March 15-17: Bountiful Basses, and St. Paddy's Day Bash

Hello, all you Big Bus Lovin' Daddios!


UPCOMING SHOWS
03.23.12 - The Fat Frogg (Elon, NC)
03.24.12 - Jack of the Wood (Asheville, NC)
03.29.12 - Live Bar (Greenville, NC)

We've found one of Wookie's long lost relatives

Last weekend's adventures led us up into Virginia, and then back down to Raleigh for a St. Patrick's Day bash.

March 15: Harrisonburg, VA


We really like playing at the Clementine Cafe.  The place is full of original art and everyone in the town is super-nice.   The opening band was called The Judy Chops.  And Joey knew exactly where they got the name from, The West Virginia Ninja.  It's one of the best youtube videos we've seen. 

The Wook demands that there be fresh flowers backstage so he can get his mojo on.

On Friday, we headed to Staunton, VA to go to this great music store that we've been hearing about, Fretwell Bass.  And yes, the owners name is really Jerry Fretwell.  Any bass player in the southeast needs to come to this store.  It really is amazing. 

One happy Wook!

This is why musicians are always late.

Joey opened their guestbook and the first two names he saw were from Sparta NC. 
Sparta people are everywhere.

Downtown shot of beautiful Staunton, VA.

March 16: Richmond, VA


Before the Richmond show, we stopped at one of our very favorite stores: a thrift store. It's a one stop shop for BDL, with shirts for Ashley and Joey:

and books for me.

The bad news is the ghost seems to be following us. He must be our newest fan.

March 17: Raleigh, NC
The first part of the day had us at my niece's birthday party.   This has become an annual tradition for us and Joey wrote about it in our regular  "fan of the week." 

These are all my kids.  Future banjo army. 

We last played the Lincoln Theater on Halloween, so we were really excited to be back for the "Big Paddy Love Party." Our friends the Shane Pruitt Band opened things up for us - we always love to see and share the stage with them. Athens, GA-based band The Corduroy Road also played; it was our first time seeing them, and we really enjoyed their high-energy bluegrass!

It was awesome to see how many people there wore "Good Morning Sunshine" shirts for their St. Patrick's Day green. As for us...well, some of us got more into the holiday than others.

A little known superhero "The Green Wook" made a special guest appearance. 
Look for more superheros at special events!

Daniel celebrated by using a green toothpick

This weekend, we are looking forward to playing at Fat Frogg in Elon with our friends Big Something, the River Cleanup on Saturday morning, and Jack of the Wood in Asheville on Saturday night (with Aaron Burdett!). Hope to see you out there at one (or more!) of those!  Scroll down to see our nifty River Clean Up poster, and help us spread it around. 

Brian and Big Daddy Love

SPREAD THE LOVE
We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, email streetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.

03.23.12 - The Fat Frogg (Elon, NC)
03.24.12 - Jack of the Wood (Asheville, NC)
03.29.12 - Live Bar (Greenville, NC)
04.06.12 - Jake's Bar & Grill (Columbia, SC)
04.07.12 - Bucked Up Super Saloon (Kernersville, NC)
04.13.12 - Murphy's Saloon (Boone, NC)
04.14.12 - Bathtub Gin (Mooresville, NC)

Ghosts, Rivers, and Mr. Miyagi

UPCOMING SHOWS
> > 03.15.12 - Clementine Cafe (Harrisonburg, VA)
> > 03.16.12 - Cary St. Cafe (Richmond, VA)
> > 03.17.12 - Lincoln Theatre (Raleigh, NC) 

Hello, all you Big Love Bussin' Daddios!

We just wanted to check in for a brief update before we hit the road this weekend. We had some much-needed time off last weekend, but the beginning of the month found us in Virginia and Maryland.

We played right below a big picture of Einstein in Wilmington; in Charlottesville we play in front of another master.

We discovered that Roanoke VA has some famous ghosts around town and one came to our show.

We've also started a new feature at shows, called The Wall. It's a chance for all of you to leave us a message, a joke, a comment...the sky's the limit! Bonus points for creativity, and we'll be looking for a "weekly winner" that entertains us the most. The weekly winner gets internet fame and the satisfaction of knowing you made us laugh. We'll be posting photos of The Wall from each show over on our Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you! Here's the one from Roanoke:

This week's winner was "Sometimes late at night, I fill my bathtub with marinara. I get in and pretend I'm a meatball."

