Shit happens.

Hey hey hey! How's everyone doing? Well I hope. So the weekend has passed and boy, have I got an entry for you. The Nov 17th and Nov 19th shows are in the books and we are moving onward to the Nov 29th show with Street Eaters. I AM STOKED! Alright, I suppose I should do a recap on the shows passed.

Where shall I begin? Well this show was at The Bel-Tower and the headliner was Carol Bui. I wasn't sure what to expect from this show, but it turned out fun and I felt good about it at the nights end. Our old (new) friend Restaurnaut was supposed to go first, but he had forgotten a certain effect pedal at home and had to run out to get it. This obviously caused the show to start late. So his pal Danny Lango filled in for him. Danny had some great songs and we really enjoyed them. Mas took some video.



He was lovely and seemed super excited to have a chance to play some songs. Nick (Restaurnaut) arrived and got the show rolling. He seemed to experience technical difficulties again, but the show went on and he got a great response from the crowd.

Next up was the highly anticipated performance from Fatty Cakes (real name Amber Fargano). It seemed like she drew quite the crowd and most of the people in attendance were actually there to see her. She was truly adorable and had the sweetest personality with songs to match. I really liked her set. I cannot wait to hear more from this lovely lady. Here is some more video courtesy of my dude:



We were asked in the middle of Amber's set if we could go on last. This, I will admit, was a bit of a bummer and kind of took me out of the fun. We of course agreed and waited. We never leave early anyway, we stick around until the very end. It's just fun that way. I don't blame Carol Bui for wanting to go on next, the show started late and I'm sure she didn't want people to leave and play to an empty house (happens all the time). So yeah, she went on and put on a fantastic show. There wasn't a band and she had to use her iPod, but she was so sweet and she danced at the end of her set. It was very nice. I think Mas was pretty bummed because he forgot to get some video. Oh well. She dedicated a few songs to an organization called HIPS (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive) which is a worthy organization worth recognition for what they do. If you'd like to find out more about them and/or donate just head over to their web site. I'll link them along with the band links at the bottom. The Bel-Tower is actually located on a street called Belmont, and this particular street has a reputation for being a prostitution hot zone. So I'm really glad there were people representing HIPS there.

A brass band called Passion Bucket went up before us. A few of their members had to work early the next morning, when I heard this I immediately knew (or so I thought) that EVERYONE was going to leave after their set. This made me so very sad, but the more I thought about it, the less sad I got. If everyone did in fact leave, we would still be playing for our friends and the Bel-Tower staffers (whom have become really good friends/supporters). So it wasn't so bad. I didn't catch the whole Passion Bucket show because we had to set up a little. Again, no video. Sorry. They did well and there was a lot of dancing. Always nice to see. So they finished and just as we were rolling in our equipment, it seemed like the whole room cleared out with the other band. Ouch.

As I was setting up my bass and amp, I made small talk with the sound guy Omar and he said some really nice things about us and Tyrannosaurus Zebra that really made my night. I was glad to be playing again. Thanks Omar! We played, and guess what? The people stayed! It was awesome and they danced!! My goodness, I was relieved. After we packed up and almost everyone left, we stuck around to shoot the shit with a few of the Bel-Tower guys (Omar, Maximo, and Neat). They agreed that they would find a way to get to Visalia so that they could catch our Velouria Records show. We love these guys. It was a good night. Even though I made a lot of mistakes and forgot some lyrics. Shit happens.

And that would be the theme for the next show. Shit happens. But first! The day in between shows. I worked a double shift (going job to job). After work, we went to catch Maximo's gig at the Starline. Had a pint and let him know we came out to support him. Here's a video!




Alright, I'll try to keep this show short because it kind of sucked. Basically,our drummer got lost and didn't get to play with us. We were both pretty upset about it and I mostly just felt disappointed and embarassed. Werebear went on and played and we waited and waited. The record store closed at 8 and we started at 7:35. We played with just bass, guitar and vocals. Our Bel-Tower homies made good on their word and showed up early too. Anyway, it was awkward when he did arrive halfway into our set. Afterwords, we talked a little and went to get some pizza and beer with Wearbear. Our drummer went elsewhere with his friends. It's been kind of weird, but we practice tomorrow and the show for the 29th is still a go. Not to mention we added another on the 2nd of December. Now I'm just hoping for the best. Here is a picture that Ricky from Werebear took. It came out really good and I love that Bruce Springsteen is in the background. That's all for now. Goodnight!

LINKS:

Carol Bui
Fatty Cakes
Passion Bucket
Restaurnaut
Danny Lango
Werebear
and
HIPS

One down, three to go.

Last night was our first of four shows for this month and it took place in a basement. I'm going to try and keep this short. We met a lot new and really nice people.

