We set a goal of playing about a show a month this year. But because of the Easter season, we crammed a bunch of shows into late Feb and early March. It was a fun three weeks. But it just about killed us too. Because, we did something we hadn’t really done before: we hit the road. We went to Wichita Falls, Denton, Sachse, and Grand Prairie.

We’re considering t-shirts that list all the cities on back, and say “Connections Band World Tour” on the front.

The trip to Wichita Falls was rough. Traveling with a 15-piece band is not for sissies, especially when you’re also the road crew. The logistics were quite a challenge, to say the least. And they were the next three shows too…just not quite as far a haul as Wichita Falls.

But, even though it was a long haul out there, the WF show got us some of our best publicity yet. A really nice story ran in the local paper about a week before the show. Rusty and I were also interviewed by KMOC Radio the day of the show.
You can listen to it here:

It’s a pretty good overall introduction to the band and what we do.

All four of these shows were the Eagles/Chicago set. And, if I do say so myself, we’re really getting tight with that music. It’s done us a lot of good to play so many shows together, in terms of the chemistry, and the audiences are really responding. In fact, the Sachse and Grand Prairie audiences just about went wild.

Pretty fun.

We’ve also got our own web-presence now. It’s a myspace page, and you can find it here. (Creating it was another of the things I did during my blog vacation…)

The MySpace page has TONS of new band info. It’s got a complete listing of the 35-plus people who have played with Connections Band. It’s got 52 awesome pics from the Sachse show. It’s got brand new sound clips; “The Reach” and “There’s A Place in the World for A Gambler.” And it’s also got promotional videos for UMCOR and “Nothing But Nets,” our two main beneficiaries. Check it out.

While creating the MySpace page, I also created the chart, which shows the funds raised by Connections Band. We are now well over $20,000 raised for the great causes of UMCOR and “Nothing But Nets:

Finally, we’ve got three great shows coming up during the late Spring/Summer. The best news is this: if you’ve missed any of our tribute shows, you’re gonna have the chance to make it up. Because we’re doing all three tribute shows back-to-back.

The following are the details, taken from our new MySpace site:

Upcoming Connections Band Shows

May 2, 2008, 7 pm
Connections Band Dan Fogelberg Tribute Show
Lovers Lane UMC, Dallas TX
www.llumc.org/
9200 Inwood Road
Dallas, Texas 75220
214.691.4721

In tribute to Dan Fogelberg’s passing earlier this year, Connections will perform our very first show: A Tribute to the Music of Dan Fogelberg. The evening will feature many of Fogelberg’s best known songs — “Leader of the Band,” “Same Old Lane Syne,” Run for the Roses,” “Longer”– but also lesser known gems from throughout his career. Connections 18-piece band will bring Fogeberg’s music to life and do our best to honor the memory of this great performer.

June 13, 2008, 7 pm
Connections Band Eagles/Chicago Tribute Show
FUMC Richardson, TX
www.fumcr.com
503 N Central Expy
Richardson, TX 75080
(972) 235-8385

Five of Connection’s members have a, ahem, connection to this church. So, we’re pleased to be able to bring to our friends and family there. As always, the show will be free, but an offering will be taken for UMCOR. To get a map to the venue, click here.

July 27, 2008, 7 pm
Connections Band James Taylor/Carole King Tribute Show
Walnut Hill UMC, Dallas TX
www.whumc.com
10066 Marsh Ln
Dallas, TX 75229
(214) 357-5656

One of Connection’s favorite 2007 show was at this church, and we’re pleased to be headed back again. This time, we’ll bring the music of JT and Carole King. As always, the show will be free, but an offering will be taken for UMCOR.

Mark your calendars now. Hope to see you all at the shows.

In early May, we’ll have a Founders meeting, where we’ll chart out a Fall schedule, and decide on a new artist for our September show.
Stay tuned for that.

It continues to be a thrill to us all to be able to play such great music, have such incredible audience response, and raise so much for such worthy causes. We give a lot to it, but we get a lot back. And I know I speak for the whole band when I say that it’s an honor and blessing to be a part of it.