2026-08-15 Planets in the Ocean at the Tractor Tavern

Made this on Canva

We were offered this show a few months ago and were pretty excited about it. I know nothing about the Divorce but both Cass and Robb had played with them a bunch when they were in Dear John Letters. Evidently they had a great draw in the early 2010s and played a bunch of great local shows back then.

I showed up at the Tractor around 6pm and double-parked behind a car that was already there. The Tractor has a loading dock in the back that they lock once the show starts. It makes things really handy to not have to find parking elsewhere, but it can be a bit challenging to get all the cars in there.

Cass and Robb were already there, as was Robb's awkward friend, Chris. Some of the Chimestone dudes were there as well. Good to chop it up with Cass for a bit. We talked about our plan for our set, less talking (for me at least; he's not on mic), and how we were going to play our new song, "Tourniquet."

I didn't know what to expect as far as crowds go, but as the doors opened, it seemed like Chimestone was having a good draw. I think all 5 of those guys are NHS grads, and their crew travels well. It seems like every time we play with them, they have a good crew showing out.

Teddy shared his bass rig, I was happy to use it. One less thing for me to be bringing around on a long day to begin with. He also had a beautiful Stingray that he was going to play, which ended up sounding just as good as it looked.

Teddy's rig and bass

Chimestone took the stage and played a competent set of REM-ish rock and roll. Frontman Jake came out on fire, working the stage with and without guitar, singing expertly. Ted on bass was solid throughout, tasty notes and playing all set long. Jonathan Plum, of course, was so solid as well, also adding killer harmonies during the songs. Paul was stellar behind the kit, driving with power and energy. I don't know the other guitarist's name, but he was great as well, tasty leads and playing. Enjoyed watching and hearing them for sure.

Chimestone at work

During Chimestone's set, we hooked up with a local photographer named Ian who had been sent by our bud Will. I asked if he'd be willing to take some non-performance pix of us and he agreed. We went to the loading area and stood/posed by some dangerous looking stacks of pallets while he snapped away. He ended up taking a bunch there as well as during the show. Hope those turn out to be cool!

We took the stage after Chimestone loaded out. Had to switch drum sets, but other than that, no big deal. I gave Dave the sound guy my IEM transmitter and he got bass and vocals into my ears. Had the bass rig on stage turned up as well and with hardly a word, Robb started into "Unraveled." Everything sounded great to me in my ears. Robb's vocals and guitar were loud enough that I didn't need any of his signal to the IEMs.

Unlike last show, I put the wireless pack on my strap and it was not going anywhere. My IEM receiver was opposite on my left hip, which would reduce any interference. I have new silicone ear tips from some old Skullcandy earbuds that create an awesome seal and didn't leak like my foam ones would if I smiled or laughed, so all my gear was working as it should. Until my left earbud popped out during "Unraveled." No worries, after the tune, I put it back in and we were golden.

We continued the set with "The Loud Silence," and then our nemesis from last show, "Nomenclature," and those all went off without a hitch. Robb or I didn't say much until after that song, so it was sort of refreshing.

We worked our way down the list and we were doing great. We sounded good, mistakes were low, crowd liked it and our energy was high. All the songs were fine until we hit "Holiday Daydream," where Robb forgot to do the chorus and went straight into the second verse. He's done that before, so we'll have to mention it again. Aside from that, though, everything else went well.

The last song was our new song, "Tourniquet." Robb brought it in a few months ago and it pretty much wrote itself. Over the past two rehearsals at the Rock Rooms in Ballard, we've really worked on it. It's pretty much a 3-part song: riff, verse, chorus. I'd like to come up with a bridge at some point, but it came together quickly and plays well. We may do have Tim jump on it when we play the SE show next month, but we'll see.

Got off stage and the Divorce jumped on after us. A very tight and pro 4-piece. A bit emo, a bunch rock and they looked great doing it. All 4 dudes were great musicians and the songs were well-received. They drew a nice crowd and had people singing to all their songs. At some point during the set, Robb made his way right up front and was pumping his fist and jumping along to the tunes!

The Divorce

During either of the other bands' sets, I chopped it up with Steve and Salena a bit, as well as Cass. We all got a laugh out of Chris and his tendencies. He means well, but I don't really want him to be running merch for us; one of us can handle that. He can help Robb schlep gear back and forth, I don't need his help with anything.

