Merch! And A New Song!

T-shirts are in! Although we did leave the naming of the band to the fans, we reclaimed t-shirt-color-choosing-authority after the polls closed and dozens of hours (literally) were spent searching for a maroon t-shirt that wasn't actually a red t-shirt and wasn't actually a hot pink t-shirt. Our alternative-- everyone's favorite color: navy!!! It's perfect for both day and night, before and after Labor day, dress-up or business casual. Plus, it is 100% cotton, breathable, and will make you the envy of all your friends.
We will have them with us on the road for sale but are also happy to send them out to friends and family who can't make it to any of the shows, so just send us an email with your size (there are men's and women's tees, S, M, L, XL), and we'll send them after the tour, but before the holidays. At $10-- you can't afford not to have one!

(Wanna hear another DWO original while you ponder the possibility of driving cross-country to an open mic night? If so, click below to hear the second single off our EP!)
"Letters to Exes"

Now, I know what you are thinking. You can't really have a "merch" section for your band if you have A piece of merchandise. "Merch" is somehow inherently plural. Well, thank goodness Shane Lewinski ordered specially-crafted, one-of-a-kind, you-won't want to lose-track-of-this-one-like-all-of-your-other-picks, custom-made, when-you-feel-like-playing-a-cowboy-ballad-and-nothing-else-will-do, DWO guitar picks! Picks, you ask? Yes, picks! These puppies are LIMTIED edition of course (although we did have to agree to buy approximately one gross ton of picks to make this worthwhile, so "limited" only in the technical sense of the word). These are primarily for us to throw out to the fans at each night's performance, but they are also available to fellow double-widely optimistic guitar players nationwide. They look like this:
Aren't we nuts?

Here's the story....

This all started 6 years ago when I (Schaack) made what some might say was an ill-advised promise to myself to play an open mic night with my guitar before graduating. 6 and a half short years later I found myself on stage at the Players Pub in Bloomington, IN surrounded by friends fulfilling that promise to the world. Drunk on fame, one member of the spontaneously formed band that played that cold, December night yelled out-- "We should go on an open mic night TOUR!" And so it was. The Teapot Dome Scandal birthed a splinter group (me and Shane Lewinski) later to be named, by the people and for the people, Double-Wide Optimism, and a tour was planned.... Now that tour is imminent, and you can find out everything you want to know about it, DWO, amateur musicianship, and more here on this site.

About the Music

DWO is currently working on their first full-length EP! Our goal is to leave no genre unturned. So far, we have a country song, we have an oldie, and we have a rock song. Punk and R&B coming up next! Just kidding. Kind of.

Click here to hear Double-Wide Optimism's self-titled, self-released single,
"Double-Wide Optimism":


recorded in the Lab of Luxury Studios,
Arlington, TX 2009

Produced by Jeff Streicher and Jesse Meik of Jude the Innocent

About the Band

Shane A. Lewinski Bio
5’11 155 Pounds

The year was 1977. Shane’s life and musical journey began in South Bend, Indiana. After multiple years of general incontinence and coming to grips with the sights and sounds of the world around him, the fifth grade happened. It was during this time the cello was brought into his life. A brief flirtation with the cello quickly fizzled out as baseball, He-Man, Voltron, and masturbation consumed Shane’s hours of leisure.

Music entered Shane’s life to stay in the summer of 1987 when his then-mulleted brother dominated the stereo with heavy metal and hair bands. Def Leppard’s Hysteria and Poison’s Open Up and Say Ahh….became of the soundtracks to Shane’s life. Further indoctrination into the world of hard rock continued in the formative years with Motley Crüe, Metallica, GNR, and Van Halen (Sammy). Shane’s musical development was almost derailed when a misguided purchase of Paula Abdul’s “Forever Your Girl” almost turned him to the dark side of music. Fortunately, fate intervened and the tape was chewed up in high-speed dubbing accident.

Fast forward to 1995: Shane was introduced to the Dave Matthews Band by a friend returning home from college on the east coast and instantly hated it!! That same winter, a group of high school friends began playing acoustic guitar. Since Shane’s college roommate had a guitar, he decided to try and learn. Two months into the experiment, Shane’s hand had turned into a gnarled claw from trying to play a right-handed guitar as a left-handed person. Playing acoustically marked a renaissance in Shane’s musical development. Acoustic-based music was soon preferred over metal and hard rock music. In 1996, Shane was reintroduced to The Dave Matthews Band and developed his first man crush on one David J. Matthew. After taking in his first live DMB show in October of 1996, his musical path was set. An acoustic guitar was immediately placed on his Christmas list, which his mother promptly purchased, making the gift tag (of course) “from Santa”, and the rest, as they say, is history….

