Year End Lists - you know I love them! ;-) Seems like everybody and their Mothers were putting out lists, either about the best musical releases of 2011 or the best gigs they saw that year or the biggest shits they took or whatever, and after reading the Las Vegas Weekly's pathetic attempt at year end lists (which you can read by clicking here) I was inspired to attempt my own lists, so here they are! Top Ten Best Releases of 2011:1. Jesus Lizard - ClubOne of the most frightening live shows ever recorded. All killer no filler. The sound quality on this is phenomenal! Nothing released this year even comes close to how powerful and amazing this record is. Nothing. 2. Deadhand - DeadhandThe song writing, musicianship and emotions on display in this release still give me the chills. Scary good, and it still makes the hair on the back on my neck stand up every time a song off of this comes up on shuffle on my iPhone. 3. P.J. Harvey - Let England ShakeSimply astounding in it's musical brilliance. The best thing she's done since Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. The woman is a genius. 4. Naked City Romeos - Naked City RomeosIf this CD came out in the classic Punk Rock era of yesteryear, it would be considered a legendary record alongside other releases by the Sex Pistols, 999, The Dictators and the Damned. Yeah, it's that fucking good. 5. Unfair Fight - A Constant StruggleAgain, if this CD came out in the classic Punk Rock eras of yesteryear, it would be considered an essential part of any Hardcore music collection alongside other releases by Agnostic Front, SSD, or the Cro-Mags. This release is incredible - enough said. 6. The Dwarves - The Dwarves Are Born AgainThe fact that the Dwarves are still around is to be commended. The fact that they put out this CD full of such kick ass music is just icing on the cake. A great release that gives you exactly what you'd expect and deserve from this seminal band. 7. Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape ArtistGoing back to their Nothing's Shocking drawing board, the band juggled bass players while coming together to create what is undoubtedly the best thing they've done in a long, long time. 8. The People's Whiskey - Eight Tracks And Dub SacksThis CD came straight out of Hendertucky to hit a home run with this raw, melodic presentation of some of the better songs the band has been playing around live for a while now. The impassioned vocals and musical stylings on here are just fantastic. 9. Faith - Subject To Change Plus First DemoThis often overlooked classic band finally gets the recognition they deserve by having all of their material remixed and remastered, and it sounds better than it ever did. For this material to come out this year is a godsend. 10. Napalm Raid - Trail Of The WorldOne of the heaviest, crustiest recordings to come out this year. This 4 song EP highlights the bands musical muscle in short, brutal blasts of fiery anger. Amazing stuff. And while I'm in the mood for it, here's another one: Top 10 Best Gigs of 2011:1. Melt Banana @ The BunkhouseIf you were there, then you know why this gig was the best one to go down this year. How amazing was the band? And the crowd?? Wowsers!! Definitely in my Top 10 list for the best gigs I've ever seen in my Life. Seriously. 2. Shellac @ The Beauty BarI don't know why they played, but I'm glad I was there! I stood directly in front of the band with my mouth agape in bewilderment as they just pummeled the crowd with one incredible song after another. This gig was soul cleansing. Fucking brilliant.3. Freddie McGregor @ Reggae In The DesertWowsers. I still can't believe I witnessed the King of Lover's Rock deliver a set of musical brilliance to an amorous and appreciative audience, who were hanging on every note the Man sung. 4. Deadhand @ Hypnotic LoungeThe band played a residency at this pool hall in September that highlighted their just released self titled EP, and to be able to see them perform live every weekend was a mind blowing treat. 5. Barrington Levy @ The Bunkhouse To watch this dance hall Legend up close and personal in this downtown dive bar, 2 days in a row no less, was akin to seeing Peter Tosh at the Double Down. Just. Fucking. Incredible. 6. Manic Hispanic @ Diablo'sTo see Jefe, fresh out of the hospital, lead El Hoakie Loco and their primos through a blistering set of old and new material was incredible. One of the best bands to play live you'll ever see.7. Zeke @ The LVCSThe high revving, nitrous burning Rock N Roll machine known as Zeke just fucking slayed everyone in the place when they played here, leaving no doubt that these guys are no one to fuck with when they play. Sheer genius. 