Notes from the band

Feb. 16, 2009

We anxiously are preparing for Part III of sharing gigs with the Black Water Band, our buddies from Huron. We play with the BWB this Friday, Feb. 20, at Myers' Pub in Huron.

We absolutely have a blast at these things and hope folks check it out -- two bands splitting four sets, beginning at 8 p.m.

And Saturday, Feb. 21, we head back to the Longbranch in Howard for an annual event that has, in the past, exploded into quite a party. We can't tell you if it has a name or not, but we do know that when we played it two years ago (we couldn't do it last year), it was huge.

A new booking on our calendar: The Silver Dollar in Chamberlain. A previous version of this band played there regularly in the past, and we're excited to go back. It's a great dance venue.

Jan. 9, 2009

Check the schedule page. A few more dates added, and I suppose we'll begin booking for the remainder of 2009 soon.

Big news. Huge news. We got a different trailer. Anyone who's seen our trailer of old likely knows it was time.

It was, and it showed us in a big way on New Year's Eve as we traveled to the Corner Bar in Valley Springs. A flat tire prompted sparks and smoke everywhere. Turns out, it was more than a simple flat tire -- bad axle.

So we limped into Alexandria, had another trailer delivered to us (thank goodness for brother-in-law Pat) and ended up showing up for the gig in Valley Springs at about 8:20 p.m.

After a 12-hour round trip to Des Moines, Iowa, we now have another trailer.

It's kind of sad. That crappy old trailer went with us everywhere and never failed. Plus, it was paid for. And cheap.

We're working up a series of new songs in our three weeks' down time between January gigs, so we hope to come out strong for 2009.

We'll be at the Red Arrow in Huron Jan. 31, then are playing our third show with our brother band, Black Water, on Feb. 20 at Myers Pub in Huron. Anyone up in that neck of the woods should come check those shows out.

Nov. 15, 2008

We just added a couple of dates to the schedule. We've been off for a couple of weeks, but return to the road Nov. 22 in Verdigre, Neb., home of Misty's -- one of our absolute favorite places to play.

Then, we're at Teezers in Madison, S.D., on Nov. 26 (the day before Thanksgiving) and at Beamers in Lennox, S.D., on Nov. 28-29 (the two days after Thanksgiving).

Sounds like we may end up doing aother World Domination night with our buds, the Black Water Band. The plan so far is to hook up in Huron within the first couple of months of 2009. And speaking of Huron, we'll be returning to the Red Arrow on Jan. 31.

Keep in touch. S21

October, 2008 (The name change)

OK, it's weird. We know.

But the process of changing the name of the band wasn't necessarily a snap decision. It was something we discussed in depth back in December, when our longtime lead guitarist, Al, moved to Kansas. We figured at that time it might not be a bad idea once we brought in a new guitar guy, but we held off.

We thought about it again in March, after we started working the region with our new lead guitarist, Billy.

And this month, it just makes sense to us.

Why? Because the name Jimmy River Band just doesn't really signify who we are anymore, considering the direction the band has taken in 2008. We've decided to update our song list and get a more contemporary groove; we've got Billy, who brings an entirely new style to the band; we've added a sound man; we've even added some new equipment. We've done away with the 1960s and 1970s music. These days, we're grooving to the Foo Fighters, Kid Rock and Buckcherry.

And the more we thought about it, the more we thought a name change just makes sense.

So we're hoping we never again are confused for a country band. Or better yet, we hope we are never again asked, "Which one of you is Jimmy?" By the way, Signal 21 is local police code for "suspicious person." That tends to fit.

We're a rock band that specializes in 1980s, 1990s and 2000s music. We work hard. We're affordable. We are three guys cruising the region in a Ford Expedition, an old trailer filled to the roof with equipment and a boatload of music experience.

We are Signal 21.