www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jyfqrPi7tY

To everyone who came out to the show at Bottom of the Hill with The Toadies and/or joined us in Santa Rosa the night before, thank you for being a Friend of The Famous.

Hopefully we will see you again soon. Our next show is Aug. 27th at Cafe Du Nord for Red Meat’s CD Release Party. Until then, we’ll be recording a version of ‘Pliny the Elder,’ the legendary Russian River Brewing Company beer… and now song.

Also, ‘Come Home to Me’ the video is being aired nationally on HDNet. People have been writing to say they’ve seen it in full High-Def. It’s also right here on your screen.

Please pass on the link and share Come Home to Me with your friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jyfqrPi7tY

Special thanks to Geoff Arcuri who just plain killed it while filling in (on his custom built 7877 Drums, which we might add, he can build for you… http://www.facebook.com/7877customdrums) — it was a blast having his style and energy as a part of our show.

It’s good to have so many great friends. See you soon.

The first time I saw them perform was at Dave’s Art Pawn, a Deep Ellum after-hours spot in Dallas. This was when they were making demo tapes (on cassette) — I still have one somewhere titled ‘I Hope You Die.’

The sound was blistering and the emotions were raw at their early live shows. Years later they released their first major album ‘Rubberneck,’ which had radio hits like ‘Possum Kingdom,’ and other unforgettable songs such as ‘I Come From the Water.’

They were the first band I’d ever watched rise to stardom from scratch. There was a sense of pride in that for most who caught their first shows in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area clubs. Yet, when it came time for the follow-up album, their label Interscope apparently took a listen and shelved it. That’s near death for a band that lives on touring. Perhaps it didn’t sound enough like Bush? — the British band… not one of the father/son U.S. Presidents.

I’ve always thought of The Toadies as the Texas Pixies, a killer live band with a clever edge, not the commercial radio construction the label helped feed and then starved.

Many years later, what became their second album for Interscope, ‘Hell Below/Stars Above,’ was nearly a decade removed from their debut. It always left me wondering what the label had buried. Now we get a chance to find out.

Part of The Toadies’ tour bringing them to San Francisco is to promote the re-recorded, first time release of that hidden album, ‘Feeler.’

The first chance to get a copy is on this tour and The Famous couldn’t be more proud to be on the bill at Bottom of the Hill this Sunday.

Since our drummer Chris is out of pocket, Geoff Arcuri is playing drums with us. He played in the Sonoma punk band Diesel Boy with our bassist G.D. for years on the road. That rhythm section re-united, and joined by The Famous’ guitar twang is truly ‘a shot of Classic Country with a Punk Rock chaser.’

Geoff is with us for two shows — Sunday, July 25th at Bottom of the Hill, when we open for The Toadies’ and Silver Lake’s ‘Dead Country.’ We play early, right at 9 p.m.

http://www.stubmatic.com/bottomofthehill/event/5034

Plus, a free show in Santa Rosa the night before — Saturday, July 24th — when we return to the Russian River Brewing Company with a special Pliny the Elder song in tow.

See you soon,
–Laurence and The Famous

“The Famous have an outstanding song, Come Home To Me, which has such power and emotion, it’s right up there with a track you’d find on a Tom Waits or Nick Cave record. Yeah, they’re that good.

The video represents the song well, and band members wear fedoras (extra credit), so I’m excited to get this up on SFGate.”

-Tony DuShane

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/offtherecord/detail?&entry_id=68354

Thanks Tony! Glad I decided to wear a fedora instead of a baseball cap…

“The Famous arrange a standoff between the Pixies in a cowboy hat and Hank Williams on speed, six-shooters loaded with punk and rockabilly, and whaddya know – that bastard alt-country genre gets shot square in the forehead, with a stray bullet no less.”

We know what we like to listen to… and at the top of the rotation: Buck Owens, X, Johnny Cash, Modest Mouse, The Pixies, Hank Williams, Tiger Army and other similar bands/artists… so it was cool that the reviewer named two of those bands in the article.

In focusing on what makes us personally interested in these acts, we were also able to key in on what we are trying to do as The Famous. Part of the exercise in defining the pitch is to describe the feeling and vibe we are working to convey, so we started there:

“Intensity – Catharsis – Timelessness – Atmospheric”

This lead to descriptions of the styles/themes we are closest to:

Psychobilly, Punk, Southern Fried, ‘60s AM radio, Gritty, Raw, Searing, Emotional

Friends, fans and strangers we meet as shows have told us over the years some highly identifiable bands who have helped define the genre that they think we sound like, including:

Drive By Truckers, Social Distortion, Frank Black, Old 97’s, Uncle Tupelo

Finally, we boiled it down to actual genres that best fit our music:

Classic Country, Post-Punk, Alt-Country

All of this lead us to the elevator pitch which now accompanies our band name on our website and all of our communication efforts…

The Famous are: “A Shot of Classic Country with a Post-Punk Chaser.”

