LUCASCOOKUS

I got to bed last night around 10:30. Me…on a Friday night? I know…I took my temperature…98.6…ship shape. This morning, as I am fully rested and cleaning up the apartment for the weekend it’s hard for me to think about bad things. However, Stacey McCann and I were talking this week and she said: ”Lucas, not for nothing your blogs are great. But, people need to read about the OTHER side of what we do. ”  Ok, I will be glad to share. Although the shows are going extremely well and we gain new fans every show there is a lot that goes into a show. This is the typical show day. Wake up, start sending emails and checking over booking. Make a few phone calls and then start making promo posters. Each one of those takes about an hour to make. Then it has to get approved by Fred. “Nope…to pixilated, forgot the date and it’s too big.” I have to have him look over these because I’m creative…I will give you that but when it comes to perfection…well, let’s just say my posters are a little more ‘organic’ than Fred’s.  

So, then it’s off to the music store. This is always an interesting trip. Just imagine every department…drums, guitars, bass, audio…every department has someone in there tooling around trying to impress the person they brought with them. I recently was informed by a Guitar Center employee of a new phenomenon. Stevie Ray What-A-Burger! Here is the issue with most of the bands in Austin. By the way…we have 6,000 bands in Austin. Only 2,000 play about once a month or more. So, you can see….here we are…a baby band and we play 3 nights a week! Things are good. The problem is 5000 of those bands in Austin try to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn. Bass, drums and some dbag on his knees playing a 15 minute solo. No lie…if you are musically inclined you can understand this gets old. LET THE MAN DIE and just because you gig on 6th street doesn’t mean you HAVE to play Pride N’ Joy! So, apparently some folks from What-A-Burger went to the Guitar

You know how sometimes in life the ying and the yang are all twisted? Good in some aspects bad in others but somehow it’s ALL good? I hope that makes some sort of sense. Last Thursday at Roux was a really great night for us. We had a nice receptive crowd that hung out and had a great time. We met some folks from England and I asked Stacey to write a blog about them…but she’s floating on the river with her friend Shelley and that’s not happening today. So we killed it at Roux and then came Saturday night. First off…the folks in Town from

(OUTREAGEOUS English accent) “Lucas, we have been up and down and all over and you guys are by far the best show we’ve seen in Austin.”

Stephen Beasley came and sat in on sax and harp. It is always a pleasure to have him with us. We had great crowd all night and the beer flowed like wine. Then at the end of the night we worked out a little something special! Turns out we got asked to share the bill with Malford Milligan. This is amazing. No, really! This is the biggest name I have ever shared the stage with personally. I’m not sure about the others in the band…I’m the rookie! Either way, Malford is a big name in Austin and he has got one hell of a resume. I encourage you to Google him. You will see he has worked with Eric Johnson. Enough said. This is an honor and a privilege to have this opportunity. It’s knocking…the bees are buzzing. Want some honey?

I think the North Austin shows will continue to grow for us because this an open market…so to speak.  You have at any given time a plethora of options for entertainment in

We were asked back to the Lucky Lounge which is lovely. It’s like the phone call from the girl you had a date with a few days back. She called…LUCKY! I am very lucky. I can honestly say that I am extremely fortunate to be where I am in life. I know it could seem chaotic if you know me personally. I think though, you can see puzzle pieces coming together. It’s all making sense. From the moment I set foot in this town I knew I was doing the right thing. Life is beautiful. The moment you take it into your hands but also have the understanding that somehow you are never completely in control…it’s amazing what can happen. I am fortunate to have a solid family unit back home. They support me and encourage me to keep pushing. I am lucky to have a dream and follow it. My life is very surreal as of late. Since the fire I have had a new perspective. Weird coincidences like…typing you can’t always get what you need and those lyrics being sung at that exact moment. That kind of thing happens to me daily. It’s almost like I’m watching a movie sometimes. I’m not saying, I’m just saying that all I am saying is that I am at the point where I could lose my home, my car and be on the street. No lie people. The thing is I have this inner voice that’s saying that may have to happen for you to realize what you want.

Inner voice: “Lucas, how bad do you want this music thing? Do you need it? Will it be worth losing everything for?”

Me: “They can’t take the stuff I already own!”

So the point I’m making is that I’m not stopping the pursuit of this dream. There was once a little blonde haired blue eyed American boy who wanted to make thousands of people sing and clap with him. I can’t let that cute little boy down. I don’t care what I have to do to keep a roof over my head and this band moving forward. I also trust that there is an outside force. The same force that controls the part of my life I have no control over is going to come through for me. I will get what I need to survive and make it through the hard times and on my 30^th birthday I will be on a boat drinking champaign and celebrating my new life. I am dreaming of that day today. I am sitting in the back of a speed boat with a beautiful woman. There’s money in my bank account. A few close friends and lots of snacks and supplies.  The tunes are blasting and my family is there too…all the kids and spouses and everyone. We will all be there toasting to the good life and saying… “I wonder what the poor people are doing today.”

