December 22, 2009
(FYI, Kipp Lennon's real name is Chris...)

Happy holidays, everybody!


December 12, 2009
Venice's new concert CD, "Electric - Live and Amplified," is now available as a digital download.  Click here!


December 11, 2009
Tomorrow night's Lennon Lounge concert in Santa Monica is now SOLD OUT.  There are still tickets available for next week's Christmas shows in Solana Beach and Santa Barbara, so get 'em while you can!


December 7, 2009
Here's another very complimentary review of Venice's new concert CD, over at Popdose.com.


November 30, 2009
Here's a nice review of Venice's new live album.  It's in Dutch, so here's the English translation, provided by Frits Tuijn:

November 23, 2009
All VIP floor and balcony seats for the December 12th Lennon Lounge Christmas show are now sold out.  Only general admission is still available, and those tickets are going quickly.  So if you're on the fence about going, you might want to make up your mind soon...


November 19, 2009
Tomorrow (Friday, November 20), Venice will be on the radio and television, on "Omroep Gelderland."  The radio interview will take place at 15h15.  On television, you can see a 20 second promotional bumper at 18h20, followed by the band's five minute appearance at 18h55, where they will perform a song.


November 16, 2009
Attention Dutch fans, Venice will be on Netherland television and radio this Sunday, from 11am to noon, on "RTV Love."  Click here for more info.


November 10, 2009
According to my webpage tracker, a lot of you guys have either the news page or the tour dates page bookmarked, so when you visit the site, you come in on one of these pages and skip the entry page entirely.  If you happen to be one of those people, click here to see (and hear) what you've missed.

Spread the word!


November 2, 2009
Venice's rocking new concert album, "Electric - Live and Amplified," can now be pre-ordered at two different sites.  American fans can purchase it here at our Venice Store.  We expect to ship out all orders on the week of December 7th, so you should receive it in plenty of time for Christmas.  In Europe and the Netherlands, you can order it at www.aanspreekpunt.nl.  Want to hear what it sounds like?  You can now preview samples of all tracks over here.


October 27, 2009
At 3:30am last night, Venice's new live album was burned to master CD and officially finished.  Michael Lennon and I celebrated with Tito's Tacos.  (Those of you who live in the area will understand.)  I listened back to the finished album on my 90 minute drive home, and I have to tell you guys that anyone who's a fan of the live energy and sound of Venice's rock concerts is going to be completely blown away.  These recordings perfectly capture that side of the band in a way that none of their studio albums ever have.  Simply put, this CD rocks!  The running time of the disc is exactly 79:56.  Since you can only fit 80 minutes onto a disc, this is four seconds short of the absolute maximum.  You literally couldn't fit another note onto it.  This is a definite must-have for the Chistmas season.  You might even want to buy copies for all your friends.  If they like rock music, and you haven't been able to bring them to a Venice gig, this is the album that'll make them finally understand what you've been trying to describe to them.

So here we go with the big reveal.  Are you ready?  Ladies and gentlemen, here's the album art and final track listing:

Pre-orders will be available on Venice Store shortly.  Watch this space for that announcement.  Copies will also be on sale at the merch booth on Venice's Netherlands theater tour.  At this moment, there are no other distribution deals set up, so these are the only two places in the world where you can get it.


October 19, 2009

October 5, 2009
We've just added a new show to the Theater Tour.  November 28 in Rotterdam.  Tickets go on sale on October 10.  See the Tour Dates page for more details.


October 2, 2009
Hey, where the heck did September go?  Oops, sorry for the lack of updates.

There will be only two more California shows before the band heads off to Holland for their theater tour.  On Monday, October 12, the four Lennons will perform two intimate, acoustic sets at 8 and 9:30pm at Typhoon Restaurant and Bar at the Santa Monica Airport.  The venue is small and admission is free, so you know it's going to fill up quickly.  Therefore, I strongly recommend that you get there early and grab dinner, or risk being turned away at the door.

