1/22/2012

Last Sunday I had both Casters and Hickoids rehearsals. Nothin is to spectacular with that, both bands have three members in common,  the strange thing was both bands have new drummers.

Lance Farley is now a Hickoid. Jonie Hell is out for the season and we needed a fill so it's all Lance. We "stole" him from the Fishermen. He will make a fine Hickoid.
The Casters situation is a little sketchy but Steve McCarthy is in with that combo. He was one of the original drummers from 15ish years ago and one hell of an improvement.

It saw a sweaty six hours locked away in the music lab, but it was totally worth it.

As an aside the first shows of the year are this weekend at the roller derby. Me and the ladies open it up and the Casters at halftime. It should provide for some decent blog fodder.

My Superpower 2

This one is from last year.

Hickoids were playing the "Gringopalooza" weekend up in the DFW portion of Texas. Friday night was in Ft Worth at a club next door to a club I played 10 years prior which was also the last time I'd been in FT Worth.

We play the set and say our goodbyes and we head off to find a motel for the night. We drive in the "Dallas" direction and we pass several sold out places and finally come up on a Motel 6 that has  a vacancy. One room for the four of us * and those double beds are small, as usual I'm sleepin in the van. I brush my teeth and pull up the hoodie hood and drift off to dreamland around 3AM.

At some point in the night I hear two girls talking near by and I wake up and see them head upstairs. I turned over as I heard them knock on a door to one of the rooms and I fell back asleep.

A few hours later I wake up with my cell phone asking me if I was ready for breakfast so I'm up and moving around. As I was pulling on my pants I noticed a bunch of guys leaving the room the girls went in to. They had a couple of video cameras. And several sets of professional lights. Had I known what was going on I would never be able to sleep next to people making a real live movie!

* There is always fluctuating number of band members, as Smitty says "Seeing the Hickoids is like a handjob from a leper, you never know how many your gonna get"

My Superpower

It's become apparent to me it's time to talk about something I've been keeping under wraps for a while now.

It's my superpower. You may laugh, but I have one and it's real. It's not some overblown glorified superpower like flying, invisibility, or a prehensile tail, but it's mine.

I can sleep anywhere.

Across a bench seat in a van, squeezed between two fat people on a plane, backstage. The list goes on...
The easiest way to make it happen it to have a hoodie pulled over my eyes and covered up in a blanket. I've pulled this pose in more back alleys and crappy no-tel parking lots than I can count. If it's a couple of hours before showtime and I just ate, I'll be in the van.

Occasionally I'll whip out a "my superpower" story to mix things up but I figured a little background info was needed first.

12/30/11

Last show(s) of the year! Me and the girls and the Hickoids (and Glambilly) at the Mix. San Antonio is the perfect place for a pre NYE show.
We all shared gear, it was a genuine love fest.

Breakdown

I can't say enough good things about the Mix. Free booze (!) and a whole bunch of happy drunken people. The "girls" and I whipped it good. We played "The Boyds Creek Breakdown" for the first time and it rocked. I even came up with a new intro for "You Make Me Feel...", it was beautiful.

Hickoids had Tony on drums and Lutz on fifth man duties. Luts had just finished a 15 hour shift at a fireworks stand. Hickoids!

(I know it's a lame joke but I can't help myself) See you next year...

12/28/11

I guess this falls under the headline of "interesting" topics, interesting to me at least...

The girls and I practiced at Music Lab last night and it seemed like they were having a prom. Lots of young attractiveish people loading gear really dressed up. I mean, one guy was wearing a tie. He wasn't just picking up something and was dressed for a show. He was dressed for rehearsal. Odd.

I did notice a bunch of cute girls going in to the same practice space and I thought about joining them but I don't want to prove I'm a creepy old man. I'll just let them think it for now...

12/16/11

So it was a standard Friday night, you know a (Minor Mishap) marching band and some Gay Sportscasters in a "former" lesbian bar. There was an abundance of nervous energy and no place for it, so it crapped it's self all over the stage and the dance floor. A little sad, a little standard...

Breakdown

No beer tickets and I played through the house rig which I think was a fancy ashdown head through some cheap PA speakers. It sounded muddy and compressed with no attack... At least we have dancers to keep people entertained.

Mojo Nixon!!!

I saw Mojo last night. He is still a big fat idiot genius.