Model Stranger Blog

Stiff Necked and Sore in St. Louis

2011-12-14T13:59:00.000-06:00

We have been touring for quite a bit in our van. The van has grown to be a great crash pad and has saved us thousands of dollars in hotel rooms with the amount of touring we have been doing. A lot of people think we are crazy for doing it but it is a safe place for us to rest.

Most recently we upgraded to a futon mattress in the back and lined it with a couple nice blankets/sleeping bags. It is pretty comfortable in any kind of weather but when you’re sick.. The van is the last place you want to sleep.

The van gets cold in the Winter. It’s especially cold when you are sweaty and lock yourself inside to have a nap following a show. I went to lay down following our set on Saturday and thought I’d be environmentally friendly by not warming it up. I woke up an hour later and my hand hadn’t stayed inside the sleeping bag.. It was numb and I had to use the restroom. I went back into the bar and used the bathroom. Round 2 nap. I started the van and warmed it up. The next time I woke up I thought we were being robbed but it turned out that Kevin and Vincent were just loading up the trailer. I wasn’t well.

We had made the trip down to St. Louis to perform with local acts – Descending New Angels and Stilline. This was only our 3rd time through St. Louis and we were looking forward to playing for a good crowd this time around. I had been sick since Thursday and was having problems even turning my head since my neck was so sore.

The Crack Fox - St. Louis Picture courtesy of Greg Smith

Following a night locked up in the studio last Wednesday I woke up with a wicked sore throat. At first I thought perhaps I had sung too much but it wasn’t that kind of sore throat and by Saturday morning I had begun developing a stiff neck. As a singer, being sick is super stressful. Thankfully all the tea and honey I consumed in the previous 72 hours had paid off and I was able to perform for a very enthusiastic St. Louis crowd. Stillline’s and Decsending New Angels fans were great to us and we finished our touring season of 2011 with a nice energetic and tight set despite my ailment.

Sometimes touring sick can be a complete drag but the important thing is getting on with the show, which I was glad I was able to do. I have been resting up and getting better but still not fully there. I’m super anxious to get better to start recording. It’s been a long year. We’ve made so many new friends touring and this year was especially rewarding but honestly... we need to get these new songs complete.

See you later!

Thanks for Reading

Stephen Francis

The Road, My Birthday and an Impressive Photo Bomb

2011-12-01T17:19:00.000-06:00

Things have been going great. Life is great. The road is as wonderful as ever. We have amazing fans (yes, YOU!). We got to spend some of the final days of our final dates of touring in 2011 in a few of our favorite cities.

Speaking on behalf of all of us, Burlington, IA has developed into a home away from home. The fans, atmosphere and city itself is awesome! We couldn't have done this year in Burlington without the support of Mike Savage and KQ92. The station has consistently spun tracks off of Dreams & Bones and every show we see more fans dancing and singing along. It’s been a great ride for us so far!

If you're ever traveling through I highly suggest you stop in Burlington and at the very least visit Mr. Moto's and Weird Harold's. You'll thank me later. Look at this pic of some Strangeloves... sexy staches!

Loving the photo bomb

What can I say about Macomb, IL? Well, it's a college town, it rocks and it’s crawling with Strangeloves. That's certainly one reason we keep returning. We have amazing fans there and Guy, manager of The Cafe, is like the Father we never had. He heavily influences us to drink Jameson and calls us derogatory names if we don't consume enough, ha! But really, we actually played at The Cafe 7 times this year and every show was something different. Acoustic sets, bringing friends on stage to sing along, diving into drums...it has been a wonderful year for us there and we look forward to what Macomb has to offer in 2012.

Another Macomb Strangelove shows off her I <3 Moustache nails.

And finally this past weekend we celebrated my birthday just as I would've liked, by playing music with two of my best friends. We rocked with our good friends’ bands, Red City and Blue Eyed Jesus. City Limits has always been a great place for us to play and we look forward to seeing you at a show there in the future.

"Operator" - 11/24/2011

Finally after 70 odd shows and a whole lot of traveling we are devoting the Winter to completing some new tracks. It’s been too long since we released anything. This year the road became a vacuum, this Winter the studio will become our home.

:{) -Kevin James

Losing Time, Making Friends and Fighting the Wind

2011-11-15T14:22:00.001-06:00

We lost time one way this past weekend when we headed over to Indianapolis to play another Lazy Hawk Promotions show. We had the fine opportunity of playing the grand re-opening of Indy’s Jukebox.

Every time we visit Indy I forget that you can still smoke in the bars there. This is kind of like walking into a time warp for me. The bill was very diverse featuring locals Dell Zell, SynAestesia, Chemical Envy and Kansas rockers The Midnight Ghost Train.

This was our second time playing with The Midnight Ghost Train in Indianapolis. These guys bring it and have a hell of a hot sauce on their merch table, which we made sure to tap into on Sunday when we got home. On Saturday we opted for some eats at a local Jimmy Johns while scowering the streets for bars.. more on that another time.

Photo courtesy of Lazy Hawk Promotion

Friday’s show was pretty standard for Indianapolis. The fans of Indianapolis are amazing and therefore the shows are always a fun and rewarding trip for us. Being only our second time through we were happy to see how many of our new fans made the trip back out.

In addition the local bands on the bill were supportive and generous as you could be. There is quite a solid scene cooking up over there and we are glad to be guests of theirs.

photo courtesy of Lazy Hawk Promotions

On Saturday, reeking of cigarettes and sweat, we made our way over to Muncie, IN to perform at Be Here Now. This was our first time through Indy. From the second we walked into the room we could tell we were going to have a hell of a night. The venue was colorful and had a great vibe. Shortly after the show began the room was full.

We had some of Lazy Hawk Promotion’s staff over from Indianapolis to help us get through the night.

This was a rowdy performance for us. The energy was high and we had a blast. We opted out of playing some of our new down tempo numbers and pulled out an impromptu audible to play a cover of “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes. There is video of all of this somewhere but the camera was misplaced. When it is returned to our possession we will be sure to post some footage.

The Mouth of A Tiger leading to the stage at Be Here Now

We opted to drive home following the show despite having our video shoot postponed and not really needing to get home. Vincent navigated his way through one of our windiest commutes of our time on the road, at times frightening. Thankfully we are professionals.

Thanks for Reading!

Stephen Francis

2011-11-07T08:51:00.001-06:00

We took a short trip away from Chicago a few weekends back down to Kentucky and back up through Terre Haute before returning home to be Nirvana for Halloween. It was our first time in Kentucky, we visited both in Covington and Louisville.

Wednesday night we ended up back at our sound guys house discussing records and listening to music. This was followed by a 3:30 am collaboration of cooking Pork Chops, Spanish Rice and Sautéed Vegetables.

Thursday afternoon we drove over to Louisville and did some shopping for our improvised Halloween costumes.

Terrible Cell Phone Pic of KFC's "Yum Center"

We stopped at Caulfield’s, a local costume shop and decided we needed to get to the Thrift Store to make this happen. In one fell swoop we put together our costumes that later became this glorious interpretation of “The Little Red Riding Hood”. Knowing I’d have to shave off my moustache the following day and much to the request of others around.. I left it on.

Ghoul in the window

Louisville's own Costume and Novelty Shop

Thursday night performed at “The Hideaway Saloon” for a decent Thursday night crowd but decided to leave our costumes for Friday. This was our first time through Louisville. In addition to being quite awesome people they were also an excellent crowd. This set was a mixture of originals and covers.. with a few new songs thrown in. Everyone was very kind and the night was highlighted when we were gifted a key to a house so we could crash and have a shower. There was also a microwave so Vinny zapped us some grilled cheese.Here is a picture of our digs here:

Accomodations at the "Band House"

After a few hours of sleep we went back to the Highlands neighborhood and shopped for vinyl, spent some time in the Guitar Emporium and stopped into Leathernecks so Vince could shop for some Snakeskin boots. I managed to get fit for a custom guitar strap and Vince and I both landed some sweet records. Kevin was sleeping in the van.

Vincent tries on some hot snakeskin boots.

On Friday we headed over to Terre Haute to meet up with our friends in Polar Island. We were connected with these guys through a mutual friend in Chicago. From the get go these guys have been super sweet to us and they know their shit too, which never hurts. We had a chance to play their first show ever with them and it was nice to see what they have been doing. I’m really looking forward to their record.

At first it seemed like we were the only ones dressed up but soon enough the crowd filled in and there were a lot of costumes. It was kind of odd performing with a hood on but I kind of liked it. However.. it did look ridiculous. The set was fun and we got to play some new songs that we have only played in "acoustic" sets. This was our first time adding these numbers to our regular set.

Our Little Red Riding Hood tribute.

Saturday we were a little late getting started but got back to Chicago in time to take a good shower and change into our costumes. The Elbo Room was packed and we had a lot of fun doing our tribute to Nirvana. We had filmed the show but the video guy lost his camera later that night in a cab. Here is a picture of me as Kurt Cobain upstairs at the Elbo Room. Also pretty ridiculous but FUN!

Stephen Francis as Kurt Cobain. Halloween 2011.

All in all it was a nice short run and a much needed fall playcation. Definitely looking forward to heading back to Kentucky in 2012.

Thanks for Reading!

Stephen Francis

2011-10-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

Last night we completed our tee shirts for this weeks Halloween show. Only silkscreened 12! This was quite a daunting task as we are still relatively new to silk-screening but with a few Google searches we were able to knock off some of the rust since we hadn’t done anything since this time last year. These tees will never be printed again! As we will be Nirvana for this years Halloween performance we only saw it fit to ditch our Model Stranger font and use the classic Nirvana font. DIG IT!

Thanks for reading!

Model Stranger

Our Weekend in Seven Pictures

2011-10-24T12:27:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we traveled to Burlington and Macomb. The highlight of the weekend for us had to be the acoustic set we played on Saturday night. The debut of two new songs and the opportunity to show a different side of ourselves was rewarding and the crowd was digging on it. Every trip out to these town seems more and more worth it because every time keeps getting better and better! Every time we leave, we leave humbled. Thank you so much to for the continued support!

Here are some pictures from random times throughout the weekend.

Model Stranger debuting their first two tracks that showcase keys instead of guitars.

Macomb fan comes excited to the show with "Strangelove" painted on her nails.

KQ92 Has been playing Model Stranger so much on the radio we gifted them!

Capitol Music added us to the Local Bands rack.

Vincent fell asleep on 67 with his leg out the window.

In case of emergency.. Always shoot Pepto

In the morning we found this on our windshield... a Thank You card from a fan.

Hitting the road this week for a couple shows in Kentucky and Terre Haute. Heading back to Chicago on Saturday to perform as Nirvana for a Halloween show at the Elbo Room.

The Power of Collaboration and Community

2011-09-07T00:47:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Kevin and I hit up PJ20 at Alpine Valley. The festival was fantastic. It was so great to see a band that has accomplished so much celebrate their 20th Birthday with dedicated fans and close friends. If you listened and watched closely you could tell that the backstage was a scene.

Taken from Eddie's Ukulele Tour -

There wasn’t one set I caught that didn’t involve some other band member getting on stage and sharing music of another bands catalogue. Members of Pearl Jam make appearances throughout the day in other bands sets and throughout both nights Pearl Jam had guests up and down all night. Witnessing Eddie sing with Glen Hansard again was amazing. My favorite part was seeing dozens of performers join Pearl Jam for “Rockin In the Free World” at the end of the night. The energy was so positive and it is a night I will never forget.
The experience was a very pleasant reminder about the power of collaboration and community within different scenes. It was great to feel it on such a big level and witness some bands I had already been a fan of get to experience such a special night with a much bigger and more accomplished band like Pearl Jam. If seeing Pearl Jam play for 3 hours two nights consecutively wasn’t enough, they sure made it a special occasion! As much as it was about them, it was about sharing music and doing what they love and being grateful for that.

Naturally it got me thinking about all of the friends we have made over the years since we started performing. Some of the best friends I have made in my life have been from the sharing music and putting on shows together.

Seeing 30 musicians jumping around on stage together reminded me so much of the Chicago Noise Machine and how much fun we used to have making appearances on stage with each other. Looking back at that now I am very happy we all took the time to work together and invite each other on stage. Thankfully a lot of those friendships and collaborations/guest appearances have extended past that organization and even after most of those bands dissolved and even more than that.. the I AM Fest continues as a staple for Chicago Independent music as well and so it goes...

I AM Fest 2009 - Chicago Noise Machine and Friends

I guess what I am trying to say is that I am very grateful today that I have been able to play music and meet so many great people in the process. I just wanted to take a minute and honour that.

This weekend Vincent and I will be performing acoustic (sans Kevin) at the Double Door with one of those great people from our friends in a Bullet Called Life. Last week when I was asked if we would like to do an acoustic show and knew Kevin couldn't perform I thought I should ask Aaron if he wanted to join us. Aaron will be playing some guitar and singing with us. He is just a lovely human and he is a hell of a musician... one of those many great people.

Thanks for reading.

Stephen Francis

New Music?!? Live at the Double Door EP.

