I've proven the naysayers wrong. Still going strong at the afterbar! Haha, Dale you owe me a six pack!
Find more about the band at sunspotmusic.com
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Finish Line Party
Once again the Love Monkeys are tearing it up on stage. Gotta love a finish line that has free beer!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Annex show in The Cap Times...
Here's a nice blurb about the Annex show tomorrow (4/29) in Madison's The Capital Times. A big thanks to them for showing Sunspot some love!
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Scott Bakula at Chicks Rockfest
Here's "Scott Bakula" live from Chicks Rockfest at The Southgate House in Newport, KY. April 8th, 2006.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Two Great Reasons to Live in Wisconsin Today
Brett Favre is coming back to The Pack next season and once again, Wisconsin is on the forefront of defending individual rights versus the dystopian sci-fi future.
I can see where having a microchip implanted with medical information can help save your life. But I don't like the idea of it being mandatory. Especially in case things start getting all Blake's 7 around here.
I can see where having a microchip implanted with medical information can help save your life. But I don't like the idea of it being mandatory. Especially in case things start getting all Blake's 7 around here.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Listening to some Sponge
I've been listening to the Sponge CD "Rotting Pinata" today. I love all the songs this album - Especially "Neenah Menasha" (and I swear that has nothing to do with my Wisconsin bias).
Something about this disc conjures up this strangely sad feeling in me... It's not the greatest feeling, but yet I find myself going back and listening to the CD all the time because I like it. I think it has to do with "early college years" nostalgia.
It also might have something to do with the time we opened for them at Waukesha Riverfest... We were so pumped for that show. Being the fans of Sponge that we are we couldn't wait; plus, it was really one of the first "big" festival spots we've ever done. Well, needless to say, Sponge's performance was a bit disappointing... and even worse was the way Vinny acted when we got to meet him. He was all drunk on vodka - and don't get me wrong, I won't begrudge anyone for that, but he just behaved like kind of a tool. I was looking forward to talking to him and all he really did was oggle. Anyway, it was quite a letdown to see a band I really love in that light.
But, in spite of it all, I will always go back listen to "Rotting Pinata" because, plain and simple, it's an awesome album. Even if it makes me sad.
Something about this disc conjures up this strangely sad feeling in me... It's not the greatest feeling, but yet I find myself going back and listening to the CD all the time because I like it. I think it has to do with "early college years" nostalgia.
It also might have something to do with the time we opened for them at Waukesha Riverfest... We were so pumped for that show. Being the fans of Sponge that we are we couldn't wait; plus, it was really one of the first "big" festival spots we've ever done. Well, needless to say, Sponge's performance was a bit disappointing... and even worse was the way Vinny acted when we got to meet him. He was all drunk on vodka - and don't get me wrong, I won't begrudge anyone for that, but he just behaved like kind of a tool. I was looking forward to talking to him and all he really did was oggle. Anyway, it was quite a letdown to see a band I really love in that light.
But, in spite of it all, I will always go back listen to "Rotting Pinata" because, plain and simple, it's an awesome album. Even if it makes me sad.
More on Mindfulness
I was thinking more about mindfulness today when I for the first time in a long time, I got angry this morning. Anger isn't something that I feel that often, it really just takes a lot to make me mad. I'm kinda like David Banner that way. Maybe because I don't get angry often, that when I do, it feels so overwhelming and there's a certain selfishness to it. Getting angry feels good, doesn't it? Even though, I realized quickly that anger doesn't serve much of a purpose unless you're defending your family from a bunch of predators. I was trying to be good at being mindful, understand my feelings, process them, but something still felt good about being angry.
It's cathartic, but not in the venting way that some people think is important, but in that way of absolving yourself of any kind of responsibility and lashing out in pure hate. When you're angry, even if you're angry at yourself, it blocks out most of your other thoughts, it lets you focus on just what you're angry at. That's why it's useful in a fight or flight situation, and probably why it's not useful in almost any other situation. It felt good to give in to the Dark Side, it felt good to be clean for once and have my emotion be purely angry at something else. Then I get angry at myself for letting myself get angry in the first place and it circles around and gets deeper. No matter how righteous anger feels, it still doesn't give you any answers. It just makes you wallow in it, it's a good feeling for a few moments and then when the physical reaction subsides, you're back to reality.
I'm thinking of mindfulness like "the hidden observer" during hypnosis, the supposed unhypnotized part of the brain. You know what I'm talking about because you've probably felt it when you're drunk. The observer is there, but maybe the voice isn't as loud in your head as it should be. People make bad decisions, but I think they know why or how they make them. They know the "right" thing to do, but they don't really care bceause they're wasted. But you know the right thing to do, it just doesn't seem as appetizing at the moment. Giving into my anger, even for a short time, was a bad decision. Why? Because giving in doesn't let me channel it, doesn't let me use it. It doesn't make any outcome besides a painful one. There's things in this world that we can't control, but we let them control us when we allow them to make us feel differently than we decide to.
Think of the what you need. If we don't physically need it to survive, then it's a luxury, it's a preference. When our luxuries or our preferences control how we feel, then we've given too much of our own power away and our lives become worse because of it. We're letting someone else decide how we feel. Fuck that.
I'm working on mindfulness, it just takes a little bit to fine-tune, I guess.
It's cathartic, but not in the venting way that some people think is important, but in that way of absolving yourself of any kind of responsibility and lashing out in pure hate. When you're angry, even if you're angry at yourself, it blocks out most of your other thoughts, it lets you focus on just what you're angry at. That's why it's useful in a fight or flight situation, and probably why it's not useful in almost any other situation. It felt good to give in to the Dark Side, it felt good to be clean for once and have my emotion be purely angry at something else. Then I get angry at myself for letting myself get angry in the first place and it circles around and gets deeper. No matter how righteous anger feels, it still doesn't give you any answers. It just makes you wallow in it, it's a good feeling for a few moments and then when the physical reaction subsides, you're back to reality.
I'm thinking of mindfulness like "the hidden observer" during hypnosis, the supposed unhypnotized part of the brain. You know what I'm talking about because you've probably felt it when you're drunk. The observer is there, but maybe the voice isn't as loud in your head as it should be. People make bad decisions, but I think they know why or how they make them. They know the "right" thing to do, but they don't really care bceause they're wasted. But you know the right thing to do, it just doesn't seem as appetizing at the moment. Giving into my anger, even for a short time, was a bad decision. Why? Because giving in doesn't let me channel it, doesn't let me use it. It doesn't make any outcome besides a painful one. There's things in this world that we can't control, but we let them control us when we allow them to make us feel differently than we decide to.
Think of the what you need. If we don't physically need it to survive, then it's a luxury, it's a preference. When our luxuries or our preferences control how we feel, then we've given too much of our own power away and our lives become worse because of it. We're letting someone else decide how we feel. Fuck that.
I'm working on mindfulness, it just takes a little bit to fine-tune, I guess.
Monday, April 24, 2006
What a great idea
Look at this little beauty from Korea. It's a phone with a built-in breathalyzer. Not just a party favor, it could save your life, yo!
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Why did the monkeys use my mouth as a toilet
What a rager last night when we returned home from Rockford. Was it really necessary to party until 8? Well, yes, of course. Bringing the sound system in from the trailer was even more grossly unpleasant than usual. And one of my treasured JBL speakers has a big dent in its griiiill. But, after all was said and done, we got some good songwriting in and we'll probably have a new one for next weekend.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Bikes Not Bombs
9-piece band in Rockford tonight, with cello, violin, sax in there too. A lot of fun, we had an awesome time rocking with all the acts tonight. It's nice to see a great all-ages venue in Rockford again.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
John McTiernan...
...might go to jail?
This is the man that directed Predator(!), he should be given an island full of National Geographically nude virgins and as much rum as his belly can hold, not jail time.
This is the man that directed Predator(!), he should be given an island full of National Geographically nude virgins and as much rum as his belly can hold, not jail time.
Would You Believe This Guy's a Doctor?
A 76-year old man gets busted in Florida for going door-to-door offering free breast exams. That's some gumption. How far did he really think he was going to get before people started asking questions and calling the police?
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Milwaukee Tonight
We won't be performing but we'll be hanging out at the Hi-Hat Garage in Milwaukee tonight. There's a WAMI Party and our friends in The Jacks will be performing at 9pm. They're Automatic Gool 2.0, who we've played with a few times.
There's no cover and there's drink specials, so come down and have an 'uff da!' with us.
There's no cover and there's drink specials, so come down and have an 'uff da!' with us.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Mr. Sulu in Madison Tonight!
George Takei (Captain Sulu himself!) will be in Madison tonight to talk about LGBT issues.
You can find the time and place of Takei's visit to Madison right here.
I might try to make it, but I'm behind on the video podcast from the past two weekends plus we're working on new material, but it would be truckin' awesome to see him.
You can find the time and place of Takei's visit to Madison right here.
I might try to make it, but I'm behind on the video podcast from the past two weekends plus we're working on new material, but it would be truckin' awesome to see him.
Wendy's DrummerCam: Saturday 4/15/06 @ Scott Street Pub, Wausau, WI
One wasn't quite enough this time, so I took two...
Saturday's show in Michigan cancelled...
Bad news, looks like there was a fire at The Body Gallery in Ludington and the shows for the upcoming weeks have been cancelled. That includes our set there this Saturday night. I know a lot of people were excited about it, but don't worry, we'll reschedule the date soon and hopefully get there before too long.
I read somewhere that "hopefully" is not a real word. I'm cool with that. Maybe we'll look for a show this weekend to fill the date. If anyone has any ideas, let us know and maybe we'll come play for you!
I read somewhere that "hopefully" is not a real word. I'm cool with that. Maybe we'll look for a show this weekend to fill the date. If anyone has any ideas, let us know and maybe we'll come play for you!
Monday, April 17, 2006
I'm testing out HBlogger for the Treo this week. SMS Text blogging is way too limited (160 characters, I haven't even formed my thougt by the time that limit is reached!) and waiting for Blazer takes too long, so maybe this will work better.
[Posted with hblogger 2.0 http://www.normsoft.com/hblogger/]
[Posted with hblogger 2.0 http://www.normsoft.com/hblogger/]
Friday, April 14, 2006
Best.Food.Evar
We just ate at the Oyster Bar at Palace Station. When you go to Vegas, you MUST eat here! I insist.
Nice blurb in the Wausau Paper
A nice shoutout for the April 15 Wausau show. Thanks for the kind words, D!
Dinner on the strip
Had a wonderful dinner at the Nine Fine Irishmen at NYNY... There was an excellent Irish band providing dinner music. Fun!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Now this is the life!
Taking a break from gambling. Yesterday i lost about $15 playing slots, but today i started the day off right by winning $50 at craps! YAY!
Google Calendar
Google launched their new online calendar today without much fanfare and without popping the same boners all over the Internet that Gmail did when it came out. You can get to it right here.
I was kinda excited about this because it means that Google's becoming a full PIM, like Yahoo!, and I've been using Yahoo! exclusively for the past couple of years and I'm mostly pleased (especially with the new Mail Beta, it's the best Internet email interface I've ever seen) but I'm always looking for something better. Here's the kicker for me- no integration with my Palm or Outlook. Sure, I can import and export, but I'd like to sync it, so that I can use my Palm for new events, Outlook, or Google and they'll all be in sync. I can do that right now with Yahoo! So, I guess that's still my best option, but I'll keep my Google calendar bookmarked and check in on it just in case I ever need to use it.
Anyway, all you Gmail users- you can get a calendar, so use it and stop being late to shit.
Oh my god, and I'm listening to Aimee Mann's version of "Nobody Does It Better" right now and it's so good. Michael Penn is a bastard.
I was kinda excited about this because it means that Google's becoming a full PIM, like Yahoo!, and I've been using Yahoo! exclusively for the past couple of years and I'm mostly pleased (especially with the new Mail Beta, it's the best Internet email interface I've ever seen) but I'm always looking for something better. Here's the kicker for me- no integration with my Palm or Outlook. Sure, I can import and export, but I'd like to sync it, so that I can use my Palm for new events, Outlook, or Google and they'll all be in sync. I can do that right now with Yahoo! So, I guess that's still my best option, but I'll keep my Google calendar bookmarked and check in on it just in case I ever need to use it.
Anyway, all you Gmail users- you can get a calendar, so use it and stop being late to shit.
Oh my god, and I'm listening to Aimee Mann's version of "Nobody Does It Better" right now and it's so good. Michael Penn is a bastard.
This story...
...depresses the hell outta me. This woman was not only a victim of some asshole husband or boyfriend, but she was dead for three years, and the only reason anyone came into the room where her skeleton laying there, with the TV still on for three years, was because they were looking for back rent. People's lives slipping through the cracks is inevitable, but it's just such a bummer.
Alright, I'll try to cheer myself up now.
I'm halfway through Anansi Boys and it's a fantastic book, full of imagination and it's a culture that I'm not that familiar with (except for taking The African Storyteller sophomore year of college.) I haven't read American Gods yet, but I can't wait to read it now.
Alright, I'll try to cheer myself up now.
I'm halfway through Anansi Boys and it's a fantastic book, full of imagination and it's a culture that I'm not that familiar with (except for taking The African Storyteller sophomore year of college.) I haven't read American Gods yet, but I can't wait to read it now.
Clarification- Show is 4/13
Sorry, I just realized that yesterday's post about the show tonight could have been misinterpreted as being on Friday. That's incorrect, Allison and Rhonda will be performing Thursday, April 13th. Due to the tranistory nature of blogs, I always think that when I say "tomorrow" or "tonight" or whatever, that it will mean the same thing to me as everyone else. But it doesn't. So, I'm clarifying my last post.
And I'm listening to some Posies this morning. Why does 90's rock kick so much ass?
And I'm listening to some Posies this morning. Why does 90's rock kick so much ass?
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Cool Show Tomorrow
If anyone wants to hang out downtown tomorrow in the early evening, a couple of our friends are coming in from out of town to play at A Room of One's Own bookstore tomorrow starting at 6pm. Rhonda from Pale Beneath The Blue and Allison Tartalia will be performing in the coffeeshop from 6pm until 8pm.
We've seen them play in Austin at SXSW and in Cincinnati last weekend and it's great, melodic songwriting and lyrics. Give us a call or an email and come down to enjoy the set with us. There's no cover and it looks like a cool place to have coffee, I don't know if there's food, but we can always grab some dinner nearby.
And it's a feminist bookstore, so you know there's gonna be ladies there!
We've seen them play in Austin at SXSW and in Cincinnati last weekend and it's great, melodic songwriting and lyrics. Give us a call or an email and come down to enjoy the set with us. There's no cover and it looks like a cool place to have coffee, I don't know if there's food, but we can always grab some dinner nearby.
And it's a feminist bookstore, so you know there's gonna be ladies there!
Cool pics from Chicks Rock!
Here's my favorites that our friend, Scott Preston of Caribou Studios, took of Saturday night:
I'm even studlier in black and white!
Please land in my hand, please land in my hand, please land in my hand!
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier.
Thanks for the awesome shots, Scott. You can find more at this gallery here.
There are several extremely talented photographers in that music scene. That's something I wish we'd help develop in Madison. I've done a lot of stories on Madison bands, but I haven't seen anyone pursue awesome visuals of live shows. Dirty Dusty Rhodes has done some nice work that he shows on The Isthmus Forum every once in awhile, but that's about it. Let's change that at the next show, shall we?
I'm even studlier in black and white!
Please land in my hand, please land in my hand, please land in my hand!
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier.
Thanks for the awesome shots, Scott. You can find more at this gallery here.
There are several extremely talented photographers in that music scene. That's something I wish we'd help develop in Madison. I've done a lot of stories on Madison bands, but I haven't seen anyone pursue awesome visuals of live shows. Dirty Dusty Rhodes has done some nice work that he shows on The Isthmus Forum every once in awhile, but that's about it. Let's change that at the next show, shall we?
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Monday, April 10, 2006
Look who was in the news....
These articles were posted last Friday, in anticipation of Chicks Rockfest in Cincinnati. Anybody recognize that drummer in the side photo? ;o
Cincinnati Enquirer article
CiN Weekly article
Cincinnati Enquirer article
CiN Weekly article
Incredible weekend!
Thanks x1000 to everyone who rocked with us in Chicago and Cincinnati this weekend! I can't tell you how fired up I am after the madness of two shows like the ones we had.
I will post the DrummerCam photos from both nights soon... But I had to say a quick thanks right away to everyone for making this an absolutely wonderful weekend.
I will post the DrummerCam photos from both nights soon... But I had to say a quick thanks right away to everyone for making this an absolutely wonderful weekend.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Mindfulness
43 Folders today has an excellent article on mindfulness. That's something I've been trying to get into more lately, especially after reading Flow, which is a book about consciously trying to become more engaged in the moment. There's not enough thinking about right now. I found myself suffering for it.
I think my best explanation for mindfulness is to become more involved with the situation by detaching yourself from it (but here's an online book on mindfulness that does a much better job of explaning than I can.)People that lose control of their feelings aren't fun to be around. Getting lost in a moment or a tsunami of emotions is great when it's positive, but when that's turned around, it's often destructive and frightening. The key is to know the difference, when to turn it on and turn it off, and make your emotions serve you instead of being a whipping boy to your feelings.
If this is all a little too New Age-y for you, go ahead and fuck right off. There's a lot of unhappy people in the world, and most of them aren't gonna do a goddamned thing about it except complain. I'm not going to be one of the complaintants. (I know that's not a word, but I enjoyed writing it. It made me think of one of my favorite words, "taint".)
I think my best explanation for mindfulness is to become more involved with the situation by detaching yourself from it (but here's an online book on mindfulness that does a much better job of explaning than I can.)People that lose control of their feelings aren't fun to be around. Getting lost in a moment or a tsunami of emotions is great when it's positive, but when that's turned around, it's often destructive and frightening. The key is to know the difference, when to turn it on and turn it off, and make your emotions serve you instead of being a whipping boy to your feelings.
If this is all a little too New Age-y for you, go ahead and fuck right off. There's a lot of unhappy people in the world, and most of them aren't gonna do a goddamned thing about it except complain. I'm not going to be one of the complaintants. (I know that's not a word, but I enjoyed writing it. It made me think of one of my favorite words, "taint".)
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Wausau is on for next Saturday
After a little hemming and hawing about whether or not the show was still on, we've finally confirmed that we're back at Scott Street Pub next Saturday night, April 15th. We've also added a bunch of cool shows coming up-
Madison at The Annex April 29th
Eau Claire at The Stone's Throw May 5th (Cinco de Mayo, baby!)
Minneapolis at The Red Sea May 6th
Springfield, IL at Viele's May 19th
Belleville, IL at the 3-1-3 May 20th
Madison at The Annex April 29th
Eau Claire at The Stone's Throw May 5th (Cinco de Mayo, baby!)
Minneapolis at The Red Sea May 6th
Springfield, IL at Viele's May 19th
Belleville, IL at the 3-1-3 May 20th
Population Control
This U of T professor who discusses the elimination of 90% of humanity in one of his lectures on the environment has been blogged to death lately, but I think that this article paints him more fairly than most.
What's the big deal? It's an environmental lecture, and throughout the millenia, it seems that the Earth has been doing a perfectly acceptable job of taking out species on its own without any human intervention. I guess, the fact that he suggests Ebola as the possible vehicle for population control is fairly disturbing because Ebola always sounded like a nasty way to go (ever read The Hot Zone?
Anyway, since most people subscribe to the idea of population control for deer, coyotes, or whatever, what happens when there's too many of us?
What's the big deal? It's an environmental lecture, and throughout the millenia, it seems that the Earth has been doing a perfectly acceptable job of taking out species on its own without any human intervention. I guess, the fact that he suggests Ebola as the possible vehicle for population control is fairly disturbing because Ebola always sounded like a nasty way to go (ever read The Hot Zone?
Anyway, since most people subscribe to the idea of population control for deer, coyotes, or whatever, what happens when there's too many of us?
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Mike's Apartment... For Real!
There's some sex-for-lodging ads popping up on Craigslist.com lately and it looks like Sunspot's out of town shows just got more profitable.
Sunspot Road Mania - Episode 22
Here's the direct download link:
http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_22.mp4
From our April 1st, 2006 show at Ichabod's Club Cardinale in Effingham, IL.
A few snippets of us playing live and a couple of clips.
This is our first video podcast, so I kept it really short. Let us know if you guys like this idea and we'll start putting them together more regularly.
http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_22.mp4
From our April 1st, 2006 show at Ichabod's Club Cardinale in Effingham, IL.
A few snippets of us playing live and a couple of clips.
This is our first video podcast, so I kept it really short. Let us know if you guys like this idea and we'll start putting them together more regularly.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)