Don't forget: next Saturday (March 24), we have a big Love Bus event in Asheville. We'll meet that morning to clean up a section of the Swannanoa River. You can find details here. Hope to see you there AND at the show that evening! We're especially excited that Aaron Burdett will be opening for us at Jack of the Wood that night!

See you soon!
Big Daddy Love


SPREAD THE LOVE
We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, emailstreetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.

> > 03.15.12 - Clementine Cafe (Harrisonburg, VA)
> > 03.16.12 - Cary St. Cafe (Richmond, VA)
> > 03.17.12 - Lincoln Theatre (Raleigh, NC)
> > 03.23.12 - The Fat Frogg (Elon, NC)
> > 03.24.12 - Jack of the Wood (Asheville, NC)
> > 03.29.12 - Live Bar (Greenville, NC)
> > 04.06.12 - Jake's Bar & Grill (Columbia, SC)
> > 04.07.12 - Bucked Up Super Saloon (Kernersville, NC)

River Runs: BDL and Volunteer River Cleanup (Love Bus Event)

We're excited about our next Love Bus charity event, which is a river cleanup in Asheville, NC the morning of our March 24 show at Jack of the Wood.  We also want to take a second and announce a very special guest for this show: the Aaron Burdett Band will be opening for us.  Aaron is one of the best songwriters in the state and we are always proud to perform with him.  I'll post a YouTube clip of one of his songs, "You Still Amaze Me,"  below.   Please take a second to check it out and visit his page.

“River Runs: Volunteer River Cleanup” is a family-friendly river cleanup event organized by Asheville GreenWorks, a nonprofit working for a clean and green Buncombe County, and the Love Bus. Call for Volunteers: fans, friends and any community members are asked to participate with Asheville GreenWorks and members of Big Daddy Love for this event on Saturday, March 24th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m to help remove debris and litter from the Swannanoa River waterways. No registration required, just show up!

Volunteers should meet outdoors at 387 Swannanoa River Road, Asheville, NC. This is by the I-240 bridge, on Swannanoa River Road (directly across from the U-Haul Rental Dealership), on the left-hand side of the road in a gravel pull-off by the water. Park in the gravel parking area and not in the U-Haul lot. A Google map is available for the meet up location at: http://g.co/maps/74svf.

• Groups and families with children (student groups participating)

• Wear layered clothes that can get wet/dirty

• Rubber boots/galoshes recommended

• Cleanup gear, first aid equipment, and drinking water for event provided

• Photo opportunity with band members and giveaways for participants

Following the “River Runs: Volunteer River Cleanup” event, we'll be performing at Jack of the Wood (95 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801) on March 24th, 2012 starting at 9:30pm.  More about Big Daddy Love and show details can be found here.  Aaron Burdett will be opening.

Please help us spread the word! We look forward to seeing you out at the river!

Here is Aaron Burdett singing "You Still Amaze Me."   

February 16-18: Great Georgian Galapagos Gigs

Hello all you Big Love Bussin' Daddios,

UPCOMING SHOWS
02.23.12 - High Rock Outfitters (Lexington, NC)
02.24.12 - Murphy's (Boone, NC)
02.25.12 - Main Cellar City Club (Hickory, NC)

We spent last weekend in the great state of Georgia. It was great to see some familiar faces and meet lots of new ones.

We had a 7 hour drive down to Statesboro.   Fortunately, technology allows us to stay connected and work on the road...even for the Wookie.  This is our rolling office. 

February 16: Buffalo's, Statesboro, GA

   To answer the question: "No, we do not play 'Statesboro Blues' while we are in Statesboro, GA."

When you don't drink before playing you have to find other ways to pass the time.

We'd like to thank whoever changed the sign out front while we played.  We saw this on the way out and had a good laugh about it.  We appreciate creativity in all of its glorious forms. 

February 17: Stillwater Taproom, Augusta, GA


After the gig in Statesboro, we drove to Augusta, and a very nice couple who first saw us a few months back in Columbia, SC graciously offered us their guest house for the two nights we were in the area.  It was easily the nicest accommodations that we've had so far.  

Nice relaxing morning

Little Cabin in the Woods.

The Wook on his way to his favorite activity; DISC GOLF! Hippie Olympics watch out!

The Stillwater Taproom is always a fun place to play, even if our playing space is a little cramped!  It's the smallest stage we ever play but we love the venue and the owner so much that we keep coming back.   This place has so much history to me personally, as you will see in the following photos.

