How I miss you all! I can't believe that school has already begun for you!
Well, I have to say that it's been bittersweet being on the road so far, since you all aren't here with me! But we are having a great time! For those of you that don't already know the whole story yet, my husband (Cie) and I are on the road traveling and playing music for the next year! We got on the road June 30th and haven't stopped yet! We truly plan to be out on tour for a full 12 months! It will be a fun ride and a great experience for me to take back with me and share with you all!
We began the tour playing at the Hard Rock Cafe in Memphis, TN (hometown of Elvis Presley) and got a great response from fans and staff alike!
In fact, here's a direct quote from Julien Salley, General Manager of the Hard Rock Cafe Memphis
"You Knew Me When came to Memphis ready to rock and delivered an unbelievable performance for the Hard Rock Café in The Birthplace of Rock n Roll. Their music offered something unique and memorable and we definitely hope to have them back again & again!"
Oh right, and if you don't already know, our band name is You Knew Me When... You might be asking yourself, why?!
Well here's the long and the short of it...
My husband and I have actually been together for what will be TEN YEARS in January and married 4 years ago! However, we've only been playing music together for about the past 2 and a half years! We literally knew each other when... I knew him when he played in a hard rock band and died his hair black (not my favorite, but I did support him through it ;-). He knew me when I wore tie dyed bright hippy clothes and spice girl platform shoes. We both knew each other when we studied at Belmont University right in the center of Nashville! He studied music business at Belmont, and I, of course, studied music education! We also both new each other when we wrote and recorded our first original songs! So there you have it! Now you have a glimpse as to why we call ourselves: You Knew Me When!
And, you may also understand the name of the blog a bit better now ;-)
You're probably wondering where we've been for the past couple of months. As I mentioned, we began the tour in Memphis, TN and went from there right up to my hometown of Clear Lake, Iowa!
Interesting fact(s) about Clear Lake, IA:
Clear Lake is a tourist town in Iowa with a beautiful lake a great people. Clear Lake has a population of about 8,000 in the summer, and I'm sure that it about halves in the winter (as it get's lots of snow and is generally bitter cold during that time of year). It also has an interesting musical history, as it is the home of the Surf Ballroom. The Surf Ballroom is pretty special place because it is the last place that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper played music. Their airplane actually crashed in a corn field only about a mile away from my parents' home! With it's rich musical history, you might understand why many famous recording artists and bands still come to Clear Lake to play at this little venue in Iowa. It was a great place for me to grow up, especially since I am such a big music lover!
Well, we played in and around Iowa over the month of July including but not limited to the capital of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa City, Davenport, and lots of other little towns. We even teamed up with a bicycle festival with over 20,000 cyclists riding their bikes all the way across Iowa and played a series of shows along the route!
After leaving Iowa, we headed over to South Dakota. We played a series of shows at the Deadwood Mountain Grand Resort and Casino along with a VIP show for the Harley Davidson executives in Sturgis, South Dakota at the world renowned Buffalo Chip Festival! There were nearly 300,000 motorcyclists in the area so it made for some very interesting site seeing! We got to see and meet all kinds of great musicians while we were at the Buffalo Chip Festival over the past couple of weeks including Lynard Skynard, Slash, Zac Brown Band, Candlebox, and Sugarland! We are having a great time traveling, meeting new people, and sharing our music!
I can't wait to share all of my experiences with you all on this blog over the next year! I miss you all dearly and wish you the best school year ever! I hope you are all enjoying music class with Mr. Prince and learning a lot from him!
I will be sure to update this as much as possible while we are on the road! Feel free to make posts or send me messages! I'd love to hear from each and every one of you!
Love and music from our current stop in Hill City, South Dakota (right nearby Mount Rushmore National Monument),
Ms. Karisa Hoover
To check out our music and follow us on our tour go to:
www.youknewmewhen.com or 'like' us on facebook to stay updated at: www.facebook.com/youknewmewhen
