The Nadas Daily Blog Blog

We have a new Blog Blog!!!

2008-04-28T18:24:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! Just wanted to give you a head's up that we have a new and improved Blog Blog. Please go here to get the latest dose of Nadas news, events and random happenings.

The Iowa Journal – Iowa Music Industry

2008-02-22T20:27:00.002-06:00

Jason Walsmith of The Nadas and Shawn Crahan of Slipknot Discuss Iowa's Music Industry. Click here for the story:

www.iptv.org/iowajournal/story.cfm/191

The Ghosts Inside These Halls PRE RELEASE!

2008-02-06T16:30:00.001-06:00

House of Blues

2007-12-30T02:16:00.000-06:00

New photos are up from our show with Hello Dave at the House of Blues in Chicago.

Click here for more photos:

mandymillerphotos.blogspot.com

Here Comes Christmas

2007-12-14T18:10:00.000-06:00

Benjamin Wagner Christmas

2007-12-10T16:06:00.000-06:00

Inspired, he tells me, by his stint at Silent Night 2005, New York City-based Authentic artist Benjamin Wagner just released his own charity compilation CD, "A Family Holiday."

Ben executive produced the fourteen-track album of NYC singer/songwriters and bands, and pulled everyone together for a big release party last Wednesday night. The CD kicks of with an all-star cover of "Do They Know It's Christmas" (which we performed together in '05), then features new recordings of classic and original holiday tunes from his pals Casey Shea, Chris Abad, Jeff Jacobson, Flying Machines, and more. Oh, and Jon mastered it. It's a good record.

He's donating proceeds from the sales of "A Family Holiday" to 826NYC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills.

Of course, he's already lobbying me to put one of these together for Authentic next year.

We'll see.

Meanwhile, please pick up a copy and lend him a hand. You can buy it at the Authentic Records store

NSN5

2007-12-04T21:23:00.000-06:00

Below are photos from Nada Silent Night V. Thanks to everyone who came out and helped make the evening such a huge success. Thanks again to Dolores O'Riordan, Dick Prall and The Josh Davis Band for the excellent music. Thank you to all of our sponsors and everyone involved...we couldn't have done it without you!

Click here for more photos.

Happy Holidays!

Love,
The Nadas

Nada Silent Night V

2007-11-05T18:47:00.000-06:00

Please join us for our fifth annual Nada Silent Night to benefit the U.S. Marine Corps Toys For Tots. Admission will only be granted with the presentment of a paid ticket AND a new, unopened toy per person attending. (Cash donations may also be accepted in lieu of a toy donation.)

Click on the poster to purchase tickets.

2007-09-23T23:40:00.000-05:00

Clear Lake and Minneapolis

Click here for more photos

2007-09-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

Thursday night at the fair

Here are some photos from the first night at the Iowa State Fair. Mitchell Walsmith, Calvin Shepherd and even Clara Shepherd took the stage for Templeton Rye. More photos to come from Friday and Saturday night shows.

Whiskey and Rock and Roll

2007-08-22T15:30:00.000-05:00

The last few days in Chicago have been real good. Monday night was the Templeton Rye event at the Chicago Historical Building. A few of the guys in our crew did double duty. First they played the roles of police men, then attended the party with the rest of us.

They were great as police men, uncanny. The night consisted of Templeton Rye whiskey, lots of it. Flowing like water. Good times kids. I think.

Later in the evening, the band played a song for the people in attendance. Since they did an acoustic version of the song, Ross slid on over to the piano for a cool version of Templeton Rye. Sorry folks, I didn’t record this one.

Tuesday was back to work. But not before we all spent a nice day in downtown Chicago shopping, and eating, and walking, and shopping, and drinking coffee, and shopping…. Our show, which was part of the launch of Templeton Rye in Chicago, was a fun one.

Thanks to all of you who made it out on a Tuesday night. Such a great crowd, especially for a weekday! It has been a long time since we have done a show with Hello Dave, and we had a great time. Such a great time in fact that we are going to do some more shows with them later this year.

For more photos from our party on Monday night, click here...

Templeton Rye Launch party in Chicago.

I suppose that is it for now. Tune in next time for another episode of info that is fun to read, AND helps you procrastinate at work!!!…

A day off...

2007-08-20T17:38:00.000-05:00

What to do with a day off in Chicago? Well, a suburb of Chicago. Why not head into Chicago, to visit your friends that live in Chicago!!!
But first, we needed to grab a bite to eat. We agreed on Thai food, but naturally all the Thai restaurants we found were closed on Sunday afternoon. So we found the second best option. The ol’ Slotts N Hots. Apparently unless it’s in Chicago proper, it still says “Chicago Style”. Wierd. But it was in fact delicious!

Then we headed into the city to visit our good buddy, and label mate, Dick Prall. He gave us an advanced listen to his new album, due out very soon. Wow! We loved it! Lindsey described it as “haunting, dark in it’s own way”. You decide for yourself, when it comes out next month. We think you will love it too. After the listening party we headed out to dinner with Dick. Followed by, what else, cocktails! Good times.
Today it’s (not really) back to work. We started out at the hotel parking lot for a little bus TLC. We cleaned it, repaired it, made it nice again. That happens about twice a year, so needless to say, it was a pretty big deal. I mean, a new captains chair? Magical!!!

Tonight is a Temp Rye event. What else is there to say about that really? A whiskey event attended by band, and crew, who all happen to love said whiskey??!!??? Lovely.
More soon….

The Nadas

The road is (sometimes) hard

2007-08-18T17:12:00.001-05:00

Well kids. The last day and a half have been fun, at times frustrating, but never boring. Yesterday we started off in Des Moines, heading for Chicago. We made it to town all right. But when we got into town the fun started. We almost got a new, unwanted, sunroof on the bus by cramming it under a very low bridge! Luckily, we noticed it in time, and managed to back out and head down a safer street. Not without angering some of the local commuters first though.

A few of the people in our group, who were following in the van (long story, we have way to many vehicles this week), got lost and ended up watching the van to make sure it didn't get towed, while the others went to visit Steve Dahl and his crew at the radio station. That was a good time for those of us who made it. We hung out with our friends at the show, ate Taco Bell that they brought us, and listened while Jason and Mike performed a few songs. Scott Bush from Templen Rye was also along, and chatted about the Templeon Rye events going on in Chicago this coming week. Here is the pic we snapped before we took off.

This morning we woke up all together to early to head back to Chicago from Fontana, WI where we played at Chuck's Lakeshore Inn last night. We almost made it safe and sound to the club where we are playing tonight, but one blown trailer tire had something to say about that! So I pulled the bus over to the side of the road, and went to help Tyler change the tire. After a few bug bites, lots of complaining about my lack of food and sleep, and the time of day (morning actually) it was, we got the spare tire on the trailer. As soon as I hopped back into the bus to take off, Ian flagged me down to let me know that something just wasn't right. Long story short... we changed the tire a few more times, broke/ stripped a few lugs and lug nuts, and eventually got a new tire. We made it to the club on time, minus the nap and shower we had all been counting on of course. So I now sit here in our hotel room, writing this while fighting to keep me eyes open long enough to do so. I shall now sleep, but wanted to let you in on the latest adventures. There is also a pic of our bad luck below, mid repair.

Stay tuned for more pics, and info, from our long weekend in the city. Until then...

Luke and The Nadas

2007-08-08T13:10:00.000-05:00

Boji

2007-08-08T12:31:00.000-05:00

catch us on tv tonight!!! (8/8/07)

Nope, not Dave Letterman. Here is the info, hope you get a chance to watch it:

http://www.iptv.org/series.cfm/18803/ep:201

See you all at the State Fair!!!

2007-07-30T12:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Ian!

If you'd like to wish Ian a happy birthday, leave a comment below.

2007-07-24T23:21:00.000-05:00

weekly blah blah #240707

It's that time again, Nadas friends. Time to catch up on our little world of rock and roll.

Thanks to all of you who came out to our shows last week in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Kansas City. It was a good run, indeed. We played our first shows at The Blue Note Lounge and The Mercury Lounge and had a great time. Hopefully we will be asked to come back sometime. And since our return I have been pushing for someone in Des Moines to open a Souper! Salad - although I might spruce up the ice cream section.

And now we're back home for two shows this week.

1. NASFRAGBRAI, or the Nadas Annual Show For the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. Our sound engineer extraordinaire, Luke, is on RAGBRAI this year. Be sure to look out for him as you drive across rural Iowa this week. We will be playing in Cedar Falls on Wednesday, July 25. We will first play at 6:15PM inside the UNI Dome opening for Blues Traveller. Lance Armstrong will also be joining the indoor festivities. Doors open at 5:00PM. And then, after the indoor celebration comes to a close, we will be playing outside the UNI Dome at the beer garden (in the West parking lot) from 9PM to 10:30PM.

2. Arnold's Park Green Space in Okoboji. Ah yes, our annual lakeside party with all of our friends and family in Okoboji. It is sure to be a good time. Maybe some of you will be inspired to go down to the river, shake and shiver, roll in the water . . . but it's a lake so you will have to work on some alternate lyrics. Anyway, gates open at 6:30PM, first band at 7:30PM and the Nadas at 9:00PM. It should be a great night to be at the lake.

And just a heads up on next week - super party at Simon Estes and then on to Denver and Evergreen, CO.

Very good. Hope to see all of you little darlings somewhere on the road this week.

Love and comfy bike seats,
Dr. Tyler and The Nadas

QOTW: What's the best part of a RAGBRAI party?

2007-07-21T22:55:00.000-05:00

ALIVE Concert Series

2007-07-17T17:10:00.000-05:00

Weekly blah blah 70017.7

Well hello, Nadas people. Anyone else cruising to Oklahoma City in a sweet van? If not, you need to do it sometime. And make sure you roll like a rock star and stock it with Twizzlers and chocolate milk.

But for now you should just find some way to get to the Blue Note Lounge in Oklahoma City (http://www.myspace.com/okcbluenote), where we will be kicking out some rock tunes tonight. The show starts at 10PM. We've had a lot of requests for a while now to play in Oklahoma, so be sure to spread the word that we are finally making it happen. And not just for one show . . .

Wednesday night we will be just up the road in Tulsa at the Mercury Lounge (www.mercury-lounge.com). Our friends in the Josh Davis Band keep talking about it, so we decided to put our stamp on the room, too. It's another 10PM show and we really think those of you in the Oklahoma area should take a few days off work and join us both nights. Why not? We don't swing through that often.

Thursday night we'll be back at Knuckleheads in Kansas City (www.knuckleheadskc.com). We had some serious fun there last October and are looking forward to getting back. Weather permitting we'll be rocking outside for this show. So get your weekend started right by partying with us at one of KC's coolest clubs. And be sure to ask one of the staff for the building's history.

That's about it for right now. I've had a full serving of Twizzlers (that would be four pieces) and hear another serving calling my name. Hope to see you this week.

Peace and Red Dirt,
Dr Tyler and The Nadas

QOTW: What's the one snack you MUST have on an eight hour road trip?

2007-07-11T22:22:00.000-05:00

The Hub

2007-07-05T22:07:00.000-05:00

The Des Moines Art Festival

2007-06-24T23:04:00.000-05:00

Fill my cup. . .

Scott Bush and Jason Walsmith appear with Jon Miller at Clear Channel studios in Des Moines and discuss Templeton Rye, a one-time bootleg whiskey recipe that got the attention of Al Copone, and is now being exacted legally in the small Iowa town for which the hooch is named.

2007-06-12T17:47:00.000-05:00

Goodnight Girl. . .

2007-06-10T23:22:00.000-05:00

Goodnight Girl. . .

Last show at People's in Ames on 5/27. Thanks again to Tom Zmolek and the staff at People's. More photos to come of the first show at People's Court in Des Moines.

2007-06-07T18:05:00.000-05:00

I'm goin' down to the river. . .

This Friday night (06.08.07) is the first show of the ALIVE Concert Series at Simon Estes Amphitheater here in Des Moines. Doors open at 6. Hope to see you all there!

Love & mostly sunny, high of 74,
The Nadas

2007-05-30T22:33:00.000-05:00

People's has left the building.

Ames' iconic bar spends final days celebrating bands.

Click here for the story.

(you may need to register on the Daily's website to read the story, but it's free and harmless.)

2007-05-24T23:47:00.000-05:00

Steve Dahl. . . . and the Dalhfins

We were in Lincolnshire, IL on Saturday night to play at the Cubby Bear North. We started the night with our show, and then joined Steve Dahl (as the Dalhfins) for his set.

2007-04-05T23:03:00.000-05:00

A text away. . . .

You can now sign up to receive free text alerts about Nadas shows in your area. The messages will come directly from us and don't worry your pretty little head... you won't be spammed, sent any advertising, or anything evil like that. This way we can let you know when we're headed your way and if there are any updates regarding the show. It only takes a minute and works great (we already gave it a whirl). Just click the link or banner below:

http://www.broadtexter.com/The-Nadas

Thanks everyone!!

