CONTROL FREAK BAND OFFICIAL BLOG: February 2011

3/9/2012
Lots of big things going on for the band. We've got a packed schedule of gig going through the summer and beyond, banners being created as we speak, a new light show, and the OFFICIAL release of our band website scheduled for launch on Friday 3/16/12.

3/7/2012
You asked for it so now you got it. Below is THE comprehensive list of all the CONTROL FREAK band websites including this one (of course).
Website: http://www.controlfreakband.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ControlFreakRocks
ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/controlfreakrocks
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/controlfreakband
Blogspot: http://controlfreakband.blogspot.com

2/18/12
When we got to Ball's Sports Bar & Grill we knew it was not going to be a typical gig. We were surprised to find the New England Intensity Women's Tackle Football team there (http://www.newenglandintensity.com) having their annual awards ceremony. They ripped it up as hard as we did. Balls is a great room, the staff is really friendly and funny, and they have great taste in bands (obviously). We'll be back.

1/28/12
We returned to the Common Pub and this time even the bartender couldn't resist. She spent a couple of tunes up on stage shaking her groove thing with the band while understanding (fortunately) patrons waited patiently for refills. You go Courtney!

1/20/12
Back at Bovi's for another rocking party. We had a full house include some long, lost friends from up north that graced our stage with their dancing and helped on the backup singing.

1/7/12
We celebrated Chris' birthday last nigth ar our American Legion gig. The turnout was great with lots of Chris' friends coming to wish him wel and enjoy the party. The club manager had a lot of great things to say about the quality and professionalism of our show and the music and wants us there regularly. Lots of fun.

12/17/11
So we're in another new room, the Common Pub in Bristol, RI. This is an old biker's bar that has transitioned into a favorite spot for the Roger Williams University kids. It's always jumping and they love great music. Everybody had a blast and the dancefloor was packed all night.

11/19/11
What a big show! Kevin on the board and the additional PA gear made a HUGE diffence. You konw you're doing something right when the bartenders are dancing.

11/5/11
Our search for a soundman is over. Ronnie called his old friend, and regional sound icon, Kevin Chabot and he agreed to fill the missing sonic gap we've been challenged by for so long. Kevin's also bringing enough horse power for us to rock every major venue on the East Coast. And he's a sincere, honest, and easy-going guy. Fantastic!

10/1/11
The thing about Chinese food is that an hour after you eat it you're hungry again. And so it goes with playing at a Chinese Restaurant. Less than a month after playing the Cathay Pearl we're back for more.

9/10/11
We're rocking the Noodle Circuit with our first appearance at the Cathay Pearl in Swansea, MA. This is a great room, a great bar and should you get hungry an egg roll is only a chopstick away.

8/27/11
Our first gig with new drummer Colin Boughton, at Bovi's (where else?). Colin is a fast study and came up to speed with 45 of our tunes in less than three weeks. He's a complete blast to play with and he adds an urgency and determination to our music that takes it up a level. A great turnout of our regular fans and a whole bunch of new fans from Bristol (thanks Colin).

5/21/11
We played a fund raiser for our friend Sandy D'Ambra tonight. We're still looking for a drummer so we delivered the Control Freak show in an acoustic format. It was way different but way cool and a ton of fun. Sandy had a great time and the event was a huge help to her.

4/10/11
Another fun gig at Bovi's. This time the room didn't give us any surprises and we delivered a great groove all night. Unfortunately our yang has once again caught up with our yin. Dave let us know that the demands of his new daytime gig are just too intense for him to continue on with us and so he is leaving. Dave was our anchor and the head of our 'Fun and Game' committee. He will be sorely missed. If anybody knows any really great drummers please contact us.

3/12/2011
We had a great, rocking time at Bovi's tonight. Had some issues with blown circuit breakers early on but those setbacks only strengthened our resolve to kick the shit out of the place. Looking forward to our return here on 4/9/11. Kudos to Kicking Hole for once again extending themselves to help us out.

2/6/2011
What a blast! Bovi's was rocking and the boys delivered the goods good and hard. Even though the weather was bad we still had a great turnout and everybody had a good time. We're back at Bovi's on Saturday, March 12th and Friday, April 8th. Hope you can come by. Thanks so much to Kicking Hole or giving us the chance to play with them.

2/5/2011
Give yourself a break from the everyday grind, and get 'outta control' this Saturday,February 5th, at Bovi's, Taunton Ave. E. Providence, RI as we open for the great party band 'Kicking Hole'. Show starts at 9.

2/2/2011
Had our last rehearsal before our show with Kicking Hole at Bovi's in East Providence, RI. We're ready.

1/29/2011
Got a call from our friend Kevin Sheehan, the singer for Kicking Hole. He invited us to open for them at Bovi's on Saturday, 2/5/2011. This is a great opportunity and we're very appreciative for Kicking Hole's generosity. Time to crunch.

1/27/2011
Control Freak moved to our new rehearsal space tonight. Much bigger and the amenities are far more than we need but we're glad to have them anyway. NATO's got all his percussion and electric drums mixed and we've worked out the kinks with the in-ear monitors. The vocal harmonies sound fantastic!

