Friday, February 17, 2012

The Americans Are Coming

The countdown is officially on.

First-time travel to Europe is reason enough to be excited. But the opportunity to do something we've never done before certainly ups the ante a bit. 

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind for us. First priority went, of course, to rehearsals. The standard we've set for Tyler Ward's first-ever (headlining) European tour is pretty high, so we've been intent on crafting a set that won't let anybody down. There are some familiar favorites, some brand new songs, and even a few surprises buried in the bottom of the cereal box. A bevy of different circumstances have forced us to restrict the personnel for this particular run to the titular Mr. Ward, the lifetime-appointed Minister of Suave, Joshua Corbett, and myself. It's been an interesting adventure to adapt Tyler's music to a three-piece format, but the results have turned out to be satisfactorily piquant and we can't wait to unveil a brand new kind of Tyler Ward performance.

We've also taken the time to record a special  EP to be sold exclusively at the shows on this particular tour. A brand spankin'-new song and a few re-imagined T-Ward classics (from way back before the days of YouTube) are going to be available to the European fans as a special way of saying "Thank you!" for all the incredible support they've thrown our way. But have no fear, non-Euro fans: something tells me that the music will make its way to your own collections soon enough....

Tyler & Josh get their tracking on.

The final piece of our Euro Tour Boot Camp was held last night at Lucky Joe's Bar in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Just a couple short years ago, you would've had a very good chance of sauntering in to hear a young troubadour by the name of Tyler Ward fill the late night air with classic covers and bar tunes played on his acoustic guitar. So, with a healthy dose of sentimentality we decided Lucky Joe's would be a fun place to stage a special live rehearsal performance of our set before we head off to where they drive on the other side of the road. The atmosphere was laid-back & fun (perhaps a little too fun at times...), and it was certainly good to get the kinks out a bit, both logistically and musically. Thanks to everyone who showed up to watch us practice in public - the one thing rehearsals never seem to have enough of is applause when you get something right!

The Trio @ Lucky Joe's

So that brings us to now: only one weekend and one ocean stand between us and our first European tour, the first Tyler Ward Trio performances, and my first trip across the pond. It's hard to say exactly what the most exciting element of all this happens to be, but it's sure to be an experience none of us will ever forget.

2 comments:

  1. I'm so excited about the Europe tour! Really can't wait to see you guys in Berlin in just three weeks. I wish you a lot of fun here, enjoy your time :)
    Hopefully you will have some time for a little bit of sightseeing in every city - even if it's just for two hours (just an idea for Berlin: it is beautiful to see by night!)

    See ya at the Meet and Greet :D

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  2. Can´t wait to see you guys in Berlin. So excited. The last concert was amazing and I guess the next one will be even better. Started my countdown a few weeks ago. For you guys I´ll drive nearly 4 hours and do it everytime again. ;-)
    Xo
    See you at the M&G... :-)

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