Marc Fain

   April has been a fairly busy month for us in the Rock Inc. camp. 3 shows this month, concluding with a stint at Red's Tavern in Imperial Missouri. Red's has a special place in my heart as I've spent alot of time there over the last couple of years between Rock Inc. and Carnival Of Sins. I was joking for a while that I had taken up a “residency” there lol. The turnout is always great, the staff has always taken care of us well and the energy is good.

   That night was no exception. Admittingly I was a little worried about this show coming up as I'd been dealing with some back problems the last couple of weeks so I wasn't sure how “mobile” I was gonna be that night. But as usual I had no need to worry because as soon as we start up on stage, the adrenaline kicks in & takes over & the only thing on my mind is how far can I push the envelope? Lol. Everybody was on fire musically that night. The other half of the rhythm section Ryan and I were locked in tight as usual, Jim was firing on all cynlinders on the guitar and Nancy led the charge with the vocals and the energy. We've had some still somewhat newer songs that we've been breaking in over the last few shows, like Lita Ford's “Kiss Me Deadly”, “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane (one of my personal favorite bass lines to play!), “Sky High Percentage” by Budgie and “Fool For The City” by Foghat to name a few. We're really hitting our stride with those numbers now as we've played em a few times & they go over well with the audience. 

   I had the chance to connect with a few people during the breaks that I hadn't seen in a minute so that's always a good thing, and as far as endurance I think all things considered I did pretty well. I was joking with Ryan about as we were coming to the middle section of “She Sells Sanctuary” that I was a little more cautious climbing up on the drum riser than usual but I made it. It was just a little more of a step down though afterwards than a leap that time, but oh well I still got off on it. 

   All in all it was a great night. Everybody had a great time, and as usual I was still so charged on the adrenaline afterwards that I didn't crash till after 5am, but so goes the life man! I'll report back in a couple weeks after out return to Borgetti's! 

   …over the course of the last couple of months since our last gig, I've come to realize some things. Mostly that I have to learn how to manage “downtime” better, because I felt like I was going crazy some days without having a show to look forward to. This must be just a slight taste of what it's like for the big boys, out touring for months or years at a time, and then trying to readjust to home life. Anway, I'm much happier on a stage. 

   Rock Inc. got to make our comeback at one of my favorite places to play, Kenny's Bar and Grill. Kenny's has always had a good atmosphere, and their stage and lights and sound setup is awesome! I always have to make sure I've got my energy saved up for that stage because there's lots of room to run lol. And this time was no exception. As always the “Entourage” of Rock Inc. showed up in full force that night, and it was great to see everyone again and get back into the groove of things. 

   I've found that the first set of the night there takes a little adjusting, for me at least if not for the whole band if for no other reason than we can hear everything pretty clear & we're surrounded by monitors and whatnot which we don't always have, so it's a little assualting to the senses at first. But once you get used to it it's like taking off in a plane. Better strap yourself in and enjoy the ride baby! I've also learned that no matter how much you rehearse during the week, there's always a different feel once you hit the stage. There might be some wrong notes here or there, but you just lock in with the band and roll through it. 

   We had the opportunity to bust into a few new songs we'd been working on for a bit, in the form of Foghat's “Fool For The City”, “Space Station #5” by Montrose, “Kiss Me Deadly” by Lita Ford and “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane. They all went over well with the crowd and everything felt pretty comfortable so that's always a good thing. Admittingly during the course of the night I was having a little trouble keeping the energy level up. But then there was a major influx of folks out on the dancefloor in front of the stage rockin' out and that's all I need to see and hear to kick things up a notch and we certainly did. By the end of the night we got alot of compliments from people and I was wrung out from flinging myself across the stage, but I wouldn't have it any other way. On to the next show at Hot Spot! 

   It's been said by many over the years that music can act as a healer, a repairer of the mind body and soul. There have been many occasions over the course of my career where that has been EXACTLY the case, and last night at 21 Rock was no exception. 

   The week leading up to the show quite honestly for the most part…had been a shitty one. It started out well enough in me getting back onto my regular routine between the gym and practice getting ready for the gig. But then as life has a way of doing sometimes it will throw us a curveball. That Tuesday I found out that a very dear and long time friend had passed away over the past weekend, and really knocked me for a loop as well as many other friends we had in common. Grief has a way of doing that. I'd spent alot of time messaging back & forth with people, and just trying to pull myself together in some way. 

