Hello Friends. I have been asked about hotels in the area of Valdosta, GA near Rock N Rodeo by a few friends. Here is a google link to search results for hotels near Rock N Rodeo.

HOTEL SEARCH RESULTS

Also, ticket prices to get in the door at Rock N Rodeo are $15.00 - 21 & up, $20.00 - 18 & up. There will be party favors and a Balloon drop with random balloons that have CASH INSIDE! I been told that if you do not purchase advance tickets then get there at when the doors open at 9p.m.!!!

Well look Forward to ringing in the new year with you all!

If we don't party with you tomorrow night then we hope you have a blast and stay safe.

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Please Help 6 yr. old Mason Morgan

Hello friends, everyone knows that this is the season for giving and spending time with loved ones. For our friend Jessica; the one she loves most needs our help. 6 year old Mason Morgan has seen more doctors and had more surgery than most of us will have in a lifetime all before he was even two years old.

He was born with only ten percent of his intestines. Doctors put him on medication, and that damaged his liver. His only chance was to have a; multiple-organ transplant. He had six organs replaced at 21 months old and set medical records for recovery!

Now at the age of 6 they found out he has Lymphoma - a type of cancer. Doctors began treatment for Mason a few weeks ago in Miami but they just found out the cancer is spreading. His family is having a hard time paying for everything because Medicaid only pays for so much and it certainly does not cover the traveling expenses incurred back and forth from Savannah to Miami.

Everyone has had to tighten their belts these days and are struggling to afford gifts for their loved ones...Just imagine for moment what it would be like to be struggling to afford the greatest and most important gifts for your child; good health and LIFE! If you would like to help young Mason there is an account set up in his name, Mason Morgan at Bank Of America. If we all give a little it could make a difference for this little boy.

To learn more, you may contact his mother Jessica on MySpace at www.myspace.com/jessicalaboy

Here is an article from 2004 about Mason and his six organ transplant.
http://www.wtoc.com/global/Story.asp?s=1808121

Thanks,

Hans - Big Engine

Rick Money Benefit Concert

Big Engine is putting on a benefit concert for our first sound man and good friend; Rick Money on Wednesday, October 29^th at Box Seats on Blanding Blvd. in Jacksonville, FL. Rick passed away from natural causes on Saturday, October 11^th. The purpose of this benefit concert is to raise money for Rick's family to cover his burial expenses. Throughout the night, we will be taking donations for Rick's family. Members of his family will be there and we will present all the money to them that night. Big Engine, Wicked Lezlee and Blistur will be performing. In addition, former members of Big Engine, Steve Wheeler, Ashton Geohagan, Banner Thomas and even Ryan Williams will be there. Ryan is flying from Los Angeles! They will be performing songs from Big Engine's first album entitled "Mechanically Inclined" released in 1992 as well as a few of their favorite covers. Rick (Cuz) Trowell, whom was the other half of Big Engine's original road crew will also be there!

There is NO COVER CHARGE. The show will start at 7p.m. and continue until 12 a.m.

Rick Money Passed Away

This was an e-mail sent out to everyone on our e-mail list. 

It is with a heavy heart that I send everybody this email.

Big Engine's first sound man, very close friend and former room mate, Rick Money died Saturday at his apartment in Orlando from what appears to be natural causes. Rick had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Rick was a friend to anyone he met. He was also a very talented, dedicated, and hard working man with a wonderful sense of humor.

Rick was a large person and personality. He would often times get up at karaoke, slam a pitcher of beer, and floor the crowd with his version of "I Am Woman". That of course was before he learned that he was diabetic. We had so many good times together and helped each other through some bad times too.

Many of my favorite stories to tell involve things that we went through on the road together. I will miss him like a brother and he will always be in my heart.

I have been in contact with Rick's family and we will hopefully be able to organize a benefit to help with his final expenses in the near future. I will keep you all posted.

Please say a prayer for the Money family!

 

 

 

Tony Mikus

Tony Mikus' Birthday Bash Tonight

Come on out to Brewsters-The Pub in Jacksonville, FL tonight; Saturday, September 20th to celebrate Tony and all our other late September friends and fans' birthdays. We start playing at 9:30. Check out our show schedule for more details.

Show schedule corrections for website

Hello everyone. Some of you have noticed the dates on the show schedule were listed on the wrong days. The mistakes were noticed by us a few days ago and corrected. If the schedule still appears messed up on your browser then you may need to click "reload", "refresh" or empty your cache. Once you have done that; the corrected show schedule should appear on your screen.  

Thank you for the calls and e-mails pointing this problem out to us. It is always appreciated. Sometimes we don't catch the mistakes so quickly.

Welcome to The Roar of Big Engine!

This is a new addition to our redesigned Big Engine website. Stop by regularly to find out whats new!
There are some new additions to our website that we think you might like.

• We now have a music player located in the top left corner of our home page. Just click the Play Button. You can do a lot with this player so click on some of the tabs.
• We now have a Big Engine News Letter located in the contact section. Make sure you sign up!
• You can help Promote Big Engine! Go grab the codes here for our Banners & Widgets and post them everywhere you can!
  

Leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts on our new website.
Thanks for your friendship and support!

2008 Sturgis Bike Rally Report

Hello friends, Big Engine had an amazing Sturgis Rally this year despite overall rally attendance being down. We started a day early this time and pulled off 11 shows in 10 days! During that time we saw old friends, long time fans and other familiar faces from the Midwest, West Coast and Canada. One of those familiar faces came up and said that he witnessed the now infamous giant Jack Daniels Bottle Tip Jar incident at the 2004 rally. His said his friends did not believe him but we were there to confirm it!

We made a lot of new friends and fans as well. I met one girl who would drive 80 miles to Sturgis everyday after work to see us play and then drive 80 miles back every night! She made it to 6 shows in a row and managed to bring a few friends along! I also met a guy who bought our CD that used to live in Orange Park, FL just minutes away from my house...Small world!
During this trip, we made time to party with friends, see some cool shows and be tourists too. What cool shows you ask?...Tony, Benny, Ryan and I, along with our good friend Rambo; got free V.I.P. passes to see KISS at Rock N' The Rally! Kiss certainly had a good V.I.P. package for the fans but it did not include getting to meet the band. Am I disappointed one bit? Nope. It was awesome from beginning to end! To this day; KISS has never disappointed me. I still believe they put on the best rock show period. This was such a big event that South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds flew in to Sturgis to come out and declare that August 4^th, 2008 was "KISS Rock N' Roll Day" in South Dakota.

I was invited by our friend Rambo to hang with him and a couple girls at the 3 Doors Down with guest Finger Eleven concert at The Buffalo Chip. That was a very good show too. The coolest part was that Rambo had been hooked up with All Access Passes for the show! We got to meet and talk with members of Finger Eleven and then Rambo introduced us to NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne and Top Fuel driver Brandon Bernstein. After the show he introduced us to a few of the guys from 3 Doors Down and they were pretty nice guys. Thanks again Rambo; I had a blast!

Our buddy Ditch and his crew from 101.5 KGB The Classic Rock Experience was back at the Full Throttle Saloon covering the Rally. One night Ditch had a little liquid courage and got on stage to sing a KISS tune with us. Good Times! The next day, Ryan and I each got to do a radio spot introducing a song during Ditch's broadcast. ~ Thanks again Ditch, Matt and crew! ~ Afterwards, Ryan, Tony and I hit an Oxygen Bar at the Full Throttle and it was really invigorating. The massage that came with it helped to ease some muscle tension as well! ~ Thanks Kathy and Mike! ~

One day, Ryan and I made a trip to see Mt. Rushmore which is an awesome site that I highly recommend that you check out if you have never seen it. The band and I have made a trip to see this inspiring monument every time that we have been to Sturgis. I will never forget seeing the lighting ceremony that takes place every night during our first trip back in 2004. Seeing the monument light up as "God Bless the USA" played during the finale made me feel proud to be an American. Of course Ryan had never been to Sturgis and Mt. Rushmore so all of this was a new experience for him. I think he dug it.

