Month: August 2012

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Uncategorized World Domination

Gig: Sat September 1st, 11:15am, at the Arden Fair!

OK, I admit it, I’ve been attending Burning Man pretty much every year since 2004; I really love it. Last year (2011) was Matt’s first time and he loved it too, especially when we got to play a nice set at The Lost Penguin on Burn Day. It was incredible!

One thing we don’t like about attending Burning Man each year is missing the Arden Fair, which is a wonderful music/arts festival in Arden, DE that always coincides with Burning Man week. But since we’re staying home this year, we didn’t have to turn down the Arden Fair people when we were asked to play. Yaaay!

We asked for an early slot because we have a wedding to attend (and play a song for!) later that afternoon, so come visit us when we play from 11:15-11:45am.

Anyway, the nice folks who run the event have set up a helpful website with all the pertinent info, so I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here. Instead, I’ll just be lazy and point you to the source of the best info: The Arden Fair website. Please take a moment to read it– they’re asking everyone to use the shuttle bus instead of parking in Arden.

As of right now, the weather looks like it will be absolutely gorgeous.

We hope to see you there!

Your pal,

Ji11

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Uncategorized World Domination

SECRET GIG is secret (October 6, 2012, 8pm)

If you’re on our mailing list, you probably saw we had some bits there in fine print about a top-secret show that we weren’t allowed to announce, even if we got the gig. Well… guess what… WE GOT THE GIG! Wheeeeeeeeee!

But it’s kind of a mixed blessing– it’s a really big deal for us, but it’s strange because nobody (not even the promoter) is allowed to advertise it. It’s a secret-invite-only thing, and there are very few tickets available because of the size of this venue.

So here’s what we can tell you:

On Saturday, October 6th, a Rather Famous Person is doing a private concert for a private event at an intimate venue in Arden, DE. This show is purposely not being advertised. The promoter asked us to be the opener for this Rather Famous Person and his/her Band, but we had to get The Rather Famous Person’s approval first. We were originally told that this Rather Famous Person didn’t want a female-fronted band opening for him/her, so we figured we’d be out of the running, but I guess they changed their mind, so we’re on!

The thing is, we can’t tell you who this Rather Famous Person is. We’re not allowed to advertise the show in any way that Google could ever get a hold of… so no Facebook, no Twitter, no blogging, nothing… not even after the show has passed. We are allowed to invite people via email and phone only, and we have to get the invitees to swear that they will not mention it online.

So it’s kinda like winning a medal but not being able to tell anyone about it. But that’s OK… some things you do for the experience and not for the glory.

If you’d like to get an invite to this show, email us and tell us why you’d like to come. We’ve got a few tickets left, and it’s a first-come, first-served kind of thing. Tickets are $20. Yes, we realize you’re considering paying $20 to see us play a 40-minute opening set and then sitting through a concert by a person you may actually hate passionately (very doubtful), but you’re the gamblin’ type, we can tell.

We should also mention that we are thoroughly in love with this Rather Famous Person and have been for a few years, and we would be attending this show even if we weren’t opening. We have their albums and they are wonderful. You will *not* be disappointed.

(And for those of you keeping track… yes, we copied the contents of our recent mailing-list newsletter to a blog entry, but the promoter asked us to remove the fine print because he feared it gave away too much info. So if you’re looking for that fine print in the online version of the newsletter, it’s gone.)

GIG DEETS:

WHEN: Saturday, October 6, 2012, 8pm.
WHAT: Hot Breakfast! plays a 40-minute opening set for A Rather Famous Person in a Very Intimate Venue. If you email us requesting a ticket, we’ll tell you who the Rather Famous Person is, but you will be sworn to secrecy.
WHERE: The Buzz, Arden DE
TICKETS: $20. If you want to attend, you need to email us, and then we’ll put you in touch with the promoter who will get payment from you. It’s very secret.
PARKING: There’s a parking lot, and also street parking.
FOOD: No food. There may be beverages… not sure.

Anyway, we’d love for you to attend. We’re only advertising this show stealthily through this blog and by pointing people to the blog. You’ve gotta be a fan to attend.

We’d love to see you!

