We’ve been lucky enough to join Bang Camaro at their last couple of reunion shows. So on Friday, May 18, we will reunite with Bang Camaro at their reunion, where we will all unite to rock the everloving bejeezus out of Brighton Music Hall.

Do you ever find yourself listening to the arena-rock-pop-metal of yesteryear and thinking “Blah blah blah. Fuck the verse. Get to the awesome gang vocal chorus and play some sweet guitarmonies!!!” Well, Bang Camaro is the cure for what ails you. Look at all the rock!

We’re also very excited to announce that garage rockers, The Fagettes, have joined the bill! Johnny Anguish of Daykamp Music says, “The Fagettes are loose, wailing and willing. This band turns old school rock ‘n’ roll tricks like nobody?s business. Dynamite.” DYNAMITE!

Doors at 8pm. 18+. Here’s the FB event.

9 pm The Fagettes
10 pm Sidewalk Driver
11:15 pm Bang Camaro

This thing is almost sold out (no, really) so for crying out loud, get your tickets now and join the sweaty fun!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Leave your defibrillator at home because Black Thai will start things off at 9pm with their chest-thumping warhammer of metal-rock-loud-as-fuck-awesomeness. Then we will take the stage at 10pm, feeling like wimps, with our stupid “power pop.” Planetoid will be up next at 11pm, prepared to fulfill their mission to “enslave the human race with [their] transmissions of face-melting rock.” At midnight, Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys will captivate you with their eclectic instrumentation and even more eclectic entourage of musicians, burlesque dancers and carnie folk.

What the shit? Don’t miss this!

Doors open at 8pm; 18+; $12; here’s the FB event page.

See you there!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Thursday, January 12: We arrived at Logan bright and early for our flight. The first surprise of the trip was that everyone was on time. Our entourage of friends and lovahs shuffled sadly to the back of the plane whilst we sipped champagne and nibbled duck terrine in business class.

Tad hugged our flight attendant on his way off the plane and we stepped into the flourescent halls of Heathrow.

We made it through customs without a hitch and on we went to find our flat.

We found it. It was literally blinking, as if summoning Tad.

Friday, January 13: The day of our very first London show! Not only were we playing a Friday night show at The Dublin Castle, one of the best clubs in London, but it was Jared’s birthday. After rocking out…

…and posing outside…

…we had birthday macaroons!

Saturday, January 14: We arrived at The World’s End in Finsbury Park expecting to find a small sports pub without a stage or much of a rock scene. We were delighted to find that the venue was absolutely beautiful and, apart from an absurdly small and fragile drum kit (hilarious to everyone but AJ), The World’s End was ready for a rock show.

The soundguy, Simba, may be the hardest working man in show business; he never stopped moving or working hard to make everything sound great. We made friends from Chicago and London that night and have since learned that The World’s End has procured a brand new house drum kit. Missed it by that much…

After the show, some of our party went to the Sports Cafe, which was airing the Pats game at 1am. Others went to St. Moritz and enjoyed a surreal night of hair metal and completely unironic hair metal fashion, all taking place in the Cantina from Star Wars. Behold…

Yes.

Sunday, January 15: Our penultimate show – The Ship in Croydon. This was our Spinal Tap night. The venue was a perfectly nice pub, with several patrons playing “Magic, The Gathering” and several staring at us, wondering what the hell we were doing in their local pub. But! There was a fog machine and, previous fog machine/fire alarm issues notwithstanding, we were very excited to use it! And use it we did, enjoying the way the fancy lights played off the fog and the fact that we couldn’t see how empty the place was… until AJ, growing visibly ill from inhaling the fog, politely asked to have it turned off. But look how pretty!

Jared managed his amp issues like a pro and Tad enthusiastically bid adieu, through dance, to the patrons as they left during our set. A fun night was had by… us!

Monday, January 16: Our final London show – the amazing Windmill Brixton. It was just us and one other band, The Switch, on the bill. We unanimously agreed that these guys were one of the best bands we’ve ever played with. If they ever make it across the pond, don’t miss them.

We played for an hour and Tad wore a bobby’s hat (with a tiny top hat underneath, of course).

Tuesday, January 17: We had a free day and did touristy stuff. AJ learned about British history!

