tim stopulos

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T17:03:00.002-05:00

We here at timstoptrio.com wanted to take a moment to wish everybody a Happy Independence Day! As some of you may know, Tim's started his first band at Wake Forest in North Carolina and they were called "Fourth" (often times referred to as "Fuerth"). Despite that band name having no relation to the 4th of July, we encourage you to take a moment to remember Tim's first band during your Independence Day festivities. Perhaps you could take a trip to Winston-Salem, NC and visit the house in which they formed, on Long Drive. Either way, be safe and enjoy your day!

We'll see you all soon! And Happy Fuerth of July!!

Martyrs' Pics

2009-06-17T18:02:00.013-05:00

Just before the sweat comes. Sweet.

Lie to Me. So Nasty.

Add a caption. Funniest answer wins a CD!

Cloaked in darkness and mystery.

She's a Professional.

Justin and his dysfunctional drum kit.

Malaga: a Spanish city, therefore we incorporate spanish instruments: a Cajon. And la guitarra.

Let us know what you think Michael is saying. Or thinking. If anything. Talk to you soon!

TS3

Martyrs' from behind the drumkit

2009-06-15T14:24:00.002-05:00

We rehearse constantly. We rehearse so much because we want each of our parts literally burned into our brains (aka branded into our cerebrums) so that when we perform it's as easy and natural as walking or breathing. A musician's biggest fear is forgetting his parts. Of course, with enough practice you can be essentially in total control. The one thing that a musician can't control is their equipment. You can be well prepared, but eventually guitar strings break, drumsticks break, pics fall out of hands, these are all pretty common and we're used to them. I wasn't ready for what happened Saturday night at Martyrs'.

I'm set up, ready to go, sound checked and Tim says "Ok. You ready?" "Ready!" I go into the intro beat to 'Count Me In', our opening song. Suddenly, my hi hat slams shut.

Drum Workshop 101: The hi hat is the pair of cymbals that are on top of each other and open and close with a rod connected to a pedal. The top cymbal of the hi hat is clutched to the rod by a screw that can be adjusted, giving the drummer full control of the distance between the two cymbals. Sometimes that screw comes loosened a little bit. Usually, that's no biggie.
You just give it a half turn and you're back in action.

For some ungodly reason, mine unscrewed and flew off of the rod. I'm thinking, "OMG. We're 2 measures into this song, my hi hat is closed, I have no idea where the screw is, and there's no break after this song, we're going straight into 'Lie To Me'. Can I wait two songs?? There's no way, I absolutely need it for both of these songs. What am I going to do?!" My mind is racing. "What if I don't find it? I'll have to borrow one from the other drummer. What if it doesn't fit?" Of course, I'm thinking all this while playing and frantically looking on the floor for it. Thanks to nothing short of a miracle I spot it in front of my kit on the floor.

"Ok," I think. "The breakdown of the song is coming. I have 8 measures to jump up, go to the front of my kit, grab it, go back to my kit, screw it in, and resume playing." So I grab it and run back behind my kit and my hands are shaking while I'm fumbling to screw it back in. For a moment I think "ABORT! Just play! Get it after Lie To Me!" Unbelievably, I got it in just in time and finished the song.

'Lie To Me' rocked the house. I needed to let loose after that stressful version of 'Count Me In''. My arms we're flailing, I was just rocking out. Now that I felt much better, it was time to go into 'Normal'.

A few measures into 'Normal' I realized that my utter rocking during 'Lie To Me' has pushed my bass drum off a little bit and my pedal became completely unlatched from my bass drum! Are you kidding me?! My foot was barely hanging on to the loose bass pedal while I was playing but somehow I make it through. Song ends, I readjust. We're all good. For now...

'Professional' is next and halfway through the song I realize the mic stand for my toms is slowly dropping down in between my toms so that it's in my way, which it continues to do throughout the set after adjusting it in between songs.

The audience request song of the night was "As" by Stevie Wonder. This song features tamborine through the first half of the song. Luckily for me, I have a mounted tamborine that I can play. Fittingly, the tambourine is slowly moving down on my mount and threatening to sit on top of my hi hat for the remainder of the song. Thankfully, she stayed put.

Finally, the rock gods showered me with their mercy, and 'Malaga', 'After You' (our new song, world debut!), and 'Too Close' closed out our set equipment problem free.

Never in my life have I had this many problems in a set before. I guess it was just one of those nights.

Thanks to everyone who came out. Your support means the world to us and you guys were so much fun!

See you soon. Keep an eye on the tour dates section of this page for a show near you!

Martyrs' Saturday!

2009-06-07T22:42:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone,
Saturday night is the one and only full band Chicago show of the summer! It's sure to be a great time and we would love to have each and every one of you there.

TIM STOP TRIO
Saturday June 13th, Doors 9PM
Martyrs'
3855 N Lincoln
Chicago, IL

Click this http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=77030888493 for more info and to RSVP.

See you Saturday!
TS3

Professional

2009-05-18T13:25:00.001-05:00

Here's "Professional", one of our newer songs , taken from a practice a few weeks ago:

Professional- Drums.mp3 - Tim Stop Trio

Very Live at The Livery

2009-05-12T10:45:00.003-05:00

Important firsts in Michigan history:

1872 - Elijah J. McCoy, an African-American inventor raised in Ypsilanti, patented the first automatic lubrication system for locomotives and other machinery. The device was so effective it was difficult to sell imitations that were not "the real McCoy"; McCoy's name became synonymous with anything genuine or authentic.

