Bad Wolf
Doctor Who marathon today on Sci-Fi. Just seeing "Lynda with a Y" got me all verklempt.
Find more about the band at sunspotmusic.com
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Mest Singer Exonerated
It was self-defense in the stabbing, so no charges, and he gets to tell chicks that he killed a man.
Anyone else at full mast that The Sopranos and The Shield are returning in the same week?
Anyone else at full mast that The Sopranos and The Shield are returning in the same week?
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 43
Here's our video podcast from the van coming back from South by Southwest 2007. It was supposed to be up a week ago, but my laptop broke on the way back and I couldn't post it. So, here's us talking about our thoughts from the festival.
http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_43.m4v
http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_43.m4v
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sunspot MP3s Page
If you go to our MP3s site on our page, it will link to our Taxi site. The cool thing about our Taxi site is that it has ALL of our songs from our albums on it and they're available for streaming high quality. So, if there's a particular Sunspot song that you want to hear, or one that you want a friend to hear, just check out the MP3s page and you got it.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Mest Murder?
The lead singer of Mest was arrested for stabbing his ex-girlfriend's new beau.
Here's a turn-of-the-century story. The first time I heard of Mest was in April of 2000 right after we released our first CD. Quinn from WMAD pitted Mest against us on their nightly battle of the bands or whatever. We had "Prozac Girl" up against one of their songs and all gathered around the radio to listen like it was 1937 and were waiting for The Shadow or something. We had all our friends call in and we won. It felt like we were the coolest band in the world that night (until we were soundly trounced by a high school band two days later, ha.)
Anyway, I hadn't thought of that story or Mest in a long time until I read the news today and you gotta admit that the singer's street cred is headed skyward now that he's probably going to prison. Short-term, it's going to be hard on his ass, long-term, he's going to have plenty of time to write songs for his solo career.
Here's a turn-of-the-century story. The first time I heard of Mest was in April of 2000 right after we released our first CD. Quinn from WMAD pitted Mest against us on their nightly battle of the bands or whatever. We had "Prozac Girl" up against one of their songs and all gathered around the radio to listen like it was 1937 and were waiting for The Shadow or something. We had all our friends call in and we won. It felt like we were the coolest band in the world that night (until we were soundly trounced by a high school band two days later, ha.)
Anyway, I hadn't thought of that story or Mest in a long time until I read the news today and you gotta admit that the singer's street cred is headed skyward now that he's probably going to prison. Short-term, it's going to be hard on his ass, long-term, he's going to have plenty of time to write songs for his solo career.
Looking for someone to help with Saturday's show
Anyone willing to join us onstage for Saturday's show? Send me an email at mikeATsunspotmusicDOTcom and I'll let you know what it's all about!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Big UFO News Day
Hat tip to my sister, Allison, for keeping me abreast of this.
Former Arizona governor admits to also seeing the lights in the sky over Phoenix that made headlines in 1997. Are you saying that politicians in office might be lying to us about extraterrestrial activity? I can't believe it! So, if they were military "flares" or whatever bullshit explanation that we were forced to swallow, they even kept that knowledge from the state governor. Yeah, flares. That sounds as good as anything.
And to prove that the French are good for something besides Isabelle Adjani and Voltaire, The French agency investigating UFOs puts its entire archive online!
The site is absolutely crammed, but if you can read French, I'd love to hear about some of their UFO data.
Anyway, in the words of the Star Hustler, "keep looking up!"
Former Arizona governor admits to also seeing the lights in the sky over Phoenix that made headlines in 1997. Are you saying that politicians in office might be lying to us about extraterrestrial activity? I can't believe it! So, if they were military "flares" or whatever bullshit explanation that we were forced to swallow, they even kept that knowledge from the state governor. Yeah, flares. That sounds as good as anything.
And to prove that the French are good for something besides Isabelle Adjani and Voltaire, The French agency investigating UFOs puts its entire archive online!
