I sent in a press kit to Q101 this week (finally) hoping they'll bring us in for their local band Friday morning thing they started doing every week. Several bands we've played with in the not so distant past have already been on, so I think our chances are pretty good. I would LOOOOVE to play "Spam I Am" or "We're Big In Europe!" to Chicago via the Morning Fix as I think those guys would appreciate it as they have their own flare for the musically creative blended oh so well with humor. Q101 played us a few times before (thanks Fook and Sherman!) so maybe we can get lucky again....

The 15 track album as well as the 5 song LP are officially 90% complete. A few more vocals, some guitar work and final mixing and mastering is left. October will be one year I started this project and I hope to hell it was worth it. Hell, I just hope I finish it before I go crazy and jump off Navy Pier....

8/22/07
Sorry for the late update but I am road tripping for a week and have spent a lot of time preparing for it. I have some vocals to do in the studio tonight and a slew of press kits to mail out tomorrow morning before I leave.

I hit the 8000 friend marker on MySpace last night, and in my online travels have managed to get on several CD compilations as well as almost two dozen radio shows and podcasts around the world.

Then something occurred to me. I am probably the only musician in the world who is played on radio programs everywhere, who has been played on major radio markets in Chicago (million plus listeners) and has done over a hundred gigs in the last 18 some odd months and STILL DOESN'T EVEN HAVE AN ALBUM!!! I mean, I am kind of impressed. I know people who have a dozen albums out who have half the friends and airplay that I have on MySpace, and yet I manage to flourish fairly well.

I really, really, really cannot wait to get this album completed. Man, if I had a budget and could just move into a studio with a sleeping bag for like, 2 weeks, and just live breathe and sleep the studio, I could have gotten this done. Alas, I am a poor broke bastard with a mortgage, and thus my adventure of being the poverty stricken musician will continue.

I have been compiling lists of information to use the second my album is released. Until then, I will see you next week after I have spent sufficient time wandering around old Civil War battle sites in Tennessee. Take care....

8/12/07
Would you be surprised if I mentioned that the gunfire on the record is currently being mixed?

Yeah, I have more vocals today and Wednesday to tackle, but the gunfire cannot go undone. Mixing is going well. I still haven't gotten Jason Kluss in there yet to do his vocals, but he only has a few parts to lay down and I can handle most of what needs to be done. I am hoping to get "Spam I Am" added to the MySpace page as soon as it is ready.

Soon, very soon, I'll be releasing the official track listing of the record. There will be at least twelve songs on the album but as many as fifteen; depends on how I feel about them all when it comes time to mastering the tracks.

Another week, another update. Oh, how I cannot wait until the record is completed!! I should probably start planning a release party....

8/5/07
A third of the songs are in the pre-mixing stages for the album and LP. I am also prepping the lyrics and credits for the inside album artwork. I am very excited.

Oh, and there are many new songs being prepared for the second album. While I scan the great midwest for the perfect drummer and bassist, I have devoted more time to the song writing process and the energy that goes with it. New original songs include "Bottle of Whine," "Answer Phones," "I Am the Bad Guy," "Plan B" and "Has Been." But since I am not playing live NatureDevil shows for a bit, it will be a while until they get played out. That makes it more fun.

I have played with a few drummers recently, but if they have any hint of an attitude I won't bother pursuing a serious professional relationship with them. I'd have better luck hiring a professional to job for me than I would finding someone dedicated to making something happen, but if that is the way it must be, then so be it.

Aoerl will fill in on drums and Andy will fill in on bass for the Tonik show in October.

7/28/07
Oh wait till you see the artwork I've been developing...

Several things are taking place. First, we are in the process of hunting down a theater for filming of the first of a series of videos I am scripting; the first being for the John Michaels song "Made For Each Other" off of the Legend In His Own Mind record.

Secondly, I am developing the production schedule and specifications for the follow up Jason Kluss album which features Mike Sabia on drums.

Third, everything for the NatureDevil record is vocals, vocals vocals. All of it sounds pretty damn good.

Fourth, I am already in pre-production of the follow up NatureDevil record. You'd be amazed if you could see the list of musicians I have lined up for it. Wow. Hopefully going to start recording around the holidays.

Finally, I just finished the last Harry Potter book. Fuck yeah.

7/22/07
I have lyric sheets printed up all over the place, I have been drinking nothing but tea and water, and my diet is stricter than ever with regards to certain foods and my personal allergies, and all of this is due to me doing vocals.

I have no choice. I need to get the vocals down as best as possible, and if that means I have to live off of oatmeal and rice for a month or two, then so be it.

