4.24.08: http://www.myspace.com/niterailband has been updated, and will be a more reliable website. It includes live clips, blogs about our reunion and new playlist, as well as updates on gigs, members, and other projects.
4.24.08: http://www.myspace.com/niterailband has been updated, and will be a more reliable website.
4.24.08: http://www.myspace.com/niterailband has been updated, and will be a more reliable website.
4.18.08: We'll be at Neumann's in North St. Paul the first Sunday of every month this summer from 4pm-8pm. Dates include May 4th, June 1st, July 6th, and August 3. Come check out the new tunes and new faces playing with the band!
4.17.08: BIG NEWS!!!
NiteRail is again taking bookings! While we are always capable of delivering a face-melting blues show, we have also worked out a totally new ROCK show! This show includes classic and contemporary hits that are gauranteed to get people on the dance floor.
For those interested in booking NiteRail as a rock band or checking out a sample playlist, please contact us at niterail@niterail.com.
Look for more info soon!!!
1.10.08: Want to get a hold of someone in the band??? You can still get a hold of any of us through the band email, niterail@niterail.com. If you are a MySpace user, you can also find Mike and James's personal sites. We'd love to hear from you. Take care!
10.22.07: Ug. Well, we've come a bit derailed as Korey has chosen to fancy a better-paying gig in town for a while. If you've met Korey, you know his passion for the music and improvisation (and all of our passion) is the very core of NiteRail.
When we met online only three years ago, we never imagined that in only a few years we would've played countless shows in dozens of cities in Minnesota and Wisconsin and shared the stage with so many National, Regional and amazing local acts.
Our only official release, Back & Forth was recorded only one year after we met and was written almost entirely in the studio over two days. We're flattered that it has sold hundreds of times over and has got as much college, independent and internet radio support as it has. and we want to thank all of you who have supported us, followed us around, sent us comments, helped us load our gear, bought us shots, yelled for an encore, or even played with us on stage.
As things get back on track, together or apart, we'll keep you posted. We'll continue to welcome comments on both this page and our mySpace page and hope to see you all again someday!
10.22.07: Ug. Well, we've come a bit derailed as Korey has chosen to fancy a better-paying gig in town for a while. If you've met Korey, you know his passion for the music and improvisation (and all of our passion) is the very core of NiteRail. When we met online only three years ago, we never imagined that in only a few years we would've played countless shows in dozens of cities in Minnesota and Wisconsin and shared the stage with so many National, Regional and amazing local acts. Our only official release, Back & Forth was recorded only one year after we met and was written almost entirely in the studio over two days. We're flattered that it has sold hundreds of times over and has got as much college, independent and internet radio support as it has. and we want to thank all of you who have supported us, followed us around, sent us comments, helped us load our gear, bought us shots, yelled for an encore, or even played with us on stage. As things get back on track, together or apart, we'll keep you posted. We'll continue to welcome comments on both this page and our website and hope to see you all again someday!
9.18.07: For our fans in the Winona area, we'll be at the L-Cove in nearby Minnesota City this Saturday. The weather should be absolutely wonderful for our outdoor set! Note the early start time too. We go on at 6pm.
9.10.07: Congratulations to Korey and Andrea on their recent engagement! The news was officially announced at last week's Neumann's gig.
8.31.07: This is long overdue, I know. First we hope all of our friends in the Rochester/Winona area are now dry and safe. We've only heard from a few of you, and we hope all is well!
Our Summerfest set was the biggest high point of the summer (and the perfect ending to a long weekend). We had Christine handle the singing on all but a a couple of songs and the rest of the band was really on fire. We hope to continue the trend next week at Neumann's!
We only have a couple of gigs in September. We are hoping to use the rest of the month for working on new material. We've found the direction we're going to head as a five piece, and now is the time to work out all the kinks. See ya soon!
7.17.07: If you've been over to the dates page lately, you'll notice a lot of private parties. For any of you interested in having the band for a corporate gig, wedding, party, or any other type of non-club event, give us a call or shoot us an e-mail.
7.13.07: Tomorrow night we're at Neumann's. This is our first official Cities area gig with Christine handling most the vocal duties. If you saw our short set their in June, you ain't seen nothing yet!!! We'll also have freebies to give away just for showing up. Come on over and see history in the making!
7.6.07: If you've seen us in the past couple weeks, you may have seen us with Christine Catherine on vocals. She's a wonderful talent that we couldn't resist adding to the line-up (as we mentioned in the last post). If you're not familiar with her, we know you'll love her: Christine's MySpace page.
In related news, big thanks to everyone who came out to Central Park in Owatonna last night! The crowd was great and the weather was gorgeous. Extra thanks to those who bought a CD. (We probably should have mentioned that Christine doesn't appear on it, but she'll be featured on our next project.)
6.25.07: Thanks to all of of you who made it out to see us this weekend. Neumann's was definetly the perfect way to end a very long weekend for the band. Christine joined us on vocals for a private party and the Neumann's set. What a great addition to the line-up!!!
6.20.07: You only have four chances to catch us this weekend. Yes, only four! We'll be in the Cities Friday night (Hat Trick Lounge), Saturday night (private party), and pretty much all day Sunday (Coffee Grounds and Neumann's). Check the dates page for all the info.
6.6.07: While our web wizard [Konr] was in France, contracted through the Direction Centrale des Renseignement Généraux and the French Minister of Interior to colaberate with the French police in infiltrating plans for a heist at the Louvre Museum, our website went a couple weeks without much-needed updates and revisions to our dates. Now he's back after defeating the bad guys and has ixnayed the glitch in our system. Browse the dates page and see for yourself.
4.17.07: Twin Cities fans unite!!! We'll be at the Hat Trick Lounge in St. Paul this Saturday! It's our last club date before Konr's European vacation. That's right, you'll have to wait a whole month to see us again...unless you come to the Sunday night jam at the Inferno!
4.14.07: Just a reminder that we will be hosting an open jam in Mankato tomorrow night. The jam start at 7pm and is at the Inferno Tavern. Check the dates page for all the details!
4.4.07: Big congrats to Korey for winning the store finals in Guitar Center's King of the Blues guitar competition last night. He was among five other very talented finalists, and will next proceed to the District finals on April 18. We wish him the best of luck!
3.28.07: Just a quick note for any of you who have seen the 7th Street Entry calendar for this week: We will NOT be performing there (as it is listed). We have repeatedly asked them to remove the listing. Hope this doesn't screw anyone up!
3.26.07: The open jam at The Inferno Tavern has been going very well. We will continue on with a weekly jam through the month of April. As always, check the dates page for all our show and jam updates.
3.20.07: The dates page has been updated. There are still four chances to catch us this March including a brand new date at the Midwest Wireless Center!
3.16.07: Just a reminder that Mike will be on both "The Morning Show with Brad and Sara", and "Southern MN Mid Day", this Monday, March 19th! Details and links to the streaming audio can be found on our dates page. See ya at the open jam Sunday!!!
3.1.07: DEAD OF WINTER JAM POSTPONED Due to the awful weather, yet another gig has been canceled. The good news is that the same line-up will be making the gig up on March 23rd. Mike will not be on The Dog tomorrow morning. The band will be on air later in the month. Stay tuned!
2.27.07: Join our very own Mike Fugazzi on The Dog (96.7 fm, Mankato) this Friday, March 2. He will be on the phone with "The Morning Show with Brand and Sarah" starting at about 8:15am. Along with playing a cut or two from "Back and Forth", Mike will be discussing the Dead of Winter Jam, NiteRail's spring tour dates, and the new open jam at the Inferno. Listen to the streaming audio free at http://www.thedogfm.com/
2.24.07: Due to the bad weather, both of this weekend's gigs have been cancelled. We will be back at Kathy's and Pub 500 very soon. Check that dates pages after Saturday to find out when these gigs are being made up.