Love you, love your show,

-Lucas 

We had a great night last night…it was one of those nights where it was dead and then…BAM…packed house…the dance floor was packed and both my shirts were drenched with sweat. It’s been an amazing week since we played on Fox 7. Tonight we are at Lucky Lounge. See you there…

love you, love your show,

 -lucascookus

Finally after several months of working with some really awesome drummers we have found someone that is perfect for this band. All of the drummers have been very talented and in one way or another we love them. However, there has to be an overall good fit. Current needs and ability to tour are important as well as how they interact with fans and band mates alike. Josh came along looking to play in Austin and take a break from the road…we’re hoping he can have a nice break before we get to go out on the road…keep your fingers crossed it takes a lot to get to that point! Enough of my yacking!

Check out www.joshcenter.com for more information.

Through his formal training in both music performance and music theory at the University of Tulsa, Josh Center has become a dependable drummer whose solid backbeat can switch from jazz to funk to rock and back again at any given time. Playing each beat for the moment, Josh puts his heart and soul into the music to create the ultimate mental and physical connection. Closing your eyes and listening brings out the true sense of melody that Josh extracts from every beat. Opening your eyes and viewing his performance shows the physical intensity through which Josh plays and makes you realize how he is one with his instrument. Because of this, he has been fortunate enough to create music on stage and in the studio with some of the regions hottest musicians.

‘Center is the real deal!’ DRUM! Magazine ..97 April/May 2004.

Since the spring of 2000, Josh has been constantly working in the studio and performing live for artists all around the globe. Some of his live performances include playing at world famous venues such as The Viper Room (Los Angeles,) The Cobden Club (London,) The Cavern Club (Liverpool,) Cain’s Ballroom (Tulsa,) Les Cariatides (Paris,) and the Kingston Communication Soccer Stadium in Yorkshire for 22,000 people while opening for acts such as Godsmack, Fuel, Weezer, Collective Soul, Cypress Hill, and The Cult, among others. In 2005 Josh recorded an album at the famous Abbey Road Studio in London with recording artist Phil Marshall and followed it up with a tour throughout England and the United States. Some of Josh’s studio credits include Bowling For Soup, Zac Maloy, Rob Palmer, Jimmy Newquist, Phil Marshall, The Vanished, David Cook, Mad Verb, TJ McFarland, The Pearls, Midwest Kings, Brandon Autry, Jenny Labow, Christy Romano, Jive Records, Sony Music Group, Universal Studios, and Abbey Road/EMI.

…and another opens! Last night was our last night at the Belmont for the weekly gig. We had one hell of a show. It was a good party crowd early on and we were working that room baby! I gotta say when we have a solid drummer behind us the “trinity” as we call it can make amazing things happen. See the “trinity” is Fred, Stacey and myself. We are the founding fathers of this wild ride we call the lucascookus show. “You have just been cookafied!”  So, here I am at ‘work’ and my sister says…you need to update your blog! HA! No kidding…man i didn’t realize how long it had been since I posted. You have to understand that my personal life has been a bit hectic and my access to the internet was cut off for several weeks! Since the new year began I have been attacked by rats, had an apartment fire, lost my job, got pulled over a bunch and had a run-in with a felon! Yeah…my neighbors got pulled over by the police and cut an cop with a box knife while they fought with the officer. They went to jail and this made the news. They were breaking into apartments all around me. Here I am still unpacking from the fire disaster and my car is full of gear at all times. I was pretty stressed about all my gear being taken! No lie…i have not seen the back seat of my car empty in almost a year. You know what though…I LOVE IT…I would not trade my life for any other.

Back to opening doors. Tonight we start our new weekly residency at ROUX! This is a great venue with lots of space…very swank and right on 6th street…we love pulling in the random crowd! I hope to see lots of old friends and new fans at these shows.

Here’s a short short list of what’s new around here and then I gotta go! So, the album is nearing completion and we have arrangements for radio play in Kansas City, Dallas, Philly and North Carolina! The songs on this album are sounding so amazing I can’t wait for you to hear it!

Keep an eye out for us in your living room Austin! Thats right…we are going to be on the news…LIVE! HA! Fox 7 Good Day Austin. We will perform a song to promote the album and THEN….we will go on the news…’the trinity’ and cook a recipe with one of the anchors! Cooking with cookus…this is guna be worth watching if you are in the viewing area!

We have added in addition to Roux another new friend in the list of kick ass places we play in Austin. On Friday May 16th we will be at Lucky Lounge from 9-11…you should check it out…www.theluckylounge.com We are honored to be playing there! Thanks Matt!

Elana, our anti-sobriety and debauchery program coordinator has graciously purchased a run of lucascookus t-shirts. These are only available at shows and are $20.

