MAGNOLIA ROAD NEWS

Tom's Blog

 

Feb. 21, 2011:  After a busy summer (and little work on the website!!), we have started working on some new songs and getting ready for another busy summer season.

 

Feb. 22, 2010:  The wedding was tremendous fun!  Great audience ready to party and at a fantastic venue (Inglewood Golf Club).

 

Feb. 11, 2010:  Big show this weekend for a wedding on Valentine's Day!

 

Dec. 10, 2009:  It has been a while since I updated this....  Partly due to my computer being hijacked by Staples.....  We are looking forward to playing Oddfellows in Redmond a week from Monday!!

 

September 3, 2009:  It has been a busy two months.  We played the Bite of Seattle and two private parties that were great fun (and I went on a 72 mile canoe trip in between!).  We are hitting our goals and making excellent progress.  It is increasingly fun playing together both because we enjoy each other's company and as we hit the groove more effectively as we learn to play with each better.  We had a business meeting last night and made some decisions about improving the website, new songs, and seeking out new gigs...

 

July 9, 2009:  We played a show last night in Magnolia (of all places).  It was part of one of the "Concerts in the Park" series that happen every other Wednesday night out doors next to the community center.  The weather was crummy, but thanks to all of our friends who came out and made it a great audience!  We finally pulled the plug as it began to rain, but we got through most of the second set.  The band played well--a few things that we need to work on to tighten up on before next week's Bite of Seattle show--but there is something really fun about this group of people.  I think the enthusiasm is starting to become infectious.

 

July 7, 2009:  We have been busy.  And we are playing again twice this week.  I have been struggling to get the right sound on stage...and I seem to finally have got it right.  Mike Soldano of Soldano Custom Amplification really helped.   He helped by suggesting a better tone setting and telling me to TURN UP!  It's not just louder when I need it, but it gives me the ability to alter the texture more effectively by playing lighter or dropping out from time-to-time.  Really cool.

 

In addition, I have been playing with a closed back 2x12 Soldano cabinet.  It sounds great, but it throws out a very directed sound.  I had Mike build me an open back cabinet to add to my set up.  This allow the sound to be thrown out in a very straight direction (with the closed back cabinet) and to envelop the stage area with the open back.  It is really working great.  Plus it looks awesome!

 

May 22, 2009:  We played a show as the headliners at an Issaquah fundraiser early in the month that went very well.  We worked a couple of new songs in that were fun (Goodbye to You, Something in the Air).  It was Rob's first show with us.  Also, played the Overlake Bumbershoot event in the open air.  We had all of the backline set up for us, so I got to pick from a Fender Super Reverb, a Vox AC30, or a Fender Twin Reverb.  I picked the Super.  Playing slide through it with some distortion was great!  I can really hear things coming together even better in rehearsals.  Rob and Joe are really getting a groove down that is making is all better players and Magnolia Road an even better Seattle band.

 

April 16, 2009:  We are starting to get our summer nicely planned out.  The Bite of Seattle on July 17 will be great fun!

 

April 3, 2009:  Our new drummer, Rob Moya, is really fitting in brilliantly.  Not only is he a terrific guy personally, his drumming is making the band better every time we play together.  Any skepticism that existed at first has given way to unbridled enthusiasm.  I can't wait for out next gig.... March 19, 2009:  Looks like we may have found our new drummer!!!

 

February 18, 2009:  We really had great fun with Valentine's Day show.  We pretty much threw a party with friends and it went great.  We had Roger Johnson sit in with us on the drums and he is terrific.  Half Tonn opened for us and The USSR played during a break.  We are going to have to do this regularly!