Then on Saturday, October 24, Venice returns to the Lennon Lounge for a special Halloween concert.  The band will be in costume, and fans are encouraged to dress up as well.  A full band electric set will be followed by a Pine Mountain Logs dance party set.  It should be a blast!  Tickets for this all-ages show are now on sale exclusively at Venice Store.


August 31, 2009
Charlie Vaughn and the Daily Routine, featuring Michael Lennon on drums and Mark Harris on bass, will perform a full band show tomorrow night, September 1, at The Talking Stick - 1411 Lincoln Blvd; Venice, CA  90291.  Showtime is 7:45pm, and admission is free.

In other news, check out the band Low Miles, who has released a new CD entitled "Wind," featuring Mark Lennon on backup vocals on the song, "It's Getting Cold."


August 24, 2009
Kipp Lennon sent me this scan that the whole band is cracking up about, and I had to share it with you guys.  As wonderful as it is that Venice made the front page of the local newspaper, what is going on with that caption?  Does drummer Jamie Wollam have an Italian evil twin that we don't know about?  How did these guys come up with Anthony Logerfo?

August 19, 2009
Here's a nice article about tomorrow night's free concert on the Santa Monica Pier, and about the band's history with that spot.


August 5, 2009
There are still plenty of seats available for Venice's acoustic concerts, this Saturday in Santa Monica and this Sunday in Santa Barbara.  Opening act for both shows will be Charlie Vaughn and the Daily Routine.  Charlie predicts:  "Instruments will be played, and singers will sing."  Come see if he's right!


July 29, 2009
Check out this cool podcast!


July 27, 2009
Sure enough, the minute I walked out the door, tickets went on sale for the Lennon Lounge acoustic show.  Saw that one coming...  But there are still plenty of great seats available, so if you haven't bought yours yet, now's your chance.  This intimate concert is very likely to sell out, so if you want to go, trust me, don't put this off.  Details are posted right here.


July 21, 2009
Hey everyone, I'm going to be away from my computer for the next week, unable to update this page.  (Comic-Con, here I come!)  But I would like to make sure that you all know that Venice Store will begin selling tickets to the acoustic Lennon Lounge show on sale any day now, so please keep an eye on that page for the announcement.  Charlie Vaughn and the Daily Routine will be the opening act.  Be sure and get your tickets ASAP.  Don't forget that the last time Venice played there, the show sold out in advance, and there were a lot of unhappy fans turned away at the door.

In other news, "Coraline" came out on DVD and Blu-ray today.  As many of you know, I'm a DVD producer for a living, and I produced and edited quite a bit of the special features on this home video release.  So be sure and pick this movie up.  Get it on Blu-ray if you can, because there's a lot more of my stuff on there.


July 8, 2009
Oops, did we miss June?  Sorry about that.  Well, Venice Central turned 11 years old yesterday, so that's pretty cool.  And hey, what better way to celebrate than with a Venice show?  As luck would have it, the band will be doing a full rock concert tomorrow night at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach.  Lots of tickets are still available, so make plans to head on down, and bring lots of friends!  And if you need further incentive, then how about this:  For the first time ever in America, Venice will perform their brand new song, "High So High."  You don't want to miss that, right?  Well, do you?  I can't hear you!  Hey, is this thing on.........?


May 29, 2009
Venice made another appearance on the KTLA Morning News this morning.  Take a look.


May 27, 2009
If you missed Venice's appearance with Billy Idol this morning on "Mark and Brian," or their appearance last week on K-Earth 101, you can now listen to both of those shows over here.

Also, check out this great article about Venice and the AFTA show written by my friend Matt Wardlaw.  While you're there, make sure you bookmark his site, Addicted to Vinyl, so you can return later.  There's always a good read over there.


