monkey + dog = best friends forever.

Well howdy there, it's good to have here.  When we meet people and get them on our list, we always like to make sure we let them know it's going to be mostly good news, music, videos, and fun stuff. So, without further ado... 

Good news: my dad's coming from Rhode Island to visit and spend the 4th with us...if I'm lucky, maybe we can get him to record drums on one of the country songs I've been working on!  Speaking of country songs, but not this week but next week I'll be writing to you from Nashville and maybe live webcasting 1X15 at an open mic at the Bluebird Cafe (fingers crossed) on Monday July 1 at approx. 6:15pm.

Music: our whole album is on SoundCloud right now due to the contest: http://soundcloud.com/thewindsoroaksband/sets/tracks-from-take-a-chance  I really like Sound Cloud, by the way, and they ain't paying me to say that.

Video: Have you ever seen this crazy dog and monkey?  they're best friends. It's amazing.  Meet Syria and Roscoe: 
watch their news story..I think they're in South Carolina! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdKtr2zw1H0 

Fun stuff:  KNOCK KNOCK. [reply "who's there?" ]

This week in WindsorLand:
-Friday, June 28 - Woody's @ City Market - Raleigh - 10pm
-Saturday, June 29 - Woody's in Cary - 10pm
-Brandon's Dad Visiting NC from Rhode Island


Summer smiling,
Brandon, Shane and Alex
Windsor Oaks Band


PS
You heard about our video contest right?  We're giving $1000 to the winning video...do you make videos? know someone who does?  Feel free to forward on...www.WindsorOaksBand.com/videocontest 

PPS
ok, just one more of Syriah and Roscoe: 

Could You use an Extra $1000? enter our contest...

On behalf of Camp Windsor, I am excited to announce our first-ever Music Video Contest.  

"I like this contest because it's potentially open to everybody," said long-time friend of the band, Mark Brown.  He continued, "Like 10 years ago, only a few people out of a handful would have the cameras and equipment and abilities to make a music video...now with everyone having an iPhone or a Droid or a Googleizer, everybody's got a fair chance at winning the thousand bucks!"  ...I couldn't have said it better myself.

So, do you make videos?  Know someone who does?  Maybe you could snag a commission if you tell your homie about it and the internet votes them as a winner.  As the rest of this album theme goes, we dare you to "Take a Chance" and enter our video contest.

Entries have to be in by August 18th, 2013, but the sooner you submit your video the longer you will have for people to vote for it! So get crackin'! You and your friends can vote once per day for your video. We will have 3 winners! OFFICIAL CONTEST ON FACEBOOK HERE: http://bit.ly/129uOvp

You can go over to our web page about it and choose whatever song from the new album you want to make a music video for: www.WindsorOaksBand.com/videocontest  

Even though "Touch the Sky" already has an official video, if that's what inspires you then, go on, try it... :)  

....wait...did you just say, "What official video?" well...here:

We don't ask you to share stuff very often, but would you please do us a solid and let anybody you know that makes videos in on this secret plan to win $1000?  Thanks :)

This week in WindsorLand:

-Friday, June 21 - Fox and Hound @ North Hills - 10pm

-Saturday, June 22 - View Bar on Glenwood - 10pm

-Working on recording a Beatles tune

-if no one is looking, running away to the beach!

Adam Pitts this weekend?

Hello,
   I'm in a good mood and I like to write when I'm in a good mood.  I hope this message finds you well.  I'm in such a great mood because at this time tomorrow my lovely lady and I will be on the way up north to Ithaca, New York (my college town) to witness the wedding of two friends I love dearly, Brent and Kylie.  It's going to be such an amazing experience, and I hope you have the pleasure of knowing these two extraordinary people.  

   Break Time 1X15 is this Saturday! On a weekend, finally, but I'll be away from the WOB all weekend...so we won't be able to play. BUT, I'm going to try to find some time before or after the wedding where I can go live on the internet and at least say "Hi" to a few of you all...What time? Will I be able to play?  Maybe! I'll announce it on facebook, twitter, and text some peeps as soon as I evaluate the universe that day.  Tune in, and we'll find out together...[in case you're wondering what 1X15 is, it's this Live-Internet-Broadcast thing I do on the 1st and 15th of every month, on UStream.]

Good news: we have begun recording a few songs in our home studio.  I can hear Alex's drum ideas blasting through the walls as I type this.  

