Thursday, October 30, 2008
Kali Yuga
I wanted to ride trains around the country next year.
It is looking more and more like that will not be able to happen.
Have I held myself back while trying to help others progress?
It is looking more and more like that will not be able to happen.
Have I held myself back while trying to help others progress?
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Get Out Another Blanket
It is getting colder, and I don't like it one bit.
Last Saturday there was a great show at Cave Nine featuring Have Heart, Blacklisted, Ceremony, Let Down, Swamp Thing, Serotonin Gone, and Delusional. The show sold out and was consistently wild. I can tell that working all the time is having an effect on how much I enjoy shows. I certainly hadn't slept enough before this one and it showed. Kids were rushing the door to get in at one point, and I most definitely snapped at them and yelled...not something I normally do. I always thought that patience would get easier as I got older but it looks like that is not the case. There were also quite a few kids who attempted to sneak in by just walking past me or by drawing bogus marks on their hands. What a fucking bummer. I can understand being bummed about having to miss the bands you love, but putting an all ages venue at risk over it? If any of you are reading this, which I doubt, you should take advice from the Beastie Boys and check your head. Scamming your way into a hardcore show is just as bad as stealing from the club and the bands. Why would that even cross your mind? I straight up can't believe that I had to get on the mic and say something about it for the SECOND time in my history as a promoter. Bands from all over the country rave about Cave 9 and the support that our scene gives them while they are on tour. Why fuck with that? I was only able to watch Blacklisted and Have Heart from the side of the stage, and they both killed it. It may have been the best set I have seen BL play...seems like I say that every time I see them, though. Those sets lifted my spirits.
The Alabama Crimson Tide was busy pounding Tennessee's Volunteers as the show went on. The final score was 29-9. Thanks to everybody who sent me texts and kept me updated. That highlight reel might not have been a thing of beauty to the mainstream sports media, but it was exactly the kind of football we need to keep playing. I'll be skipping out on the homecoming festivities for a trip to Foley to see some of my best friends and wish their son a happy 1st birthday. I am looking forward to catching up, seeing the ocean, and eating seafood. All talk in Bama Nation seems to be centered on the LSU game next week, which is a huge mistake. I've been avoiding talk radio the past few days because of this. Obviously, fan talk does not truly matter, I am just always concerned with how much of that our players hear and if it is a factor in how they prepare for the game. Here's hoping that they realize that the team they are playing on Saturday, Arkansas State, has shown that they can put up points and compete.
Recent playlist:
Jenny Lewis - "Acid Tongue"
Beach House - "Self Titled"
Morrissey - Various
Blacklisted - "Heavier Than Heaven..."
Murder City Devils - "In Name And Blood"
Last Saturday there was a great show at Cave Nine featuring Have Heart, Blacklisted, Ceremony, Let Down, Swamp Thing, Serotonin Gone, and Delusional. The show sold out and was consistently wild. I can tell that working all the time is having an effect on how much I enjoy shows. I certainly hadn't slept enough before this one and it showed. Kids were rushing the door to get in at one point, and I most definitely snapped at them and yelled...not something I normally do. I always thought that patience would get easier as I got older but it looks like that is not the case. There were also quite a few kids who attempted to sneak in by just walking past me or by drawing bogus marks on their hands. What a fucking bummer. I can understand being bummed about having to miss the bands you love, but putting an all ages venue at risk over it? If any of you are reading this, which I doubt, you should take advice from the Beastie Boys and check your head. Scamming your way into a hardcore show is just as bad as stealing from the club and the bands. Why would that even cross your mind? I straight up can't believe that I had to get on the mic and say something about it for the SECOND time in my history as a promoter. Bands from all over the country rave about Cave 9 and the support that our scene gives them while they are on tour. Why fuck with that? I was only able to watch Blacklisted and Have Heart from the side of the stage, and they both killed it. It may have been the best set I have seen BL play...seems like I say that every time I see them, though. Those sets lifted my spirits.
The Alabama Crimson Tide was busy pounding Tennessee's Volunteers as the show went on. The final score was 29-9. Thanks to everybody who sent me texts and kept me updated. That highlight reel might not have been a thing of beauty to the mainstream sports media, but it was exactly the kind of football we need to keep playing. I'll be skipping out on the homecoming festivities for a trip to Foley to see some of my best friends and wish their son a happy 1st birthday. I am looking forward to catching up, seeing the ocean, and eating seafood. All talk in Bama Nation seems to be centered on the LSU game next week, which is a huge mistake. I've been avoiding talk radio the past few days because of this. Obviously, fan talk does not truly matter, I am just always concerned with how much of that our players hear and if it is a factor in how they prepare for the game. Here's hoping that they realize that the team they are playing on Saturday, Arkansas State, has shown that they can put up points and compete.
Recent playlist:
Jenny Lewis - "Acid Tongue"
Beach House - "Self Titled"
Morrissey - Various
Blacklisted - "Heavier Than Heaven..."