Love & Easter Candy (especially Peeps),
The Nadas

2007-03-19T23:36:00.000-05:00

an AUTHENTI© SXSW party...

2007-03-16T23:59:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Austin

We're here in Austin, having a great time. So much to see and listen to...it's almost overwhelming. We took a little drive out to a great BBQ joint outside of Austin yesterday with some of the Authentic friends and family. Tomorrow is the B.O.S. Music & Authentic Records showcase party – hosted by Corey Moss (MTV) and Jim McGuinn (WXPN). The Nadas will be joined by The Josh Davis Band, Dick Prall, The Tyler Thompson Band, and other B.O.S. artists at Maggie Mae's. Here are a few shots I've taken so far. Today we saw a guy with an Iowa FFA jacket on that he bought at a thrift store in Ontario (does anyone know the original owner?)...hilarious story and such a small world.

Love, Texas hot sauce & green beer,
The Authentic Austin Crew

2007-03-16T22:06:00.000-05:00

Paradise by the dashboard lights...

or something Meatloaf-related like that. We had a pretty good trip down, minus the one lane/no shoulder/heavy fog portion of Tyler's shift and the 5 hour (should have been 3) trip from Dallas to Austin during Jason's shift. Activities included (but were not limited to): sleeping, driving, working (via phone, email and text), more sleeping, sewing, and taking pictures. Here are a few photos from the trip.

2007-03-08T18:13:00.000-06:00

Weekly Blah Blah #30807

From: tyler@thenadas.com
Date: March 6, 2007 5:53:25 PM CST
To: Jason Walsmith - The Nadas
Subject: Edit and send (blah blah)

So . . . . editors note . . . . I am an idiot. Tyler wrote this up and asked me to send it so you knew what was happening this week. Because I didn't send until 2 days later you missed Brother Trucker last night. My fault, I am sorry and you missed a great show)

Hi, party kids. It's The Doctor here. I hope everyone is doing well and gearing up for SXSW (That's South by Southwest). It should be a darn good time. I hope you can join us in Austin for what is always one of the biggest parties of the year - in the ENTIRE WORLD. We're loading up Meatloaf on Tuesday night and heading down for a full week of music.

We have our own party on Saturday, March 17 from 12:00PM - 5:00PM. If you're going to be in Austin, just click on this cool link ( this one - http://www.bosmusic.com/sxsw07 ) and get an invite. Our friends Dick Prall, the Josh Davis Band, and the Tyler Thompson Band will also be partying with us. So come out and enjoy warm, sunny Austin with your friends from Authentic Records.

This is the information that I sent to our group. It might help you too in your preparation for the journey.

LEAVE TIME: We will be meeting at the bus barn at 10:00PM on Tuesday, March 13. This should get us to Austin by approx 1:30PM on Wednesday.

DRIVERS: Hey, there's five of us. I'm sure we can each handle a normal shift.

RETURN TIME: We will leave Austin at approximately 10:00AM on Sunday, March 18.

BANDS: Figure out who you CANNOT miss - http://2007.sxsw.com/music/showcases/date/2007-03-13.html
Or decide which cool party to hit during the day - http://2007.sxsw.com/music/parties/

BATS: I've been to Austin a few times now but still have yet to check out the bats. This year, that changes - http://www.io.com/house/batstory.html

BBQ: Yes, there will be a trip for those interested to a family-style, sit down, bucket o' beer bbq meal. Prepare for the meat sweats - http://www.saltlickbbq.com/

WEATHER: Awesome. Seriously, upper 70s and sunshine. Keep up to date and dress
accordingly - http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/78701?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

AUSTIN - Certainly there's more to Austin than SXSW. Learn more and strike up a
conversation with the locals - http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/briefhistory.htm

BECAUSE - www.beforethemusicdies.com

CLEAN BUS - A trip in the bus is better when it's clean. Let me know if you are able to help clean the bus at 3PM this Sunday. The more the merrier, or at least the less time it will take to clean it up a bit. Location TBA.

"But, Doctor," you ask, "what about THIS week?" Sure, you might be looking for some entertainment during this brief Nadas hiatus. So this week come party with The Doctor. Interested? Here's where you can find me:

Wednesday - Brother Trucker at El Bait Shop in downtown Des Moines. It's a great way to start the weekend - grab a couple of fish tacos, sip on an adult beverage, and embrace the ROCKIN' show that Andy and the boys put on for FREE.

Thursday - The Tyler Thompson Band at Shooter's Hideaway just west of 63rd on Hickman. I'm looking forward to this. It's only $5 and TTB will not disappoint. Plus, they're joined this week by Johnny Reeferseed and the High Rollers and The Soapbox Prophets. Show starts at 9.

Friday - My liver may be upset with me, but that won't keep me from heading out to Keysters for Randy Burk and the Prisoners. Only $6. Let me tell you something, I almost never dance and I rarely drink beer. But at Prisoners' shows, I do 'em both. Of course the beer will be joined by a short guy of Temp Rye.

Saturday I'll be under heavy sedation, recovering, preparing for . . .

Sunday Funday - Mike Rockin' Butterworth at AK O'Connors in Beaverdale. FREE. Enough said.

And that's just so I can get warmed up for South by Southwest. Hope to see you soon.

Love and warm Texas weather,
The Nadas

QOTW: Which ONE band do we absolutely have to see while we're in Austin?

2007-03-05T18:32:00.000-06:00

Show Review

For those of you who made it out to the show at The Redstone Room Saturday night, thanks for coming. We had a great time, and we hope you all did too. For those of you who couldn't make it, check out this review:

http://www.qcsoundboard1.citymaker.com/page/page/4372111.htm

2007-03-02T18:55:00.000-06:00

Weekly Bli Bli Blizzard # 30207

Neither Rain nor sleet nor wind nor snow can stop the US postal service . . . . but I am sad to say that the blizzard today is stopping the rock and roll. We would have tried anything to make it to minneapolis, but they closed the interstate, and the highway and my driveway. I know you minnesotans are resourceful, resilient and impervious to snow, and even though you have 24 inches of fresh snow you would happily strap on your sorels, snowshoes, cross country skis or snowmobiles and make your way to the fineline tonight. I wish we could be there. But alas, I am the bearer of the bad news that we have cancelled our show. Our people are already talking to the fineline's people and are tossing out dates like April 20th or May 11th. We will let you know of course. We miss you.

As of now We are still planning on The Daveport show tomorrow at the redstone room. In fact we have heard they have sold a ton of tickets. We will make it to this show. We have snow plows out day and night to clear the way. You can see them back and forth on I 80 from here to the quad cities. We will see you there.

Love and sideways falling snow,
The Nadas

2nd QOTW - What is your favorite thing to do on a snow day?

2007-02-28T12:59:00.000-06:00

Weekly Blah Blah #022807

For us, trips to Colorado are like a box of chocolates. We never know what we are going to get. This past weekend was like a whole box of our favorites, every time we pulled out a new piece, we got something delicious! For all of you who didn’t make it to any of the shows, sorry to rub it in. For those of you who did make it, thanks for making our weekend a great one! The fans, as always, were great and we had a great time. For those of you who couldn’t make it but want to find out what you missed, you can still buy a copy of any of the shows to hear the magic that took place. Just send an email to luke@thenadas.com to order your copy. Here’s a quick run down of the events.

Friday @ The Walnut Room. The fans came out nice and early, and waited patiently for the doors to open. The show was rocking, fun was had by all, err… most. I don’t think a few people I saw would put there night in the fun category, strictly because of over indulgence. But it started off fun I imagine.

Saturday @ The Walnut Room. See above, but add a full day of pre-show partying by the band and friends that didn’t stop just because the show started. Good times!
Sunday @ The Little Bear. Wow!!?!!???!!! An interesting night. Even for The Little Bear’s standards, this one was one interesting. I can’t really recap all the craziness that happened that night. But I will say that all Nadas fans should experience at least one Little Bear show in their life time.

So that’s it, kind of. Lots more happened, to much to get into. But on a positive note, this weekend promises to pick up where last weekend left off. We hope to see all of you in Minneapolis this Friday night at The Fineline. Doors open at 8pm, so get there early and start your weekend right!

Saturday night in Davenport has high expectations after the last show at The Redstone Room was so out of control! The fans showed up early and stuck it out till the very end, we are very excited for this show!

Recap:
Friday March 2nd: The Fineline, Minneapolis, MN
Saturday March 3rd. The Redstone Room, Davenport, IA

Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!!!

Love and long, sometimes painful, but always fun, weekends of full on partying,
The Nadas

2007-02-26T23:03:00.000-06:00

We won!

Cityview best of 2007:

Best Local Band/Musician
The Nadas

Des Moines’ pop kings struck a chord with our readers once again as The Nadas defend their title as Best Local Band/Musician for the second consecutive year, edging out two local R&B groups. When the band isn’t touring and recording, they’re busy running their record label, Authentic Records, helping up-and-coming pop-rock acts.
Runners-up: One Nite Stand, Final Mix

here is a link to all of the other winners . . .
http://www.dmcityview.com/cover.shtml

Des Moines is a cool city!

2007-02-01T19:34:00.000-06:00

The Nadas weekly BlahBlah 020107

Hi everyone. Sorry we haven’t written in a while. But enough about that, let’s get down to business. Today is part 3-ish in a many part, whenever we think of it series of, “a minute (or so) in the life of a Nadas band meeting”...

Mike: Hi everyone, how’s things?
Tyler: Good, been real busy with Authentic Records, booking and what not.
Jason: Busy, doing…lots.
Justin: I’m tired.
Luke: I’m cold.
Jon: I’m hungry.
Mike: Great, so everyone’s happy. Tyler, what’s up next for shows?
Tyler: Well, it’s a show at a place we have never been. It looks like a real cool place, and it’s a free show.
Jason: Great. Wait, does that mean we don’t get paid?
Justin: I’m so dang tired.
Mike: Of course we get paid. It’s just free to the fans. NO COVER!
Jon: Dig it. That sounds like a super party!
Luke: I can’t wait to do a rock show!
Justin: ZZZZzzzzzzzz……
Tyler: The show is at the Voodoo Lounge inside the Harrah’s Casino in St Louis.
Jason: I am broke, all credit lines are full. But I am feeling lucky, I am taking all the money in my pocket and betting big!
Luke: That’s a great idea, you’ll be debt free in no time!
Mike: What’s that noise?
Tyler: What noise?
Luke: Oh, That’s Tyler watching Sprint TV on his phone.
Tyler: Oh, that noise. Yea, that’s me. Sorry.
Justin: ZZZZZzzzzzz…..
Jon: By the way, drinking will get you drunk.
Tyler: Good to know.
Jason: I need to check my email.
Mike: Me too, oh wait, I already am on my phone, right now.
Jon: Errr body is getting these fancy phones. Errr body.
Luke: Not me.
Justin: ZZZZZZzzzzz……
Jason: So, Thursday night, St Louis, Voodoo lounge. Can’t wait! Is the bus ready to go?
Luke: You bet. Justin and I had it washed. It looks sharp!
Justin: What’s wrong with the bus?
Luke: Nothing, I was just telling them….
Justin: ZZZZzzzz……
Mike: Well, that’s a wrap.
Luke: I love rap! Hip hop, all that!
Jon: No, the meetings a wrap silly.
Jason: See you all at the bus.

Hope that was informative for you all. Stay tuned for the next installment of “ A minute, give or take, of a Nadas tour meeting”. Until then, mark your calendars for the following dates:

Thursday, Feb 1st: : The Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino, St Louis, MO
Thursday, Feb 8th: Clematis by Night, West Palm Beach, FL
Saturday, Feb 17th:: Peoples Bar, Ames, IA
Friday, Feb 23: The Walnut Room, Denver, CO
Saturday, Feb 24th:: The Walnut Room, Denver, CO
Sunday Feb 25th: The Little Bear, Evergreen, CO

See you all soon!!!!

Love and meetings. Long, sleepy, confusing, even a bit boring, at times, yet always informative, meetings.

The Nadas

2007-01-10T12:45:00.000-06:00

I remember the first time I drove through India. . .

Well, Jason will remember. He's currently on a trip to India sponsored by Rotary District 6000. They are blogging throughout their trip, if you'd like to take a look:

http://gseindia2007.blogspot.com

2006-12-04T21:43:00.000-06:00

Santa Claus is comin' to town...

Oh wait...he already did. He joined us at the Hoyt Sherman on Friday night for our fourth annual Nada Silent Night. Here are a few photos....

