At the Eagle Last Night

I don't even recognize the Passionistas anymore. That is, their set last night at the Eagle was comprised almost 100% of new material, including some songs I'd never heard before. They opened with one of Aaron's new ones, an awesome track called "Ashlee Simpson." Myles has a new one called "Writer's Block," which has some nice harmonies. Andrew also has a second song in the set, which is called "If I Was French." All in all, it was a very pop-heavy set, which was probably good considering much of the crowd was there to see Pansy Division.

As soon as Jeremy and Tom from World Famous in SF showed up, I was handed a copy of their label's first release - Hard Place's Get Your Hopes Up. You know what this means - New and Used Records is no longer "San Francisco's youngest indie label." Wonder if I should still stick with that slogan.

I wouldn't say the place was totally packed - the area around the Eagle's stage is very small, but the bar itself is pretty spacious. I did notice a lot of people filtering in from the outside once Pansy Division started playing. That being said, I sold five CD's at the merch table - which may not sound like a lot but, believe me, it is. I try and make a personal connection with everyone who buys a CD from me. You know, I try and get their reaction to the band's set, fill them in on upcoming shows, and - if I still have time - let them know about the label and what I'm doing. I think this strategy will help in getting the New and Used Records name out there more.

This was my first time at the Eagle. It's an old leather bar, but has a real CBGB's punk rock feel to it - especially with the bathroom situation.
***It was pretty much a trip to see Pansy Division, who are still together despite all four members living in different states. They announced that they are working on a new record, and played a few new tunes, including "Some of My Best Friends" and "That's So Gay." I got to talk to frontman Jon at the merch table a bit afterwards. He's buds with Andrew and invited The Passionistas to be the opening band, which I think is way cool.
***I'm back on the MySpace hustle today, even though I hardly got any sleep last night. To be honest, I'm still trying to promote in San Francisco, but something about the LA networking just seems more exciting. Maybe it's just my naivete, but I think we've got a real shot out there. And to be honest, the situation for us in San Francisco may change dramatically once we've proven we can break the market out there. I really excited for the Passionistas to make another trek.