We have considered ‘Punk-Rock Chaser,’ but for the time being with our latest album and related videos getting promoted by Ariel Publicity, we think it fits and is easy to say to anyone who wants to know what The Famous is all about.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jyfqrPi7tY

Part 1: Tell us how the video makes you feel, or what you think it invokes… Leave us a comment on the video, our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TheFamousMusic or here.

Part 2: Post the video on Facebook, MySpace, your own blog… or glamour another blogger to embed it and be entered to win two tickets to our upcoming show with The Toadies, July 25th at Bottom of the Hill.

Just send us a link to where you helped park it and your name will be put in the hat for a drawing the Monday before the show. Even if you don’t enter, please pass it on to friends, family, co-workers, random strangers, Nigerian scammers, pets… whoever you think might enjoy it.

(BTW -- If you are unable to attend the show, we’ll send you a prize pack including a T-shirt and a limited edition ‘Come Home to Me’ show poster hand-printed and signed by the band)

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

1. Sent out a email newsletter promoting our new video and two upcoming shows
2. We submitted the video to dozens of bloggers and Americana Roots blog embedded our video on their site
3. Had an awesome rehearsal with our substitute drummer Geoff
4. Got a nice email from a fan which totally made my day. She found us through a Facebook ad and bought our CD then wrote to tell us how much she liked it.
5. Wrote a Pirate Cat DJ / podcaster who took interest in the band and is excited to promote our upcoming show in SF.

The next exercise was to set some goals for the year.  So here are some of ours:

1. Get 1000 emails on our mailing list. We were at 500 at the beginning of the year and we’re over 800 now so I think we’re on track to hit this goal.
2.Play quality well-attended gigs, regularly. So far we’ve played with Rev. Peyton, Drag The River, and Slim Cessna’s Auto Club so  I think we’re doing well on this goal too.
3. Branding – Come up with a 15-Sec. Elevator pitch — we came up “A shot classic country with a punk-rock chaser”
4. Redesign the website. We relaunched the site with a new look, and a blog!
5. Get TV/Film placements.  We’ve been a accepted by a couple of music libraries…  hopefully some placements will come soon.

With shows at major SF clubs supporting touring headliners, our publicity efforts in full force, and a new video to promote on the internet, we feel optimistic about the weeks to come.

Time to get back to practice…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jyfqrPi7tY

‘Come Home to Me,’ the title track on our new album has come to life on film.

Directed by Bart Bishoff, who joined The Famous in creating the concept, the video is being put in rotation on HDNet’s Music Discovery show with more TV appearances to come.

Please pass on the link and share Come Home to Me with your friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jyfqrPi7tY

If you haven’t been to The New Parish, check it out sometime soon. Smerv and crew run a great sounding room that is very welcoming. Also, the connected restaurant Hibiscus serves up some mean fried chicken and greens.

Next up on The Famous’ Sunday Night Music Club schedule… another must-see show:

July 25^th at Bottom of the Hill we open the show for Texas music legends ‘The Toadies’ and Silver Lake’s ‘Dead Country.’

Much more to come on this. We are very excited. I’ll be packed. For advance tickets:

http://www.stubmatic.com/bottomofthehill/event/5034

Soon we’ll post the video for ‘Come Home to Me.’ It’s been a long time in the making and will soon be added to the rotation of HDNet’s Music Discovery show.

We’ll have it here first in the coming days.

Hailing from Denver, Spin Magazine and No Depression have described them as the best live band in America.

Over the past few years, they’ve toured with the likes of the Rev. Horton Heat, all the while releasing several album on SF’s Alternative Tentacles label. They headlined the South Park Music festival in Colorado where The Famous also performed a few years back.

Engaging, riveting, sad and humorous; demanding the audience to participate both live and while listening to their albums; Slim Cessna’s Auto Club has been branded with every musical description possible.

http://www.slimcessnasautoclub.com/

The Famous are thrilled to be sharing the stage with these kindred spirits. Join us for a riveting night of music.

 This Sunday, June 27th — (8 p.m. doors/ 9 p.m. show)

$14 at door/$11 in advance/18+  

Advance Tickets:

http://slimcessna.eventbrite.com/

The New Parish is located at
579 18th Street (at the corner of San Pablo Ave.)
Oakland, CA 94612

Local Scene: The Famous from KFOG Radio 104.5/97.7 on Vimeo.