Oh, and the final Harry Potter book came out, so I'll be busy today. Check us out this Friday at Legends here in Addison. It should probably one of the most fun shows we've played in a long time.

John Michaels has a lot of stuff going on, and now NatureDevil is getting more attention than I can handle, and all of it when I have part time drummers and bass players playing with me. Isn't that how it always works? I'll have to post a list here sometime of all the radio shows and podcasts I am taking part in, including a few CD compilations around the country and possibly one in Australia. I think when I go back to the studios, I'll record a few tracks that I will keep off the records specifically to be exclusive to some CD compilations out there that we get invited to do.

In the meantime, it is back to reading Harry Potter and working on the vocals.... see you guys Friday....

7/16/07
Sorry for the late update, it is already Monday morning. We just got back from the show in Kalamazoo over the weekend. Wow. Pretty intense shit.

Anyway, as opposed to my usual long, dragged out updates I will keep this one very short because I am busy as hell. I am working on the vocals for the record album and LP this week. The album is probably just over the 80% of completion. It's about damn time too.

Aside from little gigs and the album, I am have been involved in LOTS of online promotion, doing online radio show podcasts and stuff for lots of people around the country and around the world. I just like to keep busy, and people seem to enjoy "We're Big In Europe!" no matter where they live.

Alrighty. We play at Legends out in Addison on the 27th, but you can get that info on the tour dates page. We haven't been playing out as much but that is because I am becoming obsessed with finishing this album as well as working with new musicians. Alright, I have to go to that place now where I do manual labor in a warehouse and a guy hands me a check on Friday. Take care everyone....

7/7/07
Woohoo!! I am proud to announce that as of this week, along with all the drums, all of the bass, clean electric and acoustic guitar recording is completed. Aside from small repairs here and there that may pop up, I have two tracks left with my distorted guitar (and they are tough fuckers, believe me).

While we're talking about being proud of things, I realized I am incredibly proud of the things I have accomplished in these last two intense years of performing with my band. It is a shame that it will momentarily be slowing down, but it will not stop me.

I did some thinking. I have had a few drummers that I have been talking to and rehearsing with as well as a bass player or two who are interested in the hectic lifestyle that is playing with NatureDevil. And though I would love to go back to playing 5 or 6 gigs a month and possibly touring, I also realized I might be going back to running day care.

And that is something I don't want. I have had bass players that preferred to drink at a bar at noon to watch a football game instead of coming to rehearsal. I have had drummers that preferred to smoke weed over jamming. And the whining... holy shit.... everyone has a problem with his and that... someone isn't happy about this and another person is having relationship issues with that... fuck that shit. I want to perform on stage and write songs and travel. I don't want to hear someone bitch about how we aren't immensely famous yet while contributing nothing, or complain about playing a bar they don't particularly like for whatever reason. Choosing the life of a musician is not an easy choice.... many people simply don't belong in it. I wonder what the hell I am doing in it sometimes.

Those kind of people would never get paid to be a musician. Who would want to work with that? I create music for myself because it is what I want to do, but you need to hold standards for other people if you want to get recognition and respect. I don't think I ever whined or bitched to another musician about petty shit when I played bass or ran a soundboard (though with the people I play with now, there is nothing to complain about).

Thus, I decided 'fuck it'. I will play with some new musicians and I will work to build up my band to where it was and make it even greater, but not to the extent where it becomes miserable work. I'll still do shows with some of these guys, but I have decided it is not worth my time to run day care. I did that for two years straight. While it was fun, it can be better and it can be professional.

My bass lessons start next week. I'll put up a small profile about my instructor, Steve Hart, when I get around to it. Vocals in the studio will be starting in a week or two. Joy. Oh, and if we're lucky, I may be able to post the track listing for the record by August.

It is all the small steps that I cherish as signs of progress.

7/1/07
Even before the first album is done, I am already in the planning stages of my second. Seriously.

Last night, Jason Kluss took the place of NatureDevil as my vocals never quite recovered from my massive head cold that I have been fighting for a week straight. I didn't want to risk damaging my vocals right before I have to sing in the studio this month.

As for the future of NatureDevil, I am going to focus more on my bass playing for John Michaels and Jason Kluss, and I will focus on taking my time finishing this album, producing Jason's second album, and producing the second NatureDevil record. And yes, I am taking my time.

A friend said to me the other day that I shouldn't be taking so long on my record because I am not being paid to do it. He believes that you should rush through and hurriedly finish a record if you are not being paid. If you are on a payroll, then you should be able to take your time and take as long as you want.

