Meet you back here in December.
Tour dates available at:
Monday, October 6, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Tightening Up The Rust Belt.
We left Burlington early on Thursday morning to make the 10 hour trip to Pittsburgh. We arrived at Howler's right on time and loaded in. Howler's is a good old fashion rock club, with a smoking section on the bar side and the venue on the other (you can't smoke in the venue, but Chitwood lit up on stage). We live tested some new songs and played some requests. We made some new friends and caught up with some old. After the show, we stayed with our friend Dan just a few miles from the venue. We woke up early, drank a bunch of light coffee and went to his garage. He purchased an 8 car garage in a up and coming section of town. We spent some time checking out his old motorcycles and cars including a Model A, Galaxy 500 and a handful of vintage motorcycles. After a quick stop at our favorite co-op in Pittsburgh, we left for Morgantown, WV.
We arrived in Morgantown early and checked out the downtown. We hit some shops, did some skating and made our way to the venue. Schmidt's Saloon is a nice spot with killer sound. We met a bunch of new people and had a great show. We had fun dialing in the tour set, linking Silver and Gold with Running Colors and also having a blast rediscovering some old tunes in new ways. We met the band Yarn and had a great time hanging out with them. Later on, we had a rock throwing competition into the ravine out back of the venue. Noah won...damn lefty. After the show, we hit the road for a few hours towards Chicago and found a hotel in an unknown town.
We left early for the 7+ hour drive to Chicago. We arrived in time to Reggie's loaded in, took a skate down towards Englewood, and hit the record store on the second floor. Record Breakers is a mostly vinyl shop that is loaded with almost any title you could imagine. I bought a 7" (181 of 200) from the band Burial Ground that I used to play shows with 15 years ago in PA for $1.99. Noah scored Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis and Huey Lewis and the News album Four (Noah's first record ever). The downstairs has a corridor loaded with shirts, patches and just about many other type of music memorabilia. This shop opens up to another venue in Reggie's. We caught J Boog's soundcheck and a hand full of other dub/reggae bands. The show at Reggie's was a blast. The sound is great, and we love that Reggie's has become our home in Chicago. We ended up playing some new tunes, and got a great board recording of the show. Here is 'Hot Seat' live from Chicago.
After the show, we headed towards the
beautiful Gary, Indiana. After a night within the smog, we made our way towards
Indianapolis. We arrived at Birdy's, loaded in and took a skate. The venue was
located in a unique spot and the room has seen some great performers over the
years...the walls have the scars to prove it. Three songs in, Chitwood blew a
tube and the rest of the band played "That's Alright", a song by
Arthur Crudup while he repaired it. We never worry if something malfunctions on
Chitwood's rig...it's usually only a matter of minutes before he's up and
running again. After the show, we locked in a room for two nights in Newport,
KY and made the trip in one shot.
Monday was the only day of the tour we had
off, so we looked up some venues and Kelly locked in a show at The Mainstay in
Cincinnati just across the Ohio river.
I had the opportunity to meet with
Jim at QCA in Cincinnati, where he gave me a tour of the old record pressing
facility. Here is a photo of the new Velvet Underground vinyl labels.
We had the chance to be our own sound guy
with a pro rig. We dialed in the vocals, threw some microphones on the drums, and had a
ton of fun playing for the locals. We met some great people and even talked
them into coming out to the show at The Southgate House Revival.
The Southgate House Revival is an old renovated church that has been "converted" into a ridiculously amazing music venue. We loaded in early and had the opportunity to rehearse for awhile. We had a great show and enjoyed meeting our new friends that drove from Indianapolis.
From Newport, Kentucky, we left for Charlotte, NC. After a few stops, we made it to The Visulite Theatre. The venue was amazing. The staff was very kind and the sound was excellent. We met a taper named Marty, who recorded and will post the show. We played a few new songs, and we can't wait for everyone to hear it.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Catching Up, Moving Forward and No Holding Back.
Greetings from the road.
It’s been awhile since we have checked in with more than just a few lines. We’ve been having a blast putting the new album together with the help of a really amazing team. From everyone at The Magic Shop in NYC, our manager Nikki VanVoorhis, Sarah Ryan for the album art, Brian Granfors and BJ Prosper for setting the stage for the new videos, Fred Kavorkian, Mark Spencer, Brian Jenkins, Jack Tremblay for all the technical workings, all of those we see at shows that get us more and more excited every step of the way and our most vital support systems...our families. This album has been a totally different project than anything Waylon Speed has done before, and we are extremely pleased with the outcome. Higher Ground has been kind enough to put us up for the evening on April 25th, where we’ll present our new album. Rough Francis and The Sideshow Tragedy share the bill for the release show. The following day, we'll do a small show for our families where we’ll present the new album in a more up-close and personal way. We look forward to seeing everyone that we don’t see nearly as much as we would like. After all, this is the whole idea behind the new album, Kin.