2011-07-19T02:53:00.000-05:00

It has been quite a long time. Over two months since our last blog! There is new music! Just not ready for release yet. In the meantime we have a live bootleg of some select tracks from our May Double Door performance in Chicago.

Our recent efforts have been focused internally as we experiment with new material and continue touring around the Midwest, selling records and meeting so many lovely people. The most exciting things along the way have made their way to this blog or to our webpage but everything else is just silly stories and videos that will end up on You Tube sooner than later.

In the last year, over 125 shows, we ended up with a good collection of solid recordings of some of these many live performances. Some live videos have made their way to our You Tube Page while the rest of them have been collecting digital dust in a desolate file folder.

Our initial effort to share some of these recordings with you was sidetracked by a remixing of Dreams & Bones for some TV licensing opportunities so it wasn’t until very recently that we had an opportunity to rummage through these videos/audio files.

Using our Twitter page we asked Strangeloves what songs of live performances they would love to get their hands. Thankfully we were able to fill all of the requests and were able to put together a short live EP.

We printed 100 custom and limited copies of this record and released them to our Strangeloves in Chicago this past Saturday’s show at Martyr’s. Today anyone can download them in a pay what you want format by visiting our Bandcamp page. That package includes different audio options as well as 4 Hi Resolution Photos from the actual show, and the album artwork. If you don’t want to donate, or even enter 0 (it's pay what you want.. you can pay 0..) but if you are just lazy and don't want to leave this page and just want the audio files you can click here but this one doesn't include all of the fancy stuff mentioned above. Just sayin!

Preview of the Artwork - Ooh la la! I guess you could technically get the artwork here too.. Hmmm.

For a limited time you can grab a remaining hard copy at any Live Model Stranger show.

Discussions of a new record are still in the process as we decide exactly what it is and how it is that we want to record this next group of songs. A lack of new material is actually not an issue; in fact it is the opposite as we are sitting on over a dozen potential song choices and even more song snippets. Discussions with numerous producers, studios and discussions amongst us have ended with a big hmmmm and altered our usual concise decision making process. What to do… Should we do an acoustic record? How about we release all of those ambient dancey numbers we have been working on? Should we release another Rock and Roll record?

It is more than likely we will be releasing an EP of some sort over a full length. We will have more news to come regarding our next effort over the next few months. In the meantime we will be trying some of this new material live and seeing what sticks.

What would you like to see Model Stranger do next?

Thanks for reading.

Stephen Francis - Aka Stevie Frankie.

Unofficial She Don't Music Video... from Germany?

2011-04-20T11:44:00.000-05:00

It isn't everyday you wake up and a music video is completed for your band.

This becomes especially true if it were to happen without your knowing. A month ago a fan posted a music video for "She Don't" on our Facebook wall.

I saw it and I said.. “We didn’t make a music video for this song? Suhweet!”

Curious by the image of the girl on the thumbnail, I pressed play, sat back and tried to deduct how this came to be. The quote under the video says "Ooooh Miri don't care everything! D". "You and her both Miri!," I blurted aggressively towards my computer monitor. Then I asked myself, who is this girl? Where is she from? Do I know a Miri? So... there I sat with my confusion quickly being outweighed by this flattery. Sure.. WE didn't do this video.. WE didn’t approve this… BUT… Who gives a shit?

I decided that I should reach out to her and thank her for making this video. So I did just that. Miri replied the next day and explained that she found Model Stranger on the Steam Engine Blog. She shared her excitement for our record and told me how her and her friends listen to it all the time. It took me a second to comprehend that a teenager from Germany and her friends were listening to something we recorded in Chicago.

I mean sure, we have fans but they are fans that we have made mostly from touring.. and we have never toured Germany. This video installment made by a sweet German teenager made my day.. and then I forgot about it... and then I remembered it.. forgot about it again and now I am blogging about it... because its awesome how the internet continues connecting us to new fans. It is awesome to live in a world where people can interpret your music on their You Tube Pages. A simple mention from Reverbnation on Twitter and a feature on The Steam Engine Blog... and suddenly we have fans from around the world.

Very special thanks to Miri for sharing our music on her You Tube page and a million thanks to the Steam Engine Blogspot for continuing to support us and spread the word. Also to Reverbnation for showcasing our FB page last week. So appreciative!

Without people sharing content on the internet this would be a completely different story now wouldn't it?

Radiohead Conceals DIY Fan Funding Approach With King of Limbs Release

2011-02-16T11:37:00.005-06:00

As Radiohead fans around the world rejoice in the sudden announcement that "The King of Limbs", the much anticipated follow up to In Rainbows, will be dropping in digital format on Saturday I am joining in on the celebration and personally applauding them for pushing the envelope once again.

Whether you are a larger national act with a million plus fans or an independent band with a whopping 314 likes on your Facebook page you should be taking notes at just what Radiohead is really doing and why it works.

Radiohead is adopting techniques and retail options from the independent music community and further closing the gap between independent acts and Nationals. The only difference I see here is the perception in the way they pitch the sale.

During my first glances on the King of Limbs homepage the thing that caught me off guard was the fact that physical copies of the record will not ship until May, almost four months from the date of the initial digital release.

This presale will give Radiohead funding and a good idea of just how many packages and physical items they will have to print. This isn't very different from a 'fan funding' approach that in the independent music community has started to become popular over the last 2 years. In fact any pre-sales of records are fun funding, it just doesn't feel that way when it is coming from a band with the success or stature of Radiohead and when the music is available right away.

Independent bands around the world use sites such as Kickstarter, PledgeMusic and Artistshare to commonly raise money to print their records, go on tour, or go into the studio. I have even seen bands ask for money to fix their van.

Radiohead can afford to fund their recording cost and aren't taking a desperate 'FUND OUR RECORD' approach in the pitch to their fans, obviously because they don't need to. However before they put up any money to print physical copies, they are going to raise some money towards the cause and get a good idea of how many packages they need to print at a first go round.

The perception doesn't seem desperate as it does for Indie bands though. Is that because every single person that purchases this record this week knows that they will get a great product? Does this display how important a rapport with a fan base is? Or is it because they don't really consider that they are actually funding Radiohead to print their record? I think the answer to all of those is yes. Indie bands far and wide can learn just why this works for Radiohead. Offering the free download up front is instant gratification and makes the exchange feel fair.

Its all about perception.

In fact this model reflects the way that the very popular Bandcamp processes orders for artists that sign up to sell music on their site, which is the first place I witnessed this download now ship later process. When you visit an artists Bandcamp page and purchase a record not only do you receive an immediate digital download at the time of purchase but you also have many different file formats in which you download the record, much like the options on www.kingoflimbs.com., and a physical copy will ship at a later date. Although other nationals such as Trent Reznor of NIN have offered multiple file formats in free download format, Radiohead widdled down the many options available in the modern age to two user friendly file types, .wav and .mp3.

They also created a price point between the two by giving them two different prices. Wav files take up more server space and therefore sound better so Radiohead is charging more for those files. I agree that .wav files should be more expensive and this is a great move.

In addition by giving their fans only two package options, digital or physical/digital, Radiohead is going to significantly increase their revenue for anyone that desires to own this record in physical format. Commonly bands sell posters and artwork, vinyls and CDs as separate items online. It is common for bands to sell only one item for presale. Radiohead has only the entire lot available.

To add to the clever aspects of this release, actually purchasing the record in digital format instead of downloading it for free is just as worthy as purchasing a lottery ticket. As the website states on both packages –

"1 Lucky owner of the digital version of the King of Limbs will receive an autographed 2 Track 12" vinyl".

So imagine if that was you. Out of the millions of Radiohead fans in the world YOU could be the one to end up with the “Golden Ticket”. This prize would truly a priceless item of merchandise. Any music listener knows that they can wait until Sunday and find a free download of King of Limbs somewhere online but the possibility of being the winner of that record, despite the odds, will have overzealous Radiohead fans and Ebay juggernauts around the world pulling their credit cards out once again. Anyone who plays the lottery should purchase this record. The winner will be famous and any Radiohead fan knows that they will be getting their moneys worth.

Lastly I think this is one of the rare times I can recall any band releasing a record with little or no heads up. A major label would probably view this as a PR nightmare. Who would release a record without press releases and reviews? There is really no time here to create a buzz right? Considering that 25% of content online is user generated content this isn't that strange. It has been 2 days since the band announced the release of the record and it is being mentioned dozens of times in every one of my feeds by the hour. Who needs the press when you have millions of fans around updating their status with your name and link to new record in it? The general population has become the press!

A lot of the reason while this works for a band like Radiohead is simple.

They are one of the biggest bands in the world. Not every band can get away with a stunt like this but at the very least every band can learn from this.

Radiohead continues revolutionizing their releases with the changing technological and consumer trends of the music business while increasingly closing the gap in the ways nationals and independents release music. We should be grateful for their business/social media savvy and road maps as much as their brilliant and often unparalleled music.

If you were Radiohead what would you have done different for this release and why?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks for reading.

Stephen Francis

Although physical copies of both the CD and Vinyl come out in retailer stores on March 28^th Radiohead has chose their presale portion of this release, which is where Fan Funding is rooted, to only show two options. As this post is about the subject of Fan Funding and perception of how to do it in a clever and concealed way I left this information off. If you visit www.kingoflimbs.com there is no mention of this release date which is why it was not included in the original post. I believe Radiohead left that off on purpose. Do you think that Radiohead would leave that detail off on accident? - Ammendment in Re: to @ThisJustin's comment

Not So Blue Thursday

2011-01-20T20:15:00.002-06:00

3 days after Blue Monday and I have a reason to smile. For the most part it
seems the winter has granted the band that balance we had been trying to

wrestle down in the late fall. Before we knew it we woke up and were in the

thick of another long winter. The Chicago air had begun bleeding its agents

of lethargy into our enthusiastic spirits and we were left disoriented with

not a clue on what to do next. It seems that if no one had anywhere to be

our world would come to a complete halt and everything else would continue

moving. A collective drag, the hangover of the holiday season was in our

bones. Then suddenly it all made sense.

With such a shady despositon of the last month why would I have a reason to

smile? I am comforted that there is a mutual relief amongst the band as of

late. Last years plans for us have seemingly completed their cycles and

soon enough we can get back to doing the things we intended. “The plate”

has cleared itself and now we are left to start creating again, get back on

the road and continue selling records.

What is next? We ask ourselves… Where are we going? Who is expecting us?

We don’t know much of anything in certainty at this point but we know that

we are anxious to work on some new music and hit the road more than any

previous year. Suggestions of 100 shows hardly made us flinch and the first

few batches of new music we have been working on hardly resemble our former

efforts. This is exciting and terrifying, yet intriguing and motivating;

the seed of imagination. Who knows though we could just pop out a rock baby

overnight and hone this stuff out. Either way when it is ready you will

get a taste.

Plans for a short spring tour are in full swing and we will begin testing

out our new material live before we head into the studio in the coming

months. From the depths of my deepest hibernations I wish anyone reading

this the brightest day.

For those of you who want to chime in: What would you like to see Model

Stranger do in 2011? Where would you like to see them play? What can Model

Stranger do for you?

Go away? Nah.. We have been gone for long enough. It’s party time.

In the meantime here are a couple shows we do have booked.

A Year In Review

2010-12-31T00:59:00.002-06:00

Model Stranger: 2010

Photo Courtesy of Mike Hari

For those of you that follow us or actually read these blog entries, it is no news that we had a busy 2010. As the New Year is upon us we would like to put the year in review for nods of nostalgia and to thank the many of you that opened up your ears, hearts and sometimes homes to us as we were making our way through your town. New places, new faces and a million words exchanged about where we each came from, where we were going and here... is where we have been. - Model Stranger

Jan: Starting Off On The Wrong Foot

2010 technically started for Model Stranger with a mistake. The band began playing music on stage at the Elbo Room. Oddly this was only their third show and ironically the only coherent mistake of the night happened in the first few minutes of 2010.

A few weeks prior to this show Model Stranger had their first show together at The Metro with friends Lucid Ground and 5 days later played The Cubby Bear w/Our Lady Peace. At the time they had been a band for less than 30 days when they took the stage on New Year’s Eve.

Vincent had the task of learning 38 songs in just under 23 days in preparation for the show.

Our Lady Peace w/Model Stranger by Mike Hari

Our Lady Peace w/Model Stranger by Christie LaMountain

- On the New Years Eve Show -

"We were stressed about what to play at the actual turn of the clock. Feeling that none of our original music had the quality to bring in the New Year we chose to do a cover of “What a Wonderful World” to close out 2009 and wanted to start 2010 with a cover of “Time is On My Side.” After the clock struck midnight Vincent clicked his sticks four times. Unfortunately for the crowd this song is supposed to be played in 3.