Right now, anyone reading this who is an artist of any kind is laughing. If only it worked that way. It is quite the opposite. Being paid for a job, whether you are a musician on a record label, or a painter for an art school, or a graphic designer for a marketing firm or a writer for a publisher knows that when you are being paid, you have deadlines. You must put out results and have them ready by a certain date, or else.

The flip side is when you are not being paid. When you are doing it because you love it, whatever 'it' may be. If a song is not coming out the way you want it, you can scratch it, or erase it, or redo it... whatever you want. People may set personal goals and deadlines for themselves (I don't want to release my debut album when I'm 40) but dammit, I want to make sure that when I put my hard work and effort into creating something I want it to be the way I want it.

You also can only work with what you have, including skills, equipment and time. If I were being paid to do this, then I wouldn't be going to the studio one day a week for several hours. I would be there 6 to 7 days a week pulling 12 hour shifts doing what I love. I wouldn't have to go to a 'job' somewhere because the music is how I pay my bills. My studio engineer would focus all of his time on my record because this is his full time job and it is what he does. My drummer or bass player or lead players would always be available to work on the record because this is their paying job and it is what they do.

Of course, this is not how it is. My drummer hasn't been in the studio since October of last year. My acoustic guitarist has been there a total of four times altogether. I, however, have been there almost every week since, sometimes twice a week if we can schedule it in. And I am not paid to be there. Quite the opposite; it costs me money to use a studio that I do not own. And if my money were to dry up, my album would be put on hold for who knows how long.

Luckily, I am good enough to make it all work and I am lucky enough to work with some decent and talented people. My second record is going to be incredible, but first I have to lay down the brickwork with my first one, which will be good. Hopefully I can convince others to think that way too. Only time will tell.

...and with that, I return to the studio this week where I will take my sweet, relaxed time completing some tracks.....

6/20/07
...charting the unknown possibilities of existence!

I have made some decisions about my future as a musician and what I plan to do with myself based off of current events. I doubt anyone will bother to read past this sentence, especially the people who typed in "boobs" and "drunk college girls" only to find out there are none, just a guy who specifically wrote those key words in to get hits, but I will write it out anyways. Lucky you.

I feel that I spend more time playing counselor then I do being a musician. Everything I get from the musicians I work with I can get from renting a movie at Blockbuster. If I want drama, I'll get Gone With the Wind. If I want suspense, I'll pick up an Alfred Hitchcock movie. If I am ever in the mood to deal with utter stupidity and people who talk without making sense I'll rent the entire Marx Brothers movie collection. The only difference is I like the Marx Brothers (ironically, they were all also accomplished musicians).

Where was I? Oh, being a musician; right. I have many options available to me that will allow me to keep busy, active and possibly earn me money.

For example, as soon as I complete the NatureDevil album, I wanted to tour with it and promote it and get as much attention as I could with it. Instead, I think I will start immediately on a follow up album. I don't need a BAND to be a musician; as in, I don't need three or four people to loyally dedicate themselves completely to me and my ideas for a huge undertaking of something as monumentally lifetaking as recording an album.

Fuck that. I know many drummers. Many bass players. Hell, I am a bass player. Plenty of guitarists, piano players, singers.... why limit myself to a small handful of assholes that I can't even get to return a phone call?

I'd rather take a step back from the standard viewing of a band and go at it a new way. NatureDevil is not a band. NatureDevil is me. I can always write my music, and rehearse and record my material with many musicians at once. I can have, say, Mike play and record the drums for a song or two here, and have Aeorl do another two or three songs there.... and hell, at least that way I don't have to listen to people who understand nothing about recording an album bitch and moan about how long it takes (like I don't know) while contributing nothing.

Most musicians who have gone through the process of recording an album, and are doing it right, are blown away by the amount of time, money, dedication and energy it takes. Fuck, I could have had a kid from conceptualization to birth in the amount of time it has taken to simply get the instrumentation down! Having ignorant people put pressure on you while you try to work creatively (and as often as you can) does not help the process of doing it right. Most people who are signed to shitty record labels completely understand that aspect. I don't care; I would rather ignore the crap and do my album the right way.

So after the first album is done, instead of trying to put together a band for live performance, I'd rather focus on producing a second studio album while pursuing some other endeavors. I would like to work on music video production and script writing as well.

My biggest target? Taking professional bass lessons from a man who has his masters' degree in the subject and works as a professional musician every day of his life. Bass players are strongly wanted. With some training, practice in a years worth of time and a few grand worth of gear combined with my already fairly decent amount of experience, I could easily get a gig with a touring musician in the nation or over seas and I could make some decent money.