8. Napalm Raid @ Yayo Taco These crusty Canadians played the most brutal set of D-Beat Noise Not Music that Vegas ever witnessed, and there wasn't more than 10 people in the room when they did it, and the intensity level was through the roof. Fuck yeah!!! 9. Descendents @ Punk Rock Bowling I only watched a little bit of it from the outside, because I wasn't stupid enough to pay to get in, but what I saw was pretty impressive. Not from the band, who have definitely lost a few steps along the way, but more from the crowd, who just showered the band with nothing but Love L-U-V while they played nearly every song that the people wanted to hear. Pretty great to see. 10. The People's Whiskey @ The Royal ResortI love these guys, and on this particular day they delivered a set of songs that was so fucking punk rocking, so memorable, that it was stuck in my mind for months afterwards. It was like seeing Nirvana when they played Al's Bar to like, nobody. This was one for the History books. Yeah, that's pretty good for off the top of my head. :-) While I'm reminiscing about the last month of the year, lemme publicly acknowledge one of the worst kept secrets in all of the Las Vegas Music Scene by Congratulating Ministry Of Love on their signing to Negative Progression Records. The band certainly deserves it, and I look forward to hearing their tales of no label support, no money, shitty touring situations and all the fun, fun times they're gonna have. :-) Their debut for the label, Party Animals, will be released in February. Again, Congratulations to Ministry Of Love for finally getting signed. Gives me hope that a record label out there might actually 'get it'. Yeah, First Friday tonight. I'm thinking about going down to see Pigasus and The Dirty Somethings tear shit up, but I dunno if that's gonna happen. Obligations, ya know? ;-) Tomorrow night it's all about The People's Whiskey / The Dirty Panties / The Quitters @ the Motor City Cafe, after I take care of some personal business in the morning. I don't have anything to do on Sundays now that football is over for me. :-( I was gonna go to a birthday party but it got cancelled, so, anyone wanna hang out and jam on Sunday? heh heh heh Everything is updated, I finished off all the Pictures for 2011, with the last sets being from The People's Whiskey, The Mapes and the Naked City Romeos. You can find them all to the side here. I also added all the photos to the Me And My Me And My Me And My Me And My Me And My Friends page as well as the Vegas - The City I Live In page too, which is weird, because those pages get a lot of views for some reason. I can't imagine why. ;-)
ha ha ha ha Where have I been? Where have YOU been? LOL All I'm hearing as of late is queries about the website being broken or why I am not updating it and why I'm not talking shit about so and so's website and how come there's no Drama going on here? hee hee hee I mean, seriously? I don't know why any of that is and I really don't care. All I know is I'm Happy and I got way more other important stuff going on right now that I can't be bothered by no jibba-jabba. And for the record, we all know that website sucks, right? Right? ;-)
In typical Stupied fashion, there is like 27,843 amazing gigs happening this weekend, starting tomorrow @ the Attic where Ministry Of Love are playing some fundraiser type thingy, so get your ass down there and support a good cause, whatever that is or whatever it is. And Friday, fuuuuuuuck, there is some seriously fantastic gigs happening. It starts off at First Friday with the almighty Pigasus making an All Ages appearance at the Gypsy Den, and then after that it's all about seeing Deadhand at the Arts Factory for another All Ages gig for the kids to go to. While you're downtown make sure to check out the Pee Wee Herman exhibit at Blackbird Studios that makes it's Grand Premier on that night too. Then you gotta be 21 and over to join in the celebration that is going to be going on for the EP release from The People's Whiskey who are, without a doubt, one of the Best Bands gigging around Vegas right now. I think the release is called 4 Tracks And Dub Sacks, but I'm not sure, and the teaser tracks I've heard from it are infuckingcredible. I can't wait to get my hands on this CD, 7", whatever it is, and just blast the shit out of it while I dance around to it in my tighty whities. :-) Yeah, that's how I roll at 4 in the morning.
