My old buddy Ed Stenger (who runs this popular Rush fansite) snapped this photo of Laurie and I performing as the Walkingbirds in Cleveland OH. Wow. I'm guessing this was probably taken around 1996. There are very, very few photos of us from that time.
That's the same drum I use to record demos today. That smug lost-in-the-rhythm look makes wonder what I was thinking at the moment this was taken. 2009 me kind of wants to smack 1996 me upside the head.
If you're new here and haven't heard the Walkingbirds stuff, you can find it about halfway down this page right heeyah.
My bandmate Patrick from Explone is opening solo for former Hüsker Dü drummer Grant Hart (shown above) tonight at the High Dive. Go Pat!
In other news, I'll be playing a short 30-minute set at the KISS Cafe in Ballard on 11/28. It's only my second (and probably last) solo gig of 2009, and I'm thinking about playing nothing but covers, using a pseudonym, and possibly wearing a disguise. I'm opening for Kyle Stevens, who'll be dipping into his vast catalog of Collider, Kirby Krackle and eponymous tunage.
Getting over the mountains in winter is deadly serious business. Traction tires required.
3G service is spotty on the Eastern side of the Cascades, which, as your van skids on black ice and plummets into a snowy crevasse, makes it much harder to Twitter sarcastically about your predicament.
Suspicion confirmed: AMC's Mad Men is the number one rated show among viewers who "don't even OWN a TV."
In the distant future, after the peak oil problem is solved, global warming reversed and we're all wearing silver jumpsuits and driving space-cars on our way to our space-jobs, fart jokes will still be hi-larious so you might as well accept it.
Music critics are full of shit.
Ryan Adams' Rock N Roll is a brilliant, brilliant album. (See #5)
Cartwheels and backflips during our set only encourage us!
Ragged, dirty Chuck Taylors may look "indie" onstage but modest leather boots provide ankle support and project James Hetfield-like confidence.
In the distant future, after the peak oil problem is solved, global warming reversed and we're all wearing silver jumpsuits and driving space-cars on our way to our space-jobs, lots of people will still hate Creed.
It's wise to know at least one recognizable Slayer riff, so when the scary guy in the back yells "SOUTH OF HEAVEN!" you can at least earn his respect. Do not, however, create the impression that you can play the whole song. Ditto any Pantera/Metallica/Sepultura.
Explone recently snagged a gig opening for L.A. indie rock dudes Low vs. Diamond (shown above) when they come through Seattle on October 22nd. They're on Epic Records and have performed on both Letterman and Leno. NO FAIR. I will punish them for their success by sneaking onto their tour bus and trying on all their fancy rock clothes!
Just kidding! The judge warned me to stop doing that.
The town was strangely deserted all weekend. When I lived in CA it seemed like every square inch was packed with people.
The hotel lounge was very nice.
And had cool carpet.
This is Nelson and Bryce, drummer and keyboardist for Kirby Krackle, cooling their heels.
The conference was held at the convention center nearby:
These pictures can't convey just how huge and packed the conference was:
Kyle and Jim, the songwriting brains:
Celebrity guests were a really, really bizarre mix of famous comic artists, D-grade scifi/horror actors, and 80s TV stars. Most wanted money in exchange for snapshots. I managed to ninja-cam a shot of Berke Breathed:
There were also tons of costumed nerds. Check out Sean Doorly's Flickr Set for lots of shots. (Or, just Google for "sexy Deadpool," I dunno.)
We played in a conference room on the second level.
It had ugly, ugly carpet.
Check out the bass amp I was given to use:
It looks like it was pushed down a flight of steps, thrown in a trunk and driven to a cornfield where Joe Pesci beat the crap out of it with a baseball bat. It's not even square anymore. (It worked fine though.)
Surprise, an opening band! The called themselves Bigfoot and played wheedly-wheedly! blues rock.
AKA the Abominable Frontman, Bassquatch, and...Sasquatch? Booo! Dude, you either pick a name or I'm naming you Drumsquatch. Or Skunk Ape. Anyway, thanks for letting me use your battered bass amp, Bassquatch.
Anyway I couldn't take any photos while playing but this guy got a shot of us doing soundcheck:
Maybe more photos will surface, who knows? UPDATE: popculturegeek has some good pics. Thanks to everyone who showed up, including the four dudes in Guy Fawkes masks who creeped out Nelson.
Back to the hotel lounge for drinks and nerd-talk.
Parting shot of the L.A. river on the way back to the airport the next day:
Then it's off to LA to perform with Kirby Krackle at the inaugural Long Beach Comic Con. KK will be debuting a new tune, "Going Home" which was commissioned especially for LBCC and which I've heard but haven't learned yet.
And then the following weekend I'm picking up bass duties for Green Monroe when they open for the Harborrat's CD release party. (Haven't learned those songs yet either!)
So as you might imagine, I've had no time for songwriting other than some melodic mutterings and strummings into my iPhone's shiny but otherwise useless-to-me "voice notes" feature. Also, let me assure you: they suck. I mean, terrible, terrible stuff with ad hoc titles like "EADGBD #1" and "zombie gun woowoowoo!" and "duh dah." No, seriously, I am looking at a song fragment here named DUH DAH. AND IT'S AWFUL.
So I'm basically taking the rest of 2009 off to play other people's music for awhile longer. I've scrubbed all my lofty plans for EP releases and covers albums. Maybe between now and next January I'll produce some new material that isn't the aural equivalent of MC Hammer pants.
Hey, here's a grainy video of me playing bass with Kirby Krackle last Saturday at the Showbox:
Huh, I'm not jumping around nearly as much as I remember. That's probably because 1) this was the last song, 2) I had just lugged my rig through high-80s degree heat, and 3) that bass weighs ten pounds more than most. Anyhoo, we had a really great turnout, which is a testament to Kyle's prowess as über-promoter and growing popularity with the geekcore crowd.
Here's a photo from behind the mike, during soundcheck:
And here's a forest of bass rigs all backlined up (there were two other acts that night):
