Next up...Motor Alley

This Saturday December 8, HWY 13 will be making its debut performance at Motor Alley, 1402 52nd Street in Kenosha starting at 9:30 PM, along with a great band from Kenosha, 38DD.  Once again, the three-piece version of HWY 13 takes the stage with Tim out for the last weekend of deer hunting, and as usual the set will feature songs from our HWY 13 CD, some new material we're working on for a follow-up CD and a handful of covers for good measure.

Re-united in 2008, 38DD delivers "More Than a Handful" of their original rockers.  With a full-figured sound that requires no artificial implants, their powerful live act will be sure to...push-up...your adrenaline!  By the way, did you hear about the dyslexic man who walks into a bra?  I should probably...nip...this train of thought in the bud.

In any case, Saturday night at Motor Alley should be a real rocker and we'll try to avoid using the same juvenile, cheap-laugh type humor used in the last paragraph...unless it becomes absolutely necessary.  Thanks again for tuning-in to the blog and keep rockin'!

RUN.......to McAuliffe's!!!

Hold on to your cookies girl scouts, that rumbling sound in the distance is that rock monster from the east...BROADZILLA!  Arising from the ashes after years of nuclear testing on Monster Island (otherwise known as Detroit), this power rock/punk trio brings a sound that can flatten The Loop.  Good thing Racine doesn't have many buildings more than 2 stories tall.

Rachel, Kim and and Angie will be pounding McAuliffe's Pub, 3700 Meachem Rd. in Racine, Saturday night November 17.  Broadzilla has been rocking out of Detroit since 1996, and with 2 CD's and 2 EP's of original rock under their belts, they've won the Detroit Music Award for best rock/heavy metal artist 5 out of 6 years (bands are ineligible after winning 3 years in a row), and have toured extensively throughout the US, Canada & UK.

Playing the role of Mothra, HWY 13's three-piece lineup of Danno, Dino & Bob-o will open the show at 9 with our own set of original rock from the HWY 13 CD & beyond.  Word is Broadzilla asked us to open for them when they found-out the biggest 2-part harmony act in rock, The Tiny Twin Fairies, were already booked to open for Guns 'n Roses in Vegas!

Assuming they don't swing their tails too close to the Zion nuclear power plant on their way up from Chicago, Saturday night should be a real rocker with only minimal casualties or structural damage.  Come-on out to McAuliffe's on the 17th, thanks for tuning in to the blog and keep rockin'!    

Halloween Hellraiser!

Count Floyd says this one is going to be reeeal scary kids...owOOOOOOOOoooooo!!! One of the finest new venues in town for live music, the Route 20 Outhouse, will be hosting its first annual Halloween Hellraiser this Saturday night the 27th featuring HWY 13, Mohr Avenue and a costume contest with $500 for the lucky winner.

Formerly Spokes, the Route 20 Outhouse is conveniently located just west of the intersection of I-94 & HWY 20 (1400 Washington Ave., Sturtevant WI for you GPS'ers), so it'll be easier to get there from places like Franklin, Union Grove or Kenosha than it is to drive 3 blocks anywhere in Racine from 7th St. north to 4 Mile Rd.  The Outhouse features a newly built stage with built-in lighting & PA system, and extra seating on a 2nd-floor balcony.  They also have a full menu so you don't have to party on an empty stomach either.  Just be careful with the gyro sandwich if you're wearing a white toga or the "naughty nurse" costume!

Live music begins 9:30-ish (musician time) with Mohr Avenue, who have been rockin' Southeast Wisconsin for about 5 years with their hard-driving, edgy style of original rock 'n roll.  HWY 13 follows and we'll be jamming all the songs off our debut HWY 13 CD, some new rockers we plan to record on our next CD and a few hits from the previous HWY 13 & Blind Ambition eras.  We also have some provisional cover songs up our sleeves, but we'll see how the time goes with the costume contest and general paganism we were hoping for during the show.

So with HWY 13 and Mohr Avenue meeting at the intersection of I-94 and HWY 20, all roads lead to a scary good time at the Route 20 Outhouse's Halloween Hellraiser this Saturday.  Thanks again for tuning in and supporting local live music.  Keep rockin' and don't forget...ow...ow...owOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!!!!!

