Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
Boo! Well, it's Halloween night and we are in Provo, Utah in route to Grand Junction, Colorado. It's pretty cool, but not as cold as I expected. Tonight is a night off. My wife, Lori, and Steve Sigmund's wife, Evelyn, have joined us on the tour and tonight we're off in search of some good Italian food. Tomorrow morning the bus pulls out at 8:30 AM! Until next time, trick or treat!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Travel and Crookston, MN
After playing the show in New Ulm, the next morning we got up to travel 345 miles to Crookston, MN which is in Northern Minnesota.
The weather has been surprisingly mild throughout our trip so far. I keep getting up and thinking that this is the morning that I will need my overcoat. Not so far.
We had the night off after arriving in Crookston at our very nice AmericInn in which we all had some nice amenities in our rooms.
Several people went across the street and did some bowling. Our resident bowler Dan did not lose a game.
I stayed in and enjoyed the room and a well deserved evening off.
The weather has been surprisingly mild throughout our trip so far. I keep getting up and thinking that this is the morning that I will need my overcoat. Not so far.
We had the night off after arriving in Crookston at our very nice AmericInn in which we all had some nice amenities in our rooms.
Several people went across the street and did some bowling. Our resident bowler Dan did not lose a game.
I stayed in and enjoyed the room and a well deserved evening off.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
New Ulm, MN
We just finished a concert at New Ulm, MN. The best audience ever. A thousand seat house full to the brim with standing room only. It was at the old New Ulm school built in 1915 but has since been closed. Only the auditorium is still in use.
The tour has been a huge success so far. Sold out houses and every audience asking for more.
Traveling has been good so far. Lots of great old barns to look at since we have been traveling on a lot of two lane highways.
Sarah. my wife and I are having a great time. We bought a lot of Xmas presents in Fond Du Lac, WI. and have been eating at a lot of Mom & Pops places in every town. Not a bad meal yet. We have a travel day tomorrow to Crookston, MN and am looking forward to seeing a high school friend in Butte next week. Will add more soon.
The tour has been a huge success so far. Sold out houses and every audience asking for more.
Traveling has been good so far. Lots of great old barns to look at since we have been traveling on a lot of two lane highways.
Sarah. my wife and I are having a great time. We bought a lot of Xmas presents in Fond Du Lac, WI. and have been eating at a lot of Mom & Pops places in every town. Not a bad meal yet. We have a travel day tomorrow to Crookston, MN and am looking forward to seeing a high school friend in Butte next week. Will add more soon.
Sioux City, IA
Two days in the city of Sioux City, Iowa. The First day was our day of arrival and the show. We played in the theater at Morningside College. Another great show.
Day two was an actual day off. It was very nice to have a day without show or travel. There was still things to do though. Things that required Steve and I being able to get around so we decided to rent a car. Because of availability at the car rental company a car turned out to be a pickup truck. It did however, get us where we needed to go.
I found a dry cleaner that could do one day service for us so I was off early to get the car and get our clothes to the dry cleaners. I returned to the hotel and decided to catch a well deserved nap while Steve, Dan, Sarah and others went sight seeing. They returned in the afternoon and Steve and I then went to pick up the cleaning and to do our regular laundry. These are the fun parts of being out on the road - a laundromat. If you want to measure what kind of area you are in, go to a laundromat.
For dinner, Steve, Dan, Sarah and I went to a downtown restaurant named Luciano's. The walls were covered with photos of the owner of the restaurant with famous republicans including the president. We then discovered that the owner is the chairman of the republican party in Iowa. The food was good. Not great, but good. The evening finished with Steve and several of the band playing poker in the breakfast room till late in the evening.
Next stop - New Ulm, MN.
Day two was an actual day off. It was very nice to have a day without show or travel. There was still things to do though. Things that required Steve and I being able to get around so we decided to rent a car. Because of availability at the car rental company a car turned out to be a pickup truck. It did however, get us where we needed to go.
I found a dry cleaner that could do one day service for us so I was off early to get the car and get our clothes to the dry cleaners. I returned to the hotel and decided to catch a well deserved nap while Steve, Dan, Sarah and others went sight seeing. They returned in the afternoon and Steve and I then went to pick up the cleaning and to do our regular laundry. These are the fun parts of being out on the road - a laundromat. If you want to measure what kind of area you are in, go to a laundromat.
