Nu Shooz July News

Hi Friends,

First of all, we want to say thank you to all the folks who tuned in to our 40th anniversary Facebook Live party. The response was terrific, and people asked some great questions. (We successfully answered the question: Beatles or Stones.] Since you all couldn't fit into our hotel room in San Antonio, TX, this was the next best thing!

If you missed it, the whole enchilada is on our FB page. Just click on the video below to watch. Comments are still being taken!

Here we're raising a glass to thank YOU for a fabulous 40 years of funk and fun.

Our last three Freestyle Explosion shows of the summer are coming up in July. All of them are a bit closer to home this time — in California. If you're anywhere near San Jose, Rancho Mirage, or Anaheim, just click on the buttons in the sidebar for more info. We'd love to see you there!

Kampai!

Valerie & John

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P.S. A little shameless commerce. You could be the first person on your block to rock the official Nu Shooz 40th Anniversary T-Shirt. Suitable for all occasions, and crazy with style. Just click here to be magically taken to our store.

NU SHOOZ Summer News!

Hey Everybody,

Forty years ago, what was happening? Jimmy Carter was President. The most popular baby names were Michael and Jennifer. And the World's inventors brought us the Walkman and Rollerblades.

AND a little band from Portland, Oregon was wobbling on baby legs. Tha’s right — JUNE 21st IS THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST NU SHOOZ GIG.

The four original members, Jim Hogan, Larry Haggin, John Smith, and the late Randy Givens, played at Colonel Summers Park in Portland, Oregon. It was a different band back then. (The horns, congas, and backup singers were still a year away.)

To celebrate this milestone, we're going to do a FACEBOOK LIVE hangout after our show in San Antonio, TX on Saturday, June 22nd, and we'd love for you to join us. You can find our official FB page HERE. More updates on that later!

So, what was happening forty years ago?
Well, here’s a playlist of the top twenty songs on the charts in 1979. 

It was a different world, that's for sure! Thanks for being on the journey with us.

Valerie & John

P.S. We’ve got shows!

We've got Freestyle Shows! We'll be sharing the stage with Stevie B., Exposé, Lisa Lisa and more on Alan Beck’s Freestyle Explosion Tour. For more info about the shows plus lineup and ticket information — just head to our calendar HERE.

Hope to see you there!

Spring News: The Tour Begins! Plus Valerie & John's Trip to a Mosque

Rehearsal time.

Here we are... in the present tense, rehearsing for an upcoming batch of shows to kick off our summer tour. Our last concert was in November on Guam. (We were traveling with The Jets and there was a typhoon going on.) Quite memorable.

Coming up in March and April are some Freestyle concerts in San Carlos AZ, Sacramento CA, Miami FL and Las Vegas NV. You can find out more about our schedule on our website HERE

Finally, in response to the tragic shooting in New Zealand last week, some folks up in Canada started a campaign called #VisitAMosque. We were made aware if it by our Toronto friend Keith Laidman. He and his wife Michelle have an interesting website called Discover Hit Music that's worth a visit.

Anyway, we looked up the closest mosque to our house and went over for Friday afternoon prayers. During the service, the overwhelming feeling was one of peace. In fact, the word Islam means peace. Afterward, several members of the mosque came over to talk with us and one of them was an old friend we've known for over 30 years. Everyone made us feel so welcome. A great experience — we recommend it!

OK... that's all for now.

See you somewhere down the road!

xo

 

Valerie and John

As We Turn the Page... Some Love for Our Band ❤️

Every era has its beautiful moments. There have been many incarnations of the Nu Shooz band since our first gig back in the summer of 1979. We want to celebrate the fun we’ve had over the last five years with our current line-up. Thank you Gary, Fountaine, Margaret Linn, Tracey Harris, Haley Horsfall, Tim Jensen, Paul Mazzio and Johnny Riley for all your hard work and the joy you’ve brought to our lives onstage and off. Doing shows, rehearsing, and especially recording the ‘Bagtown’ album were a total blast.

Here’s a video we made of some of the highlights of the hang we’ve had since 2014.

Now it feels like the page is turning. The two of us will still be playing the hits for as long as you all want to hear them. Our first show of 2019 is just around the corner on March 30 near Phoenix, Arizona. (Check our website calendar for more dates near you.) There are new projects in the works; more about that later.

It’s a new era, and we can’t wait to see what’s in the next chapter. In the meantime…

Be well!

Love,

Valerie and John

November News

Hi Folks,

What an amazing year 2018 has been! Twenty-two cities in the U.S. and Canada, and last month a show on the lovely island of Guam with our pals, The Jets. (Thankfully, Typhoon Yutu just missed us!)

It's too early to know how next year is shaping up. In the meantime, the holidays are upon us! If you're looking for a gift for that Nu Shooz fan next door, we have a bright and shiny NEW MERCH STORE! There are nu designs for t-shirts, mugs and more...

 

But enough shameless commerce.