I can always continue my education with history, economics, astronomy, mathematics and literature while doing what I love doing. I have always designed my life this way. My door never closes. The people come and go, but I am always moving forward, regardless of what may happen to people who enter and exit my life.

I am a musician. I am an astronomer. I am an economics student. I am a video gamer. I am a history buff.

I am not a truck driver. I am not a salesman. I am not an advertising agent. I am not a cosmologist.

I am defined by the things I do in life that make me who I am. I am NOT defined by the things I do in life to earn income and pay bills. Some peoples lives are determined by the phones they answer and the prime time television they watch. My life is determined by what I do for my love and my passion.

I know there are others out there, possibly reading this right now (I am sorry) who refuse in life to allow the wrong things to determine who they are.

I do not play around with music in my free time or go to the gym when I can squeeze it in. The gym is my life and the music is my life. I would rather drive an older car and have more money to keep my frugal living in order and allow myself to do what I want when I want because I want to do it.

So if this little project; this little band, can't handle the bigger picture, then the bigger picture will have to adjust to the new changes that will keep barrelling forward so I can keep creating and keep accomplishing things.

Whew. Rob, this one was for you.

Robert Mirabella
4/3/79 - 6/20/99
R.I.P.

6/16/07
The Memories show last night was great, Roundeye asked us to join them at Silvies for a show in a few months, and our studio engineer goes fishing for a week so we take time to rehearse and work on new material.

That's about it. I need to relax and regenerate myself this week. Vocals in the studio have got to be the hardest thing. Production on a John Michaels music video also starts soon. You know where to go to see all the photos from our most recent shows, so with that, I bid you farewell until next week...

6/9/07
Played the Double Door last night!!! Along with John Michaels, both bands did extremely well, and both entertained the shit out of a packed Double Door.

Now that this Emergenza stuff is over with, we can focus on other things. So much is going on, with me having my own business (which is now making money) and the studio album coming along, new songs being written (we debuted 'Answer Phones' last night) and me being a DJ for an hour on 9FM here in Chicago sometime next week.

But for now, I am going to focus on finishing up the record. We have a few more gigs this month including Memories and the Gallery Cabaret, and then one show in July in Kalamazoo, MI for the fun of it. I am keeping the gigs low for now until the album is ready and the new songs are mastered.

For now, I am going to go outside and burn a lot of wood in my firepit. I am going to drink a lot of iced tea and read about the second Battle of Bull Run. It has been a brutal week. Thanks to all who made last night a huge success for both NatureDevil and John Michaels.

6/4/07
Quick update - I won a contest on the 9FM here in Chicago to get my choice of 9 songs played!! Check out www.weplayanything.com to for the site. I am going to see if I can play local music. Good quality-recorded and well written music from some of Chicago's best musicians. This could be a really big thing, if all goes well. We shall see.....

6/3/07
I tested out some camping gear by camping out in my backyard last night. Fun. Going to see a semi truck rigged to look like Optimus Prime today, too, at a movie theater in promotion for the Transformers movie that comes out next month.

I really wish I understood people and the Internet.

For some reason, all throughout this last winter, we had record highs of hits and downloads on the website. It is starting to decline a bit. As I sit here looking at the data, I have to wonder, "what the hell did we do differently several months ago that we need to recreate again now?"

I have a few theories, and they will be my challenge to create them again to emulate our previous success. Not to say I am unhappy about anything now, but spending 8 months in a studio recording an album can really get to a person.

Jay played the Mutiny Wednesday with Symptom, which was fun. He will return to the studio to finish up his acoustic parts next week. Then we start vocals....

In the meantime, we are playing the Double Door on Friday, June 8th. Tickets are a ridiculous $12 each, but you get to see Naturedevil as well as John Michaels, whom I play bass for, immediately afterwards. I am looking forward to uploading the Double Door pics the next morning.

Oh, here is one more bit of interesting news. We start filming a practice video, if you will, using Jay's debut album "No Fear In Me" as a test subject. We chose Time Is Right, and have already filmed over half of the footage. Margaret Hendricksen is working with us to hopefully get a lot of music videos done this year, for Jason Kluss, John Michaels and NatureDevil.

Of course, this takes us back to getting the album completed first....

5/26/07
Jay got married last week. Yep. It was an honor to be his best man at his wedding with Christy. I'll have a few pics up by next weekend, I promise. He looks good in a tux.

Only two more recording sessions left till we get to start vocals. "Imaginations and Mind Games" needs a bass solo and I still have no idea what I am going to do with one song in particular.. it is kind of my experiment-as-I-go song.

Jay plays the Mutiny this Wednesday with Symptom. Although NatureDevil has graced the stage of the Mutiny many times, Jason Kluss and his band never have. NatureDevil has other plans for now...

