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WHAT'S SHAKIN'What's Shakin': 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004
November 21, 2007It's the night before Thanksgiving. Instead of being occupied with all that goes along with it, I'm overflowing with excitement over the prospect of playing the V.I.P. after party at the upcoming Led-Zeppelin show. Oh… I didn't tell you about that? We're finally doing something with our original songs that you've heard so much about. We put together two videos for a contest. The prize is a trip for the band to see Zepplin in London, then play the after party for about 2,000 people. > Video: Accommodations (Quicktime 6, 17.1MB) It's shaping up to be a good week for us. We'll be playing Ball's this Saturday (24th) then a few days after that we should know the results of the contest. Have I mentioned that we're really excited about this?? Also, I've been a bit neglectful about giving credit where credit is due. First, as most of you know, we've had a sax player with us at the shows for a while now. You've heard me refer to him as RJ or Fingers. And maybe a few other things. His name is Ryan Russo, and we're pleased to have him performing with us. He adds so much t the sound, and he's a Cool Cat. Next, You may have also noticed that David has missed the last couple of shows. He's been dealing with some pretty serious back issues. I'm glad to report that he's on the mend and should be back soon. We've been extremely lucky to have our good friend Pete Abdou filling in on the skins. It means a lot to us that he takes time out of his busy schedule to play with us. You can check him out at www.peteabdou.com. That's about it for now. Enjoy the Holiday Season and we'll see you at the next show. Peace, November 17, 2007 (8:43 am)Happy holidays! It's been a while, but here's WHAT'S SHAKIN'. I've been a bit out of the loop as of late due to some lower back issues that I'm working out with physical therapy. In the interim, our good friend Pete Abdou has been working with the boys, and doing shows. A good many thanks to you, brother. Hopefully I shall return to the fold in mid-December. In other news… earlier this week we spent a few hours at JamStage doing a video shoot for a contest we'll tell you about in a bit. Running sound was an old friend of mine Charlie, who I haven't seen in a few years and it was great to do so. Shooting video were, Pete Abdou, Steve (S-WHY), and John "Cakes" Gilbert. Everyone did an excellent job and we can't thank you enough. We couldn't have done it without you! Having the shoot in the can, I headed to Rob's house last night for some video editing — new to both of us, especially me. Needless to say, it took longer than we thought. But, in the end we were both very pleased with our results. I'm not going to get into much more than that for now, but be assured… I shall be back soon with some exciting news! Peace love & happiness, July 5, 2007Now that you've had your fill of beer, burgers, & bratwurst… OK, there's always room for beer… it's time to listen to some of those Half Star Hotel originals that you've been hearing so much about. On Friday, July 13th, we will be playing one set of original music at Steve's Backstage Pass in Taunton, MA. We'll open up the night, followed by Tommy Dempsey & SMUG, followed by The Bad Bad Leroy Browns (formerly Red Menace). We're sharing the stage with some great rock 'n rollers, so don't miss this show. Tickets for this rare ALL AGES show are $10.00 at the door. Visit www.thedessertclub.com for more information. Hope to see you there! June 14, 2007Shake it, shake it! All ears... The all original date has been confirmed. I'm not really going to tell you the exact date yet, as our next show will be at Cady's, but I will tell you this. It will be in July, in Taunton, MA and on a very "unlucky" day (hint, hint). We MUST be asking for trouble! Also, a very heartfelt thank you to all who helped us break in Copperfield's last weekend. We feed off of your energy, and I think I can honestly say, we all left full! A great time indeed. Stay tuned dear guests, more to come. Peace, June 1, 2007Lordy, Lordy, Lordy! How's your summer shakin'? Just as well as ours I hope. I'm just checking in to let you know what we're up to. Our next show is June 9, at Copperfield's Lounge in Warwick, RI. This is our first time playing there, so we hope to see you all, help us rock the house and make a good impression. Also in the works... *There's a good chance we'll be doing an all original set in Taunton, MA sometime in the next few weeks. *Halfstock '07. This will be an outdoor event in North Kingstown, featuring three bands some Sunday in late August. *Hitting the recording studio in September to start tracking some of these originals you've been so receptive to. *A photo shoot with photography wizard Tony G. Pretty busy huh? Keep checking back for updates as nothing I've just written is confirmed. But trust me, we're doing all in our power to bring these ideas to fruition. Catch some sun, drink plenty of fluids, and we'll see you soon. Peace, March 23, 2007What's shakin'? What's shakin' you ask? Well, let me jump up on my soapbox and tell you all about it. At our last show (Fitzpatrick's March 10th) we were without the services of Mike Skalko, who provides groovy guitar tones, very tasty guitar licks, and has a cool assortment of scarves. Although this was a bummer for us, we were very fortunate to have good friend Jon Hathaway fill in on short notice. And a fine job he did. If you were there, then you know what I'm talking about. He's one Bad MF'er. We can't thank him enough for lending his services for the night. And hey, speaking of Bad MF'ers. At our next show (Balls April 7th) we'll have another one. Pete Abdou (www.peteabdou.com) will be filling in on drums. He's another long-time friend who found time in his extremely busy schedule to jam with us. But… having Pete means we'll be without our true backbone - one David Gilbert. I know, I know. We'll miss him too. Don't worry though, he'll be back for the next show. And now for the obligatory note about the original tunes. We actually had a very productive rehearsal this week. And, get this, we recorded some of them! And, we're this close to getting into the studio. Really!! So keep an eye out for those. When they're done, we'll put them up on the site. Thanks for keeping up with our comings and goings. We'll see you soon. Peace, February 21, 2007Rahhhh-xanne! That's what's shakin'. Sting, Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland...The Police are back together! What more can you say? Yes, as you can tell, I'm a bit excited; and yes, I have my ticket to Fenway Park on July 28th; and no, it's not for sale! While you may not hear any Police songs at a Half Star show (which is a real shame, come to think of it), they have been a huge influence on at least some of us. I hope to see at least some of you at the show as well. Thanks to everyone who came down to Ball's Sports Bar and Grill on February 10th. We had a blast. The highlight of the evening was definitely when our dear friend Ryan Russo came on stage to add a little sax magic to our set. I'm sure you'll be hearing more from him in the future. We'll be taking the next couple of weeks to work on the ever-changing extravaganza that is the Half Star Hotel Rock 'n Roll Show. Come on down to Fitzpatrick's Pub on March 10th and say hello. See you soon, January 3, 2007Here's what's shakin'... Happy New Year! I'm not sure what to say, so I'll ramble on. First off, thanks to everyone who made the trek to NW Rhode Island and helped us break in the crowd at Cady's in Chepachet December 22. We had a blast and it looks like we'll be playing there again soon. Secondly, I know we've been talking about originals now for quite some time. We keep writing, honing and playing them out live, but we have yet to hit the studio. I can't say when, but the pot's boiling over. I have a feeling it will be soon. That's it for now. Peace, |