The site is absolutely crammed, but if you can read French, I'd love to hear about some of their UFO data.
Anyway, in the words of the Star Hustler, "keep looking up!"
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Beast of Bray Road - The Movie!
Alright, I finally saw The Beast of Bray Road movie this morning and it had its moments, but it made a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie look good in comparison. Some of the cast's other flicks include: Werewolf in a Women's Prison, Hillside Cannibals, and Slaughter Party.
There was one fairly decent prolonged snoobs shot, so that's a little low for what was basically a slasher flick, but at least they threw us a bone (so to speak.) There was plenty of gore and disembowelments, though. The blood was really dark, but they get butcher-shop nasty with intestines, so there's a plus. My favorite was how they portrayed the rednecks of the area as having Southern accents and drinking a beer called (ahem) "Pudweiser" (what my roommate described as "must be the favorite beer of gay bars everywhere".) Also, the cop cars have California license plates, which is weird because I've seen plenty of police in the area (most of my high school got their drivers' licenses in Elkhorn, because you didn't have to parallel park at that particular DMV) and I never saw that in Walworth County.
Anyway, one theory of the Beast that I thought was cool is that it might be a Shunka Warak'in who you can read more about in Loren Coleman's excellent Cryptozoology A To Z : The Encyclopedia Of Loch Monsters Sasquatch Chupacabras And Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature (and hell yes, I do own that fine piece of scholarship myself.) That's another great part of the film, where a character is pursuing his doctorate in Cryptozoology at the University of Minnesota. Um, if you could get a PhD in Bigfoot there, I wouldn't have gone to Wisconsin.
Anyway, at the end the film is dedicated to the "Great State of Wisconsin" and the director, Leigh Slawner, was born in Milwaukee. He's currently working on Robot Wars starring Amy Weber who I thought was super hot in 1995, so he must be doing something right. Good on ya, Leigh, we're still rockin' in Wisconsin.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Neanderthal now on iTunes
If you haven't had a chance to pick up the CD yet and are looking for a digital copy of Neanderthal, download it from the iTunes store right now.
Right now, we're cooking up something to make our King Club show on March 31st something special. Let us know if you have any ideas (or there's anything you'd like us perform in particular.) We brought the "arena" idea out of the cage for the release party and that seemed to be a great fit, but the King Club is a different kind of venue and we'll be a support act instead of the main event. Our man, Trinity James, is releasing a CD that night. His solo stuff is great, but I remember playing with him way back in the day at the Mango Grill when he was the singer of She Might Have A Gun. Trinity was never anything but kickass in his music as well as his personality, so we want to make sure that we do something extra frickin' sweet for his night.
Right now, we're cooking up something to make our King Club show on March 31st something special. Let us know if you have any ideas (or there's anything you'd like us perform in particular.) We brought the "arena" idea out of the cage for the release party and that seemed to be a great fit, but the King Club is a different kind of venue and we'll be a support act instead of the main event. Our man, Trinity James, is releasing a CD that night. His solo stuff is great, but I remember playing with him way back in the day at the Mango Grill when he was the singer of She Might Have A Gun. Trinity was never anything but kickass in his music as well as his personality, so we want to make sure that we do something extra frickin' sweet for his night.
Monday, March 19, 2007
MacBook is back in the shop
And I was just starting to fall in love with it too.
But it looks like the hard drive's bad on it. We did one more video podcast from the van on the way back yesterday and I'm hoping we can get that up once I get my computer back.
Is the flashing question mark folder a common occurrence with these types of Macs? Maybe the Intel ones aren't as good (but I do enjoy being able to use Daynotez and Bonsai still by having Parallels run the Windows apps.
If I didn't use Microsoft Money, Daynotez, and Bonsai then I'd leave Windows behind permanently. Does anyone know of an outliner or a journaling program that works with the Palm and has a Mac desktop interface as well? Plus, is there a better financial program for small business than Microsoft Money? It took frickin' forever to learn that and I'd hate to have to learn something new, but if I can eliminate the need for running Windows side-by-side with OS X, that would be huge.
