Sunday, October 31, 2004
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Bada boom
Wow - we had a rockin' time last night at Continental Club.
Tody and the Falcon opened up, and they blew the crowd away with a slam dunk set. If you haven't seen them yet, make a point of it. (The Falcon and Ian play together in Arthur Yoria's backup band, so we might be a little biased ... :)
Drop took the stage at 10:30 and played a steamroller set of our most rock & roll prog anthems. The crowd didn't know exactly what to make of us, on the whole, but seemed OK with the experience. Probably didn't hurt that Ian was sporting black hair, sunglasses and a clean shave. (You won't recognize him next time you see us play, seriously - nobody believed it was him, and we hear rumors are circulating that Ian quit the band and there's a new 17 year old guy taking his place.)
The Southern Backtones hit the stage at 11:45 and pulled out one of the best sets in recent memory. The new CD is full of intense, look-you-in-the-eye songs that are as catchy as they are masterful, and they played them like the band of rock stars they are. Ian got up on stage for a couple songs (The Doors' Maggie McGill and James O'Gwynne's Talk To Me).
Our man Liés took the cake for best team spirit, sporting a Drop Trio t-shirt and "DROP TRIO" tatooed on his forearm (don't worry, it's temporary!) Big thanks also to everybody else who came out to support us - thank you, thank you, thank you.
See you Nov. 12th at the Meridian!
Tody and the Falcon opened up, and they blew the crowd away with a slam dunk set. If you haven't seen them yet, make a point of it. (The Falcon and Ian play together in Arthur Yoria's backup band, so we might be a little biased ... :)
Drop took the stage at 10:30 and played a steamroller set of our most rock & roll prog anthems. The crowd didn't know exactly what to make of us, on the whole, but seemed OK with the experience. Probably didn't hurt that Ian was sporting black hair, sunglasses and a clean shave. (You won't recognize him next time you see us play, seriously - nobody believed it was him, and we hear rumors are circulating that Ian quit the band and there's a new 17 year old guy taking his place.)
The Southern Backtones hit the stage at 11:45 and pulled out one of the best sets in recent memory. The new CD is full of intense, look-you-in-the-eye songs that are as catchy as they are masterful, and they played them like the band of rock stars they are. Ian got up on stage for a couple songs (The Doors' Maggie McGill and James O'Gwynne's Talk To Me).
Our man Liés took the cake for best team spirit, sporting a Drop Trio t-shirt and "DROP TRIO" tatooed on his forearm (don't worry, it's temporary!) Big thanks also to everybody else who came out to support us - thank you, thank you, thank you.
See you Nov. 12th at the Meridian!
Saturday, October 30, 2004
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Continental Tonight
C'mon down to Continental Club tonight (Saturday) and catch some rocked out, pedal to the metal Drop Trio - opening for our friends the Southern Backtones.
Friday, October 29, 2004
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Psst
We're not making a big deal of it, cuz, you know, we've got a really cool big show tomorrow with the Southern Backtones. But if you're around tonight and want some funk jazz, I hear there's a good band playing over at Brasil for funk jazz fridays.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
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Drop Trio Takes Blame For Lip Sync Fiasco
Houston, TX - October 26, 2004
Drop Trio, Houston-based instrumetnal funk jazz band, has accepted full responsibility for a lip syncing fiasco this weekend at their CD release party at the Last Concert Cafe.
During the performance of one of their songs, "Invisible Pants", the lead singer, Ian Varley, was seen to be mouthing the words "I've got a very fine man-lady". However, the words that the crowd heard were "I've got, invisibile, invisible pants". Varley attempted to cover with some impromptu dance moves, then stormed from the stage.
"I take the blame," said bassist Patrick Flanagan. "I pressed the wrong button on Ian's in-ear monitor system, so he thought we were playing a different song."
"I don't usually use lip-sync," said Varley. But he blamed the rigorous schedule of playing 3 shows in one day, and said that he thought in retrospect it was a "silly, silly decision".
"You think that you can see them, but you can't," added Varley.
This marks the second major publicity embarassment for the band this year; only 3 months earlier, drummer The Nuje had a "wardrobe malfunction" during a screening of the feature film The Johannes Family Reunion. Legal action with the greater Houston board of decency and morality is still pending.
The band's management company, Invisible Dog Music, could not be reached for comment.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
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Wow
What an incredible night! We had a blast at the CD release party on Saturday night at Last Concert. The rain early in the day didn't seem to dissuade too many people, since the Cafe was packed. Thanks to every one of you, for coming and buying our new album!
Friday, October 22, 2004
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Tired & Happy
We had an excellent time in San Antonio last night! (I bet you didn't even know we were playing in San Antonio, did you?) We played at the ever classy club Luna, and it was a superb experience just like last time. The difference being, this time, there were a lot of people there! Thanks to Charlie S. & Andrea P., our Houston friends, for bringing out your peeps, and thanks to DJ Scuba Gooding Jr. & Fatback Circus for doing the same with your San Antonio peeps. And thanks to Scott B, our biggest San Antonio Fan! You guys are awesome and we can't wait to hit town again.
