My new pal, Caesar.

He's a badass...

Don't call it a comeback!

So - Friday night's Nerd Parade show was totally amazing. It marked the return of Ms. Abby Wren to the lead vocal position in the band. We had gotten back together about a week previously, but had kept things kind of on the down low, and everyone sure was pleased to see the band returned to it's rightful condition. We played one of our most inspired live sets to date to a packed room. The love was certainly in the air. We are now looking forward to completing our album and doing some great shows : The Earl, PopAsehville, spring tour - it's going to be a great time to be in a band. I guess you could sum it all up by saying, "Yes, everything is right in the universe again.".

NP SETLIST - 11.28.08 - Nophest :

the rockness monster
kenny rogers tune
a bird's song
we are not sleeping
yay, yeah, uh huh!
one million wooden arches
smedley
the devil of california
resolution day
span of a life
spies

So yeah, It's been a bazillion years since I've posted =)

First and foremost - NOPHEST IS HERE!!!!

That's right!! The fifth edition of our DIY music and art festival is kicking off this Friday - November 28th @ Wonder Root in Atlanta. Click on the poster above - it's got the address right on there. Check out the full schedule of performances at http://www.nophest.com . The festival is kicking off on Friday with a showcase night for a bunch of Atlanta bands affiliated with "Walk To Run Records". Tracey Anderson of Walk To Run also works as Manager for Nerd Parade, and is celebrating a birthday that night!!!! It's gonna be a good ass time. And yall better come out!!!

Nerd Parade plays @ 10pm on Friday night, and you don't wanna miss what we have got in store for this show. Seriously, no matter how many times I've said this is going to be an important show - ect. ect. It probably applies to no show more than this one. Be there and be witness to the new future of Nerd Parade.

In other news - NERD PARADE EAST COAST TOUR DATES!!!!

- Here is our complete upcoming schedule - February tour dates listen below in BOLD.

11.28 - Nophest 5.0
12.18 - Atlanta Ga @ The Earl w/ Blaming Tim & The Judies
01.08 - Decatur Ga @ Twain's
01.17 - Asheville Nc @ Stella Blue (popasheville festival)
01.30 / 31 - NP cd release - details TBA
02.19 - Chapel Hill Nc @ Mansion 462
02.20 - Washington Dc
02.21 - Philadelphia Pa
02.22 - New York Ny
02.23 - Boston Ma
02.24 - Hartford Ct
02.25 - Wilmington De
02.26 - Richmond Va
02.27 - Charlotte Nc
02.28 - Asheville Nc
03.01 - Athens Ga

It is my duty to spread this video... ladies and gentlemen - "The Real John McCain"

I don't mean to get political on ya but...

this pretty much explains itself...

but I don't want this person to be a gunshot or a heart attack away from the oval office...

Be warned : animal lovers may find some of the footage in this video disturbing.

Nerd Parade live @ Smith's Olde Bar - Tix on sale now!!

We've been invited by our friends at Smith's Olde Bar to put down our first ever "headlining" performance in their lovely music room. Tickets are on sale NOW. Just click the link below to order tickets for $8 in advance, the will cost $10 at the door.

Here's the all the info on the show -

Wednesday Sept 24th
Smith's Olde Bar
Atlanta GA
doors @ 8pm

Nerd Parade
The Bittersweets
Steven Delopoulos


tickets can be purchased at :

Criminal Records
466 Moreland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
Website: www.criminal.com

Decatur CD
356 West Ponce de Leon Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30030
Website: www.decaturcd.com

OR YOU CAN :
BUY TICKETS ONLINE HERE

So... we've got some catching up to do it would seem!!!

So... I've been lazy about this whole blogging thing lately, but in my defense, it's been entirely due to decreased laziness in other areas of life. So... let's see.

Nerd Parade has been through alot since my last NP related post... which saw us about to rock The Five Spot on July 18th - the show was rad, here's what it looked like =) Courtesy of some more lovely photos from Kat.
So... we returned to The Five Spot on August 10th!!!

