What a seriously great gig! :-)

It was a pretty good turnout with lots of friendly faces in attendances, and nothing but good times and smiles everywhere. That's always nice to see. And the bands, oh man, all the bands were on their game! I was glad I made the effort to drag my ass Downtown to check things out. Right after band practice I changed out of my wet, stinky clothes and into some dry, stinky clothes and arrived @ Hellpop! just in time to catch Nü Sensae putting on a dazzling display of Punk Rock yumminess that was easily the highlight of the evening. I'm pissed I missed out on as much of their set as I did. I'm pissed I missed out on the Pluralses as well, but I kind of knew that was gonna happen because of band practice. Nü Sensae were terrific. Immediately after their set I bought everything they had available, but their merch person sucked. Fullerton's very own Audacity had that catchy OC Pop Punk sound down to perfection, dual vocals included, and they were fucking cool to watch. Me likey. Lenguas Largas, with their triple drum/percussion aural assault, came off a lot better live than they do on record, that's for sure. Did they have a bass player among those 5 guitarists on stage? I dunno. If I would of known beforehand that they were a Razorcake band, I probably would of left before they played... LOL But seriously, they were great. Yeah, it was a fun evening, and if you missed it you blew it. No biggie though. I'm sure you'll all go see the same bands play when they're on the Punk Rock Posing stage, because then it will be cool to do so... heh

Tonight! Go see The Fat Dukes Of Fuck and The Seriouslys play @ the Double Clown. They're playing with some band called Truck Bitch that they both seem to be hyped about. Tomorrow night it's all about Unfair Fight with the Time Crashers, Slow Children and some band called Morbid Faith, all playing @ Hellpop! comics. S.F.T. and Three Chord Radio @ Favorites too. What are you doing sitting 'round at home? Get up and GO!!

Free time? What's that? LOL

In between incessant girls demanding that I watch their videos the instant they post them, or the constant Skyping, or people popping in to see and hear what I'm working on, or band practice, which, although I'm taking it easy with that because of my leg, is still a bit of a drain, with all that going on, I really don't have time for shit! Although I'm only in 4 active bands at this moment, they're all in a spirit of Creativity right now, which has me both brain drained and physically wiped out. Then I spend hours and hours on end mixing and remixing stuff I record at these band practices, trying to get the best sound I can out of what I'm given to work with, staring at the florescent green glow of the Adobe Audition workspace until my eyes bleed and I'm tone deaf from hours of listening to the same thing over and over and over again. Then I have to break them up into MP3's and post and share them with the bands so that we can work on and expound upon these ideas and bring them to fruition. And then the cycle starts anew. I try to sneak in a gig or a hang sesh with Friends and whatnot when I can, but that's waaaaay too far and in between happenings to be comfortable for me. Whew! Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but it's just that with all this going on, the website kind of suffers by being relegated to the bottom of the totem pole of Importance. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.I think I need a vacation. Hawaii or Seattle? Hmmmmmmmm...

I bought a bag of oranges from some Mexican street vendor last week, and I've been eating them non stop ever since. Best oranges I've eaten in a long ass time. :-)

Hey! Neon Reverb is in town, and I could give a fuck less. Fredward is playing the kickoff thing tonight @ the Bunkhouse with Silver Snakes and the Marquees, so if you're in the mood for some Downtown carousing, then stop by and see what's up. Those 2 tracks the band does on that Cash For Clay compilation are cool. If you haven't heard that collection of Local musical greatness, then please click here and grab yourself a copy post haste. Tomorrow night your new favorite band the Pluralses are playing with a band called Lenguas Largas @ Hellpop! comics, and if I'm feeling up to it after band practice, I may just stop by. Friday night Fuzz SoLow is playing the Clydesdales CD release party @ the Bunkhouse, Brendan from Deadhand's beardcore project Mercy Music is having his CD release party @ the Beauty Bar on Sat., playing with Old Man Markley (ugh), and Sun. Milk Music is headlining a 2 stage blow out going down @ the Beauty Bar on Sunday. And that's about it for Neon Reverb. The rest of it can go fuck off.

