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

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

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!