photo by Rebecca Hicks

Friday December 22, 2006. Dear Gigalogue:

Nochee. Hmmmmmm. Forgot to ask the bartender  (again) what it means. At any rate, we had a good time in downtown Minneapolis the Friday before Christmas. Our hosts Conver Watts rocked the joint, too, per usual. Thanks Darril. Chris, Mike and Percussion Man for having us. Plenty of familiar faces for the Maeflies to ponder from the stage: Amy-sister of Simmer & Co., Boxer and Kim ( they deserve Frequent Rocker miles or something, don't they?), Our friends from the ol' hood: Tami and Tish, Our Friend Jim, Master Photo Dude and Eternal Fan-thanks for supportin' the cause!  Pam C and Melissa R snuck into the room and were waving from the back, along with Mike & Gitte…with great pleasure we can report WOMEN'S UNDERWEAR were indeed flipped onto the stage. Man, for some time it has been boxers, boxers, boxers….we all appreciate Mae's beauty but what about the Orchestra? Chopped liver? Don't answer that.

Saturday, November 18, 2006. Dear Gigalogue:

Goodbye sometimes means one thing, but Saturday night we were mostly saying hello to the hundreds of you who showed up to fill St Alban's Boathouse to the bursting point. You know who you are. It was several deep at the bar, SRO in the back and every chair had at least one fanny in it, sometimes two. We gotta tell you, when it's so full we have fans standing on the ramp stage right, the joint is cookin'. We were on a full boil for our set, and it was all because of the magic in the room from all of you. Where do we start? Paul Norton took a few hours off from penning his latest songs to MC for little 'ol us…great job Paul & thank you. We're glad you're on our side. Hey, how about Waxing Phil? Those guys know what they are doing and we are happy to have introduced many 'Flies Fans to a band we feel so good about. Face it, Eric Bull is the real deal. Don't miss their new CD-it is just around the corner and you can find it via waxingphil.com. Ryan mixed like the pro he is and Brandon was the holding sway at the door all night long. Fritzy came thru with a cool place to play and listen. And then how 'bout our stable mates Conver Watts? Tres cool, as always. Rocket Man never had it so good with Mike and Spike working together…and Mae slipped up there to embellish Darril's "Circle Forms a Seat for Two." Nice touch…and fun for the Flies to sit out there and see why we call it the Maeflies…and why we always like being on the bill with Chris, Darril, Mike & Co...Thanks to the capable Sam Stich for making it just like the record…sometimes goodbye means another thing..and right now it means "See you at Nochee!"

Wednesday, September 27,  2006.   Dear Gigalogue:

She heard the train pull up. We set up the cirkus at the Narrows last Wednesday and together with Rick at the mixer we had our own Homecoming the same week as Tonka High. We fared better than Tonka in the rain. We sang Rainy Day by the 'hawks. A few clowns here and there, but mostly the usual suspects under the Big Top. Heather and Lee and The Mayor and Bea ( hey-accidental poetry!!) showed up. We had the Two Iowans from Pocahontas swilling some Jag for fun. Waxing Phil showed up to support the cause and even played two...Jeff finally got to hear his new kit from the room. Cool. Ms. Cheryl and company were there.....THANKS. Beth and Rebecca cooed for their boys. We played until we could play no more..and put it all back on the train to head for another show. We can't tell you why.

Saturday, August 26, 2006. St. Alban's Boathouse on Lake Minnetonka. Dear Gigalogue:

Why does love go? Why does summer go? Saturday night was a love fest for the 'Flies and  fans. What a turn-out at St Alban's Boathouse! Boat House? How about Noah's Ark-we had people stuffed everywhere-even outside the stage door where you can watch and mebbe burn one. A perfect Minnesota summer night and our debut at SAB-do we have to say farewell to summer? There were fans and rumors of fans-we couldn't possibly say hello to all of you at the breaks. Hopefully nods, waves and various forms of acknowledgment from the stage were enough. New record for sheer numbers of Maeflies T shirts within 100 feet of each other. And hey, our Twins beat the Sox after only 11 innings (there was magic in the air). The circuit breakers didn't blow. Dave Jaffray & Co showed, Mary and Jay brought a slug of friends. Joanne, Tom and Mark ( resting from a vigorous shopping trip for a decent smoker) were tipping a few in our honor.  The Mayor and Bea, Ann, Jill, Eve, Kim and several jillion others dominated the middle of the room (shocker). Beth, Rebecca and Melissa were parking close with Jim "He Has a Ph.D. in Science" and Amy A, who came all the way from another time zone.  Jeff and Doreen couldn't make it so they sent DAD... Dave D, professor emeritus of the University of Okoboji, present with chum and fiancé, no less. Coach Flynn got bored and came over. Then, the entire room started bursting at the seams after the entire OMFSC party cruise showed up!!  Many thanks to Ryan the Sound Dude. We had some great feedback ( forgive the pun)-that room sounded better then the (er) Narrows….and it was BYOS. A+ Ryan-thank you. Dave and Molly bought me a beer and sat with David-"Southern Man"-Ferg and his bride Lucy…where he could keep his ears on us & a close eye on the Twinks…he gets it.  Many thanks to Fritzy-your club rocks….sorry you missed us!

Keep your eyes peeled for the soon-to-be-announced CD release party. We'll let you know.

