What's the Word

Hey, so welcome to our new and improved website. That's such a weird slogan for marketing. "Hey, try our NEW and IMPROVED toothpaste, cause that last batch was seriously rank!!!" Is that what they're really saying? Well, our old website was a valiant effort, some good friends have put in some serious time and effort to help us, so....WELCOME to the NEW and IMPROVED, DOWNBEAT 5 web site.

Since it's the year end, let's just take pause to reflect on the 2007's effect on the band. The new year started one night, shortly after midnight. It was dark and cold but a restless shimmer of hope huddled below the surface. Now there's a load of rubbish......now for the real story.... We kicked off the new year playing at Hot Stove, Cool Music, an annual charity event organized by World Champion Boston Red Sox owner, Theo Epstein. Sharing the stage with some of the Sox, Theo and the immortal Peter Gammons was a rush for things to come. January and February we readied our latest CD packaging for the printers. A Philadelphia based label, Steel Cage Records saw the band live and wanted to capture what they heard and put it put. We obliged. We threw a big party, bribed friends with free beer and pizza and subjected them to an afternoon of chaos and rock n roll.

March 7th, Steel Cage released, Smoke & Mirrors The Downbeat 5...LIVE....We celebrated at a CD release show with Holly GoLightly and a few days later we flew to Texas for SxSW. We played a show with the Cynics and Eve and the Exiles at our fave record shop, Antone's. Later that night we showcased with our friends from Boston, Muck and the Mires, and we hit the stage just before the Hoodoo Gurus. That was a long day and night but, it was a great gig, and a lot came out of it.

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