May 26, 2009
Attendees of Venice's afternoon set at the Topanga Days Festival yesterday got a big surprise when Venice brought out Billy Idol to perform "Dancing with Myself," "Rebel Yell" and "Mony Mony."  A showstopper, to be sure, and a nice preview of some of what we're gonna get this coming Saturday night when Billy Idol and Venice share the stage with Dave Mason at the AFTA benefit concert in Santa Monica.  Believe me, you don't want to miss this one.  Good tickets are still available, so grab 'em while you can, right here!

In the meantime, if you receive The Mark and Brian Radio Program in your area, be sure and tune in tomorrow (Wednesday) morning in its fourth hour (that's 9am-10am PST).  Venice will be their special guests, talking about the AFTA show.  They'll also perform a song live with Billy Idol.  In Los Angeles, the show airs on KLOS 95.5FM.  f you don't receive the program, you can listen over the internet, here.


May 19, 2009
Hey look, over there!  What is that?  It's got seven heads, it's migrating from place to place, pleasant sounds emanate from it...  Oh, it's another Venice tour!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Theater De Spiegel, Zwolle
Thursday, November 5, 2009 Schouwburg Cuijk, Cuijk
Saturday, November 7, 2009 De Tamboer, Hoogeveen
Sunday, November 8, 2009 Schouwburg Sittard-Geleen, Sittard
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Agnietenhof, Tiel
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Rabotheater, Hengelo
Friday, November 13, 2009 De Maagd, Bergen op Zoom
Saturday, November 14, 2009 Orpheus, Apeldoorn
Sunday, November 15, 2009 Patronaat, Haarlem
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 Stadsgehoorzaal, Leiden
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht
Thursday, November 19, 2009 Schouwburg Almere, Almere
Monday, November 23, 2009 De Oosterpoort, Groningen
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 Theater aan de Parade, Den Bosch
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 Zaantheater, Zaandam
Friday, November 27, 2009 De Vereeniging, Nijmegen

I'll get these dates posted to the tour dates page as soon as I have a chance to sit down and look up all of their addresses.  Please be aware that these are only the confirmed dates.  There are a couple of unconfirmed dates that I haven't posted because they're not yet 100%.  (They're in Eindhoven and Rotterdam, if you must know.)  Also, there will hopefully be a couple of shows added to the UK and Germany, but again, nothing yet.


May 14, 2009
Colbie Caillat has just joined the lineup of this Sunday's "Upward Bound House" benefit concert.  Tickets can be purchased at www.davidandersenpianos.com.


May 12, 2009
Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning in the 8am hour, Venice will guest on K-Earth 101 FM.  You can listen live on the internet by clicking here.


May 11, 2009
A note from Michael Lennon:

It's also worth mentioning that arrangements are currently being made for the "Motel Westcoast" CD and DVD that I talked about in my last news post to be sold at Venice Store and at California gigs.  I don't know how long it will take until this happens.  It might be a month or two, or possibly longer (though hopefully not).  So if you're anxious to get ahold of a copy, by all means, use the links provided below.  But if you'd prefer to avoid import fees and you can wait a little while for it, know that it will be sold here in the foreseeable future.


May 3. 2009
Some of you may remember that back in April of 2007, Motel Westcoast (the dutch supergroup who toured Netherlands arenas with their California cover songs sets) played a show at Heineken Music Hall with Venice as their special guests.  The concert was broadcast on Radio 2 and streamed live on the internet, and now they've just released a CD and DVD of the full set, entitled "Live in Amsterdam."  I've got a copy of the DVD here (thanks, Frits!), and I can tell you that the DTS 5.1 audio track sounds great.  The songs that Venice sing and play guitar on are as follows:  Woodstock, Desperado, Ricky Don't Lose That Number, Our House, Go Your Own Way, Long Train Running, When I Get Over You, Always, The Family Tree, We're Okay, If I Were You, and the Feelin' Alright Medley.  So that's almost half of the two-hour show, making it a must-have for any Venice collector.  Now, the DVD is only available in Pal, and because the members of Motel Westcoast are not known outside of Holland, it's a pretty safe bet that an NTSC version will probably never be made available.  So there's no point in you American fans waiting, you might as well pick it up now.  Just be aware that it will not play on your NTSC televisions unless you have a Pal-enabled DVD player.  (They sell those everywhere -- just check the boxes for product description -- it usually doesn't cost any more than a player that doesn't do it.)  Otherwise, the DVD will still play on your computer, and don't worry, the disc is region free, so you won't have any problems there.  If you live in Holland, you can order this release here.  For everyone else, I was able to track down two different webpages that sell it and have order forms that you can fill out in English:  Here and here.

