DEVILCAKE + other bands
High Five
Friday August 1, 2003
A waste of a mohawk. The guitar pick harvest was plentiful. I went in with three picks and left with twelve. Including my new favorite pick, a white Tortex "sharp." The short end comes to a point and it gives unbelievable attack on the bass strings. Just like those metal picks, only this thing doesn't scratch up the body and break all the strings.
The set list was something like
Wienermobile
Marshmallow
Cereal And Beer
Hands Off My Oreos
I Can't Believe It's Not Satan
Chicken Nuggets Of Sin
Salad Bar Man (by request)
Fribble
A short practice with a few drunk dudes from the other bands listening in. Am I breaking a sweat for this shit? Fuck no.
Guarding MCB's car out back afterwards, I noticed a van with a U Haul trailer attached to it, indicating that one of the other bands is on tour. And I realized at that exact moment that if last night is what touring is like, then I never want to experience it. It was depressing enough playing to nobody in my hometown. I can't imagine doing that shit in Colorado or something.
Saturday, August 02, 2003
Friday, July 11, 2003
I'm late in chiming in on this show...
7/03/03
Little Brothers
w/Tom Foolery and the Mistakes|Everlasting Godstopper
About a week before this show (alright a day), I took the opportunity to rid myself of some musical instrumentation that I didn't consider that I was getting much use out of. I took them into Guitar Center and magically (2 hours later) walked out with a shiny new keyboard amp (oooooooooh shiny). The result was the realization that now that my amp problems were solved (which, I think, had long been a source of my other on-stage mishaps) I got all crazy and thought about all the gear I could now safely play without thought of mishap.
A reality check from Ian "B.A." Stewart brought me back to the realization that "less quite possibly is more" on this night of nights. So...armed with only my shiny new amp and the keys-o (and a spare casio in the trunk as backup). I set out. Our car was packed full of non-instrumentation as well (the cross-which didn't get used, fog machine, tape deck for soundboard recording-which sounds freakin' awesome!, tapes, water...and of course our kick-ass new t-shirts), Nancy and I showed up at Little Brothers about 6:50...way the hell early.
The young'uns, Everlasting Godstopper, showed up (or were dropped off) about 8:30. I was seriously worried that some of them would have to be snuck into the venue (a la Gabe from the Newport show of forever ago). Nancy and I left the amassed posse (of MCB and his friend) and left in search of food. The search turned up fruitless and Nancy wound up with 1/2 of Maryann's sub and I would up with a bottle of water. Good thing...eating would have only led to bm's and there's no need for that before the show, trust me.
I can't say much more than what's already been said about the rest of the evening. I loved the way the keys-o sounded through the new amp...I hated the fact that we didn't have a set list...loved the fake blood from Ian's skull, but hated the dildo on Everlasting Godstopper's Mic (ok...hate is strong...but I just didn't understand what it was supposed to be...other than a dick that he sang into....in front of their parents (who I'm sure were in the audience) and I didn't know what that was all about).
And I hated that I felt like I was going to lose my voice at any second....I think it resulted in me holding back on some stellar backups (which thankfully, Ian jumped in on).
Some other positive things....Darrin's drums didn't move away from him (gotta love the power of a CinderBlock)....the sound mix was awesome. Ian's mohawk was fucking rad!
The T-shirts kicked ass...and I think we even sold one.
Tom Foolery et al continue to blow me away each time I see them. Their set was short and sweet, although they left out one of my favorites, "Oh No You Di'n't," they did play "Lab Partner" (or whatever it's real name is), which makes me laugh my ass off everytime because it makes me think of my lab partners in high school chemistry (Rich Damiano and Andy Mitry...yeah, lucky me).
We took the stage....Gourley and I started Marshmallow sans my significant other...and to be honest, the rest of the boys had me sweating a bit with their "delayed entrance" bit. But it worked out very cool...and felt very, very rock and roll to me.
The rest of the night was a blur of sweat, fake blood, headbanging and the like. At one point during Frankenstein's French Fries, I think Steve was trying to show me the chords (since it was quite apparent that I had forgotten them) and I thought to myself "well, it's not going to do much good....if I knew guitar chords, I wouldn't have traded my electric guitar for a keyboard amp...but such is the case when you're living life on the road).
I'm not going to put the list of songs....Darrin and Ian did a pretty good job...(but Ian did the Skull/Blood act during Chicken Nuggets...).
All in all, it was a great show...I think it was one of our best.
7/03/03
Little Brothers
w/Tom Foolery and the Mistakes|Everlasting Godstopper
About a week before this show (alright a day), I took the opportunity to rid myself of some musical instrumentation that I didn't consider that I was getting much use out of. I took them into Guitar Center and magically (2 hours later) walked out with a shiny new keyboard amp (oooooooooh shiny). The result was the realization that now that my amp problems were solved (which, I think, had long been a source of my other on-stage mishaps) I got all crazy and thought about all the gear I could now safely play without thought of mishap.
A reality check from Ian "B.A." Stewart brought me back to the realization that "less quite possibly is more" on this night of nights. So...armed with only my shiny new amp and the keys-o (and a spare casio in the trunk as backup). I set out. Our car was packed full of non-instrumentation as well (the cross-which didn't get used, fog machine, tape deck for soundboard recording-which sounds freakin' awesome!, tapes, water...and of course our kick-ass new t-shirts), Nancy and I showed up at Little Brothers about 6:50...way the hell early.
The young'uns, Everlasting Godstopper, showed up (or were dropped off) about 8:30. I was seriously worried that some of them would have to be snuck into the venue (a la Gabe from the Newport show of forever ago). Nancy and I left the amassed posse (of MCB and his friend) and left in search of food. The search turned up fruitless and Nancy wound up with 1/2 of Maryann's sub and I would up with a bottle of water. Good thing...eating would have only led to bm's and there's no need for that before the show, trust me.
I can't say much more than what's already been said about the rest of the evening. I loved the way the keys-o sounded through the new amp...I hated the fact that we didn't have a set list...loved the fake blood from Ian's skull, but hated the dildo on Everlasting Godstopper's Mic (ok...hate is strong...but I just didn't understand what it was supposed to be...other than a dick that he sang into....in front of their parents (who I'm sure were in the audience) and I didn't know what that was all about).
And I hated that I felt like I was going to lose my voice at any second....I think it resulted in me holding back on some stellar backups (which thankfully, Ian jumped in on).
Some other positive things....Darrin's drums didn't move away from him (gotta love the power of a CinderBlock)....the sound mix was awesome. Ian's mohawk was fucking rad!
The T-shirts kicked ass...and I think we even sold one.
Tom Foolery et al continue to blow me away each time I see them. Their set was short and sweet, although they left out one of my favorites, "Oh No You Di'n't," they did play "Lab Partner" (or whatever it's real name is), which makes me laugh my ass off everytime because it makes me think of my lab partners in high school chemistry (Rich Damiano and Andy Mitry...yeah, lucky me).
We took the stage....Gourley and I started Marshmallow sans my significant other...and to be honest, the rest of the boys had me sweating a bit with their "delayed entrance" bit. But it worked out very cool...and felt very, very rock and roll to me.
The rest of the night was a blur of sweat, fake blood, headbanging and the like. At one point during Frankenstein's French Fries, I think Steve was trying to show me the chords (since it was quite apparent that I had forgotten them) and I thought to myself "well, it's not going to do much good....if I knew guitar chords, I wouldn't have traded my electric guitar for a keyboard amp...but such is the case when you're living life on the road).
I'm not going to put the list of songs....Darrin and Ian did a pretty good job...(but Ian did the Skull/Blood act during Chicken Nuggets...).
All in all, it was a great show...I think it was one of our best.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
DEVILCAKE | TOM FOOLERY & THE MISTAKES | EVERLASTING GOD STOPPER
Thursday, July 3, 2003
Little Brothers
Whenever we spend as much time preparing for a show as we did for this one, it usually bites us on the ass at some point. Or, as in the case of this evening, some points.
