Show Journal 2000-02-14
So did anyone out there go to a show on Valentine’s day? Yeah, I didn’t think so. There was maybe 10 paying people at the show tonight. Pretty weak. Buddy Ravelle was pretty cool but they didn’t play long enough. The Burning Cindy’s were cool as usual so no surprise there. Our set was ok at best. It was really fun to play but probably a bit disappointing to watch. They did turn on the smoke machine during Kelvis (aka – the Melvis) which was pretty amusing. It was kind of weird not having Lyle there. It had been almost 6 months since we had played as a 3 piece so the whole thing was a little odd. Oh well, that’s life for you.
Show Journal 2000-02-05
“Girl you know I love it when you back that thing up.” Sorry, blame Kevin and Al for that one. Despite the echoes of Juvenile going through my mind we had a great show tonight. The Panama Redrum is a way cool bar with a sort of b-movie horror theme going on. Lots of people showed up and stuck around which really made this show lots of fun to play. The other thing that ruled about this show was that it was Warren’s birthday. Warren is the singer for Blackjack and he also owns the place. Since we are too cheap for gifts we learned and played three Blackjack songs for him. We invited him up to sing and he gladly took charge. My man has got the super rock moves down. The rest of the night went real well and everyone had lots of fun until Dave unleashed the moose cock joke. This was only eclipsed by the stupidity of the snail joke. Oh I almost forgot we were introduced to the crowd by Fucko the Clown. Yes, I am serious.
Show Journal 2000-01-08
Almost 3 years to the day after we all arrived in Portland, we have reached the high point of our career. We played at a strip club. Not just any club, but Union Jacks, the seedy looking place on Burnside in downtown Portland. I was the only one in the band who had never been to a strip club before and this was my big chance to go guilt free. Needless to say, the show was totally fun. The strippers sort of laid low for the first band, popping up on tables throughout the club every now and again. However, when Portrait of Poverty started their first song they were greeted by a naked girl doing a split about a foot in front of the singer. That guy played the entire song with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen. Our set went really well, but the strippers avoided us like the plague. I suppose it was too much rock for their cosmetically altered bodies to handle. Lyle and I had to carry the show girl torch and both got dollar bills put into our pants to prove it (which was good because we didn’t get paid even though about 80 people showed up). Since Naked Violence actually has a beat you can move to they got the full stripper ensemble during their set. Did I mention there is a pole right in the middle of the stage? That’s right … during one of Naked Violence’s songs they got an strip show from 5 feet above the drum set. Pretty wild evening.
Show Journal 2000-01-07
“Enough love songs, it’s time for some fucking metal.” That quote by Portrait of Poverty really set the tone for the whole evening. It was a total rock show tonight. It was really loud, a lot of people came out and every band sounded great. What else can I say … it was a good night.
Show Journal 1999-12-03
We were supposed to play in Bend tonight but that fell through. Then we were supposed to play in Longview but that fell through too. We were supposed to play in Redding the following night but that even fell through. Damn promoters. It’s a different story every time but it’s always the same result … you aren’t playing and you’re screwed. I’m done whining now. Miraculously, we ended up playing a show for Ollie’s Skateboards at some rented hall out in Beaverton. I have to admit even though it was totally last minute the show was fun. The wasn’t much of a crowd but they all seemed to dig our music. We finally got to meet and watch Watson One Shirt play which was a treat. There wasn’t too much else to report from the show so I’ll stop now.
Show Journal 1999-11-29
Tonight’s show sucked. I had been looking forward to this show for over two months. We had never played at the Crystal Ballroom before and we had told all of our friends to show up around 10:00. We get there and find out we are up first and have to start by 9:00 and be finished by 9:30. Uhhhh. This means another evening of playing to a handful of people. That was kind of a drag, but to make things worse when we were playing the sound on stage was really bad. Lyle was 15 feet away from me with a 100 watt amp and I couldn’t hear a note he was playing. The sound guy thought we were too loud. “Can you turn down some?” Christ I hate that. Like the 10 people there really care anyway? Jim had it the worst, I don’t think his monitors were even working. Just one frustration after another. A few people there said they really liked our music and had fun, so I probably shouldn’t bitch too much more. Between you and me though … what a let down. On a positive note, everyone at the club was very nice and helpful. Also, mad props to Last Regiment for the surprise drive/walk by.
Show Journal 1999-11-05
Spokane is a 6 hour drive. The drive home is … well it’s also 6 hours. We usually play for about 30-40 minutes. That means for every 1 minute of playing we averaged 20 minutes in the car. Despite the ridiculous amount of driving, the trip was totally fun. We had a long soulful sermon in the van from Mother Mary about, well, that information is only for us to know. Not too many people came to the show, but that’s Spokane for you. (Besides the Hookers were playing the next night, so I wouldn’t have gone to see us either). We hassled Brent from All Out for most of the show which made us crowd favorites. Mary did a fly girl dance during Holiday which was quite a treat for all of those who prefer dance music to that rock and roll stuff. All Out and their new lineup rocks pretty hard. Once again Donny hooked us up with food and a floor … thanks Donny!
Show Journal 1999-10-30
For Halloween this year, we dressed as an 80’s metal band. We played our heavy metal guitars, wore big silly wigs, tight clothes, animal print boots and Lyle even brought along “the package.” In fact one girl wanted to touch it and we have the picture to prove it.
Show Journal 1999-10-28
The show tonight totally rocked! I’m not to sure what the “general public” thinks of our new lineup, but the past couple of shows have been so much fun to play. I’m sure that means more energetic shows as well. I find myself laughing and having fun which is a new experience. Playing live is always fun, but this is like a whole new world. Maybe someday we will let Lyle be an official member. Ha! Anyway, I’ve decided that when Cookie is having a good show with a good crowd they could quite possibly be the best band in the north west. Well, besides us of course. Their new drummer rocks, and I think everyone there had a great time watching their set. Unfortunately I had to duck out and missed the other bands set so I don’t have much else to report from the show.
Show Journal 1999-10-17
Today’s show was a little weird right from the get go. First off, it was at a chinese restaurant. Second it was early and all ages (which is also a very welcome change from typical portland shows). If you are familiar with Stach and the Rapes or Antiworld then you will understand the strangest part of all. Let me explain a little. Statch plays punk rock straight out of 77. Antiworld plays goth punk rock straight out of 83. Thier fans like music straight out of 77 and 83 and dress like they are straight out of 77 and 83. In simpler terms we played to a club (ok, restaurant) full of spikes, mohawks, dyed hair, ripped clothes, safety pins, makeup and tattoos. And then there was us. Don’t get me wrong everyone was totally cool and fun to hang out with but for the casual observer it just looked a little wrong. It got really funny when we started playing, because you could just see it in their eyes … “Do I like this? It’s fast and it’s loud and it seems cool but I’m not sure if it’s punk.” By the end everyone seemed to dig it but I do think we caught a lot of people off guard. That’s probably more than you ever wanted to know about this show, but the bottom line is that it was still way fun. Statch played real well, and Antiworld’s halloween props could not be beat. Shows like this always make stop to think about how un-punk we truly appear but at the same time it’s always cool to playing to people that might not normally come see you. The only thing that sucked was that I forgot my camera to take some “pictures” for Statch.
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