Nnnnnnnnope.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some. In any case, we had an awesome time in NYC. We got flown in (which was a HUGE help since we were going to drive all night Saturday and just show up Sunday morning at 7am at the Hard Rock), we got to see Times Square, we got to play the Hard Rock in Times Square (how many bands can say THAT), and we got treated like rock stars for a weekend, we saw a real NY fashion show, and met and played for "Little Steven" van Zandt. All-in-all, it was REALLY cool! The people running the scenes behind the show (Yo, Louis, and Kathi) were very friendly and nice, and it was a real pleasure to work with them.

The performance went really well, too. We got set up in time, everyone was in tune, we all played well, and, in my opinion, our stage show was spot on. Eric, unfortunately, could not make the performance, but Andy from the band JAR filled in and did an outstanding job. We may have lost, but it definitely wasn't because we weren't the best band there.

Anyway, just a "heads up." We are currently planning our big "Here We Are, Again" concert on December 19th at the Coffee Emporium on Central Parkway. It will be from 8pm to 12am, so all you old folks can come out and hear us, too. We have a lot of new material, and we are very excited to play it for you all. On top of that, it will be the debut of our newest member, Eric Bates! This is going to be a nifty little shin-dig, so I expect to see you all there!!

My run-ins with celebrities have been sparse. I spoke with Fred Savage in 1993 at my friends party, asked Jeff Immelt
a question about customer accounts in 2002, and took a private jet (fancy!) from Dallas to Milwaukee in 2003. On October 16th, 2008, however, I had my most meaningful encounter to date.

The Breeders played a live show for the Obama "vote early" event. For as much as I adore them, I had never been able to see them perform live. So, I rushed out of work, and Emily and I hauled ass down to Fountain Square. I came upon the event and they were playing "No Aloha." After that song, Kim asked whether they had enough time to play the next one. My heart sank, because I thought this would be the last one. Luckily, it turns out, they had just started.

A highlight for me was "Driving on 9" when Kelley played the violin. Kim said that Kelley learned how to play the violin just for the song Driving on 9. Kelley had been having some guitar trouble and made a comment that her violin playing would be better than her guitar playing that night. Kim laughed and said she wasn't going to say anything... BUT. So, they were making fun of each other, and I thought it was pretty endearing.

I did not think I would get misty, but it happened during "New Year." I have listened to that song so many times. All those moments gathered inside of me, and then my eyes and ears told my brain that I was hearing it live. So, the tears flowed a little, and I thought about why I like that song so much. The song is under 2 minutes long. I wonder if the Breeders always meant to do more with it, but then realized it needed to stand alone and introduce the cd "Last Splash."

Kim said they were "classy" and knew a Beatles song. They played my favorite song from Pod, "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" (Lennon/McCartney). I didn't know that Kelley sang "I just wanna get along." She sounded great. "Cannonball" rocked of course, and Kim's vocal effect talk box sounded fantastic. I want one! They ended with "Saints" I think, and they even encored with "Safari." Kim Deal and Kelley 's vocals were all there. The music tickled my brain. I had no idea what they would sound like live, so overall I was very pleased.

After the show, I felt pretty giddy about meeting them and walked over to where they were talking to fans. Emily and I talked with Kelley for a while about rollerderby. I managed to get out some meaningful praise for the Breeders and gave Kelley Deal two Pike cd's. I talked with Jose Medeles about music and lyrics. I asked about Sinister Foxx lyric "Have you seen the iguana..." We talked about Pike, which was wild. I told Jose that The Breeders inspire us to strive for that element of unique that they have seemed to master. I spoke quickly with Kim Deal and just let her know about what an inspiration she is. Kim said practice, practice, practice. So, yes, Kim I promise we will.

Walking away from the band, I remembered that it is people like them that keep me going when I am frustrated about money, writing, the music scene, and who knows what else. Well, it's them and the amazing people that come out to our shows and act as zombie extras in our videos. So, having met the Breeders, their realness ensues, and they sit in the back of my mind as I work at my music work bench. Overall, it was an amazing experience, and by the way in the spirit of the event, I did vote early!

It's here people!  The video is done and posted.  Thank you to Steve, Paul, and all the Cincy state students that devoted their time and efforts and put this project together!  You all are FANTASTIC!

SO, GO SEE IT NOW!!!

See it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSl3ZCEpLnw

OK. So we've been bugging the crap out of you to vote for us for the Underground Garage/Teen Vogue Battle of the Bands. So here's the good news: it's almost done. HOWEVER... we need one more vote from you.

