January 31, 2003
I've just learned there's a bit of a surprise in this week's "Entertainment Weekly" magazine.  In an article rating all of the different recorded covers of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," they talk about Venice's version from "Spin Art," and award them a respectable B-.  There's even a picture of the band!  Nice!!

Thanks to Jeff Eckert for the tip.


January 30, 2003
The third single from Venice's "Welcome To the Rest of Your Life" CD will be "Blue Paint."  The song has been remixed for this release, giving it better stereo separation and a couple of other finesses.  But the best news is that the band will be shooting a music video, and if you live in the Los Angeles area, you're invited to be in it.  Details are still being worked out, but it's looking like the shoot will take place in Venice Beach (probably on the pier) sometime over the next weekend, February 8 or 9.  Volunteers will be needed for a single shot, and you'll be required to bring your own wardrobe, consisting of a red shirt (any shade of red is fine, but it must be solid red, not predominantly red with other colors in the design) and a blue jacket or over shirt (again, any shade of blue, but it must be solid blue).  If you don't show up wearing these two articles of clothing, you will not be allowed into the shot.  Volunteers must be age 16 and over only.  You'll just be needed for a couple of hours.  And you will not be paid or fed.  Once the exact date and time are worked out, they'll be announced here on the News Page at Venicecentral.com, along with an e-mail address to RSVP to.  Please do not RSVP unless you're certain that you can be there with the correct wardrobe, because it's vitally important that we know how many people to expect.  Thanks!


January 23, 2003
As far as I've been able to confirm, the rumors appear to be true, and Venice will indeed play at Vredenburg in Utrecht on May 2nd, with tickets going on sale this Saturday morning.  Get 'em while they're hot!


January 13, 2003
Venice has been nominated for an Edison Award, the Dutch version of the Grammy's.  The category is Best International Artist, and their competition is U2 and Coldplay.  The winners will be announced during a nationally televised ceremony from the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on March 6th.

In other news, if you happened to catch VH1's "100 Moments That Rocked Television" tonight, #84 was entitled "Michael Goes Mental," and it told the story about Michael Jackson guest starring on "The Simpsons" and the episode's song, "Happy Birthday, Lisa."  Harry Shearer stated, "We're reading the script, again the final read-through, there comes a point where this 300 pound mental patient starts to sing.  Michael sits back, and this wiry white guy sitting next to him starts singing.  And I said, 'What's the deal here?'  She said, 'I think we paid just enough for the talking Michael Jackson, but not enough for the singing.'"  Of course, he was talking about Venice's Kipp Lennon, who sang the song on that episode, even if neither Shearer nor this special's producers were aware of that particular detail.  I expect that the show will be repeated many times throughout the month, so try to catch it if you can.


January 5, 2003
A new Venice webpage has debuted.  It's in Dutch, and looks very nice.  Check it out here!