Banda Macho!

Banda Macho!
L to R: Sam, Mike, Luke, Nato, Matt

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Quick Check-in

Hey there! It's snowy in Minneapolis/St. Paul, so we're going to have a real winter this year (as opposed to last year's Long Autumn/Early Spring). I haven't posted here for a month, mainly because things have been kind of dormant. We've been laying low since the tour around Gainesville Fest, getting prepared for a Huge 2013!

First things first: the album. Yes, it's really coming out in early 2013! We're working out the details for a few cool LP release parties right now.

Second, we're doing another residency at Grumpy's in downtown Minneapolis - every Saturday night in February, we'll be playing our stupid songs (and other peoples') and drinking our smart drinks (and other peoples'). The third Saturday - Feb. 16th - will be yet another Live Band Karaoke party! Please email your requested song or songs to: natopaisano@gmail.com. Lots of other surprises are in store, too (for example, we're batting around the idea of a really "boss" cover set, heh heh). Stay tuned.

Third, my Japan trip is still on! If you live in Japan... come see us play! Howdy, Gangster.

And here's your thought for the day:

Sunday, November 11, 2012

November Post-Fest XI Update

Well, hi there. Thanks to everyone who came out and saw us on our great tour down to Gainesville Fest 11 this year! You all really made this one a fantastic tour. Speaking as a longtime Fest-goer, it is often very hard to book good shows in and around Gainesville just before and after Fest, because of how many other bands are also looking to get similar shows - which thus clogs up the clubs and show spaces, ya know? Well, anyway, this tour went swimmingly! Thanks again. To all the cities that want us back: after our album comes out this winter, you'll be hearing from us for sure.

What's next in Blue Diamond Bandland? Well, our split 7" with Your Pest Band is just around the corner, and meanwhile, we're mixing our full-length right now. So, keep on hanging around, and soon you'll have some new Nato Coles vinyl for your spinnin' pleasure! We also have a few local shows coming up - keep checking this website for info, the shows end up listed here eventually.

Here's an interview our friend Aaron Lay from Gainesville did with Nato just prior to Fest. Note the prediction that the Giants would win the World Series - people, don't bet on baseball, but if you do, always bet on starting pitching and defense.

And here's an interview Nato did with the Bloomington-Normal Groove. One correction: they got the Tom Petty dates wrong in the first two paragraphs. It was 1992, and during the "Into The Great Wide Open" tour, when Nato (age 11) first saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Last thing for now: here's a photo of Nato playing guitar on top of a van in a parking lot late on night at Fest. It was awesome! Probably didn't need the sunglasses, though...


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Tour Dates are here... and Karaoke is coming up!

Hello everybody, Nato here with a two-pronged Blue Diamond Band news dump. In reverse order of coming-up-ness:

1. We have officially reached our maximum number of Live Band Karaoke requests for Friday October 12th. We're sorry if you wanted to sing, but can't. Next time, jump on that football before it squirts away from the scrum.

2. Here are the days and cities for our Gainesville Fest 11 Tour (more details are available in the "Upcoming Shows" section of this website):
  • Thu Oct 18th - Minneapolis, MN
  • Fri Oct 19th - Milwaukee, WI
  • Sat Oct 20th - Cincinnati, OH
  • Sun Oct 21st - Lexington, KY
  • Mon Oct 22nd - Asheville, NC
  • Tue Oct 23rd - Athens, GA
  • Wed Oct 24th - St Augustine, FL
  • Thu Oct 25th - Tampa, FL (two shows)
  • Fri Oct 26th - hangin' out at Gainesville Fest
  • Sat Oct 27th - We play Fest 11 at Durty Nellys
  • Sun Oct 28th - hangin' out at Fest some more
  • Mon Oct 29th - Atlanta, GA
  • Tue Oct 30th - Memphis, TN
  • Wed Oct 31st - Carbondale, IL
  • Thu Nov 1st - Russellville, AR
  • Fri Nov 2nd - St Louis, MO
  • Sat Nov 3rd - Normal, IL
Allright, hope to see you at one of these shows, or more! Stay free, muchachos...

p.s. we finished recording our full-length! Gotta tighten a few nuts and bolts, but a release date should be right around the corner...

Monday, September 24, 2012

Late September Blue Diamond Digest (LIVE BAND KARAOKE ROUND TWO!)

