Out with the old - in with the new... year, that is.

After a long, busy, but enjoyable festive season, 2005 is but a memory. While most people are taking time to visit family or friends and going to parties of all kinds, The Pride is hard at work entertaining you. This, of course, is as it should be because we really like what we do. A case in point was the New Year's eve party we played for. We were at a new resto-bar in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu called Le Foyer Rouge. The people ate in the dining room and we were to perform in a reception hall on the other side of the entrance. You might think it would be difficult to get people out of their seats and up dancing after a big meal, especially when this means leaving your table and switching rooms. Undaunted, we started our first set with some high-energy music, skipping the usual warm-up songs. Before the first song was over the reception room was full of people dancing the night away. Samara and I kept this up, with only one 15 minute break, until 1:20 AM, ringing in the new year with cheers, excitement and a lot of sweat.

Meanwhile, back in Montreal, Brian and Kevin were bringing down the house at the Mirabel bar and wrapping up, not only the year, but the gig as well. Yes, sadly, we have ended our run at the Mirabel. The owners and I decided that 18 months was enough for now. We will be back, but for the time being we need to perform elsewhere, see some new faces and recharge our batteries.

2005 was a good year for the band, better than last, and we look forward to an even better, busier year in the coming 12 months. We'll be shooting a new demo video within 4-6 weeks and likely recording some new audio demos as well. The goal is to promote the larger (4 or more musicians) band to bigger clients. All too often the choice for the corporate client has been one of extremes - a solo DJ or an 8 piece (or more) band. There has been very little choice in-between until we started promoting The Pride. Vocally and musically superior to just about anything else out there, we offer a cost-effective alternative that suits the mid-sized corporate client perfectly. And if this last paragraph reads like an advertisement… that's because it is! It's my blog and I can advertise or brag as I see fit. So there.

Finally, The Pride would like to wish everyone a terrific year in 2006 with much happiness and prosperity and all the other usual clichés. Go out, have fun, support live entertainment whenever possible.

Marc C.