Starting a few weeks back we found ourselves re-learning old songs and other things we've never played live. We practiced them multiple times each and probably could've had a pretty fresh and decent set if we'd have remembered to include any of them other than Chicken Nuggets Of Sin and Spicy Beef Stick.
Nothing makes an old song more tempting to whip out for a live show than it being declared off limits. As is certainly the case with the long-entombed Spicy Beef Stick. It's a stupid song and everyone knows it. We stand to gain nothing as musicians or humans by playing this song. And yet, there it was in the set. Ha.
We neglected to make a set list again and again it bit us on the ass. Oh well. Sorry if I got snippy with anyone (ie Rachel) who thoughtfully suggested songs from the audience. I don't know what my deal is/was.
The evening began for me as soon as I got home from work. The hair clippers were put into action and soon a Mr T cut emerged. The hair wasn't long enough for the cut to be totally obvious, but I think it served the purpose.
I packed my car and found that I was lugging along more props and costume stuff (2 bags, 1 box) than actual musical equipment (1 bag, 1 amp). Hmm. Interesting.
No one knew what to expect for parking at Little Bros, considering it was the Red White & Boom ordeal and traffic was probably going to be pretty uncool. I got there last, of course, and basically sailed right in. No traffic to speak of and there was even one spot left in Little Bros' lot just for me. Then the interminable lingering began.
But it wasn't as bad as it could've been or has been for me in the past. I tend to get overly wound up in general, and milling around an empty rock club four hours before I'm due onstage is kind of a mindfuck for me sometimes.
Fortunately we had good conversation and a relaxed atmos in the Devilcake section of the house. The entourage was in good spirits and it kept me from being too much of a sour-ass. MCB amused himself by taking extremely terrible pictures of everyone in the band and then showing them to everyone else. Ambush photography. Catching people at their worst, revealing their true nature. Very arty. He could have a third career on his hands.
The very young Everlasting God Stopper went on first. They reminded us of us about fifteen years ago. Metal riffs, ghouly keys. Except their singer looks like a young Marilyn Manson. While ours more closely resembles a young Ernest Borgnine. EGS songs were a little samey and somewhat indistinct, and their presentation was a little bit on the pedestrian side, but I thought they were good. Give them some decent lights and a smoke machine and teach the singer one more note and they'll be a force to be reckoned with.
Tom Foolery went next and I think that's actually only the third time I've seen them play. We play with them constantly but I always miss them for whatever reason. I dig those guys and it's not just because they're friendly and give us props onstage all the time. Okay, well, maybe it is that.
But their songs are good too, and Kyle's an energetic, spazzzztic frontman and that's really all you can ask for from a band. Jeremy's little micro-drumset is totally hilarious. It's one of those little Yamaha (I think) deals with the little tiny drums. It looks like he shrunk it in the dryer. But it sounds great and the whole band sounded damn fine. They played most of the songs from their new CD. Which comes out in August! On Colossal Thumb! Buy it!
They dedicated a song to our Nancy, even. Then they kept messing it up. So I don't know if that aspect was dedicated to her too or not.
As soon as the Foolerys finished, we invaded the stage with our BS, much of which was never unpacked or positioned by the time we actually started playing. The light-up cross was still beside the stage when we finished playing. The heavy wooden coffin never had its light plugged in and indeed it was still laying flat on the stage when we began the set. And there was a chair on the stage, near Gourley, and I still don't know why. Kyle had his amp on it, I think. And we never thought to remove it.
Because I guess the stage was probably starting to look a little barren. We have to have things like chairs on the stage. To take up space. Because there's only six of us up there, with all our amps and drums and stuff. Bumping into each other and shit.
Todd went out first and started a Nancy-less Marshmallow. Gourley went out next. I told him to ask the soundperson to turn out the stage lights. And I didn't mean for him to ask this from the stage, through the PA. I meant for him (or anyone) to walk over to the soundboard and deliver the request directly. That way we wouldn't be trying to rock in the full glare of all the lights, and our little ghouly effects would look better.
So Gourley goes out and the crowd starts clapping and he right into the mic he asks "can you turn out the house lights? thanks." Which, the house lights had been off the entire time. So, um. Yeah. Stage lights full glare the whole time, which I love.
Gourley started Marshmallow and Darrin, Steve and I were all lined up on the stairs behind the stage. We finally ran up into our positions and waited for the song to kick in. I didn't even notice MCB wasn't there until Darrin gave his little intro kick-flam thing and we hit the first big E chord! Then MCB came running across the stage with a full face of makeup, threw on his guitar and started playing. Classic!
I unplugged my bass at least twice, maybe three times, during Marshmallow. Just by stepping on it! I finally remembered to wrap it around the strap to keep it in place. Even that didn't help. I was throwing down wrong notes, losing picks, trying not to trip over the coffin, trying not to over-exert myself and use all my energy during the first three songs. All that trying was for naught because that's exactly what happened. Not to mention losing the middle knob from my bass. What a great way to treat an instrument on its maiden voyage. Beat the fuck out of it, douse it in fake blood and scatter its pieces to the wind. Er, the audience.
We plowed into Wienermobile and I was already having issues with the cape. Which I knew was going to happen. That thing is like wearing a wool blanket with a neckstrap.
After Wienermobile was the first "oh shit, what are we going to play next" moment. Unfortunately, not the last either. I knew we were going to forget to play something. And we did.
I also wasn't sure beforehand when to break out the skull and fake blood, so I'm pretty sure it went down during Pizza Party. The blood wasn't very tasty and I'm sure it looked like the dorkiest thing in the world, but it did seem like a good idea at the time. Next time I'll figure it out beforehand and even bring a tarp or something to prevent it from getting all over everybody else's stuff. It's not very rock 'n' roll of me to be concerned with leaving fake blood stains everywhere I go, is it?
We got derailed on Fribble but we pulled it back together. And then we ended the set with a request. No, not "Cold Gin." ... Stromboli Fever? That's an odd one to close with, which is why I approve. We have other, more bombastic number that we prefer to leave the audience with. Shit Down Your Neck is one. Fribble is the other. Something heavy and riffy and with an ending that can be played by hoisting the bass overhead. Stromboli is the anti-closer. Word. Maybe next time we can close with Guacamole Damn It. I don't recall anyone else having issues onstage. I just had my head even further up my ass than usual so I wasn't really taking note of anyone else's shenanigans (or lack thereof).
Not sure of the order but I'm pretty sure we played
MARSHMALLOW
WIENERMOBILE
SALAD BAR MAN
CHICKEN NUGGETS OF SIN
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL AND BEER
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
DEEZ NUTS
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
PIE HAIR PIE
I WANT A BIG MAC
RED POP
SPICY BEEF STICK
FRIBBLE
STROMBOLI FEVER
Thursday, July 3, 2003
Little Brothers
Whenever we spend as much time preparing for a show as we did for this one, it usually bites us on the ass at some point. Or, as in the case of this evening, some points.
Starting a few weeks back we found ourselves re-learning old songs and other things we've never played live. We practiced them multiple times each and probably could've had a pretty fresh and decent set if we'd have remembered to include any of them other than Chicken Nuggets Of Sin and Spicy Beef Stick.
Nothing makes an old song more tempting to whip out for a live show than it being declared off limits. As is certainly the case with the long-entombed Spicy Beef Stick. It's a stupid song and everyone knows it. We stand to gain nothing as musicians or humans by playing this song. And yet, there it was in the set. Ha.
We neglected to make a set list again and again it bit us on the ass. Oh well. Sorry if I got snippy with anyone (ie Rachel) who thoughtfully suggested songs from the audience. I don't know what my deal is/was.
The evening began for me as soon as I got home from work. The hair clippers were put into action and soon a Mr T cut emerged. The hair wasn't long enough for the cut to be totally obvious, but I think it served the purpose.
I packed my car and found that I was lugging along more props and costume stuff (2 bags, 1 box) than actual musical equipment (1 bag, 1 amp). Hmm. Interesting.
