Sorry, we haven't been too active of late, but we've been relaxing in the awesome Wisconsin weather lately. We only get a few chances to really have nice weather here and this weekend was tremendous. Sure, there's been some rain, but fuck it, today is a kickass day to be in the W.I.
Tonight, we'll be partying with our friends in Mobius Striptease at The King Club. You might remember the mighty Cactus Joe from our CD Release Party at The King in November. We'll probably get there around 10 or so, make sure you stop by and say hi. It's their first Madison show with a new lineup.
Find more about the band at sunspotmusic.com
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
Memorial Day
I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day. It's beautiful here in Madison and yes, there will be partying.
Don't forget the reason for the day and all the people who've sacrificed for us.
Don't forget the reason for the day and all the people who've sacrificed for us.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
Boxkar wins artist of the
Boxkar wins artist of the year. We went 0 for 4 but we had a great time now, my friends, it's time to party.
Our friends in Bascom Hill
Our friends in Bascom Hill were just awarded Album of the Year for their album, "Maybe". They just thanked someone from Kelly Clarkson, sweet!
All Envy Aside just won
All Envy Aside just won Rock Group of the Year. Make sure you check them out with us at The Club Tavern on June 8th!
One of the state's best
One of the state's best bassplayers, Bill Kopecky, is inducting the Lifetime Achievement right now. The award goes to Nitro's Michael Angelo \m/
Susan Masino just intoduced Cool
Susan Masino just intoduced Cool Waters Band. Chris from Boxkar just won male vox, but at least the presenter made fun of my last name, haha!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Wendy with Timmy
It's the February Album Writing Month show at the High Noon tonight. Tim from BoRd wrote 14 songs in February and Wendy's up there playing violin with him.
FAWM Showcase
Uncle Timmy onstage at the High Noon Saloon, performing some of the songs he wrote for February Album Writing Month. Congrats Tim, the songs rock!
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Bellevegas Beatniks
Hanging out with Johnny Beatnik at his store in Belleville, IL. The funniest t-shirts in the state.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
The Golden Age
of Internet Free Speech is over. RIAA lawsuits, Myspace prosecutions, chatroom policing...
it's no longer the Wild Wild West here. The government has adjusted. Yahoo! and Google, in a blatant example of the pursuit of profit at the expense of humanity, are bending over to China's totalitarianism. I'm a little embarassed that I pay to use Yahoo's premium email service. I wish I was a stockholder, so I could have a say. Corporate websites have replaced personal homepages. This might just be nostalgia, but I liked the Web so much better before Flash.
Anyway, I was watching Dateline last night with their "To Catch a Predator" series of reports. The setup is that they lure men online with an actress (who's 19 and not underage) by saying that she's 14 or 15 years old. They have some sexually charged discussions and then she invites the guy over. When that person comes over, they are shown on camera and drilled by the reporter. After talking for awhile, the guy leaves and is jumped and arrested outside by police officers.
What bothers me about this is that the perpetrators never even made any sexual comments to someone that was underage, it's just someone they believed was underage. It's entrapment. We're arresting people, ruining marriages, and destroying lives for theoretically breaking the law. Is that good enough? Is possible intent enough to put a person in prison and give them the label of "sexual predator"?
I'm not saying that there's not murderers, rapists, and pedophiles out there that need to be stopped. Of course there are. Yes, these guys are sleazebags because they're trying to get their yayas and take advantage of someone vulnerable. Maybe intent is good enough to prosecute people, but I think we need to publicly discuss it first. Politicians do everything "in the name of our children" (barf), but where are the limits to the thought police's jurisdiction? Can we be detained for discussing terrorism with friends? What if the police think we have intent? Sometimes the government does need to be stopped, where do we draw the line on dissent?
Should we prosecute people for crimes that never happened? I don't know, but I didn't think about it too much until last night and I wish we had a public discussion about it before we let state legislatures decide with their penchant for hot-button issues that get them media attention, very often at the expense of common sense.
it's no longer the Wild Wild West here. The government has adjusted. Yahoo! and Google, in a blatant example of the pursuit of profit at the expense of humanity, are bending over to China's totalitarianism. I'm a little embarassed that I pay to use Yahoo's premium email service. I wish I was a stockholder, so I could have a say. Corporate websites have replaced personal homepages. This might just be nostalgia, but I liked the Web so much better before Flash.
