Sunday Blahs

The concert was fun at The Chancery. I felt a little goofy on Saturday for some reason (and I wasn't even liquored up!)

The acoustic thing is cool, I like doing it, but I think we need to work on making a sold 2-hour set. We probably have about an hour or so of material that looks and sounds great when we play unplugged. It might be worth really working on an acoustic set if that's something we planned on doing all the time.

I think that's part of the greater issue: When you're working on a live show, to what audience and venue are you suiting it for? When people go see a show that they expect to be an original concert, they expect to see 30-40 minutes of your band's music if you're the opener, and about an hour of material if you're the headliner.

When you're in a bar whose used to cover bands, they expect at least 2 to 3 hours of music and they usually don't care if it's cover or original (some of them do, but most are just looking to fill time with "live entertainment".)

We've been lucky to be able to play a lot of different places by having a more diverse set, being flexible, and having a bunch of covers that we can throw out when we run out of our A material, the fact that we're not too stuck up about what we have to play to be able to get into a venue. But sometimes I think that it might be hurting us to learn and work on stuff that's not our own, because we're deviating from the process of writing or fine-tuning our music to make it better.

That's what an acoustic set feels like sometimes, are we taking away time from being the best electric band we can be by concentrating on something that's not our specialty? Probably not, because some acoustic versions of songs take on a life of their own. But it's better to make sure that the material we're taking the time to work on sounds as good as it can and it accomplishes what we do best.

Here's an example. I think learning "Time in a Bottle" would be awesome for an acoustic show, but unless we're gonna make it our own, it's just not worth the effort and the time to make it sound great and our own. We only have a finite amount of time between working, living, trying to promote, etc... we have to focus on making the 45 minute show (which is probably the category of venue and band that we should be probably trying to fit into) the most intense and very best we possibly can, then maybe stretch that time into something longer and with a different energy at another venue. The problem is that the venues in the smaller towns that demand the longer shows pay a lot more than the venues in the cities. At this stage of the game, that money can be important to keep the rockstar lifestyle afloat. Less competition, heavier drink sales, more appreciation, I don't know exactly that is, but that's the way it goes. I guess to keep doing what we do, we have to keep balancing between having longer sets at some places, shorter ones at others, acoustic here and electric there, but how do we make sure we get maximum impact at each one?

That's the shitty part to figure out, I guess.

Acoustic Sweetness Tonight

Well, I finally did find a sound system and picked it up today. Thanks to the people that contacted us and offered to help!

I think tonight will be fun. I like acoustic shows because we hardly have to do shit to set up. When you're in a band, 75% of what you do is haul crap around.

I think some of the clubs that have house drumsets, guitar and bass cabinets, amps, and the like are the ones that have it really together. Sure, the musician might complain because he or she can't get their 'distinctive' sound (which in a small club will probably sonud bad anyway), but it helps because instead of all the setup and tear down you can focus on meeting the people who came to your show instead of bringing the fucking van around the front and racing to get your gear off the stage before the next band is up. Plus, the soundguy knows how to run the house system, knows how to make the drums sound great, knows the proper volume level of the guitars for the room, etc... AND there's less shit laying around to get lost.

The idea is to keep the patrons entertained so they sit around and drink some more, right? Well, 45 minute set changes aren't really ideal for that, but they're great for boring the shit outta the nice people who paid $5 to watch your band play and too long of sets are excellent for driving out the fans of one band while the other band drags on...

Sorry, don't mean to be cynical today. I'm in a good mood. I think the crapola weather might be getting to me. I think Wisconsin (in all of its flyover cow-tipping glory) is a great place with definitely some of the coolest, most down-to-earth, no bullshit people anywhere, but I sure as fuck hate the cold. People migrated here? Why, was it too warm where they were from? That's okay, there's a lot here that makes up for the cold. But sometimes I still grab old cans of hairspray and go outside and shoot them in the air hoping that global warming will come to Wisconsin faster. Hey, it looked warm in Waterworld!

Are we all idiots?