Your pals,

Ji11 and Suburban Legend

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Benefit Uncategorized

Until we find cures, we’ll play benefits

Until we find cures for the various disorders, diseases, and illnesses that affect us and those we love, we will need to raise money to fund research instead. This weekend on August 25th, you have two great opportunities to support two very worthy causes:

1) If rockin’ out on a swanky, sunny marina deck with a mojito is your style, please come see us at the 2nd Annual Music Extravaganza to support the Delaware MS Society. Hot Breakfast plays at 7:00, and The Joe Trainor Trio takes the stage immediately after. Raffles, dinner/drink specials, and a starry night on the deck can be yours!
Here’s a link to the event on Facebook where you can find directions, ticket info, and details: http://www.facebook.com/events/383382658357012/
And here’s a link on our website here, where you can read our blatherings about the event: http://hot-breakfast.com/gig-saturday-august-25th-12-hours-of-music-to-benefit-ms-research/

BUT!

2) If talented theater folks belting out Broadway tunes is more your bag, head over to the Wilmington Drama League to support Songs in the Key of Cure, which benefits childhood cancer research and the Four Diamonds Fund. Hot Breakfast! won’t be playing at that one obviously, since we haven’t invented cloning or teleportation technology yet… but the lineup for that night is stacked with some of the biggest and best voices in the region. You won’t be disappointed.
Here’s a link to the event on Facebook where you can find directions, ticket info, and details: http://www.facebook.com/events/352041584868817/

We hope you’ll spend your Saturday at one of these two fantastic and important events. 🙂

Your pal,

Ji11

Categories
Awesome-sauce Benefit Uncategorized

Gig: Saturday August 25th: 12 hours of music to benefit MS research

Some of this is a reprint from last year’s event-related post. Why reinvent the wheel?

Multiple Sclerosis sucks. My sister has it. You don’t want it. Each year I try to do a little something to raise money for the MS Society; I’ll either Bike to the Bay, I’ll do the MS Walk, or during lazy years I’ll send ’em a check. This year, like last year, Hot Breakfast! will be donating our time and skillz by participating in a way-cool all-day music festival at a wonderful spot: Aqua Sol Restaurant.

If you haven’t been there before, Aqua Sol is pretty neat. It’s got foodie-quality food with a Cuban flair, really good drinks, and a South Beach vibe. It’s right on the water, and their giant deck is on the marina. It’s the perfect place to start the process of saying goodbye to summer. A mojito on the water? Don’t mind if I do!

There are two stages: An acoustic stage, and a main stage. Full bands play on the main stage, and acoustic acts play on the acoustic stage… except us. We’re thrilled that we get treated as a full band, so we’ll be playing a 45-minute set on the main stage starting at 7pm. (Note: Previous ads said we were playing at 7:30 and then 7:00… this has been moved! We’re now scheduled to go on at 6pm, assuming they run on time… which they may not be… but hey, it’s a relaxing day so we’re not gonna stress. Just have another mojito.)

This event is rain or shine. If it rains some crazy torrential downpour of doom, we’ll all head inside where they’ll have two stages set up. If it’s just a passing sprinkle, we’ll consider it a refreshing hose-down and we’ll stick it out until it passes.

You can buy tickets at the door ($20 per person, $35 per couple), or better yet: You can buy them cheaper if you buy them ahead of time by clicking here: http://musicextravaganza.ticketleap.com/living-with-ms/   See? We’re saving you a couple bucks.

Here’s the band lineup as we know it (freshly updated as of 8/24):

.45 RPM: 12:00 PM
John Nallie and Tommy Keith: 1:00 PM
Stump Junction: 1:30 PM
Chad Michael Jervis: 2:30 PM Katalyst: 3:00 PM
Johnny B: 4:00 PM
Joe Pettis Band: 4:30 PM
Frank Julian: 5:30 PM
Hot Breakfast: 6:00 PM (we play for an hour!)
BTJ: 7:00 PM
Joe Trainor Trio: 7:30 PM (they play for an hour!)

Raffle announcments: 8:45 PM
The Acoustic Jam: 9:00 PM
Barral House Blues: 9:30 PM
Jam: 11:00 PM

Here’s a link to the Facebook Page for the event— you don’t need a Facebook account to see it, just in case you want to learn more about the other sweeeeeet activities (poker! raffles!) happening as part of the event.

Bring sunblock, sunglasses, bug spray, and your appetite!

Hope to see you there! And I hope even more to see you there handing me a mojito with extra mint. 😉

Your pal,

Ji11

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Uncategorized

Gig: Sunday, Aug 26, 8pm: The Win Show at Fennario, West Chester PA

There’s a rather entertaining sketch comedy troupe based in West Chester, PA called The Win Show, and they invited us to be the house band for their upcoming show this week at Fennario… upstairs at Fennario, to be precise.

We’ve never played in West Chester before, so we’re extra-excited about infesting the city with our breakfasty goodness. Better yet: It’s a small venue, so we’ll be completely acoustic, which is a rare treat for us. No mics, no music stands, no amps… so for you photographers who hate mic stands and music stands getting in your way, here’s a chance to get shots at our alarmingly-well-toned physiques.