Rockin' the Bug

If you made it to see HWY 13 at the Mosquito Inn last Saturday, you immediately realized the rumors of Tim's demise for this gig were greatly exaggerated...at least for the first set.  It also turns-out his early departure had nothing to do with bow hunting and everything to do with a late night charity gig he committed to at the Brat Stop with Junkies for Fame.

While this blog has always prided itself on accurately reporting the facts, the bottom line is these posts come from rambling, Pabst-fueled, post-practice conversations going on while our ears are still ringing from Alpine Valley-type sound levels.  All this incoherence gets processed by a sweaty, derelict drummer with no formal training in journalism whatsoever.  So if it's 100% accuracy in reporting you want, don't look here...watch Dan Rather on CBS...on second thought...watch Peter Arnette on CNN...no  wait...read Jayson Blair in the New York Times...whoops...try Mike Barnicle from the Boston Globe...oh never mind!

The bottom line is, with HWY 13 you get journalism as accurate and trustworthy as the mainstream media, plus we play rock & roll way better than Walter Cronkite ever could on a good day. 

In any case, we rocked the Mosquito Inn, the set is getting tighter & tighter and now we're setting our sights on HWY 13's next gig at the Route 20 Outhouse's Halloween party & costume contest on October 27.  We'll be rockin' with Mohr Avenue and the joint will be jumpin' with ghouls, so this is one trip to the outhouse that you definitely won't need to bring something to read!

Thanks again for tuning in, mark your calendars for the Outhouse on the 27th and keep rockin'!  

        

Cowabunga!

To all the fans who made it to the Beach Side gig, THANKS!!  With a big assist from mother nature, this was a memorable gig for us and we hope you enjoyed the show.  We also thank Scott at the Beach Side Oasis for rolling the dice on an act like HWY 13 down there, and lastly, a big thanks to Zicomatic for...

1. Rockin' the crowd including some great new original songs.
2. Wearing-out the perpetual-motion dancing dude by the time we went on stage.

In case you were wondering, the first paragraph of our previous post was composed almost entirely of Beach Boys song titles back-to-back.  Counting the title of the post, "Surf's Up", there were 19 in all.  There's no way I'd last all summer long in a room with 409 California girls, but the first half-hour would've been great!

As for new business, we've got two gigs coming up including:

• Mosquito Inn, Saturday October 13, 9:30pm
• Route 20 Outhouse Halloween party & costume contest, Saturday October 27, 9pm with Mohr Avenue

The Mosquito Inn gig will be our slimmed-down 3-piece lineup without Tim on guitar.  No, we didn't kick him out for lewd behavior, substance abuse, incompetent playing or anything else you'd expect in a typical  rock 'n roll band.  There are several even more-shocking reasons to kick Tim out if we really wanted to, but in this case it's simply a schedule conflict with his annual bow hunting trip.  

Rest assured, one less guitar & amp won't make HWY 13 any less punishing on the ears, and Tim will be back for a full-force show at the Route 20 Outhouse's Halloween party October 27th.

Thanks again for visiting the blog and keep rockin'!

Surf's Up!

Wouldn't it be nice if 409 California girls spent all summer long in my room?  So help me Rhonda, it'd be fun, fun, fun like the warmth of the sun!  To catch a wave, I get around heroes & villains like a little deuce coupe gets around Kokomo.  So don't worry baby, the pet sounds you hear could be good vibrations from Wendy the surfer girl.

The preceding bit of Beach Boys banality is a reminder that next Sunday, September 16 is HWY 13's Beach Side Oasis gig with Zicomatic starting at 2pm.  You don't have to choose between HWY 13 and watching the Packers, because the Packers have that Sunday off.  The long range forecast for next Sunday is 75 degrees & sunny, so extend the summer by another weekend and rock outside with us at one of the most scenic beaches in the U.S.

In case you haven't seen them yet, Zicomatic is emerging as one of the better live acts in the area.  They cover great rock bands from classic to contemporary, but most of the tunes are deep cuts you haven't already heard a bazillion times on the radio.  Peppered with some of their own original songs, Zicomatic is great players that really "get it" when it comes to rock.

As for HWY 13, we'll be "bringin' it" with your favorite hits from the CD, a few new original rockers you haven't heard and a handful of covers just for the heck of it.  We'll also bring a supply of HWY 13 CD's, t-shirts and koozies so you can pick up something for yourself or that special someone you're trying to impress.