Got some props after the gig. Kim and her cousin gave me the best compliment, digging the white denim jeans I picked up the day before at Goodwill! Jimmy, the bassist in the Divorce, complimented my playing as faster than he can do; he has a Geddy Lee Jazz with a skinny neck to be able to play faster. We felt great about our performance, likely one of our best ones in a minute.

Had to beg Steve and Salena for pix. I think plenty of people took pix and video, but gotta be patient. Chris Elko was there and should have a video for us soon. And Ian's pix will be sent out soon I'm assuming. Other than that, felt great about it all. Sold a couple of limited pink LPs as well, so that's a bonus. We got a check for $566 (surprise!) so overall, a great night.

Next up, Cupcake on 9/11 at the Blue Moon?? Stay tuned.

9/11/2025 Planets in the Ocean at the Sunset

Not much of a poster but it's what I got

Another Thursday gig, another complaint about Seattle traffic. It took me 45 minutes to get home from work, a quick make of dinner, and then out the door to get to the Sunset by 6:30 or so. That ride took me another 45 minutes or so, but I found a decent parking spot, so I guess it paid off.

My old pal, Corey, from the Navins, plays in a couple bands and asked us to be a part of this bill. He's plays keys and guitar in Trances and it's always cool seeing him. I reached out a little too late to see if bands wanted to share gear, and by the time I heard back, no one replied, so I packed up the Orange Terror Bass, the Avatar 212 and Goldie the Bass just in case.

Showing up, the headliner, Sam Cobra, was soundchecking and after they were done, the nice, huge-handed bassist, Jensen, offered me the use of his Bergantino 212 and ThunderFunk amp. He played a Serek bass and after looking it up, it is a custom model and let's just say his gear is all boutique and very nice. I ended up using his amp after hearing how nice his bass sounded through it all. Here's how it looked after sound check with the G&L L-1000.

Sweet little setup!

Last show we played at the Central didn't go exactly like we wanted. There were errors and mistakes all over. The stage audio wasn't great and we were all annoyed with ourselves afterward. Last night, we played like we know how we can play. Maybe it's having good sound on stage, who knows? But it certainly doesn't hurt!

There were just a few people when we started at 8. Kim was there, Robb's friend Chris, and then, of all people Tim! Robb and Tim bumped into each other before the show (Tim was seeing Spinal Tap nearby) and he ended up coming in for the show. No one came for me, but it's Ballard and it's a Thursday, so I wasn't too worried about it.

It also helped that I ran through the songs the night before. I don't think Cass did; he was traveling since the week before, seeing Oasis in Pasadena over the weekend, then in Chicago since Monday for work. He flew in Thursday morning and was on fumes by the time we started. He was a trouper, though and played solid as always.

Robb really came through clutch. He didn't feel great about the Central show, but he showed out for the Sunset. Singing was on point, guitaring was definitely improved. I gave him a vocal suggestion to simplify a few lines on a few songs. He was really oversinging on a tune and throwing off the harmony part for me. He reigned it in and it made a difference.

I felt like I played pretty well. With the great bass tone and stage sound, it just felt comfortable. I'd like to feel that good at any gig. I think my backing vox were decent and for the most part, they worked. Maybe a touch more in the wedge for next time we're there.

After we finished, Jensen and his cousin, Carl, came up to say hi. Carl did most of the talking, a large, long-bearded dude. Nice guy, made interesting comments about the veins on my arms poppin' on stage. Tim also was very complimentary, saying Cass and I were locked in and that it was the best he'd ever seen me play. Really great to see him and chat, even if just for a moment.

Next up was Trances. When I played with Corey in the Navins, he played drums and sang backing vocals. In Trances, he was one of 4 dudes across the front of the stage. He had nice stage presence and was great on keys and guitar. I do wish his vocals and keys were mixed a little hotter, but it was a nice show. They were heavier than I expected; I thought they'd be more keys oriented, but it was definitely all guitars.

Trances

Last up was Sam Cobra. They were interesting at sound check. When I talked to Carl, he said Jensen picked up bass because of him. That implied he was a relatively new bassist? It seemed to be when I heard him play as there were parts he was missing, but then I learned he'd only been with Sam Cobra for two rehearsals or something like that.

He played uniquely as well; he was solid enough but his fretting hand was really energetic and all over the place. Maybe it was because of his huge hands; they looked like big white spiders on the bass.

Jensen with the big hands

Musically, SC was OK. The singer had a really pure and pretty voice, but it was just too much of a contrast with the guitars, bass and drums. Even though the music wasn't overly heavy, it was just loud enough that her voice couldn't really shine. They were also pretty bland on stage, not a lot of energy or presence, which didn't help.

Sam Cobra

Cass and I powered through the entire night, despite him stretching his day by 2 hours by heading home from Chicago. We loaded out and that was that. 6 hours later, it was back home and back at it another day.

Next up, Sunset Grooves on 9/27 for a private party. Stay tuned.

7/25/25, Planets in the Ocean at Tim's Tavern

Fun night at Tim's last night. Left the house around 5:55 for a 6:30 arrival time and pretty much arrived right on time. Best part of these early arrivals is the ample parking. I was backlining my amp for the other two bands, Full Life Crisis and the Riffbrokers, so I wanted to be there early enough. I brought the Orange and the 212, as well as the butter P and the SB2 as a backup.

Robb and Cass showed up shortly and we had a good time chopping it up, getting caught up on the past couple weeks. Cass's son Beckett broke his leg in San Diego last week playing soccer, so that was good to get caught up on. He's gonna be rehabbing and recovering for the next several months but should be OK.

I got to chat with Brian and Tom from Full Life Crisis for a bit, then with Heather and Nick of the Riffbrokers. I've played shows with them for the past 20 years or so. We aren't close necessarily, but we are always friendly when we see each other at shows. Great to get caught up with them, albeit briefly.

Last time we played Tim's, the stage was outdoors, but evidently some adjacent businesses have been less then neighborly when it came to the outdoor music after 10pm. They would complain and raised enough of a stink to force Tim's to move the stage indoors, where the sound could be better controlled. They took out half of their dining room and reconfigured the layout of the entire property to support it and it was actually really cool. They included a green room this time around!

Tim's Tavern: Together In Music!

New stage setup

The new green room

After some pre-game chit chat, Full Life Crisis took the stage. With 2/3rds of the band made up of 1/2 of the Rallies (Lee on drums, Brian on guitar), they hit the ground running. Tom on bass played a beautiful Rickenbacker and held it down quite admirably. He played with a pick and sang leads on some songs. All three of the guys sang great together and they had a nice solid set. Lee is great at laying down a beat and Brian is a nice guitarist, he plays great leads and solos. Overall, very well done!

Full Life Crisis

Before they started, I was surprised by my friend Chelsea, her husband, Brendan, and their friends, Breann and July (pronounced Julie). I've known Chelsea through work and I used to work with Brendan as well. They are huge music fans and I was really happy to see them and have some new friends to meet as well.

Friends new and old

After a quick set change, we started off. It was business as usual, but due to a conflict (had to pick Marci up at the airport) we bailed on practice the night before. As I started "Unraveled" with the band, I had that horrible realization that maybe we shouldn't have skipped. I missed notes, I felt out of sorts. It took about 3-4 songs before I felt better. I think part of it was also the monitors. Though the new Tim's setup is great, I couldn't hear much beyond Robb's vocals and guitar. I was right next to my amp so the bass sounded weird and I was futzing around with it all night. I had a camera set up on a nearby table and though my backing vox were loud in the mains, I was pitchy all over. Ugh. Overall, though, as they say, I am my worst critic, so I have to look at it through the crowd's eyes.

As far as the bass is concerned, I played the yellow P and maybe it's been too long since I've played it. The past several shows I've played the gold L1K and I figured I'd hit up the P. Something about the action I think was also throwing me off. The action is super low and picking at the strings, I kept missing notes and generally being uncomfortable. Or maybe I should've practiced the songs once or twice this week.

Anyway, all three of us slogged through mistakes and errors. There were stick drops, there were missed choruses, it was pretty funny. But on video, we looked and sounded good, so there's that. Our little fanclub at the table was vocal and gave us great energy. The people overall were quite enthusiastic, despite our self-inflicted wounds. Here's a screen capture of the video.

