (Hint: in case you weren't sure...those were songs from the Blues Brothers :) Huge thanks to Machine Gun Mojo, The Projection and The Cathy Santonies for joining the bill.

And yes we all placed in the Muddy Buddy race after our set.

Thank you to the Ace Bar, Audum Live, and all the bands who helped make Summergasm 2011 an amazing experience. But most of all....THANK YOU!

Penny Road Pub (Barrington, IL) and Summergasm Night 4 at Ace Bar (Chicago, IL) 8/19-8/20/2011

2011-08-23T16:20:00.001-05:00

It was a fun filled weekend. We had a REAL intimate show at Penny Road Pub in Barrington, IL on Friday night and then REAL rowdy show at Ace Bar in Chicago on Saturday. It was a rock and roll weekend that was capped off with a hazy bachelorette party for our good friend Katie.

This is what I got after stealing pictures of facebook from everyone who had a camera this weekend.

Congratulations to our friend Katie, and thank you to everyone who came out and made it an awesome weekend! Also a big thanks to Machine 22, The Bright White, My My My and Mr. Russia for lending their talents to an awesome night.

With our Wedding Singer show in the books, the fifth and final night of Summergasm 2011 is just around the corner!

Announcing Summergasm Night 5 (The Final Night) at Ace Bar - 8/27/2011

2011-08-22T14:23:00.004-05:00

I know we've been leaving you hanging about the movie soundtrack that we'll be picking from on the fifth and final night of Summergasm 2011. But think about it, you only have five days left until it's revealed and all the anticipationgasm is over...

Comment on the blog, facebook or twitter with what movie you think it is going to be. We already know what it is, but we're curious to hear what you think it might be...

This year's last gasm...
Saturday 8/27/2011
at Ace Bar

With...

Verona Red: 9 PM (Special note: Verona Red will be going on at 9 PM for this show. Get there early to bid Summergasm farewell.)
Machine Gun Mojo: 10 PM
The Cathy Santonies: 11 PM
The Projection: 12 AM

21+
Cover: 5

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/mcdunnasbar#!/event.php?eid=133405110074243

We're Playing A Place Close To Where I Grew Up This Friday 8/19- Penny Road Pub in Barrington, IL

2011-08-17T15:04:00.000-05:00

It's like that Home song except I don't think Barrington, IL is one of the places they mention.

My memories of growing up near Barrington, IL are a little sparse. I remember there are a lot of horses and I remember going to basketball camp at Barrington HS one summer when I was in junior high. On the first day all the kids had given themselves cool nicknames based on premium cable TV movie channels, like Showtime, Cinemax, or HBO. I remember I was late on the first day and by the time I had gotten their even lesser known channels like Encore and Starz had already been claimed. I ended up going with Turner Movie Classics which I later realized was a part of the basic cable package. Needless to say this didn't earn me a lot of respect, nor did it sound really cool when you screamed it out during passing drills. It was a long summer.

Watch me re-live my painful past
This Friday 8/19
At Penny Road Pub (545 Penny Road Barrington, IL 60010
In the Underground Rock Room
Featuring:
Fickles Lot - 10:45 PM
Verona Red - 11:30 PM

21+
Cover: $6

TG's (Kenosha, WI) - 8/13/2011

2011-08-16T12:33:00.002-05:00

We thought it would be a low-key night at a small bar in Kenosha.... but we were wrong as usual.

Thank you TG's, Blake and all the late night Kenosha warriors

Announcing Summergasm Night 4 Feat. Music From The Wedding Singer

2011-08-12T13:37:00.002-05:00

Whoopadeedoo! It's night 4 and this time we want you to tell us what to play. Check out the poll on the right side of the page and vote for the TOP TWO songs you want to hear from The Wedding Singer!

Summgergasm Night 4 Bitches!
Ace Bar (1505 W. Fullerton, Chicago, IL)

Featuring:
Mr. Russia
My My My
Verona Red
The Bright White
Machine 22

Show starts at 9
21+
$5 at the door

Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=158565677549147

Summergasm Night 3: Ace Bar (Chicago, IL) - 8.6.2011

2011-08-11T16:03:00.002-05:00

Night 3 has been my favorite night so far. We'd been looking forward to playing Purple Rain since we first thought of making movie soundtracks the theme of our first Summergasm!

I already miss it. ahh memories...

Also, big thanks to Tab the Band, Persistence of Memory and Mos Scocious for making it a great night.

So what's next?

Well our Summergasm takes a break this Saturday (instead we'll be up in Kenosha, WI). But we'll back in Chicago at the Ace Bar for Night 4 on Saturday, 8/20 performing music from "The Wedding Singer".

We wanted to do something different for this show...

So we thought we'd let you all vote on what songs you wanted to hear...

See the poll on the right side of the page under our Summergasm banner and vote for the top two songs you want us to play :()

Summergasm Night 2: Ace Bar (Chicago, IL) - 7.30.2011

2011-08-05T12:19:00.002-05:00

Some pics from Summergasm Night 2: Saturday Night Fever at Ace Bar this past Saturday.

Who thought singing Bee Gee's tunes would result in these faces?

Special thank you to Top Shelf Lickers and Magic Milk. Was a good ole fashion night of rock and roll!

Can't wait for Night 3 (Purple Rain) in less than 24 hours!

Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=215034345202791

Summergasm Night 3 / Lolla After Party Feat. Music From Purple Rain: Sat. 8/6

2011-08-02T12:15:00.004-05:00

Dearly beloved we will be gathered this Saturday to get through this thing we call Summergasm night 3.

I am VERY excited for this Summergasm event...

1.) Well because Night 3's soundtrack is THE balls.

2.) Tab The Band (Duxbury, MA) will be joining us on the bill. This will be their official Lollapolooza after party. Check them out online HERE. If you're at Lolla on Friday, August 5, you can catch em on the PlayStation stage at 12:15.

3.) Proceeds from the show will be going to Unitechange.org, a really cool non-profit organization that brings together an online community of philanthropists to help fund some really great grassroots causes. Read more about them HERE

It's shirts vs. blouses...
This Saturday, August, 6
At Ace Bar (1505 W. Fullerton, Chicago)
$5
21+
Show starts at 8pm with...

8pm: Science of Sleep
9pm: Persistence of Memory
10pm: Verona Red
11pm: TAB the Band
12pm: Mos Scocious

Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=215034345202791

Announcing Summergasm Night 2 Feat. Music From Saturday Night Fever!

2011-07-26T13:06:00.005-05:00

The Verona Red Summergasm continues this Saturday, July 30 at Ace Bar (1505 W Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL).

Had such a good time doing Anchorman on night 1. I can't even start to imagine the mix of fun and awkwardness that could take place on night 2 as we take the soundtrack from Saturday Night Fever by it's polyester pants and make it our beyatch...or it makes us its beyatch...either way... hope to see you there.

Can't wait to share the stage with Top Shelf Lickers and Magic Milk! The facebook event is here http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=245594445453189

Bell-bottoms drop
Saturday July 30 at Ace Bar (1505 W Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL).
Show starts at 9PM
Admission $5 at door w/o pre-purchase of drink package
21+

With...

Top Shelf Lickers

Verona Red

Magic Milk

To learn more about:

Pre-purchasing the cheap-ass open bar package
The other movies we'll be showcasing
The other bands on the bills

Check out our Summergasm page HERE.

Summergasm Night 1: Ace Bar (Chicago, IL) - 7/23/2011

2011-07-25T14:20:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who joined us for night 1 of Summergasm 2011. I wanna be on all of you.

Getting to sing songs for/with you from the Anchorman soundtrack while dressed like a Frenchmen from the 70's was something beautifully strange.

Join us next week for Summergasm Night 2: Saturday Night Fever. Stay tuned for details
.

Thank YOU!

Announcing Verona Red's First Annual Summergasm!

2011-07-07T15:49:00.002-05:00

You know what sucks about an orgasm? It never lasts long enough. It'd be better if it lasted 35 days straight...oh wait now it does...

Introducing Verona Red's first annual Summergasm!

Exactly 16 days from now Verona Red's first annual Summergasm will be begin on Saturday, July 23, and the gasming won't stop for 840 hours, sometime on August 27. Start preparing yourself now.

BUT WAIT WHAT'S MY FIRST SUMMERGASM GONNA BE LIKE?

Well Summergasms feel different for everyone son, but here's what I can tell ya for sure.

If you are a lover of movie soundtrack nostalgia this is going to be right up your alley. Don't worry if you're not, there will still be a good share of VR rock and roll splooging around the room too. And if you're just the drinking--good-time-I-don't-care-what-the-hell-is-going-on-as-long-I'm-hammered kind 1) we love you... and 2) have we got a drink package for you!

