Day 4: Ithaca and Recap

After NYC, the Po'Trailer hit the road again, this time to Ithaca, NY. We arrived in about 4 hours and immediately hit up Ithaca College. If you've never been to this part of NY, it's amazingly beautiful. Ithaca's a quaint college town in the midst of the Finger Lakes region of New York. The band has been through here a few times and we know one thing about Ithaca for sure: they love their live music.

We ended up at Ithaca College doing a performance lecture for the students there before hitting a local establishment to finish up the tour. The crowds were awesome and we were very appreciative. At that point in the tour, I think I can speak on behalf of the entire band when saying that it was time to get back home. We love the road but our beds were calling us. Regardless of how tired we were, we still melted faces at the shows and gave it 100%.

Looking back at the entire tour, I have to say how happy I am with the end result. In total, we drove over 700 miles and played over 12.5 hours in front of great crowds all in a little over 3 days. There were never any diva moments or guys arguing. I think most-importantly, the music developed and got better as we progressed through the tour. There were a lot of amazing musical moments that happened throughout the course of the tour. Maybe things that would be hard to pick up when you're watching, but for the guys in the band I know it makes all the difference when you can have the freedom to open things up and try new stuff without running the risk of everything getting messed up.

We can't thank everybody enough for the love and support. To the fans who came out and watched, to the folks who put us up for an evening, to the sponsors and promotion people who made it happen...we can't thank you all enough.

Look out for more tours in the near-future. And watch the website for some important announcements.

Yeah you right!!!

ej

Day 3: NYC

After lots of laughs with old and new friends at Penn State it was time for us to hit the road and drive on through to the Big Apple. The drive itself was gorgeous. It's fall around these parts and the hills of Pennsylvania were an amazing site and inspiring to drive through.

After another 4 hours of road time logged in (the Po'Wagon is about to hit 100,000 miles!), we began to see the New York cityscape in the early afternoon. We knew there would be free parking at the club so we made sure to get to the city around an hour before parking became legal to get us a good spot in front Sullivan Hall. We made our way through with Maggie (our GPS system) and hit the Holland Tunnel ready to enter Manhattan. As we were about to hit the checkpoint, I said "Wow, this trip has been good logistically speaking so far." Without a surface of wood to knock on, I knocked on my head...

Not more than a minute later the lady at the gate told us trailers weren't allowed into the Holland Tunnel and we would have to be re-routed to the Lincoln Tunnel. We obliged, but not before a Port Authority policeman stopped us to search our trailer. By the time we got back on the road, the infamous NYC rush-hour began and we were soon stuck in a complete traffic jam.

Moving on for what seemed like an eternity, we finally got close to the Lincoln Tunnel. The traffic eased off and we were soon going at a decent speed when we got stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel traffic! ARGH!

Needless to say, NYC kicked our ass that evening and we were all a little on edge driving through Manhattan with the Po'Trailer. Luckily we managed to find the club okay and there was still free parking right in front of Sullivan Hall.

After a quick dinner of falafels and Mexican food, we walked around New York for about an hour and then quickly realized that there simply wasn't enough time to really do anything, so we found a nice looking sports bar in the Village and settled in to watch the the Vikings/Green Bay game.

After a few brews it was time to hit the club. The Sugartone Brass Band was laying it down good and funky. Man, these guys have soul. They took me right back to the sights and sounds of New Orleans and made me homesick more than ever! Nick sat in and jammed with the band since they were short a trombone player and of course he kicked ass.

As the evening continued, the crowd started thinning out. With it being a Monday night, I was happy we had any crowd, but by the time we took the stage (11:40-ish), a few dedicated friends and fans were around but the rest of the place was empty.

Undeterred, the 'Boys unleashed a fury of funk in the faces of all. We hit em' hard with good old favorites like RAF Riff, Garbage Platin', and Man Power while introducing a few newer ones like Sellout and our version of Carry on Wayward Son. The evening concluded with Jimi's Bones. The amazing lighting system in the club created an ethereal atmosphere when Nick began shredding the intro. The crowd of the mighty few exploded at the end and our first show at NYC was over.

