1/31/18

Hickoids had a nice rehearsal last night at in San Antonio at High Tones. That's right, rehearsal... it wasn't much of a show. But we went up and did it. Our next set in Austin should be great.

We went on after the Goddamn Ranchhand Band. a couple of guys from Alaska the fellas hooked up with when they went up there without me last year. Mandolin, guitar and all the dumb jokes you need.

Harvey went up after us but Lance and I snuck out right after we finished. Boring old men with day jobs.

2/18/17

Another nice night at the Nomad with Bigfoot Chester. Have I mentioned how much I like this place?!!!


We were second out of three. Jeff and Ethan were first, really great stuff, but Jeff plays saw and there aren't that many options for amplifying a saw with out killing it's dreamy sound. They played quiet and the crowd wasn't... Sad, it was a really cool set.


We went up and were way louder, so that worked. We added a new tune "Rat Fink". Walter and I literally sing "You are a Rat Fink na na na na na na." Ridiculous... It's about the stupidest song ever written and it's fun as hell! We actually had a rehearsal before this show and we worked on that silly-ass tune for a while. I don't think any of us expected to like it as much as we did. It's good when dumb is fun and not a chore.


Pie Hole was last. I'd seen them the week before so I cut out early. Fun night!

Another gig I don't want

Last night after Hickoid rehearsal a panel van was blocking our way out. A couple of the fellas walked over to see what was up. Apparently a band was loading a piano (and other gear) in to the truck to play a show later that night.

It was a little after 11 by the time we could get out and they were just heading to the club. To a show that starts at midnight at the earliest. On a Thursday. And they had to move a piano...

Add that to the list of shows I don't want to play.

1/5/13

Hickoids Vs Sex Pistols

We were asked to "be" the Sex Pistols at a show celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Pistols SA show at Randy's Roadhouse. We worked a dozen songs up for about a month. Mostly hits from the "Bollocks" album and two B-sides.

Generally it's a lot of fun to learn a new set. At home I have a binder full of notes from various bands I played in/ subbed for. I take a certain amount of pride in being able to learn a set and being able to play it, with a decent level of skill in very little time. These notes cover a bunch bands including Bigfoot Chester, South Filthy, a couple of pages from when I first joined the Hickoids and four from when I joined the Ideals (Jones was workin my ass off).  I've not only gotten good at reading them on stage, but I can get "off the page" pretty quick as well.

Then there was this Sex Pistols set.

I've liked the Pistols at various points in my life. I know they are supposed to be angry punks but the songs sounded dumb and fun to me. They always got a little abrasive at some point so I'd listen for a while them put them away for a couple of years. We start learning them and they start invading my head. I'd be walking around the house and suddenly I'm singing "Fuck this and Fuck that..." It's pretty normal behavior when your submerging yourself in new material. 

And then during the next week it started to multiply. More and more every day until the Pistols had taken over my brain.

Before our last rehearsal I had rewritten my notes to make them easier to read and I was thinking I'd play them twice more (one at rehearsal and once for the show) and that would be it. It was a good plan until we hit "Liar" and I realized I'd left out a couple of parts in the rewrite... I am an idiot. I went home, grabbed the cd and straightened out my notes. I even hit them again the next night.

When I got to the club (Backstage Live!) I realized this was it! I only have to play them once more and I'd be finished forever!

We set up and get going. We are actually holding our own and not screwing up too much. The crowd is on fire. A pile of people screaming the lyrics and jumping around. Beer cans were tossed and beer cans were crushed and we kept playing.  Pretty soon I turn to my second page of notes and I'm ecstatic. Five more songs and it's over. We play three and we are told "One more"! It was a midnight call from the governor.  Saving me from two minutes of extended peril. Thank you soundman!

I think I'm finished with the pistols for a while. I've grown some appreciation for the songs. A few of them are fairly complex, especially for "punk" rock, but since I didn't get to put them down when I was tired of it. I'll be taking an extended break from them.

Breakdown

Zero free beer. Pretty lame considering how many people were there. We should have gotten something for learning all of that shit.

Things Change/ACL

ACL weekend. It's a busy one. As I posted here, me and the ladies are opening the fest on Thursday (Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta of course). But now it's 7PM at the White Horse, NOT Hotel Vegas. Things change...

We were practicing last night at BC's and the cops came and shut us down. That hasn't happened to me in years, it almost felt nostalgic (if it weren't for it being a total pain in the ass). Shut down at 9PM on a Wednesday night. Live music capital of the what? We'd been practicing there for a few months so this seems a little out of the blue.

We were in a practice space with some other folks, but things got weird and we bailed. We've been doing it at BC's but something has to change there, we can't have the cops showing up all the time. We are gonna try little amps and go from there. Ideally we'll get in a new practice space at some point. Things change...

Friday night is my last show with the Casters. It's time to move on, so I am! Tom is taking over. He did the same thing about a year ago replacing me in the Ideals, now it's the Casters. Things change...

I was joking with the ladies last night (pre cops) that Tom should replace me for a couple of shows. It would still be called "Rice Moorehead and His Ladies", but Tom would fill in on guitar and vocals. Personally I think it would be hilarious.

Updates all weekend!

The happiest place in the world

For a deaf cat...

Thoughts on rehersal spaces

It's a whole new world. Since we cut the ties with music lab rehearsals have actually become enjoyable. My "personal" space is about a quarter mile from my house. It costs $100 a month to share it with four other bands. I get one night a week for me and the ladies and can take ANY time not already taken by the other groups. So if we felt like it, the ladies and I could practice three days a week, all day long for $100 a month.

Lets look at that in terms of the Music Lab. $12-$14 an hour for a shitty room where you can hear EVERYONE around you. Shitty mics that they make you leave your ID to "rent". A useless PA and don't even think about going over on your time, that will cost you another hour. Also the room smell. I'm not sure if they have ever been cleaned.

The Hickoids have made the jump too. We are in a different place that Lance has been involved with for a number of years. All the numbers are the same an it only goes to prove one thing.

It's a tremendous deal to NOT use the Music Lab.

Thank the god I don't believe in that I'm not paying them any more money.

Repitition

I know I've said it before, but I love writing a song in the afternoon and playing it at rehearsal that night.

!

Two is better than one