Tuesday, April 29, 2008
at
16:20
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This is approximately a month late, but newcomers probably do not realize that the band's "official" website celebrated its' first anniversary during the month of April.
This site -- much the the band, was a little "slow" coming out of the starting gates; the band was in its' developmental stage for about 2 years before we took to the stage. 2 years is a very long time in the life of a band -- even at the best of times. The site, for much of the year, received very little promotion, and thus, very little traffic. Much of those who passed by came to us via a Google search, and many of them came from Maine, whom were looking for some other band of a very similar name.
[ed. note: if you are the competitor, have no worries; we currently have no plans to venture into the United States market in the short or long-term].
Web traffic the first year has been slow, in some months, when the band was not even gigging, the site was managing less than 20 visits per month. This is changing -- and site traffic is on the rise ever since we opened our official Facebook page. We are now pleased to announce that we expect to be getting nearly 100 visits for the month of May -- and our traffic only to rise from there as we continue to promote the band.
As I have mentioned before, there are a number of exciting new developments that will take place in the coming weeks. One is a major recording project I am in the middle of. The other requires this site to migrate to its' own domain. We hope to have these new features available to the public by the next time we gig.
For those who have been with us since the beginning, thank you for your support. For our newly acquired fans and friends, we hope you stick around. We have a mandate to continually improve our abilities, equipment, and repertoire with each performance.
I, for one, am very excited to see what is to come for the band in the next 12 months.
Posted by
MC
Labels:
Forecast,
Site
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
at
13:52
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I am beginning to think the band is Jinxed. Every time we have to play the Royal, we are hit with a massive snowstorm. When we played there in February, not only did we have to brave the snow, but the wind chill factor near -40 degrees could have easily made the weekend a disaster. We have hopes that this weekend will fare better.
This is an open invitation to all to come out this Friday and Saturday to check out the bands' new material. Royal Hotel; the show starts at 9:30.
As an aside, I have been very busy working on a few projects that may enhace your viewing experience on this site. Look for it the coming weeks!
Posted by
MC
Labels:
Gigs,
Royal,
Website
Monday, April 7, 2008
at
15:45
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Ok, so if you are on Facebook, you can now join the Tung N Groove Facebook Group. You can reach the page here.
Why? Because it's there. And you can get involved in discussions, post photos, videos and other fun stuff.
5 photos have already been added, and 1 video has been posted.
UPDATE July 26, 2008:
The links to the TNG Facebook group have been fixed.
Posted by
MC
Labels:
Band,
Facebook,
Networking
Thursday, April 3, 2008
at
16:48
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This is a friendly little reminder from the Tung N Groove Broadcast System.
The band will be playing at the Redcliff Hylton on April 11th and 12th. We will be featuring three new additions to the band's repertoire.
...And we will be recording the performance.
So we'd love it if all of you could come out and show your enthusiasm.
This has been a message from the Tung N Groove Broadcast System. Thank you, resume party.
Posted by
MC
Labels:
Gigs,
Recording,
tunes
Monday, February 11, 2008
at
21:30
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MA's synopsis of this weekend's performance at the Royal Hotel was accurate. I wanted to add my own reflections about this past weekend.
Yes, it was cold. And for the weather being uncooperative, I expected a very poor turnout. We were pleasantly surprised when we entertained two near-capacity crowds throughout the weekend.
I was quite pleased at the turnout of both Thursday and Saturday jams. There were an exceptional number of talented players to show up, and the music that happened with the local artists was of a professional level.
When you play in a local bar band, there are some things that happen rarely, and when they do, it's magic. Many things contributed to this, but it starts when the band is confident, tight, and the entire band is firing on all cylinders. When the band looks like they are having fun, that energy is perceived by those who are listening and watching. We were fortunate to have played so well, since we hadn't played together in almost a month.
I like it when the people in the bar are watching the band, and are not immersed in idle conversation. I like it better when they are tapping their feet, or nodding their heads to the beat. I even catch the odd metal-head banging his head like a post-pubescent teen at a Metallica concert.
I like it better when they dance. I like it when the dance floor is packed.
But I like it most when they are so fired up, that they are jumping up and down, with their fists raised in the air; focused entirely on the band.
And that's what happened this weekend.
To the point where some lunatic climbed a load-bearing post in the middle of the dance floor, trying to reach some "higher state", I surmise.
It's things like this that are most gratifying for me. And before I dig myself too deep, I would hope I could make it clear that even though I appreciate a crowd's enthusiasm, I do not like it when their enthusiasm gets out of control. I have seen it happen even at my level, but it gets even scarier in the bigger venues. When I played the Minnedosa Classic Rock Weekend in 1999, my act had the crowd so wound up, that they were even jumping the barricades -- and we were just some cover band from somewhere in the prairies. We were such a small act that our band name was last in line and barely visible on the poster!
Nobody should get hurt at a concert, but they do. The safety of the band and the crowd means a lot to me, and I get jittery the moment a fan jumps on the stage. I have seen too many drunks take a spill, and in an instant render a piece of delicate electronic equipment into an ornate doorstop. It breaks the heart, limbs, and the pocketbook.
The stage is sacred ground for a band. It's not there in order to 'put us above everyone else'; It really is for our own health and safety. If you still doubt me, then I suggest you watch the Blues Brothers movie. "Why is there chicken wire at the front of the stage?"
I rest my case.
Posted by
MC
Labels:
Enthusiasm,
Party,
Royal
We expected no-one.
We would have forgiven them all.
They didn't have to show up!
Hell..........................with wind chills approaching -40C, we completely expected to be playing to an empty room!
We expected a paid practice!
We were WRONG!