Elbo Room - New Years Eve 2010

We laughed hysterically as we partially train wrecked the first live song of 2010 for those present. In hindsight the audience was so drunk and happy no one noticed but it is one of the funniest memories of our time on stage together thus far. I recall turning around and yelling at Vincent saying “IT’S IN 3!” He smirked at me and screamed “I KNOW, I CAN’T STOP NOW!” We still laugh about it to this day." - Stephen Francis

Feb: A Moment With Model Stranger

During the recording of "Dreams & Bones" the video series, “A Moment with Model Stranger,” debuted.

"This series was put together by our manager Andrew Coate. We have tons of footage lying around from late night rehearsals, touring and recording. He took it upon himself to start compiling some of this goofy footage into short clips of film and titled it, “A Moment with Model Stranger.” - Kevin James

Mathematics Genius

Jan - Feb: Making of Dreams & Bones

It was during this time Model Stranger worked on their debut record "Dreams & Bones." The record was recorded live and overdubbed/mixed in a very short time. Here are some videos from the recording.

Making of Dreams and Bones

Guitar Sounds

Feb - Apr: Shows? Yes...Shows Upon Shows.

Overall, the Winter of 2010 was light on shows having only performed twice between January and March. In February Villain vs Villain and Model Stranger were invited to play a One Man(no) show at Angels & Kings. In March Model Stranger was invited to perform at the Roadhouse in Elgin with Local H.

"Outside of those two performance almost every minute of our time was spent tracking, writing and recording Dreams & Bones as well as booking our April tour.That time period all happened so fast. We hardly recall the meetings we had with Miss Julia Ciacco and Mr Neil Danaher for the artwork. They did such a great job on everything! In hindsight we probably didn’t even need to meet because when the time came they got the job done." - Stephen Francis

Local H w/Model Stranger by Mike Hari

Breathe In, Breathe Out...

In April Model Stranger hit the ground running. The three months they had spent isolated led to this bodacious tour they mapped out and booked independently. The band ended up doing 20 shows in 30 days…18 of them in a row.

Model Stranger April 2010 Calendar

04/3 The Café Macomb, IL

04/7 The Keg Springfield, IL

04/8 The Washington Burlington, IA

04/9 Montgomery Street Pub Creston, IA

04/10 N’Zone Bar Oakland, IA

04/11 The Pheonix Lounge Harrisburg, SD

04/12 The Rusty Nail Omaha, NE

04/13 Duggan’s Pub Lincoln, NE

04/14 JJ’s Bar Laramie, WY

04/15 The Cork Fort Collins, CO

04/16 The Open Tap Denver, CO

04/17 The Dark Horse Boulder, CO

04/18 Toad Tavern Littleton, CO

04/19 Semolino Hays, KS

04/20 The Boobie Trap Bar Topeka, KS

04/21 Gaslight Tavern Lawrence, KS

04/22 The Riot Room Kansas City, MO

04/23 Illinois Brewing Co Bloomington, IL

04/24 Cubby Bear CD Release Chicago, IL

04/30 The Day Old Basement Macomb, IL

*This was the start of the long runs of shows Model Stranger performed in 2010. They performed 68 shows total with 65 of them being between April and December hitting 14 states independently.

Dreams & Bones Release Show by Christie La Mountain

Dreams & Bones Release Show by Bill Whitmire

- On Touring and Joining the Band -

“At this time last year I was still feeling out Stephen and Kevin to make sure they weren't going to steal my organs and leave me in a cornfield in Indiana. Now I know that they would never take my organs without politely asking. But touring with those two fellas has been a highlight of my 2010.

Meeting people from all over the country opens your eyes to the reality that the world is not really a big place at all. We are all connected to a certain degree and we all must learn to share this world with one-another.

It has always been implanted in my head that the world is filled with crazy-creepy-serial killers; but once you're on the road you realize that there are a lot more warm hearts than there are Devils Rejects.

This year I have built an unbreakable bond with Model Stranger, as well as, the people we have met along the way. There is no way I could pinpoint my favorite memory of 2010 but if I had to choose, it would be Stephen and Kevin allowing me to sing my heart out to my own iPod playlists while I fist pumped and head banged to Man Man… and sometimes Corey Hart's, “I Wear My Sunglasses At Night.” - Vincent Joseph

Jun - Aug: Summer of Strangelovin'

The Summer was filled with a lot of festivals and weekend warrior trips. It was a great time for Model Stranger and it was great to see fans getting involved in what we were doing. In June Model Stranger's Website was launched while the band started working on new material.

Festival Filled Summer in 2010

"So many new fans and faces were around and it was very exciting. Erik Oldman, of Beneath the Stares, suggested “Strangeloves”as the name of the Model Stranger Fan Club and it was voted highest by MS fans. Shortly after, sometime in July, Model Stranger was voted the Deli Chicago Magazine "Band of The Month." A lot of cool stuff happened over the summer." - Kevin James

Festival appearances at the Taste of Chicago, Taste of Lincoln, Windy City Ribfest and the Tribune Fest were all well received. At the onset it was interesting for Model Stranger to learn how to perform during the day.

In mid-August a bunch of Strangeloves gathered in Vincent’s backyard to film a music video for the live favorite “Where Do We Go From Here?”

Sunday Morning Party. 10:30 am call time.

On Lollapalooza:

"I'd have to say this past year was quite a rad year. We started off getting the album out and spent the rest of the year playing shows while continuing to support local music. That's one thing we enjoy and stay as dedicated to as we can is getting out and keeping up with the Chicago scene. Although it's far from local, it's in our backyard and Lollapalooza is quite the large event that has given us an opportunity that we appreciate...so many music fans in one place. One great memory I have from this year is actually promoting there, as silly as that sounds. We went the DIY route and hand-wrapped 1,000 lighters to hand out.

1,000 Homemade Model Stranger Lighters

Sure it's a pain to design, print, cut and wrap that many lighters but that's a minuscule amount compared to the number of people that attend everyday. Stephen and I went so we just hung out front before going in and it was like handing out money. Vincent didn't go to Lolla this year but he did show up to hand out lighters and meet people that attended from all over the world. It's random things like that that end up being great memories. I've really had a blast this year and I'm looking forward to the adventures ahead." - Kevin James

Sept - Nov: Guinness, Oysters and T.V. Auditions

"Our favorite festival appearance of 2010 came in the Fall. We had a lovely opportunity to perform at the Guinness Oyster Fest w/Neon Trees, The Last Vegas and Scott Lucas & the Married Men. A week or so after this performance we attended an audition alongside 8 other Chicago Acts to be part of a new Red Bull show called “Rock the Route." Unfortunately for us the excitement stopped there! We weren't selected for the actual show but it was an interesting experience and unique opportunity. We did end up with a killer version of Route 66 for our live set!" - Stephen Francis

Guinness Oyster Fest by Sarah Scott

Fellow Chicago acts Brighton, MA and Young Jesus were the two bands selected to compete against each other across the country, down Route 66, from Chicago to LA. You can view webisodes and learn more about that show at The Red Bull Website, on The Brighton, MA or Young Jesus’s Facebook pages.

Model Bowie

Stephen Francis as David Bowie

10 months following their New Year’s Eve show Model Stranger returned to the Elbo Room alongside their dear friends Bullet Called Life and The Fireship and they performed as “Model Bowie”. Apparently it was a good decision from the response "Model Bowie" received. The bad decision came when Stephen confusing himself with David Bowie decided to jump into the house kit at the Elbo Room.

"Awwwww! Wham Bam Thank You Maam!"

The Elbo Room’s General Manager Brian Bender had this to say about the incident:

"Who the fuck does this guy think he is... NEVER again! Where the fuck is my Long Island?" - B. Bender

The Cafe

"Out of all the places we have traveled this year The Cafe makes the highlights for us. Having only visited 3 times over the course of the year doesn’t really sum up what it feels like. To perform at the Café you have to be ready to party, deal with a rowdy crowd and be able to cover 4 hours of time. Long story short we spend a lot of time down there when we go. The group of friends we have made and the way they have opened up themselves to us and our music has been wonderful so far. Every visit was more and more interesting.

Don’t knock Macomb until you try it. The kind of crowd you have to earn." - Vincent Joseph

Dec: You're A... Where Do We?

December is highlighted with the release of the music video for “Where Do We Go From Here?” Although it was released on Dec. 22nd the video still was able to sneak in on the INCLINATION Top Ten List of 2010.

Where Do We Go From Here? Music Video Directed by Peeler

For Christmas Model Stranger treated fans of their mailing list to a version of "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch". Want to have a listen? Head over to the Model Stranger Website before the Holiday Season is over.

Lastly there was news that “Turn of the Century” was a featured download on Windows Media Guide home page. Thousands of downloads were generated by that feature!

Thank you for allowing us to share our music with you and for continuing to put energy in our direction. We want to give an extra shout to all of the talented musicians, photographers, directors that worked alongside Model Stranger in 2010. If we missed linking anybody just let us know!

We are so excited for 2011 and have so many ideas that we can’t wait to put into action. Everyone have a wonderful New Year and be sure to stay safe!

Model Gladiator Party

2010-12-05T19:48:00.000-06:00

This weekend we made a trip down to Champaign to perform at the final Illini event for this semester. Shortly after our set the were able to join in on the Illinites' festivites which included Jousting, Human Bowling and Mechanical Bull Riding.

The Illinites hold weekly events at the Courtyard Cafe to give students a chance to mingle and participate in different activities while enjoying live music. This week the students were able to hang out with Kevin and see how their gladiator skills held up against his. Kudos for the bravery on this U of I student for stepping into the ring (there was a sleight height advantage for Kevin).

Wet Dreams and Big Boners?!?

2010-11-10T11:26:00.001-06:00

It’s 2:45 in the morning on Sunday Nov. 6 and the owner of the Café, ‘Shadow’, walks up to me and hands me an envelope with our evenings wages. We share a laugh when I look down at the envelope to see how he has marked it up. I thank him, we exchange thoughts about shows for the Spring semester and I get back to loading up the trailer.

We had been slotted for the duration of the night at the Café in the desolate yet charming Macomb, IL. Macomb is home to many but mostly the crowd is made up of WIU students many of whom have started frequenting Model Stranger shows when we make the 250 mile journey due Southwest.

Our set for Saturday evening had begun shortly after 9 pm and wrapped up around 1:30 Sunday morning just before last call. It was an enjoyable evening that was unfortunately cut a tad bit short due to an unseen attack of the killer migraine.

Shadow decorates our payment envelope.. hmmm.

Needless to say this is how we do it in when we are in Macomb. It is an all night affair every time. Although it is a taxing endeavor to take on the undeniable amounts of free alcohol and lengthy set obligations, we are tested in different ways then with a normal 45 minute set.

We remind ourselves at the onset of the night that these are marathons not sprints.

The night before we had performed in Springfield on our way down. This gig we also performed 4 hour set. Following our performance we drove to Macomb and arrived at 4 am. We parked in the Walmart parking lot and took a nice rest in preparation of the nights festivites. It was chilly in the van and I woke up with a nasty headache that later would develop into one of the worst migraines I have ever had.

The majority of our Saturday day was spent inventorying and reorganizing our Model Stranger Merchandise in the parking lot of the local Walmart. We now have this extensive selection of Model Stranger tees since we back filled our older designs. Also added some hoodies to our arsenal this time around!

Taken from the back of the van.. Blurry, we know.

The first 2 sets were great and were highlighted by the debut of some new Model Stranger songs. Many patrons crowded the dance floor and showed us how to do the twist. Wish I had more pictures of that but I was busy rocking. Other highlights included the Fressos' sending us a Jameson shot nearly every 4 songs. Biggest regret of the night.. not drinking a Quaalude.

It was during the 3rd set of the evening that I was attacked by the previously mentioned killer migraine. Singing with a migraine would be enjoyable if I was a deranged masochist who loved bringing pain to myself by singing to others… Although I guess it is better than bringing pain to others by singing to myself. Every beat of the drum, line of a verse, strum of my guitar and the the thumping of the bass was a nauseating trigger that eventually caused us to end the show 2 songs early. My oh my. What a night.

We are rounding up some dates and planning a healthy and valiant return in the Spring! Thank you to all our fans in Macomb for a fantastic semester and a load of great memories!

Starting 'Rocktober' On Our Backs

2010-10-11T12:59:00.004-05:00

October started off so hot that I am going to rename it to Rocktober. We kicked off opening weekend to ‘Rocktober’ with two very exciting shows. On Friday Model Stranger had a chance to play the inagural Southside Oktoberfest in Bridgeview just outside of Toyota Park. This show was some of the most fun we had during this festival season. For starters we were playing at night for the first time at a festival and it was during a carnival of sorts. To add to the awesomeness of playing in the middle of a bunch of amusement rides, the crowd was enthusiastic and interactive throughout the night. The stage was ginormous and the weather was perfect. Kevin and I had no problem using it up. At one point I bummed a smoke from a man in the front row. He tossed it into the air and the wind took it well over my head. Without hesitation I turned and ran after it, simultaneously leaving my feet I dove and caught it shortly before crashing to the ground. It was a good cigarette.

1:28 am The Café Macomb, IL Oct. 2nd Kamikaze mission failed. Drummer still breathing.

