WELCOME BACK TO #BOS #TheBlogOfSaint & THE ROSE IN REVIEW. WELL HELL... I'LL JUST SAY IT. 2015 STARTED OUT WITH A LOT OF QUESTIONS. For starters... Was our drummer gonna get ON THE BUS OR OFF? He said OFF. How long would the SEARCH for a new drummer take? FORTUNATELY it only took 1 call. Thankfully ANDY STARR picked up. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE to work up all the material to TOURING LEVEL? Well if you made it out to one of our MANY GIGS THIS YEAR around the Pacific Northwest you know IT WAS INSTANT CHEMISTRY!
FROM THERE IT ONLY GOT BETTER, and we were ready for it. We had already welcomed AXE SLINGER NATHAN MYERS. He started playing with us soon after recording his tracks (as a special guest) and solidified his status AS A MEMBER before the album would be released. ANOTHER special guest from the new album, Harmonica Madman FREIGHT TRAIN DAVE, had such a good time in the studio with us. When we asked him to join us onstage in early spring in preparation for the CD RELEASE SHOW he was willing, but UNABLE, due to a thief who made off with his harps. Now this was just UNACCEPTABLE, so we put together a SHOW and raised enough DOUGH for a SWEET NEW SET OF HARPS and a CASE that WASN'T AN AMMO BOX (although FUCKIN KOOL, probably why they got lifted). SINCE then, he's been our PERMANENT SPECIAL GUEST and you can catch him with us at most of our NW SHOWS. NOW, WITH ALL THE QUESTIONS ANSWERED, and the final mixing and mastering on 'RISE' done, it was TIME, & THE CD RELEASE SHOW WAS ON!
CD RELEASE PARTY 6/20/15 The Cider Mill. We debuted our first studio album & our 2nd shirt... and with all your SUPPORT & LOVE, THE SHOW WAS 2+ HOURS OF BLOWIN', PICKIN', HITTIN', & WAILIN' OUT UNFORGETTABLE LYRICS. After that, it was all about ROLLIN' that ENERGY & MOMENTUM through the SUMMER FESTIVALS and SPREADIN' our SOUND AROUND. The STANDOUT SHOW for the summer was definitely THE WILLAPA MUSIC FESTIVAL aka WILLAPA-LOOZA, where we were CO-HEADLINING with some of the HARDEST ROCKIN & ABSOLUTE BEST FROM THE NORTHWEST such as: MASZER, NINJAS WITH SYRINGES, THUNDERPUSSY, & P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. Along side Stand-Outs WILD BILL, SUNDRIES, LEVER... and LOCAL Bad Asses HELSTING & Kings Of Old. This POWERHOUSE of a Festival on the 4th of July Weekend was thrown at THE CLAM SHACK in Nahcotta, WA. The brains behind this EPIC festival were OWNER/OPERATOR Warren Cowell & his BETTER HALF Tamara, both of whom are MUSIC ANGELS. I have either PLAYED or WORKED my fair share of FESTS and these 2 are just as big a FANS OF MUSIC as there ever were & INCREDIBLE HOSTS to boot. They made every band feel like FAMILY and most stayed on their gorgeous property on the other side of the BAY. The bands that didn't have to hit the road the next day all hung out for Warren's Birthday on JULY 4th. Here we Ate, Drank, SMOKED, and went down to the Long Beach Peninsula. It was here that we set off the BIGGEST FIREWORKS DISPLAY I have ever seen, alongside miles of other fireworks!
AFTER THAT, each gig just kept gettin' better and better. We HEADLINED at Village-Palooza during Multnomah Days & got to play with some KICK ASS BANDS in Salem like M69's, & City Of Pieces at Brown's Town Lounge, as well as Cronicles Of Bad Butch at the HIGHWAY TO HEMPFEST show at Duffy's Hangar. Portland also PAYED OUT with some MEMORABLE GIGS like Halloween with FASALA & our debut at The Analog Cafe & Theater with HOT TUB FANTASIES, 3 TO BREATHE, & Teresa Topaz. AS I WRITE THIS, it's about 16 hours until our GOOD BYE to 2015 Show, and just over 24 hours since GOD DIED! So tonight we DEDICATE OUR SHOW TO LEMMY KILMISTER. ROCK N' ROLL HEAVEN JUST GOT LOUDER! AS for 2016... we are planning on not just HITTIN' THE ROAD, but once again HITTIN' AS MANY FESTIVALS AS WE CAN ON THAT ROAD! Keep Spreadin' THE ROSE and look for NEW MERCH & MUSIC this coming year.
CHEERS & THANK YOU ALL! SEE YA AT A VENUE NEAR YOU. THE SAINT.