PleaseRock

The Greatest Yacht Rock Revival was a smash, thanks to YOU Nation of Smooth!  We could go on a hyperbole-filled rant about the greatness of Little River Band, Ambrosia, Peter Beckett of Player, Walter Egan, the impromptu reunion of Starbuck after 30 years(!), Ill-Eagles, Schooner, and – most of all – ourselves… but most of you were there.  So we’ve got a bunch of new photos.  If you haven’t picked up your Captains Hat Mug Shot yet, they’re over on Mixtape Atlanta.

We’ve been on the road a lot since then, playing awesome public debuts in Washington DC and New York City, where Chris from LRB sat in and the Rocks Off Cruise was sold out!  We gave a light rock lesson at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a hip crowd of revelers.  We kept it classy with shots of Avion in Westchester, in keeping with the Entourage theme Peter always has going on.  Peter did a shot of pinot grigio from an ice luge during a break at a private event for our friends in Acworth.  We braved the 108 degree day in Dallas to check out the grassy knoll, and then we turned the House of Blues into the House of Smooth.

Our return run up the East Coast in October should be the balls.  We’ll be in DC (at the newly-renovated Mason Inn) on Thursday, October 27 and at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Friday, October 28 (TICKETS.)

Don’t ever let someone tell you that staging a festival reviving an entire genre of under-appreciated music is easy.  From massive tent rentals to beer sponsors, from volunteer schedules to big band riders, from press releases to assembling 1,000 John Oates fans… we’ve been working hard for a long time to bring you our very best on Saturday: The Greatest Yacht Rock Revival in the Universe.  TICKETS and VIP Packages are still available.

Here are a few tips for the Revival…

GETTING IN: Doors at 3p, ticket holders or $30 cash, ATMs on site.  Separate line for holders of VIP tickets, band guests, and media.  Things will move more quickly if you bring a printout of your ticket.

MUSIC LINEUP: Main Stage:  Yacht Rock Revue at 5p, Ambrosia at 6:45p, Little River Band at 8:30p, Yacht Rock Revue AGAIN at 10:15!  The Ill-Eagles kick off the Second Stage at 4p, followed by 3 sets of Yacht Rock Schooner during change-overs on the Main Stage.

DRINKING AND EATING: We’ll have plenty of beer and liquor stations to keep you socially lubricated.  Food will be provided by our friends from the Atlanta Street Food Coalition:  Yumbii, The Pup Truck, The Pickle, The Fry Guy, Westside Creamery, and King of Pops!  (No coolers or outside food or drink will be allowed.)

KEEPING COOL / STAYING DRY: The first 1,000 people through the door get a commemorative John Oates Fan.  We’ll also have a misting tent.  The Main Stage is under a super-ginormous tent, and the Second Stage and Food Court are under pretty big tents also.  There should be plenty of shade and cover should a summer shower pop up.  Porta-Potties will be available for relieving yourself.  VIPs have access to an air-conditioned bar and bathrooms.

TAKING A LOAD OFF: We’ll have a bunch of tables and chairs at the food court.  You’re welcome to bring your own lawn chairs, but there will be a no-chairs-allowed section in front of the Main Stage for the smooth-core dancing set.

MERCH / PHOTO BOOTH: Large Revival posters will be available for only $5, and we’ll have a large selection of classic yachty tees, new designs, and (of course) captains hats available for purchase at our merch booth.  Your Revival Captains Hat Head Shot is FREE at the Mixtape Atlanta Photo Booth.  (Both will be under the Main Stage Tent.)

PARKING: Since we’ll have the venue’s entire lot covered by tents, parking is every light rocker for him or herself.  The neighborhood has plenty of lots, we have confidence you can figure it out!

MOVIE SHOOT: We’ve started a film chronicling the smooth music movement (glorifying ourselves, of course) and we’ll be shooting footage at the Revival.  By entering the Festival you’re consenting to be filmed for our movie.  We may even ask you to say a word or two about yachtiness on camera, so be prepared to wax poetic.

SOCIAL: Facebook.com/YachtRockRevue | @PleaseRock | @YachtRockRevue | #yachtrock | Pictures & video encouraged!

The AJC did a nice little story about the show… so we’ve made it big-time, right?  Here are some pictures from another great night at the Park Tavern, a super-early morning on CBS for Better Mornings Atlanta, and our other weekly goofings about town.

Right as we were trying to begin the PR campaign for The Greatest Yacht Rock Revival in the Universe, Weezer decided to go and announce their cruise: Weezer, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, Gene Ween, Wavves, Boom Bip… and the Yacht Rock Revue?  Apparently this is a big deal so YRR was mentioned in Pitchfork, Spin, MTV Online, Stereogum, and the Onion AV Club. That’s good PR, and speaking of: TICKETS for the Revival.