For dinner, Steve, Dan, Sarah and I went to a downtown restaurant named Luciano's. The walls were covered with photos of the owner of the restaurant with famous republicans including the president. We then discovered that the owner is the chairman of the republican party in Iowa. The food was good. Not great, but good. The evening finished with Steve and several of the band playing poker in the breakfast room till late in the evening.
Next stop - New Ulm, MN.
Catching up.....The "Corn Palace"
Well, it's been a few days since I've posted and it's about time to catch up.
Since I've posted last, I think the most interesting highlight has to have been the "Corn Palace" of Mitchell, SD. Mitchell reputes itself as the "Corn"capital of the country.
The "Corn Palace" is in the center of town and serves as the venue for concerts and sporting events. What makes the "Corn Palace" unusual is that every year, the outside of the building is decorated with art fashioned by various colors of corn. It is quite impressive.
The other highlight of the evening was our special guest, retired senator George McGovern. Though I don't necessarily share his politics, the senator is a true American patriot and a man of great integrity. He was very kind to spend a few minutes both at intermission and after the show with us, taking photos and chatting with Steve, myself and the rest of the band.
The next day we were off to Sioux City.
Since I've posted last, I think the most interesting highlight has to have been the "Corn Palace" of Mitchell, SD. Mitchell reputes itself as the "Corn"capital of the country.
The "Corn Palace" is in the center of town and serves as the venue for concerts and sporting events. What makes the "Corn Palace" unusual is that every year, the outside of the building is decorated with art fashioned by various colors of corn. It is quite impressive.
The other highlight of the evening was our special guest, retired senator George McGovern. Though I don't necessarily share his politics, the senator is a true American patriot and a man of great integrity. He was very kind to spend a few minutes both at intermission and after the show with us, taking photos and chatting with Steve, myself and the rest of the band.
The next day we were off to Sioux City.
Friday, October 19, 2007
After the Watertown show
I've just returned to our hotel after the Watertown show. It was, as all of the shows have been so far, excellent. I must write more about this incredible group of musicians that are traveling with us later.
We played again at another very nice, well equipped high school theater. Smaller than last night, but a very enthusiastic audience.
We were then invited by the concert association board to a private reception at the home of one of the board members. We took the bus to somebody's house. I can only imagine what the neighbors in this small town must have thought.
It must be time to catch some sleep before a 9am departure to Iowa tomorrow.
We played again at another very nice, well equipped high school theater. Smaller than last night, but a very enthusiastic audience.
We were then invited by the concert association board to a private reception at the home of one of the board members. We took the bus to somebody's house. I can only imagine what the neighbors in this small town must have thought.
It must be time to catch some sleep before a 9am departure to Iowa tomorrow.
Watertown, WI
Hi everyone!
Well, here I am. I have finally arrived at the Fall Tour blog. We have been out on the road for enough days now that I have lost track of time and don't even know what day it is except for looking at our daily travel sheet to see where we are going and what we are doing.
It is a constant blur of activity out here. I spend my time on the bus calling ahead to the next few gigs making sure that we have everything that we need in place, making time decisions about what time we need to go to the venue to set up, what time the band needs to come over to sound check, what time we'll need to leave in the morning based on how long the drive to the next town is, calling the hotels to make sure that our rooms are ready and that check-in and check-out is smooth and making sure that our driver Gary knows where he is going. Then, when I have time, I even manage to play the trombone a little.
Today we are in Watertown, WI. Seems like a nice little town. About 23,000 population. We are playing at the auditorium of the local high school. Last night, we also played at a very nice high school theater in Fond du Lac, WI.
Time for some more phone calls, that's all for now. I'll try to get some pictures posted soon.
Steve
Well, here I am. I have finally arrived at the Fall Tour blog. We have been out on the road for enough days now that I have lost track of time and don't even know what day it is except for looking at our daily travel sheet to see where we are going and what we are doing.