Another exciting CD release is Tim Moyer's brand new album, "Fresh Lemonade," which features Venice on background vocals.  Tim is a talented singer/songwriter who has opened up for Venice at many California shows.  If you move quickly, a limited number of advanced copies can be purchased on his webpage, www.timmoyer.com, before it becomes officially available through all major outlets on June 1st.

Finally, if you attended any of the concerts on Venice's just-concluded Holland club tour, you may have noticed that drummer Jamie Wollam played these shows from inside a Plexiglas encasement.  The reason for this, as Kipp explained to the crowds, was because they recorded these shows, and needed to keep the drum sounds out of the vocal microphones so that they can mix it properly.  Does this mean we'll have a rocking new Venice live album to look forward to in the near future?  Here's hoping................


May 1, 2009
Word among the fan base is that tomorrow night's show in Bedford in the UK has changed venues, and will now take place at the Harpur Suite at the Bedford Corn Exchange.  I have not been able to contact the band to confirm or deny this rumor, so please do not take my word for it.  I can't officially say anything one way or the other.  However, I can tell you this rumor is supported by both the above link, and also this official site that is selling tickets to the show.  So it sounds pretty likely to me.  In either case, I at least recommend that you check with the venue before heading down.


April 26, 2009
A second headliner has been added to the Venice/Billy Idol AFTA show, and you can find out who it is by visiting their official website, www.aftafoundation.org.  Tickets, which start at $35, will go on sale Monday morning, April 27th, at 9am, at www.smmef.org.


April 22, 2009
Hey everybody, got a few very exciting announcements today, covering both the Netherlands and California.  So make sure you read all the way to the end:

First of all, if you're in Holland and you haven't decided yet whether you're going to take in one of Venice's shows on their mini-tour next week, here are a few things you should know.  First of all, unlike the band's theater tour last November, these are going to be full band, electric, rock concerts.  Jamie Wollam is flying out with them to pound on the drums, and it's going to be a long night of high energy groovers.  Second of all, the set is going to be filled with rarely played deep cuts.  You know, the tracks that you listen to in your car and think, "Why don't they ever play that one live?"  Well, they're going to.  Get ready for gems like "My Own House," "I'll Be Drivin'," "My Woman," "Sacrifice the Fool," "Time on my Hands," "All My Life..."  Well, I don't want to spoil all the surprises, but you get the idea.  Third, there will be new "Venice: Electric" t-shirts on sale at the merchandise booth, and this will be your first chance to pick those up.

A fourth reason to go to these shows actually transitions nicely into my next piece of news, which is that Venice has just written a brand new song (literally -- they were still putting the finishing touches on it as recently as last night), and they're going to debut it live.  I've heard an early demo of it, and it rocks.  It's called "Worth Every Low," Kipp sings it, it's great, and if you don't catch it at one of these concerts, then you're just going to have to wait patiently until the band releases their next album later this year.

Arnhem is already sold out, so you'd better move fast.  And hey, while you're rushing out the door to go buy yourself those tickets, make sure you tell your friends about it too!

It's also worth mentioning that there are still tickets available for Venice's full band UK show in Bedford on May 2.  Know anybody in England?  Drop 'em a line!