But it looks like the hard drive's bad on it. We did one more video podcast from the van on the way back yesterday and I'm hoping we can get that up once I get my computer back.
Is the flashing question mark folder a common occurrence with these types of Macs? Maybe the Intel ones aren't as good (but I do enjoy being able to use Daynotez and Bonsai still by having Parallels run the Windows apps.
If I didn't use Microsoft Money, Daynotez, and Bonsai then I'd leave Windows behind permanently. Does anyone know of an outliner or a journaling program that works with the Palm and has a Mac desktop interface as well? Plus, is there a better financial program for small business than Microsoft Money? It took frickin' forever to learn that and I'd hate to have to learn something new, but if I can eliminate the need for running Windows side-by-side with OS X, that would be huge.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
We're home!
We are back in Madison after approximately 20 hours in the van.
Stay tuned for another video podcast from the van... We recorded it on the drive back, but Mike's computer was having some issues so we weren't able to upload it right away. But it will be up soon!
Thanks again to everybody who made this year's trip to SXSW incredible. I really didn't think it would be possible to top the experience we had last year, but somehow it happened and I can't even describe how great that feels!
...Which reminds me, I'm off to a long awaited and well deserved hot shower. Now THAT will feel great!
Stay tuned for another video podcast from the van... We recorded it on the drive back, but Mike's computer was having some issues so we weren't able to upload it right away. But it will be up soon!
Thanks again to everybody who made this year's trip to SXSW incredible. I really didn't think it would be possible to top the experience we had last year, but somehow it happened and I can't even describe how great that feels!
...Which reminds me, I'm off to a long awaited and well deserved hot shower. Now THAT will feel great!
Going Through St. Louis
When we hit St. Louis I always feel like we are almost home (even though we still have 6 or so hours to go).
It's been a long day but the drive really hasn't been bad, we've had great weather and little to no traffic issues.
I hope I didn't just jinx us by saying that.
It's been a long day but the drive really hasn't been bad, we've had great weather and little to no traffic issues.
I hope I didn't just jinx us by saying that.
West Bros. Ford in Sullivan, MO
Those are the guys who took advantage of our butts when we first got the van and the engine overheated in the Ozarks. They fixed our engine but for a coupla thousand more than it would have cost at home and it wasn't a rush job. Anyway, if I were one of the fine people of Sullivan, I just wouldn't buy my Ford there.
Somewheres in Missouri
We just stopped for gas at a place that boasts their "Award Winning Pan Fried Chicken". Hm, that sounds pretty good.... Too bad I can't try any because I've been sick with the "rock fever" since after the show at Agave yesterday and my stomach is highly displeased... D'oh!
Although, I don't know how good the chicken would be today anyway, since there's a big fight (or at least a shouting match) going on in the kitchen that was audible from throughout the entire gas station.
Weather is still nice and sunny, but it definitely feels a little colder than Texas! :(
Well, time to get back into the van for some more drivin...
Although, I don't know how good the chicken would be today anyway, since there's a big fight (or at least a shouting match) going on in the kitchen that was audible from throughout the entire gas station.
Weather is still nice and sunny, but it definitely feels a little colder than Texas! :(
Well, time to get back into the van for some more drivin...
Passing through Missouri
Can't podcast yet because my MacBook is getting the flashing question mark folder error again that almost hijacked the multimedia part of the release party.
I just wrote a really long blog entry about how great the show was yesterday, how much fun we had at the festival and how worthwhile it was to meet and play in front of so many talented bands and interested people. I also wrote extensively about last night's drive and singing the Rocky Horror soundtrack to stay awake (along with the audience participation!) but since I screwed something up in Opera Mini on my Treo (a quick browser but absolutely featureless) it's all gone. So, now I'm just going to say that we're really really grateful for all the kickass people in our lives and we're still driving but every moment is worth it.
