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Piper Downs Make History on October 30, 2003 at Hard Rock Café
What can I say about the Los Angeles Piper Downs that hasn't already been written? Plenty! October has been an outstanding month for the Downs, and November shows promise of more bigger and better things to come as well. Their nationwide fan club has gone global including North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. The buzz is spreading faster than wildfire on the LAPD, and Hard Rock Café has recently named them "The Best Unsigned Band in America". Fortune turned gold in September when The Piper Downs were named "Home Band" of the Los Angeles Hard Rock Café (Beverly Center), and Bobby's black Fender Telecaster made a trip down to Florida to be registered as part of Hard Rock's permanent archive collection.
In the spring, the Piper Downs won at the local level at Los Angeles Hard Rock Café location, which led from being one of 700 bands eligible to win to being one of twenty-five bands competing to win in the Hard Rock Café Nationwide Internet contest. The Piper Downs prevailed as they made it to the top five with thousands of Internet votes! As September was winding down, now it was up to industry professionals including Sammy Hagar to decide who goes from top five to the chosen one for an invitation down to the Cabo Wabo Meltdown 2003. The Piper Downs became the chosen ones! God Bless Sammy Hagar, who treated The Downs like rock royalty as they performed in the Cabo Wabo Meltdown October 3 and 4, 2003 with Sammy Hagar, Tommy Lee, and Jerry Cantrell.
The Piper Downs returned home to Los Angeles with great memories, and then a few days later they were in preparation for their Great Britain tour, which included the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool (think Beatles) and playing at Loughburough University with the top 10 Great Britain band Speedway. The Downs had the honor of being the first band of any nationality invited to be part of the International Pop Overthrow Cavern Club Showcase. (The Downs have also played at the other venues of International Pop Overthrow Festivals in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.) As if this wasn't enough, on October 30, 2003, Bobby Bognar, the talented front man of The Piper Downs, had the honor of having his black Fender Telecaster unveiled as part of the Los Angeles Hard Rock Café's permanent collection. The LAPD sounded great and looked outstanding dressed in formal black attire playing to a full house. The band and fans alike were overwhelmed with joy as the formal presentation took place. Bobby's guitar is right next to "The Bognar Booth" on the Westside of the café where his family was sitting that night. The Piper Downs are the first unsigned band in 24 years to receive this distinguished honor.
Wait, there's more. Dryden Records has signed a distribution deal with The Piper Downs to release their CD Varying Degrees of Failure and Tunelessness that PD has already sold over 5,000 to date with self-promotion. This awesome CD sold out in Cabo San Lucas and contains everything from hard rock hits such as "Hardcore", to the ballad "Delicate" and includes sing-along favorites such as "10 Speed". At a Piper Downs concert, fans sing along and girls fight over front man Bobby who is also known as "Big Sexy" and plays a mean guitar.
Not to be left out, Garner Knutson stands out on lead guitar, supporting vocals, and keeps the band going with his high energy and dancing on stage. He shows that he more than handle the lead on his showcase song "Sutter". Yell, keeps the jokes coming as he rocks out on bass and (2) supporting vocals and keeps Bobby and Garner in line. The newest member, Ellen McGuyer, officially joined the band in December 2001, and she became the PD's final missing puzzle piece as their hard hitting drumming sensation keeping the band glued together after five men failed to be able to handle the job. Her trademark pink ponytails have contributed to hairdressers getting more exotic color requests along with Garner always reinventing style.
Another little detail that can't be overlooked is that Bobby is the Creator and Executive Producer of Wheat From Chaff Music Festival. Along with producing an annual compilation CD featuring music from the LA Underground, all the Piper Downs contribute to the production and execution of this annual music festival. Check the Piper Downs out on www.piperdowns.com and Bobby on www.bobbybognar.com to keep up on the latest LAPD news.
Article by: Laura Phillips
Submitted: November, 2003
Photos: The Piper Downs
Artist Website: www.piperdowns.com
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