Nice bright stage at Tim's!

After us were the Riffbrokers. Married folks, Nick and Heather, have been in the Seattle music scene for decades and their obvious familiarity and comfort comes through beautifully. Nick has this low-key clever stage banter, and Heather plays great bass lines and adds so much with her pretty backing vocals. It was her first time playing this Guild bass, which belongs to her pal Scott Sutherland.

The Riffbrokers

During the RBs set, Nick kept shouting me out, going on about "GWON CHANG" this and "GWON CHANG" that. It was pretty funny. I think he realized that Robb was Robb Benson and he was amazed at how young he looked (Robb and Cass's band, Dear John Letters, had played with the RBs a lot in the past). Nick also called out the Lund Bros, since we played with them a lot in the '10s.

After the show, it was high-fives and hugs all around. I sat with the table and chatted via text and shouting in ears, enjoying the Riffbrokers and the company. It was great catching up with Chelsea and her hubs, hanging with Cass and Robb and talking with the other bands.

Brian from FLC came up and mentioned that he had played with the Lunds at the Skylark but I thought I wasn't in the band by then. However... after checking my info today, it turns out we did play together in 2010. Pretty cool stuff, just no recording of that one, other than a quick blog entry up in here somewhere.

Packed it up after that, drove home and in bed. The 4 gigs in July are over! Up next, 8/16 in Everett with the Sunset Grooves. Stay tuned.

01/24/2025, Planets in the Ocean at the Sunset

First show of the new year, with a nice line up and venue to kick things off... until one of the bands dropped out day of show.

even AI generated posters are weird

We had set up a show with Guest Directors (with Gary T on guitar from the Navins) and Patrons of Husbandry (with Rusty W on guitar/vox). Having the show at the Sunset was an added bonus. About the only thing we had issues with was the order, which had us headlining. Overall, not a big deal for me, but sort of a nitpicky thing for others in the band.

On the day of the show, I had the day off and soon heard that one of the members of Guest Directors was having a medical issue and as a result, they couldn't play. GD was offering up their bass rig and drums before dropping out, so some pivoting was needed. I ended up bringing the Orange and the Avatar 212.

We tried to get a last-minute replacement band and they were willing to play, but I was vetoed, which was sort of a bummer. We thought the other band might not bring people, but my thought was that's at least 4 more people and possibly more, but whatever, it was all good.

Come gig time, I drove out to Ballard and right in front of the Sunset, there was a spot! However, the car in front of me took it! But then the car right next to it backed out and your boy got the best parking spot he's ever gotten at the club. I loaded in and was gonna get ready for soundcheck...

Only to find out that the Patrons of Husbandry had already setup and bounced for dinner, meaning there was no way to get our stuff up there and we would get no soundcheck. No big deal, I suppose; PoH didn't get a soundcheck either.

Once PoH got started, there was a nice crowd. I had two people from work, who brought 4 additional people. Plus we had Mike and Amy (nice to see them twice this week!), Ted, Derrick and Monica, Nick, Jeff B, the Guest Directors (minus their bassist), Ben and Roger from Coool Babies, Jimmy C, Phil, and others. Those were just the regulars.

I've known Rusty from PoH for a long time, despite not knowing him hardly at all. Musician relationships are like that, unless you're in bands with them. You see them a few times a year at shows and the like, and that's about it. But it was really cool to reconnect with Rusty. He was in Seattle bands like Flop, Llama, the Fastbacks and I'm sure several others I'm forgetting. When I was in the Lund Bros in the 2000s, we played with Llama quite a few times and had all sorts of fun.

With PoH, they were a 4 piece, with both Rusty and Scott playing guitars and trading off on lead vocals. I met Ethan, their bassist, who had a killer P and Ampeg setup. He was solid and provided a great bottom end to the churning washy guitars that Rusty and Scott put out.

Patrons of Husbandry

Once PoH finished, we took the stage to a decent crowd, especially considering we had only two bands on the bill. My work friends, especially the young one (23 years old!), were quite appreciative. The young crew was energetic and noisy for both bands, and we enjoyed having them.

For this evening, I played the butter P and the aforementioned Orange and Avatar combo. Robb played his new Les Paul and had that amp cranked! He was stage left and wow, he was loud. I thought I was loud, but I had to be to hear it over that guitar.

