For those of you that can't make it down to Berwyn, IL this saturday night to see SHOES play live at Fitzgerald's Night Club (immortalized in the movie, "A League of Their Own"), you can stream it live from Gigity TV at the link below. We don't know the quality of the video or audio mix, but it sure is a cool concept for those that can't make the gig! Log onto the link to see the show;

http://gigity.tv/event/1375/

Chicago's Finest Rock station, WXRT has lent it's name and support to get behind 2 of the upcoming Shoes shows; May 4th at Fitzgeralds in Berwyn and July 27th at Evanston Space!  Advance tickets for both shows are currently on sale.  WXRT has long been a supporter of the band and the fine folks there have been our favorite source of great new music over the years.  During SXSW in Austin, WXRT's Norm Winer stopped by Shoes' CD Baby showcase at Maggie Mae's and chatted with the band before the gig.  We think Hot Mess from Ignition would make a great new addition to their playlist!

After returning from SXSW in Austin, Texas where the band played 4 gigs (including 3 in one day!) the band looks to return home and play a series of shows in and around the midwest this spring and summer.  The first gig to be announced is at the notable Fitzgerald's Nightclub in Berwyn, IL on May 4th!  Opening the show will be Green, which includes bassist Clay Tomasek (a former member of Shoes' touring crew), vocalist Jeff Lescher, guitarist Jason Mosher and drummer Mike Zelenko (Material Issue).  It looks to be a great night of music and friends! http://www.fitzgeraldsnightclub.com/events/view/Shoes-plus-Green

SHOES were asked to round out the recent show for Chicago Live! at Ravinia in Highland Park, IL on thursday, Feb. 14th (Valentines Day).  The Chicago Tribune teams up with Second City Players and WGN to put on a quarterly show and Shoes was asked to be the musical guest, playing two songs to close out the show.  The 1-1/2 hour event featured a variety of guests including Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) interviewed by Marc Caro from the Chicago Tribune, WGN radio's Rick Kogan interviewing …

Well, as the scheduling for SXSW remains in flux (up to and during the event) we thought we'd post what we know, so far. SHOES will be playing some short "day party gigs", some night time showcase gigs and appearing on at least one panel discussion.  On wednesday March 13th at 1:35pm SHOES will be playing for Cary Baker/Conqueroo/Guitartown's day party at Molotov. On friday March 15th SHOES will be appearing on a panel for CD Baby at 11am, playing a day party for BLURT! Magazine at 4pm and playing an evening showcase gig for CD Baby in The Gibson Room at Maggie Mae's.  We're sure this schedule will change and more will be added, so we will do our best to keep you up to date on developments.

Prior to flying down to Austin, TX for the SXSW conference gigs, Shoes will be playing an "in the raw" warm-up gig on March 9th at McAuliffe's Pub; 3700 Meachem Rd, Mt Pleasant, WI 53405.  Proprietor "JJ" has once again extended the welcome mat for Shoes to shake off the cobwebs before heading out into the wild blue yonder.  (McAuliffe's was the site of Shoes' "Tokyo Send-Off Shakedown Show" in 2009, amidst a seasonal snowstorm, prior to the Japan tour).  The show will be a stripped-down, bare-bones gig with a straight ahead rock approach, using minimal gear and staging, in an effort to prepare for the short, blitz-style gigs that will be taking place in Austin.  So come on out to see Shoes "in the raw" on March 9th at McAuliffe's and don't forget to say "Hi" to JJ!

For the first time in their career SHOES will be traveling to Austin, TX to play a showcase gig at the SXSW Music Convention in early March!  The music distribution company CD Baby asked the band to perform at their showcase stage and appear on one of their discussion panels.  The dates and venues may change, but the latest info we have is that the short set would be on March 13th at a club called Holy Mountain and the panel discussion is tentatively set for March 15th.  These are only preliminary dates, as the SXSW scheduling is often in flux until late January.  We will post further updates as they become available.

We would like to extend our best wishes to all for a happy, safe and joyous holiday season!  We'd also like to thank you for all the support for the new Ignition CD and the other releases this year!  If the Mayan calendar proves to be wrong, we hope to see you in 2013 and beyond...CHEERS!

November 13th is a special day for SHOES fans with the official release by The Numero Group of the first 2 SHOES LPs that were originally recorded in 1975; "One In Versailles" and "Bazooka" on VINYL!  To help commemorate the occasion, Shoeswire is making available a Bazooka t-shirt of the newly created album cover art, along with other shirt designs including Ignition, Black Vinyl Shoes (featuring John's original cover art painting), Present Tense, Tongue Twister, Black Vinyl …

The Numero Group, Chicago's preeminent boutique, re-issue label has begun accepting pre-orders for the upcoming vinyl releases of the 4 SHOES, "pre-Elektra" LPs; One In Versailles, Bazooka, Black Vinyl Shoes and Pre-Tense (the Present Tense demos)!  Known for their superior packaging and "attention to detail" quality (hey, they were nominated for a Grammy last year!), The Numero Group has gone to great lengths reproducing the original artwork and creating new art for the Bazooka and Pre-Tense Lps (which have never appeared on vinyl before!)  OIV and Bazooka will be released on 11/13/12 and BVS and Pre-Tense will be releases on 11/27/12.  You can read more here; http://www.numerogroup.com/