2.12.07: OPEN JAM. Almost every show we play, people will introduce themselves as guitar players, drummers, etc. and a delightful conversation ensues. But it always ends at that. Now that's going to change, as we're trying out an Open Jam at Mankato's new Inferno club. To our knowledge this will be southern Minnesota's only Open Jam. If people show enough interest, it's something we may keep around. Let us know what you think and if you'd be interested in joining us on stage with your harp, banjo, flute, guitar, bass, voice whatever. We'll attempt any song! Any style of music! Have your friends come and watch, and have a drink with us on March 11. More details.
1.29.07: After many long hours of jamming and eating burritos, we're proud to announce we'll debuting new original material throughout our shows in February.
1.5.07: For our Mankato area fans, check out today's Mankato Free Press. NiteRail has a feature article in the Currents. We also added it to our articles page. Enjoy!
1.2.07: 
2006 Year in Review
Well there's a lot to cover here, and little space to do so, but first we aught to thank everyone who came to a show, and double thank everyone who brought their friends. Without the support, we don't play. Anywhere. Here's a list of our 2006 moments most worthy of mentioning:
- Released our debut EP, over 400 sold
- Loads of shows:
55 club shows, 3 outdoor festivals,
2 indoor festivals, 2 double-header dates,
even 1 mall parking lot show! - Opened for Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Chris Duarte and the Gin Blossoms
- Expanded our territory east, into Wisconsin
- 58,601 web page requests from over 15,000 distinct hosts
- Over a 1,000 Google searches for "NiteRail"
- Placed 2nd in the regional Road to Memphis competition
- Celebrated our one-year (gigging) anniversary with 4 gigs in 3 cities--11 hours of performing and 8 hours of driving...our busiest weekend yet!
12.15.06: Today is the day! December 15th marks our last show of the year. We'll be off till the New Year in order to celebrate with family and friends. Tonight's show will feature some brand spankin' new music from the band, so come out and let us know what you think. Happy Holidays!!!
12.3.06: Keepin' it fresh! You'll notice some various "freshenings" throughout the site and additional content. We updated our bio and setlist as well. So if you haven't been to the other pages in a while, take a look. If anything doesn't look right or acts funky on your computer, please send us an email explaining it. Thanks and enjoy!
11.27.06: Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Most recently, we've had a lot extra to be thankful for. Two weeks ago today, James and his wife, Jessica, welcomed their newborn daughter, Bria, to their family. He mentioned, he "won't pressure her into music, however we did just celebrate her first odd-metered poly-rhythm." What a kid.
Also, as many of you noticed, we opened for Willie "Big Eyes" Smith this past weekend. Together, we packed Hooligans with a crowd of 300+. A mini-comeback of sorts after a month home with our families, and the night was one of our most memorable. We've got a lot of people to thank and a few extra shout-outs: KMSU fm, Gully, Mark, Rico, Mr. Smith & his band, Hooligans, Red Cooler, Stuart, Brian, Terry, Joel, Sue, Benny, G-ma & pa Schneeberg and dozens others we can't fit here. It was humbling to see how many new & old friends of the band showed up (and several from great distances) and shared the love for the blues.
11.7.06: Don't miss our big come-back from a month off on Sat. Nov. 25, when we open for the legendary Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and his band. No, not the Fresh Prince, this is the long-time drummer for Muddy Waters! A Chicago blues original, he will be supporting his new album, Way Back, that features him on Harmonica. This is a cannot-miss show...see us and one of our heros. Admission by voluntary donation! See ad.
11.6.06: As some of you have heard, we'll be on a short hiatus from late October to late November while James and his wife enjoy the birth of their first child. Yes it has a drum already, and no it's not born yet. Also, we'll be working some more new material and freshening up our song list a bit. Lonely without us? Shoot us an email!
