August 23,
2010
As previously reported, the new issue of Fireworks Magazine features
an in-depth interview with Venice. It's a little bittersweet
to read now, hearing about how excited Michael was at the time
to embark on the Roger Waters tour. But it's still a very
interesting article. The print version was abridged for
space, but you can read the full, unedited version on their website.
Click
here.
You will need to register, but after you've done that, simply
click on the "Fireworks Magazine" box, click on "Current
Issue," then scroll down a little and then click on "Read
More" where you see Venice.
August 13, 2010
An announcement from Michael Lennon:
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Hello family and friends, After a fair amount of vocal rehearsals, and a fair amount of frustration, it has been decided that it would be best if Pat replace me as the vocalist that sings all the high parts for the Roger Waters tour of "The Wall." Unfortunately, the vocal part I was assigned ended up out of my natural range, and made it very difficult for me to consistently deliver......and I don't like "not delivering." Luckily for Pat, and for Venice, these parts seem to be in his "wheelhouse" (the strong part of his voice). As crazy as this whole situation has been, this is still an amazing opportunity for Venice. I love my brother and cousins, and of course it will be strange to have them traveling to gigs, checking into hotels, laughing until crying and ultimately singing on stage without me, but I wish them all the best on this tour, and I know they will blow people away with "that sound." Although I will be staying home for this tour, I'll get to watch my son Rowdy start Middle School, and my daughter Avalon play her second year of High School volleyball...... and have Halloween and Thanksgiving with my family.....which hasn't been the case for a long time. These simple things are so thrilling for me. I'm confident that there are many new opportunities awaiting me as a result of this. I will be open to and will embrace what the universe has to offer me. My wife Danielle is amazing.......she is my rock. We choose to look at this situation as a new opportunity for new possibilities. I thank you all for your support. I have no regrets...... (other than everything to do with not doing the tour... ;) ) I am a lucky man! Michael (If you need a manager, booker, label owner, online store operator, producer, arranger, engineer, drummer, bassist, keyboardist, banjoist, mandolinist or guitarist that can't sing high notes consistently, I'm available!) |
August 7,
2010
Sorry for the lack of updates, folks. As you can imagine,
things have slowed down considerably as Kipp, Mark and Michael
prepare for their grand adventure as part of the Roger Waters
ensemble.
The three of them will depart at the tail end of August for "The Wall" tour rehearsals, which will take place on the east coast. In preparation, they've been holding their own private vocal rehearsals with the fourth member of their quartet, Jon Joyce, who sings the low parts. Jon sang on the original Pink Floyd album and on their subsequent tour, so he knows these vocal parts like the back of his hand. Michael tells me that Jon has been a huge help, pointing out notes in the recording that are so quiet you can barely hear them, but still need to be sung. He's also guided them to hold out long notes without using any vibrato, which is much harder to do, and is not how the guys are used to singing, but it is how it was done on the album, and how Roger likes it. These are things that they would not have come up with on their own, and Michael told me that as heartbroken as the three of them are about Pat not being there, the fact that their fourth member is someone who is so knowledgeable about the project and their part in it has been immeasurably helpful in their preparation. For the record, Jon was the guy who recommended Venice to Roger in the first place, so due credit where it's deserved.
For anyone who has expressed concern (privately to me or on our forums) that Venice, as a band entity, might not receive promotion or benefit from Kipp, Mark and Michael's participation on this tour, I can tell you that the guys have already turned in their bio for the tour booklet, and it is all about the band, and even ends with the URL to this webpage. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world are going to read that and take it home with them. So that's a pretty good start, huh?
In addition, the guys have already received several offers to appear on radio shows along their journey, to talk about the tour and also about Venice. As these things are confirmed and get a little closer, I'll announce them here. If anyone reading this works for a radio station, newspaper, magazine or webpage, and would like to talk to the guys, you can contact us at venicetheband@gmail.com and we'll try to set that up for you.
Speaking of interviews, Venice will be featured in this month's issue of Fireworks Magazine, which hits newsstands on August 19. When they were interviewed, the guys spent a little time talking about me! Tragically, this section wound up being cut for space from the print version. But I've received special permission to print it here. To set this up, they're talking about last year's concert CD, "Electric - Live and Amplified."
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I see that your friend Matt Levitz, who runs your Venice Central website at www.venicecentral.com, gets a special mention for all his help with the project, and that he assisted with the audio editing. The audio on the album certainly sparkles, so I guess his "pixie-dust" was a secret ingredient to the great sound of the album… Michael: I would credit Matt more for the flow of the album than the sound of it. He was a huge help in transitioning from one song to another. We were really pushing the outer limits of a CD's capacity, because we wanted to fit as many songs on this album as possible. We had more than one CD's worth of material from the tour, but not enough, in my opinion, for 2 CD's. I prefer to give one CD of the best of the best, instead of two CD's where a couple of the songs are not quite up to the quality or performance level of the rest of the material. Matt was instrumental in trimming the fat, while maintaining a pretty natural live flow. Editing is his business. Kipp: He's a DVD producer/editor by trade, so he has the patience to sit with Michael for hours, honing it until it's right. Matt also brought an extra enthusiasm and perspective to the mixing and editing that only somebody who's known us for so long can bring. After all of our years together, it can be really helpful to have someone else in the room whose opinion we respect - most of the time - and who has a different take on things. Michael: Matt was also instrumental in building my confidence and pushing me along during the editing and mixing of this album. Just having someone else in the studio with you at 3am is encouraging, and helps to keep you focused on the whole album, and not just the snare drum sound. We had a great time working together, and Matt's knowledge of Venice's history was a huge asset when making an album that we were hoping would encapsulate the first album up until the Venice of today. |
Very kind words from the two of them, and I appreciate it. It was definitely an exciting honor for me to have been a part of that project.