Hi there, citizens of Blue Diamond Land. Hope you're enjoying the onset of autumn, generally considered the best time of year by those in the know. We've had a lot of rumblings to report lately (not just from the burritos), our volcano monitoring equipment is starting to beep and buzz, and so without further ado, here's your late September digest (digest=those burritos again).

1. Live band karaoke is happening again! Email us your request (punk/garage/good old rock'n'roll/good old country preferred), and maybe we're not too incompetent to learn it in time for you to sing it - backed by Nato Coles and the Blue Diamond Band, naturally - Friday October 12th at Grumpy's in downtown Minneapolis! The list is getting up there... we're going to try and do a few more songs than we did last time (in February, if you recall), but you should really email us your song pick soon if you wanna sing! Email natopaisano@gmail.com.

2. We'll be touring to Gainesville Fest and back from October 19th to November 3rd. We're hitting some old favorite cities of ours, and checking out some new ones, too. The tour dates will be posted in "Upcoming Shows" later this week.

3. The recording for our debut full-length is nearly complete - but our split 7" with Your Pest Band (that you might not have known about?) is officially done! That should be out in November. The songs that will be on it are "High and Drivin'" and "I-94". Road songs. Drivin' tunes. Keep on truckin'.

4. We've got plenty of fun shows coming up in the Twin Cities area and the upper Midwest, so hopefully we'll be hitting the city you live in sooner rather than later. As always, if you're looking for us to play your town, please get in touch! We always love checking out new City Zones.

Well, the Brewers are now 3 games back of St Louis in this crazy new 2-team Wild Card race, so it's do-or-die time for the boys in yellow and blue. You can bet that I'll be tuned in with both ears and all nervous brain cells right up until the end, sweet or bitter, so GO BREWERS! and thanks for reading this late September digest, folks. Tacos,

-Nato/BDB

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Kinda Sorta My Best Friend

Hi everyone, hope summer's treating you right. We're really excited for Awesome Fest 666, which is just around the corner - heck, as I type this, I can already see myself, pint of Jameson and shot of beer in hand, rockin' out to Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children McNuggets, on a pleasant Saturday afternoon at a little cafe down San Diego way where they play guitars all night and day, you can hear 'em in the back room strummin'... hold tight baby, the Blue Diamond Band's comin'!

And for your viewing pleasure, here's an unrelated video of us covering a great song by one of the all-time Minnesota rock'n'roll greats... Click and watch, you might learn something! (We never learn.)




Wednesday, August 1, 2012

You Can Count On Me Tonight (live video)

The other night, we played at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, with our local buddies Braver, and the Screaming Females, who one time literally stole Chris Christie's ice cream cone (it was the ice cream cone from that one video where he's yelling at the guy on the boardwalk - the Screamales were not caught on film, or by police, for this theft).

UnderCurrentMPLS did catch some of our set on film.

Here's a video of us playing our new song "You Can Count On Me Tonight". Click and enjoy, we think it's pretty good. This song will be on our new album, coming out later this year...

Thanks UnderCurrentMPLS!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Rap Session

Hey there, Nato here. It's been a month-plus since I updated this thing, so I felt like I should have a rap session with you readers. Cool? Cool.

Here's what's been shakin' in Blue Diamond Land...

1. Our album is almost done! (I'm updating from the recording studio, Sound Gallery, in downtown Mpls right now). We couldn't be more excited, seriously! I know I'm using too many exclamation points but jeez, I think it's appropriate... also please note that we are also currently recording our stuff for our upcoming split 7" with Japan's finest, Your Pest Band. That's gonna rule.

2. I just got back from a road trip around the central-western states, and I want to thank everyone who came out to my shows in Minot ND, Missoula MT, Denver CO, and St Louis MO. I had a great time - and so did Sara Pette, she of the duet-singin' with me. I look forward to bringing the whole Blue Diamond Band out west, once the album is out.

3. Awesome Fest 666 is SOLD OUT. Sorry if you didn't get a ticket. And to those who did buy a ticket... thanks! Awesome Fest 666 will be awesome-r with you at it. It's looking like the BDB will play Friday or Saturday, and the Used Kids will play Saturday or Sunday.

4. We have a short tour coming up in mid-August, centered around the greatest annual event in North Dakota's history: Why Not Minot? Fest! Check out the dates on the right hand side of this website. Featuring: our first-ever show in Omaha! And our return to Duluth, which was the first place the BDB ever played outside of the Twin Cities.

5. Keep your eyes peeled here for more updates, shows, and the like. We'll be playing Gainesville Fest, and touring down to it and back from it... if you live along that route, duck!