1913 - The Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving automobile assembly line at Highland Park.

1927 - First commercially-prepared baby food was invented by Daniel F. Gerber of Fremont.

2009 - The Tim Stop Trio plays their first show in Michigan.

It's crazy to think that Michigan has been a state in this great Union since 1837, and waited until 2009 to stage its first TS3 concert. You may blame a majority of that drought on the fact that Tim wasn't born until 1983, but we here at timstoptrio.com hardly find that a palatable excuse.

In any case, I think all those in attendance would agree that it was worth the 172 year wait.

The Livery, which is a microbrewery in Benton Harbor, is a fantastic place to play. Beautiful sound in the room, and the crowd was wonderful (thanks, "Steady" Sara Liebscher). They were such a gracious and receptive group that we decided to play 2 new songs for them, "Unconditional" and "She's Gone".

Other highlights include:

Malaga
Angie Rae
Pride and Prejudice

Playing all the bars I have in the past, I've gotten very used to talking to the crowd and asking for requests, almost dependent on it. We had planned on doing all originals, but after a few songs, I felt like I needed to open the room up a little and throw in something they knew. That led to:

I'm Yours
Big Shot
Sweet Baby James (acoustic encore)

Thanks to everyone who made it such an awesome night! You guys were so much fun to hang with, and we can't wait to get up to see you again!

Talk soon.

Coldplagiarism

2009-05-07T16:59:00.004-05:00

Earlier today, Justin alerted me that, once again, someone is contemplating suing Coldplay over their Grammy-winning record "Viva la Vida". This time it's folk legend Cat Stevens, who now prefers to be called Yusuf Islam:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/cat-stevens-may-sue-coldplay-it-depends-1003969208.story

The band decided to weigh in on this issue.

(as taken from our email string)

JUSTIN: So if you guys get a chance listen to cat stevens' foreigner suite 2. The same riff as viva la vida and the satriani riff is in there too!

SEVILLE: Would everyone using the twelve-tone scale please stop creating "IMMEDIATELY" pending Cat Stevens' and Joe Satriani's posting their "Plea for Permission to Steal Our Work" application which, in the spirit of fairness, they intend to make available online for free download. You're on your own for postage though.

TIM: If this is grounds for legal action, why hasn't One Republic sued the Fray? Why hasn't Oasis sued Green Day? Do we realize that in the 50's, there was only one rock and roll song???? Little Richard wrote it. And to get a new song, people just used a different girl's name. Lucille, Maybellene, Miss Molly, Long Tall Sally, Peggy Sue, etc. Little Richard could sue EVERY musician from the 50's (and 60's for that matter). So Coldplay should pay Cat Stevens cuz he wrote a four chord song? Come on, Yusuf.

JUSTIN: Lol

SEVILLE: Has Yusuf declared a fatwah on Coldplay yet?

JUSTIN: No, a jihad.

SEVILLE: You and Mikey (Justin's brother) can't ululate anymore by the way... not without Cat Stevens' permission.

Count Me In

2009-05-06T00:15:00.004-05:00

As promised, here's the first of the live recordings we hope to release each week.

This song is called Count Me In. The recording is a take from a practice we had last week.

Count Me In - Tim Stop Trio

The Great Corn Tour Blog

2009-04-29T20:20:00.008-05:00

The Great Corn Tour of '09, just like any other Corn Tour in history, was filled with highs and lows. The official start to the tour was when the band picked me up in Davenport, IA. As I was about to head out the door, I grabbed my guitar case, assuming it was latched shut. Well, it wasn't. I just barely saved it from crashing to the floor, but in the process had slammed the top of the case onto the guitar, which was no longer securely in the case. The little metal part of the top of the case went right through the top of the guitar. So before we had even left, I had put a gouge over a centimeter long in my guitar, my prized possesh. There's one of the 'lows'. Don't worry, it gets a lot better...

First stop: Ames, IA

Venues: Mother's Pub, Club Element, Headliners.

I didn't know what to expect from Ames. I was born and raised a Hawkeye fan, and thus most often heard it referred to as Lames. My cousin Nick, who goes to school there, talked up a big game: Veishea (a huge annual festival) was happening the same weekend we were going to be there, and supposedly that's the biggest weekend of the year at Iowa State. Nick claimed it was going to be a blowout. Nick claims a lot of things, so I thought I'd just wait to try the pudding myself.

Well, he was absolutely right. Ames was awesome. In fact, you can't spell awesome without Ames. After two successful shows at Mother's Pub and Club Element on Thursday and Friday, which showcased a Moonwalking Contest amidst all sorts of other crazy dancing, we did Headliners on Saturday night. A snapshot of the night:

There are a few subplots to this Headliners story, such as the one in which a young lady jumped on stage in an attempt to disrobe me, but Seville has plans to recount those stories himself, so I won't steal his thunder.

One thing I will say is that, during our last encore, we had not one but two crowdsurfers. I'm not sure if you've been to a Tim Stop Trio show before, but I lament to report there's not generally a whole lot of that going on. In fact, the only other time I've had a crowdsurfer at a show was when the band I had in high school played in the school cafeteria and my little brother Joe was forced to do so against his will by some upperclassmen. Joe wasn't a big kid as a freshman in high school, and thus had very little say in the matter. I'm proud to say that the crowdsurfing going on at Headliners was much more organic, although I'm pretty sure Joe was still a part of it in some fashion.

