Well it’s been a quite a while since I’ve blogged so I figured it was time to just update y’all on where things are in general with me for those of you that care to know.

Let’s start with the family. Things are going pretty well. Jason just turned four and is really getting big. It’s crazy how much he’s changed in the last year. Sam is now 13 going on 20, man just barely a teen-ager and already has the attitude mastered. Brett is doing really well in school and really has a mind like his dad’s. Very left brained, really likes science and discovery. On the downside, my aunt recently had some type of cardiac issue which resulted in my uncle discovering her unconscious and not breathing in bed. She was in ICU for a few days and they believe she may have some significant brain damage. On top of that, my father is scheduled to go in on Monday to have a quadruple bypass done, so obviously this has pre-occupied my mind quite a bit since I found out. I’m pretty confident all will go well, but I still get nervous just knowing what the possibilities are if things go sideways.

Work is going well, I’m still a team lead and although being a manager can suck sometimes, I really do enjoy my job overall. I get to do a lot of cool things and I have no on-call responsibilities to worry about waking me up.

I’m still working very closely with the band, Kerry McConaway and the Element as their tour manager, monitor engineer and web master. We just totally redesigned their website for 2008 and while it isn’t totally complete yet, it is very very cool. Jeni and I are also working a lot with their production crew, Orgone productions, on a number of projects outside of the band. I’m learning so much about the music scene and meeting so many cool people!!

On the business side of things, the Karaoke biz is going really well. I only have the Thursday nights at Knuckleheads as a standing regular gig and that’s a good thing. I am able to fill in Saturdays with private shows and miscellaneous shows at other clubs but can also keep them open for band gigs or other things in life. It’s great having that flexibility. Soccer is also getting started up (although this weekend was opening weekend and was rained out) so I’ll finally be getting back on the field and running around. I’ve got a couple games at the State Championships in May and I’m hoping I can get my upgrade assessment done there so I can move up in the ranks.

Finally, there’s my guitar playing. I’m really excited about how this is going. I’ve been playing my guitar a ton. I’ve performed a number of songs at my karaoke shows including playing while other folks sing as well. I’ve gotten a number of compliments on my playing from some pretty serious guitar players. I’ve been told my level of development exceeds that of other players that I’ve been acquainted with and have been playing a lot longer than me, so that is very cool to hear, especially considering who the compliments are coming from. I’ve also had two different people talk to me about the possibility of joining their bands. While flattering, I don’t think that’s what I want at this point. I mean I’d love to play in a band, but right now I’d rather stay focused on Kerry McConaway and the Element. While I may not be in the band, I am a part of the band and as a result part of something truly special. If you haven’t seen these guys before, you really should check them out. They’ve got all the skills to be big stars and are really starting to develop the other tools needed to take this thing all the way.

Hey folks, I know I don't post blogs very often anymore. Sorry, but between work, the Karaoke Business and the Band I have very little time online where I'm not doing something for one of those three.

So anway, I've been saying for a while now that with as much as we hang out with "band people" that I really should get back to playing guitar so I can jam with them once in a while. Well about a week or so before Christmas, we were at Sandmans for our production crew meeting and he brought down his two Washburns and we played a little bit. I said right there that it was settled, I was gonna get myself a guitar after Christmas was all over.

Well Jeni had beaten me to the punch. I later found out she was already working with Bogie (the lead guitarist from KMC) to find me a guitar for Christmas. Woohoo!! SO, after some looking around and everything I'm now the proud owner of a Yamaha CPX 700 Electric Acoustic! I've attached a pic here and there are more in my Flickr account. The thing sounds, plays and looks gorgeous. I couldn't be happier. Thanks babe, you rock!!

OK so some of you are already probably asking, what the hell is Fudd Fest? Well it's a country music festival in Antigo, WI (or nearby anyway) that started as a big birthday party for Dell "Fudd" Nicholson. Over 7 years it's turned into a pretty huge event with national headliners over the course of a week-long party. If you want more info go to www.fuddfest.org to learn more.

So anyway, our friend Sandman (sound engineer from Kerry McConaway and the Element) told me and Jeni that he was going to get us all access press passes for the week so we could come in and shoot photos of the bands. How freaking cool is that?!?! We get to go for free and shoot photos of all the national/interntional artists that were playing there this weekend. Well wait, it gets even cooler!!

On Tuesday last week we were at the Wisconsin State Fair to see KMC play. Before the show, Sandman came to me and Jeni and said he had some bad news about Fudd Fest. So of course we're thinking oh no, no passes. Well he goes on to say "I was able to get you guys press passes.....but............You're gonna have to shoot for CMT as well". Holy shit, that's right folks, Jeni and I were shooting photos all week long for CMT (Country Music Television for you non-country folks). So OMG this thing is turning out to be really huge.

Still getting cooler. After hearing of this news, apparently certain members of KMC (Bogie being the prime suspect), we discussing how nervous they were about this. Scared that we might hit it big with CMT and "leave them". LOL first of all, like I'd ever let that happen. Guys you'd be coming along for the ride!! But cooler still is realizing just how much a part of the KMC family we've really become. The love and pure togetherness that's a part of their music is no facade people, these guys are the real deal! Their music brings together everything that is great about country music and the love and emotion they promote is so pure and intoxicating you can see it become a part of the folks that attend their shows!! I feel so honored to know we're an important part of that.

So anyway, I'm not done yet! Things got EVEN BETTER!!! So we went up Friday to Fudd Fest (unfortunately missed Emerson Drive and Tracy Lawrence on Thursday). When we arrived, Craig Morgan's crew had already loaded in and setup and Blue County was no where to be found. They did finally show up (someone told them Antigo is a lot closer to Minnesota than it really is) and what happened next set the pattern for the whole weekend. With Blue County's sound check complete I began talking with Andrew, the lead guitarist, to get contact info for the band to send their photos to. Well we kinda hung out with the band before and after the show. Got to know the guys, they're really cool BTW, and just had a blast.