But it isn't like there's nothing else going on this weekend that isn't Neon Reverb related. Nope! There's plenty going on, and it's a varied grab bag of stuff to do. Tomorrow night is the Shotguns & Gasoline CD release party @ the LVCS with Shotguns & Gasoline and the Quitters, that should be pretty cool. Fri. there's a killer gig @ the Double Clown with the Fat Dukes Of Fuck and the Seriouslys, who, just like Fredward, have a couple of great songs on that Cash For Clay compilation I was talking about earlier. Have you bought it yet? If you haven't, shame on you! Then on Sat. Slow Children , from Riverside, CA. is playing with Unfair Fight and the Randoms, who I'm pretty sure are not THEE Randoms who sang the classic Dangerhouse single Let's Get Rid Of New York, but you never know. ;-) It doesn't matter because I'm going to be there regardless, and so should you. If you're not, you should go see the return of S.F.T., who are playing with Three Chord Radio, who feature Cody from The People's Whiskey, @ Favorites. So you see, there's lots of stuff going on this weekend musically, so choose wisely and get off your ass and have some fun! :-)

It might be something most of you take for granted, but for a single guy like me, there is seriously nothing better than a home cooked meal. <3

Congratulations go to The People's Whiskey for winning the Squid Hat Records showcase event, rising above everyone else and being the lucky ones selected to join the labels roster. That band busts their ass all day every day and brings it to each and every performance they give, and to see their hard work and perseverance pay off in spades is more than just a moment of pride for me - more like a confirmation of what I've been telling people for years - that The People's Whiskey are one of the best bands gigging around Vegas right now. Period. So again, Congratulations guys! Can't wait to hear the album you're gonna put out. :-)

There is a shitload of gigs happening this weekend, which is maddening. Click here to see what I'm talking about. Friday night's choice is easy - Unfair Fight @ the Motor City Cafe. Dan is gonna be selling some of his artwork @ First Friday too, so if you're heading down there seek him out and check his work out. It's really good. Sat. is an easy choice for me too - Deadhand @ the Bunkhouse with Burning Agrestic, but man, that Stormtroopers Of Dirk / Fat Dukes Of Fuck gig is mighty tempting. Plus it's being recorded live for a future release, so if you're not at Deadhand you should be there. Seriously. Maybe do both? I dunno. Sun. is Super Bowl, and if I wasn't planning on watching football and being drunk and in a food coma somewhere I would be front and center @ Favorites to see Fuck The Facts and Nests level that place, but alas, that's not gonna happen. If you're going I'd love you to Death if you grabbed me a copy of their limited edition Misery EP. <3 Oh yeah, I almost forgot - there's a benefit gig going on @ Artifice on Sun. as well, for the doorman who works there, who's in dire need of some cash right now because of a death in his family, so if you're feeling generous and want to help out with a great cause, stop by Artifice and give until it hurts. Pay it forward and all that hippy crap... heh heh

Well, as it was previously stated in the comments section on the post before this, the Squid Hat Records showcase this weekend was fun for everyone involved! Everyone was raving about it, and they were actually turning people away at the door because it was so packed. And according to to one of the trio of Squid Hat judges, the winners have NOT been chosen yet, and if you don't believe me, you can click here and read for yourself what he had to say about it all. Oh, and just ignore all that talk about Puckered Starfish... heh heh

Everybody was at the Double Clown this weekend, which would explain why NOBODY was at CH3 on Sat. night! lol It was almost embarrassing to see them play to a room full of nothing and nobody, but hey, I guess everyone here in Vegas is waiting to see them play @ Punk Rock Posing, where it's cool to watch bands in a pen outside where the bands are on a stage yards and yards away from you and the beer and water are far from cheap. ;-)

I've been on Facebook all afternoon, commenting snarkily on the latest announcement from Punk Rock Posing about the latest bands added to the line up. I think the fact that some of the fools on Facebook were commenting on why Devo was on the bill says it all better than I ever could. Turbonegro... yawn. Weirdos... interesting. Same goes for Funeral Dress and Tartar Control, who are all bands better suited to be seen in a smaller, intimate venue, but whatever. I'm bored with bashing on it. I'm embarrassed that people are hyped on it. It's cool to see the Dirty Panties and Surrounded By Thieves on the bill though. Congrats people. You'll do Vegas proud I'm sure.

Anyways, I gotta cut this short. A band practice I wasn't sure was going to happen has come to fruition, and I must attend to these matters otherwise the ladies in my band will get their panties all in a bunch, and I just hate when that happens... heh heh Everything's updated. Make sure to check out the Pictures of The Fat Dukes Of Fuck that I just posted by clicking here. I took over 300 photos of their visual spectacle, and my photos don't do justice to the lunacy that ensues at their performances, but I try anyways... heh heh

Just when you think it couldn't be as bad as you imagined it could be, then the proof comes out and it's even worse than you imagined. A Black Flag cover band is the main draw for Punk Rock Posing this year, and people are losing their minds over this? Really? I guess those people didn't see the exact same line up of karaoke stars stumble and plod their way through a few songs at the Goldenvoice 30th Anniversary show a few years ago. Here's some video footage in case you didn't see it. Watch how all the bright flashing lights make up for the fact that there's NOTHING going on on the stage, in the audience, nowhere.