No one knew what to expect for parking at Little Bros, considering it was the Red White & Boom ordeal and traffic was probably going to be pretty uncool. I got there last, of course, and basically sailed right in. No traffic to speak of and there was even one spot left in Little Bros' lot just for me. Then the interminable lingering began.
But it wasn't as bad as it could've been or has been for me in the past. I tend to get overly wound up in general, and milling around an empty rock club four hours before I'm due onstage is kind of a mindfuck for me sometimes.
Fortunately we had good conversation and a relaxed atmos in the Devilcake section of the house. The entourage was in good spirits and it kept me from being too much of a sour-ass. MCB amused himself by taking extremely terrible pictures of everyone in the band and then showing them to everyone else. Ambush photography. Catching people at their worst, revealing their true nature. Very arty. He could have a third career on his hands.
The very young Everlasting God Stopper went on first. They reminded us of us about fifteen years ago. Metal riffs, ghouly keys. Except their singer looks like a young Marilyn Manson. While ours more closely resembles a young Ernest Borgnine. EGS songs were a little samey and somewhat indistinct, and their presentation was a little bit on the pedestrian side, but I thought they were good. Give them some decent lights and a smoke machine and teach the singer one more note and they'll be a force to be reckoned with.
Tom Foolery went next and I think that's actually only the third time I've seen them play. We play with them constantly but I always miss them for whatever reason. I dig those guys and it's not just because they're friendly and give us props onstage all the time. Okay, well, maybe it is that.
But their songs are good too, and Kyle's an energetic, spazzzztic frontman and that's really all you can ask for from a band. Jeremy's little micro-drumset is totally hilarious. It's one of those little Yamaha (I think) deals with the little tiny drums. It looks like he shrunk it in the dryer. But it sounds great and the whole band sounded damn fine. They played most of the songs from their new CD. Which comes out in August! On Colossal Thumb! Buy it!
They dedicated a song to our Nancy, even. Then they kept messing it up. So I don't know if that aspect was dedicated to her too or not.
As soon as the Foolerys finished, we invaded the stage with our BS, much of which was never unpacked or positioned by the time we actually started playing. The light-up cross was still beside the stage when we finished playing. The heavy wooden coffin never had its light plugged in and indeed it was still laying flat on the stage when we began the set. And there was a chair on the stage, near Gourley, and I still don't know why. Kyle had his amp on it, I think. And we never thought to remove it.
Because I guess the stage was probably starting to look a little barren. We have to have things like chairs on the stage. To take up space. Because there's only six of us up there, with all our amps and drums and stuff. Bumping into each other and shit.
Todd went out first and started a Nancy-less Marshmallow. Gourley went out next. I told him to ask the soundperson to turn out the stage lights. And I didn't mean for him to ask this from the stage, through the PA. I meant for him (or anyone) to walk over to the soundboard and deliver the request directly. That way we wouldn't be trying to rock in the full glare of all the lights, and our little ghouly effects would look better.
So Gourley goes out and the crowd starts clapping and he right into the mic he asks "can you turn out the house lights? thanks." Which, the house lights had been off the entire time. So, um. Yeah. Stage lights full glare the whole time, which I love.
Gourley started Marshmallow and Darrin, Steve and I were all lined up on the stairs behind the stage. We finally ran up into our positions and waited for the song to kick in. I didn't even notice MCB wasn't there until Darrin gave his little intro kick-flam thing and we hit the first big E chord! Then MCB came running across the stage with a full face of makeup, threw on his guitar and started playing. Classic!
I unplugged my bass at least twice, maybe three times, during Marshmallow. Just by stepping on it! I finally remembered to wrap it around the strap to keep it in place. Even that didn't help. I was throwing down wrong notes, losing picks, trying not to trip over the coffin, trying not to over-exert myself and use all my energy during the first three songs. All that trying was for naught because that's exactly what happened. Not to mention losing the middle knob from my bass. What a great way to treat an instrument on its maiden voyage. Beat the fuck out of it, douse it in fake blood and scatter its pieces to the wind. Er, the audience.
We plowed into Wienermobile and I was already having issues with the cape. Which I knew was going to happen. That thing is like wearing a wool blanket with a neckstrap.
After Wienermobile was the first "oh shit, what are we going to play next" moment. Unfortunately, not the last either. I knew we were going to forget to play something. And we did.
I also wasn't sure beforehand when to break out the skull and fake blood, so I'm pretty sure it went down during Pizza Party. The blood wasn't very tasty and I'm sure it looked like the dorkiest thing in the world, but it did seem like a good idea at the time. Next time I'll figure it out beforehand and even bring a tarp or something to prevent it from getting all over everybody else's stuff. It's not very rock 'n' roll of me to be concerned with leaving fake blood stains everywhere I go, is it?
We got derailed on Fribble but we pulled it back together. And then we ended the set with a request. No, not "Cold Gin." ... Stromboli Fever? That's an odd one to close with, which is why I approve. We have other, more bombastic number that we prefer to leave the audience with. Shit Down Your Neck is one. Fribble is the other. Something heavy and riffy and with an ending that can be played by hoisting the bass overhead. Stromboli is the anti-closer. Word. Maybe next time we can close with Guacamole Damn It. I don't recall anyone else having issues onstage. I just had my head even further up my ass than usual so I wasn't really taking note of anyone else's shenanigans (or lack thereof).
Not sure of the order but I'm pretty sure we played
MARSHMALLOW
WIENERMOBILE
SALAD BAR MAN
CHICKEN NUGGETS OF SIN
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL AND BEER
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
DEEZ NUTS
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
PIE HAIR PIE
I WANT A BIG MAC
RED POP
SPICY BEEF STICK
FRIBBLE
STROMBOLI FEVER
Friday, July 04, 2003
KILLER SHOW!!!!
====================
Everlasting Godstopper | Tom Foolery & The Mistakes |Devilcake
Little Brother's
Thursday, July 3rd 2003
I first want to say it's amazing that I'm even posting this since I got to bed around 4 am. I all groggy and shit, but my body is not cooperating with the sleep thing, so I am up and barely functioning.... with that said:
Devilcake rocked the house last night at Little Brothers.
The night started off with me going to get dinner for Me, Maryann, MCB and E... (shit, I forgot her name) at Subways. However I get to the Subways and THEY'RE FUCKING CLOSED!!! WTF!!! So I had to go to Jersey Mike's to get everyone's steak and cheese sandwiches.
Got to the parking lot around 7:30/8-ish. MCB and Todd were already there. Todd showed me the t-shirts that he had made up and they were SWEET!!!! Black with a red Devilcake logo. They look awesome. (You should order one from Ian, you know. They're only $10. check out the killer logo at http://www.twistedzen.com/devilcake/.)
(I could go on about sitting around until 10pm but I won't. Nothing that interesting happened). We watched the downtown fireworks from outside Little Brother's. They were cool, but they shot off all the finale fireworks so low that I we couldn't really see any of them. We heard the finale though. :P
Everlasting Godstopper (no, that's not the jawbreaker from Willie Wonka. It's GOD stopper). They had a nice goth / death metal look about them. I have to admit the sound was good. We hired a girl named Tera to do the sound and she just fucking ROCKS!!! She's got mad mic skills. They brought in a few fans and that is good. They played for about 30 to 45 minutes. Not too bad I have to admit. The drummer had a rack-mount drum kit. He had cymbals all over the place, which was cool. He had a 10" or 12" china splash/crash thing which sounded awesome. I'm not sure where that sound would fit into the Devilcake realm of music, but I think I might have to get me one of those.
The great Tom Foolery and The Mistakes took the stage around 11:30. (I wasn't looking at my watch so I am completely clueless as to what time it really was.) They rocked the house as usual. They gave us multiple props which is totally cool. We're fans of them and they're fans of us. It works out well. They even dedicated a song to Nancy (our operatic screamer and Todd's wife). Nancy loves their version of Cyndi Lauper's 'Time After Time' and they added it to the set list just for her.