Click here for a few more...

weekly ho ho ho #120106

2006-12-01T11:12:00.000-06:00

From: thenadas@thenadas.com
Subject: The Nadas Weekly Ho Ho 120106
Date: December 1, 2006 10:57:10 AM CST
To: thenadas@thenadas.com

Hello friends . . . . happy december! Jason here, taking a min to catch my breath . . . . We have had a crazy busy week, releasing Towncrier's new record "The End and Everything After" on Authentic Records, launching an international marketing campaign for the city of des moines and preparing for our 4th annual Nada Silent Night concert.
Some of you may remember a few years ago we wrote a song called Change Your View for the city of Des Moines. Well they have a new campaign and they asked us to write a new song illustrating the fact that we have chosen to live and base our band and Label in Des Moines. We are very excited to release this new song as a single on our label website. Check the news section for the download. We had so much fun working to this track that we have decided to start writing for a new record . . . . http://www.mailermailer.com/rd?http://www.authenticrecordsonline.com or goto: http://www.mailermailer.com/rd?http://www.desmoinesmetro.com/do-more/index.asp to read more about it.

Nada Silent NIght IV!
We have had 3 rehearsals, 3 radio interviews, 1 television appearance, 4 newspaper interviews, collected decorations, produced and distributed posters and postcards, found costumes, and of course compiling our huge list of backstage hospitality (thanks to Scott Bush the Boss of the Templeton Rye empire for the libations). The only thing we have neglected is informing you, our loyal fans of the festivities. Sorry about that. I will attach a copy of the poster. . . .
Tonight is going to be amazing. 6 musical acts, santa claus, a gospel choir, a magician, strolling carolers, a silent auction with over 40 items, and maybe some flying monkeys if everything works out. As you all know this show is all about collecting toys for Toys For Tots. . . . . read this article from KCCI to inspire you (and us) for the evening. . http://www.mailermailer.com/rd?http://www.kcci.com/family/10438880/detail.html

Hope to see you at the show. . . .
p.s. - it is all ages and general admission.

click to enlarge

Also...Congrats to our friends Towncrier for releasing their new record "The End and Everything After" on Tuesday. You NEED this record. It is amazing. http://www.mailermailer.com/rd?http://www.thenadas.com/store/proddetail.php?prod=thend

Love and mistletoe,

The Nadas

QOTW: What is your favorite Christmas song?

2006-11-28T00:35:00.000-06:00

Nada Silent Night 4

Just wanted to inform anyone who has been hiding under a rock for the last few weeks, and remind everyone else, about this Friday night's fourth annual Nada Silent Night. It is going to be a great show with performances by The Nadas, Towncrier, The Tyler Thompson Band, Josh Davis, Dick Prall, Andy Fleming, and others. You will not be disappointed. There will also be a silent auction during the show, with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the Food Bank of Iowa. It's going to be a great night of music, and some great causes will benifit as well. We hope to see you all there.

Click on the image below to purchase tickets, and don't forget to bring a toy for the US Marine Corp's Toys for Tots!

See you Friday!!
The Nadas

Halloween in Hollywood

2006-11-01T20:29:00.000-06:00

Unlike our day off in Reno, we partied properly on Halloween in Los Angeles. Upon being invited to a few parties, we set out looking for costumes. One party was a "dead celebrity" theme, so we put our heads together to think of a costume for each of us. Where else but Hollywood will you see Buddy Holly, Ernest Hemmingway, Sid Vicious, Hunter S. Tompson, Waylon Jennings, Marc Bolan, and Dorothy from the wizard of Oz hanging out together? So with our costumes all figured out, we needed a way to get from party to party, because the tour bus was just not a prefered means of transportation rolling around Hollywood. But on a Saturday night the bus wasn't even an option. We figured a stretched Hummer would work. One quick stop at the hotel conceirge and our ride was taken care of.
When the big, white, not much smaller than the bus but at least it comes with its own driver, limo finally arrived 15 minutes late, we all piled in. Once we got the driver heading in the right direction we popped the cork on a fresh bottle of Templeton Rye and got our evening started. One cocktail and a few 8 point turns later we made it to our first destination. A brand new club that proved to be a great place to start the night off.
To sum up the rest of the night, we hopped in and out of the limo a handful of times, drank a whole bottle of Templeton Rye, and made new friends along the way. It was definately a night to remember, if only we could remember more of it. We did have a good time, and also learned that in Hollywood on Halloween it's skin to win, the shorter the better. I say we make Halloween a monthly thing for now on, and every month we tour out there to party like we are rich and famous.

a street car named #27

2006-10-27T13:50:00.000-05:00

After a few short hours of sleep at the San Fran Warwick Hotel . . . I was rousted out of bed to go move the bus at 6 am. Rather than go back to bed I decided to walk around the city and watch it wake up. Here are some shots . . .

Keno in Reno

2006-10-25T18:23:00.000-05:00

"basically, if I remember right you give somebody a card with numbers and a little bit later they bring you some money"

Finally, a day off! We were in Park City just long enough to do a show on Monday night. We loaded in, played a show at a cool place called The Sidecar. Then after the show we loaded up and I began driving into the darkness, headed for Reno. It was a nice drive, And sometime around 4am I handed off the driving to Jason. Rocked to sleep by the moving bus, I had a nice nights sleep. When I woke up we were in Reno, all checked into our rooms and everything. Jon and Ross had already left for San Francisco. The rest of us relaxed a bit, took showers and caught up on emails, did some work from our rooms. Then came the evening. I'm sure you're all thinking this means big band party on their day off! Well, here is how our evening went down. Justin was asleep before the rest of us even headed out the door. Mike and Jason headed for the gaming tables, Nick ,Tyler and I headed for the bar. After about two hours Mike and Jason returned, Mike a bit heavier in the wallet. We all headed up to the resturant for some late evening dining. You name it, it was on the menu. Prime rib, salads, mogolian beef, etc.... yummy. So we sat and ate, and played Keno at the same time. Mike walked away 50 cents richer, Jason about $1.25, and everyone else walked away full and broke. I contemplated waiting ten more minutes to take advantage of the the late night $3.99 pancake special, but opted out of that bad idea. We all headed to our room. Still waiting for the crazy party story right? Here it comes...by 11:30 Mike and Jason were asleep, Tyler and I contacted a few friends via IM before crashing as well. So there you have it, our crazy night off in Reno. But in our defense, there wasn't much to do after you were done gambling. The combined age of the folks in the casino was well over a zillion. We have now coined a new catch phrase for Reno...Where Vegas comes to die. But on a positive note, Mike was up about a hundred or so when we left town.
Luke

Mountain Men Part 1ish.

2006-10-25T18:01:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone, Luke here from the bus somewhere in Wyoming. Before I get to the current tour, let me remind you all about The Nadas cruise. There are a minimum number of cabins on the ship we have to fill to ensure the cruise happens. We are nearly there, so if you are thinking about going, now is the time to get your tickets. And if you need any incentive, just think about how cold it has been lately. Then remember that isn’t even close to what it will be like in February. Pickin up what I’m throwin down? See you in Florida! For more info check out the web site http://www.mailermailer.com/rd?http://www.fanclubcruises.com/the_nadas.htm
We are excited to show you all the new look of our bus! The makers of our beloved Templeton Rye decided to help support us on this tour, and with that support comes this bus exterior makeover. We are real happy with how it turned out, as well as the bottles of Templeton Rye they gave us for the tour. Check out www.templetonrye.com to find out about our favorite moonshine.
Now to the tour! So far things have been great. The fans have been coming out, even on work/ school nights, to rock and party. We are having a good time everywhere we go, but last night at The Little Bear was extra special, and will be hard to beat. The crowd was rowdier than ever, prompted perhaps by The Nadas rocking like it was their last show ever. Or could it be because of a new version of one of their songs, re-created on this tour, and revealed for the first time last night………what??????? Be sure to keep an ear out for that at future shows.
We have stopped to do a few radio interviews along the way as well, including one this afternoon with Don Woods for Wyoming public radio. They played a few songs, and Jason told everyone his story about riding RAGBRAI in a way that doesn’t quite make sense.
Yesterday afternoon was a bit of a free for all, with everyone kind of doing their own thing. Justin and I spent our whole day fixing a bus. “But Luke, I thought you guys got your bus all fixed and it runs good now?” Yes, you are right. But Regina Spektor and her band happened to be staying at the same hotel as us in Denver. When they loaded up in their bus to head to the gig, it wouldn’t start. So Justin, being the veteran bus mechanic that he is, started helping their driver figure out the problem. Unable to get it going in time, we sent our bus to the rescue. We unloaded our luggage, put their gear in its place, and shuttled them to the venue so they could make it in time for sound check. The rest of our day was spent trouble shooting battery issues to get their bus up and running. Since Justin and I are both Regina Spektor fans, we took this opportunity to get a quick pic with her before she left for her show. After all the rocky experiences with our bus this year,
Meatloaf saved the day! And while that shiny, much newer bus sat unable to even start, we felt like a proud parent on the first day of school.
You can bet that there will be more stories, surprises, and pictures on the way. We will be sure to pass the best ones along to you all. Be sure to come out and see us when you can for some rock and roll. The rest of our week looks like this:

Wed. Oct 25th The Elbo Room -San Francisco, CA
Thurs. Oct 26th - Bogey's - Sunnyvale, CA (early show)
Fri. Oct. 27th Molly Malone’s-Los Angeles, CA
Sun. Oct 29th The Rhythm Room-Phoenix, AZ

That’s it for now, I am going to get back to watching funny things and listening to the new Towncrier with Jon. Hope to see you all soon.

Love and lots of good bus karma,
The Nadas

QOTW: Do you have a favorite Nadas show ever?

Go west!

2006-10-18T01:19:00.000-05:00

Whew! I'm done . . . packing . . . packing . . . . packing. WE ARE GOING ON TOUR! We leave in 12 hours and I just zipped my last bag closed for the night. We will be doing 15-17 shows in the next 18 days. I know it seems like we play all the time but I cherish the opportunity to forge some unknown or rarely known territory and see whether strangers like us. It is good to get out of our comfort zone, where the audience is always full of friends and family. So what am I bringing . . . .

I know I am being dramatic, we have been on perpetual tour for a decade and I have had a rotation of several bags packed for that duration. I never fully unpack. I have the man purse for the day trips with the computer, notebook, small camera, books, and other essentials. I have a larger version of the same that I can throw a change of clothes in for the overnights. If we spend a couple of nights on the road I use them both. I have 2 different sizes of rolling suitcases for the flying trips of different durations. Last but not least I have the HUGE cavernous duffels on wheels. I have two of them. One is waterproof and one is more versatile. I have been packing them all for 2 days and I am finally done. Now, I consider myself a professional traveler and pride myself in being efficient and prepared. This trip is a challenge. Let me tell you what I'm bringing. . . . I have a large rolling duffel with rock clothes for the bus part of this trip. This large bag stays under the bus (with nine people on the bus there isn't much room inside for bags) full of comfortable travel clothes for the day and rock clothes for the nights. I have a small overnight bag with one set of clean clothes that I take on the bus and into the hotel for the night. Then I swap out the clothes daily. I have full case of camera gear for a little bit of photo scouting. I have another small duffel full of fly fishing gear for a day trip that a few of us out making in Colorado. I have another large duffel that will stay under the bus until we fly to mexico full of strictly beach, pacifico cerveza drinking and tequilla shooting clothes. (2 pairs of board shorts and 2 pairs of flip flops, everything else is extraneous) Don't forget a couple of guitars that I brought home in case a song came knocking (none did). Now, for the record I will probably only wear one pair of jeans, and one pair of boots for the whole domestic trip and one pair of trunks and one pair of flip flops for the entire south of the border section. But at least I am prepared.

Here is what the trip has in store . . .

10/18 Kansas City, MO -- Knuckleheads - This is our first time in this club. If you come see us in K.C. you know how hard we have been looking for a home here. This place is new. Come out and join us and we'll see if we like it.

10/19 Kearney, NE -- Cunningham's - We used to play this club all the time. For the past several years we have just blown through town at night, but we found out we are getting some airplay on the college station, so we are stopping for an interview, an in studio performance and a gig. Wonder if anyone remembers us.

10/20&21 -Denver, CO -- The Walnut Room - You know if we are playing 2 nights in a row in any city, then we must be having a good time. If you are having trouble deciding which night to come to, come to both. We will be switching the sets up to make it interesting.

10/22 Evergreen, CO -- The Little Bear - This place is legendary and our shows there are equally so if only in our minds. Come expecting the unexpected (what does that mean? I don't know, but it is cool)

10/23 Laramie, WY - (tentative) Wyoming Public Radio. Morning show. Tune in or stream it on your computer.

10/23 Park City, UT -- Sidecar Bar - Mike and I partied in this bar during the sundance film fest last year. We thought we would go back and see what it is like to play.

10/24 Reno NV - This is a night off at the Harrah's Casino. Decided we would rest a day, playing black jack and eating huge casino buffets.

10/25 - San Francisco, CA -- Elbo Room - First time at this place in San Fran. We had a great turn out last time we were in town, and we are looking forward to a triumphant return.

