Things to know about playing in a record store … its usually too loud, its usually too small, its usually too hot, the sound is usually bad and generally not many people show up. Hmmmm – sounds like a typical show. No, actually record store shows usually end up being the most fun, because you never know what to expect. Thanks to Brent from Bomf for setting up the show and a big meteorological thanks to The Leeches for explaining El Nino to us and then managing to rock through the unseasonably warm indoor temperatures.

Tonight we played at a roller skating rink with light up walls and a disco ball. The deal was 2 DJ’s and 2 bands. A weird idea with an equally weird vibe. There was a couple hundred kids there, but most were between the ages of 14-17. If that wasn’t strange enough, about half were there for the bands and half for the mtv puff daddy dance party mix. Anyway, despite the terrible dance music the show went fine. A lot of the kids really seemed to have fun so that kinda made the show for us (its not everyday you see a pit in a roller skating rink). Thrust wasn’t quite as fortunate … their set got cut after only 20 minutes. This was met by the cheers of ‘fuck you’ and ‘bullshit’ directed towards the owner. Anyway, 20 minutes was probably all it took to school most of these kids in the ways of real punk rock. After the show (and an encounter with Bend’s west side posse) we crashed as Thrust’s fly pimp palace. The thing is a shrine to music and skateboarding. We wasted the night away delving into deep discussion about everything from snowboarding at Bachelor to the physiological implications of the mother nut. If you are ever in Bend, keep an eye out for these guys … they will rock you.

Playing with Moral Crux in Marty’s garage … what a cool show. According to Marty this was the best show ever to come to his place (too bad he missed half of it). It was kinda nice to see so many people come out in such a small town. I’m not quite sure what the deal was with the crowd and wrestling, but it sure was interesting. Anyway … the show — the show went good, we both got to play with no cops arriving until we both had finished. If you ever get a chance to see Moral Crux, go, because they are really good. They are on a bunch of comps including one on Lookout! records. By the way … their bass player is a Grade A bad ass. Anyway, the show was fun, but getting to hang out with guys was definitely the highlight of it all. They have been together since ’88 and had all kinds of tales to tell … people they pick on, driving their ambulance and watching people get sodomized my microphones. All in all a good evening.

Not too much was happening at EJ’s tonight. I think the highlight of the evening was watching the Leeches play. They’ve gotten pretty darn good since we last played with them. If Jeff the bartender is reading this … WOO!

Another fun Sunday night show at EJ’s. I wish every show was at EJ’s. I’ve gotta take a second to say how good Los Mex Pistols was. Their lead guitar player is bordering on god status. Tonight’s highlight actually revolved around the men’s bathroom. On the wall by the urinal someone had scribbled the “here I sit broken hearted” rhyme (which I’m not gonna finish) and under it someone had written “You shouldn’t be sitting here!” in huge letters. Well … OK … maybe its not that funny after all.