The Latest News With ESP:

3/25/2007

This Saturday at Memphis On Main we'll be having a SMOKIN" GOOD TIME!! Don't miss it!

It has been a rough month, with weather cancelling or hampering several gigs. However, we are rockin' this weekend at MOM's . We hope to see you all there!

We will be doing more frequent updates at our new myspace page, plus you can hear tunes and get show dates there too! Check it out at http://www.myspace.com/espillinois!!! Add us to your friends list!

Check the schedule here.

'Til next time,
Lou

1/25/2007

Thanks for checking the news!

We had an outstanding show at Memphis On Main for our CD Release Party, and despite the weather The Isles was rockin' too! The staff at both places are top notch, and we really appreciate all you great fans coming out and partying with us! Friday especially was off the hook! We will return to both places next month, so hope to see you all again soon!

This Saturday the 27th, we will be at The Sandtrap in Gibson City. Hope to see you there!!

There are some new pistures posted, check 'em out!

Check the schedule here.

'Til next time,
Lou

1/9/2007

Happy New Year!

The new CD is here! We are thrilled that copies of the new CD "Eclipse" are now available directly from the band, and will be available online soon. And of course we will have them this Friday at Memphis On Main and Saturday at The Isles for our CD Release Party Weekend!! Hope to see you there!!

There are some new pistures posted, check 'em out!

Check the schedule here. New dates posted for 2007.

'Til next time,
Lou

12/1/2006

Hey everybody

Looking forward to this weekend at The Isles, and next Friday at Memphis On Main.

CD release party is officially scheduled for weekend of January 12/13. We will be at Memphis On Main and The Isles, and will have CD's for sale! Check out the cover on the front page of the site, and download songs here!! Turns out that since we did such an extensive insert (8 pages full color!), that we cannot get the faster turnaround. One upside is that the CD's will be even better quality, so this will be a 100% commercial quality CD! Sorry for the delay, but this will actually give us more time to plan for the release.

Check the schedule here. New dates posted for 2007.

'Til next time,
Lou

11/23/2006

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We will be having a blast at Proud Mary's in Tuscola this Saturday. Sibley was a real gas! We managed to have a pretty fun night, even though there was a sparse crowd.

Upcoming gigs at The Isles and Memphis On Main are sure to be awesome. December 8th will be the CD release party, barring anything unusual. It is going to be well worth the wait!

Check the schedule here. 2007 dates will be posting soon!

'Til next time,
Lou

11/2/2006

Man, I can't believe it's Noveber already!

What a blast we had at Memphis On Main last Saturday! That's what a Halloween party is supposed to be! We really had a blast, and it looked like everyone there did too! Can't wait to go back December 8th. Thanks to Kelly, Tom, Angie and Christina for an awesome time! Also, we had a great time Friday at T.D.'s in Watseka. Great to see a lot of old friends out there!

We will be in Sibley IL November 18th, and Proud Mary's in Tuscola November 25th. Hope to see you there! Check the schedule here.

The CD is typically a little behind schedule, but we will be shipping off for duplication by end of next week or so, so we should have it in hand by the 25th with any luck. This has proven to be quite an undertaking, with many more people involved then with a regular CD. Getting the old tapes, remixing, somtimes fixing an old part, finding the right pictures from different family members, etc. It will definitely be worth the wait, and I am really looking forward to the completed product!

'Til next time,
Lou

10/5/2006

Thanks for reading the news!

Can't believe it's been over a month since last month. Man time flies! We had a really great time at Memphis On Main last Friday! Good to see everyone out having a blast! Also cool to see our good friend Steve Hall! Thanks for sitting in, Steve! We will be back there October 28th for a Halloween blowout! Costume party, all that good stuff!!

Also big thanks to Tommy Garza for filling in on drums last month at Proud Mary's!

We should be having CD release parties October 27 and 28, if everything goes as planned. We are nearly done with the artwork, so we are very close! Check the schedule here.

'Til next time,
Lou

8/30/2006

Thanks for reading the news!

We had a great time at Mustang Sally's last Saturday, even though it was a small crowd. John and the staff there were great. Thanks to Eric for doing production! We will back there for sure.

Looking forward to our return to T.D.'s in Watseka Friday September 8th. This will be our first time in Watseka in nearly 3 years, and 1st time at T.D.'s in about 5 or 6 years! We will be at another old favorite for the first time in a long time the next night at Proud Mary's in Tuscola! Hope to see lots of freaks partyin' with us!