   It wasn't until about Friday that I began to get to that point. If it was one thing I believed, it's that he wouldn't have wanted any of us to sit around mourning and moping. So by the time Saturday rolled around, I was able to get my training session in in the morning at the gym, put on one of my favorite inspirational tracks “The Show Must Go On” by Queen and get prepared for the show that night, as I knew that it would be a release valve for me emotionally…

   So this was Rock Inc.'s first show at 21 Rock, and it had been awhile in the planning. For myself I've played there many times over the years since the late 90's, and it's always been a favorite of mine to play. It's a large club that has a great stage and now back stage area to it that I've always enjoyed, and there's always a good energy in the place. There was alot of hyping up of the gig between ourselves and some of the Rock Inc. “entourage” and as always they did not disappoint! We had a great turnout of peeps that night, and they definitely brought the vibes and lots of hugs exchanged as many there knew what I'd been dealing with through the week and they were a great sense of solace to me for which I am definitely grateful for. 

   We started out the night a little bit bumpy as we had some sound issues to straighten out, but we quickly got it resolved and put together a very solid performance in my opinion. We got to debut yet another couple of new songs, in the form of Jefferson Starship's “Find Your Way Back”, which has long been a favorite of mine so I was excited for us to debut our cover of that, as well as “Sky High Percentage” by Budgie, another great rocker that I was familiar with but had not played that with anyone live to that point. Both went over real well with the crowd, as I think everything did on the whole that night. Our drummer Ryan Krems was especiallly playing like a beast last night and got alot of compliments from people as well! As we had started out the night as I was looking at the set list I had thought about dedicating “The Ocean” by Led Zep to my friend, but when it came time for “Don't Change” by INXS I ended up dedicating that one instead as that has always come across as a hopeful kind of song lyrically, so I thought it was appropiate. 

   By the time it was all over with and we were packing things up, I felt tired but definitely in a much more positive place after getting that release on stage. There's just nothing better than having a great group of people to jam with such as Rock Inc., and getting to do it in front of such a great group of friends/ family , and fans as we have. And for that I thank all you guys!. Now it's time to get back into preparation mode again as we got another gig coming up at Hot Spot this weekend, and I definitely wanna be ready! 

   First gig of 2026 is in the books! We got to kick off the new year in a familiar place in Hot Spot! Hot Spot has come to be one of my favorite venues to play over the last few years. There's just something about the atmosphere there. It may seem just like the little neighborhood bar, but there's definitely an energy there. Lots of regulars in the place, and their always happy to see us. 

   Another reason I like it is that Mike French (the owner) has a house set up for PA, drums and a Hartke bass rig there so for one, it's a light traveling night equipment wise, but also because my main bass the Kramer just sounds really on point thru that cabinet, so that's a win win all the way around! We kicked off the show with one of our newer tunes, the David Bowie classic “Suffragette City” in which I'm still working out some of the kinks to that one, but I think we pulled it off well. We also got to do the new Blondie we just added “Call Me”, and “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways which I think has definitely gotten crowds pumped so far when we play that. I had a feeling from the beginning that Nancy would just nail the vocals on that and she so does! 

   Once again everyone in the band was in top form. Not bad for not having had much time to rehearse since the New Year's Eve gig at Borgetti's. I usually have a routine I like to run through in the days leading up to the shows, but ya know life has a way of doing it's own thing some weeks so I wasn't able to do that but was still happy overall with my performance. 

   Again we drew a good crowd that night, Nancy's friend Linda “made it rain” in tip $ on the stage, and the energy was good. So all in all a good night and great start to '26! See ya back there again next month! 

   It's that time once again for another entry into the “gig diaries”. So just wanted to share some thoughts about the most recent show at Borgetti's with Rock Inc. 