The first show is on Saturday, July 23 and we'll be performing music from the Anchorman soundtrack. PJ's MY COUSIN TOO and Stravere will also be performing. The facebook event is here http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=245343912147812

To learn more about:

The cheap-ass open bar packages
The other movies we'll be showcasing
The other bands on the bills

Check out our Summergasm page HERE.

Drunk Diet = Another Book Recommendation

2011-07-05T12:39:00.003-05:00

After careful consideration I’ve decided to dump P90X for the Drunk Diet.

More about Luc Carl and his Drunk Diet from his site.

Not your ordinary Diet book, The Drunk Diet is simply a year in the life of author Lüc Carl. His memoirs of a year in which he went from being an out of shape, bloated asshole, to the sexiest, most delightful man on the planet.

After reading countless books and being told time after time that it’s impossible to lose weight while drinking alcohol heavily, Lüc Carl decided to take matters into his own hands. Join him on his journey to lose 40 pounds, without giving up his principles of being a hard drinking party maker.

If you’re into getting shape while living life in excess…check out Luc’s blog here http://drunkdiet.com/

The book is due in an early 2012.

Book Of The Year?

2011-06-29T12:24:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've ever made a book recommendation on this blog before...probably because i can't read beyond a first grade level. Actually that probably explains why this book goes straight to the top of my list. The writing is classic Mansbach prose with undertones of Conrad and Stein.

Click HERE to purchase.

New Young Jesus Video Goodness

2011-06-23T13:08:00.002-05:00

Check out Young Jesus's brand new video for Chicago Alone Pt. 2. Been digging these guys since we first shared a bill at Viaduct Theatre in Chicago in April of this year.

Good tune, good video, good band. Enjoy!

Chicago Alone Pt. 2 from The Visualistas on Vimeo.

Six Corners BBQ Fest (Chicago, IL) - 6/18/2011

2011-06-21T15:56:00.003-05:00

You know it's a good day when you're pulling monkey pubes off your back...that's what my parents always said.

In fact, the Six Corners BBQ Fest felt less like a show and more like a jungle by the end.

A little kid dressed up like a banana jumped on stage with his monkey friend and sang No Way Home with us...

Guess this is what summer is all about.

What a badass little banana kid!

We met a lot of cool folks at the first annual BBQ fest...

Including Lorence from ReactionArt who posted this vid over the weekend.

Thanks Lorence and all the other BBQ enthusiasts who partook in the good times this Saturday!

Cristal Poppin!

2011-06-13T10:18:00.000-05:00

What a badass!

Making a point about players who stick with there team, much respect to Dirk.

Verona Red At Six Corners BBQ Fest! Sat. 6/18

2011-06-11T11:19:00.002-05:00

FREE show.

The fest is in Six Corners on Milwaukee Avenue starting at Irving Park and Cicero and stretching to Belle Plain and will feature great food, beer gardens, and MUSIC.

Fire it up!

Saturday – June 18th 2011
12:30 pm – Rigor Vitae
2:30 pm – Verona Red
4:30 pm – Hoyle Bros.
6:30 pm – Tom Schraeder & His Ego
8:30 pm – The Bottle Rockets

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=232339416781686

Social Media Has Invaded My Subconcious

2011-06-08T11:08:00.002-05:00

I had a dream last night that I was bit by dog that had rabies. As a result my thumb swelled up like R. Kelly at a slumber party and exploded. It then re-formed and exploded again...and again....and again...it happened like twenty times... Each explosion would spew delicious peaches and cottage cheese forth onto the floor. I was at the vet's office with my mom when this happened so I turned to the veterinarian for reassurance that this was a common for someone who just contracted rabies; however, she was unable to offer any explanation as to why the lazy summer-afternoon snack was sploodging from my body.

Instead of being stunned by the contents, I had the immediate presence of mind to grab my phone to record videos of the explosions and post them to all my social networking sites...including this one. I woke up right as I was telling my mom that our family was going to be known all over the world very soon.

Looks like the modern age has rooted itself into my subconscious, and is now a part of who I am at my most inner and private state. Damn you Skynet.

Shifting gears for a second, anyone have any ideas what it means to dream about your thumb exploding peaches and cottage cheese? Too much stress? Sexual confusion? Fresh fruit rage?

Southgate House (Newport, KY) - 6/4/2011

2011-06-06T16:16:00.001-05:00

There were plenty of interesting things to see in Newport, KY this weekend.

I saw Tony living the high life.

I saw Adam "Uncle Sammin'" it up the stairs.

I saw two monkeys get married.

And a man who wanted to marry a dinosaur.

I saw a good set by the cool dudes of Fairhaven...huge thanks to them for letting us borrow there drum set after we forgot several components of ours.

I saw an outgoing car.

And a car that was really happy with Mike's drumming.

Not photographed above:

I saw some really close friends who came out to the show to surprise us (We love you Siiri and Steve)
I also saw our van battery die and then somehow come to life again without getting a jump several hours later.
I saw the Ohio river and nearly stumbled in.
I saw more White Castle than I ever want to see again.

Oh the good times. If the Southgate House were a monkey, I'd marry it.

Southgate House in Newport, KY This Saturday 6/4

2011-06-01T17:34:00.001-05:00

Can't wait to return to Southgate House this Saturday. This was one of our favorite tour stops.

Pickle juice and Jameson here we come!

Verona Red gets nutty at Southgate House (Newport KY) this Saturday!
Doors: 8:30pm
Farehaven - 9:30pm
Verona Red - 10:30pm
The Kickaways - 11:30pm
Ages: 18+
Tickets: $5 (21+) & $8 (18-20)

How To Spend $5,000 On A Music Video

2011-05-25T12:34:00.003-05:00

Check out Red Fang's video for "Wires". There's a smart way to invest $5,000 in your music career.

Be true to rock and roll and it will be true to you.

Props to Sunny for sending this along.

Verona Red's Triumphant Return To The 70's

2011-05-17T12:14:00.002-05:00

So a few weeks ago we traveled back in time to play a show in the 70's.

The time machine landed in Lake Zurich, IL the town Mike and I grew up in about 45 minutes northwest of Chicago. It was Mike's mom's 18th birthday, so we donned our puffy shirts and porno mustaches to help her celebrate.

Though we weren't alive in the 70's, pretending to be made me wish that I was.

Here's my best attempt at a Kevin Arnold-ish home video to recap the night. Props to Stephanie for the retro camera work.

Rocking Some Jams At The Ace Bar This Friday in Chicago

2011-05-10T14:55:00.001-05:00

So the weather is getting nice and I imagine if you're like me your starting to get that..."geez what's another reason I can go out and drink" feeling.

Well here's one...It's kind of a last minute thing...but we were feeling that summer impulsive decision thing...and thought it'd be cool do a show where admission was on par with a can of Blatz?

Joins us at this Friday, May 13
The Ace Bar (1505 w Fullerton Chicago, IL)
Show 7:30PM
Admission $3
21+

Show starts at 7:30 with a special guest performance by Aryk Crowder
Counting 10 - 10 PM
Verona Red - 11 PM

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114079978675583

IQ's Food, Music and Art (Green Bay, WI) 5/7/2011

2011-05-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

This was our first trip to Green Bay. We celebrated by going down to Bay Beach and playing on the playground.

Here's a sweet montage and some pics to follow.

We didn't have anyone with us to shoot the show, so this is all we have to remember the night by...which is actually pretty unfortuante.

The kids at IQ's were a rowdy bunch and we loved it. Dancing, stripping, and spanking were par for the course. I even got this cool flower at the end of the night!

This re-affirms my belief that some small towns just know how to rock harder...next time I'm getting the camera up on stage for sure.

Oh and last but not least...if you are ever in Green Bay look up The Pat and Augie Show. Hilarious guys and FANTASTIC musicians, it was so cool of them to jump on the bill last minute with us.

Frank's Power Plant (Milwaukee, WI) 5/6/2011

2011-05-09T16:50:00.000-05:00

Milwaukee...it's Algonquin for the good land...

Sure is Mr. Cooper. Frank's Power Plant was the shiz.

Thank you to Afraid of Dave and Arkady for sharing the stage.

Afraid of Dave taught us a lesson that night... don't let mishaps get you down...so what if your guitar strap breaks.. you can always play sitting down.

We took that lesson to heart... I mean so what if you fall off your bass amp and come crashing into the drums... you can always play laying down...