Second Stop: Lincoln, NE

Venue: Box Awesome

The stop in Lincoln was our reunion with the Josh Hill Band, who we had met randomly this winter at one of our shows in Chicago. It was a chill Sunday night the Nebraska, but the show was fun, JHB was great, and we met some really nice people. One of which was so cool that she drove up to see us the next night in Omaha (thanks Cassie!). That's the thing about Corn Tours, everybody's always so nice.

We spent the next morning at Josh's place, where I dominated Michael (our guitar player) at Guitar Hero. Luckily, we weren't playing real guitars, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have won. Then again, we were playing Guitar Hero, so I guess that makes us both losers?

(By the way, I think Guitar Hero is a lot of fun, and don't actually think people who play it are losers. So quit acting upset.)

Third Stop: Omaha, NE

Venue: Pizza Shoppe Collective

You're not going to believe me, but never in the history of the Tim Stop Trio have we ever been as excited about out performance than we were on this night. That's right, on a Monday in Omaha. We recorded the show and listened back to it 3 times in the van (when Seville drives, we have LOTS of time to kill). And we NEVER do that. Sometimes, we'll listen back one time, complain about our mistakes, cringe a few times, and then never listen to it again. This one was very different. Stay tuned, we'll post a song or two of it.

Fourth Stop (<- not a combination of my current and ex-band names): Iowa City

Venue: The Piano Lounge

Justin and I crashed in Davenport on Tuesday and headed up to IC the next day. We got in around 7:30, an hour and a half before we were supposed to start. Literally, right when we pulled into town, the very second we had arrived, I realized I had left my guitar (yep, the one with the hole in it) in Davenport, 50 some miles away. You'd think I might leave an electrical cord, or a set of guitar strings, something like that. I left my GUITAR. Really? I mean, it's the Piano Lounge, so I'm guessing they have a piano. Therefore, I have one responsibility: a guitar. And I don't bring it? It's things like that that really make me wonder about myself...

Thankfully my brother Pete saved me by meeting my dad halfway and getting it to him. My concerts always turn into family affairs. (Which is great, considering the Light is Off.)

Iowa City is such a fun town, even on a Wednesday night. I think that show was the first time I ever played one song 3 times. My buddy Andre requested "On and On", a Stephen Bishop song, early in the night. And then again later in the night. And then after the show. I generally wouldn't honor the same request 3 times, but it's Andre.

After Iowa City we headed back to the greater Chicagoland area for our "homecoming" Lucky's show and Bar Louie. All in all, the Corn Tour was a great success and we will do it again. That's a promise.

We must say thanks to all of the following for helping us on our way, much like Toadstool did for Mario on his search for the Princess: Kayla and the Girls, Josh Hill and Co., Julio Jorge, Joe Stops, Nick Scott, Mike and MF, Pete Stop, Steve Liebs, Addy for the pic, and to all the new friends we made that came out. We love you all and can't wait to see you soon!!

Capturing the Lucky's Charms

2009-04-09T13:35:00.012-05:00

I hope everyone has been enjoying our CD "The Long Drive Home". I know we promised to record soon, but it's a complicated process and we've wanted to wait for the perfect opportunity. Well, we don't want you to wait anymore. Our plan is to release, on timstoptrio.com, a bunch a new (and old) material performed live, over the course of the next few months.

This Thursday (4/30/09) is the beginning. At Lucky's (3472 N Clark, Chicago), starting a little before 10 PM, we are going to record a few hours of materials. We'll pick a few of the best takes from the shows, let's call them 'Lucky's Charms'. In the weeks after, we hope to do the same, so you'll have something new to listen to every week!

Come by on Thursday and help make the recording as exciting as possible. And of course...we'll play all the crazy stuff we usually do too. See you there!

Cadillac Seville, Rollin' in Normal

2009-04-05T12:36:00.006-05:00

I want to give you a little profile on our mild-mannered keyboard player. He cuts a mysterious figure in contemporary society. No one really knows his name. For all intents and purposes, his name is Seville Lilly, but he has more aliases than anyone I've ever known. He would literally answer to any of the following: Sev, Sev Daddy, Sevillily, Sev Nast, The Sev Doctor, Unk, Unkle Sev, Unker McFunkerson, The Unkle, Sdote (pronouced ess-dot-eh), JP, JP Skyfluffer, Skyfluffs, and 'World's Worst Driver'. I haven't tried that last one, but I'm guessing it would work. Mind you, I'm sure I've omitted some names, and I'm sure there are plenty more I don't even know.

Now that you have an idea of what to call him, I'll give you a little background on his life. Like his namesake, no one's quite sure where JP's from either. Experts' best estimates point to the colony of Delaware, but true origins have not been traced. He's also lived in Texas, but ended up in Chicago years ago. A keyboard player by nature, Unk is in the process of becoming a bassist. His keyboard influences include Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Carnival Music and Bill Evans (whose name has recently been transmogrified to "Tasty Blevs"). Skyfluffer's a great player, has a fantastic ear and can learn a tune as quickly as anybody I know. In addition to his immense talent, he has an impressive work ethic. Sev Nast gives himself fully and uncompromisingly to whatever project he is a part of. Without a second thought, he will sacrifice sleep to get done what needs to get done. You can't teach these things, people. Also, the Sev Doctor bowled a four-bagger this weekend at the lanes in Normal. And he has a group of fans dedicated solely to him, that are now called, simply, "Sevillians" (thanks JM).

