iTunes yo.
Requiem is finally available on iTunes along with many more of our prior albums. If you prefer your music as MP3’s or just want to buy a few tracks you now know where to go. No props to the iTunes store for tagging us as “alternative”.
Show Journal 2008-11-07
Weirdest show ever. There’s a lot to cover so I need to go through this quickly. Dustin was arriving late and Justin was impaired due to knee surgery, so Dave, his wife and his wife’s friend had to unload the van. Weird how two small women can unload the van faster than four dudes. The opening band was the Wayne Gacy Trio. They soundchecked with a cover of Ring Of Fire. Immediately afterwards someone wandered over to the merch table and asked when the next band started and displayed his dissatisfaction that a band played a one song set. Apparently he wasn’t familiar with the idea of a soundcheck. Wow. I wandered over for my first Voodoo doughnut of the evening (one of two trips) and on the way back was accosted by a homeless man who informed me he wasn’t homeless, but rather a professional standup comedian who works for tips. Uhmm, ok. His opening joke was as follows “What is the coldest part on the male body? The balls, because they are always two below.” I was prepared to offer him a buck for that gem of a joke, but he kept talking and got sent away by the bar staff. You can tell the economy is tough because the life of a professional standup comedian sure is hard these days. Afterwards I came back inside the bar and sat with Jeremy and Jeff. We were soon joined by a drunken older man in a wheelchair who insisted on giving us hugs and raising his glass. After trying to decipher his drunken ramblings and watching him hug Jeff for a little too long, he accidentally spilled a full pint glass of beer onto Jeremy’s lap so we quickly made an exit to the back of the club. The Wayne Gacy Trio (actually a quintet) started playing and sounded pretty good. Kind of catchy, kind of fun and the clown faced singer was a creepy twist. Nice to hear a “put the lotion on it’s skin” reference in mid-set. About half way through their set people are starting to get a little rowdy. Lots of awkward dancing, some bumping, some grinding and then we notice a commotion on the floor. Sure enough Mr. Wheelchair is on the ground, taking his shirt off and unbuttoning his pants. Although we had noticed him in the wheelchair we hadn’t noticed he was missing his legs just above the knees. So, to clarify, there was a legless man on the floor of the Ash Street causing a ruckus. One girl continued to dance with him (ie – grinding his head with her ass) while curious onlookers took pictures with camera phones. It was funny, sad and utterly bewildering all at the same time. Eventually a bouncer asked him to put his shirt on he “stood up” on his stumps, extended a middle finger and told him off. Within minutes he was back in his chair and being escorted out the door. Later we found out he accosted some of our friends insisting on hugs and asking for kisses on his neck. Needless to say it had been an interesting 30 minutes. WGT finished up and Dreamkiller went on. They were energetic, tight and fun to watch. I was pretty impressed. The only sad moment was when the drummer mentioned he had seen us when he was 14. Damn I’m old. I really wanted to tell them I enjoyed their set but never got a chance to, so their props will reside here in cyberspace. We were up third and were all a little ancy about Justin who had knee surgery a mere 3 days before. We put him on the side with the railing just in case but he held strong. We played a lot of new songs and it went well. I was stoked to see some people already knew a few of the words. Our set wasn’t too eventful, except in the crowd where a biker gang, some sailors and a gypsy selling roses came in and had words with some of the people. There was also a guy who kept punching Dave in the leg for about half the set. I once saw someone try to light Dave’s pants leg on fire at a show and Dave kicked him square in the back and dropped him to the floor. I’m surprised “the leg puncher” didn’t receive such a treatment. Anyway, I was very happy with the show and the warm reception. The Independents were up last. They didn’t play as long as I had hoped but were excellent as always. The crowd thinned out a little around 1 but everyone who stuck around seemed to enjoy it immensely. It’s hard not to as they are so charismatic on stage. Thanks to everyone to showed up and hung out late!