Haha serioulsy though Tony kicks ass...if you would have seen his hand after the show you would have been amazed that he got through the rest of the set without fainting from blood loss. I post this vid as an homage to him and his unwavering constitution.

The rest of the night was awesome. We ate some peanuts, drank some beers and hung out with tons of cool folks.

Huge thanks to Claire for putting us up for the night. She is awesome.

Our Friends Bully In The Hallway Train For This Friday Night at Metro (Chicago, IL)

2011-05-05T14:39:00.002-05:00

We're headed up to Wisconsin this weekend for shows in Milwaukee and Green Bay which means we're gonna miss our buds from Bully in the Hallway performing at the Metro...bummer.

Saw this video they posted and now I'm extra excited for all you Chicagoans who'll be there.

Looks like bi's, tri's and glutes are all prepped which usually = a pull out all the stops kind of rock show.

You can see why I'm bummed to miss it...make sure you don't.

Bully in the Hallway tomorrow night!
Friday May 6th at the Metro

Cobalt and The Hired Guns
Bully in the Hallway
Kelsey Montanez

18+ 9pm - $9 @ the door
Check out Bully's official's site for ways to save money on tickets.

Milwaukee and Green Bay Shows Added This Weekend!

2011-05-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

"On Wisconsin!"

Milwaukee - Friday, May 6
Frank's Power Plant (2800 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee, WI)
With Afraid of Dave and Arkady!
Tickets: $6
Doors: 9:30

Afraid of Dave - 10:30 PM
Verona Red - 11:30 PM
Arkady - 12:30 AM

Green Bay - Saturday, May 7
FREE SHOW at
IQ's, Food, Music, and Art (2105 University Ave. Green Bay, WI)

With The Pat and Augie Show

Tickets: FREE SHOW!

Doors: 9:30

The Pat and Augie Show - 10:00 PM

Verona Red - 11:00 PM

Viaduct Theatre (Chicago, IL) 4/22/2011

2011-04-26T10:45:00.004-05:00

Lights, camera, action! That’s what it felt like at the Viaduct Theatre. Minus the cameras…this whole get up felt like we were on American Bandstand.

Was seriously so cool to do something different. Loved this backdrop and three tiered stage.

Huge thanks to everyone who watched my butt video, listened to what my ass had to say and showed up early to pick up some free VR shwag. We hope you are enjoying it, or at least put it in someone else’s Easter basket or Passover dinner.

If you were there early you likely caught an AMAZING set by Young Jesus. It was such a treat to share the stage with them and the dudes in Par Avion who also rocked socks.

What a warm welcome back home. We couldn’t be happier.

Until next time...stay steamy my weenies.

A Special Message About Tomorrow's Show At Viaduct Theatre

2011-04-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

My ass said it right, the first 40 people through the door will be treated to FREE VR condoms, lighters, bottle openers, buttons and music.

Remember there are a few other special things about this show

This is a theatre...but it's not a porn theater... meaning you'll have to be on your best behavior...you can take your neighbor's pants off, but ask politely and use proper English if you do.
There will be beer..from what I understand very good beer and also very cheap beer...not super particular to this show... but different for a usual theatre setting...
Par Avion and Young Jesus will be there. They are two really awesome Chicago bands that will be sharing the night with us. If you haven't checked out our previews of them...click on their names to learn more.
The theatre is under a Viaduct at Belmont, Western and Clybourn... And next to the Viaduct is parking lot. You can park your car in their lot for $5 or you can find street parking which usually is pretty easy this far west.
It's our first show in Chicago after 26 shows far far far far away from our favorite city and our favorite people! We miss YOU!

Come early for your free shit.

Friday, April 22
Viaduct Theatre
3111 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL

17+
$7
Young Jesus @ 10
Par Avion @ 11
Verona Red @ 12

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111690785580257

4/22 Viaduct Theater Show Preview: Young Jesus

2011-04-19T15:32:00.001-05:00

3 days and then rock and roll at the Viaduct Theatre. I really dig their name, their sound, and the idea of playing with them in less than half-a-week. Who is they? They is Young Jesus.

Young Jesus @ 10
Par Avion @ 11
Verona Red @ 12

I really love the feeling of honesty that comes from this band. Their songs pull at some emotion in you that is somewhere between sadness and positively looking forward. Kind of like an "ah fuck it" vibe that you can pick up on... it took me out of my own head when I listened to them for the first time, and I've been digging it since.

Fans of The National, Titus Adronicus, Death Cab or The Pixies should check 'em out for sure.

They just got back from The Rites of Spring Festival at Vanderbilt Univeristy...where they may or may not have shared a tent with Edward Sharpe? That's pretty badass.

Favorite lyric:
"Somebody told me rock and roll is gonna die, let's not let it be tonight"

AMEN.

Check em out.

Friday, April 22
Viaduct Theatre
3111 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL

17+
$7
Young Jesus @ 10
Par Avion @ 11
Verona Red @ 12

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111690785580257

4/22 Viaduct Theater Show Preview: Par Avion

2011-04-13T15:59:00.003-05:00

Our 4/22 show at the Viaduct Theater is 11 days away. Please do a few extra squats and calf exercises in preparation for Par Avion.

Young Jesus @ 10
Par Avion @ 11
Verona Red @ 12

Par Avion is the kind of music I want lose myself to in a club full of popsicle swinging tranny's.

Legit

Filthy beats
Fizzling "catch up" bass sequences
Anthemic power pop shouts and squiggles
"Fuck me subliminal"

If you are a fan of Muse, The Faint, or other local fantastics The Glide, you will enjoy their set.

Friday, April 22
Viaduct Theatre
3111 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL

17+
$7
Young Jesus @ 10
Par Avion @ 11
Verona Red @ 12

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111690785580257

(Backlog) Tour Day 7: Cicero's (St. Louis, MO)

2011-04-10T15:30:00.000-05:00

Just woke up an hour ago (about 9 AM) to one of of St. Louis' finest wrap-a-tap-tapping on my driver side window with his flashlight. "What's goin on here?" 'Oh nothing officer,' I'm thinking to myself…'just sleeping cramped up in the front seat of this van under a pile of backpacks and trash because the bed was too damn hot to sleep in with two other guys last night.'

"Um nothing, we're just crashing here, we played at Cicero's last night and need a place to sleep before getting back on the road."

"Can you please roll down the window sir."

"Oh, sure, um nothing, we're just crashing here, we played at Cicero's last night and need a place to sleep before getting back on the road."

"Oh yeah, you guys some kinda cover band?"

"No we play mostly originals…"

"Can I see some I.D. then?"

I push some of the backpacks and trash off of me and begin to look for my man purse (as a traveling, blogging band, you find that such a feminine article is required to carry photo cameras, video cameras, flyers, phones, batteries etc…) and thus you have to put up with the humiliation of looking through a purse when 3 large mustache bearing police officers are glaring down at you presumably upset by the fact that you aren't a cover band for some reason.

As I reach for "european carry all" officer number 2, standing behind flashlight officer number 1, sternly demands to know why it is I'm reaching for a bag. I explain with full sincerity that my pants are simply too tight to contain my Costanza-sized wallet. He takes a look down somewhat sympathetically as if to say, "yes I understand what it's like to wear tight pants on the weekends," My mind immediately goes to cross-dresser or Scissor Sister fan…but is then distracted when he obliges and permits me to continue searching through my bag for my wallet.

At this time officer number 3 is walking around to the passenger side of the van. He requests Brad opens the sliding back seat door to see what he can see and as he reaches in Adam and Mike (up in the bed) are quick to fork over their driver's license. A conversation about what each of our records will show if you run our names through the system begins and I start to feel a bit uneasy about some of the admissions that I'm learning about my bandmates for the first time.

The confessions don't seem to phase officer 3 as his shaded sunglassed eyes seem to be affixed on the two grown men sleeping together on a twin size futon mattress behind the first row of bench seats only inches from the ceiling.

"You boys sleep up there every night?"

"Every night we can't find someone to sleep with…" stupidly flops out of my mouth.

"Well doesn't seem to be enough room for any pussy in this thing…you boys get out of here…someone's gonna mistake you for gypsies…there's known to be shootings in this neighborhood."

We re-situated and began the drive back home to Chicago, another leg of the 2011 Pound tour under our belts.

Here's some pics to recap the night

Huge thanks to The Goodtime Engineers for joining us the night before at Cicero's. Every rock and roll band has a soul that seeks to connect with the audience… when you can feel it, you know it's working. Tuesday's GTE set was one of the best feelings I had all tour.

Verona Red Returns to Chicago 4/22: First Show at Viaduct Theatre!

