News From IdeaLand

We just got back from our little run out to Canada. We hit Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The weather was awesome, Toronto was warm, Ottawa slightly less warm, and Montreal was a little cold. The roads were clear, open and moose free. It took us a metric minute to get the hang of driving in kilometers and buying gas in litres, but once we got our Loonies and Toonies in order we were able to order some Poutine without getting funny looks.
Poutine

The Smiling Budha
The first night we played a little nook called the Smiling Budha. It was owned by Wayne Gretski. Seriously. Except this Wayne Gretski is a middle aged Chinese guy that owns a bar in Toronto. We arrived quite early so we had plenty of time to drive around a hotel for a couple of hours looking for a parking spot. We didn't find one so we canceled our reservation. The show was good, the place filled up reasonably well and the bands were allright. Thanks to Jackie for coming with us and running merch. And for having bunny ears. Super awesome thanks to Drew and Emi for letting us crash at their place.
We had fun
Timmy slept in the kitchen

Saturday we arrived just in the nick of time in Ottawa at a classyish venue named Zaphod Beeblebrox. I read my first Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy book when I was 8, so I had to order a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. The stage in this place was awesome, the lights doubly so. It was located in a slammin' part of town surrounded by all sorts of cool shops, restaurants and horse drawn carriages on one way streets. There was a bakery nearby where oddly enough we picked up some seafood salad and ratatouille, oddlier yet they had Obama Cookies up at the front counter. Marc had the bright idea to find a place with a better bathroom and went over to the Hard Rock Cafe, only to find out that those bathrooms weren't that much better. After the show we drove to Montreal and crashed with our new friends Dave and Gayle. Thanks Dave and Gayle!
The Lights

Obama Cookies
Nice place

We woke up refreshed, and ready thanks to a massage session at Dave and Gayle's, as well as only a couple blocks from Sunday's venue, Le Devon Orange. Montreal is a giant island mostly populated with folks who speak french as a primary language. They have really good food. We're so glad we got to play this place. The scene was vibrant, the people were really nice, all 12 bands on the bill showed up and played, and there was a vending machine that sold art, poetry and culture. It was awesome.
Aaaahhh...
Dude from Wrong Era!

The drive home was a bit of a stretch, roughly 17 hours with the border stop. We did it in shifts and drove the whole way through. Fortunately, getting back in was easier than getting out. Back to recording a new album!

We're currently sitting at the immigration office at the US/Canada border. They're listening to Ideamen behind the counter right now. Mark is trying to explain to them what a rock and roll show is. They want to know why one of the bars isn't a concert venue, and saying we can't play there due to that distinction. We're gonna have a fun weekend.
Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, here we come!

As some of you may know, I'm a Type 1 diabetic. I guess I wasn't taking very good care of myself, and I wound up in intensive care due to ketoacidosis. I'll spare you the details, but it's bad, quite painful, and I nearly died. Now that I'm out I've become something of a model diabetic, checking my sugars constantly, shooting my insulins regularly, and all of a sudden I started cooking. Glad to be healthy again, and I'll be in good shape to jump all over the stage next time we get out. I might even cook you dinner.

Hey kids, it's been a while since our last post up here,. We've filled our drummer needs, thanks to all for suggestions and leads. We got a good one, his name is Marc Eaton, from Kenosha Wisconsin, member of the band "Richard Cranium" among others. He's a busy guy, and he drives some 3 hours every time we rehearse with him. You may be happy to hear that we are still working with Phil Goodrich in the studio for the next album, and he'll be playing a handful of live shows as needs and availability arise.

Ideamen is a Chicago/Region band with an active schedule, we play frequently, locally and nationally. We signed on to Rotten Records, and as a result we have opportunities to go on month long tours once or twice a year. We are currently playing to support our recent album "May You Live In Interesting Times" and are also writing/demoing a new full length album.

Stylistically, we're a bit like a heavy metal barbershop quartet. We've been told we're a cross between System Of A Down and Queen. We're only a little bit "Progressive Music", but enough so that people call us that, so we're up for a drummer who is up for that sort of challenge. That said, we'd like you to listen to some stuff and watch a handful of live videos:

Facebook Page with stuff

It's easy these days to find out what you're getting into. Do pay close attention to the drummer you will be replacing, he has really really big shoes and is a tough act to follow - You actually have to be amazing.

But don't let that scare you. Ideamen is a really fun band to play in. We play a lot, and people like us; we love our fans, and they let us crash in their houses when we're on the road.

Requirements:
--We'll need you a good couple days a week for rehearsals in addition to frequent weekend shows.
--Ideally, you'll be able to get up and run with us when we go on tours. However we're aware of the difficulty involved in that sort of commitment - we cross those bridges when we come to them.
--Pragmatically, we have shows booked in July that we really need you for - July 20-24 (wed - sun), it's almost not worth auditioning if you can't play these dates.