What a long, strange trip it's been. :-/

Well, I'm back from San Diego, no worse for wear, and a little bit enlightened as to how 2012 is going to be for me. It's always great seeing my Family back home and catching up on the going ons and whatnot, but I dunno if I could ever live back there. Again. I need the Sound and Fury of Civilization. I need the Bright Lights of the Big City. I need Music - Punk Rock Music, and I need it all the time. I might not wanna move back Home right now, but I may not have a say in the matter after a bit. In the back of my head, I know I'm always heading back Home someday. We all do. It's always Beautiful there. Always.

I left the Rez at midnight on Friday. I was gonna stop by and see Surrounded By Thieves and Battle Born at some bar in San Diego, but I was tired and knew if I didn't get my ass Home that I was never gonna make it back in time to return my rental car,, and that I would get stuck paying for 2 extra days that I didn't have to, so sorry guys. The trip is usually a 6 or 7 hour drive, depending on traffic, but I made it in a little under 5 hours. How did I do that, you ask? Well, let's just say that I like to drive fast. :-)

Yeah, so now I'm back, with a shitload of catching up to do. I added the Pictures I took of Die Laughing from that gig @ the Arts Factory I went to last week before I left, and you can click here to check them out. I'm gonna get cracking on everything I need to do to get back on track with everything website related, and I leave you with this video I took of the Mapes playing at the Arts Factory, doing one of their many "hits". The song is called Voltron. Enjoy! :-)

Yeah, look at what you missed out on... heh heh

I know! A new Mapes song! And it rules!! ha ha ha It's worth watching just to see Haywood J. putting his mouth around a beer can and guzzling it down with no hands involved! LOL Now that's Sexy times 12! ;-) Oh man, Friday night was sooooooooo much fun. Yeah, I know everyone and their Mom went to that Adolescents / Youth Brigade / Vermin gig @ LVCS (sheep), and I heard it was a pretty OK show (what was up with TheCore cancelling?) but the gig @ the Arts Factory had better bands and a record swap meet, with lots of crates and boxes full of colored vinyl goodness! I was in Heaven!! ha ha ha I easily blew hundreds of dollars stocking up my vinyl collection with stuff I used to have and stuff that I never had before. F-U-N. Phooey to the elitist record collecting scum dogs who wouldn't take my money for their records. I lost out on a few choice pieces of vinyl because of it, but that's OK because it was their loss. :-) All the Bands that played were cool. Vanish Twin from AZ. were easily the highlight of the night, playing some twisted Neurosis type ambient noise grind-core shit. Here's a video of them doing a song called Looking For Flames. I stopped recording at the end of the video because I thought they went into a different song. ;-) They continued playing for like 3 minutes after I stopped filming... heh.

Yeah, I was just hanging out and walking around doing my thing and observing the happenings and goings ons and whatnot. Life's Torment kicked things off with a blistering set of Noise not Music that was just broooootal as fuck. Why don't these guys just pack the places they play in with fans going ape shit over their music is beyond me, but whatever. I'm all about catching small, intimate performances with little to no one there, as opposed to big HOB corrals full of automatons and sheeple. Lame. Watching Bob play drums is a trip, because he's a lefty, but his technique is destructive and he's got a good sense of timing and fills which is cool to watch. Larry looks like he's channeling demons when he plays his guitar and screams into the microphone, and Travis acts like he's being tortured and mutilated while he shreds the bass and screams along. Life's Torment are fucking Ace and they just get better and better every time I see them. They're pretty fucking sick and you should check them out each and every time you get the chance. If you like your Punk music chainsaw fast and just as delicate, then look no further than Life's Torment. They bring it each and every time. I posted the photos I took that night already, and they're over to the left of these words. ------------------------>

Speaking of checking things out, check out this thing that Fuzz, one time bartender extraordinaire at the Legendary Cooler Lounge (R.I.P.) has going on. It's a solo project called Fuzz So Low (get it?) with Fuzz playing guitar while accompanying himself on a kick drum and set of high hats. It was pretty cool stuff and it's always fun watching Fuzz kick out the jams. Kick out the jams... get it? Oh, the puns are flying fast and furious today! :-)

Fuzz So Low played inside, and everyone else played outside. Good Greens ( a total Sublime rip off band) played inside, and Spotted Dick And The Love Stew cancelled. Again. Do those guys just sign up to play gigs and then don't play them or something? LOL Sabertooth Snatch (from AZ.) played, and they were pretty good, in a Victim's Family kind of way. I don't think they went over too well with the majority of the crowd, either because they were a bit different then what Die Laughing and Life's Torment threw down, or because everyone was inside checking out the Record Swap Meet. Either or, not a lot of people were checking out Sabertooth Snatch, which was a shame because they were pretty good. Check them out for yourself and see.