YRR Fans DEFINITELY put the “hard on” in Chardonnay at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville on Saturday night.  The show was sold out!  The energy in the room (and the heat on stage) pushed us to the limit, as evidenced by our encore selection: “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” We’re not sure yet when we’re coming back, but we want it to be soon.

A big Nashville highlight for us was meeting and sharing the stage with Walter Egan: the artist behind “Magnet and Steel,” songwriter for Gram Parsons, former pal of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, and ripping guitarist!  We backed him up on a couple of his his hits to warm up for his appearance on stage with us at the Revival in a few weeks.

Our new subwoofer crapped out this weekend so screw you, Best Buy. But we had an awesome breakfast Sunday morning at Sunny Point Cafe in Asheville after playing a beautiful (and we do mean beautiful) private event there on Saturday night.  And nobody came to Monkeyboy’s autograph session, as you can see in the photo.  Cool!

This week DJ Raetone is spinning at Midtown Street Food Thursdays to promote the Revival, Schooner heads to Macon and up to Marietta this weekend, and the Revue continues the return of the Most Yachtily Dressed Contest at 10 High. (Winner gets a Revival ticket.)

What’s more, Thursday night is Gina’s last night selling merch for YRR.  But don’t be sad for her – she’s moving to Brooklyn!  She will continue her stellar apparel and graphic design work for PleaseRock, so go send her off by supporting her art and buying some stuff.

This week we’re on the road to Nashville to play at the Mercy Lounge Friday night (TICKETS.)  The show will feature a special guest appearance from legit ’70s yacht rocker WALTER EGAN, the artist behind the smash hit “Magnet and Steel,” writer for Gram Parsons and others, and friend of Fleetwood Mac!  His appearance is a warm-up for his guest spot with us for the Revival in Atlanta in August.  Also joining us in August: Little River Band, Ambrosia, Peter Beckett from Player, and our pals from Starbuck!  But you knew that already…

We’ve brought back the costume contest at our weekly 10 High appearance on Thursday nights, and the winners get a ticket to The Greatest Yacht Rock Revival in the Universe on August 13 AND a picture with us – you can see some of the winners below.  Win-win, get your smooth outfit out for a chance to win every Thursday in July.

Monkeyboy was horrified by Santa at Christmas in July at Park Tavern, but the rest of you seemed to be in a pretty festive Reagan Rock mood.  We relish the chance to get out the boxes that strap to our waists.  There are a bunch of pictures on Mixtape Atlanta, and a few of our favorites below.

This weekend we pitted the Beatles against the Rolling Stones at Smith’s Olde Bar, and the result was an ass-kicking show.  It was a ton of fun, and we have some videos coming soon.  Otherwise, we’ve been rehearsing new tunes for the Revival, playing some private events, and annoying each other in the van.

Mother Nature’s attempts to thwart the smooth (and the U2) over the last couple of weeks were met with resolute soft rock from the PleaseRock crew.  (Thanks to Smynings Yacht Club for the inspiration for the blog title this week!)  Uno Dos Tres Catorce followed a torrential downpour at Meehan’s last Saturday with a downpour of glorious Irish rock, and the picture at left shows what we were up against.

We had a record 3am call time for our appearance on CBS Better Mornings Atlanta on Wednesday morning.  Brutal.  But we gave them the basic intro to the yacht rock genre (online videos of “What a Fool Believes,” “Somebody’s Baby,” and “Lido Shuffle” are available), reported the weather, and recorded an amazing and informative drum instructional video in our down time.  Even if you’re not a drummer -  even if you’re not a musician at all – you still have something to learn:

Friday night thousands of Mariettans turned out for a free YRR concert on the square downtown.  The weather delayed our start and cut us short, but we all made the evening count.  Here’s a video of “Sister Golden Hair” from that show by special PleaseRock correspondent Chadwick Hunter.  Check out the Gazebo Rock!

Marietta – if you missed this show, fear not.  We’ll be back at the Strand Theatre for a 2-night stand on November 18 and 19.  Friday night is Yacht Rock, Saturday night is Sgt. Pepper’s and Dark Side of the Moon.  We checked out the renovated space and it is awesome, so mark your calendars for a great couple of evenings of listening pleasure.

Saturday afternoon we helped raise money to support our first responders at Grady Hospital by performing at the Rock ‘n’ Ride Event on Peachtree Street.  They’ve never shut down that section of Peachtree before, but they had good reason: YRR opening for Mother’s Finest!

This weekend we’re off until our early call to play the finish line of the Peachtree Road Race on Monday morning, followed by the Aquarium Beer Fest and Fireworks on Monday night.  Happy Birthday, America!