...and that would be the Double Door on Friday, June 8th. Show starts at 8pm, and we hit the stage shortly after that. John Michaels and the Invisible Dogs comes on right after us. Tickets are $12 in advance or $18 at the door. I am going there in a little while to put some posters up. If we manage to garner enough attention and votes this round, we have a fighting chance of advancing to the Metro.

And I swear, after this year, no more of these ticket selling events. Fuck that. Too many places will book us as it is. I really can't wait till we get the album and the LP completed.. but until then, wee must keep busy. Until next week...

5/19/07
Today, Jay gets married, but more importantly, we played at Fantasy Lounge last night. I have bass lines to work on all day tomorrow for the studio on Monday, and then we prepare for the Double Door!!

King Moxy and Uremia kicked ass at Fantasy Lounge and each band put on a great show. As always, you can check out photos on the pictures page.

I have been doing nothing other then studio recording and band rehearsing for almost 2 weeks straight. I am going rafting on Tuesday, which will be the first relaxing thing all month. We start vocals at the end of May.

Aside from the usual, we will be working on getting people psyched up for our Double Door show. Friday, June 8th is the day, we go on fairly early, and immediately after us is John Michaels and the Invisible Dogs. Tickets are $12 each (yeah, the price went up) and your vote could help spring load one of us, or both of us, to the Metro in July. Until then, I need to try to get some rest.... ciao....

5/11/07
Some people are just afraid of success. They get comfortable being average and don't want to try for something better, so they sabotage themselves into a legion of excuses. Not me. Not NatureDevil. Average doesn't exist here, and I refuse to let it dwell.

I played bass for John last night at Phyllis' Musical Inn and spent a few hours the night before finishing up some nice acoustic parts on the record. Spent a lot of my free time recovering from that fever, working on several new songs (would you believe I wrote a NatureDevil blues song?) and cleaning up album work. Oh, and that big news I mentioned from last week....

...NatureDevil is playing the Double Door on Friday, June 8th! John Michaels is also performing that same night, which means I will be very busy (which is how I like it). Tickets are $12 each, and this is our chance to advance to the Metro. Surprisingly, our chances look pretty good. More on that as we get closer to the date.

Next week I am going rafting a few hours south of here, Jay gets married, we play Fantasy Lounge for the first time, and Jay prepares for a show at the Mutiny on Wednesday, May 30th. Oh, and I followed up on some of our material that I submitted to MOBFest here in Chicago, which takes place this June. I'd love to play MOBFest.

That is it for now. Hope to see some of you people at Fantasy Lounge on Friday, May 18th. We're playing with Kristen Ford, King Moxy and Uraemia.

5/5/07
I wonder if every big, famous rock band out there has had to go through the kind of shit I go through. I still wonder if it is worth it, sometimes. Yet, here I go again...

That track listing I promised you. Here is the track listing for the LP titled "Doesn't Play Well With Others" to be released this summer...

"Spam I Am" (B. Lambrecht, R. Dean, L. Gottlieb)
"Imagingations and Mindgames" (M. Charles)
"Wench" (B. Lambrecht, A. Lencioni)
"Mary-Kate + Ashley" (B. Lambrecht, R. Dean)
"What the Heck?" (J. Kluss)

Wait till you see the artwork we've been brainstorming...

Hopefully, by next month I will have the track listing for the full length album, which will be anywhere from 12 to 15 songs, all written solely by B. Scott Lambrecht (that's me) and is titled "Better Living Through Denial" which is a very fitting title and will include tracks such as "Nothing I Can Do" and "We're Big In Europe!"

But, I need to get them finished in the studio first. My big project this month is to work on the record some more and get the artwork ready for the LP. This week, for the first time ever in my life that I can remember, I got hit with a 103.6 degree fever which has thrown EVERYTHING in my life off balance. I accomplished almost nothing, and as of this writing am almost back to 100%, but not quite yet.

Oh, and I have a big announcement for next update. A seriously big announcement. You all love surprises, right? I need to get some things confirmed during the week, but when I do, I'll have the news up here next weekend. Until then, have a great week....

4/27/07
REST!!! RELAXATION!!! Well, at least from doing live shows for the week.

I have put in so many hours in the studio this past week and I have much more to do in the following few days. I can honestly say that both the full length album and the LP are approximately 70% completed. Which means I get to do something I have been wanting to do for years... add a discography page to the site!!! Joy. More coding work.

