Bob and I have been kicking this one back and forth since finding out the terrible news yesterday that Will Watkins had passed away a few days earlier. It definitely hit hard since we both had so much love for that crazy critter. A true LV Punk Rocker if there ever was one, and definitelty a local legend in the music scene. He should have a plaque somewhere in this city letting people know that they missed out on knowing a true Vegas legend, someone that those of us who knew him well can say without the slightest bit of hesitation. Will was a bit of a nutter, a character if you must, someone you'd never forget after meeting him once and I'm gonna miss him terribly now that hes gone. Sooooooo many memories... soooooooo many good times and laughter shared with that kid that I first met hanging around The Underground record store way back in the daze. After that I would see him everywhere - every Punk gig, Punk show, Punk event or gathering, he was always there, hanging about with his skateboard and his dog, always just smiling and enjoying the moment.  I'm not gonna eulogize him by trying to paint him as a saint because he wasn't, but what he was was a good man who had his own demons to fight like all of us and who paid the price for his personal battles as we all will. My condolances go out to his family and friends during this trying time. It's sad that Death has to appear to make us realize just how special people are in our lives, and all the time i gor to spend with Will was a gift, truly a blessing. Save me a seat at the bar hombre. Until we meet again...

Go easy, step lightly, stay free. 

     I love it when I hear people play my drum lines completely wrong and messed up... heh It amuses me. No need to explain why. It just does. 

Circles man. It's a trip. Everything works in circles. Like sometimes you're doing something, and a year later you're back at the same point. You understand that? I do now. 😉

Happy New Years everyone. 22's gotta be better than 21, right? Right! 😎

     I saw an ad for the upcoming Sparks movie The Sparks Brothers at 3 in the morning one day, being promoted as a 'new arrival' on some bootleg movie site that I frequent, and I did the standard Bugs Bunny double take on it when I saw what it was and the band it was promoting. "WTF? A movie about Sparks, a band I've been seeing since the 1970's and who I drove to LA to see play with my POS ex-wife just a few years ago? This I gotta see!" I clicked on the link and spent the next few hours transfixed to the magical story of the musical entity known as Sparks, and after the movie was done I stood and applauded for not only one of the best band documentaries I've ever seen, but one of the best movies period  I've ever seen as well. The presentation, the way the story is told, it all is beautifuly well put together, with a kick ass soundtrack and some amazing live footage that even I have never seen before! ha ha This movie is more about the brothers than the band, thus the title, but as you watch the flick you soon see that the pair are forever entertwined. Sparks is the Russell brothers. The Russell brothers are Sparks. This movie is soooooo cool. If you're a Sparks fan then I'm sure you probably know all about it and have watched it already a few times like I have, but even if you're not a Sparks fan, you'll still enjoy it because it's so well written and put together. Plus, you may realize that you're more of a fan of the band than you know... heh It's gonna be on some streaming service sometime soon I'm assuming or it's gonna come out on DVD, but in any case do yourself a favor and check out this amazing movie about Sparks called The Sparks Brothers ("Sparks is a band... duuude") and be entertained and enthralled by one of the most productive, critically acclaimed, and adored bands to ever walk the face of the Earth, the misanthropic musical entity simpky known as Sparks, which is a much better name for a band than Half Nelson don't ya think? 😋

Well that didn't take long, now did it? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Notice anything different on the flyer posted over there? Of course you do, because you're on social media like the rest of the world, and everybody and their mom is sharing their thoughts and opinions on the matter, with the matter being, of course, NOFX voluntarily removing themselves from playing Punk Rock Boring this year, out of fear of death threats and things of that ilk. I mean, go figure, right? I guess more people than I thought didn't forgive or forget what the band said a few years ago, and rightly so. It's hard to express sincerity when you're only saying what some lawyer told you to say to try to save your corporate sponsorship deal. #fakeasfuck And replacing NOFX with the Descendents, is, well, I didn't know they could stack shit so high, but here we are! 😁 This PRB thing really has turned into an 80's revival booze cruise hasn't it, catering to old nostalgic people, and where a bunch of bands waaaaaaaayyyy past their prime play their greatest hits set to an audience comprised of people too young to have seen the band play before or people too stupid to have not seen the band play before. Oh well. It's not like I was planning on going, not like I care if you do. I just thought it was funny the backlash over NOFX, a band who's whole schtick was being "edgy and controversial", and them being kicked out by the "edgy and controversial" scene they helped establish and build, and yet Leftover Crack, with their shirts emblazoned with "Kill Cops" and "Shoot The Kids At School", a thing they did right after the Columbine shooting, are allowed to play and in a pretty good spot on the bill too! Hypocritical much PRB? hahahaha. I could go on but for what? Who cares? It was just something I wanted to point out, that's all. Everything's updated, all sorts of stuff added, browse around, look around, check it out or don't. Doesn't matter, don't care. I do it for me, not you. I do it because I have to. I do it because I am compelled. 😁