We started off with a new set, one that Cass drafted, which was pretty cool. Nice to start off with different tunes, even though we have been playing the same 10-11 for the past few years. We could have done a few more tonight, but we haven't been practicing some of the original PITO songs from the COVID days.

Overall, the set had nice energy and the crowd seemed to like it a lot. I felt like I was pretty sloppy, missing notes here and there, forgetting that my long hair gets in my way and sometimes I simply can't see the frets and markers. On "Nomenclature," I took a huge dump at the end and missed out on about 2-4 bars where I just couldn't see what I was doing.

I set my phone off to the side and recorded our gig and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. It also caught all the goofy banter between songs. Robb gave me a nice shout out about being a Rush fan and the people also seemed to like that.

Sound-wise, after having nice sounds in the studio, the Orange did fine work at the Sunset. After listening back, I probably could've dialed in some more bottom end (was heavy on the mids for some reason), but overall, it worked pretty well. I should be seeing some FOH videos soon, as my camera was on the floor next to my feet, so bass was pretty up-front.

Nice night all the way around, made about $175 for the band, which is going into the song mixing budget.

Mike Mitch, who else?

Ted Laabs with the pic

Another Mike Mitch pic

pic by Brian Hughes

2025-01-20 Planets in the Ocean at London Bridge Studios

We had booked time last July to go back up to London Bridge to polish off 3 more songs. With the other 9 that we've recorded, we figured 12 would be a great number to put out on vinyl. We've been talking about it over two bands for years, but now we are finally getting close.

But then life got in the way and Robb lost both his dad and father-in-law within a few weeks of each other and the recording understandably got put on a hiatus. We decided to finish the summer and fall with some gigs, then go into hibernation for the end of the year, with a new date booked for January 2025, which happened to be today.

(Un)fortunate for us, it was MLK day, which meant days off for all of us (except Jonathan, but he's doing what he loves, so he gets a pass). The unfortunate part was that it was also frickin' inauguration day, with a new madman taking the place of the American presidency. However, this blog is not about that, so on with the studio recap.

Nice touch by JP!

For the day, I brought Goldie with rounds, and the Butter bass with flats. I grabbed my Orange Terror Bass, along with my pedal board. I also brought my Avatar 212 just in case. I packed a lunch (studio days are notorious for no eating) and made my way north.

Avatar used as a table and nothing more.

After complaining about politics and how cold it was (like 40°F outside, and barely 65°F in the studio), we got setup and then got to work. We went in with the plan to record songs we'd recorded already, albeit in Robb's basement: The Loud Silence (titled as such for now, it may change), Holiday Daydream and Panic Attack.

We got our tones dialed in and we started with TLS. I played the Butter bass via the Orange and got a nice tone. I had my tone dial about 50% with volume dimed. I did use the Tone Hammer for some EQ, but other than compression, it was all bass and the Orange. We had some trouble with a weird overtone sounding like an octave pedal on the 7th fret (E) on the A string. After some troubleshooting, I lowered the gain on my Spark Boost and increased its level and that seemed to smooth it out.

We ran TLS a few times and, as usual, Cass had his parts dialed. He was able to get a great take after one or two tries. Me and Robb had some different challenges, but we were able to make pretty good time. I had a few punches I had to do, but otherwise pleased with the performance. Tone-wise, the flats were cool sounding, the Orange added appropriate dirt and grit, and in the mix (and especially on the studio monitors), the bass sounded fat and full and gnarly. The only thing I would change (but didn't really know how) was how clicky my pick attack sounded. When soloed, it's pretty obnoxious, but on the rough mixes JP provided, with the full band, it sounds fine.

And did I mention the drums? As always, LBS makes drums sound so good. I'm sure JP has something to do with it as well, but man, Cass' drums sound epic. All good stuff.

Cass on the drumzzzz

Pic by Mike Mitchell

On my way up, I reached out to Mike Mitchell and he and Amy agreed to come by for a bit to hang and listen and take some pix. So that was cool! I say this because I didn't take many pix, but did take some vids for IG stories. Mike, however, came in clutch and got shots, including a few of Robb with his new Les Paul, which was cool. Both the pictures and the guitar.