In the morning we made our way to the Qualude Mecca of the world… The Café in Macomb, IL. Qualudes are a drink that they serve at the Café. We indulge heavily on this fine concotion when we stroll through town. Macomb doesn’t come off as anything special at a first glance but like most smaller towns it is the crowd and energy that really defines our experience when we perform here. Macomb has been a home away from home for us this year. The fans keep growing and getting wilder and wilder with every visit.

These shows we are left sometimes at our wits end to fill a four hour slot. We dig deep into our catalouge and play some really interesting covers to achieve this and it is always a martathon. The last set always yields the most energy. The show attendees are usually mouthing off and dancing their asses off by this time. I love being mouthed off to. This particular visit our last set climaxed with launching myself into the drumset, as you can see from the pic above. Battlewounds on our bodies are present but the equipment made it out unscathed. We return to the Café on Nov. 6th to close out our appearances for this semester. Can’t wait to get back.

In the meantime Model Stranger will be putting final touches on their music video for “Where do We From Here?” and playing some shows in the Chicagoland area.

Thanks for Reading!

Stephen Francis

Unnamed Road

2010-09-25T18:33:00.001-05:00

Never thought we would end up here.

Desperate?

2010-09-23T15:17:00.002-05:00

When you're in a bind on a Saturday night and really need a moustache to tie everything together...worry no more. Just find one of these Fuzzy Face Moustache machines and you're golden.

Model Stranger Graffiti

2010-09-16T10:43:00.001-05:00

A fan took a picture of this graffiti in the Elbo Room bathroom. We sure hope so!

How does C3 Radius Clause Benefit Local Chicago Bands?

2010-08-05T08:58:00.007-05:00

That of course assuming your band isn’t at the level to play Lollapalooza. By this time you may have heard a bit about the investigation into C3 Presents, the coordinator of Lollapalooza, being an anti-trust. There is a

great review by Jim DeRogatis here for your reference.

C3 is being investigated for what seems to be a far too rigid radius clause in their contracts with artists hat perform at Lollapalooza. These clauses keep the artists from playing in Chicago and 300 miles round for a good portion of the year. C3's attempt to protect their investment in the festival has caused negative repercussions to midsize venues in Chicago, however has created voids that local acts can use to their advantage.

Of course if you are a concert goer in Chicago it has been noticed less national acts are touring through during the summers since Lolla arrived.

At a first glance a dipping economy, reported lacking concert ticket sales and high gas prices seem to be the reason less bands are touring and less music is in Chicago. With a closer look you will find that those factors are only a small part of what is happening and this radius clause is affecting the city’s music scene. This is the obvious part. A not often noted aspect about this whole situation is the affect this has had on the indpendent market in Chicago.

Consider that the 120+ bands that are being kept from performing within 300 miles of Chicago for most of the year are leaving a whole lot of vacant slots stacking up in some of the midsize Chicago venues. This is now giving a lot of independent local and touring acts shots at clubs they never would get a shot at. This void in the touring market though Chicago has increased the opportunity for a flourishing independent market and changed the climate tremendously both for the good and the bad.

Filling the Void

A lot of the middle size acts that fill up the bulk of the roster at Lollapalooza are the same level bands that midsize venues have relied on in the past to keep their rooms full and bar ringing. With less acts available these clubs are left to try and fill the void. Bookers are now putting a noticeable increased focus on the independents to fill up some of these notable venues.

This void naturally creates a more cut throate independent market becausethere are less national touring acts around to fill the rooms. The ones that can are often cannabilized, the ones that can't are losing credibility before they gain it.

The local acts of Chicago and other independent touring acts can't compete with nationals and to find an exception is qutie uncommon. It is a tough spot for the venues and a hard request for a lot of these independents to fufill.

*Keep in mind that the same venues that are being affected by the C3 radius clause put the same clauses, though not as extreme, on their contracts to ensure they get the highest attendance possible per each act that performs at their venues.

The Often Delusional and Proud...

"Yes! Oh My God! Duuuude, did you hear? We are playing the 'name of one of the many significant and awesome venues in Chicago here'! I can't believe it! I was conceived in that bathroom man!"

Some bands get really excited to play some these rooms and rightfully so. I know I still get excited when we play these rooms but each man for their own reason I am sure. I do know it beats not having monitors and playing through a worse sound system than what you have at your rehearsal space. A nicer venue can impress your fans and friends and you don’t feel bad when your mom sits down. It looks great on a resume and awesome lights never hurt. However despite these many perks that come along with playing a big room is a double edged sword.

While being a placeholder and getting a shot at agreat room isn't a terrible thing, a lot bands aren't aware that taking a bigshow and not filling up the room could bedetrimental to their careers and other levels flat humiliating. There have been quite a few bands that have done a good job for these venues in getting people through the door and contributing. More times than not is safe to say you wil see ½ empty rooms and proudest girlfriends at the foot of the stage.

Model Stranger @ the Metro.

I have to admit that it would be interesting to see the results of what 5 more years of Chicago being in this current position would yield and as of right now with the contract C3 to keep Lollapalooza around until 2018 we will have that chance. With the increasing number of independent festivals like the I AM Fest and Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival to name a few and the various collectives being formed in Chicago it would be only a matter of time before the average concert goer caught on more to the underground. In our personal independent experience with Chicago Noise Machine we were able to raise a lot of awareness, generate press and sponsorship to eventually start the I AM Fest. Other collectives like the Chicago Roots Collective have shawdowed those ambitions with great success as well. I am not implying these models or examples are end all solutions but they are a step in the right direction.

The Gamblers

If the 'best of the best' are playing Lollapalooza then the chances of a concert goer seeing a band of the same level in Chicago naturaly will lessen. Of course not EVERY band in the world is playing Lollapalooza but if they are hot right now there is a strong chance you can find them on that festival. Can you blame them for taking that bill? The overall quality of music in the market naturally lessens and suddenly going to catch a show seems like a gamble. Of course there are still great shows happening but it comes the concert goer is not as quick to go catch a random show as they once were.

Closing the gap or clipping the life line?

The most positive thing that a relaxed radius clause would bring back is obvious. The obvious doesn't intrigue me though. How would it affect the independent market? Would more of these locals be sidelined or would it close the apparent and growing gap between national acts and independent acts? The best case scenario would be a middle ground where we can see our favorite nationals with the independents on as openers on a more regular basis, rejuvenate a wounded scene and bring the boys back home.

What are your thoughts on this as a concert goer?

As a venue owner?

As an independent band?

Do you think C3 shouldn't be allowed ot put radius clauses in their contracts?

How about midsize venues? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks for Reading!

Stephen Francis

Touring Smarter

2010-07-29T09:34:00.001-05:00

So yesterday Kevin and I had a chance to visit the Tour Smart Plus seminar at Invisible Records. Being a big fan of the Tour Smart book we had to stop by and see what the seminar would entail. Unfortunately we were only to attend one day but the topics covered were more than enough to get our heads spinning. Gary from Jagoff covered SEO marketing and social media. The classic 7-11 panel included talks on copyright, guerilla marketing and accounting. Also covered breifly was basic video editing, sponsorships and screen printing basics. I wish I had my camera on me to share more shots but I didn't bring one! WHAT A MISTAKE!

I did have a second during the 'Packaging' coverage to shoot some photos of this fantastic example of creative packaging from my phone. 'Marrow', a San Fransico based band, did this creative and custom packaging for their "Sunshine Enima". Not included in these pictures was the prescription that had been filled out custom to Martin whom pulled this from his personal collection for display. The band prescriped this pill to it's fans and when you open the pill you find a USB drive that you can pull the record from! How CREATIVE! :

These pictures are just a fine example of Martin Atkin's outlook on being independent and more importantly creative through every facet of your brand. The quote of the day on packaging for me was when Martin said something along the lines of... "You never hear about anyone getting off on unwrapping cellophane off a new CD. Be original and find a way to package your product to be consistent with what your band is doing".

I would love to share more about this weekend but there is much work to be done today. I reccomend this seminar to anyone in the music/film/art industry. The concepts and philosophy are applicable to artists. For more information on the seminars you can visit the Tour Smart Plus website here.
Winner of the Model Stranger Fan Club naming contest to be announced later this week!

Until next time!

Stephen Francis

In Just 2 Clicks You Can Vote MODEL STRANGER for ARTIST OF THE MONTH!

2010-06-17T13:13:00.001-05:00

Hey!

MODEL STRANGER has been nominated for Chicago artist of the month over at The Deli Chicago, a great Windy City scene resource!

We typically don't ask for things like this, but this one's a great opportunity for you to help MODEL STRANGER!

Vote for FREE (no signup or name required) for MODEL STRANGER as Chicago Artist of the Month HERE: http://chicago.thedelimagazine.com/snacks

It's FREE, you don't have to sign up for anything or input any personal information, two clicks and you're done!

If you have 30 seconds, this is a great way to show your support! Makes sure to leave MODEL STRANGER a shout out in the optional comments as well!

Thanks for helping out!

Stephen Francis

Kevin James

Vincent Joseph

Vote at http://chicago.thedelimagazine.com/snacks

Memories...I AM FEST....

2010-06-17T13:09:00.001-05:00

NOTE: This blog was originally posted to Model Stranger's Official Facebook Page on Monday, June 14th.

One of the most memorable days of my experience as a musician came a year ago.... yesterday. This glorious day of achievement came on June 13th, 2009 when Chicago Noise Machine hosted the largest independent music festival held in Chicago at the Congress Theater.

In addition to procuring serious sponsorship, recruiting 25 bands, 25 artists and 8 short films "CNM" was able to bring in just over 2,800 people through the door to experience a 13
hour extravaganza of music, art, film and lifestyle vendors. It was a very special day for me and the dozens of people that assisted in making the event the success it was. The I AM FEST (Independent Art and Music Festival) was special due to the dedication of many interns, artists,
directors, musicians, technicians and mostly importantly the fans, whom all dedicated themselves to our cause.

If you aren't hip to it and are curious - just how do 9 bands from Chicago end up putting on a festival at the Congress Theater? The endeavor started as a local band collective which we self titled as "The Chicago Noise Machine". CNM was made up of a wide range of 9 musical acts whom had something other than a sound of music in common. Having grown bored with opportunities at each band's disposal this collective found unity in dedicating themselves to trying to put a shot of excitement into what they collectively felt was a tired scene. In a nutshell the concept was simple:

Success in a trying scene could be achieved through joint promotional efforts, collaboration on creative ideas, sharing of networks, and a serious DIY work ethic.

With these core values as our creed, the concept quickly became the agenda. Compilation CDs foreshadowed band collaborations both on and off the stage and within a few months we were a fully functioning machine.

On November 24th, 2008 Chicago Noise Machine hosted its first event. The results were impressive. This 9 band sold out showcase at the Cubby Bear proved our efforts and philosophy to be true. This small showcase was an exciting event for both fans and bands.

Following this one-off and very successful show CNM's ambitions were high and it was decided that we should go bigger for our next event. For the next 6 months CNM put their minds and time into building the I AM FEST, concept and format, from the ground up.

I AM FEST would feature "Lifestyle vendors, bands, artists and directors", primarily rooted in
Chicago. It was painstaking, frustrating, exhausting, educating, fun, exciting, surreal, impossible and brilliant experience. I made many special friends and built relationships that I still have until this day. Love.

As you may have noticed, the format for live and recorded music is continuing to change. Having played a significant role in the development of both the Chicago Noise Machine and the I AM FEST, I am happy to know that alongside many of my peers, we built and shared in something beautiful. To co-create something of this magnitude independently was rewarding and of worth more than words can describe. Our actions were a direct response to a changing business model and our success was in direct relation to our creative perspective, hunger, and work ethic.

As record labels and live music continue to flutter I am pleased to know our joint instinct was not in vain and that our timing was impeccable. I would hope that any individual involved in the development took the same lessons away from the experience. For those of you that were involved, my deepest gratitude goes out to you.

Here are some videos of performance clips and media from last year:
I AM FEST COMMERCIAL

I AM FEST 2009 DOCUMENTARY/HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

MODEL STRANGER AT I AM FEST

I AM very proud to announce that the I AM FEST will be happening again this year!

The date, format, and place have changed since its inception last year, but the philosophy lives on. When given the option to either let the I AM FEST go to the wayside or allow it to live on, the choice was simple.

There couldn't be a more worthy host who could have asked permission to carry the torch. This year's festivities will be hosted by The Elbo Room. It is going to be another great year.

Q: Where/When is MODEL STRANGER playing again? A: Read on, friend...

2010-06-04T13:25:00.002-05:00

***NOTE, THIS BLOG POST IS BEST VIEWED AT MODELSTRANGER.COM. NOT ALL PICTURES/LINKS MAY SHOW UP CORRECTLY ON OTHER SITES***

Hello friends/fans/Strangers!

Today's a good day. It's Friday. Those exciting Blackhawks are ready for their revenge in Game 4. And Model Stranger is prepped for an exciting show tomorrow night at Chicago City Limits with our friends The Branded and My Morning Driver!

That's right!

