Song Topic Contest Winner!

Dear Internet,
Voting has closed in our first ever Choose the Subject of a TMGB Song contest!  We are proud to announce that the winner is Making Two-Man Music (316 votes out of 1,042)!  Congratulations to Julie in Berks County, PA for suggesting the winning topic.  The Gentlemen shall begin work on a song about this, a topic that is near and dear to our hearts.

Honorable mention: The Clap from Becky in Chicago (288 votes out of 1,042), which was on pace to win until we gentlemen de-railed its chances by officially backing Making Two Man Music.  Once The Councilman’s case clears up, we may consider writing a topic about this two.

The Big Losers: It saddens us that the two last place topics were suggested by pals of ours.  We thought that Bygamy (from Simon in London, 33 votes out of 1,042) and Coin Collecting from (Anthony in Ft. Wayne, IN, 34 votes out of 1,042) deserved more support.  Sorry, boys.

Yours very truly,
Andy Bean
The Two Man Gentlemen Band

Goodbye, England!

Dear Friends,
The Gentlemen depart tomorrow morning for the Festival de Jazz de Almodovar in Almodovar, Portugal.  Allow us to share a few more photos with you from our time in England.  But, first a word for the British peoples…

Dear British peoples: You have welcomed The Gentlemen with open arms, open ears, and seasoned livers.  For this we shall be eternally grateful.  We intend to repay your kindness and good cheer with repeated visits to your fine land.  A special thank you to everyone who put on TMGB shows, housed us, bought us drinks, and showed us a fine time.  You know who you are!  Thanks!

And now, more photos…

The Gentlemen holding hands at the Folk on the Pier festival.  May 10th in Cromer, Norfolk.
(Photo by Jon Grace-Cox)

The Councilman’s shadow in Liverpool.
(Photo by Maesecouogne)

The Gents at View 2 Gallery in Liverpool, across the street from the site of the famed Cavern club, and directly adjacent to the slightly less famous John Lennon Pizzeria. Special thanks to Sidney Bailey’s No Good Punchin’ Clowns (an incarnation of Blue Demon) for bringing the good stuff (great tunes, well-dressed ladies, and hair-product tips) to the show.  I loves you boys.
(Photo by Jim Fallows)

Warming up backstage at The Barbican in London before the Ralph Stanley show.  It was a bit peculiar to have a backstage dressing room since our performance took place in the theater lobby.  But, we made the most of it by eating food, warming up, meeting Ralph Stanley (who declared it “OK” that my banjo only has 4-strings), and styling my hair….

Andy Bean endorses Murrays Superior Hair Dressing Pomade.

The Councilman puts on his evening wear for a final drink at the hotel bar, London.

Andy Bean did NOT drink all these drinks.  The glasses were already on the table.  I promise.

Farewell, England!  We’ll miss you.

Yours most graciously,
Andy Bean
for The Two Man Gentlemen Band

Be a part of our LIVE ALBUM audience! Limited Space!

Dear Internet,
Hello again from London!  The Gents are recording an album of our “greatest hits” (and a few new tunes) in front of a live audience THUR, JUNE 18th in the New York City studios of Serious Business Records.  We want YOU, loyal blog visitor, to be a part of the audience!  We only have space for 40 people (in pairs of 2) in the studio.  So, here’s what you need to do to get in.

1) Be one of the first 20 people to e-mail us at twogentlemen@gmail.com with subject: LIVE ALBUM.
2) In this e-mail, you must promise that you AND A GUEST can indeed attend the taping on THUR, JUNE 18th at a time TBD.  The guest part is important.  We’ll feel sad and pathetic doing a live album for only 20 people.
3) You must consent to paying $10 per person ($20 per pair) to help out with studio costs.
4) Agree to be a loud, rowdy, and boisterous concert attendee, especially when it comes to shouting along and cheering at the end of songs.

If you are one of the lucky first 20, you & your guest…
1) Will be filled with FREE BOOZE before the show courtesy of The Gents.
2) Will be personally thanked, by name, in the album credits.
3) Will be able to request songs to appear on the album!
4) Will receive a FREE copy of the record upon its release!

We look forward to hearing from you, friends!  But be quick about it!  This message goes out to our entire NYC mailing list in two days!

Kindest Regards,
Andy Bean, Banjoist
The Two Man Gentlemen Band
www.thetwogentlemen.com

A Plea for “Making Two Man Music!”

Dear Internet,
Only one week of voting remains in the Choose the Subject of a Two Man Gentlemen Band Contest.  It appears to be a dead heat between “The Clap” and “Making Two Man Music.”

We would like to take this opportunity to throw our support, officially, behind “Making Two Man Music.”  We encourage all who are yet to vote to support it as well.

Why the 11th hour electioneering, you ask?  Suffice it to say that a song about the clap might hit a bit too close to home for The Councilman.

Yours, most compassionately,
Andy Bean
The Two Man Gentlemen Band
www.thetwogentlemen.com

England: Week #3

Dear Friends,
Our rather frantic UK schedule (29 shows in 28 days) is making our clothes and faces a bit more wrinkled than usual.  But it hasn’t affected our music-making, or two-man frolicking negatively.  I present to you some choice images of The Gentlemen at play here in merry old England.

Dress-up time after hours at a London house concert.

The Gents pose before the famous Blackpool Tower.  The policeman’s cloak I purchased in Southampton has proved very useful for fending off rain and for looking silly.

The Councilman enjoys his first pint by the sea in Worth Matravers, Dorset.  All travelers to the area should visit the Square and Compass.

