Well, let's see Coffs is over [sigh] it is only  days to August 10th - so far the start of the US then to be followed by the gig on the 11th, and only  days to Chicago (13th), and then  days to Chicago Take II(14th). A quick visit to Boulder, CO in  days, then days to Austin Take II - the Charity gig,  days to 21st August at Portland's Roseland Theatre, and of course  again the following evening, the 22nd for Portland Take II,  days to 24th August in SanFran at the Fillmore, then days to 25th August, SanFran at the Fillmore Take II, then days to 26th August, in LALand, again at the HOB, and days to Philly's Electric Factory on 28th August, with days to Irving Plaza, NY, on 29th August, and finally days to The Stone Pony, Ashbury Park, New Jersey!

Now don't panic... tis Australia here, so yeah, tis already Sat 11th and the Grunts haven't hit the stage in Austin yet... 

This is just a reminder that Murph's Place will be hosting all the best reports on the gigs as they roll in, so if you are looking for reports, or wondering where to send yours so the most people can see it, send it to Murph or if you want to read them, rock on over to her "Gig Reports" section! Enjoy!

And if you are looking for someone to talk with right now, live, check in at the TTT Chatroom - never know who you might come across!

So, all of a sudden I am going to a gig here in Coffs, meeting some friends who are coming up from Sydney for it, and going to be at the first gig of their tour! Still can't believe it!

Anyway, IMPORTANT STUFF NOW....
Message from RCIALady

I have 20 tickets available for both CHicago shows.  I only have until tomorrow
noon Chicago time to sell them however.  I would be happy to answer any
question you may have.  I am asking $35.00 for them and can only accept
paypal.

Talk with you soon...

Love and Biebe...

Lady

President
Russell Crowe Fan Club
http://www.russellcrowefanclub.com

So Boulder is finally confirmed on the Grunts' site, and another couple of shows added, in Portland on 22nd and Ashbury Park, NJ, on the 30th. Also, for us Australians, if you can get to the Fox Studios on Sunday 5th August you will catch them there! Me? I will be running the electronic timing system for the Gold Coast Regional Winter Short Course Swimming Championships.... dammit! Oh well, here is the update from the official Grunts' site.... and also, according to the site, this at last is it! The complete tour, so check the Tourdates page for the final outcome.
 

More Shows Added! 25th July 2001
The Grunts are unstoppable!
3 more performances added to our 'short' US Tour

Portland
Date: Wednesday August 22 
Venue Roseland
Tickets on sale : Wednesday July 25th from noon.
Tickets from: Fastixx - 503-224-8499, 800-992-8499

Asbury Park
Date: Thursday August 30
Venue : The Stone Pony
Tickets on sale : Thursday July 26th from noon.
Tickets from :
Ticketmaster - 201-507-8900, 609-520-8383
Stone Pony Box Office Noon-Midnight except Mon.
732-502-0600
Local places:
Vintage Vinyl: 732-225-7717
Freehold Music: 732-462-4730

Special Boulder Performance
A limited number of tickets will be available to the public for 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts show at the Gavin Radio Convention at the Fox Theatre at Boulder, Colorado on Friday August 18th. Tickets go onsale Saturday July 28th at 12pm at Albums On The Hill in Boulder Colorado across the street from the Fox Theatre. Tix are $40.00 and doors open at 7:30. 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts onstage at 8:30pm.
Also playing later that night are David Byrne and Suzanne Vega.

17.7.01 Gruntland.com is a finalist at the 3rd annual ONYA awards! 

AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SITE FINALISTS IN 3rd AUSTRALIAN ONLINE MUSIC AWARDS (ONYA! AWARDS)

With over 30,000 verified voters casting their online ballots from May 1 to July 1 in 15 'Most Popular' categories of the 3rd annual Australian Online Music Awards, the finalists from more than 600 Australian sites have been announced.

Sponsored by Microsoft Windows Media Player and OzEmail Internet for its three year history, the ONYA! Awards--as they are dubbed--honour excellence and innovation in the dissemination of music & music information over the Internet.

