Once upon a time there was a band called Closing Time. For most of its members, it was their first time striking out and pursuing some kind of success in a local music scene. And to a certain degree they were. But as life events happen, sometimes it just feels right to set the guitar down and move on. And that’s what happened in the summer of 2012. Some of the members went on to other jobs, commitments, and even other countries. And some went on to new bands.

You might have never guessed it but within a year, several members of Closing Time had reconvened in a small basement, instruments in hand, ready to begin the groundwork of a new project known as Fun DMC. There was no formula or really even a plan at the time. There was a set list but nothing really unique that set the idea apart from any other bands in the area. Having two years of stage experience and having spent significant time watching how crowds were responding to live music, Fun DMC knew that they needed something new and exciting if they wanted to stand any chance at all in getting noticed.

What I’m certain started out as “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if we played Journey and Metallica together” quickly evolved into motto that has become the defining vision of the band: Mashups, Medleys, And Mix Tapes. I write this list of personal memories with the band at a time when we are about to cross the milestone of 100 shows. Honestly, it doesn’t seem possible that we have been together long enough but the number in the calendar say otherwise. These are my own thoughts and I hope some of them even resonate with you. Perhaps you could even post your own in the comments section.

– Robert

100 Shows, 100 Memories

1. The band learning “Good Night Sweetheart” and singing it to my daughter on her first birthday during our show at Quaker Steak And Lube.
2. That impromptu singing of “Amazing Grace” in the middle of “Faith” and those harmonies that came out of nowhere. Beautiful moment.
3. Remembering Prince and saying good-bye with through “Purple Rain.”
4. The first time I heard Brian Armstrong sing, “Monkey Wrench.”
5. Trying to find the right chords to “Dare You To Move” with Aaron Eversole. Don’t think we ever played it live.
6. Knocking over Jen’s music stand at practice. I’m sorry, Jen.
7. Ward family party in Northern Illinois, driving back to Springfield through the night to make it back in time for church and turning 36 years old somewhere near Joliet.
8. Not getting paid by an unnamed venue and not sending them a strongly worded letter. But at least I wrote it.
9. Telling the story of Billy Ray Valentine and the Waverly water tower to Talon, Katey, and Paige as we drove back from Palestine, IL, again in hopes of making it back for church the next morning.
10. The first time Medley Hills came together (and still every time Jen, Paige, or Katey come in on “Empire State Of Mind.” Still my favorite part).
11. Brian’s farewell blessing at his last show. “Peter in and peter out.”
12. Slow Dance Medley on Valentine’s Day at The Blue Grouch. It didn’t land very well and I put the band through a lot in order to pull it off. They’ve never reminded me what a bad idea that was.
13. Singing “Grow Old With You” for Josh and Genny Shelton at The Boulevard, complete with the Bowie intro.
14. Lake Shelbyville outing with the band, otherwise known as Fun DMSea. Grilling Pop-Tarts is not a good idea.
15. Watching Jen hype the crowd at Crow’s Mill one of the first times we played Footloose at the end of the ‘80s Medley.
16. New Year’s Eve with Paige at Marly’s. I think she learned all of the material literally the day before. Also, going to Denny’s afterward and getting home just as the sun was coming up. I am Danny Glover.
17. The Triple Threat Mini Tour: Three shows in 24 hours. Debut At The Curve, Unplugged DMC at Killarney’s, followed by a full band set three doors down at Daddios Bloomington.
18. Brian’s proposal to Julie during our debut set at The Curve Inn.
19. Dropping over red 200 balloons at the wedding reception of Ryan and Amy Byers in Theater 3 at the Hoagland while performing “99 Red Balloons.”
20. Brian’s super scary costume at the VFW Halloween party.
21. Playing the roles of officiant, emcee, DJ, and wedding singer at the wedding reception of Rebekah and Adam Knade.
22. The look on everyone’s face at The Blue Grouch the night Albert debuted “Gangnam Busters.” Then the look on their faces when he did the dance.
23. Replacing the trailer hub with Scott Kinkade. It involved manly things like torches, sledge hammers, and pizza.
24. The first time Aaron programmed the lights in Ableton Live and they kicked on in sync during “Stacy’s Mom.”
25. Mother’s Day Weekend at The Curve. Handing out roses to the mothers and other “influential women” in attendance.
26. The first time we took polaroid pictures of the crowd during “Hey Ya.”  When I saw Ric Major pull out his phone when people literally started shaking polaroid pictures, I felt like we might be doing something right.
