*** Celebrating 15 years ***
Special discounted tickets for Grateful
Garcia Gathering NOW AVAILABLE
*~~~~~~~~~~~~
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10/3/5
What Happened to Summer?
Wow. it's seems like only yesterday that I was writing about
all the
things I was looking forward to this summer. Now all those things are
over and it's time to look at the end of 2005 and start planning 2006.
First I'd like to thank all of our families and freinds (Both
immediate
and extended) for making 2005 one of our best years ever. You have
all
shown us that if we play only 2 or three times a month, You WILL come
as
long as the venue is right. For that, we have chosen our stages
carefully to offer our traveling crowd the reason to travel. This will
continue. Rest assured that any stage we take has been carefully chosen
by us and is guaranteed to be a hip place that you'd like to spend
your
valuable gas money driving to, or walking or biking for you locals.
I 'd also like to welcome Mary and Larry Gordon and all of our
new
friends in the Waupaca area to the Weavil family. We met Mary thanks
to
allot of investigative work on her part for a Summer Soltice party.
Because great minds think and act alike we made allot of new freinds
which resulted in finding a home stage in Waupaca called Olini's. What
a
gem! Great italian food, great bar with stage and house sound. (The
owners must be musicians because the room is baffeled all over to soften
the bite of amplified music and once equilized the access to the EQ
is
locked so none of us could mess up thier sound.) The staff is great,
they reminded me allot of the old Mongo's crew. Nearly all of the staff
stayed for a few drinks and enjoyed the band after the dining room
closed. We even recognized a few of them from the old Mongo's shows.
So
if you get the chance look for us at Olini's in Waupaca for a good
feed
and a great time.
The festivals... OK, so we didn't have camp Weavil set up at
Cornstock
this year. But in our defense, Pat did call us "The Weasel's" on the
poster. I'm sure we will have the camp set up next year. But
Camp or no
camp, Weasels or Weavils. CORNSTOCK ROCKED! As it always does. Apple
Creek, and BTJ were on it, the weather was great and The people may
have
gotten us more excited than we did them. What a fun party. Put CORSTOCK
2006 in your calander on the second Saturday of July, right now!....
I'll wait, go ahead.... got it in? Good. Now be there or hear about
it
later!
Another great party was the 3g's festival at the NCH North Campgound
in
Black River Falls. Hell, what can I say other than go to the Gratefull
Garcia Fest link and see it for yourself. Then be there for what
promises to be the best 3g's ever next year. God willing, we will grace
the 3g stage again.
It's Hot at "The Cold Shot": Sheri and Dave continue to fight
the
Appleton smoking ban with peace, love, rock and roll, and petitions...
lot's of petitions. No doubt that not letting us smoke in the Appleton
bars hurts the bar owners and we thank all of you for fighting your
niccotine jones to come to our Appleton gigs. Although you gotta
admit,the parking lot is allot more fun now. We said we won't play
any
other place in Appleton and we mean it. Outside of Octoberfest or some
community event you will have to look no further than "The Cold Shot"
to
find the Weavils. Thank's so much to all who have come to see us there
and we'd ask that if you like seeing us there that you write your
congressman and anyone else you can think of to get smoking back into
Appleton bars. Who knows how long they can last with 1/2 the bussiness.
In addition be sure to hit the cold shot on Tuesdays for the open mic
jam. Bobby Evans, Dave Galow and Jay Stulow. I hear Geppy might be
sitting in sometime too?
Lastly I'd like to give big props to our significant other. D-,
Shawn
and Andrea are among the ranks of the most understanding women in the
world. Thanks to D- for supporting me as I go running around the state
weekend after weekend to play for y'all. The same thanks goes to Shawn
and Andrea for letting me play the best musicians I know.
And thanks to the entire city of Madison for sharing Jeff with us.
So that's it, it was a rockin summer and We've never been more
eager to
entertain all you great folks and make you shake your asses.
So keep your eyes glued to the schedule and we'll see you on the dancefloor.
Word.
Geppy
5/11/5
Reflections on solo shows
I haven't done such a string of solo shows in a long, long time
but,
in honor of (my hero) Todd Rundgren's
current
acoustic tour, i decided to book some shows
to coincide with his...
just to help align the stars for great vibes in the wooden universe
of beingness.
to further the conceptualness i decided to open and close each one
of these sets with Pink Floyd's
"Pigs on the Wing",
like my fave Floyd album "Animals".
the insanity began on 4/15 with a double show in one nighter in whiskey
rapids as
acoustic madness prevailed at Hollyrock's in Wisconsin Rapids from
6-8p
and then i crossed the river to Mulligan's for a WeavilsCD
release bash.
my show was smooth yet insane and included an overly fun bit of improv
called "The Blinds".
during a brief rehearsal of BOC's
"Subhuman" the previous night with Grant
from the lizardz
the idea crossed my mind that one of the progressions could easily
slide into "It's A Boy" from the brillant rock opera "Tommy" from The Who,
thus began my soon-to-be famous
Tommy medley-It's A Boy/Eyesight to the Blind/E theme/Pinball Wizard/Listening
to You/E theme,
which proceeded to grow by about a song each performance.