Last, but certainly not least, we're finally ready to announce the headliner for Venice's next AFTA concert, taking place at Santa Monica High School on Saturday, May 30th.  Drum roll, please.  Everybody ready?  Brace yourselves, 'cause here it comes...  It's platinum blonde 80s rocker Billy Idol!  That's right, with a rebel yell, you're gonna cry "More, more, more!" when Billy Idol and Venice share the stage with student musicians for an unforgettable night of music.  Ticket information will be announced shortly, so watch our tour dates page for that announcement.

How's that for an update, folks?  Don't say I never do anything for ya..............


April 16, 2009
So here's something fun!  As many of you already know, when I'm not running this webpage, I'm a DVD and Blu-Ray producer and editor for a living, at a company called L.E.G. Productions.  To list one credit, we recently created over three hours of behind-the-scenes material for the movie "Coraline."  (Watch for that upcoming home release, and buy copies for all your friends!)  Anyway, one of the things I really love to do is cut images to music, though sadly I don't get to do that as often as I'd like.  However, last week, I was able to borrow all six of the raw camera angles from Venice's AFTA performance of "Weight Has Been Lifted."  So I threw out the original edit and I created a new cut from scratch.  I think it came out pretty well.  Take a look, and if you'd like to improve the picture quality, then the moment it starts, be sure and hit the "HQ" button that appears at the bottom.  Full screen mode doesn't look too bad either, though you might want to hit "pause" and wait until it fully loads before starting...

Speaking of the Artists for the Arts Foundation, the next concert will take place in Santa Monica on May 30th.  We'll be announcing the on sale date and will reveal who the headliner is very shortly, so keep watching this space!


March 28, 2009
We've uploaded some Pine Mountain Logs videos to YouTube. Please share these with as many people as you can, by e-mailing the links to your friends and family, posting the videos on your MySpace and Facebook pages, and helping us get this music out there. And please tell people that this is really Venice playing cover songs under a fake band name. (Click on the word YouTube, on the bottom right of each screen, to transfer to that video's YouTube page, where you'll find its URL and embedding instructions.)

Thanks, everybody!  And in the meantime, enjoy the music!!

March 14, 2009
Tonight's concert in Santa Monica is now sold out.  If you have not already purchased tickets or e-mailed to reserve a spot for yourself, please do not come down, because there will be no tickets sold at the door.


March 13, 2009
Please note that if you've purchased tickets to tomorrow night's concert in Santa Monica via Venice Store, your name has been put onto a master list, and all you need to do to get in is show up with your ID.  No physical tickets have been mailed.  And if you haven't bought your tickets yet, and you live in the area, what are you waiting for?  I've gotten a sneak peek look at the set list, and if you're a fan of Venice's higher energy songs that they haven't played live in a while, then you're not going to want to miss this one......


March 10, 2009
If you missed Venice's appearance on the KTLA Morning News on February 23, now you can watch it here.  We've also upgraded our "Paradiso Live" video clips to Quicktime, over here.  And we've posted two new Holland shows on the tour dates page.  There may be more shows added to this trip at the end of April, so keep checking back!


