Nice write-up in Rockford Register

Here's a cool tidbit from the Rockford paper about Friday's show at the ELB.

Photos from Neanderthal Release Party

Alright... Thanks to our friends Jase and Matt (Devious), we have some incredible photos to share with you from the show!

You can relive the entire evening here:

Jase's collection

Devious's collection


Ah, the memories... :)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Wow... Even in spite of the insane snow storm Friday, you still came out IN FORCE for the CD Release Party.

Thanks to EVERYONE who made it one of my favorite shows of all time!

Stay tuned for photos!

Psychics Vs. Terrorists

Britain's Ministry of Defence (it's so cute when they use the "c"'s instead of "s"'s, thanks Noah Webster!) admits to using psychics to help find Osama Bin Laden. I guess none of them will win The Randi Prize because that particular evildoer is still on the loose, but it's cool they gave it a shot.

You don't have to be a psychic to know that tonight's Neanderthal CD Release Party is gonna be a killer, though.

Mention in Rhythm Section

Huge thanks to Rhythm for announcing our show & supporting the scene!

Oh Boy! One day to go!

Can't wait for tomorrow night! Anyone with me?

WI man does the heroic thing...

...and breaks down his neighbor's door and threatens the guy with a sword when he mistakes a porno for a rape.

Thanks to Jase for letting me know about this one. It's the opposite of Genovese Syndrome which I hadn't thought about for a long time until I read The Tipping Point this weekend and he talks about how people are more willing to help if they don't think that anyone else is around.

Think about it, this dude GRABBED A SWORD and went to help someone he thought was in trouble. This is a 39-year old man who still lives with his mother, not someone who most people would normally think of as a "cool guy", but he stepped up to the plate and did something brave when other people might not. Should he pay for the door and do some community service? Yeah. Should he go to jail and be kept with criminals for being a good Samaritan, though? You know his neighbor's gonna get some headphones now for self-pleasuring.

It reminds me of the time that my old roommate (and now surgeon in Cleveland) Max and I heard someone trying to break in our house on Johnson Street in Madison. While our other roommate called the police, Max grabbed his Kendo stick from class and I got some Japanese dagger his sister got for him on a vacation. We walked around to the back of the house where we heard the glass on the backdoor break and didn't see anyone (but saw a trail of blood in the snow leading away from the broken window.) As we converged back at the front of the house, the police were already there and they thought that Max and I were the intruders. We had guns to our head like Warren G and everything. It turns out that it was just a couple of dickheads from down the street and that one of the guys needed major surgery after cutting an artery when he broke the window and all they really wanted was to steal a No Nerds sign we had hanging on the front door (did I mention I was wielding a Japanese ceremonial dagger, who were the real nerds?)

Hopefully there won't be any crimes tomorrow night at Madison Avenue, but you can still be a witness to debauchery at the Neanderthal CD Release Party.

Van Halen Tour Is Off?

Looks like the David Lee Roth reunion with Van Halen might be too good to be true. You know it's because DLR is a total asshole to the rest of the guys and now that Wolfgang was playing bass instead of Michael Anthony, Diamond Dave was completely outnumbered.

I would have paid the $100 or whatever to go see the Van Halen reunion and I was hoping for VH to get back together much more than The Police. I love The Police and all, and I'd go to the show if it came to Madison, but Sting's kinda weird now and he can pull off those songs without the rest of the band and I don't think I'd notice (I know I'm not a purist.) With Van Halen, if you don't have David Lee Roth and Eddie together, then it's just not the same. Michael Anthony's background vocals would be missed as part of the reunion, but it sounds like he's joined the Hagar Camp for good (ugh.) Anyway, for those of you all excited about the reunion tour, it looks like it probably won't happen. Sigh.