4:19-20am was aptly spent at the portal music cafe in madison, wisco
doing all 420-based material, including a new improv number called
"Wagon Train",
the ever-growing Tommy overture (Holiday Camp added), a reggae version
of Pilate's Dream from Jesus Christ Superstar,
and an underture at the end that featured Smoke Two Joints, Grassman
(Sandman), Comin' into Los Angeles, and The Pusher
...among other tunes of the eve.
also, in honor of the new pope, i was NOT a singer but a RATSINGER
Amazing that sometimes one plays so hard and loud with a band to a
full house and yet a night like this can have a small house ALL DANCING
to solo madness...
yes amazing! apparently this also got a Critic's Choice in the local
rag that said i was going to do a Todd Rundgren lecture
so i wore the infamous RUNDGREN
JUNKIES signed T-shirt (2002)...
but skipped the TR as allergies had ahold of my falsetto.
after staying up all night after a lizardz show for the Vietnam Vets
and gettin' crazy all the next day, i popped into hollyrock's on 5/1 to
kick of the weekly sunday open jam with an acoustic set that included a
killer "Subhuman" with lizard Grant placed inside the Tommy medley (in
which the song Tommy and Capt. Walker were added in honor of the joint's
owner),
and an original blues number ala Robert
Johnson
that has been kickin' 'round my head for years called, "Cruel Hearted
Man",
performed with 'Rocks owner Tom Striegel on harmonica.
5/8 presented another double show day for me in whiskey rapids with
a solo show for Bill Tork's b-day (555) at 4 stools short
and then up the hill to hotel mead
for a show with the lizardz.
highlights from the first included "Make It Happen" with lyrics "Give
Him a Spanking" geared at the b-day boy,
the now famous
Tommy medley (slightly abbreviated due to time constraints but
references to Billy's Birthday Bash and an aborted addition of I'm
Free),
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" segued into an imrov number called, "Campfire Cool"
with bday boy, several Floyds,
reggae "Pilate's Dream" and funky "What's the Buzz?" frrom anothet
great rock-opera, Jesus Christ Superstar,
and some Neil I haven't done i years.
.
it's been a fun run so look for more of these in the near future and an almost complete Tommy soon.
- Jeff
4/28/5
Catching up and looking forward
Hi Ya'll,
It's been one hell of a 2 month ride for the Gepster.
Sorry I haven't
kept in contact but I have changed jobs and houses all at once. Not
recommended fir anyone who's considering it. Sure it's fun to have
all
this new stuff going on but remember to leave time to enjoy the
changes you make for yourself.
This public service message brought to you by your uncle Gep.
Still with everything going on I find time to play
with The Weavils
and my other band, Boney Fingers.
Most recently, The Weavils played at
the Reptile Palace (Formerly the Lizard Lounge) on High St. in
Oshkosh. The new owners, Beth and Clint do a great Job of keeping the
atmophere the created this legendary location more than 20 years ago.
Now The Reptile Palace is more focused on live music with house sound
and an elevated stage. The stage proves quite usfeull in a bar with
limited space...it was the difference between having that drunk guy
singing "LA Woman" WITH me rather than INSTEAD of me. The devil is
in
the details. WE shared the stage with a Band from Nebraska called
"Shelter Belt" if you ever see
the name I recomend checking them out.
8-piece and very good mix of all kinds of styles.
I'm certain we will be back at the Reptile Palace so keep an eye on
the schedule for more dates there.
Just a week earlier we played At Mulligans in Wisconsin
Rapids.
THIS WAS THE BEST TIME I'VE HAD PLAYING A GIG IN RAPIDS EVER!
The place is clean, large, and set up for good sound. No stage but
plently of room
for a band. Plus a huge banquet room downstairs for us to relax in.
Bingo (the owner) is very good to work for and I would definety stop
there on my way through Rapids for a beer.
Speaking of Wisconsin Rapids I played there
about a month ago with Boney Fingers.
We played across the river at a bar called Four Stools Short.
Ok, Boney Fingers is basically
a jam band that was at one time a Dead cover
band.
Now we play other "Dead-Like" stuff but for the most part we are peacfull
hippie types
that appeal to other peaceful hippie types.
Apparently our "Former agent" booked us as an Ozzy
Cover band! Or maybe she just said were a cover band that knows at
least one Ozzy song...no,that
would still be incorrect. But I can see
why our agent said that about us. because this was a METAL bar. Not
a
bar made out of metal but a bar that thinks Lemmy
is a pussy. I looked
at the calader of upcoming events and all the bands were named after
bodily functions. Vomit, Defacation, Disembowler, you see where I'm
going here. I asked the bar tender if there was anything she'd like
to hear. In all of her beautiful honesty she said "anything but that
"dead" shit... and no more Dylan!".