Thanks again for tuning in.  We've had over 2,000 pageviews from nine different countries since creating the blog last February!  With apologies for any international incidents we may have caused, we hope you find the blog to be a good mix of information and humor (not necessarily in that order).  Hope to see you all down at the beach next Sunday, thanks for supporting the band and keep rockin!   

  

Merchandising!

Writing original songs, recording CD's and gigging in front of packed houses is all well and good, but everyone knows the real money in rock & roll is merchandising!  That's why we ordered a fresh supply of HWY 13 t-shirts just in time for the Beachside Oasis gig (Love Letters in the Sand), 2pm Sunday September 16 with Zicomatic.  We also ordered our first supply of HWY 13 koozies so we can keep your beer chillin' while your ears are ringin'.  As  always, discounts are available for package purchases with the CD, and t-shirt-wise, there always seems to be a female fan in the audience where a strategically-placed HWY 13 logo is worth more to us in favorable PR than it is to us in sales.  If you think you've got two good reasons for a free t-shirt, come on down and see us at the Beachside gig!

Other than that, our set list for the next few gigs has four new original songs penciled-in. Assuming we do a 180 and follow at least 50% of the set list in the right order, there's almost a pretty good chance that you may hear some new songs for a second CD we're hoping to work on next year.  Like the rest of our originals, they rock.  No self-indulgent change of artistic direction for us, e.g. rock operas about gout, duets with famous yodelers or odysseys into jazz/metal fusion.  We're just too damn lazy for any of that.

Thanks again for tuning in to the blog and come-on down to the Beachside gig on September 16.  Hopefully, the tough economy has left you with enough disposable income to purchase some HWY 13 merchandise.  Remember, the money you spend on a HWY 13 CD, t-shirt or koozie today, could become the next HWY 13 CD, 3-piece suit or action figure with life-like 12 ounce arm curl motion of tomorrow.

Keep Rockin'!!!             

The Hits Keep Coming

The title of this post isn't meant literally (e.g. beer & other projectiles tossed in our direction at gigs), it's meant figuratively, as in a number of new original songs. Because HWY 13's formula for success at practice (showing-up late under-the-influence and sitting around talking about everything but music) works so well, we'll continue in this manner for the foreseeable future.  Good thing it's Packer season and Dino has a new big-screen TV.  Now we can really get some work done!

Likewise, HWY 13's formula for success at gigs (showing-up in the nick of time a little less under-the-influence and ignoring the set list) will also continue with two new shows lined-up:

• Beach Side Oasis-Racine:  2pm Sunday, September 16 (With Zicomatic!!!)
• Route 20 Outhouse-Sturtevant:  Saturday Night, October 27 (Halloween Party!)

If you enjoyed Tim's deer-in-the-headlights look at SiscoFest when we launched into one of our new songs without practice, imagine the fun you'll have at these with even more new material to work with.

Seriously, the new songs rock and they should be included in a 2nd CD we hope to produce in 2013.  In addition to catching "sneak previews" of the new songs, at these gigs you'll see & hear the songs off our current HWY 13 CD getting tighter for one of the most exciting live acts for original rock & roll in the area.

In the meantime, we'll keep doing what we're doing (forgetting what to practice at home, abusing our health and enjoying the summer) because if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Thanks for visiting the blog and keep rockin'!          

Next Stop...Dickie's Bar

Next chance to see HWY 13 live is Saturday afternoon, July 21 for Sisco Fest, which starts at 12 noon.  What's a "Sisco Fest" you may ask?  Well...it's a poker run fundraiser for MargaretAnn's Place & Wisconsin Center for Grieving Children, but the entry fee includes five bands (at last count), a pig roast, corn roast & raffles.  With bikes, bands, food, beer and games of chance for a good cause, the event name that immediately comes to mind is "Sisco Fest"...of course!!!

We also want to thank our fans & George's Bar for a great gig at their car show last June. George's is a great venue and we were glad to hear Dave talk about making live music a bigger part of their scene again.  Last but not least, a big thanks to the HWY 13 sales team, better known as Tommy 13's army.  Once they set-up shop they had the HWY 13 CD's & t-shirts flying off the shelves, so if you have any swamp land or bum used cars you're having trouble getting rid of, we recommend these kids as your agents.  Thanks again for visiting, hope to see you all at Dickie's on the 21st for Sisco Fest and as always...keep rockin'!