Also, we are glad to have a few more dates added so we are now playing a little more frequently. Check the schedule here.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD and shows.

'Til next time,
Lou

8/22/2006

THE NEW CD IS FINISHED!!

Hi all,

Thanks for reading the news! I can't believe it's already the end of August! First off, the CD is nearly ready for release, just finishing up the packaging and duplication process. We should be announcing date for a CD release party soon! We are so thrilled with the way it sounds. Big ups to Doug Gherna for all the work remixing and mastering.

We had a really great time at Memphis On Main last time we were there, and look forward to our return September 29th. This Saturday, 8/26 we will be at Mustang Sally's in LeRoy, IL. This should be a really fun show, so hope to see a few friends there!

Also, we are glad to have a few more dates added so we are now playing a little more frequently. Check the schedule here.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD and shows.

'Til next time,
Lou

Hey everybody,

Just a few quick notes before our gig this Saturday, July 1st at Memphis On Main. This should be a really fun show, and we hope to see everyone there partyin' with us!

We had a great time at Johnny's in Rantoul! The owners and staff are great there, and that place could really be a lot of fun. Not a bad crowd, but we hope to see even more folks out the next time, July 29th. Tommy G's was fun too, but slow. The band is sounding great with new drummer Jeff Magby, and the PA and stage there are phenomenal. Hopefully the crowds will pick back up there. There is a lot of room with the remodeling they have done.

Still looking to have the CD out by mid-late August. I WILL be posting an mp3 soon, just been busy!

There are some new dates posted. Check the schedule here.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD and shows.

Peace Out,
Lou

Hey everybody,

We had a great time at Memphis On Main last month, and look forward to our next show there Saturday July 1st. Kelly, Tom and the staff the are great! We were very happy to see the crew from The Isles there! Thanks for making the trip! Also great to see many other old friends out, and we had a blast playing with Tommy! Thanks dude!

This weekend we will be breaking in another new club, Johnny's in Rantoul, on Friday night (6/16), and then returning to Tommy G's on Saturday (6/17). We are looking forward to the new stage and remodeling at Tommy G's! Hope to see you all out there partying with us!

We have mostly completed the remixing of the CD, including the new tracks. I will be posting something for download by this weekend. We are starting to get the cover/insert together, and hope to have a CD release party in August. Looks like there should be 10 tracks total, with the original tracks remixed and mastered, plus several unreleased studio track and some live recordings as well.

There are some new dates posted. Check the schedule here.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD and shows.

Peace Out,
Lou

Hello Rockers,

We had a really great time at The Isles last month. It was really great to see some old friends out, and Kevin and his staff are definitely the bomb! Call them at (217)394-2276 and ask them to book us on a Friday!

New drummer Jeff Magby did a fantatstic job, and we are thrilled that we will be working with him regularly beginning in June. Until then, be sure and come out this Saturday, May 20th at Memphis On Main, when Tommy Garza will be back behind the skins. Plus, Kelly and I will be starting the night with an acoustic set beginning at 8:30, so get there early!!

Speaking of Tommy Garza, good news on the CD front. We have (finally!) begun remixing and mastering the old tapes, and we have some live and unreleased tracks as well. Doug Gherna is doing the mixing and mastering, and I am really excited about how good the new CD is going to sound. Should be out by mid-summer. It will definitely be worth the wait!

There are some new dates posted. Check the schedule here.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD and shows.

Peace Out,
Lou

Hey Everybody,

Sorry to take so long to post a new update! Lots of changes over the last month, and we played a few fun gigs too! We had a great time at Slick Rick's in Bloomington. Great to see some old friends out, and some new ones as well.

We will back at The Isles this weekend, Saturday April 29th, and we are looking forward to a great show up there.

This Saturday we will be welcoming new drummer Jeff Magby to ESP, as Brian will not be continuing wth the band. We thank him for his efforts over the past 9 months.

For all you fans of Tommy Garza, be sure to check us out at Memphis On Main on Saturday May 20th. That night Tommy will be filling in once again on drums as Jeff had a previous booking. Also, that night Kelly and I will be doing a special opening acoustic set starting at 8:30, so be there early!

Check the schedule here.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD and shows.

Peace Out,
Lou

Hey Everybody,

Just a quick update for you. There are some new Pictures posted. Check 'em out! We had a great time at The Isles last week. Big props to Kevin and the staff for a great place up there! We always love playing there. Also, super big thanks to Tommy Garza, for filling in on drums at the last minute. It was really great to have "Old Guy" back on drums. And total props to Bruce Provin for the PA, and for bringing out the drums. We love ya', Bruce!

Brian had a bit of a mishap, but thankfully will be back behind the skins and not too much the worse for wear when we take downtown Champaign by storm next Saturday night, March 25th, at Memphis On Main.

Check out the new Pictures.

Check the schedule here.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD and shows.

'Til next time,
Lou

Thanks for reading the news!

We had a really great time Tommy G's last week. Crowd was a little smaller than usual, but the dance floor was rockin'! Great to see some friends having a good time! We will be back there in early June.

This Saturday, March 11th we are back at The Isles in Buckley, IL. This is going to be one ass-kicking show, so don't miss it! Will try to post some pictures next week.

I will have some news on the re-issue of the CD soon, so check back often.

'Til next time,
Lou

Hey everybody,

Just a few quick updates for you all. We had a really great time at The Doghouse Bar & Grill in Arcola. Small crowd early, but they packed in later and the dance floor wes definitely rockin'!! We will be back down there for sure. Thanks to Barry and Jim and the rest of the staff for a great time. Plus it's right across the street from The Hippie Memorial!!

Next show is at Tommy G's on March 3rd, and this is sure to be an all out rock'n'roll party!! Don't miss it!

We will be breaking in another new club for the band (?!) in March as we venture downtown to Memphis On Main in Champaign. Downtown doesn't know what they've got coming! This is a great new bar owned by the former owner of Tommy G's. Lot's of fun and a great staff to serve 'em up!! Hope to see many of our regulars there!

'Til next time,
Lou

Hey everybody,

Hope the new year finds you all well and enjoying the fine January weather we've been having!

Just a few quick words to update. We had a great time at The Isles last week. Kevin and his staff there are really the greatest! Big thanks to Bruce Provin, who did a great job with PA and lights for us, since Eric was unable to mix us that night. Also big thanks to the many folks who come to see us regularly up there. We really enjoy seeing you all, and we always have a great time.

Next weekend, Feb 4th, we are playing a new club for the first time in quite a while, when we venture south to Arcola and The Doghouse Bar & Grill. Hope to see some of you down there helping us break this place in. It looks like it should be a rockin' night!

'Til next time,
Lou

Hello again,

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and that you all have a Happy New Year!

There are some new dates posted. Check the schedule here. 2006 should be an interesting year for the band. Hope to have the CD out soon. Also we will be playing some new clubs, and adding some new tunes, maybe even a new original or two. This will be the 12th year for ESP, and I really thank all of you who come to the shows and support us!

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD and shows.

'Til next time,
Lou

Hello again,

Happy Holidays to everyone reading this! This has been a transitional year for ESP, but fun and enjoyable for us. I thank all of you who have been coming to the shows and rocking out with us. We look forward to some great shows in 2006, which will be the 12th year for ESP! There will be some dates posting soon!

We had a really great time at The Isles and Tommy G's last month last month!!

This Saturday will be my last solo performance of the year. I will be performing after my students play a recital/concert. This is open to the public, and I hope some of you will join us! Check out CorsonMusic.com for more info.

I know some of you really want this now, but there is a little progress on the reissue of the ESP disc, and we will definitely make it worth the wait!

Check out LouDiBello.com for more updates.

'Til next time,
Lou

Hello again,

We had a great time at Tommy G's earlier this month! It was nice to see everyone having a good time. The band is sounding great, and we are really enjoing the shows. This is in no small part thanks to all of you for coming out and partying with us! We are trying to work a few new songs into the set, but it is tough getting everybody together for rehearsal.

We will be back at The Isles in two weeks, on November 12th, and we are really looking forward to a great show there!

We are trying to get a few previously unreleased tracks together for the re-issue of the CD, so please be patient :) I would like to have something done right away, but the wait will definitely be worth it. The new version will include many photos from the band in an expanded insert.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD, and a report on my recent solo performance.

'Til next time,
Lou

Hey gang,

Thanks to everyone for coming out to The Isles last week! We had a great time. The dance floor was rockin'! The new line-up is working well, and speaking for myself, and I think for everyone else in the band, we are having a lot of fun. Special thanks to Eric Boley for a great job with lights and sound! We will be at Tommy G's next Friday (10/14), so that is sure to be a rockin' good time! Hope you can make it!!

Also some news on the ESP CD. We will definitely be re-issuing the CD we did in 2000. Tommy Garza -remember him? :) - and I are working on some new cover art (he did the original artwork also), and I think we are going to try to make an expanded insert with a bunch of photos. I would also like to put one or two unreleased tracks on, but that is still up in the air.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD. I have been getting some good reviews, and there are links to those on the "Reviews" page.