Anyway, I was watching Dateline last night with their "To Catch a Predator" series of reports. The setup is that they lure men online with an actress (who's 19 and not underage) by saying that she's 14 or 15 years old. They have some sexually charged discussions and then she invites the guy over. When that person comes over, they are shown on camera and drilled by the reporter. After talking for awhile, the guy leaves and is jumped and arrested outside by police officers.
What bothers me about this is that the perpetrators never even made any sexual comments to someone that was underage, it's just someone they believed was underage. It's entrapment. We're arresting people, ruining marriages, and destroying lives for theoretically breaking the law. Is that good enough? Is possible intent enough to put a person in prison and give them the label of "sexual predator"?
I'm not saying that there's not murderers, rapists, and pedophiles out there that need to be stopped. Of course there are. Yes, these guys are sleazebags because they're trying to get their yayas and take advantage of someone vulnerable. Maybe intent is good enough to prosecute people, but I think we need to publicly discuss it first. Politicians do everything "in the name of our children" (barf), but where are the limits to the thought police's jurisdiction? Can we be detained for discussing terrorism with friends? What if the police think we have intent? Sometimes the government does need to be stopped, where do we draw the line on dissent?
Should we prosecute people for crimes that never happened? I don't know, but I didn't think about it too much until last night and I wish we had a public discussion about it before we let state legislatures decide with their penchant for hot-button issues that get them media attention, very often at the expense of common sense.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Email test
I'm trying this as a test to email blog instead of using SMS which is way too limiting and the browser on my Treo doesn't always act the best with Blogger.com. So see how this works...
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Super Columbine Massacre RPG
Someone created an Internet videogame based on the Columbine school shootings. Tasteless? A quote from the article about the game:
"'We live in a culture of death,' said Brian Rohrbough, whose son, Dan, was gunned down on a sidewalk outside the school, 'so it doesn't surprise me that this stuff has become so commonplace. It disgusts me. You trivialize the actions of two murderers and the lives of the innocent.'"
We trivialize murder all the time in videogames. We trivialize it in stories, movies, books, the news, etc... Death is a common part of life, part of dealing with it is to try and feel power over it. I think that's why some men are so compelled to hunt, why some people are so religious, why we love playing games where we can change history, why civil war re-enactors relive battles... Thanatos is always around, so we need to distract ourselves from the powerlessness of it. Especially when human life is lost because of other people's actions.
We need to discuss more of why guys like Dylan Harris and Eric Klebold did what they did. I'm surprised school shootings don't happen more often with the way high schoolers treat each other. They're vicious and awkward and self-loathing and confused and all that shit that goes along with it. Their bodies are telling them that they're adults but society is keeping them children.
I just thought it was an interesting article. There's really nothing sacred on the Internet. I hope in its anonymity, I can understand more about myself.
"'We live in a culture of death,' said Brian Rohrbough, whose son, Dan, was gunned down on a sidewalk outside the school, 'so it doesn't surprise me that this stuff has become so commonplace. It disgusts me. You trivialize the actions of two murderers and the lives of the innocent.'"
We trivialize murder all the time in videogames. We trivialize it in stories, movies, books, the news, etc... Death is a common part of life, part of dealing with it is to try and feel power over it. I think that's why some men are so compelled to hunt, why some people are so religious, why we love playing games where we can change history, why civil war re-enactors relive battles... Thanatos is always around, so we need to distract ourselves from the powerlessness of it. Especially when human life is lost because of other people's actions.
We need to discuss more of why guys like Dylan Harris and Eric Klebold did what they did. I'm surprised school shootings don't happen more often with the way high schoolers treat each other. They're vicious and awkward and self-loathing and confused and all that shit that goes along with it. Their bodies are telling them that they're adults but society is keeping them children.
I just thought it was an interesting article. There's really nothing sacred on the Internet. I hope in its anonymity, I can understand more about myself.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Sunspot Road Mania - Episode 25
Just a little conversation about Haulin' Ass t-shirts and a remix of "The Breach" by Terraman that Devious found online.
Here's the direct link for download:
http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_25.mp3
Here's the direct link for download:
http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_25.mp3
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Friday, May 12, 2006
The idea of contracting...
...Morgellons disease just made me shit my pants.
Crawling sensations under the skin? Black and tarry sweat? Strange multicolored fibers that grow out of non-healing lesions?
Terrifying, plus most victims will get depressed, lose concentration abilities, and develop ADD.
They don't know what it is and they don't know how you contract it. Great.
Anyway, if you want to find out more, check out the Morgellons Research Foundation. I'm kinda creeped out right now, I think I'm going to crawl in a bubble for awhile.
Crawling sensations under the skin? Black and tarry sweat? Strange multicolored fibers that grow out of non-healing lesions?
Terrifying, plus most victims will get depressed, lose concentration abilities, and develop ADD.
They don't know what it is and they don't know how you contract it. Great.
Anyway, if you want to find out more, check out the Morgellons Research Foundation. I'm kinda creeped out right now, I think I'm going to crawl in a bubble for awhile.
Achy Breaky
So, "Achy Breaky Heart" comes up on my iPod today in shuffle and it was on one of those UK Now! compilations that I have. Why do people always make fun of this song? I think it's kinda sweet, innocent, and charming. It's not as lame as "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy". That songs brings out the bestial in me.
I'm not into mainstream country at all. And in fact, I was shocked by the karaoke bar we were at last night because everybody was looking at me like I had a real purty mouth. But, that song's not that bad. Next, you're gonna make fun of the "I love you, period" song. Hey, that'd be a sweet cover. We're so fucking meta.
Well, "One Face" off Cookies and Beer just came on and I like that song better than any of the other ones I just mentioned. So, I'll just shut up and enjoy it.
I'm not into mainstream country at all. And in fact, I was shocked by the karaoke bar we were at last night because everybody was looking at me like I had a real purty mouth. But, that song's not that bad. Next, you're gonna make fun of the "I love you, period" song. Hey, that'd be a sweet cover. We're so fucking meta.
Well, "One Face" off Cookies and Beer just came on and I like that song better than any of the other ones I just mentioned. So, I'll just shut up and enjoy it.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
YouTube rules.
I'm officially sucked in. I watched Dio, Maiden, and Priest videos for the past hour. And here's a Sopranos Greatest Hits.
Hot Rockin'
Just want to whet your whistle a little bit for the Grinder show on Saturday.
Also, we were on a very cool podcast yesterday. Bob Baker's Artist Empowerment Podcast is a cool show with practical advice for musicians. We met him when he did a panel at SXSW and he's a smart guy with a lot of cool tips. Anyway, I've been reading his Internet articles for a long time, so to be featured on his show was excellent and I wanted to share it.
Also, we were on a very cool podcast yesterday. Bob Baker's Artist Empowerment Podcast is a cool show with practical advice for musicians. We met him when he did a panel at SXSW and he's a smart guy with a lot of cool tips. Anyway, I've been reading his Internet articles for a long time, so to be featured on his show was excellent and I wanted to share it.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Is the van on its last leg? :(
I took the Sunspot van into the shop yesterday, because we've been having a big problem lately with radiator fluid leaking like mad. We have to refill that puppy at least twice per trip, and it looks like it's been sprayed all over the inside of the engine.
We also wanted to find out how much it would cost to get the A/C working again (it died a couple years ago).
And then there's the issue of the missing muffler (and accompanying exhaust pipes).
Well, the diagnosis from the shop really depressed me: Our radiator is leaking, and something is up with the metal fittings connected to it, too (does that even make sense?). Whatever, it's gonna cost like 900 bucks to fix... UGH!
If we choose to get the A/C and muffler fixed, that'll add on another ~$900+.... So, even though we JUST spent a bundle getting other crap fixed, we'll still have to throw more into it.
REALLY frustrating. And weird how something like this can really put you in an AWFUL mood, seems like I have been out of sorts ever since I got the report. Probably because now we have to make the decision of whether to keep the van or cut our losses.
The Sunspot van, shortly after we purchased it... Ain't she purrrdy?
We also wanted to find out how much it would cost to get the A/C working again (it died a couple years ago).
And then there's the issue of the missing muffler (and accompanying exhaust pipes).
Well, the diagnosis from the shop really depressed me: Our radiator is leaking, and something is up with the metal fittings connected to it, too (does that even make sense?). Whatever, it's gonna cost like 900 bucks to fix... UGH!
If we choose to get the A/C and muffler fixed, that'll add on another ~$900+.... So, even though we JUST spent a bundle getting other crap fixed, we'll still have to throw more into it.
REALLY frustrating. And weird how something like this can really put you in an AWFUL mood, seems like I have been out of sorts ever since I got the report. Probably because now we have to make the decision of whether to keep the van or cut our losses.