Check this out. Heidi Klum is McDonald's new spokeswoman. What the fuck? Is the world on PCP? She says she enjoys eating healthy and well, but also a glass of wine and french fries every once in awhile. The article goes on to say Heidi Klum is curvaceous... I can't disagree with that remark. But I wouldn't call her exactly muthafuckin' Rubenesque. If she sucks down french fries on a regular basis you can be damn sure she's on her knees purging in the Kohler an hour later.

Do we really need a supermodel spokeswoman representing one of the largest contributors to obesity in America? Can the world of advertising fuck with women's self-esteem even more? Yes, please, let's make girls think even worse of themselves because they eat at McDonald's and don't have Heidi Klum's ass... can we possibly make it any harder to get laid?

On another note, this day sucks balls, because I'm have to work today instead of laying around at home nursing my Thanksgiving food hangover AND I have to track down a PA system for our acoustic show tomorrow night. Which means I have to call every fucking music store in Milwaukee and see if they rent. Half of them already said no because I'm from outta town. Christ, I'm just trying to get a powered mixer and some speakers, it's not like I asked to have sex with your daughter. Gimme the fricking PA, already.

Happy Thanksgiving, yo!

Hope you guys enjoy your Tofurkey and don't have any family fistfights!

Wow, this band is madder than Hell

I just got this email from one of my favorite Chicago bands, M.O.T.O. (Masters of the Obvious) and it's the most pissed off email I've seen from a band in a long time. I didn't mean to laugh, but the last line made me crack up. But definitely check M.O.T.O. out, they're a lotta fun and really nice guys.

NOTE: We ask any and all Chicago music fans to please
never go the Subterranean on 2011 W. North Ave.

There was an altercation at the Subterranean last
Saturday at the Horizontal Action zine-release show
where the Subterranean bouncers responded to the
misconduct of one patron (who threw an empty beer can
into the street from an upstairs window) by rushing
upstairs and shoving, sucker-punching and beating on
random members of the audience (men and women).

One bouncer even viciously shoved Amanda from the
Krunchies from behind in the merch table, then tried
to tell police later that she tried to shove him down
the stairs. (Amanda's barely five feet tall and the
bouncer is considerably larger).

So if you disapprove of big thick-necked cocksuckers
who get off on pushing around women and and other
defenseless people, then please NEVER GO TO THE
SUBTERRANEAN AGAIN. Fuck them, fuck their mothers and
fuck the churches their mothers go to.

I just knew it

Now, they're saying that there might be a racial element to the deer hunting murders. I thought about that. Gun season means that guys who like to kill things will be drinking and their necks might get a little red. That's fine, there's some great things about being a redneck when it comes to hospitality, earthiness, lack of hubris, etc... there's something to be said for the "salt of the earth", but not when it comes to shooting the mouth off with racial slurs.

Of course that doesn't justify anything. But it's like in Die Hard 3, when Bruce Willis has to carry that sign in Harlem saying that said, "I Hate <derogatory remark about black people>". What does one expect? This dude is probably just using this as an excuse to why he snapped and garner some sympathy for being a minority (especially one that Uncle Sam we screwed over and sold out in 'Nam, just like the Kurds in Gulf War I.)

That's not the point, though. When are we going to stop with this kinda shit? This Vang guy is probably as guilty as sin, but the thing is, when someone says that the victims were whipping racial slurs at the guy, we all kinda expected it. This shouldn't even be an issue, but it is. I've seen ignorance and prejudice against the Hmong population firsthand when I lived in La Crosse. It goes beyond jokes.

Northern Wisconsin isn't 1862 Mississippi, these people have just as much access to education and the Internet, TV, culture, whatever, as anyone who lives in any large city, there's no excuse for it. I'm not saying that it's their fault in the slightest, but if they did throw out a bunch of slurs, could their deaths have been avoided? Could they have staved off the wrath of a madman just by not being stupid?

The coolest-looking Xmas movie ever!

Santa's Slay starring Goldberg as a killer Santa! Awesome. If you don't believe me on how sweet this looks, check out this delightful Christmas picture.

