A rad new poster that’s actually old
We were recently directed to these rad posters custom made for our 2005 show with The Misfits. All hail the Invisible Creature!
Walk Among Us, or Them actually
Portland Zombie Walk 2007. Dress up like a zombie, roam the streets and have some tasty, tasty brains. Find out more here. It sounds like pretty much the coolest thing ever.
Show Journal 2007-10-12
Ok, now that was a good show. Good music? Check. Lots of friends? Check. Home made cookies delivered fresh? Booya. Plan R started off and started correctly with a blend of smart but snotty punk rock the way we wish could deliver it. It was definitely nice to see them back in action again. We were up second and our set was pretty solid. No real highlights to speak of, but no real lowlights either and with our limited practices schedule for the last month that’s a good thing. The Mercy Killers were up third and were very cool. They were best described as Rancid meets Alkaline Trio with a little bit of a crust edge to it. I dug them immensely. The reason for the crowd was TSOL and they did not disappoint. I will say I actually thought they sounded better last time we played with, but it was a whole different ball game seeing them in an all ages setting with such a diverse and rowdy crowd. Nice to see such a legendary band can still throw down live. Thanks to Thrasher, KB and the Satyricon staff, TSOL and those who came out early to see us and the other Portland natives. No thanks to the failing electrical system in the van
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.
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