December 23, 2008:  The Seattle area has been pretty much shut down for the past several days with heavy snow.  I have been thinking about different kinds of songs that we could get into that will make us 'different.'  I have been thinking about two possibilities:  Doing a really great album in a set (side 2 of Abbey Road?) or redoing a lot of Motown songs.  Joe and I listened to a lot of Motown stuff the other night and were surprised at how many just plain great songs there were that might well work for us....  First up:  "Stop! In the Name of Love".  the Supremes had a hit with it in the 60s and the Hollies did a great version that was a hit in the early 1980s in the UK.  The Beatles did a lot of Motown in their early days.  Rock them up a bit and hit hard with a back beat...it is worth a try.  A few years ago, I had a chance to the visit the original Motown studios in Detroit.  One thing that really caught my attention was how they got their signature reverb sound:  By cutting a hole in the attic and recording the echo.  Great songs, great performances, but it must be next to impossible to remaster those tracks today....

December 7, 2008:  We spent the whole day in the studio working on six songs.  We got pretty decent cuts done on the instrument tracks for "One Way or Another" (Blondie), "Here Comes Monday" (one of my originals sung by Sean), "Venus" (Shocking Blue and Bananarama both had number one hits with it), "Slow Down" (a Larry Williams song made famous by the Beatles), "Take Me to the River" (Al Green, Talking Heads), "How Far We've Come" (Matchbox 20).  Most of it was first or second take stuff, so it isn't perfect, but Jonathan Warman of Orbit Audio in downtown Seattle really made it sound great.  He was great to work with, instantly responding to everything we needed.  Vocals are next.....  Everyone had a lot of fun.

December 1, 2008:  I had a really great talk with David Harris of HTS Audio about the Issaquah Food Bank gig.  Dave is well known for his presence with the arts on the Eastside, as well as his company.  He had some really great suggestions about building a better show presence.  There are a lot of good bands out there; how does a good band make itself memorable?  There are a lot of things, but David seemed to believe that the most important factor was the songs that the band plays (not clothes, antics, stage sets, etc., which kind of surprised me).  Play stuff that is different than anyone else, he says.  He also believes that a great band has to have a leader or it will eventually dissolve.

November 22, 2008:  What a great show!  It was a big success for the Issaquah Food Bank as they raised $15,000.  We got our pictures on the front page of the paper and the dance floor was packed almost from the instant that we began playing (OK, so Flo talked everyone she new since childhood in to coming out to support the food bank!).  Got to talk with my old friends Bob and Shelley Tomberg of Shelley and the Curves, too.  Bob and I had a long talk about the factors making up a successful band later on, too.

November 11, 2008:  We are well on our way to a couple of big events.  Next week is a big fund raiser for the Issaquah Food Bank.  We are opening for the AstroCats, who I haven't seen, but hear are great.  Naturally, we want to do a great show, too.  Shortly thereafter, we hit the studio to try to get some quality recordings done.

September 10, 2008:  Joe Basso and I had a couple of beers last night.  We talked about taking the organization of the band up several notches.  We need to do the business things to be successful--logos, formats, staging, promo materials, etc.  The really good news is that we are all on the same page together and are beginning to get more focused on achieving our objectives.  These are really fun people to work with.

September 4, 2008:  We played a large reception for the 2008 Governor's Workforce and Economic Development at the Lynnwood Convention Center last night.  It was great fun.  The venue was really nice and the people running the conference and facility were great.  I thought we did a really good show and the audience was into it (especially, of course, the people who stayed until closing!).  One of the songs that got the best reception was one of our originals, "Here Comes Monday."

August 15, 2008:  Things are going well preparing for the big show early next month.  Marty, a great drummer to start with, is getting more and more locked in with the band and making us all better.  Joe's really good at spotting detail and making improvements and it is really starting to show in the new songs that he learning.  I have always thought that the really great players know when not to play and Joe is really showing a combination of these two insights and it is making a difference in our sound.  Marty suggested learning "Gone, Gone, Gone" (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss/Everly Brothers), "Band of Gold" (Freda Payne), and Cruel to be Kind (Nick Lowe).  I was surprised that the band reacted most positively to Cruel to be Kind!