Andy Bean leads the way to the sea.

Gentlemen vs. The Camera Timer.

More to come friends!

Yours very truly,
Andy Bean
The Two Man Gentlemen Band

England: Week #2

Dear Internet,
Might I share with you a few more pictures and tales from our lives as migrant musical workers here in the UK?

First, for all who doubt that the good Lord smiles upon The Gentlemen and their endeavors, I present to you this evidence.  Last evening, The Councilman and I arrived at our gig in Gillingham, Kent (a bit late after getting hopelessly lost in the Medway Towns) only to discover that The Councilman had left his giant rental double bass 45 min away in our hotel room.  How does a man forget a 6 foot tall, 50 pound instrument?  Such are the effects on the brain of 10 days of English ale. (It should be noted that I remembered both of my instruments).

My, goodness, we thought?  Shall the Councilman be relegated to harmony singing and awkward stage standing this evening?  My heavens!

My heavens, indeed, we soon discovered.  For what sat upon the stage waiting for us when we entered the pub?  A double bass, and a functional one at that, sitting waiting to be plucked.  As we have never in our touring lives ever know a venue to have a double bass on hand, we determined at that moment that The Two Man Gentlemen Band is indeed the luckiest two man band going.  Nothing can stop us, methinks, even our own ineptitudes!

And now some photos…

Andy Bean presents…. Stonehenge!

The Councilman rides the London Tube with Bass!

Rowdy fans in Southampton!

The Councilman & The North Sea – Cromer, Norfolk.

More to come soon!  (They’re throwing us out of our hotel right now).

Yours, lovingly,
Andy Bean
The Two Man Gentlemen Band

Vote on Song Contest Finalists!

We present to you the 10 finalists for our first ever Choose the Subject of a TMGB Song Contest!  Pick your favorites wisely!  You may select more than one, but you may vote only once!

.
We received more than 150 song suggestions, most of which were quite brilliant.  If your suggestion was not chosen as a finalist, please accept this as a comment on The Gentlemen’s collective lack of wit and creativity and not as a rejection of the merits of your topic.

We considered each suggestion carefully and chose as finalists those which we could imagine as the subject of a charming two-man composition that wouldn’t require too much of a pre-amble.  We are not proud to admit that we have an easier time writing a song about say, the clap, than we do writing about a peculiar historical incident.  But, such is the case.

Voting closes on June 1, 2009.  We shall reveal the winning suggestion and its author then.

Onward!
Andy Bean, Banjoist
The Two Man Gentlemen Band

A Portrait of The Gentlemen.

Dear Internet,
We submit for your approval a portrait of The Gentlemen in our 2009 attire.  The Councilman will spend the year dressed as a Riverboat Captain.  I shall spend the year as a newsboy.

Thanks as ever to Mrs. Punam Bean for the complimentary photography.

Yours very truly,
Andy Bean, Banjoist
The Two Man Gentlemen Band

Tue, Apr 7th, 11:59pm is the Deadline for Song Topics!

Dear Internet,
My goodness!  We had no idea that Two Man Gentlemen Band enthusiasts have such fertile minds!  We’ve received nearly 100 song topic suggestions via this page, myspace, & facebook, nearly all of which are quite lovely and inventive!

So that we may choose finalists before departing on the next leg of our “Drip Dry Your Troubles Away!” tour, we hereby announce that the deadline to suggest a topic for our Choose the Subject of a TMGB Song contest is Tuesday, Apr 7th, 11:59pm EST.

You may suggest a topic by commenting on this post or the original contest post.  Remember to leave your name and the city where you live.  Starting sometime this week or next, you’ll be able to vote on finalists here.

‘Til then, some notes on a few of your suggestions that have already been addressed by The Gents or by others.

• The Great Sport of Croquet from Heather (Austerlitz, NY)
  The Gentlemen direct you to our song “Croquet Playing Girl” on our latest CD, Drip Dryin’ with The Two Man Gentlemen Band.  We are slightly embarrassed to admit that we harness the wicket/ball double entendre not once, but twice in said song.
• The Great Circus Fire, Hartford, CT, 1944 from Mark (from ???)
  Our good pal, Curtis Eller, addresses precisely this topic on his latest album, Wirewalkers & Assassins.  I believe the song is entitled “Hartford Circus Fire, 1944.”  Learn more about Curtis at www.curtiseller.com.
• Something Heartfelt from Zachary (from ???)
  Believe it or not, we gents consider nearly all of our compositions, even the sillier ones, to be rather heartfelt.  We craft our little novelty pieces with care and they’re always inspired (indirectly, usually) by something that happened to one of the gents.  But, if it’s something more sentimental that you’re looking for, we direct you to our songs  “Stonewall Jackson’s Arm” (Great Calamities), “Newtown Creek” (Heavy Petting), and “Lousy Attitude” (Self Titled).

‘Til then, allow me to offer a hint as to our favorite suggested topic thus far….

Yours, very devotedly,
Andy Bean
The Two Man Gentlemen Band
www.thetwogentlemen.com

Happy Birthday Danica!

Dear Internet,
Given that we Gentlemen perform typically in taverns in the United States, it can be tough to catch a Two Man Gentlemen Band show when you are under the age of 21 and/or live in Canada.  In our meager attempt to remedy this, we are happy to wish a Happy Birthday to a young lady in British Columbia.  Happy Birthday, Danica!

Note: The Councilman sends his regards.  He does not like being videotaped.

Yours very truly,
Andy Bean, Banjoist
The Two Man Gentlemen Band