February 28, 2007
A somber note from Michael:

Dear Friends,

We ask that you keep Peter Valenzuela, our stage manager and my personal guitar technician, in your thoughts and prayers.

His mother passed away in her sleep this morning, Feb. 28, two weeks after having a quintuple bypass heart surgery 2 weeks ago.

As some of you may know, Peter has worked for Venice for more than 20 years.  We consider him family.

A few of you have been lucky enough to get to know Peter......he is a big guy with an even bigger heart.

Peter's father is also ill at this time so Peter and his brother and sister have some tough days ahead.

Services for Peter's Mom are tentatively planned for this Saturday, March 3rd at St. Mark's Church in Venice at 10:30am.  If any of you live in the area and would like to attend, please do so.

Otherwise, if you would like to write him a little note, please send it to "venicetheband@gmail.com" with the subject "For Peter" and we'll make sure he gets it.

Life is short so live it accordingly!

Sincerely,
Michael - Venice



February 22, 2007
Hey look!  Over there!  It's Michael Lennon!!

Hello to all of our friends out there!  Wanted give you a quick update:

We've recently confirmed a return trip to Holland for a short club tour during May.  Management has been working hard to include showcases in Sweden, Denmark and even a return to Germany before the Dutch tour.  We're crossing our fingers for these new territories.  Click here for the latest Tour Dates.

The new Venice Store has been a huge success thus far, although it's been tough keeping the hot items in stock.  The newest CD release "Amsterdam" is sold out right now, but a new shipment is coming in any day.  Sorry if you're waiting.

We've made Venice Store history by finally allowing global online orders, and we're adding new items all the time.  We just added limited supplies of the Japan import CD, "A Band Called VENICE," and also we've just added the "2 Meters Sessions" DVD (in PAL format) which has some great intimate live recordings shot at the infamous Hideaway Hill, where we recorded "Born and Raised" and where we've also written a majority of our songs. Click here to go to Venice Store.

Here in America, we're working on plans for an American release of "Amsterdam."  We're speaking with labels, radio promotion, etc.  Also coming up, we're doing a show in Branson, Missouri on June 30th, and most likely a show in Springfield, IL on July 13th.  Those are being finalized now.  All you Americans that live far away can come visit us at one of these shows.  Again, watch our Tour Dates for more on those.

I just had a meeting last week about putting together the Guitar Tab book, or Venice songbook.  I promise this will happen, but there's much work to do in order to pull this off.  Please hold on....it's coming.

Last but not least, I want to thank all of the fans who have been voluntarily busting their butts, helping us spread the word on MySpace.

Anyway, wanted to share some Venice news with all of you.  More news soon!

Michael - Venice

Just want to add a quick technical note, regarding the "Two Metre Sessies" DVD.  Please be aware that Pal releases will not play on American televisions unless you own a DVD player that converts the format.  Unless you know specifically that your player will do this, assume that it won't.  However, the DVD will play on your computer.  There's no region encoding on the disc preventing that.

Speaking of Michael, if you'd like to watch Venice's guitarist tear it up on drums, there's a video from last Saturday's Charlie Vaughn show over here.


February 18, 2007
For those of you who have been following the drama, the Pine Mountain Logs show at the Canyon Club on March 31st had been cancelled for a few days, but it's officially back on again.  So bring all your friends, 'cause it's gonna be a party!

A quick note from Venice's bassist / marathon runner Mark Harris, "The LA Marathon is in 2 weeks.  Cheerers/supporters are welcome.  I'd appreciate Recharge sports drink (Whole Foods has the best price) and Gu vanilla gels (available at most running stores) handed to me during the race.  Also, I'll be playing this Tuesday night, and most Tuesday nights starting at 10:30pm, at The Brig -- 1515 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice.  It's a funky, jazzy, hip hop improvisational jam, and we're starting to draw good crowds there.  The instrumentation:  Bass (me!), drums, keys, horns, a DJ and sometimes guitar.  A fun hang!"


February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!  Just want to let you guys know that Venice Store has gone global, and can now accept and ship orders anywhere in the world.

As a special note to all LA fans, check out Charlie Vaughn's set this Saturday night, February 17th, at 8pm at 14 Below.  1348 14th Street, in Santa Monica.  21 and over only.  Charlie will be performing a 30 minute set backed by a full band, including Mark Harris on bass, and another musician near and dear to our hearts, who happens to share my initials, like you've never seen him before.  And no, I'm not talking about Martin Landau, although that would have been pretty cool too.  Curious?  You'll just have to head down to see what I'm talking about, or else read about it on Venice Talk Sunday morning and kick yourself for missing it.  Hope to see everybody there!


February 8, 2007
Venice Store has officially re-opened.  The new design was put together by none other than Michael Lennon himself!  Venice's newest CD "Amsterdam" is on sale, and this is currently the only place in America where you can buy it.  Come check it out!  And please spread the word!!


February 2, 2007
The 1993 film "Inside Monkey Zetterland" will finally be released on DVD this Tuesday, February 6th.  Venice collectors might want to pick this up because it uses the band's song "Charm You" as its recurring musical theme.