_And last but not least is Die Laughing. They were pretty good but their set kind of just meshed into the Life's Torment set, because they played back to back from each other and they're basically the same band but with a different bass player. How Bob pulled that one off I'll never know. ;-) The music they play is kick ass though, so it makes it worth it. Their set was short but sweet, ending with a Black Flag cover that brought Travis from Life's Torment back on stage to handle lead vocals. Check out the video and see how well they did thrashing out Gimme Gimme Gimme.

So yeah, there's my little video wrap up of everything that was going on at the Arts Factory last Friday night. It was a great time and if you weren't there, then you're lame. And if you were at that gig at the LVCS instead of this one, then you're stupid - real stupid. :-)

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 - Club
One 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 - Deadhand
The 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 Shake
Simply 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 Romeos
If 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 Struggle
Again, 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 Again
The 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 Artist
Going 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 Sacks
This 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 Demo
This 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 World
One 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 Bunkhouse
If 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 Bar
I 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 Desert
Wowsers. 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 Lounge
The 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's
To 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 LVCS
The 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 Resort
I 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. ;-)

It's Monday. Sad, Sad Monday. :-/

I'm still beaming over how great the Mapes were on Saturday night. Maybe it was my highly intoxicated state of being, or maybe it was because the guys in the band weren't as drunk as they usually are when they play, but damn did those guys sound good. Watching them play in front of an All Ages crowd was the best thing ever! There were a bunch of kids like 5 years old or younger that were loving the costumes the band were wearing, but they hated that it was so LOUD to them! The kids danced around anyways while the band played, and the Mapes called them pussies for doing so. Brilliant. :-) They played pretty much everything I wanted to hear, except for Your Pussy Makes Me Vomit. Bastards. The band opened up with a Civic Minded 5 cover, and I almost walked away in disgust (just kidding) but right after that cover they played Get Let and all was right in the world. They were soooooo good. The Mapes even played a few new songs, including a song that I think was called Delicious (D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! Delicious!) which just gives me hope that the next Mapes release, which should be out by the year 2036, will be just as brilliant as their first self titled release is. Hopefully they get around to recording those songs that didn't make the album too, like Reptilicus, Ding-Dong and Pigs In A Blanket. Oh, and that Mummies cover would be nice too... hint hint. :-)

Speaking of releases, I bought a bunch of new releases from Panic Inc. when I was at the Arts Factory for the gig, including the new Sheep On A Cliff release, as well as stuff from Die Laughing, Life's Torment, Lethal Injection, Godstomper and Hot Fuck Action To The Maxxx. The beauty of it all is that they are all on cassette tape. Total Old School Baby! As if Larry couldn't get any cooler than he already is, he releases stuff on CD as well as cassette, and that, among other reasons, is why you should support his label Panic Inc. and everything they release. Everything. Larry's band Sheep On A Cliff played as well on Saturday night, completely shredding up the small wooden stage they were playing on, and playing some of the most broooooootaaaaal face melting Punk Rock imaginable. It was like Dirt crossed with Infest. If only Emma's drum set was in tune, then it would of been fantastic! LOL Sheep On A Cliff raged and rocked and rampaged and the mixed crowd of Punx, Parents and Patrons of the Arts ate it all up. Fun gig @ the Arts Factory. I hope they keep doing them there. Good turnout too.

I ended Saturday night drinking at the Goth club going on inside Artifice, hanging out with 3/4's of the Civilians, chatting with Her all night long and watching the Kids dance in the green laser beams in the room across from the bar. Watching Goth Girls dance is one of the best things ever. :-) Cool way to end the night. I had a sick Skater Bob passed out in the back of my car, puking all over the place and claiming he had food poisoning but I suspect it was a semen overdose. If you look closely I swear you can see some undigested cock meat.

