In the midst of a winter hunkered down in their home studio writing and recording new songs, the members of As Yet Unbroken are taking to the stage for a rare appearance on Thursday, Feb. 24 at Las Vegas Country Saloon (425 Fremont St., Las Vegas) to headline a benefit show for Kids’ Co-Op Preschool and Kindergarten.

Kids’ Co-Op (located at 4316 N. Decatur Blvd.) is the only registered parent cooperative preschool in Nevada, offering an enriching, parent-involved education for young children. The non-profit 501(c)(3) organization is self-funded through registration fees, private donations and public fundraising events such as this one.

Joining As Yet Unbroken on the stage at Las Vegas Country Saloon are fellow local bands Pigasus and Viva Valhalla. There is no cover charge for the show, which begins at 8 p.m., but donations for Kids’ Co-Op in any amount are being requested. We hope to see you all downtown to rock out for a great cause!

Can’t get enough live As Yet Unbroken? Well, good, because otherwise you may be crying “mercy” by Thanksgiving, because your favorite rock band is taking Las Vegas’ live music venues by storm as 2010 rushes to a close.

First up is a double-bill with Thrown Clear, who you may remember from our previous appearances at N.O.I.S.E., coming up this Saturday, Sept. 18 at 10 p.m. inside Bugsy’s Speakeasy (6145 W. Sahara Ave.). It’s a free show for you adults of legal drinking age out there.

Another free gig comes your way Saturday, Oct. 23 at Money Plays (4755 W. Flamingo Road) with our friends in Adognameddutch. The noise begins at 10 p.m. and, again, bring your ID provin’ you’re 21 or older!

Two weeks later, we have a really cool show lined up. We’re performing with Seattle-based geek-rockers Kirby Krackle and local bands Dead Neon and Minor Suns at the Las Vegas Country Saloon (425 Fremont St., above Hennessy’s) for a night of music and literature to celebrate the release of two books: Dead Neon, a fiction anthology edited by Dead Neon’s Jarret Keene, and Tales from the Boneyard, a comic compilation edited by our own Pj Perez. It’s also the unofficial afterparty for the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, so … yeah, it’ll be awesome. Details forthcoming.

As if that’s not enough, we’re in the mixing and editing stage of recording on our new EP, so … clear room on your iPods for some sweet new music.

As you should know by now, the members of As Yet Unbroken are men of varied talents. And Mark T. Zeilman, our co-founder and bass player, will be putting his talents on display once again when his latest solo art show opens at the new home of Place Gallery at 1551 S. Commerce St. in Las Vegas, on Friday, Sept. 3. Called “Masterpiece,” the art exhibit features a series of paintings and drawings building a narrative that’s also collected in a comic book of the same name, itself being released to the public that night as well.

What does this have to do with As Yet Unbroken? Well, the rest of the band will be on hand to help celebrate the debut of Mark’s new show, as we’ll all take the stage after the reception to perform a full-on set for free. Yep — fine art, comic books and rock ‘n’ roll. What more do you need? And it’s all ages! So, you know, come on down, hang out, and get your culture on!

The reception starts at 6 p.m., AYU goes on about 10 p.m., and we expect to see each and every one of you there. Huzzah!

If you’ve been following us on Facebook, you’ve already heard, but if not, As Yet Unbroken is proud to introduce the newest member of Las Vegas’ most bombastic rock band, guitarist Peter Stauber.

After many months of auditioning people with stringed instruments, Peter had the right combo of shiny toys, tattoos and talent (but mostly shiny toys and tattoos) to fill the big shoes left behind by our pal Rick Epse last fall. Born in California and bred in Texas, Peter brings not only furious guitar playing skills, but also an extensive background in sound design, audio production and all-around badassery. When he’s not searing ears with AYU, Peter breaks out the electronic beats as one-man act Sursum.

You can check out Peter – as well those other guys, Tim, Mark and Pj – up close and personal at several upcoming shows in Las Vegas, including Boomers Bar on Sunday, June 27, and the Aruba Hotel on Friday, July 2, where AYU returns to the N.O.I.S.E. stage for First Friday multi-sensory experience. We have new songs, new looks and new moves – you won’t want to miss out.

Are you suffering As Yet Unbroken withdrawal? Was the live video for “Alone” not enough for you? Are local radio stations not playing our tunes as much as you’d like? Well, friends, the wait is over: AYU is back.

Come out to the Thunderbird Lounge inside the Aruba Hotel (1215 Las Vegas Blvd. S.) on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 9 p.m. for the opening night of Neon Reverb, Las Vegas’ downtown music festival. We’ll be playing with The Black Jetts and Collinz Room for your rock ‘n’ roll enjoyment. All this for only $5, to boot! So if you’re 21 or older, get your butt downtown and we promise to get your ass moving.

Update: The Black Jetts unexpectedly canceled, so cover is only $3 now. And it starts at 10 p.m. There you go.

Looking for the perfect way to kick off your Independence Day weekend blow-out in Las Vegas? How about a free show featuring not only the most beloved rock band of the 21st Century, As Yet Unbroken, but also The High Rollerz, Black Army, Thrown Clear, a billion DJs, live painting and more incense than you can shake a stick of nag champa at?