So - that was 2 more shows in the can =)

After that things went kind of crazy, we took a little bit of time off as Randy bought and moved into a new house, managed to write a couple of brand new songs, had one singer leave and have welcomed another into the band, made some big management decisions, and booked a full slate of gigs for late September.... whew!!!

thats all for now... see yall soon!!!!

2 Rush shows is 3 nights!!!!!

(rush in alphretta)

Greetings folks!!! Last weekend Kat and I went to see Rush in Charlotte with my NP band-mate / best buddy Randy, and then went with our little girl Jackie and NP drummer Chris on Tuesday. Not really sure what to say on this one here - I saw my most favorite band in the world play a 3 hour show twice in the span of 3 days. Rush is a band that never disappoints live. When I was young their music was the first music to really inspire me to want to learn to play and never settle for just "knowing how". They made me want to strive to be the best possible player that I could become, and Geddy Lee continues to amaze me every time I see them play. No one can really appreciate how talented the man is, or exactly how much he does within the course of a show until they've actually watched him in person. Still after all these years - totally awe-inspiring.

---CHARLOTTE NC---
(photo by Randy Garcia)

The weekend started with a drive to Charlotte from Atlanta on Saturday. We had some nice, comfy hotel suites to relax a bit in upon our arrival. We then headed out and ate way too much seafood, which we worked off by bowling a couple of games at the local 10-pin alley - a good time was had by all.

Sunday we had some Denny's breakfast and then got ready for the show. We ended up having totally amazing seats for this one. The band was great, although immortal drummer Neil Peart made a pretty obvious mistake during the band's opening number "Limelight" that seemed to motivate him pretty hard not to make anymore. Thus the man played with a bit of an angry look for most of the night. All in all - they killed it, and had the crowd roaring right from the start of the show. We capped it off with an intense run to Taco Bell, and headed back to the hotel for some sleep before an early Monday drive back to Atlanta.

---Alpharetta Ga---
(havin a beer on the lawn on Alpharetta 7.22.08)

This was supposed be Rush's last show supporting their 2007 album "Snakes & Arrows", which is amazing by the way if you've not heard it before. Anyhow - they ended up having to reschedule one more show after this one due to some nasty, stormy weather in Colorado last month.

Coincidentally enough, the start of Monday's show was delayed nearly an hour due to some very nasty and severe thunderstorm activity. We had only grabbed lawn tickets for this show since we had seen them so well in Charlotte and back in June in Philly. The rain pretty much let up by show time except for a few sprinkles, and we made our way to a nice spot on the lawn to enjoy the show.

Rush was even tighter on this night than Sunday - although Charlotte seemed like a more energetic performance due to the fact that the crowd was really way more behind the band and into the show throughout in Charlotte. The crowd was a little more tame in Alpharetta.

So anyhow - that's probably all for me and Rush til sometime in late 09', maybe 2010 at the earliest. But they've left us all anticipating their next record and tour, knowing that they always deliver to the high standard that Rush, and their fans have come to count on.

So to my heroes - Geddy, Alex, Neil....
Thanks guys - don't know where I'd be without you.

Tonight - Nerd Parade rocking @ The Five Spot

NERD PARADE - LIVE TONIGHT!!! + Independence Day re-cap

To take a cue from the mighty "Spinal Tap" - Nerd Parade would like to hereby announce - "Tonight I'm gonna rock ya, tonight I'm gonna rock ya, tonight."

Be there folks - Doors open at 8pm / show starts with Sunday Drivebye at 9pm / tickets are 8 bucks at the door.

--------------
And as promised...

On July 4th, instead of playing a gig (ended up getting canceled, ect. ect. ) we rocked out all hard at the Jacobus house out here in Gwinnett County. A whole bunch of cool folks were hanging out, and we played almost every single song we know. Here are some pics courtesy of, as always, the lovely Kat.

Nerd Parade blows up Star Bar!!!!

