Newsletter June 09

THEY’RE HERE!!!
Yes ladies and gentlemen, step right up a get your own copy of the new Harlequin release Live “ON/Q”. Fraught with mishap and misadventure, yet fun as hell to put together, we delivered as promised. We’ve been told by everyone that’s heard it so far that “This is the way the tunes should have been originally recorded!” Soooooooo at our most humble request, please support the starving musicians in Harlequin, by purchasing your copy from your local CD Shoppe or a hard copy or downloadable one from our website.
The sessions were recorded across Canada over the last year and a half. Where? We don’t know, but can make up a few names for you if you like. Just assume it was your home town at the last show you attended. Listen for yourself screaming uncontrollably in the background and tell your friends you were there. The CD is jam packed full of all our favourite tunz, from day one to current sessions:
WAKING THE JESTER
I DID IT FOR LOVE
SWEET THINGS IN LIFE
YOU ARE THE LIGHT
RISE
SURVIVE
HOW LONG
HELL OR HIGH WATER
SHE’S MY GIRL
SHINE ON
INBOUND TRAIN
THINKING OF YOU
SUPERSTITIOUS FEELING
INNOCENCE

We decided to re-release Superstitious Feeling as our single to radio. Why? Why not? Some of us felt that it didn’t get all the attention it deserved out of the gates on original release. The song ends with a ripped off version of Zeppelin’s Heartbreaker. So if you don’t buy the CD the least you can do is call your local radio station and get them to spin Superstitious Feeling.

On our website there is contest to see if you can name the band members and how often they appear on the front and back covers. We have had tonnes of guesses and no one’s got it yet. The first 10 people to guess get a free autographed CD.

Thanks from all the boize……

Darren Moore
Harlequin

George's Ramblings

George’s Ramblings

I’m a bit of a procrastinator at times … I was asked to write a newsletter and had it in the back of my mind, stewing, waiting for the creative juices to infuse my brain with little pearls of wisdom to impart to our fans and friends. I usually wait for a clear sign … you know… to point me in a direction … before I set a course. A starting point is what I require.
I’ve been hearing the expression for years …it’s the catch phrase of non believers … an expression my parents, teachers and other cliché-wielding folks have been using for centuries. “When pigs fly”. Well imagine my surprise this morning when the newspaper headline stated in big bold letters that it has finally happened! I still recall the lunar landing and it was a similar feeling I got then … yep there it was …Swine flu!
There are a few things to tell you. Firstly, our new CD will be in stores June 2nd! It’s called “On Q”. A play on our nickname “Quin”. It’s would have been out earlier but … as you up to date fans will recall … we had a burglary that involved a hard drive that had all our live recordings on it. Thankfully, Darren, our resident computer genius, was able to remove the files from a piece of gear the tunes had been processed through and extracted the raw material and patiently re-mixed and reprocessed all the data. The only problem is we can’t tell you where most of the songs were recorded as everything got scrambled in the retrieval process. We did them over quite a period of time and have only our own memories of the performances in question to go by. So remember, if you’d like o support us head down to your local CD vendor and request a copy!
As you will see by the CD liner notes, I am very pleased to have re-recorded these tunes because I feel the true “live” Harlequin sound has been finally captured. I only wish it were a DVD so you could see the fun we had doing this album. I think if you listen closely … you’ll hear our enjoyment! In fact the CD features not only a live collection of our greatest hits, but we have also captured each of the boys singing a new Harlequin tune too! We always have such a great time together, we’re thinking of putting out a live DVD of what goes on …after the show … it would be played on the Comedy Network, I’m sure. Do they play X-rated material?
Our first opportunity to get “On Q” to you will be at My Bar in the Canad-Inns on Regent Ave. May 30th in our hometown Winnipeg. Admission is free but you can get advance tickets by calling the Canad-Inns… apparently these won’t guarantee you admittance. Go figure!!
Well I think another pig just flu over the house and left a little something … actually it’s a raccoon and as hard as it is to believe … they do their business on my roof with … ahem …regularity. I’m going to the Goodwill to get me an Elmer Fudd hat and a used BB gun to deal with this situation! When it happened the first time, I phoned the roofing company and asked them to fire the party responsible for the offensive deposit. The fellow asked me how “fresh” the “package” was then reminded me they hadn’t been there for weeks. I mumbled an apology and hung up! The other day I noticed one of the little buggers sitting on my garage, doing his thing while looking through my kitchen window. He was watching “Dancing with the Stars” on the TV with my wife. Hell … I never get to do that!!
Hey … as long as we’re on the topic of excrement … did you all do your taxes yet? The “word” got tossed around quite a bit last week in my house. I hope they have a plan for that money to help our economy grow …if not … I have some extra fertilizer I’m not using!!
Well that’s it for me … til pig’s fly!
George