GIG DEETS:

WHEN: Sunday, August 26th, 2012, 8:00pm
WHERE: Fennario Coffee (upstairs), 111 Church St., West Chester, PA
COVER CHARGE: Five bucks. Cheap!
PARKING: Street only, but it’s easy.
FOOD:: There’s coffee and coffee-house treats downstairs, and plenty of restaurants in the area.

Will we see you there? Mais oui!

Your pal,

Ji11

Categories
Uncategorized newsletter

The HB! Newsletter: late summer / early autumn update!

This is a copy of our email newsblast that went out earlier tonight. Want to receive email updates like this one? Join our mailing list!

Greetings, HB!COR (Hot Breakfast! Compadres of ROCK) members, old and new!

We have a bunch of shows coming up soon, and we just realized that we’ve been so busy rocking that we forgot to tell you about them!  They’re mostly Saturdays, coincidentally… but we’ve got a Friday or two in there for good measure.

As per our usual, this here email newsletter is broken down into a few sections: HB! News, Upcoming HB! Shows, Get Involved, and The Dismount.  Off we go!

HB! NEWS:

Album Update…
Our self-titled EP is here!  It was released with minimal fanfare at our show at The 1984 Barcade in Wilmington on July 7, 2012.  It features six songs, and a lovely mix of originals and covers, as well as some with full-band instrumentation.  Here’s the track listing: (1) It Only Takes Two to Rock  (2) Defender (3) Kiss Off (a Violent Femmes cover) (4) Hole in Your Pants  (5) You Were a Spider  (6) Major Tom (Coming Home) (a Peter Schilling cover).   We are really proud of this EP, and we’re selling it for a whole five dollars.  You can buy a physical CD from us at a show, or you can download it in either MP3 or FLAC format from our website.  You can also stream the songs as many times as you want for free from our website, too.  Just click here to be brought to our Music page.  (And I’ve gotta say… it feels pretty cool to have a contract with our names and Peter Schilling’s and Gordon Gano’s names on it as we secured the rights to record those cover tunes.)

And the media goes wild…
We’re famous!  World domination is imminent!  OK, maybe we’re exaggerating a bit, but just two days after our EP was released, our song “It Only Takes Two To Rock” was played on McG’s Backroom, a kickass weekly music podcast by everyone’s favorite punk spokesguy Dave McGurgan.  In early August, our tune “Hole In Your Pants” was played on WSTW’s Hometown Heroes!  And just last night we were interviewed for CommunityPub, a Delaware-based newspaper, regarding our upcoming headlining performance at the 2nd Annual Music Extravaganza which raises a ton of money for Multiple Sclerosis research… that article should be online (communitypub.com) Thursday night, and in print on Sunday.  Soon the paparazzi will be stalking us, and all the fashion magazines will feature 40 year olds with little to no hair, hair, and yellow eye shadow… you’ll see!

We inspired some serious nerding…
If you use Google Chrome and Google Calendar, we’ll just let you read this on your own.  Otherwise, move along. 

A new addition to the family…
Henry (Matt’s beloved Gibson Songwriter Series guitar) served Matt very, very well for almost two decades, but poor Henry was having a hard time staying in tune.  So as of Monday, Matt is the proud owner of a new Martin Custom Performer Jumbo acoustic guitar.  (It’s jumbo in sound, not size.) Matt is still thinking of a name for the new guitar, though Jill is really pushing for “Riley.”  It sounds deep and amazing, it’s absolutely beautiful, and we can’t wait to bring our new sweet axe to our next gig.  Speaking of our next gig…

 

UPCOMING HB! SHOWS:

[] This Saturday, August 18 @ 8:00pm SHARP: Kennett Flash(102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania).  We are super-duper excited about this show!  Three “comedy music” acts are sharing this dorktastic bill– that’s us, as well as Dave & Brian, and our new BFF Todd Chappelle.  We admit we are the least comedy-centric of the three acts, but we’ve got a few new silly songs to try out on you. Grammarians will (hopefully) appreciate Matt’s new tune “The Garden of Bad Metaphors.”  Tickets can be purchased in advance for $12, or at the door for $15.  You can find out more details about the show/venue/tickets/backstory here.