We played Wise Fools Pub on Monday night, acoustic. A kick ass indie rockabilly band from Canada called the Weber Brothers shared the stage with us while they lived out their dreams of touring the nation playing whenever and wherever they felt like it (something I hope to emulate one day). We picked up a copy of their record and next time they are in town they can grab a copy of ours, because those NatureDevil records are OH SO CLOSE TO BEING DONE!!

But hey, when they are complete, I'll now be even more in debt and, thus, motivated to go into full blown promotion with a record to run around and show off. I have been planning this kind of thing for a long, long time and I am much looking forward to it, though it will probably suck the life out of me over the next several months. Ah, the life of an indie musician.

I will be officially posting the titles of all five tracks off of the LP currently titled "Doesn't Play Well With Others" next week along with the credits. Artwork will be along in the next month or so. Hopefully by mid-May I will be able officially announce the names of all 12-15 tracks from the full length album "Better Living Through Denial."

Those are the things to look forward to as we take a break from several shows a week to just doing one or two a month. The records are now priority, and the shows will soon follow. Take care and I'll talk to you all next week.....

4/22/07
Not only am I a lot closer to album completion, but the official NatureDevil press kits are completed!! Spent several weeks piecing them together, and they need to be tweaked a bit here and there, but the first two were sent off early this week! I hope we impressed some people.

Oh yeah, we played the Note last night, didn't we? That's why I am tired and sore today. I played twice, once with John Michaels and then again with NatureDevil. Michael Charles joined John last night on stage, and our new bassist Jim Fry made his debut with NatureDevil.

It looks like John Michaels advanced to the Double Door. It looks like we may be playing the Double Door in the summer with some friend musicians of ours, and honestly, I really, really hate playing these damn ticket selling shows. I'd rather play Rascals' or the Mutiny or Jefferson Tap or Memories or Tiger O'Stylies any day of the week where the gig is free and we can pack the place all night long.

I am taking a break from booking shows because doing one or two shows a weekend was really getting to us considering we really need to get this album finished. I have bills to pay and new songs to write, so this summer will be lightly booked with shows here and there, unless something REALLY good comes up.

Speaking of the album, Jay is going to the studio next weekend to lay down his acoustic leads, and once we get the bulk of those down, all we have left are vocals. Wow. This studio process is going on 9 months. I could have had a kid from conception to birth in the amount of time I have spent slaving over getting my first album done. How do the big bands do this every other year?

I would also like to send a shout out to ex-Q101 DJ's Fook and James VanOsdal who are no longer with the radio station as of this past week. James did the overnight slot and was one of the best, most informed DJ on music of all kinds I have ever heard, and Todd "Fook" Fooks was one of the most entertaining and intelligent DJ's I had listened to in a long time. Fook was also the first DJ to play NatureDevil on Q101, and on a primetime slot during the week, on his show when he didn't have to. That was over 6 months ago and we are still riding high on that buzz. Thanks.

Oh, and on a completely different note, I went to this Civil War expo at the DuPage County Fairgrounds and I picked up a couple shells that were used in the month long siege at Vicksburg in the summer of 1863. Nobody else here reading this will probably think that is cool, but for a history loser like me, I think it is awesome. I have to go cut the lawn now. Until we meet again...

4/14/07
Aside from all the hypocrites and whiners I deal with in my daily life struggles, I have made a lot of progress in one very motivated week....

....first, we had the U.S. Beer Co. last night with Muttonchop Joyce and Lost Dog. Show went great, and all the pictures are already uploaded on the pictures page for your viewing pleasure.

The long awaited NatureDevil press kits are nearly completed. I bought a new printer yesterday for the sole purpose of printing up the artwork and biographies. I expect to have them mailed out Monday morning. Among those getting our kit are the Fueled By Ramen tour which is a nationwide tour of indie rock acts, and the Chicago MOBfest which is in its 11th year and takes place sometime in June.

I also have a copy of some 'rough cuts' from the NatureDevil studio tracks on my desk. Wow. It sounds better then I expected but damn, it still needs a lot of work before I will be happy with it. Jay will be laying down some more acoustic tracks next weekend.

Oh, and if you could only see the massive lists I have put together here. Almost every college radio station in the country. Almost every record label in the Chicagoland area that I think could support NatureDevil. I am laying off booking lots of gigs due to paranoia and me personally taking rage at getting this other stuff done since I will now have the free time.

Maybe I'll post some of the press kit artwork for you to check out. I have about ten new songs I am working on putting together for the live shows. We shall see.

4/7/07
Last nights' Rascal's show couldn't get any more ulcer inducing..

...but we pulled off another victory for all who performed, which includes NatureDevil, John Michaels, and Jason Kluss.