More Good News: We have some uber crazy awesome news coming to you in the next couple days, so forgive us if you get two emails from us this week.  But basically, I don't have all the official details yet, but I do know we're soon to announce a Music Video Contest where the prize is $1000.  More on that soon...

This week in WindsorLand:
-Shane and Alex - Sullivan's Steakhouse - 7pm
-working on home recordings
-weeding the garden

Peace and Love, and wish us luck on this northern journey,
Brandon and the Windsor Oaks Band


PS
Since we're not playing anywhere this Saturday you can probably find Shane and Alex chilling downtown the Pour House Music Hall, for Adam Pitts and the Pseudo Cowboys, this Saturday June 15th.  It's Guillermo's last show with them on bass for a while, so I totally recommend checking them out.  They're pure greatness... Here's some footage from last time we played with them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHGuar8bNPY 


PPS
Our next Pour House show is on August 30. 2013 and this link is a facebook event.

Have you claimed your FREE Windsor Oaks shirt yet?

But what's the catch?!

Yep, you guessed it, there's a catch: You gotta WIN it.

Good news: you have 5 chances to win, and they're all as easy as pie.

You see, we've been running some crazy contests on our facebook page. All you have do is post your answers in the comments and we're picking and announcing winners on Friday, June 7, at 8pm.

Go to our facebook, scroll down a little bit, and see all of this week's posts.  Monday's prompt was an original answer to a mundane-Monday question. Tuesday was a limerick. Yesterday was just guessing a number.  Today's is super easy: just share our video and we'll pick a random winner.  Tomorrow's contest is.....well, I guess you'll have to wait til tomorrow to find out.

The cool and fair thing is that you're allowed to go back in time and answer all of this week's contest questions, but you have to get your responses in by tomorrow at 8pm!  Good luck!

This week's video is from our Live On-Air Performance at WKNC 88.1 FM.  I've been trying to upload the whole interview and I'll keep you posted for when it actually works.  It's like 29 minutes, so it's kind of a huge file for YouTube.  But in the meantime, here's our acoustic "Crazy Chance": http://youtu.be/mP01MDVi00k

This weekend in WindsorLand:
TONIGHT! Thursday, June 6 - Bailey's in Chapel Hill 7-9pm
then Brandon SOLO at London Bridge in downtown Raleigh 10p-1am

TOMORROW - Friday June 7 - Sparian's in North Hills - 9pm-Midnight

Saturday June 8 - World of Beer in North Hills - 9pm-1am

Sunday June 9 -  Raleigh Times Bar (on the rooftop!) - Noon to 5pm

Peace and Love,
Brandon and the WOB
PS -
Good Luck on getting the Free Shirt

Jimmie's Chicken Shack doesn't like Phish?! + a BIG announcement

Shane and I went to go see Jimmie's Chicken Shack play in April of this year.  Remember that band?  They had one pretty rockin' single in the 90's called "Do Right," ...everyone thinks it's called "What Do I Do Right?" ...come to think of it there's a bunch of songs that people have mistaken the names for based on the chorus, like "Baba O'Riley" (not "Teenage Wasteland") by the Who....

Anyway, I digress.  Back on track:

So we went to their show at the Pour House in Raleigh after our gig.  We were curious to check them out live because Shane had loved their album growing up, and we had worked with Steven Haigler on our last album, who had also produced an album with Jimmie's Chicken Shack.  In short, they ROCKED.  We laughed, we cried, we shouted the F Bomb at the tops of our lungs when he demanded it, and generally got silly with the band after their show.

Here's the good part, the twist, the heat, if you will...
I had been recording earlier parts of their hit "Do Right" and when he kept singing this "We Are the Champions" part, I had to film it, that's when they ended it and he gave us his real opinion on Phish and the Grateful Dead.  Check out the video to see what he had to say about Phish:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG5tTPa3BZw)
Personally I'm sad Jimmie doesn't seem to like Phish as much as I do, but personally everyone is personally entitled to their personal opinion, and that's what makes someone personally a person.  What?  But seriously...I do happen to dig Phish as a band, and I do my best not to even participate in the Grateful Dead vs. Phish debate, because they're fundamentally incredibly different bands. I plan to elaborate on this in a future post...

In other news, this week we have confirmed our next big full band show in Raleigh, NC.
August 30th, 2013
The Pour House Music Hall
...get excited, more details coming soon......facebook event too.

