CD RELEASE PARTY

Well, if you missed the show on November 17th, I’m so sorry. We had arrived early to set up and do a quick sound check before the room was to fill with excited Buckeye fans. The Wisconsin game was going on just hours before our show. The room filled quickly as we finished up our sound check, and we were nervous. Not nervous about the show, but that the game would end on time. Wouldn’t you know, the Buckeyes took it into overtime. I was sweating because there were still some last minute stage preparations that needed to take place before our opener, Kevin Daniel, went on. The room exploded in applause as the Buckeyes won quickly in overtime. We had just enough time to set the finishing touches on the stage, and change the room from game fans to Jared Mahone fans.

Kevin Daniel had a great opening set with his band. We were grateful they were able to do the show with us. By this time the room was packed and there was an air of excitement for what was to come. We took the stage dressed in what we wore to gigs when our first EP came out. We then played through the entire EP. That’s right, the old tunes…Somebody Knows, Catch My Breath, Hometown Girl, Fast Asleep, and Eventually. My favorite part of this set was when O.A.R. trumpet player, Jon Lampley came out for the end of Eventually and played an amazing muted trumpet solo while the rest of us exited the stage.

We did a quick wardrobe change and hit the stage to play through our new Mixtape album. This set had more highlights than Sports Center. As some of you know, the songs on our Mixtape album are split up as side A and side B, like a cassette tape. Side A includes No Me, She Makes Me, Been Watchin’ You, Too Much For Me, Come Find You, and California. For Been Watchin’ You, we had a special guest appearance by two members of the Triple Dip horn section from the band O.A.R., Jerry DePizzo and Jon Lampley. We did the chorus to Lovely Day, by Bill Withers at the end of Been Watchin’ You, so we had Jerry and Jon come up to tear up that horn part. The crowd went crazy as soon as Jared announced them. It was like every phone in the room came out. They stayed on stage and played for Too Much For Me, as well as the legendary guitarist, Kevin Oliver. By the time that song was over, the crowd was definitely having a great time.

I created a giant cassette tape as a backdrop for the band, and at the end of side A, Jared walked back and flipped the tape to side B and we continued to play through the album. People Don’t Take The Time was probably the best danced on song of the night. Already Gone, From Joe to Betsy, and Make It Beautiful were nice sonic changes for the night. He Doesn’t Get It got people dancing again, and we brought everyone back on stage for the final song, Belong. Wet Darlings drummer, Aaron Bishara played congas, Kevin Oliver came back up on guitar, Jerry Depizzo and Jon Lampley rocked the horns, and of course our guys. (Chris Flick on drums, Jeff Arszman on bass, Nathan Hiltner on electric guitar, Donnell Phillips on keys, Jared on acoustic and vocals, and myself on aux percussion, SPD-S and vocals)

It was great to have our producer, Jerry DePizzo (O.A.R.) play the show with us. Also great to see our mixing engineer, Mike Landolt in the crowd, as well as our mastering engineer, Brian Lucey. Big thanks to Dave Horn for running sound for us, Travis for running monitors, Chris Kost for taking video, and the JAM Sessions crew for all the behind-the-scenes work. Lastly, thanks to the friends, family, and fans who came to support us. We couldn’t have done it without you.