STACHE BASH 2009

Last Wednesday night Vespertine Movement played a big show at one of our favorite local venues, The 8x10, but this night was a lot different than our normal shows.  We headlined this event called the Stache Bash,  the touring rock and roll party that celebrates the mustache in its entirety.  The Stache Bash has been hitting clubs all throughout the Northeast and we were signed on to headline the one in Baltimore, sharing the stage with Conshafter, Della Valle, and one of Baltimore's most popular local bands The Grilled Lincolns.  

The night was filled with a bunch of mustaches, both real and fake, and some of our fans went all out and wore hilarious costumes.  Halfway through the night, the sponsors of the event had a mustache contest and our friend Brian won best costume with his impression of Ron Burgundy from "Anchorman", and our friend Casey won best fake mustache.  The club was very crowded and we had a good turnout for a Wednesday night show.  This was the first show that we headlined at the 8x10, so we really had to do our best to bring out a big crowd and play a solid set.  Since three of us could not grow out a mustache for the event we wore crazy costumes as well. Guzzi (rhythm guitar) was Spider Man with a mustache, Owen (bass) wore a crazy, mismatched suit, and I (drums) was a 70's basketball player with a mustache. John (lead guitar) was the only one who had facial hair, and he just rocked out the old fashioned beard. We had over an hour to play, and we rocked the club with one of our best set lists we have ever played.  It was a fun show and a very big success for both Vespertine Movement and the club, and we have a lot of funny stories and pictures from the fun night .

It's Getting to be Festival Season

This is a very important time of year for huge music and jam band fans. Spring and summertime always means Natty Boh's, Oriole games, Ocean City, and music festivals and outdoor concerts.  Summer festivals are a great time because there always great acts ranging from a variety of genres, and there is nothing but music and happiness  in the air for however many days  a festival lasts.  All of the members in the band have each been to several music festivals over the past couple of years, including Bonnaroo, All Good Festival, and Lollapalooza, culminating to some of the best times of our lives. 

   Now that we are in a  serious local jam band, the possibility of someday playing a major music festival would be a major point in all of our lives.  Vespertine Movement has to work our way up to the big dogs, and a great way to start doing that is by playing local festivals wherever we can.  VM has started to do that and we plan on playing a few local festivals this summer in Catonsville, Frederick, and other areas. What is so great about playing local music festivals is the fact that you can get your music out to so many people who have never seen or heard about you before. On top of that, there is not as much stress on selling a lot of pre-sale tickets to fans, friends, and family because a lot of people are there for the festival to see some great live acts. 

 Last fall, VM got a last minute chance to play at Federal Hill's biggest music festival, the Federal Hill Street Beat Festival.  We shared the stage with some of Baltimore's best local bands and also had the chance to meet other bands that are not from the area.  We played a 45 minute set, and when we first hit the stage there were not too many people by our stage, but by the the end of our set there were a couple hundred of people grooving and dancing to our music.  It was the best show and day the band has had to date, because we heard so many compliments about our music, got to see some great bands, and we got to meet so many new people that love music just as much as we do.   

This summer should be a great time and the band is hoping to play some big shows and local festivals so we can spread the word about us and our music.  We will be playing all throughout Maryland, and we hope to get out to Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Delaware, and possibly New York.  We are always looking to get new fans who love our music, and music festivals only help the process, so look out for VM to be doing just that this summer.

The Band's Practice Space-Studio 14

Our practice space is a very important place for the band because that is where we create all of our music and where the band hangs out all of the time.  When we first started  as a band, we would practice in my mom's basement, because that is where we always played music back in high school.  We are a very loud band, and wanted to practice at all hours, so last summer when we started to take things with the band more seriously, we were looking around for a space where we could meet those requirements.  

We searched for band warehouses for a few months, and the search wasn't going well until we stumbled upon Studio 14 in the city. There were three separate locations for the warehouses and two of them were full, but there was one room left in the one right by M&T Bank Stadium, so we decided to take up on the offer. Since last June, Studio 14 has ben the home for Vespertine Movement and we have had many good times and jams in that space.  It is a average looking warehouse that is not in the best area in the city, but we have really added a lot of character to the space and it feels like a second home to us because that is where we all go to relieve stress and do what we love, and we spend more time there every month and we hope to continue.  That has been one of the best decisions that the band has made, and any of our friends that have been in the space know how important it is to us and to our music.  

If anybody is in a local band or knows someone that is in a local band that is looking for a practice space, here is the link for our practice space: http://bandrehearsal.net.