Show Journal 2005-03-26
Near the beginning of our set, Dave announced that we were on the verge of our 400th show. Yes, it was show #398 but it might as well have been the 2nd or 3rd. This being said here are things you would expect to see from a band that has played this much: 1) You would expect Justin to have working stuff. When the first guitar stops working, the second guitar should work. When handed a third guitar you would expect that the tuner would work properly. That’s just not how we roll. 2) After this many shows, you would think we would know some better jokes and be able to handle down time a little more gracefully. Since every song tonight ended with three minutes of chatter and waiting for someone to get ready it should have been our chance to shine and display our comic genius. In Dave’s defense though, how many Newport vs. Lincoln City jokes are there to be made? 3) For this many shows you would also expect to see the same drummer on at least a monthly basis. By next month we will have yet another person sitting behind us. I’m thinking it’s time to give the drummer a mask and a cool stage name. Then we wouldn’t have to bother with explanations and introductions. Just get a warm body and no one would care. When I stop to think about it I suppose people don’t come to see us for our professionalism. Despite the awkwardness of our set, the show was actually pretty good. At first it seemed very sparsely attended because of the room size but started to fill in when Blue Turns White started. They got some heads moving, and some horns up and then everyone got nice and rowdy during Thirty3’s set, which picked up the energy level for the rest of the night. I ended up missing Idle Class and Reprisal’s (?) set because apparently I have a future in taxi driving. Thanks to the folks who set up the show, the local bands who I apologize for missing, The Casketeers for driving far enough to earn a plug for their band, and everyone who took a chance on some bands they might not have ever heard before.
Show Journal 2005-03-25
Why are Bend shows always so fun? Because of a strong local scene? A variety of bands? Because everyone there isn’t preoccupied with music categories? Or is it because there isn’t anything else to do in Bend. It really doesn’t matter because Bend shows are always great. Blue Turns White was first and sounded good. I was a little amused when they said they were “on the road”, but I’m certainly not one to frown upon guilt tripping people into buying merchandise. Kind of cool to see them play as a 4 piece and still have the music just as thick as ever. Thirty3 was next and rocked as always. When we first met them (down the hall from us at our practice space) I could appreciate their music but just couldn’t really get into it. I’d go see them because I considered them friends, but never really paid attention. Then they went off to record ‘Ether’ and came back as this super human, loud and heavy, rock and roll juggernaut. I’ve seen them around 30 times now and they really do keep getting better with each show. That’s my Thirty3 rant. Your results may vary. We played last and it felt pretty good. I’m not sure how the new songs went over but when the PA is blown does it really matter? Thanks to Kaylin, PJ, and all who stuck around and rocked out.
Show Journal 2005-03-12
Damn it’s been a while. Five and a half months to be exact. Since we are still in the midst of the longest drummer hunt imaginable, we managed to temporarily secure the services of our friend and frequent savior Dan (aka – Boutros Boutros Boutros Boutros) for a few shows in March. This was the first one of the three and it was very nice to play again. Lebanon turned out to be pretty happening and had a very enthusiastic crowd in attendance. It’s very nice to see such a positive crowd in smaller towns. The show was a blast and we had a great time on the way down, hanging out at the show, playing and watching the other bands. Too many bizarre highlights to list … Dan getting kicked out of a gas station bathroom, the tambourine, playing 3 new songs, getting some punk dude’s finger poked into my eye, seeing Ugly Litter again, and meeting a bunch of new people. Thanks to all who traveled to see the show, Jeff and the Ugly Litter folks for setting up a very well run show and every one who stuck around late.
Show Journal 2004-10-31
Can’t believe it’s been a year since last year’s Halloween show in Longview. Despite being on a Sunday the show this year was pretty cool. We opted to dress as if we had come straight from the grave complete with dirty, torn suits, and of course the mandatory serving of blood. It was nice to see so many good costumes in the crowd. Admittedly if it weren’t for this band I probably wouldn’t have dressed up, so props to everyone who did. We’d played with most of the bands on the bill before so it was nice to share the evening with some familiar faces. Our set was fun but strangely chaotic due to the number of people on stage. We found out the hard way that there’s really not much room to move with people huddled all around you. It was cool seeing so many people sing along. All in all the show rocked. On a slightly more personal note, tonight was Jim’s farewell show. We’ve come a long way and done a lot of things since he’s been in the band so it’ll be a little weird to try and play music with anyone else. It sucks to part ways with your friends (from the band at least) but the real world keeps going and sometimes people gotta move on. Since you aren’t ever going to hear me on a microphone at a show, I’ll take this chance to say thank you to Jim for everything over the past few years.
Show Journal 2004-10-30
I can’t even tell you how glad I was to be able to play Richland this year on Halloween weekend. Shows there are usually pretty nuts and we knew it would be extra crazy with people in costumes and practically swimming in fake blood. For us, this show freaking rocked. Probably one of the biggest shows we’ve had up there yet, and quite possibly one of the rowdiest. I can’t even begin to say how much I enjoyed this show. Thanks to Dan for filling in, Jon for selling merch, Dustin for having us (and letting us dine from his hot dog machine afterwards), the mighty Toxie, and everyone who was willing to let Dave spit blood all over them.
Show Journal 2004-10-19
Tonight was our second show with The Misfits (aka The Misfit). The venue for this one was a lot bigger complete with a much bigger stage and lots of bright lights. The turnout was pretty good, but certainly would have been better if it didn’t fall on a Tuesday night. As guessed the show was pretty damn fun. We actually got to hang out with Dez and Jerry a little bit “backstage” which was really the highlight of the evening for us. The funniest moment is when Jerry told us that we “always dress so sharp”. That’s ironic because the only time we’ve ever dressed up was for these two shows. Not to mention I never got a chance to wash my clothes so although I might have looked sharp, I probably smelled like ass. Aside from Justin jumping and landing on the monitor and twisting his ankle the set was pretty fun. Last Second Left were pretty cool and super nice guys as well. Thanks to everyone who showed up early on a Tuesday and thanks to the Misfits and crew.