George's Newsletter Feb 08

George’s News

It’s been long c-c-c-ccold winter so how are you c-c-c-c-coping? C-c-c-cac-c-cooning? C-c-c-c-canning kumquats? C-c-c-c-canceling appointments? Hey, it sure is fun running into people that visit our website!! The photos fans send of themselves or of the band are very much appreciated! I only wish we could post them all!! Unfortunately a lot of them haven’t made it past the censors … who have absolutely no sense of humor... “Heavy sigh”… effen guys!! A little nudity and debauchery never killed anyone … in this band … yet!! Oh! The mammaries!! EH! I think there’s something wrong with my spell-check!
Here at Quin Headquarters we’ve been busy writing music for our next project. We’re thinking maybe of two releases this year!! We’ve been accumulating live recordings and have quite a bit of material in the can already, but we’re finding the latest versions only get better! So we’ll give it until the end of this summer. Therefore next time we’re in your area make sure you come out and make a lot of noise so we can get your rowdy behavior recorded for posterity!
It’s been a pleasure having A J on board as our new drummer!! We will be outing our new promo shot with him in it very soon!!
Keep on Rockin’

Update From A.J.

Greetings... Darren says it's time for a newsletter from the rookie. So... for those of you who haven't caught a show in the last few months, I'm A.J., nice to meet ya! First calls for Harlequin stick duties came for me in the spring of '94 and sporadic gigs have ensued since then. The full time position was offered this past spring shortly after the release of 'Waking the Jester'.( Good timing for me! ). In the light of the release of ' Rise' and ' Shine on ', there have been great gigs and great times. Highlights would have to be our October 24th show with Heart at the MTS Centre. Not a bad Winnipeg debut for myself with the band. It was great to see all the support from family, friends and fans. My nephew Austin even caught a drumstick! A couple of weeks ago proved to be one hell of a raucous night in the Kamloops arena with Kenny and the boys. It was great to see a B.C. crowd of a thousand plus on their feet from start to finish. Definitely a prairie party in the mountains. Good times. As for the characters I get to spend these Hallmark moments with, George, Darren, Derrick and Uncle Nik, let's just say recess starts when we meet at the airport. Top notch guys, great players and thankfully all possess a penchant for a good adolescent giggle and an undying devotion to anything Beatles. Even with various projectiles aimed at the drumkit which seemingly always come from stage Darren to occasional tom and cymbal stand tipping from Nik, it's a pleasure sharing a stage with these guys. So... Pick up a CD online and help us decide which song from the album should be released as the next single. Better yet come out to a show near you, if it's not near you, make a road trip out of it. Our Christmas show at mybar in Winnipeg( Sat. Dec. 22 ) should be chalk full of Ho Ho Ho's and Christmas cheer. As a bonus you can sit on St. Nik's lap after the show with your wish list. Nice chatting with you , hope to see you soon. A.J. P.S. Allow me to indulge my inner Nugent for a moment... Any of our rural Manitoba ( or Saskatchewan ) landowner fans needing to rid their pastures of pesky ( albeit tasty! ) four legged critters of the white tail variety, please feel free to contact me personally to help you come up with a solution. Bon appetit!

