8/9/14

Tom met me at my place when I got off of work and we headed to Houston. The drive was OK. At some point outside of the beltway they made everyone get off of the interstate and drive down the access road. It wasn't horrible and traffic was moving along nicely until they knocked it down to one lane so the closed interstate could exit... That added about forty five minutes to the drive.

The Hell 'n High Water Saloon isn't really a club in the traditional sense, it's a TV studio. And it isn't technically in Houston, it's way north of downtown in Humble. I was on the phone with a friend who lives in Houston before the show and he said "Shit, that's and hour and a half from where I live I ain't comin out". Houston is huge.

There were three bands being filmed and we were the last. We got there a little after eight and we were "going on" at nine, but the first band was just setting up. It was gonna be a long night. I spent my time talking with some folks (including this one gal who once worked at NASA!) and bumming around. Generally this is the time I down a few beers or wander off somewhere and check out some part of town I'd never seen, but we were basically in the middle of nowhere and since I was gonna drive home after I stuck with one beer and water. Clean living (and a bunch of weed) Good clean living.

It's finally our time and we set up. The stage looks a little like someones home, my one stage beer fit comfortably on the mantel. It looked nice up there not getting kicked over. We had an OK set. There seems to be a Hickoid tradition that we fuck up a lot when we are being filmed. This time was no exception... I clammed a half a dozen times and Tom kept bitching about all of his on the drive home. It happens, sometimes a lot, but the crowd was happy an the crew loved it, that's all that really matters.

After the show the had us stick around for an interview. It was pretty lame but we were already there two hours later than we were supposed to be so screw it, let's have some fun. Loads of bad jokes later and Tom and I are back in the truck and headed home. I was at my door by 4AM and in bed a half hour later. Up by noon to make the next show in...

7/11/14

It was the Bigfoot Chester 20th anniversary show at the Hole in the Wall. Guests and Bigfoot alums made it up on the stage for three sets of musical goodness and to raise a little money for Davy who is still doing his best to whip cancer. The best part of the night was that a ton of people showed up! We are popular once every 20 years!!! It's not much but we'll take it.

Walter and Bill were the only ones who played the whole time. I think either Trey or Billy Steve (who isn't in Bigfoot, but played all of the last two sets) played a little less than them and I probably came in fifth on the who played the most list. I think I did about twenty five songs with Walter and Bill topping out around 35.

The first couple of Bigfoot lineups played as well as the Giblets (which is a Bigfoot hybrid with Billy Steve added and Cindy Toth (my old bass player) on bass.) The slow orgy that is the Austin music scene continues to roll on...

Special guests included Joe from Meat Purveyors (who was dressed as Davy which was kinda freaky, especially when I would just catch a glimpse of her from the stage) Joe from Churchwood, Ted Roddy and a couple of others I'm forgetting (it was a late night.) Texacala showed up too late for her songs, we played them without her. It's unfortunate, but there was a tight as hell schedule that we tried our damnedest to adhere too, she ended up the only "casualty" of the night. 

So that's pretty much it. We raised a decent chunk of change for Davy and took over the Hole for a Friday night and rocked a whole lot of people. More Bigfoot to come!???

One more thing, The beer they now give to bands at the Hole is atrocious. You use to get Lone Star and now it's something called Mexicali (I think that's the name, but every sip I took got me closer to permanent blindness so I'm not 100% on that.) It's the kind of beer that makes you wistful for Black Label, Schaefer or some other swill. 

Sad.

5/9/14

I knew it was coming and it had to happen eventually and now that it's done it feels a little weird. Last night was my last show with the Hickoids before they head off to Europe with the temp bass player.

The show was at the Dirty Dog, it was some kind of a rock fest with a bunch of bands on the bill. The "fest" had a girl with steel plates on her clothes and a grinder set up on the stage. During our set she spent a couple of songs spitting out sparks for the crowd. It was cool and she was really cute, but that kind of act was news in 1996 in New York city... Austin is a little behind the curve.

They had an SVT with one of the big solid state heads on stage ready for me to use. It sounded really bad on stage (why are these so hit or miss?) but I was happy I didn't have to load my rig and carry it to 6th street.

