Venturanews
News From The Band
ALLY BREAKS LEG







 On May 30th Ally was attempting to rollerblade when she accidentally twisted her right leg and broke her tibia. It was a severe break. Ally went to the emergency room and her leg was put into a splint. She made it to our Get Downtown gig in St Pete where she performed admirably from an easy chair with her leg elevated on an ottoman.(This was an amazing thing to see). She had surgery on June 7th and is now recovering. We hope to have her back by June 22nd, but we shall see.

   Thanks to Ari McMannis (from the group Kabal) who covered Wed. June 1st at Marina Jacks. Good Work.  Thanks to Jennifer Leigh, our previous singer, now of Jennifer Leigh & Her New Digs, who filled in on June 2nd & 8th. It was a jammin' heartfelt reunion. Thanks also to Jill Wilson who covered the Pineapples gig on June 10th and did a great job. Henry Lawrence, local singer  and Super Bowl champion who often sits in with the band, filled in at Pineapples June 11th. Thanks Henry.

     (3/30) at Marina Jacks Grammy nominated Concord jazz recording artist  Karrin Allyson sang a couple of tunes with Ally and the band. We were all humbled and honored at her gesture. Thanks to our good friends John & Maggie, long time friends of Karrin's, for bringing her and her husband Bill to see the band. It was a truly special night we will remember for the rest of our days. Thanks to Karrin for the generosity of her talent and spirit. Hope it can happen again someday.
Venturafacts  What's in a name?
        
      When The Venturas (Greg, J.P.,and Art) first played together they were known as The Silvertones backing up Mike Shannon aka Dan Electro. The group played  mostly blues. Greg and JP had already played together for several years before Art joined the group in 1996. In 2000 the guys started working as a trio playing a novel mix of jazz, blues, and surf. They worked under the names Redtop, and The PoulosProject. One night while playing a at Gilligans on Siesta Key (a gig we still play to this day), one of the patrons came up to Greg and said,"I love that Venturas music you guys are playing."  The guy of course meant The Ventures a popular instrumental surf band  of whose music we played quite a bit . Greg relayed this story to us and I believe almost immediately we knew that would be our name. Now with the addition of Ally and Eddie the band is better than ever. I don't think any of us knew The Venturas would be together this long and be blessed with such success. That is thanks to you our supporters. We can't do it without you . THANKS!!!
WELCOME BACK SNOWBIRDS 
It's always good to see our part time residents out on our gigs. Make sure to check us out at Marina Jacks our new regular Wednesday night appearance.