It is a constant blur of activity out here. I spend my time on the bus calling ahead to the next few gigs making sure that we have everything that we need in place, making time decisions about what time we need to go to the venue to set up, what time the band needs to come over to sound check, what time we'll need to leave in the morning based on how long the drive to the next town is, calling the hotels to make sure that our rooms are ready and that check-in and check-out is smooth and making sure that our driver Gary knows where he is going. Then, when I have time, I even manage to play the trombone a little.
Today we are in Watertown, WI. Seems like a nice little town. About 23,000 population. We are playing at the auditorium of the local high school. Last night, we also played at a very nice high school theater in Fond du Lac, WI.
Time for some more phone calls, that's all for now. I'll try to get some pictures posted soon.
Steve
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The Tour Has Begun!
Well, the long-awaited Midwest Tour has finally begun and all is going well. So much work has been done, in advance, by the tour promoter, the venues and us to make sure this is a musically excellent tour. There are so many logistics: air transportation, bus transportation, technical requirements, lodging, making sure we can maintain a modicum of comfort as we bus across 11 states and 9,000 miles during the 29-city portion of our Midwest Tour.
Our bus company, Stagecoach West, has provided us with a new coach bus with a few excellent upgrades (a nice leather couch that converts to a bed, a refrigerator, a small "lounge" with a table, some AC electricity to power our laptops, phone chargers, PDAs, Blackberries, and an open area in the back, where we have literally created an entire office with a desk, laptops, printer, files, cell phones...we even have internet access while we're "rolling"). Our driver, Gary, has been great.
We have a technical/stage manager, Ross, who is traveling with us - with our own sound equipment to make sure we have the best possible sound at each gig.
Our musicians, who literally come from all over the country, all converged on the city of Minneapolis on October 14th, where we rehearsed nearby, hung out at the "Mall of America" and, eventually, boarded the bus for our first tour date, which was in Fairmont, Minnesota on October 16th.
Steve Sigmund is my very capable music director, who is the backbone of the tour, acting as conductor, trombonist, road manager, venue liason, bus "mom", T-shirt design consultant.
We're excited about our new T-shirts that we're selling on the tour. The design was a real collaborative effort and they look really cool! They have a casual photo of me on the front that has been digitally modified with an Andy Warhol-ish effect. On the back, it says: "Steve Lippia & His Orchestra" "'Simply Sinatra' Tour 2007 - 2008" By the way, we're going to make them available for sale, shortly, on my website.
Our bus company, Stagecoach West, has provided us with a new coach bus with a few excellent upgrades (a nice leather couch that converts to a bed, a refrigerator, a small "lounge" with a table, some AC electricity to power our laptops, phone chargers, PDAs, Blackberries, and an open area in the back, where we have literally created an entire office with a desk, laptops, printer, files, cell phones...we even have internet access while we're "rolling"). Our driver, Gary, has been great.
We have a technical/stage manager, Ross, who is traveling with us - with our own sound equipment to make sure we have the best possible sound at each gig.
Our musicians, who literally come from all over the country, all converged on the city of Minneapolis on October 14th, where we rehearsed nearby, hung out at the "Mall of America" and, eventually, boarded the bus for our first tour date, which was in Fairmont, Minnesota on October 16th.
Steve Sigmund is my very capable music director, who is the backbone of the tour, acting as conductor, trombonist, road manager, venue liason, bus "mom", T-shirt design consultant.
We're excited about our new T-shirts that we're selling on the tour. The design was a real collaborative effort and they look really cool! They have a casual photo of me on the front that has been digitally modified with an Andy Warhol-ish effect. On the back, it says: "Steve Lippia & His Orchestra" "'Simply Sinatra' Tour 2007 - 2008" By the way, we're going to make them available for sale, shortly, on my website.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Wednesday is Wednesday
We are now on our way to Sheboygan. The bus is great and so is the driver. We are now leaving the lunch stop and had some great area frozen custard from Culver's. At least it's not raining. Actually, it's just like another day at the office.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Welcome to our Tour Blog!
Well, here we are joining the world of technological advances and taking a stab at blogging. We thought it would be interesting to share the daily fun, craziness and trials of being on a 35-day (30 city) bus tour of the Midwest, that started today by the way. First stop . . . Fairmont, Minnesota!
So, check back from time to time and see how we're doing!
So, check back from time to time and see how we're doing!
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