10/26 - TBA - Still looking for a show in CA. Working on Santa Cruz, but we are not optimistic. Anyone wanna have a house concert? We will use our manners.

10/27 Los Angeles, CA -- Molly Malone's - This has turned into our regular home in L.A. We love it and we get a long set. Come on out and bring your hip, cool, trendy hollywood friends.

10/28 TBA - Still open Anyone for a house concert in So Cal?

10/29 Phoenix, AZ -- Rhythm Room - Phoenix - We have been having so much fun at this room in Phoenix that we are thinking of retiring there. soon. just kidding.

10/30 - 11/5 - Playa del Carmen, Mexico - If you want to come down, write us and we'll give you the info. If you can't make the journey you can tune in daily to the Steve Dahl show from 2-7 pm at http://www.dahl.com for the stream of the radio show that is on the air in the greater chicagoland area drive time weekdays. We thought we were going down to play a couple of songs a day. Now were are going to be cast members. I can't wait.

Our new tour manager is a little bit nervous about selling cds on this trip. He doesn't like talking to people. He has asked me to solicit volunteers to work the merch booth. If this is something you are willing to do we can get you and a friend into the show and maybe even buy you a couple of refreshments. email tyler@thenadas.com

In fact . . . . we now have wireless internet on the bus so you can email all of us on the road. In fact, I encourage you to do so . . . .

Jason@thenadas.com
jon@thenadas.com
justin@thenadas.com
mike@thenadas.com
luke@thenadas.com

ross, nick, and ben will be along as well. we will forward your messages.

DON'T forget to sign up for the cruise. More info is available at http://www.thenadas.com or http://www.fanclubcruises.com/the_nadas.htm We hope to be announcing our special guests next week.

QOTW - What is one thing you wouldn't leave home without on a trip like this?

Love and travel flask of Templeton Rye,

Jason and The Nadas

Use the force luke. . . .

2006-10-09T01:49:00.000-05:00

I am going to apologize right now for everyone. Yes, we have neglected the
fans a bit lately… not much for blogs, our show schedule hasn’t been updated
in a timely fashion, the only way you really know we are even still alive is
this Myspace. We are sorry, we hope you accept. But what was supposed to be
the calm before a fall touring storm has been anything but calm. I am not
here to make excuses, but rather to give you an idea of why we have failed
to give you all more attention.
Jason has been doing this…
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006609150348
among many other things. Mike has been working his gig as a booking agent,
as well as working with tour manager Tyler to book bands for Authentic
booking. In between that and being our tour manager, Tyler is also trying to
teach some other people how to do his old job so he can focus on tour
managing full time. Justin, in between browns, is busy being a handy man, as
well as making sure Meatloaf (or Louise according to him) is ready to travel
coast to coast this fall. Jon has been putting the finishing touches on the
new Towncrier album (which is going to be magniff by the by). Sara and
Lindsay have been working on the artwork and what not for the aforementioned
T.C. album , all while trying to fulfill their other Authentic Records
duties and attend college full time as well. And I have been learning how to
drive semi trucks, working for a photographer, and moving into a new
apartment, which looks more like a storage unit than an apartment right now
with all the boxes.
We know you are all busy as well, and are not looking for your sympathy.
Just hoping that you will all still come out to see us when we come to your
town during our fall tour. Which promises to be a super sweet party with
lots of good music, Mike and I riding our new long boards everywhere we go,
and hopefully all of you. Keep an eye on our schedule, and look for many
more shows to be added soon.
Hope to see you all next week in Minneapolis and Ames. Until then I must go
unpack some boxes so I can find something to wear tonight when I go see
Authentic Records’ most loveable redneck Josh Davis and his band at Mojo’s
Pizza House in Cedar Falls.
So until we see you soon…

love and hectic schedules,
Luke and TheNadas.

QOTW: Have you ever felt so busy that you may never sleep again?

We Built This City on Rock and Roll. . . .

2006-09-20T22:53:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all - I have been taking a lot of flack latley for not updating the blog often enough. . . . I know I deserve it. It's not like I am sitting around twiddling my thumbs or that there is nothing to write about. I should do a better job, but so should the rest of the band. Go ahead . . . tell them.

mike@thenadas.com
justin@thenadas.com
jon@thenadas.com
luke@ . . . .you get the idea.

go ahead let them know. anyway . . . . I did want to let you know what i HAVE been doing . . .

CLICK HERE for a recent article from the des moines register

One from the archives. . . . okay, lost and found.

2006-08-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

Rain Rain Go Away
Come again on someone else's gig day

That's the beginning of a little poem I'm working on. We tried to play a
show for this little bike race thing. Ragbrai something or other. ;) This
was the craziest rained out gig yet. My stuff started shutting down, things
were getting soaked, and Mike took a big enough shock to knock his head back
and disorient him. Basically once the lightning hit, the show was over. I
wish there were some pictures of all this. Maybe some will turn up. Crazy
crazy crazy. It was gonna be such a goood show, James and Tony were with
us, we were all pumped to party...buutt nnooooo...no party yet.

Our luck isn't great with out door shows. Justin thinks we need to book out
door shows in drought areas and save the world like that. Silly
Hillbilly...

I'm out
Jon

Towncrier on the river . . ..

2006-08-04T11:38:00.000-05:00

Video by John Gaps III

news . . . .

2006-06-27T11:39:00.000-05:00

Hello race fans - Jason here. We just arrived in St Louis after an all night drive from des moines. I took the 4-6am driving shift, but I don't really remember much. I guess meatloaf was on auto pilot. That's right he's rolling. We are still tweaking and adjusting, but It looks like he lived. we still have to roll him into the shop every time we get home to fix some leaks and turn some screws, but for the most part he is rolling down the road. I will be fulfilling our end of the deal for those of you that contributed to http://www.savemeatloaf.com in the next few weeks. Thanks to you all!

We are in St Louis for the next 2 days filming 4 future episodes for the show Pinks on the speed channel. I am addicted to this show, and it isn't just because they use our music. This is my one cable reality tv guilty pleasure. It is dramatic, thrilling, enthralling reality television. Now we get to play on the show. Come on out to the track tonight or tomorrow for some music and some racing. . . . http://www.gatewayraceway.com/ < http://www.gatewayraceway.com/ > The schedule will be erratic, but it will be a good time both nights.

Okay . . . . don't laugh, but I plan on resurrecting the blog starting this week. Yes, I realize that last entry on the blog is from march or something talking about how it is back and alive and then it was dead again for months. Sorry. But I will do my best. Now we have some things to talk about.

http://thenadasblogblog.blogspot.com/

Including . . . . .

Superman loves the Nadas! no kidding, can you have a better endorsement than superman? I think Kyle Munson, music critic from the des moines register pondered it aloud best when he said " So is Superman’s iPod something like 10 million gigabytes and indestructible? Can he listen to music cranked all the way up and not suffer hearing loss? That WOULD make Superman the ultimate rock fan." read on here . . . . http://blogs.dmregister.com/?p=1838#more-1838

We will round out the week at a new venue in the quad cities called the Red Stone Room. We are very excited to see this place we have been hearing such good things about. Don't worry we still love RIBCO and I'm sure we will be back in the future, we just thought we would see what it was like on the other side of the river. Come out, bring a friend. It is very scary the first time you play a new venue. We bite our nails wondering if anyone will show up. Please help us pack the place.

Saturday takes us to Okoboji, IA for a free show on the arnold park green space. This has become somewhat of an annual show for us. Last year there were over 3000 people there. It is a great time and an incredible time to visit the lakes. After our show, we will be joining our colleagues Towncrier and the Josh Davis Band at Whiskey Dicks. Hold on to your hat. (I was just saying that to express that it was going to be a party, and then I remembered that last year while racing across the lake to catch a towncrier show at whiskey dicks I lost my favorite trucker cap from the ferris truck stop in faucet MO.)

Love and Lose the race you lose your ride,

The Nadas

QOTW - What is your most guilty pleasure (cable tv or otherwise)

Another sign the music industry is screwed up. . . .

2006-05-04T08:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Kyle Munson reported in the Des Moines Register that the staple Des Moines independent record store, Peeples Music, will be closing its doors on June 3rd. This may not mean much to you if you are not from Des Moines, but it should. It should remind you to go buy some records at Homer's if you live in Omaha or Waterloo if you live in Austin TX, or Electric Fetus if ou live in Minneapolis. For us (The Nadas) it is even sadder. Peeples was one of the first few record stores to ever carry any of our cds and has continued to carry and sell them. In fact they have sold more Nadas cds than any other retailer in our career. Stores like Peeples, the mom and pops, are the back bone of an independent band and record label such as ours. It is a changing world in the music business and we all have to find a way to adapt, but it is sad to see the tradition fade. Please pass this message around to your friends and remind them not to take places like this for granted.

Here is the Register's article.

Here is Kyle's blog. . . . leave a comment

Another sign we've made it. . . .

2006-05-03T23:25:00.000-05:00

Are any of your myspace friends members of the united states house of representatives? Probably.

The Competition . . . . .

2006-04-26T20:39:00.000-05:00

This weeks itinerary. . . .

2006-04-26T18:56:00.000-05:00

NADAS TOUR ITINERARY
4-27 - 4-30

WED 4-26
Prep Day
9:30 am SHARP meeting at office
11:00am gear maintenance and drop off at bus barn

THUR 4-27
Buena Vista University (3.5hrs)
1:00 meet at bus barn
2:00 Sound loads in (outdoors)
5:00 Nadas load/check
7:00 bound to be checks
7:00 Nadas eat dinner with 3 lucky raffle winners
8:00 Bound to be 45 min set
9:00 Nadas 90 min set
11:30 tear the roof off storm lake.....or wander around for miles and hours trying to find hotel

FRIDAY 4-29 DOOMS DAY
Loras College (3hrs) Jeff Schafer 630-2xx-xxxx
11:30 check out and eat
12:00 on the road
2:30-4:00 live band karaoke band!
3:30 stage gear
4:00 check and go
5:00 Nadas Set 90min
6:15 done and torn out by
7:00 on the road
Court Ave Fest (3.5hrs)
7:00 rolling wheels
7-8:30 Mr Babers Neighbors
9-10:15 Jem State
10:30 Nadas Arrive
11:00 Nadas On Stage 90 min set
12:30 curfew
12:30 Private party contact will meet Luke at sound board to be escorted backstage
12:30 Mike and Jason take guitars and go w/ DD
12:30 pack van for fly show and drop trailer in garage
1:00am arrive
1:05am 1-60min set
2:??am We are returned home

Sat 4-30
Red Bull Flughugaboozalpaolooza Fest
5:00am Meet at bus barn
6:40am Depart Des Moines
11:00am land
12:30am get to hotel and nap
3:45 depart hotel for venue
4:00 soundcheck
8:00 Nadas on Stage 90min set I assume
9:30 Even I probably wont be able to party

Sun 4-31
OFF
Who wants to have their turn at a day of fun?
Pool,go karts,rock show

MON 4-32
TRAVEL DAY
10:00am depart hotel
12:25 leave phoenix
8:35PM arrive in Des Moines

My little ADVENTURE by Justin

2006-04-21T22:06:00.000-05:00

My little ADVENTURE by Justin

About two or three months ago Jason and I started talking about motorcycles. Well, he started talking about them. Jason started doing a bunch of searching and showed me a few. I never really even thought about it. I’ve had a few bikes and have been riding since a child. Heck, I thought it was all out of my system. Then, a few months ago, I watched a movie called A Long Way Around, a documentary about two dudes who take a long long trip on bikes, a crazy trip, through like Siberia and stuff. I mean, some of the best roads they traveled down looked like and arena moto-cross coarse. One of the dudes was Ewin McGregor by the by. Anyway, something set a fire under my bump and I started searching for a bike. I searched for days and finally found what I wanted. What, wait a minute, it’s in Nash Vegas, just pictures, brief discription, and service manual copies. I contacted the sales person about 300 times and my uncle, a beamer owner, about 400 times. All was set, this looked like a fantastic bike, just what I wanted. Angelica, my girlfriend, booked an early plane ticket out of KC and I left at 4 in the morn. Things went well and I had the deal done by 12. I left the dealership loaded with my belongings by 12:30 and headed out onto I-24 into Nashville traffic with just a respectable clue of how to ride this bike. Trucks changing lanes without a signal and corvettes on speed cutting me off, man it was great. Traffic relaxed and I became comfortable with the bike and the road. Then, about 200 hundred miles into the ride, the skies darkened and the temp dropped twenty degrees. The fuel gauge dipped quickly below the empty line and the fuel light flashed red. Great, my first tank of gas in a new bike and I’m going to have to leave it stranded on I-24. I think to myself, how long do you think it will take for someone to load that thing up, it’s pretty heavy? No need to worry, I can’t do anything about it; just keep going till the bike shuts down. I travel on hoping/praying for a gas station. Then just below a hill I see salvation, a sign with gas, at exit 44. I pull in just as the bike runs out of petro. I fill up, add all my winter linings to my riding jacket and press on. The temp has dropped, clouds have thickened and the rest of the ride looks cold and wet. I make some great time, even after being hit by wind, rain and miles of road construction. I roll into St. Louis just after rush hour. I was about to take a short cut that would divert me around town but then I thought, wait I won’t go by the arch. It was so awesome crossing the Old Man and seeing the arch on the bike. Wet and even colder I pushed on, only to finally stop in Booneville Mo, yep that’s right Booneville, for some coffee and grub. Not much there, but a gas station and an inviting Super 8 sign. I thought, with a little rest I could journey on but I had hit that wall of exhaustion that tells you it is time to get off. I got a room and kicked back in a recliner with my riding coat still on and fell asleep. Later I woke up sweating, covered below all of the hotel blankets including the bed cover. I wondered why it was so itchy. I woke up early, warmed up the bike and traveled on. The sun broke through the clouds with a much-needed warmth. But not for long. Soon, a front moved in, and the wind fired up to about 30 or 40 miles per hour. It was a tough four hours of riding, with the wind and overcast skies. I arrived at home, took a long hot shower and just relaxed. Tired, sore and exhausted I looked back and reflected my trip, some advice from a friend who said I should just trailer it home, and all the near misses I had along the way. I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Besides, what kind of story would that have made. Ya, I bought that bike. The dealer is bringing it up on a trailer tomorrow. Boring!

from justin. . .