I haven't seen a good cheesefest in awhile, and this one has Sonny from The Godfather, himself, Mr. James Caan, Robert Culp (remember the FBI Agent from The Greatest American Hero?), and my ex-girlfriends, Rebecca Gayheart and Fran Drescher. Anyway, I just thought I'd share that tidbit because all my friends want to go see all the Christmas pussy-fests like The Bipolar Express or The Incrediblamebles.

Waukesha RiverFest Cancelled

Here's come disappointing news. They had a record crowd this year (which I would like to think is due to our show there on Friday, ha!) It was our first big festival and it was a chance to play with bands that were extremely influential to us (Sponge and SevenMaryThree, well, at least Sponge was very influential, too bad they were piss drunk when we met them.) Plus, we got an air-conditioned trailer with free beer in it (I'm trying to figure which was more important to us!)

So, it's too bad they're not having it again, but thanks for a great time this Summer.

What is going on Up North?

JS Online: Details emerge about rampage that killed 5 hunters

Every year a coupla hunters get whacked accidentally, but this is downright terrifying. At first, I thought he might be someone who was used by the CIA or something in Vietnam because he's from Laos and now he's a crazed killing machine, but he's only 38 so he was 9 when we pulled out of Saigon. I guess he's had some "military experience" but what would cause him to crack like that?

The wounded hunters had to put his tag number in the dust on the window of the back of an ATV. It's like a movie, this guy is crazy.

My birthday

Wow, I'm 28 today. Guess I'll never be a true rockstar. Dead by 27 was an idea for an album name that never made the cut. Too grim for us. Too obvious, really. We're more clever than that.

Maybe we'll have fun tonight. I'll let you know.

Guess who met Art from Everclear on Wednesday? Yeah, that's right. I accidentally talked shit to him too. You have to admit, Songs From An American Movie Vol. 1 was kind of a pussy album. He said Vol 2 was the one he liked better. Yep, thanks for keeping it real, Art. The show was awesome and they are a great live band. We'll hafta post the pictures.

Take The Geek Test

If you're looking to see just how much of a knob you really are, The Geek Test is for you.

I know some people who might score pretty high on this. Myself, I scored a 39.44773%, which puts me into "major geek" range, but comfortably out of the "complete geek" category. Anyway, it's a cool way to blow twenty minutes. [Who is this twenty minutes person? -ed Never mind.]

Something we could do with stupid people?

Yahoo! News - Birth Control Darts May Target Kangaroos, Koalas

It would totally give hunters something to do in their off-season. Darwin would be proud.

Dr. Diamond David Lee Roth?

CNN.com - David Lee Roth training to become EMT - Nov 16, 2004

That is just about the funniest shit I've heard all week. Maybe he should put on that doctor's outfit from the "Just a Gigolo" video.
Now, I adore DLR as an artist, entertainer, and all-around hedonist. Sometimes I think he's batshit crazy like when he did that Las Vegas act or sometimes I think he's borderline moronic like when he got arrested for buying pot in Central Park for $10.

But would you trust Diamond Dave with your life? Christ, this a guy whose nose used to be nicknamed 'Jack Frost'. Okay, I don't know that for sure. I hope he doesn't do any high kicks in the ambulance. Don't you think there's at least some kind of STD you could get from him performing CPR on you?

Muse last night

Got back from the Muse show in Milwaukee last night a little after Midnight and I think it's easily one of the best performances I've seen all year. Even better, a scalper got us tickets for $10 on the way in. So that meant, NO TICKETMASTER FEES. Awesome. Also, we ran into one of our friends from the Madison band, Polymorphous Perverse, which has got to be one of the sweetest band names out there right now. They're a very cool group, check em out if you're into techno-metal. It was sweet running into others Madisonians in the basement of The Rave. I'd never seen a show there before, and I don't know if I'd go to another one- the stage is really, really short, so it's hard to see the singer. However, that didn't stop the show from being way sexcellent.

The lead singer's delivery was absolutely spot on, nearly flawless. He shredded both on guitar and keyboards. He didn't say a single word to the audience, there was no bullshit or pretense, they just played. The bass player's head bobbed with every single beat of the night, I don't think he missed one. Either his neck is made of steel, or it feels like hell this morning. The drummer said thanks a coupla times near the end of the set.

They opened with "Hysteria" and covered most of the songs off of "Absolution". The beginning was ballad-loaded (it was a Sunday night, after all.) The crowd went crazy for "Sunburn" but the real kicker was "Butterflies and Hurricanes", when they hit it on that one, people really got into it. And the bass player was doing some impressive two-handed tapping on that tune. It was one of the show's highlights. That picked up the energy for the end of the set and when they launched into "Plug-In Baby", everybody was juiced. (It was mainly a hipster crowd, so a lot of people were too cool to rock, but by the end they'd shed some of their more-fashionable-than-thou facades.) They closed with "Stockholm Syndrome", and I really thought they'd encore with "Muscle Museum", but no dice. They didn't come back out, which was weird, but I liked the fact that they really didn't play the rockstar card. They didn't need to do all of that audience pandering with their crowd. They knew that the audience was there to listen to them play the songs. When I saw Metallica, James talked like he was still in those therapy sessions from Some Kind of Monster... which was cool, but I don't think it woulda been necessary. Plus, when I went to go see Yo La Tengo a few weeks ago, their in-between song banter made them look kinda dumb. I guess it's better to shut up than to say something that makes you look stupid. Wow, there's some advice that I should take.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was the opening band, The Zutons. They played the particular brand of 70's English pub rock that I've never had much of a taste for. Think The Faces, Free, or Rod Stewart. Just more of the same retro-rock. They kept on referring to the audience as "Milwaukee" and I hate that. Every once in awhile is okay, I guess, but otherwise it's just so dumb-sounding. Thank you for remembering the name of the town you're in. We're happy you're not a complete idiot and that you can pronounce the title of the city where people paid money to see you perform, so you can stop referring to us collectively, please.

Worst example I've ever seen of that was Sammy Hagar accidentally saying, "Thanks so much, I love Michigan!" Fuck you, Sammy. Like I didn't want to kick you right in the firecrotch beforehand.

I saw Paul McCartney at his show at County Stadium in 1993 actually take a Wisconsin flag out and wave it at the audience. He hadn't been to Wisconsin since 1964 when the Beatles came to Milwaukee, so it's not like he's some massive Wisconophile. We should whoop his ass anyway for writing "Silly Love Songs". Well, at least Linda was better than Yoko...

...but not much.

Racine with The MAHP

I feel like I just read a Goofus and Gallant strip for music venues. If Friday night was Goofus then George's Tavern in Racine was definitely muthafuckin' Gallant. We get there early to drop off our stuff (after a delish lunch at one of those excellent Chicago Golden Nugget diners) and the barstaff and the management were doing everything to make the preparations for the show as nice and easy as possible. These guys not only had a great setup (good sound, nice stage, stiff drinks, hot bartenders, plenty of audience room) but they had a superb attitude. I would come back there any night of the week because it was an absolute blast.

The MAHP was definitely one of the best locals we've played with recently. Mark has a fantastic voice and his energy and attitude made it a pleasure to play with his band. They're fab. We'll definitely be with them again. It was fun getting up to sing "What I Got" with them and their Young MC to Tone Loc medley was brilliant. I also enjoyed the cameo made by Uncle Brett's buttcrack. You really had to be there.

The crowd was very cool and they actually were watching! You know how sometimes people are just wild because they're wasted or just paying attention to be polite and it's too loud to talk so they need something to do? Well, the people out on Saturday night were really paying attention. You could see them listening to the words, nodding their heads, laughing at the jokes, and participating. They were really into the show. Getting the most out of all the aspects of the performance. Just a great vibe.

This weekend was good for us, I think. I think moralizing is a good word for it. Especially after the van gave our poop chute a good rogering this week. We really got in front of a lot of new people on the I-94 corridor and they really dug us.