In continuing with the Record Release Party them of the weekend, on Saturday it's all about partying with Surrounded By Thieves for their record release show, featuring support from their Friends and Comrades in Battle Born and the Quitters. This show is NOT to be missed and I just hope that they actually pressed this on vinyl, since it says it's a 'record release show'. Yeah, I'm a nit picker like that. ;-) Anyways, the new release is called Prophecies Of Greed and I've played a few gigs as of late with Surrounded By Thieves and I can tell you that the stuff on here sounds phenomenal. They're a really Ace band who deserve all your Love, Support and Money, so pick up their new release and buy the band some booze. You'll get a much better show if you do. ;-)
Sunday! Sunndaaay! Sunnndaaaaay! It's all about the fucking Legendary Verbal Abuse burning the Bunkhouse down to the ground in an ugly display of Power and Vulgarity all in the name of Punk Rock. Pretty awesome. Local support is being provided by Unfair Fight and Roid Rage who are apparently the coolest band on the planet, according to Pulsar, who's the Promoter for this thing. How and Why he books shitty, drama filled, gang associated trouble making shithead bands on his gigs is beyond me, but that's probably why I'll stay away from this one, which sucks because I'm a HUGE fan. Apparently, those "bands" sell tickets real easily, so I can understand why those bands get asked to play the good shows, as opposed to bands who actually play good at shows, like, any band that I'm in... LOL
Yup! It's gonna be a great weekend of Punk Rock chicanery, so dress warm, drink lots to stay warm, and get off your ass and have some FUN! :-)
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!
I am sooooooooo in Love with Deadhand right now that it's not even funny! <3 I finally saw them play last night @ Hypnotic Billiards (in the same shopping center as Tony's, which makes some of the bombest Mexican food in the City!) and it's almost 24 hours later and I can't stop thinking about what a great performance they put on! Hypnotic Billiards sucks as a venue, because the stage is almost dead set against the front of the circular bar, leaving pretty much the entire prime viewing area directly in front of the stage non useable, forcing everyone to watch from either the left or the right of the stage, and the room's a bit bright as well, sucking up all the bottom end and making everything sound a wee bit trebley, but as far as a viable option for bands to play in a City that sorely needs one, Hypnotic Billiards will work! LOL Plus it's All Ages as well, which is always a plus here in town. I got there just as Ministry Of Love started to play, because the gig MOL was playing before the Signals Midwest gig was running late, and they were sounding really good for the first half of their set, but then I think technical difficulties killed the momentum midway through. It was either that or it was the slower, mid paced songs that they played towards the end of their set. Either or, but Hey! What do I know, right. The kids dug them. That's all that matters. :-)
Signals Midwest were pretty good, with a drummer that was absolutely KILLING IT while the band played their energetic punky pop music!! I love watching good drummers and this guy was really, really good. The rest of the band were no slouches either, but the drummer was the Star. Seriously. I wish Signals Midwest would make Las Vegas a regular stop, because I'd definitely go check those guys out again. Good stuff. I've forgotten how great TheCore are, what with Sal and his whole 'Beardcore' thing keeping the band from playing as often as they should, but man, those guys haven't lost a thing since the last time I saw them play. Just fucking fantastic, although I think they played pretty much the same set as the last time I saw them. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, just saying. :-) They're one of my favorite Local bands and one of the bands I point out to others as a perfect example of what a good band is supposed to be like. I tried to take pictures but there were a couple of dooshy "professional photographer" types (1 of whom was Steve from punksinvegas.com... LOL) running around and getting in the way of my shots, so I just gave up and enjoyed the rest of their set from a distance. Soooooooo good TheCore are. :-) Oh, and did I mention that Deadhand were fucking AMAZING! hahaha Playing a great selection from their debut CD and a bunch of stuff they haven't even released yet, they were just fucking stellar and I seriously couldn't be prouder of Brendan. I've been with that kid through thick and thin, and with this latest release he's just beginning to hit his stride with his songwriting. Just fantastic stuff and they sounded sooooo good last night. Deadhand. Fuck yeah. Buy their new CD immediately and become a fan on their Facebook page by clicking here.
