December 5th, 2011
Hello Good Friends,

We have indeed been having a good time, scratch that, great time since Mike and Patio joined the band, and my how things have changed quickly!  We've added over 20 new songs to our nightly play list, and we've adopted a policy of "genre blindness", which simply means if we think you'll enjoy hearing it, then we're gonna play it!  Recent additions have included songs from Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, O.A.R., Jamie Cullum, Maroon 5, and Taio Cruz.  People are asking me if we're still a "country" band., but the answer isn't a simple one.  Truth be told, our version of country has always been a little more rockin' and a lot more funky than what people are used to hearing, but we think that's why the band has been as successful as it has been for the past 7 years.  Folks who swear they hate country music have told us time and time again that we're the exception to that rule because of the spin we put on every song we play, and we're darn proud of that fact!

Since we're been busy updated our long outdated cover song list, we've been putting our original music on the back burner, but that streak ends this week! Tomorrow Mike and myself are heading into our project studio and laying down some basic tracks for 5-6 new songs that we've written over the past few months.  After that task is complete, we'll be bringing them to our weekly practices and as a band we'll start putting all the pieces together!  We're pretty fast learners, so you should start hearing new October Road music before the end of the year!
Speaking of new music, it's occurred to us lately that we haven't had a new single, or album for that matter, since the fall of 2008.  In October Road years, that feels like 10 years so we're way, way overdue.  Like most other working musicians and bands in the Midwest, we finance all of our albums ourselves, so getting the money together is always the first, and biggest hurdle to getting out new music.  Over the past two years we invested a lot of our money improving our stage gear and PA system, most recently our brand spankin' new light show, but we did make it a point in 2011 to get our financial house in order, and I'm incredibly ecstatic to be able to tell you that we will finally be able to release our 4th album in 2012!  No firm date has been planned yet, but the writing process has begun so hopefully we'll be able to get it out before the summer touring season starts.
We've got a few shows left in 2011 at some our favorite places to play, most notably our return to performing New Years Ever at The Sandbar, which is the first time we'll be there on New Years Ever since 2008!  Oh the memories, so wonderfully clouded in a smoke machined haze of music, Maker's Mark, and mayhem.  . . . . but I digress.  2012 is already nearly booked full through June and word is quickly spreading about the incredibly positive changes to the band since Mike and Patio's arrival.  For the first time in a few years, it really does like 2012 is going to be a great year for October Road, so come be a part of it and shake your tail feathers at a show near you!
Thank you all for the support and your continued enthusiasm for our music.  You, after all, are what keeps propelling October Road farther on down the  . . . . . .street, lane, boulevard, highway . . . . . oh screw it, down the road:)
Shawn