Haha, after the show, Uncle Brett and I were fucking famished, so we're driving down Highway 20 looking for grub wherever we could find it. We end up at this truck stop which had a 24-hour salad and soup bar (which actually was only marginally disgusting, so it was considered an excellent find (I actually enjoy congealed soup because it's always so salty)) we sit down and make a joke about "looking for lot lizards" (for the uninitiated, I'm talking about truck stop prostitutes.) Well, these two girls walking past turn around and says something about "I've worked here for years, did you say you guys were looking for 'lot lizards'?" The smile on her face totally made us realize that she was offering exactly the kind of trouble that we were not looking for. So, we mumbled something about 'yeah, right on, just kidding' and returned to our rotting lettuce. Anyway, from what I gather, if you're looking for a good time, check out the Iron Skillet on the Racine I-94 exit.

Chicago with Shooting Blanks and Gone All Summer

There were good and bad aspects about the show at Lilly's.

The good: Shooting Blanks and Gone All Summer are two very cool bands. And we love to play with them. Their energy is more infectious than gonorrhea, their songs are funny and catchy. The crowd at the show was great and receptive (and good-looking) crowd. I also think everybody played like champions. (Shooting Blanks had a fill-in bassist and he was right on.)

The bad: Lilly's is a good example of how not to run your music venue. It's in a hot-shit area of Lincoln Park and actually is a pretty cool place (awesome balcony and nice ambience) but the stage is tiny and the sound is somewhat less than great, bordering somewhere between pooptastic and craptacular. We get there, the tap was broken, so no tap beer and bottles were $5 while mixers were $6- also, no drink specials for the bands. Right away, the bartender pissed off the other bands (we didn't get there until 9:30 thanks to our flat tire (which I'm not mad about anymore, by the way... I've grown as a person.)) bickering with them about the PA system. So, the crowd had to deal with five-dollar drinks, a $6 cover for crappy sound, and not much of an alcohol selection. Look, I understand that shit happens, the beer cooling system can break, the acoustics of a room might not be awesome, but the excuse "well, that's the way things go in the city" is bullshit. That's not the way things go. We're trying to attract an audience of alcohol-purchasers into your establishment. We need HELP from the bar. You'd like more people to come into your bar because of live music, we'd like people to want to come there to see our band. What about offering an on-the-spot drink special? What about giving everybody a deal on the cover to make it more attractive? Between bands, people were going to the bar on the corner to drink. Fuck, I went to that bar three times during the night because I couldn't afford having any more in Lilly's.

I don't like to talk shit, but let's be honest. The more unpleasant a venue makes things for the people who come to see us, the less chance they have of coming back. That's bad for business on everybody's end. I've gotta hand it to our friends and it's a testament to them that they stuck it out the whole night and got into it for the bands. Thank you. The show ended up being a great time (it really did, there was a lot of energy), but it was in spite of the venue, not because of it. It was really a lot of fun, but with the energy, the people, and the atmosphere, it could have been an awesome one.

Just got my Everclear tix

In the words of Tenacious D, "Fuck Yeah!" (Sorry, I just was listening to "Kielbasa" and it's still going through my head.)

Everclear at Luther's Blues next Wednesday, hot shit. It'll probably be the closest up I ever get to see them rocking, plus the sound at Luther's is always good. It'll be a real intimate show, better than the Barrymore (but probably not as good as when they were at the Paramount back in 95... I can't believe I missed that show.) They were on Conan on Wednesday, I couldn't hear them, but Art's looking thin, eh? I hope he's not back on the vein candy.

And Muse in Milwaukee on Sunday- booyah! (ed.- What the fuck is this, Sportscenter? me.- Sorry.) So, this is gonna be a fucking sweet week for music. Plus, Chicago tonight will be fun. Last time we played with Shooting Blanks the guitar player bent over, spread his cheeks, and let us gaze romantically into his brown eye. Then he fell off the stage backwards and tried to play his guitar laying on the floor with his pants off. I almost genuflected. Anybody whose seen their "marquee" knows that they're funny, hooky, and cool dudes. Gone All Summer is great too. It's gonna be a sweet night. I can't wait. Shit, which reminds me- I need to find a hotel, fucking fast. Did someone say afterbar?

Tomorrow's gonna be cool too, but with a different kinda vibe. The MAHP (which stands for the Mark Allen Handjob Project, so it's not as weird of a name as it sounds) are cool, talented, and really earnest. I think it's gonna be a good mix-up. Alright, I better finish some shit up at work so I can feel good about pickling myself this weekend.

Now fucking get it on!

Ain't No Party Like A West Johnson Party Cuz A West Johnson Party Don't Stop

This week was full of nostalgia (and going out, the only night I missed was Tuesday!)

First, we had our 435 W. Johnson reunion dinner on Sunday night. (There was a time when Sunspot lived in a house with five other people (expanded to about fifteen over a coupla years.) About once a year, most of the people that lived there will get together and shoot the shit at this sweet Chinese buffet on the West side of town (the one by Midvale and University that seems to change names every few months.) Anyway, so that was Sunday and we proceeded to reminisce (about the multitude of times the police visited, barfing party stories, disgusting pranks, whatever...) it's a way to keep everyone's friendship fresh.

If you'd like an example of the things we'd do at the house, here's a link to the Wisconsin State Journal article that they wrote about our last house party in May 1999.

So, I also find out that my old bunkmate Jeremy is the next shoe to drop, he's getting married. And so is my friend, Robin, who visited last night, she's getting married next June. So the wedding count goes up again. Wow. I just got over five weddings in the past month, I hope everybody decides to hold off on these weddings for at least a little while. And gimme some time to fucking save up.

Robin did have the quote of the night. She said that she was reading an interview with former Milwaukeean and Boogie Nights' Roller Girl herself, Heather Graham, and in the interview, Ms. Graham said that she was looking for a "stable guy in his 30's that's down to earth, but still thinks the band has a chance." She said that completely reminded her of me. So, I figured I should call Heather Graham, except that I'm not 30 yet.

Does it really seem to people like we're holding onto something that we shouldn't? I don't think so. We have just as good of career jobs as anyone that I know and at our last few shows we've been fucking on.

Did you ever see Mumford? There's a character in that movie that has such a low opinion of himself that he gets turned down even in his own sexual fantasies. I'm not gonna be that guy. If you haven't seen the movie, check it out. If you're a Jason Lee fan (as I am), his performance is excellent.

I saw more old friends this week than I have in awhile and the one thing they keep repeating is, "Wow, Mike you haven't changed at all." Is that a good or bad thing? Am I still the same dude I've been forever? I was hoping to hear a "dude, you've totally changed, you're A LOT cooler!" or "Wow, you've changed, you look great."

Oh well, that's not that big of a deal, I just want to make sure that people don't think I'm an asshole, I guess.

Flat Tire on the Van?

Damn it! Once again, Ford Motor Company comes through and their van sticks it right in Sunspot's ass. One of these days, I'm gonna head to Detroit and find the grave of that douchebag, Henry Ford, and spit on it. Not only was he racist and anti-semitic, but his vans have consistently slammed us in our collective keisters.

I don't give a shit if he invented the assembly line. Yeah, it took a real fucking genius to figure that one out. Thank you Henry. Thank you for creating millions of shitty jobs where people learn only one selective repetitive skill, and then when the factories go outta business, they're shit outta luck. I realize that production becomes a little faster and more efficient, but you created a class of workers that are completely dependent on you! They can't do anything else. I know that aspect might not be your fault, but Christ man, you should have thought about it, for the PR alone.

Plus, your Econoline vans break down more than a menopausal divorcee watching Lifetime.

Next time, we're buying Japanese.

Scary shi-ite going down by Sunspot HQ

I'm having a hard time believing that this poor woman was murdered less than a mile down the road from our house.

I'm a big live and let live guy and I try not to be too political about things. But is there any reason that these guys shouldn't be executed? If this happened to your family member, wouldn't you want to find these guys, torture them, and shoot them in the head? Or find someone to do to them what they did to her? Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth?

They had a celebratory dinner after they killed her! If that doesn't scream electric chair, what does?

I'll settle down. I'm not some arbiter of justice, or much qualified to judge much of anything, except maybe a nude beauty pageant. And I'm not really qualified for that, I'd just like to do it.

But in our society, what's scarier than prison? At least for middle class whiteys? Nothing. Except maybe for zombies. And not the 28 Days Later explainable zombies, where the endings are happy. I'm talking George Romero-style zombies and the end of the world. That's scary. But with prison, it's the way inmates have to worry about being raped, beaten, the racial tension, the intimidation. Someone I know that went to prison took a knife to the chest as a group of 7 men tried to gang-rape him in the shower. He survived and he fended off the attack, but how long could you live in a place like that? Waking up terrified every day that someone wanted to kill you. Constant fear. People don't even live like that in the Middle East. I doubt that Martha Stewart's prison is like that, but I don't think she's the norm. I hope, when they're in the pen, that those guys get a dose of the terror that their victim received.

I just feel so awful for that lady. They found her body just a short way down the street from our new house. A really short way. It's an anamoly, I know, but it's still upsetting. It would be awful anywhere, but it feels like a David Lynch movie here.

My family is a bunch of lushes

Went to a wedding this weekend in Oak Creek (southern Milwaukee suburb) on Saturday night and click on this sentence to see about the DOUBLE MURDER the day before at the place where the reception was. Totally fucked up.

Plus, there had to have been the most sexually aggressive females I've ever seen. It was like partying in a Def Leppard video. More on that later.

Who let the Polacks out?

I'm not the world's biggest metal guy anymore (I'm not into a lot of new heavy stuff, because most of em can't write a song to save their fucking life.), but check out In Flames. If you like heavy metal, you'll be glad you did.

I got to hear some new music from our friends in Milwaukee, Random Maxx, yesterday and it's killer. Those guys can harmonize like a muthafucka.

I also went to the WAMI Seminar yesterday at Shank Hall in Milwaukee. They mostly talked about tips for recording. It was alright. We won $100 at Uncle Bob's Music Center because we entered "Scott Bakula" into their CD Roulette where it gets judged by a panel of "experts" and they talk about ways to improve the song. We always pick a tune that we think is gonna blow them away and then proceed to forcefully be given a new asshole, but they were actually complimentary this time. That's weird.

Anyway, we're gonna use that $100 on porn.

New Song

Hopefully the new song will be finished this week. It really is fun to work on and perform fresh material as well as the hits. Can't wait to get back to Chitown and Racine is always a not-so-sober good time!

The Mission last night

Great show at The Mission in Stevens Point last night. They're down to earth, cool, and unbelievably supportive of original music. EGO STROKE OF THE NIGHT: Driving into town and listening to FM90, the student radio station with the biggest signal in the Midwest, playing one of our tunes and giving away tickets to the show last night. It was completely random when we turned it on. Wendy and I were half-asleep and bucked up immediately. Jeff from the radio show, Club Wisconsin, fucking rules and he knows all the Wisconsin bands out there, ya gotta respect that. Anytime you hear something like that, it really pumps you up, to know people are out there pushing music like yours. It gives you a little more hope. Plus, it lets you be slightly self-indulgent in the van for a few minutes.

Long drive home last night (we decided not to party because I have to be at a wedding in Milwaukee tonight) but we always have Coast to Coast to keep us awake.

It's so fucking easy to be worn down. By work, by playing, by driving, by the complete implausibility of what you're seeking. One of my friends asked me one time, "if you wanna be successful in music, why would you stay in Madison?" Fuck you. I know plenty of people who took off for the coasts as soon as they could. We're the ones who are still on the road. We're the ones who didn't quit. I'll most probably live somewhere else one day, but it'll be when I want, not because I'm seeking some bullshit Pollyanna 'better life' in the big city away from the cowfuckers.

You can all just kiss off in the air,
behind my back see them stare,
they'll hurt me bad but I don't mind,
they'll hurt me bad, they do it all the time.

The Femmes didn't move anywhere, did they?

Wow, sorry about that, kinda had to vent there. Of course, I'm not trying to be unrealistic. I understand where the major media markets are. I just don't think you have to be one of the bands that moves in order to "make it". Of course, Rainer Maria did (one outta fifty.) Paris, TX was halfway broken up and living between Milwaukee and Arizona when they got signed. They just got their music in front of the right people. I think you need to build your audience before you move into the next level. You need "boots on the ground" who are ready to watch you and those peeps need to be in each city you travel to. It's just as difficult to develop that when you're in a big city as it is when you're in flyover land.