We got on stage around 12:30. Tonight we pulled out almost all the stops. We had the coffin and cross (although I have to admit I never saw them in place or lit up... I was too busy putting together the drum kit). We had the smoke machines. Ian had a hat on. He had his wife do a special haircut just for this show... a Mr. T mohawk!!! I hope to goodness that _someone_ got a picture of it. I don't care who, just someone. Ian also wore a big black cape. MCB did some gothy corpse makeup. Todd was dressed as a butchering coroner complete with blood splatters. Me? I just wore black shorts and a black t-shirt. I sit behind the drums and ya can't see me anyway.
Gourley and Todd started off the show with Marshmallow. Just them two on stage which was pretty cool. The rest of the band went on when it was time to rock. And rock we did! The sound (at least from my seat) was great. Hopefully Tera was able to get a good mix fast since we didn't give her a sound check. (oops!)
I can tell you that I had a great time. I didn't get super tired. My equipment didn't give me pains. I stuck a big fuckin' cinder block in front of the double bass pedal. it usually moves on me during the show, but tonight it had now chance at all.
Ian was all over the place which was cool as hell. He was doing some excellent backing vocals (Todd too!). He pulled out all the stops when, during the breakdown of Chicken Nuggets Of Sin, he drank blood from a SKULL!!! It was sweet. I hope Steve's videotape comes out!
Everyone else was rocking as well. Todd's new amp sounded great with the cheez-o-keyz! As far as I could tell, he didn't have any of the cut-off problems which have bothered some of his performances. MCB and Steve were musically playing off each other in a fantastic way.
I think it is safe to say that this show was also the longest ever in Devilcake history. Todd brought in a tape deck (and Tom Foolery brought in a 4-track) which Tera used to record the show. The plan was to play every frickin' song we knew and then some and we were darn close. Below is the list of the songs we played. The order is all kinds of fucked up, but I'm pretty sure I got them all listed.
After the last song, Gourley said his usual thank you's to the other band and to Little Brother's. I got up and was milling around to mention the CDs and t-shirts we had for sale. But before I could do that, Ian got on the mic and congratulated 'the little drummer from Devilcake' (that's me... der!) on getting engaged. I thought was pretty fuckin' cool of him... and embarrassing for me. :P Then I got on the mic and mentioned that we had t-shirts for sale and also CDs for sale... however I was botching up the titles of the regular CD and the box set... after fumbling around on the names for what seemed to be a 1/2 hour, MCB stepped in an told me to sit down!!! ha ha ha!!!
After the show, it felt great to know that I didn't have to rush around and tear down the kit so the next band. I walked around and talked to Kyle from Tom Foolery. He swapped shirts with us which I thought was cool. His band has a show in New York next weekend and he was talking that he might wear the Devilcake shirt for that show. I told that if he did he HAS to get a picture of it so I can say that Devilcake was in New York!
There was one guy in the audience who kept screaming our name out (even during Tom Foolery's set) who said he was from Austin and was trying to put together some music festival. I don't know who he was or how legit he was, but he had his wife/girlfriend buy him a boxset and a t-shirt... and that for now is all that matters. We sold some stuff. Unfortunately, I think that is all we sold. Oh well. It's still money for the band fund.
I finally got the car loaded around 2am. I was hungry so Maryann and I drove through Steak and Shake. It was 2:30am by that point and all the bars had just closed. There was a car with two completely drunk guys in front of us. Hearing them try to place an order was a laugh. "I was want one... no, two cheese burgers with no cheese or onions... no wait, one with cheese and the other with no onions. No wait... one with two cheese and no and onion and... wait.' You can see where this is going. 5 or 10 minutes later the drive-thru dude had to tell the drunk guys to just pull around. The line was SLOW, but there were tons of drunk people ordering tons of food. I got home with my double-bacon cheeseburger, onion rings and vanilla coke around 3 or 3:30. And was probably asleep by 4am. Ugh....
Anyways, here's the killer setlist. Again, the songs are right... but the order of them is nowhere close.
(ed. - According to Todd who taped the show, the set list below is accurate and complete.)
MARSHMALLOW
WEINERMOBILE
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL & BEER
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
DEEZ NUTS
SALAD BAR MAN
PIE HAIR PIE
BIG MAC
CHICKEN NUGGETS OF SIN
FRANKENSTEIN'S FRENCH FRIES
RED POP
SPICY BEEF STICK
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
FRIBBLE
(encore)STROMBOLI FEVER
WE ARE DEVILCAKE!!! GOODNIGHT!!!!
====================
Everlasting Godstopper | Tom Foolery & The Mistakes |Devilcake
Little Brother's
Thursday, July 3rd 2003
I first want to say it's amazing that I'm even posting this since I got to bed around 4 am. I all groggy and shit, but my body is not cooperating with the sleep thing, so I am up and barely functioning.... with that said:
Devilcake rocked the house last night at Little Brothers.
The night started off with me going to get dinner for Me, Maryann, MCB and E... (shit, I forgot her name) at Subways. However I get to the Subways and THEY'RE FUCKING CLOSED!!! WTF!!! So I had to go to Jersey Mike's to get everyone's steak and cheese sandwiches.
Got to the parking lot around 7:30/8-ish. MCB and Todd were already there. Todd showed me the t-shirts that he had made up and they were SWEET!!!! Black with a red Devilcake logo. They look awesome. (You should order one from Ian, you know. They're only $10. check out the killer logo at http://www.twistedzen.com/devilcake/.)
(I could go on about sitting around until 10pm but I won't. Nothing that interesting happened). We watched the downtown fireworks from outside Little Brother's. They were cool, but they shot off all the finale fireworks so low that I we couldn't really see any of them. We heard the finale though. :P
Everlasting Godstopper (no, that's not the jawbreaker from Willie Wonka. It's GOD stopper). They had a nice goth / death metal look about them. I have to admit the sound was good. We hired a girl named Tera to do the sound and she just fucking ROCKS!!! She's got mad mic skills. They brought in a few fans and that is good. They played for about 30 to 45 minutes. Not too bad I have to admit. The drummer had a rack-mount drum kit. He had cymbals all over the place, which was cool. He had a 10" or 12" china splash/crash thing which sounded awesome. I'm not sure where that sound would fit into the Devilcake realm of music, but I think I might have to get me one of those.
The great Tom Foolery and The Mistakes took the stage around 11:30. (I wasn't looking at my watch so I am completely clueless as to what time it really was.) They rocked the house as usual. They gave us multiple props which is totally cool. We're fans of them and they're fans of us. It works out well. They even dedicated a song to Nancy (our operatic screamer and Todd's wife). Nancy loves their version of Cyndi Lauper's 'Time After Time' and they added it to the set list just for her.
We got on stage around 12:30. Tonight we pulled out almost all the stops. We had the coffin and cross (although I have to admit I never saw them in place or lit up... I was too busy putting together the drum kit). We had the smoke machines. Ian had a hat on. He had his wife do a special haircut just for this show... a Mr. T mohawk!!! I hope to goodness that _someone_ got a picture of it. I don't care who, just someone. Ian also wore a big black cape. MCB did some gothy corpse makeup. Todd was dressed as a butchering coroner complete with blood splatters. Me? I just wore black shorts and a black t-shirt. I sit behind the drums and ya can't see me anyway.
Gourley and Todd started off the show with Marshmallow. Just them two on stage which was pretty cool. The rest of the band went on when it was time to rock. And rock we did! The sound (at least from my seat) was great. Hopefully Tera was able to get a good mix fast since we didn't give her a sound check. (oops!)
I can tell you that I had a great time. I didn't get super tired. My equipment didn't give me pains. I stuck a big fuckin' cinder block in front of the double bass pedal. it usually moves on me during the show, but tonight it had now chance at all.
Ian was all over the place which was cool as hell. He was doing some excellent backing vocals (Todd too!). He pulled out all the stops when, during the breakdown of Chicken Nuggets Of Sin, he drank blood from a SKULL!!! It was sweet. I hope Steve's videotape comes out!
Everyone else was rocking as well. Todd's new amp sounded great with the cheez-o-keyz! As far as I could tell, he didn't have any of the cut-off problems which have bothered some of his performances. MCB and Steve were musically playing off each other in a fantastic way.