2011-04-08T13:15:00.004-05:00

23 shows since our record release in February & we are back in Chicago for our first appearance at the Viaduct Theatre. Frothy loins.

Lace up for the midnight show. Two wonderful bands make an early bird special.

Par Avion (Chicago) at 11 - digital, bump, grind, and love them like we do. http://tinyurl.com/6hegycx.

Young Jesus (Chicago) at 10 - "here's to rock and roll and leaving ghosts behind" - http://tinyurl.com/6e95uld.

17+
$7
Young Jesus @ 10
Par Avion @ 11
Verona Red @ 12
F and Grand Slam Breakfast

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111690785580257

(Backlog) Tour Day 6: The SoundPony (Tulsa, OK)

2011-04-07T17:32:00.000-05:00

So far Oklahoma has the best roads I've ever driven on. Seriously its like sailing down a sea of silky pavement. All of a sudden you'll look down and realize you are going 230 knots and you didn't even realize it.

If it weren't for the masses of smoke from roadside grass burnings mixed with chemical fumes from the innumerable chemical plants along the way you could probably sleep like a baby through this entire stretch of the Indian Nation Turnpike.

At the moment we are leaving Oklahoma, just entering Missouri where I'm doubting the roads will be as nice based on what I remember from our last trip to St. Louis in June.

The show last night at The SoundPony was a lot of fun. Again we were met with another bustling tight knit music scene similar to Newport and Nashville. The crowd on a Monday night was fantastic. Adam's parents even made the 3.5 hour drive from Kansas to see us! What an awesome surprise!

The staff awesome too. The offered us unlimited free hotdogs and three-two beers which I had never heard of until yesterday.

Another first for me was a fat and floppy spill off the bass drum near the end our set. I went for a usual epic jump at the Marty McFly ending of After All and unfortunately botched the approach entirely, slamming down into Mike's toms nearly knocking over one of his cymbals. I was embarrassed for a moment, but then remembered there's no points for proper dismounts in rock and roll.

After the show we scored our fourth consecutive place to crash on this leg of the tour. This time in the MOTHER F'ING EMBASSY SUITES….WOOT WOOT who's on their way up now?!?!?!

HAHA seriously though it was very sweet of our new friends Alicia, Allison and Laura for letting us crash with them. Strangely enough two of them worked at Maxine's in Hot Springs where we played this past Friday night. Laura was actually working there the night we played…small world, but very cool to see some familiar faces hundreds of miles away.

And finally, the absolutely most important news... with only one show left, Mike and Brad have begun pulling away from the pack in the ARA Radio Challenge. Adam and I still suck. Marissa...sorry had you got in earlier you may have been in the lead.

"Adam Rubs America Radio Challenge" Scoreboard
Mike - Foo Fighters - 5
Brad - Metallica - 5
Steve - Red Hot Chili Peppers - 3
Chris - Doors - 2
Adam - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 1
Marissa - Beatles - 1

(Backlog) Tour Day 5: Momo's (Austin, TX)

2011-04-07T16:49:00.000-05:00

The road to Tulsa is windy…so much so, Adam is literally fighting the steering wheel to stay in on I-35 North right now, it's pretty intense, but when mixed with the 70's funkaldelic radio jams we've been enjoying for the past couple hours, it's actually kind of entertaining. I think scanning between classic rock stations can only go on for so long before you start going nuts.

The show last night in Austin at Momo's was quite different from our SXSW experience a few weeks ago.

We rolled into town around 6 PM, grabbed some BBQ at Stubb's which was actually not only a BBQ place but a really badass music venue. The Scissor Sisters were playing on the outdoor stage behind the restaurant while we were eating. We snuck looks at the show when we could. Although I was impressed how they managed to put all windows and doorways at angles and spots where non-ticket holders couldn't really see the stage. Still the large gaggle of cross-dressed and barely clothed concert-goers made for entertaining snooping regardless.

After amazing BBQ brisket, ribs and a side of beans and Serrano cheese spinach ( (yes we're made of millions), we headed over to Momo's to set up for the show.

We weren't expecting much out of a midnight slot in Austin on a Sunday night the week after SXSW…but actually we were surprised by the number of people who stayed out. Many of them expressed that they had to get up for work before 7AM, but didn't really care about their jobs, so that worked out for us.

After the show we crashed with Mike's cousin, George. He put us up for a few nights during the festival as well. It was good to see him and his dog Rogue again, fun to get my balls smelled and what not. A quick nap and we were back on the road for the 9 hour drive to Tulsa. And that takes to where I am right now, blowing all over the road between blog writing and hot Commodores jams.

We're really looking forward to tonight's show at The SoundPony in Tulsa. I've never been there before, so I get to check another city off my list.

"Adam Rubs America Radio Challenge" Scoreboard

Mike - Foo Fighters - 4

Steve - Red Hot Chili Peppers - 2

Brad - Metallica - 2

Chris - Doors - 1

Marissa (Online submission) - Beatles - 1

Adam - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 0

Tour Day 3: The Double Wide (Dallas, TX)

2011-04-03T18:55:00.001-05:00

Back on the super wide Texas highways en route from Dallas to Austin. Excited to see what Austin is like in the aftermath of SXSW. We had so much fun in Austin two weeks ago, everyone is really happy to be going back. There is certainly some BBQ brisket in our near future.

Last night at the Double Wide in Dallas was an unusual night. Kind of an off night for us. Certainly wasn't the best show we've ever had, but we still managed to see some weird shit. This girl won a pickle for this awkward feat.

Sometimes a really fun/quirky venue with a good staff can make a bad night good again. A few drinks after the show with new friends never hurts that either. Especially the kind of drinks they had at Double Wide. I'm a huge White Russian guy, so this was hilarious.

I was shocked by how tasty this was with Yoohoo.

After the show we partied with two new friends. Thank you again to Misty and Kui. So nice of you to put us up for the night. Several drinks and a few old punk albums later we crashed till low flying airplanes shook us awake in the morning.

Southern hospitality is the balls.

In other news, Mike continues to crawl ahead of the pack in the ARA Radio Challenge. Looks like he is starting to pull away…oddly enough Adam hasn't scored a single point in his radio challenge.

"Adam Rubs America Radio Challenge" Scoreboard
Mike - Foo Fighters - 4
Brad - Metallica - 2
Chris - Doors - 1
Steve - Red Hot Chili Peppers - 1
Adam - Creedance Clearwater Revival - 0

Tonight it's Momo's in Austin. Can't wait for brisket and rock and roll!

(Backlog) Tour Day 2: Maxine's (Hot Springs, AR)

2011-04-03T18:41:00.001-05:00

Hot Springs totally blew away our expectations. All we knew of Hot Springs was that Bill Clinton was born and probably scored with tons of chicks down there. Other than that we just figured it was a quiet little town.

Yeah guess not, there's actually a really vibrant nightlife in downtown Hot Springs. We had a great time performing at Maxine's.

After the show we checked out the Strip Karaoke joint, for a few seconds until they told us it was a $10 cover to sing and watch strippers. We met up with our new friends Shannon and Carol. They were the great. We hung out in their hotel for the night grabbed some showers in the morning and took off for Dallas around 1:30 the next afternoon.

After about two minutes of driving our oil light came on, so it was off to the Walmart to get 5 gallons of store brand oil. Good stuff. We also discovered you can get a machete for the low everyday price of $8.48.

The drive to Dallas has been cushy, these Texas highways are super wide and allow for maximum "driftability." Which is good because I'm driving (yes I'm writing this in my head right now…it's actually Sunday morning.)

Tonight we'll be at Double Wide in Dallas. The local papers have us playing at a couple different venues. But it's looking like The Double Wide will be our best bet!

And last but not least…Mike has taken a slight lead in the ARA Radio Challenge.

"Adam Rubs America Radio Challenge" Scoreboard
Mike - Foo Fighters - 2
Brad - Metallica - 1
Chris - Doors - 1
Steve - Red Hot Chili Peppers - 1
Adam - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 0

(Backlog) Tour Day 1: Cowboy Monkey (Champaign, IL)

2011-04-02T18:23:00.000-05:00

Backlog...yep I'm already behind with finding time at places with good free wifi to post these. So we'll have to pretend like it's yesterday afternoon again.

So night one of Pound tour leg 2 is in the books. We arrived in Champaign around 6 PM for load-in/soundcheck and to meet up with our good friend Tim Wilson on his 22nd birthday. This was our first time at Cowboy Monkey, which I have to say is a really really nice music venue. It's a little bit buried admits the curvy weird streets in downtown historic Champaign, but if you ever get a chance to check it out, it's a real nice find…

We had a great time bouncing around a roomy stage.