The first day of our drive home, we made a little detour to show Ryan the Badlands. This place really has to be seen to be truly appreciated. It's just so different from the rest of the South Dakota landscape. Imagine traveling through hundreds of miles of beautiful rolling hills, passing lush green fields next to bright amber ones with recently bailed hay. They are occasionally separated by small watering holes surrounded by Horses and Antelope. Then, a cloud casts a shadow on a field. Its beautiful and picturesque much like a post card.

When we arrived at the park that day there were Prairie Dogs at play outside the park entrance. - I'll bet you girls are saying aww, how cute!.. They were… We proceed into the park where you can kind of see the Badlands in the distance; outcropped from the earth without warning. Once you are there, you find yourself surrounded by a mostly arid, unfriendly looking place where softer rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively erroded by wind and water. There are canyons, narrow ravines, v-shaped gullies and sharply erroded buttes. There are pinnacles and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. Not to mention fossil beds. I think Tony best described much of it as looking like the surface of Mars! ~ Thanks Wikipedia and Joan Steiner, Badlands National Park for help with the geological portions of that description. ~

Despite the arid, unfriendliness; South Dakota's Badlands are strangely beautiful and awe-inspiring! Other than the occasional passing car or motorcycle it's quiet and serene there. There are layers of different colors on the pinnacles which are everywhere. Oddly though, there is an area where the rock is all white. It's all really spactacular…but weird.

Anyway, we arrived safely at Tony's house at 3:30 a.m. on the 12^th. We had a very fun, successful and memorable trip but it always feels good to come home. 11 shows in 10 days while staying in a plywood shed trying to sleep as Harleys and Boss Hogs crank up and rumble combined with nearly 3,800 total miles of traveling in a 4 door pickup truck will wear a man out!

We have taken a few days off to recover and get our daily lives back on track. We will get back to rocking you next week. We look forward to kicking that off by playing for our hometown friends Monday evening and Thursday night. Those shows are directly followed by a show in Valdosta and one in Tybee Island! Check the schedule and come Party like a Rock Star with us again!

Thanks for your friendship and support,
Hans

Big Engine On MUZAK

Thanks to Dave Clark at MUZAK, "On June 5th the world got to hear Big Engine". Those were Dave's words as he presented Big Engine with a plaque to commemorate the event. The satellite music company has added Big Engine music to their playlist for the "Varsity" channel alongside artist like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Eagles, David Bowie, The Clash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Matchbox 20, etc.
Big Engine can't thank Dave Clark and all the others from MUZAK enough. Tony has been receiving emails and phone calls from Seattle to St. Louis and people all over the US that have heard Big Engine being played on MUZAK! If you have MUZAK at your work, tune into the Varsity channel and listen up for Big Engine! You can check out this link. Click on MUSIC and select Varsity from the What's Playing Now menu and you might see Big Engine on there too.
www.muzak.com

Special Announcements about "Bad Blood" Movie

Most of you already know that "Party Like A Rock Star" from our CD entitled Rock n Roll Machine will be featured in an upcoming Horror film called "Bad Blood". Recently, The Director; Conrad Janis contacted Big Engine to let us know that they were excited to have our song in the film as they felt it complimented the scene nicely.

1. Bad Blood will be screening at the West Hollywood International Film Festival on Tuesday, July 29th at 8:30 p.m. at the Regency Theater.
2. Bad Blood will be released in the fall of 2008 (possibly Halloween)

The West Hollywood International Film Festival's "Bad Blood" page has a movie trailer featured on its page accessible by scrolling down and clicking "extras". If you would like to see additional movie Trailers visit Conrad Janis' YouTube Channel.