This last Wednesday Nerd Parade headlined at the Star Bar, one of our favorite stages to rock in the ATL. We ended up playing a super energetic set that culminated in us getting called upon to extend our set into and encore, in front of awesome sized crowd, all of whom stuck around til the end our set at nearly 1AM. I would like to once again thank all of the NP fans, and the members of Standard 8 and Cinetrope for making this such an awesome event to be a part of. You can catch NP and Cinetrope together once again next month on July 18th @ the fabulous Five Spot, right down the street from Star Bar, also in L5P.

Our next gig is @ Corndogorama on June 28th - come out and support. NP is gaining huge momentum and we want to share the success with everyone!! Below are a few more pics and the setlist from last week's show. Awesome pics were taken, as always, by the lovely and talented Kat.

Randy lays down some dope guitar...

Abby was feelin it all good...
Johnny Blaze has left the stage...
Chris is making the beats happen...
The bassman cometh....

------------
NP Setlist 6.18.08 - Star Bar - ATL

Circles
Yay! Yeah! Uh Huh!!
Kitten
Smedley
We Are Not Sleeping
A Bird's Song
The Devil Of California
Span Of A Life
Kenny Rogers Tune
Spies
One Million Wooden Arches

On the road again....

(photo - me driving into Philly Friday afternoon - by Kat)

Greetings!!

So me and my wife just got done spending a week riding up and down the east coast to the tune of an estimated 1,800 or so miles in a rented Pontiac G6. For me to say that it was an awesome time would surely sell the whole experience short. So I'll just bust a quick rundown describing what I did, and then of course - provide the ever present Nerd Parade news & notes.

We left on Thursday morning for a drive up to Raleigh NC where we'd be stopping over for the night and hanging out with some of very best and favorite friends. A good time was had by all, probably a little too good on my behalf with a 400 mile drive scheduled for the next morning, but I've gotten through much, much worse.

Friday started kind of early - we managed to head out for Philly at about 7am. Even though I had the aforementioned "too much fun" the night before, the drive into Philadelphia is always one that goes by quickly for me. I think it's just because I get excited about visiting home and being with my family. Something I don't get to do very often. Kat and I spent Friday evening at my Mom's house - hanging out with my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew. It was a truly relaxing and nice night. We were fed well with some charcoal grilled steaks in the back yard.

Saturday had been set aside for us to go see our favorite band - Rush, in my hometown - Philly, with my dear Uncle Bobby. He is partially responsible for several of the things that I love about life - Rush, hockey, and he was probably the first person I ever saw play an electric bass - something that certainly stood out to me. Anyhow - it was a really incredible day - it was a dream come true for me and my Uncle, and on top of it all it must have been one of the 1 or 2 best shows that I've seen Rush put on - and it was my 10th time seeing them.

Sunday, Father's Day - was a day that started off with the sound of loud hammering outside at about 7am =) So - needless to say, not enough sleep was gotten. Regardless of this we pressed on, and the rest of the day was filled with hanging with the family, me taking a long overdue visit to my Father's final resting place just outside of the city, and then spending the evening in the amazing presence of my Uncle Jim, Aunt Joanne and all of their awesome kids / my cousins.

Monday we awoke and broke out back for Raleigh. Instead of the trip taking 7 hours as it did on the way up, it took 9 hours due to some serious driver fatigue and horrible accident induced traffic in our nation's capital.

Tuesday - we went home....

.... I'm still really tired.

So - after all that I got home, pretty much went straight to a NP rehearsal, got some sleep and woke up Wednesday to get ready for a NP gig - more on that later today. Believe me, there's plenty to say about it.

Well, thanks for reading.

-rw

upcoming Nerd Parade live shows.

PHOTO - Richie rockin Tasty World on 6.7.08

NERD PARADE SUMMER 2008 LIVE SHOWS :

Wednesday June 18th @ Star Bar
Atlanta GA
performing with Standard 8 & Cinetrope

Saturday June 28th @ Lenny's Bar - CORNDOGORAMA
Atlanta GA
NP plays at 4pm sharp on the inside main stage!!!

