JUPITER: News

This year we were given a spot on the Hurricane Peach Days celebration. We played for an hour from 4:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon, on the east lawn of the town auditorium. We had a good time, and were glad for the opportunity. The people were receptive, the show felt like it went well, and they kids dancing in front of the stage seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was a good time for us

This year the show was across University Boulevard from where it has been the last two years we've been there. It was over in front of the county building. We were contracted (by email) for an hour of music initially, and the written contract said 50 minutes; 5:00 pm-5:50 pm was their projection. No problem. We programmed 40-45 minutes of music just to stay on the safe side. When we arrived (4:20 pm) we were informed that there had been a complication earlier in the day and that they were running behind. Still no problem. So we hung out till 5:17 when the fellow in front of us finished his acoustic set. (He did well too). We were set up and running within six minutes. then a sound check of about 2. So we have by contract till 6:07 pm. We began our show (and I think played well). Then at about 5:55 one of the venue crew was motioning for us to stop. WTH?!! We got cut short on time last year and now they are doing it to us again this year?? I started the last set, and motioned to her saying, "One more set" She agreed and we played on. Then as the next song begins she's trying to get my attention. I guess she had heard me say "one more song" not set..... (oh hell) But we keep playing because we really weren't in the mood to get screwed on time twice.
The gal motioned to her watch asking "how much longer?" and I say "seven minutes" (keep in mind it is 5:58 at this moment and we technically have till 6:07 we're still within contract at this time) and she looks put out.
Then during our last song she comes out on stage with a mic trying to hijack the show to get us off stage! Thankfully Karma was on our side and her mic feedback to the point the main amps muted to save the system from damage. She gave up and we played our last song.
The thing I noticed during that last song was the completely rude and unprofessional way the act following us kept yelling threats and obscenities at us from the back of the stage. I guess they were very upset that we would take our allotted 50 minutes and were attempting their best to get us to clear out.
I get the feeling that the crew-member was giving us grief because the wannabes after us had more attitude than brains. I really do think they were badgering her into trying to get us off stage. I wish I could remember their names so I could tell you whom to avoid. The best part was their musical skills did not match up to their egos at all. I left there very angry and frustrated.... again. The show went well. Too bad some of the other performers were less than stellar.

On May 7th we played a two hour show for Comics Plus in Saint George. It was in Celebration of National Free Comic book day. We set up outside the comic shop at about 3:30 pm. And began at 4:00.
While our set was comprised of mostly original material (we're not much of a cover band) we were able to slip in a couple of new ones. We did cover the Ramone's Spiderman (done in our own unique style of course) and we were able to include most of our Anime repertoire as well. We took a 15 minute break at about 5. Then played till just after 6:00.
The shop was packed, and there were all sorts of costumed people. Alot of Star-Wars characters in particular. The chewbacca costume was probably the most impressive. (though the others were not too shabby).
A good show, and we even had really good BBQ at the shop next door after the fact. Thanks to Dave Roland owner of Comics Plus for having us play!

Wow. AF just keeps getting better and better! We played for a packed room and they were all dancing. I did feel bad though for the people who didn't win anything in the raffle. There were some great prizes, and I could see the hope on people's faces as the numbers were read each time. It kind of sucks to wait, breath baited each time, only to find out you didn't win anything. At least Natalie says there will be a next year! So there will be more chances.
The Masquerade preceding it was also larger than in years past. 21 entries by my count. More than twice what it was last year. The Dance was as amazing as ever for us. We played some good sets and really had a great time. I am told that some of the other hotel guests crashed the dance and came in to join us. A fun show and it went off with almost no issues! I love playing Fannatiku and hope we can be back next year as well!

This one has taken me a long time to update as I have had to recently relocate to the Salt Lace City area. (work told me it would be like this, and me needing the money packed my bags....It's kept me busy).
Jupiter performed in Boise Idaho last October 8th as part of their Promenade Music Festival. We were one of six bands playing that evening at a location called "The Venue". Pretty standard setup. They had a stage, large dance area and a concessions stand. It was a dry location which was fine with me. (drunk people can be real a-holes when they want to be). and we were the last group of the evening.
The sound guy was on the ball. He contacted us before hand to set up load in and other scheduling. He was amenable to changes when we requested them. He made us sound good, and he even helped us when we got lost on our way into down-town Boise.
There were some real class acts there. One was a trio called "Public Jones". Good set. I heard them just after loading in and was very impressed. Most of the evening went like a typical festival. It is amazing how one group can draw a crowd and another can kill it. By the time we took the stage most of the crowd had departed. It was kind of frustrating to see them leaving and, sitting on the sidelines, know there was nothing we would be able to do to get them back. We still played the show and had a good time. I wish we could say we dazzled the crowds. But alas it was not in the cards for us. On the upside, we did get some good publicity shots out of it. I just wish we could have taken the stage a little earlier, maybe we could have kept some of the crowd there.

