New Years Eve wasn’t just the ending of a banner 2017 year for Fun DMC; it was also our 200th show as a band.  We hit 100 shows way back in August of 2016, and to the surprise of all of the band members, we have since racked up another 100 in just a year and a half.  The faces, songs, equipment, and venues have definitely changed over 200 shows, but the commitment to what we do and each other has only become stronger over the years.  At our last milestone, we published 100 memories from those events-to-date and now we’re continuing on with another 100 memories to bridge the gap since:

100 More Shows, 100 More Memories

1. Katey became a permanent member of Fun DMC.
2. Chad took on production duties after Callie’s retirement.
3. We began the tradition of an annual Fun DMC & Friends show, including founding member Brian Armstrong rejoining us on stage, Lance Stone singing Larger Than Life, and Liz Gall ripping through Fancy Tonight like a boss.
4. And then we did it again in 2017 with even more friends like Peter Scott of Captain Geech, Billy Cooper of The Mix, Brandy Kristen from Brandy Kristen & The Revival, Dane Vincent of Smashtag, and Janet Morris.
5. We made a very fast road trip to Nashville to celebrate former vocalist Sam Davis‘ wedding.  The band live streamed the whole way to stay awake.
6. We welcomed Aaron’s first child, Jonah, into the band family with a scavenger hunt for more than 100 bottles of Diet Peach Snapple that he’s still finding around the house five months later.
7. We found out that Robert is also adding another little one to the Fun DMC family with the announcement of baby Reynolds, coming in 2018.
8. Our trailer went to live on a farm with other retired trailers.
9. So we welcomed Bertha – the 6×12 monstrosity that is determined to destroy the transmission on Talon’s jeep.
10. We didn’t just play at Waldoverfest.
11. Katey and this little girl stole the show with a sweet duet of “Let It Go.”
12. We opened up for Bret Michaels on the main stage at Decatur Celebration under the largest American flag we’ve ever seen.
13. Aaron retired his 8×10 bass cabinet, moved to a 4×10 bass cabinet, and now uses no bass cabinet.  No one in the band has missed moving his stuff around.
14. We added large televisions synced to the videos of the artists we’re covering.  The reactions of brides and grooms when we have photos of them locked and loaded for their first dance is one of our favorite things to do.
15. We hosted our annual Christmas at the Curve benefit for Toys for Tots #3 and #4.  Year 3 featured Lick Creek and Smashtag, while Year 4 was a record year with Smashtag saving the day after a headliner drop-out along with Brandy Kristin & The Revival.
16. Robert broke 438 strings between shows 40 and 57.
17. We opened up for Resurrection: A Journey Tribute in front of 5,000 people.
18. We shamelessly campaigned for the Illinois Times Best Hip Hop Band: “Can your band do that?”
19. … and somehow ended up getting it!
20. After somehow showing up to a show in 5 completely different colors and patterns of shorts, the band had an unnecessarily detailed discussion about and then purchased 5 matching black pairs of shorts.
21. It took three years, but we finally got to go to a Caparty.
22. We became legit in the eyes of the state of Illinois and the Internal Revenue Service and formed Fun DMC, LLC.
23. We hosted two more Valentines Day shows with Smashtag.
24. And we shot a second promo video for it.
25. We wore the most amazing Halloween costumes ever worn.  Oh yeah!
26. We played at the Jamie Kleimenhemer benefit alongside our friends in The Mix, Smashtag, and more.
27. We also played at Race For The Cure and capped off the night with a fireworks show while loading in.
28. We’ve done so. many. bridal expos.
29. We were part of the solar eclipse party at Danenberger Family Vineyards.
30. Liz Gall basically became the 7th band member of Fun DMC for as many times as she’s filled in for us.
31. We played at The Illinois State Fair with our pals in The Mix!
32. We officially became sponsored by Coors Light – the greatest beer ever brewed.
33. Suddenly: Mesa County Fair
34. In cooperation with Capati Dental, we performed in “I Can’t Feel My Face” and “Tearin Up My Tongue” dental parody videos.
35. We also shot a wedding promo video.
36. We were saddened by the loss of a friend of the band, Annastasia Marie Du’Sablon.
37. Aaron fumbled through playing guitar after Robert had a family emergency on Blackout Wednesday.
38. We got to play at a traditional Indian wedding reception.
39. We also played a hearing-impared wedding reception.
40. We broke out the red, white, and blues for some Fourth of July shows.
41. Talon broke his wrist and Fred Sauermann jumped in with almost no notice.
42. Talon also got called away from work and Michael Sawczak jumping in with almost no notice.
43. We played the Legacy of Giving Festival, formerly SOHO.  (And we’re back again this year!)
44. Fun DMC went camping!
45. The band made their debut TV appearance.
46. “The Red Wedding”
47. We got to perform at the Fat Ass 5k pre-party with The Shenanigans and Off The Wall.
48. First Christian Church of Decatur can throw down.
49. Robert and Aaron performed for all their coworkers at the Atterberry wedding
50. Novocain returns!
51. Albert retired from Take 10 to fully devote his attention to Fun DMC, his new sleep-apnea clinic, and his 2020 run for comptroller.
