I recently had the pleasure of testing a new, personal recording device by Sanyo.  The first thing that struck me about the Sanyo Xacti was its incredibly small size.  Its hard to believe that such a small unit can pack such a punch, and contain a stereo pair of microphones.  It has a very slick appearance with an attractive red light up display and sleek casing. I found that within minutes I could easily navigate around the device and efficiently record. Our first use of the Xacti was to record a rehearsal and focus in on our vocal harmonies. It allowed us to record several parts of songs and easily listen back. The sound quality was great and the recorder stores the recordings in an easy to read layout. Later in the week we brought the Xacti to a show and set it to record on stage. Again, it was great to have that playback for us to hone in on our live sound. Another great feature is the line in recording option.  You can use an external mic, or take a stereo board feed for even more clarity on a live performance.  Once something has been recorded, it is extremely easy to transfer the music to your computer.  Other similar devices I have used will sometimes require a lengthy upload, but the Xacti plugs directly into your USB, and you can quickly find a recording for playback.  This is a great device for serious musicians, but would also be practical for recording meetings, lectures, and other business and school situations.  I look forward to using the Sanyo Xacti more in the future!

We were quiet for quite some time at the Coffee Corner Diner in Montpelier, VT.  Most of us who were huddled around the breakfast counter looked like we had died and forgot to lie down.  I was in a showdown with my eggs.  You know you had a rough night when they start talking to you, "Go ahead and eat me smartass...but I'm not gonna stay there!"  The silence was broken by Bob exclaiming, "What-the-f*@#k happened last night??!!"

"Burlington happened!" Replied our tour manager, Cory.

The previous night, we played a sold out show at Nectar's in downtown Burlington, VT for their Mardis Gras celebration.  If you have never celebrated Mardi Gras in thisNew England town, I highly recommend it.  There's lots of drinking, costumes, and beads.  I didn't see any topless women, but it was 20 degrees out, so I guess you ladies get a pass this time.  But in a few years, when global warming kicks in, I don't want to hear any excuses.

The show was amazing, and we met a lot of new Bronze fans.  In typical form, I decided to take a nap on the couch in the green room for a good portion of the evening. Go ahead and make fun of me..."Shocker! There's Craig sleeping again!"  Cut me a little slack though... this event was sponsored by Magic Hat, and if someone was feeding you an endless supply of Lucky Kat IPA and Number 9, you would have found that couch every bit as inviting as I did.

Later in the evening, Cory rounded all of us up, and we went back to the hotel.  He engaged in a losing battle with the desk clerk who insisted the hotel did NOT have any cots.  That's okay Mr. Crabby-Night-Desk-Guy.  You left the supply closet door open and now a certain harmonica player has enough travel-sized bottles of Pantene Pro-V to sink a battleship!  That reminds me....cross shampoo off my budget for the next eight years.  You know what else was in that closet?  Three cots! Thanks for nothing! 

At the diner, one of us (and I won't mention any names) dropped his fork and said, "Wait a minute!  Did I climb up the balcony last night, or did I totally imagine that??"

"Yeah....not only did you climb up our balcony but, you decided to travel from balcony to balcony."

I guess our friend here didn't learn his lesson when after a show in Delaware, he decided to cliff dive off the second floor balcony of our hotel room into the in-ground pool.  There is a small minority of individuals who do not appreciate this particular sport.  One such person happened to be the hotel owner.  The bright side was that the hotel down the street had excellent rates.  But I digress....

While one of us was practicing their Spiderman impression, Cory was spearheading a city-wide manhunt for another certain band member who had gone missing.  We had gotten a hot lead of his whereabouts when one of the hotel guests stopped the group and asked, "Hey do you guys know who that kid was who is walking around knocking on doors??"

"Uh...no idea.....but do you know which way he went??"

Unfortunately, this person was not at the diner to either confirm or deny this story.  He evidently felt the accommodations in our parked van were much more appropriate for his state of being than the breakfast counter. 

The rest of the night was pretty tame, a few lampshades on the head, a guy banging on the door telling us to shut up.....nothing too exciting.  We eventually made it back to Hartford unscathed....no one fell off a building and all missing individuals were accounted for.  I lost the showdown with my eggs...but I'll live to fight another day.

Tour has been a blast, and we have been having a great time with the amazing Dan Mills and his band.

Check out part 1 of a tour video that we have been working on...

Starting this Thursday in Worcester, MA we will go on our first tour of 2010 from Arlington, VA to Portland, ME.  During this trip we are going to be taking as many photos, and random videos as possible in an effort to supply all of you with some tasty media!

Feel free to shoot us messages, comment/feedback, requests, whatever you want... we want to hear from everyone.  If you end up at one of the shows demand a photo, grab a beer with us, take some of your own videos/photos...like these from Chelsea and Sarah from our shows in SE Pennsylvania last weekend.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p4gosTUegs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh59aYpEncs

-BRR

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the holidays.  We took several weeks off at the end of 2009 to spend time with friends and family, but kept busy planning 2010 through it all.

Before the end of the year we remixed "Digital Love" for radio, which you can listen to on our myspace page.  Along with pushing on the radio front, we already have a 9 date tour scheduled for the end of January into February.  Check out the show section on our myspace, or our newly launched webpage (www.bronzeradioreturn.com) for all of the updates and information.  Traveling from Portland, Maine to Arlington, VA with our buddy Dan Mills (www.danmills.net), we hope to see everyone out for our first shows of 2010.

Keep checking back for tour dates and other updates...we plan on filling 2010 with as many performances as possible.  We also are finishing up some new merch, writing new tunes, and hopefully making it out to other parts of the country over the next few months.

For 2010 I vow to rock more faces than in 2009.

bob-t