We have a date and time for our performace at the Promenade Festival. We will be performing at 10:30pm in a place called The Venue. Here's the skinny:

Address: 521 Broad Street, Boise, ID 83702

Website: http://www.boisevenue.com/

Basic info: The Venue - an all ages, nonalcoholic concert house located in downtown Boise, Idaho. We are located in the same building as The Boise Weekly on the south side of W. Broad Street in downtown Boise. Broad is between Myrtle and Front, 5th and 6th.

So come enjoy the fun. Six great bands in once great evening!
(hell sick around and enjoy the whole weekend)

This year was a little different than the last. I'm not sure why. When we were initially contacted we were offered a 45 min time slot on Friday. That is what we accepted and that was what we prepared for. I received an email the morning of the show saying we only had 20 minutes. WTH?? Putting together a show is in some small respects like putting together an album. You're looking for a certain feel and flow in the order. When we began cutting that afternoon trying to come up with an order that would fit the time, it sort-of destroyed what we were trying to achieve. The worst part is when we arrived, Delynne, our contact thought we had 45 minutes. She disappears for a few moments and comes back confirming that we only have 20. Hmmm..... hard not to think someone has reallocated some of our time to one of their friends.....
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They had a new kid running the front of house board this year. All I can say is I was not impressed. He began by trying to tell us our sound rig would not work. We've been using it for the last two years with no problems. (I immediately have my suspicions.) They were confirmed as we began the show. It was EQed for dogs and too loud for the EQ. There was almost nothing below about 500hz and the high end (5kHz and up I'm guessing) was piercing as hell. The best part is as I would EQ in some more bass from our end someone on the house side would pull it out. I have to say that I don't know that it was the kid on FOH, but he was the new variable this year. It was painful. At least we only had to put up with it for twenty minutes.
The thing that keeps my suspicions alive is the group that followed us was comprised of all of FOH's friends. So I find myself wondering if he was trying to make his buddies look good, or if he's just incompetent. Such a sad thing given how well last year went.

Green River was quite toasty I would have to say. We arrived at about 12:30. I am told the ambient temperature was around 100 degrees. All I know is that it felt hot. We set up at about 2:00pm and played at 2:30. The crowd was larger and much more positive than should have been expected given the oven the day turned out to be. We would like to send an extremely heartfelt thank-you to everyone who suffered through the mid-day heat to listen to us. We at least had a canopy over the stage, but the vast majority of the audience had to brave the sun directly. We enjoyed the chance to perform and hope the festival will continue in the years to come.

We have been offered a spot on the Project Green River lineup. The festival runs two days in Green River Utah (Where else?) and we have not been given a specific time slot or day. They did offer us the chance to play as of Friday. If you happen to find yourself out in Eastern Utah next month you should check out the festival and come and listen to us play!

Update: It's been on our calendar for the last little bit, but we will be playing Saturday (June 5th) at 3PM. Like I said if you're in the area, it'll be a festival worth checking out. We have the price-list for admission on our calendar. It's a good cause.

We just received word from the freedom days crew that they will be adding us to the line-up again this year. We should know specifics when they schedule is put together later this month (April). We'll post the info then.

Update:

We have been given the 6:00PM time-slot on July 2nd. Hope to see you then!

This year for AF we were back in the same room they had us in, in 2008. It was a nightmare. Trying to coax enough volume to keep people dancing and avoid feedback was everything I remember it to be from the first time in there. At least this time around we didn't have any loops actually bite us on the butt (as it were). But man the whole evening if I tried to milk anything extra out of the mics wow you could hear that rumble creeping in. Sorta like the deep rumbling of an avalanche or flood in a disaster movie. It made playing fun (uh-uh) and keep me stressed the whole evening. I really do not ever want to have to play in that room again. I think twice was enough for me.
On the plus side, we did have a good time playing and people seemed to enjoy themselves. We got the chance to take some new tunes out for a spin and they were well received. Our last number of the evening (Novelty) was our latest song. And wow! I did not see a single wall flower anywhere. Everyone was moving. THAT WAS AWESOME! That moment made all the headache worth the hassle.
The masquerade was fun (as usual) there were some surprisingly sophisticated entries. I mean usually at a con this size, you get entries that are still trying to get their direction, learn the game, alot of novices. But some of the new people surprised me. There were some real thought and effort put into their entries. I was impressed.
It was another fun year (minus the ballroom acoustics of course). We loved it.

