Hey Chicago Area forumites!

[paologregorio]

Hi all,

I hope I'm not out of line mentioning this, but I'm excited about the following:

For those of you who live in the Chicago area, my band will be in Chcago on Saturday, June 14th. It will be my first trip to Chicago, and the first time that my group, Smiling face down, will have played outside of the LA area. We're playing for the Chicago premiere of the documentary film Brittown, which features five songs from the band, and some live footage of us as well. It's going to be a bit odd, as we're just bringing our guitars and sharing the local opening band's gear, so I'm not sure what amp I'll be playing out of, but it should be a fun whirlwind of the weekend; we arrive Saturday morning and leave Sunday afternoon. There will be approximately 1000 people at the premiere, which will be a larger audience than the band has ever stood in front of on a stage, so far as I know, the closest number to that being the Galaxy Theatre in Costa Mesa, CA which was probably about half that.

For more about the movie: http://www.brittown.com/

It would be cool to meet some fellow forum members who live in the area.

[scotty]

Have a gas Paul.Ill raise a glass for ya!

[rickenbrother]

Sounds like a cool gig!

[johneek]

PGA....Sounds very cool. Chicago is my favorite "big" city. The weather there this time of year shouldn't be bad. Have a blast.

[chuck_king]

Where is the gig?

[paologregorio]

Good point! I don't know all of the details yet. I'll post as soon as I know them.

[jps]

Good luck on the gig! After that you guys should come to Cleveland the following weekend for RIO!!! and jam with us all.

[sloop_john_b]

Sounds like a really cool gig Paul! What guitar will you be bringing?

Chicago is my favorite "big" city.

Okay, maybe you haven't been to NY enough. I'll let that one slide.

[paologregorio]

Sounds like a really cool gig Paul! What guitar will you be bringing?

Chicago is my favorite "big" city.

Okay, maybe you haven't been to NY enough. I'll let that one slide.

I love NYC!!

Most likely I will be bringing my Rick 381 and my Gretsch Silverjet, unless Dale's finished my JG CB VP FWI 365 WB by then, in which case I would most likely bring that instead of the 381. I don't gig without two guitars. I'll have our singer carry on one of the guitars, while I carry on the other. The scary part is going to be bullet-proofing and checking my pedal board with the luggage. I'll be saying a prayer for that thing!

[paologregorio]

We're playing at the "Bottom Lounge":

http://www.myspace.com/bottomloungechicago

http://search.cityguide.aol.com/chicago ... -118134184

“Smiling Face Down” will be playing in the same room as the Brittown Screening, immediately after the movie.
The screening begins at 7:30pm in the Volcano Room of the Bottom Lounge
The Bottom Lounge is a brand new Live Music Venue / Restaurant that is opening next week by the owner of Delilah’s and his partners who have a long history in live music in Chicago.
The main room at the Bottom Lounge has a capacity of 900. The Volcano Room seats 300.
The flyer / posters are in final production. Below is how the text reads for the screening and the band.
Exclusive Chicago Premier with the Film Makers:
Brittown – 7:30pm
Immediately Following the Film – Live Music From:
Smiling Face Down
Featuring Meatball from the Hell on Wheels bike shop in Anaheim CA.

[johneek]

Sounds like a really cool gig Paul! What guitar will you be bringing?

Chicago is my favorite "big" city.

Okay, maybe you haven't been to NY enough. I'll let that one slide.

No need to let it slide...Guilty as charged. I'd be more than happy to try and rectify that situation or even change my "favorites" list......if only I could find someone to show me around

[jakeox]

Sounds like a really cool gig Paul! What guitar will you be bringing?

Chicago is my favorite "big" city.

Okay, maybe you haven't been to NY enough. I'll let that one slide.

The good part of Chicago is like a clean New York.

(I grew up in the NJ suburbs of NYC).

I'll come check it out if I'm around this week -- I have a business trip that may or may not happen then. Sounds cool!

[paologregorio]

Chicago was great!!!! I can't wait to go back.

Left Long Beach Friday morning, returned Sunday afternoon. Still tired.

The Bottom Lounge is super cool!! Great venue; all brand new, cool location, friendly staff.

Chicago is like a clean NYC (no offense JB, I love NYC as well)!!!

The show went off without a hitch; enthusiastic crowd, great soundman, excellent set, lots of fun.

The backline included two Fender Hot Rod Deville 212 amps with the 2x12 Fender Eminence speaker configuration. http://www.fender.com/products//search. ... 0213200000 They sounded great and were easy to operate. the other guitarist and I stayed on the clean channel and avoided the whole channel switching bit, sticking to our stomp boxes for effects. The drum kit was an impressive sounding, four piece, burgandy-ish finished Ludwig, which our drummer was quite happy with. the bass back line was a 300 watt righ, but neither I nor our bassist can remember what brand it was. It was a rack mounted tube head-nice!!! the volume was manageable and the sound not too boomy, even though our backdrop was a brick wall. the club is so new that parts of it just aren't quite done yet. I have to believe that they'll have some sort of sound-absorbing backdrop in the near future.

There was a really cool "Mods vs. Rockers" scooter/motorbike show from 10 AM to 4 PM earlier that day. The show ran the length of a whole block and included numerous pristine scooters and motorcycles, new and old, of every sort. There were lots of vintage and new British, Japanese, German, Italian, and American motorcycles parked the length of the block on both sides of the street. It was great to see such a variety of pristine machines, all of which had been ridden to the event b their riders. I have not seen so many different vintage machines in such quantity in one place, especially non-Harley Davidsons, which were also present, but were a small minority of the bikes in attendance. It was a great show. There were a lot of cafe motorycles, and a lot of the new Triumph cafe style "Thruxton 900" models were in attendance. The rally was even more fun than the show.

What a weekend, what a town!!

[johnallg]

Sounds like it was a really great time. Congrats, Paul.

[paologregorio]

A report from the Brittown filmmakers can be seen atg this blogspot: http://oneworldstudios.blogspot.com/

If you're in Chicago, drop by the Bottom Lounge; it's a great venue!