THE BLUE REVISION + DEVILCAKE + TOM FOOLERY & THE MISTAKES + THE FIASCOS
Bernie's
Monday December 30, 2002
Devilcake's first appearance at Bernie's in about 9 years, and the first ever with the current super-lineup. The evening got off to a scary start when Gourley slid down the stairs on his back into Bernie's. And then it got worse with the OSU campus lunatics, alcoholics, multiple-personality-disorder sufferers, Evil Dead 2 extras, backup dancers in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video all milling around an otherwise empty Bernie's, dancing to ungodly LOUD country "music," clawing their way around like cave dancers encircling a bonfire. And yours truly kept making accidental eye contact with them. Highly not advisable. I finally took my glasses off, I thought they were going to start thinking I wanted a conversation or some advice from them.
And that's what we get for getting there so gott-damn early. Who ever knows with these things what time is appropriate for a band to show up? Back in the Apollo's days we'd roll up at 10:30pm, hang out for an hour, rock for another hour and then go home and watch a movie.
Then in the Midgard Comics days we'd show up at 6pm and be finished and back home by 8pm. So who really knows.
And we were all there stupidly early. MCB and I wandered over to UDF for H20 (and a new Guitar magazine for me) and we were still up to our eyeballs in time. Hmph.
The other bands all made a mass convergence at 9pm and it was quickly determined that Devilcake was going on 3rd or 4th, which did not bode well - some of us only had babysitters till midnight! So in the end we went on 2nd and played a compact little set and got the hell out like ninjas.
The Blue Revision went on first and let rip with some extremely modern and cool indie-rock activity with noodly bass, Joy Division drumming, early U2 guitar and swish synths that sounded more like jets landing and taking off than a uh... church organ or whatever. Three of the four guys sang and the songs were cool. Like Pavement but not annoying. I thought they were very good, I'd like to hear more of their stuff.
It seemed like we set up pretty quickly - too quickly in my case. I should've been on the other side of the stage near the mic, rather than running my shit back in the corner behind Steve. Darrin even got his drums set up pretty quickly (with a brilliant assist by me on setting up hardware) and pretty soon it was TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS.
Nancy opted out of singing Marshmallow, so we skipped the ghoulish intro and just ran into the song like we useta. At the time I would've preferred to open with a faster song, but in retrospect Marshmallow was perfect, it helped to set the pace and let us sort of establish a groove before we all started spinning our wheels as fast as they would go. Plus that's what we get for not even pretending to make a setlist up beforehand.
And usually I would've preferred to dim the stage lights but I don't think it affected us/me like it did at Little Bros or Midgard. There's something about the lights being too bright onstage that totally kills the mood to me. We don't need to play in the pitch-dark, but if it's too bright it's like we're not even on a stage. I don't know. But it actually wasn't too bad at Bernie's. That low-ass ceiling worked for and against us simultaneously. I couldn't play my bass into the mic at the end of Marshmallow due to the low clearance. But I did it anyway and just tried not to poke the rafters with my headstock (ooer).
By the second chorus of Marshmallow I was physically wrecked. Yet again I forgot to take anything to blow my nose into. The heat onstage mixed with me yelling at the top of my lungs was the perfect combination to free all the snot in my head at once. Which is fantastic when there's nowhere to put it. Then we dove into Wienermobile and let it run amok. Between songs it was kinda like "uh, okay... what do we play now?" Eventually somebody (Kyle from Tom Foolery probably) started yelling out song titles and we happily obliged like a food-metal jukebox. Except Deez Nuts, which we somehow escaped playing.
Sometimes people yell out titles of songs we don't play anymore and that's a little awkward for us because I like to be accomodating, especially when people go to the trouble of learning something about Devilcake. And I want to encourage people to have their own favorite Devilcake songs and to participate in the show in general. But when people yell uh... insert embarassing song title here ... it's just kinda uncomfortable. So it was fortunate that we knew how to play all the songs yelled out, even if we didn't play all of them. We could have. But we didn't.
Todd was rock-solid and my man REPRESENTED with the Keyz O Death. Oh, if you people only knew how it warms my heart to see that cheesy, red, $30 (original retail price), guitar-strap-having keyboard being assailed and tickled by Todd in the heat of battle. I like the Keyz O because, among other things, Todd can step up to the mic on things like Pie Hair Pie and Fribble and whatever else. That's what I'm talking about. He can take the reins and throw down the historically-accurate intro to Pie Hair Pie. Plus it just looks cool.
What's surprising about last night's set is that we literally haven't played together since the box set release party in August. No practices, no nothing. (You can't count 4 of us getting together on Sunday with me playing drums and Darrin playing bass either.) And shockingly enough, there were no trainwrecks, there were no missed cues, there were no flubs or broken anything.
Steve's new xmas pedal was sounding damn fine on his Hands Off My Oreos break. Gourley's intro to Hands Off was classic: "This is a song about keeping your hands off my Oreos. It's called Hands Off My Oreos." Pure Gourley.
Speaking of Gourley - perhaps inspired by his ass-tumble down the stairs, he was rolling around on the stage floor before we even started the first song. Talk about getting into character, dude was just BRINGING IT. There will never be another frontman for Devilcake. He is the essence of all that is Devilcake. Without him we're just five (or six or four) nerds with a fetish for classic metal and extremely retarded lyrics about food.
Pizza Party was a hell of a lot of fun. If I had known it was going to be so fun to play I would've extended the intro and the breakdown. I think any time you can get people to clap over their heads in time to your music, it's a victory. If it's on a Rock And Roll Monday Night, so the better. I'd like to get to the point where lots of people know our songs so they can sing along and act the fool too. Even if they've never heard us before, it's fun to try to make people yell I Want A Big Mac with us.
We barrelled through the set and didn't linger too long on the stage, hopefully. We kept it short and somebody said we could have easily played for another 45 minutes and people would've liked it. Which, even if that's not entirely true, I appreciate the fact that people weren't flipping us off and pelting us with coins and chanting for GWAR while we played. I don't take audience reactions for granted and it's extremely kick-ass when people enjoy themselves.
though there's no set list around to remind me, I'm pretty sure we played
Marshmallow
Wienermobile
Pie Hair Pie
I Want A Big Mac
Pizza Party
Hands Off My Oreos
Fribble
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Monday, December 30, 2002
This is a belated post on a previous show:
============================
ETHOS + GREAT PLAINS GYPSIES + 7th CYCLE + DEVILCAKE + HARLOW
High Five
Saturday June 8th, 2002
============================
We, Devilcake, played High Five on Saturday night.
Before I get to the rest of the story, I just want to say that Harlow is pretty cool. After watching their set, I hung around trying to get in touch with the owner of the bar and was just hanging out with the other bands and the hot female bartenders. At the very end of the evening, around 3 am, I found Harlow sitting at the bar. I talked to them and told them that I really enjoyed their show. They all said that they loved Devilcake and that they listened to the whole set. Guitarist and lead singer, Amanda, and the bassist, Chimene, both said they had the hots for our singer, Gourley. Chimene said she loved Frankenstein's French Fries. That made me feel pretty fucking cool since, well, I wrote that one. Amanda's favorite song was Marshmallow. I didn't get to talk to Melody, the other guitarist, much which was a shame because she seemed very nice. Rebecca, the drummer, was running about. Us drummers tend to do that a lot. She showed up right as I was about to leave. I got to talk to her a little bit. She's only been playing for 3 years which just totally blew my mind. We talked tech a little bit. She was excited about getting her new drum set. I was looking to go, so I split. Duh me. I should have talked to her more 'cause she, and the rest of Harlow, are just cool cats all together. In fact, Rebecca was the first person to talk to the band after we finished our set. Toddeus gave her a freshly burnt copy of our new album. Way to go Todd. Again, Harlow rules. I just can't say that enough.
=-=-=-=-=-= And now the whole story =-=-=-=-=-=-=
MCB came over to my house to pick up the coffin around 3:00. We ran to Lowe's real quick to get some stuff for his mum and then grabbed a bite to eat. Driving separate cars, we got on the road around 4:15pm. We finally got to High Five around 5:30pm. This trip normally would take about 15 and no more than a half hour, however, there was a horrible wreck that slowed our pace down.
The others followed in 1/2 increments. First Todd, then Gourley, then Steve, then Ian. We thought that there was going to be a cookout and that everything was starting at 6pm, however that was not the case.
We hung out in the parking lot for the next 2 hours because there wasn't anything going on inside either. Some of the other bands were in there, but they were just sitting there as well because the bar wasn't open yet. About 7:30pm, Hex On Wheels went on. They weren't too bad I have to say. The singer and bassist seemed nice. I talked to her briefly when all the bands were wandering around trying to find out the order of the bands were going to play in. I and others in the band were excited to find that we were given the coveted slot right before Harlow. Anyways, Hex On Wheels played and they were pretty good.
Some friends of mine showed up from Cincinnati to check out their show. I haven't seen them (or talked to them for that matter) for practically a year. I think it was cool of them that they came all that way (it's a 2 hour drive) to see my band. They expected that we were going on at 9pm, because that is what I was told. I then had to inform them that they would be sitting through a few more bands before they got to us around 10:30/11:00pm. And they were cool with that.
Up next was Great Plains Drifters from Chicago. Talk about being mismatched on a roster. They were playing country/blues stuff. Ian and MCB were taking bids on who was going to break out the slide first. I'm not sure who won. I was talking to my friend for much of the night before we went on. I liked them. It was a nice change of pace after listening to the heavy sounds of Hex On Wheels. I got to talk to them after Harlow's set as they were sitting in one of the back rooms. They're pretty cool as well.
After Great Plains Drifters was 7 something or another. I went outside at this point and didn't hear much of their set, so no comments on them.
