Ada Jane Official Website

Very simply put, we were a GREAT rock n’ roll band tonight. A guy came up to me after the show and said that he loved that our slow songs had so much space in them but when we rocked, WE ROCKED. If I were to construct a compliment for somebody to give us as a band it would be almost identical to that statement.

A show of small lessons. Lesson 1: Don’t leave the cap off your 64oz. water jug, because you are sure to kick it over while flailing around like an idiot when you’re playing. Lesson 2: Don’t leave said bottle of water near an electrical near an socket because when you kick said water over you might electrocute yourself.

Alex’s Bar is a great club. We play pretty well to a few nice folks, and again the club owners are apologetic for the small turnout. Weird.

Thanks to Pat for the Thai food!

It’s 4/20 in LA. I thought between the smog and the medicinal marijuana that we’d barely be able find our way through the haze today, but the smog has held off..sort of, and I’ve not smelt a whiff of pot. Strange.

LA is one of those places that nobody seems to like, and I’ve heard countless stories about bands getting ripped off in LA, so I’ve approached it the few times I’ve been there w/ a certain amount of caution.

Our show goes pretty well, we get paid fair, the other bands on the bill are pleasant folk, and the show promoter aplogizes for the poor turnout. Maybe LA deserves a little more love. Maybe.

In the last few days we’ve driven a ton, but the landscape has been beautiful. I-70 through Colorado, Utah, and Arizona is friggin’ beautiful, and the drive from Las Vegas to San Diego is equally beautiful. Never been to San Diego, but after spending few hours here I start to contemplate making Ada Jane a San Diego band.

Show goes amazingly well. Much thanks to Kelsey @ the Tin Can Ale House. Kelsey is exactly what I wish more club owners/booking people were like. Incredibly hospitable and funny. Also, she was looping the movie Purple Rain on the TV. Made me a little homesick. Then I remembered it was snowing when we left Minneapolis.

A few folks seemed genuinely excited about our show and praise Minneapolis music in general. Representing MPLS feels pretty good right now.

Still sick. 8 hrs. of van time split between shivering and burning up w/ the flu. GHAAAH!

About an hour before the show we’re told that the sound person isn’t showing up w tonight. I start to consider bludgeoning myself w/ my 30 lb. Gibson guitar. 10 minutes before show time the bartender/owner(?) sound checks us and things sound fine. A few friends start to show up.

The show goes pretty well considering. One of the other bands on the bill, Lucida Tide, gives us their share of the door and we stay w/ some old friends of mine, Matt and Marion Anderson. Maybe the tide is turning.

The second I enter the van to start our tour I feel a little goofy. As we enter Omaha I know something has gone afoul w/ my body. Yep. I’m sick. First day of the tour. The touring gods are laughing at me.

We get to the Pizza Shoppe Collective and are informed that no opening band was booked because the person that booked our show no longer works there. We play to two people and I have to press my mouth against the mic to keep from puking. ROCK N ROLL!! It’s gotta get better than this.

Thanks to Ben for putting us up for the night.

First off I’ll get to the May 6th 400 Bar pre-sale. Tickets are for sale for the 5/6 homecoming show at www.400bar.com OR you can e-mail me and reserve tickets for $5. Door tix are $8. I do believe that’s a savings of one PBR tallboy. Show starts at 8:30. 18+. w/ Government Subsidies and Rainbow Blight also on the bill. Pre-sales help us and the 400 Bar a ton, so let me know if you want to reserve some tickets.

We start our trek to the west coast tomorrow. I’ll be blogging about the shows, events, long naps, delicious beers, and such at www.adajane.com and www.facebook.com/adajanemusic. If you know anybody in these cities please do let em know about the show and tell them to bring us some free gas or an electric van with a robot driver.

Hey, just wanted to say a quick thank you for your support, prayers, crossed fingers, good thoughts, anonymous large cash donations, chants, and general good will you’ve sent our way in 2010.

We, like many people/bands, are all sorts of broke, so we sat still a bit in 2010 against our will. But hey, it’s tough out there, right?! Touring and recording doesn’t make this band rich……which is why we’re planning on recording and going on a west coast tour this spring. Nobody said we were financial geniuses. We’ll have updates on the tour and recording in the coming months. 2011 is shaping up to be full of Ada Jane action. Happy Holidays.

Matt Marka & Ada Jane

The Ada Jane song “Down The Highway” from the 2009 LP “Again…Again” will be in The Local Music Spotlight @ the July 20th Twins game. The spotlight occurs immediately after the first set of pre-show reads. Depending on the number of elements in the pre-game, that will be 25-40 minutes prior to first pitch. Go see yourself a Twins game on July 20th and hear our one song stadium tour in it’s entirety.

Our break from local shows ends on May 1st when we play the 400 Bar. We have some new songs ready and are eager to play then for you.

Also, just wanted to mention the passing of some great people, writers, and artists. In the past few months Mark Linkous/Sparklehorse, Vic Chesnutt, J.D. Salinger, and Howard Zinn have all  gone away and are very much missed. Salute.