Thursday July 10th @ Vinyl
Atlanta GA
opening for Calamity Magnet

Friday July 18th @ The Five Spot
Atlanta GA
performing with The Hellblinki Sextet (Asheville)

September 20th 0r 21st (TBA) @ Lenny's Bar
Atlanta GA
appearing as part of the 2008 Rock Goddess Festival (for Peace)

Nerd Parade sweats it out in Athens

the band -

the bass man -
the show -

so... it was 90 plus degrees in the beautiful city of Athens on Saturday, where the Nerd Parade made it's first performance at the esteemed music room "Tasty World", and it's general debut in the city of Athens. It was, in my opinion the hottest Nerd Parade show in terms of temperature of all time. I actually suffered some serious heat exhaustion effects after the show. We did however press on, and seemed to impress the fine people of Athens who came out to see us play. It was our first show back on the stage since 4.22 @ Smtih's in the ATL - and they only figure to get more spectacular from here!!!!
-------------------

NP Setlist - 6.7.08 - Athens

span of a life
in circles
kitten
smedley
we are not sleeping
a bird's song
the devil of california
kenny rogers tune
yay, yeah, uh huh!
spies

Hello there. Long time, no see eh??? - Plus : Nerd Parade summer show schedule and other updates.

(photo : NP @ Nophest 4.19, by Kat)

So, it's been a while since I last blogged. But in my defense - I use this space as a place for me to keep a journal of my musical life, which recently has been on the down-low. We are however, and by we I mean Nerd Parade, about to kick things back into high gear.

The last month was expected to be a slower one for us. Several band members did a little travelling and vacationing, some new progress was made on the 2nd NP album - still due out sometime this summer, and we all had a chance to recharge our collective batteries. We will now gear up for a nice string of live performances that is shaping up to be pretty exciting. Here's everything that I know so far. If I find out anything else - you will be the first to know =)


Saturday June 7th - Athens GA @ Tasty World
(np makes its long awaited Athens debut on a Saturday night in one of the city's finest music rooms - all with the proceeds going to the Athens Canine Rescue - pretty awesome!!)

Wednesday June 18th - Atlanta GA @ Star Bar
(our second visit to the Star Bar finds us playing with our old pals Cinetrope - always fun.)

Saturday June 28th - Atlanta GA @ Lenny's Bar - CORNDOGORAMA
(we make our first appearance at one of Atlanta's signature music festivals - we will playing Saturday afternoon at 4pm.)

Friday July 4th - Duluth GA @ Sweetwater Live
(come celebrate America's birthday at this special 4th of July show - all profits are being donated to Gwinnett County's own Companion Animal Rescue League)

Thursday July 11th - Atlanta GA @ Vinyl
(the first time we played here it was awesome - we can't wait to return. we are playing with "Calamity Magnet" featuring singer / songwriter Sara Radle from the band "The Rentals".)

Friday July 18th - Atlanta GA @ The Five Spot
(we return to what is quickly become one of NP's homes in Atlanta for our first weekend headline show. Expect to hear a longer set =) Also appearing are The Hellblinki Sextet (Asheville) & one other band TBA.)

- so there ya have it =)

Nerd Parade throws the ---- down at Vinyl!!!

So, the pattern of NP shows just coming across very well and being received very well continued last Friday in Atlanta, @ Vinyl. We were invited by the show headliner - "Fishhawk" to play first on a 3 band bill and it turned out to be a great time. There was nice sized very appreciative crowd that continued to grow in size as our set went on. We met a lot of nice new fans and friends and are looking into going back and performing there again sometime in the future.

DON'T FORGET - NOPHEST IS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!
- www.nophest.com - go check it out - 50+ musical acts, art. shows, movies, video games, beer - I mean, who offers all of that in the same place?? really??

And lastly, as always - check here on the blog for the upcoming schedule over there to the right hand side here.. and in some of the previous posts below.

Til next time yall....