Sunday's Forecast

According to the Weather Channel, the forecast for this Sunday's antique/custom car & motorcycle show, 1-6pm at George's 1201 N. Main St. is.....coooool.....yeah.....like 78 degrees.....and a cool breeze off the lake.....you know.....coooool....

The Weather Channel is never wrong so you can take that forecast to the bank, come on down to George's and get some coolness into your vertebrae.

Whatever the weather, it'll be rain-free, 70 degrees and rockin' inside George's for our CD Release Party from 1-4pm.  The new HWY 13 CD is gaining popularity and if we get a good turnout Sunday, sales could surpass the six-figure mark (counting the cents)!  The big money's in merchandising, so we'll be selling/signing men's & women's t-shirts too. Who knows, if this thing keeps snowballing, HWY 13 action figures with life-like 12-oz. arm curl motion could be just around the corner!  

Thanks again for tuning-in, hope to see you for some coolness Sunday and keep rocking!

Next Stop...George's Tavern!

George's Tavern has graciously offered their establishment to host our HWY 13 CD Release Party as part of their Annual Classic Car, Antique and Custom Motorcycle Show on Sunday afternoon, June 24 1pm-6pm.

HWY 13 will be playing inside George's from 3-ish to 5-ish where you'll be able to hear our new CD live start-to-finish, along with some classic HWY 13 hits and a new mystery classic rock cover song from 1960 we added just for this gig.  We're not a classic rock cover band, but we do rock in a classic sort of way.  Great cars, great bikes, great rock, beer, food, fresh air, no admission fee...and best of all...you get a prime opportunity to get your very own HWY 13 CD...autographed by HWY 13!

I've been working on my own classic car, but I decided not to enter it as it would scare too many competitors away and they probably have a rule against show contractors winning the Grand Prize.  Either way, hope to see you all at George's on the 24th and Keep Rocking!  

It...is...Alive!!!

The new HWY 13 CD is now available!  The first CD release party will be held June 24 at George's Tavern during the 6th Annual Classic Car, Antique & Custom Motorcycle Show, but we'll have some on-hand at the Northside Saloon next Saturday, May 12 at 9pm warming-up for a fantastic 3-piece group, Lyden Moon.

What you'll get are eight original, high-energy, hard-driving rock & roll songs.  Each has its own groove, yet they all fit together as a whole.  We played it like we meant it, tried to capture the excitement of a live set and we hope our fans like what they hear.

  A few special "thank you's" we'd like to mention:

• Our Families, for putting-up with the noise, the odd hours, the costs, etc.
• Our Fans, for supporting the band, rocking the gigs and spreading the word.
• Chris Wisco, the "5th HWY 13'er", owner, engineer & producer at Belle City Sound, for his expertise in the studio, and some truly wicked Gibson V work on a few songs.
• Rick Shepard & Johnny Sehlnik, drummer & guitarist for the original HWY 13, for their contributions on White Line Fever and gettting the band off the ground in the first place.
• Jen Le, of Jen Le Images, for making us look good in spite of ourselves.
• Dillon Armstrong, Danno's son, for a great job of designing the disk & cover artwork, and also for volunteering to serve our country in the National Guard.

Stay tuned for more details to come, keep rockin' and don't forget to see Lyden Moon & HWY 13 at the Northside Saloon, Saturday May 12 starting at 9pm.

Special Night

Great night at Rock for Vets with a packed house at the Hiawatha and every band on their A-game.  If the Hiawatha gig was any indication, we should be close to raising the goal of $10,000 combined with the bowling & pool tournaments.  One highlight was Danno's son Dillon joining us on bass for a smokin' hot rendition of What Burns Inside.

Dillon will be joining the National Guard this summer after high school graduation, so it was an honor to jam with a fine young man about to serve his country, while helping to raise funds for those in need who have already served.  Lest we forget, Dillon also designed the cover for the new HWY 13 CD......well-done sir!