Now we're gonna rest up (we got home to Houston at 6am!) and get ready for our big CD release party tomorrow - Noon at Cactus, 9pm at Last Concert Cafe! (And 3pm at Borders for those of you in the Woodlands.) In the meantime, go check out these great shows tonight (Friday 10/22)!
(Did you know that you can usually find a pretty comprehensive list of who's playing in Houston on any given night, on the KPFT web site? Check it out.)
On top of all that, tune in to KPFT tonight - we'll be doing an interview on the Dead Air show around 11pm. Listen online!
Now we're gonna rest up (we got home to Houston at 6am!) and get ready for our big CD release party tomorrow - Noon at Cactus, 9pm at Last Concert Cafe! (And 3pm at Borders for those of you in the Woodlands.) In the meantime, go check out these great shows tonight (Friday 10/22)!
- Tucker Roundtree Trio @ Brasil (for funk jazz fridays)
- Joe Locascio Trio @ Cezanne
- Larry Slezak Hammond Organ Band w/ Sheri Lavo and Jose-Miguel Yamal @ Ovations
- Plump @ Brian O'Neils
- Andrew Lienhard w/ Kevin Patton, David Craig, & Cindy Scott @ Magnolia Hotel
(Did you know that you can usually find a pretty comprehensive list of who's playing in Houston on any given night, on the KPFT web site? Check it out.)
On top of all that, tune in to KPFT tonight - we'll be doing an interview on the Dead Air show around 11pm. Listen online!
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
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KACC Interview
Today between 1 and 2pm, Ian will be interviewed on KACC, 89.7 FM. He'll be talking with DJ Peter V about the new record and the CD release party this Saturday night at Last Concert Cafe! Tune in an check it out.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
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Drop Radio
Check out Ian and Patrick tonight on 90.1 FM. They will be hanging with DJ Sun and playing tracks from
"Leap". They go on the air at 9:30pm.
"Leap". They go on the air at 9:30pm.
Friday, October 15, 2004
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FJF tonight, with t-shirts!
We're playing a sneaky little pre-pre-release show tonight at Brasil (the usual funk jazz fridays thing). Come by if you're in the hood! We've got new t-shirts just in, so come get 'em while they're hot!
Thursday, October 14, 2004
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Sugarhill Press Release
Sugarhill studios put out this press release today:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For media inquiries,
Contact: Heba Kadry
Phone: 713-926-4431
Email: [email protected]
Drop Trio at SugarHill
(HOUSTON, TEXAS) ‹ October 11th, 2004 ‹
Houston's favorite instrumental jazz funk group Drop Trio will release their second album entitled Leap this month. The band decided to take this project in a different direction by recording an album that was entirely improvised.
Ian Varley, the band's piano and Rhodes extraordinaire and two time Houston Press Music Awards winner (2003 and 2004) said, "We didn't write any songs or rehearse any parts. We just came into the studio with a totally blank slate and recorded on the spur of the moment."
The album was tracked in two hours on February 29, 2004 at SugarHill Recording Studios with Staff Engineer John Griffin. The band then took the material to their home studio for editing. They then returned to SugarHill to mix with Griffin and master the project at SugarHill's sister company Essential Sound. Ian Varley, Nuje Blattel and Patrick Flanagan shared production credits on the album.
"What we ended up with was about 14 distinct sections. The music rarely
stops between tracks, but still the different sections ended up sounding
like different 'songs,'" Varley commented.
The band plans to have a release party for the album on Saturday, October 23 at Last Concert Café in addition to an in-store performance at Cactus Music & Video at noon that same day.
Musicians on the album included:
Nuje Blattel - Drums, percussion, Rhodes, Hammond H-3, kazoo, hand owl, vocals
Ian Varley - Piano, Rhodes, Hammond B-3
Nino Batista - Bass, guitar, percussion, recorder
For more information on Drop Trio, please visit http://www.droptrio.com.
Photo attached: (From left to right): Ian Varley, John Griffin, Nuje Blattel.
***************************
Located in Houston, SugarHill Recording Studios is the oldest continuously operating facility in Texas. With over 60 years of music-making history, we have an award-winning engineering staff and a collection of both leading edge and vintage equipment. For more information, visit our website at http://www.sugarhillstudios.com.
Pretty cool - thanks Sugarhill, not just for the press release, but for making our record sound incredible!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For media inquiries,
Contact: Heba Kadry
Phone: 713-926-4431
Email: [email protected]
Drop Trio at SugarHill
(HOUSTON, TEXAS) ‹ October 11th, 2004 ‹
Houston's favorite instrumental jazz funk group Drop Trio will release their second album entitled Leap this month. The band decided to take this project in a different direction by recording an album that was entirely improvised.
