Well so we played at the (a) Battle of the Bands. I say “a” because there are like 30 Battles of the Bandses around the city at any given time, so it doesn’t really mean anything from a who-won-the-battle perspective. That’s the kind of attitude that people who didn’t win have, and it’s true, we didn’t win. We got a solid 2nd place (or 3rd place if you don’t count the first two bands as tying for 1st). Here’s why:
The second-to-last band, Manchester School, was really solid. Also they were a five-piece, so they could bring tons more fans and friends. We’re a 3-piece and sold over 30 in just 2 weeks!
The last band, Thumper, was honestly really good. They played a sick cover of Peace Sells (But Who’s Buyin’) by Megadeth, and their singer (a dude who spent the better part of the evening rapping) managed to sound quite a lot like Dave Mustaine.
We lost a lot of fans after our set because it was a school night and they had to wake up early.
But, all that said, we pulled off 2nd place behind some tight bands. Oh, did I mention that there were 4 bands before (behind) us? They were basically all hardcore/metal/punk rock, so when I kicked off the show with “We’re Two Star Spark, and we’re the hardest band here!” our legions of fans laughed and clapped. Yay!
Then after a brief introduction, we settled into our set. The sound was excellent, the lighting was fabulous, and the general vibe in the room was really strong. We played Get Up, Brake Lights, Hurt Me Out, ATL and Brandon, Crack on the Wall, Decay, and Metro. I think we went over, but the promoters let bands trickle in until late, and we were the only ones who showed up 100% on time, so I don’t feel bad.
So, there are some photos for you to look at (thanks to Dan for taking them). And we have another show coming up at Ex’Pression in September. Check the shows page for more info.
In other news, we’ve been working on recording a few songs for a demo with the new lineup. We’re recording (with Eriq) a new version of ATL and Brandon and Hurt Me Out, and fresh versions of Dance Hall and Decay. Good times!
View live broadcasts at http://mediasource.expression.edu/liveCast.htm
Other Info
We're doing another live webcast at Ex'Pression. If you'd like to come to the show, please RSVP to us so we can get you on the guest list. This is a class, so we have to be on our best behavior (i.e. no booze, no drugs, no fighting, no mosh pits... you know, all the stuff that normally happens at one of our shows). It will be webcast live to the world, and we'll get a video at the end that we'll put on the site. Good times will be had by all.
So now that Phil is settled in (have I actually welcomed him to the public yet? If not, welcome, Phil!) and we’re refining our sound and all that, we have a show, and we want you to come and see us. It’s a Battle of the Bands, which means that like 8 bands will be playing 30 minute sets over the course of many hours, and at the end of the night, the band with the most friends wins some kind of prize. So, won’t you come and support us? We determine our play time (between 6 pm and later than that) based on the number of tickets we sell before the show. To make it super easy to buy tickets, we set up a store on the site that you can use to send us Paypal moneys and we’ll mail you (or hand you) a ticket. It really doesn’t get any easier than that to support your favorite local rock band.
And here’s a bonus: for those of you who have seen us before, I can 90% guarantee that there’s a song in the list that you haven’t heard us play!
Anyway, we look forward to seeing you there! Here’s the details again:
Battle of the bands. Come support us, then stick around and cheer for us at the end! Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Contact us for tickets!
So we have had a good run of shows for the Winter season. We played at Grant and Green in North Beach with Ready Five at the end of February, and that was tons of fun. It was a cool venue with a good amount of walk-in traffic, and we had a nice turnout of friends. Playing with bands we know is always fun too because we can share fans and people don’t generally leave after their friend’s band is done. After that, we played with parae and Violent Vickie at El Rio. Man, El Rio is a fun place. They’ve got a big patio outside so that if people didn’t come to see the bands, they can still hear them, which is good when nobody’s heard you before. Anyway, we filmed that show and will likely post some video clips soon.
But, to keep your video desires satisfied, we actually started a YouTube channel and posted a video that Elliot put together of our recording session at Expression in February. We basically set the camera on a tripod and taped our various takes from different angles, then loaded the final mix of the song. Anyway, check out the video, and if you love us, you’ll rate it and subscribe to our channel!
Well, our mini-tour is over. We played with some fabulous bands and were applauded by some fabulous fans. Thursday kicked off with a stellar performance by San Francisco’s Callow, followed closely (but perhaps not closely enough) by our short set. 300 Pounds, who actually braved snow over highway 17 from Santa Cruz, closed the evening to a waning crowd. As usual, the Beale Street Bar was a cool place to play. Tony takes good care of us and is always open to having new bands.
We left work a little early on Friday, jammed the car full of gear, and slogged through pouring rain (which Elliot compared to almost a midwest storm) and made it to the Boardwalk Bowl in the nick of time. It turned out that there was some sort of a mix-up with the order of the bands (we and one other band thought we were going first, told all our friends, etc.). We were cool and accommodating and let them play first, which meant that we were last. Our previous experiences playing last have been pretty unfortunate (people come for the band they know, then leave, leaving the last band with only their closest friends and a bartender). But, these people were so cool! Fans of all three bands (including our own) stuck around for the whole thing. Thanks to those fans who supported us in our longest venture from San Francisco to date. It would have been miserable without you. Anyway, Friday was good fun, and we plan on going back to the Boardwalk Bowl again soon. The sound guy even recorded the whole thing, and we took some video, so look for a nice, professional music video soon!
Two Star Spark formed in 2006 as a side project and somehow managed to grow into the primary project for Elliot and Charlie. Cathy joined later, but ended up leaving in Summer of 2008 to pursue other interests. Phil joined up on bass then and immediately fit in. The music is rock, for lack of a better genre, and draws influence from a wide range of styles from modern alternative and indie rock to classic rock to folk rock to punk rock. Come check us out when we come to your town!
