For Rising Regina, 2008 was a busy year. It began last January when we recorded our first demo CD, which is the same one we've been selling all year. It was a challenge, to say the least. We recorded and mixed it in our own living rooms, but you'd never know. After Kiki designed the cover and we did a photo shoot, we got them all put together and couldn't believe how much of a demand there was for them. As of December 2008, we have sold over 400.

In February, we designed and created promotional kits to be distributed to venues and promoters. We put our manager, Rachel, to work and she canvassed the greater Pittsburgh area with them to get us gigs.

Before we knew it, we were playing nearly every weekend. It became clear that it was time to expand the band. In May, we were lucky enough to meet Dave Traugh, who became our bassist and in June we brought Pat Rein in from Columbus, OH to fill out the rhythm section on percussion.

Throughout the summer we played venues such as Oakmont Tavern, Pitzer's, Lenape Heights Golf Course and Rosston Eddy Marina. We were also very busy playing the festival circuit from Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival to opening for The Clarks at Riverfront Park in Kittanning, as well as many others. We even won a battle of the bands at Saddle Ridge in Pittsburgh. (Finals for that competition will be on February 15 th )

In September our percussionist decided to move back to OH. Rich got a hold of his old friend, Kevin Bowser. Originally, Kevin was just going to fill in, but he quickly decided that he wanted to be part of a band that has been referred to as “something special”.

With Kevin on board, we got back to playing as much as possible. We landed gigs at North Country Brewing Co. in Slippery Rock, The Hard Rock Café and more.

In December, we took time off to concentrate on perfecting the 12 songs that are going to be on our new full length CD which we will be recording this month in Parkersburg, WV.

2008 has been exciting and we know that 2009 will be even better. We appreciate the love and support of our fans and can't wait to bring you more music and more opportunities to see us play live.