Major props to Neoga Blacksmith and Black Jack Radio, two good local bands two good sets.

After the show we went to Joe's and drank with the University of Illinois's finest/drunkest. It was a dance party sandwich.. normally I'd say we were the salami, but last night so we were more like the creepy side of french fries.

After a few drinks we ended up missing our connection for a place to crash, so we snuggled up with the laptop and some Super Troopers and fell asleep.

Brad, a good friend that came along with us to lend a hand/keep it real/hang out, made a miracle run to get 24 bottled waters, pizzas and pop tarts so we all went to bed well fed and whatever the opposite of thirsty is.

Today we're on the road to Arkansas to play in Hot Springs at Maxine's tonight. Drive has been pretty nice, lots of grass and rocks to look at. It's a nine hour drive and so far Adam has been rocking it all on his own. He's a machine, he is to driving shifts as Sting is to tantric sex.

That's pretty much it. We're excited to make our first Arkansas appearance later tonight. We drove through it on our way to Austin a week and a half ago, and really enjoyed variety of hybrid city names like Texarkana and Arkadelphia. Anyone know any other cool ones down here? San Antonasa? Arklehoma? Las Vegasaw

Oh yeah I almost forgot the most important part. We started a contest yesterday to see who could guess which band/artist we would hear the most on the radio over the next 7 days. The winning band from the last road trip was Aerosmith, Phil Collins was the one before that. So far most of us aren't doing so well on this trip. Steve (playing the bass for us on this tour) is the only with a mark on the board after 14 hours of drive time already logged.

"Adam Rubs America Radio Challenge" Scoreboard
Chris - Doors - 0
Mike - Foo Fighters - 0
Adam - Creedance Clearwater Revival - 0
Steve - Red Hot Chili Peppers - 1
Brad - Metallica - 0

If anyone else wants to get in on the ARA Radio-Merica Challenge. Send us your picks and we'll you enter you for a chance to win the grand prize…. a full massage package from Adam, a $45 value as gift from us to you.

2011 Pound Tour: Leg 2 Dates Announced

2011-03-30T13:15:00.001-05:00

Look out more places, here we come!

3/31 – Champaign IL
@ Cowboy Monkey
Details

4/1 – Hot Springs, AR
@ Maxines
Details

4/2 – Dallas, TX
@ The Double Wide
Details

4/3 – Austin, TX
@ Momo’s
Details

4/4 – Tulsa, OK
@ The Soundpony
Details

4/5 – St. Louis, MO
@ Cicero’s
Details

SXSW 2011 Recalled Kind Of

2011-03-22T18:24:00.000-05:00

Today I woke up in my bed. It was the second time since returning home from SXSW. I've been thinking of how to blog about the experience, and came to the conclusion that to write something comprehensive and awesome about the experience would really be impossible...for me anyway.

We played 10 sets in 5 days, at points we were playing 5 shows in less than 24 hours...to say the whole week was a blur would be an understatement.

I read the following blurb on A Continuous Lean just now, and I think they hit the nail on the head.

Resist the temptation to try to come to terms with SXSW logically. These aren’t tax forms you’re dealing with, but 2000 bands, playing in clubs, in tents, on streets, in parks. By design, it reinvents itself every year, and there are countless pathways through the mayhem, all of them leaving you exhilarated and exhausted. You face the assault on your senses and then pick your spots for visceral gratification.

Thus I decided to pick apart a few of the moments that I remember between load-ins, load-outs, line checks, broken strings, drinks, smokes, arguments, nudity, and jump farts; and to simply map out whatever things came to mind in the 15 minutes I gave myself to draw this up.

I apologize to any native Austin residents if I get the scale, direction, or general location of anything on the map below incorrect. Serioulsy people of Austin you are the nicest people I have ever had the chance to generalize...so really sorry if I fucked up your city's layout here.

The number one thing I learned at SXSW was to just take it in. It's going to be stressful, things will run late, you will lose shit in all the madness, and in general, the city doesn't seem to be prepared for it...then again neither were we. But in the end, I can say we learned a lot and we actually came out $8 ahead.

Looking forward to another 9 days of waking up in my bed... but honestly I'm already itching for Pound Tour leg 2!

Reflections: Tour Leg 1

2011-03-11T12:42:00.005-06:00

So yeah, many of you have probably been keeping up with our show by show blogging over the past two weeks. You are probably familiar with many of the stranger things that happened, but hindsight is always 20/20, so i figured it'd be fun to hash through all the things we learned on leg one of our 2011 Pound tour...

I didn't have a ton of time to write this since we are getting ready to leave for SXSW in two days so I may not have covered everything we learned, but here's some initial thoughts.

You can’t order a Coors in Nashville…you have to say Curs.

Dog’s love my balls….there were numerous instances most notably a dog named Caster in Bloomington, IN. He had his head in my crotch to an uncomfortable degree.

Any song about sexy panties is an instant classic.

If you rock hard enough in Nashville someone will give a you a free bag of shrooms on stage… and shout "it's shrooms!" into the mic... in front of everyone.

Driving a 15-person passenger van through NYC is hard.

If someone yells at your for looking at their dick when you walk in the bathroom ignore them...it's likely someone else will smash a bottle on their head for you eventually.

Be nice to NYC bartenders, even if they are rude, they are more likely to give you free drinks

It’s real easy to re-create the video for the Alanis Morrisete classic “Ironic” on your own, all you need is four retarded guys who grew up in the 90's.

Don't stick your finger in a rat cage, it will bite you.

Things fall apart

Two lost coats
One broken phone
One lost phone
One lost phone charger
One broken guitar
One dented computer
One lost amp footswitch
Some self respect
One tire in the Hudson Tunnel NYC
Rear panel scuffed against FBI vehicle NYC

Don't tell someone from Newport, KY that they live in KY.

Try drinking pickle juice after a shot of Jameson...it kills the burn..so they tell me... I wouldn't drink pickle juice if it cured cancer.

Tony can do amazing things with his ass. I’ve never heard so many farts from one person in 9 days in my life. He is also quite inventive. Jump farting was all the craze on this tour, he invented the phenomenon in a Columbus parking lot where he jump farted Mike for the first time. Not only was I impressed that he could get his ass up to Mike’s face level, but that fact that he timed it so well as he ran by at full speed was equally amazing.

Paddy’s Pub doesn’t exist...saddest thing we learned

People are pretty ok. We got offered a place to stay almost every night of the tour...coolest thing we learned.

I'm sure there is more than this...but like i said no time right now...so if I think of more I'll be sure to post...for now enjoy this photo MONTAGE!

(Back Log) Tour Day 8 and 9 Recap - The Bitter End (New York, NY) 3/4 and 3/5/2011

2011-03-08T20:23:00.001-06:00

27 Steps to Rock and Roll in NYC

Where to start. Well I should start with a thank you to all our fans who traveled from Chicago and other parts of the country to join us for our NYC debut at The Bitter End. Thank you also for renting an apt for the weekend and letting us stay there and letting us eat your eggs.

Thank you to the Glorious Veins for helping us land this show at the historic Bitter End. You guys played a fantastic set. Check these guys out HERE!

Other than this I don’t think I want to try to tell the rest in a story format so I’ll just go with the facts.

Day 1.

Crossed from NJ in NYC around 1:30 PM
Hit the side of the of the Hudson Tunnel in the van about five minutes later – Chris
Hit a Chevy Impala labeled “Federal Officer Vehicle” while trying to parallel park the van outside of our friend’s apartment about twenty minutes later – Chris
Rehearsed for Bitter End show at Smash Studios 4:30 – 7:30 PM
Dinner with Diane
Drinks at Amity Hall
More drinks at Four Faced Liars
Wastieland

Day 2.

Black out and somehow begins to make way home around 2:15 AM - Chris
Lost recently replaced phone somewhere along the way - Chris
Scream and bang on random doors looking trying to find the right apt building on 15th St. – Mike
Discovers Mike screaming and banging on doors on 15^th St. around 2:30 AM – Chris
Splits a pastrami sandwich with Chris after giving up on figuring out where friends live – Mike
Friends find Mike and Chris wandering the streets and let them into their apartment around 3 AM
A pastrami sandwich is dismantled and tossed all over the apartment - Chris
Back at Four Faced Liar a connection is made and a disappearance into the night is underway around 3:30 AM – Tony
Confused, alone and broke the long walk home begins around 4 AM – Adam
With no key and no friends sober enough to hear their phones there is only one option, scale the façade of the apartment building, climb on top of a second story laundromat sign and bang on the living room window 25 feet above the sidewalk at 4:45 AM – Adam
Awake at 9 AM sandwiched between two dudes with a delicious and completely unfamiliar hunk of pastrami lodged between teeth and cheek – Chris
Awake at 9 AM sleeping on a suitcase – Adam
Awake at 11 AM on an air hockey table in Brooklyn – Tony
Band showers and breakfast from 12 – 2 PM
Band goes in separate directions to promote all day for show at Bitter End later that night
Band regroups around 8 PM
Load-in to The Bitter End at 9 PM

Day 3.

