For your reading pleasure !!
Please find attached the following Dada review posted by one of our Lava Lord Guitar Heroes Pete !
Every once in awhile a day comes along that seems to have just about everything going for it. This was one of those days for me. I rolled out of bed Saturday morning, ate breakfast and made a pot of coffee. I poured myself a cup and made my way to the couch. I threw in a DVD the 1970 Isle of Wight Concert. Watching Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, and Ten Years After perform live was going to be my “pre game warm up”. This day was going to be dedicated to rock and roll! Let me tell you I live for the stuff brothers and sisters! Soon after I was on my way for what would be the first part of this kick ass day. The Lava Lords were playing Zim City. We were band number six of a seven-band benefit show for our brave troops in the Middle East. The show was a blast! If that would have been the end of the day I would have gone home very happy but there was more to come. As soon as we were finished playing I tore down my gear and headed for downtown Minneapolis for the second part of my day. Let me take a moment to thank my band mates for taking care of my gear and bringing it home, safely once I left Zim City.
My wife Dawn, my daughter Jena, and my buddy from work Scott had already made it to the Fine Line and were seated at our reserved table when I arrived at the club. All of us have seen Dada many times. Seven times for me. I have never gone home disappointed.
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in neutral Zürich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1920. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature (poetry, art manifestoes, art theory), theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti war politic through a rejection of the prevailing standards in art through anti-art cultural works. Dada activities included public gatherings, demonstrations, and publication of art/literary journals. Passionate coverage of art, politics, and culture filled their publications. The movement influenced later styles, movements, and groups including Surrealism, Pop Art and Fluxus.
Dada, http://www.myspace.com/dadatheband the three piece band out of Los Angeles has been together for 16 years. Michael Gurley on Fender Strat and vocals, Joey Calio on bass and vocals and Phil Leavitt on drums and vocals. Their alterative radio hit songs include Diz Knee Land, Dim (alternative radio classics), All I Am, and California Gold. They continue hold a very loyal following. They have been plagued by record company problems, no doubt limiting their very much-deserved popularity. This mini tour consisted of Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. A testament to their strong following in the Twin Cities.
They are from the 90’s but have 60’s/ 70’s style of performing. By that, I mean as many times I have seen them they rarely play the songs the same. This show was no exception.
They frequently took off on extended jams. In the middle of their own songs they would suddenly morph into old classic rock songs such as The Who’s “Won’t get Fooled Again”, The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby”, or the Mamas and the Papas “California Dreaming”. Beach Boy inspired vocal harmonies, Hendrix inspired surfer on acid guitar licks, and song craft with hooks that suck you in like a Hoover kept the packed room on their feet and singing along word for word the whole night. At one point in the evening the guitar player suggested that since that the Fine Line show was the last night of their tour he could sure go for a shot of tequila. In no time, the edge of the stage was lined up with shot glasses as fans bought drinks for the band. This inspired a kick ass impromptu version of “Tequila”.
That was cool as hell !!!!!!!!!!.
Once during the show guitar player Michael Gurley took at swig of beer and placed the bottle on top of his amp. The audience held their collective breath as a stagehand from the wings flew across the stage and grabbed the beer, which was on the verge of foaming over and into the vulnerable amplifier. It was kind of funny to watch. Let me just say that these guys are not alcohol swilling punk rockers or heavy metal hedonists. They were just having a good time that night. The band played and partied for two hours non-stop. As with every other Dada show I’ve seen, the band members joked with each other and had fun with the crowd as well. Great music, talented musicians and a fired up audience made for a great show. When they come back to town I will be there.
Pete
15 April 2007
08 April 2007
4/7/7 Zim City Legion
The American Legion in Zimmerman was already hopping by the time we got there at 2:30. Sister's Attic was onstage rocking out to a packed Legion Hall. The music had been going since 11:00 a.m. We sought out Dave the promotor and found him hanging with the sound man tweaking knobs. Dave was having a great time and "Milling About Smartly" as promoters are wont to do. After introductions and meet and greets we were told all the band members from all the bands were to autograph a poster, a guitar and literally the shirt off Dave's back to be auctioned off later in the night. Cool. After finishing this task Dave stated "We're right on schedule" and gave us pointers on loading our gear. Actually we didn't have much to load. Kinger had to bring his entire kit but the rest of us only needed our guitars and amps since the sound system and lights were all provided by Dave and his crew. Kind of nice not having to haul much gear. We waited until the end of Sister Attic's set and then hauled our stuff up the back stairs. Here is a pic of Dave and Amercian Gypsy who was the MC of the event.
Zim City RECAP
We really did have a great time at the Zim City Legion last Saturday. We pretty much relish any gig as we all love to play and it’s not about the money. Sure we have some originals, but it’s not about “making it” or getting our originals mainstreamed. We’re a cover band and we’re OK with that. For us it’s all about having fun, making music as a hobby and keeping great classic rock music alive. If you didn’t know it already we actually have a “mission statement”. You know…just like Corporate America. We went back into the archives to make sure we could quote ourselves correctly. Here it is:
"Collectively we share the desire to explore our musical passion, to find out where our musical path may lead us and to share the experience with others."