We are also entered in the The Sound's "Not So Silent Night." We need your vote ONE MORE TIME. This would be a great opportunity for us. You can only vote once, so once you've voted, you're all done. Here's how you can vote:

Email your vote to band@949thesound.com
Just simply say you want to cast your vote for PIKE!!! Then you're all done. No more annoying emails from us!

Thanks a TON for all that you have done for us.

No, really. Guess what. OK, I'll tell you since you're not guessing... pooppy pants.

WE FREAKIN' WON!!!! We were voted one of the top 3 band on Underground Garage/Teen Vogue's battle of the bands. That means we now travel to New York City and play in the finals at the Time Square Hard Rock Cafe. Woof, we are TOTALLY jonesing. And of course, this would not be possible without our FANTASTIC FANS that put us there. We can't begin to describe how great you all are and how much you all mean to us. Well, I can begin to describe, but it's getting late and I have to work tomorrow and it would just take entirely too long.

We do not have the full details, yet, other than it will be Sunday, November 19th, but we will keep you informed on the event. The other 2 bands that will be playing to win are 1) Snake Pliskin and 2) Half Demon Doll. We wish them the best of luck.

Thank you all!

Whooooo-hoo!

2 days, 2+ hours of video, 30+ zombies, and countless hours of preparation... all for 3 minutes of video... and it was TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!!

We had such a blast doing this video. Steve, Paul, and the whole Cincy State crew was so fantastic and easy to work with. They were so good, they even kept Pike on schedule and from running way over time - and that is saying something.

The first day was rainy, but we shot around it and it all turned out great. We shot 3 kill scenes and some little extra "filler" shots. The next day was beautiful. We finished up the last kill scene and shot extra "filler" and "establishing" shots. Then all the zombies started rolling in.

We had over 30 people show up. One-by-one, each of them were transformed into the living dead. Then, the big zombie jam happened. We got behind our cage and the zombies went rabid! It was so cool, I can't even begin to describe all the things that happened.

So how does it look? I got to see some of the raw footage last night, and it looked terriffic. I really can't wait to see the end product. This Halloween, we will be able to check out the rough-cut, and the final cut should come in about an extra week. So it won't be very long before you can see the final product, too!

We would like to thank everyone involved - Steve, Paul, the Cincinnati State crew, and all of our favorite zombies that came out to help. We could - in no way - have done it without you all! THANK YOU!!

OK, everybody. We got the details now.

If you'd like to be a zombie in Pike's video, you should show up at the location below on Saturday, October 25th at 4:00 pm. Again, this is set in 1973, so wear appropriate clothes. No clothing with logos due to copyright infringements. If you don't have any appropriate 1970's clothing, you can wear a t-shirt, jeans, sweatshirt, Chuck Taylors, or anything that is fairly "time neutral." ALSO!! Be sure to wear something you don't mind getting ruined with fake blood or dirt.

We will have makeup artists there to do everyone's zombie makeup. The guys are planning to shoot the zombie scenes around 7:30 or 8:30 pm, so you shouldn't be out too late.

This should be a lot of fun! So we can get at least a half-accurate count of how many people are coming (so we have enough makeup), please drop me an email at wade@pikerocks.com. And if - ****IF*** - we have all of our amps and PA set up, and we can get enough amps (voltage), and we won't disturb any of the neighbors, maybe we'll pound out a new song or two for you! We hope we can, but we CAN'T PROMISE!

OK, so once again:

**The Location (you'll have to map it on google or msn):
2401 Cincinnati Brookville Rd.
Hamilton, OH 45014

I know its says Hamilton, but its really just north of 275 off of Colerain Ave...just past Rumpke.

**The time:
Saturday, Oct 25. Be there at 4:00 and be prepare to stay until about 9.

**What to bring:
Time-appropriate clothing.

See you all their! And remeber to keep voting for Pike at www.undergroundgarage.com/teenvogue/.

Wade

HEEELLLLLOOOOOOO peoples!

How would you like to be a zombie in Pike's next video? We need as many people as we can get.

We'll be shooting on October 24th and 25th (that's a Friday and Saturday for those of you without a calendar) for our song "Summer of '73." What we need is as many people as we can get for the 25th, Saturday night at 9:30. We will be shooting on a secluded farm in Ross, and we will supply the makeup. All you need to do is show up in appropriate apparel. It is set in 1973, so dress in early 1970's gear. ALSO, don't wear anything you don't want fake blood and makeup all over. ANOTHER ALSO: if you want to wear "occupational costume" (such as a mechanic's outfit, scrubs, police officer's uniform, etc...) feel free - just be sure it is something that would have existed (or could at least pass for having existed) in the early 1970's. And to avoid lawsuits and copyright infringements, DO NOT wear any clothing with logos or advertisements on them (like the Nike swoosh or band t-shirts - unless you want to wear your Pike t-shirt).

This video is being shot by the audio/visual department of Cincinnati State. We've seen the last video they shot, and it was extremely professional looking! It is going to be a great time. And, since we are going to have our instruments and amps, if we can swing it (like if we actually plug in and no neighbors are close by) we'll play you one of our new songs!

Feel free to contact us through myspace, personal emails, or in person to ask any questions and let us know you're coming. We'll get you directions later.

We are 1 of 10 finalists in Underground Garage's/Teen Vogue battle of the bands, and we NEED YOUR VOTE!!

If we are in the top 3 bands, we go to NYC's Time Square and play for the grand prize!!! If we win THAT, we get a record contract!

To vote, go to the following web site:

http://www.undergroundgarage.com/teenvogue/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

You can vote once every 24 hours, so VOTE OFTEN!!!!!!!!!

Well, Pike had some sad news to break to you when Kelley Kombrinck had to leave the band. He was a founding member and an important, integral part of our sound, and he will be missed.

But NOW, Pike had some REALLY AWESOME news for you! We promised we would not fade away into oblivion (we certainly didn’t want that to happen). We thought and thought about our options. Do we become a 3-piece? Do we put out an add? Do we have a string of “stand-in” guitarists? We took a couple of weeks to think about this, but, not wanting to be idle, we began writing new songs and exploring new directions. We were very content and driven to explore our tribal side (as is apparent with our new song on our MySpace account titled “The People Next Door”), but our producer suggested we stay a little more “main-stream.” ;)

We figured, to get that full sound on stage, we should get another guitarist. We also like the extra creative input of another person. So, you’re dying to know who it is, aren’t you…

Pike is very excited to have brought on it’s newest member Eric Bates formerly of Fillmore’s Therapy. We’ve played with Fillmore’s Therapy a couple of times and became friends with Eric about a year ago. We really like what Eric and FT were producing, but unfortunately (but fortunately for us!), FT was not playing anymore. So welcome Eric (affectionately now known as “Freak Show Eric” due to a file-naming mishap, but nothing to do with Eric himself) with a big zombie chomp.

Now I’m sure you are wondering “so when do we get to hear said guitarist and previously aforementioned musical compositions?” To that I answer a hardy and resounding “soon.” We are scheduled for a couple of Halloween shows in Iowa, and we hope to play in Cincinnati shortly after that. All 8 of our nipples are standing on end with excitement to start playing out again. Until then, we are working hard to bring you new material.

Sorry it's been a little late in coming, but...

Congratulations to Paula Enderle!! The winner of Pike's "Your idea could become the next subject of a Pike song" contest!!

We would like to thank everyone who entered - your ideas were great. Unfortunately, we had to pick only one person to win. However, you are all favorite people in the heart of PiKE. Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas with us and supporting us. We hope that we can repay to you all that you have given to us!!

Well, a new chapter has opened on PiKE.

Our good friend and guitarist Kelley Kombrinck has decided to retire from Pike. It is a sad day for the other 3 members of Pike, but we are determined to carry on and to bring you new music. Kelley Kombrink was a founding member and an integral part of Pike's sound. We hope that we can continue the tradition of musical diversity and quirkiness that he brought. We really appreciate what he added to the band, but foremost and above all we love him dearly as the great friend he is. He will always be family to us.

So what is in store for Pike? New music, new shows, new ideas, and a new... guitarist??? We have discussed, in-depth, what direction we would like to go - a guitar, maybe a keyboardist... maybe bagpipes and a jug player? Although a good, hardy jug player would REALLY be sweet, most likely we'll be looking for a new lead guitar. Whoever it is will have some awfully big shoes to fill - size 13's to be exact - but, rest assured, whoever fills this position will be an exellent and appreciated new addition.

In the meantime, we have already started to write new music and we'll continue to build our new portfolio non-stop so that this will seem less like a stumple and more like a skip-step... whatever... hey, I'm writing from the cuff at this point. Go screw yourself. In anycase, we are really anxious to start playing out again and we are still talking to our producer about starting to record soon for our full-length CD.

And by the way, we haven't picked a winner for our contest, yet. Why? We've been a little pre-occupied this last week! Give us a break, we lost a Pike family memeber! In any case, we'll let you know who won by the end of the week.

In closing, we'd like to say "thank you" to all of you who have been out to support us - we've really appreciated all of your generous words of kindness. We'll be back soon. But most of all, we'd like to say "good luck Kelley." We love you and hope everything comes up roses.