Judging by the response of more than 60,000 unique visitors from over 60 countries to the ONYA! site (http://www.onya.com.au) in the two months of online voting, Australian artist and music business sites benefited greatly from the visibility of the competition as will the winners when they are announced August 4.

That night at 8:30 pm, live from Sydney's top live music venue--The Basement--a 90 minute ONYA! Awards show will be webcast globally with six top Australian bands performing and a host of guest celebrities presenting the ONYA! hand-shaped awards holding a trackball to rec-execs, propeller-heads, wired bands and the other ONYA! winners. 

Special guest artist performances are from John Butler, Big Heavy Stuff, Lazy Susan, David Lane, one more to be confirmed and a major international artist closing the show as a special surprise.  The final artist will be touring overseas shortly after their appearance at the ONYA!s.
The webcast will be available to Internet audiences in standard & high speeds at the ONYA! site of http://www.onya.com.au starting with a special segment at 8 pm of a surprise address by a major artist from their speech at the National Entertainment Industry Conference that precedes the event.  The ONYA! Awards will also be delivered at high speed for broadband users at http://thebasement.com.au.

The finalist in the 3rd annual ONYA! Awards are as follows.  Listed below them are the five categories that are currently being judged by an industry panel of experts as "Best Sites" which will be awarded on the night of August 4.

Most Popular Australian Artist Site
28 Days-- http://www.28days.com.au
30 Odd Foot of Grunts- http://www.gruntland.com
Human Nature - http://www.humannature.com.au
Killing Heidi- http://www.killingheidi.com.au
Kylie Minogue- http://www.kylie.com
Powderfinger- http://www.powderfinger.com
Savage Garden- http://www.savagegarden.com.au
Silverchair- http://www.chairpage.com
Something for Kate- http://www.somethingforkate.com
The Whitlams- http://www.thewhitlams.com

The miracles of modern technology! Via the Perch, thanks to silvercrowe, and from "Elaine C. Erb, Music Director, KGNU - 88.5 fm in Boulder:

"Yeah! The good news is that TOFOG is going to be coming to Boulder this summer. The bad news is that since most of the tickets at the Fox are reserved for attendees of the Gavin conference there are VERY few tickets available to the public for these shows. I don't especially recommend any one come from out of town for the show as it is so hard to get in to the event. But it does mean Russell and co will be playing for radio people from all over the country. And sharing a stage with David Byrne!"

So "Queenlurker" posted the following...

"Just called the Fox theatre. There will be tickets available to the public and they'll probably go on sale next week. They are available through the box office at the theatre. The guy I talked to is actually the person who updates the info and said he will know more tomorrow and gave me his schedule. So, I will call tomorrow midday and post when I know more."

Have been able to add "The Definitive Guide to Austin" thanks to the wonderful work of 'looloogrl' of the Perch. Head through here to find it directly, or go through the General pages.

There are also some more 'Gatherings' being arranged for anyone interested, including 3 'daytrips' in Austin. Take a look at the Gatherings page and check out the roadtrips page, and if you are interested in joining in, email us!

If you are organising a 'gathering' that you would welcome all comers to, let us know so we can let them know! And don't feel too despondent if you are not going to any of the gigs, or at least not all of them, the Chatroom is now operational, and will be in full swing during the shows! LOL!

And remember, you are welcome to add your name to the "Non-Gatherers" listing too...

Directly from the official Gruntland site:

11.07.2001 Extra shows added 

RUSSELL CROWE'S "TOFOG" ADDS ADDITIONAL CHICAGO AND SAN FRANCISCO SHOWS TO SOLD OUT SUMMER AMERICAN TOUR

Los Angeles – The Australian band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, fronted by Russell Crowe, has sold out every date of their Summer American Tour.  Due to the overwhelming response by fans, the band has added two additional shows in Chicago and San Francisco, both of which had record-breaking ticket sales.

