« EricLane.com : News Archives 2007 »

Dec 31

Another year zipping by. Here's a few highlights from 2007.

On the music front:

• Started the year with a new, more versatile electric guitar full of "mojo".
• Upgraded gear to enable launching any song in the show at random from a simple footswitch.
• Automated all vocal and guitar effects changes.
• Replaced guitar tube amp, cabinet and pedals with a new guitar computer.
• Automated the guitar computer so guitar rigs are cued up with the song, and solos can be played off stage.
• Booked record number of gigs for other solo acts during late spring/summer.
• Steve Thomas decided to join the solo act co-op, contributing his immense talent and adding three rooms to the roster.
• Broke income records for Dec '07 and Jan '08.
• Enjoyed record number of private gigs for December and compiled videos of those fun performances.
• Added an Eric Lane presence to YouTube and MySpace.

It's been a busy year of upgrades, booking and strengthening of the solo act co-op. New ground has been broken in several areas and things are going very well.

On the storm front:

We attended two conventions, added CE credits, trained and prepared for the '07 season.
2007 was a record low year in catastrophe work.
We were put on standby for 2 hurricanes, fires in Ca, Ice storms in the midwest and other smaller distasters. Chicago was the only one panned out, but it was nice to make the money and seeing Chicago from Hancock and Sears towers was a blast.

On the creative front:

Another creative project (to be revealed in 2008) has progressed on the sidelines while I've secured gig income for survival. With a recent push in writing, that project is 70% complete.

What's next:

• First order of business in '08 will be the completion and release of the creative project.

To be completed outside of catastrophe work:
• Ground will be broken on a long needed creative studio.
• I hope to get the solo act co-op written up and featured in local papers and complete a promotional videos and group website.
• If there's any time/money after that, the solo act co-op will be sold into the private/corporate market.

Nov 26

Gig news...
Thanks to solo act friends, consistent efforts at booking, and some new holiday party gigs, I've broken through my historical average for gig income for November and already have an all time record for December. I also created a presentation for venues to help educate about hiring for live music and how solo acts offer the highest quality/price ratio.

Three new rooms have been booked and a couple more are in the works. Some fun gigs were had downtown and in Lakewood.

Music & misc. news...
A "new" solo act named Steve Thomas is now on board. His talent, professionalism and desire to be a part of Denver's best solo acts will go a long way towards carving out new market, helping venues hire and enjoy decent live music, and helping solo acts make a better living.

The wildfires in California did not generate any catastrophe work, but it has been good to have more time for promotion, sales, and time to complete important projects for house/home.

Starting this week, I can finally get back to a big writing project I started in 2006 and was working on earlier this year. I plan to be finished by March. More news on that in the coming months.

Oct. 27

Gig news...
Thanks to some fantastic opening night performances, a couple new rooms are in the rotation for Denver's top solo acts. However, there's still more dates to fill so sales calls & meetings continue in earnest.
Recently a couple more solo acts have been found that might be able to keep up with Don & Keith. There's strength in numbers so I'm looking forward to the possibilities. Its very hard to find musicians with the skills to be a strong solo act, so I'm excited about the potential advantages of having more "boots on the ground" and talent that can help sell rooms and keep live music alive instead of killing it.
With so many rooms cancelling live music because coffee shop quality solo acts end up being just background music, and amateur weekend warrior bands are striking out with their customers -- the idea of talented solo acts wowing customers and helping live music prosper in those venues week after week is an encouraging thought. Its currently working very well in a few venues and we hope to add more over the winter season.

Music & misc. news...
I've been asked to be on standby for the fires in California. Preparation is in progress in case it does come to pass.
Outside of sales/gigs/maintenance, I've managed to complete a couple music related projects. A redundant emergency backup has been built for gear & cables, I've redone some gear/cable configurations, and upgraded the guitar computer and firmware. The guitar sound that was so perfect before has actually managed to get even better. Email me for a gig schedule and come immerse yourself in the new tones!

Sep 22

Gig & music news...

Completed work in Chicago, raced back home on the 13th just in time to cover a private party on the 14th, and have enjoyed being back home again.
Last night was my first gig at Pifler's in Lakewood and it went very well. Tonight is another first night in a new room. I've heard this Parker pub is a lot of fun so I'm looking forward to it.

Holiday private party work is beginning to come in, and the fall/winter schedule is taking shape. There's plenty more dates to fill though.

With catastrophe "gigs" being few and far between, I'll need to keep hammering away at the public market until things change for the worse....which is the irony of catastrophe work: the money comes in only when somebody's house gets messed up.

Till then, check back each month for updates, and EMAIL for a gig schedule when you're ready to hit a show & have some fun.

Aug 25

Newsflash...
I'm off to Chicago to work a catastrophe. Don Lewis & Keith Wren will be arranging substitutes for gigs through the end of Sept., and we'll play Oct/Nov by ear for now.
I'll update the site when I return from the windy city. Cheers!!

Aug 8

Gig & music news...
August marks the busiest month of this summer's gig season. Keith Wren & I just completed the annual Golden Police "National night out" gig performing for over 1,000 people in Parfet Park. The tag-team solo act gig was lots of fun with the best turnout for our third return performance.

Recently a number of gigs have taken a turn for the rowdier with extended sets and marathon singing. Some gigs have gone for hours with only a single break, and the singing voice has rolled right along with it.

I've reached a personal goal with the sound system and gear achieving a live sound I visualized years ago. The recent marathon gigs are a side effect of that brought on by increased excitement and response from the audience at the gigs. Fun stuff!

