Bucket List... fuck off! ha ha ha

Don't forget about this Deadhand gig happening tonight. I'm not sure why they're playing the Griffin, but I'd like to think it's because they're trying to pay off some drug fueled, hooker filled, 3 day long drinking binge, but I'm sure the real reason they're playing there is not as cool as what I imagined, but you never know. Anyways, go check out Deadhand tonight, and if I can get out of the studio tonight on time I just might venture downtown to check this out. It's an intimate setting that gives me the opportunity to see at least 1 good band before the Punk Rock Bowling snore fest oozes it's way into town. Sorry folks, but I'm just not feeling it this year. Who's playing this year that's worth getting worked up about? Rancid? NOFX? The Belltones? LOL Fuck all that ghey shit. If I wasn't playing the 2 gigs I'm playing with Guilty By Association I wouldn't even be anywhere in the vicinity of any gig happening this weekend. Le sigh. I'm always hanging out during the actual bowling aspect of it though, and this year I'm on the Vegascendents bowling team! Aaaaargh!! ha ha ha  Oh, BTW, Lane 1 @ Noon on Sat. - Roll Out and Support! :-)

And now it's the Calm before the Storm, the Punk Rock Bowling storm. I finally caught up on all the Flyers for the Gig Calendar page, and I've been nerding out big time on applying all the changes that Weebly have made to the software that makes this website possible. Did you see the new layout for the Videos page? I love it. It's all categorized and alphabetized and you can click on any bands name and it takes you to a page that contains all the stuff I have from that band on one page. You can comment on everything individually now, which is awesome too, and I found an old Thirteen34 video on my old Myspace page that I threw on there that I don't even have a hard copy of myself anymore. I lost it on a computer I used to have a long ass time ago. Click here to check that video out. I did the same with the Music Reviews page. I just added the review for the new Ministry CD, and you can click here to check that out too. I got a lot more but I've been busy adding all of this years photos I took to the Pictures page, which also has the new layout applied to it. I feel energized. I feel alive. Everything with all 5 bands I'm in is going great, almost... heh. I'm loving the physical drain of practicing and playing drums every day, and I got a bunch of new website merch on the way that I'm pretty hyped on. Stickers, badges, tee shirts, y todo! Things are going good with me, and I hope they are with you too. Most of you anyways. ;-)

Wow, what a weekend. 3 people I know got arrested this weekend - 2 of them for some serious charges, 1 for just being an idiot. It wasn't a good weekend for them, that's for sure. Me personally, I blame the solar eclipse or whatever that stupid thing was that everyone was all gaa gaa over for the abnormal behavior. It's always amazing to me that people feel the need to re-post over and over ad nauseam on Facebook things that are all over the media. You're not a news reporter people. Hey, let's keep people's minds off the important stuff like what's going on in Chicago at the NATO convention by bombarding them with inane stuff that's vapid and meaningless like a solar eclipse! Fucking sheeple I swear.

This gig flyer just popped up this weekend. I fucking hate the Griffin but I love Deadhand, so you can see my dilemma. I don't know who Rusty Maples are, but I'm sure I won't like them... heh heh

I made the trek out to the Silverton on Sat. to see Don Carlos, only to find out the gig had been moved to the Hard Rock and that it had started an hour earlier. Fuck. I didn't feel up to making the trek to the Hard Rock on a Sat. night so I just called it and went Home. Band practice has been killing me of late, so I need all the rest I can get. It's the calm before the storm known as Punk Rock Bowling, which has now achieved the same dooshbag gathering of Poseurs status that the Viva Rockasilly thing has. Whatever. The band that I think I'm officially now a member of, Guilty By Association, is playing 2 gigs for PRB, and it sure would be nice to see a few familiar faces at either one of them... hint hint

Robin Gibb passed away this weekend, which was sad. The dude fought the good fight. Donna Summer passed away a few days earlier. Both of those artists music was like the soundtrack to the 70's. It was everywhere. You know you're getting old when Disco stars start dying off. ;-) And, just to show you they always die in 3's, Chuck Brown preceded them all. Damn. You can even do another recent three celebrities with Carrol Shelby, the car dude, Vidal Sassoon, the hair dude, and George Lindsey, aka the Goober dude on The Andy Griffith Show. *Le sigh* And Abe Vigoda laughs at them all.