I think it is safe to say that this show was also the longest ever in Devilcake history. Todd brought in a tape deck (and Tom Foolery brought in a 4-track) which Tera used to record the show. The plan was to play every frickin' song we knew and then some and we were darn close. Below is the list of the songs we played. The order is all kinds of fucked up, but I'm pretty sure I got them all listed.
After the last song, Gourley said his usual thank you's to the other band and to Little Brother's. I got up and was milling around to mention the CDs and t-shirts we had for sale. But before I could do that, Ian got on the mic and congratulated 'the little drummer from Devilcake' (that's me... der!) on getting engaged. I thought was pretty fuckin' cool of him... and embarrassing for me. :P Then I got on the mic and mentioned that we had t-shirts for sale and also CDs for sale... however I was botching up the titles of the regular CD and the box set... after fumbling around on the names for what seemed to be a 1/2 hour, MCB stepped in an told me to sit down!!! ha ha ha!!!
After the show, it felt great to know that I didn't have to rush around and tear down the kit so the next band. I walked around and talked to Kyle from Tom Foolery. He swapped shirts with us which I thought was cool. His band has a show in New York next weekend and he was talking that he might wear the Devilcake shirt for that show. I told that if he did he HAS to get a picture of it so I can say that Devilcake was in New York!
There was one guy in the audience who kept screaming our name out (even during Tom Foolery's set) who said he was from Austin and was trying to put together some music festival. I don't know who he was or how legit he was, but he had his wife/girlfriend buy him a boxset and a t-shirt... and that for now is all that matters. We sold some stuff. Unfortunately, I think that is all we sold. Oh well. It's still money for the band fund.
I finally got the car loaded around 2am. I was hungry so Maryann and I drove through Steak and Shake. It was 2:30am by that point and all the bars had just closed. There was a car with two completely drunk guys in front of us. Hearing them try to place an order was a laugh. "I was want one... no, two cheese burgers with no cheese or onions... no wait, one with cheese and the other with no onions. No wait... one with two cheese and no and onion and... wait.' You can see where this is going. 5 or 10 minutes later the drive-thru dude had to tell the drunk guys to just pull around. The line was SLOW, but there were tons of drunk people ordering tons of food. I got home with my double-bacon cheeseburger, onion rings and vanilla coke around 3 or 3:30. And was probably asleep by 4am. Ugh....
Anyways, here's the killer setlist. Again, the songs are right... but the order of them is nowhere close.
(ed. - According to Todd who taped the show, the set list below is accurate and complete.)
MARSHMALLOW
WEINERMOBILE
PIZZA PARTY
CEREAL & BEER
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
DEEZ NUTS
SALAD BAR MAN
PIE HAIR PIE
BIG MAC
CHICKEN NUGGETS OF SIN
FRANKENSTEIN'S FRENCH FRIES
RED POP
SPICY BEEF STICK
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
FRIBBLE
(encore)STROMBOLI FEVER
WE ARE DEVILCAKE!!! GOODNIGHT!!!!
Thursday, May 01, 2003
Giggy Dierrearery Derrierreiary
DEVILCAKE | Tom Foolery & The Mistakes | two other bands
Bernie's
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
This was a stripped-down, pared-down, sectioned-off, cordoned, abbreviated, obliterated reprise of our last Bernie's appearance, in December 2002. Similarly reprised was the concept of the Summer Set from last year. Which in this case entails only the most sprightly and lively numbers from our catalog.
It was strange before it even began, due to the noticable absence of Michael Bill, who was unable to break free from work. It's the first Devilcake show he hasn't played at since the reunion in 2000. So the guitar sound was thinned out a bit. Otherwise it was business as usual. I got there late, blah blah, soundman was running behind, blah blah, we started late blah blah and played for half an hour or so.
And the main lights were off when we played - and we rocked the tits off the place. See, I told ya. Give us some darkness to play in, and we'll turn this sombitch out.
I thought Todd was going to have an episode when one of the strap buttons on the Keyz O Death broke off completely. But what seemed like a real pisser when it happened turned into a really cool thing that kind of set the tone for the rest of the set. And indeed our approach to the set itself. Which was to duct-tape the fuck out of the Keyz O. Rather than not playing the Keyz, Todd was able to tape the sombitch up, and actually improve upon it by doing so. It's wounded, it's vilified, it's had its ass kicked, and now it can rise like a Phoenix. To the extent that the Keyz O were louder in the final mix than the bass. My fucking bass amp was the weak link last night.
We had a partial-band practice/cookout last week and it was determined that the stupidest song we could possibly open with is Red Pop. The idea being that the idiotic, three-chord song would be the worst choice to start with because it is in no way indicative of the band's sound or interests or tastes or anything really. It's just this song - half a song, really - that we wrote in 1992 that continues to haunt us.
So it was good to have another "first" onstage last night, it's been a while.
Red Pop to open with. Bah. It was hysterical and awesome and I don't think anyone apart from Darrin and maybe Steve saw it coming. But once they heard the strained bass notes at the wrong tempo, they knew ... it was on... OOF!
Red Pop into Salad Bar Man... ehhhh.. Salad Bar Man was maybe not the perfect choice for the second song. We should've splatted into Flesh Feast there, to keep the momentum up. Oh well. It's okay to get our glam rock on too, I suppose.
Steve stepped up his guitar game to fill in the vacant frequencies and extra bit of stage space left by MCB's absence with verve. Steve is the quiet, cool, level headed, subdued dominator onstage, as he skilfully and stealthily snuck into "Hands Off My Oreos." Oh! My skull!
We could've just as easily done the other 1-2 punch, Pie Hair Pie into I Want A Big Mac. But instead we went with Marshmallow/Wienermobile.
I didn't spend too much extra time hovering around the mic, so I must've been more relaxed than the last show. The whole set was just like when we played there in December, it was short, abrupt, slappy and to the point. I thought the set ended nicely after Wienermobile, but the peeps demanded one more song. In return, I demanded that they name the song they wanted us to play. They demanded Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb. And it was served - sacrificially.
In that situation, I want to try to reason with people. I want to say - "look, Sacrficial Leg Of Lamb is a slow, grinding, epic metal monster masterpiece. You don't really want that right now, at the end of the set, hovering over you for five minutes like a storm cloud. Think about what you're asking for. Search your hearts, I think you know you really would rather hear Flesh Feast."
But it seemed like it would be quicker to just play Sacrificial. So we did. More or less. I don't usually sing backups on Sac-Leg either, but what the hell. Sometimes my voice surprises me coming through the PA. In my mind I have a low voice, something like Billy Idol. But when it comes blasting out of the speakers it's all high and crackly and demented.
I probably always say this in gig diereearrrys too, but I would always prefer to leave the audience wanting more Devilcake than to overstay our welcome. I know what it's like to have a short attention span, and I hate it too when boring-ass bands get up and play forever. I also know that, no matter what, we're always going to be that boring-ass band to somebody else - so I want to minimize their suffering. I'd rather have our set be like a quick chat in passing than an hour-long lecture. And we definitely had that last night.
Leave the audience yelling for more, not yelling at you and flipping you off and telling you you suck!
Red Pop
Salad Bar Man
Hands Off My Oreos
Cereal And Beer
Marshmallow
Wienermobile
Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb
DEVILCAKE | Tom Foolery & The Mistakes | two other bands
Bernie's
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
This was a stripped-down, pared-down, sectioned-off, cordoned, abbreviated, obliterated reprise of our last Bernie's appearance, in December 2002. Similarly reprised was the concept of the Summer Set from last year. Which in this case entails only the most sprightly and lively numbers from our catalog.
It was strange before it even began, due to the noticable absence of Michael Bill, who was unable to break free from work. It's the first Devilcake show he hasn't played at since the reunion in 2000. So the guitar sound was thinned out a bit. Otherwise it was business as usual. I got there late, blah blah, soundman was running behind, blah blah, we started late blah blah and played for half an hour or so.
