The Aristocrats

8/04Announcing: The Aristocrats Fall 2012 European Tour!

Hey everyone – it’s time to officially announce our Fall 2012 European Tour. I’d say this info below contains 95% of the full-band final dates for the tour:

(updated September 19)

10/9 – Uppsala, Sweden – Uppsala Guitar Festival
10/11 – Ascoli Piceno, Italy – Break Live Club
10/13 – Quartu Sant’Elena – Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy – FBI Club
10/14 – Cassibile – Siracusa (Sicily), Italy – Anfiteatro Hotel Fontane Bianche
10/15 – Jesolo (VE), Italy – Scuola di Musica JAM c/o aula magna istituto “I. Calvino”
10/16 – Udine, Italy – Teatro Palamostre
10/17 – Prato, Italy – Keller Platz
10/19 – Caserta, Italy – Black Cat Club
10/20 – Rome, Italy – Guitar Legends Festival c/o Centrale Montemartini
10/21 – Molvena (VI), Italy – Revolution Studios
10/23 – Nice, France – Forum Nice Nord
10/24 – Legnano (MI), Italy – Land Of Live
10/25 – Milano, Italy – Accademia del Suono (Marco Minnemann clinic)
10/26 – Frankfurt, Germany – Frankfurt Jazz Festival (Sendesaal des hessischen Rundfunks)
10/27 – Zagreb, Croatia – Zagreb Guitar Show (VIP Club)
10/28 – Zoetermeer, Netherlands – De Boerderij
10/29 – Verviers, Belgium – Spirit Of 66
10/31 – Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – Kulturfabrik
11/2 – Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands – venue TBA
11/3 – Unna, Germany – Kuhlschiff
11/5 – Reichenbach, Germany – Bergkeller
11/6 – Poznan, Poland – Blue Note
11/7 – Berlin, Germany – Crystal Club
11/9 & 11/10 – Athens, Greece – Athina Live

But we strongly encourage you to visit the TOURS page for much more detailed information, and some additional dates that are Guthrie clinics along the way.

We’re excited to be coming back to Europe, as these will be the first Aristocrats gigs in most of the countries listed above. Spread the word. :-)

-BB

6/05May Touring Wrap-Up: Thank You America!

May was a pretty cool month for The Aristocrats in America. We managed to tour some places that not every fusion band gets to (TN, IN, OH, WV, NC) and we met a lot of new friends. Then, fresh off those seven shows, we headed for Alva’s Showroom in San Pedro, CA, where we played two shows that were recorded for a live DVD. We’re all happy to report that the shows went VERY well, and we’re pretty confident that we’ve got way more than enough material for a killer DVD.

The thing is, we’re all very proud of the studio album, but playing live is what really makes this band go. And it’s not like we’ve toured everywhere yet – there’s many places we’ve yet to reach in person. So we’re very much looking forward to doing the post-production work and getting this live show out as soon as we can. If I (BB) had to guess when that would happen, I’d say December, but that’s just a guess.

For now, Guthrie, Marco and I are headed our separate ways. But we’ll be back together later this year in Europe for another tour. We’ll have an official announcement about that soon (watch our calendar page). Just know that if you’re in Sweden, Germany, Holland, France, Luxembourg, Holland, Italy, Greece, or a few other nearby countries, we just might be seeing you soon. :-)

And to America: Thanks for showing The Aristocrats a good time. See you next year.

–BB

5/27Live DVD Taping For Last U.S. Shows Of 2012: June 2-3 At Alva’s Showroom

We just finished up our quick tour of the U.S. midwest and midsouth, and we’re taking a quick breather before playing our two last shows in the U.S. this year…which we’re taping for a live DVD! If you’re anywhere near southern California, or even if you’re not, it’s not too late to make plans for this coming weekend and be a part of what we hope to be something resembling a historical event:

Saturday June 2, 8pm
and Sunday June 3, 4pm
Alva’s Showroom
1417 W. Eighth Street
San Pedro, CA 90732
800-403-3447
Admission: $30
All ages OK

We also want to take a second and say THANK YOU to everyone who came out to the shows in Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Columbus, Charleston, and Charlotte. I know I speak for Guthrie and Marco when I say we had a great time visiting some cities in the U.S. that often get overlooked when it comes to touring bands like us. Y’all made it work. :-)

We also want to thank Julie and Rodney Cord of Blue Mouth Promotions. Without their tireless efforts in booking and managing the tour, this would never have happened. Go like them on Facebook already!

OK then. We’re gonna rest up for the DVD taping shows. See you soon, I hope.

-BB

P.S. Hey Europe: We will have some exciting news for you soon. ;-)

5/09Aristocrats U.S. Midwest Tour & L.A. DVD Taping Shows – Coming Right Up!

We hate to sound like a broken record, but our U.S. Midwest tour starts in less than 10 days, so of course we need to remind you about these seven very important dates coming up:

* F 5/18: Nashville, TN – The Rutledge
* SA 5/19: Louisville, KY – Zazoo’s (The New Vintage Showcase)
* M 5/21: Indianapolis, IN – Birdy’s
* T 5/22: Cleveland, OH – The Tavern (Beachland Ballroom)
* W 5/23: Columbus, OH – Rumba Café
* R 5/24: Charleston, WV – The Sound Factory
* F 5/25: Charlotte, NC – The Double Door Inn

as well as these two additional dates of the utmost importance:

* SA 6/2 and SU 6/3: San Pedro, CA – Alva’s Showroom (live DVD taping shows!)

As we said before, these will almost certainly be our last U.S. dates of 2012, and we’re hitting the Midwest in the hopes of playing as many new places as possible (places we haven’t played before) before we all go in different directions for a bit. The L.A. dates are important for a different but fairly obvious reason. In either case, join us, won’t you?