Everything is updated. I added the Surrounded By Thieves photos to the website, and you can click here to check them out. Weebly just did some kick ass improvements this weekend, so I've been redesigning and reconfiguring everything on here. You can now comment on everything individually, so I re-added all the photos in the new format, as well as a bunch of Music Reviews that I don't think were up before, stuff from bands like The Heroine, Too $hort, The Toy Dolls, Anthrax, Metallica, Die Laughing, and a few other bands I'm not remembering right now, so go to the page and check all that out. I'm up early so I'm gonna get back to updating everything to the new format. It's a Monday, a day like any other day, a day to nerd out on my website and get shit done! :-)

Well, I had some time off, since Aluminum Falcon didn't practice yesterday, so I fucking relaxed and did fuck all. I watched cartoons and listened to Nick And Artie. I cleaned my house. I made tacos and rice. Yeah, this practice thing last week was a bit hectic, to say the least, but I think all the hard work payed off, because every band I was trying out with and jamming with liked me, so yeah, go me! LOL I'm gonna be filling in for Bingo Billy in Guilty By Association for a bit, until his torn ACL heals up and he's able to get back behind the kit. GBA has some big shows coming up, like the D.I. gig for Punk Rock Bowling, the Swingin' Utter$ gig @ the Bunkhouse (I think) and some gig just outside of Denver with The Black Pacific at some skate park or someplace like that, I dunno. I'm just the drummer. Nobody tells me anything, and that's just fine. :-)

It's a beautiful day today. I think I'm gonna go hang around outside somewhere. Everything's updated. I just added the photos that Skateboard Bob took of Aluminum Falcon playing at the Motor City Cafe like, months ago, click here to see them, and I don't remember if I even mentioned those Die Laughing pictures I took when they played their going away party. Click here to check those out. I wish I would of gotten more pictures of the band playing, but I didn't charge my camera battery, and it died during the bands set. Booooooooo. Well, hopefully they can get back together, either here or in California, and I'll shoot them up something proper. Get their new CD if you haven't already. That thing is face shredding. The band's Facebook page is right here. :-)

Fuck you Texas de Brazil!! LOL

After driving around for about 40 minutes, up and down Las Vegas Blvd. and Sunset, and missing the majority of the Sharks / Blues game, I finally gave up on finding the place and headed Home. I was supposed to meet everyone up there for Jack from Pigasus' Birthday party, and I purposefully avoided eating all day just so I could scarf down once I got there, but alas, apparently it was not meant to be, as I just ended up grabbing a shitload of grub from Felipilito's and raced Home to watch the Sharks lose 2-1. It's over Johnny. Fire Wilson. Trade Marleau. Clean all the old crap out of the system and start anew. Such a fucking disappointment. Ugh. Oh well. Better Luck next year boys. Enjoy your tee off times during the Summer.

I think I joined another band... LOL My weekend is booked solid with band rehearsals. I need to start learning how to say 'No'... LOL

Dude! It's 420 tomorrow, which means absolutely fuck all to anyone but the pot smoking Hippies and those who emulate said ignorant lifestyle, but, there's lots of ridiculously stupid marijuana themed gigs going on this weekend, including one gig where they're gonna be raffling off a half an ounce of weed. Lots of places are giving away brownies (wink wink) and various paraphernalia which will get you arrested for a Felony if you're caught with said contraband on your person, so be careful or best yet, just avoid the whole thing altogether and stay away from those gigs. After all, if you have to give away free weed and drugs to get people to come to your gigs, well that doesn't say too much about your band now does it? ;-) The only thing worth doing is heading down to Yayo Taco to help Demon Lung celebrate their CD release. The EP is called Pareidolia, and it will be available for your stoned purchasing pleasure at the gig. Support provided by Dead Neon and a few other bands. Click on the flyer below for all the info.

Or, if you're really feeling brave, head out to Hendertucky and see The People's Whiskey play at the Gold Mine Tavern. The jails in Henderson are much better, with tastier food and a much better clientele of criminals in there. Believe me, I know. ;-) Or you could go see Unfair Fight and the Hard Pipe Hitters fuck shit up @ the Cheyenne Saloon. Either or. Do something on 420 besides revel in the ignorance of the holiday. For those of us who smoke weed everyday, 420 is a day the amateurs come out of the woodwork to prove how down they are, sort of like how everyone turns Irish on St. Patrick's Day, but lamer. And gheyer, if that's possible. ;-)