It is official, we have been asked and accepted for this years AF convention. Details about the convention can be found at: www.animefannatiku.com. We will be playing on the sixth following the Masquerade.

Just a quick note lest you think we have fallen off the face of the earth.

On Wednesday we were told (informally mind you) that AF would like us to come back for their 2010 convention. This was welcome news. We love to play that show, but nothing has been set officially. We will update times and locations if/when we know anything. But there is still time between now and then; any number of things can happen.... still that dance last time was a hell of a lot of fun. We wouldn't mind the chance to play for the event. We also have three other prospects on the near horizon. We will post the moment we know anything definite. We should have a response about the first one as of January first, and then the second by mid January. If we can nail some of these auditions this year looks to be very exciting for us. Yet the audition/selection process is something that does not always work out in ones favor.

Keeping our fingers crossed.......

(It always seems to take me for farking ever to get to this part....sorry)
ANIME VEGAS-
Wow! What a show! We played in the Masquerade while the judges were out deliberating. The Audience was INSANE! (and I mean that in a very good way) It was fun to sit backstage and watch the contestants compete. (there was some REALLY good talent out there).It reminded me of the times I have competed in that exact same event. For our part, it was (I'm speaking for myself here) the best kind of show. It felt from where I was that it was over very quickly, but I was exhausted at the end. We played some covers of anime tunes as well as original material. There was even dancing in the isles! I want to thank Spencer and Jess for their last minute dance moves in Oron High School Host Club. The kiss was the best part. I hope that everyone there had a good time, we did! (and would someone thank the 'streaker' from the beginning of the show. THAT WAS FUNNY!)

Hello all, Just a quick update:

Having never been to Provo's Freedom Days we really had no idea what to expect. Seeing as we booked the gig kind of late we were not given the best of spots, but hey, that's what happens in a first-come-first-serve situation. On the upside we had forty five minutes to set up which, compared to some previous situations, was very nice. We did not feel rushed or hassled Nichelle sang first for a half an hour with some of her own pieces. She sounded good. Still being first thing in the morning has it's drawbacks. People are just getting there. They naturally want to look around, so we were competing with ice cream, trinkets and a certain amount of anonymity. (I understand that people don't know who we are yet.) Still when all was said an done our crowd swelled from a handful of people to a couple of hundred.(Most were back under the trees where it was out of the sun... but it doesn't really bother me if the audience is 20 or 200 feet away. They were lined up and listening)._ Now I know some may think that number is not much (and yes.... I suppose it isn't), but at a community bizarre, first thing in the morning, it was good. Also for the first time in a long time we ran across a sound crew that knew what they were doing! It was heaven on a stick really. These guys were pro, and while they may or may not have appreciated our style (they were piping jazz over the sound system when we arrived. I got the feeling that was their thing) We most certainly appreciated the hassle free set up and the trouble free performance they made possible.
We had a good time and judging from the responses we received after, the people that were there at that hour did too. Fates willing maybe we can play it next year too!

KJ

Just a quick note to say thanks to all of you who attended the A.F. dance on the 28th. We had a GREAT time and enjoyed your energy, your enthusiasm, and your dance moves! It was alot of fun.

It has taken me two weeks to finally sort out my feelings and opinions on how the tabernacle concert went down.
Musically speaking it went off very well. There were some wonderful moments in the program that remind me why I love performing music. (Aside from my complete and utter bollocks-ing of 'A Little Danger') I could not have asked for a better performance..... the sound system on the other hand.... again (like so many before) it was the bane of our existence. The sound check went off like clockwork. We set the levels and it all sounded wonderful. Then when we actually performed, the levels were SIGNIFICANTLY quieter. Also any headroom present during the sound check disappeared. there were two basic settings for all of the mics..... 1)REALLY quiet..... or 2) Distorted. It made trying to ride the board a nightmare. Kelli is classically trained... and Nichelle is a freaking opera singer. so there was TONS of dynamic variations within their singing. (that's what makes great music no?) but every time they tried to sing at a piano...... they could barely be heard.... but try going over a mezzo forte and hello overdrive!.... (good in some contexts I will agree..... but not these.) This sort of thing always seems to happen to us when we have to rely on an in house system. To my recollection Kibly Court is the only venue within a 300 mile radius that has not totally jacked us over when it comes to sound. So yet again we did (in my opinion.... I will admit) really really well, and the hell of it is that it was probably overshadowed by the crappy issues the house system kept giving us.... Feedback.... distortion.... low/no headroom..... amps cutting out.... you get the idea. If you saw that show let me just apologize for the whole thing. I hope it did not scare you away for good.

KJ