   I'd been looking forward to this one for awhile, as it's been a few years since the last time I got to perform at a New Year's Eve show. These type of shows are always a blast in that the energy from the crowd is in abundance, and the mood very festive. This one was no exception. Borgetti's has been very good to us for awhile now, so I always look forward to the show's there anyway. I like the stage there as it's a bit elongated and I have some room to move around which is always a good thing I think. We had a chance to try out some new material that night in the form of Blondie's “Call Me”, David Bowie's “Suffragette City” and “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways. All of these came off great and got a great response from the audience, and that's the best we could hope for.

   Getting to count down to midnight with everyone on New Year's is always fun, and I couldn't think of any better way to bring in a new year than being on stage and doing what I love. The Rock Inc. “entourage” was out in full force once again as always it made for a great night! As usual I didn't get to bed until around 5am from being keyed up still from the show, but that's par for the course. Looking forward to what's coming gig wise this year, and I plan on expanding the gig diaries section by trying to include some more pics and stuff from the shows, so stay tuned!

   Saturday, November 15. Day after gig with Carnival the night before. I'm running on fumes admittedly from not alot of sleep the night/morning before, and still dealing with the dreaded cold and I have no voice whatsoever lol. No matter though, there's music to be played once again today. Thank God and Goddess for caffeine! 

   Rock Inc. had been asked to come and participate in Mike French's Birthday Bash at Hot Spot, so of course we weren't gonna turn that one down! I've played at Hot Spot numerous times in numerous bands over the years, but it's always a fun place to play. There's alot of regulars there, alot of peeps that have been coming there for years, and there was a whole other slew of great local bands that were there that day to join in on the fun. And it's always cool getting a chance to mingle with fellow local musicians, because usually most of us are too busy with our own projects to be able to take in each other's performances very often, so that was definitely a bonus for the day! 

   We played a 45 minute set in late afternoon and did our best to pull out some of the “greatest hits” so to speak from our playlist, and I think we succeeded very well! The place was packed and in very good spirits, including the birthday boy himself who I think by that time of the day was already feeling no pain so to speak lol. It took me a little while to get the engine running, but as usual I don't know what it is but once you put me up on that stage and the music kicks in along with the adrenaline, it don't matter what condition I'm in, I manage to kick it up another gear and that day was no exception. I surprised myself at the energy level I was able to maintain and was sweating bullets already just after 45 minutes, but it was totally worth it! The band was in great form, drummer Ryan Krems was a monster that day, and playing along with a great drummer always spurs me on as well, and Jim and Nancy were top notch as well! I think Nancy was probably keeping an eye on me throughout to make sure I didn't keel over during the performance lol, which I'm thankful for. 

   Being that it was just a 45 minute set, those tend to go by in the blink of an eye as this one did as well. Felt like we were just getting really warmed up by the time we were done, but I think we made a good impression in the time we had. I got to spend a few minutes catching up with some peeps that I hadn't seen in a minute which was definitely great, but I eventually had to make my way out so I could go home and collapse and try to recoup! But great time nonetheless, and we'll be back to rock Hot Spot again soon! 

   I know! I've been slacking in my gig diaries for a couple months now, so I'm gonna try and get back on track with these and hopefully in the future try to start incorporating some pics and whatnot as well, so I can document these shows in some more detail for ya's. 

   So Kenny's has become one of my favorite venues to play at as of late. The atmosphere there is always a rockin' one, the crowds are usually pretty good, and their stage and lights and sound are stellar. The sound man there Jason Sutton has always been great to both Carnival and Rock Inc. every time we've played there and made sure we were taken care of sound wise. This time was no exception! Set up and sound check were a breeze and we were ready to go in pretty short order. 

   Not to complain but just to document, I have to add that I was playing under some duress that night and the next one, as I'd been dealing with a cold/sinus infection for several days, and it's just a drag because it completely saps me of energy . The last thing I wanna do when in that condition is pushing around equipment lol! But, this wasn't the first time, nor I'm sure the last. So over the years I've had to learn to just push through those type of situations as best I can and carry on with the show. I've always prided myself on giving the best physical and emotional shows that I'm capable of, and let's face it, I love what I do so that always gives me energy to push through whatever's going on. 