Finally, it looks like David Cook is pushing forward on American Idol! I really hope he doesn’t win…the best record contracts will be offered to him from other labels if he is a runner-up. Unfortunately Idol will eat him up and own that boy! We don’t want him getting put on a shelf or owing money to the coroporate machine! I do however encourage you to support him and purchase his music when his album comes out.

Thats about it for now…make sure to check the tour schedule often as some dates have changed and i’m about to add a bunch more!

*The picture below is a recent shot outside of Katz…we were at the Suede show a few Sundays back and took a limo for dessert!

love you, love your show,

 -lucascookus

I got this email yesterday on facebook…Chris engineered and helped produce the Twixt (my old college band) first cd. In fact…you will see he mentions David Cook (American Idol) which still makes my giddy everytime I see him on the TV. David performed back-up/harmony vocals on the Twixt album. Long story short…here is what Chris had to say…

 ”

Lucas,

I keep reading your newsletters and check myspace on occasion while at work and it’s good to see that things are taking off. Between you, David Cook, and a few of my other friends (Phil Weseman - the drummer in my band Gamut Coterie, who opened for you in our very first show ever - is now playinig with Gunderson which has tracks running on a few TV shows), everyone seems to be doing well in the music industry. It got me thinking of old times and I thought I’d send an email.

Who would have thought that the wave of musicians from Warrensburg while we were in school would make such waves across the country? It’s a cool thing to put in perspective. To know that you are one of those musicians is no small accomplishment.

I’m salivating for the new album of yours. Let me know when things are ironed out and I’ll get my hands on one.

Wish you the best. Next time you are in KC, I hope it’s not on a weekend where I’ve got pre-made family plans. It’s just not the Cookus experience unless it’s seen live.

I hope these big upcoming shows go well and I’d love to see you on a major label.

All the best,

-Chris

“

So…basically we got SCREWED by hackers! Thanks computer nerd! YOU SUCK! Please be patient as we recover from all of this. We will have the new page designed and ready to rock in the next few days!

We want to take advantage of this and make sure EVERYONE knows about the debut LUCASCOOKUS album that releases this Spring!

Please tell your friends about the music and invite them to a show with you! Thanks so much for your continued support…it means a lot. www.myspace.com/lucascookusmusic

love you, love your show,

-lucascookus

This last Thursday was our first show at the Speakeasy in Austin, TX! Man what a momentus evening. We had so many friends from the Austin music scene as well as friends/fans and randoms! We played on heck of a show and we were asked to come back in February! Here are some great pics…

This was just before down beat…

Some friends in the upper deck hooked us up with this one!

Full on jamming!

Then it was time for a break and some socializing!

Lucas and Stacey

Elana and local celeb Robert Wagner (Calico Kings, Jukebox Heros, Suade)

Fred and his friend Laurie!

Hope to see you out at a show soon!

Well it was another fine weekend to be in the Lucas Cookus band.  We were hired to do a private (corporate) party in Dallas.  Probably the sweetest people you could ever want to work for and/or hang with.  I just feel the need to convey the “highlights”.

We drive straight to the house to set up and soundcheck.  While setting up, a fine gentlemen named Clayton arrives with our hotel room keys and directions to said Westin Hotel.  We then find out that someone is creating a drink, .. special for this party, … called the “lucas cookus”.  We do our sound check and head to the hotel to chill and clean up before the party.

Picture this.  A very swank Westin Hotel, currently hosting some conference of sorts.  So there were plenty of suits and pearl-wearing ladies walking around.  There WE are in the lobby, waiting for the elevator with our road-worthy overnight bags and general heaps of crap, and oh yes…. Lucas chompin from his big-ass bag of pork rhinds.  We didn’t attract ANY second and third glances, no no no.  In fact, some might have observed that no one wanted to share an elevator with us.  But I digress.. Let me skip right to the party.

Just to give you an idea of how serious this party was.  There was food everywhere and damned good food!  Several bars with bartenders.  But my absolute favorite was the server that walked around all night with shots of superfine tequila (Don Julio i believe) and lemon drops.

10:40pm, the cops come.  Our gracious hosts talk with cops and return with the news.  They say, “well, this was their first visit, and we’re pretty sure they’ll be back.  If they have to come back a second time, it’ll be a $250 fine.  So if you can turn down just a bit that would be great, if not, that’s ok too.  Point is, don’t kill your vibe.  We’re fully prepared to pay the $250… it’s okay.  Now ROCK ON!!”  Do I have to tell you how insane it got from there!

And yes, some people may have gotten a bit offended at some point from a crude comment from the band or R-rated lyrics, but here’s the point:  By the end of the gig, everyone had shakin their booty and got loaded.  So when we went to close the night, the whole crowd went insane when Lucas yelled out “Thank you!! That’s all we got for tonight!!  HOPE Y’ALL HAD A GREAT TIME.  GOOD NIGHT BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

And there you have it.