Then came DEVILCAKE!!! That would be the band I'm in. Yeah! It was chaos more than usual because we were trying to cram 7 people and their equipment on this teeny tiny stage. But we got it all worked out. it was hotter than fucking Hades up there. I was sweating up a storm before we were even playing. Those lights are torture but a necessity. The guy in the sound booth asked over the monitor if we wanted the lights dimmed. We said sure. And the show because. Todd did the ultra short intro and Gourley and Nancy went to town on the vocals. When the whole band kicked in at the second verse, the stage lights were going. I was so stoked. For all the other bands that night it was pretty much, lights are on and they are staying on. For us, they were pulling out all the stop. Flashing the lights and the strobes to the beat of the music. It pumped me up big time. We had the coffin strobe going and the inverted cross on with its eerie red lights and tons and tons of smoke. I really wish we would have taped it. It would have been a sight. I didn't cramp up too much thank goodness. We played a few new tunes, Frankenstein's French Fries and Flesh Feast, live for the first time and thankfully so since they made Harlow's hit list. Gourley added some new words on the fly to the end of "Salad Bar Man". He normally would do the whole "S to the A to the L to the A to the D - Man!", however this time he was singing "I know you want me, I know you need me" or something to that degree. I think it sounded pretty good and it was definitely more intelligible that the usual 'rap' ending. With two songs to go, we were told over the monitors 'Last song!'. Damn. Only "I Can't Believe It's Not Satan" and "Fribble" to go. We played through "Satan" and held the last note. I tried to segue directly into Fribble but it was decided that we weren't going to do that so I just let it fade to black and the show was over. Lots of hoots and hollers. I think I had a pretty good show. If I found a groove or not, I'm not sure. It's all usually a big blur. I had my head stuck in my drums as usually, but I did look up a few times to see, well, nothing more than smoke and the rest of the band, but I was consciously trying to make an effort to look up more often. I'm getting a little bit better with each show.
After we got all the shit put away, we talked to Rebecca from Harlow as I mentioned before. Up after us was supposed to be Harlow, but they let the other band, Ethos, go on after us. They weren't too bad either. They were doing a lot of vocal harmony stuff that I like. There were some very good 3 part harmony stuff sounding like Alice In Chains that I thought was pretty sweet.
Harlow closed down the bar with an, in their words, interesting set. The PA kept blowing out in the middle of their songs which was wreaking some havoc. Some songs you would get to hear the beginning and not the end, other times you didn't get to hear the beginning but got to hear the end. The bass amp was up loud enough that you could hear that and I think Amanda's guitar was up loud enough that you could get the gist of what they were playing and you could hear much of the drums, but vocals were inaudible when the PA wasn't working. At one point some guy who obviously knew the words jumped up on stage and was singing with them. At first it was fine with the band and the crowd, however, then he wouldn't leave and was getting in Melody's way, so one of the roadies grabbed him by the waist and carried him away and he was never heard from again. Their set was very good and I enjoyed it tons. They all seemed to be connecting on stage, feeding off each other, melding as a band. It was a good time.
Well, that's all I gots. It's time to go to sleep now. Work awaits me in the morning... BOO!!!!
===============
Set list:
MARSHMALLOW
WIENERMOBILE
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL & BEER
FLESH FEAST
SOFT BATCH MAMA
FRANKENSTEIN
SALAD BAR MAN
I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT SATAN
FRIBBLE (did not play this one... they pulled the plug... oh well)
============================
ETHOS + GREAT PLAINS GYPSIES + 7th CYCLE + DEVILCAKE + HARLOW
High Five
Saturday June 8th, 2002
============================
We, Devilcake, played High Five on Saturday night.
Before I get to the rest of the story, I just want to say that Harlow is pretty cool. After watching their set, I hung around trying to get in touch with the owner of the bar and was just hanging out with the other bands and the hot female bartenders. At the very end of the evening, around 3 am, I found Harlow sitting at the bar. I talked to them and told them that I really enjoyed their show. They all said that they loved Devilcake and that they listened to the whole set. Guitarist and lead singer, Amanda, and the bassist, Chimene, both said they had the hots for our singer, Gourley. Chimene said she loved Frankenstein's French Fries. That made me feel pretty fucking cool since, well, I wrote that one. Amanda's favorite song was Marshmallow. I didn't get to talk to Melody, the other guitarist, much which was a shame because she seemed very nice. Rebecca, the drummer, was running about. Us drummers tend to do that a lot. She showed up right as I was about to leave. I got to talk to her a little bit. She's only been playing for 3 years which just totally blew my mind. We talked tech a little bit. She was excited about getting her new drum set. I was looking to go, so I split. Duh me. I should have talked to her more 'cause she, and the rest of Harlow, are just cool cats all together. In fact, Rebecca was the first person to talk to the band after we finished our set. Toddeus gave her a freshly burnt copy of our new album. Way to go Todd. Again, Harlow rules. I just can't say that enough.
=-=-=-=-=-= And now the whole story =-=-=-=-=-=-=
MCB came over to my house to pick up the coffin around 3:00. We ran to Lowe's real quick to get some stuff for his mum and then grabbed a bite to eat. Driving separate cars, we got on the road around 4:15pm. We finally got to High Five around 5:30pm. This trip normally would take about 15 and no more than a half hour, however, there was a horrible wreck that slowed our pace down.
The others followed in 1/2 increments. First Todd, then Gourley, then Steve, then Ian. We thought that there was going to be a cookout and that everything was starting at 6pm, however that was not the case.
We hung out in the parking lot for the next 2 hours because there wasn't anything going on inside either. Some of the other bands were in there, but they were just sitting there as well because the bar wasn't open yet. About 7:30pm, Hex On Wheels went on. They weren't too bad I have to say. The singer and bassist seemed nice. I talked to her briefly when all the bands were wandering around trying to find out the order of the bands were going to play in. I and others in the band were excited to find that we were given the coveted slot right before Harlow. Anyways, Hex On Wheels played and they were pretty good.
Some friends of mine showed up from Cincinnati to check out their show. I haven't seen them (or talked to them for that matter) for practically a year. I think it was cool of them that they came all that way (it's a 2 hour drive) to see my band. They expected that we were going on at 9pm, because that is what I was told. I then had to inform them that they would be sitting through a few more bands before they got to us around 10:30/11:00pm. And they were cool with that.
Up next was Great Plains Drifters from Chicago. Talk about being mismatched on a roster. They were playing country/blues stuff. Ian and MCB were taking bids on who was going to break out the slide first. I'm not sure who won. I was talking to my friend for much of the night before we went on. I liked them. It was a nice change of pace after listening to the heavy sounds of Hex On Wheels. I got to talk to them after Harlow's set as they were sitting in one of the back rooms. They're pretty cool as well.
After Great Plains Drifters was 7 something or another. I went outside at this point and didn't hear much of their set, so no comments on them.
Then came DEVILCAKE!!! That would be the band I'm in. Yeah! It was chaos more than usual because we were trying to cram 7 people and their equipment on this teeny tiny stage. But we got it all worked out. it was hotter than fucking Hades up there. I was sweating up a storm before we were even playing. Those lights are torture but a necessity. The guy in the sound booth asked over the monitor if we wanted the lights dimmed. We said sure. And the show because. Todd did the ultra short intro and Gourley and Nancy went to town on the vocals. When the whole band kicked in at the second verse, the stage lights were going. I was so stoked. For all the other bands that night it was pretty much, lights are on and they are staying on. For us, they were pulling out all the stop. Flashing the lights and the strobes to the beat of the music. It pumped me up big time. We had the coffin strobe going and the inverted cross on with its eerie red lights and tons and tons of smoke. I really wish we would have taped it. It would have been a sight. I didn't cramp up too much thank goodness. We played a few new tunes, Frankenstein's French Fries and Flesh Feast, live for the first time and thankfully so since they made Harlow's hit list. Gourley added some new words on the fly to the end of "Salad Bar Man". He normally would do the whole "S to the A to the L to the A to the D - Man!", however this time he was singing "I know you want me, I know you need me" or something to that degree. I think it sounded pretty good and it was definitely more intelligible that the usual 'rap' ending. With two songs to go, we were told over the monitors 'Last song!'. Damn. Only "I Can't Believe It's Not Satan" and "Fribble" to go. We played through "Satan" and held the last note. I tried to segue directly into Fribble but it was decided that we weren't going to do that so I just let it fade to black and the show was over. Lots of hoots and hollers. I think I had a pretty good show. If I found a groove or not, I'm not sure. It's all usually a big blur. I had my head stuck in my drums as usually, but I did look up a few times to see, well, nothing more than smoke and the rest of the band, but I was consciously trying to make an effort to look up more often. I'm getting a little bit better with each show.
After we got all the shit put away, we talked to Rebecca from Harlow as I mentioned before. Up after us was supposed to be Harlow, but they let the other band, Ethos, go on after us. They weren't too bad either. They were doing a lot of vocal harmony stuff that I like. There were some very good 3 part harmony stuff sounding like Alice In Chains that I thought was pretty sweet.
Harlow closed down the bar with an, in their words, interesting set. The PA kept blowing out in the middle of their songs which was wreaking some havoc. Some songs you would get to hear the beginning and not the end, other times you didn't get to hear the beginning but got to hear the end. The bass amp was up loud enough that you could hear that and I think Amanda's guitar was up loud enough that you could get the gist of what they were playing and you could hear much of the drums, but vocals were inaudible when the PA wasn't working. At one point some guy who obviously knew the words jumped up on stage and was singing with them. At first it was fine with the band and the crowd, however, then he wouldn't leave and was getting in Melody's way, so one of the roadies grabbed him by the waist and carried him away and he was never heard from again. Their set was very good and I enjoyed it tons. They all seemed to be connecting on stage, feeding off each other, melding as a band. It was a good time.
Well, that's all I gots. It's time to go to sleep now. Work awaits me in the morning... BOO!!!!
