Is this thing still here? I just realized it’s been a scant SEVEN MONTHS since I posted on here, so that’s gotta change!

A lot going on for the last 4 or 5 months, including lots of shows, a change in job stuff, a bit of a shake up in the band membership, the appearance of crop circles on my front lawn – just lots of things! So, going to try and get back to posting here. Yep. We’ll see, won’t we!

I’m also hoping to redo the website this year to bring it more in line with what we’d LIKE it to be like. I’ve been using a template for the past year from Hostbaby, and while they are a GREAT company, the template is a bit limiting for me. I just didn’t have time to do a lot of manual content management last year, so I went with the template thinking I’d save myself some time. But I’m less than happy with some of the constraints of the template – for instance, I can’t just add a new page to the site; there are a set number of pages and I can only use what they have. Whine, whine, whine… Anyway, if I can find someone to help with it I’d love it, but otherwise I’ll be making a stab on my own and living with the results!

One thing that is a holy grail for me is the ability to TRULY maintain one calendar and use it throughout the web. So far I have a minimum of 3 that I have to remember to update; the website itself, the Reverbnation calendar, which is linked to our mailing list (and which provides some neat little widgets that I can use on other sites, like the calendar on this blog!) and the necessary but annoying Facebook events.  And that’s not even counting the Twitter feed, which I don’t use so far for calendar stuff.  If I could ever figure out how to get the information I need out there in one place I’d be a happy little spud! I’m also looking at some other options for the mailing list. I like the one that Reverbnation uses (FanReach) but the interface for it is very limited, and the multilevel signup processes has stumped a lot of people. I dread the drop-offs that will come when I change again, but I keep hoping for the perfect solution!

On the MUSIC side of things (that’s why we’re out there in the first place!) we are working on several new things, and I’ll let you know about those when I know more. The Squeeze tribute CD is hopefully going to come out this year, and our cut of “Goodbye Girl” should be on there. We’re talking about a possible video to accompany that release, as well as other video ideas – anyone want to volunteer to work with us on that? We have some ideas but no one in the band has any real seat time as an editor, or even much on the camera side! If you have ideas or would like to be involved, let us know!

There are also various side projects that we’ve been involved with. A lot of Taterheads in the Richmond, VA area are familiar with the Rock & Roll Jubilee that Brad & I have been involved for the last year and a half. It’s a tribute to the early days of music, when it really did roll! We do our best to recreate the music of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Ricky Nelson, and the Everly Brothers. The show includes Tater pals Jim Wark on guitar, Brian Sulser on bass, and our old alumnus George Garrett on drums. BJ Kocen, a long-standing force in the Tater orbit plays radio manager Radio Ray Cadbury for WJKS, “Where Joy Kills Sorrow”, and the whole show is done in the style of a 50’s live radio broadcast. We’re having a blast with it, and have started rehearsals for another installment coming in February. If you’re in the area, come out and see it; if not, you can see some videos of past shows on our YouTuber channel – just look for the “Rock & Roll Jubilee playlists.

OK, more to come! I’m just sure of it…

Craig