Hello folks!

So were now in the swing of a busy time for the Vague. I figured that the spring of '08 would be happening, but not this much! Thanks to those that have helped make it so through your interest in the group and what we are doing.

So the shows earlier this month were quite fun. First, I did a solo show at the Discology record store in Reno, with the great Kung-Fu Sophie on the bill. It was a great time and I'd like to try it again in the near future. Davids got a great store going on there, so you should check it out – it's above the Satellite and Blue Moon Pizza on California and Plumas-ish here in Reno. You can see more about it at this link: www.discologyreno.com

The show itself was a fun experience. My pals there really liked Sophie's songs (as did I – her new material she played here and the next week is some of her finest work). As for me, I played some newer ones as well as some of the hits, as it were. It's always nerve-racking to play solo shows (still!) but I'm learning to get better at it and just roll with the feeling in the moment, which is something harder to do with the band (not saying that it sucks that way, just sayin'…). Anyway, thanks to the new friends I made at the show and to Sophie for playing and Dave for hosting us. Looking forward to a return trek at some point.

Then we finally had the More Barn benefit show. To be honest, I was just happy to have it be over after many delays, but it did not disappoint. We had a good, attentive crowd and some amazing performances. Tyler Futrell is a great up-and-coming songwriter who has a good twist on the solo performer mould. Gabe Traverso was his usual compelling and intense self (and he did a great Neil Young medley that knocked me for a loop!). It was my first time seeing Neil Greene's solo work, and I loved it (and wanna book him for some more shows!). Kung-Fu Sophie was great again and played some new politically-charged material. The Stately Gentlemen were also great and played a nice set of their own '60s-style pop with some good Neil Young rewrites/covers. Burning Peace closed it all out with a fun, typically emotional set of their pop'n'roll. We, meanwhile, managed our Neil-Young-only set fine (we did Bandit with Sophie and then 3 others from the Young canon). We like one song so much – Hey Hey My My – that it's pretty much a permie part of the set at the moment. Yay to pressure! Anyway, thanks to those who paid the fee and came out to the show, and big thanks to Todd South and his Reno Music Project crew for being so on-the-ball with the details and such.

Finally, we did a nice little stint on KRZQ's Wake The Neighbors show just last night. It was an interesting experience to say the least! Sims is an informal, not-uptight host who knows his rock (and modern hip-hop) and we got to meet and hang with a great new Reno band called Lakes Crossing. They sound really interesting – a rapper with great flow backed by a funkier live group. We’re looking forward to seeing them out and about. For our part, we played some songs from the Allergic disc and made obscure jokes, so yes it was a typical night out.

Anyway, more after this next little tour (see our shows list for details!)….

MARK E