Print

[Gohan32]

I took a look through some of your bios on the site in hopes of preventing redundancy. So, I have a batch of questions, some of which may be difficult to answer.

1) Your origins are all rather varied and spread out. Where is the band primarily located now?

2) Veronica is termed a "bard-in-residence" in her bio. What does that mean? Anything like the usage described in this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_in_residence

3) You mind if I try to convince some bars from Ukrainian village to Wicker Park to have you come in? If not, what materials would you prefer I showcase/give to them?

4) The big one: What is keeping you all from playing more frequently?  too hard to get everyone together? not enough demand in the general public? My guess is that the spoony bard project is not every member's main focus right now and it is hard enough to get everyone practicing together let alone find a gig and get a good date for everyone. I hope I didn't strike any nerve by saying that much. It just seems to me that there is a larger audience for what you are doing than just playing roughly 2 times a month.

[Jer]

Hey there, just caught these questions... And I'm here to answer them!

1) The band is primarily located in Chicago, IL.  Most of us are on the north side + suburbs.  Natalie and Alex of course, are on the east coast while Ronnie is in graduate school in England.

2) While Ronnie would be best suited to answer this question herself, my guess is that it means literally, a Spoony Bard residing in England.  She's over there for grad school.

3) E-mail Stephen on that one.  I'd be more than glad to play more, personally.

4) While I can't speak for everybody's reasoning, I will say that it is hard for us to schedule gigs and rehearsals in general.  About half of the Chicago bards work retail, which of course is a pretty unpredictable schedule. 

Also, we didn't start out as a band playing in bars and clubs around town.  As hard to believe as it is, we originated playing in the lobbies of various anime conventions around the Midwest, having a gig every few months.  We didn't play a single local show until September of 2007, if I remember correctly.

[Gohan32]

that was a fast response! I'd like to get a job at a gamestop like some of the other members have. I need a job so bad right now! I would hate to sell games at retail value and marked up preowned prices, but it would pay rent.

Another question: This one is for Stephen. What percent of people you interact with in a day make the obvious stupid comment on your last name? (yes, i realize i am in effect one of those people right now)

[Ronnie]

Howdy there! To echo Jer's response to question #2, I am temporarily living in the United Kingdom for 12 months while I pursue a MA in Japanese Studies. When I come back to the States, I plan on returning to playing/singing when I am able. However, because I'm not based in Chicago like most of the Bards (and so far, have no plans to make a base in Chicago), we'll have to see how that pans out.

And to add to "the big one", we really did start out as an "accidental band", so for most (but not all!) of us, we don't make a living through music. So, while we all love being able to play and bring fun to conventions and small gigs, the other things we want to pursue/do with our lives tend to come first.

Also, I'd say distance is a big factor, especially in my case. 

[Jer]

I have a job interview at Accountemps tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

[Odin]

3) Feel free to recommend us to any local places looking for new musical acts. Pass along our site/myspace, and I like the recent vids that are up on Youtube from our recent show at Bill's Blues. I would love to play at more local venues.

-Stephen

With Quick-Reply you can write a post when viewing a topic without loading a new page. You can still use bulletin board code and smileys as you would in a normal post.

Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic.

Name: Email:
Verification: