New Colors

Welcome to the new and improved Verona Red blog site color scheme! Now more Verona Red-ey than ever before. Hopefully now the color scheme won't make anyone reading the blog suicidally depressed. We'll leave that to the content.

On Saturday night a great debate raged at Verona Red headquarters; how shall we celebrate this Easter Eve, the anniversary of the night before your Lord and mine, Jesus Christ, miraculously rose from the dead, generally creeping a lot of people out and paving the way for Verona Red, some of the great sinners of our time, to redeem their souls? Where exactly should we get drunk? After making all the requisite calls starting with people we actually wanted to see and finishing with the dregs of our cell phone lists the realization hit that most people weren't around and were in fact inexplicably (and inexcusably) spending this holiest of weekends with their families. If this night was going to be salvaged it was going to be through hard work and determination, which is just about the time that Chris suggested Stadium West.

Stadium West is a little dive bar in the less fashionable part of Avondale, only a few short steps from the Verona Red cave. It has one pool table, is lit entirely by strung up icicle lights, and the men's bathroom smells pleasantly of sandalwood and a hint of lavender. It is reputed by and large to be a hot ticket for cougars and biker chicks. And so we went with high hopes and a dream to penetrate ladies significantly past their prime and hopefully not get penetrated ourselves by the male biker counterparts that were clearly so unable to satisfy their needs. The first step in the door saw an end to that dream. The Asian lady bartender was over on the far side of the bar, chatting it up with the three patrons of the establishment (four if you include the pregnant Jack Russell terrier who seemed to be a bit drunk herself). A warm greeting there was not, homegrown local talent though we were, and we settled ourselves at the opposite end of the bar. We were close enough to the door to run in case the two beefy men decided we were too much competition to attract the attention of the slurring used-up woman who owned the dog and leave them with nothing but each other and a potentially lifestyle changing series of bad decisions. As we were hastily finishing our drinks, the phone call that salvaged the night was received and we were off to Merkle's .... and it is a sad sad night when the prospect of Merkle's is so unanimously approved and eagerly awaited.

At Merkle's we met up with some of the fine Perishables ladies and enjoyed some cold beverages. A critical point was almost reached when one random creeper was spotted getting a bit too friendly with some lady friends. After watching this guy for a while, it was concluded that he had come to the bar by himself and made the life choice to creep on every single girl at the bar with the hopes that at least one would be drunk enough to make some bad decisions. As we all know God loves a drunk-en potential rapist and so by some grace of His this guy did not linger too long creeping on the ladies whose honor we were obligated to defend with our fists in his face and our asses in a local jail cell. The night concluded and the pilgrimage back to Avondale began.

Yes. we are alive

This blog was intended to be a weekly (or more) update on news, stories, or just juicy rumors regarding Verona Red. However, due to both my own laziness and the generally uninteresting lives of the members of said band, there has been a lack of activity on the blog as of late. It dried up after a whopping two entries. To be quite honest, there are a number of stories that merit telling and would certainly be entertaining, but in the interests of maintaining friendships and the fanbase in general, some of these must be kept secret. And in the interest of keeping certain band members out of prison, at least until the statutes of limitations on certain events of dubious legality are reached, some tales must be withheld until a later date. Once the band makes it big, and if they refuse to pay me the required amount, the tell-all book will disclose everything (Publishers, take note!).

But fear not, intrepid Verona Red fans and followers! If I have to make the damn stories up, there will be a blog every week from now on. I swear it on Mike's driver's license. Chris' test results, Tony's swinger status, and Taz's designer sunglasses.

Checks in the Mail

Thanks again for a great February 22 at the Note. Checks in the mail ladies...

Verona Red issues an official statement regarding Performance Enhancing Drug Accusations

There have been a lot of rumors flying around lately about Verona Red having taken illegal performance enhancing drugs several years ago in order to get an edge in the local music scene. They have all steadfastly denied such allegations and are very concerned that their good reputations will forever be tarnished in the wake of such lies. The band's policy on drugs has always been, and remains to this day, to use drugs solely for recreational purposes with the intent of thinking more creatively, expanding their minds, or in the greater pursuit of getting laid.

Unfortunately, a former friend of the band has come out recently and accused lead guitarist and vocalist Chris Balzer of having taken steroids and Human Growth Hormones to build up arm, wrist, and finger strength. He claims that Balzer used these drugs for increased stamina during times when the band's gig schedule was particularly intense.

Balzer denied such rumors, and contacted lawyers about filing a defamation of character lawsuit. After preliminary meetings and interviews, however, the lawyers declined to represent Balzer claiming that they "didn't feel [Balzer] had any real character to begin with."

Still, the conflict rages on, and fans are forced to either trust Verona Red and stand behind them in this difficult period, or to believe a disgruntled former colleague's attacks. No matter how the matter is finally resolved, there will forever be questions about the integrity and legitimacy of Verona Red and just how they were able to rock so goddamn hard.

Before you choose, take the time on Friday, February 22 at 11 p.m. to come see Verona Red at the Note, 1565 N. Milwaukee Ave and live a part of the controversy.