After the dust settled and we made it out of the city, I began to think about the experience. What was great, what could've been better, and what we'll never do again. Overall, I'm excited about last night. There were some logistical and technical issues that came up, but we were well-received by the people who stuck around and the club management really enjoyed us. We know we're welcome back to the city any time.

Shows like last night aren't anything the band makes a ton of money on, but I can't think of a musician out there who wouldn't agree that it's one of the most-exciting things in the world for your band to play NYC. It's a mixture of intimidation and all-encompassing love. And for your music to be well received is all the payment we need. We'll be back, NYC. Thanks for the good times.

We're off to Ithaca today for the final leg of the tour. We teach at Ithaca College for the good people in the Ithaca Trombone Troupe and Hal Reynolds. Then we take the party to a local favorite club called The Nines. It's the first time we've played there and we're looking forward to it.

Thanks for keeping in touch with the band and our adventures! Leave a comment and let us know what you think about NYC!!

-ej

Day 2: Penn State

After a great show at the Bullfrog, we packed up the Po'Trailer and headed to State College, PA to play for the great students at Penn State! We did a performance lecture for music students where we talked about music entrepreneurship, freelancing, etc. We heard some great feedback and it seems like we were able to give them some good info.

Later that night we rocked the house at Esber Recital Hall. The crowd was bumpin and the music was thumpin! We ended the night with drinks and food at Champs with Trombone prof. Mark Lusk. Man this guy is awesome and we really enjoyed our time with him and all the students. Thanks for the good times guys! We hope to come back.

We just arrived in NYC and checked out our club for the gig tonight. Sullivan Hall is pretty sweet and we are all anxious to rock the joint! We'll let you know how it goes!

-ej

Fall Tour: Day 1

The tour got off to a great start when Rochester decided it was time to stop raining and let the sun come shining through. We had a beautiful drive through Western NY and Northern PA, with the changing leaves and the rolling hills.
Our first hit on the tour was extremely successful; Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport, PA. The food and the beer are incredible at this local brewery. It also helped that this was one of the most supportive, excited crowds we've played for. Special thanks to Steve, the owner, who went out of his way to make the trip more comfortable!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall Tour!

Hi Everybody,

Sorry it's been a few weeks since we wrote anything, but a lot's been going on in PBBB-land. We wrapped up a very successful summer tour schedule with a BBQ celebrating all that's been accomplished this summer. We rocked RIJF, made thousands of new friends and fans, launched a new website and new merch line, and had a lot of fun doing it. Now it's time for fall!

Now, I love the summer in upstate NY. The southern boy in me enjoys the days in the 80s up at the lake, the BBQs, the midnight pina coladas on the porch with the neighbors and the bonfires, but my heart is really with the fall up here. The air turns crisp, the nights get chilly the leaves turns beautiful shades and everybody gets a little closer ;-)

With the fall comes something new for the PBBB. We're hitting the road. Now we've taken road trips before to Pennsylvania and throughout NY. But we've never actually toured longer than a day. In October we'll be embarking on a tour covering upstate NY, PA, and making our debut in NYC! We're all very excited about this and have been hard at work in rehearsals and in preparations for the trip. Be sure to stay tuned to our blog as we'll be updating it daily with pictures and little notes about our travels.

I've gotta say that I'm very excited about what the future holds. We're working on some new material and planning a few future tours, including a big one in the spring and a few small ones in the winter. We're also working on a new clinic/lecture that we'll be presenting to schools and universities while on our travels. Entitled "Is Your Music Ready For the Street?", the presentation will focus on music entrepreneurship, composition/arranging, freelancing resources, and technology in performance practice. We believe strongly in the 'pay it forward' aspect of being musicians. And we want to see lots more brass funk rock bands out there spreading the gospel.