ATLANTA – The Greatest Yacht Rock Revival in the Universe will soft rock Atlanta on Saturday, August 13 from 3pm to midnight at the East Andrews complex in Buckhead. Brought to you by PleaseRock and starring Atlanta’s own Yacht Rock Revue and the one-two punch of ‘70s icons Little River Band and Ambrosia, the outdoor festival will celebrate smooth music and nautical attitudes on a scale unseen since polyester had its own section at the department store.

Thousands of revelers will enjoy fruity cocktails, two outdoor stages of music under a giant tent and nosh from Atlanta’s finest food trucks. As the evening crests, the festival attendees will attempt to set the Guinness World Record for “The Most People Wearing Captain’s Hats!”  (Seriously.) Nostalgic sets by Ambrosia and Little River Band will be followed by a special guest-friendly set by the Yacht Rock Revue, including legit yacht rockers Walter Egan (Magnet and Steel), members of Starbuck (Moonlight Feels Right) and Peter Beckett – the lead singer of Player (Baby Come Back!)

The Yacht Rock Revue has established themselves as one of Atlanta’s most popular bands since their first show as a joke side project in 2008. By approaching soft rock with the intensity of punk rock, YRR has breathed life into the music of the late ‘70s and forged a path unique among tribute bands. They’ve performed on cruises with Zac Brown Band, Train and Kid Rock, played on Turner Field to 30,000 fans for the 4^th of July, sold out the Variety Playhouse and Park Tavern and sang the National Anthem at Bobby Cox’s last game. YRR has gathered accolades through accuracy that wows music nerds, a self-deprecating sense of humor that wins over skeptics and dance moves dedicated to the ladies.

Little River Band has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and their hits Reminiscing, Lady, Cool Change, Happy Anniversary and Lonesome Loser serve as touchstones for the Yacht Rock genre. Will Ferrell’s character in The Other Guys obsesses over LRB (as he calls them), and LRB songs have been resurfacing across pop culture with increasing frequency.

Ambrosia’s performance on Jimmy Fallon’s Yacht Rock 2011 episode reminded the smooth world of their amazing vocal, instrumental and songwriting prowess. Their embrace of the yacht rock trend has placed them squarely in the zeitgeist, and hits like The Biggest Part of Me, You’re the Only Woman and How Much I Feel still resonate with audiences today.

Festival is 21+. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 15 on Xorbia.com. $25 advance, $30 day of show. East Andrews: 56 East Andrews Drive, NW, Atlanta, GA 30305-1316.

Facebook Event for the Revival | PleaseRock.com

May is always one of the busiest months in our business… thus, the lack of bloggings.  But here is a quick synopsis: We punked Josh Rifkind at 500 Songs for Kids by replacing Lionel Richie with Joe Cocker (to everyone’s benefit, since we couldn’t do the Lionel song without our bassman Greg Levi’s.)  Persona shifts from Beatles to YRR to U2 and back, location shifts across the country and across the state, and multiple corporate gig situations added in-week work to our usual packed weekend schedule.

On Memorial Day, the Atlanta Braves hosted us for a post-game concert.  Despite a false start (luckily unheard by the audience) we sang one of our best National Anthems yet, if we do say so ourselves.  After 10 innings and a bummer Braves loss, the crowd poured onto the field to join us, braving the sun and heat to bring the smooth to Turner Field for the second time in a year.  Thanks to Peter Stroud and Miss Alyssa for sitting in, and thanks to all of the fans who posted videos of our second hottest gig ever to our Facebook page – here is one of our favorites featuring Sax Body Spray:

Last weekend we had an exceptionally smooth crowd at Park Tavern with our buddies from Nashville Space Capone.  We’re really vibing the crowds at Park Tavern this year.  Keep up the good sauce and great positive energy, gang.  Our next show in the park is Reagan Rock Christmas in July on July 8.  (TICKETS)

This weekend we took the smooth to Nashville and had our best show ever at Mercy Lounge – Bret Saberhagen was there!  The Nation of Smooth has definitely arrived in Music City – we’re back on July 22.  Then we hit our home state for Rock the District in Carmel, Indiana and showed a bunch of friends and family (and strangers) what a day at the office is like for the doctors of dentist office rock.

Finally, we resurrected the Doobie Brothers Game.  If you were lucky enough to witness it at the 10 High, you were probably too drunk to remember.  The rest of you may not know what it is yet, but you will soon.

We had another fun excursion with our friends from Sixthman on the VH1 Best Cruise Ever last weekend from Tampa to Cozumel.  Cheers to all of our new pals!  Bencoo loved his jam with the undermanned (and amazing) One eskimO, and Pat from Train told us we would be huge if we had a hit song of our own.  (I asked if he had any extra Drops of Jupiter lying around.)  I want him to be right, so we’re going to give it a shot this summer.  Most importantly we learned that Monkeyboy will NOT be having any accidents – the good part (us) is at the end of this video.