10.7.06: Big thanks to Blueshammer at Blue Monday Monthly, Del and the staff at the Eagles Club in Owatonna and to everyone who made it out to their first ever Barbeque and Blues fundraiser. It was a honor to be a part of it and the folks around the Owatonna/Faribault area are some of the nicest we've ever known. We'll try to get that way more often...srpead the word!!! An official "Hello" to Swingin Dick, Tom, Dave, Stewart, Vicki and all the others who came out.
8.29.06: This last weekend was the last of our festival dates this season---Mankato's Summer Soltice Festival, Blues' first Crawdad Festival, Chatfield's Western Days, and now finally Mankato's first Old Town Summerfest. If you caught us last Saturday, hopefully you got a chance to check out some of the other great acts we shared the stage with, including Ross William Perry, Doc J & The Smith Brothers, Courtney Yasmineh, and the Winos (featuring our very own Mike Fugazzi on his shiney new mouth organ). We wrapped up the night with a blues jam to end all blues jams, with Korey, Mike, Ross, the Smith Bros and others tag-teaming a few tunes. And let's not forget Scotty "Mustang Sally" Schultz! Thanks all, and we'll see you soon.
7.12.06: Hey hey. This month finds us in the Rochester, MN area. It's a town that is new to the band--outside Korey growing up there :) Send friends and loved ones out to see us so we don't feel like such strangers!
Also, we just want to remind people that we "review" each show and archive it on our Dates page. You can find a show you were at and read our opinion on it. Lastly, we encourage you to send your own pics and/or stories our way. We'll be posting a bunch of new ones soon, so shoot us an email. Here's some pictures and very nice words about us at the Road to Memphis competition last month: 1, 2.
6.21.06: This weekend was our one-year (gigging) anniversary and what better way to celebrate than play 4 gigs in 3 cities? That's about 11 hours of performing and 8 hours of driving. Thanks to all who saw us along the way and the kind words so many of you shared. (Also, remember to sign our Guestbook.) We'll be nursing the blisters on our fingers (or in Mike's case, lips) over the next couple of weeks and be back with fury in July. Here's some pics from this Father's Day: Mankato Solstice Festival, Medford Outlet Mall (c/o Big Dick Stephenson).
6.3.06: It's been a while... Those on our mailing list know that we've been busy writing and rehearsing new material. And now we're begining a busy summer. 8 gigs in June, 5 in July. We'll be hitting most of our favorite towns. Picture our summer target zone as being a giant isosceles triangle—the Twin Cities, Mankato, LaCrosse, and everywhere in between. Hope to see you all out at one of our stops!
4.7.06: Surveys? What surveys? That's what we hear more often than not about our individual online surveys buried somewhere in our bio. I guess they've been too hiden and until now, didn't even include Konr. Check'em out. It'll be worth your five minutes. And to spare you some digging: Ness, Schneeberg, Hicks and Fugazzi . Enjoy.
3.23.06: March has been busy for us. Seven gigs, including our Wisconsin debut, opening for national act The Chris Duarte Group and being featured in The Dead of Winter Jam in Mankato which drew almost 1000 people. In keeping things fresh we'll be retooling our live show over the next couple months, and hopefully will have a LOT of new stuff to offer. Lastly, take a minute to check out our MySpace page. Various pics, music, comments and other info there. myspace.com/niterailband.
2.16.06: Saturday, Feb. 18: Our 30th gig! Our return home to Minneapolis! Most importantly, our Twin Cities CD RELEASE PARTY! It's time for our debut's official unveiling at The The Poodle Club. This is an event not to miss; If you haven't seen us live yet, now's your chance. We'll have a few surprises and a special guest. On top of that, we'll be recording this show. Be a part of our live recorded audience! Visit our Dates page for more details.
