Show Journal 2002-06-12
Day 6 – Woke up today, scraped the food off our van and got some breakfast. Before leaving Jim decided to buy some eggs to throw at our touring rivals. We all decided eggs were too messy and probably crossed the line of good humor. In a strange twist of fate about thirty seconds after saying that we hear the distinctive thumping sound of food products on our van windows. Those damn STFS bastards were bombarding our van with donuts and creamers! Throwing our morals out the window (sorry) we immediately retaliated with an attack of eggs on their windshield. Later they confessed that when it got hotter the eggs started to cook and smelled really bad. The drive today was really kind of boring. At some point Justin and I were throwing some kind of snack cake at each other. Trying to be funny I whipped it in the back seat and managed to smack Kevin in the eye. I couldn’t imagine feeling like any more of an asshole and can’t apologize enough. At another point during the drive we were sitting at a traffic light and Damon sneaks up beside our van and squirted a Capri Sun all over our windshield. At first we felt defeated and humbled but then remembered they were the ones driving around with a big dick on their roof. Finally we got to the venue (a house), met the owner and went out of dinner at some bar in downtown Milwaukee. After eating we headed back to the show to find that the first band had already played and they were waiting on us. Whoops! STFS set up real quick and rocked the small but vocal crowd. Meanwhile we got to see Lugs and Eric from the Shut-Ups and thank them for setting up the show. When we played there were a few more people and they all seemed to like us. During the set we decided to play a Misfits cover and out of nowhere comes the guy who owns the house, grabs the mic and sings the whole damn song. Amazing. It was the best I’ve ever heard anyone sing that song. Later he showed us his collection of Misfits tattoos which explains his amazing skills. Last up was the Shut-Ups. To this day I still swear that the first time I saw them play was the best set by an unsigned band I have ever seen. I think they were almost better this time. They are so loud and so bad ass and sound like a mix of Zeke and AC/DC. I was so stoked they played the show because they are so good. This was technically our last show of the tour which was a little depressing because we had really just started to get in the swing of things. However we still had one more day planned. We coiuldn’t get a show in Chicago so we had been planning on going to Six Flags for a little amusement park fun before heading home. After loading we pulled STFS aside and told them we wanted to treat them to Six Flags on us. They had been so cool to travel with and had hooked us up with two rad Montana shows it was the least we could do! They gladly accepted our offer and we headed out to a truck stop just outside of Illinois. After breathing all that smoke and being in that loud ass basement I was feeling like crap once we stopped. I bought some dinner but had two bites to eat and went back to the van to sleep.
Show Journal 2002-06-11
Day 5 – We started off the day with an amazing breakfast of eggs and pancakes by Carl. We were originally supposed to play in Minneapolis tonight but it ended up falling through. Amazingly we were offered a show in Aberdeen tonight. We actually have a few people there who like us (from the last 2 tours) but since we no one knew we were going to be playing we all decided to start the long haul onto Milwaukee. The drive there was really slow. Lots of small towns and 30mph zones. We did get to see the World’s Largest Ball Of Twine though which was a treat. At some point during the drive (right after cleaning the van) we were assaulted by handfuls of a green soupy substance that STFS was throwing at us. We jumped out and hit them with pudding pops and applesauce which we purchased just for this occasion. The best part is that it happened right in front of the truck stop restaurant! Everyone looked on in horror as we threw food at one another. We didn’t have much to do in Minneapolis so we checked out the Mall Of America. We had seen it before but it was still a worthwhile detour. A rematch of the air hockey game ensued and a karaoke video was filmed of the 2 bands singing the song from ‘The Wonder Years.’ It’s very, very silly. After the mall we decided to eat downtown. It was almost 10:30 on a weeknight so there wasn’t anything open. We were down by the 1st Ave which really isn’t the best neighborhood to hang out in. We couldn’t eat at a bar (since Adam is 19) so we were referred to the Olympic Cafe. It was a in a pretty sketchy neighborhood and we all felt pretty out of place. At one point this guy came in walked around us, left and came back with another person. They left and came back with two other people. Another group came in and was saying some shit to the guy working there about kicking his ass. Eventually the four that came in earlier came back with a few more people and we quickly decided it was time to get the hell out of there. Kevin laughed at us for overreacting but we were all pretty uncomfortable and were convinced there was going to be an ass kicking in our future. Anyway, we pressed on to somewhere in Wisconsin and hit up another truck stop. We all went in for a late night dinner. Eating so late at night was a bad idea because everyone got wound up and the food wars resumed. We all got settled in and then heard giggling outside our van. We looked out only to discover the letter ‘STFS’ written in catsup on the side of our van. We retaliated, they retaliated and at some point there was an actual foot chase that ended in Dave losing his shoe and falling down a grass hill. Classic.
