Hi, this is Barney Kilpatrick. I am the new manager of Hot Buttered Rum and as I am learning more about the HBR community, I wanted to write to each of you and tell you about some of the exciting things we are working on in the hope you will want to be a part of some of them. The first few months have been really hectic. However, after talking to the band and talking to a number of fans and volunteers that were nice enough to share their time and insight with me, I think I know what has to happen, both to move the band's career forward and to rejuvenate the special connection they have had with all of you in the past. This is a long letter, so if you do not have time to read it all, please scroll immediately to the end and read about the fan trip to Europe, which is the most innovative and exciting thing this band has ever undertaken. After you read about it, you are going to want to go.
I think the music on Limbs Akimbo is the most exciting the band has ever made. I know it is a pretty big stylistic change and some of you may prefer the earthier string band sound of the past, but I have worked with songwriters and their music since I was 16, and this is some of the most exciting new music I have heard in a long time. I am working on a record deal for the band with a top-notch independent label, a label I believe can help expose the band to a much wider audience. While I go though the long, convoluted process that is involved in making a deal in the current environment, I have been campaigning with non-commercial radio since September to get the music exposed to a wider audience. Songs from Limbs Akimbo are currently being played on more than 150 radio stations around the country. In fact, those of you with Sirius/XM should have been hearing songs on the JAMON channel, where the album has been in the Top 5 since October. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Relix magazine Jamband radio chart and it is at No. 5 this month.
I am trying to raise the money through sponsorships and donations to fund an interior renovation and to pay for mechanical work needed to ensure the band's ability to continue touring in the veggie oil bus. I am also working with two solar panel companies to get solar panels donated for the roof of the bus that will power the appliances in the bus, obviating the need for a wasteful and environmentally unfriendly oil-powered generator. The band has also authorized me to create a 501(c)3 non-profit in their name that will be devoted to educating the public on the uses of alternative fuels, recycling and the local food sourcing movement. A marketing executive at a national organic foods chain has already expressed interest in helping us with the local food sourcing portion of the project. As time goes by, I am hopeful we will be able to add other environmental and healthy lifestyle causes to the mission of the non-profit, which should be established and up and running in the next 60 days. If you want to get involved with this project in any way, or if you have suggestions to add to the mission statement, please contact me.
Going chronologically, the first exciting thing we are doing for YOU, is to mount a series of three shows in Denver that should be well worth your time to attend. Hot Buttered Rum will be performing three very special shows at Cervantes Masterpiece in Denver on Dec. 29, 30 and 31. There is a limited number of three-day passes available in advance only through the Cervantes website for $50. On the 29th and 30th, the band will have small gifts that are tokens of their appreciation for you that you will be given at the door on entering and again as you leave the shows. From a musical standpoint, the first night will feature opening sets by Billy Nershi of String Cheese Incident and his buddy Scott Law. Mountain Standard Time and the Gristle Gals will also be plying. Look for a lot of interplay among the four bands and some very special classic rock covers. Don't worry, even with all the other bands, Butter will be performing their full show. This is a lot of music for $15 advance and $20 at the door.
On the 30th, Whitewater Ramble will be opening, and Hot Buttered Rum will be performing an all request show. Please send an email to
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and get your requests in asap, so the band can put the set list together! As a huge music fan, there are all kinds of bands I would love to pick the setlist for, so I hope you share my excitement about this!
On New Year's Eve, Butter will be performing a special co-bill show with Denver's own The Motet. Again, don't worry, you will see a full Hot Buttered Rum show, plus a special jam with all the members of both bands on stage at midnight. Matt Butler has kindly agreed to organize a very special version of Everyone Orchestra for a late set that will include many, if not all the members of Butter! There should be at least six hours of great music!
The evening's theme is a circus theme. The bands are working on special costumes for the show and I hope you will come in costume. You will definitely have more fun if you do. If you simply cannot get a costume together, we will have a face painter in the house, so you can get your face painted and be somebody else for the evening! Scott at Cervantes has promised a special surprise for the audience at midnight and we are going to have a handful of sideshow acts roaming the room to add to the circus atmosphere. A lot of work is being done by a lot of people to make sure you will not forget this night! The music should run from about 9 p.m. until at least 4 a.m., so if you are going to another show that night, you still have a chance to catch some of the fun.
Spring will bring another opportunity to reconnect. As some of you know Bryan and Willow are expecting their first child in February.. The band is going to take about eight weeks off to let them get to spend time together as a family, and once the band starts touring again in March, they are going to have to stay close to home for a while. In January, we are going to be announcing a "Back to the Family" tour in honor of Bryan and Willow and their new baby. There will be a series of Northern California gigs that will allow the band to return to some of the venues where you saw them play in the early days. Nat is going to be organizing a picnic with lots of games for everyone to have a chance to hang out with the band during a two night stand at the Dance Palace. More on that in January.
