Tim Stopulos

Right when I first walked into NV in Normal, IL, I had a weird feeling. Something didn't seem right. Justin and I shuffled past the bar towards the small stage at the far end of the club with our equipment. I threw my guitar onstage and took a few moments sizing the place up. The place was nice to be sure. Hardwood floors, a second level with balconies overlooking everything. I had to figure it was newly built. But something wasn't right. The looks we were getting and the aura of the place told me we didn't really belong.

We had arrived in Normal a few hours earlier on that Friday night. Our schedule for the weekend was to play a full band show at NV Ultra Lounge on Friday night and the next day play an acoustic cover show at Pub II. Justin's brother Mikey goes to school there, and he had offered us a place to crash. Everything was perfectly in place.

After a few more awkward moments, Justin and I were approached by a middle aged man who seemed a little put off by our presence. "Can I help you guys?" he asked.

"We're the Tim Stop Trio, we're the band playing tonight."

"Hmm," he said. "I don't have a band on for tonight. Are you guys sure?"

I wasn't the least bit bothered by this. We had confirmed this show numerous times, the last of which had been just a few days earlier, and I calmly explained this to him. There was very little question in my mind that this man was mistaken. We were indubitably scheduled to play NV on Friday, February 20 and Pub II on Saturday, February 21.

"OK, let me go look into this," he told us. "Of course," I confidently replied.

Upon his return, he reported the news that there was a miscommunication between the manager and the talent buyer, and they had double booked. There was a DJ set up to play already, and there was no way we were going to be able to play.

Michael (guitar) and Seville (bass) arrived shortly thereafter and we relayed that message to their dismay. They had come down just for the show Friday and were busy the next night. So a canceled Friday show would mean a wasted night and 4 hour drive for them.

The managers at NV were very nice and did their best to appease us. They offered us an opening slot for a show there the next night. We told them we were unable to play the next night due to our show at Pub II.

We had no idea what to do. It was 9:00 PM, we were 2+ hours away from home with no show and no other contacts. After a fruitless brainstorming session, I got the idea to call Pub II to see if they by chance were interested in having us for both Friday and Saturday.

"Hi, this is Tim Stopulos, I'm playing there tomorrow night. We had a show booked at NV tonight that got canceled, and we have a crowd and we're looking for a place to play tonight."

"You're Tim Stop?" the guy asked amidst loud music and yelling.

"Yeah, I'm Tim Stop."

"We don't have you booked for tomorrow. We have another band here tomorrow night."

Great. Neither show in Normal is gonna happen. This is not going to be a good weekend.

"We have you down for tonight. You're supposed to be here right now."

Pub II was a great time. The crowd was a lot of fun and the after hours show at Mikey's house was as good if not better. Thanks to everyone who hung out with us...we hope to see you all back in Normal soon.

So we only got one show out of our Illinois State weekend. But it was worth the confusion.

Justin and I drove back around 2 and were almost in Chicago when we got a text from NV:

"You guys are on at 9 PM tonight." What? You've got to be kidding. If we end up doing the exact opposite dates we had planned (Pub II Friday and NV Saturday), that would be the strangest thing ever.

After talking it out with them we decided that since we were already back in Chicago, we'll just do it another weekend. It was just one last piece of craziness to end our abnormal weekend in Normal, IL.