Two Steps To Heaven...

Two Steps To Heaven was written around April 2007 at the same time we were writing Can't, Last Will and Testament and Period Piece. Since then both Two Steps and Can't have gone on to become core parts of the set with Two Steps actually replacing The Preacher's Daughter to become the set opener. Here's a little taste, click the arrow below and you'll get the first couple of verses. The image is of Kelli and Jeff at Swinghouse where this live version was recorded and is exactly how Kelli looks as she eases into the bridge:












At the time of writing we were looking to introduce a fast moving, Road Trip type song into the set; although we had the crowd pleaser Big Black Bus to close with, we were looking for an up tempo theme that would get people moving early on. We started to play with classic Route 66 imagery, the whole LA to New York thing and the frustrations that often come with traveling. The idea of trying to get across the country, back to the one you love while all the time having things break down, brought forward the two steps forward one step back concept, from there it was just a matter of getting out the Rand McNally and working out the distances!

Taking it into the room was a lot of fun: the swinging left hand on the piano establishes the beat as the other instruments introduce themselves one by one, Kelli sets up the first verse and by the time the second rolls around the whole band is rocking out. We're currently editing live video of the Swinghouse shoot and we'll let you know as soon as it is available.

2008, Videos, New Look Blog and more...

It's been a busy start to 2008 and yet this is the first Blog post - guess we've been busier than we thought. We hope you had a good holiday season and got some rest - we did and we're going to need it.

Last week saw the start of Video production; we're shooting at Swinghouse which is fast becoming our favorite room in town.













We're starting with "Two Steps to Heaven", "Can't" and "Your Cheatin' Heart." So far we think we have "Two Steps" in the can, editing should continue this week - can't wait to see what it looks like, more on this story later on.

We've had this current blog layout for the last 18 months and its definitely time for a change. We've spent a lot of time over the last few weeks developing a new look layout and you can see a sneak preview below. With the addition of subscription and RSS functions - it will make it a lot easier for you to keep in touch with what's happening on the Big Black Bus - expect to see it in place in the next few weeks.

Kelli goes down...

We're at Swinghouse again, Room 2 and we love it! We couldn't have asked for a better day: the people there are awesome, the sound was great, everything felt good (especially the Johnnie Walker) and we completely changed the set list - who could ask for anything more? We're all looking forward to meeting Liz tomorrow - make that today - we'll keep you posted.

As for "Going Down" - well - as far as Kelli goes...



















...if you're going to stand up and sing on stage...



















...you've gotta be able to...


























...get on your knees...



















...and pray!