Oh, and sit tight Rochester. We have a few cool things in store. We'll have a major show at Lovin' Cup on October 24th with special guests Mosaic Foundation. They're a brand new reggae band to the area with tons of killer vibes to spare. They're amazing and we know you'll love them. We'll also have another Abilene date up soon for sure.

The pic is of Nick shredding at our Back To School Labor Day THROWDOWN at Lovin' Cup on September 5th. Enjoy!

-ej

Hospice Regatta and Abilene

Friday marked the last gigs of a great summer series for the Boys, back-to-back shots at the Rochester Yacht Club and Abilene Bar and Lounge.

The first was a real steamer of a clam bake fundraiser for the Rochester Hospice Regatta. Great people together for a great cause meant that the Po' Boys were in top form; rockin' the tent and even getting a traditional N'awlins street parade going. Finished the gig off by chugging 7 dozen clams and we're off to Abilene.

The rain kept us off the patio, but Abilene was ready to bring the full force inside to the bar. I think this was our first indoor, all-amped show here, and it was loud and raucous. The crowd was charged and receptive, spurring on memorable versions of Black Dog, RAF Riff and others. Always a great place to hang and play.

The band has next week off, but be sure to come out to Lovin' Cup at R.I.T. on September 5th for the big back to school show, as it's going to be engorged with funk! Don't forget to check out the new website at www.poboysbrassband.com for updates on the fall tour happening in October.

CT

Drumroll please....

Hiya folks,

Our new website went live last Wednesday and since then we've received a flood of emails from friends, family, and fans who wanted to let us know what they think. The verdict??

The new website ROCKS!!!

And you know who else rocks? YOU rock. Because as a Po'Fan, you're one of the greatest fans on the planet! So we want to thank you...

As part of new website promo, the first 10 people who contacted us about the website were entered to win an autographed copy of Bone Break as well as 2 comps to the next ticketed PBBB show in their city. We had a drawing at our last show and the winner is...

Sheila S. in Rochester, NY!!

Thanks to all of you who left your comments. You all deserve a high five or a hug or something!

We continue to be blessed by the support you, our fans, give us on a daily basis. The only reason funk rock band comprised of trombones and tubas would survive this long is because you demand it. We will keep on rocking and funkin' it good and we hope you'll stick around for the ride!

In other news, we had a great show at the Lansing Harbor Fest this past Saturday. This show marks the official end of our summer festival tour. Although we're sad to wind down the summer, we're extremely happy to be returning home to the good ole' ROC!!

We're doing a show at one of our favorite venues, Abilene Bar and Lounge on Friday, August 21st. If you haven't been there, next Friday's a great time to go. This place is jumpin all the time. The owner, Danny, LOVES music and always has great stuff going on. The joint is truly a collection of some of the greatest musical minds in Rochester. From local music heroes to record label execs and major promoters, there's rarely a night where you don't bump into a local hero of the music scene...

...and when I say bump, I mean BUMP into them. One of our favorite things about Abilene is that it's a small venue where we're right up close to the fans. The dancing gets hot and the music hotter and there's always great vibes. Come on down and spend an evening with us!

See you soon ROC.

-PBBB

Website is LIVE

www.poboysbrassband.com

Let us know what you think and be entered to win free stuff.

werd.

-pbbb

New Website and coolness!

Hiya folks. Erik here. How's it going?? It's going pretty darn well in Po'Boys land! We're wrapping up an awesome summer festival season in Lansing, NY next weekend and looking forward to unveiling the long-kept-secret Fall Tour everybody has been anticipating! Are we coming to your neck of the woods? You'll find out soon!

In the meantime, dig this. After weeks of compiling data and working hard, lonely nights, our web designer, Beth over at Otakulab.com is coming close to meeting our slave-driving demands for a spankin' hot new website!!!

The website will be your one-stop shop for all things Po'Boys. You'll be able to access our Street Team missions, download full-size tour posters and even shop in our online store for brand new merchandise!! There will also be a ton of free goodies for you to download and play with, and even better ways to contact and keep in touch with us! YAAY!