That’s it folks. There is no pursuit of rock stardom or catching the attention of the world with our music or composing a string of originals that turns gold. It’s pretty basic, realistic and simple. We have stuck to the premise of it for the entire last 7 years we have been the Lava Lords. (or the Coon Dawgs or Garage Rockets) Fast forward to this last weekend. We did not get paid and did not care. It was a benefit for a great cause. We have played the Zimmerman Legion at least 4-5 times in the past and did get paid our going rate. (probably overpaid for the amount of people we actually drew) Most of those gigs there were only a handful to maybe 30 people in the entire bar. At least a couple times we had to really pump ourselves up on stage to make it fun. We learned the lesson that you can’t rely on a huge crowd or even an OK crowd to make it fun. You have to have fun even if you are playing to empty tables and ash trays. Even if it’s just the four of us and NO ONE SHOWS UP, we’re still going to have fun!! This past weekend’s gig was way different from any of our previous Zimmerman Legion gigs. The place was packed from noon until midnight. People were there to hear some great music and support a great cause. We had professional soundmen and professional gear. We did not have to load much gear. We had the support of other bands. We had a great time slot. We only had to worry about playing one 90 minute set. Usually as we try to figure out our set list we try to strike a balance so that there are fast songs then slow songs and switch up who the lead singer is and try to figure out what songs flow together and make sure songs are in different keys, beats, genre. This gig we took our top twenty songs, the best of the best for what we do and just went for it!! We ROCKED for 90 minutes. We all felt great vibes about our set. We gave as much intensity as we could muster for 90 minutes. We most certainly were on a roll. Based on how we felt about our performance and the many kudos offered by many people who came to up to us after our set we probably succeeded in our “mission”. Hmmmmm maybe rock stardom does await us yet?? Nope, we’re just here to have some fun. Thanks to Dave & Rod from Rukkus for having us. Thanks to Wayne and all the members of the Zimmerman Legion for letting us be part of it. Thanks to everyone who gave us props!! U GUYS ROCK !!
"Collectively we share the desire to explore our musical passion, to find out where our musical path may lead us and to share the experience with others."
That’s it folks. There is no pursuit of rock stardom or catching the attention of the world with our music or composing a string of originals that turns gold. It’s pretty basic, realistic and simple. We have stuck to the premise of it for the entire last 7 years we have been the Lava Lords. (or the Coon Dawgs or Garage Rockets) Fast forward to this last weekend. We did not get paid and did not care. It was a benefit for a great cause. We have played the Zimmerman Legion at least 4-5 times in the past and did get paid our going rate. (probably overpaid for the amount of people we actually drew) Most of those gigs there were only a handful to maybe 30 people in the entire bar. At least a couple times we had to really pump ourselves up on stage to make it fun. We learned the lesson that you can’t rely on a huge crowd or even an OK crowd to make it fun. You have to have fun even if you are playing to empty tables and ash trays. Even if it’s just the four of us and NO ONE SHOWS UP, we’re still going to have fun!! This past weekend’s gig was way different from any of our previous Zimmerman Legion gigs. The place was packed from noon until midnight. People were there to hear some great music and support a great cause. We had professional soundmen and professional gear. We did not have to load much gear. We had the support of other bands. We had a great time slot. We only had to worry about playing one 90 minute set. Usually as we try to figure out our set list we try to strike a balance so that there are fast songs then slow songs and switch up who the lead singer is and try to figure out what songs flow together and make sure songs are in different keys, beats, genre. This gig we took our top twenty songs, the best of the best for what we do and just went for it!! We ROCKED for 90 minutes. We all felt great vibes about our set. We gave as much intensity as we could muster for 90 minutes. We most certainly were on a roll. Based on how we felt about our performance and the many kudos offered by many people who came to up to us after our set we probably succeeded in our “mission”. Hmmmmm maybe rock stardom does await us yet?? Nope, we’re just here to have some fun. Thanks to Dave & Rod from Rukkus for having us. Thanks to Wayne and all the members of the Zimmerman Legion for letting us be part of it. Thanks to everyone who gave us props!! U GUYS ROCK !!
03 April 2007
Zim City Legion UPDATE
We found out this coming Saturday's event has changed some and grown. Alledgedly now there are 7 bands starting at 10:00 a.m. Sisters Attic will be starting at 3:00. Our time slot has changed to now go 6-7:30. We plan on a 90 minute ROCKING set of twenty tunes with no break. We believe (but don't quote us) that there is no cover charge but there will be plenty of opportunities to donate to benefit the troops!! Rumour has it there will be plenty of food. Also later on in the evening after a couple of Rukkus sets there will be an open jam with many of the members of the other bands sitting in. See you there !!
Shortstop RECAP / PICS
Here are a few pics from our recent ShortStop gig. Pics can be few and hard to come by. Sorry we DO NOT have any pics of the "pole dancers". This may not have been our finest performance ever, but it is after all LIVE ROCK N ROLL so anything can, did and will happen. We are thankful that Andy didn't need any Dental work after having the microphone bounced off his teeth several times by "drunk blonde bimbo groupy wannabee chick"!!
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