Thanks for your time. Keep cool in the hot sun, and enjoy that bratwurst at Miller Park. Tacos!
-Nato

Thursday, June 14, 2012

News-ah!

Hi everyone. Big important things have been happening in Blue Diamond Bandland since we last updated this website... relatively big important things, anyway. As important as global economics? Military coups in the Middle East? Tsunamis and earthquakes and swarms of bees and packs of dogs with bees in their mouths so that when they bark they shoot bees at you?

The answer: Yes.

For one, we're heading into the studio Saturday for several days to record our upcoming debut LP! We haven't named it yet, but it's going to be a split release on ADD and Dead Broke, and it'll be out by Gainesville Fest XI (which we're playing). We're all really excited and I personally am still a little nervous. I think this is the best batch of songs I've ever had, going into a recording, and I'm really happy we get to work in a great studio (Sound Gallery) with our good buddy and engineering maestro Jacques Waite!

And we had a great time playing with Australian legends-five-years-from-now Royal Headache, who are also really sweet dudes. Make sure you check them out, you won't regret it - they have an LP on RIP Society Records which I've spun over and over.

Last but not least, keep an eye out for us if you're in the upper Midwest. We'll be playing in your town soon, I bet... especially in August, for which we're putting together a week-long tour around the Great Lakes region.

Allright, that's all for now. See y'all soon,
-Nato

PS: Hello, this is the BBC. I'm Nigel English, with News-ahhh!!!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Quick Update

Hi there, readers, Nato here with a quick update of the blog for ya. There isn't too much news in Blue Diamond Bandland, but here's a summary of What's Going On:

1. Mother, mother, there's too many of you crying.

2. Brother, brother, there's too many of you dying.

OOPS. Wrong "What's Going On". Let's try that again...

1. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us at the Triple Rock the other night - of course, many of you were probably going to be there anyway, since the mickeyflippin' DILLINGER FOUR were playing their amazing first album in its entirety (Midwestern Songs Of The Americas). And the excellent Big Eyes played, and of course the ridiculous six-guitar Slow Death set (they actually sounded really tight somehow...). But during our brief incandescent moment under the lights, we had an absolute blast, and I hope you all did too.

2. We've booked the studio time, lined up the special guests, and are all set to record our first album. This is exciting! And it's scheduled to come out in time for Gainesville Fest, so we'll see you there if not beforehand.

3. Speaking of Fests, we are definitely playing Awesome Fest 6 in San Diego this year. This time it's going to be the actual Blue Diamond Band lineup - Kyle, Sam, and Mike. Our beloved west coast bass-replacement Matt Braun will not be filling in for Kyle this time around...

4. Also, the Used Kids will be playing a reunion show at Awesome Fest 6. (sound of crickets chirping). You're welcome? Anyway, if you liked that band but never got a chance to see us when we existed, well now you have another shot.

That's about it. If you live in the Twin Cities, keep an eye out for us playing shows. We've got some really good ones coming up - in particular, don't miss us playing with Royal Headache on June 9th! They're an amazing Australian band, and they promise not to savagely attack you and take your gasoline.

Later,
-Nato

Friday, March 30, 2012

We're Home, But Not In Hiding

Hello, everyone out there - I hope you're all having a great spring. Up here in Minneapolis, it seems like everything's greening all over the place. Just the other day, I had a great afternoon hangout with a couple of friends on the patio at Grumpy's Nordeast. I walked there. I walked home, too. But I walk places all year long, including during the depths of winter, so that's not particularly noteworthy. What was noteworthy was that as I strolled down the streets and avenues, I passed by many other pedestrians. I haven't seen those for awhile (other pedestrians). I guess Minnesota Spring is here. Time to dust off "Alone In The Springtime" I suppose...

Now it's time to make a record. A full-length, long-playing record. I can't divulge details just yet, but look for the first Nato Coles and the Blue Diamond Band LP to be out by Gainesville Fest XI. I know that's far in the future, but seriously, we're already chomping at the bit to make this happen.

But hey! The Blue Diamond Band had a great tour! This one was absolutely bonkers. Thanks to everyone who set up shows, and came to the shows. I've been telling people who ask me "how was tour?" that this one is in the top 3 of my life (along with the first Used Kids tour, and the Modern Machines "Taco Blessing" tour). And then thanks to everyone who danced and sang along. And naturally, thanks to everyone who bought and/or bartered 7"s and t-shirts from us along the way. We ran out of everything on the last day of tour. Trust me, that's the kind of problem a band WANTS to have.