Darren November 2007 update

Hey friends of Harlequin…..it’s time for an update…..so I’ll throw what I’ve got in the pot.
Well so far we’ve had a great year…performed in front of thousands of folks across the country, released our new CD Waking The Jester, with two singles “Shine On” and “Rise”, with a third single on the way. This is the biggest year Harlequin has had since…well we really can’t remember…we’ll just say since back in the day (you’ll have to ask George, I’m one of the new kids).
We’ve been courted and picked up by a European distributor and are selling the CD all over the world, yes really….so if you haven’t got yours yet, please, please support us starving musicians and grab a copy at your local CD shoppe. If they don’t have it in stock, just request one, it takes a day or two for delivery. If you’re more inclined to shop online, you can purchase one from either of our sites http://www.harlequintheband.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/harlequinrocks no excuses now! Also check out the sites for pix, show dates and general info. BTW, if you have any pictures you’d like to share just e-mail them to us at harlequinrock@gmail.com and we’ll gladly post them. (If you’re taking pictures of me, make sure to get my left side?)
I know I’ve offered this before to our Newsletter members and have delivered at almost every show….but the first four people that request admittance to one of our shows in your neighbourhood, will get in on behalf of the band. So keep in touch…if possible we will grant you access to our backstage area (where restrictions allow) to meet and hang and have photo opps. If this doesn’t impress you, we’ll have Nik, AJ, George and Derrick perform a comedy routine for you (I don’t like being laughed at, other than on stage (: )
For you easterners, yes we are planning on coming your way, hopefully sooner than later. We are also looking into some international touring in the New Year, based on the success of our CD release. There are some other exciting “things” on the scope, however politics doesn’t allow me to expose any details yet…..(don’t cha hate when someone starts a story and won’t finish it?)
Ciao for now
Darren Moore aka Big Time

Newsletter from Darren

It's hotter than hell on the prairies....yea haw! But we can take it, cold drinks, good tans, warm water and skimpy clothing..it's all good.

We've put on a few miles so far this summer and met alot of you Internet people face to face finally...whether we met via our newsletter or myspace.

The first single "Shine On" made quite a bit of headway in Canada, into Europe, online radio and poked it's nose out a wee into the US. We thought since the summer is still young and our summer touring is not nearly over yet, we'd release the second single. So we have..."Rise" has been sent to radio stations and will hopefully be on the airwaves over the next few weeks. Soooo..... again we'll respectfully ask for your support in calling your local radio stations and requesting Rise or Shine On...it REALLY helps us get on the air and chart. Let me know how it goes.

BTW.... I did send and hand out some CD`s and merchandise to some of you folks that went over the top, to help us market the first single. Thanks again, every little thing means alot to us. Let us know what you have done, it helps us track for marketing purposes.

Congratulations to our guitar player Derrick Gottfried and his better half (seriously).....he is a proud father for the first time, to a son aptly named Hendrix, (Derrick believes his life won`t change much.) The rest of us bite our lips.

Congratulations to Nik Rivers our bass player, for being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for writing our last newsletter, under the pen name of Uncle Nik.

Congratulations to George Belanger our lead singer, for more than keeping up with some of us rowdies and pulling us out of bed in the mornings to hit the next gig. We also want to congratulate him at practising on keeping his snoring at around 84 DB, just under permanent hearing damage volume. (Planes are not immune either.)

Just because I don`t want to be left out....congratulations to me for being seriously drank under the table, by 61 year old vocalist Dan McCafferty, of Nazareth last weekend. I still hurt (really)!

and finally, congratulations to those of you that read this far.

Thanks again,

Darren Moore
Harlequin

Post from Nik

Hi kids and welcome to Camp Harlequin. My name is Uncle Nik Rivers and I’ll be your camp councilor. The summer season is upon us and we’ve got a busy schedule ahead of us, with lots of fun filed activities for all you boys and girls!

As you may know the band has just released our new recording titled Waking The Jester available at finer music stores across North America, on-line from our web site or best of all in person at one of our live shows!

Everyone in the band is really excited about the new CD and we know the new songs really put some kick into our shows. I’ve been in the band for a really long time (150 years) and along with our classic songs, this is the best Harlequin has ever performed and sounded. What I’m trying to say is check out our site, find out when we’re playing at a venue near you and come check us out! Our website always has the tour dates on it.

This newsletter won’t be too long because Uncle Nik is lazy, but I want to let you know that we really want to see or hear from you this summer, we really mean it. In fact we were once voted second friendliest band in Canada (I think Fred Penner was first).

There is one more thing that you can do for us this summer besides learning how to paddle a canoe, if you haven’t heard our new single “Shine On” on the radio yet, give you’re local station a call and tell them to give it a spin.

I’d love to stay but I have to throw another log on the fire and don’t forget if you need anything at all, advice or tip maybe some personal counseling, drop me a line. ROCK ON KIDS!

NIK RIVERS


http://www.harlequintheband.com/

www.myspace.com/harlequinrocks