My 4 day vacation for the Holiday turned out to be less than admirable. I spent Friday and Saturday over-medicated on Dayquil while laying on my couch hallucinating. Oddly enough, I kept hallucinating about Fraggle Rock. I blame JoAnna for getting us watching those DVDs to begin with. I think this is a sign that it's time for a Fraggle Break.

Bert should be back in town tonight, and we're hoping to get in some practice time before we head up to Daytona for our 50th ENY SHOW!

Yeah, that's right. The big 50th gig. I doubt anyone in Daytona will care, but we're gonna show them a good time and not hold 'em afterwards. It's gonna be so good that everyone will be in the parking lot smoking after our set.

Still trying to hash out a local show for early December before we break for the Christmas Holidays. We're cooking up some good stuff for January, and if everything comes through, we won't be spending a lot of time playing Orlando venues. We're hoping to see new places, new bars, new towns, and new people.
We also hope to visit old friends in old places. Ocala? Yeah, we'll get there eventually.

We're hoping 2006 will be a big year for the ENY. We're already discussing new songs, new merchandise, and some summer touring plans. Anyone have a van they want to sell us?

I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take it month by month. Is it just me or are the months just screaming by lately? I have this odd thing where I gauge a month based on birthdays of friends and family. Let's see... Father had a birthday, Sister had a birthday, The Girl That Frustrates Me More Than Humanly Possible has a birthday coming up... yeah, it must be close to December.

Alright, fun stuff.

My cold is on it's way out, and only a small cough remains. Thankfully we didn't have any shows over the last few days or we would have been in a pickle.

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, it's time for Christmas shopping, right?
You know what makes a good gift?
Early Next Year's debut EP Sarcasm is Your Friend and our Cassette Tshirt.
Make your best friend, parents, or significant other smile this season when you treat them to some ENY merchandise rather than another coffee mug or calendar.

Heard our new song yet? Go here -> www.myspace.com/earlynextyear.
You dig?

Oh, I need to be stopped.

-Wes

So apparently I've been neglecting this thing. Sorry about that.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. JoAnna and myself joined Doug and his wife for much food eating and movie watching. We all proceeded to go into Turkey Coma afterwards.

I didn't even say anything about our show at the Haven last Saturday... it was great. Best out of the 3 we played that week. We all got to the venue extremely exhausted, but when it came time to play, we turned it on and played a great show. Thanks to those of you who bought shirts or cds. The support is always appreciated.

Our next show is going to be December 8th in Daytona Beach. We're looking forward to playing somewhere new. If you live nearby, please come out and support! The beter the response, the sooner we can get back there again.

I'm not sure if any of this is even making sense. I'm totally medicated. I've been doing shots of Dayquil just so I can breathe.

For anyone who heard that JoAnna was injured at the Gym Class show, here's an update: Her hand is still black and blue and I still feel super bad about throwing my guitar into her. She'll never let me live this down at this point.

After the Thanksgiving meal JoAnna retreated back to my place and watched 7 episodes from Season 1 of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Am I the only one who thinks the first season was pretty weak?

Oh, and last but not least... go check out a new Early Next Year song called Lifeless at MySpace or PureVolume.

Then let us know if you dig it. Cause we do.

You'll hear from me again once I'm out of this over-the-counter drug-induced haze.

-Wes

Hey everyone. We've been out and playing lately. That's kind of the idea when you're in a band. You play, talk to people, and hope the audience liked you well enough to buy a CD or tshirt.

Thursday we played at The Liquid Cellar with Fellsmere and Worth Fighting For. It was definitely a good time. The crowd was a bit sparse since it was a weeknight, but surprisingly enough more and more people came in as the night went on. We saw some old faces and met some new faces. All the bands were great and hopefully the benefit made some good money for their charity.