I was gonna go to Saturday's Krum Bums / Dead Neon / Blatant / Toxic Holocaust gig, but I didn't have the $$$ to get in, and by the time Pulsar got back to me and said I would be on the Guest List, I had already made other plans. Sorry. I heard nothing about the gig though, if it was good or not. I'm sure it was though. I heard good things about that Hemlock / Klunk gig that happened @ the Cheyenne Saloon, which is cool. Hemlock has been around forever. Everyone in town has a Hemlock story, either good or bad, and who can forget those classic freeway off ramp wooden board gig announcements, huh? LOL Friday's birthday party for the Prince of Pinche Drummers was splendid. We didn't kill the keg because we were all concentrating on smoking ourselves retarded and shooting whiskey and chugging tequila! LOL There's Pictures of the night in the usual place, but the funny thing is, I don't remember taking or being in any of them! hahahaha Oh Tequila, how I Love thee!! <3Everything is updated. I don't know if I ever said anything about it on the website, but I'm back to playing drums in Youth Gone Mad, and we have a great gig block party thing going on this Sat. in Torrance, CA. with the Yeastie Boys, Million Kids, the Von Steins and a bunch of other cool bands. Yeah, not only am I a Drum Whore, but now I'm doing it in different states! LOL It's an All Day, All Ages extravaganza that is not to be missed! I'll be taking lots of photos, that's for sure! LOL And speaking of photos, the Hell Ride Music Festival posted a bunch of Pictures of the Vegascendents in action when we played there in Fullerton a while back, and you can go here to check them out on their Facebook page. They're pretty good and Thankfully, not centered on me! LOL The guy in the Double Down tee shirt dancing around and singing along was just some random drunken dude having fun. I thought the shirt was ironic, to say the least... heh heh. I'm not gonna make it to tonight's Black Jetts / Tinglerz / Unko Atama gig @ the Bunkhouse because I gotta go help a friend set up their Etsy.com web account, but if you got nothing better to do than please go support a couple of great Local bands and some band who's name translates to 'Shit Head'... heh heh heh It's gonna be a great week! Can't wait to see all my Friends and Family in CA. again!! Woo Hoo!!  A pretty P.F.R. flyer, right?
Hey! I have a working website again! LOL
RollerCon is in town, and there's shit jumping off all over the place this weekend! Tomorrow night there are some great gigs happening around town, like Sloka @ the Double Down, Deadhand @ the Beauty Bar, and the Departures (straight outta Jersey!), Holding Onto Sound, the Quitters and Battle Born @ Yayo Taco, but the best place to be is Casa de Amoroso for Danny, the Prince of Pinche Drummers B-Day extravaganza! Bring your swimming outfits and some CAKE or something else to eat because this one may be going all night long! hahaha Happy Birthday Sir! keg Stands will be mandatory this evening! :-)
If you're still alive on Sat. and not in jail, the place to be that night is the Toxic Holocaust, Blatant, F.S.U., Krum Bums and Dead Neon gig @ the Bunkhouse. It should be an interesting gig to say the least. The Tinglerz are also playing that night @ the Motor City Cafe, so if you're not @ the Double Down trying to pick up on chubby drunk roller girls then you should be at 1 of those 2 gigs. Remember, going to see a band won't give you a disease. Maybe... heh heh
Sunday it's all about Deadhand, Signals Midwest and TheCore at Hypnotics, and if you're up early enough you can stop by there and catch Ministry Of Love with Broken End Stereo and a few other bands playing an All Ages gig for the kids. Oh, and Monday, the Black Jetts and the Tinglerz are playing @ the Bunkhouse with Unko Atama from S.F., so yeah, like I said, it's gonna be a busy weekend - hope to see you all somewhere!
 Best. Flyer. EVER!!! :-)
I have a big announcement at the end of this, something I've been sitting on for about a week now, sworn to secrecy while the details were being worked out. I was told I could announce it on Tuesday, and so I will, right after I spew on about this first.
First off, Happy Birthday to the One, the Only, the Sorely Missed on the Tag Board ever since he became sane, the Impeccably Dressed Hollywood Shane, who is now known as New York Shane nowadays, unfortunately. :-( I believe he turns 27 or some shit like that, well, that's what he tells the Trannies down at Washington Square in Greenwich Village anyways.
 Shane, he's talking to Y-O-U... I'm not gonna bore you with Tales of all the times Shane stole my Booze or my Drugs, sometimes doing both on the same night! No, All I'm going to do is wish a very Happy Birthday to a very near and dear friend of mine, that I'm glad is still around for me to tell him things like this:
 I think the creepy grin says it all... ;-) Hee hee hee Happy Birthday Bro! I love you, and I miss you! Try not to get too, too crazy on your Birthday - oh shit, look who I'm telling that too! hahahahahaha XOXOXOXO
So yeah, how was everyone's V.D. day? Mines was spectacular! The huge bundle of loot I spent on the holiday was well worth everything I got in return, which is always a good thing. I didn't make it to the Off! gig @ the palms, but I'm not really bummed about it because I don't even like that band, but I wanted to go because I thought it would be an event or some shit like that. I haven't been going to any gigs this year, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. The ones I do plan on going to, like last Thursdays debut gig of The Unidentified @ the LVCS, or the Apocalyptics and the State Streets gig @ Meatheads on Saturday, usually end up with me in my broken down car at the side of the road, waiting for a mechanic or a tow truck to come save my ass. LOL Or something else more interesting comes up, or I decide to get drunk somewhere. I think I'm slipping a bit. I don't care as much as I used to. Maturity? Naaaahh. I know there's a shit load of new bands coming around, and I wanna Interview them and take Pictures of them before they get too big or start hanging out with the wrong people, but I don't really wanna do that because I want to, it's more just for the website. I dunno. I'll figure it out. There's too many good gigs coming up that I wanna check out, like the 12 Volt Sex reunion gig happening this Sat. @ the Beauty Bar. I have always been a sucker for a good hook, and 12 Volt Sex songs had them by the bucketful!!! I still listen to their stuff - most of it still holds up. Yeah, that gig is going to be fun. Hope to see a bunch of old Las Vegas heads turn out for that one.
Who watches the Grammy's nowadays? Didn't they lose credibility like, when Jethro Tull beat out Metallica in Best Heavy Metal Band category? LOL I was a bit taken back by the many people I know, who's musical taste and knowledge I revere and respect, being concerned with it's outcome or participants in any way, shape or form. Who the Hell are Arcade Fire and who cares? Gee, the Best New Artist has been releasing albums for 6 years now - who gives a shit? I'm glad I don't keep up on current things in music. I don't even hear shit like Cee-Lo, Keisha or Rihanna unless I'm in a strip club. Heard Lady Gaga there for the first time too. That craptacular music should stay in strip clubs, where it's the perfect fodder for some ho-bag to rub her vajeen on your crotch, infecting you and making you a Carrier for whatever neglected disease that particular 'Entertainer' is inflamed with this week. Strip clubs - you gotta love 'em! You know I do.
 Quite possibly the GREATEST Zombie movie EVER!!! <3 Besides that 12 Volt Sex gig, there's a bunch of good gigs happening soon. Friday's that Joe Buck Yourself Rockasilly thing happening @ the LVCS, then on Saturday if you don't go to the 12 Volt Sex thing, you could always head off to the Double Down to see the Black Jetts and Left Unattended rock that toilet, or see the Quitters and Nothing With Numbers guys fuck shit up @ the LVCS. If none of that appeals to you, then TheCore are playing @ the Cheyenne Saloon that night as well! Too many choices, and all too far apart. Phooey. Sunday's got Less Than Jake and Off With Their Heads are at the House of Boooooooo's, and then Monday Ministry Of Love is headlining Area 702 over a bunch of bands with some of the shittiest names EVER!! And for you Old School Hessians out there, Death Angel is playing @ the Cheyenne Saloon. Death Angel... cool guys. Haven't seen them since I played a gig with them @ the Country Club in Reseda with Possessed and Sacred Reich! hahahaha The 80's... what were we thinking? LOL Fun times then, fun times now. Get off your ass and get to some gigs! There's waaaaaaay too much to do to wanna stay home.