You can barely see Daniel on the right; he had to stand in the floor!

The Taproom has been around for quite a while, so they have this great collection of old press photos framed and hung up everywhere, including two of my old bands and several other familiar faces!  I played in both Wiseapple and Boss Hawg for almost 10 years up in Boone, NC.  Both bands played the Stillwater Taproom several times.  In fact, Boss Hawg was playing one night and Joey Recchio walks in out of nowhere.  I hadn't seen Joey in a few years and he just showed up at our gig in Augusta GA.  Blew me away. 

L to R: Ben McPherron, Brian Swenk, Jon Hill, Tim Marsh

Jon Hill, Chris Lovejoy, Brian Swenk, Kim France, Jonjon Davis

Probably one of the first press pictures they ever took.  And now they're at the Grammy's. 

The following picture shows a "who's who" of southeast string band music.  Matt, the owner of Stillwater Taproom, has gone out of his way to support great music and you can tell he has found some of the best through the years.  I think I know half the bands shown here. 

February 18: Little King Showcase, Atlanta, GA


Many of you may know Thomas Helland, aka "T-Dawg." He's a huge music supporter, promoter, and festival host; we'll be playing his annual Back Porch Hootenanny the end of March. This past weekend, he hosted a Little King Showcase, held in the soundstage area at Encyclomedia. We played last, after The Internationals and Evergreen, but the building had plenty of ways for us to keep busy. 

In table tennis, form is important.

Ok guys, tonight's show will go something like this...

The back drop for the stage. 

Overall, we had a great time down in GA. See you again soon!

Brian and Big Daddy Love
Lonesome Banjo Chronicles
_________________________________________________________________________________

And the winner of the contest is Claudia Kelly. We'll be in touch to get your prizes to you!

Here are the correct answers.

1. Yellow Galactic Seed--Ashley Sutton

2. Red Galactic Skywalker-- Brian Swenk

3. White Spectral Wizard-- Daniel Smith

4. White Crystal Wind-- Joey Recchio

5. Yellow Magnetic Star-- Chasper Horton

SPREAD THE LOVE
We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, email streetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.

02.23.12 - High Rock Outfitters (Lexington, NC)
02.24.12 - Murphy's (Boone, NC)
02.25.12 - Main Cellar City Club (Hickory, NC)
03.02.12 - Martin's Downtown Bar & Grill (Roanoke, VA)
03.03.12 - Dante's Bar (Frostburg, MD)
03.15.12 - Clementine Cafe (Harrisonburg, VA)
03.16.12 - Cary St. Cafe (Richmond, VA)
03.17.12 - Lincoln Theatre (Raleigh, NC)

BDL Contest: Galactic Signatures

Written by Ashley "The Wook" Sutton

Ever wonder about the way we observe time?  We don’t even notice it but the calendar we use to observe the passage of time serves as a basis for how we do just about everything in our life; work, play, prayer, appointments and on and on. There’s much to talk about that is odd or unnatural about our calendar, but let’s not get too deep here; plenty of reading can be found for those that are interested. In my own readings on the matter I came across the 13 Moon Calendar, envisioned by Jose Arguelles. This calendar is an attempt to re order the way we observe the passage of time and attune it more to natural cycles. In short, the 13 Moons are months, each consisting of 28 days, leaving one day out at the end of the cycle as a day outside of time, a day of celebration, forgiveness and renewal. Anyhoo, all that aside, this particular calendar has it’s own system and cycles, and so your birthday, or "Galactic Signature", happens every 260 days, and has it’s own astrology and affirmation. The 260 day cycle is due to the fact the this calendar is actually a synchrometer, with cycles within cycles, very similar to the Mayan Tzolkin. It’s fun to investigate and learn about and in doing so I found the Galactic Signature for all of us BDL guys.  Guess which signature belongs to each of us.  Instructions below. 