Here's a quick recap of the tour:

Friday March 9th - Horseshoe Tavern in Chicago, IL. We played with a bunch of cool bands we've never heard before. Classic rock'n'roll moment when the bemused and vaguely eastern European-sounding owner asked us (and apparently the other bands, individually) to turn down. No dice. Great crowd for the Windy City.

Saturday March 10th - Now That's Class in Cleveland, OH. We got great burritos as we left Chicago, and hauled ass to Now That's Class. What a great bar! I really recommend this place to any bands coming through northeast Ohio. Paul takes good care of those who believe in the rock and/or roll. Also, Two Hand Fools were really good, and they and the other people who live at Dag House on the edge of the Cuyahoga River flood plain probably have the coolest house I will ever stay at.

Sunday March 11th - Lulu's in Brooklyn, NY. Zach Rapport has still got it - Mr. Liarbird's new band, the Now People, rocked my socks. They even played "Snow Emergency" - tight! This show was one of the best of tour. I miss my old Brooklyn home. Not enough to move back, but it's always lurking on the back of my mind.


Monday March 12th - Mr. Beery's in Bethpage, NY (Long Island). A really fun show in a cool LI dive bar. Afterwards, we went back to Mike Dumps's house and ate taco bell and pasta.

We also watched horror movies where it looked like zombies were eating pasta... but it was really braaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiinnnssss......!!! If you'd like to see some of the best pictures taken of us anywhere, check out our friend Gaelen's flickr by clicking here: Flash! Snap!

Tuesday March 13th - The Zoo in New Brunswick, NJ.

While the show was packed and outta sight, the cops came during the last song of our set (our cover of "Streams Of Whiskey" by the Pogues - "...jumped bail and landed up in jail..."), which meant that we didn't get to see Kicking Spit! That sucked. At least we got to play with our friends from Carbondale, Parlor and Autonomy. Awesome sets by both.

Wednesday March 14th - JR's Bar in Philadelphia, PA. Another fun night down at everybody's favorite sketchy Passyunk palace. Earlier in the day, Sam had bought a battery-powered tape recorder-player, so after the show, we walked from our buddy Steve's house to Pat's for cheesesteaks (no nos gusta de Geno's), and the walk featured Tenement's Blind Wink album blasting off the bricks of Philly into the late night air.

Thursday March 15th - Church of Abram in Richmond, VA. It was awesome to get to see Sundials again!

They're such a tremendous band, and a definitely sleeper favorite to keep your ears out for. We stayed up with them at their southern manor listening to records and shooting the breeze on a mild Virginia night.

Friday March 16th - Carabar in Columbus, OH. Another perfect example of a Blue Diamond Band kinda night of rock'n'roll as far as this tour goes, the Carabar can do no wrong in my eyes. Both bands we played with (Shut Up and Sleep Fleet) were really good, the crowd was wonderful, and afterwards, we went to Troy's (from Tight Bros, and hey, New Creases too!) new house.

Saturday March 17th - FUBAR in St Louis, MO. Woke up and spent too much at Used Kids Records. St Louis was a little weird - our show was us and the Chill Dawgs, tacked on to a kinda Casualties-influenced bill. However, a bunch of our friends showed up and we all had fun, the sound was great, and the Chill Dawgs are still stuck in my head! We partied late into the night and had a great time. The guy in the red shirt is Biff.

Sunday March 18th - Firehouse Pizza Pub in Normal, IL. Woke up and went to the City Museum. The guy in the parking booth was listening to Tenement. Anyway, Kyle was wearing a t-shirt of a band we played with called The Fuckers - the design read: THE FUCKERS/FUCK YOU. I was wearing my In Defense "Tacos Up Your Ass" shirt. And we both got kicked out of the museum, and didn't get our money back!

I understand Kyle's shirt was a little over the line, but people say "ass" on prime time, ok? Mike got to go down the slide, though, so it wasn't a total loss. Anyway, then we went and spent too much money at Vintage Vinyl. The show in Normal was really a perfect end to the tour. The bands were really cool. Mike discovered that people will mistake him for the drummer of Fallout Boy if said actual dude is playing in a hardcore band across the street. And then we went to our friends' Austin and Kristen's house and drank really nice beer, and played with kittens until dawn.