Show Journal 2002-06-10
Day 4 – After cleaning up (i.e. – bathing in the sink in the restroom) and watching everyone in STFS get stared down by the management we drove on. A few minutes into the drive El Santo attacked the STFS van with an array of condiments and food products. The war has begun. At a later stop Damon was spotted behind our van affixing a sign that says “honk at us we’re morons”. Later Justin put mayonnaise under their door handles. They threw stuff, we threw stuff and I’m sure the drama will continue all the way to Wisconsin. The drive to Aberdeen was slow. There was lots of road construction and at one point we found a section of the highway that was going to be closed for “about 30 minutes”. We were pointed to a bypass that involved 5 miles on a gravel road. It was a very weird feeling to be in the middle of nowhere, no cars in sight, cruising down a dirt road going to show. Not very “tour like”. For this trip Justin decided to save money by bringing bulk foods. At one point he asked for his trail mix and as I went to hand it to him the bag ripped and spilled about a pound of mixed nuts all over the van. Ughh. Due to all the traffic and construction we were pretty late to the show. Matt booked our show for us in Aberdeen last year and since there weren’t any clubs available so he just had us play in his basement. That was so cool and we can’t thank him enough! During the STFS set Jim and Kevin “painted” an enormous penis out of masking tape on the STFS van. I can’t wait until they pass a trucker who sees a van with a huge penis on top of it! The turnout was admittedly pretty low, but we both got to play and sold a few things so it was all worth it. Thanks again Matt! After the show we checked out Carl’s collection of Harley’s (he owns a shop) and while some people played poker Dave and I stayed up discussing bands and music with Matt and his friend (who’s name has totally escaped me … sorry). We all crashed in the comfort of a nice basement with beds, thick carpets and couches.
Show Journal 2002-06-09
Day 3 – I had a real shower today and it was amazing. After two sweaty shows I needed one bad. Today we went out for breakfast with Bill and his roommate Helen which was totally fun. Afterwards we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up some extra foam for the back seat as well as a few forgotten items. It was cold and raining all day and feels like winter. Kevin proclaimed ‘just give me one day over 80 degrees and I swear I’ll wear out 3 pairs of shorts in one day’. We stopped in Livingston to reunite Adam with his band mates. That was where Dave used the toilet that he named “the sidewinder”. The drive to Billings was real short which was kind of nice. We kept smelling something bad in the van and later realized we are burning transmission fluid. Swell. The club in Billings was nice and they actually gave us free food. It sounds so trivial but a free meal the greatest thing in the world. The show tonight was great. Quite a few people from Bozeman made the drive to see the show which was totally cool to see. We gladly let STFS play last this time which was wise as they had pummeled us with rock the night before. Tonight they busted out a cover of ‘Wish’ by NIN. It was so awesome sounding I can’t even describe it. I love the original so I am surely biased. After the show we witnessed the most intense air hockey game I’ve ever seen between Justin and Kevin. I want to describe it more but I just can’t. Amazing though. Absolutely amazing. Oddly enough it got kind of warm after the show. Not for long though because by the time we stopped to sleep it was damn cold again. At some point during the trip Kevin began impersonating Cobra Commander. It’s sounds very ridiculous … and well it is. Our parking lot of choice this evening was beside a free dirt pile in the back of a truck stop. Unfortunately everything on the floor of the van got coated in mud. Before we slept we watched a few episodes of Sealab 2001 and we all impersonate the BeBop cola machine.
Show Journal 2002-06-08
Day 2 – Woke up in Idaho and ate a big breakfast. We had a real nice waitress who took our order. She went on break and was replaced by a really rude one who messed up our orders and accused us of lying. The old bait and switch routine again. During breakfast we got a call from STFS saying they had driven through the night all the way to Livingston. Crazy bastards. I hope this isn’t the norm for their driving excursions. We are getting too old and lazy for that. It was actually snowing on the pass into Montana. I can’t believe it’s snowing in June. Some tour. On the drive music highlights included the appearance of Body Count (which we all loved and loathed at the same time) and later the playing of Dee Dee King. If you aren’t aware of Mr. King, do some homework and see what you think. Justin’s belching has repulsed us all. He can burp pretty much non stop for sometimes 5- 10 minutes at a time. It’s loud, it’s gross, and as mad as we all get at him it’s still a little amusing. $5 says his throat will burst open one of the days. The show was cool because we knew quite a few people. Lots of people from last year’s Livingston show including the return of “the loadie” as well as O.G. Bill. We missed the first band tonight but did get to see Coldsnap 9 again. My god they were even better than last time. I was embarrassed to play after them as they are so good. I thought STFS was good last night but they were even more rocking tonight. It was cool seeing everyone sing their songs. After the show everyone hung out for a while careful not to be assaulted by Coldsnap 9’s “hackey sack to the balls” trick. Derik and Damon from STFS drove on to Livingston to stay in real beds. We however stole Adam and crashed at Bill’s house where they had a few people over. I was the bastard of the group and stole the only free bed for myself.