===============
Set list:
MARSHMALLOW
WIENERMOBILE
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL & BEER
FLESH FEAST
SOFT BATCH MAMA
FRANKENSTEIN
SALAD BAR MAN
I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT SATAN
FRIBBLE (did not play this one... they pulled the plug... oh well)
Friday, August 09, 2002
HIGHMORE'S BODY + TOM FOOLERY & THE MISTAKES + DEVILCAKE
Little Brothers
Wednesday August 7, 2002
It was an intimate little gathering of diehard dirtheads for our little Wednesday show. It was good to see the Foolery fools and the Highmore fools again. Highmore's went first for whatever reason. Their curious blend of ROCK and flat-out pornographic lyrics never fails to crack me up. I might be the only one but I think they're fucking hilarious. The singer is hysterical and his bass playing is righteous as well. His bass effects will cause me to buy some of my own, I'm afraid. Not forgetting Highmore's guitarist, who's got all the right fretboard moves. I don't know how to explain it, his shit is just there where it needs to be. All his little solos and shit, he's kinda like The Edge reborn in The Melvins. And the drummer from Highmore's is a fucking monster, I hope they realize what an asset he is to their band!
I love playing with Highmore's Body, those guys are a kick-ass band and they're cool to us too. Next on the bill was Tom Foolery & The Mistakes. The last time we saw them they were missing the bass player and half of a drum kit - both of which were present this time! Their songs crack me the fuck up too, and in fact they're very similar to Highmore's but at the same time they couldn't be more unalike. I mean, they're both trios and both of the singers wear glasses and they both kind of mine that lonely/loser (you know what I mean) vein in their lyrics and presentation. But that's where the similarites end I think. They did play the one about the PM Dawn dream. And the bass player appeared to be playing many many notes but I couldn't make out any of them due to everything else being louder in the mix. They even had some females dancing in front of the stage when they played! I wonder what that's like!
I knew I was forgetting something when Devilcake took the stage, and it was to ask Tera The Sound-person to please turn off the stage lights while we play! For if we've learned nothing from our tenure at Midgard, we should know now that rocking out with the lights on is an impossibility. And I felt it the entire time we played, it just seemed like we/I weren't hitting the marks like we did the last time we played at Little Bros.
We played the summer set but opened with Marshmallow and we threw in I Can't Believe It's Not Satan somewhere just because it's the name of the CD!
We didn't start playing until around midnight and I think my body fell asleep sometime around 10:30 or so. I was so totally out of it for the entire evening.
The summer set seemed to lack the impact of the last time we played it, but oh well. Did we practice it too much? Not enough? Whatever it was, I didn't feel like we were really rocking people. Possibly because with all that damn light I could actually see all of the audience! And that's bad. I need to step back and focus on playing the right notes and shit. I talked too much between songs too. If anyone sees me stepping up to the mic between songs in the future, please remind me that I shouldn't! I always feel like an asshole later.
The sound was good, I could hear everything pretty much. I should've had my amp louder though, I could barely hear it. But I could hear Nancy and Todd's keys and Gourley just fine. So that's cool.
The pisser is that after I finished packing up after our set, I realized I broke my glasses! I had put them on my amp before we started playing and then I totally forgot about them. I might've stepped on them or dropped something on them. Whatever, they were all mangled when I found them. And it made me want to cry for some reason. Probably the fatigue. I'm not a cry-er but I couldn't see and I thought I was going to die. So um.
I'm glad Highmore's and Tom Foolery got to stick around for our set - most of them anyway! I hope that they had as much fun as we did.
Little Brothers
Wednesday August 7, 2002
It was an intimate little gathering of diehard dirtheads for our little Wednesday show. It was good to see the Foolery fools and the Highmore fools again. Highmore's went first for whatever reason. Their curious blend of ROCK and flat-out pornographic lyrics never fails to crack me up. I might be the only one but I think they're fucking hilarious. The singer is hysterical and his bass playing is righteous as well. His bass effects will cause me to buy some of my own, I'm afraid. Not forgetting Highmore's guitarist, who's got all the right fretboard moves. I don't know how to explain it, his shit is just there where it needs to be. All his little solos and shit, he's kinda like The Edge reborn in The Melvins. And the drummer from Highmore's is a fucking monster, I hope they realize what an asset he is to their band!
I love playing with Highmore's Body, those guys are a kick-ass band and they're cool to us too. Next on the bill was Tom Foolery & The Mistakes. The last time we saw them they were missing the bass player and half of a drum kit - both of which were present this time! Their songs crack me the fuck up too, and in fact they're very similar to Highmore's but at the same time they couldn't be more unalike. I mean, they're both trios and both of the singers wear glasses and they both kind of mine that lonely/loser (you know what I mean) vein in their lyrics and presentation. But that's where the similarites end I think. They did play the one about the PM Dawn dream. And the bass player appeared to be playing many many notes but I couldn't make out any of them due to everything else being louder in the mix. They even had some females dancing in front of the stage when they played! I wonder what that's like!
I knew I was forgetting something when Devilcake took the stage, and it was to ask Tera The Sound-person to please turn off the stage lights while we play! For if we've learned nothing from our tenure at Midgard, we should know now that rocking out with the lights on is an impossibility. And I felt it the entire time we played, it just seemed like we/I weren't hitting the marks like we did the last time we played at Little Bros.
We played the summer set but opened with Marshmallow and we threw in I Can't Believe It's Not Satan somewhere just because it's the name of the CD!
We didn't start playing until around midnight and I think my body fell asleep sometime around 10:30 or so. I was so totally out of it for the entire evening.
The summer set seemed to lack the impact of the last time we played it, but oh well. Did we practice it too much? Not enough? Whatever it was, I didn't feel like we were really rocking people. Possibly because with all that damn light I could actually see all of the audience! And that's bad. I need to step back and focus on playing the right notes and shit. I talked too much between songs too. If anyone sees me stepping up to the mic between songs in the future, please remind me that I shouldn't! I always feel like an asshole later.
The sound was good, I could hear everything pretty much. I should've had my amp louder though, I could barely hear it. But I could hear Nancy and Todd's keys and Gourley just fine. So that's cool.
The pisser is that after I finished packing up after our set, I realized I broke my glasses! I had put them on my amp before we started playing and then I totally forgot about them. I might've stepped on them or dropped something on them. Whatever, they were all mangled when I found them. And it made me want to cry for some reason. Probably the fatigue. I'm not a cry-er but I couldn't see and I thought I was going to die. So um.
I'm glad Highmore's and Tom Foolery got to stick around for our set - most of them anyway! I hope that they had as much fun as we did.
Saturday, July 13, 2002
For those of you in-tie-rested in the summer setlist we used at midgard, here it 'tis:
Flesh Feast
Cereal And Beer
Wienermobile
Pizza Party
Hands Off My Oreos
Pie Hair Pie
I Want A Big Mac
Deez Nuts
Red Pop
Salad Bar Man
*and finally, returning to the regular set list from the depths of 'sound check' status*
Guacamole Dammit
I had an okay time... as Ian said my drums were falling apart and pissing me off in general. Here's what I had to say the day after in my live journal.
*start quote*
Devilcake played at Midgard last night, and it was total madness... sometimes good madness... sometimes bad madness. During the set up, nothing was unusual. I was back in the corner, Todd to my left, MCB to my front right, Ian... pacing as usual and not really having a set 'spot', Nancy and Steve in front of Todd, and Gourley... I'm not sure where he was... probably putting on his horns. Gourley said 'Kill The Lights' and we were off to the instrumental beginning of 'Flesh Feast'. That song went fine. We were going all out, every one of us. The set list was designed as such, having none of the slower songs that usually are sprinkled throughout the set. This was going to be a straight ahead blitz. "Cereal And Beer" was next. It was during this song that I noticed that the bass drum was moving. Son of a... At the conclusion of the song I quickly got on the floor to fix it, however, my drumset was having none of that. For some reason, the foot pedal just wasn't willing to go on the bass drum. Todd, sensing the momentum was slowing started a fine instrumental using some of his new toys. Thanks Todd for filling in for me!!! And thanks to Ian for helping me as well, lending a fellow-drummer hand when I needed it!!! Finally the pedal was on. I laid into the china cymbal 3 times and off we went on the 'Wienermobile'. That song was FLYING fast! The kids were starting to get into it at this point. The rest of the set was a blur for me since my equipment was constantly giving me issues. If the bass drum wasn't moving, the high hat was falling apart or the snare drum was threatening to fall of the stand. But we all kept jamming and the kids kept moshing. It retrospect, it was a very good gig. Everyone else seemed to be in the groove... even me at times. Ian was all over the place (at least he was when I was looking up). I had a small train wreck on the last song, Guacamole Dammit (!) and I took Todd with me, but Ian pulled us back in for the final note. It was great way to end our run at Midgard Comics. At the end of the evening I gave away a bunch of stickers and the crowd was grabbing them up.
*end quote*
Now bugger off!
Flesh Feast
Cereal And Beer
Wienermobile
Pizza Party
Hands Off My Oreos
Pie Hair Pie
I Want A Big Mac
Deez Nuts
Red Pop
Salad Bar Man
*and finally, returning to the regular set list from the depths of 'sound check' status*
Guacamole Dammit
I had an okay time... as Ian said my drums were falling apart and pissing me off in general. Here's what I had to say the day after in my live journal.
