Eric Mardis looks forward to Split Lip Rayfield's show on New Year's Eve at The Bottleneck!

The best night to rock out at a concert has got to be on New Years Eve. This year The Bottleneck sold out well before the big night, with a stellar lineup of bands, including headliner Split Lip  Rayfield!

"We love playing the Bottleneck for New Years...been something of a tradition for us over the band's lifetime," Eric Mardis of Split Lip Rayfield said, "It's probably the best gig of the year. The energy is always fantastic. The Bottleneck is one of my very favorite venues in the U.S. to play...of course, I'm a bit biased. That's our home bar...I've lived in Lawrence since 1990 and there's nowhere else I'd rather celebrate anything!
 
According to Eric, Split Lip has several new songs they have been working on in preparation for a new record. They plan on playing those along with fan favorites on NYE.

Fans of Split Lip were missing the band for a while in 2012, but thankfully the guys are back at it!

"We had a nice break in 2012 for sure, but we had no intention of being DONE. New Years seems like a perfect date to start our 2014." Eric said.

 

Eric says there is a new album in the works as well as more shows to look forward to. As for New Year's Resolutions: "Resolutions? Heh heh, I always quit smoking and drinking...maybe this time it will stick."

When asked to describe the NYE show, Erica said, "Hmmm, I think it will be like the Bill Hicks 'wax dart'." Haha!

At Split Lip's last show at the Granada, I heard the guys reference the show Metalocalypse, which is hilarious and also made me wonder if the band has any metal influence in their music. I had to ask Eric about it.

"Oh yeah. We joke about 'Grandpa's Guitars' and speak in fake Swedish accents at times. Old school metal influences like Iron Maiden, Dio, Deep Purple, Priest, Big 4 etc. Punk rock stuff too; Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Dag Nasty."

The Bottleneck is definitely the place to be this New Year's Eve. Split Lip Rayfield will be playing along with Granny Tweed and The Sunflower Colonels! It is so exciting to get to see Split Lip again!



"We enjoyed our time off, but we can't wait to get back to it," Eric said. "What a way to get the ball rolling... NYE at the Bottleneck!"