Oh what a night! <3

With a darkened mini-ramp in place, the LVCS was off the hook Saturday night for the JFA skate rock fiesta happening downtown! Kudos to Blue Tile Lounge Presents for making it all happen, and to Tim and the LVCS for putting that ramp in - finally! Next time there may even be some lighting in there so that the skaters can see what they're doing and what they're skating on. It was a great turnout; enthusiasm and energy levels in the place was at an all time high, and if it wasn't for those dickheads in Roid Rage it would of been a perfect gig. They were 2nd band up on the bill, they knew they had an 8:45 start time (us bands were given the set times days earlier), and yet they didn't go on until 10:00, basically am hour and a half wait. Yeah, people were leaving and if I didn't have to play I would of left too. Because of them every bands set got cut short, with G.F.I. getting ROBBED because they were the out of town band, I guess. Their short set sounded spectacular, though, and I hope that 'this is our final gig ever' BS isn't true. Every other band sounded great. Guilty By Association sounded excellent from the hallway where I was setting my drum set up. IDFI were fucking crazed in their musical onslaught, and Mersa were intensely moody, sounding like Amebix or Doom on an angry day. Loved it. And J.F.A., oh my goodness, J.F.A. were glorious, feeding off the crowd's enthusiasm and circle pit action from the opening song to the last one played with a kick ass set chock full of everything and anything that you could think of. At one point they were just taking requests from the audience, playing whatever was being called out on the fly. Such a fun night. Expect a write up real soon. :-)

The Ditch Dust BBQ 2013 was a blast! Thanx again to Blue Tile Lounge Presents for putting it all together, and to Steve and Double Down Radio for the appropriate soundtrack to everything. Excellent turnout, the Hawaiian hot dogs were worth the drive, and there were some kick ass skaters tearing shit up out there, including the guys from J.F.A., all of them making the most of the spot until way after the sun went down. Basically we all went straight from Boulder City to the gig Downtown, stopping only to drop people off and to grab the gear. It was a fun time, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Everything is updated. Loads of photos coming soon. I'm going back to bed. This Punk Rock shit is fucking draining on us old guys. :-)

It's not like there isn't anything else going on that night, stuff that was planned weeks if not months in advance, and it's not like whoever put the gig together couldn't of looked on the Interwebz to see if anything was already scheduled that night and maybe picked a day where a lot of bands that were already playing gigs weren't playing gigs, a day where nothing else was going on, ya know? It's not like Clay is going anywhere, right? That motherfucker is here to stay, for a very long time. I wish I could be there. Badly. Whoever scheduled this gig needs a calendar. Badly.

The gig I'm referring to is Clay's Benefit Show going on this Sat. @ the Motor City Cafe. Take off that ghey ass Thee Dickless Bastards yawn inducing farce and you have one Hell of a line up there. The Civic Minded Five reunion is worth it alone, and having Shark Pants on the bill just makes this incredible. Plus the Seriouslys (who just finished recording this weekend somewhere in L.A.) Fredward (who I haven't seen yet but have heard nothing but great things about), and the Stormtroopers Of Dirk and Fuzz Solow just make it even more fun. Le sigh. I wish I could be there. Hell, I would LOVE to be there, but alas, I have a previous commitment I must attend to first, and that's the destruction of the LVCS that evening with J.F.A. <3 Anyways, it's a great gig for an even greater cause, and if you're like me and can't make it out to the gig that evening, a PayPal account has been set up by No Sale Radio for contributions, and you can click here to go to the page with all the info you need about donating to the cause. Give until it hurts motherfuckers.

I didn't see this when it came out, I guess last week or whatever, but there's a great quote from me in the story Jarret Keene did on Mercy Music, which is Brendan from Deadhand's acoustic Hippy beardcore project, and you can click here to read the whole thing. I love that guy something fiercely but I still stand by my comment stated in the write up. Also the tag line above the website header says it all perfectly for me. I hate that beardcore shit. Playing power chords on an acoustic guitar does not make you a thoughtful train hopping troubadour. What it makes you is a Hippy. Not Johnny Cash, not Hank Williams, not Woody Guthrie, but a Hippy. Welcome to the world of Peter, Paul And Mary. You all should be very proud... heh heh

if it isn't one thing it's another. I can't seem to catch a break! LOL If it's not one piddly ass piss ant thing after another, ya know?