*start quote*
Devilcake played at Midgard last night, and it was total madness... sometimes good madness... sometimes bad madness. During the set up, nothing was unusual. I was back in the corner, Todd to my left, MCB to my front right, Ian... pacing as usual and not really having a set 'spot', Nancy and Steve in front of Todd, and Gourley... I'm not sure where he was... probably putting on his horns. Gourley said 'Kill The Lights' and we were off to the instrumental beginning of 'Flesh Feast'. That song went fine. We were going all out, every one of us. The set list was designed as such, having none of the slower songs that usually are sprinkled throughout the set. This was going to be a straight ahead blitz. "Cereal And Beer" was next. It was during this song that I noticed that the bass drum was moving. Son of a... At the conclusion of the song I quickly got on the floor to fix it, however, my drumset was having none of that. For some reason, the foot pedal just wasn't willing to go on the bass drum. Todd, sensing the momentum was slowing started a fine instrumental using some of his new toys. Thanks Todd for filling in for me!!! And thanks to Ian for helping me as well, lending a fellow-drummer hand when I needed it!!! Finally the pedal was on. I laid into the china cymbal 3 times and off we went on the 'Wienermobile'. That song was FLYING fast! The kids were starting to get into it at this point. The rest of the set was a blur for me since my equipment was constantly giving me issues. If the bass drum wasn't moving, the high hat was falling apart or the snare drum was threatening to fall of the stand. But we all kept jamming and the kids kept moshing. It retrospect, it was a very good gig. Everyone else seemed to be in the groove... even me at times. Ian was all over the place (at least he was when I was looking up). I had a small train wreck on the last song, Guacamole Dammit (!) and I took Todd with me, but Ian pulled us back in for the final note. It was great way to end our run at Midgard Comics. At the end of the evening I gave away a bunch of stickers and the crowd was grabbing them up.
*end quote*
Now bugger off!
Sunday, July 07, 2002
here's Nancy's account of the Polaris show, which I just ganked from her Live Journal. http://www.livejournal.com/users/voxaria/
Polaris: The Musical
It rained.
But before that, everything about it was great- we were waved in at the gate and parked right next to the stage. The stage itself was huge- it was a football field compared to what we’re used to. We had three people helping us set up. The helpful and competent Shannon brought us a cooler of pop, water, and Coronas, with the promise of pizza on the way.
As Poison’s sound check bumped along nearby, we spent nearly an hour setting up, checking levels, etc. It was laid-back but very professional (and very easy to get used to). Shannon graciously positioned Todd’s camcorder in front of the sound booth to capture everything for posterity. We were told we’d be patched in to a radio station, and there were rumblings of possible backstage passes. The banner was duct-taped to the front of the stage within an inch of its life. I took a lot of pictures. All was well.
Finally it was time for our sound check. We ran through “Guacamole Dammit” a time and a half, then got ready to officially start the set. The skies were graying, but we remained hopeful.
We were into the fourth song when our main contact dude (Doug, of the chaw-filled lower lip) began heaving large rolls of plastic into position around the stage. The wind had been steadily picking up, and visions of the opening scenes of “Still Crazy” were dancing in my head. He told me to be ready to shut it all down as soon as he gave the signal.
At 5:15, barely into the opening bars of “I Want a Big Mac,” we had to pull the plug. With the tarps whipping in the wind, lightning flashing all around, and rain pelting us, we finally got everything shrouded and headed for a nearby structure to wait and see.
The rain stopped soon and we watched as steam rose from the pavement, wondering if we’d get to go back on. Some amazingly good (unfortunately anonymous) pizza appeared and was summarily devoured. Strains of classic rock wafted over from the VIP party right next to us, followed by the opening numbers of Faster Pussycat’s set which began as scheduled on the main stage.
Doug returned from an inspection of the stage to inform us that rain had gotten the connectors and various other electrical pieces and parts too wet to power up. Disappointed as we were, not playing was preferable to almost certain death by electrocution. The load-out took longer than the “set” we’d been able to play.
Doug was very apologetic. In a way, the whole incident probably did more toward helping seal the deal for booking us at Shocktoberfest than if we’d played the full evening (so mark your calendars now). Doug carried on the tradition of announcing his fear for his mortal soul after booking and mixing us. Hell yeah!!
We passed out some CD’s to the crew, who really seemed to dig us. After some entertaining moments watching the freak show that was the Polaris hair-metal-fan crowd, it was time to go. Most of us didn’t feel like hanging around to hear songs that we could have covered better in Darrin’s basement. And the stoned pre-teen asking for body autographs just added to surrealism of the entire experience (maybe she wasn’t, but she sure looked it- both stoned and pre-teen).
It wasn’t even 7:30. The let-down was complete. As we exited the parking lot, the bulk of the crowd was just arriving to see Bret and company crank out their (insert your own adjective here) “product”.
We watched the video at Darrin’s and it was pretty wild to see how fast the sky darkened in the short time the camera was running. It was short but highly entertaining, if only for Ian’s drum-riser jumps and hellraising vocal stylings. Gourley was as into it as ever, which is saying something since hardly anyone had made their way back to our neck of the woods yet.
The concession stand and Polaris staff were privileged to hear the following:
• Guacamole Dammit
• Guacamole Dammit (sound check mini-mix)
• Weinermobile
• Sacrificial Leg of Lamb
• Pie Hair Pie
• I Want a Big Mac (storm edit)
We’ll be back.
Polaris: The Musical
It rained.
But before that, everything about it was great- we were waved in at the gate and parked right next to the stage. The stage itself was huge- it was a football field compared to what we’re used to. We had three people helping us set up. The helpful and competent Shannon brought us a cooler of pop, water, and Coronas, with the promise of pizza on the way.
As Poison’s sound check bumped along nearby, we spent nearly an hour setting up, checking levels, etc. It was laid-back but very professional (and very easy to get used to). Shannon graciously positioned Todd’s camcorder in front of the sound booth to capture everything for posterity. We were told we’d be patched in to a radio station, and there were rumblings of possible backstage passes. The banner was duct-taped to the front of the stage within an inch of its life. I took a lot of pictures. All was well.
Finally it was time for our sound check. We ran through “Guacamole Dammit” a time and a half, then got ready to officially start the set. The skies were graying, but we remained hopeful.
We were into the fourth song when our main contact dude (Doug, of the chaw-filled lower lip) began heaving large rolls of plastic into position around the stage. The wind had been steadily picking up, and visions of the opening scenes of “Still Crazy” were dancing in my head. He told me to be ready to shut it all down as soon as he gave the signal.
At 5:15, barely into the opening bars of “I Want a Big Mac,” we had to pull the plug. With the tarps whipping in the wind, lightning flashing all around, and rain pelting us, we finally got everything shrouded and headed for a nearby structure to wait and see.
The rain stopped soon and we watched as steam rose from the pavement, wondering if we’d get to go back on. Some amazingly good (unfortunately anonymous) pizza appeared and was summarily devoured. Strains of classic rock wafted over from the VIP party right next to us, followed by the opening numbers of Faster Pussycat’s set which began as scheduled on the main stage.
Doug returned from an inspection of the stage to inform us that rain had gotten the connectors and various other electrical pieces and parts too wet to power up. Disappointed as we were, not playing was preferable to almost certain death by electrocution. The load-out took longer than the “set” we’d been able to play.
Doug was very apologetic. In a way, the whole incident probably did more toward helping seal the deal for booking us at Shocktoberfest than if we’d played the full evening (so mark your calendars now). Doug carried on the tradition of announcing his fear for his mortal soul after booking and mixing us. Hell yeah!!
We passed out some CD’s to the crew, who really seemed to dig us. After some entertaining moments watching the freak show that was the Polaris hair-metal-fan crowd, it was time to go. Most of us didn’t feel like hanging around to hear songs that we could have covered better in Darrin’s basement. And the stoned pre-teen asking for body autographs just added to surrealism of the entire experience (maybe she wasn’t, but she sure looked it- both stoned and pre-teen).
It wasn’t even 7:30. The let-down was complete. As we exited the parking lot, the bulk of the crowd was just arriving to see Bret and company crank out their (insert your own adjective here) “product”.
We watched the video at Darrin’s and it was pretty wild to see how fast the sky darkened in the short time the camera was running. It was short but highly entertaining, if only for Ian’s drum-riser jumps and hellraising vocal stylings. Gourley was as into it as ever, which is saying something since hardly anyone had made their way back to our neck of the woods yet.
The concession stand and Polaris staff were privileged to hear the following:
• Guacamole Dammit
• Guacamole Dammit (sound check mini-mix)
• Weinermobile
• Sacrificial Leg of Lamb
• Pie Hair Pie
• I Want a Big Mac (storm edit)
We’ll be back.
Who even pays attention to this shit anymore? Or did we ever?!?!?! I wonder.
Saturday 6 July 2002
Midgard Comics
DEVILCAKE and somebody will have to tell me the names of the other bands because I never knew
The last two scheduled appearances at Midgard were summarily blown off by us due to a lack of paying attendees. And that's not to imply that I think we're rockstars ever since we played Polaris the other week on the sidestage before Poison. Far from it.
It's just that - if there's no audience then there's no point. And we all have too much going on to squander an evening at an empty comic store if ya know what I mean.
We rehearsed a special Summer Set last Wednesday, comprised of all fast, uptempo songs. Nothing too heavy, nothing too ghouly, just the fast shit. As in, let's play fast and then go eat. Although there are times when it's nice to lay down a solid doom groove, this wasn't meant to be one of them.
And I'm so glad we did that. Afterwards everyone said "wow, what a great set that was." Hmmm.
It was old school. Why in my day we had thirteen people onstage and we always played like that! It was a shambolic, fast mess and that's how we liked it!
Darrin broke his drums several times. First the bass drum kept slipping away. Then the pedal came off from the drum. And then what? It seemed like a lot more at the time.
Todd's finding his groove, equipment-wise. At least until the next gig! But he was happy and that's all that matters. Because he's the only one who ever knows with that stuff.
The boys in the audience amused themselves with a thoroughly un-ironic mosh pit while the girls in the audience (okay, Rachel) shouted the lyrics and had a great time. Even if the audience consists of adolescent boys running at each other and one female who's engaged to the guitar player that's still a damn sight better than playing for nobody. Or not playing at all. And it does make one hell of a difference to see one person in front of the stage having as much fun as I do!
