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“This band blows the competition away. From the first song to the last, they give their all and it shows, as the audience goes wild!” —Gary, North Beach Oasis |
Blame global warming. Or late onset ADHD. October 11, 2024 - Well as someone long-since dead famously said, "all good things must come to an agonizingly painful yet somehow very exciting end - for now". We paraphrased, but what we're trying to get at is that after 20-something straight years of awesome and not quite but very close to awesome gigs, the Twang Dragons as a full band are taking a break after our November 2nd finale. Not getting invited to perform at The Sphere was the final straw. We still have an album's worth of new material we'd like to record, so we'll be looking into that. But for the foreseeable future Lisa and Tommy will be concentrating on the Two Dragons duet. Well, it would be good if Tommy would actually concentrate, but we all know that's not likely. If we do play any gigs as a full band in 2025, it would probably be a single set and all or mostly originals. But we'll see. So in the meantime, please keep your eyes and ears out for whomever drummer extraordinaire Donny Keller might be hitting the skins for (inside musician term). He's been the heart of our band for longer than we can recall and we always knew we were lucky to snag him. Also, check out one of Kevin Polster's 20 or 30 bands he'll be laying down the bottom end for (more esoteric musician-speak). He seamlessly filled some big shoes, ran our sound and earned several hernias by schlepping the gear around. And by all means, keep - OR START - listening to our stuff on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, AMI jukeboxes, (yes, we're on jukeboxes) etc. Most importantly, keep your eye on our gig page for all the Two Dragons shows. Oh, and if The Sphere DOES call, forget all this nonsense about taking a band break. |
September 12, 2022 - When you're busy playing all the time and trying to catch up on your Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple+, Peacock, and Playboy After Dark shows, who has time to post news updates on the official band website? Let's just say it was another great summer. We brought the twang to some new stages, made lots of new friends and had an especially good time at a few places where the audience really took our "Buy the Band a Drink" song to heart. Keep an ear out for our follow-up: "Buy the Band Some Rehab." In the meantime, get out and see the full band or the slightly less raucous but even snarkier duet as we migrate to the indoor season. And if you can think of it, please pester us to get off our asses and get back into the studio to record the latest originals we've been playing out the past couple years: "My Man Rides a Harley (Or He Don't Ride Me)", "Knocked Up Boogie", "Don't Text Your Ex", "Stairway to Hell". Okay, we just now made up that last one. But it could be a really cool Zeppelin-AC/DC mashup. We'll get to work on that. Right after we get through the last four seasons of Vampire Diaries. |
January 8, 2021 - Well, that was a year to remember. Or not. Like a million other bands, we lost quite a few gigs. But unlike a lot of touring bands and really popular cover bands who draw seas of people, we still played a lot. That's why we said the safest place to be if you don't want to be around crowds is...a Twang Dragons show! But ya know, the New Year is not only bringing a vaccine, it's bringing TWANG DRAGONS SONGS TO ALL AMI JUKEBOXES! Yes, some swell person(s) requested our VFW Saturday Night song on some jukeboxes (you'd think we would have been smart enough to anonymously request that ourselves, but no...) and AMI contacted us to get our last album "3 Chords and a Lie" on all their jukeboxes in North America. And New Guinea. Or just America. Whatever, enough splitting hairs. The point is, remember to look us up on the jukebox if and when you venture back out in public. Or, play it safe and listen to or download all of our stuff on all the usual streaming channels. Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, New Guinea Groovy Muzik, etc. Also, get out and see us live if it's something you feel comfortable doing, and remember to stay safe and stay twangy America. And New Guinea. |
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December 19, 2017 - Wow, what a year it's been in the Dragons household. Where to start? Our little Kevin is all growed up and now has all of his adult teeth. The ones that survived the bass hurling incident, that is. Better watch yourselves on the motorways as Donnie got his Driver's License. (Third try was the charm.) He can haul his own drums to gigs now (or "tools of ignorance" as Kevin calls them...stop it you two!) and he always makes it home before curfew. Wink wink. 12 full months in the year and Tommy still didn't learn a single new guitar lick. But he is honing the four he somewhat knows, and he grew some facial hair that makes you wonder if evolution skipped him by a couple generations. So the year wasn't a complete loss. Lisa nearly graduated from cosmetology school but missed the final exam traveling to Fresno to audition for "America's Got Vocal Delusions". You'd think there'd be a cosmetology make-up exam, but no! Cosmetology...make-up exam...get it?? Geez, sometimes I don't know why we continue writing these year-end letters. Anyway, once again the year was packed with tons of great gigs (and two not-so-great ones, Tommy lay off the Tia Maria!) And we're already booking up for more of the same in 2018, so plan to get out and see us in the new year. And even when it ain't so new. (Just like our material...rimshot please, Donnie.) Next on our to-do list: get into the studio and record "My Man Rides a Harley Or He Don't Ride Me." (For reals.) And...take one of those cliche band pics where we're all standing in a tunnel or by a train trestle, in age-inappropriate clothing and looking all badass like we think we're the Stones or something. The Stones who play local festivals, fairs and corner bars. |
February 15, 2016 - What a past few months! We've lost plenty of our favorite musicians. But at least they don't seem to be choking on their own vomit as much these days. (Or to swipe a Spinal Tap reference, someone else's vomit.) Anyway, we're glad to say we're still going strong, and knock on maple or ash guitar bodies, we're gonna keep picking up steam. Our last CD release, 3 Chords and a Lie, has sold well. You can download it and all the rest of our stuff on iTunes, Amazon, or CD Baby. Better yet, you can get instant gratification by picking up a CD (or four) at one of our live shows. You can also stream our entire catalog on Spotify, if that's your thing. Based on our growing Facebook friends, something seems to be clicking. But enough about us, let's talk about us. We're accumulating more songs for an eventual 5th release and have also added new covers for the bar gigs. Hell, we even had a practice back in January. Well, sort of a practice. We knocked back a few and talked about what songs would be cool to do. And then it got kinda late so we packed it in. Bottom line, we'll still be doing it as long our hips hold out. Or until we choke on our own vomit. So come on out and have a time with us! |
June 1, 2015 - As we write this 2015 update, it's June and we've put away the long underwear but are still keeping the parkas nearby. Our kick-off outdoor summer gig this last Saturday was played, you guessed it, indoors! But we're sure the weather will turn any day now and all our outdoor summer gigs will actually happen outdoors. And buddy, we've got plenty of them lined up. So get on out to catch a few. We've added a few more originals, brought back a couple old ones and even learned a bunch of new covers that are definitely not Top 40 Country, but as close as we're gonna get. Don't anybody tell Miranda Lambert we're about 2 songs away from becoming a Miranda Tribute Band. And in the worst segue you've read in quite some time...our latest album "3 Chords and a Lie" is continuing to sell here and there, after some airplay on independent stations around the country. So save yourself some postage and pick one up off the stage at our next gig. As always, you get a free kiss from Tommy with every "3 Chords and a Lie" purchase. (Tack on an additional CD from our back catalog and you can avoid the kiss.) |
June 2, 2014 - After a couple years of threatening, our new CD "3 Chords and a Lie" is FINALLY here! We even had a CD release party the other night to prove it! Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us and to give this album a proper kick-off. With songs ranging from funny ("I Drink Because I Love You"), to groovy ("Goin' On"), to straight out kickass rocky tonk ("5 Karat", "A Hard Man is Good to Find"), to uncharacteristically serious ("Lost Soul"), this is our most diverse (and expensive) album to date! You can pick up a copy at one our shows this summer, or right this very second on iTunes, Amazon.com or CD Baby. All this excitement has taken its toll. We're taking a nap now. |
October 23, 2012 - We had us a time this summer, playing as many gigs as our collective schedules allowed. We coulda played more but Don the drummer went and GOT A JOB on us. Way to ruin all the good drummer jokes. So we've decided to slow down just a little and actually get to some recording. Sure, we've been saying that for the past year and a half, but this time we mean it! Of course we'll still be playing shows in between...where, we might add, you can pick up some damn fine new merchandise. We'll get the new shirts posted in the merch section of the site here so you can see what we mean. And did we mention Tommy's new White Falcon knock-off? While he's ripping off other twangers' licks he might as well be doing it on a rip-off guitar. So check out the schedule and get out to one of our shows and hear some new stuff, see Lisa's new eye job (she looks weeks younger) and challenge Kevin to a German mug-holding contest. Go ahead, we dare ya. |
July 8, 2012 - Whew boy, this past Friday was a scorcher. As if a T Dragons gig ain't hot enough, the band members took turns hallucinating with heat stroke during both outdoor gigs. Fortunately we didn't all overheat at once. Now that woulda been interesting. But we were grateful to see so many troupers who braved the heat advisory weather to see us. Fortunately we're playing all the gigs we can handle this summer, what with rehab, cosmetic surgery and whatnot also in the schedule. It's also gratifying to hear so many ask us when we're going to record all our new songs (especially "I Drink Because I Love You"). Well, we've been shopping studios and have to get off our collective asses and make a decision here real soon. If you've ever gone through the process of recording, you know how frustrating it can be when your guitar player burns through weeks of multiple takes and the budget leaves the singer and rhythm section with about a night and a half to do their parts. Or maybe that's just this band. Whatever, we hope to get the process started by year's end...good Lord, massive merch sales and frequently filled tip jar willing! |