It’s finally here
Tonight is our CD release show in Portland. Yes it’s short notice, yes, Justin may or may not able able to stand and yes, we aren’t even headlining our own show, but it’s the only CD release show we’ve got so we’re going to make it work. If you live in Portland and are over 21 do stop by this evening.
Surgery update and CD release show
After what has felt like the longest three months ever Justin finally has his knee surgery scheduled for this Tuesday. Despite the fact that he will be drugged up and has been advised for avoid physical activity for a week the CD release show will go on. If you live in Portland and are over 21 you better have a damn good excuse for not going. Just because you have to work early is no longer a good excuse. Justin is having things removed from his knee and is still going to rock for you. If you are on the fence, at least check out one of our most favorite bands ever, The Independents. They are from South Carolina and also have a new album out. Speaking of which? Did you buy our new album yet? Stop what you are doing and do so now. Shows are better when you know all the words.
Show Journal 2008-10-31
Halloween. We have a long history of dressing up for Halloween. Zombies, skeletons, bloody priests and other bloody delights. This year we figured we’d throw everyone a curve ball and dress as the Blue Man Group. We all had solid black outfits, appropriate bald caps, spirit gum and gobs and gobs of blue makeup. We were stoked because it was 1) totally unexpected for us and 2) should be pretty amusing. On the ride up we meticulously trimmed our bald caps (except for Dave of course who has been prepared for this moment for a few years) and formulated a plan on how and when to complete the transformation upon arrival. We arrived to the club, walked in the door and guess what the drummer for the first band is dressed as? An f-ing blue man. Seriously. Our hearts sank. No bald caps, no blue makeup, no “blukkake” jokes and a waste of $50. The guy was nice enough but he single handedly sank our big plan and we chose to resort to plan B which was to predictably just douse ourselves in fake blood. I guess we could have gone through with it, but we didn’t want to be those guys who were second on stage to be blue. The show itself was pretty solid. Aside from being a Halloween show it was also the wedding reception for our friends Jay and Jolene who were nice enough to invite us to play. Honestly we didn’t see a whole lot of the first few bands as we had a congratulatory bombshell dropped on us by Kevin and Sam who revealed that their decision to dress as Bleeker and Juno had a special meaning behind it! Our long time friend and old drummer Bryan made it out as well as well as Chris, Al, Todd and a few others. Another highlight of the evening was playing “I’ll give up a dollar if you stand in the bathroom for 30 seconds”. Everyone failed. Some things at that club never change. We went on pretty late and after three months off it was nice to play again. Real nice. In fact I’d go so far as to say this was one of the best shows we’ve ever played in the past year or two. If you were in attendance you may or may not agree with that assessment but with all the drama of the last few months, including finishing up the CD artwork, production, van problems, the show cancellations, Justin’s knee problems and the late nights of practice this show felt extra good for us. We opened with a cover of ‘Halloween’ and kept it to a full set of monster songs which we can now finally do. We thought we got everyone moving but were quickly shown up by The Schmidfits who treated everyone to a full set of Misfits covers plus a few extras. I was a little bummed they opened with ‘Halloween’ but they quickly redeemed themselves by played some of the faster Misfits songs off of Earth A.D. Very cool set. Anyway, if you need to be thanked for this evening pat yourself on the back. Congrats to Jay and Jolene as well as Kevin and Sam!
Radio, radio, radio
The word on the streets is that one of our new songs may get played on Viva La Luna this weekend. The show is on KUFO (101.1) and airs on Sunday nights at 9:00 PM (PST). There is also an internet stram available at kufo.com.
Also, a cool internet radio station called Punk and Beans Radio now has our CD and may play it as well. Even if they aren’t playing us it’s good stuff. Do check them out.
Lastly, one of Justin’s dog’s is named Radio. Since we’re talking radio we figured that was worth some props.