     I at one time on Facebook had achieved a personal nirvana of sorts by eliminating any mention from the clueless simps who gushed and fawned over the latest serving of watered down baby shit that the millionaires behind the cash grab called Punk Rock Boring were putting forth on any year, unfollowing probably about half of my friends on there just to avoid the embarrassment of seeing what they were excited about. Frank Turner? Streetlight Manifesto? REALLY??? 🤢🤢🤢 So with all the Drama with a capital 'D' going on with me as of late, and the new Facebook account in use because of it, I woke up the other afternoon to all sorts of notifications from the chimpanzees I call friends about PRB, and again, it was pretty embarrassing. Wow... I mean, WTF? Somebody remind me again on what stage NOFX was standing on when they made those hilarious observations on that Route 91 shooting a few years back that triggered all sorts of angry music fans, especially here in Vegas, and resulted in a huge backlash for the band that led them to basically being banned from playing anywhere in the USA? Oh yeah, it was on the PRB stage, where they were headlining said event a few years ago... just like Devo was headlining the PRB stage a few years ago... just like Flag was headlining the  PRB stage a while ago... just like the The Dropkick Murphy's did, or like the Descendents did as well, or like GBH did as well, and, see what I'm saying? And that Circle Jerks thing? Don't even get me going on how pathetic that embarrassing cash grab is. But didn't they play this thing before, or am I just tripping? Meh. Who cares. I think most people forget how bad these reunion bands were before they broke up, and their thirst for nostalgia, and their yearning to be a part of a scene they were too young or too scared of to be a part of at the time. Seriously. And what makes you think these bands will be any better now? Because they replaced original members with hired guns who are young enough to be their grandchildren? hahaha Yeah right!! Whatever though. Drink it up suckers! I hear this years flavor of Kool-Aid is the best tasting EVER!! 🤣
     And, as usual, it's not how good you are or how strong your draw is, or how long you've been around, or even your relevancy in the local music scene as a band that matters to get the "honor" of playing the PRB festival, nope, it's all about who you know, and the guy you gotta know this year to get on the bill is an asshat ass kissing idiot full of cool brags that are only impressive to those of us who haven't done them as well. Yawn. I don't know why bands want to play that corporate shit show so badly anyways. It's not like they're gonna do anything with the chance they are given, I mean what local band ever did? What local band ever got signed by a real label because of their appearance on the PRB stage? What bigger band ever saw the local opening band and said "hey, you guys are great! You should open up our next tour for us?" You're playing in the background as the sheep are first being let in to stand around being fleeced by all the corporate sponsors of said event, sheep drinking overpriced microbrews from the comfort of the shaded VIP area with seats they paid extra for, because they're old, and because nostalgia fueled events like this are catered to old people with money like them, looking for things to spend their money on, looking to buy some memories, taking a mini-vacation, as I've heard it referred to. And that's fine. I had stopped posting on here about the PRB farce, because who cares, right, I mean, who cares about a thing that I'm not even attending, I mean, I'm no ageist!! I'm no contrarian like everybody says!! 😂 But after waking up and checking out what everyone is excited about this year, once again, all I can do is shake my head and laugh at what has become of the music scene that I love so much and had a tiny part in putting on the map. Le sigh. I mean, have fun at it though. Nothing wrong with putting on a costume and dressing up and spending a little money to try to pretend to be something that you're not, if even for only a day, but I usually do it at Halloween, not at PRB... heh

     Saturday's trip out to Newberry Springs, CA for the Spring Jam At The Ranch thingy was fun! The weather was gorgeous, it was only a little over an hours drive away, and the turnout was pretty good, and just showed in a positive way how ready people are to put this pandemic BS behind us and get back to seeing bands play live, and whether that's a good thing or not will soon to be seen as the death toll rises or falls. It was great seeing so many familiar and happy faces again, there were all sorts of cool and interesting vendors selling all sorts of shit, everything from cinnamon buns to greasy ass tacos to skate/punk clothing, sort of like a swapmeet setting but with skating involved, and bands raging full on in the background while everything was going on. The music was sounding good too, with a pro sound guy running things for the bands and a DJ spinning 70's Punk tunes from pretty colored vinyl in between band sets. I wasn't paying any of it much attention though, instead focusing on talking to everyone who was there that I hadn't seen in years (ouch) and just catching up with what everyone has been up to as of late, but band wise The Runts were really good, reminding me of Circle One for some reason, and Guilty By Association played a set that showed they need to practice more before a gig! hahahahah It wasn't that they were making mistakes, it was just that they were... forgetting things. You know how old guys are. 😁 Oh who fucking cares! It was a great time, cool vibes, like the old desert gigs were back in the days in the middle of nowhere or up in the caves, and I had fun. Cheers! to Dan and the guys in Since We Were Kids for putting it all together and making it happen. It was a cool way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and I'd definitely do it again.