And the main lights were off when we played - and we rocked the tits off the place. See, I told ya. Give us some darkness to play in, and we'll turn this sombitch out.
I thought Todd was going to have an episode when one of the strap buttons on the Keyz O Death broke off completely. But what seemed like a real pisser when it happened turned into a really cool thing that kind of set the tone for the rest of the set. And indeed our approach to the set itself. Which was to duct-tape the fuck out of the Keyz O. Rather than not playing the Keyz, Todd was able to tape the sombitch up, and actually improve upon it by doing so. It's wounded, it's vilified, it's had its ass kicked, and now it can rise like a Phoenix. To the extent that the Keyz O were louder in the final mix than the bass. My fucking bass amp was the weak link last night.
We had a partial-band practice/cookout last week and it was determined that the stupidest song we could possibly open with is Red Pop. The idea being that the idiotic, three-chord song would be the worst choice to start with because it is in no way indicative of the band's sound or interests or tastes or anything really. It's just this song - half a song, really - that we wrote in 1992 that continues to haunt us.
So it was good to have another "first" onstage last night, it's been a while.
Red Pop to open with. Bah. It was hysterical and awesome and I don't think anyone apart from Darrin and maybe Steve saw it coming. But once they heard the strained bass notes at the wrong tempo, they knew ... it was on... OOF!
Red Pop into Salad Bar Man... ehhhh.. Salad Bar Man was maybe not the perfect choice for the second song. We should've splatted into Flesh Feast there, to keep the momentum up. Oh well. It's okay to get our glam rock on too, I suppose.
Steve stepped up his guitar game to fill in the vacant frequencies and extra bit of stage space left by MCB's absence with verve. Steve is the quiet, cool, level headed, subdued dominator onstage, as he skilfully and stealthily snuck into "Hands Off My Oreos." Oh! My skull!
We could've just as easily done the other 1-2 punch, Pie Hair Pie into I Want A Big Mac. But instead we went with Marshmallow/Wienermobile.
I didn't spend too much extra time hovering around the mic, so I must've been more relaxed than the last show. The whole set was just like when we played there in December, it was short, abrupt, slappy and to the point. I thought the set ended nicely after Wienermobile, but the peeps demanded one more song. In return, I demanded that they name the song they wanted us to play. They demanded Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb. And it was served - sacrificially.
In that situation, I want to try to reason with people. I want to say - "look, Sacrficial Leg Of Lamb is a slow, grinding, epic metal monster masterpiece. You don't really want that right now, at the end of the set, hovering over you for five minutes like a storm cloud. Think about what you're asking for. Search your hearts, I think you know you really would rather hear Flesh Feast."
But it seemed like it would be quicker to just play Sacrificial. So we did. More or less. I don't usually sing backups on Sac-Leg either, but what the hell. Sometimes my voice surprises me coming through the PA. In my mind I have a low voice, something like Billy Idol. But when it comes blasting out of the speakers it's all high and crackly and demented.
I probably always say this in gig diereearrrys too, but I would always prefer to leave the audience wanting more Devilcake than to overstay our welcome. I know what it's like to have a short attention span, and I hate it too when boring-ass bands get up and play forever. I also know that, no matter what, we're always going to be that boring-ass band to somebody else - so I want to minimize their suffering. I'd rather have our set be like a quick chat in passing than an hour-long lecture. And we definitely had that last night.
Leave the audience yelling for more, not yelling at you and flipping you off and telling you you suck!
Red Pop
Salad Bar Man
Hands Off My Oreos
Cereal And Beer
Marshmallow
Wienermobile
Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb
DEVILCAKE | TOM FOOLERY AND THE MISTAKES | MARVIN THE ROBOT | SUBURBAN FABULOUS
Wednesday April 30th, 2003
Bernie's Bagels and Distillery
Kid Chill, KeyZ O playah checking in.
Wow. There's something about rocking out in a basement that should be condemned that is beyond words.
other than, Word.
We were Devilcake Minus Two tonight (MCB had to work and Nancy stayed home). We decided early on that we were going first and secured our spot by setting up on stage. As I was fiddling with the strap, the Keys O Death slipped free and plummeted to the stage. The strap bolt and a good chunk of the case at the end cracked and that was the end of the strap.
Luckily Darrin had some duck tape in his bass drum (don't ask) and in a Punk Rock meets Dusenbury-inspired moment, the keys were again ready to rock.
but enough about me.
The sound man apparently had issues..of the psychological kind which culminated in him asking us to check a mic that he had not yet provided. No problem. Two vocal mics is all Devilcake really needs. We (Ian, Steve, and I) each rocked through our respective amps.
Ian led the attack with Red Pop...an XTC inspired ditty that we hadn't rocked on stage since Carter carried his own clubs.
Then came Salad Bar man...and the sweat onslaught had begun.
Ian and I shared the second mic while Gourley worked the other one like a college kid at a high school prom.
The set as I remember went a little like this:
RED POP
SALAD BAR MAN
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
CEREAL AND BEER
MARSHMALLOW
WEINERMOBILE
(shouts for more)
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
I'm sure I'm missing one.
Afterwards we gathered our shit up and got the hell out.
The vibe was decidedly better this time 'round at Bernie's.
The whole vibe of the set was just balls to the wall-sweat overload-fuck you we're rocking here, but thanks for letting us...kind of thing.
It was a good show...and the keys'O actually sounded better tonight than they have in the past year. Partly because I was rocking straight out of the amp...but I think the duck tape helped a little.
Hell, everything sounded good tonight.
I was just jazzed that the show went so well.
If you're keeping score, the next confirmed Devilcake Show is July 3rd at Little Brothers.
Wednesday April 30th, 2003
Bernie's Bagels and Distillery
Kid Chill, KeyZ O playah checking in.
Wow. There's something about rocking out in a basement that should be condemned that is beyond words.
other than, Word.
We were Devilcake Minus Two tonight (MCB had to work and Nancy stayed home). We decided early on that we were going first and secured our spot by setting up on stage. As I was fiddling with the strap, the Keys O Death slipped free and plummeted to the stage. The strap bolt and a good chunk of the case at the end cracked and that was the end of the strap.
Luckily Darrin had some duck tape in his bass drum (don't ask) and in a Punk Rock meets Dusenbury-inspired moment, the keys were again ready to rock.
but enough about me.
The sound man apparently had issues..of the psychological kind which culminated in him asking us to check a mic that he had not yet provided. No problem. Two vocal mics is all Devilcake really needs. We (Ian, Steve, and I) each rocked through our respective amps.
Ian led the attack with Red Pop...an XTC inspired ditty that we hadn't rocked on stage since Carter carried his own clubs.
Then came Salad Bar man...and the sweat onslaught had begun.
Ian and I shared the second mic while Gourley worked the other one like a college kid at a high school prom.
The set as I remember went a little like this:
RED POP
SALAD BAR MAN
HANDS OFF MY OREOS
CEREAL AND BEER
MARSHMALLOW
WEINERMOBILE
(shouts for more)
SACRIFICIAL LEG OF LAMB
I'm sure I'm missing one.
Afterwards we gathered our shit up and got the hell out.
The vibe was decidedly better this time 'round at Bernie's.
The whole vibe of the set was just balls to the wall-sweat overload-fuck you we're rocking here, but thanks for letting us...kind of thing.
It was a good show...and the keys'O actually sounded better tonight than they have in the past year. Partly because I was rocking straight out of the amp...but I think the duck tape helped a little.
Hell, everything sounded good tonight.
I was just jazzed that the show went so well.
If you're keeping score, the next confirmed Devilcake Show is July 3rd at Little Brothers.
Friday, April 25, 2003
DEVILCAKE | BLOODCLOT | DD & THE TTs
Thursday, April 17, 2003
High Five
The first gig of the 2K3 and what's become something like an annual appearance at High Five for us. Seems like we play there once a year, usually during the summer. And that suits me just fine.