We had drinks and dinner with friends and then a good night’s sleep in preparation for our day in the studio…

Wednesday, January 18: We arrived at the legendary Dean Street Studios (David Bowie, T-Rex, Thin Lizzy, Duran Duran, Pink Floyd) not quite knowing what to expect. A dear friend of ours had won a day of studio time for us as part of a charity auction. We know; she’s crazy. But awesome. We knew we’d be in the studio for 10 hours with noted producer Danton Supple (Coldplay, Starsailor, Kylie Minogue, Electric Soft Parade, The Doves) but didn’t expect to get much done in that time. After all, we spent about 10 hours just finding the right phaser sounds for “For All the Boys and Girls.”

We were greeted by the studio’s amazing staff and shown the rooms where we’d be working.

Whoa. We got to work, picking out some tasty amps (had to go with Vox and Orange, obviously) to use for “Kidnapped,” the song we’d chosen to work on with Danton. Then, we surrounded AJ with as many mics and men as possible and hoped for the best.

Jonn got to use this glorious P-bass…

The whole day of tracking went beautifully and we even had time to join Danton for a beer at the wee pub across the street.

We said our goodbyes to Danton and the amazing Dean Street staff and then we tagged the wall…

Thursday, January 19: We managed to get a very drunk AJ into the cab and headed back to Heathrow. AJ wrote several spirited songs about the many sights and sounds of London and somehow made it through security and onto the plane.

We would like to thank Chris Hickey for making the trip happen and Ian Slack for booking all of our gigs and helping us to secure gear and promotion. We are humbled by your efforts on our behalf and we hope we made you proud. The trip far exceeded our expectations in every regard. Of course, we knew we would have fun. But we also made lots of new friends and fans, got to spend time with old friends, shared hilarious and strange moments, played four kick-ass rock shows in a row, made a connection with a renowned producer, tracked “Kidnapped” and drank a shitload of beer.

Cheerio and pip pip!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Our friends Gene Dante and The Future Starlets will kick the night off in sexy, glam-rock fashion at 9:15 pm. The Upper Crust will start melting your faces at 11:30 pm with their AC/DC-meets-18th-century-aristocratic-fops brand of ballz-out rawk. And right in between the two, at 10:15 pm, like the confetti ‘n’ lasers filling in a delicious rock ‘n’ roll sandwich, will be Sidewalk Driver.

Doors are at 8:00 pm, it’s 21+, and tickets are $20.00 in advance (get them here), $25.00 at the door. Here’s the Facebook event page. We promise to make it the best New Year’s Eve/Tad’s Birthday party EVER!

See you there!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

While we’re there, we’ll spend a day at Dean Street Studios (David Bowie, T-Rex, Thin Lizzy, Duran Duran, Pink Floyd) with renowned producer Danton Supple (Coldplay, Starsailor, Kylie Minogue, Electric Soft Parade, The Doves). We’re incredibly excited to be able to spend a few hours with Danton and learn everything we can from him. We are fairly certain that we’ll all be besties by the end of the day.

We’ll visit the Tower of London, get cheese toasties, ride the Tube, and, oh yeah, play some shows!

On Friday, January 13, we’ll be at Camden’s legendary Dublin Castle (here’s the FB event page) and on Monday, January 16, at the Windmill Brixton. We’re still firming up a couple more shows and will keep you posted. Please tell all of your London friends! Remember, you can get show updates by signing up for our mailing list.

See you in Dear Old Blighty!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

We’ll be joining the legendary dance-rock party band for the Epilepsy Therapy Project benefit show at House of Blues Boston on Thursday, December 1, 2011. ETP was founded in 2002 by a small group of parents of children with epilepsy, physicians, and researchers whose mission is to accelerate new therapies for people with epilepsy and seizures.

You, our lucky fans, get to attend this awesome rock show, help out a wonderful cause, AND get a very generous $15 discount on each ticket, to (platform) boot! Just follow this ticket link, scroll down to the “Search for Tickets” section on the left, choose the number of tickets you’d like next to the “Sidewalk Driver” option and type “sidewalkdriver” into the code space thingy.

House of Blues with The B-52s, baby… That’s where it’s at!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Join us on Saturday, October 29, 2011 at Church of Boston, for we shall be performing several of the greatest hits from one of our favorite bands… SPINAL TAP!

