February 21, 2002
Venice fan Susanne Burke has contributed a nice recording of herself performing Venice's "Rivers Never Run."  Be sure and check that out here.

Details for Venice's Fan Cruise 2002 have now been posted over here.

And some of you may have noticed a new flash animation starting off the webpage.  I thought it might be nice for casual surfers to be immediately greeted with Venice's music, so their very first impression will be what the band sounds like.  John Bruil put together the animation, as I stood over him, cracking my whip and screaming in his ear, "IT'S STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!!"  John, thanks for doing a fantastic job, and for not retaliating with violence.


February 20, 2002
I've added a new section to the Audio Clips area, showcasing fans who record their own versions of Venice songs.  First up is the group Bonaparte, who offers great renditions of "If I Were You" and "The Road To Where You Are," both sung in Dutch.  You can find those here.

If you'd like to contribute your own recordings to this section, all I need from you are MP3s and a picture.  Please contact me privately at matt@venicecentral.com.  But send a letter first.  Please don't just send large files without making sure I'm ready for them.  Thanks!


February 15, 2002
A slight correction to Monday's announcement: Venice will complete and deliver the new album to Sony in May, but it will more likely see release in June.

Here are some photos from Monday night's signing.  The man in the brown suit is Sony representative Marcel Albers, and the man with the mustache is their attorney, Lindsay Feldman.

February 11, 2002 - (6:50pm) MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!
All went well, so here we go!

At exactly 6:48pm PST tonight, Monday, February 11, 2002, pen hit paper, contracts were signed, and Venice has officially joined the Sony family.

Thus ends a fierce bidding war that began in December 2000, when Venice amicably parted ways with both Vanguard Records in America, and ZYX Records overseas.

Venice's multi-album contract with Sony Records will provide worldwide distribution of not just Venice's upcoming new studio album, but also of "Garage Demos 1 & 2" and "Christmas With Venice," which up until now have been self-releases available only at shows and through mail order.

As for the forthcoming studio album, the goal is to release it in May in parts of Europe, and then platform it out to the rest of the world in waves.  But U.S. fans won't have to worry about having it imported, because the band will make it concurrently available via mail order and at their shows, and will also be looking into the possibility of having some Los Angeles stores carry it.  Those locations will be posted here at Venice Central when the information is available.

Once the album is finished, there will be extensive touring, concentrating on the regions where the album has been released.  June and July are already filling up with European Summer Festival dates, and afterwards, they will most likely sign on as an opening act for some bigger headliners.

With a major label behind them, this means huge things for Venice.  Music videos, EPKs, DVDs, and the kind of marketing and promotional push that their previous labels were unable to give them.

Sony will also be creating their own Venice webpage, which is great news, because it means that Venice will have an increased presence on the worldwide web.  And hey, where is it written that only one site can carry the "official" label?  The band will continue to endorse Venice Central and participate when appropriate, and there's no reason why we can't all work together to accomplish our shared goals.  To me, the idea of competing webpages is silly and defeats the purpose, so let me say here and now that Sony is welcome to utilize any and all material housed on this site, and if they'd like my assistance for any part of their campaigns, they'll have my full support.

The times, they are a-changin'.  Our best-kept secret is ending.  Get ready, people, for very soon, the whole world's gonna know…….


February 10, 2002
The third annual Venice concert cruise has been confirmed for November 15-18, 2002.  Info will be posted as soon as I have it.  But in the meantime, you can make an initial reservation by sending an e-mail to belairtrav@aol.com.

Check back here Monday night.  If all goes well, I should have a very exciting announcement to make.