Monthly Archives: May 2009

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  busy

Well, it’s official.  As of tonight, I have only one month left of my twenties.  It’s coming up so fast.  I can remember distinctly thinking that I have a year left, six months left, three months left, two months left, and now here I am.  I have a feeling it’s all gonna go by in a blink.  I mean, all of 2009 is almost half over already.  Holy shit!  Holy shit!

I was looking through some old saved song files on my computer the other day, and looking at my Morrissey folder, I saw that the timestamp on many of those files is back in 2001.  This would have been the time that I really got obsessive about tracking down each and every song.  My point though is just to think that Morrissey’s been a huge part of my life for eight years now.  I’ve been listening for longer, but that was the time it really started becoming part of my personality.  I know that to some of you, that’s not a very long Moz obsession, or even band obsession period, and that’s fine.  Personally, I look back at 2001 and think how big a turn that was for me.  How might I have turned out without that influence?  And eight years.  That’s a long time.  I can still so clearly remember those days of discovering Moz b-sides for the first time.  Each one such a revelation.  And that was eight years ago.  Again, gone in a blink.

Morrissey turned 50, you know.  The Slim’s show was a big success, I think.  The opening bands were both great, and totally appropriate for the bill.  We played well.  The turn out was great, and it seemed like I couldn’t turn around without running into someone I know.  Damn near everyone I can remember ever coming to an SF show came out of the woodwork.  Friends I haven’t seen in months and even years.  It all added up to one of my favorite shows yet.  The radio promo was fun too, but a little rough.  We were all more nervous for that than we were for Friday!  (You can download a podcast of the radio show here.  We start at about 80 minutes in.)

The rest of my long weekend was all relaxing and recuperating.  When I hit up El Beach Burrito, I was reminded to go next door to Other Avenues (hippie grocery store).  I forget if I mentioned this place before, but they’ve got all kinds of great stuff that I can rarely find elsewhere… fake beef jerky, carob, apple butter, insanely expensive organic trail mix, etc.  For all their organic/local/green hippiness, ironically, they carry Mrs. Meyers cleaning products (owned by SC Johnson!) instead of the locally-based and infinitely greener Method brand.  But alas!  Anyway, I was tempted once again by another brand of peanut sauce, and again I was disappointed.  Tell me, is it impossible to find that Thai satay peanut sauce in a grocery store?  Can this only be had in a restaurant?

This weekend, TCB has another couple of shows, and these ones are way up north!  Those of you in the know may be aware that I haven’t been too keen on travel lately.  So this is gonna be a big trip.  I expect it will go fine though, and when it’s all over, I’ll have something to be happy about.

I’ve got much more to say, but it’s gonna have to wait till next time.  I’m busy this week, bitches!  The quote of the week comes from Morrissey, on mortality:

“People don’t last, and it’s the thinnest of lines that you step over and make that final journey.  When you’re younger, you feel that it’s a great leap to take, but it isn’t.  It’s the batting of an eyelid, and you’re no longer.  And all this brain matter that you’ve been working on for the past 50 years, perfecting, and all these elongated words that you now know and use… it comes to nothing, and you’re rubble.”

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood: sick

If it was swine flu, it passed pretty easily.  I came down with some kind of weird fever and achiness over the weekend that left me without the energy to do much of anything.  From what I hear, a lot of folks have been battling sore throats, so knock on wood that I didn’t have that to deal with.  Tonight, it’s down to just a headache, so I’m hoping to be right as rain tomorrow.  Unrelated (I think), it occurs to me that I’ve been to the doctor more in the last year than in the previous five.  Honestly.  I think that’s partly me getting old and partly me getting paranoid.

I really just wanted to mention that the flyer is finally done for TCB’s celebration of Morrissey’s 50th birthday… a week from Friday!  This is a huge headlining gig at Slim’s, and we’ll be joined by Dead Souls (awesome Joy Division tribute) and Love Vigilantes (a New Order tribute coming all the way from Seattle).  I expect this show to be way better than our Slim’s show last year… for many reasons.  Not the least of which that it’s Mozzer’s semicentennial birthday!  Hope you guys can make it out!

Alright, bitches.  Finally… proof positive regarding the existence of Peanut Butter Boppers.  My previous evidence consisted of their brief appearance in grampa’s fridge in The Lost Boys.  But now RetroJunk has posted the commercial.  Tell me someone else remembers these things?  Delish!  And if that weren’t enough, the Mother’s website is back up, and it indicates that Mother’s Cookies should be back on shelves any day now.  A glimmer of hope in these dark times.  But alas, I’d be sick(er) if I tried to eat any of that stuff right now.  Maybe tomorrow.  Meh.  I’m off to go rest.  Nighty night…

“Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.”

— Unknown

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  tired

Too true, too true.  Yet another Palahniuk quote for a title — that one from Snuff.  Seriously, you should just read his books instead of my bloggin’s.

Before I forget, it’s past midnight.  Happy Cinco De Mayo, bitches!  And happy “Cinco De Drinko” to all my lush friends.  Which is most of you, let’s be honest.  It’s been a busy few days of concerts (Devil Makes Three), brunches, naps, and today jury duty (which I narrowly escaped).  I’ve been totally wiped out lately, and I’m not sure why.  It should be an interesting week as I try to get my energy back.  I probably just need more sleep, and maybe a little more R&R.  Speaking of which, check out this guy Clark Little.  His pictures make me wish I knew how to surf.  Oh, and that I lived in Hawaii.

Practice resumes this week as TCB prepares for Slim’s on May 22nd (Morrissey’s birthday).  We’ll be dusting off some old ones for the show, so there ought to be a few surprises.  And that Manchester bill of Love Vigilantes and Dead Souls is gonna be amazing.  Then the very next weekend, it’s off to Portland and Seattle.  I’ll tell you, after my flight last week, I am absolutely positively sure I don’t want to travel with NASA (my monstrous guitar pedal board).  It was a fun experiment this last year having all those pedals at every show, but it’s only a matter of time before I throw out my back moving that thing around (it weighs more than my amp!).  I’m not a young buck anymore, you know.

So I’ve invested in a smaller pedal board.  Much smaller actually.  It’ll be easier to travel with and just easier in general.  It holds plenty of effects for any kind of music I’d want to play other than Smiths tribute.  You see, tribute bands have the unique challenge of having to try to sound like another band… often the albums where all kinds of studio effects were applied to the guitar.  Trying to recreate that live means having to have a whole arsenal of pedals at your disposal.  But sorry, I’m over that mess.  With this smaller board, I’m going to lose the occasional “perfect” effect for this or that song, but having to make do with less will go just fine I think.  The cost/benefit of lugging around all that weight just doesn’t add up.  (I envy guys like Reverend Horton Heat, where they literally have one or two pedals to worry about, and the rest is all in the fingers.)  You all have heard us.  You know what we’re capable of and that we can nail the sounds more often than not.  I’m retiring NASA for a while and probably changing amps.  My Bassman — which is my favorite  and which I’ve used at nearly every show since TCB started — breaks up a little early for Smiths.  And my Twin — which is what Johnny used a lot of the time anyway — is just begging to get some use.  A lot of changes tone-wise, but I’ll do my best to make it a smooth transition.

Well I’m beat, kiddies, and I’m off to bed.  But I’ll leave you with some mindless entertainment.  If the hipster link last week didn’t get you, this one will.  Thanks to Jamie, it’s texts from last night.  Hilarious!