 

July 6, 2006  Narrow's Navarre. Dear Gigalogue:

One is a whole lot less than half of two. Our one and only public appearance in July has come and gone...and what a gas, but we wanted more. Summertime at the Narrows just feels like you ought to be rockin'. Especially when all your friends show up. Ann, sis of our singer, brought her pals and sat close. El Doctor and Heather were joining us for a bump con Paul y Mary (uh, where was Peter-get it??). They came right after church let out. Well, Heather skipped church. Mott the Hoople have nothing on Jim & Kayla who came All-the-Way-From-Hudson. C & D Boyd made it....Lisa A was there, Dave The Rave Tanner..hey, supporting the cause. Next time, dobro time, bro. Everything we do is in G for crying out loud. Dolans and Turner-Warners-thanks, you guys. Brad got his very own Ain't It a Shame. I didn't realize Barry likes beer that much. Nick, our own Johnny Depp sort of, was manning the faders..always cool. Aspen Wings and Co. thanks for being there!  Pam and Meliss were busy meeting guys. Mark, Amber and Paul "Doppler Radar" came in just when we needed the Cavalry to come over the hill, colors flying. Doug O was there..Thirty Pounds of Blue Jeans...just what DOES that mean? Hey, we're headed back to studio-land to complete the record...we're almost there. 


June 10 & 11, 2006, Maeflies World Headquarters. Dear Gigalogue:

Flies, damned flies and statistics.  Six people, 48 hours, 20 guitars, a bass, a drum kit, coffee, beer and scotch. A hundred takes, a borrowed condenser mic (thanks DO) and lots of "uh, it was pretty good but I dropped a note/chord/beat right after we....". No prob. "We're rollin'...count it Jeff".

Statistically speaking, all we did all week end was work around the clock on the debut Maeflies CD…it was an exhausting, creative gas. We'll put it this way: nobody got sunburned. We couldn't. We were inside day and night for 2 days at Maeflies World Headquarters.. JR Hammond presided at the faders while the Maeflies banged out basic tracks on a bunch of stuff..some you have heard and some you haven't. We feel sorta like you do in art class when you put that pottery into the kiln….you just hope it comes out something like you imagined it. We'll see how these takes do at the hands of JR and, well, wait and see. We'll get a lot more done before we see everybody at the Narrows July 6, but in the meantime, here's a run down on the tunes we're recording:

Deep In Louisiana 
Wham!
So Long, Lisa
Vertigo
She Wants to Join the Cirkus
I Hate This Place
Ain't it a Shame?
Goodbye Sometimes
Why Does Love Go?


May 4, 2006 Dear Gigalogue:

Go ahead and cry baby. Spring was nowhere to be found Thursday night as we shivered during load in and load out…but it was hot inside at the Narrows. Great to see the friendly faces ( usually illuminated by the reflection off a beer glass) in a favorite Maeflies haunt. Neil Sounddude had the mix right. Thanks. Bea and Val were there, can't confirm the Harley but Bea looked too happy to have come over on the back of the Iron Horse on such a cccccold spring night. We're betting convertible with the top UP. Jeff's chums Bill and Trish showed up and shared Florida Keys stories…they don't call it the Conch Republic for nothing, huh? 

Jamie was waitron exemplar..thanks Jamie…Greg ( no the OTHER bike-rider Greg, Lamond is so over) & Co…Happy Birthday. The feather boa was a nice touch so was the Jurassic cookie. Good thing Chuck, Greg K. & new fiancée were there to help (Congrats). Pat da Strat: THANKS brudda. You think I was kidding about pushing the car out of the garage and down the street before starting it din't you? Once wrote a song about that sorta thing….Jim and guest danced, smiled, drank and of course DROVE. I think coming in from New England shows real enthusiasm for the Maeflies. We understand.  I think we set a record for air guitars in the room…musta been Spike's fret board heat. Uh, attention all attendees; WE ARE NOT A DANCE BAND. Dancing is permissible, however, on an as-needed basis as a gesture of appreciation if the song's got a groove and you can't help yourself. It's also ok if it will somehow increase your chances of finding, uh, company after the bar closes. Any questions on the policy can be referred to the Maeflies Official Dance and Groove Czar….just email it.


March 17, 2006  Dear Gigalogue:  

When they say "benefit', just who benefits?  We rocked the Clear Springs benefit and, well, the Maeflies actually benefited! We have been so busy working on our studio project we almost forgot some of the 'flies songs you all know us for. SO we brushed up on the repertoire and drank our fair share of suds ( hey, just supporting the cause!) & snarfed smoked oysters. Heard later the band members whose spouses are NOT in the band got home way too late to put the libido-boosting oysters to work...pity. Kinda makes ya wonder about the couples in the band, huh?
Saw lots of friendly faces in the crowd and we were all pleased to be making the Tonka schools even better.  Made Mr. Carpenter proud!  Dave Wietecha was talking baseball, stents and Jerry Jeff. Come on, Dave. Imagine the Maeflies w/ JJW Tour de Force. Up against the wall, brudda.-and how about Karen K., Wendy and Dave M., Deana F., Doug and Kim J.  Doug: thanks for the sound checks and frequent Maeflies commercials. See everybody at 318 on April 8? It's a Sat night and come hear some new 'flies tunes never heard before! Now if I could just get off of this LA freeway..............