-------------
NP setlist 04.11.08

in circles
wide asleep
we are not sleeping
the devil of california
yay, yeah, uh huh
smedley
a bird's song
one million wooden arches
kenny rogers tune
spies

Nerd Parade @ Sweetwater review / March re-cap / Nophest details

So - Nerd Parade closed out the month of March by absolutely obliterating the stage @ Sweetwater Live in Duluth. The show marked a one-off return of O.G. NP member "Johnny Blaze" - it was a pleasure sharing the stage with him again, and he brought a ton of energy and added alot to the overall perfromance - thanks Johnny - GOOD JOB!!! We received a ton of appreciation from those in attendance and made a lot of new friends and fans throughout the evening - THANKS!!!

What stands out most of all to me is how darn well the band has been playing lately. I really can't think of show we've done that I wasn't almost totally pleased with happening since before the holiday season last year - pretty much from Nophest on forward.

Speaking of Nophest.... Head on over to www.nophest.com. Details about location, the full schedule, and pre-sale ticket information are now available. Nerd Parade is appearing during this spring's installment on Saturday, April 19 @ 10pm. Appearing on the same even will be Envie, Swank Sinatra, Cassavettes, and Trial By Fire.
After Nophest - NP is heading out for a short jaunt to the Carolinas and Washington D.C. to perform. After that, we're going to take some time off to finish recording our next record. So come on out and see us while you can.
-------------
NP setlist - 03.29.08

in circles
kenny rogers tune
we are not sleeping
one million wooden arches
wide asleep
yay, yeah, uh huh
outside
a bird's song
the devil of california
smedley
spies

-------------
UPCOMING NP SHOWS
-------------
04.11 - Atlanta GA @ Vinyl
04.19 - Atlanta GA @ Nophest (www.nophest.com)
04.22 - Atlanta GA @ Smith's Olde Bar
05.01 - Atlanta GA @ Smith's Olde Bar (500 songs for kids)
05.09 - Raleigh / Chapel Hill NC @ TBA
05.10 - Washington D.C. @ The Velvet Lounge

The weekend starts on Thursday this week yall - Nerd Parade returns to The Five Spot tomorrow

Yes indeed, an awesome show is all set to go down tomorrow night at one of our favorite - if not our very favorite place to play in Atlanta - The Five Spot. Couple that with playing with one of our favorite bands to play with - Cinetrope, and we've got all the makings of a wonderful evening of fun and music. This will also be our last show in the city of Atlanta until April11th, more on that next week.

Nerd Parade gig review - 03.15.08 - Drunken Unicorn

(photo = NP outside the D.U. after the show - by Kat)

This last Saturday Nerd Parade made it's first ever perfromance at The Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta. It's a room we've wanted to rock for some time now, and it was worth the wait. Within 24 hours of tornadoes rocking downtown ATL - a nice sized gathering of music lovers came out and enjoyed strong sets by every band that was there. Swank Sinatra played an exceptionally tight and enjoyable set - after which time NP took the stage and delivered one of our most high-energy performances to date. The show featured a lot of the material from our upcoming studio LP, some cool renditions of songs from "A Delicate Bashing" that have not been getting enough play time lately and were great to play again (resolution day, ect..), and an awesome guitar and bass solo trade-off between Randy and I during "Spies" to close out the night. I do believe the band sounds better right now, with this line-up, and the momentum we're building now - than we ever have. And most importantly - its a group that is a pleasure to work, perform, and hang out with. A big shout out to some of the folks that came out - NP veteran Johnny Blaze, members of Cinetrope (catch us with them @ the 5 spot on Thursday - more on that tomorrow), and as always - the boys from Swank for hanging around and partying after the show. We are developing our own really awesome scene with some great bands that are great friends around here. Anyhow - like I said before - more on the next gig tomorrow. Yall take care now.
-------------------------
NP setlist - 03.15.08 - The Drunken Unicorn

yay, yeah, uh huh!
resolution day
kenny rogers tune
in circles
span of a life
a bird's song
smedley
we are not sleeping
spies

Nerd Parade rocks Parkgrounds - show schedule updated.

Nerd Parade rocked the house at Parkgrounds, our favorite little coffee shop spot last Saturday. Swank Sinatra was hysterical as always. Look below for more upcoming NP dates - including more with Swank.