Not only did the patrons of the Royal Hotel show up, but they all brought friends with them!
They brought their dancin' shoes.
They brought their enthusiasm!
THEY BROUGHT THE PARTY!
In short; the good folks of Medicine Hat that braved the worst of winter to show up at the 'Royal' this past weekend made it far and away the best it could have been for us!
It was hard to shut down Saturday night when the dance floor was packed with great fans and happy dancers;...................really hard!
Thanks to all for showing up and having soooooo much fun with us!
Both the Thursday night and Saturday afternoon jams were great with a special mention going out to 'Mule Shoe' (DH's other project) who provided a great set Thursday to an appreciative audience. (They're at the Mainliner Feb 15 & 16) All the jammers did a great job and really; in a situation that could be very taxxing for the host band; made our lives pretty easy. Thanks to you all!
I have to mention my new toy at this point because everyone agrees that we sounded (and played) better than ever, and I can tell you, it's because of my new amp!
Bill G. built this amp to my specs over the course of the last year and last week we did the final tuning of it.
My ELECTROGLIDE simply Rocks!
This is absolutely the finest piece of equipment I could ever ask to play through!
The head is close to an early '60's JTM45 with a little brighter feel and power scaling (Sorry about creating that headache for you Bill!), the open back 2x12 cab is celestion loaded & breaths beautifully.
You just know there's a (well deserved) new link to Electroglide on this blog now!
I can't thank you enough Bill (but you should know that every jammer that plugged into it was blown away!)
What a (Royally) 'cool' weekend!
Posted by
Mark A.
Labels:
audience,
jammers,
new amp,
winter gig
Monday, February 4, 2008
at
11:04
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The calendar on the sidebar has been removed, not just because it was "cramping my style", but because it had to be so small to fit in the sidebar, that many details were hidden and unreadable in certain browsers and screen resolutions. Therefore, I have moved it to its own page, accessible here, or via the Nav section on the sidebar to your right.
A number of 2008 dates have been added to the calendar, kindly thanks to MA.
We hope to see you all at the Royal Hotel this weekend!
Posted by
MC
Labels:
Calendar,
Gigs,
Tour Dates
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
at
12:21
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It has been brought to my attention that a few of our fans have been wondering if te Band Tung N Groove even exists anymore.
Yes, the band is still together. We're just hibernating in this deep-freeze. In fact, just a few weeks ago, we played the Redcliff Hylton to an enthusiastic crowd -- what we are guilty of, is not advertising the performance.
For all those who are wondering when and where our next appearance is, it will be February 7, 8, and 9th, 2008 at the Royal Hotel, with an approximate starting time of 9:30 PM.
It has come to my attention in recent weeks that the tour date calendar is not displaying the proper information. Therefore, I have not submitted the 2008 gig dates yet. It is becoming apparent to me that the tour calendar will have to be embedded on a separate page instead of permanently on the sidebar. I will however, provide a proper link to the tour dates within the Navigation section of the sidebar. I will advise the status of the calendar in a forthcoming entry.
Posted by
MC
Labels:
2008,
Calendar,
Gigs
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
at
00:46
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 After rehearsal tonight, I realized that this band is for real! Songs are coming together very easily now as all 4 members have learn to work together really well and there is a great chemistry and camaraderie happening. Even young KR is falling in place really well (and playing with a maturity and dedication that belies his age). So we've just added Molly Hatchet, Aerosmith, Donny Iris, Kim Mitchell,  and Rick Derringer tunes to the set, (come on out to hear which ones!) Hell, music is really fun again, to bad about the need for a day job!  Hope to see you all out rockin' with us soon!
Posted by
Mark A.
Labels:
camaraderie,
chemistry,
fun,
Music,
tunes
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
at
22:55
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I love articles like this; artists of the music industry are the ones who are innovating -- leaving the record labels behind in the dust.
The day the music industry died - Times Online
Plummeting album sales aren't due to on-line piracy; they are due to the recording industry cramming pre-manufactured refuse that has lost its' soul down our consumerist throats, while paying corporate radio stations indeterminate sums as a catalyst to further indoctrinate an otherwise blind, deaf and dumb public as to what "talent" is supposed to be.
And we have finally had enough.
I, like everyone else in the developed world, will gladly pay for quality music. However instead of innovating, the recording industry has opted to "fight the good fight" by suing nine-your old kids and ignorant grandmothers.
Where has it got them? Nowhere in ten years -- which is incidentally how long MP3 has been a buzz word in newspapers across the globe. In fact, the only other thing that the recording industry tried, was copy-protect their CD's, which went over like a lead balloon.
Where is the money now? It's exactly where it's always been; in touring and paraphernalia sales. Fans still support their favorite artists; and those artists who are being proactive in communicating with their fans on-line and in concert, are coming out ahead. Those who are hiding being their corporate labels are the ones that are losing.
Regardless, I am excited that music, as a commodity, is heading in this direction. This will mean that the successful artists are going to be the ones who can perform their art live; those who are merely an image or whose "greatness" can only be realized through technologies such as Auto-Tune will become a thing of the past. As a live performer, I think this as exciting news.
After some seventy-five years, the musician is cutting out the middleman. We have only the acquisition of technology to thank for this, for now is the first time in history that the artist has been able to record a professional-sounding recording with a minimal amount of investment. What used to cost millions of dollars in recording equipment costs a mere few thousands now. The artist can now craft his songs now on his computer on his own time.
I am so excited to see what the next five years will bring in the music industry. For the first time since the pre-disco era, are we going to see live music take over -- everywhere. From the stadium down to the grungy-bar, the live band is going to live long and prosper.
Mark my words.
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