I am soooooooooo in Love with Squeeze right now - even more than I ever was, if that's possible. They were incredible last night, basically playing everything from the Singles - 45's And Under release, with a few obscure songs that were definitely treats for us fans, stuff like In Quintessence, If I Didn't Love You, Heaven and Bang Bang from their very first album. My fucking jaw dropped as I haven't heard them play that song in like 30 years. Fucking Wow!!! In the early days, sure, but now, not really, as the band pretty much sticks to a give-the-people-what-they-want aspect of playing the Hits, although the band gets to stretch it's musical muscle on some newer, latter day material that's almost jam band, Rolling Stones like shit, but I forgave them for that little hippy-ish indiscretion. The crowd was tame, but the waitress service was fun, with the old folks in the crowd standing in nicely organized rows, allowing the waitresses to keep bringing me those splendid 32oz. drafts without any trouble. The more I drank, the better the band sounded. Go figure, right? ha ha ha There I was, a big dude in a Sharks jersey, jumping around and rocking out to Squeeze, singing along to almost every gawd damn song they played and just having the time of my Life in a crowd where there was seriously no one under the age of 30 in the place. Ha Ha Ha Ha I did not give a FUCK because sometimes it's good to be an old dude because you can appreciate the songwriting Genius of Mr's Difford and Tilbrook and the Music that they have created. The band was incredible. It was the same line up of players that I saw when Squeeze played the Crown Theater inside the Rio a few years ago (click here to see the photos I took that night) and like a fine wine, they've only gotten better with age. <3 Gawd damn do I love me some Squeeze. I bought all kinds of swag as I left the place. It was gaudy and all over-priced and I didn't care. :-)

Right before the gig I was watching the live feed on YouTube of Coachella 2012, and I gotta say, it was pretty sweet. I watched Jimmy Cliff's set, which was fantastic, despite the presence of that dooshbag Tim Armstrong in Mr. Cliff's backing band. It took me a while to recognize that Jimmy Cliff was doing a Rancid cover, but once I did... BARF!! ha ha ha I Can See Clearly Now was great, with the storm clouds off in the distance over the mountains, and, of course, The Harder They Fall, which is a Spiritual fucking classic. The set ended too quickly for me. The crowd seemed to dig it though, so that was good. And then came Madness. They sounded a bit ruff during the opener One Step Beyond, and they were missing Bedders on bass, but I gotta say, they sounded GREAT!! Suggs voice was in fine form, Woody is always on the beat, Chrissy Boy was playing Johnny Thunders riffs in between songs, Mike was pounding the keyboards in the back and Lee is just a madman, coming out dressed like some Chinese citizen from 1792 and just acting like the lunatic that he is, jumping around and up on the monitors, and mugging for the camera whenever possible. Best line of the night came from Chas, who said "I'm too old for this shit." LOL Second best was Lee asking the crowd "Does anyone have any drugs?" ;-) The highlight of the set was when they did Night Boat To Cairo, with the dual horn intro that sounded SICK, and that fucking crazy kid in the audience who was dressed up like the band were in the video for the song, crowd surfing with the biggest smile on his face while Madness played. That's what going to gigs is all about - having FUN!!! Oh my gawd I cannot wait to see Madness tonight. <3

If you're not going to the Madness gig tonight (I can't imagine why you're not though) there's other stuff going on. I had the date wrong about the Seriouslys gig @ the Motor City Cafe. It's tonight, not yesterday. If you're not going to that you should go to the Ignite / Guilty By Association / The Happy Campers / N.E. Last Words gig at the Aruba. Deadhand dropped off the gig because they don't do Pay to Play. Good for them. I couldn't be prouder. :-) And oh, I lost that video I shot of them doing Singing For You @ the Double Clown on Thurs. My iPhone took a shit, and when I took it down to the Apple store for them to fix it, they said they didn't know what was wrong with it, because it didn't show any signs of abuse/damage. It just couldn't be accessed, so I lost everything on it. Oh well. I got a brand new iPhone out of it, which will be majorly used tonight at Madness. I got Pigasus practice beforehand, so I'm gonna go try and get some sleep. These past few days have been AMAZING, and tonight is just going to be the capper of it all. It's always good seeing your old Friends. :-) Have a great weekend everyone. I know I am! Oh, and go see The People's Whiskey and the Hard Pipe Hitters tomorrow night @ the Bunkhouse!

So I get this call at like 3 in the morning from a really good friend of mine, who was a bit shaken up after dealing with the Police and Paramedics. Her boyfriend had just beaten her up pretty badly, and she was in a bit of a state of shock. She said she called me because she knew I would be up at that time in the morning. I talked her off the ledge she was on, calming her down and assuring her that everything was going to be OK, and just did my best to be there for her in her time of need. Catch me on a good day and I'm the greatest guy in the world. Catch me on a bad day and apparently I'm an asshole - or a prophet. ;-)

Is it Thursday yet? LOL I'm anxiously awaiting Game 1 of the Playoffs and to see Deadhand. :-) They're playing that crazy ass Ignite gig this Saturday, but I can't go to that gig because I'm gonna be at Madness  that night, so I'm gonna sneak into the Double Clown tomorrow and see them and then get the Hell out of that sullied establishment. After all, I can't have my stellar reputation degenerate any lower than it already is, now can I?