One thing he doesn't do well is drive. Now, I wouldn't feel right christening him the 'World's Worst Driver' without providing some support. Let me use this weekend in Normal as a case in point. Normal, IL is not a big town. Nor is it incredibly complicated. To illustrate the trip we had to make (with Seville at the helm), I've pulled up the directions on mapquest, (please open this link in a new window, as you will need to refer to the map during my explanation):

The Route We Were Supposed to Take

Simple enough, right? Well, we were driving north on Linden St. (we took an "alternate route"). Seville missed the left turn onto Beaufort, and we came to the corner of Linden and Mulberry. So we had pretty much arrived at our destination (point B on the map), we just went a little bit past. In an honest effort to get us closer, he made a few turns. After some dead ends and construction zones, we found ourselves, no joke, at point A on the map again. Literally. We were sitting in front of the house that we had left about 15 minutes earlier. You'll notice that when he missed the turn at Beaufort, we were no more than 100 meters from our destination. We literally could have parked where we were, and I would have thought 'oh we're here...just a small walk to the bar'. Instead of being done with the drive, Seville unintentionally got us back to the very start of our journey. Also, at one point during this same drive, we came to a dead stop on some train tracks for no apparent reason whatsoever. This is one of many sterling exhibitions of Unkle Sev's vehicular ineptitude.

Driving aside, he's a great guy and a great musician. He rocked Normal this weekend.

A huge thanks to everyone who came out with us this weekend. We absolutely love playing in Normal. Can't wait to come back next month. See you all then!!

The Good, the Bad and the Embarrassing

2009-04-03T11:09:00.003-05:00

As usual, Lucky's was good times, a few great performances, and a few sorry attempts at honoring requests. The best and worst:

3 most dulcet tones produced at Lucky's 4.02.09

1) Professional (newer original)
2) Grey Street (DMB)
3) Normal (n.o.)

3 most embarrassing moments at Lucky's 4.02.09

1) Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" (Justin tried to sing while Michael played, and the song was stopped two times in about 30 seconds before the executive decision to abort was made)
2) Temptations "My Girl" (This song got a little bit farther than "Wish You Were Here" before the girl who requested it proclaimed 'My dad plays it better', at which point the executive decision to abort was made)
3) Justin Timberlake "Senorita" (Generally, this song is a hit. Last night, no one was really in the mood to sing. So at the end, when a chorus of guys and a chorus of girls are supposed to trade off singing "It feels like something's heating up..." etc. etc., I ended up singing both lines solo. Yes, even the girl's part. Typical night at Lucky's.)

At least I didn't have to play 'Ogeidnas Nemrac'...

Justin's Comet / Doin Doubles

2009-03-28T13:47:00.005-05:00

The rarest of rare happened at Lucky's Thursday. I actually sang a song. Purple Haze by Hendrix. This occurrence is like the passing of Haley's comet...Once every 75 years.

The funny thing is, I don't really know the words. The only part I hit was the "'Scuze me while I kiss the sky!" But the crowd Thursday night was so awesome that they bailed me out with the rest of the lyrics. There even was a point later on when Tim didn't even have to sing an entire chorus because our Lucky's crowd took over. Pretty hot.

As you may recall, we made a promise to ourselves to not do doubles anymore. Well we have a hard time turning down gigs, so Starting Line and Bar Louie wanted us, they got us.

Both shows were fun. New friends and old friends were in attendance in both places. I was dying on the long drive home from Davenport to Chicago as usual...oh I just remembered! I sang again at Bar Louie. Meaghan and I did a duet for Free Fallin'. Wow. The planets must be aligned or something.

Timmy Lewis and the News

2009-03-26T14:37:00.005-05:00

Alright, let me break down what's happening with the band right now. After a few underground shows this weekend (they're so hush-hush that a few members of my band don't even know about them), we finally go in to record a song or two on Sunday 3/29. So to all you crazies that keep sending me inappropriate, strongly-worded letters (often times with strange, unrelated photos) demanding fresh original tunes (or as we call them, O'ridge's), chill. The TS3 does not get off by being withholding. You'll get your songs.

That said, I honestly do not know how this recording session will go. Either way, it will be fun to get into the studio with the new band. We have a lot of new material we are working on right now that we're really, really excited about, so it will be nice to put down some of the 'older' new material.

Once that's done, it will be April. During April, we're doing a tour from Chicago to Nebraska. We'll make stops in Davenport, Ames and Lincoln on the way, and hope to add Iowa City and maybe one more city to that list before it's all over. We'll keep you posted on all the shows, and if you ever need details, just look to your right to find the stunning 'Upcoming Shows' column. It's got it all, even links to the venues' webpages. You want more? You're selfish. And you're being glib.

Hopefully we will see you all on the trail. Until then, we wish you the best, and Liberty and Justice for all!

The Waves

2009-03-20T11:38:00.005-05:00

We gotta pretty cool gig at Lucky's. My friends and I pretty much have the bar to ourselves. Yeah, there's a table or two of outsiders, but once they see what our group is doing, they pretty much always join in. It's like sitting around at a buddy's house playing tunes, only the place doesn't smell weird and they never run out of beer. We get to play whatever we want, as many of our own songs as we want, and everybody's always happy. This is gonna be a really good time when summer rolls around.

