Originally Posted in November 2020

The Latest 

Well it's been one hell of a 2020 aye? Me and the boys have been super responsible with social distancing since this whole pandemic thing happened and we haven't played a note with each other since March 10th. That upcoming Friday we had our first full band gig booked for Lincoln Winebar in Mount Vernon, Iowa and decided it was the safest bet to cancel with all of the closures and lockdowns that were starting to take place. We of course had no idea this was going to go on, and on, and on... No one did. We cancelled the rest of our gigs for the summer and hunkered down just like the rest of the world. We are all doing fine, everyone is healthy except of course for being mad sick of this damn virus!! I went to visit with Puma one day this summer outside in the yard and he is doing great. As he lives across from Hickory Hill Park and has taken some time off work he's been jogging every day and is the fittest I've ever seen him! I can't wait to see how his new found endurance relates to his drum kit when we can finally start putting ourselves back together. Dennis is also doing great. He is working, taking care of his 2 amazing kids and working on some music with his girlfriend Sharon Jackson who is also a very talented singer/songwriter. Smudge is still kickin' it Smudge style too! I popped in to say hello just recently and he's up to the same ole no-good and I would expect nothing less. I sure miss watching his crazy ass play with his arms and hair going everywhere and that big Smudge smile.  We all miss each other and most definitely miss playing music.  

In the mean time, I have worked on a couple of new solo songs, one called "Long Tall Tale" which is the first song I've ever written about my brother ( you can check it out on the music page) and my newest baby, "This American Dream". This was a particularly emotional, fun and challenging project as all I had was myself, my guitar, a midi controller and a couple of DAW's. I initially recorded the guitar and vocals in Presonus Studio 4 and then dumped those tracks into Logic so I could access all of the cool sounds to write bass, drums, keys and string tracks one by one. Actually it was more like, strings, keys, bass and then drums - I guess you could say I do things a little backwards, but if that's how it works then I guess that's my process LOL.  I put together a music video and I sent out a call to action for people to send me pictures of them wearing their masks to put in the video and a I got a great response! A lot of people I know and a lot of people I don't know responded. It was really wonderful to get them all and I think I ended up with somewhere around 100 photos. I also received some video clips involving the protests for George Floyd and BLM Movement. It's unfathomable just how much has happened this year. We really have been through a lot... we really have... and I'll take a moment of silence with that thought.... 

And now, we find ourselves with a new President and Vice President Elect - KAMALA!!! WOOOT!!! A vaccine is just around the corner, and that "probably won't see things getting back to normal until next spring/summer" is getting closer. I am beginning to see a light at the end of this dark and treacherous, twisted and sick broken down carnival ride of a tunnel and I hope you are too. We just have to hold out and be strong through the holidays, skip those family gatherings keeping in mind that next year we can celebrate love, life and family 10x bigger and better to make up for it!  

We are really looking forward to putting some dates on the calendar for summer 2021 and beyond and doing some recording and all kinds of great musical stuff to share with you! In the mean time, you can get a little nostalgic and listen to some stuff on the music tab, watch some videos from our live shows and drop us a line if you want! We hope each and every one of you are in good health, mentally and physically and we wish you a warm holiday season.  

Love, 

Nikki & The Guys 

 

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