We went into the studio with twenty plus songs, and ended up
with eleven. We even included “In Your Mind” a song from the first year as a
band. It seemed to fit with the rest of the new material and we thought it was
time to let it see the light of day. “On A Wire” was written in the studio,
which we have never done before. We think this method reflects the outcome in a
unique way. It was a true pleasure to work with Mark Spencer. Moving from the
piano to pedal steel and finally over to the organ, his contributions to Kin
are –in our opinion - exceptional.
We left last Friday for a 9-day tour starting in New York.
We had a great time seeing/playing with old friends. We really appreciated
the kind support and had a blast playing the newly worked setlist. It was a positive way to kick the tour off. They even put us
up for the evening in the attached apartment upstairs from the venue. Although
over-worked by many musicians before us, the hospitality is what counts.
We then made our way to Oneonta, New York. Over the past few
years, we have had the opportunity to work closely with Ommegang Brewery. They
have gotten behind us and invited us to be a part of some really great events
they present. The staff at Ommegang is an awesome group of people promoting quality music and exceptional beer. It’s a win-win if you ask us.
We had the opportunity to play and hang with Chuck Mead
(BR549) and his Grassy Knoll Boys at the B-Side Ballroom. What a fantastic group
of players including pedal steel player Carco Clave. Unbelievable. If you're ever through Oneonta, stop at the
B-Side, say Hi to Wayne and look at the menu. You won’t be disappointed.
We got a good skate in at the park in Oneonta. It’s
a nice setup for being all cement. We even made a new friend Josh who came out to the show. Later on we checked into Christopher’s, an
Adirondack themed hotel we have stayed at many times before. For some reason,
we default to this hotel although there are many other options. It was recommended by Crystal at the Novelty
Lounge our very first trip through Oneonta. I guess it just stuck.
On Sunday, we made our way to the Purple Fiddle in Thomas,
West Virginia. We had a successful Sunday night show, and made some new
friends. Thanks to Ben the engineer for exceptional sound at The Purple
Fiddle. Our friends invited us to an after party at The Whiteroom Art Gallery
where I captured the video below. Noah said it was dream come true to be “the
piano man”.
Today is a day off in Thomas, WV. We met a
mechanic last night named “Sparky” who rotated the tires on the van this
morning for us. We've also been offered to stay another night at The Purple Fiddle. Tattoos, pool and songs are in the mix. The hospitality in Thomas is some of the best.
Keep in touch everyone, and we hope to see you all real soon.
Love,
Waylon Speed
April 14th, 2014.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Waylon Speed at SXSW Music Conference!
We are pleased to announce that we have officially been invited to play SXSW Music Conference in Austin, TX!
Click HERE for the schedule!
Friday, January 24, 2014
Monday, June 24, 2013
Upcoming Dates.
We are excited for a busy summer. We hope to see you all along the way!
Monday, June 17, 2013
Boots, Baseball and The Pennsylvania Shuffle.
We woke up early on Saturday, and our friends made us a great breakfast. We then did something as a band that we never did before; we went to a little league baseball game. Our friends son was playing right up the road from the show. We all piled in the van and made a day out of it. It was good fun. The other team never showed up, and Noah joined as part of the parent team (in boots). You can see by this action shot that he really knows how to hustle.
Jam on the Creek was a great festival hidden in the mountains of central, PA. We played a fun ninety minute set, and got to hang with some new friends including Mark Karan from RatDog.
We quickly packed up and headed towards Philly to play The Legendary Dobbs. With Chitwood behind the wheel, being on time is of no concern. We made only one stop along the way grabbing a truck parking spot at a truck stop.
Fortunately, the Dobbs staff had reserved parking for us out front. We also used our newly borrowed parking cones (that now live in the trailer) to secure our parking further. These cones work magic in many parking situations. They even confuse parking authorities.
The show at Dobbs was a lot of fun. We all used the backline gear and Chitwood and Kelly played through half stacks. It wasn't exactly the Tele sound Kelly was looking for, but he pulled it off seamlessly. We hung out for a few short minutes afterwards, and hit the road back to Vermont. I took the first shift, and made it up to 87N. They should really pay you to use The Cross Bronx Expressway. Kelly and Chitwood finished the trip out. Another one done well.
Thanks for those that support Waylon Speed. Keep in touch and we will see you all next time.
Love,
Waylon Speed
6/17/2013
We quickly packed up and headed towards Philly to play The Legendary Dobbs. With Chitwood behind the wheel, being on time is of no concern. We made only one stop along the way grabbing a truck parking spot at a truck stop.
The show at Dobbs was a lot of fun. We all used the backline gear and Chitwood and Kelly played through half stacks. It wasn't exactly the Tele sound Kelly was looking for, but he pulled it off seamlessly. We hung out for a few short minutes afterwards, and hit the road back to Vermont. I took the first shift, and made it up to 87N. They should really pay you to use The Cross Bronx Expressway. Kelly and Chitwood finished the trip out. Another one done well.
Thanks for those that support Waylon Speed. Keep in touch and we will see you all next time.
Love,
Waylon Speed
6/17/2013
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