TheJuke's blog: "Creative Spelling by the Juke"

Holy crap! No, your eyes do not deceive you. The gang will return tonight, finally, for a LIVE Wild Wild Westmar Show. The crew hasn't done a 3-hour show together since January, so they'll have plenty to say! Be there TONIGHT....6 PM Central... And if you can't make it when The WWW Show airs tonight, be sure to download and listen to the replay when you have time later in the week at www.kchost.net. And, of course, the podcast is still available on iTunes or on your cellular phone at 209-320-8938! You can hear and learn more about The Wild Wild Westmar Show on at http://www.kchost.net/

As most of you that know me or pay any attention you know that I am in a Country/Rock band. I set out with my drummer Mark about 5 years ago to put RiverGard together. It went through many different musicians but nothing realy took off. Two years ago we hade two brothers Bill and Bob Pemberton playing in the band and they share the vocals but it really wasn't more than just a basement band with no structure at all. That fell apart and the pursuit of putting the band together kind of slowed down. Mark and I was at RG's just hanging out and we ran into a guy that sings and plays guitar and in a few weeks we were playing small clubs pretty much winging all the songs. They were all old standards so basic stuff. Mark and I wanted more and Troy wasn't into practicing and learning new stuff. He just wants to jam and pick up pussy. About 8 months ago I get an email from Paul and he tells me that he is coming back to the US and would like to put a band together. In a few weeks he's back and has talked with Mark and Dean and next then you know the new RiverGard is having its first band practice. That weekend we went to the last show Mark and I played with Troy and RiverGard took over the stage for one set. I told Troy it was my other band Jedi Superstar. He thought it was going to be a joke at the Eagles Club. They schedules RiverGard for two more shows that very night. It pissed Troy off. So we have been playing clubs and doing free benefits for about 8 months now and it just keeps getting better. A few weeks ago we got a call to headline Q104's Wedding from Hell to be hosted at the Edge of Hell haunted house this coming Saturday. This is more exiting to us than last months opening for Cowboy Crush at Johnson County's Old Settlers Days. So we feel really good about the band and the direction it going. We are learning new songs now and our fans should start hearing variations in our set list from night to night pretty soon. I hope that you all get a chance to see a RiverGard show. I can promise you it will be like no other Country/Rock Band you have ever seen. We are entertainers and love to have fun doing what we love the best. While most bands you see in a club just stand there and play music we like to jump around crack joke, play pranks and interact with the crowed. Your there to have good time and we want to make it memorable. I guess hard work does pay off! http://www.rivergard.com/

I think I am the busiest man on Earth. I know, I know... Everyone always says that. But I think I am really... I get up mon-fri and take the kids to school (private school no bus) and as of late take Lady Juke (that’s my wife) to work because my Jeep is back in the shop for a new transmission (number 3). Then back home to take care of technical support problems, check my network, servers, fight off hackers, SPAM for not only my email but my clients and write some code for various web applications (Cold Fusion). This is all before 10AM. Then I have to practice my bass and learn whatever songs we are planning on adding to the rotation. Then on some days it’s off to my new side job I landed through one of my best friends working on computers. This is a nice gig and I enjoy working there, everyone seems really laid back, it must be the dog bones. In addition to this there is also the Station, I have to answer questions from affiliates and listeners, trouble shoot any (and a lot of) sound issues, prep for the weeks live shows and interact on the stations website forums. Let’s not forget I have to pick up the kids, Lady Juke and a few nights of the week I usually cook dinner. With all of this I still find the time to play with my kids, spend time with Lady Juke, talk with my friends, hangout here (and other place's), watch some movies (Thanks Blockbuster Online) and toss back some cold ones. For those of you wondering I don't do drugs, though I probably should. So anyway to add to my many project I have only mentioned a few here. I decided to create one of these lounges I keep seeing. It The KCHost Radio Network Lounge and streams 24/7 at 128K. There is a morning show "Bear in the Morning" thats live Monday - Friday 8AM-11AM CST and the we have Live Shows broadcasted from the KCHRN studio each Tuesday starting at 6PM with The Wild Wild Westmar Show and 9PM with The NightWatch Show. I am hoping the some of the hard work I have put into KCHRN over the last 3 years will start to pay off in the form of some new listeners. (if I did this for money I would have stopped 3 years ago). So come check out the lounge and have some fun!

The band is exited about the upcoming weekend. This Friday we get to open up for Cowboy Crush and Johnson County Old Settlers Day's in Olatha KS. This is looking to be the biggest gig the band and even each of the members have ever played. It's a full sized stage (40' wide) with a full professional sound system and crew. We have spent most of the last month working out the set-list. We hope to see a large turn out of our fans. One thing we have been working on for most of the year is some audience participation. We do a George Strait song "The Chair" and in the middle of it the lyrics go "I don't know the name of the Band but their good". Right at that point we have been trying to get the crowed to yell RiverGard! Then we add a little extra and Paul plays an amazing guitar solo. Then we do that verse again. It's really a great song and we all love to play it. It would be the world to us if we heard some screams from the crowed during that song. "Nooo I don't know the name of the Band but their good, RIVERGARD!, arent they would you like to dance" Here are some vids of older shows (we are a lot better now)... The future of the band looks pretty good. We are starting to focus on getting some new songs into the mix, some rock too... Saturday we are playing a small club in Independence called Cozmo's. It used to be Brewskies. Its just West of 291 on 24 hwy. We will have about 4 new songs to play that night. Rick "The Juke" Eidson Owner KCHRN - The KChost Radio Network http://www.kchost.net/

This was a quote from a fan Geddy Lee mentioned on the DVD Rush in Rio. I keep thinking about it and just how long I have been a fan. How much this band as impacted my life and the music that I write and the style in which I play. My first Rush album was Hemispheres and it was given to me by one of my uncles. At the time I was listening to Led Zeppelin and other bands of the late 70's (I still do, Jimmy Page is my favorite guitarist). And I was only about 8 years old. I played that album over and over and learned the story of the struggle between the heart and the mind by way of Apollo and Dionysus. Other songs on the record are the Tree's and Circumstances. Circumstance's I credit with giving the majority of closed minded individuals hatred towards Geddy's voice. Now I gave up a long time trying to convince people of how great a band Rush is. No body wants to hear it, no body wants to hear anything else than what is on the radio. If its complex arrangements, deep lyrics and you can't dance to it...forget it. All they have to say is "They Suck". The majority of them haven't heard anything other than a few Rush songs on the radio and they have never given the band a real listen. It's also a safe bet they aren't Drummers, Guitarist, Bassist or Keyboard players either. But hey, they can play the radio and they have all the one hit wonders in there IPods and that makes them music experts. Tonight will be my 15th time to see Rush in Concert here in Kansas City. My first was Moving Pictures and I have never missed a tour. Yes folks, they have been releasing CD's since Moving Pictures and each of them have been Gold. But you forgot to keep up with them after Signals and Grace Under Pressure, maybe you were too busy buying the new Brittaney Fox or Cinderella CD. Anyway, my wife, daughter, brother, friend and my drummer are really exited to go see the band play tonight. The Snakes and Arrows CD is packed full of some of Rush's greatist music to date. I am already anxious for a new release and another tour, maybe then my son Neil Alexander Lee will be old enough to go see Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee perform as Rush. Until then Hold Your Fire. The Juke