Last year or two

Hi Folks,

This is Mark from the Bluerunners. We've been going through some changes in the last year or so, and I wanted fill you in about what we're doing these days. It's a long story, so I'll cut to the bigger aspects. About two years ago, our bassist Cal Stevenson told us he needed to stop traveling because he and his wife Melissa were starting a family. Then, about a year later our accordion player Ade Huval told us that he and his wife Laura were also starting a family, and he needed to stop going on the road as well. We hadn't even found a replacement for Cal, and now we need to find an accordion player too. And believe me, we searched and searched for suitable replacements. What we found is that those two guys are irreplaceable. So what to do? Our drummer Frank suggested he could play the bass lines through a module connected to his drums. That's right, play both the drums and the bass at the same time. I had never heard of such a thing, but, Frank knows a lot of things that I have never heard of, so we gave it a try. Then, as things often happen in situations like this, an accordion became available to me, and I figured why not, I'll give it a go. Never played a keyboard in my life, but now I'm going to be the accordionist for our band. I figured, if Frank can play two instruments at once, I should be able to at least play one at a time. It took a LOT OF WORK, and I don't like work, I prefer play time and naps, but we got it together. We started playing gigs as a trio in the winter of '07, and now we're starting to get the hang of it.

The main reason we've been able to get this going so fast is Willy. Frank and I have been able to rely on Will's considerable talent on the lap-steel to play the bulk of the solos, while we are hanging on trying to play the rhythm changes. It's been really exciting to watch him grow as a musician and carry the load while Frank and I are getting stage legs under us.

Our first gig as a trio was in Austin, TX at the Saxon Pub. Leave it to Austin to have music lovers who are cool and open minded enough to receive something new. They were so generous and supportive that night. Had it gone badly, we may not have had the courage to try it again. Thank you Austin!

This entire experience has reminded me so much of the days when we started the band. The fear, the excitement; the long hours practicing; every gig requires so much concentration....and when it goes well, the feeling is unbelievable. This is just the kick in the pants we needed, though I would have never chosen it. Who really wants a kick in the pants?

I want to thank a bunch of folks who have helped us through this process. Most importantly, our manager, Michael Rosenbaum. He has gently guided us through this whole thing, and trusted us when we told him we could make a trio work. Also, our original bass player Robert Savoy has been a great help, even filling in on a couple of gigs. It was a blast to play with Rob again, and he has also helped with advice and support. Ade and Cal have also come through for us in a big way, and will continue to sit in with the band from time to time when we play around home. Our producer, Ivan Klisanin, has also been a big help getting us through the sonic logistics of playing four instruments with only three guys.

We're hitting the road in a couple of weeks: East Coast from Florida to New York. Then back home for a couple of days before hitting the Mid-West. Come check out what we've been doing!

best for now,
mark