what a week it has been!!! i've been so unbelievably busy all week long with a handful of things happening  - the first and biggest is the release of Damon Reeves' debut release "Coming Home"! i've been under the gun trying to get the release together in time for my own 8/2/11 deadline and i made it by the skin of me teeth. in the end we put out a really great sounding product and even have a nice little set-up going so that we aren't investing megabucks into a huge inventory to carry around. since that all came together in time - the next bit of work to do was get the word out about our online sales AND our little celebratory event happening at Theodores' on Saturday (8/6)! I'm holding back from calling it a "CD Release Party" only because we can't afford the upfront cost for CD's for the show at this point - so we won't have them actually available at the party. Still - the party will still be awesome! more than anything we plan on playing the CD live and a bunch of other fun tunes too. There is no cover and without there being any pressure to move units at the party to make up costs - i think it will be a ridiculously fun night!


now, i have set up a little store widget in this blog. it's located just to the right on top of al the other widgets. Basically at this point we have the album available as a digital download OR a CD that you can order. each of the individual tracks are also available as 99 cent downloads too. there are ringtones available - which is awesome if you're into that. we also have a handful of shirts designed as well - they are all new and yes, we had a lot of fun with some of these. hey, this band is a fun band - we want that to come through in the products people buy from us. oh, we will be distributing very soon through many various online music retailers as well. sites like itunes, amazon mp3, last fm, yadda yadda yadda - are all in the process of carrying "Coming Home" - yay!


this is the first time that i have had product available like this - where technology has been at the forefront as the primary method to distribute music and merchandise. i'm working toward getting a small inventory together for live shows. a short run of CD's and some digital download cards are in the very near future. we'll get some shirts to have on hand and some of the smaller promo items - but the large selection will be mainly online as far as merchandise goes. that's not to say we won't offer some live show only "special" stuff however! the feedback so far has been awesome - i'm just hoping to hear from even more people about their thoughts on the release.


we have a slow month lined up for August as far as shows go - that's a good thing though! after saturday's party we have one more event lined up - the BCBM Presents: Paper City's Muddy Roots/Deep Blues Jam Sessions on Saturday 8/27. i'm really looking forward to this as a regular series for BCBM. my goal is to bring in more artists to feature and develop working relationship with larger touring acts. a place where an artist could swing in knowing that this has a good core group of participants and spectators - and feel like it was a good stop to make on their tour. The 27th features Henry's Rifle - and i'm feeling pretty excited about having John on the bill for the kick-off BCBM Sessions!


we'll leave it at that - i do plan on a sunday morning blog entry as i work while half asleep chugging coffee in order to cling to consciousness. ahh - the life of a blue collar musician!

summer in the city....

wow!! it's been a while since i have been posting any content up here. i should mention that readers of this amazing bit of literary gold can always stay connected with me via my social media outlets. i am, in fact a huge proponent of social networking and am a bit of a social media whore at times. i have links to my online profiles posted on the sidebars of this here blog - but for those who prefer to not seek them out and for my own love of posting links i'll leave them right in this entry too!

My Facebook Page

Follow me on Twitter

My You-Tube Channel

Black Cat Bone Music on ReverbNation

Damon Reeves & The Love Thieves

as for what has been going on in my life - well for a month or so my wife and i have been dieting and exercising - it's paying off! We have been careful with what we eat and have been taking vitamins and supplements along with being active and drinking tons of water. i have noticed that i actually don't have the back pain i was having while spending 4 hours a night on my drum throne. that's huge since i hated the idea of spending so much time doing something i love was leading to my back killing me.

last night i took the whole family to see Eva Cappelli and her band perform at a great little outdoor venue in Easthampton, MA. the kids had a blast and Holly did too. it was a nice little crowd that gathered for the show too. i was talking to a woman in the crowd and she told me that they have these free outdoor concerts each friday. the venue is literally on the bike trail, right off the section that crosses ferry street. i am hoping to track down a schedule so i can find out what the other events are so i can get the kids some exposure to live music.

still very much looking forward to the Deep Blues Festival this July. unfortunately - it's looking like it won't be the nice trip that Holly and i had in mind a few months ago. money is really tight right now and if she doesn't find work we really won't be able to afford the trip together. problem is we have a hotel reserved for that weekend and it's already paid for. so, she insists that i go without her and find someone/a small crew to come along. that will help make the trip do-able. we'll see what happens - still about a month to go until the trip, so we'll see what happens.

over the last couple of days i have had BBQ FEVER in the worst way possible! for the last handful of years (mainly since living in this 3rd floor apartment) i have been hoping each summer i would be able to spend a day with 3 things sun, beer and barbecue (all the while being kidless of course)! the summer just slips away so fast and i get tied up with other things. this year however, i am planning on buying a portable smoker and making it a priority to make my dream come true. i want to go portable so that i can take it camping with us as we've been acquiring camping equipment so that we can begin to take the family out enjoying the outdoors! the rainy weather outside at the moment has curbed my desire to smoke meats and veg in the sun while sipping beers - or diet approved mixed drinks until i reach my goal weight. i have scoped out some smokers out there that will allow me to do this on the cheap - which of course is very necessary. i have considered going with an electric or propane route for control - but there is the caveman aspect that i want where i actually have to control the fire myself. so, charcoal it is!

my coffee cup is empty.