1. Yellow Galactic Seed

I Harmonize in order to Target

Modeling Awareness

I Seal the input of Flowering

With the Galactic tone of Integrity

I am guided by the power of Elegance (some might find this ironic)

2. Red Galactic Skywalker

I Harmonize in order to Explore

Modelling Wakefulness

I seal the Output of Space

With the Galactic tone of Integrity

I am guided by the power of Navigation (of the mind, not roads, too busy reading)

3. White Spectral Wizard

I Dissolve in order to Enchant

Releasing Receptivity

I seal the Output of Timelessness

With the Spectral tone of Liberation

I am guided by my own power doubled

I am a galactic activation portal-enter me (through poetry)

4. White Crystal Wind

I dedicate in order to Communicate

Universalizing Breath

I seal the input of Spirit

With the Crystal tone of Cooperation

I am guided by the power of Timelessness (my playing sometimes has a galactic timelessness to it)

5. Yellow Magnetic Star

I Unify in order to Beautify

Attracting Art

I seal the Store of Elegance

With the Magnetic tone of Purpose

I am guided by my own power doubled (I play with twice the power of most)

So, for the contest: match up each member of BDL with their Galactic Signature. We've even helped out with some hints in parentheses! Leave a comment on this post OR on the Facebook link to this post. We'll announce the winner on this week's travel blog on Wednesday, so get your guesses in! First correct answer gets a t-shirt, a poster, and free admission to one BDL show of your choosing.

While you're at it, look up your own Galactic Signature on this website, and tell us yours!

January 2012: when we see lots of hard work paying off!

UPCOMING SHOWS
02.16.12 - Buffalo's Cafe (Statesboro, GA)
02.17.12 - Stillwater Taproom (Augusta, GA)
02.18.12 - Encyclomedia (Atlanta, GA)


Hello, all you Big Love Bussin' Daddios!

It's been a few weeks since our last post, but trust me, we've been busy! Let me give some quick highlights of January, and then I'll talk about this past weekend (including Ziggy's and another charity event)!

January 14: The Pour House, Raleigh, NC
This was our first NC show since before Christmas, and it was great to be back!! The room was packed, and there was incredible energy all around.  We remember the days of playing the Pour house when 50 or 60 people would show up, but they believed in us and kept giving us gigs there, including our "River Runs Thursdays" where we played every Thursday in January 2010.  This is a perfect example of a venue and promoter supporting and growing a band, which is vital for everyone in the industry.  We smashed our record attendence there with 350 people! Listen to a great recording of the show by Travis Viars here.

January 26-28: Durham, Charlotte, Asheville
It's always fun to do the NC tours, and this weekend was no exception. Great to see all of you out there dancing! A highlight of this weekend was our friend Nicky Sanders from the Steep Canyon Rangers playing the whole show with us in Asheville.  He's the fiddle player on our new album, and there's even rumor that he'll be sitting in with us on Sunday at Floyd Fest!  (wink wink)

Nicky with SCR and Steve Martin at the recent Grammy Awards

February 2-4: Virginia Beach, Fredricksburg, and Richmond
Our weekend up in VA was fantastic.  The first two venues both had record numbers for BDL shows.  Both Doc Taylor's and The Otter House had been decent gigs for us with around 30 people showing up each time we played there, but for some reason the word got out and we had well over 100 people at each show singing the words and dancing.  Just like in Raleigh it felt really great to see our growth rate jump by such large numbers.   All of us have played music in a lot of different bands before, but none of us have ever experienced anything like this.   It's amazing. 

We try to eat fairly healthy on the road, but I do make the guys stop at McD's for coffee in the morning.  I'll always choose a local coffee shop if I can find one, but I've found that McD's has the best coffee for the price. Gas Station coffee is terrible and Starbuck's is too expensive...it's one of those things you learn from a few years on the road.  Oh, and you always travel with a travel coffee mug with a top that seals.  That's a big one too.   

The Otter House has tons of great bands that come through and play their venue, but they only put up certain posters on the downstairs walls of the restaurant, and we found out that we are one of the posters they've framed and put up.   Now that doesn't seem like much of a big deal until you see all the great bands that didn't make it.  They really like us up there!  

Now that we're somewhat caught up...


February 10: Ziggy's, Winston-Salem, NC
After our fantastic experience at our CD Release Party at Ziggy's in September, we were thrilled to be back there this weekend. Ziggy's is a local institution, especially for those of us who remember the "old Ziggy's;" it's an honor to be up on that stage. Local rock band Wafer Thin opened up for us this time. We had another great turnout of over 300 people, and had a great time sharing the stage with special guests James Bernabe from Breakin' Jimmy's Martin on mandolin and Brent Buckner from Possum Jenkins on harmonica.