Speaking of which, the finished CD's are due to arrive this Monday so we will have them on-hand for sale at our next gig Saturday night, May 12 at the Northside Saloon in Racine with Lyden Moon.  If you can't wait that long, most of you reading this know how to get a hold of one of us, so get a hold of one of us.  If you don't know how to get a hold of one of us, get a hold of someone who does know how to get a hold of one of us, and have them get a hold of one of us.  If all else fails, contact Kevin Bacon because he's only 6 degrees of separation from knowing someone who knows how to get a hold of one of us.

Either way, thanks for all who saw the show last night, hope you can make it to the Northside Saloon on May 12 and keep rockin'!!!

  

Rock for Vets!

The band is gearing-up for the 3rd Annual Rock for Vets this Saturday night the 28th at the Hiawatha Bar & Grill in Sturtevant.  What makes this event special is you not only get to help the vets, you get to thank the vets for the freedom & security we enjoy from their sacrifice. There will be a lot of vets there and we can't wait to shake their hands, thank them for their service and rock their world for a night.  This is a call to action for HWY 13 fans...If you can make it there...make it there!!! 

Adding to the drama, the new HWY 13 CD is mastered & the cover art was sent for production. Will the CD-maker deliver in time for Rock for Vets...or won't they?  We probably won't know until that day, so there's only one way to find out...get your ass down to the Hiawatha that night!

Now let's suppose...just suppose...you're not a HWY 13 fan and our highly-polished live act isn't enough to get you off the couch watching reruns of reality shows about spoon collectors, or celebrity canasta on ESPN 8...The Ocho.  The whole lineup is amazing:

• Downstairs 6:30-7:30: Fall Hazard (Masters of Alternative/New Rock)
• Upstairs 6:45-7:45: Woody (Masters of Classic Rock)
• Downstairs 7:50-8:50: Zicomatic (Classic Rock & Originals Super-Group)
• Upstairs 8:05-9:05: Mean Jake (Rockin' Rhythm & Blues Legends)
• Downstairs 9:10-10:10: Bull Frog (Rock With Heavy Artillery...Keyboards)  
• Upstairs 9:25-10:25: HWY 13 (Possibly The Best HWY 13 Cover Band Ever)
• Upstairs 10:45-???: Razor's Edge (AC/DC Anyone?!?)

If this doesn't get you off the couch to help the vets, then you deserve programming like Clog-Dancing with the Extras.  Why stay home eating junk food watching Parking Wars marathons when you can work 5 lbs off your hips, thighs & buttocks climbing up & down the stairs bumping into people of the opposite...direction...to see all these great bands?  

Well, this horse is about dead so I'll stop beating it now.  Have a great weekend, keep rockin' and hope to see you at Rock for Vets. (Sorry.....nothing more dangerous than a mortally wounded horse.)

First Sale!

Long-time friend Randy Mich gets bragging rights for making the first purchase of our HWY 13 CD, even though copies aren't available until late April.  The encouraging thing was he actually paid the $13 after hearing the CD, and no adult beverages were involved at the time.

In another stunning development, our official web site has moved to...

http://www.reverbnation.com/hwy13

Click on the link for songs (including some previously recorded hits), pictures, videos, gig info & other news you can't afford to miss.  This blog will continue as a running diary of our exploits, but the old HWY 13 Facebook page is basically KAPUT going forward.

Kudos go to Danno's son Dillon for a job well-done on the new & improved HWY 13 logo and the new CD's cover.  Using the pics from last week's photo session with Jen Le of Jen Le Images, Dillon designed a great cover that visually captures the feel of the CD and the band.  Next week we should have a better idea when the CD's will be delivered, so have a great week, stay tuned for more updates and Keep Rockin'! 

Image is Everything

Because HWY 13's previous publicity photos were mainly unflattering mug shots of us in various levels of inebriation after a sweaty gig in a rough neighborhood, we decided to have some professionally photographed shots taken on-location at a place that better represents our band's dignity...a failed & crumbling industrial facility in a rough neighborhood.  At least we were clean & (relatively) sober this time.

If a picture paints a thousand words, what can we learn from this one above?

1. None of us has a clue what to do in front of a camera.
2. The photographer should get hazardous duty pay.
3. Danno dropping the spare tire represents his dramatic weight-loss.
4. Never play the goal posts for a 50-yard field goal in a football game using tires.

