Month: March 2013

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Awesome-sauce Uncategorized

GIG: Between Books, Claymont, DE, Friday, April 19

The word “epic” is thrown about way too much, but we’ll say it: Greg has one epic beard.

A very sad thing is happening.

A wonderful independent bookstore in Delaware, Between Books, is closing its doors after 34 years.

We are heartbroken over this for many reasons. First and foremost, an independent business is forced to close because they cannot compete with the massive competition from huge chains and online stores. The owner, Greg Schauer, is a wonderful man who has poured his heart and soul into the store for so many years, and we hate to see him have to close his shop.

We're the ones with our fists in the air. Photo (c) 2010 Joe Del Tufo.
That’s us at Between Books in 2010. We’re the ones with our fists in the air. Photo (c) Joe Del Tufo.

We’re also sad for the many, many people who will never know the joy and beauty of walking into an actual bookstore, perusing aimlessly, getting lost in the titles, thinking about the wondrous things on the millions of pages before them.

But there’s another reason this breaks our hearts. Between Books would often host events in the evenings – concerts, poetry readings, lectures – and in December of 2010, they hosted a Hot Breakfast! concert. It was the first time we headlined as “Hot Breakfast!,” and we had an amazing time playing for the small but very enthusiastic crowd. We’ll always treasure that show, and we’ll always be grateful to Greg for giving us the opportunity to melt a few faces during our formative days.

Greg is going out with a bang, not a whimper. And he’s asked us to play a show on Friday, April 19 at 8:00. We cannot wait to set up in the midst of all the amazing books, comics, DVDs, and games in the store and get to rocking. The show starts at 8, but get there early, take a look around, and buy a book or three… it’s a piece of history.

If you cannot make it to see us on the 19th, please consider heading over to Between Books (the link goes to Google Maps) on Saturday, April 20th, for a closing night party, featuring Leslie Carey, Joe Trainor, and more. It’s a great way to say goodbye to a great place.

– – – – –

DEETS:

WHAT: Hot Breakfast! at Between Books, 2703 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, DE.
WHEN: Friday, April 19th. We’ll play from 8 to 10.
WHERE: A big shopping center on the corner of Harvey Road and Philadelphia Pike. It’s in the shopping center with the Goodwill and Arby’s, across Harvey from the giant Wawa. Here’s a map.
COST: Donations requested.
PARKING: No worries there! It’s in a shopping center – plenty of free parking.
FACEBOOK EVENT: Right here!

We really hope to see you there. In the meantime, please support your local businesses – they’re labors of love, and you never know when they’re gonna disappear.

Love,
Matt (The Suburban Legend)

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Awesoming Rocking Uncategorized theater

HUGE GIG: APRIL 6, 2013, 8PM: PINK FLOYD’S THE WALL at World Cafe Live at the Queen, Wilmington DE

Lurking deep inside each and every one of us is an angsty 16 year old (or, maybe lurking not-so-deep?). Sometimes it feels really good to let that inner-kid out and get your Pink Floyd on, y’know? Except now you’re old enough to drink legally instead of sneaking into your parents’ liquor cabinet.

The Wall

No, you’re not looking into the future… this is a shot from the last time we did The Wall back in 2010.

On April 6, 2013, the.COMPANY will be resurrecting, for one final time, our big-ol’ production of The Wall, in its entirety. Yes, we’re building a wall, and yes, we’re gonna crash that sucker!

Who is the.COMPANY? It’s a strangely-capitalized 11-piece band that Matt and Jill are a part of– we sing, and Matt also plays sax. The other eight musicians are people you know: Joe Trainor (lead vocals / piano) and Kevin Niemi (bass) from the Joe Trainor Trio, Joe Testa (of Noelle Picara’s band) on guitar, Chuck Kuzminski (of CKuz Guitars and also from our Billy Joel tribute show) also on guitar, Shawn Trainor (formerly of Cubane) on vocals, mandolin, and SFX, Steve Kuzminski on HOLY CRAP ALL THE KEYBOARDS, Genevieve van Catledge and Steven We also on vocals, and coming in from Colorado because it’s not the.COMPANY without him: Ben E King (formerly of Apex Watson).