Show Journal 2002-06-07
Day 1 – And so begins our fifth tour. I hesitate to call it a “tour” because we only have 5 shows (with 9 days of driving) but the way I see it anything more than a week in the van should count. Dave started us off with an inappropriate playing of The Ventures as we hit the road. We used to take off from town blasting Motorhead at top volume, later it was Sir Max-A-Lot and now sadly enough we have digressed to playing the Ventures. We all bitched and moaned until he shut it off and put in another CD more to our liking. What we didn’t realize is that we had awoken the presence of Dave’s new alter ego known as “off key whistling man”. When Dave is agitated with your actions he whistles to any CD off key and off time until you submit defeat and apologize. We’ve played in Richland a dozen times before but somehow we managed to miss our turn and got terribly lost. Probably because we were busy trying to figure out how we were going to tell Derik and Damon apart in STFS. Dave suggested we call them Tweedledee and Tweedledamon. I can’t possibly imagine them being amused by that. We got to the show late and loaded in while STFS was playing. I was very glad to see everyone going off to STFS’s music. We sat in awe for a the rest of their set as they have become an awesome band since last time we saw them. They jump, they yell, them play hard and my god they rock now. They were good before but they seem like a whole new band when they play live. I am so glad we get to play so many shows with them. We had an amazing set tonight. I think this was the best show we’ve ever played in Richland. The guitar carnage started early tonight … 3 broken strings and a dead wireless. Seriously the show totally rocked, I would write more but words can’t do it justice. I think it was my second favorite show we have ever played. Afterwards we finally got to say hi to STFS (since we got there late) and then we headed out to Spokane that night. We watched an informative movie about the dangers of STD’s that was produced in the 50’s to pass the time. Pretty classy stuff. We followed STFS to Spokane to pick up Adam’s backpack which he had left there. We got pretty lost but didn’t really care since we were all still so amped to be getting out of town. We ended up staying at a truck stop in Idaho as STFS drove onward.
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We are leaving this Friday for a quick one week tour across the midwest with our homies in STFS. Kevin (aka – the king of all roadies) will be joining us as well. I think it’s safe to say we are all looking forward to getting the hell out of dodge for a while. Plus we are looking forward to seeing some familiar faces again. Other than that not much big news to report. ‘The Return’ has been selling well and if you haven’t already you can order yours online at Revelation Records!
Show Review
Did I even need to say that 800 Octane stole the show? These guys rocked with such intensity that it was almost impossible not to feel the music in your heart (not literally, of course). Justin was jumping around as usual, and somehow playing to perfection in the process; and Dave’s voice struck a chord with the whole audience, I’m sure. Octane is a show like no other, and they’re really fun to hang out with. I swear, this is the nicest band we’ve ever played with, and I can’t wait for our next show with them in Bend. (Sam / EPD)
Show Journal 2002-06-02
We played ‘Day Of The Dead’ acoustically tonight on NRK. It all sounded fine and dandy until Dave inexplicably decided to do an Elvis impression during the breakdown and comment on Justin’s guitar solo in a “king like” voice. I swear I could hear the collective groan of every band in Portland that wouldn’t dare do anything like that on the air.
Show Journal 2002-06-01
Finally after a year and 5 cancelled shows we finally got to play in Eugene again. Was it worth the wait? Damn right it was. The show was in a high school but it didn’t really feel like it … big stage, huge PA, lights, etc. First up was the Boston Dock’s Oister Boys. I’m not quite sure what to say about them. You’ll just have to see them and formulate your own opinion. They played ‘Sex and Violence’ by The Exploited so that was good enough for me. After them was Monkee Torture. I’ve been wanting to see them for a long time and I was not disappointed! We’ve known Glenn for a while but had no idea he was such a bad ass guitar player. The highlight for us was their rendition of “What Would Baron Von Torture Do” … very metal and very cool. They totally rocked and if you live in Oregon do make a point to go see them. Up third was the band behind the whole show … EPD. They’ve been doing quite well recently with a few huge shows in Eugene w/ Face to Face and a few other bigger name bands. The big shows have been rubbing off on them and you can tell they have gotten tighter as a band. The music was dead on, their sound has gotten bigger and better and my god their drummer (Chase) has gotten better by leaps and bounds. It’s cool being able to see bands improve over time. We were up last and in traditional Eugene fashion we had a shaky start when we blew the power during the third song. I thought it was going to be a repeat of our last Animal Farm show but as they say on talk shows it was “all good.” On a side note it seems that everywhere we go in Eugene Dave’s bass amp blows the power. It weird. I think it all the hippies there conspiring against loud music. After a few songs, people started to get into it and the rest is history. Big thanks to EPD for hooking it all up, Glenn just for being Glenn and our street team people for helping out.
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