Shows outside of Portland?
Not much new here. Played a few shows last week so thanks to those who checked them out. Next shows should be in September for a few dates on the still evolving New School Records tour.
Show Journal 2006-07-29
Well, not nearly the same crowd as our last trip to Salem, but the show was every bit as fun. The Hornswogglers were up first and sadly I missed them as Justin and I made a run for food. It took forever to find something which is ironic seeing that it was “The Bite of Salem” that night. What’s with that term anyway? Why does every town have “A Taste” or “A Bite”? How about calling it what it really is … “the night people use as a catalyst for drunken fights on the city streets of Salem”. Anyway, we did get back in time to see BXF who sounded pretty damn tough. The slower song (‘voice’?) sounded particularly impressive in the cozy confines of the basement. It’s always cool seeing someone who can really belt out a song up so close. We were up third and chose to play a set of songs we never play live. Why? No idea, just seemed like a good idea. Some selections included Destination Space, Holiday, Everybody, Beachhead and even Get In The Van. There were 10 oldies in there and it’s safe to say it had been years since we performed most of them. In fact I don’t think Justin has ever even played Holiday live and I know Dustin has touched a few of them outside the practice space. We had a good time playing them (mistakes and all) but it was easy to tell why they aren’t the crowd pleasers as people’s energy level drained quickly after a few songs. Still with only 30 people in attendance (most of whom we knew) it was all good. Kill The Kids were last and sounded great despite the lack of their singer. I meant to ask what happened but forgot. Oh well. Giving the crowd a microphone is always a scary move, but everyone there knew all the words so they wound up having about a dozen singers. With the exception of the song where Justin accompanied them on cowbell it was a cool show. Thanks to Andy, The Sip, KTK, BXF, the Hornswogglers and Salem P.D. for the advice on what the ticketing laws are for public sidewalks. Happy birthday Derek and thanks for the invite to play!
Album Review
A message to Detroiters: Not all things that come out of Portland, Oregon are a complete waste. Ok, the Trailblazers are terrible, and mentioning the name Joey Harrington is bound to drive Lions fans to tears. But blasting out of Portland, 800 Octane is proving that punk and fury can exist in one of the
Show Journal 2006-07-22
The show tonight was a benefit for a kid named River who was killed in a drunk driving accident. The family and friends setup a benefit in his honor to raise some money and awareness. We were told he had actually seen our band a few times and Dave actually recalled meeting him in Longview so it was flattering to be invited to play. From a feel good point of view event it was a pretty cool night. Nice vibe, nice stage, and lots of effort put into promoting and running the show. From a band waiting to play it was admittedly pretty frustrating. I don’t want to tarnish the memory or upset anyone but we arrived and setup at 5:00 PM. There were 4 bands before us and the first band (one guy playing acoustic) started around 6:00. Everyone’s gear was backlined (ie- already set up and plugged in) so if you do the math we should have been on by 9:30 or 10:00 at the absolute latest. We didn’t even get to play a note until 11:00. For the millionth time if there are 5 bands you have to keep that shit moving. You do not need to play 45+ minutes when there are 5 bands after you. Ever. How long do bands play at the Warped Tour play? 30 minutes. Ozzfest? 30 minutes. The times we’ve gotten to play large shows in big venues it’s often 25 minutes or even 20 minutes. I guess it’s one of those things you can’t truly appreciate unless you’d watched helplessly as people file out the door because a show is running late. Given the circumstances surrounding the show we just kept our mouths shut and tried to make the most of it. On a positive note (finally) it was a blast playing again and it was cool to see how much River’s dad and family appreciated it. Dustin did well despite performing double duty with his cover band called DTP. Thanks to the people that did stay late, everyone who helped setup and run the show and the other bands for dedicating their time as well.
News. Not really.
We added two shows for late July. One is a benefit show in a town we’ve never even heard of and the other is a birthday party for Derek from Kill The Kids. Beyond that we’re just hanging out and writing.
Show Journal 2006-05-21
It’s been way too long since we’ve played Bend. Well over a year in fact. Despite there being way too many bands (8 of them … on a Sunday!) the show went off without a hitch. We ducked out for some pizza and calzones soon after arriving and engaged in a bitter game of Scrabble for the better part of an hour. We’re so rock and roll. Got back in time to catch a song from The Roe and most of Wache The Dead who were far more metal than you. Eventually we got to play and it was pretty damn fun. Shows in Bend are so much more energetic than the ones in Portland because people aren’t afraid to move. We mostly stuck to the old stuff and it was cool to see unfamiliar faces knowing the words to songs. Kill The Kids were up next and had a pretty sloppy and rocking set. LAHF was last and although we had to bail in order to get home on time I’m sure they rocked as they are a great band to see in person. All in all a fun night. Thanks to Marty and his house’s crew, all the bands and our Bend friends whom we haven’t seen in a long time!
The movie that never dies
Well, one more show until we take a break so if you are free next Sunday enjoy the weather and make a road trip to Bend. After this show we’ll be laying low for a while so Dave can finish his movie (Undead On Arrival) and we can take some time to finish writing songs for the next album. So, yeah, Sunday in Bend, tell a friend and come to the show.
The digital underground
Want to hear more bands on New School Records? The first 100 copies of the new sampler are only $1 at Interpunk. Get ’em here. Also, we now have songs for sale at the iTunes online store.
Show Journal 2006-05-12
Not nearly the same turnout or energy as our last trip to Lebanon, but that’s probably because hometown rockers Ugly Litter weren’t on the bill. The show got off to a really late start. The first band (who’s name is totally escaping me) had to help get the PA dialed in so the whole evening started about an hour late. After a very long and slow set change they turned it over to Moothart who I was looking forward to seeing play live. Their songs online were totally interesting. Screamo, techno and face melting all carried out by two people. They were pretty damn entertaining, partly for the music and partly for the spectacle. Nicely done. Stopwatch Trauma was up third and pretty much rocked it. They sounded super thick and professional and probably should have been the headliner of the evening. They sounded great so I hope good things come of them. We had to play last and watched helplessly as people filed out slowly during our set. Justin couldn’t keep a guitar in tune to save his life so it was a real stop-start evening at best. Regardless, a few people dug and that’s all that counts. Thanks to Charles and Club Hipnotiq, Jeff Litter and the other bands! No thanks to Dustin’s work for giving us such a close call.
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