Show Journal 2008-05-10
So when we got asked to play the Zombie Prom many months ago we were imagining a small 50-100 person crowd with maybe half the people dressed up. What we got was so much more than we could have ever possibly expected. The Mt Tabor actually sold out and from what we heard had over 400 people in there and I would about 98% were in costume. Most of the costumes were actually good costumes which was amazing. I heard the phrase “brains” uttered so many times it jus became background noise after a while. As for the prom theme they really did everything right. Balloons and ribbons lined the hallways and main room, and off in the side bar they had a full “prom photo” booth setup with gravestones and trees. It really was pretty spectacular. Written In Ashes was the first band and for their set they played all covers. I must confess their selection of covers was damn near perfect. Simple Minds, The Eurythmics and even some Billy Idol for good measure. We were all impressed with their effort to learn so many covers. After their set there was more DJ’s which climaxed with my personal highlight of the evening, the playing of Thriller. The song has been a bit overplayed in recent months with everything from that Korean prison video (look it up on youtube if you haven’t seen it) to the appearance of the song in a Geico commercial. I will go on record to say seeing a room full of bloody zombies scream and cheer at the opening notes to the song actually made me cry a little bit. Perfect timing! After that song it was time for the costume contest which we used as our chance to get a fresh coat of blood. This was important because we had been skirting the fine between bum and undead all night. Blood = zombie. No blood = derelict. We got our introduction and tore through our set as fast as we could. Although it was fun to see so a wild looking crowd we had all sorts of problems on stage. The worst offender was Justin’s guitar amp which squealed the entire show. Every pause, every break in the music and even while playing there was a constant squeal that was obnoxious even on stage. About half way through my amp started to go out and the volume dropped down from the normal deafening roar down to a half assed nearly jangly guitar tone. Not having any other option I played through and hoped the sound guy would adjust. It eventually came back but two half powered amps is not good. The Justin aerial show was also grounded tonight due to a sprained ankle he suffered yesterday. I suppose it was the one show where slow moving is acceptable, but we all missed his energy. Speaking of energy, Dustin was suffering as he had already played a set that night with another band in Longview, drove to Portland and played this one. He started off strong but by the end was barely hanging on. I know we could have done better, but all in all it still was ok and given the fact it was a zombie prom, no complaints here. We’d definitely like to thank Michelle for hanging out and to the organizers and all on the prom committee for having us!
Show Journal 2008-04-26
First off, congratulations to Sam on his marriage! For our gift we were asked to come play a set at the reception. We should have just mailed him a backup hard drive for his gift since he lost all of our 20 demo tracks last year but that’s another story. Due to real world issues (i.e. – jobs) we had to split up on the drive down there. Justin and Dave took the van and arrived around 3:30, unloaded and got setup. Dustin and I arrived at 4:45, walked in and literally picked up a guitar and played. If you’ve never played in a band before, it’s hard to appreciate this, but when you walk in and play you never really feel like you are at a show. Normally there is a ritual to the whole thing. You ride together, you load in, you meet other bands and sound person, you watch someone sound check, you hang out, you watch opening bands and eventually you get to play. For this one we walked in the door and were making noise within 5 minutes. It’s always odd and really makes you respect bands who can play well anytime and anywhere. As for the set, it was uhmm, interesting. The people to square footage ratio was drastically in favor of the square footage. Thankfully we recognized and knew the bulk of people there. I don’t really think we played very well. It felt like Dustin was dripped in molasses before starting as everything was dreadfully slow, especially having been in the studio recording some of the fastest songs we’ve ever written. Dave kept defaulting to his typical “last band of the evening” banter between songs. My favorite was “thanks to everyone who stayed late”. First off it’s only 4:15 and second of all they were coming to the wedding anyway. Definitely not an earth shattering performance. Getting a hug from Sam at the end made it all worthwhile because we’ve known him and his bandmates for a long ass time. He told us many many, many years ago, “stay together so you can play my wedding” and it sort of became a joke over the years. Now we can finally break up. Highlight of the show? About two songs in, the room was dreadfully dark and was only being illuminated by some christmas lights on the ceiling. I’m not really paying attention and all the sudden it gets brighter. I look forward and everyone is laughing and clapping. I look back and there is a 4 foot tall cross positioned behind Dustin illuminating the room. Never thought I’d be able to say we were illuminated by the light of the lord while we played. After the show we went to Elmer’s where Dave displayed his german pancake eating style. For those in the NW, go there order one and see if you can consume it in 4 bites. We dare you. Anyway, in all seriousness congratulations to Sam and we really are happy you made us a part of the wedding!