The Sunspot van, shortly after we purchased it... Ain't she purrrdy?
Monday, May 08, 2006
U Square gets demolished?
They're demolishing University Square in downtown Madison. That makes me a little nostalgiac because I have so many memories there (in fact, that's where we saw Lord of Illusions referenced in "Scott Bakula", ha.) It hasn't been the same since we lost the Mango Grill, but it still was a nice memory to drive by. Not that I care that much, because I haven't actually bought anything there in a couple of years, and I can count on one hand the times I've been in Madhatter's. Anyway, I just thougt reading the news that it deserved to be acknowledged since we had our original EP release party at The Mango and we used to be fixtures at the movie theater thanks to Timelady and Dalmuti. The first store that sold Radio Free Earth was The Den in University Square, as well. There was that old guy that played blues guitar in the middle of the square in the summertime, I remember that he had a sign that said, "Please help so that Bessie Mae and I have a warm place to sleep tonight" and I thought how sad it was for his wife. Then I realized he was talking about his guitar.
Onward and upward.
Onward and upward.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Friday, May 05, 2006
Thursday, May 04, 2006
World's Oldest Human...
This lovely Salvadoran lady clocks in at 128 years old. She has 178 progenitors. In two lifetimes, she has created an entire village. She's been over 100 years old almost three times as long as Sunspot's been together, and most people think that's a long time, ha. Anyway, in the words of Queen, "Who wants to live forever?"
Me, that's who. And not in that "I want my art, legend, or bloodline, to live forever" bullshit. I don't want to die physically. I realize that death is a part of life, but I don't care all that much. I'm pretty sure that I could find enough cool shit to keep my mind occupied through eternity. That's why I don't want anyone to pull the plug in case I go Terri Schiavo (and if I'm married, definitely keep my wife away from my life support and my feeding tube.) I don't mind being a vegetable, I'm cool with it. And if I'm in a coma, that's cool too. I might be having some cool dreams, and if I perfect my lucid dreaming before then, definitely don't take me out. I'll be having a better time in my own world than you guys are having out here. It's like that Star Trek episode, "The Menagerie". Why does Capt. Pike want to return to Talos IV? Because it's better to live a wonderful illusion with super-hot Susan Oliver (ooh, here's a shot of her as that green-skin dancing girl) than live a life in reality that sucks. And we can always argue that reality is subjective, anyway (sorry Randians, or are you called Randists? I'm pretty randy right now), so life in coma-land might be just as real to me as everything is to you on the "outside".
Anyway, happy birthday to the super-old lady. I hope she knows what's going on.
I picked up the new Blue October album on iTunes (you can also get all of our albums there!) due to the strength of that "Hate Me" single and I love it. I think I missed them when they were through Milwaukee a month ago, but I'll see them anytime they're near here. I can't stop listening to them and I wanna get their backlog too.
Me, that's who. And not in that "I want my art, legend, or bloodline, to live forever" bullshit. I don't want to die physically. I realize that death is a part of life, but I don't care all that much. I'm pretty sure that I could find enough cool shit to keep my mind occupied through eternity. That's why I don't want anyone to pull the plug in case I go Terri Schiavo (and if I'm married, definitely keep my wife away from my life support and my feeding tube.) I don't mind being a vegetable, I'm cool with it. And if I'm in a coma, that's cool too. I might be having some cool dreams, and if I perfect my lucid dreaming before then, definitely don't take me out. I'll be having a better time in my own world than you guys are having out here. It's like that Star Trek episode, "The Menagerie". Why does Capt. Pike want to return to Talos IV? Because it's better to live a wonderful illusion with super-hot Susan Oliver (ooh, here's a shot of her as that green-skin dancing girl) than live a life in reality that sucks. And we can always argue that reality is subjective, anyway (sorry Randians, or are you called Randists? I'm pretty randy right now), so life in coma-land might be just as real to me as everything is to you on the "outside".
Anyway, happy birthday to the super-old lady. I hope she knows what's going on.
I picked up the new Blue October album on iTunes (you can also get all of our albums there!) due to the strength of that "Hate Me" single and I love it. I think I missed them when they were through Milwaukee a month ago, but I'll see them anytime they're near here. I can't stop listening to them and I wanna get their backlog too.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Wendy's DrummerCam: Friday 4/28/06 @ Guitar Bar, Milwaukee, WI
Looks like I caught them slightly off guard!
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