NYC debut underway at 2 AM
Rock and Roll from 2 – 3:30 AM – Chris, Mike, Adam and Tony

What a fantastic way to blow off some well earned steam and close out the tour. NYC, you are large, full of dog shit and are very hard to drive a 15 person passenger van through...but we love you anyway.

(Back Log) Tour Day 7 Recap - The Fire (Philadelphia, PA) 3/3/2011

2011-03-08T18:57:00.002-06:00

Last night in Philly was a mixed bag of experiences. We met some cool folks and some really not cool folks. I won’t focus on the negatives here, instead I’ll just start with noting that the staff at The Fire kicked ass.

If you were at Empty Bottle last night, you likely saw our bartender Arrah and her band Arrah and the Ferns performing. Arrah is a hell of a bartender at The Fire and in general is just a badass chick. So far we’ve seen our fair share of folks get bounced from bars for drunken assholery...but have yet to see a bartender take charge of a chaotic situation like Arrah did on Thursday night. All I’ll say is don’t smash a bottle on someone’s head when she’s around…

Next, El Fuego…holy shit these guys rocked. Great sound and absolutely great guys to meet. Turns out we’ve played a lot of the same places in our respective travels. It’s so nice to meet bands who blow you away with their show, and have the personalities and professionalism to match. These guys offered us a place to stay which was awesome of them too. Unfortunately, my phone died and I couldn’t get their number back until way later in the wee hours of the morning.

For us, the show was one of those quality over quantity shows. There were those who had a warm welcome for us.

And yet several more that were difficult to pull into the venue from the adjoining bar (please note these are NOT the assholes I'm referring to above). At the end of the day it was a fun show. We played for a small but really energetic and fun crowd, most of which ended up on stage with us by the end of the show (videos still to come). Sometimes you can’t ask for anything better though, if our “letting go” inspires others to do so as well, it’s a win in my book.

On a positive note we patched up the broken guitar from two nights before, thanks to handy man Tony Focht. It was nice to get the hollow body back in action.

The night ended when someone got a bottle smashed on their head and the cops came and threw everyone out. Arrah let us stay for a few more drinks and then it was off to the 24 hour diner around the corner.

We slept in the van outside the bar next to a hooker. Didn’t get to see Paddy’s Pub after all…it’s okay we confirmed it doesn’t actually exist. Thank you for the closure Milly.

Verona Red is Playing SXSW!

2011-03-08T11:18:00.000-06:00

2011 has been a great year to us so far, with the release of our new record, the completion of our first kickstarter project, our first tour and show in NY, and now an appearance at SXSW! We're really excited to bring our show to Austin, so if you're going to be in town on March 15, head over to the GigMaven Showcase at Emo's at noon. We'll be sharing the showcase stage with Empires another cool Chicago act as well as Gary Lucas, Heaven, The Holidays and Megafauna to name a few more.

A BIG thank you to everyone who helped make this happen, including MAJOR thanks to our good friends Mike H., Siiri, Blake and Bridget. We couldn't have done this without you! We had a lot of people expressing their wishes that Verona Red head to Texas next week, and some of these were just too funny/cool to not share.

Thanks again everyone, and we hope to see you on March 15!

(Back Log) Tour Day 6 Recap: Garfield Artworks (Pittsburgh, PA) - 3/1/2011

2011-03-07T21:31:00.001-06:00

So we’re on the road driving through the great Quaker state of Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. Rumor has it this will be the most boring drive we ever undertake on the North American landmass, although I have to say the tunnels, bridges and scenery are pretty sweet so far.

So that said we’ve decided to kill time by playing I-phone air hockey and telling stories of all the things we’d do if met the cast of Always Sunny at Paddy’s Pub when we get to Philadelphia. So far the best thing we’ve come up with is to staple ourselves to one of their faces so they couldn’t remove us, and we’d get to be on the show. By the way, does anyone know if Paddy’s Pub is a real place? So far the internet has been providing conflicting answers to this question.

The show at Garfield Artworks tops the list of shows in terms of crowd participation so far on this tour. There was a massive tambourine solo during All We Ever Had performed by my uncle Kevin’s girlfriend, Rhonda, and an ongoing speaker phone conversation with my grandma between several of our songs.

Here's me with my Uncle Kevin and his girlfriend Rhonda. Way to kill it on the tambo Rhonda.

Also, huge thanks to my Uncle Randy and Aunt Cindy for letting us stay at their place and to my cousins Niki and Tyler for offering up their beds for us to sleep in. Thanks to all of them for feeding us (sorry if we smelled guys). Raviolis and pulled pork…delicious.

Amanda and Kevin, don't think I'd forget about you, thank you guys so much for coming out and enjoying the night with us.

Finally thank you to Boulevard of Allies and Wine and Spirit for sharing the stage. Was a blast, can’t wait to get back to Steel Town soon!

Tonight it’s The Fire in Philadelphia. Hoping it’s warm inside the The Fire….lost my coat two days ago…hoping we get some nice weather… Anyone know some good coat stores in Philly or NYC?

(Back Log) Tour Day 5 Recap: The Treehouse (Columbus, OH) - 2/28/2011

2011-03-07T21:06:00.001-06:00

So these next couple posts will be back logs, meaning I wrote them during the tour, but could not find a healthy wifi signal along the way to post them. Pretend you're Doc Brown and enjoy living in the past for a minute here....we'll start with the day 5 recap of Columbus... here we are on our way to Pittsburgh the morning after.

This morning we woke up early in an attempt to get to Pittsburgh early enough to see some of my family. It’s been two hours and I swear we’re like 5 miles from the rest stop. The fact is that while it’s really awesome to just plug in an address and follow your GPS without a map, it’s also a huge pain in the ass when it has no idea where you are and decides to recalculate every two seconds. We’ve fallen off the highway completely at this point, however, once again we all agreed that taking the scenic route off the highways made for a way more interesting drive.

So yeah looks like I’ll have some time to write this little blog here about last night’s show in Columbus.

So on Tuesday night we arrived in Columbus with plenty of time to spare... the first time that has happened thus far on the tour. We stopped at an Ace Hardware to try to fix the brand new guitar that I broke the night before (pics to come soon). After buying some goodies from the Place that is Ace, we hopped on over to the Starbucks to grab some coffee and wifi (future Chris comments that this is the last good wifi we had on the tour).

We met some real cool folks there and got a lot of internet style work done. After checking out some record shops and meeting folks we headed over to the Treehouse. It was more aptly named than we thought.

The tree in the middle of the room was the highlight of the place…that and the people we met. Right when we walked in we saw Casey from The Receiver working the door. He's in a really cool band we played with at the Vollrath in Indianapolis many months ago. Was great catching up with him and getting to know the rest of the staff there too…all really cool people. Again impressed by how tight knit the scene in Columbus seemed to be (similar to Nashville and Newport).

Thank you to The Seasonal Help, Gelatinous Cube and Matte Black Silhouette for sharing the stage.

Can’t wait to see some of my family in Pittsburgh later tonight at Garfield Artworks!

Tour Day 4 Recap: Southgate House (Newport, KY) - 2/26/2011

2011-03-01T17:19:00.001-06:00

We just sat down at Starbucks in Columbus, OH, as if I haven’t had enough sitting so far this week, haha (not complaining at all). This has been one of the best weeks so far in my Verona Red life.

The show at Southgate House in Newport, KY, was one of my favorite out of town shows we’ve ever played. The Southgate House is a historic landmark in Newport. It used to be a mafia house, the inventor of the Tommy Gun was actually born there. In his honor, we tried the Southgate House's signature "Tommy Gun Shot" (Jameson with a pickle juice chaser). I had to sit this one out…something only the thought of drinking pickle juice could make me do…that or onion juice if there was such a thing. Mike and Tony assured me that the pickle juice did something good for them after the Jameson…but I’ll just have to take their word for it. Anyway, they turned it into a really cool venue with three different stages and each one feels like you’re in some old house from Boardwalk Empire. "Marjorie" was especially fun in this setting.