'Til next time,
Lou

Hey everybody,

We had a great time last Saturday at Tommy G's! It was really nice to see a lot of old friends out, and the dance floor was rockin'! Also, it was our first show with our new drummer Brian Behrns. He did a great job, and we are looking forward to many good shows with him.

We will be at The Isles October 1st, and that is sure to be a rockin' good time! Put it in your date books now! Also, we hope to have some more ESP CD's available soon, so keep checking on that.

Check out LouDiBello.com for updates on my solo CD. You can hear sound clips there too!

'Til next time,
Lou

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who made it out to Tommy G's last Saturday. We had a blast. We will announce some new dates soon. We will have some ESP CD's for sale soon, so if you didn't get one in the past, now is your chance!

Also, I hope everyone will go to www.guitarhoo.com and vote for my song "To The Maxx". It is a preview track from my upcoming solo CD, which will be available this summer. Just scroll down to bottom of the page and either click the link (takes about a minute to download) or right click and "save target as" to download to your machine. You can then listen with any media/audio player you like. Listen to the other guy too! Hope you all will vote for me :) Send an email to loud00@hotmail.com and let me know what you think!

'Til next time,
Lou

Hey everybody,

I am back with my fastest update in quite some time. Once again, we had a really great time at The Isles last week. Kevin and his staff there are totally awesome, and we had a fantatstic crowd. It was really great to see so many old friends. We appreciate it! Thanks also to Eric for doing a great job with lighting and sound.

We will be back at Tommy G's Saturday, May 7th, so we hope to see many of you out for that one.

My solo recording is coming along really well. I am really enjoying working with my long-time friend (and excellent engineer/producer) Doug Gherna on this project. I will be posting some samples soon, and the CD should be available by summer.

Hello again, Rockers!

ESP will take the stage once again for a blowout at The Isles in Buckley, IL!! Hope you can all make it. Last month at Tommy G's was lots o' fun, and this will be too! Don't miss it.

In other ESP related news, watch for a new all-instrumental CD from Lou soon. This will feature lots of kick-ass guitar playing, and many rockin' riffs. Good driving music. Some mp3's will be available online shortly.


Check back for more updates soon.


Lou

Hello everyone,

Hope the New Year finds all you readers and ESP fans healthy and happy. Just a quick post to announce we will be at Tommy G's Friday March 4th. Tommy,Kelly, Josh and I are looking forward to a great night of rock'n'roll.


Lou

Hey everybody,

If you read this page regularly, sorry for the slow updates :) Last month at Tommy G's was really alot of fun. We had a great crowd, and it was nice to see many of our friends from over the years. Kudos to everyone at Tommy G's for the new house PA and lights. This was a great move by the club. Also thanks to Jeff for handling the bookings.

This weekend (Saturday) we are looking forward to the show at The Isles in Buckley. This is always a great time, and will be our first show up there in a while. Hope to see you there!!

'Til next time,
Lou

Hey everybody,

Slick Rick's was fun, although marred by technical difficulties. We still had a great time and totally rocked out as best we could. Thanks to everyone who made the trip. We appreciate it! This weekend is shaping up to be alot of fun, so get on out to Tommy G's Saturday, November 6th, and join us in our first local club show in six months!!

See ya' there,
Lou

Just a few words on some newly confirmed shows. Check the schedule here. We will be playing at Slick Rick's in Bloomington on Friday October 22nd. This has always been a favorite place for us, so we hope to see some old friends and maybe some new ones out for this show!! Also, we will be playing our first local club show in almost six months when we return to Tommy G's in Champaign!! They are now featuring a great in-house lighting and PA system, so this will be an awesome show. We hope to see all the C-U rock'n'rollers out for this one.

'Til next time,
Lou

We have cancelled our October 9th show at The Isles. We will definitely be back there December 11th. However, we felt it is a little too soon to jump back on stage, considering the current circumstances. We are looking forward to our next show, which may occurr before 12/11. Check the site! Josh will be back with us on bass, and Kelly, Tommy and I are looking forward to enjoying a night of great rock'n'roll with everybody.

'Til next time,
Lou

It has been a sad time for all of us who knew Gary. Of course, from the standpoint of the band, Tommy, Kelly and I are all deeply saddened by his passing. I find myself thinking about the many, many great times we all had, before, during, and after the shows. It was truly a special chemistry that we four shared, both musical and personal, and regardless of how long we play together going forward as ESP, or in any other projects we might tackle together or separately, that feeling is gone forever. For that, and for Gary's family, I am very sad.