There was one point where I went to the back of the stage to rock by Darrin and Todd. When I turned around I saw Steve and MCB strumming each others' guitars a la Cinderella. HELL YEAH. Hell yeah.
Nancy still managed to find bits and pieces to add even though we weren't doing anything dramatic or operatic in the slightest! And that rules because it would be very easy for her to say "we're not playing Marshmallow therefore I'm going to stay home tonight fuckaaaaaaahhhhhs." It is a complete waste to have a voice as great as hers yelling "guacamole damn it leave it alone"! But like I said I prefer that to the alternative.
Steve The Former Video Guy (it's been a long time since I did a Gig Diary!) is a quiet but solid presence onstage. He and MCB make a great guitar team, they're both from the same planet on all of that shit.
And Gourley. That dude never stops!
Space on the stage goes quickly when you have seven people in the band. It's sometimes hard to rock like a boulder without kicking people, unplugging their guitars, blowing sweat on them, headbutting them, stabbing them in the face with the headstock of my bass, elbowing them in the neck etc. It's hard but not impossible.
I always forget to drink water before we play at Midgard and I wind up drinking water onstage, which causes my old man belly to seize up like I'm going to puke. I'm not a casual vomitter, so that wouldn't be good. And I forgot a towel and a fresh t-shirt for afterwards. Basically I was soaked with sweat. And blood from my damn right index finger being the wrong shape for the overly-aggressive style of bass-slaying I fall into.
It sounds like Keith at Midgard is getting pretty stressed out about the whole deal with having bands there, so that'll probably be our last time playing there. Now we can concentrate on getting the box set finished and figuring out what we're going to do for the release party!
Who can write in the setlist here?
Saturday 6 July 2002
Midgard Comics
DEVILCAKE and somebody will have to tell me the names of the other bands because I never knew
The last two scheduled appearances at Midgard were summarily blown off by us due to a lack of paying attendees. And that's not to imply that I think we're rockstars ever since we played Polaris the other week on the sidestage before Poison. Far from it.
It's just that - if there's no audience then there's no point. And we all have too much going on to squander an evening at an empty comic store if ya know what I mean.
We rehearsed a special Summer Set last Wednesday, comprised of all fast, uptempo songs. Nothing too heavy, nothing too ghouly, just the fast shit. As in, let's play fast and then go eat. Although there are times when it's nice to lay down a solid doom groove, this wasn't meant to be one of them.
And I'm so glad we did that. Afterwards everyone said "wow, what a great set that was." Hmmm.
It was old school. Why in my day we had thirteen people onstage and we always played like that! It was a shambolic, fast mess and that's how we liked it!
Darrin broke his drums several times. First the bass drum kept slipping away. Then the pedal came off from the drum. And then what? It seemed like a lot more at the time.
Todd's finding his groove, equipment-wise. At least until the next gig! But he was happy and that's all that matters. Because he's the only one who ever knows with that stuff.
The boys in the audience amused themselves with a thoroughly un-ironic mosh pit while the girls in the audience (okay, Rachel) shouted the lyrics and had a great time. Even if the audience consists of adolescent boys running at each other and one female who's engaged to the guitar player that's still a damn sight better than playing for nobody. Or not playing at all. And it does make one hell of a difference to see one person in front of the stage having as much fun as I do!
There was one point where I went to the back of the stage to rock by Darrin and Todd. When I turned around I saw Steve and MCB strumming each others' guitars a la Cinderella. HELL YEAH. Hell yeah.
Nancy still managed to find bits and pieces to add even though we weren't doing anything dramatic or operatic in the slightest! And that rules because it would be very easy for her to say "we're not playing Marshmallow therefore I'm going to stay home tonight fuckaaaaaaahhhhhs." It is a complete waste to have a voice as great as hers yelling "guacamole damn it leave it alone"! But like I said I prefer that to the alternative.
Steve The Former Video Guy (it's been a long time since I did a Gig Diary!) is a quiet but solid presence onstage. He and MCB make a great guitar team, they're both from the same planet on all of that shit.
And Gourley. That dude never stops!
Space on the stage goes quickly when you have seven people in the band. It's sometimes hard to rock like a boulder without kicking people, unplugging their guitars, blowing sweat on them, headbutting them, stabbing them in the face with the headstock of my bass, elbowing them in the neck etc. It's hard but not impossible.
I always forget to drink water before we play at Midgard and I wind up drinking water onstage, which causes my old man belly to seize up like I'm going to puke. I'm not a casual vomitter, so that wouldn't be good. And I forgot a towel and a fresh t-shirt for afterwards. Basically I was soaked with sweat. And blood from my damn right index finger being the wrong shape for the overly-aggressive style of bass-slaying I fall into.
It sounds like Keith at Midgard is getting pretty stressed out about the whole deal with having bands there, so that'll probably be our last time playing there. Now we can concentrate on getting the box set finished and figuring out what we're going to do for the release party!
Who can write in the setlist here?
Sunday, June 02, 2002
This is Darrin ... Ian is hard at work on the stuff for the new album, so I am substituting in.
Sunday 14 April 2002
Jag's (Dayton, OH!!! Woo Hoo!!!)
DEVILCAKE - BEAUTIFUL CHAOS
We got this gig because of Tom Foolery and The Mistakes couldn't make the show. We are grateful to them for getting us out of Columbus.
We played first. The only people in the audience were the guys from Beautiful Chaos and a few of their friends. I think it was no more than 10 people. This was the introduction of Todd 'The Sound Effects Man' Skaggs. Todd had a laptop wired up to an amp and was playing little snippets of this and that here and there. We were anticipating using BC's mics, however, they only brought one, so unfortunately Nancy sat out for this one. We pretty much got up there, played our shit and got off the stage. I wasn't feeling all too well, so I don't remember much other than it wasn't a horrible show.
Gourley and I stayed and watched a little bit of Beautiful Chaos before grabbing a fistful of dollars and bolting out there door. For there not being hardly anyone at this show, it still paid much more than either Mike or I imagined. We figured on $5 dollars. We got a little bit more than that. Just a little bit though. Still, cash is cash and the band can use it later for some of the new props.
We played (using the set lists intended for the Midgard show):
MARSHMALLOW
WIENERMOBILE
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL & BEER
DEEZ NUTS
SALAD BAR MAN
I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT SATAN
FRIBBLE
Sunday 14 April 2002
Jag's (Dayton, OH!!! Woo Hoo!!!)
DEVILCAKE - BEAUTIFUL CHAOS
We got this gig because of Tom Foolery and The Mistakes couldn't make the show. We are grateful to them for getting us out of Columbus.
We played first. The only people in the audience were the guys from Beautiful Chaos and a few of their friends. I think it was no more than 10 people. This was the introduction of Todd 'The Sound Effects Man' Skaggs. Todd had a laptop wired up to an amp and was playing little snippets of this and that here and there. We were anticipating using BC's mics, however, they only brought one, so unfortunately Nancy sat out for this one. We pretty much got up there, played our shit and got off the stage. I wasn't feeling all too well, so I don't remember much other than it wasn't a horrible show.
Gourley and I stayed and watched a little bit of Beautiful Chaos before grabbing a fistful of dollars and bolting out there door. For there not being hardly anyone at this show, it still paid much more than either Mike or I imagined. We figured on $5 dollars. We got a little bit more than that. Just a little bit though. Still, cash is cash and the band can use it later for some of the new props.
We played (using the set lists intended for the Midgard show):
MARSHMALLOW
WIENERMOBILE
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL & BEER
DEEZ NUTS
SALAD BAR MAN
I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT SATAN
FRIBBLE
This is Darrin ... Ian is hard at work on the stuff for the new album, so I am substituting in.
Saturday 6 April 2002
Midgard Comics
TOM FOOLERY AND THE MISTAKES - DEVILCAKE - CASK - CC MANDED - and maybe a couple of others that I forgot to write down
That's right folks we played SECOND! If you've ever seen us, then you know that we usually are on first.
This show was the debut of MCBs Flying V Jackson _AND_ Ian's Stick. I on the other hand lended to the chaos by forgetting to bring in the set list from the car. I was having a tough time getting the drumset together and totally. It wasn't until I was asking myself, "What comes after Wienermobile?" that I, and the rest of the band, realized my mistake. So we all shrugged our shoulders and I called out what I thought was right. In all honestly, I thought it made the show a little more enjoyable, just because.
I think this is the most fun I've had playing with Devilcake. I wasn't really nervous, I wasn't pissed off at being blown away by feedback, I didn't play all the songs 500 miles per hours. I even looked up quite a few times. I had fun. Occasionally my arms started aching (a sign of not hardly practicing at all in the past 6 months) and for the last 3 songs I felt like I was dragging a little bit, but overall, I was just happy. The people at Midgard were actually receptive this time, clapping and cheering and shit. I think that this is because we were on a better bill than last time. I think the last Midgard show we did was mostly punk/'Let's Get High' bands. This was supposedly a more "metal/goth" oriented bill.
The first act up was Tom Foolery & The Mistakes. One of the guys in the band literally made a mistake... the bassist just didn't show up. So it was just the acoustic guitarist and a drummer with the weirdest setup I think I have ever seen. Facing the kit from the crowd, from right to left, he had a snare, a high tom, a high hat with tambouring attached, the floor tom and a crash cymbal. My hat is off to them for sucking it up and playing anyways... and doing quite well. For supposedly being a goth bill, I liken Tom Foolery to Elvis Costello meets Weezer. It was rather enjoyable. They had a song about indigestion and another ballady song where he mentioned Winger. Again, it was entertaining in a good way. Hopefully we can get on a bill with them sometime.