-BB

3/30Next Up: The U.S. Midwest/Mid-South In May, Plus A Live DVD Taping In L.A.

BB here, happy to report that we not only survived the UK/Europe/Middle East tour in March, but also that the tour was a big success. The UK came out in full force to support their homeland hero; Holland showed up for one great show at a killer venue; France and Spain were lovely, with a bit of time off (especially in Madrid) to enjoy each country as we passed through; and Turkey and Israel were surreal and wonderful. Israel in particular kicked our asses – over 500 people showed up for our last gig of the tour. From Marco, Guthrie and I – THANK YOU to our fans for making this trip an unforgettable adventure for all of us.

We also want to thank the people who really made this tour happen with their unspeakable logistical and promotional efforts: Darran and Rhiannon Charles in the U.K., Jeff Aug in Holland, JM Gaiffe in France, Chris Ortiz and Manuel Requena in Spain, Naci Kesener and Mehmet Hakan Özhendekçi in Turkey, and Rony Kotliar in Israel. (And, of course, our own Ed Yoon!) These people made it possible for this tour to occur. They deserve much praise and many thanks.

Now we turn our attention to the next run of dates, in the U.S. Midwest and Mid-South:

* F 5/18: Nashville, TN – The Rutledge
* SA 5/19: Louisville, KY – Zazoo’s (The New Vintage Showcase)
* M 5/21: Indianapolis, IN – Birdy’s
* T 5/22: Cleveland, OH – The Tavern (Beachland Ballroom)
* W 5/23: Columbus, OH – Rumba Café
* T 5/24: Charleston, WV – The Sound Factory
* F 5/25: Charlotte, NC – The Double Door Inn

If you’re anywhere in the midwest, we implore you to come out, because this is the last run of dates in the U.S. this year. Scheduling is always an issue with the three of us, and this was the absolute best we could do.

Then we do one very special last set of dates in southern California, for what we hope to be a DVD taping:

* SA 6/2 and SU 6/3: San Pedro, CA – Alva’s Showroom

You can always get full details on these shows by clicking on the Tours page. Thanks again, and hope to see some of you out there in May or June!

-BB

3/07Europe Tour In Progress; New US Midwest Tour in May

The Aristocrats just kicked off a major tour of Europe with a sold-out show at the Peel in London. After four more dates covering Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, and Edinburgh in UK, then it’s off to Holland, France (Paris and Bordeaux), Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao), Turkey (Istanbul) and, finally, Tel Aviv in Israel. There are still some tickets available for most of these shows outside of UK so reserve yours now to see the Aristocrats in action if you are anywhere near these regions of Europe and Asia Minor. With all the demand for the Aristocrats worldwide, it may be a while before you get a chance to see this band again in your country.

The Aristocrats team is also pleased to announce a US Midwest tour starting in mid-May that will be capped off by two live shows at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, CA near Los Angeles on June 2 and 3. The two Alvas shows will be videotaped for a future live concert DVD, so Aristocrats fans in Southern California who want to be part of a little history in the making will definitely not want to miss one of these shows. Having toured together for nearly a year, the Aristocrats will be on top of their game for this video shoot at the cozy and pristine-sounding environment of Alvas Showroom. Mark the dates on your calendar!

Here are the dates for the US Midwest Tour:

May 18, Fri, 8pm – Nashville, TN – The Rutledge

May 19, Sat, 9pm – Louisville, KY – ZaZoo’s

May 21, Mon, 8pm – Indianapolis, IN – Birdy’s

May 22, Tue, 8:30pm – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom

May 23, Wed, 8pm – Columbus, OH – Rumba Cafe

May 24, Thu, 10pm – Charleston, WV – The Sound Factory

May 25, Fri, 10pm – Charlotte, NC – The Double Door Inn

For more details, please check out the Tours page here. We hope to see you out there soon!

The Aristocrats Team

2/23San Diego, Los Angeles (WesFest 7), U.K., Holland, France, Spain, Turkey, Israel: Aristocrats March 2012 Dates Coming Right Up!

Let’s bump down that unfortunate news about Costa Rica and reiterate the following Official Good News: The Aristocrats are coming to these places very soon:

Friday 3/2: San Diego, Brick By Brick (with special guest Mike Keneally)
Sunday, 3/4: Los Angeles, The Roxy, WesFest 7 Benefit Concert (with special guest Mike Keneally)
Wed. 3/7: London, U.K. – The Peel
Thurs. 3/8: Bilston (Birmingham), U.K. – The Robin
*with Bryan Beller bass clinic at 5pm at the venue (sponsored by Mike Lull Basses and Bass Direct)
Fri. 3/9: Manchester, U.K. – Night And Day
Sat. 3/10: Newcastle, U.K. – The Cluny
*and Guthrie Govan clinic at Newcastle College Performance Academy (sponsored by Guitar Guitar)
Sun. 3/11: Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K. – The Voodoo Rooms
Tues. 3/13: Zoetermeer, The Netherlands – Boerderij
Wed. 3/14: Paris, France – La Scene Bastille
Thurs. 3/15: Bordeaux, France – Le Krakatoa
Fri. 3/16: Bordeaux, France – La CIAM (masterclass)
Sat. 3/17: Madrid, Spain – Sala Ramdall
Mon. 3/19: Barcelona, Spain – Sala Bikini
Tues. 3/20: Bilbao, Spain – Sala BBK
Thurs. 3/22: Istanbul, Turkey – Old City/Indigo Pub
Fri. 3/23: Tel Aviv, Israel – Reading 3