Yeah, so let's assume that the band learns every song that Keith actually sang on while in Black Flag (side 1 of the Everything Went Black album and the Nervous Breakdown single), and, like he does in every band he's in, Keith sings a few classic early Punk Rock songs from the L.A. era (something from the Weirdos or the Dils), and he tells his stories about how much he loves Jeffrey Lee Pierce and The Gun Club, well, let's see, that's about a half hours worth of stage time. Perfect to play a set for the Punk Rock sheeple to line up and pay to be fleeced. And no matter how hard you believe in it, I hate to break it to you, but you're not seeing Black Flag. Sucks to be you, I know. And Bad Religion? What a fucking joke. They haven't been relevant since Against The Grain. Same with The Bouncing Souls. Their last records have sucked so badly it's almost embarrassing to admit to ever liking them at one time. Sub/Hum/Ans? The Damned? OK, good choices, but they might cancel out like other bands from across the pond have done every year in the past. And the rest of the announced bands? Extremely lame. The Lower Class Brats are playing here next week @ LVCS, and I have no idea why they're playing that venue. Are they that big of a draw? Seriously? And D.R.I. just played here a few months ago - same with the $wingin' Utter$ - and I'm sorry to say, but neither one of those shows were very well attended. I have no idea why that is. I guess the secret of putting on an event like this is getting together a bunch of bands who don't draw well on their own and putting them on display in a cattle pen for everyone to stand and stare at. Whatever. Some people like seeing bands up close and intimate, and other people like seeing bands in a Cockstar environment only when it's the 'cool' thing to do. Enjoy your Punk Rock Posing sheeple. I'm planning on staying as far away as possible from that thing. :-)   

If you wanna get a real dose of what Punk Rock is supposed to be about, in both Music and Attitude, then come out tonight to the Artifice and check out Unfair Fight and The Fat Dukes Of Fuck. Yeah, I know the gripes about Artifice, and I'm not gonna rebut a single one of them, but when you got a lot of Friends there, hanging out, having fun, then you can really make it into a good time, which is exactly what's going to go down tonight. See ya there!

I'm kind of embarrassed that people I know are actually excited about the rumored bands that are playing this years Punk Rock Bowling bullshit. I mean, $wingin' Utter$?  The Damned? Really? I don't recall the last time those bands played here in Vegas, but what the Hell is the draw in seeing bands like that in a huge festival setting on a stage from hundreds of yards away? Yeah, I know I'm spoiled because I saw both of those bands play in places as small and intimate like the Double Clown or Jillian's, but still, I don't understand standing around like sheep in a pen and just watching the band from a distance, bullshitting with your friends, and basically relegating the band to being background noise for your Facebook picture taking. Same with the Sub/Hum/Ans. Last time I saw them play was @ the Canyon Club downtown a few years ago, and that was fucking soooo much fun! The place was packed and everyone in there was losing their minds over every note they were playing. The crowd singing along was louder than the PA. You could feel the sweat dripping off the walls. That's how you're supposed to see Punk bands, in an intimate setting, not on a gigantic stage from yards away. Fuck that. And I'm not even gonna comment on who that band The Flag is rumored to be. If it's true, then it's just pathetic. Le sigh. One can only hope that there will be something much more better, much more interesting and Punk happening in the Club shows this year than the BS over some guy deciding to become a girl that was the big news last year. Can't wait to see how many acoustic bands are playing this year as well. John Denver was a trailblazing Punk. Who knew? ;-)

In all the distress I was going through in the month of Dec., I lost 2 Karl Bakla Music Reviews in the process, and I owe him the biggest apology ever for doing so. I'm sorry Sir, and I hope that my lateness in finally posting them will somehow alleviate your pain and suffering. Well, either that or loads and loads of booze. ;-) Anyways, Karl's review for the latest release from Masked Intruder can be read by clicking here, and his review on some compilation he got from Fest 11 called D.I.Y. 'Til Death, Vol. 1 can be found by clicking here. His stuff is always a good read and again, I'm sorry it took so long in posting it up. :-) And I posted the first Music Review for 2013 from a band called The Moms, and you can click here to read that. Or you can just go to the Music Reviews page by clicking here and seeing what you missed out on. I got lots more stuff that needs reviewing if anyone is interested... hint hint.

I've been rocking these 3 songs from The Civilians lately, which were recorded live @ the Bunkhouse the last time the band played there. The sound quality is great and the material is top notch. The songs are Let Go, I'm So Happy and Doin' Time, and you can go to the bands Reverb Nation page (www.reverbnation.com/thecivilianslv) by clicking here to listen to them. They're really good tunes and I wish more bands here in town would do stuff like this.

Everything is updated. There's some cool gigs going on this weekend with Fortunate Youth, Lady Reiko And The Sin City Prophets, Rule Of Thumb, Unfair Fight, The Fat Dukes Of Fuck, The Seriouslys, Xomby, 3D6 and a bunch more bands and DJ's and stuff that I'm not remembering right now. Go to the Gig Calendar page by clicking here to see what's going on this weekend. Plus, Dan is having some of his amazing artwork showcased at that Unfair Fight gig @ the Artifice on Saturday, so bring some extra money to that because you're gonna wanna buy something from him once you see what he's got for sale - I guarantee it. So yeah, this weekend isn't one to be sitting 'round at home / watching the pictures go - no, this is a weekend to get off your ass and do something. Be More Than A Witness. Yeah. ;-) See you at the gigs!

I guess if creating a dialog amongst the Locals was the aspiration, then this Squid Hat Records showcase thing has done it's job! LOL Loads of people are talking about it, everyone's got an opinion as to who the 6 bands to be chosen are, but the majority of them don't wanna go on record as to which bands they think should play, for fear of offending their 'Friends' for whatever reason. Cowards... hahaha So, with that in mind, I presented some Local people in the know about the music scene here in Las fucking Vegas this question:

If a Record Label rep were to ask you to recommend 6 Local bands to consider him to check out to sign to their label, who would you name off? Any genre.

The answers were interesting in bands named and bands not named. After reading the answers, and conversing with the individuals who came up with them, I even more so wanted to attach names to lists, but I told them I wouldn't, and if anything, I am a man of my word, so I won't, because being anonymous behind your words on the Internet is the cool thing to do nowadays, and nobody wants to cause Drama or Trouble or Controversy on the Internet, right? Yeah right... hahaha Anyways, here's the lists people turned in. I got some free D.I. tickets for their gig next week @ the LVCS to the first 5 people who can guess who's list is who. Possible suspects include a Writer, a Drug Mule, a Shit Talker, a Bassist, a Judge of Musical Talent, another Bassist and a Curmudgeon. First come, first served gets the tickets - post your guesses in the comments and make sure you leave a way for me to get a hold of you in case your guess is correct. I'll give you a hint - one of the lists is fake... heh heh

OK, well, since I have to go to American Buckshot band practice in like 5 minutes, because of my insecure band mates arriving early, and a bratty, oversexed girl that keeps me up all night (literally and figuratively), I gotta cut this short. Before I go I wanna remind you of this amazeballs gig happening mañana at the Sand Dollar (not the Bikini Bar) for Tony Batz, aka Grandpa Spooky, aka the Prince of pinche Darkness. He's ancient even for a Vampire and tomorrow night is when we're all gathering together to play a gig and hopefully have some cake and ice cream for him but yeah, I doubt it! LOL I'm just hoping the Hawaiian Hot Dog Lady (or, as Rusty refers to her as, his future wife) is there so I can get my grub on after I play my set. And yeah, I know there's something called 'Thrashgiving' going on at the Bunkhouse with D.R.I. headlining, but looking at the bands opening it up, I'm almost willing to bet that not one of them plays real 'Thrash', ala Napalm Death or Cryptic Slaughter or some shit. Matter of fact, there's 2 loser bands playing that gig that shouldn't be allowed to play anywhere, period! ha ha ha Fucking shit talking losers - crawl off to the desert and die like the diseased rats that you are, and quit polluting our Music Scene with your Drama and Bullshit. Fucking tweekers, I swear. I hate them. Anyways, tomorrow night, you can come to a great Local show with some cool bands playing, or you could go stand around outside and wait to see a band who's long past their prime, playing with some bands you shouldn't support in any way, shape or form. The choice is yours. See you at the Sand Dollar. :-)

I'm trying to catch up on things. Check out this amazeballs new video from the Fat Dukes Of Fuck for a song called Cigarette, off of their incredible Honey From The Lips Of An Angel release. It was made by the same guy who did the video for the Demon Lung song Lament Code, which you can click here to watch if you've forgotten how sick this guys video work is. You haven't lived until you've seen a puppet dressed up like a priest having sex and taking the virginity of some other puppet with big boobs, doing drugs, sniffing panties, sitting around naked with his puppet dick hanging out, smoking a cigarette, and getting snowballed. That, my friends, is just good ol' wholesome American entertainment right there! LOL This video is fantastic. Definitely NSFW... heh