Seriously, Jen Le of Jen Le Images did a great job on our photos and showed a lot of patience working with a group of guys that would rather not be getting their pictures taken.  We picked some good studio & outside shots for the CD cover and with some editing & text we should be ready to send it to the CD-maker for production.


Hope everyone had a happy Easter, stay-tuned for future updates and keep rockin'.   

Amped-Up

Had band practice Sunday and we listened to the new CD all the way through as a group for the 1st time.  After a few minutes of mutual back-slapping on a job well done, we agreed it's about ready to be mastered for production.  Next step for us is to get a good group photo taken and figuring-out the CD cover's design.

Our last posting gave kudos to the Orange Tiny Terror amp used on the CD, but I was remiss in pointing-out that it was only used on Tim's guitar work.  Dino's guitars were played through his trusty 100-watt Marshall amp & cabinet.  Not enough power you say???  The amp only goes to "10", so Dino also used a booster amp to give his Gibson Les Paul Custom's sound that extra push.  I'm not sure what the total amp draw was, but we did notice the neighborhood's lights dimmed a bit up & down Douglas Avenue when he powered-up.

We're getting closer to having our CD ready, so subscribe to the blog for automatic notification of new posts.  If not, you'll have to keep tripping through Facebook's new format fiasco for updates on the CD's progress, future gigs & other important news...like Dino's amps' effect on your monthly electric bill.  Have a great week and keep on rockin'!  

Kicking the Tires

Mixing was finished last Wednesday and CD's were made for the 4 of us to listen to as a final gut-check...only we're using our ears.  We are now in the "speak now or forever hold your peace" phase of the project, and after a few days of listening we'll either make a last-minute tweak or give Chris at Belle City Sound the OK to master it.

  

Listened to it myself numerous times on a round-trip drive to Minneapolis for work.  It sounded great to me, and my work buddy didn't need a single cup of coffee to stay alert behind the wheel.  You never know how you sound to other people, so I played it for Paul T who hosts our bad movie night group.  He thoroughly endorsed the CD saying..."I'd rather listen to this than the new Van Halen CD".  I guess we won't be seeing David Lee Roth at the next viewing of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians now.  Thanks a lot Paul...he was hilarious at Plan 9 from Outer Space!

In previous posts we failed to mention the contribution of the Orange Tiny Terror amp used on guitars.  Eventually we'll list all our instruments & hardware on this CD, but honorable mention goes to this little sucker that gives new meaning to the phrase..."It ain't the dog in the fight, it's the fight in the dog".  Tim approves above. 

Either way it goes, we'll  keep you posted and don't forget to come to Rock for Vets at Tom & Lee's Hiawatha in Sturtevant on April 28.  Great bands, great venue, great party and all for a great cause.  Details on the top-left of the blog.  Keep rockin'!

Mix Well

HWY 13 (the band) took the weekend off, while HWY 13 (the CD) now rests in the capable hands of Chris at Belle City Sound for mixing.  In the meantime, we've been tossing-around ideas for artwork & naming the CD.  Several suggestions have been made, with honorable mentions going to "One More for the Ditch", "One Way Ticket to Michigan" and "Change Yer Wipers".  Other suggestions shouldn't be repeated.  For simplicity's sake (and on a low cost-per-letter basis), we're leaning toward just "HWY 13".  The band is named HWY 13, we have a song named HWY 13, so we may as well have a CD named HWY 13 too.  It's a debut album of sorts anyway, with the new lineup and all never-recorded original songs.  Time will tell...

On a different note, it was great to be a part of Thoughts for Food again this year.  Pictured above is a shot of the check for $17,791.17 which was raised for the benefit of the Racine County Food  Bank.  This was a big increase in a tough economy, so great job by all the players, volunteers, venues and most importantly the paying fans who donated their hard-earned money & food items.  Also, thanks go to George's Tavern for hosting the TFF volunteer appreciation party (great food!), and to Full Flavor for hosting the open jam (great music!).


Thanks again for checking-in, and we'll keep you posted. 

Voice of Reason

Our multi-tasker in chief, Danno, nailed the vocals this week and wrapped-up the recording with a strategically placed vibraslap (sorry ladies, but it's a percussion instrument).  Chris' toy box at Belle City Sound had a metallic vibraslap, but we were looking for a more wooden-y sound and anyone who's seen us live knows what perfectionists we are...cough...cough....!  Inspired by Red Green, Chris used the studio engineer's secret weapon, black electrical tape, wrapped several layers around the gimmick at the end of the stick, and got us just the sound we needed.