Our set was our longest, most epic set (with no breaks) ever. We 15 songs - balanced well between our first record and songs from the new one we're working on now. This show also marked the first "proper" p08erformance of the "A Delicate Bashing" favorite (of both band and listeners alike) - "Resolution Day" since 08.03.07, last summer at The Five Spot. It had previously been impossible to play, due to the lack of a keyboard or computer in the lineup. However, that has all changed with addition of Jon Bonus, our new keyboard guy. Jon, or J-Bone as we call him - is a heck of a nice guy and is doing a great job of sliding right into his new role with our band. I'm hoping that we've finally re-solidified our 5 person lineup for good.

NP setlist - 03.08.08 - Parkgrounds - Atlanta Ga

wide asleep
kenny rogers tune
resolution day
yay, yeah, uh huh!
in circles
span of a life
a bird's song
outside
smedley
we are not sleeping
one million wooden arches
daylight savings time
kitten the devil of california
spies
-------------------
UPCOMING NP SHOWS

sat 03.15 - Atlanta Ga @ Drunken Unicorn w/ Swank Sinatra & Trial By Fire
thu 03.20 Atlanta Ga @ The Five Spot w/ Cinetrope & A Fight To The Death
sat 03.29 - Duluth Ga @ Sweetwater B&G w/ Swank Sinatra
fri 04.11 - Atlanta Ga @ Vinyl w/ Fishhawk
sat 04.19 - Atlanta Ga @ Parkgrounds - Nophest 4 & 20 - w/ Swank Sinatra, Cassavettes, more
tue 04.22 - Atlanta Ga @ Smith's Olde Bar w/ Cloud Cult & The Forms
fri 05.09 - Raleigh / Chapel Hill NC @ TBA
sat 05.10 - Washington DC @ The Velvet Lounge w/ New York Times

you have been warned

This show is going to be so freakin awesome... and other shows listed below:

this show is gonna be awesome - every time we get together with Swank - an amazing show seems to happen - don't miss this folks - BYOB / NP / SS = GOOD F---IN TIME!!!!

we're playing with the swanksters a couple more times this month - here is the complete, current NP springtime onslaught -

MARCH

Saturday - 8th - Atlanta GA - Parkgrounds - (w/ swank sinatra)

Saturday - 15th - Atlanta GA - The Drunken Unicorn - (w/ swank sinatra)

Thursday - 20th - Atlanta GA - The Five Spot - (w/ cinetrope)

Saturday - 29th - Duluth GA - Sweetwater B&G - (w/ swank sinatra)

APRIL

18th, 19th, or 20th - Atlanta GA - Parkgrounds - (NOPHEST)

Tuesday - 22nd - Smith's Olde Bar - (w/ cloud cult & the forms)

MAY

Saturday - 10th - The Velvet Lounge - Washington D.C.

My sweet new ride...

These are my basses

They are awesome...

Upcoming Nerd Parade live dates - and a quick look back.

Hey folks! Hope everyone out there is doing and feeling well.

It's been a while since I've put up a Nerd Parade update so, here goes -

1 - IN THE STUDIO

We've been making a new record, it's going really well and I've actually gotten to hear some rough playbacks lately. It's gonna be a really great album, I can tell you that right now.
























2 - LIVE SHOWS :

We played last Friday @ The Five Spot (pictured below) with our buddies in "Goldenfro" also on the bill. We debuted our new keyboard player : Jon Bonus, and continued working out the new songs on stage. It was another good performance and we once again got alot of positive feedback from everybody in attendance.


NP Setlist 02.15.08

Yr Horrible Stupid Life
Kitten
Smedley
The Span Of A Life
In Circles
We Are Not Sleeping
Outside
The Devil Of California
A Bird's Song
Daylight Savings Time
Yay, Yeah, Uh Huh
Kenny Rogers Tune








UPCOMING NERD PARADE LIVE SHOWS

Saturday March 8th
@ Parkgrounds - Atlanta Ga
w/ Swank Sinatra

Thursday March 20th
@ The 5 Spot - Atlanta Ga
w/ Cinetrope

Saturday March 29th
@ Sweetwater Live - Duluth Ga
w/ Swank Sinatra

I went on a little vaction last weekend.