I came Home after an incredible Saturday night out with Friends and Family, starting off with Mike's Surprise Birthday Party get together @ P.T's Pub, and then the White Kaps / Glue Gun gig @ Favorites, and I took lots of photos of both events. I uploaded them to the portable hard drive connected to my computer when I got the chance, and then I passed out happy and content. I awoke the next afternoon and began to start editing them to post them up on Facebook and shit and my computer isn't reading the device. I can't access the pictures. Strange. I start and restart the computer, but it still doesn't read the hard drive. I try using a different USB port, I try starting/restarting the portable hard drive itself, I switch out the cords, try it in Safe mode, nothing works. I am fucking screwed. All my Pictures were on there - ALL of them. Years worth. Like I said, if it's not one thing it's another... phooey!

I'm not letting it get to me though - nope! I know there's a way to salvage everything that's on there (I hope!), and I had too much fun hanging out and making the scene these past few days to let it deter me at this particular moment. Nope! There's too much going on to be Positive about, like this Ditch Dust BBQ thing happening this weekend - click here to check out the Facebook page with all the info. It's being brought to you by Blue Tile Lounge Presents, Let It Roll Skateboarding, ODCFX.com and Double Down Radio. Oh, and the Hawaiian Hot Dog people are going to be there as well, just in case you get the munchies or something. ;-) It's all going down in Boulder City this Sat afternoon, and it's being hosted by Brian Brannon of J.F.A., who are playing later that night at the LVCS with Guilty By Association, IDFI, American Buckshot, G.F.I. from Slam Diego who, if you haven't seen them play before, are fanfuckingtastic, and Mersa, who are pretty good themselves. Yeah, it's gonna be a fun filled, long and busy day on Sat., and if you're not doing anything else, you should consider hanging out. The skate thing is free, and it's only $5 to get into the gig later that night. That's some pretty cheap entertainment right there. Probably cost you more for gas and beer than anything else. Wait - did I say 'probably'? I meant to say 'definitely'. ;-)

Everything is updated. Loads of new stuff posted and available for your perusal - stuff like the Gig Review Dean did for the Vegascendents gig @ the Double Clown a few weeks ago, and you can click here to check that out. And speaking of Gig Reviews, Senor Karl Bakla did one for the Rapewhistle / Fuck The Facts / Gods America / Nests gig @ Favorites that went down a few weeks ago, and you can click here to read that one. I also posted some Pictures of the Tinglerz playing @ the LVCS (click here to check them out) and Soto St. playing @ the Double Clown - click here to check those out. I also had a new posting in the Tunes section on a Legendary Las Vegas Hardcore band called O.T. Factor for their 2nd release called Legends, but I found that the band had released the stuff on their old Myspace page, so I 86'd it. I really knew nothing about the band, and I still don't, but they do have a Facebook page, so click here to check out what they're up to now, and click here to go to the bands Myspace page to see what they were up to back then, and to listen to the Legends release, as well as some other songs from another release of theirs. Again, good stuff.

What an eventful week. Big ass meteors hitting the Earth, I had emergency surgery on my toofuses that had me hospitalized again, Clay got his cancerous kidney removed (Dr.s reported that it tested at 80 proof) and I spent the most wonderful Valentine's Day with a girl that will always and forever have my Heart and Soul, and she knows it - oh, and of course, Bob was there, my faithful Gunga Din like manservant and sexual confidante. I lost a few acquaintances too, including a girl that I had not seen for years, since like before the Infestshit days, and she passed away but I'm glad I got to see her before she went. When I saw her, I thought to myself, I know that girl from somewhere. She had grown up, gotten healthy, and was looking Happy and not as Punk Rock as she used to look. "Helloooo Gillll-buuuurrrt" she yelled at me, and I laughed because the way she said my name made me instantly recognize who she was. We hugged, we chatted about the old days, all the Drama that went down, had a beer, some laughs, and then we split, promising to add each other on Facebook and all that BS. Never did, and now she's gone. That fucking sucks. Another girl I know passed away this morning, the day after Valentine's Day. Her Facebook page is full of well wishes and naughty E-cards, chock full of her funny, smart ass comments, and now she too is gone. Both of these girls were in their early 20's, much too fucking young to be over and done. I hurt for their Family and Friends who have to deal with this shit way too soon. I hate sounding like a broken record but seriously, don't take anything for granted. Let people know how you feel about them. You just never fucking know...