Last night we got to play a really good show. UCF's Alpha Tau Omega fraternity hosted a benefit show and constructed a huge stage on their front lawn. Everything was loud and big. Again, we played with some great acts and there was music of all different genres which I always like. We started off the night to a pretty good sized crowd. We rocked out for a half hour in the cold. Since it was dark, and there were lights in our eyes, I couldn't see the crowd, so it was kind of like playing to a big black wall. I thought we had a lot of energy. The audience seemed to like it, but we didn't get a whole lot of feedback. Thanks to those who did stop me to say you enjoyed our performance. You made my day.
Gym Class Heroes headlined the event and were utterly spectacular. They had an amazing stage presence and played for over an hour. If they ever come through your town, I highly suggest that you do everything that you can to check them out. You won't be disappointed.

While walking around the crowd, a fellow from the UCF newspaper grabbed me for an interview, so I guess watch for that if you're a student there. We also met some folks from the local radio station Real Rock who really liked our performance and walked away with a few copies of our disc, so maybe listen up for that in the future.

In just a few hours we'll be at the Haven for night #3. Should be a good one. I really wish I didn't have to work in the morning, but I intend to have a good time regardless. We're playing second after From Adam to Adam. Tough act to follow.

Hopefully we'll see some of you there.

We're in the process of confirming some shows for December, and as it stands now, we'll hopefully be hitting Daytona Beach a couple times and could possibly be playing a really cool local show about halfway through the month. We'll keep you posted.

-Wes

CORRECTION!

The show on November 18th with Gym Class Heroes has had a slight change. Local band Last Winter were just added to the lineup, so we will be playing AT 6:30 instead of 7. Keep that in mind.

And yeah, we really don't know what this is all about, but just go with it.

Hey, my guitar's fixed!

-Wes

These next few days are going to be absolutely crazy.

And I like that.

We got added pretty last minute to a show on Thursday at the Liquid Cellar near UCF in Orlando. We're filling a spot for our pals Pop.Culture.Clash who sadly had to drop off the show. We'll be playing with Worth Fighting For and Fellsmere. I can't say enough good things about Fellsmere. We've played with them countless times and every show has been spectacular. Their music is great, and they are some of the nicest guys ever. Too nice. In fact, they might be spies.
Show starts around 9pm... $5... 18+.... it's a benefit show for something, and I feel bad because I'm not exactly sure what it's a benefit for.

Friday at UCF with Gym Class Heroes...
Satuday at The Haven with dancin' fools From Adam to Atom.

Then work on Sunday at 6am.
Wow, this is gonna be a great weekend.

Bring out your friendly faces. It's been too long.

Of course, you realize that after all this ENY saturation, we aren't going to be wanted in Orlando for about 3 years?

Sooooo worth it.

-Wes

I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.
I will not break my guitar anymore.

Yeah, that's a load of crap. I plan to break it again at the next show. It's soooo rock and roll.

Hah. Sarcasm is funny.

How bad is it that right now, as my Tele sits in the shop, I'm eagerly anticipating throwing it around at the shows this weekend?

Doug even gets into the spirit now and swaps his main guitar for his backup on the last song of the set just so he can toss it on the ground at the end. Sometimes Bert pushes over some of his drums. JoAnna is smart enough not to break her stuff.

Wow, now that I think about it, we get kind of crazy on stage these days. If you haven't seen us in a while, get your behind to a show. We're fun.

You're going to be at the UCF show on Friday, right?
I mean, c'mon... Gym Class Heroes is playing!

Nighty night.

-wes

On Friday night we filmed a spot for the local TV show Band Patrol. It airs late at night on channel 10. We hauled all of our gear into a music store across the street from my apartment, set up in a corner, and rocked out.
It's supposed to air sometime in January, so we'll let you know when you can catch it. With hot lights beating down on us we did what we could with the time and space provided. I think it will be.... entertaining. We had a good time, but our friend Erin, who hosts the show decided we needed to be interviewed as well. She had no questions so it was up to us to pen a few for her. After all my spectacular suggestions were thrown out by Doug, we settled on five or so q's, and then JoAnna and myself answered them childishly once the cameras were rolling.
We've decided we'll never be good at interviews. I just can't take them seriously. I hate talking about myself in general so I get nervous and make stupid jokes instead. So while the show airs, expect me to be falling out of my seat laughing while the rest of the viewers think we're sad and pathetic.
My main guitar broke right before we started playing so that kind of put a damper on things. I need to quit throwing it around and dropping it. Silly me.

