This gig was a fun one. I wanted to play Conor Byrne in Ballard as I never had before. I'd seen some shows there before, but always as a spectator. I reached out the booker a few months ago and put together the bill with my friend, Steve's band, Square Peg. They're new, having only a few gigs under their collective belts, but have all been around for a minute. And I also got the Zack Static Sect on the bill. I'd heard cool things about them and saw them do a vinyl release at Easy Street in August and thought they were great. Plus, old Seattle music vet, Scott Sutherland, is in the band, so that was cool too.
As we prepped for the show over the last few weeks, Steve N. from Square Peg was kind enough to pay for some posters. We used a guy that Zack had used before and the guy banged out some great images for us to print and post.
I left the house around 6, just in time for rush hour. These Thursday shows start around 8-ish, so soundcheck is a 7. I got to Ballard about 50 minutes later and loaded in, which consisted of my bass and pedalboard. Steve R. from Square Peg was kind enough to backline his sweet Aguilar Tone Hammer rig with 2 12" speakers. Small and tasty.
Prior to the gig, Cass offered his drums to backline and I thought Zack said his drummer would use them. Apparently he said he wanted to use his own drums, not Cass', so there was a little confusion, but we worked it out.
After sorting that out, I hoofed it a few blocks away to grab some ramen, which I brought back to Conor Byrne to eat. I got a chance to talk to my mates, as well as some friends who were there: Michael M., Jeff B., Mike M. and Amy D., Andi W., and others. All friends, but more fans of music than people that come specifically for me. These days, I don't care as much as I used to. I put out the info, if they come, they come, and if they don't, there's always next time.
Zack Static Sect took the stage first. A three piece, with Zack on vocals and guitar, Scott on Fender Bass VI and Duane on drums. Garage punk, 3-chords-and-a-cloud-of-dust and a lot of flair to go with it. Not snarling, tattooed punk, but almost surf/50's influenced punk. A lot of fun and I had a smile on my face the whole time.
Really enjoyed Zack's song about his wife, called "Mari Likes to Ride (the Subway Train)," about Mari taking subways in Tokyo, where she's from. Both Zack and Scott liked to jump and levitate during songs. Duane bashed the heck out of Cass' drums and they just put on a high-energy, boot-stompin' show.
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| Zack, Scott and Duane (who is invisible). |
After ZSS played, we were up next. Since Steve had his rig there, I didn't play with my Tone Hammer pedal. Scott's bass sounded fine through it and I figured my L1K would as well. I brought the Hog as Goldie got the last show (man I hate having named my basses, but it's more about the color than a name).
We played the same set as last time and I thought it went pretty well. I get a little sloppy on the high energy songs, like Sit and Spin, specifically. There's a lot of weird picking on that one, and syncopation, and energy, and it just gets sloppy at the end. I hope it doesn't come off wrong when I play it. I'll have to get a recording sometime and see what it sounds like.
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| Mike Mitchell with the pics, yet again! |
Square Peg followed our set with a nice little set of their own. I saw their first gig way back in March and they've really grown since then. Steve N. on guitar and vocals writes tidy little rockin' power pop tunes. Steve R. on bass locks down the bottom with tasty licks and solid foundational parts on his Fender Jazz, and Dan on drums really brings some frenetic energy and provides backing vocals.
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| Square Peg! |
At the end of it all, we made some new friends and fans. We talked about future shows. Scott had some real kind, bass player type words to say to me. He and I played on bills in the mid-2000's, early 2010's, when I played with Lund Bros. and he was in all the bands (Llama, Paul Lynde Fan Club, others that I forget). He came up and asked, "When did you start playing with a plectrum?" I told him I taught myself over the pandemic and he was just blown away by that. He remembered me as a finger player (which I was) and thought he'd be the only bassist with a pick.