OK. Calm before the storm. Nothing much going on this weekend except for that White Kaps gig on Sat.. I'm afraid to go for fear of running into someone else I haven't seen in a while and having them pass away from me too soon as well. Whatever. The funk I'm in will pass. Life is Beautiful. I'm listening to the Cure. It reminds me of Her, and all the others like her who have passed in and out of my Life. I will miss you. I love you all.

Fri. Night:

I missed out on Tartar Control. Everyone that was there said they were amazing. The shenanigans I did get into that night instead of the gig were astonishing though. I went from having a quiet romantic dinner night staying in to running wild in the streets until 2 pm. the next day. I was in bed by 3. I think I was doing OK so far. :-)

Saturday:

Up at 8 pm, out of bed by 9. Jeremy and Bob arrive and we're on our way to the gig @ the Double Clown by 10. Commence hard drinking immediately upon arrival.  Opening bands were pretty craptacular, but Soto St. was pretty good. They totally copped that China White riff though... heh heh The Vegascendents played a spectacular set, from what I'm told. I missed the girl go go dancing, I missed the pit action and stage diving, but I did see the band head for higher ground when the slamming got out of hand... LOL It was a fun night and Thanx! to everyone for all the free booze and well wishes. As you can see on the front of the website, Bob had a lot more fun than I did though... heh heh heh It was my birthday, and Bob is the one who's passed out and puking on the sidewalk - go figure. And as for the ensuing shenanigans immediately afterwords, the names and places have been changed to protect the guilty, for you see, no one was innocent that night - nope! hahaha Blackmail pictures exist. I'm working with my Lawyer to prevent them from ever seeing the light of day. I'm in bed by 1 pm. Annihilated.

Sunday:

I'm up at 2 pm. On the way to Jesse and Roxie's by 3. Next thing I know is I'm splitting a bottle of Pendleton with Brandi Lynn, Zak's better half who also had a birthday this weekend and she was at the Double Clown on Sat. and celebrating hard too. We had an amazing beef brisket dinner with Family and Friends and ate purple cake and watched Sugar Man and The Who - Live in '75 videos. The cool kids played Super Mario Bros Wii. The rest of us watched. The bad kids were outside smoking. The rest of us drank. I was in bed by midnight, after Bob stopped by to unload the van and apologize for dropping the ball. I told him to shut up and not worry about it. I was hallucinating and seeing double by the time I passed out. Seriously.

And here we are today. I woke up at 1 pm, finished off that beef brisket Roxie sent me Home with, caught up on Facebook crap and Thanked everyone for the birthday well wishes, and sat in front of my monitor and watching Howard Stern roasts and trying to make sense of it all. Thanks to everyone for all the fun. I wished for nothing and got everything. It was the best. <3

I've been hyping up this Tartar Control gig big time on Facebook as of late. Tyson turned me onto these fine distinguished gentlemen last year and I've been mildly obsessed with them ever since. I love their videos, and I subscribe to their YouTube channel, where they post their responses to viewer mail. I've been dying to see them play live, and here they are in Vegas, finally playing, and I'm not gonna be there. I can't be there. I don't support the Double Clown. I don't see bands that play there. My Friends bands play there all the time, and I don't go see them either. I don't feel bad for missing their gigs, but I'm sad I'm gonna be missing this one. It would be the perfect way to kick off my birthday weekend celebration, but I just can't. I just can't. It's bad enough I'm playing a gig there tomorrow with the Vegascendents, and the thought of me spending 2 days of my birthday weekend at that cess pool is just too depressing for me, so for that reason, and a few others, I gotta miss Tartar Control blow minds and lay waste to that place. Phooey. That doesn't mean that you can't go though. In fact, I highly encourage you to go. This band is fucking great and if you miss out on seeing them here then you're a Fool. And I'm the biggest Fool of them all. :-) Have a great weekend - I know I'm going to. Oh, and if you are going to that Tartar Control gig, and you get the chance, tell Robot I said 'Hello'! :-)