Robb and his new Les Paul (Mike Mitchell picture)

Speaking of that guitar, man, it sounded great! Robb usually plays Teles and they are a little twangy for my tastes. However, this LP had some girth and thickness to it and on TLS, it really worked well.

We finished up that song and then moved onto Holiday Daydream. I thought this one might be challenging because it's pretty sparse and there's not a lot of fireworks, except for at the end. I try to keep my part really simple and lock in with what Cass is doing. I do build with some melodic lines in the second verse and then we all open it up at the end. I played the Butter bass again and played fingerstyle as well, to mellow the sound a little. I kept the tone overdriven, though, and still loved how it all sounded.

Listening back while Robb was doing some guitar overdubs, I mentioned to JP how I'd love to hear a second guitar doing some chord stabs on beat 4 of the 6/8 measures. He brought it up to Robb and Robb was able to pull it off. I also told him to emphasize a double snare/bass hit that Cass and I do and he did it as well, which all sounded great.

As usual, Robb tore through his vocals and this tune turned out really nice as well. When that was done, we started up with Panic Attack. As recent as our last rehearsal, Robb decided he wanted to cut out a little guitar run in the middle of this song. He sometimes stumbles on it and it had gotten in his head a little. So we decided to skip it and pass the responsibility to Cass to throw in a great drum fill, which he did.

For this song, I switched over to Goldie with the rounds for an even more aggressive sound. We did a few takes before JP realized I forgot to mention something and due to the hotter output of the G&L, the bass levels were all out of wack. He got me dialed in and we did a few more takes. Of course, Cass got his takes done and so Robb and I were doing vocals and bass respectively. He had guitar done enough, but this way, we multitask and JP is good enough to handle it all.

As Robb finished up his guitars, I mentioned we should have hand claps and/or tambourine during the solo section, so of course, JP dialed it up and we all jumped in to do the claps. JP did tambo though, as Cass isn't great at it (his words, not mine).

With our instrumental parts all done, Robb finished up some vocals and then JP gave us some quick and dirty mixes. To my untrained ear, especially on his huge studio monitors, we sounded great! I told him in all my years of recording, I think the bass tones I got today were the best I've ever had. Last time we did it, they were OK, but we went a bit overboard with the distortion. I just did a quick listen to some of those songs and yeah, they're a bit distorted, but not bad and maybe with some mastering, it'll tame it a bit.

Anyway, overall, a great day and one that was able to take our minds off of real-world events, despite us seeking that info in-between takes and during down periods. Next up is for me to do my backing vocals, get Jonathan to mix the songs (and two others) and then find someone to put it on wax for us.

pic by Mike Mitchell

Pic by Mike Mitchell

Pic by Mike Mitchell

11/22/24, Planets in the Ocean at the Central

Big show at the Central as part of something called the Cloudbreak Festival. Evidently a group is putting on shows all over Seattle during November. I guess the hook is any tourist staying in a participating hotel gets free admission to the club or something. Good for bands,we all get paid, but with so many great shows, it sort of cannibalizes itself.

Last night while we were playing, across town was Smokey Brights playing one of two nights at the Tractor, and then Riffbrokers and Braly/Sangster playing at Tim's. Other bands in other venues as well, so we were a little iffy on how many people might show.

The Central has turned it around the past few years. It's actually a cool place to play again, but the Pioneer Square location is a little sketchy at times, though I've never had problems there. I love it also because it's the closest club to home, about 20 minutes to get there. I found great parking and in I went about 6:30.

I brought the Hog and Goldie, variations on a theme. I spent some time earlier getting tones dialed in and ultimately liked what I heard. I set my Spark Booster to be a clean signal and matched the output on my Tone Hammer so that when AGS was switched off, I had the same output. However, if I had SB on with AGS, it would push a little harder.

At the Central, they had a GK amp and 410 that I used. Once we got it on stage, I got dialed in and was pleasantly surprised at how it sounded. Last time we played there, almost 2 years ago, I used the same rig, but with the old T-bird and I did not like how it sounded and couldn't get comfortable. I also used my IEMs with Planets for the first time. The sound guy gave me the monitor signal and it actually worked out really well. I think I've been getting used to hearing more definition on my bass from using IEMs at SG practice. I may need to try doing it at Robb's house too, as having the IEMs and some ambient stage sounds bleed through via the wedges and amp at the Central was a nice combo.