This week in WindsorLand:
TONIGHT! Thursday, May 30 - World of Beer (North Hills) - 9pm
Friday, May 31 - The POUR HOUSE After Work Series (totally unplugged) - 5-7pm (early!)
Saturday, June 1 - The Hibernian Pub in North Raleigh* - 10pm

Check our site to see where you can come see us play some acoustic stuff all around Raleigh in the next few weeks.

*Yes, that's right, they have built a brand new Hibernian and it's up in North Raleigh at 8021 Falls of Neuse Rd. They just started having live music there, and this will be a first time for us too, so come up with us and see what it's all about.

ta ta for now,
Brandon

Windsor Oaks on the Radio Today at 5pm + Crazy Chance at 120mph

Happy Thursday,
Brandon here. Windsor Oaks Band.  Gonna make this one brief because I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off preparing for today's Windsor events...

#1:
Big day on the Windsor front.  We're going LIVE on the radio in just a few hours, on NC State's esteemed radio station 88.1 WKNC.  The cool thing is you can stream it live wherever you are, whether you're near Raleigh's radars or not.

We get interviewed and play on the radio TODAY at 5pm Eastern Time.

iPhone and Droid free app is called TuneIn radio.
And this works too:    http://tunein.com/radio/WKNC-FM-881-s30302/

AND if you're in Raleigh...tonight we go to Tir na Nog, for their famous "LOCAL BEER - LOCAL BAND" series!  We've waited a long time for this, and we finally get to rock the Nog!  And we're going to play full band-- drums, electric guitars, and our good friend MIKE SEDITO on BASS!! Tonight.  Sarah Shook and the Devil goes on first!

#2:
Earlier today I went for a ride with my friend in his Camaro.  Since I've always felt our song "Crazy Chance" makes me think of driving fast and motorcycles and jet airplanes and Top Gun, we took it out and we hit 120mph!!!***  It was amazing.  Such an exhilarating rush.

***Mom, I knew you were going to freak out when you read that so, DISCLAIMER: Professional driver on a closed course. Don't try this at home.

PS
Because I'm in a pretty good mood about all this (endorphins still swirling in the insane in the membrane), I want to give you that opportunity too.  So go ahead and download "Crazy Chance" for FREE (for the next 3 days only! and Alex is going to shoot me), blast it on whatever device you're working with, and get on the highway and drive as fast as is legally allowed in your area.  You'll see what I mean about the exhilaration.  Windsor Oaks Band.  Take a Chance.

--------------
This week in WindsorLand:
Tonight- Tir na Nog for LBLB - 10pm - downtown Raleigh

Friday, May 10- Fox and Hound - 10pm - North Hills

Saturday, May 11- Luxury Box - 10pm - North Raleigh

Sunday, May 12- Napper Tandy's - 6pm - downtown Raleigh

Wednesday, May 15- LIVE on the internet for BreakTime 1X15 - 5:15pm

Shane Smith playing, singing...yearning for Dave Grohl?

Ladies and Gentlemen, feast your eyes, and your ears, on the Windsor man with the thickest beard, Mr. Shane Smith. Here he is laying down some sweet sweet phatty greasy guitar parts for the Windsor Oaks Band album TAKE A CHANCE.

You may ask, "What's up with the Gimme that Dave Grohl?!"  Are those the real lyrics to our song "Running Out of Time."?? No. 'Twas simply a small bit of communication between Alex and Shane while we were recording the drum parts.  Our producer, Steven Haigler, had a very interesting studio vocabulary and used people's names to indicate bigger, louder, more cymbals and stuff at that part.  Sooooo it worked its way into the scratch track, and will surely become part of our studio lingo forever. AANNNDD, We learned recently that Shane shares a birthday with Dave Grohl too, and that's kinda strange since he's like Shane's freaking idol.
CHECK SHANE OUT: http://youtu.be/CTvX12-Y2As

[Ummm. And just for kicks, for those of you who don't know...Dave Grohl = lead singer of Foo Fighters / drummer of Nirvana.]

Double kicks?  See Dave Grohl in "FRESH POTS," but only if you like coffee: http://youtu.be/fhdCslFcKFU

Hit Shane up on twitter, @imShaneDavid, and say "Gimme that Dave Grohl!" and stay tuned for next time for a bunch of big announcements.

Talk soon, maybe live on the internet sometime,
Brandon and your friendly Windsor Oaks Band