Afterwards, Doug ran home to be with the wife, and the rest of us ventured back across the street where we took in several more episodes of Fraggle Rock which was recently released on DVD. One disc down, I think four more to go. We revisited our childhoods and acted immature in general. It was a good night.

What are we doing this week? How nice of you to ask.

On Friday we'll be playing at the University of Central Florida for their annual "Rock the Wreath" event which benefits Toys for Tots. We'll be playing with Gym Class Heroes, Boxleder, and Greyscale. There's going to be music for everyone at this show. They have a diverse lineup happening and I'm digging it. We play first at 7pm sharp. Don't miss us.
On Saturday night we'll be over at the Haven in Winter Park playing a show sponsored by Connections Magazine who have been very kind to us recently, giving us a small article and then a 4-star CD review.

We're still planning to hit a few other towns in the future. Daytona next month and then things should get interesting in January.

In other news, one of our favorite sites on the web, Absolutepunk.net gave us a mention on their front page for our show with Gym Class Heroes. It's long gone from the site since they post news every two minutes, but it was fun to be on there for an afternoon. Hopefully it won't be the last time.

So that's two chances to see us in the next week. You should probably jump on those.

Cheers and such.

-Wes

We rolled back into Orlando late last night from a good gig at the Masquerade down in Ybor City. First off, just let me says that Ybor is a great little town. We had fun wandering the streets and everyone we talked to was really nice and inviting. We obviously looked like the biggest tourists ever since we were wandering about with camera in hand while staring up at buildings and pointing at random things that really wouldn't have been interesting at any other time.

We got in around 4 and checked in with the venue which awesomely enough, had our name displayed up on the marquee. That's a first for us. We didn't have to load in until 6pm so we stopped off at a little pizza place and grabbed some food and Doug and myself enjoyed some cold beer. We then headed back down the main street checking out the shops and noticed the abundance of bars. Bert and JoAnna headed off to check out some shops and Doug dragged me into an Irish Pub, which are just about our favorite places to drink. In fact, we've now decided to visit the Irish Pubs in each town we play in, drink a Killian's and rate them accordingly. How's that for a goal?

The first place was odd because it looked Irish enough until you noticed that the place was entirely too large and well-lit to be a pub. They had modern music playing and a collection of undergarments tacked above the bar. However, the drinks were cold and seemed a bit stronger than usual, but the bartender was a sweet lady who recommended we visit another Pub down the way. Great staff, not so great atmosphere. We give it a 3 out of 5.

We stumbled back to the venue to meet up with the others and JoAnna and Bert were already loading in, and Half-Way Hero was soundchecking. We stashed our gear in the green room and said hello to the Hero boys. Good to see them again. The show wasn't starting for another hour, so the Dougster and I went hunting for the other Irish Pub. We found it hidden up a staircase that was sandwiched in between two other bars. Yes, that city caters to drunkards. Perfect.

Once inside we found a nice little room packed with lots of green-clad folks all drinking and being merry. The bartender was even dressed for the role. We ordered our Killian's and hit a table in the back. Even the music was Irish. However about five minutes after getting there, some bloke with a guitar started playing Dave Matthews songs so we left. I liked the place. 4 out of 5.

Okay, now the good stuff... we returned to the Masquerade and ran into the Select Start guys, visited, and then watched Half-Way Hero. Good stuff. They have great energy and was fun to see them in their hometown with their fanbase. Good stage presence all around.
We were up second, played through nine tunes and got a good response from the crowd. We jumped, ran, and spun around the stage even though it was pretty small, and for some reason they had a box at the front of the stage which I took many opportunities to stand on. I think we played to the best of our abilities.
Select Start ended the night and were great as always. The crowd sang along to each tune and they played with a ton of energy.