The first band we met was Elephant Rifle and they were way nice guys. They also put on a loud and fun show. Then of course we ran into the fine fellows of Tyrannosaurus Zebra who also asked if they could use my bass amp "Big Barda". To which I gladly gave my consent. They really are a great band and their bassist is very good. After I went inside to scope out the basement we were about to play in, I met Maximo. He too was very nice and had what appeared to be a broken foot. I felt bad for him most of the evening as he had to remain seated for all of the other acts. Poor guy. We ended up waiting a good hour for the show to really get started. Maximo was first, then another local act Al Bundy went next. They were super loud and the drummer was a beast. Their songs were only a few seconds long and reminded me of Crash and the Boys (yes, from Scott Pilgrim). The drummers hitting was so thunderous his whole drum kit fell apart.

We were up after and thanks to a very stoned fellow, we managed to have a nice crowed around us. He encouraged everyone to get close and dance, thank you for that kind sir, whomever you are. I didn't catch his name. We all made a few mistakes, but overall we had fun and that's pretty much why we do it. I gave out a few more buttons to those kind enough to come over and talk to me and made some more valley connections with other bands. Hopefully we'll be playing a whole lot more and from the looks of it, with really nice people. A lot of girls were in attendance and that really made me happy. I hope they decide to start bands too. I felt super bad for the band Our Lady because the lead singer/guitarists amp totally gave out on him. He borrowed Mas's and even after that, his guitar would NOT stay in tune. After he switched guitars, the entire power pad just gave out. It was a real bummer and I was really looking forward to seeing them play as they looked like a super fun band. I bought a cd from them and I also bought an Elephant Rifle tee. The show went well passed midnight and we had to leave in the middle of Boom Boom Kids set. Mas wasn't feeling to well and neither was I. The bands were great and the atmosphere was pleasing. I'd play there again, but maybe bring a very muscular man or woman to carry our amps down the stairs.

Next show is this Thursday and I hope it's a rad one. We'll be in a much more familiar environment with a lot more familiar faces. Stoked!

Busy. So very busy.

Where or where to begin??

Seriously, I have no idea where to begin. So I guess I'll just list band news and get to other stuff after that. We have shows n' shows n' more shows! Here's the list of events and some flyers.

First:

This is to take place in a basement therefore making it a basement show therefore making it most excellent. BoomBoom Kid (Alls the way from Argentina!), Elephant Rifle (experimental hardcore from Reno, NV), Our Lady (folk punx from Illinois), XIX (Bakersfield, CA punx), Tyrannosaurus Zebra (Visalia, CA folk punx), and Maximo Garcia (local acoustics) will also be in attendance. I'm hoping for a lovely evening. Show starts at 7 p.m.

Second:

This time around we'll be playing with Carol Bui (guitar and drums with "middle eastern flair" outta Washington), Fatty Cakes (described as "weird girl fun times"), Passion Bucket, our homeboy Restaurnaut" (ukulele n'stuff) and possibly more! Again, show starts at 7. This ought to be a good one and I'm really looking forward to the other bands.

Third:

This is the one mentioned in the previous post. We'll be playing with Werebear in Visalia at Velouria Records. We're really happy to be playing with them as they are really nice people and it's been lovely getting to know them here and there. I hope there is somewhat of a crowd. This one, I fear, may be a smaller turn out. I hope Visalia shows up because I don't really know anyone who's going to drive down to see us. Which reminds me, I need to make better friends around here. Or friends who have similar interests and are somewhat supportive I should say. Anyway, it's gonna be fun and I hope people show up to join in on said fun.

And last, but not least!

We'll be playing another show (there is not a yet a flyer for this one) on the 29th with
Street Eaters, Landlord, Tyrannosaurus Zebra, and Maximo Garcia (again). This one I am mega stoked for. It's gonna be a doozy and I can't wait!

We have been so lucky to have played with such lovely people our first two shows, and I can only hope that our luck continues well into the future. Feeling pretty good about life right now.

And just as I type that, I remember that we have to start looking for an apartment soon. I cannot even begin to express how much I loath the moving process. To know that I'm going to have to be doing it all over again in the next few weeks makes me sick to my stomach. I'll try to cheer myself up by thinking about all the cool happenings from the band every time all the other icky stuff in my life starts to creep into consciousness. Being a responsible adult can sometimes be a drag. Sometimes. Anyway, other cool stuff has happened the past few weeks. Like, we went to see Matt and Kim for free at a suicide prevention festival. It was pretty awesome. Alright, that is all for now. I leave you now with a picture of my cat lounging around in the sun. We thought he was dead, but he was just sleeping. He is so spoiled.