The return of ‘The Return’
Our label just unearthed another box of ‘The Return’ CD’s. If you want a copy you can get them directly from us for $8. See the merch page for more info.
Studio update
Session #2 is a wrap on the new album. Next week we head back up for vocal touchups and mixing. After that it’s off to mastering. It’s been 4 years in the making and we’re stoked with the songs thus far.
A night of the living dead to remember!
May 10th is the 1st annual Portland Zombie Prom and we’re playing it. There will be bands, DJ’s, costumes, zombies and hopefully enough brains and blood to go around. Tickets are available in advance through TicketsWest. Dig out your Sunday worst, add a splash of dirt and decay and head on out. (It’s a 21+ show … sorry!)
6 down, 8 to go
Studio session 1 is officially a wrap. Drums, bass, both rhythm guitars and even a few vocals are in the bag. So far we’ve got 20 songs and we can tell already it’s going to be hard to select which ones won’t make the album. We got back for a few days next weekend and then finish up the first weekend of May. Hopefully a late summer release?
Hello Seattle
In less than a week we’re off to Seattle to start recording our 5th CD. We’ll try to post some pictures but mostly it’s a lot of sitting around and waiting which isn’t much to write about or see. Something worth seeing is this video which we stumbled upon. Nicely done!
Show Journal 2008-03-08
Here we are at our third consecutive year of Chaospalooza. The first one we played was pretty fun. The second one was not as much fun as it was very long and somewhat poorly attended. This one was however was a total blast. I’m not sure how they got Agent Orange and MDC on the bill but we are pleasantly surprised when they announced their addition to the lineup. In total there were 12 acts and we arrived during the 3rd band. We might have gotten there earlier but we must have spent a good 20 minutes watching Dave park and re-park in the no parking zone. Frankly I’m just glad the van ran ok. By “ok”, I mean it moves but with a broken turn signal, sketchy brakes and a new addition to the van’s charm which is actual mold around the windows. Nice. We caught a song or two of the Blanx and before we knew it we were on stage. I’m glad it went quickly because we hadn’t played a show in 3 months and I was feeling quite rusty and even a bit nervous. Not much of a reaction from the crowd but no real anger or hostility either. The biggest surprise of the evening was about two songs into our set when I looked over and saw our old drummer Bryan standing beside the stage. Bryan was in the band from our inception up until 1999 and recorded the first two albums with us. For about 60 seconds I was totally energized by seeing Bryan again and promptly got quite a bit more into the show. At about the two minute mark I became self conscious and realized I weigh about 20 more pounds than last time he saw me, I’ve got some gray hair, my guitar is going out of tune and worst off I’m having a hard time playing because we took three months off from shows. Man, I never thought seeing an old friend would cause so much pressure. Despite my mind games we finished off our set strong and loaded into the cold night. We caught a little bit of CLR (because they rock) and then headed off to a bar to catch up with Bryan, Kelvis, Sam and Chris. We reminisced for a bit and headed back over where they were finally 6 bands into the show. After a blistering set by Embrace The Kill, MDC took the stage. They were definitely not what I expected, but this is mainly to the fact that half the set was acoustic. The unplugged aspect was pretty cool though and I never thought I could so sincerely enjoy a song about chickens. Agent Orange was the reason we were stoked and they did not disappoint. We’ve been playing for 13 years. Those guys have been playing twice as long as us and were still energetic, tight as hell and totally entertaining. Most significantly I can finally say I saw “Bloodstains” performed live. After the show we headed back to Disgraceland and rocked some guitar hero until the wee hours of the morning. Pretty fun evening to say the least. Bri and Greg get honorable mentions but main thanks to the one and only Boss man.
Bloodstains, speed kills, fast cars, cheap thrills
So we lied. We actually do have one show between now and the studio and it’s in Seattle on March 8th with Agent Orange and MDC! We’re stoked! Recording is still on for April and May. We’ve been practicing, fine tuning songs and otherwise just trying to remember how this whole preparing to record thing works. Hard to believe it will have been 4 years since ‘Rise Again’. It’s been so long it feels like the first time. On another note, huge props to Broadway Calls on their continued success! It’s always nice when a local band does well, and it’s even better when it’s a band you know and love. They could quite possibly be the next big thing so go see them before they are huge!
Studio time confirmed!
Finally after 3 years of drummer changes, great shows, awful shows, a canceled tour and even childbirth we’re getting serious about making our 5th full length album. Studio time has been booked for April and May of 2008 at Egg Studios in Seattle. Why are we going to Egg again? Becuase we loved the last two albums and something seemed really appealing about making it a trilogy. With mastering and production we’re looking at a late summer release. Anyway, happy holidays to everyone!
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