Think about it, like in the election on Tuesday. The MoveOn.org and Citizen Change people were all over, driving people to the polls, double-checking they got out and voted, sending emails, making calls, etc... It's not like elections are won and lost by the magic of American people just wandering into the polls. There are teams motivated to get people out to support their side. EVERY PERSON COUNTS. It's that fucking ground operation that makes things add up.

Just like a show, every individual person that comes is important to making a successful night, whether there's 200 or 20. And it's our job to bring each one of those people out, through any means necessary. Why do most bands fail? Because they get signed before they built their audience. It just happened to a Wisconsin band not too long ago. We're still developing ours. Ya know, maybe we'll never get enough people into our music to sell a million CDs, but that's okay. At least we won't have any illusions, we know what it takes. Now, let's see if we're smart, hard-working, and lucky enough to get there.

I'm dying here

Just a little tired at work and not feeling like doing any work. Went to the Annex last night for their $10 all-you-can-drink thing again (which is AWESOME, by the way, but I didn't really indulge... that much. Shit, I was home by 12:30 and eating that awful Bean Burrito Especial from Taco Bell- did you know that burrito alone has 600 calories? I know that a half-pound is a lot of burrito, but 600 calories? That's a 1/4 of what you're supposed to eat in a whole day and I wasted it on that burrito- but it's pretty good with Fire sauce) and saw a very cool band, called Awesome Car Funmaker. They had a lot of energy, cool keyboards, choreographed jumpkicks (of course I'm gonna like that), very self-referential (in a indie Darkness sorta way), about as PoMo as you can get (but surprisingly, not obnoxious about it, mostly...) Anyway, I think they capture The Strokes, Killers, Hives kinda thing, basically any band that has a 'The' before their name. I think that the 'The' is kinda cute, it harkens back to 60's music and I like a lot of 60's music.

Hmmm... I think that's part of the trending. With all the 'The' names for the rocking bands and all the folksy duos. Think about a lot of the music that's out now, like Belle and Sebastian or Big Buildings. It's all that cutesy shit that was cool in the 60's. It's like Mellow Gold or AM Radio Classics.

Maybe the alternative movement got too serious for everyone, so they had to step back and get all goofy. I mean, dumbasses jumped on nu-metal right away to get away from being serious, but those are the kinda people that like whatever's on the radio. The rest of the movement held on for awhile, but maybe just got too old to care and they wanted music to bring them back to a time when it didn't make them think, didn't challenge them. Sure, we can wrap it in some intellectual trappings, but it's still Captain and Tenille with slightly better words.

I like it, but I'm trying to figure out why I like it. Music sometimes moves you viscerally (Muse is totally doing that for me lately, the new Megadeth does too) and sometimes it pulls at your heart (Two Cow Garage) and sometimes you just like the words (Franz Ferdinand has cool words, but something about their production bothers me, maybe it's the background vocals I don't like), sometimes you just dig the melody (like that Tatu song, yeah, I know they're fake Russkie lesbian teens, but that chorus is absolutely undeniable.)

Am I too obsessive about having to like things for a reason?

Speaking of cutesy shit, I've been listening to Future Bible Heroes all morning. What a great mellow disc, I think I like it because the girl's voice is pretty and sad.

All Saints 2004

It's Election Day tomorrow and the biggest political motivator of my generation is to vote against someone. Not in favor of an agenda or a policy or getting behind an inspiring personality. The political agenda of my generation is asking: is there going to be a free t-shirt if I attend this rally? I'd like all my friends to know I was there.

I don't mean to sound cynical, I don't. We all should vote, I just want to vote for something I believe in intead of just the person I dislike the least. It feels a little shameful to do that, like when people say that "they're going to hold their nose" when they vote. Don't you wish we really could be behind something? Watergate, Irangate, Monicagate, Rathergate, Bombgate... it's turned us into a bunch of nihilists, who only really care when they have something to hate. That makes me sad.