NEWS

New pictures:
Monday, April 7th, 2003
Two new sets of pictures up. March 14th, 2003, Johnny Poppers, Waterloo, Ia and March 28th, 2003, Club Shagnasty's, Cedar Falls, Ia. The Johnny Poppers set has a few shots of Brock Siemons jamming with Black Eye. Brock was Black Eyes 1st drummer and played with the band from the beginning Jan '98 up until Oct '00 when he hurt his back. This was a very special gig playing with our old drummer and friend. Next is the Shagnasty's shots. These are all from Black Eye's final show. The Black Eye Farewell show. This was a really cool show and most of our good friends and family packed the house. A really fun way to end the band the right way. Thank you all for making this night full of memories. The love was everywhere! Thanks!!!!!

Official Black Eye Press Release:
Monday, March 17th, 2003
All things must come to an end. On Friday, March 28th, 2003, the Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa hard rock band Black Eye will play it’s final show at Club Shagnasty’s in Cedar Falls. To some people this may come as a shock. But it’s true, the band has decided to call it a day and go out with a bang. Although it will be a sad day to say a final goodbye, the memories will last forever in our hearts. Come one, come all and celebrate this one last jam with bassist Elvin, singer Matt, drummer Jom and guitarist Tom.

Bands come and go. Reasons for most bands breaking up are trivial at best. Musical/creative differences, not paid enough, no time, job in the way, family in the way, side band in the way, getting burnt out, drugs/alcohol, even bad health or death. Black Eye’s reason for being done is none of those. The band just felt it was time to end. They crossed the finish line. Done. To this day, the guys are friends on and off the stage. A family. As we all know, brothers will fight from time to time. Line-up changes were kept to a minimum. Through all the ups and downs, the good always prevailed.

Black Eye survived and thrived for well over 5 years. The band began in January 1998. Over 100 shows were played in many cities throughout Iowa. A full-length CD of original music was recorded at MC Audio, Waterloo in May 2000 and sold out all 500 copies in about 18 months. The band worked hard and had a decent local following in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. Black Eye accomplished the mission they always wanted; to have maximum fun. But the time has come to move on. Time for a change.

A kind thank you goes out to the fans. Without you, Black Eye would have never been able to exist this long. Thank you to all the loyal followers who made it to every show, spread the word, and requested Black Eye. Thanks to the venues who booked Black Eye and still continue to call for rebookings. Thanks to all the bands who Black Eye have shared the stage. And thanks to the ex-members of Black Eye who also shed blood on the stage and propelled the band in its early stages. Thanks to the music stores who promoted and sold the Black Eye cds. Thanks to the radio stations, newspapers, reporters, photographers who put Black Eye in the eyes and ears of the community. And last but not least, thanks to our friends and families. Without you, we would be nothing. In 5 years time, a lot can happen. Marriages, kids, graduations, new careers, new houses, new cars, etc. And all those things happened to the members of Black Eye. That’s life. Somehow the guys always made sacrifices to keep the Black Eye boat afloat.

While maintaining loyalty to Black Eye, all 4 members have taken advantage of other opportunities in music. During the past 5 years, several side bands have sprung up to including a member or 2 from Black Eye. Some that come to mind are: Hot Lunch, Threshold, CellBlock12, Rack-it-box, Jokers Haus Band, Foreplay, Silver Tears, E.M.T., Thumb Buddy, and Empty Self. As of right now, all 4 members are in other bands and are planning on continuing with those. Elvin and Jom are in Thumb Buddy. Matt is in an unnamed band searching for members to complete the line up. Tom is in E.M.T. So even after the end of Black Eye, you can count on more music coming from the guys. Black Eye reunion? You can bet on it!

Thanks you for your time an interest. Rock and roll forever!
Tom Ogle
Guitarist of Black Eye

WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR!:
JANUARY 10TH, 2003
WELL, WE START 2003 OFF WITH A BANG! TOM & FAMILY WENT TO FLORIDA TO SEE FAMILY AND THE SITES AND MATT & GIRLFRIEND WENT TO JAMAICA AND CAME BACK ENGAGED TO GET MARRIED! SO THE NEWS IS OUT. DR. KETTMAN IS GETTING MARRIED SO GIVE HIM A CONGRATS WHEN YOU SEE HIM! I THINK THEY ARE LOOKING AT A SEPTEMBER WEDDING.

RARE MP3 AUDIO FILES:
DECEMBER 23RD, 2002
RE-RELEASED! JUST ADDED TO THE MP3.COM WEB SITE. BLACK EYE'S 1ST DEMO CD!!!!! IF YOU WANT RAW, YOU'VE GOT IT. THEIR ARE NOW THE ORIGINAL VERSIONS OF FREEDOM RISING, HEAVY NO. 4, AND BELOW THIS LIFE JUST ADDED TO HTTP://WWW.MP3.COM/BLACKEYE. THESE SONGS WERE WRITEN IN 98 AND RELEASED ONLY AS DEMO'S TO GET GIGS IN 99. NEVER RELEASED! THESE EVEN HAVE DIFFERENT GUITAR SOLO'S. TOM PLAYED BASS AND GUITAR ON THESE SONGS. AND THEY WERE RECORDED AT OGLE STUDIOS. SO NOW YOU KNOW. GET TO DOWNLOADIN'!!!!!!!!!!

NEW PICTURES:
DECEMBER 18TH, 2002
JUST ADDED IN A WHOLE BUNCH OF NEW PICTURES. WE'VE GOT THE FAMOUS MAGIC BUS, IOWA CITY, IOWA SHOTS. WE'VE GOT THE CLUB SHAGNASTY'S, CEDAR FALLS, IOWA SHOTS. AND WE'VE GOT AN OLDER PHOTO SHOOT THAT WAS TAKEN AT MORRISON STUDIOS, MORRISON, IOWA. GET TO CLICKIN!

OPERATION:
DECEMBER 13TH, 2002
TODAY TOM IS GETTING HIS TONCILS OUT. NOT BY CHOICE. HE WILL BE GONE FOR 2 WEEKS OF RECOVERY. WISH HIM LUCK!

MAGIC BUS!:
NOVEMBER 9TH, 2002
BLACK EYE FINALLY PLAYED THE MAGIC BUS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH, 817 MELROSE STREET, IOWA CITY, IA. THIS WAS A GIG THAT WAS 4 YEARS IN THE MAKING! BLACK EYE ROCKED HARD AND FUN WAS HAD BY LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF CRAZY PEOPLE. OH, THE HAWKS WON THE GAME TOO -- AND NOW ARE HEADED TO THE ROSE BOWL!!!!! HERES SOME NOTES ABOUT MAGIC BUS: IT WAS THE IOWA VS NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL GAME AT KINNICK STADIUM, IOWA CITY, IA. THE MAGIC BUS IS LOCATED RIGHT NEXT TO KINNICK STADIUM. THE CLOSEST HOUSE TO THE KINNICK PARKING LOT. A $5.00 DONATION WENT TO CHARITY. FREE BEER / 60 KEGGER! BLACK EYE PLAYED RIGHT ON TOP OF THE MAGIC BUS. 13TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY. THIS WAS A BIG BIG BIG PARTY! BLACK EYE PLAYED A 45 MINUTE SET BEFORE THE GAME, A 1/2 HOUR SET AT HALF TIME, AND A 45 MINUTE SET AFTER THE GAME. CHECK OUT THE MAGIC BUS WEB SITE --- needs updating, but gives you some more info and history about it. ALSO CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN. --- it's also kind of old, but gives you a glimps of what this is all about! PICTURES WILL SOON BE UPLOADED, SO KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED! THANKS!!!

Labor Day Weekend!:
AUGUST 31 & SEPTEMBER 1, 2002
A fun time was had by all! Saturday Black Eye jammed at Barrister's in Waterloo. A friend named Matt Glasscock came up and jammed on a few songs. Matt is an old band-mate of Elvin's in a band called Grunt Bucket! Matt is also a surgeon! So we had 2 Doctors sharing the same 4'x4' stage! This dude can play. And then Sunday Black Eye headlined JackFest 4 in Reinbeck again with a bunch of cool bands. You just had to be there to feel it. Thanks for all the fans who made it out! This will happen again. And again!

Federal Pub, Hudson, Ia show RESCHEDULED:
AUGUST 24, 2002
Drummer Jom is getting a medical operation 9/5/02 and will be out of commission for 2 weeks. So the Federal Pub, Hudson, Ia show that was scheduled for 9/7/02 is now RESCHEDULED to 10/12/02. THANKS!!!

MP3'S:
APRIL 16, 2002
Then entire Black Eye cd is now on the internet for you do download! The 11 songs + the demo version of Freedom Rising are available at http://www.mp3.com/blackeye

To answer some ?'s & new info:
MARCH 7TH, 2001
We have recently received some e-mails wondering if Black Eye is still together. It’s kind of funny how we get e-mail like this whenever there is a line-up change or another side band (containing Black Eye members) sprouts up. We will take the time, again, to spell it all out so everyone knows what is going on.

Black Eye is still a happy functioning band. We practice, write originals, learn covers, yes learn covers, and gig as we have for the past 4 years. The line-up we have now (Matt, Tom, Elvin, Jom) is the longest lasting line-up we’ve ever had. Now, Black Eye is not about “being in one band – forever and ever”. That to us is like being in prison. All past and present members of Black Eye have always had other projects they have participated in while still jammin’ in Black Eye. And that will always be. That is what is fun to us. I guess some people think this method is not being focused or 100% loyal to one band. Well, tell that to Phil Anselmo of Pantera who took time off from Pantera to record and tour with Down. Or Fieldy who took a break from Korn to do his Fieldy’s Dreams. Or even Zakk Wilde who put his Black Label Society on hold so he could record an album and tour with Ozzy. Or, how about Scott Weiland when he took a break from Stone Temple Pilots to do his solo album and tour. Remember that? Ok, enough.

So, with all that in mind, we’ll go ahead and let the world know what everyone is up to in Black Eye……

Matt is in a band called Empty Self. They recorded a 4 song cd at Tom’s studio and have had some tunes played off it on KUNI 90.9FM. They played at the Reverb, Cedar Falls once and are playing there again on March 29th.

Tom is playing in Experimental Mind Therapy. http://emt-online.net. E.M.T. has just completed a 3 song demo cd. It is being given away for free to anyone who wants one. E-mail you’re your mailing address to tom@emt-online.net if you would like a copy sent to you. E.M.T. is about ready to start playing out, so keep your eyes open! Tom also has a home studio! He started it up in July 2001 and has recorded 5 bands so far. Lady Green, CellBlock12, Eve’s Method, Empty Self, and E.M.T. If you would like more information on Tom’s studio, e-mail him at to13040@cedarnet.org or call him at (319)346-2770.

Elvin and Jom are both in Thumb Buddy. They have a gig coming up at the Reverb, opening for Black Eye on March 22nd.

So, in conclusion, music to Black Eye is like freedom. We do what we want, when we want. The creativeness is never boxed in with rules. And this is how it will always be for us. This is what makes us happy.

Thank you for your time, Black Eye

Chosen one's:
JANUARY 22ND, 2001
BLACK EYE has been chosen to be the 1st band to ever play at Pour Richards in Cedar Falls. This is NOT the Pour Richards in Grundy Center. So don't get confused... This is the Pour Richards on "the hill" in Cedar Falls! Ok. Now that that is cleared up. The staff at Pour Richards is in the midst of building a stage for bands. This will now be the ONLY live band venue on "the hill" now that Stebs, ? Bar, and The Stein are now either gone or went belly up. So BLACK EYE & Pour Ricahards are going to push music back on the hill and more bands will follow. Let's keep the fire lit.

Silver Tears:
JANUARY 6TH, 2002
BLACK EYE guitarist Tom Ogle has some HOT news to deliver to the loyal BLACK EYE family! Tom was in a band called Silver Tears from 1994-1997. They are having a reunion soon. Some of you may remember some of the members of Silver Tears as they were in a few of the bands that "opened" a few shows for Black Eye a while back. Take a trip to the Silver Tears web site and find out some more details and maybe see you at the show!

Here's some info for you taken from the Silver Tears web site:

HOLY SMOKES!!! Take out your pencils boys and girls, and mark your calendars! Silver Tears will be having a reunion show on Saturday, February 9th, 2002 in Waukon, Iowa. This is not a hoax! This is as real as the totally awesome mild winter we are having! It will be held at the old "Pamida" building right in Waukon and will be an "all-ages" show. The official name of the place is: "Mulligan Brothers/Waukon Rec. and Banquet Hall". And the address is: 610 Rossville Road, Waukon, Iowa. Silver Tears will be playing about a 2 hour show. The guys have not played together as a full unit since June, 1997. So this will be one special night to remember! The members for this one-off show will consist of original members James Deeney/Lead Vocals, Jeff Bahr/Drums&Vocals, Jason Herman/Guitar&Vocals and Tom Ogle/Guitar&Vocals. Friend/ex-guitarist of the bands "Levee" & "Remover" - Mark Betthauser will be playing bass. Also, Silver Tears soundtech/friend Steve Stone and Zero Productions out of New Albin, Iowa will be supplying production for the show!!! Silver Tears will be playing a few of the older Silver Tears originals & covers and a few newer classic covers as well. Eve's Method out of Shell Rock, Iowa will be the opening band and will be playing about 45 minutes. Check out their official site -and- mp3 site. Please e-mail Tom Ogle to13040@cedarnet.org if you have any questions. The boys are getting pumped up and ready to tear-up some shit again! More info to come (right here) as it filters in. Keep coming back to the site to find out more!!! Thanks!

HAPPY NEW YEARS & 4 YEAR ANNIVERARY!:
JANUARY 2ND, 2002
BLACK EYE HOPES EVERYONE'S NEW YEAR HAPPENED ON A HAPPY NOTE! THE BAND HAS NOW BEEN TOGETHER FOR 4 YEARS! HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON AT A GIG. KEEP ON PUSHING THE ENVELOPE!

The Reverb, Cedar Falls debut:
DECEMBER 29TH, 2001
BLACK EYE just played at "The Reverb" in Cedar Falls 12/28. What a cool place! This was the first time for Black Eye there. What a great time. Thanks goes out to Cody and the staff and The Reverb. Thanks also goes out to the opening band "X-Tend" who drove all the way from Omaha, Nebraska to jam --- you should be hearing more from these dudes soon in the Iowa area. Another big thanks to middle slotted band "Test Project" from the CedarLoo area who destroyed everything in their sights. These guys made some eardrums bleed with their brand of metalcore! THANKS most of all to a totally kick ass crowd; 185 people who stayed the whole time and just couldn't get enough! Be on the lookout on this page and/or "The Reverb's" page and try to catch another live show! It will be definately worth it. This place rocks! THANKS!!!!

New original, news, and facts:
DECEMBER 14TH, 2001
* Black Eye has a brand new hard-core original in the set called "Profound".
* Black Eye will turn 4 years old January 2002.
* Tom's son Ben will be 1 year old 1/12/02.
* B-day boys Elvin & Tom -- 2/23/02.

Jokers Commercial:
DECEMBER 1ST, 2001
Now available for download... Here's the ad that was aired on KFMW ROCK 108 for Black Eye's 03/29/01 Jokers, Cedar Falls, Iowa show. Their are tid-bits of 4 Black Eye songs played. Download MP3 now!

Another Jokers gig just added!:
NOVEMBER 11TH, 2001
BLACK EYE was just asked to play at Jokers coming up this thursday November 15th (see above new gig info). Short notice gigs are so cool. It makes the blood boil. This will be a co-headline show with Waterloo's heaviest band 1134. This will be a show you do NOT want to miss. The last time their was a Black Eye / 1134 family picnic (3/29/01) the attendance record was shattered for the "Jokers Thursday Night Series" and has not been touched since. Black Eye will play first this time around starting at 9:33pm -- so get there early! 1134 will follow shortly right after Black Eye is done stinkin' up the stage. Oh yeah!

Black Eye members to perform at Jokers!:
NOVEMBER 7TH, 2001
A all-star band called the "Joker's Haus Band" has been created in the last few weeks. Black Eye bassist Elvin is the guitar player and Black Eye drummer Jom is the drummer. They will be performing for the first time as the opening band for a national Kiss Tribute band called Kiss Army this coming Thursday at Jokers Night Club in Cedar Falls! Thursday, Novermber 8th, starts at 8pm. Also performing will be Lymon's House from Des Moines. Lymon's House will play first, then Joker's Haus Band, then Kiss Army. Joker's Haus Band has one set of some cool cover material spanning from the 70's to the 90's. Black Eye guitarist Tom will also be a "guest star" performing 1 song (I Remember You by Skid Row) with Joker's Haus Band. Check out this link to the Jokers web page and picture of the Kiss Army! click here! Cool!

Merchandise, etc - Update:
NOVEMBER 4TH, 2001
For the people who are still are requesting T-shirts and Cd's... Sorry, but all 175 T-Shirts (both styles) have been sold-out for a long time now. We may have more in the future, maybe... We do have 42 out of the 450 cd's left. The remaining Cd's are only available at shows and by mail order (see cd-audio for ordering instuctions). All six stores that housed our cd's in the "Cedar Valley" have been sold out for a long time and will not be re-stocked. Without giving out too much info, we hope to someday have a new cd to offer to our fans. You may have also noticed we are now gigging on a once-a-month basis in order to free up more time to write new material. Hope this answers all the many e-mails and order requests we've received so far. Thanks and take a nice day!

Show postponed!:
SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2001
Breaking news! Due to the horrible world events on the east coast and a major heath issue with Elvin's father (unrelated to the destruction on the east coast), the Dew Drop, Gilbertville show for 9/15 is now postponed to 10/6. The Jokers, Cedar Falls show for 9/20 IS still going to happen as planed. Thank you.

OLD, BUT GOOD NEWS ARTICLE:
SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2001
THIS IS AN OLD ARTICLE (WATERLOO COURIER - MAY, 2000) ABOUT BLACK EYE. YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT IF YOU MISSED IT THE FIRST TIME 'ROUND. IT'S STILL ON THE COURIER WEB SITE AND WAS FOUND BY DOING A SEARCH ON DOGPILE.COM. THANKS TO THE UNKNOWN PERSON WHO E-MAILED BLACK EYE... CLICK HERE!

JACKFEST $ DONATED TO MS:
SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2001
JACKFEST EARNED OVER $500.00 IN FREE-WILL DONATIONS FOR THE PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. A BIG-TIME CHEERS GOES OUT TO ALL THE FANS THAT ATTENDED THE SHOW/BENEFIT AND DONATED CASH. AND THANKS TO ALL THE AWESOME BANDS THAT MADE IT AS WELL. THIS WAS A KICK ASS TIME -- THANKYOU!!!!!!

DETAILS ABOUT JACKFEST:
SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2001, (1:00pm - 11:00pm)
JACKFEST -- (BLACK EYE IS THE HEADLINER/PLAYING LAST)
REINBECK, IA (street dance downtown)

WITH: (9 bands! - listed in order of appearance):
1:00PM Lygament
2:15PM Steel Chair Guerrilla
3:00PM Ballard Boys
4:00PM Believer
5:00PM Mike Ralston
6:00PM Tonebenders
7:30PM Gravity Crush
8:45PM Thumb Buddy
10:00PM Black Eye

NEW MUSIC:
JULY 22ND, 2001
GET READY FOR SOME NEW SHIT! BLACK EYE IS IN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING A BRAND NEW SET OF MATERIAL. COVERS AND ORIGINALS. SOME OF THE BANDS COVERED ARE DROWNING POOL, DISTURBED, GODSMACK, LSD, SLIPKNOT, & SALIVA. STAY TUNED-IN FOR MORE INFO ON THIS SUBJECT.

NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS:
JULY 17TH, 2001
BLACK EYE WILL NOW BE USING A NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS TO SEND AND RECEIVE E-MAIL. THE NEW ADDRESS IS: to13040@cedarnet.org. THANKS!

SHAG'S GIG:
MAY 29TH, 2001
The Shag's, Cedar Falls, Ia gig on May 27th raised $1260.00 for Readlyn resident Mitch Hagenow, who has paraganglioma, a rare form of cancer. A big thanks goes out to Shag's, P.J., and all the employee's of Shag's! And, of course, the following bands who kicked major butt: Measure, Gravity Crush, Borne, and Rude Mood.

PRESS RELEASE:
MAY 16TH, 2001
Press Release

Five Area Bands Will Play Benefit Concert on Memorial Day Weekend

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 16, 2001

Cedar Falls, IA - Five local bands will get together on Sunday, May 27
at Shagnasty's in Cedar Falls for a benefit concert to raise money for
Readlyn resident Mitch Hagenow, who has paraganglioma, a rare form of
cancer.

Mitch Hagenow's two year battle with cancer has been highlighted in the
Waterloo Courier, most recently (May 4th, page B5) when two of his
childhood friends raised money for him by running the Boston Marathon
and bringing attention to his story. Paraganglioma causes tumors to form
on the spinal cord, brain, nerve endings and lungs.

The band lineup includes:
8:30 - Rude Mood (Blues/Rock, Cedar Rapids)
9:30 - Borne (Christian Rock, Cedar Falls)
10:30 - Gravity Crush (Pop/Rock, Cedar Falls)
11:30 - Measure (Alternative, Waterloo)
12:30 - Black Eye (Metal, Waterloo)

All proceeds will be given to the Mitch Hagenow Benefit Fund.

Contact Info:
Eric Jans, Gravity Crush, 319-266-5588, ej@stayhealthy.com

P.J. Stoppleworth, Shagnasty's, 319-266-1101

Mitch Hagenow Benefit Fund
Zion Lutheran Church
Readlyn, IA 50668