THE END

Thursday, February 23, 2012

March Tour Dates Now Up

Hi there. I think the title pretty much sums it up and says it all. We're really excited to hit the road again, for another "Escape To New York"-type thing, this time with 100% more Cleveland and Richmond! (RVA Flying Squirrels open tryouts are when?) Naturally, some of these dates might change, and we might add a Sunday March 18th show... but honestly, this is one of the more rock-solid tours we've booked, so if the show's listed here, you can pretty much count on it.
  • Thursday 3/8 - Hexagon in Minnneapolis, MN. With the Frozen Teens, the Shakin' Babies, Strong City, and the Desert Vest. 10pm (first band is on at 10pm sharp!). 21+. FREE
  • Friday 3/9 - Horseshoe in Chicago, IL. With Night Brigade, Whipped, Buckshot Hounds. 9pm. 21+. FREE
  • Saturday 3/10 - Now That's Class in Cleveland, OH. With Filmstrip and one more band tba. 9pm. $5
  • Sunday 3/11 - Lulu's in Brooklyn, NY. With the Now People (Zach Liarbird, Mikey Erg, and Danny Z from the Used Kids/Modern Machines), more cool guests! (We're very stoked on this one). 9pm. 21+. FREE.
  • Monday 3/12 - Mr. Beery's in Bethpage, NY (Long Island). With the Broosevelts, Censors. 8pm. 21+. $5.
  • Tuesday 3/13 - The Zoo in New Brunswick, NJ. With Kicking Spit, Jeff Schroek (solo dude from Black Wine, ex-Ergs), Autonomy, and Parlor. 7pm. All-ages. $5
  • Wednesday 3/14 - JR's in Philadelphia, PA. With tba. 8pm. $5. 21+ (kinda)
  • Thursday 3/15 - Church of Abraham in Richmond, VA. With Sundials, more. 7pm. $5. All-ages.
  • Friday 3/16 - Carabar in Columbus, OH. With Sleep Fleet and Shut Up (Dayton OH). 9pm FREE. 18+
  • Saturday 3/17 - Fubar in St Louis, MO. With the Fucked (IL), Captain Dee and the Long Johns, Sixth Son, Gang Control, Lankford, maybe more. 7pm. So many bands, so it's $10 adv/$12 day of BUT WORTH IT! And it's all-ages too.
  • Sunday 3/18 - Firehouse in Normal, IL. With State Champion, Ghost Pope, and Carlos Bandana. 9pm. Cover. 18+
If you live in any of these cities, we hope very much to see you, whether you're an old friend or a new one in the wings. If any of these venues are unfamiliar to you, please email natopaisano@gmail.com and I will give you more information. We're a punk rock band, and punk rock is still illegal in many places. Some venues don't want to post their addresses online. But if you email me, I'll tell you all you need to know.

Last but not least, here's a cool little interview entitled "The Faust Questionnaire" which I did with http://www.switchbladecomb.com/, an excellent blog based in the Twin Cities. Check it out:  http://www.switchbladecomb.com/faust-questionnaire/the-faust-questionnaire-nato-coles/

See ya later,

-Nato/BDB

Monday, February 6, 2012

The Residency Has Begun (and more)

Hello, from snow-free northeast Minneapolis... I'm going to dash off a quick update to this website, and then zoom down to Memory Lanes to see the Woollen Kits from Australia.

First things first: our every-Saturday-in-February residency at Grumpy's has begun, and the first one was great! Thanks to everyone who came out, as well as to Serenghetto, the Frozen Teens, and the staff of Grumpy's Downtown Bar and Grill. This upcoming Saturday will feature our strange and fantastic collaboration with Miss Carrie Blazer from the Gateway District, as well as a full Gateway District set, and a performance by local garagey rockers L'Assassins.

And the next weekend is even crazier: THE CHINESE TELEPHONES ARE COMING! And they will rock you. Also, LIVE BAND KARAOKE. The lineup is set, the requests are in, and for the record, nobody even TRIED to request "Don't Stop Believin'", which is nice.

Last but not least, we have cool new t-shirts! The design is black, and the image is a cartoon drawing of drinks playing poker. I'll post a picture of one as soon as I can. You can get these cool new t-shirts at any of our shows, or contact us for mailorder details - the price is $10ppd. Email natopaisano@gmail.com for more info.

Okay, that's it for now. See ya later!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Our February Grumpy's Residency Has A Mascot...


This flyer was created by Tom Hazelmeyer, who was gracious enough to let us befoul his downtown bar every Saturday night this February 2012!

Also: karaoke folky, get your REQUESTS IN! Email 'em to natopaisano@gmail.com. For guidelines, head below.