On the evening of show I arrived late (as usual) but not as late as some were predicting. I've found that hanging around at High Five is something I really need to be in the mood for and I definitely wasn't in the mood for any shenanigans on this particular rock 'n' roll Thursday night. So I got there as late as I possibly could. Which worked very well for me because everyone else in the band was already set up and ready to rock. All I had to do was plug in my amp (easier said than done on the dark stage when all of the electrical outlets were already claimed by bigger amps), plug in my bass (easier said than done when the soundman is crawling all over my paltry "rig" and plugging in the DI box) and tune up (which was easy because I used MCB's tuner pedal.).
My arms will still wobbly and my head was slightly spinny from carrying in that ungodly heavy bass amp several blocks up 5th Ave, and I never really regained my bearings once my shit was set up and we were on the tractor beam to showtime. Mentally, I was extremely hyper but I just couldn't seem to focus on anything.
Playing fretless bass onstage is almost like work because I have to look down at the neck all night. It's not like a regular fretted bass and my aim is impaired by the stage lights and an overall lack of technique (which is required of any Devilcake bassist). And anything resembling work onstage with Devilcake is not cool. Not for me anyway.
So even before we played a note I was already wobbly, unfocused, tired/wired and extra shaky from being such a wimp. Showtime was called and we made our way to the stage.
And again, I know I say it in every gig diary because I either forget at the time or it just doesn't seem important, but for me, rocking out with all the stage lights on is a losing proposition. Note to self: see previous notes to self about onstage lighting.
So um, all the lights were on and they stayed on the whole time we played. I feel really self-conscious when there's no darkness to disappear into between songs. I feel like a science project on the stage, like everyone is looking at us through a microscope. Feeling self-conscious onstage usually translates to me spending waaaaay too much time at the microphone between songs. I try to make myself loosen up by making a bunch of typically useless and retarded observations into the mic - and it usually just makes me feel more awkward and distanced from rocking out. But at the time it feels utterly necessary. I see holes in the performance and I want to fill them. All at once. It's futile and stupid but that's where my head was on this particular rock 'n' roll Thursday night.
We started with Marshmallow in the full glare of the lights. Then I think we did Wienermobile. The bass chords on the chorus are hard enough to play on a regular fretted bass, but on the fretless it's always a mess. And it wasn't rocking me to play, despite my best efforts. I was making the motions but I wasn't feeling them.
We've played the exact same set before, to much smaller audiences and I've felt every note of it. And that's nice when it can happen but that wasn't the case for me at this show.
Gourley's vocals came off the track a few times but nobody else lost their place. He seemed to be struggling too, I don't know.
There were several lulls between songs. I think it's important to not be tied down to a dogmatic set list because you can't react to the moment. You're looking down and literally playing to the piece of paper. You're mentally checking off the songs and you're thinking about what comes next. Instead of existing in the moment and playing the piss out of the song you're playing.
However, the downside to having no set list is when no one can think of what song to play next. You wind up standing there throwing titles around and it feels unprofessional. So I guess there is a balance to be struck.
We played Pizza Party at some point and Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb, Deez Nuts, um...
Pizza Party was tough because even though all of the notes were there and we played it exactly as it was written, it still felt hollow and weird to me. I can usually dredge up a scream at the end of the song from the depths of my soul but I wasn't feeling it that night. I was considering not screaming at all. That would've been a better course of action.
We played Pie, Hair Pie and I Want A Big Mac. And Fribble at the end.
I was already shaky and out of it before we began, so by the end of the set I was having an out of body experience. I gathered my gear as quickly as possible and got it out the back door.
It was good to comiserate with Kyle Foolery and the others out back afterwards. Even a little bit of support on an evening such as this is extremely rewarding. It doesn't take much. But it's always good to know when peeps who aren't directly related to the band in some way actually get it. And I'm not just talking about enjoying the spectacle, I'm talking about really understanding what Devilcake is.
So I wouldn't say it was a bad show by any stretch. I still think that Devilcake at its worst is more entertaining than the majority of the bands we've played with. No one else in the band complained (apart from Todd sabotaging his keyboard by accidentally unplugging it) and we just kinda did our thing and left. I would've preferred to play a shorter set. I didn't have any "oh hell yeah" moments all night either.
I think I usually feel this way when we play at High Five. Sometimes, in the glare of all those damn lights, it feels to me like we're just pushing a lot of hot air. And that people aren't surprised by us or what we do, and they're not necessarily interested either. And that's fine actually, but at least turn off the fucking lights so I can create the mental illusion of there being a huge audience that's really into it out there. Come on.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
High Five
The first gig of the 2K3 and what's become something like an annual appearance at High Five for us. Seems like we play there once a year, usually during the summer. And that suits me just fine.
On the evening of show I arrived late (as usual) but not as late as some were predicting. I've found that hanging around at High Five is something I really need to be in the mood for and I definitely wasn't in the mood for any shenanigans on this particular rock 'n' roll Thursday night. So I got there as late as I possibly could. Which worked very well for me because everyone else in the band was already set up and ready to rock. All I had to do was plug in my amp (easier said than done on the dark stage when all of the electrical outlets were already claimed by bigger amps), plug in my bass (easier said than done when the soundman is crawling all over my paltry "rig" and plugging in the DI box) and tune up (which was easy because I used MCB's tuner pedal.).
My arms will still wobbly and my head was slightly spinny from carrying in that ungodly heavy bass amp several blocks up 5th Ave, and I never really regained my bearings once my shit was set up and we were on the tractor beam to showtime. Mentally, I was extremely hyper but I just couldn't seem to focus on anything.
Playing fretless bass onstage is almost like work because I have to look down at the neck all night. It's not like a regular fretted bass and my aim is impaired by the stage lights and an overall lack of technique (which is required of any Devilcake bassist). And anything resembling work onstage with Devilcake is not cool. Not for me anyway.
So even before we played a note I was already wobbly, unfocused, tired/wired and extra shaky from being such a wimp. Showtime was called and we made our way to the stage.
And again, I know I say it in every gig diary because I either forget at the time or it just doesn't seem important, but for me, rocking out with all the stage lights on is a losing proposition. Note to self: see previous notes to self about onstage lighting.
So um, all the lights were on and they stayed on the whole time we played. I feel really self-conscious when there's no darkness to disappear into between songs. I feel like a science project on the stage, like everyone is looking at us through a microscope. Feeling self-conscious onstage usually translates to me spending waaaaay too much time at the microphone between songs. I try to make myself loosen up by making a bunch of typically useless and retarded observations into the mic - and it usually just makes me feel more awkward and distanced from rocking out. But at the time it feels utterly necessary. I see holes in the performance and I want to fill them. All at once. It's futile and stupid but that's where my head was on this particular rock 'n' roll Thursday night.
We started with Marshmallow in the full glare of the lights. Then I think we did Wienermobile. The bass chords on the chorus are hard enough to play on a regular fretted bass, but on the fretless it's always a mess. And it wasn't rocking me to play, despite my best efforts. I was making the motions but I wasn't feeling them.
We've played the exact same set before, to much smaller audiences and I've felt every note of it. And that's nice when it can happen but that wasn't the case for me at this show.
Gourley's vocals came off the track a few times but nobody else lost their place. He seemed to be struggling too, I don't know.
There were several lulls between songs. I think it's important to not be tied down to a dogmatic set list because you can't react to the moment. You're looking down and literally playing to the piece of paper. You're mentally checking off the songs and you're thinking about what comes next. Instead of existing in the moment and playing the piss out of the song you're playing.
However, the downside to having no set list is when no one can think of what song to play next. You wind up standing there throwing titles around and it feels unprofessional. So I guess there is a balance to be struck.
We played Pizza Party at some point and Sacrificial Leg Of Lamb, Deez Nuts, um...
Pizza Party was tough because even though all of the notes were there and we played it exactly as it was written, it still felt hollow and weird to me. I can usually dredge up a scream at the end of the song from the depths of my soul but I wasn't feeling it that night. I was considering not screaming at all. That would've been a better course of action.
We played Pie, Hair Pie and I Want A Big Mac. And Fribble at the end.