1/22/2011
Finally we've agreed on a band name. Learning 60 tunes was easier. There were over 400 suggestions and finally we agreed to Control Freak. Glad that is over. With the new lineup we are up to 37 tunes and with the tunes we're learning by next week we'll be ready to gig. Time to start booking.

11/28/2010
Craig's List delivered a big surprise tonight. We had an audition with Sean Couto for the rhythm guitar spot. Although he's worked primarily in the acoustic / songwriter genre his playing, understanding of music, ears and vocals are a tremendous compliment to our band. He dug us too so it looks like we might at last have our band.

11/21/2010
Ronnie's decided he's going to make it work which is pretty amazing considering it means he'll be driving from NY to RI every weekend for rehearsals. We're very excited. We also had another great friend come down, Steve Howe. He's an amazing guitarist, a great band leader, and he's got an absolutely killer tone. Playing with Steve made us realize we want another guitar player. Unfortunately Steve is too busy with his originals project to join us.

11/18/2010
A lifelong friend, Ronnie Fellela was in town from NY this weekend and played with us tonight. I've played with Ronnie in various bands for the last 30 years. He's a complete monster on bass and he and NATO just clicked. WOW! What a rhythm section.

11/9/2010
Tonight our friend Bob 'Hub' O'Neil came down. He's worked with Neal Vitullo for the last 18 years and is either a mind reader or just knows so many tunes that he can pretty much be thrown into any situation and do a great job. We had a lot of fun.

11/7/2010
Our Craig's List bass player search is coming up empty. We've decided to reconsider looking at our personal network and found a couple of old friends, great players and great guys, but unfortunately busy with other gigs and life. They said they'd like to come down any way so who knows.

11/3/2010
We've gotten a number of responses and seen some very interesting people. Ooof! Chris and i have known for a long time that we really loved NATO's playing and his piss-your-pants sense of humor so we decided to reach out to him again, fill him in on Chuck, and see if he'd reconsider. He agreed and we're very psyched.

10/8/2010
With Chuck out Chris and i find ourselves essentially back to the drawing board. The prospect of going through Craig's list auditions again is pretty frustrating but we've got no choice. We need a bass player and drummer.

10/7/2010
Our non-productive search for a drummer has taken it's toll on yet another member of the Stoning Goliath team. Chuck announced tonight that he's got to re-evaluate his position and possibly bow-out. He did however agree to hang around for a couple more months if we could put something together for a gig before the end of the year. So that's our plan. Perhaps something good will come from it.

7/27/2010
Sad news, NATO has decided that the genre/repertoire is not really what he's most interested in. He got a call from a band he auditioned for last year to fill in for their drummer who was sick. Of course Dave nailed it and they subsequently offered him a permanent gig. They do mostly classic rock which is right in Dave's comfort zone. He told us today that he's leaving. We've got no hard feelings. Dave is a good friend, one hell of a drummer and he got us to 50 tunes. Anybody know any heavy hitting rock drummers?

7/15/2010
Had a good rehearsal at Chuck's last night. Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion in particular sounded great. Decided to hold off on learning more tunes, for a few weeks, so we can perfect whatwe've got (47 so far) and work on sequencing them into sets. Looking at wireless in-ear monitor systems and other gear necessary to put the product in clubs at the level of quality we're targeting.

7/13/2010
We're up to 45 tunes and will get to 50 by the end of the month. We've found our sound, our groove and the tunes are taking on just enough of the band's personality to make them sound different. NATO is kicking ass on drums and Chris' vocals sound better and better with each rehearsal. We're ready to start booking gigs and hope to bring the show to you all in August/September.

4/30/2010
We moved our rehearsals, for now, to Chuck's place. WOW! Great room, great gear. It might take a few rehearsals to learn the room and tune the PA but it has a lot of promise. And we can finish the room at my house finally.

4/23/2010
We brought Warren/Bristol, RI drum powerhouse NATO in. He's got an unbelievable feel and tone and his timing is dead-nuts on perfect. Just what we needed to anchor and power the music.

3/8/2010
TC opted out. His new job responsibilities have got him on the run and he's doing a lot of travelling. We wish him the best and hope to play with him again at some point. Now we've got to find another drummer. Back to Craig's List and the Berklee resource network.

2/25/2010
Great rehearsal with the full band.

2/5/2010
Mike's gone. We're reaching out to an old friend and monster drummer, Tony Carlone (TC). He's going to sit for a little while and see if he can make it work with everything else he's got going on.

12/4/2009
Chuck Bessett auditioned for our bassist spot. He nailed it with the first note. We also had Mike Bean down on drums and it looks like we may have our rhythm section.

11/17/2009
Jim let us know that the demands of his job aren't leaving enough time for him to properly address the material and he doesn't want to slow the project down. Chris and Fred will continue ahead and begin the search for a drummer and a bassist.

9/11/2010
Fred DeAngelis, Chris Farrands, and Jim Saleeba got together for the first time with the intention of forming a rock covers band. Chris Farrands is a Riverside, RI native and has been singing in a rock genre since the late 70s. Over the last few years he and Jim have been busy playing acoustic covers in RI and Nearby MA. Fred DeAngelis started playing guitar in '72 and has been in rock, jazz, blues, country, acoustic/folk, and pop originals projects.

Friday, February 11, 2011

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