We released an EP! (and other news)
We finished our new EP! Well…technically, we finished it back in April. We hope to play a CD release show once the global pandemic is under control. In the meantime, Tomorrow’s Free is available to purchase and/or stream on almost all the major online music services including Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and most other places where you find music online. This EP was a labor of love that took us the better part of 2 years to complete, and we are proud of the result. We hope to put out a video for one of the tracks, and we’ve been promoting Bandwagon on social media as the first ‘single’. The five tracks on Tomorrow’s Free touch on several musical genres, so be sure to give it a listen (and share it on social media).
In other news, Nick has moved on from the band and we wish him well. In a wonderful twist of fate, a founding member Fabrizio has returned to play drums full time! We couldn’t be happier to have him back. We played a 3-hour show in DC with Fab on drums back in late February before things shut down, and we’ve just begun to practice (outdoors) and work on new material (independently and/or outdoors) to get ready to rock when it’s safe enough to get into the rhythm of playing regular shows again. Fingers crossed that we don’t lose too many venues in the meantime, and be sure to follow our Facebook page for our most frequent news and updates.
The Vico Cycle still rides through 2017
It has been a while, hasn't it? Almost all the site action has moved over to our Facebook page, it being 2017 and all. If you've kept up with us there since 2015, you'd know everything that has gone on with us since we last posted here. Our original drummer Fabrizio and keys player Roderico left us to spend more time with their kids -- literally. Fortunately, Nick's skill, musical versatility and songwriting chops have more than made up for their departures. We are incredibly fortunate to have found him, and the band is probably more flexible and dynamic now than we have ever been. Thanks to our current roster's consistency, commitment, and especially Zandy's hard work, we've played more shows in the past 18 months than we did in the previous years. Finally, one of us got hitched for the first time and another had a kid for the first time.
In other exciting news, we've also completed our first studio recordings in 4+ years. If you've been coming to our live shows featuring our original work, you might recognize Polar Vortex Blues, A Friend In the Dark, and Back From the Dead. The tracks have been mastered and will be released over the next few weeks. We think they provide a good sample of what we're all about.
And these new recordings are just the beginning. We've decided that the album/EP paradigm of music publishing is largely obsolete, so we've decided to record and release new original songs whenever we strike that magical combination of inspiration, money, and time. That means you never know when we will drop a new track -- but we will be sure to let you know when we do via our Facebook page.
The Cycle's 2015 thus far...
We know: it's been a while since we updated the site. But as some of you know by now, we've been busy doing the stuff that bands do: writing new music, jelling with our new(er) lineup, playing live, accumulating likes on Facebook, and refining our sound.
We closed 2015 with another show at Green Island (promoted to Heaven) in Adams Morgan, then kicked off 2015 with a 2 hour, 40-minute marathon show at Acre 121 in January. We followed that up with our first show at Tree House Lounge.
To our collective joy, Zandy has been just what the doctor ordered on guitar. It's been exciting to finally play live regularly, as we've always intended - and even more exciting to make a bunch of new fans along the way. Thanks to those of you who are hearing us for the first time, or to the first time in a long time.
The Cycle returns to Acre 121 on Saturday April 18. We will be almost an entire set's worth of new or barely-heard material, which we are definitely pumped about. See you there.
The Vico Cycle Keeps On Rolling
The past 12 months have been quite eventful. After a tumultuous beginning of the year for us in our individual lives, the band has emerged stronger than it's ever been. We have a new guitarist (Zandy), new connections for gig opportunities, and a unified focus for the first time in quite some time. We plan on providing you with the opportunity to see us play at least once a month.
And we've already begun. Less than two months after Zandy joined us, we played a show at the Green Island Cafe in Adams Morgan. We were happy to see that a lot of our old fans showed up along with several new ones. We even recorded a video of one song in the set! It's dark, but you can check that out in our Music section.
On the heels of our successful re-re-relaunch, we will be playing at Green Island again this Friday, December 5 along with AF The Naysayer and Holm. We will be second in the lineup, so expect our set to land between 8:15 and 10. After the holidays, it looks like bigger and better show opportunities will be coming our way in January -- so stay tuned.
Cheers,
Jidé, Zandy, Fab, Rod, and Josh
The Cycle Never Stops
You may be wondering, "What's been going on with The Vico Cycle?" Well...quite a bit, actually.
Back in January of 2013, we parted ways with Galen and Jasper. We wish them well. Their departure was soon followed by blockbuster news: we welcomed back O.G. Cyclists Fabrizio and Derek! We couldn't be happier to have the opportunity to play together again.
The creative juices started to flow immediately, so we got our feet re-wet(ted) by playing a couple of open mics and a reunion show at Acre 121 back in May. Jidé battled health issues during the year, while Josh moved to Austin -- but remained in the band. He comes back to DC regularly, and we love playing music with him.
This time we decided to approach things differently. Instead of playing out more, we decided to flesh out the new songs that started popping almost immediately. So we went into the lab and started writing. And writing some more. And refining. And arranging. By September, we had written 8 brand-spanking new original tunes -- and planted the seeds for at least 6 more.
I know what you're thinking: "When will we get to hear them?!?!" Patience, grasshoppers: that's our other big announcement. We have distilled our new stuff into a 6-song EP, and continued the song refinement process in the fall. We are doing the original recordings on our own, and the holidays came up pretty quickly, so it will take us a bit of time to get them right. But once we do, fear not: you'll see us playing out again soon enough.