I am putting in 6 hours in the studio this weekend in a push to get this thing record done. We start vocals next week, and in the next 2 to 3 weeks we begin putting the artwork together for both the album and the LP.

Next weekend we play U.S. Beer Co. with Muttonchop Joyce, Under the Sun and Lost Dog. Hopefully. There are already rumors circulating that this place has closed down as well, reminding us of our recent history with Bar Vertigo. We shall see.

Oh, and Saturday, April 21st... most important is our show at the Note to help advance us towards the Double Door. John Michaels is also playing that night, so we both have a chance to advance. Until then...

3/31/07
Still working on the bass player replacement issue. Still working on the album and the LP in the studio. Still working on getting our online press kit ready. Patience!!!

We played Bird's Nest and had a pretty good time, despite a tiny stage with little room for me to 'do my thing' and make a mess. Despite that, I liked Bird's Nest a lot... I would love to play there again before the end of the summer if possible...

Going on no sleep again, I have made significant leaps in everything from my online business to my current studies of the Civil War. I am working on everything around me, it just all takes time!! Arg!! If we are ever to get anything accomplished we have to do it ourselves, and we have a long list of goals....

I'd also like to mention that these last two month have completely broken records for hits to this website. More people are clicking on to NatureDevil.com then ever before. Our original records were broken last year in the summer, but we smashed that, with almost twice as many!!! Shit, that means I'll have to work harder to make sure everything here is working. (sigh) More work.

Next week we have Rascal's again, and those are the always the ones to watch out for...

3/23/07
Well, I thought I was going to California for a few days but I kind of got replaced. Learned my lesson. Thus, I have to reschedule some shit, which means hopefully extra studio time.

I am getting prepared for our debut at Bird's Nest on the 30th, and I am working with a new bassist again who looks to be very promising. Hopefully, he will make his debut with us at Emergenza...

...which brings me to my next issue, our second round at the Note on April 21st. That's right, we are still involved in the Emergenza festival. Both NatureDevil and John Michaels are playing on the 21st next month, and we need everyone's help to vote us into the next round at the Double Door.

Also, we are playing with some new bands that we have recently met, including Instigator, Uraemia, and King Moxy. We'll be doing shows with them in May and June.

Ah, then there is the album. Yeah. Working on it. These things, you know, they take time, energy, patience, devotion and a reckless sense of self indulgence to keep it going. It's coming....

3/18/07
The Triton College 'Battle of the Bands' declared NatureDevil the worst, most annoying and offensive band ever.....

Well, no. We actually won for 'best lead vocals' which scares the shit out of me. We really need to fix this bass player issue. Andy wasn't able to make it to the show, and Brandon got arrested for being a jackass on the Dan Ryan, so we had NO bass player at Triton last night.

We did have a leprechaun though, as you can see on the photo gallery. Rich's friend Stan filled in the bass position the best he could considering he didn't know any of the parts, but it was better than nothing. We greatly appreciate him helping us out the way he did at the last possible moment.

Luckily, our next show isn't for two weeks. I have to finish the basslines and some guitar work on the album this next week, and I am driving to Los Angeles to help out a friend which will throw me out of commission for a few days. We'll start the vocal work on the record before March is over. I may actually have an album release date by mid April for everyone. Think late summer.

Anyway, I want to thank the guys at Triton College and Delta Omega Pi for letting us make a mess on their stage. Most appreciated. Until next week....

3/11/07
I played bass for Jay at Bird's Nest Friday, and I will play bass for John at Wise Fools Pub on Monday. So where is NatureDevil?

Well, NatureDevil is still chipping away at that album I keep talking about, and they are preparing for a kick ass performance at the Triton College 'Battle of the Bands' thing going on this upcoming Saturday, March 17th.

Tickets are $8 from any member of NatureDevil. Although we have been in many competitions musically, we have never actually been in a 'Battle of the Bands' before. We are not really gunning to win anything, we just want to play at our old college. Literally, all of us in the band have taken classes there at one time or another. The stage itself is beautiful too, and as I said last week, there will be a huge screen behind us where we will be able to have animation and photos in the back throughout our set. I am also under the impression that the show will be video recorded for DVD purposes.

So please come check it out and support us so that when the DVD comes out and we finish our set, you don't hear crickets chirping. We need people to make some noise for us next week. You know how to get in touch with us if you need to.... until next week....

3/4/07
I know, I know, I said I was going to take it easy in March, and suddenly here I go again flooded with more stuff.

