| 9/1/2006
- Sept 1 |
| Hey All,
I feel like my life is in need of some serious mantainence. I know that my guitars, cords and hands do. It has been a long summer run. Time to get home for a couple weeks get the kids back in school and weather proof the doors and rest up.
The Gbs are starting a Fall tour sept 21. We will be hitting the road with Shawn Mullins and Josh Kelley. Looks like a great tour. I am looking forward to meeting Shawn and Josh as I am a big fan of their work.
Sometime in the next couple of weeks I am hitting the studio to cut some new tracks for my upcoming cd. The Kooze will be joining me in the studio along with the usual suspects, and a few surprises.
Thanks for the great support for the record.
Take care, Jesse |
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| 4/19/2006
- Gin Blossoms new record |
| Hey Guys,
The gb record is being mixed almost as I write. We are halfway through and it is sounding great. Danny Wilde is mixing at his studio here in L.A. We are very lucky to have David Anderle listening to the mixes for us and offering his keen insights. David, if you may or may not know was our A&R man at A&M back in the day. If you want to blow your mind google David and educate yourself on one of the all time great record makers. From the Doors to Sheryl Crow to the Circle Jerks he has made big time records throughout his whole career. Oh yeah, he also worked with a little band back in the 60's you might remember... The Beach Boys!
Dig it
Have fun, Jesse |
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| 3/9/2006
- Cruise Ship |
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The Gbs did a cruise ship gig a couple weeks back. What a mind blower. I was in a State Room the size of a bath tub with Mark Norman, Brian Blush and Kate McGinty recording songs onto some digital contraption, while everyone chain smoked and perused the Room Service menu.Brian, I like that song "One HIt Wonder"
Never did get my Club sandwich.
Rich says he is going to put on a cruise gig every year. I hope he does.
Thanks to everyone with RocNtheBoat.
Love Jesse |
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| 5/24/2005
- Summer Tour/Air America |
| Hey Everybody,
I just got my schedule for the summer tour and it looks fantastic. Can't wait to get back to those midwest cities and play some music. Check the Gbs site for listing of shows.
Air America Network has chosen a song I wrote with the Astro Puppees to feature on their programs. The song is called "Useless Information" and you can find it on the Astro Puppees new cd titled "Sugar Beat".It is also the single off the record so listen up on your triple AAA radio stations.Call in a request. I got to play some guitar and sing on the record as well. It really is a great record worth your money and your time. The head Puppee Kelley Ryan is a hell of songwriter and great friend. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.
Check it out @ Astro Puppees.com
Lastly, I saw that on the Gbs discussion group that here has been some real concern about the new record. Where is it? Does it exist? Is their a label? What the hell is going on? All reasonable questions from reasonable people. Here is the skinny.
We are talking with several labels and it looks very positive. We should have something soon, The music is already written and new material is always presenting itself. We have recorded a lot of songs but we have not made the record yet. Does that make sense? We are busy in pre-production and hope to hook up with a producer and make something that we can all be really proud of. As soon as there are definitive plans we will let you know.
Sorry that we have been lax about keeping you updated. I promise to try and do better job.
If you have any questions send them along. I will try to get back to you asap.
Thanks, Jesse
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| 2/7/2005
- Northey/Valenzuela |
| Some great reviews have been coming in for the new N/V record. I'm gonna talk with one my computer savvy friends and have them post them on this site. Also, starting to redo the site, but it will be up under construction. Thanks... Jesse |
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| 1/21/2005
- Canada/Kooze |
| Hey, how is everyone doing? I just got back to LA after a week of acoustic shows with my partner Craig Northey. Everything went great.The performances were fantastic and we played whole bunch of radio stations as well as Canada A.M. the countries biggest morning show. Think Katie Couric with a touque...(sp.)
The Northey/Valenzuela cd has become a best seller on the Canadian label Maple. I'm very proud of the record and I believe we will have distribution in the states very soon. All the shows were pretty well attended and Craig and I hit a great musical stride early on. I have to say though, that Toronto sub zero weather is kind of hard on a California boy. I ran from car to gig to hotel to coffee shop as fast as could screaming the whole time. You gotta be tough to live in weather like that.
While I was gone I was surprised to find out that Scott Kusmerick our GB drummer for the last couple of years had been replaced. Kind of a shock to me as the recent shows have been fantastic. I know the boys wanted to bring back Phil for a while but I did'nt know it was gonna happen so soon. I love Philly, and it will be nice to see him back on the drums. As I have always told Phillip he was like the little brother I never wanted. I actually feel like we raised him a little bit. He was just a pup when he first started with the band back all those years ago. He is a good boy and a great drummer. Welcome back. Philly.
On the Kooze front... I'll miss him. He is a great drummer and a dynamic force on stage. A real loose cannon. He brought an element of danger to the band when we really needed it. He gas also played some beautiful tracks that will be on the upcoming GBs record. In fact, I have a new song he will record for us next month.
I was on the GBs chat site, and I saw some disturbing comments about the Kooze. I know everyone including myself is happy to see Phil back in the fold, but there is no reason to run down the Kooze. He is a great drummer and I would heartily disagree with anyone who says otherwise. He was a wonderful force in the band for the last couple of years and he provided a great calming power in a lot of tumultous situations. Anyone who has ever been in a working band understands how important a sense of humour and humility are. Kooze has it ten fold. He is a great hang and a fantastic musician. I'll miss his ass and I'm sure he will be onto great things. In fact, in couple of years I probably won't even be able to afford his session rate.
Take care, Kooze. You're great guy. |
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| 12/16/2004
- Zubia Rehearsal |
| Wed nite I hit the practice room with the Zubia boys. Mark and Lawrence are on guitars and the always groovy Gary Martin on drums. Vibe master Tim Rovnak is playing all the B3 and piano. It sounded great and the spirits were high. It was the kind of great time that can only happen when you're in company of old friends who have no fear of gently trashing each other for laughs. It's always a little nerve racking taking new music off a cd and giving it new life in a live forum. But we got it. Hope to see at the show tomorrow nite.
P.s. The new Bob Dylan autobiography would make a killer Christmas present for the music
people in your life. It's a great read. I can't wait til he writes part two.
Happy Holidays
Love, Jesse |
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| 11/14/2004
- Northey/Valenzuela |
| Very first show ever for Craig and myself. He brought down some fine players from the wilds of Canada. Simon Kendall played his B3 and a very beautiful extended solo on our version of Til I hear it From You. Doug Elliott of course played bass and sang harmonies while calling out chord changes to me on some of the R&B chestnuts we covered. Geoff Hicks, a new member to the fold played fantastic drums and sang a spirited rendition of "Up where We Belong" during sound check. Not a dry eye in the house.
It was a wonderful night. At the risk of sounding immodest we sounded pretty damn good. There is already talk of a tour in the new year.
I would like to say thankyou very much to our hosts the fine people at Adidas shoes. Thanks for the sneakers.
I just can't wait to get this music and this band out there to play.
Take care, Jesse |
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| 11/6/2004
- End of the Year |
| Hey, we made it. We played our last show of the year thursday nite in Wisconsin. It seemed like this last touring season went by fast. Hard to believe we are coming up on the Holiday season.
With this free time coming up I'll be playing a couple shows with Craig Northey,and also the Zubia Bros. Keep an eye on the site, I hope to put up a song or two for downloads.
Thanks again for coming out to the shows. See you soon, Jesse |
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| 3/31/2004
- Long Wongs |
| It is wed night and I'm in the Grand Forks N.D. Holiday Inn. Just arrived this afternoon for a show tomorrow at the University with old label mates Blues Traveler.
Last night in Tempe The Gbs played a farewell show at Long Wongs. The site of the Gbs very first shows. In the early days we held tuesday night residency for what seemed like
years. It's a tiny club that only holds about a hundred people but we used pack em' in to the rafters. Those were some wonderful times and Bill Leen and I both admitted to being a little sad with nostalgia after the show. It was great to see some old faces out on a school night. Thankyou very much Sara and Cristy,and Sandra for always being so kind and gracious when I ever played there or just came by to see some music. Long Wongs will soon be torn to the ground to make way for another office building. There is some talk of Wongs recreating their club in the new building. It'll never be the same... but change is inevitable. I only hope there will be new place for the young upstart bands to hold their own tuesday night residencies and have as good a time as we did. Long Wongs r.i.p.
Peace Jesse
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