Yeah, I'm totally gheying out on my 80's weekend but I don't care. There is other stuff going on, like this cool Seriouslys gig @ the Motor City Cafe on Friday night, and, yeah, like I said earlier, that Ignite gig on Saturday. Guilty By Association, the Happy Campers and Deadhand are opening. That gig is gonna be FUN! Steel Pulse is playing the Silverton on Sat. too. Man I'd love to see them, but I got a better chance of seeing them again sometime soon than I do of seeing Madness here ever again. Wasn't the last time in 1998 @ the Texas?? I know I was there... sort of... ha ha ha Whatever. There's that interesting gig @ the Bunkhouse on Sunday with The People's Whiskey, Holding Onto Sound, the Hard Pipe Hitters and some band called The Horn Prayer from Colorado. I just might check that out. :-) Anyways, everything is updated. Pictures of Nests @ the Arts Factory and The People's Whiskey @ the Motor City Cafe were just added. Click here and here to check those out. The weather has been beautiful as of late. It's Springtime. Time to start planning road trips, right? Right!

Ha ha ha ha Don't worry, I'm coming back... maybe! ;-)

Still no Internet, still updating from my phone. Oh well. Congrats to Deadhand, The Quitters, and Holding On To Sound for making the trek out to Tejas to play the SXSW schmooze fest. It's cool that Local bands make the commitment to get out there and play. Wish I was in a band that could do that... hint hint

Kick ass gig tomorrow at the Bunkhouse. You should go, because I'm not. Plus, Larry is moving to L.A. in a few weeks, so this is one of the last gigs for Life's Torment and all the other bands he plays in for awhile. Vegas is losing a cool guy with this one, but I'm happy for him moving to L.A. and doing whatever it is he's gonna be doing out there, like putting out records and playing in bands and all that fun stuff. Lucky bastard. Guilty By Association and Unfair Fight are also playing. Support

Today's the day. San Francisco here I come. See you all when I get back. Cheers! :-)

I don't know if the Darkness have ever played Vegas before. If they did, I didn't see them. There was no way I was missing this, because it was just too perfect. A great chance to talk shit on a Friday night. ;-) The band has recently reformed with all original members, and they just released a new MP3 single / video for the song Nothing's Gonna Stop Us, which you can check out and download for free at the bands website www.theactualdarkness.com. The song was better live is all I'm gonna say. :-) But yeah, I hate going to 'concerts', and I hate the House of Boooooo's with a passion, but for the Darkness, I made the effort. And it was sooooo worth it. :-) They opened up with Black Shuck, and then they all changed guitars and basses, and went into Growing On Me, and I was done. They were soooooo fucking good! They had an annoying habit of changing all their guitars and basses in between every song, and only Givin' Up / Stuck In A Rut were played back to back without a guitar  and bass change. Whatever. When you're total Rockstars like the Darkness I guess you can do that. They played everything I wanted to hear, like Street Spirit (Fade Out), the Radiohead cover, and stuff from the 2nd album One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back, like the title song and Is It Just Me, and every great song off of Permission To Land. Beautiful. Justin's voice sounded incredible live and the band sounded fantastic. A Rock N Roll Machine. The best sounding early era AC/DC band crawling around the trenches today they are, and I had a great time. Except for the crowd. I wanted to kill every Tool and Dooshbag in the audience, including the big 6' 4" gay guy sporting a Ride The Lightning era Metallica shirt that I was standing behind who I kept spitting on, because he kept blocking my view. Every time he did I spit on him, and he didn't even notice. Whatever. The capper to all that is when he french kissed his little bearded boyfriend when the band played I Believe In A Thing Called Love. It was their song, and they totally waited all night to hear it. You could totally tell. They took Facebook arm extended pictures of themselves too. I was touched, and immediately headed for the exit... LOL I'm just kidding, but still, it was pretty ghey. I'm glad the Darkness have that appeal. We all need some Pomp, Bombast, and Theatrics in our Music, and the Darkness do all that and more for me. Yup. To commemorate the event I bought a tour shirt with a giant prawn on the front. Why a prawn? I have no idea. It looked cool, is all I can say... heh heh heh

I heard nothing but great things about all the gigs this past weekend - the Pixies tribute show, and the T.S.O.L. / Guilty By Association / Civilians gig. Civilians - you guys made a bunch of new fans - Congratulations! Fuck, it's such a cool time here in the Las Vegas Music Scene right now. Watching your Friends play gigs is fun, playing gigs is better, and playing gigs with your Friends is always the Best. Everything's updated. I gotta get back to the front room. :-)