I just wrote a really long blog entry about how great the show was yesterday, how much fun we had at the festival and how worthwhile it was to meet and play in front of so many talented bands and interested people. I also wrote extensively about last night's drive and singing the Rocky Horror soundtrack to stay awake (along with the audience participation!) but since I screwed something up in Opera Mini on my Treo (a quick browser but absolutely featureless) it's all gone. So, now I'm just going to say that we're really really grateful for all the kickass people in our lives and we're still driving but every moment is worth it.
Leaving Austin
Two shows today, Ben's fuckin' wasted, and we had an awesome time. The drive home starts now!
American Graveyard
Once again, American Graveyard is one of the highlights of our trip to Austin. The Troubadour is packed on they're on tonight.
They use effects on the banjo- tell me that's not awesome? Great musicians and even better human beings.
They use effects on the banjo- tell me that's not awesome? Great musicians and even better human beings.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Load out at Agave
We're on 6th Street and the van is approximately 10 miles away... What happened to all those nice "BAND LOADING ZONE" spots they had last year?
Oh well. The show was amazing and a spectacular finale to our weekend at SXSW! HUGE thanks to all our friends and especially Three Kisses, who enabled us to have mics for this show by selflessly sharing their gear. True rockstars!!!
More shows to go to & it doesn't look like we'll have time to sleep or shower for the drive home... Looks like the van's gonna stink even more than usual!
Oh well. The show was amazing and a spectacular finale to our weekend at SXSW! HUGE thanks to all our friends and especially Three Kisses, who enabled us to have mics for this show by selflessly sharing their gear. True rockstars!!!
More shows to go to & it doesn't look like we'll have time to sleep or shower for the drive home... Looks like the van's gonna stink even more than usual!
The Agave show was moved
The Agave show was moved to 4pm today because they double-booked us with a drum circle, so we're heading down there now, ha!
Defunct @ Bikinis Bar and Grill
We woke up at 11 today and got a message that the noon slot opened up to perform at. So we got ready in ten minutes and H'd some A to the bar.
It's St. Patrick's Day so we're enjoying green beer (served to us by girls in bikinis (hence the name of the bar)) and it's Ben's birthday so we're heading back downtown shortly after these guys finish up and gonna continue the party until our show at Agave at 9 tonight.
It's St. Patrick's Day so we're enjoying green beer (served to us by girls in bikinis (hence the name of the bar)) and it's Ben's birthday so we're heading back downtown shortly after these guys finish up and gonna continue the party until our show at Agave at 9 tonight.
Show at Noon!
Woooohoooo! We're kicking off Ben's b-day and St. Patty's Day at Bikini's Bar and Grill, 6901 N. I-35.
Come on down and rock with us, the show starts at Noon!
Come on down and rock with us, the show starts at Noon!
Hoek's saved my life!
We're enjoying some death metal pizza with friends at our favorite food place on 6th, Hoek's!
We've been so busy all day that all I had time to eat was a single slice of pizza at lunch... All-pizza day...
We've been so busy all day that all I had time to eat was a single slice of pizza at lunch... All-pizza day...
6th Street at Night
Rubio's was a cool venue with some exceptional people.
We just loaded out and came straight to 6th Street to check out the action!!
We just loaded out and came straight to 6th Street to check out the action!!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Damesviolet
Austin rock n' roll. Good drummer and bassist. Radiohead-ish vocals (a lot of falsetto and long notes) but heavier guitars, kinda like Pablo Honey. There was a band from England that played here at 7 but we got here too late to see them. This Rubio's Event Center is freakin' huge. I heard they have lucha libre (Mexican wrestling where they wear those cool masks like The Conquistadors did in the WWF back In the day) sometimes here and that sounds awesome.