52. Merry Christmas from Fun DMC.
53. Clinical Radiologists also know how to throw down.
54. We earned the 2017 WeddingWire Couples Choice Award.
55. Spaceship Drum Riser 1.0 died an honorable death.  Spaceship Drum Riser 2.0 will rise from the ashes like a beautiful phoenix in early 2018.
56. We wore scrubs for one show.
57. Members of Fun DMC performed the entirety of U2’s The Joshua Tree album at The Curve Inn.
58. We hit 10k Facebook likes.  We’re only a few thousand Instagram posts away from Albert’s promised Fun DMC tattoo.
59. We ran the Insane Inflatable 5k as a band and Chad busted his arm.  We’re doing it again this year.
60. We added hula hoops and Skip-Its!
61. The skip-its were quickly retired for liability reasons.
62. Cubs Win, Cubs Win!
63. We played our first (and hopefully not last) Bar Mitzvah.
64. We had a wookie show up on the dance floor.
65. The band collectively caused a nationwide shortage on Diet Peach Snapple.
66. We Moved a dumpster in the rain to get to a the loading door.
67. There was a classy impromptu wedding promo photo shoot by AptFoto taken at a gorgeous wedding.
68. 2/3 of the band headed to Wisconsin to play at SKWIM. #FunDMSki
69. We had multiple four hour band meetings that would take any other band 35 minutes.
70. Robert threw shade at every band in the local community live on WDBR.
71. We ended up on stage with Smashtag a number of times.
72. Chad bravely snuck Katey’s name into the karaoke lineup at Athens Fourth of July Fest and had them announce her as “the second-best Journey singer in Fun DMC.”
73. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night keep us from performing at Panther Creek Country Club.
74. Albert grabbed the bass for a U2 song so Aaron could go run sound when Chad had to leave suddenly.
75. We took this photo.
76. Playing a show with a sprained wrist, a busted foot, a thrown out back, or sick – the show went on.
77. Dinosaurs showed up on the dance floor.  This happened multiple times in the last 100 shows.
78. We came up with a long-form version of Let’s Get It On Loud.
79. We performed multiple Trans-siberian Orchestra songs at Christmas at the Curve 4, complete with bells, piano, violin, flute, and 3 guitars.
80. We got an amazing shout out on Byers and Company.
81. Aaron’s nine-year-old niece came up with and arranged a Taylor Swift and Fitz & The Tantrums mashup, “Look What You Made Me Clap“.
82. We committed to learning and performing 12 new songs in the new year.
83. Talon began using a digital drum kit.  His ride cymbal can be heard crying in the trailer at night.
84. We can still proudly say we’ve never had to cancel a show.  *knock on wood*
85. As of show #200, we have:
    Attended 12 bridal expos;
    Played 6 State Fair Performances on the Coors Light stage;
    Played 12 Mowie’s Cue shows;
    Performed at 22 private events;
    Played at The Blue Grouch 14 times;
    Played at The Boars Nest 12 times;
    Played at The Curve Inn 18 times;
    and performed at 32 wedding receptions.
86. We have written 272 blogs to date.
87. We had a very visible (as it were) “off-night“.
88. The band spent hours in Cedarwood studios (aka Robert’s basement) recording vocals for videos.
89. We cheered on amateur wrestlers while setting up for the Petersburg Harvest Fest.
90. There was a 3 month period where we kept blowing fuses at venues, despite not drawing all that much power for our system.  We’ve learned to get better at evaluating circuits but we still carry a mile of extension cords, just in case.
91. We hired a caricature artist for a show!
92. It turns out every musician in Springfield ends up at Steak n Shake after their shows.
93. We added some additional features to our wedding packages!
94. Sweet Fun DMC swag!
95. Movie nights with the Fun DMCrew.
96. Us and a room full of high schoolers nailed the mannequin challenge when it was still cool.
97. We played at The Alamo and it turned out to be a roarin 20’s party.
98. Robert’s biggest fan got to dance with her daddy multiple times.
99. Chad shot a now very-outdated time lapse of our set up.
100. New fun promo photo!