2006-04-11T22:36:00.000-05:00

Hey all, JK here. Since no one else has ponyed up in a long time to write a blog I thought I take a moment to do it. The past couple of weeks have just been fantastic. I’ve gotten the opportunity to share the stage with my good friends from the Josh Davis band and also make new friends and play with one of my favorite bands the Damnwells. They are a stand up bunch of guys from Brooklyn NY. Definitely, well worth checking out their live show and buying their CDs. Then, just this past weekend we played at the historic Surf ballroom in Clear Lake IA. This is the last place Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played, the day the music died. If you’ve never been there it is well worth the trip. I’m sure we’ll play up there again so keep and eye on our tour page and come check out the place and enjoy a show. The next couple weeks we are taking a little time off to catch up on all the stuff we have neglected. For me it’s just normal stuff, mailing bills late, re heading my drum kit, maybe even cleaning the spilled Jaeger off of it, a na, too much work, and trying to catch up on emails. Thanks to all who attended the shows the past couple of weeks. It has been a blast and you all make my job so much fun. See ya soon.

I'm sorry. . . .

2006-04-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

I am sorry, I have let y'all down. I HAD to take a break from the blogging. You know sometimes you just get tired of talking. . . . blogging is the same way . . . blog blog blog. At least with talking people can respond and act like they are interested. I was talking to my friend Kyle Munson this morning. Kyle is the music critic for the Des Moines register. He is a prolific blogger. Sometimes long posts, sometimes short. Sometimes they are deep and philosophical, sometimes strictly informational. He made me feel bad. Reminded me that I have a duty to my readers. Jon D Miller founder of Hawkeye Nation and soon to be daily radio host gave me the same kick in the ribs a week ago. He said he spends 3-4 hours online everynight after his family goes to bed just corresponding with his readers and fans. He also said he still finds time to visit our blog daily only to find it stagnant and unchanged. OKAY! I am back in the saddle. Anyway, I PROMISE to do better. I promise to keep you all informed what is going on. At least once a week if not once a day. Don't be afraid to drop us an email and I will try to address it in the blog or forward it to whoever you want in the band to respond. Thanks for listening. . . . .

So in the mean time, check out Mandy Miller's photo blog.

Miller Time!

Also, Justin promises an update. . . .

The thrill of victory . . . . the agony of defeat.

2006-02-23T21:19:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to K.Larson who down loaded the 985,200,000th song off of the Itunes music store and just so happened to download our song "Where I'm Going". That's the victory.

The agony of defeat. . . . .

We have just been informed that the JODY RAFFOUL BAND is the winner of the Bon Jovi, Have a nice gig competition. It was a thrill to have taken part in this competition and we are thankful to have made it as far as we did. We a great debt of gratitude to you, our fans for voting us into the final 4 beating out bands from much bigger markets. We are very fortunate to have such loyal and pasionate fans. We do not take you for granted. Thanks to Star 102.5 for lauching this for us and to XM Radio for taking it a step further. But alas, the ride is over . . . it is time to get back to being your normal everyday rock band.

Thank you,

The Nadas from here on out known as the band who once opened for Bon Jovi.

Days gone by. . . . .

2006-02-17T10:18:00.000-06:00

I know I have done a terrible job of keeping up the posting on here. The fact is, I still have not recovered from the rolling circus that was last weeks first ever Authentic Records visit to K.C. and Colorado. It was like a 3 day summer camp. The Josh Davis Band, The Nadas, and Towncrier all packed into the JDB and TC vans and took the show on the road.It was a clown car band van. We have a few more years on those guys, which makes us seasoned veterans who can handle anything, but we are also used to the creature comforts of our beloved Meatloaf, which is out of commission indefinitely,

and the warm security blanket that you achieve by traveling with the same people for hundreds of days a year for years and years. That said . . . . I would do it again in a hearbeat! I can;t wait to do more and more shows with those guys. The have so much going for them and our fans (you guys) are embracing them with open arms.

You know the feeling you get when you first hear of a band or songwriter and you can't help but want to tell you friends, and burn them copies (knowing they will buy their own copy if they like it). You slyly try to make sure it is playing the right song in your car when you pick someone up. . . . or you turn your ipod up at work hoping a co-worker will ask you who it is. That's how I feel about the artists who are putting there records out on Authentic Records multiplied by a thousand. It is a whole other thing to be able to introduce them to you live. To see the faces light up of friends and fans who have listened to us for years and watching you get excited about our labelmates.

Help us spread the word!

Authentic Records

There gonna put me in the movies . . . .

2006-01-29T22:09:00.000-06:00

There gonna make a big star out of me. That's what Buck Owens said. Not necessarily true for The Nadas, but we did spend a few days last week, shaking hands and rubbing elbows at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. I went for the first time last year (that's where I met Benjamin Wagner. ) to do some freelancing for MTV News.
I was so inspired last year that I knew we needed to go this year. We were lucky enough to get invited by the Star Bar on main street. The epicenter for music the entire festival. ASCAP had showcases there everyday, and there were parties at night. We got to see artists who we admire from afar . . . . Martin Sexton , and Schuyler Fisk and artists we call friends . . . . Matt Moon , Kristin Hoffmann , and Arthur Lee. There is an incredible creative energy all around and you can't help but want to be a part of it. With all if this music Mike and I were only able to make it to one screening. It was called Princesas. I hope it makes it to a theater near you. It probably won't, but I hope it does.

Next year we are talking about doing it up right. So make your travel plans now. It will be a big Authentic Records
party at Sundance, and you are all invited.

So, no movie offers yet, but a cool experience none the less. And rumor has it we did make a fleeting appearance in a film that was being screened in Park City by our friend Chad Calek. And who knows, we passed enough music out to people that maybe someone will decide to use some music in a film. In the mean time I hope you all include us on the soundtrack of your home movies. If you do send us a copy. I love other peoples home movies. . . . . .

Frontier . . . the final frontier.

2006-01-29T20:04:00.000-06:00

We found out we were playing Sundance about one week in advance. Have you ever shopped for airline tickets with a one week lead time? Trying to fly out of The Des Moines International Airport costs about as much as flying out of Timbuktu. The cheapest we could find was pushing 700 bucks each! Then I decided I would try out of Omaha, a tactic we almost always resort to. But hey! Frontier Airlines flys out of Omaha. Tickets on Frontier were just over 250 each! That's quite difference, are we being robbed in Des Moines? I think so. There is another reason we wanted to fly frontier. Frontier has been showing footage from our dvd in every seat on every flight.

How cool. But, we missed it. They are now showing other programing. Part of which happens to be a friend of mine Brian Joseph.

Does this sound like an ad for Frontier Airlines? Maybe it is, they helped us, now we'll help them.

Fly Frontier!

let the voting begin and contine, and continue, and continue.

2006-01-23T17:48:00.000-06:00

Okay. . . . round 2. A couple of months ago we won the contest in Des Moines, IA to open for Bon Jovi. We were arena gods for a night. Now the time is come for round 2. The voting is this week only, but you can do it as often as your carpel tunnel will allow. Think of it as american idol for real bands (ooh, sorry kelly clarksen). goto

VOTE HERE!

Can we bum a ride?

2006-01-23T14:46:00.000-06:00

Well official status report. The bus is dead. Engine blown. Oh, we will rebuild it. We have to. It's a questions of where and when and how. Now, these engines get rebuilt all the time. That's the way it works. Every 500,000 miles or so, enigine and transmisson get pulled, rebuilt from scratch, and put back in. . . to the tune of 15,000-20,000 dollars. That's the problem. How can we begin to make enough money to fix her up, without her. I know, we'll use the van . . . oh yeah, bad news, she's dead too. Probably won't make it another 100 miles. The van blew a rod . . . or is about to. So yeah, we need a ride, to every gig for the next few months. Any ideas? or does anyone have a detriot 6v92ti engine laying around. And while we are at it, anyone have a jet. Mike and I have been invited to play the sundance film festival this weekend in Park City utah. Can't figure out how to get there. Seriously, Hello Dave has a fan with a jet that flys them everywhere. Meet you at the airport. . .

Jason

It was Bittersweet, more sweet than bitter. . .

2006-01-23T12:54:00.000-06:00

It has been a long time coming. When Mike and I started playing music together in 1993 most of the songs we did were Big Head Todd covers. Bittersweet, cirlce, vincint of jersey, midnight radio. Since then we have been wanting and trying to open for them. In the beginning there was no chance. I was learning to play bar chords (still don't know that many) and they were playing the Civic Center in Des Moines (great show by the way, and one of Stephanie and my first dates. BHT, Sun 60, the Bodeans, but that's another story). Ever since then we have been trying to get on a show or a tour. I can't tell you how many connections we have with the band. Including the fact that their agent is our former agent. Well finally the planets aligned we got our gig. Last monday at the Sokol auditorium in Omaha, NE our dream became a reality. What a great rock band. They were gracious and humble people, down to earth and cool. I didn't push my face time, I was too nervous. But shook hands and thanked them for the opprotunity. I passed our cds onto Todd's wife in hopes she might have some influence. Hopefully they are watching our DVD now as they travel in their great big bus to another awsome venue. They have worked hard for it and they have got it good. Thanks for the gig guys. But with victory comes defeat. the price you pay for that kind of a night. A prized well loved well worn Gibson J-45 guitar stolen out the backseat of our buddies car. He just came along to help carry stuff and watch some music, and somebody decided they should bust his window and steal whatever they could fine. If anyone sees a tobacco sunburst Gibson j45 for sale in omaha, let us know.

Fat Andy's story

jason

From our intern turned employee inspired by her first cross country road trip with The Nadas

2006-01-05T22:51:00.001-06:00

From: lindsey@thenadas.com
Subject: A Eulogy to Meatloaf...
Date: January 5, 2006 10:37:53 PM CST
To: jason@thenadas.com

That may be a little premature. How about a get-well-soon letter:

Dearest Meatloaf,

Although we only knew each other for a short time, you will never be forgotten.
From the moment I stepped foot onto your lovely, once beige carpet and inhaled
your intoxicating aroma of leftover booze and man sweat, I knew good times were
in store.

I would have never dreamed, however, that our relationship would end so far from
where it started. When your wheels rolled to a stop at mile marker 155 off of
I-76 in eastern Colorado I knew something had gone horribly wrong. Your engine
wouldn?t fire, but you kept your generator humming, making sure we were not
without light or heat in our cold, dark time. For 16 hours you were there for
us when no one else was. You were strong, Meatloaf, but not strong enough.

You now reside in Kearney, Nebraska where I hope they are treating you well. We
all miss you and wish you the best of luck in your recovery. I hope to hear
from you soon. I just don?t know how I will ever be able to go on the road
again without you.

Love and Heartache,
Lindsey

And one from Justin. . . .

2006-01-05T21:26:00.000-06:00

Justin Says . .. . . .

Where to start with the breakdowns? Should I start by bad to not so bad or ease of repair? I don’t know but here it goes. Get ready because this could get long. The other day on our way to MN just after I laid down, no kidding, Mike screams my name from the front and said the bus just lost power. As I am getting up he yells we’re okay. I lay back down and two minutes later I hear my name along with, the bus just died again. Finally I get up go to the front to see what the deal is. Mike is getting her pulled off to the side of the road just as she starts up again and we are rolling. I told him to pull her over and I’ll try to keep it from happening. Yesterday I saw a bit of corrosion on the main kill switch of the bus. I thought at least it would be a start. I couldn’t find the right stuff in my Mr. Fix It tool box, it’s a big box too, let me tell you. So I grab a diet coke from Mandy sprayed it on the switch, cleaned it with starter fluid, and banged it twice with a screwdriver and we were off. Sweet that was easy. I’ll leave the rest of the breakdowns that day for my reader’s sake. The next little thing occurred just as we were leaving for CO. Luke was driving I was setting up front, for once not taking a nap, and the transmission wouldn’t shift. This sometime happens when it’s super cold or if she (Louis) is cranky. We circled around town by the bus barn to check it out. Just then she shifts. No problem, then at the next light it does the same thing. We circle half of Des Moines again headed for the bus barn and noticed the tranny was leaking again. Damn, I just took a shower, I don’t have dirt under my nails and I have to mess with the bus before we leave. This old thing is greasy and it’s hard not to touch it without becoming filthy. I have Luke pull it off the road, I pull on my coveralls, grab an orange cone so I don’t get ran over and step off the bus. A few minutes later and a couple gallons of transmission fluid we are going again. Great another long drive wreaking of grease, diesel fuel, and having dirt under my nails. Even with the best cleaner it’s hard to get that old gunk off. The last is the grand daddy of them all. In fact, not to spoil what happened, I’m writing this in a suburban with nine people in it headed back to Des Moines. Yep, that’s right Louis broke down in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t be revived. It was bad. Jason was driving along and everything seemed fine. I went up and gave a quick check of the gauges and told Jason I’m going to sleep. Twenty minutes into my nap, or sleep, since the night before was New Years Eve. Mandy comes and gets me and says that the bus just died. No way, what the hell, every time I fall asleep or try too the bus dies. Jason told me I shouldn’t try sleeping any more so that we can make it home. I go out to see what the deal is only to find the engine compartment door hanging by a screw, anti freeze dumping out onto the ground and something burning. Wow, I had to step back like a field medic in WWII and prioritize. The burning smell was first. It ended up being a small electrical fire in the bay. Next, was finding out where all the antifreeze was coming from, and then it was the door. All in all I only stopped the electrical fire and removed the engine compartment door. I was out of parts out of tools and stuck in the middle of nowhere on New Years Eve. Hey, chips and canned chili isn’t that bad for supper is it?

hand sandwich

2006-01-05T18:59:00.000-06:00

Holy Cow!!!!!! I haven’t written a New Guy Road Journal since July. That’s a long time but as of recently I had witnessed some cool stuff I thought might be worthy. A couple weeks ago a friend of ours, Mandy Miller, came along for a road trip. At this point I can’t remember where we were going. Anyway, at one point along the way Mandy was going to brush her teeth and she was wondering which water to use, which sink to use, and all the other questions about the bus that people have. Being a seasoned road veteran I told her to use the water in this bottle and spit in the trash. She was like really? Sure, you don’t spit in the sink because it leaves that sticky mess after awhile and the water in the holding tank is non-potable. Later, she came with us to Colorado along with our intern Lindsey. During one day on the trip I witnessed something that started this journal. At least it was funny to me. Lindsey started to brush her teeth and she began to ask the standard questions that Mandy asked the other day. Mandy, just like a pro said, oh here use this water and just spit in the trash. Lindsey responded the same way, really. It cracked me up and got me thinking how much stuff about the road I take for granted. I remember the old days of being in the van for 10 and 12 hours a day with bags on your lap and having to pee so bad your eyes were watering. Now I’m in a big bus that needs a lot of love and it’s usually right after I’ve fallen asleep. I know more close my eyes and a call beacons from the front, Justin (insert problem here) Mostly, just little stuff but recently it has been a rash of stuff, which I will get into later. The main thing about being on the road is being able to adapt to any situation no matter what it may be. It can be anything from someone taking your last piece of bread to the soundman at the club being 3 hours late. Now instead of that ham on wheat sandwich, you’re having a ham on hand sandwich with mayo or just constantly having to deal with other people in your space. I’m usually the guy who ate the bread. Luckily through out my years of touring I’ve been fortunate of being around great people, now is no exception. Sure we have our little screaming matches but for the most part it’s great. Just a second ago I had a discussion with Jason and Mandy about saving this document. I was like, why, I’m not done with it yet and they were like, what if the computer crashes or something like that. Na, that won’t happen I never save stuff or back anything up I’m not that computer savvy. With a little more urging though I saved it and made them happy. See like I was saying, you have to adapt. My next journal will have a lot about the aforementioned bus breakdowns and adapting. Until next time Love and Suburbans.
Justin

From Wendy . . .

2006-01-04T11:26:00.000-06:00

http://omahadenveromahadenver.blogspot.com/

omaha, denver, omaha, denver, desmoines, omaha.

It's Miller Time. . . .

2006-01-04T10:38:00.000-06:00

Here is mandy millers take on the whole weekend. . . .
Mandy Miller's new Photo Blog.

A new year poem . . . . by Mike Butterworth

2006-01-04T10:14:00.000-06:00

Twas New Years Day and all through the bus, not a creature was stirring except one of us
I in my PJ’s all snuggly and groovy, had just settled in the back lounge to watch a dumb movie
When all of the sudden there arose such a clatter, I sprung from the couch to see what was the matter
Away to the front lounge I flew like a bee
“This could be the big one” Jon Locker told me

The sun dimly shone through the clouds in the sky
We were broke down in Nebraska so barren and dry
And what to my nervous darting eyes should appear?
Absolutely nothing, the middle of nowhere

With a bit of shock and a feeling of glum
We fought through bad cell service to find a ride home
After 14 plus hours waiting there on that road
A twinkle appeared through the new fallen snow

What to my now hopeful eyes now should appear?
Wendy and Dallas, Heroes of the year
So on Jason on Mike, Travis, Jon and Justin
On Mandy and Lindsey our move we be bustin’

So my eyes how they twinkled, My smile so merry
Even though the ride home was freezing and hairy
Still you could hear on I80 as I yelled through the clear,
Thanks to you all for ’05 and a Happy New Year.

Somewhere, under the rainbow.

2006-01-03T22:31:00.000-06:00

I found the end of the rainbow. It is at the get off ramp of Interstate 76 in eastern colorado. Mile marker 155. It's not a pot of gold, it is a 1985 eagle rock and roll tour bus formerly owned by meatloaf, that's right meatloaf. She has treated us well and hauled us all over the country multiple times for the past year and many others for many years before. new years day sunday in far eastern colorado she gave up, shut down, and left us stranded.

2:30pm . . . . we started making calls. We called truckstops, repair shops, emergency roadside assistance, the police, the sherrif's dept, the highway patrol. Not a single one responded. NO ONE! We may have told them we were in a tour bus, but regardless the "highway patrol" said they would not be responding and could not help us.

7 hours later we finally found a tow company in Kearney (that's about 400 miles away) that was willing to try and tow us the next day. Now we needed a way home. We thought about hitchhiking to the nearest town and renting a vehicle, but only one place in a 200 mile radius called vern's cars was even listed and they didn't answer the phone. We racked our brains to figure out what poor friend of ours could help. Things are a little complicated when you are trying to move 8 people and a 3000 pound trailer. It sort of limits the options. . .

Enter Wendy and Dallas to the rescue. They had just made it home to Omaha after celebrating with us in denver. They drove 10 hours to denver, came to our show, drove 10 hours back, then they got the call. Hearing we were stranded they saddled up again and headed right back over the same ruts and pot holes they had already navigated twice in the past 24 hours. As we hunkered down for the night, they borrowed a suped up chevy suburban and headed west . . . again.

Now, I am very disappointed in the system. I can't believe that the highway patrol or sherrif's office refused to respond. If I had been traveling with my family or something this could have been very dangerous. But I wasn't and we were safe, warm, we had a little food, plenty of beer and whiskey and a few good movies. Our generator was still running strong so we had power. We were comfortable. Except . . . . the smokers were almost out of smokes. When the going gets tough, the tough start smoking . . . more. After a few hours they were getting desperate and agitated. It was either walk 40 miles, or comb the ditches for butts. Then Jon got an idea. . . . .

breaker . . . breaker, broken down rock band out of smokes, eastbound I 76 on the exit 155 get off ramp. Jon plugged into the original information superhighway. After a few desperate calls, a response. The trucker on the other end was already past, but he said he would relay the message down the road. For the next 30 min we heard a bunch of chatter discussing our plight and then came all call . . . "y'all still looking for smokes?" I'm pulling up behind you. He dropped off a supply and wouldn't even take a penny. I ran back to the bus and grabbed a couple of CDs. I told him to pass the word, so hopefully the we are building a new fan base within the trucking industry.

Wendy and Dallas pulled up just as the sun was starting to rise. what a welcome sight. In a matter of minutes, we were hooked up, loaded up and heading down the road. Leaving our trusty steel horse behind awaiting a tow. Jon took the wheel and piloted us home losing just under a day in the debacle.

THANK YOU WENDY AND DALLAS. We always say we couldn't do it without our fans. This is a prime example.

still waiting for news on the bus. . . . I hope find a way to make it to our upcoming shows.

Love and a rebuilt 6v92Ti detroit deisel engine.

Jason

247 consecutive friday

2005-12-31T13:43:00.000-06:00

Carbondale Colorado, A microcosim of the way it should be. A tiny town with a population of people who support music and art. We were playing steve's guitars. There was a band next door and a sold out grand opening of a 400 seat theater. Steve's guitars is part museum, part living room, part guitar store. You wouldn't beleive the huge names who have played here over the years. They come because it is magical. It is steve's hobbie, or should I say passion. He has had music there every friday for the past 4 1/2 years. It is a tiny room that holds about 40 people and 100 + guitars. He said they were for sale but every guitar we were interested in just happened to be one he wasn't selling. Mike pulled early 60s airline guitar off the wall and played through the matching danelectro amp. I broke a string and pulled a 70's jumbo gibson copy off the wall and started playing it. The radio station KDNK (it streams) plays our music. People listen, they like it, they tell their friends. Steve hears about it and asks us to play the room, it fills up. people listen and respond for two wonderful hours. Everyone buys CDs and asks when we are coming back. They ask us to play a big outdoor fest this summer. This is what it is all about.

Love it.

Static - one of theTop ten albums of the year!

2005-12-28T17:37:00.000-06:00

Here it is! Can you believe it?

Top Ten

Okay, so it's not Rolling Stone, it's Benjamin Wagner's Blog. But he is a respected rock and roll journalist and I am honored to make his list. He has turned me on to some good music. He gave me albums that everyone wanted months before they came out. I know what you are thinking. He is on our label and he is just trying to butter us up sp we work harder. Well, maybe. I have no argument. But I am going to take it as a compliment none the less. And I guarantee, you will probably find something else on the list that you will enjoy.

Jason

Bigger and better things . . . .

2005-12-28T16:30:00.000-06:00

Our former road manager Elizabeth Andre has gone on to bigger and better things.

In November Polar Explorer Will Steger chose Elizabeth
Andre to join his 2007 Arctic expedition. The
expedition will travel for three months by dogsled
over mountainous terrain and sea ice along the
1200-mile east coast of Baffin Island, visiting five
Inuit villages along the way. The purpose of the
expedition will be to document the effects of Global
Warming as experienced by the Inuit peoples and to
educate the general public about Global Warming. The
team’s findings will be the subject of a documentary
film, an interactive website, a K-12 curriculum,
community outreach and education and media-coverage.
Steger chose Andre because of her background in
Environmental Education and her experience leading
dogsled expeditions for Outward Bound Schools.

Steger has led the most significant feats in dogsled
exploration such as the first confirmed dogsled
journey to the North Pole without re-supply (1986),
the 1,600-mile south-north traverse of Greenland - the
longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history
(1988), the historic 3,471-mile International
Trans-Antarctica Expedition - the first dogsled
traverse of Antarctica (1989-90), the International
Arctic Project - the first and only dogsled traverse
of the Arctic Ocean from Russia to Ellesmere Island in
Canada (1995). Historic feats for which Steger has
received numerous honors and recognitions among others
include: Explorers Club Finne Ronne Memorial Award
(1997), National Geographic Society's First
Explorer-In-Residence (1996) and National Geographic
Society's John Oliver La Gorce Medal for
"accomplishments in geographic exploration, in the
sciences, and for public service to advance
international understanding" (1995). Steger joins
Amelia Earhart, Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen and
Jacques Cousteau in receiving this prestigious award.
Steger has been invited twice to testify before
Congress on polar and environmental issues. He founded
the Global Center of Environmental Education at
Hamline University in 1991 and the World School for
Adventure Learning at the University of St. Thomas in
1993. Steger is the author of four books: Over the Top
of the World, Crossing Antarctica, North to the Pole
and Saving the Earth.

source

Elizabeth K. Andre

Where in the world is Wenatchee, WA?

2005-12-27T14:41:00.000-06:00

There we are, played just after noon pacific time. In Wenatchee, WA. I feel like Steve Martin in the Jerk when he finds himself in the phone book. We are somebody.

KOHO radio

And you can listen online. Hey we might not get any airplay in your town, but at least you can listen online. Pretend like you live in Wenatchee, WA, where ever that is.

If a songwriter performs in suburbia . . . does he make a sound?

2005-12-22T22:43:00.000-06:00

I am in a stripmall bar, in a suburb, just off the interstate in anywhere USA. From where I sit at the bar with out moving I can see Sally Beauty Supply, Radio Shack, Super Target, B-bops, First Federal Bank, Menards, and Walmart, I shit you not. The lights in the bar are blindingly bright, there are 8 50inch highdef tv's within arms reach each showing a different commercial, there about 50 people competeing to be heard over Josh Davis who is fearlessly perfroming his songs which are some of the best songs I have heard in a long time. I am the only one clapping. I AM THE ONLY ONE CLAPPING! I am pissed off. Not at anyone in particular. You should be able to go where you want and do what you want. I am pissed at the fact that Josh has these songs screaming to be heard by the masses, and he is here playing for people who don't give a shit. What is wrong with this picture. . . . .

Jason

good sports. . . .

2005-12-20T19:00:00.000-06:00

Well we may not be climbing the top 40 charts and we don't qualify for your favorites from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and today, but we are popping up on radio in some interesting places. I heard from a few people today that they heard us on KXNO radio in Des Moines. What's interesting about that is that KXNO (they stream the show from 3-6pm) is a sports talk radio show. They have a guest host this week (Jon D. Miller from Hawkeye Nation) who happens to be a new and vocal Nadas fan. He is using our music before and after every commercial. Apparently today he made his way through the whole coming home record. I wish I knew more about sports so I knew what they were talking about, but this is amazing to me and I couldn't be more honored. To me this signifies success. It is different, but more legitimate than some of the other manufactured success you see in the mainstream. This guy has honored us by including us in something he is passionate about and introducing us to countless amounts of people. A few years ago a dedicated fan did the same thing working at a call center. He/she somehow got our music on the hold tape for gateway computers. I can't tell you the number of people who called to tell me about that. This is how a band like us succeeds, if everyone finds their own way to introduce us to a new and unserviced audience, we will succeed. Examples . . . . dental hygenists playing us for patients as the administer the laughing gas, or furniture salesmen handing out fliers with every purchase, or coffee shops playing us while people try to wake up in the morning, the options are endless and we appreciate them all. I guess what I am trying to say is . . . .

THANK YOU!

Jason and The Nadas

Somebody put the peices together. . . . that was people's bar and grill

2005-12-20T08:25:00.000-06:00

Ahh, mandy miller can help. Shen sent these pics which brought back a few memories. Let's just say it was a great homecoming and a great way to end a tour. Click, click, click. . . . there's no place like home. It was a heck of a show, not a steller performance, but a good night of ruckus rock. for example. . . . I don't know how to play the piano.

Stephanie got up and sang a song with us. The first time on the people's stage in 8 years.

I am always thankful that those ames kids continue to come to shows even thought we have played hundreds of shows there. Some have even resorted to making clothing to request songs. Sold out everytime for 10 years. How amazing. Thank you.

Jason and The Nadas

open pandora's box. . . .

2005-12-19T16:18:00.000-06:00

This one deserves its own post. One of my hey day's of musical discovery as a fan was the early days of napster. I loved it! Napster's power wasn't in giving away free music it was the community that it created. It instantly cross referenced tastes and download histories which allowed me to dicover music I may otherwise never have found. It was amazing. I discovered some my favorite music that I still listen to today.

I recentley disocovered a website that does a good job of creating that same funtion if not better. I said in an email today to the creator . . . .

"I have been digging a little deeper, and I am even more impressed. For
the first decade of my band (The Nadas) we put out records and toured
the country with the mission of winning over new fans. I considered it
my duty to "sell" our music, personality, and story to people, and
convince them to like us. A tireless task. My recent epiphany however
was that our potential fans are out there and our goal in marketing our
music should just be to make those people aware of our existence. A
very difficult thing to do with the millions of titles out there. But
you have created a tool to do just that, only it puts the power in
their hands. How Awesome! It is only one piece of the puzzle, but what
an accomplishment."

I have been listening all day, it is very cool.

check it out Pandora

Knock Knock . . . Who's there?

2005-12-19T14:37:00.000-06:00

We are! I did some ineternet scouring just to see if anyone was listening. here are a few peices of good news. . .

Here is where and when we are playing on XM radio

We even charted on the Xcountry channel

Anyone speak Italian (link on the left)

How about portugues?

Anyone for japanese?

I have no idea what this one is, but at least I can read it.

I'll keep looking.

Give me a sign. . . .

2005-12-13T23:19:00.000-06:00

It is 11:20. I should be home, sitting in front of my fireplace or thinking about going to bed, but instead I am downtown at Authentic Records headquarters, trying to keep up, trying to dig out and racking my brain trying to figure out how to get ahead in this crazy rock and roll rat race. I'm sitting here in an empty bldg with uncle tupelo playing on the world cafe in the backround behind me, fueling my thoughts as silver dollar pancake sized snowflakes float past the streetlights out the southfacing windows I can't help but stare out of. Give me a sign. Then a flash of light, lightning strikes somewhere in the distance and instantly the glimmer of hope that is KUNI radio . . . . is gone. Nothing but static. What am I supposed to think? Lightning in a snowstorm? I should go home.

Jason

Prepare Ye

2005-12-02T18:01:00.000-06:00

Hey, Benjamin Wagner here. I hacked into The Nadas Blog Blog! I'm backstage at Hoyt Sherman in a green room I'm sharing with the Josh Davis Band. The stage is set, and everyone is sound checked. There are a lot of smiles around this place. It feels like one big wonderful family. We just finished rehearsing tonight's big encore. I'm tellin' ya', it's gonna' be an absolute ball. Looking forward to seeing you here!!!

We're not in Kansas anymore . . . . .

2005-11-30T11:28:00.000-06:00

I recently returned back to my home town in Western KS. to visit my folks for the Holidays. I haven't been back in sometime and not much had really changed. Mostly, flat brown pastures, with a few scattered trees that trace along the rivers and creeks, and the ones that outline the towns. The only other trees are long lines of trees called shelter belts. These are rows of trees planted in the 40's to keep the gusty western Kansas winds from blowing the dry soil away. You can also see for miles out there. From my folks front porch I can see about 7 small towns dotting the horizon and at night you can see the lights of many others. While out hunting, I also noticed how many old cars, decrepid farm machinery and other junk that litter the tree rows and abandoned farm yards. The people in that area never trade tractors, cars, or throw anything away. They just drive the wheels off of them and stash them nicely in a tree row. Even though I grew up there, to this day I'm not quite sure why. One thing however, did catch me off guard since living in the city, the rural area wave. Weather you know someone or not, people wave, and wave back. I did, for the first time, realize each person's wave is as distintive as their personality. Some folks have the standard back and forth wave, some have the #1 finger just off of the steering wheel, while others just give you a little flip of the hand. Nothing, however can top my friend Stoneys' wave. He uses the, not too uncommon, in my neck of the woods, gunfighter wave. This is when you take both hands off the wheel, make a pistol with your thumb and index finger and in gunslinger fashion, shoot at the vehicle, following it all the way till it passes. It's a bit dangerous but at least I always know who it is. I hope this little blog will make you want to visit someday. Come down and see some of the sites, like the largest hand dug well, the largest ball of twine, or just meet some real nice people.

- Justin

Home is where the heartland is. . . .

2005-11-14T23:54:00.000-06:00

In 6 min. . . benjamin wagner's new record officially "hits the streets". Granted it's not the next new U2 record and there aren't lines at record stores waiting for the stroke of midnight. But judging by my excitment it may as well be. Now to be honest, I already have the record, in fact i have been hearing it every step of the way. You need this album! I was told one time, when it comes to songwriting "what comes from the heart goes to the heart" and this album does just that. How he manages to be surrounded every day by music dilluted by fads and trends and come out writing songs that are real, solid and drenched in integrity is beyond me, but he did it. It is a real honor to be asked to be a part of benjamin's heartland record. This big city cat had the worlds best musicians at his fingure tips, many of the ones we oogle on television walking by his office every day, but he chose to come to iowa and collaborate with us and then trust us to release it on Authentic Records. Get in line. It is almost midnight. Buy this record, listen to this record, tell your friends about this record. Who knows if enough people hear it, maybe he'll be in MTV someday.
- Jason

Technology is awesome!

2005-11-02T10:55:00.000-06:00

So we get home after a night drive from Milwaukee (I mean I slept the whole way but still) at about 8amish this morning. I’m thinking, yay, we’ve got this big show tonight, I’m gonna go home and get some gigawebbing done, maybe catch up on some stories on the old TiVo, and do some laundry, but first I have to go pick up my van that died before we left, and has been sitting at Drake Garage for like 2 weeks.

So Mike, Jason, and I are in Sweet Thing (the old band van that has seen it’s day, and that day is long gone) leaving for Drake Garage, and we notice a wonderful grinding noise every time Mike pressed the brakes. So we’re thinking, oh rat farts, we’ll have to drop off Sweet Thing where we pick up my van, because the brakes in this thing are obviously done. Just as we’re making our hi-tech observations, and congratulating ourselves on a well thought out plan, some lady comes from the lane right of us in her Buick and starts to turn left. Mike had three choices, crank it left and turn in front of her, thus getting us around the corner first, slamming on the none existent brakes, or just T-Bone her and collect the insurance money. Mike chose the first choice without even skipping a beat, and in fact used the gas to get around the corner even faster.

So Mike is where he’s going, I dropped Jason off, and I’m home now. Alright, I’ll catch up on gigawebbing. Check some emails, do some update stuff, you know, just party in general. Well guess what, the modem’s flashing, the bad way. No high speed. Alright unplug the modem, restart the puter, none of the regular stuff worked. This is perfect timing. It’s not like there’s a big show to be worrying about today…………Turns out someone was drilling where they weren’t supposed to be drilling and cut some main line.

The nice lady on the phone says it’ll be a couple hours. Alright, I’ll catch up on some TiVo. I’ve been waiting to watch my stories for like 2 weeks now. Oh guess what, it’s got like 8 episodes of Monster Garage and American Chopper, but none of the shows that I had really wanted to see. (I’m not going to tell you the show, because you might like me less. Let’s just say there are a bunch of people LOST somewhere, and each episode tells you NOTHING. So I lost my LOST……Luckily someone, but I won’t say who, [Jason] is a fan of the show too, and his TiVo has a DVD burner on it, so he’ll just bring them and I’ll catch up on the road. Only if I get through all the episodes of White Shadow…

So none of the other shows on the TiVo list look appetizing right now, and I’m sure as hell not going to watch TV in real time, so I sit here, technologyless. I could go get strings right now, but why not procrastinate a little. I don’t have to be back to the bus till 4 for this little show tonight. This little opening slot gig we have tonight here in Des Moines……..opening for this guy, umm what’s his name? He’s from the east coast somewhere…what’s his name again…..oh yeah…BON FRICKIN JOVI BITCHES

By the time you read this I’ll be plugged back into the world.

Jon
10am

I had an interesting birthday.

2005-10-31T09:08:00.000-06:00

I woke up in the extremely lovable bohemian hotel, the carlton arms (where furniture goes to die). said hotel and the vermissitude of folks who work/live/hang out there also happens to be the subject of a dan bern song recording on which I spent about 300 hours of my life.

later, after failing in attempt to get my birthday breakfast for free, I hung out for a while in the fine business digs of my friend brian winton of foundations music. we know each other from playing and touring together and from working on a terrific meliaa ferrick record a few years ago.

then later, I made my way to the show venue in alohabet city in alphabet city (which you may think of as rough & tumble but which now is the hot nightspot area of nyc). after soundcheck & before the show, I went off in search of food. I paused at 5 or 6 places & then doubled back, still trying to decide.

A couple approached and the man opened a door to a italian bistro. in a londoner accent he asked if I'd like to join them for a drink. thinking that he'd mistaken me for someone else, I started to decline but they were insistent. I finally said, 'sure' 'fine', etc. and we went in. no sooner had we sat down at the table when the owner greeted us and explained that is was the grand opening and they were going to give us all the wine and bottled water/coffee drinks and they just started pouring and bringing plates of food. which were out of this world great, besides.

the couple from london and I talked about this and that and were served a 5-course meal (or more; there was wayyyy too much food to keep track), complete with dessert and wine and espresso drinks afterward. in nyc, that's probably at least a $150-175 tab for three. our bill was $36. quite a nice birthday surprise. it was, as I told the owner, 'as close to italy as
anything I'd ever experienced outside of italy'.

I made it back to the alphabet lounge and, to our surprise, it was quite filled with a happy and enthusiastic crowd. the show was short but really fun and surprisingly good at a venue which looked a bit sketchy at first.

so, in short, I had lunch with a good friend I don't get to see often, dinner with complete strangers, and I played an unexpectedly great show. very fun.

ttys,

wil m.

2005-10-28T15:16:00.000-05:00

WOO HOO! We're in! We won! We are opening the Bon Jovi Concert in Des Moines on Wed! I can't type a sentence without an exclamation mark!

Read More.

Culture Shock. . . . .

2005-10-28T13:34:00.000-05:00

I know I'm behind. I know I have been in New York for a week with tons of crazy experiences to share and things to explain and stories to relate. I know, you know that we have had a couple of magical shows that you our local blog readers deserve to have described. But how am I supposed to process this stuff while I'm still living it? I don't want to take my eyes off of the action for long enough to glance at the screen and type even these few words. I'll catch up.

This city is a great distraction from the circus that is going on back home related to this whole Bon Jovi craziness. Yes it would be great to open for Bon Jovi in front of 17 thousand people. But is it worth the negitivity that we have to endure? Is it worth the name calling and accusations? read here. Or would it be better if it just never happened and we continued to grow the old fashioned way with a little airplay and some shows and selling records. Breath, let it go, relax, don't worrry about it. We have a great show in NYC tonight. Phone's ringing . . . .

Swan Song.

2005-10-28T13:33:00.000-05:00

So the band decided to split up and go do our own things. Some wanted to stay in the city and others didn't. Mike was the main one who had just had his fill of Ney York. So, Mikes day of funwas born. Jon, Charidy, Mike and I bailed out and went to a small toutist town in PA called New Hope. Apon arrival we started Mikes day of fun with a few luke warm Miller Highlifes. After that Charidy noticed a boat being pulled by horses in a canal and a swan swimming in the canal. Nothingthat you get to see in IA everyday. I got real excited about the swan and took some bread from the bus to feed it. When I aproached the swan it started hissing like mad. It calmed down after I started feeding it but started hissing again as soon as I quit feeding it. Damn swans. After that
we strolled around the senic town of New Hope looking for food and refreshment. It didn't take long to find a pizza place that served beer and we sat down. The food was perfect and the beer was cold. Sweet! MDoF was starting with a bang. Party!

Interesting road discovery #4426

2005-10-26T15:59:00.000-05:00

Interesting road discovery #4426 - 1st take one large gulp of red bull, swallow, wait 5 seconds, eat one handful of rold gold pretzels. this combination tastes exactly like PANCAKES!

Good things come in small packages

2005-10-25T10:40:00.000-05:00

We walked into the Rockwood Music Hall. The inward swinging door nearly bumped the current performer mid song. The term "music hall" implies to me a large room. So I was expecting something different. Rockwood Music Hall is a little bit larger than my living room, but a very cool place. The gal I about made swallow her microphone was Jill Stevenson -- another great musical experience I was not expecting. Our good friend and label mate Benjamin Wagner played next and was nice enough to invite us up for a couple of songs. (Benjamin’s new CD Heartland drops November 15. Go on over to www.authenticrecordsonline.com for details.)

When we are on tour and playing a show that for one reason or another is weird we always bet whether or not anyone will be there. A midnight show on a Monday in the rain is a perfect recipe for playing to literally no one but the bar and sound staff. I always thought it would be funny and kind of cool to play a show like. The crowd was small at 9:00 last night but when we finally took the stage at 12:45 after an hour long set by what I can only describe as Steve Vai meets Kenny G except on guitar it was us, the bar staff, the sound guy, and five other people. Suddenly the idea of playing to no one isn’t so romantic. Two fifths of the crowd was there to see Yanni Tesch and leaves. Yikes. One of the remaining three passes out in the bathroom. Yikes. The other two remaining folks were treated to three of the best songs we have ever played!!! To be completely accurate half of those two left half way through our one quarter length set. YIKES!

Midwest Record Recap . . . .

2005-10-24T18:05:00.000-05:00

NADAS/Listen Through the Static: Buncha college buddies from Iowa carve out an under the radar career that seems to be blowing right past all the tastemakers with their call out research and know it all attitudes. Hiring first class support people to bring out a sound that can compete with anything on the majors, this totally indy DIY crew is on album 7, they kick ass and yet they still stay grass roots. It's kind of amazing. If you are bitching that rock has lost it's soul, make the effort to seek this out and see what yo haven't been hearing.

That's a pretty cool review.

2005-10-23T13:45:00.000-05:00

Well that was an eventful evening:

We headed to the lower east side again last night. Wil found out his friend Randy Kaplan was playing in the same joint we hung out last night. In the subway on the way there we were treated to a little person Michael Jackson impersonator. I don’t actually know if the PC term for a little person is little person so my apologies to anyone I offended. After five minutes of stretching and checking his make-up he ripped out every dance move MJ has ever done. It was H.O.T. After another transfer or two we came across a band I knew was the real deal after hearing only one song. Check out Susan Cagle at www.susancagle.com Speaking of the real deal, Scrap-O-Matic was the headliner at the Living Room. HOLY COWHIDES! . . I love it when I go somewhere to see music not knowing or expecting anything and get totally blown away. P.S. Thanks to the nice lady from Russia in town for three Rob Thomas shows (?) for sharing her table with us. We weren’t quite ready to head home after Scraps (that’s what I call Scrap-O-Matic now that I feel we are buds) we followed a hot tip on a cool late night acoustic club. The place almost lived up to the hype. It was: 1. cool 2. Late night 3.a club. There weren’t acoustic performers but there were performers. It ended up being a hybrid comedy club/burlesque show. I laughed, I blushed, I took a cab home.

2005-10-23T13:40:00.000-05:00

I decide to meet a couple of photographer friends for drinks at grand central station. Seems impossible doesn't it. I call and say I'm on my way in, how do I find you. He says, you'll see me, I'm wearing a red jacket, everyone else is wearing black. That's new york city. Sure enough I walk right into the main atrium, where millions of people pass through, and there he is. It's amazing how it really doesn't feel like that big of a town.Later, I ran into a photographer friend from college that I hadn't seen for a few years. Just passed her on the sidewalk. We started talking to a group of people on a late night train and told her we were in a band, she said really I work for sony records, we said we're called the nadas, she said I have an eamil about you guys I haven't read yet, see you at the show. It's a small world in a big city.

Fly like an eagle. . . .

2005-10-22T17:20:00.000-05:00

no alarm sounds good at 5am. where the hell are we? lansing, kansas.
yikes.

thankfully, we can count on each other to move things along.

"are you getting up."

"I snoozed it for 5 minutes."

"somebody has to go first."

"yeah. I'm _fine_ to go first. I'm just snoozing it for a second."

" we have to get out of here by 5:30..."

okay, fine, I'm going in.

***

we make it out by 5:30am or thereabouts and drive through the
ghost-town-like kansas and missouri back roads. made it onto the plane
(minus charidy), although I did get tested for explosives and had my bags
searched (they looked at my little audio connectors like they were from two
centuries into the future).

flight #1 was on southwest and I staked out my last row spot, in hopes that
I'd get a row to myself for onbaord sleeping. alas, I ended up squeezed in
with the other plane-full of sardines and slept in the fully upright and
locked position.

I add here that everyone hates me 'cause I can sleep anywhere at any time on
demand. this comes in really handy on the road and in late night studio
situations.

flight #2 was a little better as I traded with mike (who hates the back row)
and I ended up with the only empty row. sleep come free me! sweet.

***

we disembark in NYC and, as always, it like you see the whole array of new
yorkers in condensed form in the first 5 minutes. we saw: a buddhist monk,
a 15 person extended asian family, NYC cops, a taxi driver who pissed his
pants, a mafia muscle guy driving a limo, a posse of young urban males in
full 'and one' Bball attire, a transvestite, and a girl with green hair.
welcome to new york.

***

we take a cab into the city to meet our friend and host, ben wagner outside
his office at MTV (I think he was afraid to have us seen by anyone at work).
on our way across the street from the cab, carrying all our gear, mike
dropped the box of cds in the middle of braodway in times square, but deftly
kicked it all the way across the street to jason. yeah! as we pulled up to
mtv, I set my keybaord soft case on one end because I was so tired of
holding it, which in retrospect was a really bad idea since I discovered I
had set it in phlegm on the sidewalk. bad enough until you consider that
it's SOMEONE ELSE'S PHLEGM. kill me now. wiped it off and away we went to
ben's place. welcome to new york part II.

***

at ben's we carry all our stuff up the 5 flights of stairs (welcome to new
york part III) and settle in to figure out how we're going to spend our
first night in NYC.

we settle on a couple of shows, starting with a free 'celebrate the new
canal park' celebration, which is an outdoor show with film, dance, and a
set by legendary new yorker lou reed.

so, we went downtown and saw lou reed.

actually, we did see him, but he was just tuning his guitars off-stage.
what we did see was a film with no audio. kind of hard to follow, so we
walked a few blocks to get a slice of new york pizza (which is all that it's
cracked up to be), walked back in time for a bit of native american drum
circle. who doesn't love that?

along with the drumming and chanting, there was an african dancer, and in
the middle of all this, out comes a poet.

I'm all about poets, they're cool and all, but this one took the cake. she
interspersed banal descriptions of the park flowers with unexpectedly
shocking fake native american chanting and hair-raising shrieks.

for example:

"let us enjoy the green grass and fresh air of the city
hulayayayayayayayayayho mamamamamamamamama and the night brings beauty
together with the sounds of music and
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYEAH we enjoy the silence
and beauty and move to the drums..." et cetera.

then she 'danced' a bit with the drum circle. um, yeah.

this was followed by more lou reed tuning, the launch of two paper hot air
balloon sculptures, a self-serving jazz shop owner who we decided was not
pretentious but, rather, _pompous_. and by that time we decided to move on
to another show.

but we _saw_ lou reed.

heading across town I started to speak in italian to a couple who appeared
to be lost; mike thought I was faking it so he hailed a cab and that nice
older couple is probably still lost.

we made it to see a band that mike decided should have had tour shirts which
read:

not quite ready to tour yet

they were nice, though.

lowlight: the 2 for drinks tasted like battery acid (I had it once, it's
not as bad!)

highlight: walking in the room and realizing that I had been there 15 years
ago with a girl I haven't seen since. yeah!

***

on the way out of the club, we met up with mike's friend jimmy. he took us
up through alphabet city, where we dropped in on a crazy and great show by
aldo perez at the living room. when I say he's crazy, I mean, I think he's
truly crazy. hard to explain the show but there were toy megaphones,
classical guitars, hip-hop M.C.-ing, a trumpet player, bad jokes ("I once
had sex with a model... the glue got _everywhere_!"), a classic rock
medley, a song about insomnia, and a plethora of weird facial expressions.
quite an evening. welcome to new york, part IV. it's getting old hat, now.

Thy Wil be done. . . .

2005-10-19T22:28:00.000-05:00

it's 10:27 and we're still at it here at nadas world HQ. just part of our
continuing effort to bring shows, cds, and music directly to your door (or,
at least, to your general vicinity).

even though there's no show today for us to play, I've been working since
8:30 this morning on bringing more nadas shows and more nadas airtime to
you. that means:

a. calling or writing basically everyone I know from all my many years in
the music business to try and get the nadas chances to play on radio
stations and stages all over the U.S., europe, and japan. this is a pretty
good challenge, in spite of the fact that we all all know the nadas are a
truly special and talented band. it's a challenge because of the huge sea
of music out there in the world.

I like to think of that as some kind of advantage; the good stuff should
stick out from the crowd, right?

so far, it seems to be working as several cool radio stations who've never
played the nadas are seriously considering adding listen through the static
tracks to their playlists, and stations who have played our music are being
even more supportive this time around. it's enough to make a guy think that
there's some hope left in the world.

which brings me to:

b. working on the final preparations for the uploading of some live tracks
from our acoustic performance on KUNI. soon, you'll be able to hear those
tracks on nadas radio and, you may even get a sampler disc with some of
those tracks if you catch us at one of our many east coast dates next week.

in the meantime, as hard as I worked to make these live cuts sound A-1
today, I can't help but be moved by the music, even at the tail end of a
14-hour day. guess that's why I have the job I have playing music and
making records. it's a drag but someone has to do it.)

see you in NYC, boston, philly, virginia, et al.

wil masisak
your faithful correspondent & hard-working dude

KXNO sports talk

2005-10-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

Thought you'd be interested to know The Nadas are featured on the
latest Cotman's Cuts Podcast on the KXnO Podcasting Page:

click here

Live from Studio One

2005-10-17T16:34:00.000-05:00

Jason just called me to put this up. Him and Mike are playing KUNI's Live fro Studio One at 7pm tonight. You can listen at here.

here is a phone pic of us taking pledge calls after the show. Look for the show to be posted soon. It went great and sounds good.

The circle of life. . . .

2005-10-16T22:21:00.000-05:00

Ebay through the static