All your tube are belong to us
Here’s an interesting video we stumbled across on YouTube. Juggling? Check. Unicycling? Check. Devil Sticks? Check. Completely kick ass? Check!
Show Journal 2007-09-15
You know your night is going to start off wrong when your vehicle has no brake lights, no speedometer and no cruise control. We’re not sure why but despite the lack of brake lights Dave seemed to insist on braking suddenly and often the entire way out of town. I am fairly sure this is the first time everyone was adamant about buckling up, attaching headrests and maintaining good posture while riding in the van as we were certain a truck would plow into us at any minute. There wasn’t much traffic on the interstate so gauging our speed was tough. We thought we were going fast enough until we got passed by a late 70’s model Plymouth with no muffler and rust holes big enough to put your hand through. First we thought we’d get pulled over for speeding but soon realized we were actually running the risk of getting stopped for impeding the flow of traffic. About half way there we realized the GPS could be set to display the current speed. Problem solved and a consistent speed was obtained. It should be noted that the GPS also contains the voice of Mr. T who barks out directions, calls you a “fool” and threatens to “jump out this tiny machine” if you go the wrong way. After a 25 minute stop at Jack In The Box we arrived at the show. Sadly we missed all of Something Orange so I have little to report on their set. Another small detail is that when I walked in there was literally all of about 8 people there. I actually went out and apologized as it really was looking pretty grim. GGTS set up and fortunately a few more people wandered in. They sounded great as usual, with stronger vocals and even better sing along parts. A cover by the man in black is always a plus too. Pirex was third and sounded pretty good as well. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw make-up, blood and vampire teeth on the stage but was relieved to learn I would not be enduring a black metal band. We were up last and thankfully a few more people wandered in. Dave was in rare form tonight. My favorite comment was his observation that “you may think I’m an active guy but I’m actually much more comfortable at rest.” At some point Justin inadvertently mentioned we missed the first band because we were waiting at Jack In The Box. That statement has made my Top 10 list of things never to say on stage. Say you were stuck in traffic, say you were in jail, say you were doing lines off a stripper’s back, but never, under any circumstances, say you were late because you were waiting on chicken strips. Ironically the strangest moment of the evening also involved food. At some point between songs we were interrupted by an announcement from the sound guy who offered this query to the crowd … “did anyone order a turkey sandwich and forget to pick it up? We’ve got an extra one here.” It pretty much rendered us speechless and I am quite sure in 13 years it’s the first time we’ve heard that over the PA. The crowd sang along, moved around and made an otherwise tiny show pretty kick ass to play. The drive home only had one highlight, a small electrical fire in the speaker wire. Our van is seriously going to explode soon I just know it. Anyway, thanks to GGTS, the Matrix and all who traveled long and far and made the show fun for us.
Show Journal 2007-09-08
It’s a day later and I’m still not sure what to think of our MusicFestNW show. Kelly’s Olympian was a really cool place, the sound was good and all the staffers were very nice. All the bands on our showcase were really good as well, which is always a huge plus. Most of the bands leaned towards the indie rock side of things. By indie rock I mean good musicians, meaningful songs and generally hip looking people. In other words, pretty much nothing like us. They were all very good (especially the first band) but we stuck out like a sore thumb. As soon as we set up there we noticed a quick change in the attendance. I guess three large skulls on the amps is a turnoff for some people. Appearances or not I can’t say I blame some people for bailing as our setup was a bit problematic. The band before us took a really long time to unload so we were already about fifteen minutes behind. We got up there, got tuned and began sound checking. Somewhere in there Justin’s tuner decided that tonight was the night it was going to stop working (despite having worked 3 days prior) and that pretty much threw him into a panic. He hit things, slammed his guitar on the stage and cursed repeatedly. I kept thinking we were selected to play from hundreds of applications to represent the best of the NW and here we were standing around unable to even sound check properly. By 12:15 Justin was tuned, checked and we finally started with ‘Radio’. Within the two minutes it takes to perform the song Justin was out of tune, I was out of tune, Dustin’s kick pedal had come loose and Dave couldn’t hear the monitors. I think the subsequent pause was longer than the song we had just played. The next song started off promising enough but afterwards it too was met by another pause of indeterminable length filled with guitar tuning and drum set adjusting. By about 12:30 we’re three songs in and we’ve finally gotten our shit together and have started playing well. Only problem is we’re supposed to be done in 10 minutes. We blasted through the songs as fast as we could and finally picked up some momentum. So how was the crowd? There were more people than we expected but they were all a good 20 feet back from the stage leaving a large and empty floor right in front of us. Somewhere in there the “dancing” began. In the beginning the “dancing” was limited to one rather preppy-ish looking guy with flip flops and a collared knit shirt head banging and air guitaring by himself in our previously established “no standing zone”. There was a moment where I was honestly wondering if he was possibly retarded and that I would go to hell for making fun of him? I quickly deducted that he was just drunk. Eventually a few other people joined in up front and started moving around (including my neighbor of all people) and everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time. We finally looked and sounded like a real band. All good things must come to an end and during one of the last few songs one of the revelers fell down and twisted his knee. He laid there on the liquid covered floor of Kelly’s for half a song while a circle of people formed around him. They moved him out and the “no standing zone” quickly returned to it’s former size. It’s only inhabitant was one drunken guy who kept slamming into bystanders and those at tables, trying to grab them and get them to move up front with him. Charming. And that was it. Twenty five minutes had passed and it ended just as awkwardly as it began. For the average observer I guess the show wasn’t that bad overall but at a showcase like this I always hope a little more. If any of that stuff went down at a “normal” bar show (equipment failure, drunk guy dancing, retarded air guitarist, etc) I probably wouldn’t have cared. Tonight it was all a little disappointing. Maybe my expectations are just too high for such an event? Anyway, we got off stage quickly and Amadan closed the night very nicely. We watched a few songs, then watched a few fights and finally went home for a long night of sleep. Thanks to those who stuck around and I hope this doesn’t taint your recollection of our show!
