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January 15, 2006 Wow! It has been a loooong time since I updated any of this web site. Over that time Jim has become my Brother-In-Law, I've become partner's at the Positively 4th Street bar/restaurant in Troy, grew a goatee, and my marriage came to an end (not necessarily in that order). My son is now in college, and my daughter's a young woman. Time certainly does not stand still. We plan on getting back out and playing a bit more often. We have played some since 2004, mostly benefits and parties, just haven't listed anything. We may soon unveil a version of Release with a live drummer as well, if we finally get some time to practice!. Hopefully I'll get back to doing at least monthly updates of the site. July 14, 2004 Most of the music previously available on our Music page, has been removed. We will be posting new files in the near future. Currently, our Big Break (TV & Radio spots), and a couple of songs from the Benefit CD “Release The Music – Find The Cure”, are all that will be on the site. Speaking of the benefit CD, we were able to present the American Cancer Society with a check in the amount of $500, as a result of the generosity of the friends, family, co-workers and total strangers who participated in the fund raising effort. All of the Donors are listed on our site, at the following link: Donors. We are also working on an update to our Visuals page, which will feature more photos including photos of a general nature, that will not be related, necessarily, to music, or our music in particular, but will include pictures of places and things that probably in some way reflect upon the inspiration of some of the music we create July 9, 2004 This
Sunday, July 11, from 2-4 PM,
we (Release) will be doing a free outdoor
show at the River Street Beat
Shop in Troy, to conclude our fund raising effort for the American
Cancer Society (ACS). The proceeds from the Benefit
CD “Release The Music – Find The Cure” will be donated to the ACS at
the show, and a letter identifying all of the donors will be presented at the
same time. This was our second such effort, and we are pleased with its
success, which was, of course, only possible due to the support of the donors.
Come on out and enjoy the art and architecture of the River Street
district while browsing antique and artist shops.
The ACS will have an information table set up as well
May 11, 2004 - Captain JP Mother's Day Brunch - It
has been our wish, for years, to play on the Captain JP. Over
the years, I've had a couple of boats - a leaky 16' runabout that got towed to
port on more than one occasion, and one large enough to sleep on, which I did
many times when my children were young. Some of
our songs were written, while anchored on the Mohawk. We'd always talk about how
much fun it would be to play on a large tour or cruise boat. We're very
pleased to have the opportunity to do this show. May
10, 2004 - Spitzies
Motorcycles, and the American Cancer Society,
are sponsoring a 1st Annual Ride for Awareness, to be held on May 15, 2004.
The motorcycle ride will depart Spitzies,
at 3:30, and arrive in Saratoga at approx: 4:30. The activities will be
taking place on the closed street along side of the City Center. Release
will be playing from (approx) 4:30 to 6:30. April
29, 2004 - Now, in discussing our CD
fund raising project with Will, the Parts guy at Spitzie’s, he mentioned that
they were having a Bike Run from Spitzie’s to Saratoga, on May 15.
He asked if we’d be interested in playing.
Of course the answer was Yes. So
on May 15, at approx: 4:30 (depending upon when the bikes roll in) we’ll be on
the street, outside of the Saratoga City Center, playing till about 6:30.
And of course, we will be hoping to sell some CDs at this event.
Will’s son, also happens to be the Director of Development for ACS,
which is how we have now developed an ‘official’ association with ACS, and
official recognition of our fund raising effort.
We are extremely pleased and gratified that we’ve made this connection. Disclaimer: The CDs
will be sold for a donation of $4.00. Our
goal is to sell 125 CDs by the end of June, so that we can make a donation of
$500 to the ACS. All contributors
will be acknowledged in our letter to the ACS when we have reached our goal.
If you are a friend, or family member, buy a CD.
If you are a band member, and we’ve done a show with you, buy a CD.