[] Saturday, August 25th – ALL DAY!  2nd Annual Living with MS Music Extravaganza at Aqua Sol Restaurant (Summit North Marina, 3006 Summit Harbour Place, Bear, DE 19701) What better way to celebrate the end of summer with a mojito or two in the bright sunshine (under a table umbrella so you don’t fry) on the deck of Aqua Sol?  This is an all-day fund-raiser, raising money for MS research, and the proceeds go to the MS Society of Delaware. Jill’s sister has had MS for almost two decades now, so this cause is especially near and dear to our hearts.  The music begins at 12 noon and continues to midnight; however Hot Breakfast! takes the stage at 7:30PM, and the Joe Trainor Trio plays immediately after us.  We might even play a few tunes together if you ask real nice.  Tickets are $20 for one, or $35 for two– plus the venue will have food/drink specials, raffles, and other fun stuff.  And there’s also a very comfortable air conditioned inside bar where you can beat the heat if you’d like.  We also heard a rumor that we might be singing Happy Birthday to a certain HB!/JT3 fan… For tickets and info, go here.

[] Sunday, August 26th, 7:30pm: The Win Show! at Fennario Coffee in West Chester, PA (111 Church St., West Chester, PA).  We will admit we’re not entirely sure about the details of this gig.  The promoter said it’s a night of sketch comedy interspersed with music (that’s us!), and I think we may be opening the show, too.  We’re not really sure how long we’re going to play, what time we start, or much else about it, but hey, we always wanted to play in West Chester, so what the heck?  Come on out and be part of our adventure.  I’m not sure if there’s a cover or not.  It’s a coffee place, so if nothing else, bring money for coffee and barista tips. 🙂

[] Saturday, September 1st, 11:15am: The 2012 Arden Fair: Arden Shady Grove, 2126 The Highway, Arden, DE 19810.  This is a really exciting event for us– The Arden Fair is a blast and a half, and we’re so excited to finally be in town for this event!  We’ll play a 30-minute set starting at 11:15am sharp, and after we’re done we have to run off to a wedding to celebrate our wonderful friends (and play a song there, too). For more info, click this Facebook link (sorry, it’s all we have right now… we don’t like Facebook links either.)

[] Saturday, September 8th: PRIVATE GIG, Philadelphia, PA.  OK, normally we don’t list private gigs here, because they’re, ya know, private… but HOLYCRAP WE ARE OPENING FOR THE SPRING STANDARDS.  AS IN THE SPRING STANDARDS THAT WERE JUST ON CONAN A FEW WEEKS AGO.  Okay, that is all.  (All caps were necessary. Sorry.)

[] Friday, September 14th, 6:00 – 8:30PM: The Young Bean, 314 Main Street, Clayton, DE. For our posse in lower Delaware, we’ve got over two hours of music for you!  No cover charge, but please drink some coffee and tip the baristas.  This place is just perfect for us– it’s a comfy, cozy spot with amazing coffee, live music and a thing on their menu called BACON CAKE.  (Fark the music, just show up for the bacon cake, yo.)

[] Saturday, September 29th, 7:00pm: Rod Kim’s Very Public Birthday Bash as part of the Wilmington Fringe Festival, at World Cafe Live at the Queen (5th and Market Street, Wilmington, DE).  Rod Kim is a popular guy. His recent super-cute pop CD, “To Love and Be Loved” was nominated for a Grammy.  He and his musical collaborator pal Vince Cirino are celebrating their birthdays with a musical all-star bash at World Cafe Live at the Queen, and we are thrilled that he asked us to play along with a bunch of other great local bands (Mean Lady, Evangelina Guajardo, etc, etc).  It’s general admission seating/standing and a $5 cover at the door.  I don’t know if you can be guaranteed a table, but it’s worth trying by calling the venue or making a dinner reservation at World Cafe Live at the Queen using OpenTable.com. 

[] Friday, October 5th, 8:00PM: Joe Trainor Trio’s CD Release Party at World Cafe Live at the Queen! (5th and Market Street, Wilmington, DE).  We are so, so, so excited to be not only opening for the Joe Trainor Trio for  the official release of their long-awaited CD Twelve Stories, but we’ll also be joining them on stage for a bunch of numbers, too!  We’ll take the stage right at 8pm.  Geez, for all the World Cafe Live gigs we have this fall, I think they’re going to name a table after us. 🙂  We’re not complaining!

There are more dates to come!  Stay tuned!

 

GET INVOLVED!