The band that followed us was Cask. Heavy Metal, pure and simple. I liken them to Slayer (who they list as one of their influences). They weren't too bad. I didn't stay to hear the rest of the set. Thanks to the dude from CC Manded for stopping and talking to us. Give us a shout later, man. It would be cool to be on a bill with either of those two as well.
I think the order was as follows:
Marshmallow
Wienermobile
Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb
Hands Of My Oreos
Cereal And Beer
Pizza Party
Deez Nuts
Red Pop
I Can't Believe It's Not Satan
Fribble
Saturday 6 April 2002
Midgard Comics
TOM FOOLERY AND THE MISTAKES - DEVILCAKE - CASK - CC MANDED - and maybe a couple of others that I forgot to write down
That's right folks we played SECOND! If you've ever seen us, then you know that we usually are on first.
This show was the debut of MCBs Flying V Jackson _AND_ Ian's Stick. I on the other hand lended to the chaos by forgetting to bring in the set list from the car. I was having a tough time getting the drumset together and totally. It wasn't until I was asking myself, "What comes after Wienermobile?" that I, and the rest of the band, realized my mistake. So we all shrugged our shoulders and I called out what I thought was right. In all honestly, I thought it made the show a little more enjoyable, just because.
I think this is the most fun I've had playing with Devilcake. I wasn't really nervous, I wasn't pissed off at being blown away by feedback, I didn't play all the songs 500 miles per hours. I even looked up quite a few times. I had fun. Occasionally my arms started aching (a sign of not hardly practicing at all in the past 6 months) and for the last 3 songs I felt like I was dragging a little bit, but overall, I was just happy. The people at Midgard were actually receptive this time, clapping and cheering and shit. I think that this is because we were on a better bill than last time. I think the last Midgard show we did was mostly punk/'Let's Get High' bands. This was supposedly a more "metal/goth" oriented bill.
The first act up was Tom Foolery & The Mistakes. One of the guys in the band literally made a mistake... the bassist just didn't show up. So it was just the acoustic guitarist and a drummer with the weirdest setup I think I have ever seen. Facing the kit from the crowd, from right to left, he had a snare, a high tom, a high hat with tambouring attached, the floor tom and a crash cymbal. My hat is off to them for sucking it up and playing anyways... and doing quite well. For supposedly being a goth bill, I liken Tom Foolery to Elvis Costello meets Weezer. It was rather enjoyable. They had a song about indigestion and another ballady song where he mentioned Winger. Again, it was entertaining in a good way. Hopefully we can get on a bill with them sometime.
The band that followed us was Cask. Heavy Metal, pure and simple. I liken them to Slayer (who they list as one of their influences). They weren't too bad. I didn't stay to hear the rest of the set. Thanks to the dude from CC Manded for stopping and talking to us. Give us a shout later, man. It would be cool to be on a bill with either of those two as well.
I think the order was as follows:
Marshmallow
Wienermobile
Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb
Hands Of My Oreos
Cereal And Beer
Pizza Party
Deez Nuts
Red Pop
I Can't Believe It's Not Satan
Fribble
Sunday, March 24, 2002
Monday 18 March 2002
Little Bros
DEVILCAKE | MRS CHILDREN
lineup: Mike Gourley, Mike Chuck Bill, Ian Stewart, Todd Skaggs, Darrin Ailes, Nancy Roberts
It wasn't our fault.
We played:
MARSHMALLOW
WIENERMOBILE
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT SATAN
SOFT BATCH MAMA
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL AND BEER
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
DEEZ NUTS
FRIBBLE
SHIT DOWN YOUR NECK
Little Bros
DEVILCAKE | MRS CHILDREN
lineup: Mike Gourley, Mike Chuck Bill, Ian Stewart, Todd Skaggs, Darrin Ailes, Nancy Roberts
It wasn't our fault.
We played:
MARSHMALLOW
WIENERMOBILE
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT SATAN
SOFT BATCH MAMA
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL AND BEER
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
DEEZ NUTS
FRIBBLE
SHIT DOWN YOUR NECK
Sunday, February 10, 2002
Friday 8 February 2002
Midgard Comics
DEVILCAKE | NAUGHTY NEIGHBORS | ELYSIUM | APOSTASY
lineup: Mike Gourley, Mike Chuck Bill, Ian Stewart, Todd Skaggs, Darrin Ailes, Nancy Roberts
Friday. They said DEVILCAKE on the radio during the event listings in the afternoon. Which made me want to run around the whole floor with my hands in the air. Which would be totally out of character for me at work. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. My work image has almost nothing to do with me personally. I've just finally figured out that if you wear glasses and you're quiet and never talk to anybody, people naturally assume you're smarter than them. Beyond that it's just no fun being a dork when the average age of most of your coworkers is older than your parents. Anyway.
So the event listing went like this: "and tonight at Midgard Comics - you know that's a very young crowd there, mostly catering to the 18-and-unders. Tonight, Naughty Neighbors, Devilcake, Elysium, Apostasy."
And he mispronounced the last two to a hilarious degree. Bah ha ha ha ha ha. But yeah, he said Devilcake on the radio.
I got to Midgard embarassingly early. Or at least I thought it was embarassing. I was fighting Friday evening rush hour traffic to get there, fer feck's sake. And I could see the DC posse from Cleveland Ave. We're so numerous.
Todd had blue spiky hair (temporarily of course) and Nancy was dressed like a goth maiden or something, I don't know. Darrin and Mike Bill both wore their ghouliest jeans and black t-shirts. Props to Darrin for representing with his King Crimson shirt! Nice one. In the sensory overload that was our first gig in 6.5 months, I forgot to say HEY DARRIN, NICE CHOICE OF T-SHIRTS.
Then Gourley rolled up with Brian The Photographer and .... drumroll please.... Mr Gabe ! I said "holy shit, back from the dead" when I shook his hand. Gabe used to play guitar in the original Devilcake and it was actually his idea to name the band Devilcake. He was a kick-ass metal guitarist, very very good at playing the coolest guitar solos. He also always picked up on my stupid riffs very quickly. When everybody else would still be struggling, he'd get it immediately. He was so talented it kind of made me jealous, or at least it made me want to compete with him! Fortunately for the world I was on drums while he was on guitar and it never panned out. Which is good because he would've destroyed me.
I finished shaking Gabe's hand and he said quietly "I just got out of prison today."
And I'm supposed to respond to this how? So I said "holy shit."
"Yeah, I just got out of prison. I was hooked on heroin for a couple of years. It was terrible. But I learned a lot in prison. I'm going to be more proactive now."
So I said "holy shit."
Then he talked about how he missed playing music and how great heavy metal was and Celtic Frost and Godflesh and the Melvins ruled. Wow.
I knew Gabe had problems with the law over the years. Hell, even ten years ago he was a loose cannon. The worst part about that for me was that he was so good to play music with that it was really hard to just dismiss him as being a criminal or a drug addict or whatever the deal was at the time.
Anyway, it was very good to see Gabe but in a way it made me more nervous too. What if he didn't like Devilcake?
He showed me his tattoos - a huge Celtic Frost one on one bicep (with the heptagram logo from the Morbid Tales album cover) and a big Motorhead head think on the other one.
It was determined fairly quickly that we were going on first, so we took all of our shit in and set up at a sickeningly comfortable pace. It was Mike Bill's first gig with his new Jackson Randy Rhoads and I was excited for him. It sounded kick-ass at practice on Wednesday. And it looked amazing. How metal we suddenly became.
We set up and kind of lingered nervously for a while. They opened the door and we talked to the soundman/booking guy while the place filled up slowly with youths. The soundman told us about this band that played there that came out with a cello and how all the musicians play like 12 different instruments and he thinks most of them went to Berklee and they're all obsessed with horror/b-movies. I said "okay, we quit, it's already been done."
Todd started the keyboards for "Marshmallow." Then the house lights went down. Gourley came in whenever he felt. "eat them from a bag." Okay. Long pause. "Eat them from a can." Whatever. I give up on counting or staying on time. It's going to be that kind of show.
Gourley had a new look going, this was kind of a Satanic Mafia Priest vibe. I like it. I can't wait to see the pictures.
The new version of "Marshmallow" is just keyboards and vocals - with Nancy getting her opera on at various parts - until the second verse, when the whole band kicks in.
And when we did finally kick in I don't think we've ever sounded so Marilyn Manson. Not that that's a bad thing in itself but never have we as a band ever said "okay, let's make this sound like fucking Marilyn Manson." It just came out that way.
It was patently obvious from even before we started playing that audience, though numerous, was too high on puberty to understand what was happening on the stage. I'm working on a theory about the generation gap between Us (gen x, the late 20s/early 30s fucks) and Them (20 and under). The punch line of the theory is that their generation has grown up on things We have embraced ironically. So that they can wear Weezer t-shirts with logos based on Judas Priest logos with a straight face and not even think it's funny on any level. They just like Powerpuff Girls because it's everywhere, not because it's a send-up of every cartoon cliche We grew up seeing. Irony is completely lost on them. That's the theory anyway.
But I also think that the median age of this audience prevented it from really communicating anything collectively.
When we play at High Five and people don't like us, they give us the finger (or two), they yell FUCK YOU, GET OFF THE STAGE and basically let us know we're not wanted. When they like us, they'll stand there and yell and clap and yell song titles between songs and that's what I'm talking about. Collectively, people are in tune with their emotions and they can give a band instant feedback. Which, even when it's bad, is still vital.
So imagine rocking your BRAINS out to a wall, ten kids deep, of people just standing there with their arms folded. Or paired off talking to each other. It was tough.
I usually get confidence when the whole band kicks in. The volume is soothing and my bass parts just breeze past and if I'm lucky I can get some good rock poses in. Last night it was like talking into a phone and not knowing if anybody was on the other end. I mean, you know they're there, right? But they're not saying or doing anything.
Which is fine. Just stand there and clap if you're going to be all pubescent about it. Just stand back when the shit hits the fan.