Oh, and that big announcement thing I was talking about... Descendents are playing Las Vegas in May downtown in front of the El Cortez - GET HYPED!!! :-)
I hate to say 'I told you so', but I kind of did. I commented a while back how the Adicks sucked nowadays and that it was just the same shit over and over and over again, with them playing the same set list comprised of the same old songs and made to look pretty with lots of confetti and things thrown around, like playing cards and rolls of fabric and whatnot. When you're with the right people, and in the right frame of mind, the Adicks are a fun gig, but only when it's an actual gig, playing in front of a crowd in a small punk club or in some dusty warehouse, as opposed to some ghey ass disco club place more concerned with bottle service than with people who paid too much money to see one of their favorite bands play. The Adicks first gig here in Vegas was @ the Roadhouse way out in Hendertucky, and lately they've been favoring Wasted Space inside the Hard Rock Hotel. You see where I'm going with this? I bet you do. ;-) Look, I got no problem with "success", and being in a band myself, I know it's nice to play the good stages with nice accommodations, but you should never forget where you come from and who your fans really are. Never. The Adicks made that mistake, and should not be let off the hook about it.
Which leads us to this. If you didn't hear about it before this, let me be the first to proudly tell you that the Adicks cancelled out of Saturday's scheduled, contracted performance @ the LVCS. Why, you ask? Well, the answer is simple - Money. They are a bunch of greedy fucks who don't give a shit about Punk Rock, or their Fans, which, of course, is nothing new, but the fact that they have no Honor, nor any Pride about being real Men and just dealing with things and making the best of a bad situation that their faggot ass Booking Agent got them into is just disgusting. In case you haven't noticed, Punk Rock is a Business now, with everything being handled very professionally and with confirmation letters and copies of transcripts and all that, and that makes it a Hell of a lot harder to burn people and try to put a spin on things, trying your best to entice some sort of 'Us vs. Them' kind of situation. The Adicks tried to do just that with Roxie and, our Lord and Savior El Duce not withstanding, hopefully, they will be forced to pay for their atrocious deeds. Fucking bunch of Tossers. Gawd I hate the British. No offense Chippy. ;-)
So what happens is, the Adicks work out a deal to play LVCS for this Neon Reverb festival, agreeing on receiving $2000.00 for their performance, with no rooms provided and no cases of Perrier water or deli meat awaiting for them backstage. Bunch of fucking wallies. Anyways, papers are signed, the Adicks are paid up front for their time and effort, the show is promoted, and everything is hunky dory. A couple of days ago, the bands Tour Manager rings up Roxie and asks about the bands lodging for the gig, and she points out that the contract clearly states that no rooms are to be provided, but that she'll see what she can do for them as a favor. She doesn't have to, she just does it because that's how she rolls. So she gets them rooms, for all 13 of them, if you can believe that, and everything's cool. The last time I saw the Adicks there was 6 dudes on stage playing. Throw in a Tour Manager and maybe a Roadie / merch person and at most, you're providing lodging for 9 people, but 13 - Fuck off! Look you gits, you wanna bring your skanky female friends along with you on Tour, who may be your wives, or may be some whores you picked up on the road, then pay for a room for them out of the money you're making for playing the gig, don't just expect the Promoter to cough up some rooms for you just because, and especially if the contract that YOUR BOOKING AGENT agreed to says no rooms are to be provided. So Roxie gets them rooms. Why? Because she's GQ-Smooth like that, and everything's cool again. The next day, the new dilemma is the money being paid. According to the band's Tour Manager, the band is not happy with the amount already agreed upon, saying that they have 13 people to pay, and that the $2000 is simply not enough incentive to make the band play in Las Vegas. I have never heard of such a load of horse shit in my Life! Just ignore the fact that the band already has the money in hand, sent by overnight registered mail, but now they're saying that all 13 people are getting paid out of that money, and because they're not making that much money off the show, that they're not gonna play, giving the Promoter Roxie less than 48 hours notice that they're not playing the gig. Real 'Professional', right? Yeah. After a few words back and forth, with no quarter given, Roxie just decides to say 'Fuck The Adicks' and Fuck their Booking Agent and his Agency, Artists Worldwide, who, besides the Adicks, handle such other luminous, past their prime homosexual Rock Star bands such as L.A. Guns, Bang Tango, Dokken, Pretty Boy Floyd and Total Gay-Ass. ;-) No big deal - the Adicks ain't playing the show, their room reservations are cancelled, and Artists Worldwide just fucked themselves out of a great place to play here in Las Vegas. End of story right? Far from it.
