2026-06-06 Planets in the Ocean at Conor Byrne

Last night was way too fun. I wish I had a reality TV crew following me around to capture all the people that were there, the music made and the good vibes overall. I made a strong effort to pump the socials and text and reach out to folks. It worked out well, let's see who came for me (or at least confirmed they were coming with me): Michael P, Taylor H, Elizabeth D (+2), Jose C (+3), Evan C (+1), Marci!, Christian S (+3), Dusty H, Eric J, Brian H (+1). Maybe there were more? But overall, there were so many people for us. Hell, with Stag and the Rallies in the building, we couldn't help but have a good draw.

Marci came out and I was stoked for that, but it was gonna be a long night. I-5 north was closed from I-90 all the way to 45th, so we left about 4pm for a 5pm expected arrival time. It was lame. She shopped for a printer the whole time. Cheaper to replace the stupid thing rather than buy new ink, I hate that.

Stuck in traffic with my favorite person!

Anyway, an hour later we arrived at my new favorite club, Conor Byrne. As mentioned in last month's recap, the room sounded so good. Would it be the same for this show? Unsure. Last time, I played through Charlie's Ampeg 610 and it was thunderous. This time, I provided backline with my new Orange 112 powered by the old Ashdown, for its first show. Despite Mark the repair guy saying to not trust it at a gig, over the past 10+ hours of rehearsals and home practice, it's been fine, so I figured why not? I did tell Pete Nordstrom to bring his Orange Bass Terror just in case...

I pulled up and Ben London was unloading his car. Lee Brown pulled up after us. Ben Heege was already inside. Cass showed up a few minutes later, as did Tim. It was like reunion day at the old folks home. All the homies were there. Not only that, we had all the Embers heads show up: Charles and Cyndy, Lisa G and her husband, Lisette, Stephanie P, maybe some others. Tim had Kim and Chris show up, Rebecca Young, Kay, probably more than that. I got to talk to Cathy Pants (I don't know her real last name!), Jonathan Plum, Bob and Tina Lang, Steve Reeves, Alan W and Dan, Jan Fox from Model Shop (who was just walking by), Elizabeth, Jose and his family. It was all so great.

I got the little baby rig on stage and of course I forgot to take any pictures. It powered up and Ben got his bass plugged in, a hollow body Washburn and it sounded round and full. Pretend this picture is from sound check instead of the show:

Check out the cool Ashdown VU meter!

After I set up, Marci and I went to grab a quick bite. We went to a place called Situ Tacos. I had a taco salad bowl of some sort and it was tasty. And not a comment on the food, but I noticed afterward that a tooth that had been intermittently painful for months had broken. Don't know where the rest of it went, but luckily it doesn't hurt and a call has been made to the dentist. I'm guessing a crown is in my near future.

Dinner before my tooth broke.

We walked back to Conor Byrne, but not before stopping in a doorway to have Marci look into my mouth. Surely we didn't look any weirder than the other people walking around in Ballard, right?

Back at the club, it was just a nice party. I socialized with as many people as I could, like I mentioned. I helped set up our merch table. I spent some time this week creating a QR code and price sheet for stuff. I guess it helped, we generated about $200 in Venmo purchases, so that was quite cool.

Gotta take some lessons from the Rallies on how to do merch

A sweet woman named Dineen (don't know the spelling), who is a friend of Stag's, ran merch for us all and she was fantastic. It was nice to not have to worry about running merch. My only regret is not getting a Rallies record and some more Stag stuff. And after seeing all their stuff, we should look into more swag. Or maybe after recording again.

Enough small talk. Rallies took the stage and show us all how a real tight, professional, harmonic band plays. They are just fine gentlemen and musicians and they played to a very appreciative audience. Check out the crowd!

The Rallies!

I regret to say I didn't see much of their set due to getting my social on. But what I heard did sound excellent. Bradford, the sound tech at Conor Byrne, is so good and the room just sounds great.

Stag took the stage next and of course, they just destroyed. And they are fine folks, each one of them. I've said things about them before and it's still true. Nice dudes and wonderful performers!

STAG. And the club was packed, just not from this picture.

Once Stag got off the stage, we got the ball rolling. We decided to play all the songs from the record, including Darla's Song, which meant Robb had to get his keys setup. Which was fine, but there were problems. He had no sound, so that meant I got to get on the mic and be stupid. Did a bunch of talking because he couldn't figure out what was going on. I thanked people, the bands, a bunch of nonsense. Sad thing is, I sort of love the attention. Doh! We finally played and then he had to switch to his guitar rig. And of course, something went weird. His guitar didn't sound right, so I jumped back on the mic. A few minutes of that and he finally got things up and running.

Cass did up the setlist and had us starting with The Loud Silence, which is a nice, chill way to get into things. I tried warming up a little, mainly by stretching my hands and arms, and not starting with something like Nomenclature helped.

Audio on stage sounded great! The Ashdown/Orange baby amp was fantastic. I could hear my bass and it was lovely. Robb's amp was to his left and leaned back 45°, pointed right at his ear, which also meant it pointed right at me. It was ok, loud, but not too terrible.

We worked our way through the set, there was a full house, and it was fucking awesome. I wish I took some pics from the stage, but I didn't. We had Derrick Miller and Devin Creisler in the house and they always shoot full vids, so those should be upcoming. But Mike Mitchell was there taking pics, as were a bunch of others, so here's some of those. All the PITO pix are a bit too red so imma fix those before posting.

Full house!

Mike Mitchell with me and Tim

The set was fine. I could've been tighter on stuff I did. I felt sloppy. Monitors were better last month but still good; I could hear myself pretty good. I think we all had some awkward moments, but overall went well. People loved it, they really did and it felt so good.