The best part of this place was that it was a shrine to Point
beer.
Hopefully you can see a picture (below) of ther wall behind the drum
set.
All Point logos.
Yes, I drank Point
all night...
and lot's of'em too.
Were all looking forward to this summer. Cornstock,
Summerfest
- Wed. 7/6,
Gratefull Garcia
Gathering, Gathering
of the heads, and all the gigs.
Trip to Minocqua, it's all so much to be happy about. Check out the
dates on our websites
and see for yourself. It's going to be a great
year full of shaking asses and meeting new family while sharing good
times with our current weavil-clan.
I look forward to seeing you all shaking what your mama gave you in
the near future.
Rock On!
- Geppy
4/20/5
Portal Music Cafe - Madison, WI
Tuesday 4/19-4/20/5
Considering i started after midnight, this was a full-blown 420
solo acoustic show and
in honor of Todd Rundgren'scurrent
acoustic tour,
this night was was aptly spent with double shirley poppy and dead horse
at
the portal music cafe in madison, wiscoooooooo
the opposite of what most expect as the full band played first, then
the percussion-based dead horse,
and finally myself doing all 420-based material, including Subhuman,
a new improv number called "Wagon Train", a Tommy overture,
a reggae version of Pilate's Dream from Jesus Christ Superstar,
and an underture at the end that featured Smoke Two Joints, Grassman
(Sandman), Comin' into Los Angeles, and The Pusher
...among other tunes of the eve.
also, in honor of the new pope, i was NOT a singer but a RATSINGER
Amazing that sometimes one plays so hard and loud with a band to a full
house and yet a night like this can have a small house ALL DANCING
to solo madness...
yes amazing! apparently this also got a Critic's Choice in the local
rag that said i was going to do a Todd Rundgren lecture
so i wore the infamous RUNDGREN
JUNKIES signed T-shirt (2002)...
but skipped the TR as allergies had ahold of my falsetto.
MANY THANKS
to the two great bands that set up my set...and all the great dancers
(that really blew my mind)
and special thanks to Andrew for gettin' my party started
- Jeff
3/20/5
Crystal
Corner Bar - Madison, WI
Saturday, March 19 - 2005
SPRING THING
Still reelin'...
This was a very special show for me as i mix bands at the crystal corner on saturdays when not gigging so i knew we had to do our best to impress and, hopefully, fill the place. The great impression came natural and easy but there was much musical activity in Madison that eve so the house was not near as full as we would have liked to see, however, many in attendance were family that have supported us for years, several of whom we have not seen in quite some time...thank you! Most of the Crystal staff had never seen me perform so it was amaaaaaazingly fun to watch their jaws drop as we held the crowd in the palms of our hands from the very first song.
We also planned ahead and booked Alex Mielke of Studio Earth to mix
us, brought in Kai from WYOU
to shoot the entire show and teamed up Tom and Dead Horse Mike to bring
us what should be a great soundboard/audience recording.
Hopefully we will synch these soon and produce a DVD.
Box Elder played a fine set of acoustic-tinged folk-rock leanings and
sweet female vocals and
Blue Bazookas layed down their
unique blend of blues and vegas with surreal delight. Due to some miscommunication,
their set was cut short and we apologize for any inconveniences. It was
great to have "Knobby" in the house to mix Stauffer's boyz as we did our
first
real recordings at his place in Sun Prairie back in 1995.
He was also the first to multi-track
several performances that same year.
Alex provided our best mix ever and we slugged out a great mix of originals
and covers that
enthralled the club over our hour-an-a-half set.
We will be back in fall with two other bands.
What a very, very special evening...we thank you all.
- Jeff
3/17/5
The Portal Music Cafe - Madison, WI
Tuesday, March 15 - 2005
Ides of March/Ron's B-day Bash
Acoustic Jeff
(Spring Thing Awareness Show)
An acoustic Jeff show is always a unique and strange event that often
includes bizarre references to the evening, crowd, news, and usually a
guest or two...this, of course, was no exception. Not only was this date
the infamous Ides of March
(beware...be very, very ware)
but it was also my buddy Ron's birthday so the insanity train needed
to ride.
Prior to walking into the Portal i ran into Julie
Lloyd, a chick with a bad attitude that did an early show, in the parking
lot-apparently she did not have a good time.
Cultural references included several impersonations of Randy Jackson
of American Idol, many abuses of the
birthday boy,
and telekenesis galore.