So now, in an effort to portray themselves in a positive, not-our-fault kind of light, the Adicks posted this up on their Facebook page:
Yeah, I know. Pathetic, right? Yup. So instead of just coming clean and maybe admitting that their Booking Agent fucked things up for them, or maybe just saying 'Fuck it' and manning up and playing the show (wasn't like they weren't gonna make more money at their next gig, or the gig after that, right?), the Adicks try to put a spin on it and blame the Venue, calling the people who work there (like Roxie) a 'bunch a wankers'. Oh em gee does this launch a firestorm of shit talking from people here in Vegas who weren't happy with how the band handled things, and they start letting them know about it, voicing their displeasure on the bands Facebook page, making damn good points and raising issues that, of course, the Band or their Management or their Booking Agent, conveniently ignore or refuse to address. Chickenshit cowardly motherfuckers all of them. I had a bunch of screen shots, to illustrate the things being said on the Facebook page, but I left my photo editing program open, and went to band practice after only saving the first one I took, and when I came home my computer had updated and restarted itself, so I lost the pictures I hadn't saved, but the one I have saved does more than enough as to illustrate the shit that was being hurled at the Adicks, all of it deserved, and all of it right on target.
 I might have to make Danny an Honorary Reporter for onethirtyeight.org! LOL  I don't know where this photo came from, but Kate says it all perfectly... And here's a screen shot of what they politely put up afterwords as to what happened to their show in Las Vegas, with no apology offered and, of course, the Truth not being told. I replied to a couple of ass clowns on there about how wrong they were in supporting this group of cock stars, and I'm sure my comment will be gone by morning if it isn't already.
The LVCS issued this Official Statement on the matter, and I hope they sue the pants off of these homos and not only make them pay back the guarantee they already accepted, but for anything and everything else they're entitled to, like the ink it costs to print up this letter and the postage it costs to send it off... LOL
 Banned From The Pubs!! hahahaha And as of this writing, this is where it ends up at. The Adicks are not playing this Sat., I'm not sure if the Glass Heroes are going to come in and save the day and headline the gig, but in true Punk Rock fashion, the Show will go on, regardless if a bunch of money grubbing rock star poseurs are playing or not. My belief in the Adicks had been waning as of late, and now it's completely gone. Fuck those Putos. Seriously.
Neon Reverb is in town. Big whoop. Shitty no balls having bands playing everywhere, except for tonight @ the LVCS, where some manly man bands are playing, with more than enough Attitude and Balls for you and all of your friends to all share in. 400 Blows with the almighty Pigasus and the Black Jetts and the Tinglerz - this show is guaranteed to rock your face off!
Saturday, there's all sorts of stuff going on, like Roller Derby, the Ministry Of Love homecoming gig @ Yayo Taco (with the Green Lady Killers), and the gig @ LVCS with the Vermin and The Lesser You, who apparently go to house parties, drink all the beer, eat all the food, and then leave before they're supposed to play! hee hee hee. Check out the Gig Calendar page to see what's going on and plan accordingly. And for those of you who keep writing me and telling me that you can't wait to find me at a gig, you now know where I'll be all weekend. Bring a lunch. ;-) I'll tell you about all of that stuff later. This post is already a mini-novel as it is! LOL Try not to run into too many douche bag Scenesters while you're out and about this weekend! I know I will!