   The band was in good form that night, and I still enjoyed myself nonetheless. One of the recent highlights that Carnival of Sins added to it's shows is that during Soundgarden's “Spoonman”, our singer Brittney Allen has been accompanying with a set of spoons very similar to the ones used by the real Spoonman in their video. We've also recently added “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence which I know is especially dear to Brittney , and “Gasoline” by Seether, a definite banger for sure! Guitarist Tim Gray came wandering over to my side of the stage a couple times throughout the night to share in some riffs together which is cool cause we don't always get to do that depending on where we're playing, and it helped to spur me on energy wise during the course of the performance. 

   Over the last few months, I've gotten to incorporate a new bass into my performances with them. I was gifted a Ibanez “micro” bass by a friend a few months back which I nicknamed “The Jolly Roger”. While Jolly make look a little beat up and worn in, I'll tell ya I continued to be surprised though at how well this little “mini bass” has held up through those performances, and damn does that thing have some THUMP! It's worked out perfectly for laying down the bottom end on alot of the heavier tunes that band incorporates. 

   So by the end of the night I was definitely exhausted, but we made it through, and it made me feel just a little better in general being able to get up on a great stage and get my rox off for awhile!

   I'm a little late again in posting my latest Gig Diary entry, but such is the life of a working musician eh? Wow, where to begin?…

   This show was a special one I think for several reasons. The first being of which was that we had the opportunity to celebrate our singer Nancy Holtman's Birthday with everyone and I don't think she would have wanted to celebrate it any other way! Shortly after I arrived at the bar there was already a big Happy Birthday banner that was put up on the side of the stage, and then another Happy Birthday sign in front of the stage as well. That's red carpet treatment right there baby! Lol. The bartender made sure to hook Nancy up with a bucket of Bud Light Lime for her, and I joked that yeah we wanna make sure to keep her nice and lubricated throughout the entire night! haha.

   The energy level was very high that night, with both band and audience. It was one of those nights for me as I stepped on stage, that I could just feel a buzz in the room. There was a great crowd that came out to support us and celebrate with Nancy. The Rock Inc. army was in full force for sure. And we were off and running! The energy level on stage was fantastic I thought between all of us, and I was drenched in sweat before the end of the first set. 

   We got to introduce a couple of new songs into the set again that night. One of them was “Tush” by ZZ Top. A couple months back we were playing a show at Kenny's and we just kinda launched into unannounced and it came off pretty well so we decided to keep it in the mix. That one is always a good crowd pleaser I think. The other new one was “Calling Dr. Love” by Kiss. That one flowed together pretty easily for us too as we were practicing it beforehand, and I was pretty much raised in part on Kiss in my youth, so that's a no-brainer in my book, and again I think it went over well with the audience, so you'll be hearing that one again!

   By the end of the night, we went out with a real bang, closing out the set with “Immigrant Song” by Zep, and of course “The Tower” by Angel that's pretty much become our staple as a show closer. But the crowd wanted more, and we came back for an encore of “Bad Girlfriend” by Theory of a Deadman. That pretty much drove everything right on home there in my opinion. We got a lot of great compliments from people throughout the night, and several people commented that they thought it was our best show yet. Hot Spot is one of those venues for me at least that always seems to bring out the energy in me, between the stage, the lights, and smoke machines that Mike had going in full force (thank you Mike!) and it's always just such a great atmosphere in there, so I'm always stoked at the chance of getting to perform there. 

   So as per usual after all that adrenaline and good vibes from the night, I don't think I was able to crash until almost 5 in the morning, but it was totally worth it! We'll be back there again soon I'm sure. In the meantime, onwards to prepare for Borgetti's this Saturday. Hope to see everyone again there!

   I'm a few days behind on posting my gig diary from over the weekend, so I figured I better catch up now! So this past Saturday Rock Inc. took the stage at Hot Spot, what has become one of my favorite places to play over the years. I have alot of history with that venue, going back over many years and many bands. Mike French has always been a wonderful host when we're there and you never know when he might decide to get in on the fun himself and jump up on stage with ya! 

   I was looking forward to this gig because once again we had a couple of new songs to debut for people, and we always get a kick out of doing that. This time it was a couple of Bryan Adams numbers, the infamous “Run to You” from back in the day, and his duet with Tina Turner “It's Only Love.” Both went over well with the audience I think and we're happy to add those to the playlist. For myself, admittingly I was feeling a little off performance wise for the first little bit of the show, I'm not sure why. I'm always hard on myself when I hit a wrong note, as I did a few of ‘em that night. I usually manage to cover it up fairly well so most don’t notice, but I always do lol. I just have to remember that ain't nobody perfect, and especially when it comes to rock and roll. It's not meant to be perfect anyway. It's at it's best when it's messy and gritty and dirty. That's my opinion anyway. 