Official Launch Date for PoBoysBrassBand.com: Wednesday, August 12th...just 4 days away!

Tell your friends and get ready...the first 10 fans to contact the band and let them know what they think of the new website will be entered to win a free Bone Break CD signed and autographed by the band, and two free tickets to the next PBBB show in your city!!!

Keep checking back on Wednesday, August 12th for more trombone than is humanly possible!

-PBBB

Geneseo

Last Saturday the PBBB headed south to Geneseo, NY to play the village's summer concert series. One thing was for certain, after the fiasco that was later coined 'The Gowanda Incident', we decided to leave the trailer behind for this one.

One cool thing about this gig was that we had a guest drummer come in a play with us. Dave Goebel, a fellow Eastman-ite, stepped in and we had a blast. The crowd was great. Some intermission-rain chased off a few, but there were many dedicated followers of the funk who stayed to weather it out. They weren't disappointed. The rain let up quickly and we played another hour of in-your-face rocking craziness.

We're going to Shortsville, NY in a week and a half or so, and will have lots of friends playing with us on that one. Catie Hickey, an old friend, is back in town and will sit in on this one with us while Chris Van Hof and TJ are in Germany on a tour with their brass quintet. Coming in on bass will be Dave Baron, another Eastman-ite who is quite ridiculous on both the string and electric bass. We're also bringing our old friend, Mathew DeGuarnere, sound-extraordinaire as well as the producer of our debut album, 'Bone Break' to run our sound and maybe sing a few with us.

That's all for now. There are many exciting things coming up that I can't get into now, but suffice it to say we're close to announcing our Fall Tour dates as well as a special debut appearance in NYC. Spring Tour dates are upcoming as well and many many more. Thanks for all the love and support. We'll keep you posted!

ej

A Tale from the Road...

Yesterday the PBBB headed out of town to play at a music festival in a great little town south of Buffalo called Gowanda for the Gowanda Moose Fest; a charity event made to raise some much-needed dollars for a much-needed cause. Sometimes things just go wrong and lemme tell you, yesterday was a story that could never be made up...you had to be there to believe it!

The band was heading toward our destination, having a good time and enjoying laughs. We had the gear in a trailer and many of the guys were driving out to meet us there. As we entered the Buffalo area, all of the sudden, the tire on the trailer exploded...literally exploded. We were on a pretty busy stretch of the NY State Thruway and there was really no place to pull over. We had to make an immediate stop on the median between the 4-lane highway.

With cars wizzing by at ludicrous speed in close proximity, Chris Teal, Mike Frederick and I went to work like a NASCAR pit crew trying to fix the situation. We realized this would be a difficult task since we had no car jack, and apparently none of my wrenches fit the actual size of the tire's lug nut. CRAP.

Thus began a 45-minute endeavor to find help...either by a tow service or AAA. I had to call the festival and let them know we'd be late getting there. In the chaos of the situation I ended up slamming a car door on the trailer's lock, thus lodging a key inside the lock and making it impossible to open.

And then it began to rain...

Well after quite a tribulation we were able to get a tow service out to help us put on the tire (never felt like less of a man before) and we were on our way to the show!

After getting a little lost, we finally manage to make the festival...but couldn't get into the trailer because of the broken lock and lodged key. So after several firefighters and a few hacksaws and cable cutters, we were able to get into the trailer and play the show...45 minutes late, agh!

Well the good news was that the people in Gowanda were truly understanding of the situation and were very sympathetic. I have to give props to Delaney Peters, the man running the show, and his great attitude toward the whole thing.

We managed to rock out the house and the people were definitely feeling the groove. We made lots of new friends in Gowanda and will be coming back soon!

We'll be out in Geneseo next Saturday, hopefully a little wiser after this weekend, and will definitely come ready to rock!

Thanks for all the love and support, Gowanda! Keep it good and funky!

-ej

Whirlwind-weekend

Hello, All,
We had a heck of a Saturday this week, playing the Big Rib Blues and BBQ in Highland Park and booking it on over to downtown ROC for the Cornhill Arts Festival.