_I went out there periodically to check on him, to make sure he didn't pull a Bon Scott on me, and after making him wait for me while I got my grub on at Felipilito's, I dropped him off just as the sun was coming up, which, as you know, is the magical time when Night turns to Day, and when one's thoughts are at their most coherent and lucid. Take advantage if you're ever there - I always do.

OK, I gotta get back to Call Of Duty: MW3, because it's been like 10 minutes since I've played in and I'm jonesing bad! LOL Sorry to Demon Lung for not making their gig with High On Fire - same apology to the Civilians who I was going to watch before going to the Demon Lung / High On Fire gig! heh heh Thank you to Jeff from The Bitters for the CD's - very much appreciated. Thanks to Her for always keeping things interesting. <3 Thanks to the random guy from Russia who contacted me for the Interview about the viability of the Las Vegas Punk Rock Music Scene - I'm pretty positive I will never see it or hear it, but damn was it fun! hahahaha And it hurts to say this but Thank You to the Denver Broncos for beating the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday, leaving the Oakland Raiders in sole possession of 1st place in the AFC West. People, Life is Good!!! :-) New Pictures added, everything's updated, yada yada yada.

She's waiting for me, but I'm a long, long way from Home. :-)

Today is November 11th, 2011, which means...

Yup! Today, everything gets turned up to 11!! Who wants to think about what our War Veterans have done for our Country, let's just bask in the warming ignorance and brilliant stupidity that is Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap. He has an armadillo in his trousers and it's really quite frightening. :-)

And... speaking of the Veterans, here's the #1 Reason Why Nothing's Getting Done On The Website:

Yeah, shit's come to a grinding halt around here, with pretty much all of my free time devoted to playing this. Well, that and going to the Hospital for a bit of an emergency visit. They did give me a bit of unsettling news while I was there, but I'm not putting too much into it right now. P.M.A., right? Right!

When I'm not yelling profanities at inanimate objects or throwing up blood for hours on end I'm trying to get stuff up on here, and since I'm usually snookered off my gourd half the time I write this, the occasional mistake or 2 or 7 will pop up on here, and I made a doozy in my last posting concerning that High On Fire gig @ the Beauty Bar this Sunday. It's not Dead Neon that's opening up that gig - it's Demon Lung! Damn that O.G Sour Kush! ha ha ha Anyways, it's Demon Lung who will be rattling the walls of the Beauty bar on Sunday and I'm assured by the Band that they will play NO Black Sabbath covers in their set! LOL They have new songs to play now, and I for one can't wait to hear them. See ya there!

_And another thing you will see me at is that Mapes gig @ the Arts Factory on Saturday. It's something for the Grand Opening of 3 new stores inside of there, including Lord Baron Von Dong-Dong's new comic book store, HellPop!, and there's a bunch of bands playing, like My First Rodeo, Fredward, The Who's Next, Electric Hessian, The Cowboy Luggage Salesman and Sheep On A Cliff, and it's FREE and it's All Ages, so nobody has an excuse not to be there. Nobody! I'm blowing off the live cast performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show @ the Sci-Fi Center to see the Mapes, because I can't even think of the last time I saw them, and that's not a good thing. :-(

I mean, what else are you gonna do on a Saturday night? Hang out at the Grand Opening of the new Goth Club here in Vegas? ;-)

Yeah, apparently Scoundrels has been doing sooooooo good with their little twice a month Goth night that now Artifice is looking into tapping some of that crowd to hang out at their bar downtown, which I personally don't mind. I love hanging out at Goth bars, and I got nothing but Love L-U-V down there at Artifice, so it's a win-win for me! Woo Hoo!

And speaking of winning...

I think that's all that needs to be said about that... heh heh heh The Raiders are #1 in the AFC West, and I for one couldn't be happier. :-)

I'm not gonna be at this gig, but maybe you should be! :-) I only post this flyer because I got nothing but Good Good Things for the critters in the Civilians, so if you're into Kevin Seconds or chicks from L.A. playing crappy covers of some English punk band, then stop by the Bunkhouse on Sunday. Hoist a few pints for me, won't ya mate? Oi! ha ha ha

_Well, the sun is hiding behind the gray clouds. My buzz is wearing off. It's 7:45 in the morning. I gotta get back to playing video games and watching The Three Amigos. :-) Have a great weekend everyone. I'll be around. Promise!