And here's something interesting from the Google file. Looks like someone entered the term, "Huberty", into the Urban Dictionary as slang for someone "Of or relating to the species "retardus moronus." I thought it was an ex-girlfriend that entered it but I've never met a "John Wayne Hereford". Anyway, I thought it was funny that you can use my last name as an insult now. So, don't be such a Huberty and make sure to pick up your ticket to the Neanderthal CD Release Party on Friday!

CDs are HERE!

I just had to share the exciting news that our first 1,000 copies of Neanderthal have arrived!

Only 4 more days till the Release Party....

If you haven't already, please make sure you get your tickets now! We want to make sure we have enough food & beverage for the pre-party to keep you all satiated... ;)

Going off the rails on a crazy train

Kelly Osbourne reveals that one of her family members is HIV-positive...

...I wonder who it is?

Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 38

Here's another one from the van as we're driving through Ohio on our way back from the Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburg, PA. The drive was a little terrifying this morning because there was a snowstorm rolling in as we were leaving, but otherwise it's been somewhat pleasant and it was a wicked party, especially Friday, but with $5 pitchers at Zembie's and working up the liquid courage to talk and hand out CDs to every person we met that night, memories are fuzzy...

Anyway, here's the links to the people we talk about in this podcast.

Millennium Music Conference
Future of Music Coalition
WXPN Radio from Philidephia
Eugene Foley and Artist Development
Lebanon Valley College Radio

We also put "Mr. Foff" from our new CD, Neanderthal, that we're releasing on Friday at Madison Avenue!

More snow!

We had a great time at the conference and met a ton of cool people in Harrisburg. Got up early this morning and left town at 7 AM, now we're driving thru another storm in PA.

Buzz Meade

Buzz Meade
Originally uploaded by sunspot_mike.

A little Wisconsin rock in Harrisburg. The conference is fairly awesome so far and the guest speakers have been a cool highlight. PA is just as cold as WI but who cares when there's rocking to be done?

CDcentric Factory

We just picked up our 1,000 promo CDs at CDcentric and got a plant tour. The place is awesome, the people are really nice, and they do exceptional work!

Made it to Harrisburg!

Just checked in a got our badges. Mike's checking out the conference now, and Ben and I are cruising to Lancaster to pick up our demo CDs!

Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 37

We now have the capability of podcasting from within the van (in decent quality... no more "outer space"-casts!) and uploading it directly. So, here's the first new-and-improved Podcast we recorded on Mike's new MacBook, as we drive through Pennsylvania to the Millenium Music Conference.

Enjoy!

http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_37.mp3

Windshield washer refill

Just pulled over to refill our wiper fluid... Things are moving pretty slow here on the PA turnpike, but it'll still be nice to be able to see where we're going...

Snowy in Ohio!

Yep, there was definitely a storm here! Took this pic right before we left the hotel this morning. Now we're only about 200 miles from Harrisburg!

just checked in....

We made it to just outside Cleveland. Checked into the hotel and now it's sleepy time. There is a lot of snow here.

Ice Age

This weather makes me surly. I'm usually a pretty even-keel type of guy, but the cold just doesn't do it for my disposition.

I'm looking at the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, and I think I'm showing signs of all of them.

Sleep problems: Usually desire to oversleep and difficulty staying awake but, in some cases, disturbed sleep and early morning wakening

I was up at 6 today.

Lethargy: Feeling of fatigue and inability to carry out normal routine

But yet I'm still tired.

Overeating: Craving for carbohydrates and sweet foods, usually resulting in weight gain

I had an inexplicable and overwhelming desire for the Pizza Hut buffet yesterday.

Depression: Feelings of misery, guilt and loss of self-esteem, sometimes hopelessness and despair, sometimes apathy and loss of feelings

Having emotions just makes you colder.

Social problems: Irritability and desire to avoid social contact

Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

Loss of libido: Decreased interest in sex and physical contact

Okay, not all of the symptoms.

I hear it's going to be warm at Madison Avenue on February 23rd for the Neanderthal CD Release Party, though.

Blue October

Blue October
Originally uploaded by sunspot_mike.

at The Rave in Milwaukee. They're superb.