I really didn't intend to go so long without writing. But there has been so much going on right now, and I'm super excited to share it with you! Let's see if I know where to start!
Well, I guess I'll start with our name change. Holly and I played the open mic at Darrell's Tavern in Shoreline, which was killer. My friend, Bahia Rowan, made it out as well, and she played some songs she's compiling for a Halloween CD. It was a great night! There were so many people there. Even Murdock, who used to play with me in Nancy Frieko, sat in with us. There was another guy at the open mic who sat in on bass, and I cannot remember his name for the life of me. (You can smack me next time you see me.) He's married to a woman named Tanya who tried out for us back in March. Super cool lady! Anyway, as we were leaving the stage, Tal, who runs the open mic, called us the Januaries by mistake. I didn't hear it, but Holly did as well as a few other people, and they all thought it was a pretty cool name. After kicking the idea around, we decided to officially change our name. So we looked around online to make sure the name wasn't taken, and sure enough, there was a band from 2000 called The Januaries. So we decided that adding a "z" was the best thing to do. We are now The Januariez! You can check out our new site at http://www.thejanuariez.com . Please feel free to share your feedback, so we can make the new site as awesome as possible.
Talking about the new website, one of the guys we met at the ASCAP Expo is building the site for us! So let me start by sharing what this ASCAP Expo thing is all about. ASCAP stands for the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. They do a lot of things and have a lot of events, but most importantly, they make sure songwriters get paid when their music is used. The Expo, rather the I Create Music Expo, is an annual event held right in the middle of Hollywood's "Walk of Fame".
Yet, I digress. The first night we were there, the expo featured a networking reception. The first person we met knew our friend and local musician, Amy Denio! I about fell over! What are the chances? We met more and more music creators who have had a lot of success from attending the expo. And then the following day, after my one on one session with a music publisher, I ran into one of the people we'd met the night before. He, in turn, introduced me to the people he was talking with, and they, in turn, offered me their cards and asked for copies of the EP. One of the guys had asked me where the Hard Rock Cafe was, and I tried to explain it, and then I just offered to show him. And then he invited me to join him and his friends for happy hour/dinner. Holly was in a panel, so I had to text her to tell her where to meet us. About a half hour later we were all at the Hard Rock cafe.
These guys, Rob, Mark, and Tom, had all graduated college together and were some of the nicest, silliest, and intense people I've ever met. Two of them were publishers and the other is a producer and makes websites. We ended up hanging out with these crazy guys all afternoon. They offered us insight and advice we just couldn't get anywhere else. We parted ways at the next networking reception, cause we were gonna go try to get to the Hollywood sign. So, my friend Pamm picked us up and off we went. We got pretty close, but we couldn't find the trail, and it was getting dark, so we all went back to the hotel with plans to attend one of the showcases. On our way to the room, we ran into Rob, who was one of the guys we'd hung out with earlier, in the elevator. He told us where everyone was going and where to meet up! So, we hooked up with them and a few other people. One of them was a girl name Jessi, who is also a vocalist/lyricist. So we hung out at some restaurant, until it was decided we should go to the dive across the street. That's when we ran in to Mr. t.
Not something you see everyday! hehe. OMG! It was so surreal! But it was great! At any rate, it was great meeting and hanging out with everyone! And Tom, thanks for the website! It's totally appreciated!
We did finally make it to the Hollywood sign! The day of our departure, Pamm snagged us from the hotel with a route in hand! Apparently there is a hiking and a horse trail leading up to the sign. Though you can't get right up to the sign anymore. There's a big fence and cops and stuff! But we got pretty damn close!
And I finally managed to see my first cousin and her new baby (well I guess she's a toddler now). It had been too long! I'm hoping we can host her and her family this summer!
But man, I can't wait to go back! It was a great time!
As for everything else:
As you might remember, Holly and I were expecting to add a female bass player to our line up. Unfortunately, that fell through as quickly as it came about. I really can't get into details, right now. You'll have to wait for VH1's Behind the Music to get the story. Sorry. At any rate, as disappointing as it was for us to have it not work out, we went and played our usual open mics we had previously scheduled. To my surprise, we ended up running into my old friends from Tacoma: Laughtertrain. Laughtertrain is amazing! There are/were one of my favorite bands! I hadn't seen them in years, and there they were, gearing up to play! And to top it off, the Purkster himself got up and sat in with us on our set! It was a great night. Jake said he video taped both Laughtertrain and The Januariez, but I have yet to see the evidence. We'll post it as soon as we get a hold of Jake!
And it seemed like only a few weeks later, Bubba Jones, from Furniture Girls and Critical Sun Recordings, caught interest in us! We were thinking he liked the CD tracks, but it was the crappy open mic video that grabbed his attention. We met with him to discuss "the future". I don't want to get into all just yet, but good things are afoot. Them, just a couple days later, Holly and I went to the Deep Dark Robot show that we promoted. Thinking that Linda Perry would be happy to meet her promoters, only to realize she wasn't, I ran into to StayC from Furniture Girls, who asked me to sit in on a gig the following Saturday night at the High Dive! It was such a killer show, and being on stage with good people like that is what I live for! Thank you Furniture Girls for everything!
After we returned home, we were back at it! Photo shoot, meetings with Bubba, and I got a message from my pal, Troy, who is the editor for Innocent Words Magazine. He will be featuring a review of the new EP in the June issue. Look for it here: http://www.innocentwords.com/
And finally, I got a call from Josh, the bass player of a Sic End. We met Josh and his drummer, Reno, a few months ago at Darrell's Tavern. Josh wanted to know if he we were still looking for a bass player…
And there ya have it! That's where we are today. I think I've remembered everything. I really do need to keep up with this thing a little better!
Until next time…
xxoo
j-kNee