One thing I've noticed playing here is that the requests come in waves. There's the First Wave, which happens early in the night. This is where I'm most likely to get stumped. During the first wave, people haven't had too much to drink, so they can reach deeper into the archives for songs. The atmosphere is little more mellow, so they don't care whether the song is upbeat or not. And they don't care if it's a singalong. Here's the kind of music that's requested in the first wave:

First Wave:

Coldplay
Wilco
Radiohead
Less-popular Dave Matthews songs
John Mayer
Originals (our music)
Any ridiculous indie song or lesser known Springsteen song

Best thing about the First Wave: It's the most musical portion of the night.
Worst thing about the First Wave: The crowd's enthusiasm is more subdued, and I'm guaranteed to not know a few of the requests.

In the second wave, things have started to pick up. People are getting more into it. Spirits are high. At this point in the night, people are ready to get the party started. They get out of their seats, they start moving around. The bar gets a little smaller. The cliques are broken down, people forget about who they came with and just want to have fun. Being able to sing the chorus is becoming more and more important in requesting songs. More important yet is the beat. The perfect Second Wave song has an awesome beat, a few people know the verses and everyone knows the chorus. Example: 'Hot in Herre' - Nelly.

Second Wave:

Maroon 5
Nelly
Justin Timberlake
Sublime
Any ridiculous 90's radio hit you can think of. (Last night's perfect example: MMMBop)

Best Thing: People are way into it (dancing, singing), and it still sounds like good music (besides MMMBop)
Worst Thing: No real downside...this is like the honeymoon period. You have your buzz, no sign of a hangover.

Third Wave rolls around, and it's a free for all. If people don't know every word of the song, you probably shouldn't play it. You should be able to end the night on every song. For instance, after most songs during this wave last night, I said "Goodnight everybody!!", even though we still had a bunch more songs to play. For the third stage, it's less about bands and more about songs. You won't hear bands requested. In the First Wave, you will. At that point, they'd be happy with any song from that artist. In the Third Wave? Nah. You have to know that song. Nothing else will do. Luckily, I don't necessarily need to know the words, cuz everyone else does.

Third Wave

Piano Man
Wonderwall
Under The Bridge
Twist and Shout
Any ridiculous 80's hit you can think of. (Last night's example: Mr. Big. You might say 'Yeah but you said no bands in the Third Wave'. True. But when someone says "Play Mr. Big!!", you don't think 'Hmm...which Mr. Big song should I do'. You have one option.)

Now these are just rules, and are definitely meant to be broken. And the waves don't always come in perfect order but....they usually do. We might hit the Third Wave at 12:00 and then will have to scrape by for the last 20 minutes. Still, this is a pretty good rule of thumb.

Come out sometime and see if you can feel the waves.

JP Skyfluffer and the 5 nights

2009-03-15T21:22:00.011-05:00

We've played 5 shows since I last blogged, so there's no way I'll be able to paint this one with the same kind of color I usually do. My plan is to go through each show and give you the goods, and leave out everything else. If you were at any of these shows, love freedom, and feel I omitted an important detail or completely misremembered one, please correct the situation in the comment box.

Thursday, March 5 @ Lucky's - Chicago, IL

So far, bad...off to a bad start. I'm not sure I remember any details from this night. That's not a comment on my state of mind, or what I did that night, it's just that we play so many Lucky's shows and this was almost two weeks ago. However, if it was like any other Lucky's shows, the following things most likely happened:

1) I got talked into playing some 90's song that wasn't cool when it was popular, and has steeply declined in coolness since.
2) We played "Love it or Leave it"...that song is making a strong comeback.
3) Justin (drums) told a joke that made everyone feel pretty uncomfortable for a few minutes.
4) Mark Holden (harmonica) made an appearance on stage. Alright, it's not really a stage, so we should probably correct this. It's just a floor. He appeared on floor.
5) Chase Wagner (doesn't play an instrument, just a friend) requested "Ogeidnas Nemrac", which is "Carmen Sandiego" backwards for those of you who missed the post earlier this month. This fact will come into play later in the blog.
6) The crowd was great, sang along with us, and made it an awesome time.

Everyone agree? Cool, let's move on...

Friday, March 6 - Chicago St. Pub in Joliet, IL

This was Justin's big homecoming. According to Justin, this was a pretty big deal. Paparazzi were expected, countless women would be clamoring for him, guys will want to be him. Think Beatlemania, but with Justin. When we got there, he seemed to know a bunch of people. But it wasn't the shirt-ripping, girl-swooning spectacle I was hoping for. Oh well. The show was still a lot of fun.

Justin also mentioned that two of the world's best restaurants, "Merichka's" and "City of Champions", reside in Joliet. I thought, that's cool. I'll mention them to the crowd tonight to get some hometown love. So I mentioned them. And got no love whatsoever. Crickets. Either these restaurants aren't that good or they're such a well kept secret that the small town they do business in doesn't even know about them. Justin just lost his food-critic credibility.

After the show we went to some late-night J-town hot spots. First, the casino, where Justin lost all his money at the roulette wheel. Second, "Hot Skillets", a diner where we officially christened Seville with a new nickname: JP Skyfluffer. Count it!

In conclusion, I will be happy to play in Joliet again. The crowd was really great during an all-original set (besides the J Timberlake we threw in towards the end) and they were attentive and gracious the whole night. I guess I will have be more realistic about Justin's celebrity and taste in food next time. That's all.

