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“This band blows the competition away. From the first song to the last, they give their all and it shows, as the audience goes wild!”
Gary, North Beach Oasis
Looking forward to Twang Thousand and Twelve.
December 12, 2011 - Well another year is drawing to an end, and what a ride! The new rhythm section has settled in nicely (not in a sleepy, complacent sense, which you know if you caught any shows this year) and we're looking forward to ending the year on a high note. A very loud high note. So here's to a great Christmas and New Year's! Hopefully Santa will bring us some recording time so we can start laying down some of the many new tunes we've been refining onstage over the past year.
Starving musician alert!!
October 12, 2011 - Well after returning from a little vacation and gigging in Tennessee and South Carolina (some planned, some not), Tommy returned to his day job to find out it had taken a vacation too. More like a sabbatical. So now he gets to live the musician's dream...unemployed, underfed and probably under-showered. Got a couch he can crash on? Only a couple nights, for sure. Maybe three. Hello Nashville...this would be a good time to buy a few of our songs. He'll keep the cell phone turned on for as long as he can make the payment. Plus wouldn't you know it, we had planned a light gig schedule in October and November. Who knew?! Oh well...all things being relative, much much worse news: our great friend across the pond Andy Leaney passed away last week after a nearly year-long battle with cancer. We are so lucky to have met and shared some stages with him. If we could think of any of his pithy British sayings off the top of our head we would say them. But you will be missed Andy!
Another summer under our collective belts.
September 6, 2011 - Well summer ain't officially over but this season's festival gigs are drawing to a close, and it's been another great season of playing the kind of gigs we really love. Last week's inaugural Grill Games was a blast...especially being shown on the big Jumbo-tron. (Which adds MORE than 10 pounds, BTW.) Last Friday's mid-day concert series in downtown Racine was also a hoot, especially with all the CD sales! Thanks to everyone who bought our stuff and got us a step closer to getting back in the studio. We've got more than an album's worth of new material that needs to get captured on something better than Lisa's iPhone app. Anyway, please keep an eye on our gig page as we're adding upcoming dates. We're also going to get around to revamping the site in the near future and adding some pics of Don and Kevin so their out-of-state relatives actually believe they're in the band!
Twang Dragons are the latest state capitol controversy.
July 11, 2011 - Well it's been a busy few weeks, capped off by a gig outside the state capitol in Madison yesterday afternoon. And like so many things in Mad Town, the Dragons proved to be a tempest of controversy as many in attendance blamed our blistering performance for the no-show of the band scheduled after us. Oh well, we got to play a bit longer and the only protesting we heard was when we announced that our set was over. Not a bad day of twangin' in our book!
Tune into the Chicken Shack Friday morning June 17th.
June 11, 2011 - Lisa and Tommy are slated to pop into Milwaukee's premier twang radio show this coming Friday morning for a little pickin', singin' and chattin'. Hard to say when we'll be on exactly, (10:00-ish?), so best to just listen to Jonny's whole show, starting at 9 a.m. on WMSE 91.7 FM. We'll likely play 2 or 3 new songs acoustically, and then whine about it being too early to perform. Facetiously, of course.
Sorry mum. No England tour this year.
June 9, 2011 - Don't put the tea on just yet. Unfortunately, schedules are not cooperating and we're sad to say we won't be making our annual trek to Europe this year. Which naturally means we're gearing up for a helluva return in 2012...good Lord willing and the Atlantic don't rise.
Gigs, iTunes and whatnot.
May 9, 2011 - With a few good tune-up gigs with the new rhythm section under our belt, we're ready for the summer festival season! The new originals seem to be striking a pretty groovy chord too...particularly "Road Kill on the Highway of Love". So check our gig page and get on out to see us. And remember, in addition to music clips on the site here, all of our songs are available for download on iTunes and Amazon.com. Heck, with three albums of original material, there's gotta be SOMETHING of ours you'd pony up 99 cents for. And, on a selfish note, the more songs we sell, the sooner we can get back into the studio to lay down more songs that we can pester you to buy. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?
Well that was fun!
March 11, 2011 - Twang Dragons 2.1 or 3.0 or 11.8 or however those designations for new updates works...whatever, the new line-up debuted last Saturday night and two things became immediately apparent: 1) we got a smokin' new rhythm section and 2) gauging the audience response, we've got some winners with the new songs we've been writing. And there's plenty more where those came from. So keep an eye on our gig page as we're adding new (and sometimes last minute) shows pretty often. Also, friend us on Facestalk and stay up to date that way.
Welcome Kevin and Don!
January 8, 2011 - After an exhaustive coast-to-coast search for a new rhythm section (okay, two states and several counties), we've got a new backbeat of the Dragon! Drum roll (and bass vamp) please...
welcome Kevin Farnsworth and Don Keller! With music pedigrees that go back further than they're willing to admit, these guys have played in some of the best country and roots bands
in the midwest. Now that they've sipped the Twang Dragons Kool-Aid it's time to get woodshedding. Check out the gigs page for their debut!
Oh, and did we mention...?
December 20, 2010 - Well, as the Twang Dragons song "My My" states, nothing lasts forever. It's true of record stores, the curdled milk in Tommy's refrigerator and band line-ups. Which brings us to some sad yet exciting news.
After a heck of a good run, 3 CD's we're incredibly proud of and multiple twangings of the European continent, the Twang Dragons will be introducing a new rhythm section in the new year.
Scottie and Mark are pursuing a new project (or two) that will feed their need for a new challenge. It's a common itch in the music world and we feel immensely blessed to have shared not only hundreds of stages but a common vision and sense of purpose over the past six years.
As soon as there's anything to report on their next projects, you can bet we'll be posting it.
In the meantime, Lisa and Tommy will be ready to roll with a new line-up by February and are also putting the finishing touches on lots of new originals. They're also booking a handful of acoustic duet shows and will post those in the gigs section.
Lotsa love to Mark and Scott on their next endeavors. 10 or 15 years down the road we look forward to one helluva rip-roarin' reunion show!
Another Tour of Love is a Success!!
November, 2010 - So many people to thank...so little space. As always,
thank you to the awesome pubs who graciously invited the Twang into their establishments...George and Beryl at The Royal Standard,
(she serves a most wonderful breakfast at Katie's Pantry too!), Chris at The Bull Hotel and The Vault who was also
gracious enough to give us a place to rest our weary heads and feed us, John and the other fine people at The Robertsbridge
Club, Matt and Anthony at The Clarence, the awesome folks at The Victoria Hotel and, of course, Pip and
Carmen at The Royal Oak. We have been so blessed to find friends like all of you!
We also had the privilege and pleasure to play the Hastings Wine & Seafood Festival this year. Words cannot
describe that experience! Awesome, unbelievable, wow...don't even begin to cover it. Thanks to Peter Thompset for getting us
in touch with the right people. Thanks to Mike Raxworthy for being the "right people" and for taking a chance on a
little Twang band from Milwaukee. Special thanks to the talented, Paul Bishop for becoming an honorary member of the Twang Dragons
for this event :)
Special thanks to Allan and Bernie for helping us to invade Eastbourne and for traveling to see us. Wendy,
Richard, Ken and John...what would we do without your smiling faces in the crowd? Thanks Reg for always dancing
and being such a great guy. Peter Bumpus - it's an honor to know you. Thanks for always looking out for us.
Thank you to Lumpy and all the Lumpettes for being such great friends and for the use of the equipment. Special thanks from Scott to Tony for letting
him bang on his drum kit...no drum heads were injured this year! A big thank you to all of you who come out to see us and enjoy our music. Words can't describe how it feels to see
you all singing along with our songs. You are all awesome!
And then there's Andy, Jeff and Malcom...our wonderful friends. If not for all of you, we'd never have
had the pleasure of playing England. You are all the best and we love you dearly! Remember the invite is always
open, mi casa su casa...just give us enough warning so we can stock up on beer and cider.
Check out some of our tour memories right HERE. Good times...good, good times!
Just When You Thought Life Couldn't Get Any Awesomer!!
August 10, 2010 - Another photo to share! Last Friday, August 6th,
the Dragons had the privilege and pleasure of opening for The Titan of the Telecaster, Mr. Bill
Kirchen, at the Freeport Music Festival! To say that Tommy was a bit excited is perhaps one of the
greatest understatements of all time. A good time was definitely had by all, especially when Mr. Kirchen
asked Tommy to get on stage and handle some guitar playing duties. You coulda knocked him out with a
feather after that one! Check out the Rubbing Shoulders pix page for a couple of other shots. Thank you
Mr. Kirchen for making a young boy's dreams come true!
How Dang Awesome Is This?!?!
August 6, 2010 - Check out the photo to the right! Nope, that arm does not belong
to any member of the band...none of us have "Twang Dragons" on our bodies! This arm belongs
to our #1 Fan, Mr. Robert Volenec. He's threatened to do it for awhile but now he's really done did it! Our
compliments to the artist - it's beautiful! Tell Bob what he's won for being the #1 Twang
Dragon's fan, Johnny....Bob has won back stage passes for life as well as a free beer or two when he makes
it to a show. Seriously, Bob, we are in awe!
Mais Oui, Nous Aimons des Jours de Bastille!
July 22, 2010 - That pretty much means, "But yes, We Love Bastille Days!" And that's cuz we do!
As always, it's one of our favorite festivals of the year. Thank you John Ertl, Paddy and the rest of the folks at
the fest for taking such good care of us. And we love the beautiful and talented, Emma, for snapping
some shots of our performance. Check those out on the Bastille Days Pix Page. Merci, Emma!
Addendum to Addendum to News Item from April 29, 2009
July 19, 2010 - If we had a dime for every time we were asked, "So when is that new
CD coming out?"................................. Short answer to that - Ask the Boys!
Photo Shoot with Tater B. DeMille Bunker
June 25, 2010 - You may have noticed that there are new photos on the website.
We had the pleasure of posing for the one, the only, Tate Bunker. Nobody does it better! Special heartfelt thanks to Tate for
always helping us out and making us look good (well at least better!). Thanks also to Miles at the Wicked Hop for
letting us use the gorgeous Jackalope Lounge as our studio.
Seafood and Wine and Twang - Oh My!
April 28, 2010 - We've booked one of the final shows for our Twangs Across England Tour, and we're pleased as punch
about it! The Dragons will be twanging the crowds at the Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival. Thanks go out to our old friends (that's "old" not as in
age, but as in length of friendship!), Peter and Jeff from Lumpy and the Lumpettes, for hooking us up with the right people. And thanks to our
new friend, Mike Raxworthy, for taking on the Twang cause and getting us booked at this fantastic venue. We've got the last slot of the
evening so it promises to be a memorable experience for all. Hope to see you all there!
Twang Dragons Frighten Demure Columnist
March 16, 2010 - We came across this ARTICLE recently, which either rues or celebrates (not sure which)
the closing of one of our favorite venues and definitely our favorite hangout. Where some may view her assessment of us as critical,
we prefer to embrace it. You just can't buy this kind of publicity.
