2010 Year End Review
2010 in Review: “Shadows And Tall Trees” Wow! Where has the time gone? For those of you who are Rush fans, you will understand when I want to shout “Time Stand Still! I’m not looking back, but I want to look around me now… freeze this moment a little bit longer!” 2010 has been a year of great optimism for One.
We started off the year with another great show at The House of Blues. U2 fans are simply the best. The experience ascends beyond a typical rock concert as we, the band join in with other U2 fans to celebrate music that has touched us, encouraged us, challenged us to live beyond our little microcosm and feel the suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world. Songs that point us to true grace and hope, “Yahweh, still I’m waiting for the dawn”. HOB is a very cool place to perform. I love halls that have balconies! It’s intimate yet can still pack in the fans.
Other wonderful shows followed as well but during the winter performances we began to dream a bigger dream. We really had a desire to create a more dynamic stage show to augment the musical experience. So we met with good friend and audio/visual expert Rob Nelson of acclaimed Mirror Mirror Productions in the dead of winter and began to put together a way cool stage. It took a few months to tweek the details but we were happy that it all came together and the new stage show equipment arrived the end of April! Aluminum trusses, intelligent lights, led panels, strobes, fog, 3 video screens, computerized synced-up video, light scenes and music sequencers were all apart of the dream. We needed a stage show that had the ability to handle large outdoor venues or could be modified for indoor clubs. We wanted U2 fans to walk away from our shows with the “wow” factor. We couldn’t have done it without our good friends Bob and Lesa. Thanks guys!
Rick “Edge” is our master computer genius. He began work on computer programming in early May creating light scenes to correspond with our video show. Hats off to all the great light shows you have ever seen at concerts! As Rick will testify, there is countless hours that go into these productions! This is a process of refinement, so we experimented over the summer at our various shows, seeing what was visually impacting. Even now, Rick is putting the awesome finishes on our shows for 2011 in his secret lair.
Well, the next logical step for us was to showcase our stage show and look in a new promotional video show and publicity material. What great fun it was to shoot “Beautiful Day” at the finest studio in Cleveland, MediaCube/ Greek Isle Productions Studio. Michael Papatonis, owner and producer, has been a longtime friend and was our guest drummer when our former all-originals group, Ockham’s Razor, performed at Gund Arena (now Quicken Loans Arena) back in 2000. We did a live video recording and about 12 takes for various camera angles and then sat around the mixing console to watch Michael do his audio mastery. It was a long Sunday afternoon but extremely rewarding. I have always loved recording music and can could spend days in a studio and love every minute of it. When Ockham’s Razor (again, the originals band Chris, Rick, and I were a part of) recorded it’s last album in Houston, Texas in 2000, we would record 12-14 hours a day and it felt like minutes. The video exceeded our expectations and our proud to have it as our calling card.
Some other key events that occurred this year was the definitive separation of our U2 tribute show and our “other covers” show. People would be confused why the marquis outside the club said “The U2 Incident” but we would be playing Cheap Trick or Weezer. This is why we created two separate entities. “Alternavox” is our alter-ego cover band that we do in smaller clubs primarily during the “off- season” of U2 tribute events. It has worked out well. “Alternavox” will even occassionly open for “One”. Its fun seeing the expressions on peoples faces when we come back out as “One” and the crowd will do a double take! Some, on the other hand, don’t quite put it together!
We also got a brand new web site this year courtesy of SiteLogic. World renowned website consultant and long time friend, Matt Bailey, and staff, put together our very cool site as well as all the behind the scenes tools to get the site front and center when people are searching for U2 tribute acts. We are very blessed to have met so many great people along this musical journey.
Radio personality, avid U2 conesuir, and dear friend, Amy Smith, has become the 5th member of “One” in 2010, now wearing the mantle of lighting/video engineer. She has been at just about everyone of our shows from Chicago to Cleveland to New York, and it only made sense to come to her on bended knee to ask her to join us as we conquer the U2 tribute world! She knows U2 better than anybody, having seen them countless times in the US AND Europe and is instrumental to us in helping us recreate the most memorable live moments of U2 past and present. Welcome aboard Amy!
“One” is now working with three great booking agencies and we are very excited for 2011! But, it is very bittersweet though. For we have also experienced the loss of our former booking agent and long time friend, Walt English of Summit Entertainment. It’s been a little over a year and we’re still shocked and saddened at Walt’s passing. It just seems like yesterday I was having lunch with him at The 356th Fighter Group, overlooking the airport runway, planning the band’s 2009 schedule. We miss you Walt but know that you are with Messiah Jesus and we’ll see you again…Shalom my friend.
For Christmas, Rick received a beautiful edition to his authentic Edge guitar collection. A red Epiphone hollow body guitar, three chords, and the truth was under his Christmas tree…thanks Lisa! Details make the U2 tribute experience fun and memorable for us and the fans.
I finally found the bass sound and feel I’ve been looking for in 2010 after having purchased 6 new and used basses trying find the elusive sound, I finally discovered that a Fender Precision bass body and the Fender Jazz bass neck was the key to my bass happiness accompanied with my Yorkville BassMaster amp stack. Ah, the wall of sound it creates is utopia for me. Once I found the sound, I sold off all of my other basses and bought a second Fender Precision for my back up along with a gold sparkle bass similar to what Adam has been using on the 360 tour. A long search has come to a happy end.
And so shall I end this blog as the end of 2010 comes to a close. Thank you dear friends for coming along with us these last five years and look forward to seeing you again in 2011.
“All is quiet on New Years Day, a world in white gets under way, I want to be with you night and day…I will be with you again”
Grace and peace – Greg “Adam”
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