This weekend we open the Yacht Rock Revue Summer Sunsets in the Park Series at Park Tavern (TICKETS) on Friday night, play some Beatles at the Decatur Greenfest early on Saturday evening (free), and race off to play a couple of tunes on the final night of our favorite charity event: 500 Songs for Kids at Smith’s Olde Bar on Saturday night (TICKETS.)

We celebrated the birthday of our former band mate, current Zac Brown Band utility man, and un-wedding crasher Clay Cook at Vinyl as part of a star-studded performance of Tom Petty’s Wildflowers album on April 20.  We shared the stage with John Mayer, ZBB, and a good number of Atlanta’s dwindling community of musicians who make an honest living during the jam session after the album.  We were assigned “You Wreck Me” with our pal Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, Sarah McLachlan, out now with Stevie Nicks!):

Here are a couple of live videos from the Reagan Rock Prom in Atlanta, we’ll post them all sooner or later on our Facebook:

In a final bit of creative news, it’s the 4-year anniversary of the release of the Y O U Moviekiss Lite Brite video, stop-motion animated by YRR graphic / tee designer and about-to-be SCAD grad Gina Niespodziani.  Let Pat from Train know we gave it a shot once, and we’ll give it a shot again…

Reagan Rock Prom II was a bash!  Productions of that magnitude always wear us out: we learn a lot of tunes, storm a lot of brains, and engage in a lot of crafts to make the show happen.  It’s nice when it comes off so smoothly… and with air conditioning.  If you donated a dress or money to Project Zimzala, feel good because we collected more than 100 prom dresses to give to girls who are less fortunate.  Your photos are available from Mixtape Atlanta.  We’re bringing the Prom to Nashville at the Mercy Lounge on Saturday night (TICKETS.)

We’re trying a new PleaseRock series at the Havana Club on Thursday nights, kicking off with the Yacht Rock Revue this week.  It’s an experimental joint venture between the club and our bands to see if Buckhead is capable of the rock on Thursday nights.  NO cover, FREE drinks from 7:30-8:30, free valet, free light apps, and music from 9-11!  In the coming weeks we’ll have the Pinups (Bowie), Main Street Exiles (Rolling Stones), and Ill-Eagles (Eagles.)  Schooner is at 10 High this week and next.

Beatle-ology on April Fool’s Day at Eddie’s Attic was good fun, too.  We got lots of great drawing requests (some below), all of which we’ll be posting on Facebook leading up to our PPRM show at Smith’s on May 14 (TICKETS.)  Thanks to Chris Lewis for the PPRM pictures below.

Next week we’re sailing on the VH1 Cruise and returning for the kick-off of our Summer Series at Park Tavern, all-ages free Beatle-ology at Decatur Greenfest, and our annual appearance at 500 Songs For Kids.  More on all that later, here’s visual proof:

The annual PleaseRock involvement at the Limerick’s Junction St. Patrick’s Day Celebration was an extravaganza this year, with six bands on three stages and lots of drunk honorary Irishmen and women.

I was in Austin playing SXSW with Lovett the week of St. Pats.  I yummied down on food trucks (Korean tacos!), saw some excellent bands (Bobby and Superhumanoids stood out, ATL pals Trances Arc are always great), and had a great time playing some dirty indie rock.  The Asheville crew from Lovett made me feel welcome as the only outsider, and the shows got great coverage from CNN, Red River Noise, and Best New Bands.

Pete headed down to New Orleans and hung with Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt at d.b.a. on Frenchman Street!  He also shot some absinthe, recovered his lost Mac from a cabbie by random luck, and was recognized on Bourbon Street by Yacht Rock fans. The Schooner hit Chattanooga and Marietta – look for them to travel to your neck of the Southeast woods soon.

This week we’re back on the wagon, and our big public event is a two-show (7p and 9:30p – TICKETS) night at the pristine-sounding Eddie’s Attic in Decatur on Friday.  We’ve got songs from every Beatles LP and some April Foolery prepared. We’ve got some free tickets for the best drawing request from our last show at Smith’s – check out the PPRM Facebook page to see if your drawing won.  We’ll also be introducing a couple of new PleaseRock tee shirt designs at the show, check out the previews below…

Overall, we’ve got an eight gigs in six days marathon that starts tonight at Sweetwater Brewery with a benefit for the Atlanta Humane Society and closes with a wedding on Sunday.  Next week we start cramming rehearsals for the Reagan Rock Prom on April 16 at Variety Playhouse.  The Prom goes on the road this year to Nashville at the Mercy Lounge on April 23, too.  Our Thursday night sets at 10 High between now and then will feature previews of the new smooth ’80s soundtrack music we’ll be learning, as well as ticket giveaways for the Prom itself.