   One of the highlights of the night was that the day before it was our drummer Ryan Krems' birthday, so we got to do a little celebrating that night along with the Rock Inc. faithful that always shows up in numbers to support us, and we appreciate it! So we were glad we were able to give Rye a proper birthday celebration. 

   The other big highlight for me was that somewhere along the second set, I look over towards the bar, and spotted my cousin Jeff Graves taking everything in. Jeff is a very talented singer and musician in his own right to say the least, and it was an honor and total blast getting to have him up with us and perform some Zeppelin together. Our musical aspirations go WAY back. Like since we were 12, talking about how we needed to put a band together. So for me, getting to jam with him was a real full circle moment. I hope we'll get the chance to do some more collaborations in the future! 

   All in all it turned out to be a great night, and alot of fun as always. I'm so grateful for having the opportunity to do this music thing on a full time basis these days. Some days it's alot to keep track of, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Until next time, this is “Gig Diaries”. Thanks for reading!

   I thought it might be an interesting or fun little idea to start keeping a diary of sorts from my gigs as they come up just to share with you all some of the experiences and feelings of the night. Those of you that know me, know that I put alot into preparation for a show, from practicing up material, going to the gym to stay physically fit for performances and watching whatever footage I have afterwards to sort of critique myself on that night's performance and see what went well and what could use improvement. I consider music an evolving art form, and whether it's your own material or someone else's, there's always a way to convey your emotions in the songs you perform, and there's always room for improvement. That's my personal philosophy anyway. 

   So, Borgetti's! Man what a night last night! As a musician, on any given performance you can sometimes have a really good night, a really bad one, or just kinda “meh” depending on what kind of mood your in, but last night was definitely a really good night I thought musically. Everybody in the band was firing on all cylinders and I think it showed. We got a lot of compliments from people during and afterwards which always makes me feel good, as I'm sure it does my bandmates as well. We introduced 5 new songs into the set list last night, a personal best I think for this lineup so far. And I think they all came off really well! Some of the particular highlights for me was the Fleetwood Mac, especially “Gold Dust Woman”. I have some very strong emotional ties to that song, so it was and i think will continue to be a sort of “emotional exorcism" for me every time we play it. I also got a kick out of “The Chain” and getting to do that little bass fill part there before the ending. I'll be continuing to work on expanding that one! 

   Other new ones included “Free Ride” by Edgar Winter, “New Girl Now” by Hollywood Suite, and “Don't Change” by INXS. That one was also a special one for me. Lots of great energy in that song and positive lyrics that always inspire. I think that one will become a staple in the setlist in the future as well (wink). It certainly got some folks out on the dance floor for that one!

   We had several sit ins last night too that were a blast! Melanie Leos sang “Your Love”, Jessica Rutledge came up and we did Pat Benatar's “Heartbreaker" and Steve Hall sang on “Lonely Is The Night” and “Hang On For Your Life”. We appreciated everyone that came up and rocked with us. It's always fun getting to include other local musicians in on the gig when your able to. 

   One of the things I've appreciated from the beginning with Rock Inc. was that they already had a pretty loyal following by the time I came on board, I could tell from that first show I did at Red's where a bunch of people showed up wearing Rock Inc. T-Shirts which I thought was awesome, and last night they were out in force once again! I just wanna say once again that I have so appreciated everyone's positive comments and feedback since joining the band, it definitely does not go unnoticed lemme tell ya! 

   Borgetti's is an awesome venue! Great size place with a very generous sized stage (gives me room to run lol). The staff was amazing and they also have some great food there. One of the gigs I definitely like getting to early so I can chow down! Even after the show was over people and the band were continuing to hang around and I know I probably could have kept going for awhile. In the end it was time to call it a night, though because of the post show adrenaline I didn't crash till about 5am this morning. I'm paying for it a little today but can't wait to do it again! Back to the routine tomorrow!