View from the back of the room, with Brent on stage

The show was also a Love Bus event: 2nd Annual LoveFest: The Good Morning Sunshine Breakfast Drive. We asked everyone to bring cereal and/or juice for Crisis Control Ministry in Winston-Salem, and you all supported in full force! Over $260 in monetary donations and 100 items of cereal, juices, and even grits and
cocoa, poured into Ziggy’s in the hands of fans and friends of Big Daddy Love. Thanks to YOUR DONATIONS of cereals and juices, many kids in need will be eating breakfasts provided by the wonderful team at Crisis Control Ministry, Inc. in Winston-Salem. A big thanks to the entire team at Crisis Control that worked with us to arrange this event, send out a press release to spread the word, and handled donations during the show, especially Judie and Corey! If you’d like to get their news about more events, how to volunteer, or donate, please visit their website at: www.crisiscontrol.org/

The Love Bus donation table. And this was early in the evening!

We had almost as much fun backstage as out on stage (...almost). Always good music going on, and good friends to hang out with.

Feeling the love in the green room.

February 11: Fat Frogg, Elon, NC
We always have a great time playing at the Fat Frogg, and this show was no exception. In the second set, our friend Jesse Hensley from Big Something joined us on guitar for several tunes, including "Franklin's Tower" Led Zeppelin's "Lemon Song" and "The Wall."

Jesse and Joey onstage at Fat Frogg

The beginning of 2012 has shown us that all the hard work has paid off.  We are seeing record numbers at all types of venues and we can't thank everyone enough for it.  We couldn't do this if all of you didn't talk about us to your friends, and share our music, and bring new people to shows.   We are always saying "Thank you" and there's a big reason for that: we know we couldn't do it without all of you.   See you soon!

Brian and Big Daddy Love
Lonesome Banjo Chronicles




SPREAD THE LOVE
We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, email streetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.

02.16.12 - Buffalo's Cafe (Statesboro, GA)
02.17.12 - Stillwater Taproom (Augusta, GA)
02.18.12 - Encyclomedia (Atlanta, GA)
02.23.12 - High Rock Outfitters (Lexington, NC)
02.24.12 - Murphy's (Boone, NC)
02.25.12 - Main Cellar City Club (Hickory, NC)
03.02.12 - Martin's Downtown Bar & Grill (Roanoke, VA)
03.03.12 - Dante's Bar (Frostburg, MD)
03.09.12 - The Double Door (Charlotte, NC)

Looking back at 2011 through the rear view mirror.

We've had a great year and we want to take a few minutes to look back at some highlights.

But first of all, we want to just say a huge "THANK YOU" to all of you.  So many of you have done so much for us through the last year (or two) and it never stops amazing us.  Like I've said before, you make the great days even better, and the rough days worth it.  


Winter 2011

River Runs Thursdays in Raleigh NC

We came out pretty strong, hitting new markets through VA and even up into Maryland.  We were in "workhorse" mode, going to new venues where people had never heard of us before, and just hoping that 10 or 20 people show up. Or sometimes there would be 70 people there and we would just hope that 10 or 20 would pay attention to us. These are interesting gigs that every band experiences. There is such a big difference between playing all of our favorite places through NC, where we know so many people on such a deep level, and then going to a new town where we only know each other. These are the times that really strengthen the bonds between us, and where we really get to know each other.

Whitey Morgan and the 78's

One of the highlights of last winter  was our Thursday residence at the Pour House in Raleigh that we dubbed "River Runs Thursdays."    The first one was with the great band Whitey Morgan and the 78's.   We didn't know what to expect from them but they blew us away.  Real country music is not dead, it just went underground. Check them out!


We also had our first show at the OBX Brewing Station in the Kill Devil Hills/Nags Head area of the Outer Banks.  Little did we know at the time, but this venue would be one of our very favorites by the year's end, and a big reason for this is some important people in the BDL family live here; Robert and Cindy Via and John Mebane.  We love y'all.

Robert Via (L) and John Mebane

And of course one of the biggest changes for us that winter was the addition of the one and only Brian "Chasper" Horton.   I remember meeting Chasper on a cold winter day in Winston and there were two things that stuck out about him to me, other than his great drumming: he loved motorcycles (immediate bond since bikers stick together), and on the other end of the spectrum, I really liked that he had been in his high school marching band.   This meant that his fundamentals were solid and he understood music on a deeper level.  He not only can feel it, but he also knows how to count it, and there are times where both are extremely important.