Murder City Devils - "In Name And Blood"
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Like The Twilight
Ryan Adams and The Cardinals played in Tuscaloosa last Thursday. Outside of the annual UA Homecoming concerts, this was one of the bigger events to hit the town in quite some time. The show was great. Adams and the band were in great spirits, and played two full sets. In my opinion, this completely made up for the lackluster set last year in Birmingham. Here are a few of the better photos I snapped:
You can listen to and/or download the set here.
Alabama plays Tennessee in Knoxville this weekend. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 6:45pm, at which time I will be at Cave 9 for the Blacklisted/Have Heart/Ceremony/Let Down/Swamp Thing/Serotonin Gone rock and roll extravaganza. Expect to see me walking back and forth between the venue and Aerochild to keep up with the score. We have to step it up in the second half. You can throw out every statistic in the book when it comes to a true rivalry game. Roll Tide. Here are the fliers for my next two shows:
Bane will also be returning to Cave 9 on Sunday, November 9th. I am excited about that.Monday, October 13, 2008
The story of my first tattoo.
I was sitting around at the Downtown Pub on Friday night with Eric, Jason, Crys, Todd, and Jessica. While discussing the trip we had planned to see a DaVinci exhibit at the Birmingham Museum of Art the next day, we somehow got on the subject of tattoos. I'm not sure how, but within 15 minutes of it coming up, it was decided that Eric, Crys and I would get the same image Jason has...an outline of the state of Alabama with a small heart over Tuscaloosa. Fitting, right? I had recently had at least two other conversations with people about how I doubted that I'd ever get tattooed. We dubbed the weekend "Spontaneous Decisions '08."
Not even 12 hours later, we were on our way to Birmingham. Jess joined us at the museum when we arrived and we proceeded to browse the Da Vinci exhibit, the gift shop, and some other random parts of the building for an hour and a half or so. This was essentially my first trip to a real art museum. Getting to see original Da Vinci stuff was undeniably cool, but I was constantly distracted by the large amount of people browsing the drawings at the same time we were. I believe it was "Kids' Weekend" or something to that effect. I should go back to the museum sometime and give it a fair shot, but I mostly felt out of place, and I had food on my mind. We left and headed over to Pete's Famous Hot Dog's, a fine establishment that serves great hot dogs with an original meat based "special sauce."
After consuming a few dogs in front of Aerochild Tattoos, we headed in to see Aaron and get ready. We were joined by Mat, Haley, and Rachel. He had one appointment to take care of, so we waited about a half hour, and then it was go time. I was first up, and slightly nervous. Shots have never bothered me, but IVs and blood sampling have always caused me to get a bit lightheaded. Here are some photos:
(Taking a deep breath.)
(Looking like I was asleep.)
The feeling was different than anything I'd heard anyone describe it as. Kind of a constant burning. It was uncomfortable, but I'd say I handled it well. Everyone said I just made faces, and I remember laughing as it was going on a few times. Then it was Eric's turn. As you can see, he remained pretty much expressionless throughout the process:
After Eric got done, it was Crys's turn. She got her tattoo on her side. I don't have any photos of the process as they were taken on another camera, but I do have a shot of a little extra art Aaron threw together at the last minute:
Here are some random shots:
(Jason)
(Crys and Mat)
(Jess in full on serious business mode.)
After the tattoos, we did a bit of shopping at India Shoppe, ate at New China Town with Mat and Jess, and headed back home to watch the end of the LSU/Florida game and catch up on the day's College Football highlights. It was a great day.
The end results:
I'll certainly never forget this weekend. I'm proud to share this with great friends, and am glad I waited for the right time in my life to make this kind of decision, even if it was on a whim.
No Regrets. Roll Tide.
No Regrets. Roll Tide.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Man The Change
Sometimes, as an avid music fan, I tend to let new artists and bands I discover overshadow some of what I would call my "old standards." One that I've unfortunately let slip through the cracks over the past few years is Hot Water Music. This is a personal recollection of discovering the band and revisiting their catalog later.
I first got into HWM a year or so before graduating from high school. The thank you lists of many albums I owned had their name on it, and reviews of stellar live performances were scattered across the pages of zines I had collected. One day I was browsing CD's at Tuscaloosa's legendary Vinyl Solution (R.I.P.), and came across a copy of "No Division." I decided to take a chance and buy it that day. I remember being blown away after the first listen. They had a really unique sound that I felt was described inaccurately by all of the press I'd read about them. The rough vocals went into great melodies out of nowhere. It was a different breed of punk that I could not slap a label on. It was inspiring and exciting to me, musically and lyrically. I listened to it all the time, and quickly ordered the rest of their material from No Idea Records. My first package from No Idea came with some really random stuff along with the CD's, like a miniature toy skateboard and a Ninja Turtles trading card. "Fuel for The Hate Game" and "Forever and Counting", and the single tracks that make up "Never Ender" quickly got just as many spins as "No Division" in my CD player. I was definitely hooked.
My time frame here is a bit fuzzy, but the band signed to Epitaph and released "A Flight And A Crash" around the summer of my senior year of HS and the beginning of my stint at the University of Alabama. I got to see the band twice in that time period. The first time was at the Boiler Room, an awesome venue that was located on the North Side of Downtown Birmingham. I will never forget piling a few of my best friends in my mom's Buick and driving to that show. I am sure we looked completely ridiculous when we pulled up. The Boiler Room was essentially a HUGE open room, and even the most crowded shows there looked half empty. The turnout for that particular show was great, though. I was up front sweating and screaming the whole time. I have a flier for it somewhere at my parent's house which will be scanned and posted if I come across it. The second show I caught was sometime during my first year of college, and was with Less Than Jake and Bad Religion at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. They opened the show with a set mostly made up with songs from "A Flight...." and a couple of classics. I remember being a little let down, but they sounded great.
"A Flight and A Crash" and "Caution" both did very little for me. They are decent records, but neither grabbed me like any of the four that got me into the band. They also released "The New What Next" later on, which I might have listened to once. Fast forward a few years and plays here and there, and those records that once spoke to me in a big way are just sitting on the shelf. The news of their break up or reformation didn't spark me to start listening again, either. I was sitting at work recently thinking about how much fun I had in that particular time period, and out of nowhere, a line from the song "Our Own Way" popped into my head. "...There will be times when it will seem like we are caught someplace in between the ocean and the storm without a shore." Just like that, a band I thought of as a soundtrack to a youthful transition spoke to me again. I might have made a mistake by letting those records sit stagnant for a while, but maybe I just needed to let those lines and melodies age a bit to help me out at an even more confusing time. Simply put, I had a much better outlook on life when I got into Hot Water Music. I was excited to be starting college, excited for every single show I attended, and nothing seemed routine. Things change, and there is no way to escape that. Here's to records that bring my mind back to a place where those changes could be for the better.
I first got into HWM a year or so before graduating from high school. The thank you lists of many albums I owned had their name on it, and reviews of stellar live performances were scattered across the pages of zines I had collected. One day I was browsing CD's at Tuscaloosa's legendary Vinyl Solution (R.I.P.), and came across a copy of "No Division." I decided to take a chance and buy it that day. I remember being blown away after the first listen. They had a really unique sound that I felt was described inaccurately by all of the press I'd read about them. The rough vocals went into great melodies out of nowhere. It was a different breed of punk that I could not slap a label on. It was inspiring and exciting to me, musically and lyrically. I listened to it all the time, and quickly ordered the rest of their material from No Idea Records. My first package from No Idea came with some really random stuff along with the CD's, like a miniature toy skateboard and a Ninja Turtles trading card. "Fuel for The Hate Game" and "Forever and Counting", and the single tracks that make up "Never Ender" quickly got just as many spins as "No Division" in my CD player. I was definitely hooked.
My time frame here is a bit fuzzy, but the band signed to Epitaph and released "A Flight And A Crash" around the summer of my senior year of HS and the beginning of my stint at the University of Alabama. I got to see the band twice in that time period. The first time was at the Boiler Room, an awesome venue that was located on the North Side of Downtown Birmingham. I will never forget piling a few of my best friends in my mom's Buick and driving to that show. I am sure we looked completely ridiculous when we pulled up. The Boiler Room was essentially a HUGE open room, and even the most crowded shows there looked half empty. The turnout for that particular show was great, though. I was up front sweating and screaming the whole time. I have a flier for it somewhere at my parent's house which will be scanned and posted if I come across it. The second show I caught was sometime during my first year of college, and was with Less Than Jake and Bad Religion at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. They opened the show with a set mostly made up with songs from "A Flight...." and a couple of classics. I remember being a little let down, but they sounded great.
"A Flight and A Crash" and "Caution" both did very little for me. They are decent records, but neither grabbed me like any of the four that got me into the band. They also released "The New What Next" later on, which I might have listened to once. Fast forward a few years and plays here and there, and those records that once spoke to me in a big way are just sitting on the shelf. The news of their break up or reformation didn't spark me to start listening again, either. I was sitting at work recently thinking about how much fun I had in that particular time period, and out of nowhere, a line from the song "Our Own Way" popped into my head. "...There will be times when it will seem like we are caught someplace in between the ocean and the storm without a shore." Just like that, a band I thought of as a soundtrack to a youthful transition spoke to me again. I might have made a mistake by letting those records sit stagnant for a while, but maybe I just needed to let those lines and melodies age a bit to help me out at an even more confusing time. Simply put, I had a much better outlook on life when I got into Hot Water Music. I was excited to be starting college, excited for every single show I attended, and nothing seemed routine. Things change, and there is no way to escape that. Here's to records that bring my mind back to a place where those changes could be for the better.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Quick Photo Update
The preparation of the Luther.
Turkey Dogs = Not satisfactory.
The construction of The Luther.
We can't forget the condiments.....
....or the magic.
Intimidation.
The first taste...
...the surprise.....
...and the eventual enjoyment.
This is a very bad photo I took of Trap Them at Cave 9 on 10/2/08.
Will Butler's genius on display.
The work received the coveted stamp of approval from Detriot.
This excellent Namath replica jersey arrived today, and I had to take a photo.
I will be rocking this on every cold game day.
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