We did our 45 minutes and the whole time I was thinking  "this is the last time I'm gonna play "Stop It" for almost two months."  I was thinking that after every song. After almost seven years of playing in the Hickoids it's grown on me. Like a fungus or rickets.

The band after us played and they paid for everyone's drinks during their set. It's a kind gesture and a good gimmick to get bodies in the door, but barely anyone was paying attention to them. It was kinda sad to watch... and I'm not even talking about their set...

After the free beer tap was shut off, I said goodbye to the fellas, grabbed my crap and headed home. I'll be back to playing obnoxious music with the Hickoids in no time (Next show is at the end of June with Mojo Nixon!) but on this side of the break it's seems like that is forever away.

3/28/14

It was the thirtieth anniversary of the Hickoids first show so we played a little set at the Lost Well. After all the SXSW, HOF crap we decided to not go over the top with hype, it was a simple night for some good, old fashioned cow punk. No more getting our backs slapped and no more public handjobs from people who only like us because, for the moment, we have a little bit of traction. This show was for rock and roll!

The place was loaded in more ways than one. There were four bands on the bill and I showed up when the second one was finishing. The Bulemics went on to rock the house and by the time we got up the stage was a beery mess. It was expected...

Somewhere during the second song it smelled like an amp was on fire. There was that "electronics gone bad" smell in the air and it stayed for most of the set, but there was no visible fire and the amps worked for the rest of the night. It gave the set this underlying feeling that everything was about to go wrong in about sixty seconds. Granted most Hickoid shows have that feel, but there was this extra element of mayhem/danger in the air with the possibility of fire or an exploding amp.

Speaking of mayhem there was this girl who kept getting up on stage and she was either standing there and staring at Smitty or Tom or she was rolling around on the floor (in all the beer) with a couple of other people. At some point there was a five person pile up on the stage and I jumped in and rubbed my ass all over everyone and I never lost the beat! It felt really good and made a bunch of folks laugh and that's pretty much why I do anything.

12/1/13

It was a driving kinda weekend. After I got home from Ft Worth I cleaned up, had a beer and went to sleep around 4. I woke up at 1 and lazed around til 5 then I drove to SA.

HIckoids at Sam's. It was a benefit for our buddy Jerry. There were a bunch of cool bands on the bill, but I saw no more than two minutes of two of them. This weekend I am that asshole....

We had a decent set. Nothing amazing, but nothing awful. The crowd was a little on the sparse side (in a room that big you need a hundred or so people to make it not look empty) but they were spirited and fun to play for.

We finish up and I hung out for a little bullshitting with some folks. Then I hopped in the truck and headed home for some more sleep (after a beer).

6/28/13

Another two in one! This one was easy, the clubs are neighbors and I didn't need a bass rig for the second one (even though I had it in the car).

#1
Me and the Ladies at Red Eye Fly. Another good night at the Fly. Not packed but a nice amount of folks were up in the front to watch us.

It was ridiculously hot on stage. We were all a little off our game and coated in sweat, but we were able to punch our way through to the end.

Played a new one I'd written called "Selfish". It's about Davy Jones getting busted by his father jerking it as a preteen. "David, that's the most selfish thing a person can do..." He told the Hickoids and the Grannies all about it when we were in Europe and each of us were talking about writing a song. This one is mine.

I worked up a couple of beats that seem a little at odds but really come together in a nice way. Added it with one of those "tricky" six cord song that sounds like it only has two. Add a bass part and some 60's style backing vocals (which I make everyone sing even if they don't have a mic!). Beautiful

#2
Bigfoot Chester at Beerland. Continuing the tour of Red River, it was Walter's birthday and Bigfoot was on the bill. We played after Chitlins (which is Bigfoot with Davy and I being substituted by Billy Steve Corpi and Cindy Toth). I dug their set, it was like a bouncier, upbeat Bigfoot.

We played a thirty minute set of ass kicking, thick and swampy music. Ted Roddy was there and right before he got up it was announced that the Bigfoot/Roddy 45 had just arrived from Spain! That's right I showed up to the gig and got a brand new piece of vinyl that I played on... KICK ASS!

Cunto was last and they gave it their Cunto all. I wouldn't expect anything less.

Breakdown

The three free beers I got at each place was more than enough for me (a couple of folks offered to buy me more, but I was fine). Using a house rig is the best. Even though I loaded/unloaded mine it was better than having to screw around with parking and a second round of the load/unload game.

5/16/13

My first time at the new Antone's. They did a really nice job with the place. Two stories, two bars (and most importantly) two coolers stocked with Lone Star tallboys for the bands. Iced beer! They STILL know how to treat bands here.

Hickoids were in the middle. Black Eyed Vermillion was first. The lineup was different from the last time I saw them (it seems to change a lot!). A couple of the Cunto fellas have joined and that's a very good thing. They held it down while Gary stomped and yelled all over the stage. They were louder than usual, but that makes them rowdier too, another good thing.

Our set felt quick to me, It wasn't, but it proves I have no concept of time when I'm playing. I'm always the person who thinks we've played twenty minutes more (or less) than we actually have... I need a soundman to keep me straight.

I borrowed Marcus's (from PP) rig. I'm liking the Orange gear more every time I use it. There may be a change in my future.

Pinata Protest was last. This was their record release and the crowd came out for the Protest. Loads of drunken people jumping around on the dance floor and having a great time. They always seem to bring the rock and roll beat down. It's expected at this point.

Breakdown

Two coolers of iced down Lone Star (a CASE of tallboys in each). And we got paid! Damn... one hell of a Thursday night.

5/14/13

Tuesday ay 8PM usually isn't the best time for a show. After it's booked your always thinking "No one will come, it's too early and a TUESDAY". That leads to thoughts of the club not wanting you back and other things you shouldn't be thinking if your gonna go rock.

Over the years I've done a pretty good job of keeping away from that kind of thinking. It's easier when your "just" the bass player and you didn't book the show. I didn't book this show either, but some of that thinking drifted in to my brain as I was driving downtown.

Red Eye Fly. I haven't played there in years. We were first of four on the bill and we got up and rocked it. When your thinking "I hope SOMEONE comes out" you are thrilled when twenty folks show up. You get even happier when some of the folks you told to come out actually do!

Breakdown

Two beer tickets each. Nice for an early Tuesday. The Ladies and I had a shot together before playing. I wasn't going to have one, but it looked really tasty when everyone else was gonna have one! I think I'm finally caving in to this peer pressure I've been hearing about...

3/9/13

Double show Saturday night!

#1
Kicking March off the right way. Hickoids started things off at the http://www.samopc.org/ . The show was going to be us and the Uranium Savages, but age must have depleted the Savages beyond their half-life because they never made it out. A couch can really get a hold of you.

The museum is a pretty cool place with a ton of pictures and gig posters. They even had food! For Free!

We did our thing. Instead of our typical "make it up as we go" we are attempting to play a "set (as in written up beforehand and actually sticking to it). We are getting closer to that being a reality. By the time we get to Europe we will be a machine. A machine with a few old parts that makes a weird rattling sound, but still a machine.

#2
Bigfoot Chester at the Frontier. It's Bigfoot's second show this year (#3 on Saturday!) and we whipped it. Everything was a little fast and leaning towards to the train wreck side of things, but we kept it on the good side of chaos.

While Davy and I were playing the first show the other guys did a little rehearsal without us. Always a bad plan. 3/5 are playing one way and the other 2/5 are playing another. At least there was beer to smooth out the edges.

Breakdown

The museum's bar is donation based. A very fair/kind setup. If you are broke you can just pay a little and if you are flush you can pay off some of your guilt from when you were broke. Nice system.

Frontier was kind with beer once again.

I like free beer.

2/16/13

Another Hickoids show at the Hole. We were the "headliners" (aka last) again for Churchwood's record release party. It got kinda swampy in the back of the Hole.

The place was loaded. It was nearly impossible to get a beer. Chablis started things off with a seemingly straight forward country act, until things started going. It went wrong in a very beautiful way. That ain't no "regular" country band!

Churchwood whipped it like a red-headed rented mule. I've been on so many bills with them at this point it's what I've come to expect. They Deliver. Joe had chicken bones around his neck and they had a horn section for the show. They ain't fuckin around.

We went on and if it wasn't for a couple of "My ladies" in attendance I wouldn't have had any beer for the set! That would have been troublesome. It's good to have friends/band mates to lean on.

Breakdown

They need more bartenders (or more bars?) at the Hole on nights like this...

12/22/12

Hickoids at Headhunters. That's kind of a lie. Headhunters is going to be on a Bar makeover show so some fancy "designers" came in and changed the joint. It's now called Metal and Lace and it's a steampunk club... They have clocks and gears on the freshly painted walls. But all of the new decorations look like they were bought/rented from the same supplier for a bar in Disneyland. It might work somewhere. Apparently it's going right back to Headhunters as soon as the show airs.

The back is pretty much the same, but now it's called "Headhunters Lounge". Swanky. So swanky they have a stripper pole up on the second floor. I busted a couple of moves and made a couple of dollars before we played. I'm an entrepreneur.

Breakdown

Zero free beer. Sad. At least all of the bartenders were cute.

11/10/12

Hickoids in Dallas at the Doublewide. It took forever to get there. Bad traffic on 35 and a couple of extra stops on the way. Forgive us, it is hard driving by the Czech Stop in West and kolaches make the drive better!

We make it and load in. My favorite thing about this club is it has three different sections. The main bar, outside and the music part. It's nice because the bar can make money on drinkers without having to force them to watch a band they may not want to watch. And it's great for the bands because the people in the music room want to be there! Smart.

The openers were Lois and the Psycho Sidekicks and Graceland. Both did a hell of a job. The Graceland folks had a bunch of matching Orange amps, It looked and sounded really cool.

We played and kicked our usual amount of ass. We had to do some serious hauling of the ass to get home. Scott had a gig at the San Antonio marathon and needed to be there at 6 AM! I did the last half of the drive (after much caffeine) to Austin. We pulled up to Davy's a little after 5. I don't know if Lutz and Smitty made it the rest of the way.

As for me I was still jacked up on the wake up juice when I got home. After a couple of beers I made it to bed around 6:45 and woke up the next day around 3. I was glad I was off...

Breakdown

Two free beers and $2 Lone Stars after that. Not bad

10/14/12

Day Four ACL

The last day of the fest at the Hole in the Wall and we are running on fumes. Hickoids went on at 4:30 and played for about an hour. 4:30 is way too early for a show, especially a Hickoids show.

There were around nine bands throughout the day and both stages were going front and back, one right after the other, until the back kick drum broke. The last few bands were all up front on the "classic" stage. It really only feels like the Hole up there. The back is cool, but the front is the HOLE!

Purple Stickpin, Billy Joe Winghead, Pocket Fishermen, De Los Muertos, and many others. After the Hickoids played I drove home and rode my bike back to enjoy the rest of the night. I had a hell of a time and I really enjoyed the new Pocket Fishermen song about Chips mutilating people. It's an instant classic.

Breakdown

The Hole was great all day. I had a bunch of Beers on the tab and even near the end of the night they were still buying them for me! Thanks

I need some rest...

10/12/12

Day Two ACL

It was supposed to be my last show with the Casters, but Bill was MIA and the Hickoids played instead. I guess my last Casters show was this one... I'm glad I wore the dress now.

Scorpio Rising started things off at the Gypsy Lounge, yet another east Austin bar I've never been too. Wonderbread finally has a wireless so he can literally run everywhere during the set, it was time. I'd been tripped up by his cord plenty of times. And there is something about their drummer, he kind of looks like lady...

Hickoids get up and right before we were going to play, it's corn tug time. Two people one ear of corn and some Wesson oil. The most exciting three seconds in rock and roll and history was written with the help of some nipple twisting. The oil stuck around for the rest of the night. On the floor. Right in front of the stage.

We had the Lolly Gaggers step in and "become" Corn Maidens for the night. There was lots of rubbin and bumpin goin on all over the place. The crowd was pretty randy for a Hickoids show. Fun

Breakdown

I like the Gypsy Lounge. I got three free Lone Stars which wasn't too bad and the folks working were pretty cool. I'll go back!

10/11/12

Day one ACL

What a night. I put in a full shift at the White Horse last night and I am paying for it today. Got there a little after 6 and left around 1:45. I wonder if they offer health insurance?

The Ladies and I started things off. We had a good set, but I'm starting to think my amp is too small to deal with the SPL of two drummers. I had that thing cranked and I wasn't getting much out of it. 22 watts through a 12" speaker may be a little on the wimpy side. We started things out early and played to a handful of people, but we had a lot of fun.

By the time the Hickoids came on the place was PACKED. It was hard getting to the stage. We did two of the new songs we've been working on. Including "If Drinkin Don't Kill Me" which has four different choruses. I think I sang most of the words right.

There were a total of seven or eight bands including The Beaumonts, Mike and the Moonpies, The Swindles and Cunto. Apparently the guys in Cunto count ACL for their anniversary because they started playing right before the first one. Beautiful.


Breakdown

The club was very generous to us. I had a bunch of Lone Star and I didn't pay for most of them! They took care of ALL the bands the same way.  My old friend Waldo was even working the bar. What a cool fucking place.

More tomorrow

8/31/12

And another one bites the dust...

Last night the Hickoids were the final band to play at the Scoot Inn. Today they are closed, sad. I liked the place and played there often. This is the current state of Austins "progress".

There was some band playing outside when I got there and the place was packed. Loads of good looking women, way more than your average Hickoids show so I knew something was fishy. They came for the outside band and most of them left when they stopped. El Pathos ran out the remaining stragglers so by the time we started so it was just a room of Hickoid fans. Let the party begin!

Our set was pretty wild. Roger was there and he showed great restraint by only getting up to sing on two songs and at no point did he fuck with Davy (which is actually a shame). It was Davy's birthday and there were a million old man jokes flung around. There was enough sweet cruelty to bring a tear to your eye. Jonnie Hell is back from the dead. He showed up and sat in on the Fruit Fly. It was a pleasure to play with him again. It was a mini time machine. The way I play my parts with Lance is a little different than the way I played them with Jonnie, so when I started the song it began in "Lance" style but quickly shifted to "Jonnie" style. A strange music geek thing and I'm sure I was the only one that noticed...

Breakdown

I got a ton of drink tickets at the beginning of the night AND I had several drinks handed to me by various, kind people. !
Most of my beers that made it to the stage were spilled by Hickoid stupidity and/or Rodger... oh rodger... It's OK, I really didn't need any more at that point.

The Scoot is gone. It's going to be replaced by a bar with no music.

And another one gone and another one gone...

8/18/12

Hickoids at the White Horse. This is the second time I've played here and I like it even more than the first. It's the kind of place where they want everyone to have a good time so they can have a good time. You know, like it's a really good bar.

The Poor Dumb Bastards opened up for us and we are gonna open for them tomorrow at Rudyard's in Houston. I haven't see that bunch of fools since last years ACL. It was good to hear classics like "cum drunk" again. Byron didn't do a duct tape mask this time, I'm guessing it's ruining his looks or something...

The Hickoids set was something else. Loads of drunken stupidity. Early on David Nobody got up and sang part of a chorus on the mic. Then three other Hickoid fan/idiots wanted in on the action and they kept jumping up on stage again and again. It was like some lady told a bunch of fifth graders they could touch her boobs. These boys couldn't stop or help themselves.

So the set goes on and the crowd is getting tighter and drunker and we are playing really good and sounding powerful. Smitty is whipping the crowd up in to a frenzy. These four boys start turning my mic around to sing a chorus on one song and I grab it and swing it back, it's my part boys, I can do it. I sing my little part and I guess they thought they shouldn't use my mic or something, so they turned their attention to Davy. Rodger in particular.