If I’ve ever bought you a drink, left you a tip, gave you a ride home,
or whatever (you get the point) buy a CD. April 5, 2004 - Wow!! It has been some time since the News page has been updated. It's not that we haven't been doing anything (see the updates to our Shows page) the updates to our , or having anything at all happen. The exact opposite is probably true. But, regrettably, most of the things that have kept Jim and I occupied have not been related to music. Those that know me and/or Jim know things have been a bit uphill of late (to put it mildly). Well, you can't keep two fools from enjoying the light of day for too long. A sunny day, and a smile from a lady, and we're back on the path again. As we so often point out in our songs, time moves on, and all things go through cycles, of birth, life (and all of it's ups and downs), death, and rebirth. Well, Spring has Sprung in our little corner of the World, both figuratively, for Release, and literally, based on the calendar. The Harley is back out (I managed to ride at least one day each month through the Winter), and . Obviously, no one knows what the future holds, but we feel that the challenges of the last 9 months have annealed us, and that Release, as a band, and Jim and I personally, are stronger for the challenges we've faced. And our music is stronger for it. I should mention here, our thanks to the many friends & family that supported me through some pretty dark moments. With their help, we are ready to move forward, with our lives, and with our music. We've got some other things we're working on getting together, that aren't finalized, including a CD of (primarily) instrumentals, that we will be trying to sell to raise money for the American Cancer Society (my goal is 100 sold at $5.00) which should be available on May 1. We'll be doing it entirely as a homemade project, from recording to copying, and printing. And I promise a nice, colorful, 4 page booklet. We are also hoping to put together, a benefit for the Epilepsy Foundation. I promise our News page will be updated more frequently in the future.
07/28/2003 - The 805 show
on the 19th was a resounding success. We met old friends, made many
new friends (and most importantly fans) I must have collected
30 e-mail addresses. We were able to use our own mixer/snake, etc. and
only had to use one channel! on the main board. 805 loved it, and
Jim Bailey, (who did the monitor mix for 805) did our house mix from the
side, and it was great. There were several people with disabilities
there, who made a specific effort to say that we touched them with our
emotion, energy, and message. I really think we connected better than
we ever have with an audience. If you know Jim and I, you know that is
what we're into it for. It is certainly not for financial reasons,
unless you count our willingness to raise funds for charitable causes.
I'll mention Robert,
Kevin, Scott, Chris, Mike, Jason, Laura, Leslie, Lisa and so many
others. I met an old friend, Tom Fisk, I hadn't seen since sophomore
year in high schooI. I believe the club liked us. We are nice
guys, easy to deal with, and come prepared for a simple setup and emotional
performance. This was our second time there. The first at a
Battle of the Bands, and I think they've been our best shows. 805 was
fantastic as expected. They did their originals, and threw in a nice
mixture of Genesis and Floyd, and Gabriel. They had a great light and
video show. It was an honor to play on the same show with such an
accomplished band.
July 12, 2003 - w/ Idette and the Sunrunners - We had a nice crowd, and Idette and the Sunrunner's burned it up from 10 - 1:30. We played a set from 9 to 10. If you love Etheridge, Raitt, Crow, Fleetwood Mac, etc. you've got to see them. There songs are original but they come from that same wellspring of energy and reality as some of those other artists. July 6, 2003 - Benefit for the Lupus Foundation. Lamont, a self described poet, who promotes the Sports Bike activities at On The Green, on Sunday's said that our songs touched him, and inspired him to write a poem. For performers like Jim and I, who come straight from the heart, this was worth all of King Solomon's gold! 06/09/2003 - Last Friday's show at Saratoga Winners was a lot of fun. Thanks to Chad & Tripsonic for putting the evening together. Fox 23 News was there taping our set for the segment related to Channel 103.1's Big Break, that will air on a future Fox Evening News. The cameraman (Brian, I believe) thought the show, and the music, were 'awesome'. Fox will be coming to my house on Friday at 4:00, to tape another interview segment (I'm going to duct tape my mouth closed for this one). I'm trying to find out when it will air, so I can get word out as soon as possible. Of course, we'll have it available on our web site, should you miss it! I received the following note from Connie Rohloff, a friend from the Crazy Crab Open Mic:
"...It is so
cool to see you two getting out there and being acknowledged. Your
persistence has paid off, and hopefully it will continue to do so. I
checked out
your radio interview, that was so great, and to be on Fox news next, you go man!!! I'm impressed with your web site too. Now you'll have to get your act on Sounding Board... Connie"
Without the encouragement
and support of everyone we've met, none of this "success" would
have been possible.