Terrible red lighting

As we got dialed in, the other bands showed up. We thought the club would backline, but both bands brought drums. Dragontail Peak (love that name) brought a bass rig of doom, a 410 and 115, powered by an Ampeg something or other. Jim from The "NO" 3 brought an Orange head, but used the house cab.

Speaking of TN3, it is always cool to play with local legends. Kurt B. on guitar and vocals, Jim on bass, with his Ric, and then Dan Peters from Mudhoney on drums. I've played with Kurt and Jim before, but never Dan, so that was cool.

Anyway, before long we got started. 10 songs and 42 minutes later, we were done. I think we played quite well, with a couple of goofs at times. Robb went into his guitar solo a little early in the first song, but Cass and I were able to latch on and follow along. He did something early again in Panic Attack, so Cass and I had to watch each other and count through the bars.

Tone-wise, I really liked what I heard in my IEMs. Vocals for me were nice and bright, but as the gig continued, I had a harder time hearing myself, not sure what that was about. I did set my phone up to record on the side and after the show, I took a look and we sounded pretty good. Really good performance.

Off stage, I had an old friend/co-worker show up, so her and I chatted for nearly all of the Dragontail Peak gig. I didn't even get a picture of them, but tried to listen during our convo and what I heard was blusey, articulate, precise and a little proggy. They have a video online from Darrell's that didn't well represent what I heard last night. I don't even know if it was the same dudes. But they were tight and sounded good.

Side note: was great to chat with Whitney. She is one of the OG's from the MS Store and we've kept sort of in touch over the years. Her husband, Taylor, has been to a few shows, and now it was her turn. I know how tough it can be to get out with 2 little ones, so for her to show up by herself in her badass leather jacket and lookin' tough, was appreciated. Loved seeing her.

We were also graced by Tim, fresh off his tour with Duff McKagan in Europe and the US. He just played a triumphant show on Wednesday at the Showbox and I'd asked him to come, but wasn't sure if he would. Turns out, he and Kay came, as well as Muzz. I'd seen Tim a few times and talked with him on the phone a bit, but this was his first time seeing Planets and he said we were great. We all had a great time catching up outside and hearing his tour stories, as well as a really cool life update that we couldn't be happier about. Just great stuff. Talking about dusting off some Embers stuff in 2025, so we'll see how that goes.

After chatting, we went in and caught the last couple songs of TN3. I could hear a bit outside and it sounded great, but inside it was loud and muddy. I would have liked to have heard more songs, but catching up with Tim was worth it.

The "NO" 3

All in all, another great night. Playing live music, seeing old friends, hearing wonderful tunes, can't wait to do it again.

Next up: Sunset Grooves at the Aurora Borealis. Stay tuned.

9/6/2024, Planets in the Ocean at Darrell's Tavern

Since our last gig in June, I think we've only rehearsed once or twice. Maybe once? Much of the reason was life getting in the way, mainly for Robb. In July, both his dad and father-in-law passed away within 3 days of each other. His wife was in WI tending to her dad when Robb's dad passed, so he was alone for that, and then her dad passed and he couldn't support her in-person.

Just a sad time all around.

So in mid-August, we finally got back together to rehearse and see each other, and that was really great. Group texts are fine to stay in touch and all, but in-person is where it's at. We ran the tunes and it went fine.

For Friday's show, I headed to rehearse one last time on Thursday and that was a mess. I got stuck in traffic on the freeway, all 4 lanes blocked due to a traffic fatality (RIP), and it took me about 1.5 hours to get to the next exit to turn around and just go home.

All that to say that we'd have a show with only one rehearsal in the past 2 months. Lucky for us, we are pros.

Darrell's, where your dad used to drink!

No traffic jams the night of the show, so I was way early, around 7:30. I was backlining my rig, so I wanted to be there in time to set up. Last time I backlined at that June show, I was late getting there and it was awkward.

Cool to have Bruce Lee behind me, I wish he could've adjusted my stage volume.

