Best place MS benefit concert tomorrow night

MS sucks. It really does. I've been unfortunate enough to know several good friends that have suffered from this terrible disease, and it is life changing for all of them.

Our first gig at the Best Place was in May 2010. We were introduced to the fine people there by our friend Rob Wood who used to do some real estate business with the Best Place's manager Scotty. Scotty had to quit the real estate business because of his MS, and had recently starting manging the Best Place due to this. Scott is the nicest, warmest and friendliest person you'd ever want to meet, and he instantly asked us if we'd be interested in playing at their fine establishment sometime. We played there about a month later. That was show #4 for us. We had an awesome time, but little did we know that was the first step on a long upward road for us and for the Best Place.

We are now playing show #44 tomorrow - once again at the Best Place. For the 2nd time, we're helping Scotty out with his MS Society benefit, trying to raise a shitload of money to go towards MS research.

Please, think about stopping in and joining us tomorrow night for the Best Place's 2nd annual MS Society Benefit, even if it's just for a few minutes, to chip in for a great cause at the coolest bar in Milwaukee.

You'll be glad you did.

Thanks,

The Boys in Bockenplautz

2014 is happening, people!

Two great shows this month. 2014 won't take no for an answer! Click on the links for more info on the shows.

• Saturday, January 11 at Burke's Irish Castle - our first time ever playing at this cool new venue
• Saturday, January 18 at the Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery for our buddy Scott's National MS Society Fundraiser!

Both of these shows promise to be a great time. More info can be found on our SHOWS page here at bockenplautz.com.

Hope everyone is ready. 2014 promises to be the YEAR OF THE BNP!

That's a 2013 wrap, people!

Fans and friends,

Hard to believe it, but 2013 is now in the books for the boys in Bockenplautz. Due to multiple family and work commitments, it's really tough for us to do any shows in December with the band. So we've sort of established a policy of a "show-free December" going forward. We're all married, and between the 4 of us we have a dozen kids between 3 and 10 years old. As hard as it is to say, this just sometimes gets in the way of our rock and roll lifestyle, but we wouldn't have it any other way. It also reminds us to be thankful to our team of wives who love and support us and pick up some of the childcare responsibilities when we rehearse or gig. Thanks very much to Doreen, Emily, Debbie, and Cristin!

2013 has been a great year for us. We performed 20 shows either as a band, duo, or solo gigs with parts of BNP. We did our first real tour up in Door County, which we hope to make an annual event. We played for the MKE Boat Line summer concert series, which was incredible. We finalized our first album. We played at several new venues in MKE and also deepened our relationships with old favorites like the Best Place (12 shows there so far and counting!). We've had a chance to play with some other amazing bands and solo artists over the year, and have enjoyed getting to better know some of our newfound friends in the MKE area music scene. We're continuously refining our sound, our repertoire, and where we want to go as a band and a group of friends.

For 2014, we're blessed to already have 6 gigs on the books including a couple benefit shows and three private parties. We'll be debuting at Burke's Irish Castle on Saturday, January 11, 2014, and we hope to see a huge Tosa crowd join us there! It's the old Derry Hegarty's right across from Miller Park at 53rd and Bluemound. Totally redone inside, great side bar for music, and great people. We're hoping to participate in some summer concert series and outdoor shows around Milwaukee in summer 2014, and will be trying to book at Summerfest, Tosa Tonight, Waukesha Friday Night Live, and many others. If you have a suggestion for an outdoor show or venue that you think would be great for us, please let us know. We're always looking for new ideas!

Thanks again to all of our friends, fans, and wives that made 2013 a banner year for Bockenplautz. Here's to a kick-ass 2014 and beyond!

Jonnie

p.s. Keep your eyes peeled for a little holiday cheer from the Boys in BNP sometime in December to be posted on our facebook page!

Best Place Pre-Turkey Day Party THIS FRIDAY!

Been a very busy couple of weeks with the band - played again for the Doc Rock MKE benefit show last friday night and had a great time for a great cause. On the way home, the band stopped by at the Best Place and did a spontaneous totally acoustic gig in the Steinewert side bar for about 40 customers that had congregated there. Tons of fun!

This Friday night, we'll return to do our "official" show at the Best Place, and we can't wait. Anna Ceragioli will be opening up for us again, playing some awesome classic rock tunes. The BNP goes on around 9 and will play to at least 12!

See you there!

Jazz Estate TONIGHT

Jonnie will be sitting in with MKE's ownest and awesomest blues-flamenco guitarist, Evan Christian tonight at the Jazz Estate, 2423 N. Murray on Milwaukee east side! Promises to be quite an adventure! Playing from 10-midnight with Evan, although he'll likely play longer.

Lots of cool blues tunes, plus a few well-chosen covers to boot!