‘Tis the rolling of the ocean and the rocking of the earth! We’ll go back in time to that mystic land! We’ll be bothering your livestock! We’ll play all of your favorites and make some eardrums bleed! Here’s the line up:

9pm Muy Cansado as Prince
10pm BrownBoot playing Revolver by The Beatles
11pm Sidewalk Driver as Spinal Tap
12am The Lights Out as Michael Jackson

But hey, enough of our yakkin’… whaddaya say? Let’s boogie!
18+ | FB event | $10 in advance, $12 at the door | TICKETS

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

“You’re WHAT?!”

Ahahaha! It has been an endless series of B-52s references this past week, to the delight of those around us! We are beyond excited that we will be rocking the supporting slot for one of the biggest dance-rock party bands of our time. What makes it even better is that we get to play Township‘s CD release show the following night at Brighton Music Hall! Thanks to our friend, booker-extraordinaire Randi Millman, for making both of these shows happen. Randi rules.

Too much awesome rock ‘n’ roll fun for one weekend? Perhaps… But we’ll take it!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Holy crap! It’s almost October 1. That means it’s almost time for us to join Township for their record release show at Brighton Music Hall. It’s no secret that we are in love with Township, what with their scrumptious riffs, soaring guitarmonies and glorious rock ‘n’ roll hair. Together, we shall rock the ever-loving bejeezus out of BMH.

Also on the bill are the Andrea Gillis Band and Trabants. That’s a whole lot of rock for only $10 in advance or $12 at the door (get tickets here or at the club)! Here’s the FB event page.

We haven’t played at 158 Brighton Avenue since it became Brighton Music Hall, so let’s pack the place, OK? We’ll have some new tunes for you and A.J. will make out with each of you after the show.

See you there!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Join us at the Red Nun in Chatham on Saturday, September 3 for a day of music, food, drinks and dancing! The day will be full of awesomely eclectic original, local music. We are thrilled that our friends Jordan Valentine & the Sunday Saints and Mellow Bravo will be making the trip from Boston to join us. And you definitely don’t want to miss The Incredible Casuals, Shango Axe, Funktapuss, Jeff Conley Band, The Skiffs, Sean Brennan and Dave Hickey! Here’s the FB event page.

Come and get some glittah in ya chowdah!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

We are very excited for our big summer show at the Middle East Downstairs on Friday, July 29! To add to the excitement, we are offering those of you who buy tickets in advance an EXCLUSIVE acoustic EP! Download the preview track for $10 HERE and you will have a ticket to the show waiting for you at Will Call & your physical copy of the complete EP will be held for you at our merch table. Such a deal!

The EP will have a couple of fresh takes on old favorites, as well as some tasty new tunes. And you will be among only a handful of people to get this limited run EP. How thrilling! If you already bought presale tickets online via Ticketweb, just shoot us an email and we’ll set your EP aside.

Oh, and did we mention that the show at the Middle East Downstairs is packed to the gills with an eclectic mix of amazing local bands?

8:30 pm This Blue Heaven
9:15 pm Streight Angular
10:00 pm Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys
11:00 pm Sidewalk Driver
12:00 am Mellow Bravo

Holy crap, that’s a lot of rock/glam/indie/powerpop/steamcrunk/music! We will, naturally, arrive upon the back of our rock dragon. Our Pegasus will lead the way, merch bin in tow. We will pull out all the stops to make it the show of the summer and to rock you to your very core.

Here’s the FB event page!
7:30 pm doors
18+
$10 (buy your ticket directly through us and get the EP!)

See you there!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

We are thrilled to be joining our good friends, Township, for our first Providence show. Please join us on Friday, July 15 at Firehouse 13!

The hirsute fellows of Township always rock our Chucks ‘n’ sparkly platforms off! Also on the bill are Sun Gun (CD release) and The Rice Cakes. Doors are at 8pm, it’s an all ages show and the cover is a mere $7. Get yer tickets here! Here’s the FB event page.

Please spread the word to your Rhode Island friends!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

If you are planning on being saved, please don’t forget to wear clean underwear on Saturday. The rest of us will have to do a lot of tidying up as it is…

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Congratulations to all of the bands who participated, had fun and rocked our beloved T.T.’s!