Rest in peace, my brother.

The following is reprinted with permission of the Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette, and appeared in the August 12th edition of the E3! magazine. It was written by Don Gerard and Gary Strater.



Recently a good chunk of the local music community got together to celebrate Gary Strater's life and join in his battle against cancer. The Starcastle bassist (known also around Pogo Recording Studios as an engineer and session player, and former mainstay in ESP's lineup among other projects) has been stricken with pancreatic cancer. Then on April 25 The Mighty Pranksters, Temple of Low Men, Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets, The Delta Kings, The Impalas, Kilborn Alley, ESP, Spin Cycle and Starcastle put on a show to raise money to offset his medical bills. I ran into Gary the other night in downtown Champaign and he mentioned how much he would like to thank everyone who has supported him of late. I offered to save him a trip to buy those little cards with smiley faces and flowers as well as the money for postage:

" It's been over three months now since the music community came together to help me, and my family with our fight with cancer. That Sunday in April is a combination of blurred memories and strong emotions. We have never experienced such an outpouring of love and support before. There have been numerous occasions since then that people who attended the benefit concert have come up to one of us and thanked us for that day. Everyone one of them has an anecdote about the day that expresses how much love was around us. We just thought that we should let you all know that it was overwhelming for us to be there and we'll never be able to thank all of you involved for what we received on that day. First, there are all of those who worked all day to keep the show going. We can never thank you enough. Dru Vaughn was amazing up to, during and after the concert. She was really the energy that kept it afloat. The members of Starcastle came together and executed an extraordinary act of faith and love that weekend. Let's just say they put our show together for us and did it without being asked. All of the members of all of the other bands that played that day proved that Champaign-Urbana still has the heart that put it on the musical world map in the first place. Mark Rubel somehow found the time between performing onstage and being a tech backstage, to record the concert. All of the friends and family members that came here from all over the country to spend the day are yet another example. Basically all of the music stores in the area found a way to either kick in gear or help out at the show. Dyke Corson donated so much gear and work that day that we could find no real way to step up to the plate to show him our gratitude. In fact, one of the guitars that he donated to be raffled is now traveling around North America to all of the major progressive rock festivals where it gets raffled and the winner donates it back to the promoters to send to the next festival. Check out www.progday.com. There was also, of course, the financial assistance from all of you. You have turned what could've been the most terrifying period of my life into a lesson in love, humility and faith. There was also the love that you gave all of us for that day. For that we will always be in your debt. We've been getting a lot of questions about my progress, so here goes. We are not done with our fight yet. I still have the original pancreatic tumor that started all of this, but we have had a little victory with my liver. I give credit to the doctors and to God for my positive steps so far. If you want to keep up with how it's going, check out www.starcastlemusic.com for more info. The updates page is the best place to look. We also must say that we believe that God was watching over us all and we should all pause and thank him for sharing His Love with us on that day and all the other days that we live. Thank you all so very much. We love you and keep you in our prayers.

PEACE,
GARY and SASCHA STRATER

It is with great sadness that I pass along the news that our wonderful friend and bandmate Gary Strater passed away last night, Sunday September 19th. I hope you will join us as we keep his family in our thoughts and prayers.

Hey everybody, want to say thanks to everyone who made it to a show last weekend. We had a really great time. Thanks especially to the many people who came to the Sweetcorn Festival. Luckily for us, we were able to complete our set before the rain hit hard. The set-up was great this year. Hopefully next year the weather will cooperate a little more. Thanks to Ian Goldberg and Brian Knox for all their hard work with the main stage events.

Saturday was great at The Isles. Not the busiest crowd we've ever had, but by the end of the night there was some serious booty shakin' going on, and the place was rockin'!! We look forward to returning there Oct 9th. We will also be performing a few more dates this fall, so check the site for updates. We really enjoyed working with Josh, and he will be doing future dates with Kelly, Tommy, and me. On a sadder note, Gary is still having a pretty rough time, so keep him and his family in your thoughts. I hope to be posting an article from the local paper soon in which he thanks everyone for and gives his thoughts on the benefit last spring.

