Okay folks, it’s time to give a little update on where we are at with all things IME. Sorry it’s been awhile but hey… I was fishing (and golfing, and ATVing…. and napping).

Obviously a lot has happened since we played the Toronto shows and especially after releasing the song. So you’re not exactly alone in wondering what the next steps will be as we were wondering the same… methinks a plan has been hatched.

THE SONGS

“We Got The Love”… who knew? After being firmly entrenched in the top 10 across the country for weeks (and still climbing!) the obvious next step is to release another song. We absolutely didn’t see this coming and figured that as we aren’t really in the game in the traditional sense, this song didn’t even have a chance! Automatically, this is a deviation from the original plan as it forces us to acknowledge this very fortunate situation and actually do something about it! Do we walk away from it or continue? Hmmmm… I did swear that I would never do anything in music again if I ever felt that I was being forced to do something, but I think I have dug my heels in long enough, fought some of those old useless competitive urges, and can honestly say i’m really dying to get more music out… integrity still intact. (whew! that was close!)

That being said, I would like to note that the downloads on our site have been incredibly steady since the song came out. This again proves that if you give any music fan something to believe in, and keep the relationship simple and honest, they will always do the right thing and find a way to support it in one way or another. Your overwhelming support for us with this song through all of the downloads and radio requests compels us to do more for you. I mean seriously, how can we not? Trust me, we’re on it!

I would love to take a second to thank the radio stations across the country as well for really going for it, listening to your audience (requests have been a huge influence in getting us played) and for just being a part of what we are trying to do. It rekindles a little belief again in the system from us, and from music fans across the country. Hope you like the next one. Warning: it might be 26 minutes long, but i’ll edit the middle section out and get it down to around 4:12. Also note that the constant badgering from our fans will not stop! IMEnation, please make sure you take a sec and send some props along as well to the DJs and Program/Music Directors that you know are supporting us (and you). There are some really good music folk out there and they deserve a pat!

THE SHOWS

After the success of the Toronto shows, and the song all of a sudden being everywhere, it got us thinking of more ways to reach out sooner rather than later. Our initial plan was to try and put on some shows around Sept/Oct but some unexpected opportunities came up that allowed us to get out and play again. Here’s a little run down of the shows and how they came to be:

Owen Sound (June 30): We honestly weren’t sure about doing this one as our personal schedules were getting in the way. With Bruce living/working in Florida, it’s tough to just do a one off show like we would have in the past, not impossible mind you, just a little tricky. The other thing being that we are only playing for 45min which is around 5 songs for us! Lol! How could we make it work? Things really started taking shape when some other shows started to be added around this date, and being as the day consists of some really great bands and friends of ours, we decided to go for it! Really looking forward to it and can’t wait to rock! Of course the next day is……

Newfoundland (July 1): The idea of once again playing Newfoundland has been on our minds since this whole thing started up again. The offer to play in NL has been an on again/off again affair and it was actually the last piece of the July plans to come together. One minute we had a show, the next we didn’t… this went on for awhile, and we were beginning to think it wouldn’t happen this year. Thanks to all who are getting us back to the Rock! The shows are about as good as they can be for us out there and for Brian to return home, you can only imagine how pumped we are to make it back! Coolest thing about it is that we are headlining and can give our fans the 2.5 hours of music they deserve! Not to mention it’s Canada Day and it will be an absolutely insane crowd that’s ready to rock. They have always treated us like gold there and you have no idea how excited we are.

Moncton/Ottawa/Toronto w/Nickelback (July 7/9/11): Now these shows really came out of nowhere! When you get to shows of this magnitude, you can only imagine the politics involved in just trying to be a part of it, and being as we have none surrounding us, what chance would we have, right? Believe it or not, it was a surprisingly simple process of just asking. Really refreshing. The only thing we have to lose is a bit of pride if we were refused, so why not give it a shot! We actually share the same agent (Ralph James at The Agency Group) and figured it wouldn’t hurt just to float it out there just to gauge interest! Much to our surprise they said yes and to top it off, gave us an awesome slot as direct support in front of around 35k people a night (except Moncton of course which has our friends Three Days Grace between us). Many thanks to them for giving a band with no management, no label and no traditional industry backing a chance to do their thing in front of such a huge audience. This speaks volumes, to us, and to our fans. Thanks to all who made it happen.

It’s funny (and slightly ironic), but we had tried to play with them as far back as 2002 if I remember correctly, but with so much of the industry between us, I doubt the request even made it to them. With the industry not involved in our current existence, now we’re playing together… go figure! Lol! Love it! We always thought that although our styles may be different, we are both still rooted in basically the same thing: big rock, big shows and giving audiences something to remember… oh, and zero shoe gazing! Nothing better than an evening full of that, and I absolutely believe that their fans will be able to draw this same conclusion.

It’s a given that we will do our best for their fans on these shows to make the nights rock and we really hope to make quite a few new ones of our own along the way to join us on this new phase of our career. This is what it’s all about people! Reaching out! We are really amped to be involved and look forward to meeting the fellas and having a great time.

London, Belleville w/Slash (July 25, 26): These two shows were on the table even before we played the Toronto shows! It was really hard for us to commit to anything as we had to make it through these first shows and see if we still felt it. Obviously, we did! The London show is really special for us as the first radio station to jump on We Got The Love was FM96! Their support for us has been incredible and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play there. We don’t forget this kind of thing… bigger plans for London to follow. I don’t even know how long of a set we get to play, but we are just happy to be there! (to top it off we’re playing with Slash! I mean, c’mon!!)

Belleville will rock as well. I don’t think we have ever played there and it’s going to be great to finally do so… and again, with Slash! Really looking forward to it!

That’s all to report for now but there are many more things to add. No details just yet but things are taking shape.

MOVING FORWARD

Who the hell knows? Lol! Once we are done with the July shows, there are a few concepts we are working on. One that I am really excited about is myself and Brian getting out there and doing some intimate/interactive shows where we deconstruct our tunes and present them in really different ways and get you involved in different aspects of it … get your creative minds and voices ready.

I am also about to do a follow up post that expands on this concept, as I want to get as many creative people involved as possible. Yes, this means all of you! Watch for it…..

Ok…. I’m spent and I now have to ice my iPad elbow.

Jt