The Junkyard Saloon on 9/11!

So our first show in Florida is going to be at a junkyard.  What?  Yes.   A Junkyard… Saloon.  It’s a pretty cool looking place, though, and I’m excited to have a chance to perform at it.

Anyhow, they’re doing a FREE get together for 9/11. Starts at 2:00pm and ends at 6:00pm. We’ll be playing with a bunch of other bands: Everymen, Bluesbeaten Readshaw, Horrible Hound Dogs, and Lone Wolf. Sounds like a rough bunch. Lone Wolf? Horrible Hound Dogs? That’s a lot of freakin’ canine teeth to compete with. Eh, I’m sure we’ll get along fine.

Anyway, I hope this show will open a couple doors for us, and you know, be fun at the same time. It’s always tough to start up again in a new area, and even though we have a new manager who is doing a great job, the first few gigs are the hardest to get. So we’ll see…

It’s a website!

So I finally got so sick of terrible page builders that I just decided to learn how to build a website.  Anyway, I got the basics down and made a band website that is okay by normal standards, but pretty good compared to the terrible crap that I was using before.

So here’s the <a href=”http://www.themakeshifts.com”> website</a>.  It’s not finished, but the basic idea is up, and it’s fulfilling some of its purposes.  Anyhow, I would like to hear some ideas for the website, since I want to make it somewhat “original”.   I’m going to add more writing and real “selling points” for the band, instead of just a summary.

Anyhow, any feedback is appreciated.

-Keith

Being in Florida…?

Above is a logo we created.  It’s simple and easy, and I think we’re gonna stick with it for awhile.  If you have any other ideas, let me know!

Being in Florida is a little different.  Summer is actually the rainy season, so there are seemingly random 20 minute periods of rain.  The economy is doing significantly better down here than up in the midwest.

It took a little bit of settling in to really start the process of  building up events here.  Right now there are several different venues interested in having myself and The Makeshifts perform.  We’re working it out.

Florida is a great place, but that doesn’t mean we don’t miss everyone from up north.  Anthony Wright is down here working with me, and developing an addiction to Family Guy and rock band.  Anyway, at least he’s playing the drums, which actually does hold some similarities to the real thing.

So, there has been a lot of practicing going on, and I will post some videos on here and on the Facebook really soon of it.   I miss the swing dancers up in Ohio, and playing shows for them.  Hopefully I’ll have a chance to do it some more.

–KJ

First Friday and THE MOVE

Hey, everyone!

It’s been quite some time since I’ve updated Keith Jones and The Makeshifts blog, so I figured I should do that. I want to talk about a couple things we’ve been doing lately, and the inevitable move to Florida that I (and consequently, The Makeshifts) will be making in a couple weeks.

In the past six or so months, I have had the tremendous opportunity not only to play music (if that’s what you want to call it) at many of Columbus’ Swing Dance events, but also in Cincinnati for one of their monthly dances.

Today will be The Makeshifts’ last performance in the tri-state area for some time,(August) due to my move to Florida. We’ll be in the beautiful town of Vevay, IN, performing at their monthly First Friday Festival. Vevay is one of my favorite towns to play in, and we generally have a terrific turn out, so I’m looking forward to it.

About my move to Florida – I will continue to perform in Florida once I find appropriate musicians, and I will also continue to perform in the Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana area. Just much less frequently.

Our August show will be part of the Cincinnati Lindy Exchange weekend. I encourage every swing dancer out there to sign up for CincyLX! This is the second year for this event, and if it is anything like last year, it will be a fantastic time. Here’s the CincyLX website –Cincylx.com — Go figure, right? If you’re not a swing dancer, and don’t wish to be, you should show up to the Sunday dance, anyway. (HINT: THAT IS THE ONE THAT THE MAKESHIFTS WILL BE PLAYING)..

Some other very important links..

Olivia Suttles’ swing dance blog called Generation: Swing. We were featured in this recently. Well written. Consistently updated.

Vevay Main Street’s Facebook. This page contains a lot of info on the current happenings in Vevay, IN. There’s a lot to do in Vevay.

CincyLXs Facebook Page! Get details and updates on CincyLX and other Cincinnati Swing events!