 

Spring 2011
When we first started this adventure in the late summer of '09, Daniel had a favorite saying: "The Sun Shines on This Band!"   And this came true for our set at the Shakori Hills Festival.   We have been wanting to play this festival for some time and with the help of some energetic fans petitioning the board we were not only invited to play but given a main stage slot on Friday.  Everything was perfect...except the day turned into a total washout with a classic southeastern spring-time rain.  As we were setting up on-stage the rain started to taper off, and by the time we started playing the sun actually came out!   We watched as people started coming out of their tents and down from the woods and before we knew it we had a HUGE crowd in front of us.  And then for some reason, when we were finished, it started raining again and rained for most of the day.   You win some and you lose some, and that day we definitely won.


And speaking of family, we were honored to play the wedding of some special people in the BDL family: Richard and Jennifer Clowers. 

The ceremony took place under their "Home Tree"

We also started our BDL contests with a picture from this wedding.   A fellow Spartan, Kristi Washington Haas, won the best caption contest of this pic with, "You bet your ass I can ride this bull for 8 seconds."    New contests are in the works as we speak.  One might even involve baby pictures!

Summer 2011
The highlights for the summer included playing the main stage of the great southeast festival Floyd Fest and, of course, recording our second album "Let It Grow" in Asheville, NC with our producer Aaron Price.  


Our festival season included (links are live recordings) the Blue Ridge BBQ festival, Trail Days, Grover, Fishing Camp, Mountain Sports, Camp Barefoot, High Country Music,  The Getdown, Deep River,  Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Front Porch, Mountain Jamboree, and  Center City Park Greensboro

   

                                                              Dream Walker at the Getdown Festival

And then there was the best night of the year: our CD release party at the brand new Ziggy's in Winston-Salem, with the great Jim Lauderdale opening.  

Breakin' Jimmy's Martin playing with Jim Lauderdale at Ziggy's!

Have you ever had a night that you didn't want to end?  Well this was it for us.  I remember walking off the stage after the encore thinking to myself, "I wish I could do it all over again, right now."   This was everything we have worked for.   All the hours of practice, all the gigs that no one came to, all the stressful deadlines, all of it had built up to this, and it was all worth it. 

Some of the best pickin' of the night took place backstage!  This is hot. 

Fall 2011
As we were winding down our year we decided that we were going to put more effort into our charity work than ever before.   We partnered with Breakin' Jimmy's Martin, which is easy to do since Ashley and I play in both bands, and with the help of some fellow Love Bussers, we had a toy drive, a food drive, and played two nursing homes.   There is no doubt that this will be a large part of our future.  Every single event was both fun and special, but it also made us want to do even more next year.


Our most successful blog of the year detailed our trip up to New York City, but also featured the great writing of Stacy Jones and her "Sparta Experience." 


The Halloween Costume Ball in Raleigh was a blast.  Here is the audio recording.   One of the biggest surprises of the night was Kristi Boyt, Amanda Lewis, Jenny Oram, and Gretchen Ross dressing up as the elements from the song "Sweet Water."  For the first time we were able to see one of our songs "come to life."

Gretchen and Amanda as Flowers and the Sun.  

Kristi "Red Molly" Boyt as Fire

Jenny Oram as The Angel

Another highlight was our annual Sparta Thanksgiving show.  Our hometown means the world to us and this is always a fantastic show!

Two special guests; Davis and John Paul Smith.

Like father, like sons!

We were honored to find out our album placed #2 in the Regional bands for our favorite radio station WNCW.  We were also the second highest regional band (not touring nationally) in the top 100 countdown, coming in at #33.   "Thank you" to everyone that voted for us.  


That is just a few highlights from our very busy 2011.  Again, we want to thank all of you for making it possible for us, and we are honored and thankful that we can be in your story too.    

If you have made it this far then you are a true fan, and we want to know what your favorite BDL moments of 2011 were.  Write them in a comment, and help us spread this around so everyone can enjoy the love.   

Brian and BDL
 


*Photos courtesy of our photographer, Jenny Viars at Dancing Lemur Photography.


SPREAD THE LOVE
We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, email streetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.


01.12.12 - Martin's Downtown Bar & Grill (Roanoke, VA)
01.14.12 - The Pour House (Raleigh, NC)
01.20.12 - Blue Bourbon Jacks (High Point, NC)
01.21.12 - The Palm Room (Wrightsville Beach, NC)
01.26.12 - Casbah (Durham, NC)
01.27.12 - The Evening Muse (Charlotte, NC)
01.28.12 - Westville Pub (Asheville, NC)