Steppenwolf tune was done as i thought they were inducted into the
Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Buddy Guy, the Pretenders, U2, Percy
Sledge, and the O'Jays the previous eve
...i was wrong about Steppenwolf so look for them, along with Todd
Rundgren and Blue Oyster Cult, next year.
(Real) Set List:
Pigs on the Wing (Part One) [Pink Floyd] ->
Make It Happen ->
Comin' into Los Angeles [Arlo Guthrie]
The Pusher [Steppenwolf]
River City Blues
I'm Your Puppet [Marvin Gaye]
Whiskey Waters
Subhuman (w/ Ron Bundy on vocals) [Blue Oyster Cult]
Television Zombies
~~~enter Falcon of El Donk (guitar
and vocals)~~~
Where Do You Think You're Goin'? [Dire Straits]
Hold On [Winwood]
Milkjug Skeleton [El Donk]
Fearless [Pink Floyd]
Son of Mr. Green Genes [Frank Zappa] ->
Pinball Wizard -> Listenin' to You [The Who]
~~~exit Falcon~~~
Honey Don't [Carl Perkins]
Secret Agent Man [Johnnie Rivers] ->
Sandman [America] ->
Pigs on the Wing (Part Two) [Pink Floyd]
Surrender [Cheap Trick]
Special thanks to Caroyln for taking pictures (hopefully here soon)
and Mike Bleck for sharing the bill,
recording (the only way to truly know what the hell was played),
and bringing Little Marsh
Overflow to the gig.
Mike is a long-time Weavilhead that is also known as Dead Horse and
we hope to do this double bill again soon.
Also i hope to begin doingFriday afternoon Acoustic shows at Hollyrock's
in Wisconsin Rapids on a regular basis very soon.
NOTE: solo gig at H-rox added for April 15 (pre-Mulligan's).
- Jeff
2/22/5
The Cold Shot, Appleton WI.
Friday, February 18th - 2005
(13th Anniversary)
This was also the 10th anniversary of Drummer Dean meeting his wife Shawn, at the very same bar. Needless to say, we had our family around us and it felt great.
Jeff and Gep listened to "The Cars Live" 1979 in
Boston on our way up to Appleton. It's funny how different music can set
the mood for the night. I think the Cars gave us a lighter-hearted attitude
as we pulled into the parking lot, both of us bopping to "Don't-cha stop".
We soon noticed Dean had gotten there ahead of us and was being "crushed"
by a gentleman that was obviously there drinking since opening.
( I have to give props to our new friend as he was still standing proud
at the end of the show)
The Cold Shot is a great place for live music. House sound, good beer selection, the right attitude on behalf of the staff, Hell, most of the staff are rockers too. It's not the roomiest place in town but if you want that intimatacy between crowd and band you'll find it here. Intimacy abounded between band member as well. Johnny was heard to comment how cool it was to be so close to each other. Sure we'd spread out if we could,. but those times when you're right on top of each other should be cherished, recorded and listened to in comparison to a festival stage show because they are probably your best shows.
We couldn't wait until 10:00 (real-people time) to start. We knew we had to play until 2am but Fuck it. We started at 10:00 bar-time knowing we'd play until past 2am real people time anyhow. From the get-go, there were asses shakin. They never stopped. Shake shake shake. All night long. The set list was easy because the crowd at the Cold Shot is so receptive.
We did have one "side show" However. At some point in the first set we had an accident in the parking lot. Ok it wasn't as much an accident as it was a drunk playing bumper cars after being asked to leave the bar for not conforming to the bars "Love-One-Another" policy. In her defense, it's a tricky lot. but she should not have even gotten into her car" I'm sure if the staff knew she had the capability of finding they would have tried to stop her. Unfortunately the responding officer suspected that we had packed the Cold Shot over it's capacity. Which we had at that point. The fire inspector came and, of course, everyone thought he was a cop. But in the end it caused no trouble, some people had to dance outside to keep warm until others left but at least we can say that we had the place at capacity.
All in all it felt like home, which is now what the Cold Shot is to The Weavils in Appleton. Don't look for us anywhere in Appleton except for the Cold Shot on the corner of Richmond and Wisconsin. And keep your eye on this place. it's not the biggest but good things always come in small packages. Sheri and Dave "Scruffy" Galow do a great job making you feel at home. You can always count on quality music to be playing on the jukebox or through the house PA. The Cold Shot also has one of the best Open Mic's in the Fox valley with Bobby Evans, Jay Stulow and part-owner "Scruffy" on drums every Tuesday.
The Weavils expect to be back at the Cold Shot at least two or three more times this year which means that's how many times we will be in Appleton this year. So keep you eyes on the schedule and plan ahead because you don;t have to be one of those people shaking what your mamma gave you in the parking lot next to Geppy's van. Although if you had to dance anywhere in the parking lot i would recommend it be next to Geppy's van.
See you at our next show on April 15th in Wiscsonsin Rapids.
- Geppy