Me and the wife celebrated 5 years married by driving out to lovely North Myrtle Beach, SC over the weekend. It was nice and quiet due to the fact that February is not really a good time for tourism there. So it was not over-crowded, the weather was nice. And the time spent just relaxing around the beach was a real treat. Having lived around Florida for so long you kind of take your proximity to the ocean for granted. But as I discovered - if you near Atlanta - the beach is ****ing far man!!!!
Another bit of wisdom from Richie that I thought I'd pass along today - If you ever consider driving 400 miles with a hangover...... don't. It's really painful, at least for the first couple hours =)

While were there, we saw Queensryche -

It was the 13th time in my life that I've seen this band and it was once again totally amazing. Was a little shorter than some of their shows clocking in at around 1 hour and 40 minutes. But they played a good 4-5 songs that are very, very rare that I've never heard them do before.

The night was capped off by me and Kat going to the aftershow, meet and greet with the band. It was the 3rd chance we've gotten to do this with them, and our 4th time overall getting to hang out with all of or most of the band members. I can't stress enough what super nice guys they are. They've been touring the world for 25 years and have sold millions, but you'd never know it.

Like I said before - meeting your heroes is awesome.

=)

Nerd Parade updates are on the way.....

I love hockey =)

So the family and I spent the weekend taking in the NHL's All-Star Weekend extravaganza at Phillips Arena in Atlanta. Overall it was a pretty exciting time, and it was something that I'm glad to have experienced at least once. Although I've decided not to do it again unless it happens at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, home of my beloved Flyers.

My only complaint was about the design of the arena. I actually really love the place for a regular old hockey game, but the place was just not designed to deal with the size of the crowd comfortably. And most disappointing was the lack of concourse space, very crammed, and not able accommodate the big exhibits and famous trophies on display normally at the all-star game. None of which were to be found.

In the end the East All-Stars prevailed 8-7 and I got to see my favorite player - Mike Richards - tally his first career all star point on an assist in the first period. So, that was pretty awesome.

--------------------

I'll have another update later in the week with some cool news on the musical front. Including some big Nerd Parade news & notes. And oh yeah, the latest on Willis. (yeah, I'm totally serious - for those of you who know what I'm talking about and are sitting there saying - WTF?) - some things just never go away eh??

=)

Snow in Duluth, Ga.

And I am once again reminded that I'm very, very glad that I do not live in South Florida anymore. To think that I know lots of people in FL that claim that they would never, ever move away from the warm weather around Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. I say screw all the that. Since I've been here we've had a hot summer, a lovely colorful fall, and now a chilly winter complete with a couple of decent snowfalls. And now we will look forward to the warm up, and the colorful blooming flowers in a couple of months when spring reaches us.

=)

The changing of seasons is good people, its the natural order of things - that is all for now.

-rw

What a night huh??

First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our friends / fans who came out last night. Yall showed support in a really big way and there is no way of thanking you enough. So I'll just say - we love you, and always will.

As for the show - aside from a few glitches that have become the norm for "backline provided" gigs, we really did quite well. We debuted some new material that was received quite well, and put down some great performances of the older tunes. Highlighted by a nice exchange between Randy and myself on "Spies". A moment featured in this here photo, taken as always by last night's birthday girl, Kat. We got some great compliments for lots of people in the audience, some really great compliments from the sound crew onstage, and even a positive review from the industry people who were the guests of the promoter. All in all, another good show.

The next NP show is coming up on Tuesday, January 22nd @ Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta. We'll be getting our customary full 45 minute set, and we'd love to see you all again.

Until next time, yours truly -

Richie
------------------
NP Setlist 1.12.08 @ The Loft - Atlanta Ga

wide asleep
we are not sleeping
yay, yeah, uh huh
kenny rogers tune
spies
in circles
smedley