March 5, 2012 - And, in other news...the twang juggernaut rolls along. We've already had some great gigs in 2012, including a cool new place called Lo Cash Live (we'll be back a few times - check our schedule), a real honky tonk saloon out near Madison called Country Corners, a fun showcase gig at the famous Milwaukee Domes, and last Saturday night we followed up the kick-ass Celtic band the Sandcarvers at our favorite annual benefit show. We not only continue to gain new fans along the way, we also meet more cool fellow musicians with every gig we play. Other than the limos, strippers and mounds of cocaine, that's what makes this all worthwhile. |
December 12, 2011 - Well another year is drawing to an end, and what a ride! The new rhythm section has settled in nicely (not in a sleepy, complacent sense, which you know if you caught any shows this year) and we're looking forward to ending the year on a high note. A very loud high note. So here's to a great Christmas and New Year's! Hopefully Santa will bring us some recording time so we can start laying down some of the many new tunes we've been refining onstage over the past year. |
October 12, 2011 - Well after returning from a little vacation and gigging in Tennessee and South Carolina (some planned, some not), Tommy returned to his day job to find out it had taken a vacation too. More like a sabbatical. So now he gets to live the musician's dream...unemployed, underfed and probably under-showered. Got a couch he can crash on? Only a couple nights, for sure. Maybe three. Hello Nashville...this would be a good time to buy a few of our songs. He'll keep the cell phone turned on for as long as he can make the payment. Plus wouldn't you know it, we had planned a light gig schedule in October and November. Who knew?! Oh well...all things being relative, much much worse news: our great friend across the pond Andy Leaney passed away last week after a nearly year-long battle with cancer. We are so lucky to have met and shared some stages with him. If we could think of any of his pithy British sayings off the top of our head we would say them. But you will be missed Andy! |
September 6, 2011 - Well summer ain't officially over but this season's festival gigs are drawing to a close, and it's been another great season of playing the kind of gigs we really love. Last week's inaugural Grill Games was a blast...especially being shown on the big Jumbo-tron. (Which adds MORE than 10 pounds, BTW.) Last Friday's mid-day concert series in downtown Racine was also a hoot, especially with all the CD sales! Thanks to everyone who bought our stuff and got us a step closer to getting back in the studio. We've got more than an album's worth of new material that needs to get captured on something better than Lisa's iPhone app. Anyway, please keep an eye on our gig page as we're adding upcoming dates. We're also going to get around to revamping the site in the near future and adding some pics of Don and Kevin so their out-of-state relatives actually believe they're in the band! |
July 11, 2011 - Well it's been a busy few weeks, capped off by a gig outside the state capitol in Madison yesterday afternoon. And like so many things in Mad Town, the Dragons proved to be a tempest of controversy as many in attendance blamed our blistering performance for the no-show of the band scheduled after us. Oh well, we got to play a bit longer and the only protesting we heard was when we announced that our set was over. Not a bad day of twangin' in our book! |
June 11, 2011 - Lisa and Tommy are slated to pop into Milwaukee's premier twang radio show this coming Friday morning for a little pickin', singin' and chattin'. Hard to say when we'll be on exactly, (10:00-ish?), so best to just listen to Jonny's whole show, starting at 9 a.m. on WMSE 91.7 FM. We'll likely play 2 or 3 new songs acoustically, and then whine about it being too early to perform. Facetiously, of course. |
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August 6, 2010 - Check out the photo to the right! Nope, that arm does not belong to any member of the band...none of us have "Twang Dragons" on our bodies! This arm belongs
to our #1 Fan, Mr. Robert Volenec. He's threatened to do it for awhile but now he's really done did it! Our
compliments to the artist - it's beautiful! Tell Bob what he's won for being the #1 Twang
Dragon's fan, Johnny....Bob has won back stage passes for life as well as a free beer or two when he makes
it to a show. Seriously, Bob, we are in awe! |
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To say that Tommy was a bit excited is perhaps one of the
greatest understatements of all time. A good time was definitely had by all, especially when Mr. Kirchen
asked Tommy to get on stage and handle some guitar playing duties. You coulda knocked him out with a
feather after that one! Check out the 
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