Stay tuned for some kick-ass show announcements!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Are you ready for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble SEMI-FINALS?! We are. But we need your help. The crowd’s energy was so contagious on Saturday that we simply rode the wave to victory. (Check out some of the pics from Saturday night’s show!) Let’s do that again on Thursday, OK? OK.

Yes, on Thursday, April 14, 2011, we intend to destroy T.T. the Bear’s with rock, which is really too bad because it’s our favorite club and that’s where the finals are supposed to be. But we must do what we must do.

Here’s the lineup:
9:30 pm Spirit Kid
10:15 pm Sidewalk Driver
11:00 pm Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling
11:45 pm Mellow Bravo

Tickets are $10 at the door, but buying tickets in advance is strongly encouraged. You can buy them in person (with cash) at the T.T.’s box office (6 pm-12 am) OR you can get them online here. Doors are at 8:30 pm, 18+.

Here’s the Facebook event page.

See you on Thursday!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Well, friends, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble is upon us. On Saturday, April 9, 2011, we will rock the holy hell out of T.T. the Bear’s in the preliminary round.

Here’s the lineup:
9:30 pm Cradle To The Grave
10:15 pm The Year Million
11:00 pm Black Thai
11:45 pm Sidewalk Driver

Tickets are $9 at the door, but buying tickets in advance is strongly encouraged. You can buy them in person (with cash) at the T.T.’s box office (Mon & Sun 7-11 pm; Tues-Sat 6 pm-12 am) OR you can get them online here. Doors are at 8:30 pm, 18+. Get more Rumble info here.

Oh! Also, we are offering a FREE, full-album download of “For All the Boys and Girls” on Bandcamp through 4/9/2011. That’s 12 tasty tracks in any format you can imagine! Go!

See you on Saturday!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

We are thrilled to finally announce the date of our Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble preliminary round show! We will be playing on Saturday, April 9, 2011, along with Cradle to the Grave, The Year Million and Black Thai. Holy RAWK! The Rumble will held at T.T. the Bear’s, one of our favorite clubs in the whole wide world.

Here’s the lineup:
9:30 pm Cradle To The Grave
10:15 pm The Year Million
11:00 pm Black Thai
11:45 pm Sidewalk Driver

Closing out the Rumble preliminaries, baby! Keep in mind that these are just 30 minute sets, so you can still hop on the T after we play. Your support means so much to us and we can’t wait to see your beautiful faces (etc.) in the crowd!

We hate saying this, but seriously – these Rumble shows will sell out. And there’s no guest list, so make haste and get your tickets here OR in person, with cash, at the T.T.’s box office!

Here is the Facebook event page.

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

On Saturday, February 12, 2011, we will be heading to The Rosebud to join the ubiquitous Brendan Boogie for his Songs from the Armory, Volume 2 EP release show! Here’s the FB Event.

And here’s the lineup:

9 p.m. Jason Dunn (The Luxury) & Henry Beguiristain (Aloud)
10 p.m. Oranjuly
11 p.m. Brendan Boogie & The Best Intentions
12 a.m. Sidewalk Driver

Join us for an evening filled with hooks, harmonies, special guest appearances and probably some potty jokes.

See you there!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

On Friday, February 4, 2011, we will be returning to The City That Never Sleeps. We will be playing a rock show at The Bitter End, then probably enjoying some after-hours activities, then, in all likelihood, going to sleep. Sorry. We’re from out of town! Here’s the FB Event; please invite your NYC friends!

We will then roll on down to DC to play The Velvet Lounge on Saturday, February 5. This is what happened last time we played DC; and that was AFTER the show! Here’s the FB Event; please invite your DC friends!

See you there!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

This Saturday, January 15, 2011, we will be celebrating the new year by rocking the ever-loving bejeezus out of The Middle East Upstairs. So if you are into that sort of thing, you should attend.

We forgot to get a flier done for this show, so we did a Google image search and found this:

RAWK!

Here’s the lineup:

9 pm Gnarlemagne
10 pm Sidewalk Driver
11 pm The Brought Low
12 am Mellow Bravo

$9 (Get yer tickets here) | 18 + | FB event

The Pegasus is staying home for this show (just not the right crowd for him), but we will be arriving upon the back of our dragon. And the glitter will be made of GLASS!

See you there!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver