Thanks for the cymbals, Cove!

And thanks to Steve and everyone in Rokford for a killer time. Cold night; hot party. Hope your arm gets better, Karl. Nice wallet, bro! The fuzzy pic is everyone using their cell phones like lighters during Sweet Relief.

Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 71

It's an educational episode as we teach you how to change your oil at home as we change the oil in the Sunspot Van using Amsoil. Plus the usual lovable ridiculousness...

Direct Download Link: http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_71.m4v

"I'd love to tell my boss..."

Our friend Wyatt, from the Twin Cities, was hoping to come to Wausau and party with us Saturday. Unfortunately, his plans changed, and he kindly provided me with a graphical representation of exactly why:



Sorry to hear that Wyatt. We will keep you in mind as we perform the "Heidegger Paradox" this weekend.

And not to worry - we'll be in your neighborhood on December 15th, when we play at the Hexagon Bar in Minneapolis!

Guppy Effect at King Club

Guppy Effect at King Club
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

A little "school night" rock at one of my favorite Madison venues!

NOOOOOOOO!

Jennifer Love Hewitt's engaged?! My adolescent dreams are shattered!

Remember when she put out an album?


Does every popular young actress since the late 90's have to become a singer as well? J-Lo, Meadow from the Sopranos, Lindsay Lohan, etc... I don't think Sarah Michelle Gellar did though.

In other bad news today, there's also a claim that my man, Charles Bukowski, was a Nazi. I call bullshit on that one. He may have been a prejudiced old prick (which I'm sure he'd even admit to), but sympathizing with Hitler? That's more of a Joseph Kennedy thing, isn't it?

Looking for Show Sponsors!

That's right friends... As of right now, we have 5 shows left this year. And as of this moment, there are FIVE opportunities for SHOW SPONSORSHIPS!

You may think it sounds strange, but this could be a really unique gift for you to give to your favorite rocker. Or maybe even your Mom. I won't get into the particulars here and now, but I will say that if you sponsor a SUNSPOT show, we will make sure it is a very special event for you.

Also, if you'd like to sponsor a show in a particular city, let us know. We can make it happen.

Think about it and let us know if you're interested in doing this!

And, as always... We thank you for your continued support!

And I thought I was having a bad skin week

Warning: This video is super gross, but it should be mandatory viewing in health class. I got suckered into watching it because it said "Half Man, Half Tree" so of course I wanted to check it out. But it's all lies! He's not part-tree at all...

And you know, once you see something weird, you've gotta share.

Milwaukee

Big Christmas party on the 22nd at the BBC. Put your Santa hats (or Yarmulke or anything else) on and come celebrate. Hell, come naked, we'll be happy to see you!

I Scrambled My Brain for Science

Cool story from Wired about a volunteer who let scientists turn off part of his brain to do some new tests on aging and memory. What I thought was most interesting was the theory. Some scientists believe that memory gets worse as we age because we remember too much and the mind has problems sifting through the junk to get to the important parts. It makes the brain sound like a fragmented hard drive.

RIP Kevin DuBrow

Quiet Riot's lead singer died today at 52. They don't know what it's from yet, but you know it's probably not good. They were one of the first hard rock bands I ever liked ("Cum On Feel The Noize" was the balls when I was little and the video and cover for Metal Health scared the pants off me.) I saw them on the Glam Slam Metal Jam tour in 2001 and I thought they put on the most energetic performance of the night (Warrant was sleepy and I only knew a couple Enuf Z'nuf songs, Poison was a great show, but Quiet Riot was the only band that really worked hard, they wanted that audience so bad and it showed, they were awesome.)

Quiet Riot's Behind The Music was also one of the most honest that I've seen. Kevin DuBrow completely copped to the fact that he spent most of the Eighties as an asshole. He was a great performer and, of course, definitely a unique voice. Based on their performance at Summerfest, he still had plenty of "show" still in him. RIP.

More Zombies in Madison!

Here's a link to some ridiculous and funny pics of a zombie walk in Eastgate Mall on "Buy Nothing" Day last Friday (courtesy of the Pixelated Imagination blog). The whole Dawn of the Dead "zombies as mindless consumers" has been played out since forever, but it's never a bad idea to reflect (especially during the Christmas Marketing Blitz) about how comfortable we are with where our dollars are going and why we're spending what we're spending.