NatureDevil auditioned and earned a spot in a Triton College 'Battle of the Bands' tournament on Saturday, March 17th. Yup, St. Patty's Day. Tickets are $8, the show is all ages, and it will be the biggest stage we have ever played on. There will be a huge screen behind us hooked up to a laptop so we can have some images and artwork flowing throughout our set as well. The show will be video taped.

Also, we advanced in Emergenza to round 2, which will be at the Note on Saturday, April 21st. John Michaels also advanced and he'll be playing with us that same day (which technically means I am once again pulling a double). Tickets are $10 for that show.

Jay is playing Bird's Nest this Friday, and I will spend most of this week rehearsing or in the studio. I am trying to catch up on some movies including stuff by Akira Kurasawa and Alfred Hitchcock, the Marx Brothers and some other random classics here and there, so I should get back to that good ol' R and R that we all love and need. Take care...

2/26/07
Due to a major ice storm, NatureDevil along with Jason Kluss and John Michaels pulled out of the Harmony Roadhouse show this past weekend, but rehearsal was accomplished as well as much tom foolery, if you will.

It has been a busy week. NatureDevil advanced to the second round of Emergenza, and we were given Saturday, April 21st at the Note to play. We are also entered in a Battle of the Bands (oh, the good ol' days) at Triton College on Saturday, March 17th. Yup, St. Patty's Day.

Aside from more work in the studio, this will be a brief update for you all. March was supposed to be the month where we rest and take it easy, but I can already see me being flooded with lots of work. Oh well. 'Tis the life of a musician. Take care.

2/17/07
Emergenza, you drive me nuts. What can you expect from a company that expects you to show up over 6 hours before the show starts for soundcheck for a 25 minute set that you aren't getting paid for? Check out the pictures page for all the new galleries.

Not like we care about getting paid, but we care about our jobs and lives enough to know that playing at the Note is probably last on our agenda of important things in life relating to music. But, we played extremely well. Probably cause we only did 5 songs, which limited our chances of major clusterfucks on stage, but we still played well. Met some cool bands, too.

And we did FearlessRadio.com again on Thursday. I would tell you the details of the interview if you missed it, but that would ruin the fun. I'll have up for download in a few weeks with some photos.

I still have work tonight with John Michaels and Jason Kluss at the Note and the Gallery Cabaret, respectively. Next week, we all ship out to Marengo to play the Harmony Roadhouse, and after that... ((Hawaiian music starts playing in background)) we go on vacation!!

Not really. Basically, we are taking a month off from shows... almost all of March to relax and focus on things. I have John Michaels and Jason Kluss to focus on, both who have shows in March, plus Naturedevil will get some major rehearsal in for new material. Oh, and yeah, the studio. Lots more to complete in there. I am hoping to have everything aside from vocals completed before March comes to a close.

In the meantime, I'll be booking April and May, as well as stuff for Jay and John, so stick to this website for all of that. Hope you are all staying warm from the cold. Take care and until next time...

2/11/07
Penny Road Pub was awesome last night, but we have an even busier schedule this upcoming week.

For starters, we will be live on Fearless Radio again Thursday at 6pm. Friday, we play the Note. Saturday, I will be playing bass for John Michaels at the Note around 9pm, then I race over to the Gallery Cabaret to play bass for for Jason Kluss around midnight. That doesn't even take into consideration studio time earlier in the week and possible Sunday too.

Because of the studio, I have been slacking on booking new dates. I may give us a relaxed schedule for March (well, relaxed for the band, as I'll still have shows with Jason and John, plus my studio work) and then start booking us again full time in April.

...been thinking about a mini national tour in the late summer...

2/5/07
The updates were so big this weekend it took till Monday to have it posted...

This was one of the more intense band weekends we've ever had. It started with one of the best shows we ever played at Tiger O'Stylies on the south side in below zero weather. Then, we went to Kalamazoo, Michigan to play the Corner Bar in the middle of a snow storm.

We met a cool band called Paperstreet and got to play with our buddies the Promise Takers again. The bar was packed all night and our songs got great response. I definitely want to play there again.

The Corner Bar was a little different. We stayed at Andy's summer house in South Haven, but had to endure a massive blizzard that came in off of Lake Michigan. We got lost in a 20 below zero snowstorm on dark, unlit roads in the middle of nowhere for most of the night till we arrived.

The local Kalamazoo bands cancelled due to the snow (pussies) but we made it. More people that night seemed to care about the ballgags more than us, but hey, we still impressed those who were there and we had a lot of fun. You'll see when you check out both galleries on the pictures page.

We have more studio recording this week and Penny Road Pub next weekend. We are still on the lookout for a permanent bass player, but for now Andy is doing a bang up job filling in. Take care, and we'll see you next week...

Old updates are archived here.