Despite the deluge that forced the opening act off the stage, the Po' Boys pushed on with a hard rockin' set for the couple of hard-core funk and rib fans who stuck around. . .

Over at the Corn Hill Arts Festival, they were cleaning up after the rain, but the sun came out for a beautiful Rochester summer afternoon. We kicked things off with an old-school second-line parade through the art exhibits and vendors that took us all the way up to the main stage for another solid hour of the groovebone.

When we finished all of the guys were pretty well worn out, but several headed out for evening gigs with jazz and Latin bands. . . It may be a sign of the Apocalypse that four trombone players each played 3 gigs in one day! Even Tuba T. J. got three gigs in (but the third was on bass). . .

Be well and keep it funky, Rochester!

Keepin it funky all summer long...

Hi everybody! This is Erik from the Po'Boys. We've been basically neglecting this blog thingy since Nick came up with the idea to start one. But here's my attempt at getting into it. The 'Boys have been very busy this summer. As you can imagine, when you live in a region covered under a thick layer of ice for half the year, when the sun comes out, the people want to dance and have a good time. That's where we come in!

It's been a great summer for us both as a band and as individual musicians. We just finished playing the Rochester International Jazz Fest. This was the first time we have been able to truly play on an international stage in front of an international audience and we didn't disappoint. Neither did the people who came out in droves! Between our two set we must've had at least 5,000 people crammed on our tiny street corner to hear some good old funky brass! We can't be more appreciative to John Nugent or the rest of the great guys at the Jazz Fest for taking such good care of us and giving us a chance to shine. And of course, without our fans this would've never been a success and we're so appreciative of great people like you who let us go and do our thing!

As for individuals in the band. Well everybody up and graduated the Eastman School of Music this spring (with exception to me...the 'baby' who will be in school another 2 years). Mike, Chris Teal and Nick Finzer all walked the stage. Nick got his BM in Jazz Performance, and Mike and Chris both got Masters Degrees in Jazz and Contemporary Media. TJ is about ready to wrap up his Doctoral work and will soon be the first tuba player to receive a doctorate in over 10 years at ESM.

In addition to all this, Dubblestuff, Nick, Chris Teal, and Mike Frederick's other band/project, are set to release their newest album with a new lineup of characters. If you've never heard Dubblestuff, you've gotta hear these guys. I call them 'sophisticated funk' and they're amazing. You'll have your chance at the Corn Hill Arts Festival. Don't miss it! More info about Dubblestuff here. Buy their CD at Corn Hill!!

We have several more shows this summer all over New York and plans are in the works now for a pretty ambitious Fall Tour through New York and Pennsylvania. We're also developing a new website with the big help of Beth Sumner of Otaku Lab. And of course I'd be remiss to forget mentioning Blank Media, the newly-launched project of the Po'Boys Art Team and those great folks responsible for our new logos and merchandise line!

That's enough blabbering for now. I should do this more often so I don't have to waste your time with all this stuff. Thanks for reading and for supporting us as always!

Enjoy the pic from RIJF. The crowd was great and the vibe was good!

-ej

Stool Update!

Hi bone fans! Chris T. here (the Chris without a job), and I just wanted to let everyone know about my recent stool upgrade. For about a year, I've been puttering around on a lightweight Pearl drum throne that is only mildly padded. Ouch!!! With a grant from National Arts Councilman Lee Greenwood, I was able to purchase this brand new Sound Percussion extra padded throne:

In case anyone's curious, I'm rehearsing my most recent composition for the Po' Boys, "Concerto for Cowbell and 2 Cowbells" with minimal rump discomfort! Thanks Lee Greenwood!

Welcome to the PBBB's Blog!

Welcome to the Po Boys brand new blog! Here you will find periodic updates (more frequent than the website) with pictures, videos and more!

Also notes from the guys (not just Erik!), and updates about shows, and maybe even some of Chris Vanhof's famous WXXI blogs...

Until then...

- Nick