People ask us all the time how they can help support the band.  Here are eleven (11!) ideas, so take your pick:

  1. Sign the mailing list to stay up to date.
  2. Like us on Facebook.  (Honestly, we’re not big fans of Facebook, so we haven’t really been pushing our FB page.  However, promoters/booking agents gauge a band’s popularity (perhaps unfairly) on how many “likes” a bad has, so it’s time for us to get on the FB horse.  So, if you haven’t done so already, please give us a “Like” and encourage your friends to do so as well.  That’s a big help!  (Please note that there are a few groups/organizations called “Hot Breakfast” on Facebook.  Make sure you’re liking the right one!  Look for our picture, or go to facebook.com/HotBreakfastRocks — don’t forget the “Rocks.”)
  3. Follow us on Twitter: We’re @hotbreakfast .
  4. If you know of any venues where you think we’d be welcome, let us know!  Email us here at awesomesauce@hot-breakfast.com. The name and location of the venue is necessaryof course, and if you happen to know someone there, their name and contact info would be extra helpful.
  5. Come to a show!  Bring a friend!  Tell the bartender / manager / host(ess) that you’re there to see us.
  6. Buy an EP, and play it loudly. 🙂
  7. Share our videos with your friends on YouTube, or record and upload your own when you see us live. We love that. 🙂
  8. When you see a sign in front of a hotel that says “HOT BREAKFAST,” yell “Hot Breakfast!” really loudly and throw your fist in the air.  You can also do this when eating heated breakfast foods.  Bonus points if you take a picture of yourself this and post it on the internetz.  If you post it using Instagram, mention us!  We’re @hotbreakfast on instagram.
  9. Consider hosting a house concert.  We’ll come to your house and play for you and your pals… it’s a blast, and easier than you think!  Email us here at awesomesauce@hot-breakfast.com and we’ll walk you through it.
  10. Visit our website to stay up to date on our latest shows.  We’re constantly adding new gigs, and that’s always the best place to see when and where we’re playing. Our calendar is on the right-hand side of our page.
  11. Just say hi after a show. 🙂

 

AND… THE DISMOUNT.

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you so much for reading. We admire your tenacity! 🙂  If you’d like to be removed from this list, no hard feelings.  Just hit Reply and type Unsubscribe in either the subject or the first line of the body of your email, and our trained robots will handle the rest.

Thank you again, so sincerely, for being a Compadre of ROCK.  We are so grateful to you for your support, your kindness, and your enthusiastic fist-pumps.  We really, really love you.

Stay dorky, Compadres!

Ji11 and Suburban Legend
(aka Jill and Matt)

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Awesome-sauce Uncategorized

GIG: August 18th, 8pm, Kennett Flash – The Openers of Comedy!

Earlier this year we had the pleasure of being the opening band for Better Than Bacon, a deeelightful comedy improv theater troupe at The Kennett Flash.  We got the gig because Todd Chappelle (their regular opener) was booked elsewhere that night.  It’s also come to our attention that comedy music duo Dave & Brian have also opened for Better Than Bacon and brought down the house, just as Todd does. 

Todd, being a make-it-happen kinda guy, approached the Kennett Flash about an OPENERS OF COMEDY show featuring us, Todd Chappelle of course, and Dave & Brian, and the Flash jumped all over it. Woooot!

The Kennett Flash is a fabulous venue. It’s a sit-down-and-listen kind of place, so it’s more like a concert than a typical gig. People actually listen, which is a pretty decadent experience for performers. The Kennett Flash also serves light food (sammiches, munchies) and it’s a BYOB, so you don’t have to starve. Sweet!

We recognize that we’re definitely the least funny of the three acts– we don’t really consider ourselves musical comedians… we just have some dorky tunes that make people chuckle. But we’ve been known to be sincere, too. We’ll try to keep the sincerity down that night. Either way, you’re in for some MAXX LULZ, SRSLY, just with Todd and Dave & Brian alone. Consider us the gravy. We might sweeten the deal, but the main course is more than enough on its own.

The evening’s festivities start at 8pm. There is no opening band– we’re all opening for each other. (So get there on time, is what we’re saying.)

DEETS:

WHO: Todd Chapelle, Dave & Brian, and Hot Breakfast! trade sets for a night of comedy music
WHEN: Saturday, August 18th, 8pm
WHERE: The Kennett Flash– 102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, PA 19348 484-732-8295.
TICKETS: Tickets can be purchased online for $12, or for $15 at the door.
PARKING: You can park in the teeeeeeeny lot behind the venue (it fills up fast), or you can park on the street.
FOOD: The Kennett Flash serves light fare– sammiches, snacks, drinks. It’s also a BYOB thing, but they do charge a corkage and a glass fee, so be prepared for that. There are about a zillion wonderful places to get dinner in Kennett Square, so if you’re looking for a bigger meal, get into town early.

Hope to see you there– it’s going to be a really fun (and funny!) night!

Your pal,

Ji11