Rodger is standing right on the stage about a foot away from Davy when he is singing. He is so drunk he keeps leaning in (he really couldn't help himself, you could see it in his eyes he NEEDED to sing). Davy is getting pissed. Near the end of the tune Davy starts swinging his guitar at Rodger and "stabbing" him with the headstock. Rodger is not getting it. The song ends and Jones starts berating him over the PA! "You don't even play guitar, motherfucker!" and so on for a couple of minutes. It was beautiful.

The best part was after that settled down there was this strangely awkward and anticipatory feeling in the room. Everyone was standing around waiting to see what else would happen. So the next tune comes and Rodger and some other dude (I have no idea what his name is, but he wasn't the guy who took off his shirt after the second song and walked around for a half hour after the show looking for it!) fall on the stage in some kind of bear hug and knock down all but two of the twenty beers sitting around. Smitty jumps on top of them and starts riding them to the end of the song. It was fucking hilarious. We played three or four more and called it a night, ending a pretty amazing set.

Breakdown

We got free beer/booze and we got paid. Hey White Horse, can we play again next week?

7/30/12

This was one of those times where being exhausted made things better. Me and the ladies at the Frontier Bar, our first show with the double drummer lineup and we were mighty. We opened things up with "the record" * and went on from there. There was a proper amount of slop to make things pretty and we played as if we were on tour for the last five days.

I love this band.

Heather Bishop opened the show. I'd never seen her with a band before, they were great. Her bass player was wearing an Otis shirt so that made me real happy. Dickie Lee closed things out with his cosmic cowboy leanings. I hadn't seen him since he opened for the Hickoids a couple of months back, this was another great set. Brooks, the former Hole in the Wall bartender who has seen me play several hundred shows and has poured me several thousand beers, was still with him playing leads on a telecaster. That fucker is good. And hell, Donnie on drums... i know 75% of that band!

Breakdown

I've been friends the bartender since he was 19. I got two drink tickets and was taken care of after that. I like Frontier Bar and we will be playing there again.

I pretty much have this week off with practices/shows starting back up next week. I'm gonna go nap.


* The record means we start with the first two tracks on "You Make Me Feel...".

7/29/12

Hickoids at Padres in Marfa. This time we had a chance to enjoy the town for a few hours. We were there last year, for the final show of the tour. We'd left the club in San Diego at 3AM the night (morning) before and got in to Marfa about a half hour before showtime. I played solo for 45 minutes then the Hickoids played for about an hour. We were beyond exhausted, and then we drove home. This time was a hell of a lot nicer. We still had the 7-8 hour drive after the show, but it only took us three and a half hours to get there from Midland so we had a few hours to wander and bullshit with a bunch of cool people.

We were there for the Viva Big Bend festival that was put on by Texas Music magazine. We kicked some serious ass. Kicked it in the way that it can only be kicked after you've played the last four nights in a row and spent a ton of time in the van, motels and suffered through a pile of shitty truck stop food together. We are Hickoids.

Last time the stage seemed pretty big, but with two extra people (and ALL of Scott's gear) it was crowded as hell up there. I only had one little area to jump around in. And zero places to hide from Smitty and the microphone of death. He took a shower before the show, but that mic has Smitty stank living deep in it's recesses. Plenty of "Smitty" stored up inside...

Breakdown

Free food, free beer....  We are spoiled! And it's gonna be hard to go back.

The hay made it through the whole set, no hay dust in every inch of everything we own!! A huge win for the end of the tour (and for Padres).


Me and the Ladies tonight!

7/27/12

Hickoids in San Angelo at the Penny Pub

It was another sloppy set, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Beaumonts continue to kill. Song after song of brilliant, smart ass country songs. I'm really happy we are playing these shows with them. This is "tour" will continue to kick ass.

Charlie's holy happy hour was the opener. He lived in Austin for years and he and I played in many of the same songwriters nights back in my early days. I found out he was on the bill a half hour before we got to town. Nice surprise.

Breakdown

We'd been at the club for about 15 minutes, basically long enough to unload the freak and I was offered food and beer from two different people. Once again, spoiled by leaving Austin.

Davy and I finished the night with a smoke by the pool at the best western on the 306. It's really calm and quiet. A nice end to the night.

We will be back San Angelo. Midland tomorrow.