Ian Varley, the band's piano and Rhodes extraordinaire and two time Houston Press Music Awards winner (2003 and 2004) said, "We didn't write any songs or rehearse any parts. We just came into the studio with a totally blank slate and recorded on the spur of the moment."
The album was tracked in two hours on February 29, 2004 at SugarHill Recording Studios with Staff Engineer John Griffin. The band then took the material to their home studio for editing. They then returned to SugarHill to mix with Griffin and master the project at SugarHill's sister company Essential Sound. Ian Varley, Nuje Blattel and Patrick Flanagan shared production credits on the album.
"What we ended up with was about 14 distinct sections. The music rarely
stops between tracks, but still the different sections ended up sounding
like different 'songs,'" Varley commented.
The band plans to have a release party for the album on Saturday, October 23 at Last Concert Café in addition to an in-store performance at Cactus Music & Video at noon that same day.
Musicians on the album included:
Nuje Blattel - Drums, percussion, Rhodes, Hammond H-3, kazoo, hand owl, vocals
Ian Varley - Piano, Rhodes, Hammond B-3
Nino Batista - Bass, guitar, percussion, recorder
For more information on Drop Trio, please visit http://www.droptrio.com.
Photo attached: (From left to right): Ian Varley, John Griffin, Nuje Blattel.
***************************
Located in Houston, SugarHill Recording Studios is the oldest continuously operating facility in Texas. With over 60 years of music-making history, we have an award-winning engineering staff and a collection of both leading edge and vintage equipment. For more information, visit our website at http://www.sugarhillstudios.com.
Pretty cool - thanks Sugarhill, not just for the press release, but for making our record sound incredible!
Saturday, October 09, 2004
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New Jack
Last night, if you had gone by Dan Electro's, you would have seen a strange sight - Ian sitting in with Guy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies. It was a couple firsts - first time setting foot inside the bar, and first time playing a full show with the NJH.
The bar, which has recently reopened under the caring new ownership of Bob and Mell, is a Houston landmark, and with good reason - solid sound, great stage, cool room, and excellent patio. You should go by some Tuesday (for the Goodtrain sessions jam) or Wednesday (for the Psychodillos). Or, heck, go by tonight, Sky Blue 72 is playing (the new project of Frank and Jessica Zweback from Zwee, plus Davis Jumper).
And playing with the Hippies? A total adventure. The songs ranged from gut wrenching blues to triumphant prog rock, from to full tilt funk to straight ahead country. The band was a killer lineup - Guy on guitar and Roger Taus on bass, of course, but also the very Terri Green on guitar, and Leesa Harrington Squyres on drums ("How come I didn't already know you?"). Word on the street is, they multi-track recorded the whole evening, so with any luck we can get a couple of the gems and let ya hear 'em.
The bar, which has recently reopened under the caring new ownership of Bob and Mell, is a Houston landmark, and with good reason - solid sound, great stage, cool room, and excellent patio. You should go by some Tuesday (for the Goodtrain sessions jam) or Wednesday (for the Psychodillos). Or, heck, go by tonight, Sky Blue 72 is playing (the new project of Frank and Jessica Zweback from Zwee, plus Davis Jumper).
And playing with the Hippies? A total adventure. The songs ranged from gut wrenching blues to triumphant prog rock, from to full tilt funk to straight ahead country. The band was a killer lineup - Guy on guitar and Roger Taus on bass, of course, but also the very Terri Green on guitar, and Leesa Harrington Squyres on drums ("How come I didn't already know you?"). Word on the street is, they multi-track recorded the whole evening, so with any luck we can get a couple of the gems and let ya hear 'em.
Friday, October 08, 2004
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New Web Site!
Finally! Our new web site is up, and just in time to start taking pre-orders for Leap! That's right - the record is here and we're ready to ship it to ya! In fact, if you order in the next 7 days (by 10/15) we'll even give you free shipping. You can listen to sound clips first
Thursday, October 07, 2004
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In the Garage
You can check out the song "The Big S.O." from "Leap" on garageband.com. Garage band is a great web site that connects bands with music lovers based solely on the music - your songs get reviewed anonymously, so the reviews are usually pretty honest.
Monday, October 04, 2004
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Reaction
If you haven't heard the new Buddhacrush CD yet (Change Reaction) then go give it a listen. We were blown away by the intensity of these tunes. (My favorite so far is A Little God). It was an honor to play with these guys, and a great evening all around.
Friday, October 01, 2004
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Fossil Fuels
Though it was a lot of driving for one day, we enjoyed the chance to play at Club Dada last night. We played outside on the patio and the weather was great. Deep Ellum was certainly getting busy with all the bands appearing for the festival.
Saturday - Tommorrow! Buddhacrush CD release!
We're stoked to help support Buddhacrush's new release, "Change Reaction". We'll be opening for them at the Rythm Room tomorrow night, October 2.
Saturday - Tommorrow! Buddhacrush CD release!
We're stoked to help support Buddhacrush's new release, "Change Reaction". We'll be opening for them at the Rythm Room tomorrow night, October 2.