I was already shaky and out of it before we began, so by the end of the set I was having an out of body experience. I gathered my gear as quickly as possible and got it out the back door.
It was good to comiserate with Kyle Foolery and the others out back afterwards. Even a little bit of support on an evening such as this is extremely rewarding. It doesn't take much. But it's always good to know when peeps who aren't directly related to the band in some way actually get it. And I'm not just talking about enjoying the spectacle, I'm talking about really understanding what Devilcake is.
So I wouldn't say it was a bad show by any stretch. I still think that Devilcake at its worst is more entertaining than the majority of the bands we've played with. No one else in the band complained (apart from Todd sabotaging his keyboard by accidentally unplugging it) and we just kinda did our thing and left. I would've preferred to play a shorter set. I didn't have any "oh hell yeah" moments all night either.
I think I usually feel this way when we play at High Five. Sometimes, in the glare of all those damn lights, it feels to me like we're just pushing a lot of hot air. And that people aren't surprised by us or what we do, and they're not necessarily interested either. And that's fine actually, but at least turn off the fucking lights so I can create the mental illusion of there being a huge audience that's really into it out there. Come on.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
DEVILCAKE + DICK DELICIOUS AND THE TASTY TESTICLES + BLOODCLOT
High Five
Thrusday April 17th, 2003
By: Daiwin da Dwummer
We had a gig last Thursday at High Five. We rolled into the joint around 8pm. A few members of the other bands (Dick Delicious And The Tasty Testicles and Blood Clot) were already there. When I asked about the order, they asked if we would mind going on last. I said, "Well, we hadn't planned on that. We were told we would be on first." I knew I had to be at work the next morning, so the earlier the better for me. Getting home at 2 a.m. was not going to make the next day much fun. But, as it went, we did get to go on first at about 10:30pm. It appeared that Blood Clot brought with them a following, so there were actually a few patrons there, somewhere in the area of 20 or 30 people, which, for Devilcake, is a large gathering.
We did a sound check around 10pm or so. Guacamole Dammit, of course. I think this is the first time I ever had the sound man actually put anything into the monitor. I usually just shrug off the whole 'Do you have enough bass in the monitor' deal, but I decided that maybe hearing tonight would be valuable. Anyway, Guacmole Dammit didn't sound too bad for a bunch of guys who hadn't hardly played together for 5 months. The last time we have played was Dec 30th at Bernie's. I goofed up the ending, forgetting that we repeat it. I looked over at MCB and he was just laughing at me. And who could blame him. The look I get on my face when I end a song early is much to laugh at.
We got back onstage around 10:30pm and started off with Marshmallow as usual. We did this one old-school because Nancy wasn't there. The guitars were blaring, the bass was boomin', the keyz were screaming and Gourley was growling. It was good stuff. After that we went into Weinermobile. This song always makes my arms ache. I think alot of the songs were a bit slower tonight for that simple reason. I was out of practice. Funny thing is, I usually play the songs too fast so they were probably at the speed they were supposed to be.
Since there wasn't a setlist, I am going to guess at the rest set list. I think we did: Hands Off My Oreos, Pizza Party, Pie Hair Pie, I Want A Big Mac, Sacificial Leg Of Lamb, Cereal And Beer, Deez Nuts (not sure on this one), Fribble. I swear we played more than this. Someone in the crowd yelled out a song and Ian said 'Really?', shrugged, and then said 'Okay.' I can't remember what song it was though. I'm pretty sure I'm missing a song or two. The set seemed longer than normal.
I remember Ian starting Pizza Party and me doing the hi hat count in. I was, at that moment, in a goofy mood so I was playing the disco hi hat. I looked up and there was Ian shaking his head. Silly me thought he was giving me the 'You big goof-ball' head shake. However, in my oblivion, I failed to realize that Steve was trying to tune his guitar and Todd was working with his rig. So I jump into it and those two were kind-of 'Oh fuck'. But they jumped in rather quickly and we didn't miss so much as a beat.
Overall, I think the gig went pretty good considering we hadn't really practiced at all. I was goofing up songs here and there. Each time MCB would laugh. And of course, I would laugh too 'cause, in the end, we're all up there to have a good time. Might as well laugh along. The look a drummer gets on his face when he drops a stick is priceless. Bwa-ha!
After I dragged all 500 pounds of equiptment out to the car, we all ended up chatting for quite a while. It was kinda nice, really. Everybody just talking about whatever. The ever-supportive and hard-core fan Kyle from Tom Foolery came out and we chatted with him. After our show, he bolted. Now that's a fan, I tell you. About 11:30 or midnight or so, me and the woman and jumped into the car and took off. We hit White Castles on the way home for a midnight snack and all was good.
High Five
Thrusday April 17th, 2003
By: Daiwin da Dwummer
We had a gig last Thursday at High Five. We rolled into the joint around 8pm. A few members of the other bands (Dick Delicious And The Tasty Testicles and Blood Clot) were already there. When I asked about the order, they asked if we would mind going on last. I said, "Well, we hadn't planned on that. We were told we would be on first." I knew I had to be at work the next morning, so the earlier the better for me. Getting home at 2 a.m. was not going to make the next day much fun. But, as it went, we did get to go on first at about 10:30pm. It appeared that Blood Clot brought with them a following, so there were actually a few patrons there, somewhere in the area of 20 or 30 people, which, for Devilcake, is a large gathering.
We did a sound check around 10pm or so. Guacamole Dammit, of course. I think this is the first time I ever had the sound man actually put anything into the monitor. I usually just shrug off the whole 'Do you have enough bass in the monitor' deal, but I decided that maybe hearing tonight would be valuable. Anyway, Guacmole Dammit didn't sound too bad for a bunch of guys who hadn't hardly played together for 5 months. The last time we have played was Dec 30th at Bernie's. I goofed up the ending, forgetting that we repeat it. I looked over at MCB and he was just laughing at me. And who could blame him. The look I get on my face when I end a song early is much to laugh at.
We got back onstage around 10:30pm and started off with Marshmallow as usual. We did this one old-school because Nancy wasn't there. The guitars were blaring, the bass was boomin', the keyz were screaming and Gourley was growling. It was good stuff. After that we went into Weinermobile. This song always makes my arms ache. I think alot of the songs were a bit slower tonight for that simple reason. I was out of practice. Funny thing is, I usually play the songs too fast so they were probably at the speed they were supposed to be.
Since there wasn't a setlist, I am going to guess at the rest set list. I think we did: Hands Off My Oreos, Pizza Party, Pie Hair Pie, I Want A Big Mac, Sacificial Leg Of Lamb, Cereal And Beer, Deez Nuts (not sure on this one), Fribble. I swear we played more than this. Someone in the crowd yelled out a song and Ian said 'Really?', shrugged, and then said 'Okay.' I can't remember what song it was though. I'm pretty sure I'm missing a song or two. The set seemed longer than normal.
I remember Ian starting Pizza Party and me doing the hi hat count in. I was, at that moment, in a goofy mood so I was playing the disco hi hat. I looked up and there was Ian shaking his head. Silly me thought he was giving me the 'You big goof-ball' head shake. However, in my oblivion, I failed to realize that Steve was trying to tune his guitar and Todd was working with his rig. So I jump into it and those two were kind-of 'Oh fuck'. But they jumped in rather quickly and we didn't miss so much as a beat.
Overall, I think the gig went pretty good considering we hadn't really practiced at all. I was goofing up songs here and there. Each time MCB would laugh. And of course, I would laugh too 'cause, in the end, we're all up there to have a good time. Might as well laugh along. The look a drummer gets on his face when he drops a stick is priceless. Bwa-ha!
After I dragged all 500 pounds of equiptment out to the car, we all ended up chatting for quite a while. It was kinda nice, really. Everybody just talking about whatever. The ever-supportive and hard-core fan Kyle from Tom Foolery came out and we chatted with him. After our show, he bolted. Now that's a fan, I tell you. About 11:30 or midnight or so, me and the woman and jumped into the car and took off. We hit White Castles on the way home for a midnight snack and all was good.
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