We ran into a couple of other bands that we've played with before here today too, just by accident. Catchpenny from Minneapolis and Bi-Level from St. Louis. We just ran into them on the street or walking out of a bar. Catchpenny is playing at Cheers on 6th Street at 9 tonight (during our set time so we'll miss them) and Bi-Level will be at Victor's Steak and Seafood tomorrow (St. Patty's) at 6pm.
We just added another show too. We'll be performing tomorrow night at 9pm at Agave on 6th Street. So we'll be doing St. Patrick's in Austin for the second year in a row.
We ran into a couple of other bands that we've played with before here today too, just by accident. Catchpenny from Minneapolis and Bi-Level from St. Louis. We just ran into them on the street or walking out of a bar. Catchpenny is playing at Cheers on 6th Street at 9 tonight (during our set time so we'll miss them) and Bi-Level will be at Victor's Steak and Seafood tomorrow (St. Patty's) at 6pm.
We just added another show too. We'll be performing tomorrow night at 9pm at Agave on 6th Street. So we'll be doing St. Patrick's in Austin for the second year in a row.
Maritime at Pure
Some more Milwaukee-pride as we're watching hometown heroes, Maritime. We played with them at Summerfest 2005 and they're some of the nicest guys in town. It's nice to be able to see them in an intimate venue and get to enjoy it.
Rock on 6th Street
It's an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day in Austin. 6th Street is rockin, here's a band playing upstairs outside....This just can't be beat!
3 Kisses
We're watching our friends in 3 Kisses and checking out the cougars at the Rockin' Moms party right now.
Tish, the singer, was featured in the only Wife Swap I've ever watched where they switched her with a ultra-religious family who wouldn't let their daughters wear pants...
..and they're playing a song called "Get Laid" right now.
Tish, the singer, was featured in the only Wife Swap I've ever watched where they switched her with a ultra-religious family who wouldn't let their daughters wear pants...
..and they're playing a song called "Get Laid" right now.
Big Silly
Checking out the music at the Austin Indie Alliance party at the Dizzy Rooster. I hate the word "silly", but Big Silly is a fantastic name for a band.
I'm just not a double consonant guy when they're the same letter. Sorry.
I'm just not a double consonant guy when they're the same letter. Sorry.
Hickory Grille and GoGirls
Although my memory fails me for some of the night, both shows were a helluva lot of fun. We'll do a podcast about them later. One thing I love about Tejas is that if the bar doesn't have hard liquor- you can bring your own in and they'll even give you cups to take the shots in. Thanks, Trophy's!
Also, do a search on Shane Parker on Myspace. He performed with us last night at the Hickory and treated us to an impromptu performance this morning and he's a fantastic singer/songwriter. Also, if you're ever at the Hickory, have the avocado burger. For real.
Everybody's wearing sunglasses again this year and retro-New Wave is still in. That's cool, I like the jackets but I'm still not sold on the super-tight pants for guys (how do they get a boner with all the restricted bloodflow?)
Thursday, March 15, 2007
On A Sun
Good to see some Wisconsin friends to watch our first show in Austin (a pitcher of Shiner Bock doesn't hurt either.) On A Sun is delivering the goods all over Hooters right now.
Back on the road
Looks like the bug with the van wasn't reproducible, but the good men at Firestone think it might be the beginning of a fuel pump issue. Keep your fingers crossed!
Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 42
We're still in the van on and on our way to Austin, but how is the vehicle holding up for our heroes?
Click here for the video podcast...
Click here for the video podcast...
Just crossed the border
We made it to Texas! Only 250 or so miles and we'll be in Austin, baby!
The photos I tried blogging last night didn't work for some reason, so i'll try to sending 'em again today so you can relive some of the joy that was last night's shotgun drive down!
Driving past Sullivan, MO
Once again, we are passing through the town where the van first broke down (engine blew up) back in 2003.
Speaking of the van, it's been almost exactly 1 year since we lost the muffler and accompanying pipes (clearly non-essential parts).