Reasons to buy our new album
If you are still on the fence about whether or not you want to buy our new album, here are a few compelling reasons why you should consider buying a copy: 1) We recorded on an actual reel to reel tape machine. This is a dying art form and should be supported at all costs. 2) With this purchase you will be supporting independent music and independents labels. Independent music is what keeps us from having to listen to the crap on the radio. 3) We haven’t had an album in 4 years. During that time you may have stopped listening to punk, but that means it’s ripe for a comeback. 4) With 18 songs you are bound to like at least one of them. 5) If you do hate the music, we’re pretty sure you’ll dig the artwork. 6) We paid for all the recording ourselves. Every CD sold truly helps out get out of debt. 7) There is a song where Dave actually references french toast. 8) Haven’t we ever gotten you in on our guest list or give you free stuff? Time to pay up! You can get it online at a number of places (Interpunk, Amazon, iTunes) but if you have a PayPal account your best bet is to order directly from us for $10. In PayPal just send the money to 800octane@gmail.com. We pack and ship ’em ourselves. There is also a very good chance you’ll get some stickers along with the purchase.
Album Review from Take 92
800 Octane is retarded. At least, that’s the way you feel about them by the end of the record. They get you all sentimental and sad when you hear “Gather and bow your heads / Say a prayer for the dead,” but you’re laughing at them 30 seconds later. Come to think of it, it’s almost more like a rape. I mean how can this band that I know sound so convincing after all these years? It can’t be some fancy production because you’re not reading my name in the linear notes! It’s the same team that brought you “The Return” and “Rise Again.” Come to think of it, what’s with all the alliteration? Was this planned? Back to the point: For those that don’t know any better, 800 Octane sounds like a well-oiled machine. This is not to say that they aren’t at the top of their game. I mean, the band has never sounded so raw and full of energy in the seven years that I’ve known them. But they actually convince you that there was some preparation involved. This record feels like a live band. That’s not easy to do. Though I was disappointed at the loss of a few great melodies (T-Minus, Great Below), there were also some great surprises. For those that don’t know, I recorded a lot of these songs a year or two ago when they were very new. I didn’t expect that so much of that material would resurface here. The “Guttermouth Song” (Dead End Road) was my biggest surprise, follwed by “Foo Fighters,” which became “Requiem.” The boys are determined to give this thing a proper goodbye and I couldn’t have said it better myself. [And for the record, I haven’t heard the word “pants” so many times in a row since “Live Fast, Diarrhea.”]
Requiem is available now!
Today is the day that our 5th album Requiem is officially released. For those who participated in the Interpunk pre-sale we hope you dig the posters and buttons. For those who have not purchased the album here are some ways to get it:
Online – The album is available at a variety of stores including Interpunk, Amazon, iTunes and many more. Do a search and you’ll find about a dozen sources.
Local – If you prefer to shop locally, you can ask your favorite record store to order it. If they can’t get it, tell them it’s available from Nail Distribution.
Direct from Us – If you have a PayPal account you can order the CD directly from us for $10. Just log into PayPal, choose ‘Send Money’ and send it to 800octane@gmail.com. Order it this week and we’ll ship it out the following day.
It’s been a long four and a half years so thanks again for everyone’s support!
Injury update and CD Release show news!
Justin returned from his doctor’s appointment and subsequent MRI on his knee. Turns out there are now two bone chips to be removed and surgery is likely going down in November. Despite him only being partially mobile we’ve still got two shows booked. First is a Halloween show in Seattle which should be pretty crazy. The second show is our CD Release show w/ The Independents at the Ash Street on Nov 7th. It’s a Friday and it should rule the school. Both are 21+ shows. We are hopeful that the intoxication with keep people from noticing Justin’s limited movement. In fact, it may even enhance it. If you’ve been too lazy to pre-order your CD, you can buy them from us at either show. Speaking of pre-order if you order the cd right now (like this week) from Interpunk.com you’ll get a free signed poster and a limited edition button.
Random Photos