March 3, 2009

We’re very excited to announce that on Saturday, March 14, 2009, Venice will return to "The Lennon Lounge," at 1210 4th St. in Santa Monica, home of our 2008 LA Christmas show. This is a very special venue for us, because we’re not guests in someone else’s house, we’re actually renting the room and running the show ourselves. So this is OUR PARTY! This will be a full band, electric show, so we hope everybody is ready to rock! And ready to sing, too, because we’ll be wishing “Happy Birthday” to Mark and Kipp. Who knows, the Pine Mountain Logs might even show up to throw in a few songs at the end….. Unlike the Xmas show in December, there will be no reserved seating. Chairs will be set up along the side walls and at the back of the room, for anyone who might want to sit, but the main floor will be open for those who prefer to rock out, dance or just stand close to the stage. Don’t worry, it's a classic old venue with a clear view from anywhere in the house, so no one will have any trouble seeing. There’s plenty of public parking next to the venue. ***Unfortunately, there is no handicap access at the venue.  There are 3 or 4 small stairs at the entrance*** There will be bars set up to serve wine, beer, soda, juice and water. Light snacks will also be available, but if you’d like to grab a full meal before the show, we recommend you try one of the restaurants on the 3rd Street Promenade, which is only one block away. This concert is all-ages, and begins at 8:30pm. Tickets are general admission, priced at only $25, and are available online exclusively at our "Venice Store." If you are unable to purchase your tickets online, or you’d prefer not to, you can e-mail venicetheband@gmail.com using the subject header: “Tickets”. Tell us how many tickets you would like. Then you can pay for them in one of two ways: You can either bring cash, check or money order (sorry, we can't accept credit cards) and pay at the door, or if you'd like your tickets to be mailed to you, you can pay in advance by sending a check or money order to: Venice 12228 Venice Blvd., #435 Los Angeles CA 90066 ****Please do not send payment without first receiving an email confirmation from venicetheband@gmail.com. We plan to do many more concerts at this venue, including the Pine Mountain Logs and acoustic Venice, so we hope you'll join us in jump-starting a great old hall and a brand new hang on the west side. We look forward to seeing everybody there! VENICE

February 19, 2009
Christopher Cross has just been added to next week's Artists for the Arts Foundation concert in Thousand Oaks, CA.  Venice will be the house band for every artist, stamping their trademark musicianship and vocal harmonies onto every Michael McDonald, Tommy Shaw and Christopher Cross song, all night long.  Some of the hit singles that will be performed are:  "Takin' It to the Streets," "What a Fool Believes," "Sing for the Day," "Sailing" and "Ride Like the Wind."  It should be an incredible night.  If you haven't bought your tickets yet, what are you waiting for?  Seats, starting at just $30, can be purchased here.

In addition, this Monday morning, February 23, Venice will appear on television, on KTLA, to promote the AFTAF event.  They'll be hanging with reporter Allie McKay all morning, and here's when you can see them:

6:10am: 10 second tease
6:24am:  2:30 hit
7:10am:  10 second tease
7:24am:  2:30 hit
8:11am:  10 second tease
8:25am:  2:30 hit
9:20am or 9:50am:  2:30 hit

Set your DVRs!


February 9, 2009
If you missed Venice's appearance on K-Earth 101 FM, you can listen to it online.  Click here for part 1, and click here for part 2.  And you can watch a video of the music performance right here.


January 27, 2009 - Update
Correction, Venice's appearance on K-Earth 101 FM will not be tomorrow morning, it will be next Wednesday, February 4th.  Sorry about that!


January 27, 2009
Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, Venice will appear live on K-Earth 101 FM in the 8am hour with Gary Bryan.  They'll perform two songs and talk about their upcoming February 27 benefit concert with Michael McDonald and Tommy Shaw in Thousand Oaks, CA.  If you live outside of the Los Angeles area, you can listen online by going to http://www.kearth101.com and clicking on "Listen Live" under the "Audio" header.

In the meantime, great seats are still available for this concert -- although that might not be the case after this high profile promotion tomorrow...  Tickets start at $30, and can be purchased here.  Don't forget, they're a tax write-off!


January 25, 2009
On Friday, February 6th, Charlie Vaughn and the Daily Routine, featuring members of Venice, will be the opening act for Tim Reynolds (of Dave Matthews fame) and TR3 at Brixton South Bay in Redondo Beach, CA.  To purchase $15 tickets, send an e-mail to venicetheband@gmail.com.

And now, here's a radio ad for Venice's upcoming AFTA Foundation concert.


January 7, 2009
Artists for the Arts Foundation has just added Tommy Shaw from Styx to co-headline with Michael McDonald and Venice, on February 27, 2009, at the Thousand Oaks Civic Auditorium.  100% of ticket proceeds will go to arts programs for all the students of Las Virgenes Unified School District.  So it's a great show, a good cause... and a tax write-off!  Great seats are still available here.  Please help us spread the word!!