None of Gourley's schtick was working. These kids had no clue. He was working it like a champ and there just wasn't anybody home on the other end. Like Andy Partridge said after XTC played in Rio: "It was like asking your mother to listen to Captain Beefheart when she's trying to do the vacuuming." It's like talking philosophy to a baby. They don't dislike you exactly, they just don't understand a fucking thing you're saying.
Right. So "Marshmallow" yielded to a bruising "Wienermobile." Not just the tempo, but for me the actual playing of the song was becoming painful. The reason is simple: I was tense. I was squeezing the piss out of the neck and my picking was sloppy and wasteful. I dropped a few picks, which is just dumb. I drank too much water between songs and I thought I was going to yak a couple of times. Maybe I should've.
After "Wienermobile" was the threatened ode to The Police in the form of the intro to "Walking On The Moon". Again, silence from the audience. Don't these kids ever watch TV? Surely they've seen the SUV commercials with that song on them?!?!?
That was slam-dunked into "Pie, Hair Pie" which was so old-school it made me cry. And just like you shouldn't have chocolate without peanut butter, neither should you have "Pie, Hair Pie" without "I Want A Big Mac." Wow. It was, wow.
The audience was just a wet blanket by this point. We were kicking their asses and they were just standing there. What did they want? If they didn't like us, why didn't they go sit down or go back outside? Or tell us to fuck off?! Something!? Jesus, give us a bone! (Christian Death joke)
I recall "Deez Nuts" getting something of a nod of approval and I had the sense that they liked "Cereal And Beer" though I couldn't quantify that or anything. Had we known the audience situation beforehand we could've loaded up on things like "Red Pop." Oh well. "Deez Nuts," began to remind me of Alien Ant Farm while we were playing and I started to feel really dirty. Euuughghhghghgh.
The sound system looked impressive but the soundman didn't run anything through it except vocals. So I didn't hear any keyboards, and everything else just sounded wimpy and thin to me. Note to self: in the future, always play too loud and encourage those around you to do the same. Is this Devilcake or are we covering John Cage "4:33"?
None of the new songs really rocked my scrote. None of the old songs did either. We weren't playing so hot for the most part. Me especially, I was all over the place due to nerves and conflicting energies (I'm tired! I'm wired! I don't know what the hell I am!). I loathe the Peavey bass so intensely that it was affecting me as a person to continue playing it.
Nancy was flawless and kick-ass as was Todd. Darrin and I both had some issues but not to the point of shutting a whole song down, which is one thing that's never happened with Devilcake onstage. Even when (oh nevermind). I know Darrin wasn't happy with his playing afterwards but I assured him - and will continue to do so - that it's all part of the deal. Some gigs rule and others suck taint and then there's some where you just get through it and go do whatever afterwards. Just like life.
"Fribble" came off a little too Korn for my taste but oh well. You'll have that. Gabe was front and center for the whole set. I was so tempted to give him the bass for "Fribble" but I didn't want to freak him (or myself) out.
Steve the video guy was there, getting digital footage for the "Marshmallow" video he's working on. And Brian The Photographer got analog footage with Todd's camcorder. So we should at least have something decent to look at.
And yeah so anyway, after "Fribble" we got all arty on their little teenybopper asses, which was a complete waste of time. I mean honestly, if "I Want A Big Mac," with its three notes of E, G and A go over people's heads, then what chance does "Tear Off Your Head And Shit Down Your Neck", which is largely in 5/4 have? I axe you?!
My role at gigs is to be a cheerleader for the songs. To jump up and down when the audience should feel inspired to do the same. To stand there and look moody when we play ghouly parts. And when it's time to fuck shit up, then I fuck shit up.
Everybody already knew it was coming, except the kids. Everybody read the pre-eulogy of the Peavey bass on this very Live Journal. Everybody knew the only reason I was playing that piece of shit was because... there's a spacey improvisational hard-noise break for the last 10 minutes of "Shit Down Your Neck." As soon as we hit the break last night, I strummed the open strings on the bass and threw my hands in the air. The bass swung around limply. So I strummed again. And again I considered giving it to Gabe. But instead I let the strap reject the bass, which sent it soundly to the stage floor. Ooops. I hope that looked like an accident to somebody. I'm sure it didn't.
I threw my pick at the bass and then kicked it a couple of times. I jumped onto the body and nothing happened. So I stomped on the pickup and then some of the strings broke. I stomped it some more and then I dragged it to the edge of the stage. I set it up at an angle between the stage and floor of the club (the stage was only a couple of feet high) and jumped onto it. I felt like Paul Stanley in 1979 when he couldn't get his guitar to break properly at the end of the show. I jumped higher and stomped harder. The body gave way, then the neck. It was in three pieces and then I picked up one of the pieces and pulled off the volume knob, which I gave to Gabe. He then joined me in stomping the piss out of the rest of the bass. The neck was broken in half but still connected. The body was in at least three pieces and the pickup was on its own somewhere.
The stomping lasted several minutes. I brought out my real bass at that point and just barely finished the last part of "Shit Down Your Neck." When we finished, Gourley thanked the other bands and I think I interrupted him to say "FUCK PEAVEY" into the mic. Sorry about that.
Very shortly after the lights came back on I heard someone ask Gourley if we wanted a gig. I thought "sweet, now THAT'S how it's supposed to work. we rock like fuck and then we get another gig."
I packed my gear as quickly as possible and I was exhausted. My neck was ruined, my shoulders ached, my eyes hurt. It was good. As I was packing, at least two kids came up with pieces of bass and asked if they could take them. Go for it, I said.
I was carrying my too-heavy bass amp to my car (parked too far away of course) when Nancy said "Ian, come here - they're fighting over your bass in the parking lot." And sure enough, youths were tossing around bits of the Peavey. Ha. As it should be.
I snuck all of my gear out to the car and helped Darrin get his shit out. We loaded out fairly quickly all things considered.
Bits of bass were being passed around with alarming glee. Kicked around the parking lot, thrown, tossed, then finally carried. Who knows where they all ended up.
We got paid cash money from the soundman and we were in the parking lot, chilling and deciding who was going to Longhorn Steak House on the other side of the parking lot. It was at this point that part of my bass was thrust back at me by a kid who asked me to sign it. Was he kidding? It didn't matter. I signed the thing and told him he was now the owner of a chunk of my soul and that he had to take care of it. I could've been his dad lecturing him on why he needed to go to college. God.
Yeah, so like we went on around 7:30pm and we were done by 8:30 and I was home in bed by 10. We made $48 that I'm aware of, which will go into the band fund to make the next batch of t-shirts hopefully. And my neck is still killing me. Ow.
W E PLAYED:
Marshmallow
Wienermobile
Pie Hair Pie
I Want A Big Mac
Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb
Pizza Party
I Can't Believe It's Not Satan
Cereal And Beer
Deez Nuts
Fribble
Tear Off Your Head And Shit Down Your Neck
Midgard Comics
DEVILCAKE | NAUGHTY NEIGHBORS | ELYSIUM | APOSTASY
lineup: Mike Gourley, Mike Chuck Bill, Ian Stewart, Todd Skaggs, Darrin Ailes, Nancy Roberts
Friday. They said DEVILCAKE on the radio during the event listings in the afternoon. Which made me want to run around the whole floor with my hands in the air. Which would be totally out of character for me at work. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. My work image has almost nothing to do with me personally. I've just finally figured out that if you wear glasses and you're quiet and never talk to anybody, people naturally assume you're smarter than them. Beyond that it's just no fun being a dork when the average age of most of your coworkers is older than your parents. Anyway.
So the event listing went like this: "and tonight at Midgard Comics - you know that's a very young crowd there, mostly catering to the 18-and-unders. Tonight, Naughty Neighbors, Devilcake, Elysium, Apostasy."
And he mispronounced the last two to a hilarious degree. Bah ha ha ha ha ha. But yeah, he said Devilcake on the radio.
I got to Midgard embarassingly early. Or at least I thought it was embarassing. I was fighting Friday evening rush hour traffic to get there, fer feck's sake. And I could see the DC posse from Cleveland Ave. We're so numerous.
Todd had blue spiky hair (temporarily of course) and Nancy was dressed like a goth maiden or something, I don't know. Darrin and Mike Bill both wore their ghouliest jeans and black t-shirts. Props to Darrin for representing with his King Crimson shirt! Nice one. In the sensory overload that was our first gig in 6.5 months, I forgot to say HEY DARRIN, NICE CHOICE OF T-SHIRTS.
Then Gourley rolled up with Brian The Photographer and .... drumroll please.... Mr Gabe ! I said "holy shit, back from the dead" when I shook his hand. Gabe used to play guitar in the original Devilcake and it was actually his idea to name the band Devilcake. He was a kick-ass metal guitarist, very very good at playing the coolest guitar solos. He also always picked up on my stupid riffs very quickly. When everybody else would still be struggling, he'd get it immediately. He was so talented it kind of made me jealous, or at least it made me want to compete with him! Fortunately for the world I was on drums while he was on guitar and it never panned out. Which is good because he would've destroyed me.
I finished shaking Gabe's hand and he said quietly "I just got out of prison today."
And I'm supposed to respond to this how? So I said "holy shit."
"Yeah, I just got out of prison. I was hooked on heroin for a couple of years. It was terrible. But I learned a lot in prison. I'm going to be more proactive now."
So I said "holy shit."
Then he talked about how he missed playing music and how great heavy metal was and Celtic Frost and Godflesh and the Melvins ruled. Wow.
I knew Gabe had problems with the law over the years. Hell, even ten years ago he was a loose cannon. The worst part about that for me was that he was so good to play music with that it was really hard to just dismiss him as being a criminal or a drug addict or whatever the deal was at the time.
Anyway, it was very good to see Gabe but in a way it made me more nervous too. What if he didn't like Devilcake?
