Jammies XI Nominations

WYCE just announced the nominations for the 2010 Jammie Awards, and Chance Jones was nominated for a few awards, as was Friction Records.

Local VARIOUS ARTISTS Album
A Winter's Tune 2008 Independent (I don't think Chance Jones was on the album, which I haven't been able to find anywhere, but Chance Jones did perform at this)

Local Record Label
Friction Records

Local Contemporary Duo or Group
Chance Jones - The Incident at Primrose and West

Local Alternative or Electric Album
Chance Jones - The Incident at Primrose and West

Best Local SONG
Chance Jones - My Machine

People's Choice Award
Chance Jones
Vote HERE to select Chance Jones among others...

Two Weekend Lists in a row...

John Sinkevics' Soundcheck blog has correctly identified a Chance Jones performance as a top thing to attend for the second weekend in a row. The big question...will he make it three-for-three with next weekend's show at Mulligans?

Once again, local artists perform holiday songs, both new and original, at the Wealthy Theater for A Winter's Tune, Sunday at 2 pm. Hope you can make it...

A Winter's Tune 2009

This Sunday marks the 2009 version of A Winter's Tune, where Chance Jones is set to perform a solo track. Their website also features quite possibly the saddest picture ever taken of Chance Jones holding a cat.

There looks to be a ton of talent lined up for Sunday's show at the Wealthy Theater. If you buy now, you can get in for $12. Tickets at the door will be $15, and for CMC members it will only set you back $10. All of the money this year is being donated to WYCE, so you know that supporting the only radio station in Grand Rapids that actively supports local music is a good cause.

Last year Chance performed an original track that was well received, as you can see below.

What comes next?

Met up with Bol tonight for dinner, and he gave me some insight into what is coming up next for the band. Sounds like tonight's practice will help set the course a bit more. I wouldn't bet on seeing The Letter 11 for a while, as it looks like the band could be focusing more on nailing all the new songs live. I dunno how much work that will take, as it all sounded pretty amazing Friday night.

I can tell you that there are three NEW songs, not on Primrose, that the band is already at work on! The first one is a mythical beast of a track called "All for Maria," and yes, this is "Maria," the "Crosstown" prequel that is oft written about and expected to be on the Letter 11. The next track is "Please Forgive Me," and this is a straight up new track, with no expected release. Finally, the last new track is "Don't You Be Leaving Too Soon," which is going to be featured in the Coyote soundtrack, from the upcoming film by Joel Potrykus that features Chance.

If you feel bummed that you missed the show Friday, or like a junkie, need more live Chance Jones in your life, you have two opportunities in the first week of December. You can catch a live solo show of Chance at A Winter's Tune on December 6 at the Wealthy Theater. You may remember last year's track, which was pretty fun. After that you can catch the full band at Mulligan's on December 12. Bol said that there are some January dates in the works, but we'll know more about those soon.

Exciting time to be a fan. Remember, Primrose will make an excellent gift for family and loved ones! Be sure to check out Friction, Vertigo, or iTunes to get your copies for yourself and your holiday list.

A Winter's Tune on YouTube

Chance performing his original Christmas tune from last months show.

Happy New Year, 2009

Sorry for the lack of updates, but we'll plunge into the new year with a renewed vigor. I will not use the birth of my daughter, Lilly, as an excuse for not writing in December.

Since we last spoke, Chance played at A Winter's Tune, to high regard. I haven't heard if the Chance selections will be made available for mp3 download, but I'll have a link should it happen. The full band united for a show at Billy's and a show at Founders. The Founders show featured 6 new songs, and sounded pretty good according to Bol.

The band continues to track new material and songs for the upcoming release of Friction. Apparently Friction has some new things happening that could prove beneficial to the band. I don't know how that will play out, but it could be interesting. "Spring" is what I'm hearing for a finished album, as yet untitled. I think the plan right now is to track as many demos as possible, then bring the finished demos into the studio to cut quickly for release. The "Letter 11" album of reworked solo songs is on the back burner, as far as I know. The older songs might be cut right along with the new album, since they don't require any, or much, demo tracking because of how long the band has played them live.

While there aren't any new shows coming up soon, I imagine that the band will be performing at the Jammies next month. Look for an update on that as soon as I get confirmation.

Summer looks like it will be a good time to catch the band on tour.

All in all, the first half of 2009 should be a great time to follow the band. New songs, new album, the Jammies, summer tour. Good stuff all around, hopefully.

A Winter's Tune

Chance Jones will be playing next Sunday, December 7, at the Wealthy Theater for the 2008 "A Winter's Tune" show. There are a ton of local acts on the bill, and all of them will be playing traditional or original holiday songs. The show runs from 2-5:30 pm, is all ages, and costs $10 in advance, or $12 at the door. I don't know if this is a full band show, or if Chance will be appearing solo. The website has more information.

It looks like the show will be recorded and the songs will be available for purchase online, as well.