Saturday March 7 @ Jersey Grille in Davenport, IA

We arrived at the Jersey Grille in the pouring rain and I'd say 2/3 of Davenport's population was already there. That place was busy. One of the best parts of the night was when we played our song "Angie Rae" and Angie (for whom the song was named) acted out the lyrics as I sang them. The chorus goes 'Angie Rae, go away', at which point she would leave into the kitchen (I'm sure employees loved that), only to reappear during the line 'come on back some other day'. It was truly brilliant choreography.

Thursday, March 12 @ Lucky's in Chicago, IL

Another great Thursday night. Almost all of the 6 points mentioned above apply here. Chase again asked for "Ogeidnas Nemrac". I turned the tables, told him if he wants it so bad he'll have to come sing it. Shockingly, he did. It was pretty awesome. He absolutely channeled Rockapella, who he claims to have seen live. He tells me that the Tim Stop Trio concert and Rockpella's are two of his top three concerts of all time. Take that as you will.

Friday, March 13 @ Starting Line in Davenport, IA

We got some pizza at Wise Guy's in Davenport right before the show and Justin didn't like it at all, further ruining his credibility as a food critic. We started playing shortly thereafter for a few hours, trying any requests that were thrown our way (especially the Nelly requests from our Peoria friends), but nothing of true note occurred until the end of the night.

Justin and I (just a duo show) finished our set and packed up our gear, and were talking to some of the people who had hung around after. All of the sudden, there was a bunch of yelling going on in the other room. I didn't see much, but it looked like Mike and some other guy were being separated.

Let me tell you about Mike. Mike has been at the Starting Line every time I've had a show there. I didn't know exactly what his job was. He was always incredibly nice and always went above and beyond to accommodate us, as it appeared he did for everyone that came in. So I figured his title was 'Resident Nice-Guy'. If that's not a real position, it should be. He really enhances all my Starting Line experiences.

As I said, I don't know exactly what happened, but after the other guy had been chased down the street, Mike came back with a huge gash above his eye, and blood streaming down his face. There was definitely a fight. I guess our acoustic pop/rock really set some people off. A couple firefighters who happened to have been down the street came up to attend to him. After they were done, I asked Mike how he was doing and he said, "I'm fine, you should see the other guy." Turns out Mike's the bouncer. Nicest bouncer I've ever met by the way. Oh, and the other guy? He's in jail. And probably pretty sore.

All in a weekend's work.

The BIG Announcement

2009-03-04T14:30:00.005-06:00

It's possible that we are blowing this out of proportion, but we have no problem calling it a BIG announcement since big (capitalized or not) is a relative term. And compared to many other things about which we've blogged (Snuggies, Cribs, Google Analytics, etc.), this will seem monumental. Without further ado about nothing:

The Tim Stop Trio is going into the studio this month!

On the weekend of March 14 and 15, we plan to record new material! So for all of you who have listened to 'The Long Drive Home' exclusively for the last year, get ready to finally hear something different. We've been playing these new songs for months and months here in Chicago, and it's time to put some of these fresh joints down. Thanks to Jason Ellis for providing us the studio time and engineering the recording.

We think we know which songs we want to record, but if there's something new you've heard us play that you especially want recorded, let us know and we'll see what we can do.

We hope to stream the new songs on http://www.timstoptrio.com and http://www.myspace.com/timstoptrio, as well as make them available for download on iTunes.

Lastly, to all you 'Long Drive Home' fans, the video for 'Wait It Out' is almost ready, so get ready for the biggest Music Video Launch Party since the release of 'I Wanna Be Bad' by Willa Ford.

Things 'bout to get crazy y'all.

Just Another Weekend

2009-02-28T13:46:00.011-06:00

Running diary from 2/26 - 2/28:

Thursday 2/26

8:45 PM - Arrive at Lucky's in the pouring rain. Not a soul in the building besides the bartender.

9:30 PM - Our equipment is set up. The place is still a ghost town. We're supposed to play at 10 mind you.

9:50 PM - We've now been there over an hour, and nobody has shown up. I'm thinking we're getting sent home tonight. Which is unprecedented.

9:57 PM - Three friends arrive and effectively save our show.

10:00 PM - Start playing to a crowd of about 10 people (quick jump from 3 people to 10 in 3 minutes, I know), which was great. Everybody there was in it to win it, even if it was a short time. I can't tell you how great it is having people like that at a bar on a Thursday night. Makes my job a lot easier.

11:21 PM - Justin tells his 'Leper' joke to mixed reactions, most of which are awkward murmurs.

11:33 PM - Somehow get talked into playing "I Saw the Sign" by Ace of Bass. I can honestly say I never thought I would perform that song in my lifetime. The most disturbing part of the whole thing was that I don't think I missed a single lyric. It pains me to have written that last sentence.

11:54 PM - Mark Holden (aka Biggum B.) jumps on 'stage' to play harmonica on 'Ants Marching'. Always great energy when he's rocking.

Friday 2/27

12:29 AM - Played 'Professional' (a newer original) as requested by Nikki. It was interesting because that song has been having trouble finding its home with the band. Something is undeniably off about it when we go full band, but when we scale it down to the Trio (which uses percussion instead of drums, and keyboards instead of bass) it's pretty much on fire. It will be interesting to see how that song shakes itself out.

1:21 AM - Closed down the set with 'Gravity' by Mayer. It was hot.

2:20 PM - Hit the road for Davenport, Iowa. We have two shows today. One at the Starting Line in Davenport, and one in Chicago, at Bar Louie. Don't ask me why we agree to play two shows in one night, three hours apart. You won't get a coherent answer. Anyway, we're supposed to be in Davenport by 4:30 or so, and that's not going to happen, unless we circumvent all sorts of laws, and I can assure you my car is not up to the challenge.

4:58 PM - Arrive at the Starting Line, set up in a hurry. We play for a few hours to a relaxed crowd, and of course, towards the end (as it always does) the energy starts to pick up.

7:41 PM - Ben Folds medley.

8:07 PM - I find myself playing some of the most ridiculous things onstage. We go through a period in which I play 'Ogeidnas Nemrac' (which is Carmen Sandiego to those of you who weren't with me at the beginning), 3 different Mario Bros. levels, the Family Matters theme as well as Full House's a capella. I'm a clown.

8:24 PM - Mary Fran and Mike Stopulos make separate appearances on cajon (Justin's percussion instrument) for a couple songs. What a professional product I have.

8:45 PM - End the show with the Greatest and Best Song in the World.

9:30 PM - Close up shop at the Starting Line. We gotta get back on the road pretty soon to make it back for our late night show at Bar Louie (1:30 AM).

9:50 PM - After a few minutes of looking for my keys, I discover that they are, in fact, on the front seat of my car. Which is securely locked. The spare key? It's in Chicago.

10:15 PM - Scrambling to figure out a way to get my car unlocked. Pulling the doors really hard has been fruitless. Consider breaking the window, decide against it shortly thereafter. Call multiple locksmiths and the only response is that my type of vehicle requires assistance from a dealer to unlock. That's not really good news. The police explain that they can only unlock a car if there's a child in the car. Contemplate ways to insert child into car, again to no avail. Keep in mind, we need to be playing music in Chicago in three hours.

10:35 PM - Shannon rescues us by offering to take us to Chicago (thanks MB as well!). We arrange the vehicle, pack it up and we're driving by 11 PM. That gives us two and a half hours to get to Chicago, set up our equipment and start playing. Not happening. Oh, and we need gas and I haven't eaten since about noon.

Saturday 2/28

1:47 AM - Park a block away from Bar Louie. Sit in the car for awhile, thinking about driving off and just going home. We are miserable. Shannon claims she's going to stay in the car during our two hour set. In the middle of the night in downtown Chicago. I politely suggest she doesn't, which she doesn't like. Justin is half asleep in the back, saying horrible things about his life and telling me to take him home. I almost do. But we forge on.

2:00 AM - Justin, the manager at Bar Louie, is really cool about us being late. We get set up, starting playing and light the place up. I mean, it's on fire. The fact that minutes before Justin was sleeping is actually pretty impressive.

2:45 AM - Some drunk guy who's dancing in front of us keeps bumping my mic stand and bothering Shannon. Justin claims that if this guy slips up one more time, he's going to give him a knuckle sandwich, free of charge. No sandwiches were ultimately given.

3:03 AM - First set closes, some guy tells me that I melted his heart.

3:30 AM - After playing hit after hit, we close it down with 'As' by Stevie Wonder. If you were at Bar Louie, thank you. We had so much fun, and you guys all rocked.

4:15 AM - Drive home promising myself that I will never book two shows in one night, three hours apart ever again. I'll let you know how that goes.

Google Analytics

2009-02-26T15:11:00.003-06:00

Today I wanted to check out traffic to our site to basically see if the marketing that we're doing is actually working...

What I came across was a worldwide map that breaks down traffic to our site by as close as the city that the visitor lives in. We have visitors all across the US with the most of our visitors from right here in beautiful (dreary) Chicago, or from Tim's hometown in Iowa. But what was most interesting was that we have a lot of visitors overseas! UK had the most, followed by Switzerland, Australia, and most surprisingly, Pakistan. I bet they can't get enough Love It or Leave It in the middle east.

So to our non-US friends: Hello! 'Ello Govna'! Good day mate! And Marhaba!

Furthermore, to all of you worldwide, stay tuned to the site here...big announcement coming soon...

Love,
TS3

Cubby Bear pix 2/19

2009-02-25T11:22:00.003-06:00

HEY look at these!

Abnormal in Normal

2009-02-23T16:14:00.005-06:00

Right when I first walked into NV in Normal, IL, I had a weird feeling. Something didn't seem right. Justin and I shuffled past the bar towards the small stage at the far end of the club with our equipment. I threw my guitar onstage and took a few moments sizing the place up. The place was nice to be sure. Hardwood floors, a second level with balconies overlooking everything. I had to figure it was newly built. But something wasn't right. The looks we were getting and the aura of the place told me we didn't really belong.

We had arrived in Normal a few hours earlier on that Friday night. Our schedule for the weekend was to play a full band show at NV Ultra Lounge on Friday night and the next day play an acoustic cover show at Pub II. Justin's brother Mikey goes to school there, and he had offered us a place to crash. Everything was perfectly in place.

After a few more awkward moments, Justin and I were approached by a middle aged man who seemed a little put off by our presence. "Can I help you guys?" he asked.

"We're the Tim Stop Trio, we're the band playing tonight."

"Hmm," he said. "I don't have a band on for tonight. Are you guys sure?"

