Wow. I had soooooo much fun this weekend. The past week as well. The practices with S.F.T. are coming along nicely, although they're already saying I'm playing the songs too fast, which is pretty much what every band I've ever been in has said to me. Go figure, right? :-) I didn't make it to the Mapes gig @ the Motor City Cafe on Friday because I threw my back out after band practice, but luckily I have an amazingly rad chick who's a Masseuse as a Friend, so I told her I had an emergency and she fixed me. Straightened me out and worked me out and because of her I was able to make it to the gigs on Saturday. Thanx Babe! XOXO I owe ya one! ;-)

And the gigs on Saturday? FUN!!! Going back and forth from the inside lobby area to the pool area outside to check out some diverse bands was cool. There wasn't any drink specials at the bar, which sucked, because the booze was waaaayyy over priced, but it didn't matter, because they were letting everyone walk in with whatever they had stashed in their car in the parking lot. Security didn't seem to mind the smoke sessions out there either, which is always a plus in my book. The Sound dudes were on the ball, everything sounded great, and with the weirdly eclectic turnout of people for this event, which was for the 107.9 radio station Birthday party, gave the place a nice chill vibe and people were just hanging out and walking around like it was a backyard kegger party or something. Very fucking cool. And the Bands? Oh, the Bands were killer! Well, most of them were anyways. ;-) The People's Whiskey just blew me the fuck away with their set, just fucking amazing shit. Am I the only one hyped on this band right now or what? They're so exceptional as to what's going on out there right now in the Vegas scene and I just dig their sound, I dunno. Ministry Of Love were easily the most entertaining band that I saw. They have this kid Ryan who's like a monkey on speed when he plays, throwing his guitar around with reckless abandon, jumping on top of everything he possibly could and shredding away on it, and doing complete back flips in the middle of a song. Seriously. And, of course, he jumped in the pool after the band ended their set. Pulsar and Meg followed him right in. Rad. :-) I saw this band called The Lips who were really fucking Ace, playing this infectious Indy Pop New Wave music that was really New Order / Cure like, and I dug the shit out of it. Really impressive stuff. They were like the Killers if the Killers didn't suck. :-) And Guilty By Association played their second to last gig ever with Bingo Billy behind the drum kit. And it was definitely something to see... hahahaha I'll save the details for the Show Review I wanna write about it. ;-)

After Guilty By Association finished up their set, I made a beeline for Yayo Taco for a carnitas taco plate and tequila shots. Yummmmm! The place was packed with the dinner crowd, and the wooden tables were sitting out, not to be moved the entire night. Whatever. Permanent Failure played a set full of Punk Rock tunes that sounded like every Punk band you liked when you were 16! LOL So fun to watch, but I had to leave when they played that Bad Religion cover mid way through their set. Is it too much to ask a band to play their covers at the end of the set, like Guilty By Association did @ the Royal Resort with that Billy Joel song? Is it also too much to ask a band to KNOW their cover before they play it? LOL Awwwww... It was Permanent Failure's last gig, and it was a good way to go out. People dug them, and they showed all us old guys in the room what being Young and Punk Rock was all about! Surrounded by Thieves have turned into a MONSTER with Brandon from Betting On Tomorrow on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. They sounded soooooooo fucking good it was frightening. They have this, 'don't give a fuck - let's just play and rock out and have fun' attitude that's contagious to everyone in the room. The songs are outstanding, and Brandon is the perfect fit for Surrounded By Thieves. They just rocked the salsa out of Yayo Taco, and it was the Guitar player Andy's Birthday too, and there were chocolate and vanilla cupcakes being handed out to everyone who wanted one. I took 3. :-) And, of course, you know what happens when you give a room full of drunk Punx stuff to abuse or throw around - a cupcake fight broke out, with everyone in the place getting pelted and marked with sickly sticky sugary frosting. Yeah, it was that kind of night. Anyways, check out Surrounded By Thieves each and every time you can. You won't be disappointed.

The touring band from Reno, Machine Gun Vendetta, were pretty fucking good. They had that sound that reminded me of like, every band that was on any of those Maximumrockandroll compilations from the 1980's, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible! LOL Lightning fast Punk Rockage that was pretty cool stuff. After their set they were handing out business cards with a Link to a free download of some slamscene.com compilation album they were on, which is always good. Bands - download cards are the new way to get your music into the hands of the fans. Just saying. ;-) And Guilty By Association ended the event by playing their 2nd set of the night, and Officially their last one with Bingo Billy. I took video of the last song they played, and I'll post it up on here sometime soon. It was a melancholy way to end the evening, that's for sure.

Speaking of video, here's one I forgot to post up on here from the night of Vandalism @ the Cheyenne Saloon. :-) It's blurry, shaky, off centered and hard to see, but I think it suits the music well. It's Dead Neon performing Advisory (Go To The Boneyard), Downwinder and Cratered. They were soooooooooooooo fucking on that night. Their music makes me wanna give up on the world and just head out to the desert and grow my hair out while waiting for the Apocalypse to come. Yeah, it's that moving... to me anyways.

I got more Videos to post, but I need to get a hold of the Bands to ask them what the Hell the song is called that I filmed! hahaha Keep your eyes on the Videos page to see whats what. Everything is updated. Yeah, I added the Pictures of the Happy Campers and Ministry Of Love from that Royal Resort gig, and as soon as I finish writing this shit up I'm gonna head out to more S.F.T. band practice and maybe to Artifice for a night cap. Who knows. What's everyone doing for Labor Day? Me? I'm heading Home... <3

Oh Jameson's - how I love thee! <3

Well, it's way more than 48 hours later, and for those of you who give a shit, I'm still a free man! ;-) hahahaha That thing with the Cheyenne? Forget about it. It's been squashed, and a gag order has been put into effect. The Godfather has spoken. That is all. :-) Un-rally the troops! Put those picket signs away! Stop the Boycott! Everything is cool. hahahahaha

Ya know, I just found out about those shows happening @ the Royal Resort this weekend for the Local Alternative radio station here in town. I'm told people still listen to the radio but I can't for the Life of my imagine why. Oh well. Fucking everybody and their Mom is playing the damn event - Guilty By Association, The Quitters, Ministry Of Love, The People's Whiskey (check these guys out! I'm so hyped on them right now), The Dirty Panties, Haleamano, The Happy Campers, and a bunch more, and I wish I would of known about it sooner, because I could of hyped it up a bit more, but I guess I just wasn't worth the effort of sending a Facebook invite to, or even a copy of the flyer. **Le sigh** Anyways, it's gonna be a pretty sweet shindig, with bands playing both poolside and in what they lovingly refer to as 'The Den', which is really just a blank floor space at the end of the check in desk / bar area. Nice. You should make an effort to be @ the Royal Resort sometime this weekend, if not just being there all weekend long! There's gonna be something for everyone there. Should be fun.

Besides that Royal Resort gig on Saturday, Guilty By Association are also playing Yayo Taco that same night. They're playing with Machine Gun Vendetta from Reno, and Surrounded By Thieves and Permanent Failure. It's Permanent Failure's last gig, as they're breaking up do to the usual "creative differences". I also think that these last few gigs of Guilty By Association are the last ones that they're doing with Bingo Billy on drums. I'm still not sure of the exact reason why he's quitting, and if what I heard is true really is, then that's even more of a bummer, but regardless, if you're in the mood for some Tacos, Beer and Punk Rock, then come out to Yayo Taco  Saturday night and have some fun.

Everything's updated. The Mapes gig on Friday is gonna be great! See ya there!