Local malcontent Karl Bakla turned in another Show Review of a "Punk Rock Show" that he went to a few weeks ago, the Rise Against / Gaslight Anthem / Hot Water Music concert @ the Joint. Click here to read it and check that out. He's going to be going to FEST soon, and I encouraged him to turn in some sort of Scene report or Show Review or something. I'm hoping he does, because I'm a fan of his demented writing style. <3

I got a bunch of stuff I'm sorely slacking on, stuff that's just piling up and creating a log jam here on the website. I'm sure no one noticed but I changed the look of it again, thanks to a recent Weebly update. New Pictures of S.M.D. added - click here to see them. Band practice is killing me, and a certain girl is too. Wouldn't have it any other way. C'est la vie! :-)

It's early Saturday morning. What am I doing up? I dunno. I had to talk a near and dear Friend off the edge she was dangerously close to falling off of last night, and I had a Drama filled phone call that wasn't worth the effort it took to hit the Call Back option on my iPhone. I'm seriously delirious from a lack of sleep. I lose track of what day it is, or if it's even day at all, but despite it all, I still carry on. I move forward. :-)

Tonight, there is seriously no other place to be than this amazing gig that is going down at El Taco de Yayo, or Yayo Taco for you güeros out there. It's a Celebration Bitches!! It's a celebration for the Unfair Fight EP Release called We Are The Dead, which will be available tonight so make sure to get your grubby little paws on one while ya can. This first pressing is guaranteed to go fast and if you get there early enough, the first 50 copies come with special surprises inside of them, so chop chop! And please, don't bring any damn dogs down there, OK? Fucking hippies I swear. Go die. Local support is being provided by the Quitters, who, hopefully, will have their bass player with them this time. Everything is updated. I added the Music Review of the latest release from The Fat Dukes Of Fuck called Honey From The Lips Of An Angel, and you can click here to read that. Yeah, it's a beautiful day outside. Real California weather. I think I'm gonna go seek adventure. See you at the gig tonight. Oh, if after the Unfair Fight gig, you're still feeling all randy and Punk Rock and shit, head to the Double Clown to see the return of the Divebombers, who are playing with the Glory Stompers, Kids In Heat and some other band. Eddie assures me that the Divebombers will be kicking mucho ass tonight and that bodies will be left in the wake of this Punk Rock aural assault. Sounds like fun, and if it was anywhere else I'd be there. Also, if you see him, bug him for a free stuff, like a CD or something. It's the least he can do for raping your ears with some killer Punk Rock tuneage... heh heh

I think this new girl I'm smitten about has me all discombobulated. :-) I completely forgot to mention that Fat Dukes Of Fuck art exhibit / CD release party thing that went down last Friday @ Blackbird Studios. I heard nothing but good things about it, and I'm sorry that I wasn't able to attend. My most humble apologies guys. I still wanna Interview you please. Also, I heard some stuff about that other show that went down on Friday too, but I'm not gonna comment on that! LOL Sat. night's gig @ Artifice with TheCore was a success, and that Cancer benefit @ Tommy Rocker's with all those old man bands playing raised a lot of dough for an excellent cause. Jeff Murphy, I hope you win that Q & A with George Knapp! LOL  I also heard that last night's gig @ the Bunkhouse with the Cobra Skulls, The People's Whiskey, Holding Onto Sound and the Seriouslys was nothing short of amazeballs. It was also Bennett from HOTS and Liz from Unfair Fight's birthday celebration, so that just made things a lot more raucous! Happy belated Birthday to both of ya! I'm not too big on the Cobra Skulls, but I wanted to make it out for the snazzy line up of Local talent, but I was burned out from band practice and just couldn't drag my carcass downtown to partake in the festivities. People said the gig was the shit, and I'm glad a Monday night show can go off like that. :-)

Yeah, I just wanted to pop in here real quick and tell you that. There's lots of shows and gigs coming up this week, including Strung Out @ Vinyl, Blink 182 @ the Cosmo, Authority Zero @ the Silverton with Locals Surrounded By Thieves opening, and on Sat. night there's the return from the dead Divebombers, who will be kicking some serious ass @ the Double Clown. After that Unfair Fight gig @ Yayo on Sat., you should go check out the Divebombers. Oh, and on Mon. there's that Gaslight Anthem / Rise Against poseur fest going on, but don't get me going on that. If you have a vagina I'm sure you'll be there. Sheep. Anyways, I'm gonna go give my girl a call. We're planning our first trip together. Hopefully it isn't as Drama filled as my last one... heh heh.