Saturday, June 5th

MODEL STRANGER

THE BRANDED

MY MORNING DRIVER

Chicago City Limits

1712 Wise Rd. Schaumburg, IL

SHOW STARTS 9PM

SEE YOU THERE.

For those of you wondering where to find information about the show, and about all of Model Stranger's other upcoming shows, you can look for our ReverbNation "widgets" posted on Modelstranger.com and our Facebook and MySpace pages.

They look something like this:

ModelStranger.com - on the right hand side of the page in the first column, labeled "SHOWS":

Facebook.com/modelstranger - On the left hand column of the home page:

Or you can click the "MyBand" tab at the top of Model Stranger's Fan Page:

Or you can click the "Events" tab at the top of Model Stranger's Fan Page to see all upcoming events like this one:

On MySpace there's a nifty widget that even has a show map that look like this:

Now that you know how to find out about upcoming Model Stranger shows, we'll see you there!

Half Robot-Half Man. I Am At Your Mercy (Part 1)

2010-05-20T14:00:00.001-05:00

Half Robot - Half Man. I Am At Your Mercy (Pt. 1)

After many months of glorious isolation from my typical days while we were recording and touring, I decided it would be in my best interest to integrate myself back into society. Ironically these days what it means to
"socialize" has changed and for a lot of people and this is especially true for musicians. Socialization is done on a social platform and the digital platform and every indie band across the country is trying to find a balance. Many music business experts believe that most importantly the modern musician needs to be leading this double life. Eventually will it be that every musician will become half robot - half man?

Musicians can choose to plug themselves in at anytime. As musicians we now can capture our music and broadcast our angst to the entire world wide web. No label, resentful promoter, police officer breaking up the party, or disc jockey is going to stand in our way! We are telling the whole world just WHO we are from our cell phones and laptops while we sit at tables with strangers and friends in coffee shops and on trains discussing exactly what it is we are typing about on one of the thousands of social networking sites we have the access to have a profile on. Why is this necessary? If you haven't noticed the game has changed immensely and it is NEVER going back. For worse or better - the good news for you is we are at your mercy.

As if touring, recording, performing, writing, producing, booking, merchandising and finding the time to keep our chops up isn't demanding enough for the independent musicians, the ones that do all of those things are now also expected and often rewarded when we stay in touch on our social networking sites and connect with our fans. Of course we have all fallen victim to and occasionally participated in the FLURRY of self-promotion that comes with this new formula but I ask you - whose job is it exactly to say, define who should and should not be sharing? If it drives you crazy as a fan - let the band know. If a band isn't sharing enough - let the band know. After all you are the one buying the records and going to shows.

The aforementioned gatekeepers of the past, although biased and often driven by greed, at least required that there was some sort of standard. Nowadays anyone can pick up a microphone, plug in and bellow out the highest out of key note they can reach and SHOVE IT IN YOUR FACE every 10 minutes. So now the power has shifted and the general public or the fans of independent music are the gatekeepers of who is in and who is out. No longer are artists able to sit back and just be artists. Now the best are required to be half Entrepreneur-Half Artist. Fans used to be martyrs for bands, but now bands are martyrs for fans.

Of course, every struggling musician would claim that 95% of the fan community "don't have a clue" or "don't find the patience or time to really listen to what is really going on". I say , "Live with it pal ." Unfortunately that is the way it is, and these days it is expected that you understand your audience not the other way around. The game has just gotten so much bigger. Unfortunately for the new gatekeepers this new business also puts more stress on them too. It's part of the reason Facebook changed the Fan button to a Like button. Being a fan was just too stressful. Now, no longer can you just be a friend of someone in a band. In time you eventually become Half Promoter-Half Fan. Could all of the time bands spend promoting themselves be taking them away from their music? Hell yes.

Don't forget. We are in this together.

You want your favorite independent act to develop? Join their street team or buy another tee. They just might grab a set of guitar strings and write you a distorted lullaby....

Half Robot-Half Man. I Am At Your Mercy.

Playoff Beards Step Aside!!

2010-05-18T10:34:00.003-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 13th, 2010

CONTACT:

Model Stranger

modelstranger@gmail.com

www.modelstranger.com

Playoff Beards Step Aside

Musician Grows Trademark Whiskers for 6 Months Then Shaves Them for Good Cause

Chicago indie rock band Model Stranger has been gaining a lot of attention for their new record Dreams & Bones released on April 24^th, 2010, but they’ve gained just as much attention for the magnificent moustaches that adorn their faces nearly year round. The moustaches have become so synonymous with Model Stranger that since they designed a tee shirt with a moustache on it, they have had trouble keeping it in stock. Well, beginning back in November 2009, bass player Kevin James took his trademark facial adornment to a new level, growing it out maintenance free for 6 months, with the eventual idea of shaving off when the band finished the recording of Dreams & Bones. James recalls, “When it came time to shave it off a light bulb exploded in my head and I thought the best thing to do would be to donate it to charity." He has chosen The American Cancer Society as the recipient of his fundraising.

"In November we were searching for a new drummer and I didn't shave at the time. We started getting ready to create a new record, and after adding Vincent Joseph to Model Stranger I thought to myself, this is kind of like the situation where hockey players grow their beards out during the playoffs, only mine is a moustache and my playoffs are releasing this new record,” James said.

James parted ways with his moustache on April 25^th, 2010, the day after the band’s album release show, coming on the heels of completing an 18-show-in-18-day westward tour. James decided to sell his moustache on eBay - not simply "the trimmings" but his actual waxed 'stache still in tact (for the most part).

"Cancer has had a large impact on those around me,” said James, “and what more silly of a way is there to try and raise money for such a great cause?! The money will be donated on behalf of Model Stranger because, after all, my moustache was for the band. I am sad to see it go but doing it for cause is calming.”

Photo Credit: Mike Hari

Kevin James’s moustache can be found at this link: http://cgi.ebay.com/REAL-MOUSTACHE-SALE-www-modelstranger-com-/280506479434?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414f7d334a

In addition, Model Stranger will be donating a percentage of every Moustache Tee shirt sale that is purchased through June 6^th of this year. Those can be found at this link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110533340067

More information about Kevin James, the moustache, or Model Stranger is available at Model Stranger’s official blog: http://www.modelstranger.blogspot.com. To catch Model Stranger live, head to the Double Door on Tuesday May 25^th when they perform on a Haiti Benefit bill. The show starts at 9 p.m. and costs $7 (tickets here).

Vince-atarian Eating : An Altenate Lifestyle On-The-Run

2010-05-12T10:02:00.002-05:00

Becoming a Vince-atarian

About 4 years ago I decided not to eat any red meat in order to maintain a healthier-lifestyle. I thought I would make the job as easy as possible so I set a list of guidelines. To make it easier, I decided Sunday would be my "cheat" day and I would only be able to consume red-meat on that day; the rest of the week I would eat healthy fare and limit my total meat intake to chicken or fish once-a-week, otherwise, no meat. Well I have ADD and forgot to eat chicken during the week and/or "cheat" on Sundays. So here I am today, I will eat fish about once or twice a month, however, no meat of any kind enters my body. Some call it an altered vegetarian, some call it being a pescatarian, I call myself a Vince-atarian. However, eating no meat and traveling frequently can be taxing if you don't know all of your options.

Tips for Life on the Go

Always plan ahead. The majority of my friends (and my entire family) eat meat. This might be difficult for some people to continue a healthy lifestyle around, however, the first thing you will learn is to plan ahead. I always bring along healthy vegetarian snacks so that if meat-alternatives are not available I am not left out of the feasting traditions. I highly recommend Cliff Bars; they are high in protein, vitamins and are made of all healthy-natural ingredients not to mention they are super tasty :) I recommend the "Blueberry Crisp" or "Peanut Butter Toffee." Hummus; also very high protein content as well as a good supply of lean fat and oil (simply mashed garbanzo-beans/chick-peas with garlic, lemon and a key ingredient (my favorite is the roasted red-pepper) compose this spread or dip-type food) and it can be placed in pita-bread, on sandwiches, in salads or bring along some veggie sticks to dip into the hummus for a healthy and quick snack. Crackers, mixed nuts or peanut butter spread on apples are other wonderful ways to collect nutrients through healthy snacks while being mobile. There are also websites to help you get a plan-of-attack on the road.

Keep an Eye Out For

Visit the Happy Cow website. The helpful website lists vegetarian and vegan resources; including restaurants by locality. Before your hitting the road, spend some time researching the various vegetarian places to eat on the road so you'll be prepared when hunger strikes. Otherwise, most cities have Natural Food Markets (i.e. Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc.) and/or coops that supply fresh fruit, veggies and other tasty delights for those of us who have nixed meat from our diet. If you are in an even bigger rush for fast healthy, or at least, meat-free food, you still have some really good options.

Burger King. Believe it or not I have eaten a lot of Burger King on the road. They offer a veggie burger which I pair with some onion rings and a drink (I also recommend asking for "Zesty Sauce" it has changed my life) for a very-fast, affordable, meat-free meal. Subway has been my savior for quite some time now, I love Subway. You can snag a Veggie-Delight (I prefer mine w/ lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, green pepper, banana pepper, giardiniera peppers, sweet-onion sauce, light-mayo on honey-oat bread) and they even have protein patty's if you'd like; the patty's are composed of soy beans & veggies and look/taste like a chicken patty. Other options can be found at Quizno's, Taco Bell, Blimpie's, however, these options are not as healthy (more preservatives) and I recommend these (and Burger King) in dispersed moderation. Otherwise, there's always the ethnic restaurants.

Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Indian and Italian restaurants always have good vegetarian cuisine and help to recharge those batteries. Mexican: grab a quesadilla with some mushrooms followed by a chile-rellenos (stuffed with rice, cheese and veggies) for a good meal. Chinese: I'm a sucker for Kung Pao tofu with rice. Thai: I could eat anything from a Thai place like Pad Thai, Pad Se Ewe, Crazy Noodles, etc. They always have a lengthy and tasty menu for those of you looking for good meals that do not contain meat. Indian: peas paneer are my favorite paired with curried tofu. Italian: pasta, pizza and eggplant are great avenues at these restaurants. So if you really choose to embrace this lifestyle it is indeed possible to find tasty-healthy options anywhere.

Ask Around

I prefer to find one-of-a-kind restaurants and eateries along the road that aren't franchised out. You can always find a good diner or grill that will serve of fresh food and allow you to maintain your regimen. You should also talk with the locals and find a good place for your diet. While Model Stranger was in Lawrence, KS I spoke with a very nice man and women in their store, 3rd Planet; they referred me to Dempsey's Irish Pub. I know, this doesn't sound like vegetarian friendly place, but it was and all of Model Stranger agreed it was the best burger (or veggie-burger) that they have had. These tasty burger were paired with delicious fries that had been tossed in truffle-butter and parmesan cheese; it also didn't hurt that they had a nice beer selection :) You can read my full review of Dempsey's and other restaurants at Model Stranger's Yelp! page HERE.

Don't Try To Change Your Friends - Just Share With Them

Eating as a Vince-atarian I try to not impose my views or lifestyle onto anyone else, however, if they ask me about it I will inform them of the extreme health benefits and overall lifestyle improvements that come along with this diet. I have more energy, I have a clean and healthy body, I VERY rarely get sick, and it even affects my mental health and gives a positive outlook on life. I even got Kevin James to enjoy some hummus & avocado spread with me and I got Stephen Francis hooked on Veggie-delights from Subway & Sesame-Seaweed Balls from Trader Joes. However, this diet is not for everyone, some people just love their meat :) But whether you eat meat or not, we should all be concerned with maintaining a healthy diet. Especially while traveling!

Love,

Vincent Joseph

Getting From Point A to Point M

2010-04-30T10:31:00.000-05:00

I woke up in the back of the van in a dreamy panic. I had fallen asleep on the mattress we had in the back. I woke up to an explosion and a very intense vibration under the right side of my face... Luckily for me it wasn't one of my bandmates. During a routine overnight drive home from Bloomington where we had performed the night before at the Illinois Brewing Company with The Branded and Cavalry, we were greeted with our first ever tire blowout. As it usually goes we were only 13 miles from home. The clock ironically read 4:20 and we didn't have a spare. Thankfully we have a friend who knows somebody who knows somebody who drove Vincent and I 97 miles round trip in a little over an hour. To put it simply... we were protected and served.

Our friend Gavin later said "Thats the road picking a fight with you". He wasn't kidding. We had been half way across the country and drove just over 3,000 miles roundtrip and during that time performed 17 shows in 17 days. Outside of the back passenger side door breaking (doesn't open from the inside any longer) we had virtually no van problems. That is if you don't want to count the "check engine light" that came on from our brand new engine 10 miles into it's 100,000 mile warranty that we purchased right before tour. Or the battery that was shorting on us while we were doing 75 mph into Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming and EVERY other state we played. In actuality, none of those problems would keep us from getting from point A to point M.