Misc news...
With summer booked, bills taken care of, live sound & electric guitar re-done, and a great start on the fall gig schedule, I've started back on a big writing project I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I plan to be finished by the end of the summer pending any catastrophes.

In the continued absence of catastrophe insurance work, I'm currently booking out to the end of the year. Email for a schedule if you'd like to catch a show.

July 3

Music & Site news...
There's a new video in the video section (A night in Parker, Co). Takes a few minutes to download, but it sounds fantastic & it was taken before the new guitar computer was added.

After five years of searching, I finally found the "guitar computer" I've been looking for!
With the show recently set up for automation, there's instant random access to every song, and now the vocal effects and guitar computer are both automated. Every sound and effect is set up perfectly for each song automatically.

So now it's all about singing, playing guitar & having fun with the crowd.....not button pushing, footswitch stomping and running gear.

The "tone quest" lasted 5 years, but the electric guitar finally sounds the same, or has the same character as the original recording for each song I do. Now the crowd instantly recognizes any song with signature guitar sounds. The guitar computer sounds/feels great and the days of lugging guitar amps/speakers/pedals to gigs are finally behind me. The acoustic guitar sounds fantastic through it as well.

Long story short, you plug a guitar into it and it computes how to be all things related to a guitar rig: preamps, amps, tubes, transformers, cabinets, speakers, microphones, and studio effects. It took a lot of work to build all the rigs & tones in my show, but you'll definitely enjoy the results! So email for a schedule and come to show!

Gig news... The summer weekends are fully packed with fun gigs, and booking has begun for the fall season. New bars have been amazed with the quality of the solo acts they've been getting. Calendars in 4 rooms are completely dominated by these guys and the customers owners/managers love it!

June 4

Gig news... I looked at the numbers today and I've booked 88 performances for myself and a few other solo acts. You can catch see these great entertainers now at Joes Crabshack locations in Aurora and Parker every Friday and Saturday. You can do the same at Old Chicago at Iliff & Buckley every Friday. The best people every week. Something very few venues have.
The rest of the 88 dates are spread across additional rooms. Most of the weekends are full now for every performer as well as a handful of Sunday and Saturday afternoon patio gigs in Morrison and Parker.

Music news... In addition to booking, I've just completed a project to automate some technical aspects of the show. I can now access every song with backing tracks instantaneously. And during the song, every effects change for voice and guitar has been automated. So instead of running gear and cueing things manually, I'm freed up to have more fun with the audience and can focus on singing and playing without the technical distractions. Very fun and very liberating which makes the live shows even better. Also, when I can, I'll begin the process of automating the light show I created for private parties and corporate clients.

May 10

Gig news... I've booked over 20 public performances in the last few weeks and will be filling in the rest of the summer schedule soon. Jocks & Jills has made room in their calendar for Denver's top solo acts. Also, several new rooms have been booked in Parker, Golden, Westminser, Aurora, Denver and downtown. Shoot me an email and I'll send you a schedule.

In this last month, I've noticed quite a few "coffee shop" level solo acts working in good paying rooms that need more than a one dimensional, one-style, acoustic only act that doesn't know how to talk to, entertain, and get a crowd going. These musicians are really nothing more than background music & that isn't enough in the venues that need more. Unfortunately, many of those rooms cancel their live music due to poor results from and lukewarm reaction to these acts.
In response, I've begun booking Denver's top solo acts into venues currently hiring those musicians. This provides a chance for the venue to succeed with live music and also helps support Denver's best solo acts that perform for a living.

Music news... I've started work on automation of lights and effects for guitar and voice so I can get out and work the crowd more at gigs. The live sound is better than ever and I've been using videos of recent shows to sell new venues with great results.

Apr 9

Music news... Completed rehearsals in time for a warmup gig in Aurora and a successful night replacing a full band at Jocks & Jills in Parker with an interactive apres ski style acoustic/one man band show. The new gear is working great and the light show was nice to have with all those TV's around....the LCD's are like wallpaper there.

Gig news... Jocks & Jills liked the show and asked me to return April 20th so come in for some fun. I've booked shows in Wheatridge, at a VERY nice place in Aurora, Mary's Lake Lodge in Estes Park, and a couple country club gigs as well. Email me and I'll send a schedule out.
Here's a couple stills from Saturdays gig in Parker.

Mar 13

Finally took some time for a news update. Preparations have been in progress for catastrophe work for the '07 season which could fire up any time. But until the season kicks in I'll be putting my name out there for some public performances to keep the hands & voice fresh.

Music/Gig news... There's a new electric guitar in the show and its amazing. Acoustically it feels "alive" and is a dream to play. It has those vintage strat 'bell' tones and a rockin' humbucker. I've been test driving a new amp that's pretty special as well. Haven't had this much fun playing electric in a long time. I'll be booking a few gigs to test drive the new gear soon. Email me for gig updates and come catch a show!

Jan 28

Happy '07 everyone!
Be sure to visit the archive pages for news from 2006 back to early 2002 when ericlane.com went live on the net.

Music news... I programmed the last intelligent light and have put the finishing touches to the light show I'll be using for private parties. It looks great and adds a great deal of visual energy to the show.

Gig news... I failed to mention in previous news that the Dec 16 private party for Buckley Vision Institute in Colorado Springs was a big success. Some wild dancing in very limited space. Its a wonder no one got their eye poked out.

Until I finish the larger creative project I've been working on, I'll remain out of the public performance market with the exception of a few gigs to cover slots for Solo Act friends.