If you were at our show shows this year, thanks making 2018 so fun. And if you weren't... we hope to see you down the road. Here's our wish for a safe and happy holiday season full of food, friends, family, lots of cat videos (and no more political ads!)

Peace,


Valerie & John

Fall News 2018

Wow. What a summer! So many cities in so little time. So many experiences to remember. We wouldn't trade a single moment. (OK, well, maybe the one where John forgets his guitar pedals in the rental car, or when Valerie had us returning the rental car to a different airport than the one we were flying out of 😬.) But hey  we lived to tell the tale!

A big shout out to all the artists we got to hang out with on the ultimate camping trip and the fans who came out to see us. We miss you already!

Here are a couple of one minute videos with highlights from the Lost 80s Live tour, and the Freestyle Explosion Tour.

Lost 80s Live - so many cities in so little time - yet the experiences we had went deep and wide.

From east coast to west coast and everywhere in between, we've gotten to be a part of the 15th Anniversary Freestyle Explosion Tour sharing a lot of love with our friends and fans.

So... what's next?

We have TWO more shows that were just added this year. We'll be going to Guam with our pals the Jets for a show on October 27. (We toured with them back in '86.) And on November 10 we're in Santa Ana, CA for the Orange County Block Party. If you're in the neighborhood, we'd love to see you there.

We're so grateful that the songs we created all those years ago still bring people joy. We love it when you come dance and sing with us. You're the best!

Love,

Valerie & John

NU SHOOZ On The Road...

One of our favorite things about the shows we’ve been doing the last six years has to do with the people who make them happen - the people who take their hard-earned dollars and plunk them down on a ticket, get themselves to the venue, navigate the hurly-burly of the crowds and then sing and dance their booty’s off during the show.

Some of those people have been following us for years. Some are new to the 80s music craze. Quite a few are DJ’s who played the song back in the day - or are keeping it alive in their sets now. We are grateful to them all.

We don’t know how much longer we’ll be doing 80s thing, but what we DO know is that one of our favorite things about this moment is seeing the faces of the folks who’ve made it all possible.

So… if you’re planning on coming to see one of the shows we’re in - let’s meet up! We always try to make it out to the merch booth to say hello. If you’re on Twitter or FB - follow us and then check our feeds after our set. We’ll let you know when we’re on our way.

Hope to see you - in person - soon!

Love,

Valerie and John


P.S. Check out our show schedule HERE to see if we're playing near you.

P.S.S. And if you have a minute (literally), check out some of these 60 second videos we’ve created to say thank you to each of the cities we’ve played in. xo
 

NU SHOOZ On Tour

It’s almost summer and Nu Shooz touring season is about to begin!
We’ll be hitting the stage with some of our favorite bands this summer as the 80s party rolls on. If you live in Phoenix, Anaheim, Tucson, Santa Barbara, Detroit, Chicago, Coney Island, Brookville, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Austin, Dallas, Vancouver B.C., Las Vegas, Tampa, Montreal, or San Diego, we’ll be on your turf. MORE dates being added all the time. To find out if your city's on the list, head on over to our SHOWS page.

'Bagtown' Lives On!

Time flies doesn’t it? Just over a year ago we did a video shoot for the song ‘Bagtown’, the title cut from the album… (You guessed it)…’Bagtown.’ We shot the band in front of a green screen. Director Mike Wellins was behind the camera.

Malcolm Smith went to work building the town. That project took seven months, burned up many hot-glue guns, and filled about 30 square feet of our studio. The result of his labor was fantastic and magical beyond our wildest expectations. Mike came in and shot it from every possible angle.

Then it was time to take it down. We were sad. “Can’t we leave it up for just one more day? Or a week?“

Mike to the rescue again. He happens to be the proprietor of the FreakyButTrue Peculiarium, one of those institutions dedicated to keeping Portland Weird. He offered us a home for our beloved ‘Bagtown’ set, and came up with this beautiful presentation. ‘Bagtown’ is now under attack from Godzilla and Sharknado!

All is right with the world.

Happy Nu Year!

Dear Friends,

Whew, it's a brand Nu Year....2018, a tabula rasa, a blank slate waiting to be filled. Last year already feels like the distant past - much of it deserved to be swept into the dustbin of history. But there were good things too - golden summer evenings with our band mates playing for...you.

We want to thank you for hanging in there with us all these years (like Jack Benny, Nu Shooz turns 39 this summer.) There were so many great moments in 2017, and none of them would have been possible without your support of the music we make.

On the 80s front, 2018 is already shaping up to be a stellar year (who knew?) We've got shows planned for Miami FL, Phoenix AZ, Anaheim CA, Tucson AZ, Santa Barbara CA, Coney Island NY, Brooksville NY, Atlanta GA, Dallas TX, and San Diego CA. Most of these are already on our official calendar that you can visit HERE on our website. Please sign up for our newsletter and we'll keep you posted as shows are added. We hope to see you there!

So, welcome to 2018. A blank slate waiting to be filled. Let's get on with the show....at a theater near you.

Cheers,

Valerie and John