I dedicate this to all the people out there who live to read all about the shit I go through from time to time because of something that has been said on this website. I was hoping I would never have to compile another one of these pages, but apparently some people have nothing else better to do, myself included. For those of you who missed out on the Hurricane that was going on in the Comments section of my last post, you can click here to read about what Brandon and Amanda from False Cause and good ol' Chris Piss from who knows where, had to say about my comment about me not going to the D.R.I. gig that just happened this past Sat. because of the assholes that I knew were going to be there to see False Cause. I'm always shocked that people get so bent out of shape by what's said on this website, and that people put so much value into what I think and do and say, but again, apparently, some people do, and when I dare to say what I think or feel I am to be chastised immediately about it and given 50 lashes with a wet noodle for doing so... hee hee hee. In the long run, nothing ever changes, nothing is solved, and nothing becomes of it. It's a huge waste of time but a necessary evil when you dare to speak your mind or give an opinion like I do constantly. And because of it, False Cause isn't my Friend anymore. Boo fucking hoo. See how much sleep I lose over that. I will miss Ben's comments on all things Hockey and Punk related though... heh heh. Detroit sucks! ;-) If you wanna see the original post (where the comment flame war is still going on) just click here, otherwise, just click here to go to the page with the bulk of the bullshit messages those 3 were sending me all weekend. It's pretty Epic stuff.
Speaking of Sports, how bad is the officiating so far this football season? LOL Too many instances of just flat out bad calls that are affecting the Game, and when the NFL has to issue an apology to the Seattle Seahawks about the bad calls on 2 Giants touchdowns that shouldn't of been, then maybe it's time to have someone who can watch the watchmen, an overlord with the ability to overturn ridiculously bad calls that happen on the field. This mornings NFL standings would be a whole Hell of a lot different, that's for sure. I've got nothing but Faith in my beloved Oakland Raiders, but man, we need to tighten up our Defense and, as Jesse Jerk was saying on Sunday, 'put the Pollock in'. LOL
So yeah. Big weekend for gigs coming up, what with this Locals Loaded gig happening @ the LVCS downtown on Friday night with 400 Blows, who are this amazingly intense punk rock band in the vein of bands like The Bronx or Jesus Lizard - You do NOT wanna miss this gig:  How sick is this gig? Seriously?? And then this gig on Saturday night with the Adicks, the Vermin and the Lesser You. ::yawn:: I definitely won't be in attendance at this gig, but it's not because of the opening bands. I love the Vermin and I'm dying to see The Lesser You, because my friends tell me good things about them, but I think I'm just over the whole Adicks thing. They remind me of someone that I really miss. Their music is no longer fun to me. Bad memories. Phooey. I'm hoping The Lesser You play a gig I can go to soon so I can check them out. I'm all about good bands here in Vegas, ya know? ;-)
 The Quitters are NOT playing this gig, on account of double booking... And yeah, I guess both of these gigs are in conjunction with the Neon Reverb festival happening this weekend here in town, but I have no idea who else is playing or where. I saw the website and was not impressed with anything that I saw playing band wise. Might as well call it the Hipster Festival, because all the bands playing are pretty much ghey. Except for the Local bands of course! ;-)
The Hardest Working Local Band in Existence, Ministry Of Love, are coming back from a successful U.S. Tour where they encountered their share of drunken assholes, blown tires, frantic fans, house parties and the usual amount of blood, sex and booze that a band usually finds on the Road, and they're playing a homecoming gig @ Yayo Taco with a shitload of bands I've never heard of, except for the Green Lady Killers, of course. ;-) I think this is the place I'm gonna be on Saturday, because I can get some good food, good drinks, and also check out a few bands. Who knows. I may actually enjoy it! ;-)
And with that I will bid you Adieu! I'm off to do something extremely tedious yet fun, the likes of which a very few lucky people like myself can only participate in, and that's watch the sun rise. It's not easy being an opinionated Punk God, but somebody's gotta do it... hahahaha Everything's updated. New stuff added... blah blah blah
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