This weekend I was supposed to meet up with my new bass player and drummer to start rehearsing material – I want the music all ready to go by the time we pick a singer so that all we need to do is put everything together and be ready to play. Another reason to have the music ready in advance is that I will be spending time with the singers recording the vocals to the studio tracks and want to hit the stage once the album is complete.

Anyway – the bass player was a no show – I will give him 1 more chance and then I will have to start looking for someone else. On a positive note Joel (the drummer) did make it over and was a very solid drummer. We went over some of the material as well as drum and musical philosophies – for example the band follows him live so he has to know where all the musical changes are and the drum cues to let everyone know a change is happening. His influences seem to be Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Neal Peart (Rush) and John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) so I can expect lots of drum fills which is very cool! He has a lot of ideas and is very laid back which is a good sign – at the same time he is anxious to get into full gear and start playing again. Since I am not familiar with the scene here in Dallas – he will be a great source of finding and booking the right shows. I am hoping to get together with him and hopefully the bass player again before the auditions. I am planning the singer auditions 3/15 and 3/29 – I have more interest then I expected and should be able to find the right singer to make this project work (the way I see it in my deranged mind).

Once the personnel is finally decided there is a lot of work to be done. I need to finish the album – I am sure even old Evil Kitty fans will be happy to hear some new material out of me – they have been forced to hear “You’re Something Else”, “Storm of the Century” and “Try” for almost a decade now – and I thank them for their eternal patience (you would think I am Axyl Rose!!). While that is being completed we need to come up with a new band name (Evil Kitty would need Sue and Lou for me to be comfortable using the name), an image, a photo shoot and a new myspace page, a new nonelouder page and I am sure a few other site pages as well. I would like to film a video right away – but depending on time that might have to wait. To me a video is a great tool to start a promotional machine. If you can get enough hits on a Youtube, Myspace TV, or any other similar site you can get massive exposure, publicity and fans with less effort then the old “hitting the pavement” route. Lets say we start playing in Dallas and want to take a trip to Austin or New Orleans, or Memphis or even New York. Will the Dallas fans follow you for the show? I would dare to say no – so you have to find ways of getting a crowd in a foreign town to make the trip worth while. The best way is to latch on with a band who has a following there but that might be easier said then done. I have rambled on enough for today – stay tuned as the adventure is still beginning!!