Cass showed up a few minutes later so we got caught up on the last two months. Before long, everyone else rolled in and it was a good ol' band hang. Some of my old pals showed up, Aaron, Kevin, Steve and Salena, Andi, David. And the mates from Mopsey, old musical pals Richard, Ryan, Wesley and Jason. And the Kings, though I only know Ric from them. Great to catch up and chat with everyone, including my own mates.

Before long (no soundcheck, weirdly), the Kings Seattle kicked things off. They're a 7 piece ska-ish band, with 3 horns, guitar, big boy Zeke on bass, drums and singer/keys. They were great! Lots of energy, lots of peppy tunes. I only wish the sound guy had dialed things in as the keys and horns were a little quiet.

The Kings Seattle

After their fun set (they'd be a great party band), we took the stage. I brought my P bass as Steve was there and he's a bit of a P bass aficionado. Since I got the bass, I thought the action was a little low, but since I don't have a good reference point, I had him check it out and he said it was dialed in. I trust his judgement, so I felt good about that.

Having my amp off the ground about 2 feet, I thought I'd be able to hear it pretty well. Turns out, I was wrong. That bass gets very strong mids sounds and not as much in the bass. I tried to adjust the EQ on the amp a little, but mainly ended up turning up my master volume. It worked out for the most part. I also ended up standing just in front of it when I wasn't singing. I think having crash cymbals right next to me didn't help either.

Despite not having a practice recently, I thought we played pretty well. There was a trainwreck in one of our songs (not me), but otherwise not bad. The sound guy had my vocals really loud; the only interaction I had with him was him telling me the wedge in front of me was mine. I guess I could've asked for some different boosts, but I just went with it.

I think the P was fine. What little I could hear in some videos was that it was definitely there, but dialed a little quiet for my tastes in FOH. Any character or nuance was not really heard, but you just knew the bass was there. The bassist for the Kings had a more thumpier sound (he played a PJ Fender) and it fit the tunes but same thing, not much character or bite to the sound.

The strings on my bass may be a little too new, despite on me having the bass since May and playing it fairly frequently. Or maybe I just need to put different strings on it. My boy Steve said I should only play this bass with this band; he said the character he heard out front fit perfectly with Robb's guitar sounds. That said, he is a bit of a fanboi with the P basses, so he is quite biased!

After we finished up, the incredible and muscular Mopsey took the stage. They are 3/4ths of the Young Sportsmen back in the day and 1/4th drummer Jason. They are all bros from way back and they are fantastic, if a bit loud. I saw them a few months ago at the Belltown Yacht Club and I thought it was the club just having a bad night; all the bands were just so loud. But no, it's Mopsey. They are an arena band playing clubs. But they do it oh so well!

Wesley plays a Firebird and for such a nice and warm dude, seems out of character but simply gives some great attitude. Ryan moved back from Colorado recently and replaced Eric O on guitar, as the commute for EO is just too great from Tacoma to Seattle (I get it). Ryan sings as well and he and Wesley are just wicked together.

Richard on bass used to play with Cass and Robb in the Dear John Letters years ago, so they have history. I've know Richard for a little and he is a gear aficionado (there's that word again). I asked him about his stuff, he said he has something like 40 pieces of amps/cabinets/combos at his place. Nuts. He and Jason compliment each other so well as the rhythm section. Jason is sneaky good and powerful and they do good ass hard rock.

Richard on bass!

Frickin' Mopsey!!

They had great between song banter, great stage presence and great humility. I can't gush enough about how much I love these dudes and their music. Wesley said he'd play with us anywhere anytime, so we'll have to cash in on that in the future for sure. I had a great time talking to each of those dudes.

Afterwards I had a couple people mention to us how we as a trio compliment each other so well. That our music is very reminiscent of other bands, but not so much that we sound like a copy of anyone. I've heard that type of comment before and it is pretty gratifying. As a more traditional rock band in our previous iteration, we were more support players of the band. In this band, it isn't so much "everybody go solo" but we have more breathing room in the songs, which does allow each of us to stretch our legs a bit, but within the confines of the tune. It's quite fun.

At the end of the night, Darla, Darcy and Rose got a photo in front of "Mom." It wasn't until after I got home that I realized it was the first time seeing both D & D since their dad passed. I did offer condolences to Rose but neglected to with the girls. But I was able to talk to them both and give hugs, so that was good.

Up next, Planets at the Sunset on 9/21. Stay tuned.