This show is gonna be great. We’re sad to hang it up, but we know it’s time. So please come bid farewell to the show, and also to Jill’s midriff because this is the last time that bizzle is gonna be on display. (One must age gracefully.) 🙂

DEETS:
WHO: the.COMPANY — an 11-piece all-star band, of which we’re a part
WHAT: All of Pink Floyd’s epic double-album, THE WALL
WHEN: Saturday April 6, 2013. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm. There is no opening band.
WHERE: World Cafe Live at the Queen, downstairs.
TICKETS: Tickets are $20. Buy them at the Queen website here. Please note: The balcony is already sold out– these puppies are going fast!
PARKING: There’s a very nice parking garage on 5th between King and Market. (Enter from the King Street side, since 5th is a one-way.) Say hello to Cassondra the parking attendant– she is awesome.
FOOD: There is food upstairs in the restaurant before the show. (Get reservations. A concert ticket is not the same thing as a dinner reservation.)
BOOZE: There is a full-service bar downstairs where we’re performing. Rumor has it you can also order noshy-food at the bar, but I can’t confirm this, so don’t bank on it.
WEED: You’re on your own, son. Drugs are bad, m’kay?

We hope to see you there!

Your pals in rock,

Ji11 and Suburban Legend

Categories
Awards Awesome-sauce HB! EP Rocking Uncategorized radio

WE WON! Best EP, and Best Lead Singer (Jill Knapp) at the 7th Annual Homey Awards!

Thanks to your love, support, and votes, we were nominated for three Homey Awards back in the early part of 2013. And thanks to a panel of 200 judges from the music industry, members of The Recording Academy (aka “the Grammy people”), music publishers, and members of the tri-state area media, we WON two of them! Gaaaaaaah!!

What happens when two idiots try to take a one-handed selfie with a tablet's front-facing camera?
What happens when two idiots try to take a one-handed selfie with a tablet’s front-facing camera?

Yep, that’s right… The winners were announced at a Grammy-esque ceremony at World Cafe Live at the Queen on March 8th, and two awards were given to us, and apparently not by accident! We won for Best EP (our self-titled EP), and we also won for Best Lead Singer.

We are absolutely blown away by winning these awards, especially considering we’re just two people with a guitar, a triangle, and funny hair. 🙂 Our EP was entirely self-produced and made in our home studio, and that the competition for Best Lead Singer was unbelievably stiff. I mean, have you heard those other singers? They’re freakin’ AMAZING!

The Homey Awards are sponsored by Hometown Heroes, that wonderful show hosted by Mark C. Rogers on 93.7 WSTW that features music and in-studio performances by musicians from Phildelphia, Delaware, Maryland, and southern New Jersey.

Anyway, here’s Matt accepting the Best EP award, with Todd Chappelle (channeling his inner and outer Ritchie Rubini) presenting. That’s Mark Rogers on the right. Thanks to Adam Walhberg for shooting this video!

 
You can listen to and/or purchase this Best EP by clicking this link. You’ll hear Jill’s Best Lead Singin’ pipes on there. 🙂

Here's a closeup of the awards. Pretty neat! They're sitting atop Jill's piano at Knappshack Studios.
Here’s a closeup of the awards. Pretty neat! They’re sitting atop Jill’s piano at Knappshack Studios.

1,000,000,000,000 thank yous to everyone who nominated us, and to the kind judges. We are eternally grateful and indebted to you.

Much love,

Ji11 and Suburban Legend
(aka Jill and Matt)

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Rocking Uncategorized

GIG: Delaware Friends of Folk (Dover, DE), Saturday, March 23, 7:30 (with TRINI)

** This show was originally scheduled for Saturday January 19th. It’s been rescheduled for Saturday, March 23rd. Same times, same opening band, same venue, same price… just a different date.**

We'll be at the Delaware Friends of Folk on 3/23! Woot!
We’ll be at the Delaware Friends of Folk on 3/23! Woot!

It’s not often that Hot Breakfast!, your favorite acoustic punk dork-rock power duo, is asked to play at a chapel. By a group called the Delaware Friends of Folk. In fact, when we first got the call, before we began celebrating, we asked them if they were…like…sure they had the right band? The people who cover “Crazy Train?” The acoustic band who occasionally sends their guitar into overdrive? The dorks who use visual aids while doing unlikely Queen covers?