05/31/2003 - An MP3 of our interview on Jason Keller's Big Break on 103.1, has been posted on our Music page. If you missed it "live" check it out here. I've promised Jim he can do the talking on the TV interview that Fox 23 will be doing with us. There is only one mic in the radio studio, and if you've seen us live, you know that I don't do much singing, but I do a lot of talking! I may also do a "Director's Cut" where Jim inserts replies he would have made if he could have gotten to the mic! 05/ 28/2003 - Fox 23 News has confirmed that they will be taping at our June 6 show at the Saratoga Winners! We will go on at 7:30. See our Shows page for additional info. Come on out and you may get on TV! First radio, now TV! We're currently reviewing "treatments" for our movie debut :)Also, our appearance at the Northern Lights Battle of The Bands on May 14 helped us to get an opportunity to get booked at the "G-Spot" (The Glenville Spot) on June 26. Watch our Shows page for further info. Northern Lights books both venues, and Devon of NL was kind enough to give us this opportunity 05/ 26/2003 - Our segment on Jason Keller's Big Break on 103.105/25/2003 - We opened for Goddess-Is-Human at the Crazy Crab. If you get a chance, do check this band out. I've seen C.K. Young play guitar twice previously, and I love his playing, and the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the performance. This guy has tone, taste, and so much fun when he's playing that it's infectious. When JoJo Saint crouches down, rears back, and pumps her arm and fist in the air, watch out! This lady can sing. Soft as Charmin or "pedal to the metal". We were also
thrilled to have Jon Jetter, the excellent (and young) guitar player of one of
our favorite bands, K8e,
play with us on two songs,
"Where Do The Dreams Go" and, a song we performed for the first time,
"Shadows on The Wall". It was great to play with such a young
player, with such mature ideas. Release hopes to knock down age barriers
in rock music, and this was an excellent illustration of the young and the 'not
so young' connecting on a musical level. Hopefully the opportunity will
arise again in the future.
05/19/2003
- Release
is half way through, what for us, has been (and will be) a busy 10 days.
Last Wednesday we played at Northern Lights in the KRock Battle of The Bands,
with K8e, and Atraphine,
and several other bands. It was a great night, and less a battle than a
chance to meet and renew acquaintances. For ourselves K8e,
and Atraphine, it was a preview of our
show this past Friday at Saratoga Winners, which also featured the talents of Goddess-Is-Human.
05/14/2003
I got the
following message from Jason Keller, the host of 103.1's, Jason Keller's Big
Break, radio show:
Hey
John,
Lets
set up a time for you guys to tape a Big Break segment. I tape on
Thursday afternoons at 2:30. How are you on May 22nd? It seems
like you guys have been busy, and I think a spot on the radio would be a
good time for you guys. Let me know.
Jason Keller
Were real
excited and would like to thank Jason for the opportunity. It
would not be a stretch for us to say that this is a lifelong (musical
life anyway) dream fulfilled. Our music on the radio, what a
kick. We'll be sure to let you know when the air date is set.
04/18/2003 - The
show at the Crazy Crab last weekend was a great success. Acoustic
Trauma, Tripsonic & Mother
Necessity all provided great sets. Gene, the doorman, who would
know, said that "this was the best crowd since the last time you were
here" (on March 1 w/Mother Necessity and K8E).
Another friend said he pulled into the lot and couldn't find a place to park!
The cooperation of all of the bands, and the support of all of their fans made
the night. If you were able to stop out we'd like to say thanks,
if you couldn't catch us this time, don't worry, you know we'll keep you
posted on future dates! We have a couple of dates listed on our Shows page,
including return engagements at the Crab in July and August. We
hope we'll be able to do at least one of those shows with the same lineup.
As you may know,
we've attempted to raise money for a donation to the American Cancer Society,
by selling a 5 song compilation CD from the bands involved in the show, for
the almost giveaway price of $2.00. So far we've raised $70. Our
goal (drum roll please) is $100. I still have a few CDs left. If
you would like to contribute to this cause , and get a CD that illustrates the
excellent variety of music from Saturday's show, you can e-mail me.
If I can't get it to you personally, I'll mail it to you, put the $2.00 in,
and get it from you the next time I see you. Has it ever been easier to
contribute to a worthwhile cause?
It was great
to be able to do a show with so many different talents, each with their own
perspective on music (perfectly illustrated on the CD). Maybe it's
because I grew up when radio & TV were not so "narrow-casted",
but to me, the saying "Variety is the spice of life" is true. It's
great that a variety of bands can put on a show that bears this out. with the
common thread being the desire to create music that touches the mind, body and
soul (and shake a booty or two as well). Once again thanks to all
of the bands for taking part.
04/08/2003 - We will be performing at the K-Rock and AlbanyBands.Com "Battle Of The Bands" at Northern Lights, in Clifton Park, on May 14, 2003. 10 bands will be playing. The order will be determined by lottery before the show starts. Show time is 7:30. Come on out and cheer us on. The other bands on tap include K8E, Stampede, On Hold, Forlorn Hope, Atraphine,04/08/2003 - Recently,
members of Tripsonic & Release have had to deal with the news that immediate
family members had been diagnosed with cancer. With the troubles in the world
today, it is still those closest to us that matter the most, and there are still
battles to fight, besides those between men.
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eMail us at release@releasethemusic.com with
questions or comments.
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