We are very excited about our new material and we think you will enjoy it, too. The unique chemistry we had together was recaptured immediately, and we look forward to blasting off with the fruits of our labor in the spring. Our new website is just the tip of the iceberg. Come ride the rocket ship with us: 2014 promises to be the biggest Vico year yet.
Brand New Site!
Welcome to The Vico Cycle's new online home! We decided to create a new, more zen-occupied online space for ourselves and our fans. We hope you enjoy your stay.
Upcoming Show: Acre 121, Saturday October 6th, 9pm to 1am
Thanks to everyone's support at the band showcase in July, we have been invited back to Acre 121 to play a full set! We've been working hard to bring you only the best in musical entertainment, so you can expect a lot of surprises for this one.
Come join us for another night of magic, mystery, and amazing BBQ at Acre 121!
Upcoming show: Friday August 10th, Wing Hub, Bethesda MD
We're keeping the performance train rolling with another show, this time on a Friday night, in Bethesda MD. We'll be playing with our bassist's younger brother for his birthday, a show that is sure to be of epic proportions. The place is at 4914 Cordell Avenue, and the show starts promptly at 8:30pm. We're up first, so come out and join us for some zesty wings and tasty tunes.
For more updates, check out our facebook page.
For deets on the other 2 acts, check out Shake Dog and Noah Silver.
The Vico Cycle wins July 18th Acre 121 Band Showcase!
Thanks to everyone for coming out to see us at Acre 121. Thanks to your support, WE WON THE BAND SHOWCASE!!! We have been invited back for a weekend show TBD.
Thanks also to all of the great acts that played with us: Elena and Los Fulanos, Nobody’s Business, and The Justin Fung Band.
Also thanks to Acre 121 for hosting us and having delicious BBQ.
New Videos
Upcoming show: July 18th at Acre 121
We will be playing a 45-minute set at Acre 121 on Wednesday July 18. The venue is right next to the Columbia Heights Metro Station. The stakes are high: multiple bands will play, and the audience will get to vote for their favorite band at the end of the night. The winner will get paid -- and, more importantly, the winning band will be offered a weekend show at Acre 121. We go on at 9 p.m., so please come out on the 18 and show the Cycle some love!
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone for coming out to see us at Acre 121. Thanks to your support, WE WON THE BAND SHOWCASE!!!
We have been invited back for a weekend show TBD.
Thanks also to all of the great acts that played with us: Elena and Los Fulanos, Nobody’s Business, and The Justin Fung Band.
Also thanks to Acre 121 for hosting us and having delicious BBQ.
Thanks for coming!
The band would like to thank all our fans who braved the 100-degree heat, high-humidity, and healthy distance from thenearest Metro station to see us play our first gig with the new lineup on Thursday night at Del Ray Music Week. Jasper has only been with us for about a month, and I was only 10 days removed from an operation, but the crowd and venue seemed to dig us. Our demos and performance seem to be getting us noticed, so look out for more shows over the coming months.
'New' studio songs
Just a reminder that you can listen to our new studio demos here, as well as some random material pulled from rehearsals or performances. Older fans will recognize some of the songs, but others will be completely new to their ears. All material is original unless otherwise stated. (All original material was written, composed and arranged by current and/or former members of the band.)
The Cycle preps for the Del Ray Music Festival
We are excited to report that The Vico Cycle was selected to play Del Ray Music Week! The schedule is out, and we are on it. (In fact, the schedule has a link to this site - so if you are visiting our page for the first time, welcome! Feel free to check out some of our tracks.) This musical exhibition is part of the festivities leading up to the Del Ray Music Festival in Alexandria, VA. We will take the stage on Thursday, June 21 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Details on our location and time-slot can be found here. We look forward to playing songs across our wide repertoire spanning rock, blues, funk, soul, and hip-hop. Hope to see you there.
Welcome Jasper!
If you were interested in drumming for us, I'm afraid it's too late: The Vico Cycle would like to welcome Jasper to our active family! He is a rocket scientist in training and a quick study. We are excited to have him.
The Cycle Keeps Rolling...
Much has gone down since our last update. We lost an original member, as Fabrizio is moving to the bright(er) lights of New York City for a better day job than the one he had here in D.C. The Vico Cycle will miss him, and we wish him the best of luck. However, he left us a parting gift: studio drum tracks. We have utilized his gift to something that was frankly long overdue: we recorded studio demos! The first two have been released on our Facebook page over the past two weeks; you can also listen to them here. We will be releasing a couple more in the coming days/weeks. It took us a while (and some continuity) to realize that we really needed some studio polish to give people a better demonstration of what we can do. They aren't alum-ready, but they are light-years ahead of any previous recordings you've ever heard from us. Go ahead and take a listen.
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Thanksgiving Eve Open Mic
The Vico Cycle will be playing 4-5 songs open mic style at The Ambassador in DC tomorrow night between 8pm and 10pm. If you're in town, feel free to stop by!
Band Update: The Cycle Rolls Again
After a summer of upheaval and change, The Vico Cycle is back practicing and writing new tunes to play soon at a place near you. We have more lineup changes to announce: during the past several months, Derek and The Vico Cycle parted ways. Since then, guitarists Galen and Greg joined the band at the end of summer and the middle of fall respectively. We'd like to extend them a warm welcome, and we are all excited by the creativity and new tunes the band is putting together as we get the engine rumbling again. Stay tuned for details on our re-launch, which will probably take place within weeks at a open mic near you!
New Band Additions!
The Vico Cycle would like to extend a warm welcome to Roderico, our new keyboard player, and Josh, our new bass player! The Bio section has been (partially) updated.