Show Listing
Portland’s own 800 Octane is darker than your average punk band. Inspired by the Misfits and b-movies, this band is eminiscent of AFI around the release of Black Sails in the Sunset, It’s definitely working that Halloween theme but not quite overplaying it. Let’s hope it stays that way, because the world does not need another Davey Havoc. (Willemette Week / PR)
No, we aren’t dead… Blogger just sucks.
Running your own web site really sucks sometime. About two months ago we deleted most of our web site and switched it to a Google Blogger account since it was much easier to update. Over the last few weeks we started getting e-mails here and there saying that our web site wasn’t working and just went to the Google homepage. We couldn’t seem to duplicate the problem from any computer, but if people can’t see the site that’s no good. After going through the pains of moving everything to blogger, here we are moving it all back. Damn the internet sucks sometimes.
MusicFest NW
Got our time slot confirmed for MusicFest NW
Flyers, flyers and more flyers
You want to see some old flyers? How about some new ones? How about every one we’ve ever appeared on? Ok, here you go. 13 years to collect and only 5 minutes to publish.
Show Journal 2007-08-12
We’ve played two free house shows in the past few weeks and I couldn’t imagine having them being at any further opposite ends of the musical spectrum. One was a loud hot drunken mess in a dingy basement, while this one was outside near cute dogs, soft drinks, bowls of candy, a trampoline and a high ratio of straight edge folks. The reason for the season was Michelle’s 24th birthday. We actually had a horrible surprise planned for her where we were going to dress up as clowns. Seriously. In fact we all spent quite a bit of time and money procuring appropriate clown attire over the past week. However after having to setup the gear, change band lineups on the fly and soak in how few people were in attendance we opted against it at the very last minute. We do apologize to the few who were in on the secret and attended the show in hopes of seeing that spectacle. The good news is, sometime, somewhere, someday we will put those shoes, oversized neckties and horns to good use when everyone least expects it. Broadway Calls opened the show and yes, they are still my favorite local band. Now that I have their CD in my possession and have learned many of the songs I like them even more. Every time they play it makes me want to quit because we’ll never write hooks that good. I’m not sure we did as well but we did have one secret weapon up our sleeve, a whipped cream pie with Michelle’s name all over it. Predictably she came up to sing Golden Road and when we got to “her part” Justin smacked her in the face with a cream pie. That wasn’t some sort of sexual innuendo; it was literally a whipped cream pie. Within seconds it was picked up off the ground and applied to Dave’s face, only with the less appealing addition of dirt and grass. Yuck. The New Found Glory Holes were up last. They could best be described as several guys who probably know better, playing pop punk songs and sung by a gang of people who knew not all, but many of the words. By all accounts it really was pretty terrible, but then again I’m pretty sure it was supposed to be. It did make me smile though and in all reality I think that was the goal. Happy b-day to Michelle and thanks to those who attended on a lazy Sunday.
Show Journal 2007-07-28
It’s been a while since we’ve gotten to play a good basement show. Our recent Portland shows have ranged from “sort of ok” all the way to “totally underwhelming” so when Krush Klamath asked us to play their basement we were all over it. Everyone there was totally cool and although we didn’t know too many people we all seemed to know the same people. All night was a perpetual game of two degrees of separation. Before the show we headed over to Dial A Pizza. Let’s just say I was correct to be skeptical of any place offering two pizzas for $9.99. Should have been dial a toilet for the next half hour. Embrace The Kill (aka – most of Valid Effort) opened the show playing a handful of good songs. Krush Klamath was the main attraction and I was totally impressed. Their songs were catchy but totally rocking too. In fact I should point out all of those dudes were totally cool too. All I knew was their song called ‘Can’t Skate’ from the Crash Assailant comp and I really enjoyed seeing them play in person. We played last and it was a blast. It was incredibly hot by the time we went on, people were sloppy drunk, the floor had about a quarter inch of beer on it and we were playing on borrowed gear. I swear I lost about 5 pounds from sweat alone. Totally fun evening. Thanks to Krush Klamath for setting everything up and letting us use your gear!
Want to see what boredom looks like?
How’s this for too much information? A complete map of cities we’ve played in. Kind of hurting on the midwest but that’s an awful lot of tiny towns in OR/WA.
Random Photos