Ben's still driving... Mike's out cold... I'm trying to sleep but not having much luck.
Speaking of the van, it's been almost exactly 1 year since we lost the muffler and accompanying pipes (clearly non-essential parts).
Ben's still driving... Mike's out cold... I'm trying to sleep but not having much luck.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 41
Hanging out in the van on the first part of the long night's journey into day to Austin, TX for SXSW 2007.
On the road to Tejas!
I know it's hard to tell what the picture is exactly because it's dark and rainy outside... But we are just about to enter the On ramp to the beltline from Stoughton Road.
We are driving straight to Austin this time, so we have a long night ahead. But hey, we know we'll have a gorgeous 80 degree Texas day to look forward to so it will be WORTH IT!
Also, special thanks to Kris at The Isthmus for the nice words today on The Daily Page.
More updates to come...
We are driving straight to Austin this time, so we have a long night ahead. But hey, we know we'll have a gorgeous 80 degree Texas day to look forward to so it will be WORTH IT!
Also, special thanks to Kris at The Isthmus for the nice words today on The Daily Page.
More updates to come...
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Friday, March 09, 2007
Mr. Humphries Will Never Be Free Again
Sad. John Inman from Are You Being Served? passed away.
He was my favorite queen and one of the funniest guys on television. I won an award in high school for a role where I basically based an entire character on Mr. Humphries. They used to show it on Channel 10 on Sunday nights and I'd watch it with my father. In retrospect, it was a fairly ridiculous show, as most 70's comedies were, but I always thought it was sophisticated humor when I was young because #1, it was English (and you know how sophisticated they are) and #2, it was on PBS (so that meant it was good for you.) This was opposed to watching Benny Hill with my dad, which featured scantily clad dancing girls and was on Channel 18, which seldom showed anything more sophisticated than Convoy or Caged Heat (if you stayed up late enough.)
Anyway, if you're not familiar with the show, you can find plenty of Are You Being Served? on YouTube. RIP John Inman. Thanks for being an inspiration, making me laugh, allowing me to share something with my dad, and making me feel better when I really didn't want to go to school the next day.
He was my favorite queen and one of the funniest guys on television. I won an award in high school for a role where I basically based an entire character on Mr. Humphries. They used to show it on Channel 10 on Sunday nights and I'd watch it with my father. In retrospect, it was a fairly ridiculous show, as most 70's comedies were, but I always thought it was sophisticated humor when I was young because #1, it was English (and you know how sophisticated they are) and #2, it was on PBS (so that meant it was good for you.) This was opposed to watching Benny Hill with my dad, which featured scantily clad dancing girls and was on Channel 18, which seldom showed anything more sophisticated than Convoy or Caged Heat (if you stayed up late enough.)
Anyway, if you're not familiar with the show, you can find plenty of Are You Being Served? on YouTube. RIP John Inman. Thanks for being an inspiration, making me laugh, allowing me to share something with my dad, and making me feel better when I really didn't want to go to school the next day.
Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 40
Talking at the end of the night on the drive back from Whitewater while desperately fighting off the urge to wet our pants...
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
"No, honey, I'm suing the doctor BECAUSE you're alive."
This baby's mother is suing Planned Parenthood for child-rearing costs because they messed up the abortion. There's no mention of birth defects or any issues because of the botched procedure. Whatever your views on the timeline of human development, you just know this girl's gonna get a messed-up self image.
My mother one time yelled at me, "I wish you'd never been born", when I was being particularly precocious. I didn't believe it, but I milked her guilt for years to gain the upper hand in family conflicts. This kinda puts that in perspective.
I'm praying for rain,
I'm praying for tidal waves...
My mother one time yelled at me, "I wish you'd never been born", when I was being particularly precocious. I didn't believe it, but I milked her guilt for years to gain the upper hand in family conflicts. This kinda puts that in perspective.
I'm praying for rain,
I'm praying for tidal waves...
