The Viper will be playing his first full shows with His Famous Orchestra since last November, with two shows this weekend in Champaign, IL.
Saturday, July 10, The Viper and His Famous Orchestra will be playing at Mike N’ Molly’s in support of a solo/mixed set by Edward Burch, on hand to celebrate the launch of an album of new Jay Bennett material that Edward helped complete. Kicking at the Perfumed Air will be available for a free download beginning the same day as this show beginning July 10 from jaybennett.org. The show will start at approximately 11:00 p.m. following the festivities of the Champaign Music Festival (with which we are not officially affiliated – we are doing our own wildcat celebrating of Champaign’s 150th Anniversary). And the show is free. So come for the Hum and stay for the Viping. (click here for the Facebook event page)
Sunday, July 11, The Viper and His Famous Orchestra will also be doing two kid-friendly sets at the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum in Champaign. The music will start at 1:30; and the meat of the music sandwich will be a build-your-own-instrument instructional session with The Viper and His Famous Orchestra. One lucky child will go home with a freshly put-together washtub bass. (click here for the Facebook event page)
Also worth noting is the fact that Edward Burch will be doing a series of afternoon in-store appearances in the area, including Laurie’s Planet of Sound in Chicago on Sunday, July 4; Exile on Main Street in Champaign on Saturday, July 10; and Euclid Records in St. Louis on Sunday, July 11.
Here’s a taste – here’s a scratch track I recorded for the other members of the Orchestra to use for practicing this week. It’s a party in the U.S.A. – from St. Louis, to Chicago, to Savoy, to Madison, to Palatine, to Milwaukee.
The Viper & His Famous Orchestra 