27. First time at Weeble’s, watching a Rugby team get hyped during soundcheck when we played the intro for “Eye Of The Tiger.”
28. Assembling the rack for hours while my daughter cried because she was 18 months and needed dad’s attention.
29. Debuting the Country Medley twice at Long Bridge Golf Course. Thanks for making the drive, Sami.
30. Mesa County Fair Block Party – We learned “That’s The Way” for a group of neighbors to sing together. That went great. Then they asked if we knew anything else they could sing. Fun DMC is a lot of things but learning music on the fly is not one of our strong suits.
31. The Ice Bucket Challenge video in Aaron’s front yard.
32. Jumping off the bar at The Boulevard. I was cool for a day. Tried it the next night and couldn’t walk for a week.
33. “Learn To Dance With Fun DMC” video with Travis Lickey. Got to dance with my wife while Albert counted our steps.
34. Band photoshoot at the church. Required bringing up a dozen tables from the basement to contract a stage. Then we did it again when Sam moved away and Albert joined the band.
35. Traveling to Chicago for a graduation party, enjoying a rare evening with the band without the pressure of trying to make a show come together. It included dinner at Uncle Julio’s, seeing The Shallows, and trying to play cards without falling asleep.
36. When a dude walked into Daddios Bloomington with a pink balloon, heard his jam come on, and proceeded to own the dance floor, pink balloon in hand for the rest of the night.
37. The band singing “Some Nights” in a freight elevator in a loft in Chicago to a confused passenger who was on the phone. But dem acoustics tho.
38. Playing on the WDBR Morning Show with Julie and DJ Blake.
39. Pool party, my mom hearing Aaron Eversole sing “Fire And Rain.” I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a song bring her to tears like that. And Paige singing “Blackbird.” We do have our moments.
40. Glenwood Middle School Dance. Never before have I been so keenly aware of my age and how detached I am from what this generation considers cool.
41. Witnessing the “Battle Of The Bachelorette Parties” at Martini’s in Peoria as three different groups showed up that night.
42. Tearing down in the middle of a tornado warning at Bottom’s Up in Decatur and reassembling the entire rig in 20 minutes. The show must go on.
43. Talon punching a hole through his kick drum head at Their Base Sports Bar and repairing it with a roll of gaff tape. Again, the show must go on.
44. Debut at the Illinois State Fair Coors Light Stage.
45. The crowd our first time at Y-Zoe’s. We got asked to keep playing. And keep playing. And keep playing.
46. Uncle Monkey’s in Illiopolis. Rain swept in, band and bystanders got everything moved inside but the real highlight was that Chinese food.
47. The Boar Burger at The Boar’s Nest in Athens. Seriously, don’t attempt to eat the entire thing before a show.
48. Capital City Celebration 2016. It rained all day and by the time Fun DMC hit the stage it was clear skies for the rest of the night.
49. Loading out of Martini’s in Peoria and no sooner closing the hatch on my car than it just starts a torrential downpour.
50. Champaign debut at Memphis On Main. Seemed like nothing worked with our lighting that night. Also, I yelled at a guy for touching my laptop. Like I scared the band. It was not good.
51. Christmas At The Curve. Working with a great organization (Toys For Tots), great bands (The Shunpikers, After Sunset, The Mix, and Big Daddy Jasper so far), and a wonderful venue (The Curve Inn). The first year we did it, Brian dressed up in a giant Olof suit. My mom said he looked like a giant chicken.
52. The first time JR called me “cat.” Never felt so legit in my life. Wonderful guy to work with.
53. USA photo suit. It got so out of hand and we owned most people’s news feed for about a day. But it’s better than the same old political share-mongering we typically see in social media.
54. The night Sam Davis went completely above and beyond after a show at Mowie’s. I had borrowed the church van to return a trailer I had also borrowed earlier that week for camp (it’s complicated). Anyway, I managed to get the van buried to the axles in mud and incidentally, it was scheduled to be driven to Florida the next morning (which by then was about 3 hours away). Sam found out I was in a bind and even though he had a 45 minute drive home, he stuck it out with me until we got the van out of the mud (it involved a truck with four wheel drive and probably a lot of swearing and praying on my part but we won’t get into that).
55. The night Travis ran into the middle of the dance floor at The Boar’s Nest in a life size Gumby costume. It was still in my back seat from Halloween.
56. Baking hundreds of cookies for our first Christmas At The Curve.
57. The night we learned “Fight For Your Right” in Aaron’s basement. It’s a long story but I remember all of us laughing for about an hour because of Brian’s shenanigans and never really making much progress on the song itself. Worth it.
58. New Year’s Eve at Daddios in Bloomington. Packed bar knew every word to every song. Spent the night at Brian and Julie’s watching the NYC countdown and consuming large quantities of amazing food.
59. Halloween at Spruce Street Studios. Band went all out with costumes, crowd was super into our set, still not a fan of Dairy Queen’s dinner menu.
60. Remotely recording backing tracks with Aaron over dropbox while in two different cities.
61. The first time we performed “Sweet Caroline” for my friend Caroline shortly before she moved to Arizona. It has become a set list staple now.
62. That sunset at Southwind with Paige, Albert, Aaron, Talon, and Callie during our break at Dallas and Kandy Ashford’s wedding reception.
63. Fat Ass 5k. Always an enjoyable event for a great cause. Helps to keep our energy level up at shows as well.
64. Aaron unveiling “The Bucket Riser.” Looks like a spaceship once it’s all lit up.
65. That moment we realized the potential for mashing up “Careless Whisper” and “Dead Or Alive.” It was beautiful, it was sexy, and it was apparently not enough to keep the dance floor engaged so it has been retired.
66. Batman VS. Superman with the squad.
67. Making it into the Illinois Times Band Spotlight.
68. Talon Holmes completely dying his beard green for St. Patrick’s Day.
69. That moment when the transition from “Can’t Stop The Feeling” to “Uptown Funk” came together. Things only musicians appreciate.
70. The curtains opening in Theater 3 at The Hoogland at the beginning of “Billie Jean” and the crowd going crazy.
71. For Brian’s birthday, we surprised him by playing “Plush” during the Faith” break. He jumped right in.
72. Decatur Celebration. Two fast paced sets on a beautiful August night.
73. Open Mic with Sam and Kortney. We owe a lot to those guys for helping us get out there.
74. The only show Sam and Albert played together. Stage presence was on fire.
75. Aaron’s many gizmos and gadgets including an NES controller, keytar, and more.
76. When people started following us around in Justice League and super hero t-shirts.
77. Playing a four hour set with a sprained wrist to literally two people. Some nights you just push through and hope the people, however few they may be, connect to your music.
78. Adam and Kim Wright’s wedding. They have been long time friends of the band and we were honored to be a part of their life event.
79. Every time someone realizes that we’re not going to really play “Enter Sandman.”
80. Telling my “Baskin Robbin’s” story at a late night Smokey Bones stop after a Curve show. Callie, I am so sorry.
81. Transitioning from a two guitar band to one and relearning the entire set with tracks in about two weeks while taking finals and trying to graduate from college (which I did).
82. Fourth Of July Blast in Jacksonville. We persevered with the Star-Spangled jackets and ended up putting on one heck of a show.
83. That one time I snapped on a dude who kept climbing on stage at Timbuktu. I thought he was going to spill his beer all over my pedal board (for the record, Strymon ain’t cheap).
84. Springfield Wyndham (formerly Hilton) Fight For Air Climb. Climbing over 500 stairs has a way of really bringing the band together.
85. The day we discovered Diet Peach Snapple (and the day they finally agree to sponsor the band).
86. That night I made the band go around the room and say something positive about everyone in the band.
87. Our first Blue Grouch beer garden show. Felt like a family/friend reunion.
88. First time I was able to hit the high E on a 21 fret guitar on “Don’t Stop Believing.” Practice makes pretty good.
89. Early morning remote at Hyvee with WDBR. Had no idea what to say our first time on the radio but apparently I am the voice of Fun DMC.
90. Jumping over Aaron off of the drum riser at Y-Zoe’s during the guitar solo for “The Middle.”
91. Meeting Brian Armstrong, one of the most magnetic personalities and energetic stage performers I’ve ever known. The version of Fun DMC he helped to create is now frozen in time. In the words of Ric Major, Brian always brought a “metal quality” to the stage. A fantastic bass player, one of my CrossFit inspirations, a good friend and now, a great dad, he is truly missed. His impact on Fun DMC was such that rather than attempt to fill the void he left, we opted to burn it down and start from scratch.
92. Reuniting with Aaron Eversole. Both of us formerly of Closing Time, I never thought our musical paths would cross again until Fun DMC came together. In addition to drumming, he is also a fantastic guitar player and vocal arranger. We are indebted to his contribution to Fun DMC as one of its founding members.