We proceeded to load out and head back to Orlando, but we're hoping to get back there on a weekend so we can spend twice as much time bumming around town and hanging out with the kids who came out.
Thanks to everyone who bought CDs or took home some stickers.
If you're ever in Ybor, go check out the Masquerade. It's a great venue that we hope to revisit soon.

Also, just a heads up that we will be playing next Friday and Saturday. Friday we'll be at the UCF Alpha Tau Omega frat house opening for Fueled By Ramen Records own Gym Class Heroes (all ages show, $5) and Saturday at the Haven in Winter Park for a Connections Live show. Good times to be had.
Tomorrow evening we'll be doing a filming for the local TV show Band Patrol, so we'll be sure to let you know when you can tune in and see ENY on your TV.

Thanks everyone. Hope to see you soon.

-Wes

We're heading off to Tampa...

...I hope we don't die.

Show details tomorrow.

-wes

For anyone in the Orlando area, be sure to head to your favorite music store or college campus and pick up a copy of this months Connection Magazine with Gwen Stefani on the cover.
Flip on over to page 10 to read their review of our EP Sarcasm is Your Friend.

I know you're lazy, so here's what it says:


"The title of this CD is appropriate, because after listening to the first few seconds of the first track I can hint sarcasm in the music and in the lyrics. But actually, this is a well-produced CD with a fun pop-punk sound that's perfect for an Orlando scene. The Moog sounds great in all of the songs along with the guitar work. The songs have standard lyrics about girl problems, but the way they present it in their songs is so creative. Fans of The Epoxies and Saves The Day should check out this band. I could see a lot of girls crooning over them in the future with their catchy tunes."

4 stars out of 5.
Written by Kayla Anderson


So Kayla, if you ever happen to read this, thanks!
We appreciate you taking the time to listen.

It looks cooler in print. Go pick up a copy.

Wednesday is fast approaching. I haven't been this excited for a show in a long time.
Remember how I used to do a top 5 list for my favorite things each month?
Well October sucked so there will be no top 5 list. Sorry.

-Wes

Thursday and Friday were spent in the studio. We recorded updated demos of the songs "They Always Say" and "Send a Letter."

They'll pop up on MySpace and PureVolume in a few weeks. They'll be infinitely better than what is there now.

Practice tonight, but Doug is out of town.

Go outside.

Come see us at the Masquerade in Tampa on Wednesday.

Don't eat yellow snow.

-Wes

Go see Saw 2.

I've been in a funk lately. Stuck in the "No Creativity" zone. Surrounded by uninspiring walls.
Fortunately we have a lot of things coming up that are going to hopefully force me out of that crap. Like I mentioned in the last post, we're heading into the studio which I'm looking forward to, if only to take me out of this apartment.
We're hopefully going to be practicing some new material over the weekend, and then a week from today we'll be in Tampa rocking some faces off.

In another attempt to get out of this slump I've been reading and writing more. Some of you have read the Blogs infrequently posted on my MySpace. They're funny. I know. I wrote them. Since I'm not a huge fan of the way Blogs are presented on MySpace, I've created my own lair in which I will be posting all of my new writings from here on in.

I'm calling it Defenestrate the Toaster.

It's located at http://defenestratethetoaster.blogspot.com. You can also click that handy dandy link right there. There's something new up. Go read it. Laugh. For my sake.

Let me guess... you don't quite grasp the name? Defenestrate is one of the greatest words ever invented for the english language. It means to throw something out of a window. Why am I defenestrating my toaster? Well, when I moved to Florida almost two and a half years ago, I purchased a toaster from the folks at Proctor-Silex. Now, I'm sure it's a great toaster, but I have never used it, and as it sits in my pantry with a fine coat of dust upon it, I can't help but sit and think of better purposes it could be serving. I've also fantasized about tossing it out the window.
See? It all makes sense now.

I've polluted the ENY blog enough with my uninteresting, personal carping, so this is where I sign off

In your face.

-Wes