He showed me his tattoos - a huge Celtic Frost one on one bicep (with the heptagram logo from the Morbid Tales album cover) and a big Motorhead head think on the other one.
It was determined fairly quickly that we were going on first, so we took all of our shit in and set up at a sickeningly comfortable pace. It was Mike Bill's first gig with his new Jackson Randy Rhoads and I was excited for him. It sounded kick-ass at practice on Wednesday. And it looked amazing. How metal we suddenly became.
We set up and kind of lingered nervously for a while. They opened the door and we talked to the soundman/booking guy while the place filled up slowly with youths. The soundman told us about this band that played there that came out with a cello and how all the musicians play like 12 different instruments and he thinks most of them went to Berklee and they're all obsessed with horror/b-movies. I said "okay, we quit, it's already been done."
Todd started the keyboards for "Marshmallow." Then the house lights went down. Gourley came in whenever he felt. "eat them from a bag." Okay. Long pause. "Eat them from a can." Whatever. I give up on counting or staying on time. It's going to be that kind of show.
Gourley had a new look going, this was kind of a Satanic Mafia Priest vibe. I like it. I can't wait to see the pictures.
The new version of "Marshmallow" is just keyboards and vocals - with Nancy getting her opera on at various parts - until the second verse, when the whole band kicks in.
And when we did finally kick in I don't think we've ever sounded so Marilyn Manson. Not that that's a bad thing in itself but never have we as a band ever said "okay, let's make this sound like fucking Marilyn Manson." It just came out that way.
It was patently obvious from even before we started playing that audience, though numerous, was too high on puberty to understand what was happening on the stage. I'm working on a theory about the generation gap between Us (gen x, the late 20s/early 30s fucks) and Them (20 and under). The punch line of the theory is that their generation has grown up on things We have embraced ironically. So that they can wear Weezer t-shirts with logos based on Judas Priest logos with a straight face and not even think it's funny on any level. They just like Powerpuff Girls because it's everywhere, not because it's a send-up of every cartoon cliche We grew up seeing. Irony is completely lost on them. That's the theory anyway.
But I also think that the median age of this audience prevented it from really communicating anything collectively.
When we play at High Five and people don't like us, they give us the finger (or two), they yell FUCK YOU, GET OFF THE STAGE and basically let us know we're not wanted. When they like us, they'll stand there and yell and clap and yell song titles between songs and that's what I'm talking about. Collectively, people are in tune with their emotions and they can give a band instant feedback. Which, even when it's bad, is still vital.
So imagine rocking your BRAINS out to a wall, ten kids deep, of people just standing there with their arms folded. Or paired off talking to each other. It was tough.
I usually get confidence when the whole band kicks in. The volume is soothing and my bass parts just breeze past and if I'm lucky I can get some good rock poses in. Last night it was like talking into a phone and not knowing if anybody was on the other end. I mean, you know they're there, right? But they're not saying or doing anything.
Which is fine. Just stand there and clap if you're going to be all pubescent about it. Just stand back when the shit hits the fan.
None of Gourley's schtick was working. These kids had no clue. He was working it like a champ and there just wasn't anybody home on the other end. Like Andy Partridge said after XTC played in Rio: "It was like asking your mother to listen to Captain Beefheart when she's trying to do the vacuuming." It's like talking philosophy to a baby. They don't dislike you exactly, they just don't understand a fucking thing you're saying.
Right. So "Marshmallow" yielded to a bruising "Wienermobile." Not just the tempo, but for me the actual playing of the song was becoming painful. The reason is simple: I was tense. I was squeezing the piss out of the neck and my picking was sloppy and wasteful. I dropped a few picks, which is just dumb. I drank too much water between songs and I thought I was going to yak a couple of times. Maybe I should've.
After "Wienermobile" was the threatened ode to The Police in the form of the intro to "Walking On The Moon". Again, silence from the audience. Don't these kids ever watch TV? Surely they've seen the SUV commercials with that song on them?!?!?
That was slam-dunked into "Pie, Hair Pie" which was so old-school it made me cry. And just like you shouldn't have chocolate without peanut butter, neither should you have "Pie, Hair Pie" without "I Want A Big Mac." Wow. It was, wow.
The audience was just a wet blanket by this point. We were kicking their asses and they were just standing there. What did they want? If they didn't like us, why didn't they go sit down or go back outside? Or tell us to fuck off?! Something!? Jesus, give us a bone! (Christian Death joke)
I recall "Deez Nuts" getting something of a nod of approval and I had the sense that they liked "Cereal And Beer" though I couldn't quantify that or anything. Had we known the audience situation beforehand we could've loaded up on things like "Red Pop." Oh well. "Deez Nuts," began to remind me of Alien Ant Farm while we were playing and I started to feel really dirty. Euuughghhghghgh.
The sound system looked impressive but the soundman didn't run anything through it except vocals. So I didn't hear any keyboards, and everything else just sounded wimpy and thin to me. Note to self: in the future, always play too loud and encourage those around you to do the same. Is this Devilcake or are we covering John Cage "4:33"?
None of the new songs really rocked my scrote. None of the old songs did either. We weren't playing so hot for the most part. Me especially, I was all over the place due to nerves and conflicting energies (I'm tired! I'm wired! I don't know what the hell I am!). I loathe the Peavey bass so intensely that it was affecting me as a person to continue playing it.
Nancy was flawless and kick-ass as was Todd. Darrin and I both had some issues but not to the point of shutting a whole song down, which is one thing that's never happened with Devilcake onstage. Even when (oh nevermind). I know Darrin wasn't happy with his playing afterwards but I assured him - and will continue to do so - that it's all part of the deal. Some gigs rule and others suck taint and then there's some where you just get through it and go do whatever afterwards. Just like life.
"Fribble" came off a little too Korn for my taste but oh well. You'll have that. Gabe was front and center for the whole set. I was so tempted to give him the bass for "Fribble" but I didn't want to freak him (or myself) out.
Steve the video guy was there, getting digital footage for the "Marshmallow" video he's working on. And Brian The Photographer got analog footage with Todd's camcorder. So we should at least have something decent to look at.
And yeah so anyway, after "Fribble" we got all arty on their little teenybopper asses, which was a complete waste of time. I mean honestly, if "I Want A Big Mac," with its three notes of E, G and A go over people's heads, then what chance does "Tear Off Your Head And Shit Down Your Neck", which is largely in 5/4 have? I axe you?!
My role at gigs is to be a cheerleader for the songs. To jump up and down when the audience should feel inspired to do the same. To stand there and look moody when we play ghouly parts. And when it's time to fuck shit up, then I fuck shit up.
Everybody already knew it was coming, except the kids. Everybody read the pre-eulogy of the Peavey bass on this very Live Journal. Everybody knew the only reason I was playing that piece of shit was because... there's a spacey improvisational hard-noise break for the last 10 minutes of "Shit Down Your Neck." As soon as we hit the break last night, I strummed the open strings on the bass and threw my hands in the air. The bass swung around limply. So I strummed again. And again I considered giving it to Gabe. But instead I let the strap reject the bass, which sent it soundly to the stage floor. Ooops. I hope that looked like an accident to somebody. I'm sure it didn't.
I threw my pick at the bass and then kicked it a couple of times. I jumped onto the body and nothing happened. So I stomped on the pickup and then some of the strings broke. I stomped it some more and then I dragged it to the edge of the stage. I set it up at an angle between the stage and floor of the club (the stage was only a couple of feet high) and jumped onto it. I felt like Paul Stanley in 1979 when he couldn't get his guitar to break properly at the end of the show. I jumped higher and stomped harder. The body gave way, then the neck. It was in three pieces and then I picked up one of the pieces and pulled off the volume knob, which I gave to Gabe. He then joined me in stomping the piss out of the rest of the bass. The neck was broken in half but still connected. The body was in at least three pieces and the pickup was on its own somewhere.
The stomping lasted several minutes. I brought out my real bass at that point and just barely finished the last part of "Shit Down Your Neck." When we finished, Gourley thanked the other bands and I think I interrupted him to say "FUCK PEAVEY" into the mic. Sorry about that.
Very shortly after the lights came back on I heard someone ask Gourley if we wanted a gig. I thought "sweet, now THAT'S how it's supposed to work. we rock like fuck and then we get another gig."
I packed my gear as quickly as possible and I was exhausted. My neck was ruined, my shoulders ached, my eyes hurt. It was good. As I was packing, at least two kids came up with pieces of bass and asked if they could take them. Go for it, I said.
I was carrying my too-heavy bass amp to my car (parked too far away of course) when Nancy said "Ian, come here - they're fighting over your bass in the parking lot." And sure enough, youths were tossing around bits of the Peavey. Ha. As it should be.
I snuck all of my gear out to the car and helped Darrin get his shit out. We loaded out fairly quickly all things considered.
Bits of bass were being passed around with alarming glee. Kicked around the parking lot, thrown, tossed, then finally carried. Who knows where they all ended up.
We got paid cash money from the soundman and we were in the parking lot, chilling and deciding who was going to Longhorn Steak House on the other side of the parking lot. It was at this point that part of my bass was thrust back at me by a kid who asked me to sign it. Was he kidding? It didn't matter. I signed the thing and told him he was now the owner of a chunk of my soul and that he had to take care of it. I could've been his dad lecturing him on why he needed to go to college. God.
Yeah, so like we went on around 7:30pm and we were done by 8:30 and I was home in bed by 10. We made $48 that I'm aware of, which will go into the band fund to make the next batch of t-shirts hopefully. And my neck is still killing me. Ow.
W E PLAYED:
Marshmallow
Wienermobile
Pie Hair Pie
I Want A Big Mac
Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb
Pizza Party
I Can't Believe It's Not Satan
Cereal And Beer
Deez Nuts
Fribble
Tear Off Your Head And Shit Down Your Neck
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)