I am also working hard to make sure the band shows up at a lot of festivals this summer. We should be ready to announce a preliminary list of festival confirmations in late January.
The most important reason I am writing to you is to tell you a bit about the band's European tour, set for October, 2010. The best thing about this tour is that you are all invited to come along and to travel with and live with the members of Hot Buttered Rum on the trip of a lifetime. I have organized these trips for other bands in the past, and EVERYONE, bands and fans alike, has come back asking when the next one was going to be. I will write you another letter soon with entries from a diary I kept on the first trip I organized and went on, for The New Orleans Radiators. I think once you hear the stories and see some of the video from that trip, you will realize that this is a truly magical opportunity to bond with the band members and with your other friends you only see on the road and at shows.
This is all going to be announced on the website, with registration forms and a lot more information, but here's the trip in a nutshell:
Saturday, October 9 All fly from various markets around the country to Houston, TX on Continental Airlines. The group will then depart Houston IAH in the early evening for Amsterdam.
Sunday, October 10 Early morning arrival in Amsterdam. Hotel check in and sightseeing in Amsterdam. Reichsmuseum for those interested in art; coffee shop visits for those interested, etc. Amsterdam really does have something for everyone and the Dutch are the friendliest people you are ever going to meet.
Monday, October 11 All on their own for sightseeing in Amsterdam, though tours can be arranged if there is enough interest. Show that night at venue tbd.
Tuesday, October 12 All depart mid-morning for Bruges, Belgium on two motor coaches. Band would split up between the two coaches. This is where the fans get the most access to the band. I've been to Bruges, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone on the tour. Bruges is a medieval city that is still surrounded with the original wall and moat. The buildings date from as early as 15th century and it is like being in another world. There are all kinds of musical acts roaming the streets and the culture there is Flemish, not French, so it is really different in that way, too. All are on their own for sightseeing in the afternoon and show that night at Club Cactus.
Wednesday, October 13 All depart mid-morning in coaches for Paris. Afternoon and evening sightseeing in Paris on your own.
Thursday, October 14 Everyone on their own during the day. The show that night will be on a boat cruising up the Seine where we will be able to see all the most famous Paris landmarks lit up at night. A three-star French dinner with Champagne and wine will be included for all. Click here for more information. On the website you will see table seating right up to the stage. We will arrange to have a space set up in front of the stage for those who want to dance.
Friday, October 15 All depart in coaches to Paris Nord train station for Euro-star express train through the channel tunnel to London St. Pancras station. All on their own for London sightseeing.
Saturday October 16 All on their own for London sightseeing. Show that night at Borderline (venue still subject to change, although I hope to get it nailed down soon).
Sunday, October 17 All return home via Continental Airlines.
The cost of the trip is $2,990.00. This includes airline tickets to get you to Houston and back from your home town, air travel as a group from Houston to Amsterdam and return as a group from London to Houston, three-star or better hotel each night with private bath (double occupancy -- you will be able to arrange for single occupancy at an extra fee), continental or full breakfast each morning, all transfers and ground transportation, help with your baggage, travel from Paris to London on the Chunnel train, and a very high quality shirt with the itinerary on the front and a full color silk screen on the back of a special oil painting commissioned from Mike Williamson, who does a lot of Widespread Panic's special art. The price also includes tickets to each of four Hot Buttered Rum shows, two of which will not be open to the public because of the size of the venues, including the boat cruise/dinner.
Because of the discounts available because we will be traveling as a group, you would be hard pressed to put this trip together yourself for the price. Our travel partner for this trip is Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours, a company founded by the late Stephen Ambrose, a noted historian who was the historical consultant for Saving Private Ryan and who wrote and co-produced with Tom Hanks the HBO series Band of Brothers. The company is still run by his family and they have organized and executed tours of European WWII battlefields for groups of up to 1,000 people at a time. They know what they are doing; they will have representatives with us on the trip to take care of any problems, and their European partner, Wens Riezen tours, will have representatives traveling with us who speak all local languages.
You simply cannot imagine how much fun this is until you have done it. I assure you the members of the band will be with you at all times. We all travel together and stay in the same hotels. Please give this some serious thought. I hope to be communicating with many of you over the next few weeks and months. I hope you will e-mail me or call me with any questions, comments or suggestions you may have.
I am truly dedicated to making this special for each and all of you.
Thanks for reading and I hope I hear from you! I promise to do my best to respond in a timely fashion.
Best regards,
Barney Kilpatrick
Rattlesby Management, LLC
1112 Waterford Green Point
Marietta, GA 30068
(770) 518-6434
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