The four-part concert series will feature Japhy Ryder on August 7, Twiddle on August 14, Roots of Creation on August 21, and Barefoot Truth on August 28. Bands will be playing at the K-1 Gondola at Killington Resort every Saturday from 4 to 6 pm in August. Guests can enjoy the family-friendly music while winding down from a day of mountain biking on Killington Peak, playing golf, hiking on the Appalachian Trail, or fishing at Kent Pond.

Select restaurants and retailers in Killington will be partnering with It’s Cooler in the Mountains to offer specials on activities to encourage concert guests to spend the day and evening in Killington, like the Pico Mountain Adventure Center, golf, food tastings, and mountain biking.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to bring people to Killington Road, build on the tradition of summer music in the mountains, and provide another reason for families to spend their weekend with us,” says Seth Webb, Economic Development and Tourism Director for the Town of Killington.

More information on the concert series is available online at  www.DiscoverKillington.com.

***UPDATE***
Persons in Rutland or Mendon wishing to come to the concert series without the hassle or concerns of driving themselves can call Gramps Shuttle to reserve free door-to-door transportation. The free ride promotion is limited to the first 50 guests for the August 7 concert. When getting on the shuttle, each person will pay $15 and receive in return a $15 voucher good at participating restaurants in Killington on the concert day.…. thus making your ride free.

Rides are first come – first served, and reservations must be made by Friday, August 6 at 3:00 pm. Call NOW 802-558-1543 to reserve a space. You may also email gramps.shuttle@comcast.net and leave your name, address, number of persons, desired pickup time and phone number. Pickups from Rutland will be scheduled around 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm. Return rides will be scheduled around 8:30 pm and 10:00 pm.

Gramps Shuttle will drive guests from their home to the concert venue, then to a restaurant of their choice. After dinner, guests simply catch the shuttle back to their home – it’s door-to-door service without the worries of drinking and driving or trying to arrange timing with everyone in your party.

Participating restaurants where your $15 voucher will be honored include Choices, Moguls, McGraths, On the Rocs, Birch Ridge Inn, Hemingways, Lookout, Grist Mill, Pasta Pot, Ovations, Casey’s Caboose and Outback. There’s dining to suit every taste and budget… with many specials being offered.

Concert goers will enjoy live, family-friendly music, the large outdoor patio area, free lawn games and activities, and the ability to start their concert experience with a mountain-biking or hiking ride up the K-1 Gondola.

Additionally, Killington Resort and EDT have partnered to create a raffle to win a free 2010-2011 Pico Mountain Season Pass. Concert goers may enter the drawing one time per concert for a total of four chances to win the pass, good for every day during the coming ski season.

We are pleased to be working with Halogen Records/Halogen Media Works in the release of this album.  The official release date has been set for June 22, preorder is currently under way.

We’ll be having Cd release parties on 6/25 and 6/26 in Burlington and Montpelier.  More info on those to come.

If the Haves are Willing (tracklist) Das Gutt Ain’t that a B Can’t Do It Brother, Be Tightrope the Fill Grinder Boob Diaper (untitled) Set Self Sail

The first of these is happening at Higher Ground on March 13, 2010 when we share the bill with the Toubab Krewe.   We are big fans of the Toubab Krewe and their brand of West African Americana, it is bound to be a show to be remembered.  Doors open at 8PM, we take the stage at 8:30.  This is an ALL AGES show, tickets are $12 in advance and $14 day of the show available here.

Just 3 weeks after that we are returning to Nectar’s to share an evening with our friends (and fellow Ropeadope artists) Otis Grove on April 9.  We are looking at the possibility of releasing our live album at this show, more info on that as soon as we have it.

We will also be playing a few other local gigs in the Vermont area.  Including Wednesday February 10 at Red Square in Burlington.  We have a habit of picking up last minute gigs at a few of our favorite venues in Burlington.  Watch us on facebook for info on those when they occur.

As you may know, we had a little guitar swap occur in 2009.  When Jeremy chose to leave the band the rest of us were stuck deciding whether to hang up our hats and call Japhy Ryder done OR to find the perfect guitar player to fill out the roster again.  Thankfully we opted to hire our friend Zack duPont and what a difference he has made in our sound as well as in our lives.
Zack duPont is a class act.

That said, Z doesn’t spend all of his time tinkering away on the new Japhy Ryder material.  He’s in fact one of Vermont’s finest up and coming singer songwriters.  Don’t be shocked, just because he sticks to instrumental shredding with us does not mean that his vocal chords aren’t fully capable of melting your face. Z’s first solo record “Paths” was released in early January 2010, and has thus far received stellar reviews across the Northeast.

Check him out over at www.zackdupontmusic.com or even better, at one of his solo gigs.

For those of you not in the Burlington area, you can listen via webcast

After that we leave for the ‘Hometown Throwdown Tour’ which stops in Philly and Boston before returning home for the gig at Higher Ground on Saturday.

And then we’ll be headed in to start work on what looks to be the next album.  More info on that later.

For now, have another sneak peak at the new Japhy Ryder. Here is another track from our set opening for the New Deal back in February.  And yeah, we made this one up.
(head on over to japhyryder.com and check out the audio)

Well, big changes are afoot in the Japhy Ryder camp.  Founding member and longtime guitarist for Japhy Ryder, Jeremy Kizina, has decided it is time for him to move on and pursue the next phase in his life.  While we are saddened by Jeremy’s departure, we fully understand and support him in his decision.  Furthermore, we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Naturally, this has raised many important questions about the future of the band.  Although we are all still very excited about making music together, there will definitely be a shift in focus as we make room in our lives for everything that has taken a back seat for the past several years.  As of this time, we have put booking on hold while we figure things out, although we are keeping the following gigs which were previously booked with our friends from Ropeadope:

Thursday, 4/2/09, World Café Live, Philadelphia PA
Friday, 4/3/09, Lizard Lounge, Boston MA
Saturday, 4/4/09, Higher Ground, S. Burlington VT

Other than these dates, you can catch us performing around the Burlington area with Will’s side project, W.E.S.T., most notably in support of The New Deal at Higher Ground on Thursday, February 19.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has come out to shows and supported us throughout the years and apologize to those who looked forward to the shows we were forced to cancel.  Most of all we would like to thank Jeremy for his dedication, inspiration, and comradeship as well as Jeremy’s family for the support, generosity, and hospitality they have shown us time and again in our travels.

We will be sure to keep everyone updated as we continue to figure out how we will proceed.  YES we will proceed, it may just take a little bit of time to arrange how.  Thanks again, and we hope to see you all in the near future,

Jay, Pat, and Will

So, to recap the weekend

12/31/08 (Wed) @ Lake Placid Summit Resort Hotel
w/ Steak D and Thomas Pearo Presents
show starts at 9pm and is all ages.
Tickets for under 18 yrs old are $15, 18+ are $20

1/2/09 (Fri) @ Nectar’s w/ Bad Suit
Free show, starts at 9:30. 21+

1/3/09 (Sat) @ the Monopole w/ Steak D
Free show, starts at 10.  21+

If you are unfamiliar, Steak D features local heavy-hitters Alex Budney (Bad Suit), Cody Sargent (Premarital Sextet) and Zach Dupont (Hollywood Farm).  Mr. Thomas Pearo is better known for his part in That Toga Band, but we have him solo.  Who knows what tricks he has up his sleeve.

Tickets can be purchased through the Resort, call (518) 523-2587  or toll free at 1-800-790-8452.
You can also e-mail for tickets.