Hello Good Friends, 2011 has thus far been one of the most rewarding years yet for October Road. We performed in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Nebraska as we have in past years, but this year we were finally able to do multiple shows in those states, creating more fans, and getting word into the bordering regions which will hopefully help us add Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, and Wisconsin to the mix in 2012. 2011 has also been the "year of original music" for the band. We debuted over 12 new songs to our nightly shows in addition to the plethora of originals we already were sneaking in every night. All were recieved well, but a handful went over especially well, instructing us on what works and what doesn't, and pushing us ever closer to finally getting our 4th album completed. We played WeFest for the 5th time, The Red River Valley Fair for the 6th, RibFest for the 5th, and visited a dozen county fairs and street dances, all the while adding new clubs across the Midwest. So, in short, you'll hear no complaining from this guy!! All that being said, I do have several announcements to make in this note. Some of the them are indeed very sad, and some bring incredible opportunities for the future of October Road. Ty Taylor joined the band in October of 2008 and has been a hard charger for the band ever since. He raised the talent level of the band instantly upon his arrival, and has been an absolute energizer bunny on stage every night. Ty gave up a very lucrative career in the oil patch out West to give music one more whole hearted try, and for three years he has done just that. But as we close in on October 2011, he's decided it's time to move on to another life path. When Ty left for Nashville with 32 Below several years back, it required him to drop out of college just before his senior year, a few credits short of a Biology/Pre-Med degree. In September, I'm personally very proud to say, he chose to tackle the very difficult task of re-enrolling to finish what he started, and he'll graduate in May of next year. After that, who knows what life has in store, but I know he's very excited to find out! Ty's last show was this past Saturday, and he will be very much missed. He didnt wanna make a big deal about his leaving, which is why there's no farewell show, but please make a post on our wall and let him know he'll be missed. Replacing Ty will be Mike Brunette, joining us all the way from Olds, IA. There's a little twist to the story in that Mike will be adding Keyboards and Rhythm Guitar to October Road, while I myself will be taking over Lead Guitar. Mike came to our attention when we did a show with Jake McVey in August. Mike and I hit it off right away and it was decided that if the opportunity ever came up, he'd love to be part of October Road. When Ty let us know of his desire to move on, I put the call in to Mike within minutes, and he said absolutley! To call Mike an incredible musician, is a massive understatement! His skills on keys and vocals are absolutley mind boggling, and his stage presence and overall personality are exceptional, and dare I say, addictive. We couldn't be more thrilled to be adding such a force of nature to the October Road family. Mike moves to Fargo tomorrow afternoon, and we're gonna get right to work on new covers, and especially new originals being that he is also a gifted songwriter as well! Hs first show is at Dae Udder in Minot this coming Friday, and his first Fargo show is Sunday night at The Windbreak so Minot . . . .Fargo . . . . come show the love!!!! Another sad announcement I must make is that Luke is also moving onto to other things in life. Luke and his wonderful wife Kristin are expecting in December, and that miraculous addition to their lives is as good a reason I can think of to take a break from the music business. Luke's made it clear he's not done pursuing his dream, just taking some time to enjoy being a new Father, and to traverse the days and weeks at a bit of a slower pace than a musician's life allows for! Luke joined the band in August of 2009, after we practically had to hire some mafioso to get him to say yes. Indeed, we lobbied hard for several years before the timing was right, but it was completely worth the long effort. His drumming style has been a perfect fit, and his powerful vocals have been a key force behind many songs that are quite frankly, out of my vocal range. He's also been highly devoted to the upkeep of our gear and fixing any mechanical issues we have, which will also be missed being that Joe and I are, let's just say, less than mechanically inclined! Luke's last show will be October 29th @ The Windbreak!  Be sure to come and say thank you! Joing the band in replacement of Luke is our very good friend Pat Hewitt, or as most of you know him, Patio! Patio has been in some ridiculously awesome bands in the past. Matahari . . . Dozer . . .etc, etc. His playing style is a perfect fit for the band, and his vocals are outrageously great as well. Patio and I have talked about playing together in a side project for more than a year, but we just couldn't find the time to get it off the ground. Now, we get to take the same ideas we had for the side gig, and incorporate them into October Road! Patio's first show will be November 4th at Big D's in Fargo, and yeah, it's gonna rock pretty hard! Here's what you should expect from October Road that you already know well. We're going to remain a vocal driven band, we're gonna play the covers you wanna hear, we're gonna keep introducing you to covers and artists you're gonna wanna learn more about, and we're gonna keep bringing you our own music and our own albums. Here's the new stuff you're gonna see starting November 1st. A brand new LED light show that blows our current set up right out of the water, new music from artists we haven't covered before like Adele, Matt Nathanson, David Nail. Billy Joel, and Elton John as well as new music from artists we do cover such as Journey, Shinedown, Maroon 5, Train, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Toby Keith and The Eli young Band. . . . . .as well as music from some artists we've discovered this year such as Randy Montana, Randy Rogers Band, and Wade Bowen. And of course, even more new originals. The rule of the band has always been, and will continue to be that the covers must match the originals in style anf feel. Over the past year our originals have found a home within a very wide spectrum of genres, so why shouldn't our covers do the same? We've been mostly a country band for about four years, but starting in November we're gonna get back to the roots we planted in 2004 and start playing a much wider variety of music including country, rock, pop, funk, and soul. Playing only, or rather mostly country, has left us feeling that we're missing out on experiencing other forms of music that are exhilerating, and allow us to grow more as musicians. As such, opening the door to said other genres of music has us feeling very excited. October Road has seen many changes in seven years, and you've stood by us for all of them. Some changes have clearly been for the better, and in all honestly, we've had some line up changes that we're challenging to both you and ourselves. With this change there is absolutley no doubt that everything each of us has worked for will keep moving in a positive, and upward direction. Patio and Mike are the definition of quality professional musicians. They work hard, they love what they do, and their character is of the highest quality. As I've already said a copious amount of times, we are very much excited to get started, and are looking forward to creating music with these two great guys. Will all sincere and heartfelt gratitude, thank you for your support, and God bless! Shawn