93. Sharing the stage with Sam Davis again. Like Aaron Eversole, he was also a member of the now defunct Closing Time. Sam came on at a time in his life where he had a very limited window between returning to the U.S. from Australia and his move to his current dwelling in the Pacific Northwest. In that time when we needed him most, Sam helped to shape the second phase of Fun DMC into the band we know today. Always the consulate professional, Sam brought a unique quality of stage presence to Fun DMC that has rarely been rivaled by any performer.
94. Having the pleasure of watching Jennifer Dowell perform in the short time she was able to sing with Fun DMC. Jen and I have shared the stage since the early days of Closing Time and I always enjoy hearing her voice whether covering rock, rap, or even something more soulful. She was part of the group at a time when we had no idea how this mashup idea was going to be received. We owe her a great deal for her contribution to the early days of Fun DMC.
95. Getting to know Paige Martin. I had heard at one point she sang back up vocals for the now retired country band, Still Kickin’. Of course I had heard her sing at church as well but wasn’t sure what she would bring to the table for Fun DMC. Either way, we were down a vocalist and in desperate need of a voice and fast. To everyone’s relief, she turned out great. So great, in fact, that when Jen Dowell transitioned out of Fun DMC, Paige Martin was our unanimous first choice for her replacement. Far from being labeled simply as a country singer, Paige brings an arsenal of vocal variety that includes hip-hop, rock, pop, and more. It seems no matter what crazy idea we come up with, she is always up to the challenge.
96. Meeting Albert Capati. Albert is the type of guy whose reputation precedes him. A regular in community theater and the Springfield music scene, I had always viewed him in the highest regards. After filling in on vocal duties during a one-off show, I always kept it in the back of my mind that should that slot ever one up, he was high up on my list of replacements. You can imagine my elation when I received a message that he would be interested in taking Sam’s place in Fun DMC. Night after night I am amazed not only at his stage presence and voice, but in his ability to step completely out of his comfort zone and deliver while making it look effortless.
97. Meeting Katey Kamerad. When Paige came into Fun DMC, our understanding was that she would be returning to school at St. Louis University and there would be times when she just didn’t have the availability to cover every show on the books. And so the idea of a fill-in vocalist came around. Referred to us by Albert Capati, I met Katey one night at an audition at my church. We had messaged for a few days leading up to this and I was completely amazed at how easily this all came to her. She even danced around the room while we went through the material. No sooner had she left, I called up Aaron Stanley to tell him that we had found our fill-in. Any time either Paige or Albert cannot make a show, Katey is at the top of our list as their stunt double. She and her husband Chad are great friends to the band and often join us on our extracurricular activities.
98. The evolution of Talon Holmes. I met Talon when I came to Central Baptist Church in 2012. I knew he was already a good drummer but watching how he has developed his playing since joining Fun DMC has been nothing short of surreal. At this point, it might be easy to take for granted the complex task of holding together a band whose arrangements are rhythmically all over the map but ask any drummer and they will tell you, Talon Holmes is the real deal on the kit. Though a metal guy at heart, Talon throws himself into whatever crazy song structure we bring his way, whether a 12 minute Country Medley with multiple mom changes or the 11/4 time signature of “Hey Ya.” Still, my personal favorite moment of every show is that big fill on “Boys Of Summer.”
99. Making music with my bro, Aaron Stanley again. The conversation went like this; I told Aaron I wouldn’t mind playing in a band again but I just wanted to play guitar and I don’t want to be involved in any other capacity than that. He agreed and it hasn’t been that way at all. So we dream up new ways to make this band unique among its peers, write blogs, records tracks, and a million other things everyday to keep Fun DMC trending. Aaron is the mind behind most of this and relentlessly chases down new ways to promote the band. Most of the song selections originate from Aaron which he has proven to be quite effective at. A talented multi-instrumentalist, promoter, social media manager, and visionary, Aaron Stanley is likely the reason Fun DMC has come as far as they have.
100. That one time I looked across The Curve Inn and saw my wife intently watching me play guitar. So I decided to show off a little bit, walk out and dance with her. So much of what I do musically in my life is dictated either by performance or at my job, a spiritual exercise (both important and legitimate expressions). But sometimes, it’s nice to revert back to that time when you first picked up a guitar because you thought you might be able to impress a girl with it someday. I doubt she was impressed. Still, it probably stands as my favorite memory out of the 100.