Finally Friday

Great News!

Finally Friday Band Big News

There’s big news from FINALLY FRIDAY…

Following 2 long years of service DJ Hesterman is returning from the England, Birmingham mission. He’s reporting on his mission Sunday, June 21st. All reports from his mission speak of hard work, fun and success.

David Crosby has promised to meet DJ at the airport with guitar in hand. They both want to play together again ASAP…. However, David might miss DJ’s arrival because of something new and big in his life. David has fallen in love. He just might be in Spokane the day DJ hits Salt Lake…the rumor is he wants to discuss important matters with her family. Nothing is definite yet…time will tell.

Emily Nicolich is the band member doing the most with music right now. Living in Atlanta means she’s close to the heart of Country music where she is needed from time to time to add violin and fiddle arrangements at local gigs. Emily plays in concert this weekend with the Ryan Casper Band at Stone Mountain State Park in Georgia for Atlanta's largest Memorial Day Weekend celebration, a Salute to the Troops. The expected attendance is 15,000 which will be the largest audience any FINALLY FRIDAY member has performed before. One planned number is The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Many FINALLY FRIDAY fans remember how well she played this at the FF final concert which was 3 years ago today in Salt Lake’s Rose Wagner Theatre.

Stephen Crosby is still doing "the work" as a hard-hitting LDS missionary in Guatemala and resident genius Charles Stewart is more of an engineer every day, but drumming is still an important part of his life. We’d love to hear from you. Send questions or comments to hestermaniac@comcast.net and mention Finally Friday in the subject line.

DJ Goes on a Mission

DJ has left for England where he will serve for two years as a full-time missionary for his church. Before leaving Salt lake city, DJ was in the recording studio playing cello. He helped Emily record four hymn arrangements that she has composed for violin, cello and piano. Carol Crosby played piano. That's right - Carol is mother to David Crosby - the lead singer lead guitar of Finally Friday.

What can we say. We're a tight knit group.

DJ also recorded three songs that he wrote the music to. He wrote the lyrics to all but the song "A Little Girl Named Sophie". We hope to post a couple of these recordings soon.

DJ will be serving in Birmingham. He is currently receiving some missionary training in Preston. You know - learning how to dodge beer bottles and such.

Devil Went Down to Georgia

Yep, th'ole devil went down to georgia. But never fear, David and Emily have gone down there to Atlanta to take care of Business. David is preaching the Word - gettin' th'ole devil out of people's lives. Meanwhile, Emily is sitting on the hickory stump with her fiddle in hand waiting to claim that golden fiddle.

Footage of Emily's rendition of Devil Went Down to Georgia is now available on her web site EmilyViolin.com.

In October, Friday the 13Th to be exact, Emily has brought a brand new and sparkling clean soul into the world and her name is Sally Rose - a Georgia Peach! For those interested, they can watch a slideshow of Sally Rose's first week: Sally Rose

Farewell Concert

At a location to be announced, Finally Friday will host a free farewell concert Friday May 19th, 8pm. Did we mention that it's free? It'll be an extravaganza - so be there! They'll play the largest set they've ever played including new songs. This will be the last time you will get a chance to see the band play live again - before fate takes it's toll and band members pursue their individual destinies. May 19th - mark it on your calendar, and check back for that location...

Garageband.com Awards

Recently we've set up a presence at Garageband.com. "Merry Go Round" has won two awards - one for most original acoustic track for the week of Jan 9, 2006 and one for feel good acoustic track for the same week. "Knock You Out" was awarded most original rock track for the week of Jan 9, 2006. Yay! We've gotten some great reviews and also some "candid reviews. Go check us out, and feel free to add your comments and reviews.

Podcast On UtahOutloud.com

Tonight December 22nd, two days before christmas we're doing a podcast for UtahOutLoud.com. For those new to podcasts, a podcast is similar to a live radio show that is recorded and then broadcasted on the radio. However, in the case of a podcast, the show is distributed on the internet in the form of a .mp3 file that can be downloaded and listened to with Windows Media Player or one of your other music players that is capable of reading a .mp3 file. Anyway, UtahOutLoud.com has been doing a really great job with their podcast shows and we're excited to be in one. We have previously had some of our recorded music play in the podcast. But this time, we'll be in the UtahOutLoud studio doing interview and being doing a live recording. Fun! In a couple days, check out www.utahoutloud.com and listen to the results!

Emily Launches Her Violin Studio Website

Congratulations to Emily for establishing her web presence EmilyViolin.com.

We wish her the best of luck growing her own violin studio.

For fans of Emily, please visit her site. She could use your traffic and support! We love you, Emily!

Emily tells us that she's working on another project where she will offer information and advice for violin students and teachers at ThinkViolin.com although the site is still in the very beginning stages.

Band Plays Christmas Party

December 6 we played a 45 minute set at a corporate christmas party. That was really fun, and we hope we gained some new fans! If you were there and would like to send us a shout-out - email us at us@finallyfridayband.com - we'd love to hear your feedback! The CEO passed out several of our newly released CD and we hope people enjoy it.

Web Site Popularity Way Up

We thought it newsworthy that our site is currently listed as the FIRST non-sponsored link on Google when searching for "finally friday" - out of over 52 million links! Thanks to our fans and other curious folk for the interest! Also, thanks to Bill Nicolich our webmaster for his expertise.

We also list on the first page on Google for the search "great acoustic rock" - yeah!

We'd also like to thank our friends at myspace.com who've been visiting as well. Yes - we're watching you via high-tech surveillance techniques. Could visiting our web site decrease your chances for a government audit? Who knows ;)

Celebrity Endorsement: Kurt Bestor

First Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, now Kurt Bestor has voluntarily complemented the band.

During the sound check for tonight's performance (Saturday October 15) Kurt said "Hey, you guys sound great. I'd buy your CD." When asked if we could quote him, he said "Sure. I meant it. I would buy your CD." Thanks Kurt for the words of encouragement. If anyone doesn't know, Kurt is a celebrated musician and composer. Check out his web site at: www.kurtbestor.com.

Studio Time - At Last!

As the 2005 Utah's Next competition winners, Finally Friday had won a 4-song demo cd to be recorded at the Soularium. Well, that finally happened this weekend of October 9 - 10 in whirlwind fashion. CDs go on sale very soon so keep an eye out for that!

Friday Aug. 16 @ 8:00 pm - Sandy Amphitheater Concert with Cheri Magill!

Cheri Magill has invited us to open for her at this much anticipated event. I'll be a fun concert with free giveaways from Utah companies. Tickets are $12 with group rates available. Call 568-ARTS for tickets, and we'll see you there! The Sandy Amphitheater is an awesome venue that you will love, especially as our summer comes to a close.

We will be showcasing some of our latest songs, so come check it out!

Thanks everybody who came to the nearly sold out show at The Circuit! We had a blast. There was a former record company CEO in the audience that night - and he made some complimentary comments about the band. He especially had some good things to say about Emily the violin girl. Way to go Emily!

Saturday August 20th We're headlining at The Curcuit.

Show starts at about 7 p.m. so plan on being there if you can! We will play at 8:15 p.m. Two other bands will also play: Parker Ence and Chudda - both very talented and creative groups. For those of you who don't know Chudda, here is their bio:

Chudda
Chudda is a newly formed band consisting of members with years of musical experience. Their goal is to create "good music". They have a self-described "progressive soul" sound. Chudda fuses a wide variety of influences into their music. The members of the band don't box themselves into any specific genre. They pull inspiration from everything: jazz to classical to punk to country. Nothing is off limits. The one constant for the group is this: Chudda is a rock n' roll band.

About the band members:
Danny Wiseman (guitars): Danny is trained in jazz and everything else under the sun. While being a technical virtuoso, he is also a minimalist in his songwriting, meaning that he plays what is best for each song. That is an awesome trait in a lead guitarist.

Libby West (keyboards and vocals): Libby is trained in classical piano, flute and vocal performance. Her songwriting is powerful, complex, soulful, and thoughtfully arranged. She brings melody and color to the rock world.

Nicholas West (bass): Nicholas is self trained in rock, funk and anything else he figures out. His focus is rythym, emotion and holding it all together. He and Libby contribute most of the band's lyrics.

Danny Copta (drums): Though not a full-time member of Chudda, Copta still owns you and your mom. He is the world's original drummer. Period.

We had a good crowd at the Concert-Dinner-Movie concert at Midvale City Park. We were glad to see you all there!

We're currently getting some concerts lined up and working on those new songs. If you haven't already, sign up for the mailing list - the entry form is on our home page! We'll keep you up to speed.

We had a good crowd at the Concert-Dinner-Movie concert at Midvale City Park. We were glad to see you all there!

We're currently getting some concerts lined up and working on those new songs. If you haven't already, sign up for the mailing list - the entry form is on our home page! We'll keep you up to speed.

Friday July 8 at 6:00 p.m.
We will be headlining at a special Concert-Dinner-Movie event put on by the City of Midvale. All ages are invited - all surrounding communities included.

Come chill with us at this great free summertime event!
MIDVALE CITY PARK 7500 S. 400 W.

Saturday June 11 @6:00 p.m.
MIDVALE CITY PARK 7500 S. 400 W.

Finally Friday headlines at the Movie In the Park event, an alcohol and drug free High School graduation celebration sponsored by Midvale City and others. Everyone of High School age are invited to attend! Cost is $2 per person and includes the music, food, a movie shown on a gigantic blow-up screen, socializing and dancing! The event starts at 3:00 p.m.. Be there!

May 24 2005: Finally Friday played at the Epic Fund Raiser

If our head count was right, there were over 300 people at the Epic benefit concert! If you were there and you liked us, give us a shout out: Shout out. Thanks for supporting a great cause! Be sure to check out our music clips from the show! Emily breaking her violin string is captured on video. Emily gone wild! The concert was sponsored by the Sandy Youth Council and benefits AIDS orphans in Zambia. Hopefully Epic will be back next year. The people at the Sandy Amphitheater were nice to work with. Thanks you Sandy Ampthitheater people!

Finally Friday will play along with other talented local bands to benefit AIDS orphans in Zambia Friday May 24 2005. The concert takes place at the Sandy Amphitheater: 9400 South 1300 East at 7:00 p.m.. Tickets are $5-$7. Come check out a great concert for a great cause! The Sandy Journal has done a story on the event. Sandy Journal page B3

Finally Friday wins the 2005 Utah's Next music talent competition!

Let the search begin! News stories around Utah announced the commencement of this year's Utah's Next music talent search sponsored by Highway Records and others. Deseretnews.com posted the story Sunday March 13, 2005 entitled Statewide talent hunt under way. The Tooele Transcript posted an article Tuesday March 8, 2005 entitled Statewide talent search.

Out of about 100 talented contestants, Finally Friday progressed through each round to eventually claim the top prize: a 4-song demo cd to be professionally recorded at Soularium studios, sponsored by Highway Records.

At the quarter-finals, about 25 contestants were invited to perform live in front of a pannel of industry experts in a closed audition at Soularium studios. Contestants were judged and given advice. The band really enjoyed performing and getting feedback.

At the semi-finals, 9 (one of the remaining 10 dropped out) contestants performed one song each in a live concert held on BYU campus in Provo, Utah in front an audience and judges. BYU News Net posted a story about the event Utah bands to play for top spot. Acts included solo singers, solo piano and vocalists, and bands. The results were decided by judges' score cards and audience voting. Finally Friday was first up and set the tone for a very entertaining evening filled with talented performances. Three finalists were announced at the end of the show: Auburn, Finally Friday and Justin Williams. Band members felt excited and honored to advance to the finals. A brief clip of the concert aired on tv showing the band playing.

At the finals, each act performed a song live on the ABC Channel 4 morning show Good Things Utah, each on a separate day. This time, Finally Friday performed last on Wednesday morning April 20th. While warming up on the set, one of DJ's guitar strings broke. A minute later, DJ accidentally dropped a candy sucker that he had been licking into the cavity of his guitar. Doh! Meanwhile, Emily switched out violins due to a missing audio cord. Despite the setbacks and the pressure of playing with multiple cameras rolling, the band gave television viewers a good taste of Finally Friday with the song "Merry-go-round." From Wednesday to Saturday, television viewers and fans were invited to vote on-line for their favorite performers. All the band members voiced a lot of respect for the talents of the other contestants and hoped for the best.

Sunday April 24th, Steve, who was in possession of the cell phone that was to get news of the results, and who was in New York at the time with DJ for a performance with the Troubadours chorale group, received the fantastic news first. Finally Friday has just won the 2005 Utah's Next competition!!! Other band members were then alerted. Emily's husband Bill was heared saying, "That's Fantabulous!" Monday morning the winners were announced on Good Things Utah. Live at Skyline High, David, Charles and Emily were interviewed on live television along with a group of Skyline supporters. Results of the competition have been posted on the ABC Channel 4 web site "Utah's Next" Talent Search.

To all those who have recently discovered Finally Friday, welcome! We hope you enjoy our music and performances. To all the fans, thank you for helping us do what we love doing! You rock!

Friday April 29 at 7pm:

Finally Friday headlines at The Circuit.
The band will debut some new songs that they are very excited about, so be one of the first to hear them! The venue accommodates all ages so bring the whole family. The Circuit is at 7711 S. 700 W. in Midvale.