TOFOG, as the band is known to their fans, will be playing the following sold-out performances:
August 11 - Austin – Stubbs BBQ
August 13 - Chicago – House of Blues
August 18 - Austin – Stubbs BBQ
August 21 - Portland – Roseland
August 24 - San Francisco – The Fillmore
August 26 - Los Angeles – House of Blues
August 28 - Philadelphia – The Electric Factory
August 29 - New York – Irving Plaza 
30 ODD FOOT OF GRUNTS announced today details for the following additional shows:

CHICAGO – House of Blues – Tuesday, August 14
(Late Show – doors open at 10:00pm)
Tickets are $25 and go on sale at noon, Thursday, July 12
House of Blues Box Office Phone:  312-923-2000
Ticketmaster Phone:  312-559-1212 or at www.ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets. 

SAN FRANCISCO – The Fillmore – Saturday, August 25
Tickets are $25 and go on sale at noon, Thursday, July 12
Ticketmaster Phone:  415-421-8497 or at www.ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets 

TOFOG consists of Dean Cochran (lead guitar), Garth Adam (bass), Dave Kelly (drums), Dave Wilkins (guitar and vocals), Stewart Kirwan (trumpet and vocals) and Russell Crowe (vocals and guitar). 

The band will be performing material from its long history, as well as songs from its latest album, Bastard Life or Clarity, which is currently available exclusively from Australian on-line retailer www.sanity.com.au.
#  #  #
For further information, please contact:  Robin Baum 
Huvane Baum Halls 
(323) 782-9095

Check out the tour route as it stands at the moment, on the map in the Tour Dates section!

From the Gruntland website:

Announcement To Fans 
6.7.2001 

TOFOG want to thank you for the overwhelming support you have shown for our recently announced US Tour. Tickets for all the shows have sold very quickly and most of the shows are now sold out.

When we launched the website poll inviting you to vote for your city we were amazed at the number and creativity of the suggestions. The shows that have been announced reflect the cities that received the heaviest support. There were a number of other cities and regions that received a lot of votes that we won't be able to make it to this time. Most notably there were a lot of votes for Canadian cities and a number of places in the South East of America that received strong support. In the case of Canada the time line with applying for visas forced us to regretfully pass you by on this tour.
For those in the South East, it simply became impossible to reach your part of the world in the limited amount of time available to us.

There may be some additional shows announced soon but we want to let fans from Canada and the South East know that these shows won't be in your  area. We hope you can still make it to one of the other shows. We do appreciate the support we receive from you, and we will make it up to you by playing in your area as soon as we can.

Andrew Watt
Band Manager 

From the Gruntland website:

3 More shows added! 
4.7.2001 

Los Angeles— After selling out performances in Austin and Chicago, the Australian band 30 ODD FOOT OF GRUNTS, fronted by Russell Crowe, has announced three additional American tour dates in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Other cities on the tour include Portland (August 21) and Philadelphia (August 28), both of which are expected to sell out by the end of the week. 

30 ODD FOOT OF GRUNTS announced today details for the following additional cities: 

San Francisco – The Fillmore - Friday August 24 
Tickets are $25 and go on sale at noon, Thursday, July 5
Ticketmaster Phone: 415-421-8497 or at www.ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets

Los Angeles – House of Blues - Sunday August 26 
Tickets are $25 and go on sale at noon, Thursday, July 5
House of Blues Box Office Phone: 323-848-5100
Ticketmaster Phone: 213-480-3232 or at www.ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets

New York – Irving Plaza – Wednesday August 29 
Tickets are $25 and go on sale at noon, Thursday, July 5
Irving Plaza Box Office Phone: 212-777-6800 
Ticketmaster Phone: 212-307-7171 or at www.ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets

Being one of the first Australian bands to embrace the internet, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts has let the fans decide, via the internet, the cities for their summer tour. In addition to the previously announced seven cities, more dates will be added.

TOFOG, as the band is known to their fans, consists of Dean Cochran (lead guitar), Garth Adam (bass), Dave Kelly (drums), Dave Wilkins (guitar and vocals), Stewart Kirwan (trumpet and vocals) and Russell Crowe (vocals and guitar).

The band will be performing material from its long history, as well as songs from its latest album, Bastard Life Or Clarity, which is currently available exclusively from Australian on-line retailer www.sanity.com.au

The band's website, www.gruntland.com has received millions of hits and is amongst the most popular band sites on the world wide web.