We’ve got you covered. Join us on Friday, July 3 at the Aruba Hotel (1215 Las Vegas Blvd. S.) at 10 p.m. for N.O.I.S.E., a monthly gathering of musicians, artists, performers, wizards and mages. There will be music. There will be drinking. And there will be you, all rolled up in a snug blanket of rock ‘n’ roll awesomeness. Also: You can personally buy your pallet’s worth of AYU stickers. What more could you need?!

If anyone out there couldn’t wait until our appearance at N.O.I.S.E. on July 3, or would have been forced to sit out that show due to age or family issues, As Yet Unbroken has news for you. We’ll be appearing Tuesday, June 23 at Gallo’s Pizza Kitchen in northwest Las Vegas. Yes, that’s tomorrow. See, we ordinarily wouldn’t have jumped on board a midweek show at an oddball venue (though we’ve heard good things about it!). But we were invited by The Day After…, one of Las Vegas’ best original rock bands, so of course we said “yes.”

If you find yourself hungry Tuesday night and want your dinner accompanied by original, live music, then we suggest you come on out to Gallo’s. It’s located at 3250 N. Tenaya Way at Cheyenne Avenue in the Target shopping center, just off the I-95. The show starts at 8 p.m., and the $10 cover gets you all-you-can-eat pizza and pasta, bottomless soft drinks, and if you’re 21 or over, your first beer or wine free. Really, how can you beat a deal like that? The nearest casino buffet will cost you $15 easily, and won’t be accompanied by the soothing sounds of modern rock. It’s a no-brainer.

Well, what can we say? We rocked the Greek Isles Hotel & Casino so hard that they were left with no choice but to give up and close the doors. Despite some pre-show behind-the-scenes drama involving firings at the property and the threat of venue closure, our Saturday night show at The 305 with Slyther, Hetfield’s Beard and Winter Will Follow went off like a stick of dynamite. And that’s because of you fine people, who not only bought all the tickets we had, but also put on your dancing shoes and defied the “no moshing” rules posted on The 305′s door. Maybe it was the $1 draft beers, maybe it was the rickety charm of the crackling P.A. — whatever it was, the show was packed with energy, sweat and pure rock ‘n’ roll energy. But don’t take our word for it — scope out this video clip of closer “Pseudo Angel,” captured live Saturday by AYU pal Mike Willoughby:

If you don’t feel like missing out on a live experience like that again, then you’d best be at the Cheyenne Saloon (3103 N. Rancho Drive) on Wednesday, May 6, when As Yet Unbroken is joined by Abnormal Anomaly, Zombieshakerbox and Burden of Proof at 8 p.m. for a 21-over show. It’s early enough so you don’t miss your beauty sleep and in the middle of the week so as not to conflict with all your fancy weekend parties or whatever. Want to see a pretty flier? Click here, babies. And we’ll see you on May 6.

What a few weeks it’s been in AYU land. We’ve been riding the top of LasVegasWeekly.com’s MP3 download charts … AGAIN. We don’t know who you people are that actually download those songs, but thank you and we love you. (Mom, seriously, you can stop clicking “refresh” already!)

Also, we have more video from the Feb. 7 Freakin’ Frog show available on YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, including BRAND-NEW song “Almost Gone.” Check it out:

Most importantly, we’ve just booked a gig at The 305, a new venue inside the Greek Isles hotel/casino. Yes. We’ll mix it up with the vintage Vegas folk on Saturday, April 4 at 9 p.m. alongside fellow local bands Slyther and Winter Will Follow. There are $1 draft beers ALL NIGHT, and the show is 18-over! What more do you need? You need tickets, friends, tickets that you can buy from us now for $10. Think of it as a donation toward the recording of our debut album, which you KNOW YOU ALL WANT.

That’s it for now. We’ve booked a few more shows for later this spring, so stay tuned to this channel — something easily done by subscribing! As always, thank you for your support and we hope to see you at a show soon.

Edit, 3/30/09: Thanks to our awesome fans and friends, we have SOLD OUT of our pre-sale tickets for the April 4 show! You can still get tickets at the door for $10. Also, Metallica tribute band Hetfield’s Beard has been added to the bill, so if you dig the Mighty Met (and who doesn’t), be sure to come early!

So you rang in 2009 successfully, you’re trying hard to stick to resolutions and you’re pinching every penny possible as the economy crumbles around us. You, my friend, deserve a beer. Why don’t you choose from one of 1,000 beers available at the Freakin’ Frog (4700 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas) on Saturday, Feb. 7 when As Yet Unbroken rocks the UNLV-area bar at 10 p.m.?

This free, 21-over show also features Vegas-based bands Think and Fractured. We’ve been working on new songs, so come out, have a few drinks, some greasy food and the best original rock ‘n’ roll money can’t buy. It’s what 2009′s all about.

In the meantime, we’ll tide you over with a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of one of the aforementioned new tracks, “Last Words”: