Here we go… 

This is my first blog entry for the KBG….The Kim Berly Group. 

Kim Berly…that’s me…or at least the extension of me that you may or may not know as the drummer... and singer of many songs... in the Stampeders. Many of you who are reading this are likely doing so because you know the history… and I thank you for being here. 

For those who do not know about the Stampeders here it is  www.stampeders.net 

Off the top, I am still and will continue to be a member of the Stampeders. I will be onstage with Ronnie and Rich whenever the Stampeders play. We’ve been together 50 years…what an amazing statistic…maybe we’ll do 60. The Stamps have been a huge part of my life. Having said that it must also be said that their schedule leaves me with a good deal of time on my hands. And you know what they say…the devil makes work for idle hands…(which is ridiculous…but we can get into that later)…and as much fun as it is, being in the Stampeders, there is really no collective impetus for doing anything new; so there's pretty much no chance of me getting any of the songs I am currently writing recorded and presented live with the Stamps. So… as much as I love my brothers…this is my time to shine…and I’M ONLY 69! 

Well I’m coming up on sixty-nine…July 4… and I’m starting a big new adventure and I’m going to write about it. The reason I’m going to write about it is two-fold. Firstly, because a blog can be a big deal…if nothing else it’s a ton of content…and , as we all know, CONTENT IS KING.  Well, maybe we don’t all know that. I know I didn’t… but now I do…kinda. Anyway, it became clear to me that if I didn’t get into the selling of this project no one would. 

The other reason for writing about the adventure is because it’s a public commitment.  I know this will be hanging around out there as a ready source of embarrassment should I cop out. 

So there you have it…Now I don’t mean to suggest that the progress of the KBG will be the only thing I’ll write about…I mean I may well fall down on my knees and beg for your help from time to time…in fact it’s likely…but the hub of it will be the band and the music… then again that will be the hub of my life now won’t it? 

But here’s the thing. It’s already so much fun. It’s fun seeing songs come into being. It’s amazing fun to play them in a band, sitting behind the kit at the center of all this present moment energy where all musicians become ageless. Ultimately that’s why I keep doing it …when many of my generation are tabulating how long they can live given the cash they’ve managed to stash. 

This is new territory for me. 

I’ve always had a manager or agent to do all the stuff that I need to do for myself now. I need to make the calls and do the online stuff…It’s almost like a day gig but until cash starts to flow…I’m the Man.  ‘I’m up for it’, he said, all the while messing his pants. 

But we do have some promotional possibilities, don’t we… at least in the ‘human interest’ category… I mean how many geriatric new rock bands are there? 

We’re a garage band with a mean age of 65…we’re Grand Punks… or Grampunks…yeah, I like that as a band descriptor…not much competition in the ‘key word’ battle. Maybe we should change the name?… Grampunks… 

Lemme know what you think 

So… so far we have social media more or less in place, the website up and running (but I know I need to work on it), we will be a few months finishing our first album (but there are six songs to listen to or download on the music page), we have a half-assed bio (tomorrow, tomorrow), and now… by god…we have a blog! 

Oh and I just sent out our first press release…so far Capital News in Kelowna has picked up on it. 

And oh yes…the band is getting bloody good. 

Hmmm…not bad ..not bad.