Thanks to all the good folks at Spellbound Brewery in Mt. Holly NJ for celebrating music and beer with us on Saturday, 2/15. I was already a big fan of Spellbound before the show (we played a private event there late last year) so it is personally satisfying to feature them on our Beer Tour. We brought the 3-piece version of the band with Mick on acoustic guitar, Ron on mandolin, and Rob on the cajun drum. The set list included SF songs from nearly all 7 of our albums plus a brand new song that I just recently wrote (“This Girl”). We played a decent amount of Irish (getting ready for next month!). Also – great to be able to field requests from barman Matt for Replacements covers. We knew “Skyway”, and “Can’t Hardly Wait” quite well but seriously and tragically muddled our way through “Little Mascara”. The place was packed – met lots of new friends and music fans and appreciated a lot of familiar faces who come to see us a lot – THANKS! As far as the beer goes Spellbound is legit. We stuck to the Pale Ale which is as good as any I’ve had and better than most. The brewers had a few special concoctions for Valentine’s Day including The Brut IPA with Strawberries – really creative fun stuff. My recommendation? Pick up some Spellbound at your local beer store and also come out to see us when we return there on Sunday March 15th (early show 1:30 to ?). – Mick
Looking forward to revisiting Tindall Road Brewery on Sat. 3/14/20 – SF Originals Plus Our Favorite Pogues and Irish Traditional.
Happy to feature this brewery – one of our favorites. And our only show in February as we focus our energies on recording a new EP.
Interview with Mick Chorba in East Tennessee Newspaper - The Daily Times
Love this review from the excellent JERSEY BEAT (covering indie music since 1982): “…Saratoga is a fine album because the Successful Failures have never released anything else; consider them the spiritual stepchildren of the Smithereens and Fountains of Wayne, and as irreplaceable a part of the Jersey landscape as Hammonton blueberries or the Princeton Record Exchange. Inspirational Verse: “Can’t keep myself from the anger, my employment place full of rancor, we sit here like disgruntled bankers, pulled down like we got weighted anchors attached to our legs.” Welcome to America, 2020. A”
The 3rd single from, Saratoga! The video features some of the favorite spots the band has played over the years.
The SF Beer Tour rolls on. This stop finds SF in Chincoteague, VA at the fabulous Black Narrows Brewing Co. Mick Chorba solo acoustic. Special thanks to manager and barman Mike and Zack for their kindness and generosity. I really enjoyed playing many of our story songs like “Mike Malloy” and “Big Time in the Jungle” and “Baby Home Tonight”. I love a crowd that listens to the stories behind the tunes. Thanks for that! As far as the beer goes I was sipping on the pale ales – “Live from the Moon” (named so because of NASA base on nearby Wallops Island) and “Drivin’ the J” (named so because, according to manager Mike who grew up on the island, “there was nothing to do but ‘Drive the J’”…cruise around the 7 mile island in circles basically). Both beers are Delicious! This island has been a favorite spot of mine, so it was really satisfying to bring SF live music to Chincoteague. Was really cool to play for my family too as we celebrated the last night of vacation down in Ol’ Virginia.