With the friendly officer's assistance we were able to retrieve our spare from our rehearsal spot. When we arrived back at the van we found that we didn't have the correct pieces for our jack. It ended up taking us nearly an hour of using a wrench to manually prop the jack up high enough to change the tire. So here we are, sweating whiskey in our rock gear on the side of the road at dawn taking turns getting jacking the van up. The tire was demolished and we were lucky the trailer stabilized us. By the time we were finished it was 7:30 am and we finally had the spare on. We had to still unload the trailer, load back up the van with our equipment, inventory the refill order of shirts and 7" vinyl records that arrived in our absence, shower, and somewhere in there rest before the biggest show of our tour....

The homecoming record release show!

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Thank her holy body of music that tours aren't defined on how many things go wrong or right. I don't even think in the end they are about how many records and tee shirts you sell or how many people that like you. It is much more about getting up in the first place to put yourself in a position to be liked and to sell more records and tee shirts. Are you hearing me? So your tire blows out and you had 12 people at your last gig you start feeling a bit down...the next show there is a bad electric ground that continuously shocks you every time your lip touches the mic. The 'sound engineer' is bobbing his head while you perform and suddenly your internal dialouge reads words that bounce in your skull like with the pounding of the bass drum behind you - staggered - "I would like to shove this guitar up that guys tiny arse hole for his club's shitty ground and these crappy monitors". Then you wake up, and despite drinking 5 gallons of water you are still dizzy from the elevation and your poor drummer just can't get seem to get a working monitor so your all your vocal cues have to be accompanied by an obnoxious "stare of death" that he claims is serious but is only there as a 'just in case reminder'. OR perhaps you have 1 night left before the biggest show of the tour and the club you are playing literally has NO monitors and you are slotted to sing for 1.5 hours. Your only hope is to catch your pitch is from the reverberations off the back wall and as you start your set you wonder if you will have a problem performing the next day "when it matters".

As I get my miles in this is where I feel the focus needs to be if I plan on doing this for a long time. I am not going to get weighed down and bitch about it too much. I am on the road touring with my band, meeting people and playing rock and roll. I am going to focus on getting up and doing that!

Let me tell you that every day matters. You just can't get up and do a half ass job just because you did a half ass job promoting or had a half ass club owner whom didn't put up your posters or a half ass local act that bumped you because you were the touring act. Basically, everything I focused on in this exactly the type of nonsense you have to deal with every day when you tour on this indpendent level. Part of me thinks that some of it, but not all of it goes away. This too will eventually pass and I will look back and love this shit.

Our first few tours were exciting just because we were touring and the last few were more exciting because we were touring smarter (thank you Martin Atkins - buy his book HERE) but this tour was more challenging than the others. It was longer, with longer sets, and more traveling.

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The van was loaded up, cooler was cleaned out and it took me under an hour to get home. It was now 10:30am and I still hadn't had any sleep. The checklist of "things to do" still had some lines that weren't crossed out and I was so exhausted that my fight/flight response wasn't functioning correctly. I had crossed that point of exhaustion and there wer only 8 hours left until load in for the album release show. I ended up laying down and catching 4 hours of rest. When the alarm went off I popped up, hit the most heavenly shower, grabbed my clothes and went to the show.

When we arrived at the Cubby Bear the anticipation for us was brewing in the air. The room was vibrant and even at an early onset I could tell it was going to be a great night.
This release show was the finish line to an expedition that started as far back as December when Vincent, Kevin, and I sat down and laid out a calender to map our game plan for this record and tour out. It took us 3
months to record "Dreams & Bones" and book this tour that ate up most of April. This homecoming was a glorious end to a rewarding adventure.

As the lights on the stage dimmed and the production manager told us it was time to go, we crossed our personal finish line. The second Model Stranger took the stage that night we were already doing our personal victory lap.

Stephen Francis

P.S. I want to give my deepest gratitude to our manager and everyone else that took extra time out of their lives to contribute to this record, tour, promotion, and attendance. A special thanks to the bands 20 Mark Helga, Verona Red, Cavalry, The Flavor Savers and every other band whom performed with us along the way. And a special nod needs to go out to Julia Ciaccio and Neil Danaher for their brilliant contribution to the artwork and design of our merchandise and album covers.
Plans for a fall tour are underway.

To anyone that caught us on tour or made the release show - Any highlights or places you would like us to return or visit to?

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Interested in picking up some Model Stranger merchandise?
Visit http://www.modelstranger.bandcamp.com/ to pick up a copy of the debut release "Dreams and Bones", the Limited Edition 7" vinyl "What you are Looking For", or a brand new line of Tee shirts and Tote Bags!

The Last Leg - Familorado, Kansas and Home Sweet Home

2010-04-22T20:33:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning in an open field. I was in a borrowed sleeping bag and the couple that had invited us camping and their giggling friend Paul had abandoned the fire. Model Stranger and Damen, another gentleman whom had joined us on the 2 am adventure into the woods remained around the embers that remained. I felt revived and confused during my first breath of the morning air. The first thing I heard was Vincent mumble a bit about raindrops and soon realized it was time to roll. I picked up the bottle of Makers Mark that Kevin was grasping like a milk bottle and we were on to the next.

"Hello Cleveland"

Last night we were in Lawrence, KS. It was our third night in Kansas. Hays, Lawrence, and Good Ol Topeka were amongst the towns we hit. This was a lovely stay and we managed to meet some spectacular people along the way. No lie, our most devoted fans in the whole country live in Topeka and we love going there. We were fortunate to make some fans in Topeka from Lawrence whom came out the next night in Lawrence and proceeded to invite us to camp on some of their families land.

So imagine us on a gravel road searching for this campground and hitting a dead end... with the trailer attached. Unfortunately Vincent had to reverse a half mile down this road until we got to a driveway.

We ended up gaining a signal and were led in to the correct property. Allie and Martin led us through the forest down to this beautiful landing where their friends had started a fire. We grabbed sleeping bags and made sleeping quarters around the fire - talked about music, drank whiskey and looked at the stars. The open air and stars were a liberation from the familiar grey shades inside of our van and at one point, although my demeanor would have expressed differently (calm and collected), I contemplated taking my clothes off and dancing around like an Indian. I remember screaming "Hello Cleveland" into the darkness because we were in Cleveland, MO.

"Familorado" - The Heart of our Tour

We spent four days in Colorado. If there is one thing worse than alcohol, cigarettes and lack of rest that will weigh down on a vocalist (admist an 18 show in 18 day tour) it would have to be an elevation change! This struggle for me started in Laramie, WY - which is 7,651 FT above sea level and continued for the next 4 days through Littleton, CO.

Amongst the Model Stranger camp we have friends and family spread across Colorado.. so at the heart of our tour we found just that, a much needed love and affection. We had the chance to visit with some family in Ft. Collins at the Cork Lounge and then again at The Open Tap in Denver. Our show in Boulder at The Dark Horse following our record store day binge was attended by my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Frank who took us in to their lovely home for three days fed us and let us shower as well. They brought friends, and a bunch of Boulder friends came out including some people we met at Radio 1190 during our interview there the day before. Lastly our Sunday show was followed by a visit from more family. At the Littleton, CO show at The Toad Tavern we were greeted with a pleasant surprise in 'Viretta', fresh from their high school prom, who put on a great set.

Long end short this was the section of the tour where we shopped, slept under a roof and focused on getting some rest and relaxation - even if it was only 4 hours at a time. In 4 days we spent 7.5 hours on stage with 4.5 of them being within 15 hours of each other. With commuting and our radio interview at 1190 we barely got the rest we probably required but we sold a lot of merchandise and made quite a few new fans in Colorado. More importantly we visited with family and enjoyed ourselves.

The elevation messed with me through and through. I was low energy and had to drink water by the half hour to keep hydrated. A new and unexpected challenge of the road that I now know how to combat. Rest and water. Noted.

Our Triumphant return to Topeka

Although there was no red carpet placed for our arrival when we showed up we felt good pulling into Topeka at The Boobie Trap. Shortly before we arrived we received a phone call from the Washburn Review. The local university were doing a piece on us and we spent a majority of our evening discussing our tour and music with Kate, a local journalist whom was tipped off by some local fans that she may be interested in covering us. Another reason for this feeling of worthiness was the two ladies that tipped off Kate, our biggest fans Leslie and Beth were communicating with us all the way in to the door step.

Throughout our raucous and loudest show of the tour at the we had photo and video cameras following us around the stage and had a decent crowd to perform for. This is where we met Allie and Martin from the campground.

The night was a blast and followed by us getting to check out the Calamity Cubes, a great Psychobilly band from the area that ironically knew some friends we had made on our previous tour who go by Larry and His Flask. We spent the rest of the night enjoying their set and visiting with Kate, Leslie and Beth. They fed us and gave us a place to shower and sleep. Thanks!

Lawrence was a simple show with a quaint patio set at The Gaslight Tavern. We enjoyed this town very much. Despite a freakish "allergic eye infection" that Kevin developed, it was a great time.

Tonight we are in Kansas City. We have 2 days until we release the record to the Chicago market. Tomorrow we are sharing the stage with friends "The Branded". It will be nice to see some friends from home.

Well... Thanks for reading. And a special thanks to our family and friends throughout the midwest that took us in and lifted my spirit when I was feeling bogged out.

Thanks for reading!

Stephen Francis

Kevin James' Tour Beer Blog: Part 1

2010-04-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

The people that know me can tell you that one of the first things I do when entering a pub is see what local brew they have. Let me put this disclaimer out there…I am not a drunk, I am a beer connoisseur. I thoroughly enjoy the taste of a fresh local brew. Well, when we set out on tour I thought it would be neat to share some of my opinions on local beers along the way so here are a few.

Brewer: Odell Brewing Company
Brew: 90 Shilling
Type: American Amber/Red Ale

I had a pint on tap at The Cork in Fort Collins, CO. I’m not the biggest fan Red Ales but I certainly enjoyed this one. It was presented to me with a nice frothy head, copper in color and had a nice carbonation that kept consistent throughout the duration of the beer’s life. It was hoppy for a Red Ale and I personally am quite keen of hops. It had a slight citrus spice flavor but not in an overwhelming manner and had a hint of smoky malt flavor. The combination was just enough to leave the tongue wanting another sip when hitting the bottom of the glass.
GRADE: B+

Brewer: Spilker Ales
Brew: Hopluia
Type: English India Pale Ale

I had a pint on tap at Duggan’s Pub in Lincoln, NE. Let me just say I am a hop fan. The more hops the better so the name of this beer alone was enough to lure me in. It is a dark red/orange color. Upon receipt it had a wonderful aroma of pine, minty hops and I was looking forward to the first sip. To my disappointment it tasted like watered down beer. I thought I might have been insane so I asked Coate and Vincent to try it as well to decipher whether it was me or the beer. It was the beer. I was very unhappy with this and thankfully “The Mole” gave me this one on the house. I will try this beer one more time if I come across it again due to some of the reviews I’ve read giving it many compliments.
GRADE: D

Brewer: Left Hand Brewing
Brew: Haystack Wheat
Type: Hefeweizen

I had a pint on tap at The Dark Horse Tavern in Boulder, CO. Wheat beers are a personal favorite of mine, especially in the warm weather which we have been enjoying on the road. This beer was pretty good. It is golden orange in color and not cloudy at all. I was very happy with the hints of lemon, clove and banana. They were subtle enough to not make me feel like I was drinking fruit in a cup. Some wheats are far too fruity for me. All in all it was a refreshing beer and I enjoyed it.
GRADE: B-

Brewer: Odell Brewing Company
Brew: Easy Street Wheat
Type: American Pale Wheat Ale

I had a pint on tap at JJ’s Bar in Laramie, WY. To reiterate my beer review above I am partial to wheat beers. I personally enjoyed this wheat the best out of the ones I’ve had on the road. It pours a dark golden haze with a nice white head. At first sip it has a light banana malty taste. Following up that is the fine taste of yeasty wheat. It has a slight wheat cracker taste but nothing offensive. The drink itself is dry and it contains great carbonation. If you’re looking for a refreshing summer beer this is it.
GRADE: A-

Thanks for reading about my beer reviews and if you come across any of these let me know your thoughts. Do you have any local brews that you suggest whether it be in your town or one you've come across that you dig? If so, why? I’d love to hear about them!

Kevin James

NOmaha, NObraska

2010-04-14T14:57:00.001-05:00

I want to give a special thanks to Chris (from Chicago), Michaela, Elliott, Shannon, Tony, Ryan, Dodge, Phil, and the others whom names I can't remember.... for such a special evening in NOMAHA, NOBRASKA Monday night.

"Nomaha" as we have called it in the van for the last few weeks actually started out as a promising city for us as a tour stop. Back in January while we were working on “Dreams and Bones” we began booking this tour and at first Omaha looked like it was going to be a great night. Vincent had a list of over 25 venues to contact and from the research we have done we are well aware how great of a music scene is there. We figured that with that many music venues, 3 months and bands around whom we could show swap with, that we would be able to lock something down for Omaha no problem.

Fast forward to late March and we still were unable to lock down a date. Most of the venues were either booked since December (?) or just flat out ignored our emails and phone calls for 3 months straight. How did Omaha become Nomaha for Model Stranger? It began with around 200 Nos that came in many different forms - both from bands and venues.