'Til next time,
Lou DiBello

Hello to all who are reading this! It is going to be good to get back on the stage and play some rock'n'roll for all of you fine people who support the band!! Kelly, Tommy and I are really looking forward to this weekend, and we hope you all are too. I am sorry to say, however, that Gary has been quite sick again these last few weeks and will be unable to play with us Friday. We are all hopeful that this is only a temporary set back, but the timing couldn't be worse as far as the show goes. I know Gary feels bad that he won't be able to play, but we hope to be able to work together again in the near future. I am very happy that we have Josh to fill in, however, and the rehearsals have been great. There will definitely be some serious rockin' going on. We are on the main stage Friday at the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival, opening for Head East. This will be a really fun outdoor event, on a BIG stage. Saturday at The Isles, we will be assisted once again by Eric Boley, who will be providing lights and sound, so we will be KICKIN' IT!!!

Hope to see you there,
Lou DiBello

Well, it had to happen some time. ESP will be taking the stage once again!! We will be playing a special set at the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival, Friday August 27th at 7:00pm, opening for Head East!! The band will be performing with the popular lineup of Lou, Kelly, Tommy on drums, and Gary Strater back on bass!! We are thrilled to be able to play another show with Gary, and I speak for the whole band when I say thanks to everyone who has voiced their support and caring for Gary over the last several months. He is doing much better, and we will be playing a kick-ass set to show everyone how much we appreciate being able to play together again. We will also be playing the next night, Saturday August 28th, at The Isles in Buckley. This is always one of our favorite places to play, and we are looking forward to seeing some old friends and having a great time. Since Gary is not quite up to playing a full 4 hour show and traveling out of town to do it, we will be playing with awesome bassist Josh Walden for this night. I hope to see many of you out for this great weekend of rock&roll!!

All the best, Lou DiBello

This is it!! The final show for ESP, this Friday May 21st, at Tommy G's!! ESP has played continuously since February of 1994!! Over 10 years of rock&roll!! Actually, the band will likely be back sometime before too long, but a real break has been a long time coming. I really thank all of you for your support over the years, and look forward to seeing you all at a show in the future sometime. I also want to thank Kelly, Kenny and Chris for their hard work in putting together these shows over the last 2 months. Meanwhile, come on out and see the band at Tommy G's, this Friday May 21st for a final blow-out show.

All the best, Lou DiBello

Well, the first few dates with the new line-up are in the books, and they have been extremely good, especially for being with a new line-up. The response from crowd and club owners alike has been really positive, and we are happy to be moving forward. If you have not seen the band yet, we sure hope you'll come on out soon and check us out! You will not be disappointed. Last week at at The Isles was phenomenal, and we hope to see some old friends this weekend in Peoria at Centerfield Nine at the Paradice Casino. Next week, Friday April 23rd, we will return to Tommy G's for the first time in four months, and let me tell you, that will be a show you will not want to miss.

I want to take a minute to update everyone about our friend and former bassist Gary Strater, who as many of you may know is battling cancer. Things are pretty rough for him right now, and we hope you will all keep him in your thoughts and prayers. There is a big benefit show scheduled for him later this month to help with medical costs, as he is without health insurance. It will be Sunday April 25th, beginning at 1pm. We should play around 4:00, and thert are great bands all day. You can find more info here: http://www.fpmrecords.com/events/strater.html . We hope you will all come out and support Gary.

All the best, Lou DiBello

I am happy to announce that ESP will be returning to the stage later this month for the first time since December 20th! Kelly and I hope you will join us at Slick Rick's in Bloomington, IL on Friday, March 19th, for a night of really great rock'n'roll!! We are really excited to be playing with two new members. Now in the band are Kenny Reiss on drums (Jamnation, Clockwork Orange, George Faber) and Chris Courtney on bass and vocals (Nix 86, the Mondales). We are now using a bigger show (lights and PA) so this will be the most over the top show the band has ever played. We will be doing plenty of ESP favorites, including original material, and we are adding some new tunes as well. Check out the schedule from the link below, and watch the site for new pics and updates coming soon!! We thank you all for your support, and we look forward to celebrating 10 years of rock'n'roll with ESP with everyone at a show soon!!

All the best, Lou DiBello

Happy Holidays ,

Well, for ESP, 2003 is in the books. As you know if you have followed these commentaries, it has been quite a year for the band. Our last few shows were alot of fun, despite the weather throwing us a few curves. We thank everyone for coming out, and for your support over the last year and more. I think I speak for the rest of the band when I say we really appreciate it, and also that we wish everyone a Happy New Year, and hope your holidays continue to be joyous. We will be returning to the stage in March of the coming year, with an improved show, and maybe even a few new original tunes. Click on link below to read all the old news. Watch for 2004 schedule here.


'Til next time.....

Lou D