I tried to get some good pics of the place…and I have some cool vids I can post later. (when we get to a better internet connection) For now, here’s my pictorial summary.

We shared the stage with some fantastic bands last night. The Plastic Inevitables, Horsecop, and Static Vessels all rocked the house.

One huge thank you to Josh from Horsecop, who let us crash with him. He had one of the coolest places I’ve ever seen. Crashing on his couch next to Adam in this beauty salon chair was pretty entertaining (see pic at top of blog).

To any band who is looking for a fun show in KY/Cinci…call the Southgate House. Seriously.

Tonight it’s the Treehouse in Columbus! Does O-H-I-O know how to party on a Tuesday like Newport does on a Monday? Guess we'll find out.

Tour Day 3 Recap: The Basement (Nashville, TN) - 2.27.2011

2011-02-28T20:32:00.000-06:00

It’s true what they say about Nashville, it’s the city of music. Everyone is in a band, and I’ve never seen a Sunday night turnout like that in any city we’ve played in before.

So fun.

Props to Max and the Wild Things, Newmatic and Starlume. Each band played a fantastic set. This was one of the best bills we’ve been a part of on this tour so far.

Also plenty of folks at The Basement in Nashville were really welcoming despite the fact that we might bet starting to smell a bit.

Last night we slept at a rest stop off of I-65 in Shepardsville, KY. It was 71 degrees which was amazing to sleep in with the windows open. We closed house (van) at 4 AM to insane winds and rain which pounded our van the rest of the early morning. It was half relaxing, and the tornado sirens made it half-terrifying too. We decided that if we did get picked up by a tornado we would try to steer it to Newport, KY, and just be happy that we saved on gas.

This morning we awoke to wet feet and blankets (fingers crossed our gear still works) and then got on the road to Newport after a quick stop at Wendy’s. We hit a huge traffic jam, got off, and took another AMAZINGLY cool scenic route. Got some great footage that should work well in our post-tour vid wrap-up.

We’re about thirty minutes away from the Southgate House in KY. Just popping over the hill to the Cinci skyline!

Tour Day 2 Recap: Rhino's (Bloomington, IN) 2/26/2011

2011-02-27T18:01:00.000-06:00

It's day three and we are riding in the van right now on the way to Nashville. The Garmin is taking us on a VERY scenic route. We haven’t seen a human being in 1.5 hours. Lots of dogs and cows and a sign for a place called Cox's Smokes. Not sure who owns these animals or awesomely named smoke shops…but they're here and they are pretty fun to look at.

Last night in Bloomington at Rhino’s was the balls, the kind you hope you’ll never forget. I got hit with my first pair of panties on stage and they smelled like sweet promise that brought tears to my eyes. THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR BLOOMINGTON "VERONA FREDS" who came to see us, especially to those of you who came out two nights in a row!

We played with an awesome band called Hard Candy Hearts. Their sound reminded me of getting hit by an old rusty locomotive made of swampy rock and roll sunshine.

Originally we decided it would be a good idea to take it easy and call it an early night since we had a place to crash…maybe some Parcheesi if we were feeling dangerous.

But even the best laid plans eventually go awry.

We have lots more pics and vids that I need to steal from other people's cameras/Facebook accounts... can't wait to see them...these really don't do justice the happenings of the night.

Thank you Jeania, Wendy and Heather for putting us up and feeding us!

Tonight we’ll be at The Basement in Nashville. This is actually my first time in Nashville, so I’m especially pumped to be here tonight. My phone is semi-working now (apparently at Sprint they can give you a new phone but not a new battery to go with it?)…so there is a chance there could be pics posted on the fly….otherwise you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.

Tour Day 1 Recap: Melody Inn (Indianapolis, IN) 2.25.2011

2011-02-26T15:29:00.000-06:00

Well we all survived day one of the tour. Still working out how we're packing the van at the end of each night and pooping in the woods, but so far so good. Only one casuality so far...and it was the keyboard on our computer. Something fell on it during our set.

Oh well I guess it builds character.

The show was a blast. We had two bands drop at the last minute, but everything worked out. Huge props to Phyllis who stepped up and played a great set to open the show.

Big thanks to all or Bloomington and Indy fans who came out to see us last night, espeically to Kris Murphy who joined us on stage for Long Neck Deep Curves to play some mean blues harp as you can see in the pic at the top of the page.

Also, I have to apologize for my lack of tweeting and picture posting thus far on the tour. My phone has lost the ability to hold a charge for more than 2 mins at a time (counting on the Sprint store folks in Bloomington, IN right now to set me up with a new one.... come on insurance protection plan..I know I pay $7 a month for you for some reason...)

If I had a chance I would have tweeted some pics of a lot of the cool record stores we checked out in Broad Ripple and downtown Indy. If you ever get a chance stop into Indy CD and Vinyl in Broad Ripple and make sure to say high to Annie behind the counter. Super cool place, super nice people, and apparently we just missed the guys from Cage the Elephant who were playing next door at the Vogue.

Anyway, it's time to go. Tony is getting stiff and he has asked me to show him some neck stretches. I will use all my Tony Horton learnings to help him out. Then it's off to Rhino's in Bloomington!

Click HERE for full details on that and all other upcoming shows and stay tuned for more pics and more show updates daily.

First 2011 Tour Dates Announced!

2011-02-22T12:25:00.000-06:00

2011 Pound Record Release Tour Is Underway!

...With more dates coming soon!

The first 2011 tour dates are laid out nicely for your reading pleasure below! The whole shebang kicks off this Friday! Click HERE for full details on any of the shows listed below (including maps!).

Fri Feb 25 - Indianapolis, IN
Melody Inn
3826 N Illinois St.
Indianapolis, IN USA
Doors: 10:00pm
Age Range: 18+
Ticket Price: $5.00 USD
Special Guests: Dead Beats, Phyllis, Sex Before Marriage

Sat Feb 26 - Bloomington, IN
Rhino's Youth Center
331 S Walnut St.
Bloomington, IN USA
Doors: 8:00pm
Age Range: All Ages
Ticket Price: $5.00 USD
Special Guests: Outdoor Valour, Hard Candy Hearts

Sun Feb 27 - Nashville, TN
The Basement
1604 8th Ave. S
Nashville, TN USA
Doors: 8:00pm
Age Range: 18+
Ticket Price: $5.00
Special Guests: Newmatic, Max and the Wild Things, Starlume

Mon Feb 28 - Newport, KY
Southgate House
24 East 3rd Street
Newport, KY USA
Doors: 9:00pm
Age Range: 21+
Ticket Price: $5 (21+) & $8 (18-20)
Special Guests: Plastic Inevitables, Loudmouth, The Static Vessels

Tue Mar 1 - Columbus, OH
The Treehouse
887 Chambers Road
Columbus, OH USA
Doors: 9:00pm
Age Range: 18+
Ticket Price: $5.00 USD
Special Guests: The Seasonal Help, Gelatinus Cube, Matte Black Silhouette

Wed Mar 2 - Pittsburgh, PA
Garfield Artworks
4931 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA USA
Doors: 8:00pm
Age Range: All Ages
Ticket Price: $5.00 USD
Special Guests: Wine and Spirit, Boulevard of Allies

Thu Mar 3 - Philadelphia, PA
The Fire
412 W Girard Ave.
Philadelphia, PA USA
Doors: 9:00pm
Age Range: 18+
Ticket Price: $7.00 USD
Special Guests: El Fuego, Man Like Machine, New Collisions

Sat Mar 5 - New York, NY
The Bitter End
147 Bleecker St.
New York, NY USA
Doors: 12:00pm
Age Range: 18+
Ticket Price: $10.00 USD
Special Guests: The Glorious Veins

Can't wait to get on the road and see many of you again! If your city isn't listed above, stay tuned for more tour updates in the upcoming weeks. We'll be adding a number of cities to the spring tour in late March and April.

The Perfect Valentine's Gift

2011-02-14T16:51:00.004-06:00

That's right. Our new record Pound just went live on I-tunes. Click HERE to check it out!

Happy V-Day bitches!

More Oscillating Wavy Goodness

2011-02-11T12:43:00.006-06:00

Just got word that UIC Radio is going to be playing some new tracks off of Pound on their LMC Radio (Local Music Chicago) program airing from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM this Sunday afternoon.

You can stream the feed HERE!

Don't forget to tune in this Sunday! Andres and Christina will be serving hot jams starting at 4 PM!

Ain't My Shit The Chronic? Survey Says... YES!