1.25.06: Last weekend was a busy one. And successful. We played two shows with multiple bands on the bill; Static Magazine's Birthday Party and a KMSU fm fundraiser. The latter doubled as our Mankato CD release party, and we packed the house. Together we raised $765 for KMSU fm, and sold many CDs ourselves. Thanks to everyone who made it out to either show and to all the great musicians we shared the stage with. Also, Static gave our CD 4 out of 5 stars—read the article on our articles page. And The Free Press featured us again—this time on the front page of the Currents section—in their coverage of the fundraising event. We'll be uploading that and TWO more new articles soon.
1.12.06: We're in the process of expanding the website as our needs continue to grow. You may notice "coming soon" on some pages. We'll be adding content slowly over the next week. In other news, we've got Mankato and Minneapolis CD Release parties coming up. We had neat press recently including an interview on KMSU fm, a feature article in the Mankato Free Press, and we had first place for "most plays in a week" on MyLocalBands.com.
12.24.05: Ladies and Gentlemen, our $5, 6-song debut EP:
11.15.05: Two shows left (Neumann's in North St.Paul and Patrick's on Third in St.Peter) before we take a couple weeks off to focus on the studio. We've been recording on and off this month, and will continue through the first weekend in December. We're hoping to have a finished EP before the new year. Check back for more news.
10.28.05: Our first Halloween show! Check out some spooky funked-up blues this Saturday at the Embassy in St. Peter. We may have a few trick-or-treats up our sleeve. Dressed up or down, we hope to see you there.
9.29.05: How about a whole page of new photos, a couple newly uploaded songs, and an updated dates page? We'll also be putting more stuff up next week. We'll be playing some brand new songs in Mankato and Minneapolis in the next couple weekends, and we'd love to know what you think!
9.12.05: Our own Grain Belt Premium Commercial, as seen in the Sound Unseen Festival in Minneapolis this week. Deceit, violence, blues and beer all with in 30 seconds!
9.1.05: Wow. Lots more gigs for you to check out, including one this weekend at Buster's in Mankato. Check our Dates page for more exciting info. In other news, we're working out an opportunity to record some in mid-September and hoping to cut an entire album this winter.
8.17.05: Okay, we lied. We will be doing another show this month--Harvey's in Carver on Friday August 26th. In other news, we recently wrapped up a soundtrack for a Grain Belt Premium commercial. We're pretty excited about it; Deceit, violence, blues and beer all with in 30 seconds. More info soon!
8.9.05: One more show this month before we take some time off to write some new music. We'll be debuting new songs all the time for the rest of the year, with hopes to go into the studio this winter. Catch us this Saturday, August 13th, at the Viking on the Minnepolis West Bank. Come stop in and chat.
8.2.05: We'll be splitting Minneapolis in two this weekend as we bring our grooves to The Steak Knife in Northeast (Dinkytown) and then to The Poodle Club in the South. We're new at these clubs and need your support! See our dates page for all the info.
7.19.05: Just posted three new dates...and just for you, they're all cover charge free! And a big thanks to the studs in Zen Garage for letting us take the stage with them last Friday. Lastly, we've got new original material on the way. Stay tuned.
6.21.05: Video is here! Two songs from our ShamRocks show on the 16th. Their permanent home will be in on the Music page, but for now: Crosscut Saw Small (4.4 Mb) / Large (15 Mb), Too Tired Small (6.1 Mb) / Large (19.5 Mb).
6.20.05: We just landed a gig at Nuemann's Bar! A moment we've been dreaming of!
6.17.05: ENCORE PERFORMANCE TONIGHT! That's right, ShamRocks has asked us back for another night of music. Thanks to everyone who came out last night. If you missed us then, now is your chance. (We'll be giving away FREE stuff again as well!)
6.2.05: Posters, banners, newsletters...all leading up to our next two June gigs. We've been hard at work at getting our name out there. Stay tuned for more dates and more music. We just put up another tune on the music page. Hope you enjoy.
5.9.05: Ladies and Gentleman, we finally have a working guestbook...and a mailing list! Things are in order. Life is good. Enjoy.