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Thoughts for Food Pics
We've got some Thoughts for Food pics up on Flickr from our friend Mike in Racine. Thanks for the pics, Mike!
Jury Rig
This one's just for the geeks that are interested in etymology only.
I'm listening to the Grandmaster Flash interview on Fresh Air from last week this morning and I hear him say the term "jury rig" a dozen times. Since I just finished reading Fatherland
yesterday, I was thinking that the term comes from "Jerry rig" (thanks to my father's generous usage as a souvenir from growing up during the Second World War) to describe an improvised shoddy fix to something, but it really comes from sailing and the history is unclear.
Anyway, I just thought that was interesting, because I always thought the term was a politically correct way of saying "Jerry rig" or I've also heard a more gangsta rap-esque term before "rig", but neither of those are true. It's for sailors, serves them right, those filthy buggers, they go from port to port.
I'm listening to the Grandmaster Flash interview on Fresh Air from last week this morning and I hear him say the term "jury rig" a dozen times. Since I just finished reading Fatherland
yesterday, I was thinking that the term comes from "Jerry rig" (thanks to my father's generous usage as a souvenir from growing up during the Second World War) to describe an improvised shoddy fix to something, but it really comes from sailing and the history is unclear.Anyway, I just thought that was interesting, because I always thought the term was a politically correct way of saying "Jerry rig" or I've also heard a more gangsta rap-esque term before "rig", but neither of those are true. It's for sailors, serves them right, those filthy buggers, they go from port to port.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Friday, March 02, 2007
Winter Nightmare
Pennsylvania might have had the state of emergency two weeks ago, but this ride to Rockford is absolutely terrifying. It's slow going (20 or so MPH) and we just saw a pick-up truck upside down in the median. I'd never seen that outside of a Michael Bay movie before. We've seen about ten cars in the ditch so far.
The road kinda looks like a mirror right now.
We've been going for over two hours and made it just south of Janesville, so it's a rough one. I hope we make it to the show, because I'd hate to disappoint our good friends there, because we love that town.
Winter Nightmare
Pennsylvania might have had the state of emergency two weeks ago, but this ride to Rockford is absolutely terrifying. It's slow going (20 or so MPH) and we just saw a pick-up truck upside down in the median. I'd never seen that outside of a Michael Bay movie before. We've seen about ten cars in the ditch so far.
The road kinda looks like a mirror right now.
We've been going for over two hours and made it just south of Janesville, so it's a rough one. I hope we make it to the show, because I'd hate to disappoint our good friends there, because we love that town.
Facelift
I haven't listened to Facelift in a long time and I just got it again after losing the tape 10 years ago. The first four songs are probably my favorite output of the entire Seattle thing that once upon a time ruled the rock n' roll universe.
1. "We Die Young"
It's about heroin, it's about the perceived rock music lifestyle, it's about that monster guitar riff. "Scary's on the wall, Scary's on his way"... the symptoms of withdrawal. "Then you got hit, and you shoulda known better" and every line in it hooks. Too bad it turned out to be true (RIP)
2. "Man in the Box" (as opposed to "Dick in a Box")
Probably some anti-religion screed, the imagery is what works. Everybody remembers the video with the sewn-shut eyes. The "ay-ay-ay-ay" all works and sounds so different from everything else that was going on musically at the time. Nirvana was raw, but they had that glossy sheen that made it work for girls that liked sing-along music. Alice in Chains was much more evil. They had a monster guitarist in Jerry Cantrell and a real-deal heroin chic singer who was the first out of the box with that warbly marbles-in-your-mouth singing style (Facelift was already out for two years when Pearljam hit big and Andrew Wood from Mother Love Bone (Pearljam pre-Vedder) had a much more glam-my voice.) Even the name, Alice in Chains, sounded like an S&M Dangerland (even though the original incarnation was decidedly hair metal, Alice N' Chainz, and they dressed in drag.)
3. "Sea of Sorrow"
They made a hook out of just the bell of the ride cymbal. And every time I hear that last "You Open Fire" chorus, I want to storm a fortress.
4. "Bleed The Freak"
I used to think this song was deep, but then I read it was about wanting to feel normal and that made it a little less cool. "Name your God and bleed the freak" was a badass line, because it makes it sound like they're about to execute someone. And I guess "bleeding the freak out of yourself" was kind of an execution. I'd like to think that it was a little less about just wanting to belong, man and more about kicking the asses of morons who didn't accept your freakiness.
The rest of the album is good, but the first four songs play like a demo reel of what made this band awesome. Ben and I saw them open up for Van Hagar in 1991 on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour (ooh, you're so clever, Sammy, where is your Mark David Chapman?) and everyone in the crowd hated them but us. We were the only ones standing up in Marcus Ampitheater and banging our middle school mullets along. All the OU812 fans didn't get it, I guess.
Sharon Osbourne is talking to the re-formed Alice in Chains about headlining Ozzfest this year with the singer from Damageplan replacing Layne Staley... ummmm... I know that we should respect Dimebag and all because he gave us Cowboys From Hell and I thought it was super kickass when I was 14, but Damageplan kinda sucks. Pat Lachman played with Rob Halford, so I guess that's kinda cool, but don't call it Alice in Chains. Myself, I wouldn't consider anything new to be canon.
1. "We Die Young"
It's about heroin, it's about the perceived rock music lifestyle, it's about that monster guitar riff. "Scary's on the wall, Scary's on his way"... the symptoms of withdrawal. "Then you got hit, and you shoulda known better" and every line in it hooks. Too bad it turned out to be true (RIP)
2. "Man in the Box" (as opposed to "Dick in a Box")
Probably some anti-religion screed, the imagery is what works. Everybody remembers the video with the sewn-shut eyes. The "ay-ay-ay-ay" all works and sounds so different from everything else that was going on musically at the time. Nirvana was raw, but they had that glossy sheen that made it work for girls that liked sing-along music. Alice in Chains was much more evil. They had a monster guitarist in Jerry Cantrell and a real-deal heroin chic singer who was the first out of the box with that warbly marbles-in-your-mouth singing style (Facelift was already out for two years when Pearljam hit big and Andrew Wood from Mother Love Bone (Pearljam pre-Vedder) had a much more glam-my voice.) Even the name, Alice in Chains, sounded like an S&M Dangerland (even though the original incarnation was decidedly hair metal, Alice N' Chainz, and they dressed in drag.)
3. "Sea of Sorrow"
They made a hook out of just the bell of the ride cymbal. And every time I hear that last "You Open Fire" chorus, I want to storm a fortress.
4. "Bleed The Freak"
I used to think this song was deep, but then I read it was about wanting to feel normal and that made it a little less cool. "Name your God and bleed the freak" was a badass line, because it makes it sound like they're about to execute someone. And I guess "bleeding the freak out of yourself" was kind of an execution. I'd like to think that it was a little less about just wanting to belong, man and more about kicking the asses of morons who didn't accept your freakiness.
The rest of the album is good, but the first four songs play like a demo reel of what made this band awesome. Ben and I saw them open up for Van Hagar in 1991 on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour (ooh, you're so clever, Sammy, where is your Mark David Chapman?) and everyone in the crowd hated them but us. We were the only ones standing up in Marcus Ampitheater and banging our middle school mullets along. All the OU812 fans didn't get it, I guess.
Sharon Osbourne is talking to the re-formed Alice in Chains about headlining Ozzfest this year with the singer from Damageplan replacing Layne Staley... ummmm... I know that we should respect Dimebag and all because he gave us Cowboys From Hell and I thought it was super kickass when I was 14, but Damageplan kinda sucks. Pat Lachman played with Rob Halford, so I guess that's kinda cool, but don't call it Alice in Chains. Myself, I wouldn't consider anything new to be canon.
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