We can't say enough about what a great job Chris at Belle City Sound has done for us.  Besides his technical expertise on the instruments & controls, he's a great musician, has a great ear, loves rock, kept us on task and had a great way of communicating his ideas for our sound.  With all that going for him, we'd be crazy not to ask him to lay some guitar on us for the CD.  We're not, so we did!  At just the right places in just the right songs, Chris' playing on his Flying V really got that mojo working.  Alas, keeping-up with HWY 13 can be hazardous to your health as shown by the blister on the tip  of Chris' ring finger below.  Sorry about that Chris!

  

Speaking of pictures, a Pictures page has been added behind the Home page with photos of HWY 13 in various states of working and/or slacking-off.  In addition, the blog's sidebar will also show our next gig coming-up, in this case Rock for Vets at Tom & Lee's Hiawatha on Saturday, April 28.  Lots of great bands will be there, and it's for a great cause, helping Racine area vets.

Thanks again for your support, and stay tuned for more to come.

    

Strings Attached

One week down and the bass guitar, rhythm guitars and Dino's solos (in that order) are now on top of the drum tracks.  The note-playing musicians (Danno, Dino & Tim) played their parts in the studio all week while I rested my tired arms cruising through sunny Iowa for work.  Wish I could have been there, but I'll have to stay away more often if they keep playing that good!


After Saturday off in observance of St. Patrick's Day (hic), we returned to Belle City Sound on Sunday to record Tim's solos and Danno's vocals.  Chris expertly manned the controls and If all goes well, only a few kickers of harmony vocals, harmony guitars and any other miscellaneous musical embellishments will be left to record before mixing.

The band and the songs sound great!  It's rock & roll with a punch, and every lick of it comes from the heart.  Our chemistry as players & friends (not necessarily in that order) really shows, and Chris' contributions as engineer & producer (in either order) are the icing on the cake.   


Thanks again for your support and stay tuned for future updates.               

Beat Down!

The drum tracks on our new CD are recorded, and work will soon begin on laying down the bass, guitars & vocals.  Day 1 began Friday night setting-up the instruments, and with some random jams & warm-up songs, we dialed-in the sound levels in the control room and our headphones.  It was great to hear all our parts without blowing out our eardrums! Day 2 was the four of us playing together like a live gig, only without the drunks (besides us), just to get the drum tracks in the barn.

The new CD, code-named "Smell the Sock", will feature eight original songs by HWY 13. Our band lineup is:

• Danno:  Bass Guitar, Lead Vocals
• Dino:  Lead & Rhythm Guitars
• Tim:  Lead & Rhythm Guitars
• Bob-o:  Drums

Also want to acknowledge the following contributors to our efforts on this CD:

• Chris at Belle City Sound:  "The fifth HWY 13-er".  Owner, engineer and producer extraordinaire!  Chris has a great ear for music, got a feel for the band's groove and is working his magic in recording & editing.
• Peg & Lou's Bar & Grill:  Friday night fish fry & burgers.  Great food, cold beer & soda, and service with a smile.
• Park Inn Restaurant: Saturday breakfast after 11am and dinner after 7pm.  Great food served on "musician time".

Thanks to all of the above, and to all of you, for making this CD happen.  We'll keep  you posted as things develop. 

Welcome to Our Blog

Welcome to our new blog site.  We are HWY 13 from Racine, and we play Rock & Roll!!!

The first order of  business is to thank all our fans for your support at gigs and online.  It was great seeing you and our fellow rockers at Thoughts for Food last week.  We had a rocking   good time for a great cause...filling the shelves & coffers at the Food Bank of Racine County.

As for new business...

• HWY 13 T-shirts are now available for $13 in both men's & women's styles.  Let's see those colors at the shows and around town!
• Just started recording a CD of our original songs.  Looking forward to working with Chris at Belle City Sound, who has a great studio and a fantastic ear for music.

Stay tuned for future updates on the CD, gig schedules and random thoughts on the band and music scene in general.  Thanks again for visiting, and keep on rocking!