Musical Resume:

* The Bloomington Sessions: A series of horrific covers recorded on a computer monitor microphone. Highlights included the worst version of “Rock ‘N Roll Heart” ever recorded (recorded 1999-2002).
* The Tea Pot Dome Scandal and the Wacky Wacky Salt-Shakers-a one night open mic performance of Bloomington musical all-stars.

Current Projects:

* JagBag- The hard rock brain child of a Brooklyn drummer relocated to St. Louis. This band is the house band for The Tower Groove South House of Blues-aka my friend Sean’s basement. It has a bar, therefore I have no qualms about calling us the “house” band.
* Double Wide Optimism-An acoustic power duo dedicated to poorly-crafted covers and cool t-shirts. Winter Midwest open mic tour forthcoming. Stay tuned for more information……

Sarah Schaack Bio
The year was 1974. The place was Vancouver, BC, home of one of the world’s largest red light districts and the birthplace of one Sarah Schaack. Sarah arrived three weeks late via emergency caesarian section, leading to lifelong procrastination issues. Sarah’s inauspicious musical beginnings can be traced back to a relatively amusical household. Her earliest musical memories include singing various countries’ national anthems in the car with her father. Her formative years were spent in Chicago an array of one-and-done miscellaneous musical instrument lessons. After seven years as the last chair French hornist (out of 12) in band pushed her away from the performance side of music for some time. Jaded by the politics of high school band, Sarah turned to drugs and prostitution as a means to feel better about herself. After a brief stint in the nation’s foremost celebrity French horn rehab center located in Richmond, IN (aka college), Sarah resumed her musical career. While in graduate school at the University of Florida, Sarah returned to her singing roots. Living room radio karaoke sing-alongs allowed Sarah to hone her… unique… vocal stylings. On Nov. 11, 2002, Sarah was invited to watch some friends watch Bob Dylan—an invitation that changed Sarah’s musical life forever. It not only sparked a love of the singer-songwriter genre, but it also created a life long love of music in general.


Fast forward to 2004: Sarah was a doctoral student at Indiana University. The wounds from her French horn days finally healed enough for her to resume playing an instrument. In an effort to carve out her own niche in the singer-songwriter genre, Sarah took up the acoustic guitar. In an effort to hasten the learning process, friends were invited to Casa de Schaack for weekly group lessons (multiple teachers, one student) and merriment in what would soon be known as Stars and Guitars. It was during these sessions that plans for Sarah’s national debut were seeded. A pact between roommates to play an open mic before graduation. True to her word, on Dec. 18, 2008, Sarah’s brand of acoustic glory was unleashed on an unsuspecting audience at the Player’s Pub in Bloomington, IN. The Teapot Dome Scandal and the Wacky Wacky Salt-Shakers became an instant international success story. Severe infighting and insatiably high demand for DVD recordings of the debut caused an irreparable schism. The band was dissolved after one evening, leaving Sarah as a solo artist. Graduation and the break-up of the band caused Sarah to pursue a simpler life in Texas. The adoption of trailer life and a renewed sense of optimism caused her to ring up an old bandmate from the Wacky Salt-Shaker days. A subsequent meeting resulted in a musical collaboration and Sarah’s current project, Double-Wide Optimism, took form. A Midwestern winter open mic night acoustic tour have Sarah feeling more optimistic than ever about present and future musical endeavors.

Tour Dates

Saturday, Nov 21: Pre-tour rehearsal, St. Louis

Sunday, Nov. 22: St. Paul, MN
Plum's Neighborhood Bar & Grille
480 Snelling Ave S, 651-699-2227/9 pm

Monday, Nov. 23: Madison, WI
The Come Back In
508 E. Wilson Street, Phone: 608-258-8619/9:30 pm

Tuesday, Nov. 24: Chicago, IL
The Holiday Club- www.holidayclubchicago.com
4000 N Sheridan, Chicago, 773- 348-9600/8 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 25: Edwardsville, IL
The Stagger Inn

104 E. Vandalia St, (618) 656-4221

(VIP afterparty for groupies, TBA)