August 2007

It's just about time to hit Minnesota, arguably our favorite show of the year. (Possibly, due to its size and rabid nature of its fans.) I think it might edge out Carolina in my book only due to its sheer size. Either way, we're happy to go there.

One of the gigs we had during our off time was the show at Magiquest. It's this really cool entertainment complex in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. You buy a wand and travel around the floor of the facility looking for elements to increase your ability to cast spells and then go on to quests. It's an amazing undertaking and quite the technological achievement. They hired us to entertain outside to attract attention and then funnel people in. Personally, I don't think they really need our help, but who am I to turn down work? I think the whole concept is amazing and stands on its own, but I'm glad to be one of their friends. They took quite a shine to us. They really liked our drive and work ethic. We may try to get them into the festival circuit. Their concept would fit beautifully into fairs.

 

Magiquest Complex

Vintage Ohio Festival

Wine tasting at Vintage Ohio

Before we head to Minneapolis we headed to Northern Ohio to satisfy the needs of our Ohio fans. I drove up on my way to Minnesota as Sharon was working the Ohio show for < ahref="http://www.tarnishedimages.com/" target="_new">Ruth. Our fans in Ohio were kinda left in the lurch when we weren't asked back to do GLMF show. We still appreciate the fans there and wanted to give them the opportunity to see us, so like last year, we did a two-night run at Grand River Cellars. It's a winery we've come to be fond of over the years. We sold the first night out in record time. The second night took a little while longer to fill up but we had a nice turn out for it as well. It was great ‘cuz we sold the Thursday before the Wednesday, so the Wednesday was a great warm-up since we really haven't performed together in 10 weeks. The shows went well and everyone had a wonderful time. It was also great to see our Ohio friends and get to see the Ohio wine valley. (A favorite of mine.)

Laurello Vinyeards

South River Winery patio expansion

Since I was in Ohio and Sharon was still working that show, I stayed on after the boys flew out to enjoy some time with her and visit our favorite wineries. I've become good friends with theLaurello's over the years and since Vintage Ohio was happening while I was in town they asked if I wanted to help out. Vintage Ohio is a tasting fair that showcases all the wineries of Ohio. (And there are a lot of them.) It was a volunteer thing, but I thought it'd be fun and a chance for some free wine tasting. And we all know how much I hate wine and free stuff. ; ) It was a great time and I sold a ton of T-shirts for them. I hope we keep doing the Winery shows if not getting back into the Ohio fair. I just love that area.

The trip to Minnesota was uneventful. We spent a night at a cute little hotel on the way and made great time. We got settled at our friend Omar's house the Wednesday before the show and got all set up on site. Unfortunately, our first weekend in town was a total washout. We only performed 5 out of 10 shows for the entire weekend. It was certainly not the welcome we had hoped for but we know bad weather doesn't last forever and our fans would come out eventually no matter what.

Weekend two was much better. I'd say it was one of the best second weekends ever. (Probably due to the fact that people were hungry from the rainy first weekend.) Retail sales are up and everyone seems to love our new calendar! I hope it keeps up. If you're in the area, stop by to see us. You don't want to miss the "R" rated shows up here!

 

Funny sign at Laurello