Then Craig Morgan was getting ready to go on. I met with his road manager and again got all the contact information. Chatted with him and the band members and then it was show time. I got to wish Craig a good show right before he went on stage and when he came off again I was the first to hi-five him!! After teardown was well in hand by the awesome Stage Crew, Jeni and I hung out with the band by their tour bus. OMG we talked for over an hour with these guys! Then the highlight of that night, the road manager arranged for us to meet with Craig Morgan personally for a few minutes (and get a couple pics) before he went out to sign some autographs! What a totally cool and down to earth bunch of guys they all were. Craig was just awesome, I even got to tease him a little about something that happened during the show.

Saturday was more of the same. The Road Hammers (if you haven't heard of them yet, you very soon will) were awesome! They actually came up and introduced themselves to us before we even tried to "hunt" them down. Gave us all their contact info and we chatted a bit before they hit the stage. What a high energy kick ass show! Afterward we hung out with the guys a little bit and got some more pics. Then it was time for Terri Clark. We met with her tour manager, great guy, and got all the info again. Unfrotunately she's not as open as some of the others were (stayed in her bus most of the time) but we did ultimately get to meet her too! We hung out with her band a little before and after the show as well. Just before they got on the bus to leave, the tour manager gave Jeni and I each a Terri Clark "T Crew" shirt (the shirts their road crew wears). So very cool!

Finally Sunday rolls around and its the biggest day of them all. Sammy Kershaw followed by Keith Anderson! Sammy was first. We met him quickly before the show, got contact information, and then he put one hell of a show. Afterward he came off stage and Jeni and I joined him and just chatted while he took a break to have a smoke. Just another awesome guy, super friendly and a lot of fun.

Now it's time for the last act, Keith Anderson!! OMG it couldn't have ended any better. Jeni and I got to meet him (see the pic at the top!!) before the show and chatted with him and the road manager who also happens to be their keyboardist. Got all the contact info and these guys were so much fun both before and during the show. After the show, Jeni got a pair of Keith Anderson panties signed by him. We also got some personalized autographed photos and he signed the back of my Fudd Fest credentials too. When he was done signing autographs, we walked back to the bus with him and Weston (the keyboard player) and chatted a little bit. Jeni got a couple of big hugs and I got a few handshakes before we bid them farewell. The band was so cool too. They came out to the regular bar area after the show to check out one of the B stage acts. We hung out with them a bit, Jeni had a beer with the bassist and the guys loved it when the B-stage band played a couple Keith Anderson songs!! Just freakin awesome!!!

So it was a phenominal weekend. We've got piles of photos to go through from this weekend before we send them to CMT. Thank you sooooo much to Sandman, Marion and Eric for your invitation to join you for this party!! Thanks to Miles Productions for all you guys did to help us out and make sure we were taken care of all weekend. Thanks and a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Fudd, man you know how to put on a party and you were so awesome to us all weekend. And of course thank you to each of the bands/artists/etc. that we got to meet with this weekend. You guys all put on great shows and were so much fun backstage. I don't think we could have had much more fun this weekend than we did.

So folks keep an eye out, I'll get some more photos posted as soon as I can.

Well Let It Rip is going strong as ever, just check out the calendar if you need proof. Our shows lately have been absolutely phenominal. Knucklehead just continues to get busier and busier with new singers for Karaoke Night. Many familiar faces and a few new ones each week. Even the "spectators" have been really getting into the show!!

DJ Tony also did a show last Friday at Gearheads in Jackson. Again it was an excellent crowd, plenty of a applause, lots of singers and a packed bar made for a truly successful night. A lot of feedback from folks at the bar telling us they hope the owner will make it a regular show. Well rest assured we'll keep working with him to make that a reality.

Great news on the Shenanigan's front. The owner has been talking for a few weeks now about going from our every other Saturday schedule to an every week show. Well last night we had another terrific show there. Lots of singing, dancing and just a great time. The folks at the bar were in for a real treat which included DJ Tony dancing with a number of patrons on the bar while singing save a horse, the introduction of a "Flip It" Karaoke Contest (wanna know more, well then you've got to come to a show), many group sing alongs and even a Toby Keith block (which included a performance of "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue" by DJ Tony which literally received a standing ovation!!!). So after the show, the owner made it official, Let It Rip will now be at Shenanigans every Saturday night beginning on August 18.

In addition to the new nights at Shenanigans and possible new gig at Gearheads, Let It Rip is working on some other exciting stuff. A couple things in particular which are not official yet but are pretty cool. We're working with a local band on a whole new approach to live and karaoke entertainment. I can't wait to be able to provide more details on this!! Also, we might have a new promotional deal that would be unlike anything you've ever seen from any other karaoke entertainer. Again not official so I can't provide specifics, but think The Milwaukee Mile!!

Well folks I hope all is going as well with you as it is for Let It Rip!! This coming week we'll be at Knucklehead for the regular Thursday night rowdy good time. This weekend we'll be in Antigo at Fudd Fest working with the sound/stage crew, taking photos and hopefully meeting a number of the national acts!! Coming up we've got Thursdays and Saturdays as I mentioned before. Also don't forget Richfield Days on August 25 (3:00-7:00) and Knucklefest on September 1st and 2nd from 2:00-6:00!! It's going to be one hell of a wrap-up to an exciting summer!

Thanks again to everyone for all your support. It's a pleasure being able to have such a great time with each and every one of you! You're the ones that have made this all possible and as always don't hesitate to let us know what you'd like to see us do differently!!

Take care,
DJ Tony