2011-02-10T13:22:00.000-06:00

Steve Harvey asks..."Name, something that gets passed around?"

Amazing how quick this guy jumps on it with no reservations...

"Weedhead?" Come on Steve Harvey...

This was actually a new twist for the Feud, which has been much more heavily focused on dick jokes as of late. I guess variety is the spice of life...good work on changing it up here.

I kinda wonder how Ray Combs would have handled it?

Ahh simpler times.

Props to Joe "dollar bill ya'll" Wilson for sending.

Crescent Fresh

2011-02-08T15:39:00.004-06:00

This sweet video popped up on the Verona Red Facebook page yesterday. It was such a cool surprise to find this post on the Monday morning after our record release weekend.

The video was posted by Phil Seratorre, bassist from the power pop good-times Chicago band Farraday, and generally awesome dude. We were stoked that he would use our new song, Gimme Back, for his snowboard/bike video!

Check it out, Philz got skilz.

If you like the track check out our Bandcamp page HERE

Thanks again Phil! You can catch Phil and, Farraday at Cubby Bear Wrigleyville for their free show on Friday March 4. Full details HERE! Great people, great vocals, great energy... check it out!

P.S. We love stuff like this. Keep it coming peoples!

GRACIAS! GRACIAS! GRACIAS!

2011-02-06T13:17:00.000-06:00

To all of you who came out, braved the post snow-pacolytipc world, fought for parking and seats on the public transportation and trudged through the sometimes yellow snow to join us for the release of our new record, Pound. this past Friday night at Subterranean in Chicago......... THANK YOU!

It means so much to us to be able to share that with you. For us the night felt like the kind of party that you hope will never end.

Right off the bat The Rails had us all singing and doing our best attempts at M.J. dance moves backstage. We were all blown away by Michael Pineada's pipes!

Bully in The Hallway....well there really isn't enough good things I can say about them. Not only are they all really cool people, but they put on a hell of a show. There's this kind of unruly energy that is so refreshing about them. I was so stoked they could be on the bill. It's been way too long since we've done a show together!

Here's some pictures and a few more thank you's to recap the night! For some of you, this might help put some of the blurrier spots back together :)

Thank you Bethany Thomas!

Thank You to Our Fantastic Horn Players (Ethan, Alex and Eric)

Thank You to Arman Fathi For Sitting Like Adam and Tinkling Those Keys

What's next?

Well, for all you fans of digital downloads, our new record, Pound, just went up for sale on our Bandcamp site, right HERE.

It should be up on other digital sources like I-tunes, Napster and Rhapsody very shortly!

For you physical album lovers, you can now purchase a hard-copy of the record on CD Baby by clicking HERE!

The good times are just beginning, stay tuned for more hot and steamy updates!

WE LOVE YOU!

We Ready...We Ready... Weeeeee Ready... For Yall....

2011-02-04T12:09:00.000-06:00

Tonight's the night!!! Kick mother nature in the balls, and come join us at Subterranean (2011 West North Ave.) for our record release party!

Verona Red (http://www.myspace.com/veronared)
Bully in The Hallway (http://www.myspace.com/bullyinthehallway)
The Rails (http://www.myspace.com/therailschicago)

Doors at 9:00 PM
17+ Show
$10
Visit (www.subt.net) for advanced tickets (Recommended!)

We are so excited to share this new music with you!

Here's some of what Reviewsic (a super-cool blog) had to say in their review of the new record, Pound yesterday.

• The infectious EP is chock full of rollicking tunes that make us want to shimmy, shake, jump, jive and create a general ruckus.
• Pound caught our attention in the first five seconds of its opening track and continued to hold on to it through the very end.
• We’d gamble our entire savings account on this band putting on an awesome live show.

Thanks Reviewsic!

To read more of the review, AND to read Verona Red's 12-question interview with Reviewsic, click HERE.

Well you don't need to bring your life savings... just enough to get in, plus your ears and your dancing shoes! We've been waiting for this night for the last 7 months, I can hardly contain myself... might want to bring a poncho!

See you tonight!

Snowmaggedon Stealing Our Thunder? & Verona Red Live On Fearless Radio Tomorrow!

2011-02-01T17:42:00.002-06:00

Governor Pat Quinn declares the entire state of Illinois a "weather disaster"?!

WTF weather!? What the hell is a snowmageddon?

Where do you get off trying to rock the city right before our record release?!?!? It's like "oh hey there goes that old man winter again.. getting all up in my face trying to prove himself, pounding our city with his 20 inch snowboner"

I can only assume that mother nature feels threatened. Or perhaps the gods are unhappy about the unruly degree of rockage that we're about to unload on the city of Chicago this Friday night at Subterranean with our friends Bully In The Hallway and The Rails.

I've spoken of similar kinds of rock and roll apocalypse surrounding our shows in the past... however it seems this time it may be serious.... anyway if there is a tomorrow I've got good news for you....

We're going to be live on-air at Fearless Radio during the Hank and Cat morning show at 10 AM. Here's the link to listen. We're really excited to hang out with the folks from Fearless and are keeping our fingers crossed that we don't get blown out into the lake on our way there.

Finally, thank you to everyone who voted for us in the Deli's Emerging Artist of The Year poll. We finished 8 out of 37 nominees. Although we didn't win in quantity of votes I do believe we certainly won in quality of votes. You guys are the best, thanks!

Check out the results here!

UPDATE: Due to impending snowpocolypse Verona Red's on-air appearance at Fearless Radio originally scheduled for tomorrow morning has been postponed to a later date...looks like round one goes to you old man winter dong.

New Verona Red Music on CHIRP Radio!

2011-01-25T18:44:00.012-06:00

CHIRP Radio (http://chirpradio.org/) is a Chicago-based independent radio station that plays a lot of great music. Small and large independent artists from all over the world, including a lot of Chicago bands. Our song "Marjorie" was played on CHIRP in the past, and we're really excited that our new track "Kitchen Song" will be making it's radio debut tomorrow!

We'll be on tomorrow, between 3-6. It's FREE and easy to stream the station HERE. Please tune in to hear Verona Red and lots of other great music!

Behind-The-Scenes Unofficial Video for Kitchen Song

2011-01-21T11:31:00.000-06:00

We are very excited to share with you this really cool behind-the-scenes footage of us taken by our good friend Carlos Beltran (www.carlospbeltran.com) during the pre-production phases of our new record.

While we thought Carlos was just coming in to shoot some pictures of us at rehearsal, he sneakily (and awesomely) took some video footage of our last minute run-throughs on Kitchen Song. He matched it up to the final audio months later and surprised us with the video below.

This was a VERY cool surprise; Carlos is a badass.

MUSIC MINIVID - VERONA RED from Carlos Perez Beltran on Vimeo

Next, THANK YOU to everyone who donated your hard earned $ to help us release Pound. As of yesterday our Kickstarter project closed with $2,631 in fan donations. THANK YOU for helping us meet and exceed our goal. We hope to see you all at the BIG show!

Also, thanks to everyone who already voted for us in Deli Magazine's 2010 Emerging Artist poll! We have more than 100 votes already, but we're currently ranked #8! If you haven't voted for us yet, you can do so HERE. Thanks again!

Deli Magazine Nominates Verona Red For Emerging Artist of The Year!

2011-01-15T12:41:00.000-06:00

We are super-excited and absolutely honored to announce that...

The Deli Magazine recognized Verona Red as one of the top emerging Chicago artists in their 2010 year end poll!

Deli Magazine is an awesome independent blog about indie music in major markets like NY, LA and Chicago. Every year they collect a massive list of bands on their radar, and ask local industry professionals (DJs, writers, promoters, record stores, etc...) to vote on that list, and the final results are the nominations for emerging artist of the year. Verona Red made the cut!

According to The Deli Magazine and their jury, Verona Red is one of 2010's top 37 bands in Chicago, and your voting can help make us #1! Voting ends January 28, and every vote helps! You can vote for us HERE

In other pants-peeing exciting news:

Loud Loop Press, another big player in the Chicago music blogosphere, had the following to say after receiving an advanced copy of our new record, Pound:

"The four-piece easily blends blues, roots rock, swing and

country twang into its complex sound. As a native Texan,

I bow to Verona Red’s love of honky tonk."

We bow to you, Loud Loop Press! Thanks for featuring our upcoming Record Release show and our new song "Toein' the Line." Check out the article HERE.

Also, ONLY 6 DAYS LEFT to help fund our new EP on Kickstarter! Any size donation is a huge help and really appreciated. Donations can be as small as $1 and as large as $1,000. Click HERE to donate!