Back to the Fireworks Magazine feature, there's some really interesting stuff there, including Pat's reaction to the Roger Waters thing, and Michael's revelation of what Venice project got cancelled so that they could do this tour instead. This issue of Fireworks Magazine will also contain a review of the concert CD. So be sure and check that out. Thanks to Paul Smith for writing both pieces!
Speaking of CDs, Mark Lennon is releasing a new solo album. It's called "These Are a Few of my Favorite Songs," and it contains both cover songs and a couple of originals. If you live in the LA area, you can pick up a copy next Saturday night, August 14, from 7pm to 2am, at Mark's listening party. It's at a club called Life on Wilshire, at 63111 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. You don't need to purchase food to attend, but if you'd like to make a dinner reservation, call (323) 651-5433. There will be no advanced tickets sold, but a $20 entrance fee at the door gets you a copy of the CD. Mark will be on hand all night, hosting the festivities.
Lastly, I'd like to point out that if you haven't joined us yet on Facebook, you might consider it. Michael Lennon has been posting many of the recent updates personally, and once the guys are out on tour, I expect he'll start using Facebook to share photos and videos from the road. Sign up with us here.
For the record,
if one of the guys posts on Facebook, he signs his name to it.
If there's no signature, it's probably me. Or sometimes
it's Amber Guerra. This is easily distinguishable: If
it's well written and intelligent, you'll know it isn't me. :)
June
4, 2010
You can now listen to Venice and Fee Waybill's radio appearance
from last night, at the top of this page.
June 3, 2010
Venice and Fee Waybill will be guests tonight at 10pm on Jim Ladd's
show on KLOS 95.5 FM. You can listen live via the internet
right
here.
Online ticketing
for Saturday's benefit concert is now closed, but there are still
lots of seats still available. You just have to purchase
them by phone now. Please call (310) 396-4557. Or
you can take your chances at the door. This is going to
be an amazing concert. Trust us, you don't want to miss
it!
May 27, 2010
The Roger Waters camp has just announced their European tour dates,
spanning between March 21 and June 18, 2011. Of course,
Venice's Kipp, Mark and Michael Lennon will still be singing backup
at these shows. Included on this leg of the tour is a concert
at Gelredome in Arnhem, NL on April 8, 2011, and three nights
at the O2 Arena in London, UK, on May 11, 12 and 17. Tickets
will go on sale on June 4 at 9am, but you can register for pre-sale
access right now at tickets.rogerwaters.com.
May 19, 2010
As you can see from the new poster, Colin Hay from Men at Work has been added to this year's Artists for the Arts Foundation concert. Great tickets are still available here.
In other news, Venice was featured twice in a recent issue of Fireworks Magazine. They reviewed "Home Grown," and they also interviewed Michael Lennon. You can check those stories out here. Thanks to author Paul Jerome Smith for the heads up, and for granting permission to reprint. Be sure and check out the magazine's webpage, www.rocktopia.co.uk, as well.
May 17, 2010
Curt Smith from Tears
for Fears
has joined the lineup of the Artists for the Arts Foundation benefit
concert, joining Venice, Fee Waybill from The Tubes, and plenty of student
musicians,to raise money for arts programs in the Santa Monica
/ Malibu school district. They'll be playing songs from
Venice, Tears for Fears and The Tubes, as well as covers of Led
Zeppelin, Paul McCartney and Wings, Queen, Pink Floyd, Marvin
Gaye, The Doobie Brothers and more. The fun happens June
5th, and plenty of great seats are still available by clicking
here.
May 11, 2010
Tickets are now on sale here for the 2010 Santa Monica Artists for
the Arts concert. And the headliners this year will be...
Venice themselves! This will be a very special concert,
featuring student musicians, plus special guest Fee Waybill from
The Tubes ("She's a Beauty," "Talk to You
Later"). With Kipp, Mark and Michael getting ready
to head out on the Roger Waters tour, there are very few opportunities
left in 2010 to see a full band, full set Venice show, and this
one should be quite the blowout. Don't miss it!
In other news,
Venice Store now has copies of "Home
Grown"
in stock. It's a pretty cool deal. For $25 plus
shipping, you get Venice's greatest hits CD, plus their full length
"Live at the Royal Carre Theatre" concert DVD comes
included. Domestic orders get the NTSC version, and international
orders get PAL, so the disc is guaranteed to play for you. This
one makes a perfect gift for the uninitiated!
May 1, 2010
Here's Venice covering a song from "Toy Story 2," but with a twist! (Don't forget to pause the jukebox above before hitting play.)
If you like this
video, please share it with your friends, through e-mail, Facebook,
Twitter, or any other means. The URL to use is: http://tinyurl.com/29nmrdx
April 25, 2010
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