In the TixExchange there are now sections for the next 3 gigs, so if you are looking for tix, or have some you would like to sell, email the information in and it will be added. Please go there first and see what information you should send (ie, your name, your email addy, your hometown/current location, how many of what tickets you have to sell/want to buy!)

The number of strikes this site has received in the last week is awsome! With over 7,000 strikes in less than 7 days it is an average of 1,000 per day... and that is in the first week of its existance! Be sure to spread the word about the TixExchange, to ensure that all spare tickets available are sold, and to help unite those that want with those that want to sell!

The 'Gift'
Also, the question has been asked regularly, "I have tickets to the charity gig on the 18th in Austin but am not going to be there... can I still get the 'gift'?"

From what I have been able to glean from many message boards and posts, each ticket presented at the end of the gig on the 18th will receive the 'gift'. So if you want it, get it to someone who will be there and then be able to acquire your 'gift' for you and forward it on. If we hear of any other way of sourcing it will let you know!

Remember to email in your information for the Gatherers and Gatherings pages, and hints and tips for the "General" pages - and enjoy!

Am putting together some more pages, in particular General info on the cities, plus a page for travel plans. If you are looking for a ride to a gig, or for some passengers to share expenses and the fun of travelling, then check this page.

General information is being posted everywhere, so to make sure I manage to gather it all, would it be OK for people to email it? THanks!!

Also, controversy is being stirred by a few who, it seems, can't see that this charity gig is going to benefit something worthwhile. If you are interested in learning something about the Settlement Home, the charity who will receive the support raised by this benefit concert, click here.

Press Release
(Austin, TX) --  In a unique gesture of friendship, Australian band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, with front man Russell Crowe, will perform a special benefit concert at Stubb's BBQ in Austin, Texas. The event is scheduled for Sat., August 18 at 8:00 p.m. Stubb's is located at 801 Red River.

Sydney Perry, who is turning 15, is the daughter of Governor Rick Perry and First Lady Anita Perry, and has chosen the Settlement Home in Austin to be the recipient of the evening's proceeds.

Russell Crowe and Governor Rick Perry became friends last year when the band was in town to record their latest album, "Bastard Life or Clarity" and to perform three sell-out shows outdoors at Stubb's.
Such was the economic impact of 30 Odd Foot of Grunts' visit to Austin, with literally hundreds of otel rooms booked to out-of-town, out-of-state and overseas visitors. On August 11, 2000, City of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson declared "30 Odd Foot of Grunts Day'" and Crowe was made an Honorary Texan. He was later quoted in Rolling Stone Magazine saying, "It is an honor I take very seriously." While in Austin, they raised money for the People's Community Clinic and the family of a trooper shot in the line of duty.

Over dinner at the mansion earlier this year with Rick, Anita and their children, Griffin and Sydney, Crowe pledged to put on a show for Sydney's birthday with all profits going to the charity of her choice. 

"When Russell and the band offered to do this for Sydney and the organization of her choice, we were overwhelmed by their generosity," Mrs.Perry said. "Our Australian friends have taught us that they are a lot like Texans- warm, hospitable and they know how to put on a great show!"

Have also added info to the "Gatherings" pages, and adding people to the "Gatherers" pages.

Just got off the phone confirming this information. Stubb's has a signed contract. The show date is August 18th. Tickets are $60.00. This price includes a DVD of last year's show. (WOW!!!) Tickets go on sale 10 am central time through StarTickets (888-597-7827) this Wednesday the 20th. Those of us in Texas can purchase our tickets through an Albertson's store...but not before 10 am Wednesday. SEE YOU THERE!!!!
(eom) BAM

At the moment the main pieces of information available are that it will happen in/around/including August, 2001, and probably feature a return gig in Austin, Texas on 11th August - which was pronounced "TOFOG Day" by the Texan Governor in 2000.

So that people can keep abreast of the situation, and decide what they can/can't attend/get to/be a part of these pages will have information as up-to-date as is possible with the help of everyone willing to help! [g]

If you hear of information that can be confirmed officially, either by contact with a venue, or from promoters, band members, media (with a grain of salt) etc, it would be great if you could pass it on. Email it to tofogtour@crowesnest.rr.nu

Also, if you are planning a gathering and would like to list it here, email the information to me so it can be included.