I wasn't the least bit bothered by this. We had confirmed this show numerous times, the last of which had been just a few days earlier, and I calmly explained this to him. There was very little question in my mind that this man was mistaken. We were indubitably scheduled to play NV on Friday, February 20 and Pub II on Saturday, February 21.

"OK, let me go look into this," he told us. "Of course," I confidently replied.

Upon his return, he reported the news that there was a miscommunication between the manager and the talent buyer, and they had double booked. There was a DJ set up to play already, and there was no way we were going to be able to play.

Michael (guitar) and Seville (bass) arrived shortly thereafter and we relayed that message to their dismay. They had come down just for the show Friday and were busy the next night. So a canceled Friday show would mean a wasted night and 4 hour drive for them.

The managers at NV were very nice and did their best to appease us. They offered us an opening slot for a show there the next night. We told them we were unable to play the next night due to our show at Pub II.

We had no idea what to do. It was 9:00 PM, we were 2+ hours away from home with no show and no other contacts. After a fruitless brainstorming session, I got the idea to call Pub II to see if they by chance were interested in having us for both Friday and Saturday.

"Hi, this is Tim Stopulos, I'm playing there tomorrow night. We had a show booked at NV tonight that got canceled, and we have a crowd and we're looking for a place to play tonight."

"You're Tim Stop?" the guy asked amidst loud music and yelling.

"Yeah, I'm Tim Stop."

"We don't have you booked for tomorrow. We have another band here tomorrow night."

Great. Neither show in Normal is gonna happen. This is not going to be a good weekend.

"We have you down for tonight. You're supposed to be here right now."

Pub II was a great time. The crowd was a lot of fun and the after hours show at Mikey's house was as good if not better. Thanks to everyone who hung out with us...we hope to see you all back in Normal soon.

So we only got one show out of our Illinois State weekend. But it was worth the confusion.

Justin and I drove back around 2 and were almost in Chicago when we got a text from NV:

"You guys are on at 9 PM tonight." What? You've got to be kidding. If we end up doing the exact opposite dates we had planned (Pub II Friday and NV Saturday), that would be the strangest thing ever.

After talking it out with them we decided that since we were already back in Chicago, we'll just do it another weekend. It was just one last piece of craziness to end our abnormal weekend in Normal, IL.

Way to Normal

2009-02-20T12:26:00.002-06:00

Beautiful Cubby Bear show last night...thanks to everyone who came and brought that great energy. We love you so much.!

Set:

Lie to Me
Loose Ends
Count Me In
In Repair (Mayer cover)
Professional
As (Wonder cover)
Weak and Willing
Too Close
P & P

Dave Tamkin played a set before us last night. It was fabulous. And he's as good a person as he is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. Trust me, that's saying a LOT. Last night was the first time that a guy who's much bigger than us ever helped carry our gear in. And it was freezing cold. Dude rocks. Check him out: http://davetamkin.com

Tonight we head to Normal, IL. It will be the first time we've gotten a chance to play a song we wrote (Normal, IL) in a town about which we wrote the song (again, Normal, IL). Tell you all about it when I got the time...

Nan's last night, Cubby Bear tonight!

2009-02-19T11:28:00.002-06:00

Thanks to all who sang and danced with us at Nan's last night. It was a great time.

Tonight we're at Cubby Bear rocking with Dave Tamkin. Should be an epic night. Did I mention that it's a free show??? It sure is. Is it possible for you to come and not have a great time? To quote Randy Jackson, "It's a no, baby."

Take it Sax Man...

Tonight's show is dedicated to 2 people. Shanno Fitz since it's her birthday, and my friend Bryce who passed a year ago today.

See everyone tonight!!

Drums

2009-02-13T02:27:00.002-06:00

Tim (to Justin): "Drums are definitely THE most important thing in a band. Besides vocals, piano, guitar and bass, drums are definitely the most important."

Lucky's was so much fun tonight. First full band Lucky's show.

Looks like Lucky's is going to be every Thursday starting after next week, which is the FREE Cubby Bear show on Thursday. Stay tuned...

Are you a Witness?

2009-01-30T10:53:00.007-06:00

The guitarist for the Tim Stop Trio, Michael Tahlier, is a silent killer. Actually, I would equate him to a great wide receiver. Jerry Rice. Jerry was a quiet, humble guy. He would run his routes, make his blocks, and after enough plays had gone by, you'd forget about him. He'd lull you to sleep. And right when you'd take your eyes off, it would be his turn. And he'd torch you. Burn you up. Then he'd do it all over again.

Michael fits himself into the songs. He doesn't play over me. He gives you the theme of the song, some embellishment to move it along, and does it tastefully so it's not in the way. But it's there. After a while of playing the simpler lines of the songs, you forget that he's capable of unleashing a rapturous, sublime solo at any given time. Right then, he explodes, and when it's over, you're left saying something like, "Yep. That was it. Wow." After a few moments you shake off the awe and you get back into the song. Then he waits in the wings, and does it to you again in another song or two.

Thursday night (1.29.09) at Martyrs', Mike was on fire. And when he is, the band's at a different level. The energy spikes. To those who were witness that night, we thank you.

Be a witness. Thursday, February 19. Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL.

Martyrs' 1.29.09

Too Kloze
Loosends
Abnormal, IL
Professional (new song debuted, actual song title)
Weak; Willing (chosen by applause-o-meter)
I'm O'er It
Vandering
Lie 2 Me