Yes, they assured us. We can take it. Folkies like dorks too.

So we are thrilled to announce that Hot Breakfast! will be performing at the Delaware Friends of Folk Coffee House on SATURDAY, MARCH 23rd at 7:30 pm. The show is at the Wesley Chapel in Dover, Delaware – our first gig in Dover! We’re extra-excited because we get to dig a little deeper into our catalog and play some of our more folky offerings, including some originals and maybe some spooky covers. But don’t worry – there’ll be plenty of dork.

Dover native Trini will be opening up at 7:30! After perusing her Facebook page and listening to some songs, we’re already fans – she shares our love of 80s hard rock, and her hats put Matt’s to shame. (Sorry, Matt. But it’s true.)

The cost is only $7, or only $5 if you’re a member of the great Delaware Friends of Folk, a wonderful organization that celebrates an incredibly diverse group of music and musicians. Please check them out. We go on at 7:30 pm and won’t stop the rockin’ until 3 am! (Or until they kick us out at 9:30 or so.) No booze at this family-friendly event, but some great coffee and food will be available for purchase.

Will Matt wear a silly hat?1 Will Ji11 make her hair look like the Dragonball Z guy?2 Will the Wesley Chapel be filled with the melodious dork-folk-rock stylings only Hot Breakfast! can provide? Only one way to find out, baby.

DEETS:

WHO: Hot Breakfast! with opener Trini
WHEN: Saturday, March 23rd. Doors open at 7PM; Trini plays at 7:30PM. HB plays at 8:30PM.
WHERE: Delaware Friends of Folk Coffee House, held at Wesley Chapel on the campus of Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. That’s the corner of West Division St & South Bradford St, Dover, DE 19904.
COST: $5 for Delaware Friends of Folk members, $7 for mortals
FOOD: Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.
FACEBOOK EVENT: Clicky here!

Love,
The Suburban Legend & Ji11

1. They’re not silly. They’re retro cool. RETRO COOL.
2. Yeah, probably.

Categories
Ass-kicking Gigs Uncategorized

GIG: The Young Bean (Clayton, DE), Friday, March 22

Original artwork by Eric Young. Bad Photoshopping by Matt Casarino.
Original artwork by Eric Young. Bad Photoshopping by Matt Casarino.

Last September, we had a wonderful night at a funky little coffee shop in Clayton, Delaware.

We played two full sets at The Young Bean and had a marvelous time. We’re so thrilled to be back there on Friday, March 22 for another round. The show starts at 6:30, and we’ll be performing until 9:00, or until they kick us out (6:37).

And you should join us. Seriously, you should.

Why?

  • The Young Bean is awesome (link goes to their Facebook page). It’s an independent shop with amazing coffee and tea and really good food, including BACON CAKE.
  • The owners, Kim and Eric, are super-cool and made us feel really loved and welcome.
  • NO COVER CHARGE. That means it’s free, Jack.
  • It’s a small place, where we get to do a truly acoustic show – no mics. (This may not be the best news for the patrons, for we are far more likely to run around like idiots when we don’t have cables.)
  • The folks who hang out at The Young Bean are really wonderful and friendly.
  • We’re playing for 2 1/2 hours, so we get to dig deep into our catalog and play some quieter, more introspective cuts.
  • But we’ll still be playing loud & dorky cuts as well.
  • We just might be playing some brand-new material.
  • Eric Young painted that great sign for us for our gig there last September.
  • We don’t get to play south of Newark much, but between this and our Saturday gig in Dover, we’ll be spending the weekend in Kent County!

It’ll be a great night. See you at The Young Bean!

DEETS:

WHAT: Hot Breakfast! at The Young Bean, 314 Main Street, Clayton, DE.
WHEN: Friday, March 22nd. We play from 6:30 to 9.
WHERE: On the very charming Main Street in Clayton, Delaware. Here’s a map – it’s easy to find.
COST: THERE IS NO COST. But if you don’t buy some coffee, you truly will be missing out.
FOOD: Food! Coffee! Iced Chai Lattes! (They’re FANTASTIC) Bacon cake! Once again, with feeling…bacon cake.
FACEBOOK EVENT: Right here!

Yours,
Matt
(The Suburban Legend)