Show Journal 2004-10-16
I can’t believe we got to play with the Misfits. The first song I ever learned on guitar was a Misfits song. The first song I ever played in front of people was a Misfits song. Every time our band has recorded we’ve done a Misfits song. We’ve been covering Misfits songs at our shows since we started. I absolutely love that band and I think it would be a serious understatement to say I was just a little excited about this show. Yeah, sure there’s only one Misfit left in the band, but seeing Marky Ramone and Dez from Black Flag in the lineup was a fair trade off. To be honest I had already had a great show before we ever played. With the exception of the screeching noise that deafened everyone for 15 seconds our set went really well. The shirts and ties seemed like a good idea but good lord it was freaking hot on stage with two shirts. The best part was that people were actually moving during our set and I couldn’t have been happier to see that. Poison Idea was second and to be honest I still can’t believe we got to play with them either. They are a huge influence for bands around here and everywhere else as well. The Misfits were last and nothing else needs to be said. Major thanks to everyone who showed up early, those who traveled from Longview and Richland and everyone who got stuck outside during our set because of the security. I can’t believe we get to do it again on Tuesday.
Show Journal 2004-10-08
First TSOL, now the UK Subs. It’s been really cool to get to play with all these influential and amazing bands. I couldn’t believe a) how nice the UK Subs were and b) how much they could still rock. I gotta make a special mention the age because the guitar player is 50 and can jump higher than Justin. More impressive still was the singer who is over 60 (!!!) and still gets up there and rocks the crowd like no one’s business. I hate to sound corny but it was really inspirational in a way. Rest of the show … no Red Flags went first and they have come a long way since the Brother Spud days. I would have watched more but the Ash Street burger wreaked havoc on my insides and I had to go wandering the lower Burnside bar area in search of a half way sanitary restroom. If you live in the area you’ll understand what a daunting proposition this is. Statch was second and has always been a pleasure to watch since we met them back in the EJ’s days. We were third and I thought we did pretty well. A few people were singing along including the masked bandit El Santo. Somehow I suspect El Santo wasn’t supposed to be in the bar but your secret is safe with us. The new Ash Street stage was cool, the sound was good and all in all it was probably the best response we’ve had at a bar show in ages. Best part about our set was that the UK Subs seemed to dig us. Colin overheard Charlie saying that we were “shit hot”. We think it was a compliment and will take it as such. The Subs were on right around midnight and as I mentioned they sounded amazing. They’ve got that perfect old school sound but it’s still melodic and rocks … ahhh … so good. Glad I finally got to see them on their last tour ever!
Show Journal 2004-10-02
Day 16 – The morning started with a trip to the tire store to replace the tire that Dave mangled the night before. We got fixed up and headed up I-5 to SLC. We got there early, check out “a magazine store” and got tacos from a cart on the street. Eventually some people showed at the club including the guys from Die Monster Die and Thunderfist. Erik from T-Fist told us they wouldn’t be able to play since the singer had hurt his hand. We were a little bummed because they are such a good band. Die Monster Die took Dave and Justin over to their practice space where they got ready for the show. Got ready you ask? Well, Die Monster Die is a horror punk band that always plays in costumes, makeup and blood. They looked like a mix of Slipknot, the Misfits and Gwar and it was cool as hell to see in such a small venue. We were a little embarrassed to play after them but oh well. We started off a little rough but eventually started to get some people moving. After the show we bolted back to PDX without sleeping. Looking back, Dan and my gane of turning off the headlights and driving by moonlight probably wans’t too bright. All in all the tour was a success. We played a bunch of new towns and returned to a few places we hadn’t played in years. Thanks to everyone who hooked us up with a show, gave us a place to stay and just hung out with us. Super thanks to Thirty3 for letting us tag along for the first week and reminding us what this is all about.
Show Journal 2004-10-01
Day 15 – We all woke up and agreed that was the worst night of sleep on the whole tour. This was surprising because it was one of the calm and quietest places we had stayed. Go figure. I was stoked about this morning because I had never seen the Grand Canyon. It was amazing. I walked up to the rim, camera in hand and realized pictures aren’t going to do it justice. Seriously, it was incredible. We tooled around for a bit and headed over to St. George. The drive totally sucked. It was a bumpy two-lane road with no shoulder, big hills, drop offs, lots of traffic and rainstorms. Definitely not a relaxing drive. We also got a cryptic text message that Mt. St. Helens had erupted and we were all bummed out that we missed it. (Later we found there might be more to go so all hope wasn’t lost!) We got to St. George where Dave accidentally ran the van into a burn while trying to “park”. It took a chunk of rubber the size of a soda can off the side of the tire. Whoops. We met up with two locals who took us over to some fast food place with the biggest shakes I’ve ever seen. We headed back over to the club and as soon as we could see the venue the sound guy comes running at as saying “you’re on now”. Shit. We booked it inside and had to play immediately. I was amazed to see how many people were at this show. I was told “it’ll probably be a small one” but there were well over 100 people there. At first I thought they hated us but later realized you weren’t allowed to mosh there. After our whirlwind set we hung outside with Jake and his friends in the Super Villians and just talked about whatever. I feel bad because I didn’t watch any of the other bands. I usually make a point to check each one out, but I didn’t watch one. Shame on me. After we headed over to Kyle’s house, made a run to Wal-Mart and Del Taco and hung out for a bit. I ended up crashing out early.
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