After being shot down or ignored by every venue we reached out to in the greater Omaha area we went into overdrive determined to lock down a date. On April 3^rd on our way down to Western Illinois University we pulled up a website that listed every bar in Omaha and started at the top. We figured we would call each bar to see if we could perform the old fashioned way. Set up a PA, put out a tip jar and go for it. For about 3 hours of our 4 hour drive we took turns calling each bar on the website. Out of actual music venues to reach out to each conversation went something like this in a nutshell.

“Hello. Do you have live music?” - “No”. “Do you want some?” “No”.

Some people just straight hung up on us without even answering our questions.

Occasionally we would be humored and were asked to call back but after this first stint we officially renamed Omaha, - Nomaha. Over the course of the next 4 days we contacted an estimated 124 bars, this isn't including the initial list we had started with in January.

In addition to all of these venues/bars we reached out to, over the course of our research there were also 60+ bands whom we reached out to between our social networking sites for either suggestions or help. Not only did every band that replied say NO to trading shows, most of them didn't even reply.

Finally, lucky phone call 125 came. Vincent made a connection with a place called "The Rusty Nail” where we eventually ended up performing. When we locked in the “The Rusty Nail” we were so relieved and glad to find that we even were guaranteed some pay. Unfortunately this didn't work out either for there was a misunderstanding that the 12^th was a Saturday and not a Monday (?), so on the 10^th we found out that we would be playing for $0, or NO pay. Hahahaa

This didn't bother us much. It isn't the first time we rolled into town without guarantee. As a band you just have to make sure to have fun, perform well and sell pretty much anything you can!

We aren't the first band to go through this, and Nomaha isn't this hard for everyone. Just as there are certain venues for certain bands – there are certain cities for certain bands too. This one took a bit to crack for us. Longer than any other city. In the 28 states that we have performed, Nomaha took the most effort. We really had no friends there and did everything we can do. The important thing is that we didn't give up. YAR!

So the night wasn't spectacularly over the top in attendance (despite 800 messages via myspace) and we had no guarantee, but Omaha turned out alright. The patrons and staff at The Rusty Nail were super cool and very helpful in giving us contacts and insight for our next time through town. Chris, the Chicago Native, bought us some shots and traded stories about being a Southside Irishman. Ryan and Shannon fed us Hot Wings and gave us some great insight on what to expect where in Omaha, and Dodge - the biggest mouth in the bar - begged us to shave our precious moustaches off of our faces. We performed two 1 hour sets with a nice relaxing break in between. In the downtime I took my first shot at KENO and lost miserably.

Our biggest achievement for the evening was selling a piece of merch to every person in the bar. For a city that Model Stranger relearned the humbling word NO from, these folks sure like to support bands whom they enjoy.

Now I know you are thinking.. what were there 5 people there? Actually NO, there were 12 and I can remember most of their names and faces.

So, was it easy getting into Omaha? NO

Were the bands we reached out to helpful? NO

Did anything go smoothly or according to plan? NO

Was worth it in the end and will we give it another shot? YES.

Thank you for reminding us just how small and insignificant we really are Nomaha. We will see you soon.

Say Yes.

Stephen Francis

Knockin' on Yabba's Door: Harrisburg, South Dakota

2010-04-12T21:54:00.001-05:00

We pulled into Sioux Falls, SD at 7am yesterday morning. I didn't know that at the time because I was sleeping in the back of the van on a mattress we borrowed from a friend before we left. Coate had taken it upon himself to drive us out of the desolate – yet insanely fun – Oakland, IA and drive straight to South Dakota overnight. When I awoke I was hot and bothered from the sun and partially confused on where I was. I must have been sleeping longer than the others because everyone else slept sound as I let myself out of the dry and hot van into the fresh air. I was greeted by a cart boy with an iPod who looked at me like I was a scumbag. I smiled at him and slowly buttoned up my shirt wondering if he had seen the others that I was sharing sleeping quarters with. As I wandered into the “SuperCenter” to use the washroom I giggled to myself on what he must think of us.

I paced the parking lot making phone calls and trying not to smoke cigarettes. My voice is feeling very strong and I have 12 nights to go so I have to behave, relatively. I visited the Barnes and Nobles to grab some Starbucks and keep myself occupied until the others woke up. Kevin and Vincent awoke first and met me in the Barnes and Nobles w/laptops and droopy eyes ready to get the day's promotions started. The next few hours were occupied doing band work and discussing our remaining show dates. We hid behind a bookshelf and plugged into the wall to charge the laptops and sit in the air conditioning, sipping on our coffees and promoting the show to people shopping for books.

When Coate awoke we met him in the parking lot and had lunch. Like the day before, lunch consisted of V8 Fusion drinks and some tasty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made out of the side of the trailer (our kitchen). Customers from the Barnes and Nobles gazed at us while we wiped our bodies and faces down with baby wipes and did all morning duties including the brushing of our teeth out of an Aquifina bottle. An employee of the local Jazz Festival came up and introduced herself, hip to the fact that we were touring through town, she assured us she would be at our show. Sure enough, when we took the stage later that night, she came with a friend in tow. Both fantastic people who hung out through both sets and even treated us to a round of Jameson!

After lunch we headed over to two separate music stores and put our new record “Dreams and Bones” on consignment with each. This was very pleasing and worked out exactly as we hoped. Both stores were willing to carry the record and even took promotional posters to help push the album. The only mishap we had was Kevin and I discovering vinyl in a stored called “Ernie November” where we were putting the CD on consignment. We ended up spending a fair amount of time thumbing through random vinyls and discussing music before heading to the venue. We both ended up spending some money on some vinyl. Mmmmm.

When we arrived at The Phoenix Lounge in Harrisburg, South Dakota - to our surprise, Turk, the owner, wasn't expecting us. After some research and phone calls we were able to get to the bottom of the confusion and verify that we were in fact on the bill for the evening. The band Harriet Tweed, local Harrisburg/Sioux City favorites, had done us a favor and with a little help of the contacts they gave us, sorted out the mess in a matter of five minutes.

As we were originally told we were slotted to play with an artist named Yabba Griffiths. To our surprise Yabba was a reggae legend and ironically from our hometown of Chicago. This happened all last minute of course. We had been slotted to play a different venue in South Dakota but we had to seek an alternative route when we discovered the venue had burnt down. When we posted this series of unfortunate events via Twitter, Harriet Tweed reached out and gave us suggestions and contacts which led us to landing a fill-in slot with Yabba at The Phoenix. This was an amazing gesture and we are very appreciative for their assistance.

While we were at Barnes and Nobles during the day we were taking turns telling patrons and employees about the show in Harrisburg hoping to recruit some last minute show goers. This actually ended up working out with 6 additional people ended up coming out to the show, in addition to the 10+ group that Harriet Tweed brought with them! This was a “flyer free” endeavor that actually worked to our favor. It turns out that taking time to actually meet someone and informing them about your show is more beneficial than handing them a 3x5 flyer. In addition, it is better for the environment too. Leave your flyers at home and take the time to talk to someone.

The show kicked off smoother than most of the nights before. Actually performing on a stage can contribute to that. Up until tonight most of the shows we have played we have done our own sound and in comparison to the gravel pit we performed in while visiting Creston, IA, anything is an upgrade. It felt great to be back on a stage in a room where we could actually turn our amps up and be the band we are. We performed well and received a very encouraging response from the small crowd that was gathering at the front of the stage. Our set included nearly every track from the new record and a few older numbers. We were tipped off to a few of the tables being partial to Pink Floyd so we threw in a cover of “Time” in our set.

The post show conversation was amazing. Throughout the remainder of the night we were busy making new friends and engaging conversation with every patron in the bar.

Yabba Griffiths took the stage shortly after us and lived up to every ounce of promise that his name preceded. His band was solid and Yabba himself sang with soul, passion, and enjoyed himself throughout their first set. In addition to great performances and great vibes, Yabba had many hypnotizing rants that got my wheels turning. In between sets we sat out back discussing touring and learning that we actually don't live very far from each other in Chicago. In addition we learned that both Yabba Griffiths and Model Stranger will be down the street from each other on the 22^nd in Kansas City!

At the start of the second set Yabba invited Model Stranger to jump on stage and enjoy an impromptu jam of the Bob Dylan classic “Knockin' on Heaven's Door”. We had allowed Yabba and his band to use our gear and they wanted to share some music with us. You can view that video HERE.

Although South Dakota was not necessarily a convenient stop, it turned out to be a very rewarding experience. When you are on the road and touring independently the idea is to make the most out of every day and night. You can never tell what will be rewarding and what will be worth it so wasting your energy on false anticipation just isn't worth it. It turns out that selling a dozen records and sharing the stage with some fellow musicians and performing for new friends can be just the rejuvenating shot a band that has been canceled, rerouted from a burnt down venue and redirected to a gravel pit needs to keep the morale up.

Thanks for reading.

Stephen Francis

Small Towns, Big Hearts & Bigger Creeps

2010-04-10T16:13:00.001-05:00

*NOTE: This blog is best viewed on Model Stranger's Official Website - ModelStranger.com. Not all links/photos/videos may show up correctly on other sites*

So Model Stranger rolled into the quaint and beautiful town of Greenfield, IA yesterday (4/9/10) for a show at a place called Wrangler’s Pub & BBQ. As we drove into the town square (literally a square) it seemed as though we were zapped into “Pleasantville.” Architecture from the late 1800’s lined the streets and people shot us some glares, as though we were from outer-space. However, the glares soon turned to smiles and kind greetings. After we filled our bellies with hashbrowns and ketchup we thought we should head over to the venue for the evening.

When we got to Wrangler’s we saw it wasn’t open yet...but it wasn’t until we read the sign from the Iowa State Department of Health that we realized we were up sh*t creek without a paddle. We called our contacts at the venue to find out that the previous day they had been shut down for not renewing their liquor license. What were we to do?

We were walking back to our van to organize a plan-of-attack when a very nice girl named Lindsay approached us. She greeted us, “Hey, I recognize you guys from your posters.” We responded with the story of the Wrangler shutting down and not having much to do that evening. She was such a sweetheart and immediately began calling all of her contacts in the immediate and surrounding areas (she just so happen to be in the service industry and worked at multiple establishments in the area). After about 15 calls we still had nowhere to play. Then off of a whim we called a placed called The Pub in Creston Iowa (a biker town about 20 miles south of the celestial Greenfield) and we were told we could play, but outside.

We arrived at The Pub and were greeted by Randy, a badass biker and owner of The Pub. He was the kindest and most inebriated man in the joint, but immediately gave us a tour of the small-one-room pub. He then brought us outside to what seemed like a dog-fighting pit and told us to play loud; he expected to go to jail that night. We were definitely out of our element but didn’t feel like it until we were setting up.

A brooding character in a long leather duster, black leather cowboy hat, sporting hair down to his mid-back and a beard to match decided to hang out on our trailer and van. He was a lurker, the epitome of a creep; leaving us very uncomfortable and just confused. Would we be robbed, beaten, hassled, gutted…who knew? After all, we were completely off the grid; no GPS signal, low cellular signal and in a town of rowdy people who like to party.

Check out THIS VIDEO about our experience...

We locked up the van and trailer and started to play some rock n’ roll hoping that we hadn’t gotten ourselves in over our heads. The man in the duster lurked a bit more and even followed

us into the bar; but soon after we started playing, the crowd was loving it and the lurker was MIA.

Model Stranger played throughout the night and the crowd grew warmer and warmer. A nice lady even decided to do some PR work and rounded up all the people from the surrounding bars and clubs (the ones that wouldn’t cancel karaoke for us). Even the club owners that wouldn’t have us came over and voiced their regret. One bar owner even bought "Dreams & Bones" to place in his jukebox at the bar! Some people came out from their homes and bonfires because they heard us playing - we were THE attraction for Creston, IA that night.

People were dancing and just having a good time; some even tipped us with flashing their body-parts (thank you Austen). The night actually turned into a success and we made the most in merchandise of any date on the tour yet. Not to push our luck we decided to split from town that

night before the lurker returned.

Oakland, Iowa - you're up next.

-Vincent Joseph

"Disappear Like A Setting Sun..." - She Don't

2010-04-08T20:39:00.001-05:00

*NOTE: This blog is best viewed on Model Stranger's Official Website - ModelStranger.com. Not all links/photos/videos may show up correctly on other sites*

Just settled in at the Washington in Burlington, IA. Last night was a good night for a Wednesday in Springfield. A nice long 3 hour set to knock off the studio rust was the perfect way to start. In fact, the few extra shows we did in March and April really helped us get this material in the right spot.

So I hope you all find time and have a chance to check out "She Don't" our first single off of the upcoming full length record "Dreams and Bones". It was made available for listen last night as a preview of what to expect. The song is streaming for free right now on our ReverbNation page HERE or if you're on our Facebook page, just click the "MyBand" tab and it's right there. "She Don't" will be available for download after our CD Release Show at The Cubby Bear on April 24th. Please take a listen and let us know what you think.

About "She Don't":

"She Don't" was written relatively quickly over the course of 2 short practices on September 10th and 11th, 2009 before a show at Chicago City Limits. I had been playing around with this riff at a much slower tempo for the better half of a year or two! Occasionally we would play around with it at rehearsal but nothing ever came out of it. It was played waaaay back beat with a "bonahmesque" groove. I still have original demos of it and they are really cool but I could never find a vocal that worked with it. Thankfully I never let it go and it eventually all came together as what you can hear now.

As it went - randomly one afternoon while I was waiting for rehearsal to start I began chugging the chords for it in a different way and at a much faster tempo. These adjustments seemed to really make the riff swing better and immediately I was in love with the feel of it. After I found the pocket I was able to put the rest of the song together no problem. Shortly after the band arrived we were able to work out most of the song including melodies and lyrical context in that rehearsal.

The next day Thomas Miller and Aaron Hosek of Bullet Called Life came to rehearsal to prepare for the show we had scheduled at CCL. "Day of" rehearsals were common with them due to all of our demanding schedules. They learned the song in a few runs and we actually performed it that night - only a few hours old! At the time I only had the chorus lyrics set and everything else I improvised. I have a recording from that show and a lot of what started as working lyrics remained. Perhaps I will dig it up and post it here if I hear a request from you all for it!

Vincent, Kevin, and I had a chance to develop everything more during preproduction for "Dreams and Bones", finalizing arrangement and tempo. I also had a chance to sit down and add some harmonies and pen final lyrics.

"She Don't" really comes to life when we play it live and I am happy with the way it turned out on record. Tracking it live really helped. The demos from preproduction were a lot of fun but they didn't work out as we had thought they would for the record. It wasn't until we realized that in order for it to work on record it required the original arrangement we had developed as a five piece. After tracking the main tracks we called in Thomas Miller to put down the keys from the live fall/winter arrangement we had used at CCL that night and for our other winter shows. In addition to adding some keys to the verse, you can find a really nice honkey-tonk style piano solo before the guitar solo. Once the piano was tracked and the mix was completed I found myself very happy with the decision to bring Tom back for the record. We thank him for his contributions to this record.

Check out "She Don't" HERE and let us know what you think.

Stephen Francis

New Tour, New Song!

2010-04-07T22:28:00.001-05:00

*NOTE: This blog is best viewed on Model Stranger's Official Website - ModelStranger.com. Not all links/photos/videos may show up correctly on other sites*

TOUR

Model Stranger is officially on the road! We departed late afternoon on our way to our first show in Springfield, IL as part of an 18-show-in-18-day tour culminating with our CD RELEASE SHOW on April 24th at The Cubby Bear! We're just about to go on, but wanted to fill you in on a few things first.

Our tour schedule is posted below. If anyone knows someone (friends, relatives, other bands) nearby any of our shows give us a shout at ModelStranger.com or modelstranger@gmail.com. Let them know we'll be coming through town and if they're on Facebook, have them find us HERE!

Now, for all of you who will have to wait until our CD RELEASE SHOW at the Cubby Bear to see us, that doesn't mean you can't have any Model Stranger in your life! We'll be blogging every day from the road on ModelStranger.com and we'll have pictures and video for you too.

And now that we're off and going on this tour to promote our new album "Dreams & Bones", we decided to give you with a taste of what's to come.....

NEW SINGLE UP
"She Don't", the new single off "Dreams & Bones" is now streaming for free HERE. Enjoy and make sure to let us know what you think by posting on ModelStranger.com!

TOUR SCHEDULE

Apr 7 2010

9:00P

The Keg

Springfield, Illinois

Apr 8 2010

9:00P

The Washington

Burlington, Iowa

Apr 9 2010

9:00P

Wrangler’s Pub

Greenfield, Iowa

Apr 10 2010

8:00P

NZone Bar

Oakland, Iowa

Apr 11 2010

8:00P

The Phoenix Lounge

Harrisburg, South Dakota

Apr 12 2010

8:00P

The Rusty Nail

Omaha, Nebraska

Apr 13 2010

9:00P

Duggan’s Pub

Lincoln, Nebraska

Apr 14 2010

9:00P

JJs Bar

Laramie, Wyoming

Apr 15 2010

9:00P

The Cork

Fort Collins, Colorado

Apr 16 2010

11:30A

Radio 1190 KVCU - On-air Interview at Radio 1190 KVCU Boulder

Boulder, Colorado

Apr 16 2010

9:00P

The Open Tap & Grill - w/ Saints

Denver, Colorado

Apr 17 2010

10:00P

The World Famous Dark Horse

Boulder, Colorado

Apr 18 2010

1:30P

The Toad Tavern - w/ Viretta

Littleton, Colorado

Apr 19 2010

8:00P

Semolino

Hays, Kansas

Apr 20 2010

8:00P

The Boobie Trap Bar - w/ The Calamity Cubes & The Atlantic

Google, Kansas

Apr 21 2010

8:00P

Gaslight Tavern

Lawrence, Kansas

Apr 22 2010

9:00P

Riot Room

Kansas City, Missouri

Apr 23 2010

11:00P

Illinois Brewing Company - w/ Cavalry

Bloomington, Illinois

Apr 24 2010

9:00P

Cubby Bear - w/ Verona Red, 20 Mark Helga, Flavor Savers and Cavalry

Chicago, Illinois

If you're viewing this on ModelStranger.com, enjoy this nifty tour map below:

And don't forget to watch THIS VIDEO.

Stay tuned!

Model Stranger

Google, Kansas (Goodbye, Topeka)

2010-04-01T17:50:00.001-05:00

*NOTE: This blog is best viewed on Model Stranger's Official Website - ModelStranger.com. Not all links/photos/videos may show up correctly on other sites*

In a nutshell, Topeka is a wonderful place with a great history and culture. Topeka found its worldwide notoriety as the hometown for Dorothy in the classic film The Wizard of Oz, and more recently the town has been home to some notorious characters that I care not too mention. In fact, Topeka is so fantastic that Google the greatest search engine in the world, announced today it is changing its name to "Topeka" in honor of Topeka changing its name to Google, KS. You can read about the reason behind Topeka's change HERE.

For the last 3 years, we have made it a point to stop in Topeka, KS on our Midwest tours. They have some of the kindest people we have ever met on tour and look forward to returning every year. In some way or another we end up having some of the craziest and most intimate nights in this town. It has become an oasis for us and it isn't uncommon that I ask myself - "When are we returning to Topeka?". Whether I am in the middle of a gunfight, running a slow jog, or in the middle of a bath, when I think of heaven - I think of Topeka. Call me weird but you can't knock it until you try it.

Our first trip to Topeka was on the "No Sex - Illegal Immigrant Tour" with Million Dollar Reload of Ireland and The Black Mollys. The Black Mollys took us on as opener. We had a blast on this tour and learned a lot from both of these bands. When I first saw that we were playing Topeka I didn't know what to think. We ended up having a blast and played at The Boobie Trap Bar. You can view pictures from that tour HERE.

The next year we played at The Brass Rail. You can read about our 2009 experience in Topeka HERE.

We look forward to our show at The Boobie Trap Bar in Google, KS this April 20th. I am sure Google will not let us down.

Idiocy, Murphy's Law & Officer Campbell

2010-03-20T17:01:00.000-05:00

Friday night was an interesting night for Model Stranger to say the least. We were slotted in Lansing to play at Gus's Bar for a long set that was supposed to start at 9 pm. So when we didn't show up until 10:15pm and still had a P.A. to set up, we were left with no choice but to play from 10:45pm to 2:30am instead - with no breaks.

Playing 3 hrs and 45 minutes is just nutty. I can't decide...either I hate it or I love.

Now the question is - "How exactly does a band end up starting 1 hour and 45 minutes later then they are the only band playing?" I can let you in that it was one of the rare times in our careers that it wasn't the bar's fault.

First of all, we left 1 hour later than we planned. This was no ones fault and not worth explaining - just 10 minutes here, 1 forgotten key forgot there, confusion everywhere and suddenly we were an hour behind schedule. Next we forgot that there was a time change between Illinois and Michigan.....no comment. Then our distraction with trying to beat the clock was trumped by the new distraction that we were running out of gas. Once again....no comment.

Yeah....we ran out of gas.

Vincent and I went sprinting down the side of the highway to the next exit leaving Kevin and Coate to watch the trailer. I96 is a highway has no lights and the term 'pitch black' applies. Part painful from running in rock boots - and exhausting because running 2 miles is tiring in general. When we finally arrived in Olivet, MI, huffing and puffing, we were happy to see a gas station sign down the dark road.

2 random acts of kindness would soon happen. First, the attendants at the gas station lent us a gas can, and next a young couple by the name of Ben and Sarah actually drove us back to I96! Thank you guys for this. You saved us time and our legs.

When we arrived, the 'nicest police officer ever' Officer Campbell had been staying with Kevin and Coate to make sure they were safe on the side of the dark highway.

By the time we filled up and made it to the venue it was already 10:15pm. We unloaded the trailer at a frantic pace and were started by 10:45.

As if being sick in the first place wasn't enough, the 2 mile jog to the gas station and late start were quite draining. Our set was loose and...interesting. It included impromptu medleys and space jams fueled by free whiskey and the 2 am crowd. At one point I recall Kevin and Vincent taking over lead vocals for me on "Fire Fire". This show also marked the first time we played the same song two times in a row - at two different tempos and two different times! You do what you have to do to fill a set like that. Not to say that this is bad but sometimes it isn't good. At Gus's anything goes, and is the perfect place to do 1 verse and chorus of "Helter Skelter" before wanking on a guitar solo.

Upon conclusion of the show I lay on the dirty stage and stared at the ceiling contemplating our journey to Gus's, the 1 tee shirt and the 5 cds we sold and the trainwreck of a set we played. Murphy had nothing to with this one.

Idiocy. There is no question.

One last act of kindess....

Mike, a new friend, and his wife took us to their house, fed us and put us to bed. Thank you Mike for allowing us into your home... your couch is very comfortable.

Stephen Francis

Plug: WATCH NEW MODEL STRANGER VIDEOS on YouTube and Vimeo.

"A Moment With Model Stranger" is BACK!

2010-03-17T17:23:00.000-05:00

*NOTE: This blog is best viewed on Model Stranger's Official Website - ModelStranger.com. Not all links/photos/videos may show up correctly on other sites*

Since posting the first two "A Moment With Model Stranger" episodes last month, Model Stranger has received an overwhelming response asking for more episodes.

Well, your requests have been answered.

Visit the Official Model Stranger YouTube or Vimeo pages to check out three new episodes, or if you're viewing on ModelStranger.com, just watch them below! Let us know what you think. Have any ideas for future episodes? Let us know that by posting a comment on ModelStranger.com!

Episode 3: Guitar Sounds

Episode 4: Moustache Cam

Episode 5: Vincent Cam

Somersaulting Into a Backflip, Back Into a Sprint... The First Finish Line.

2010-03-14T13:58:00.002-05:00

*NOTE: This blog is best viewed on Model Stranger's Official Website. Not all links/photos may show up correctly on other sites*

Model Stranger has completed tracking and mixing of their upcoming debut release titled Dreams and Bones. The album was recorded and mixed over the course of 54 days in 3 different studios.

Album tracks include:

She Don't

You Only

Turn of the Century

Eyes Half Open

Carousel

What You Are Looking For?

Where Do We Go From Here?

Fire! Fire!

Dreams and Bones (Inside Outside)

TOUR + RECORD RELEASE SHOW

Beginning April 7th, Model Stranger will depart on a 16-show-in-16-day tour throughout the Midwest, all the way out to Colorado, before returning home to Chicago to a record release show at the Cubby Bear on Saturday April 24th, 2010.

More information on the tour is coming in the next week, however details for the release show are as follows:

Dreams and Bones

Model Stranger Record Release Show

Cubby Bear Chicago

1059 W. Addision St.

Chicago, IL

Saturday, April 24th, 2010.

Doors 8pm

Lineup:

20 Mark Helga 9:00pm - 9:40pm

Verona Red 10:00pm - 10:45pm

Model Stranger 11:05pm - 11:55pm

The Flavor Savers 12:15am - 1:00am

Cavalry 1:20am - 2:05am

Tickets available at the Cubby Bear Chicago location and Ticketmaster.

$8 in advance, $10 day of show.

You can RSVP HERE.

In addition to a 9 song CD being available, new tee shirts and select tracks - including an alternate version of the album track "Eyes Half Open" - will be available on vinyl.

The press shot below was taken by Mike Hari. Model Stranger has worked with Mike on multiple occasions and always been thoroughly satisfied with the quality of his work and his speedy turnaround time. A lot of
Mike's recent work can be seen at www.flickr.com/mikehariphotography and you can email him about live or promo shoots HERE.

MODEL STRANGER LINKS
http://www.myspace.com/modelstranger
http://www.facebook.com/modelstranger
http://www.youtube.com/modelstranger
http://www.twitter.com/modelstranger