More on Misera

Damn, i blinked and almost missed it. This one's right up there with Spreadeagle and Hustler Wisconsin (and Climax, MI)

Awesome Photo Part Deux

Mike's post with the frickin' sweet guy on it reminded me of something... It was really bugging me until finally I realized why it seemed so familiar:



Ah yes, the infamous Heartbeat 2000 Benefit Concert at the Orpheum... Good times, good memories.

Nice view.

I don't know why people say the Gulf isn't the real ocean. It's saltwater and real purty.

Awesome Photo

I have no idea who this guy is, but he's frickin' sweet!



The apple doesn't fall too far...

Here's a video of Kelly in better days...

Black Friday Here I Come!

Black Friday Here I Come!
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

Unbelievable... We got to Kohl's at 4:30 AM and the parking lot was completely full. The checkout line went all the way to the back of the store! Luckily we got some good bargains for the people on my "nice" list!

What a state!

Well, the picture didn't turn out real well cuz it rained cats and dogs last night, but miller lite 30 packs (that's right' they sell em in 30s right along side old mil down here) are 14.99 plus tax in missouri. And gas is 2.76. They have a town named Herculaneum and stores named Schnucks and... Oh yeah, and how's the snow up there in wisconsin? That too. I'm just messin with ya'll. Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm Thankful For Doctor Who and YouTube Today!

Peter Davison (Doctor 5) and David Tennant (Doctor 10) together in a gorgeous bit of fanwankery. This was for the BBC's Children in Need charity, so this is the only chance we'll get to see it in the US.



Here's one of Captain Jack singing "Your Song"!

O Happy Day!

O Happy Day!
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

During the last leg of our trip to L.A. I lost my precious iPod... Well, I called United Airlines who forwarded me to Dane County Airport and miraculously, THEY HAD MY IPOD!!!!

So now I have all of my music at my fingertips again and life is good. :)

Trying Tofurkey Tomorrow?

If you're interested in trying it out, here's some Tofurkey recipes for tomorrow that are a lot safer than going at it blind. It can taste pretty great, but it's easy to mess it up (trust me on this one.) The biggest danger with meatless turkey is the dryness, so make sure you use plenty of gravy!

When done well, it can be delicious and a wonderful alternative to turkey (and yes, I know turkeys are pretty gross birds when you see them up close.) And it can be a great example of how veggies can live a tasty life while keeping our hard earned dollars away from the meat industry. So try the recipes instead of going it alone and be different this Thanksgiving!

lmao

Keith McGill is a really funny dude. If a venue in town did the same thing for live music as Comedy Club does for comedy (pacing, sound, professionalism, quality, atmosphere), the club would be sold out as much as the CC. Anyone wanna buy a place?

Beowulf 3D is the ballz

Star Cinema on Mike's Bday. Does anyone else think of Scott Baio when they hear the name Beowulf? Just me, huh?

Big Day For UW and Science!

Holy balls! University of Wisconsin scientists create stem cells from skin cells. In the words of Tiny Elvis, "that thing is huuuuuuuge, man!"

Boat made it into the storage space.

With an inch to spare.

Happy Birthday Mike!

Although we celebrated Mike's b-day at the Dry Bean last week, today is his actual date of birth...

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

Have a great day!

How do I get rid of old electronics?

I have some old electronics that I want to dispose of... Is there any place that takes (or buys) this stuff? For example, I have an old 3-disc DVD player. It works, but not "quite right".

It seems wasteful to dump it in the garbage if someone could fix it or even use some of the components, but I have no idea who would want it or where to take it.

Wendy's DrummerCam: Wednesday 11/14/07 @ The Dry Bean, Fitchburg, WI

Thanks again to everyone who partied with us on Wednesday!

That is, everyone except for the mean cougar who yelled at Mike.

Animal planet

Awesome. I just learned that "Wet Tail" is the name that the Aussies give to the condition in Koalas where they can't relieve themselves properly because of syphilis or chlamydia. I wonder how many frat boys will be out tonight in Madison looking for some wet tail?

Mmm

Doesn't this look tastey (spelled like Fergie would)
Check out this chart. And I thought the suicide wings at Quaker (30000 SHU) were hot!

Austin, Tejas

Every town needs one of these signs. Thanks to our buddy Mike in San Fran for providing the pic. Can't wait for southby in a few months

Thank you for last night, everybody!

Wild time, huh? Thanks for the shots again last night!
Was it just me or was someone hanging from the ceiling above the bar last night? Yup. She drove home.
Mike, Happy birthday and Boogie shoes, yo!

Bigfoot in Florida?

Police think there's an orangutan on the loose in a small Florida town. Of course, my money's on Sasquatch.

Someone call the gendarme! Any day you can reference both Poe and Iron Maiden before 9am is gonna be a good day.

And it's gonna be an even better night, the FREE show tonight starts at 9pm at The Dry Bean with the mondo kicktail Guppy Effect opening up. We'll be up around 10 and playing two sets. And it's my birfday, so chances are I'll be wearing the appropriate attire ;)

Bean tomorrow

I'm really pumped about the show tomorrow. We have a whole rock extravaganza for you. I just wanted to let you know.

Darkon - Movie about Live Action Role Playing Debuts Tonight!

You should read this Slate article about the new documentary, Darkon, whether you've ever played a live-action role playing game or not.

Best line:

"They're hacking reality, creating a social system where the part of their lives that matters isn't the part that stresses over a PowerPoint presentation, but the part that charges into battle and does great things."

Bingo. I haven't played a role-playing game in too long, but that line summarizes exactly the feeling I remember getting from the experience.

Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 70

Day 4 and the final leg of the journey of Mike and Wendy visiting the Taxi Road Rally in LA.

What an awesome experience, we can't wait to come back next year!

Direct download link: http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_70.m4v

Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 69

Day 3 of Mike and Wendy visiting the Taxi Road Rally in LA, slightly less debauchery than the night before, but more informative!

Sorry this one's up a little late but we just got back from the convention and boy are our arms tired!

Direct download link: http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_69.m4v

Made it to LAX!

Made it to LAX!
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

That was a close call.... Getting some food before we board the plane for O'Hare!

Club tavern

Michael's (from Sand) button. It says "Always Turned On". The quality of the picture reflects the state of the camera man at bar time on saturday.

More TAXI fun: Derek Sivers

More TAXI fun: Derek Sivers
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

Indie hero Derek Sivers, who founded CDbaby.com , is speaking about "Calling Attention to Your Music".

Wiped Out!

Wiped Out!
Originally uploaded by sunspot_mike

Last day of the conference and I'm exhausted. Just hit the panel on film and TV licensing. So, I got to hear the perspective from people who put in the music to shows I really respect (like The Shield which is supposed to have a new season sometime soon, right?) What they said? Sad and slow songs only work for soap operas, a ton of music in a film is picked because of whoever the directors or actors' friends there are in bands, and don't bother submitting anything with words for sports broadcasts.

And that's one to grow on...

Writing from a Title

Writing from a Title
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

Pat Pattison, who spoke last night about front-heavy and back-heavy phrasing, is teaching us techniques for writing songs by starting with a Title.

Songcraft Basics lecture

Songcraft Basics lecture
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

I'm attending another TAXI songwriting session with John Braheny, author of "The Craft and Business of Songwriting". He's playing/analyzing songs and talking about how different structures, patterns, and other things affect the listener.

Funny ass stuff

Marvin Todd is awesome. John Roy rocks too. Comedy club is super funny. It would be nice if everyone would shut the hell up, though. Some guy just got thrown out. Sweet.

5:00 Somewhere

5:00 Somewhere
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

The guy who wrote "Five O'Clock Somewhere" is playing it right now! This panel is a discussion about catchy melodies and how some famous songs were concocted.

Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 68

Day 2 of the TAXI Road Rally at the Westin in Los Angeles.

Direct download link: http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_68.m4v

Go see MOTO Tonight!

Masters of the Obvious is at the Crystal Corner tonight! Check them out and get to the show, one of the most fun punk bands out there and you can sing along to every single song!

Information Overload!

We made a podcast last night but didn't have time to upload it, so hopefully we'll have two up tonight or early tomorrow!

My new ride

My new ride
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

This is how I roll in L.A.!

Another Taxi Panel

Another Taxi Panel
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

We just finished our Mentor Lunch session & now I'm at a panel discussion about TAXI song forwards.

Bobby Borg

Bobby Borg
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

I'm on the floor in an over-capacity crowd for the Bobby Borg (author of The Musician's Handbook) seminar on "Getting heard, Getting Seen, Getting Signed".

TAXI Keynote

TAXI Keynote
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

Michael Leskow (TAXI) is conducting a very interesting interview with songwriter/artist Kara DioGuardi right now. She's written songs for almost every female artist on the radio right now (and plenty of dudes too)- Google her name and you'll see!

Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 67

Mike and Wendy in LA for the Taxi Road Rally, Thursday November 8th, 2007!

Direct Download Link: http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_67.m4v

Standing in line for registration

Standing in line for registration
Originally uploaded by sunspot_mike

There's gotta be 1500 people in line at the Westin. Thank God our spot is right next to the bar!

Sweet

I've been looking for some of those.

Loading into the TAXI Road Rally

Loading into the TAXI Road Rally
Originally uploaded by sunspot_mike

We volunteered to help load the sound system for the open mic here and guess who we see... Our man from Mukwonago and Green Scene hero, Ethan Keller!

And the weather's pretty good here in LA, a little rainy and cloudy, but no jackets necessary!

Andrew WK in Madison tonight!

Of course, our hero, AWK, is in Madison tonight when we're not for a special lecture on "How To Party". This is absolutely true, Tim from BORD just alerted us to this very important event. It is absolutely critical that you go and let us know what he says.

I too, would like to know how to party, and can't think of a better teacher than the man who parties hard for a living.

So, go check it out. It's at the Great Hall tonight at 8 in Memorial Union, I'll be with you in spirit.

Made it to L.A.

Sorry - We should have posted this last night! Just in case you were wondering, we did in fact make it to Los Angeles.

We'll post some more updates as the day goes on!

Just made it!

Just made it!
Originally uploaded by Wendy Lynn

We had a close call but just got on the plane... Now it's off to Denver and then L.A.!

Texas continues to get wilder

I couldn't believe that this town actually exists, but I got it wrong on You Don't Know Jack last night. Come to think of it, we drove right past the exit for it on our way out of Houston one time. I think I was sleeping in the van, though.

Sunspot Road Mania - Ep. 66

Sunspot taking press photos on State Street plus some of our favorites from the shoot! Special thanks to Devious for taking the pics!

Direct download link: http://www.sunspotmusic.com/roadmania/sunspot_rm_66.m4v

They're watching

Looks like big brother is watching.
Do you actually know anyone that pays tax at the end of the year on other stuff like electronics and computer components that they get online? It sounds like more of our tax dollars going to monitor smaller amounts of money. I guess the bureaucrats need jobs too...

Snow!

Good thing I rode my bike today.

They Keep Killing Suzie

Man, there were some plot holes in that last episode of Torchwood, but I thought it was one of the scariest pieces of TV I've seen in a really long time. The Resurrection Gauntlet (or the "Risen Mitten" as referred to by apparently-now-freely-bisexual-with-the-man-that killed-his-girlfriend Ianto) bringing murdered people back to life is a frightening enough idea, but the performances by the people who were brought back and the realization that they'd been killed and the two minutes they return are a mix of terror and harsh interrogation was excruciating for me to watch. It was a dark existentialist episode that wasn't perfect, but it was the best one of the series so far, I thought. It still has a lot of promise and some great moments, but it's really uneven. This episode didn't explore all of its themes brilliantly, but it took a great stab and you can't say that they're unambitious. And any Captain Jack is better than no Captain Jack. (I had a weird dream I was working for Torchwood last week and I had to hide in their basement as they were gone into the rift, it was cool until the Hub was overrun with aliens and I was left to defend it.)

Also, here's a shot of the new Sontarans for Doctor Who Series Four. I can't say that I'm to excited about them returning to the show (unlike The Master, who I always thought was pretty sweet) because the only time I thought they were actually an effective enemy was in their first episode ("The Time Warrior"), because as the surprise bad guys in "The Invasion of Time", they were a little bit underwhelming. Another clone race out to conquer the universe? Ho-hum, I'd rather see their archenemies, The Rutans, make a comeback. If you want a real nasty villain, "The Horror of Fang Rock" should do nicely.

The Gas Rats

The Gas Rats
Originally uploaded by sunspot_mike

Fighting wifebeaters at the Rock Against Domestic Abuse benefit!

Sunspot in Madhouse Monthly

Check out November's Madhouse Monthly this month for an interview with us. Definitely NSFW.

Thanks guys and great job!

You'll never guess what I saw crossing the street this morning.

Twelve turkeys! In the middle of the city. There is something really cool about seeing animals amidst the urban goings-on. I would've gotten a picture, but I didn't want to cause an accident.

Candy buy-back

Here's an interesting concept:

Trick or treat for a soldier

They've got healthy snack policies in the schools and now they're trying to take candy from the kids after school. I'm not really a sweet tooth myself (more of a salty guy), but I can imagine some people missing sweets from their daily lives. I remember being a kid and not having to worry about going to the gym after eating a pound of candy. Metabolisms should continue being on overdrive well into your nineties if you ask me.