They especially went nuts when Timmy jumped up there. We started with All Amounts to Something and it hit when he started the riff. Really fun to play that with him and get the Embers train back on the track. The cheers were loud and a pretty good preview of what to expect when we play at the Sunset in September. Should be great and well attended.

Next up is Planets with our pals Square Peg, Royal Blunder, The Rallies and Full Life Crisis at Hidden Hall on a Saturday afternoon. Will be a great time!

2026-05-02, Planets in the Ocean at Conor Byrne

 

Last year we had a show booked with Guest Directors at the Sunset. One of the GDs got sick and had to cancel, so we played with two bands, it was fine. Julie reached out a few months ago and asked us to play this show. I'm really glad we did!

Took about 45 minutes to get to Ballard last night, GPS took me some stupid way that got me stuck at the Fremont bridge, then every light after. No big deal, found some parking, got there and had a quick soundcheck. I got to play through Charlie from GD's Ampeg, no big deal.

I mean, look at that thing!

Weather was beautiful on Saturday. Sunny, warm, between 70-80°. Perfect, really. It brought out some people. At the club it was the bands at first, but then our pal Ted Laabs showed up. I got to talk to him about life and that was entertaining. Steve, Salena and Bob showed up, so I talked to them. Paul from Pop Cycle and his wife Serena showed up. Michael Markley brought a bud. Ben Heege showed up all the way from Kenmore! Chris Elko and his camera and his girl. Ron from Love Battery and his friend were there. Mike and Amy of course! Besides my friends, there were a good number of people in the club, I feel it was pretty well attended.

After all the chit chat, we jumped on stage and got to work. No warmup or anything, so I was a little nervous, but it was all good. We started with "Nomenclature," which is always a bit of a workout. I was quite pleased during soundcheck and actually playing that the monitors were delightfully audible. I could hear what I was singing and I didn't even have to ask!

When we soundchecked, I did play bass on the floor and the rig sounded sweet by itself. On stage, it was very boomy, but it was so visceral, I didn't care. As long as I could hear what I needed, it was just fine.

Throughout the set, I jumped on the mic a bunch, simply because I love the attention and also to keep the awkward silences less awkward. Luckily, people seemed to like it (that's what I keep telling myself). I enjoy having a captive audience to do my bits for and they seemed to enjoy it as well. That's what happens when the sound guy dials in the background mic loud and clear.

Speaking of Mike earlier, he shot pix as usual and caught a great one of me. I've had the jumps captured before, but he got this one in focus and high-pointed, check this out:

Like a bunny.

We had a decent set. No major crash outs, I didn't record, sort of wish I did based on how the room sounded, but gah, maybe next time. After the I got to catch up with people and got a bunch of great comments. People were extra complimentary and super nice about my backing vocals. Steve said it was the best he'd ever seen us. Cass' friend Matt said our first few songs reminded him of XTC, where I was playing the chords without playing the roots, or something like that. Later in the night, Julie from the GDs said I was her favorite lead bassist.

Anyway, enough about me. Model Shop took the stage next and I was quite surprised. I was expecting the singer to be Jen, the bassist. Turns out all three sing leads and the drummer, Kevin, stands and plays up front. Sort of weird, but they were poppy and great and had great 3-part harmonies.

Jen plays a Ric!

They finished up and Guest Directors jumped up. As they started, we heard birds. I guess they play a background track of nature sounds so there's something between songs. Sort of neat!

A professional band

When we played with GDs at Tim's a few summers ago, they were good. But I forgot how good they actually were. With Julie and Gary on guitars and vocals, there's nothing they can't do. Julie has that sort of voice that I just love: clear, honest, pure and beautiful. She sounded so good on stage. AND she's a wicked guitarist as well. With Gary playing lead (and Julie could too, she's that good), her creative rhythm layers are so complimentary to what Gary's doing and it just works.

Rian on drums is a monster. He plays with so much authority, but he is also so tasteful and deft. And Charlie is solid. He doesn't get to do too much, but what he does is very appropriate and just works with his band.

We all finished up and I had a few bucks from getting a referral bonus for Daniel at work. I bought records from both Model Shop and Guest Directors, and also a Model Shop t-shirt, only because it wasn't black (baby blue).

Support local music!

This was probably the most fun gig we've played in a long time. At least for me it was. I was really impressed with how the club sounded and was also quite happy with the number of people that came out for us. We definitely had the biggest draw and I can't wait to do it again in a month from now. Tim will be on the bill and it's pretty much an open secret at this point. We may as well put it on blast and get as many people out as we can.

In the meantime, I just made this, so whatever, here it is.

March 2026 updates

March came and went. Haley moved out with Blake. She left on the 14th and made her way to California, then across the country to Florida. It's weird not having her here, and I think she'll be back in the future, but for now, time for her to see what life has to offer.

We're adjusting to the empty nest thing. Plenty to keep us occupied and busy, the house is just a little quieter. Kody is same old, same old. I'm sure he misses her, but nothing phases this guy.

Riley just found out Hannah got accepted to grad school in Cincinnati and his plan is to follow her out there, I think. He's gonna graduate in May, so we have to figure out going to GJ to see him and celebrate the accomplishment.

Marci is still plugging away at school. Things are going there, I suppose, but it may be time to switch it up in the future. Will leave it at that for now. Hopefully having a master's degree helps.

About a month ago, as I was heading to rehearse with Greg Hoy at Dave Hill's house, Michael Paolantonio reached out to me, asking if I was interested in playing in his wife's new Cake cover band. I knew nothing about it or what she was planning, so I wanted to hear more about it. I do like the Cake hits, but beyond those, I didn't know much about the band.

I talked to Michael and found out that his wife, Cyana, via her theater contacts, had lined up some players I knew. On guitar was Justin Davis. I know him via socials and know he plays with Strong Suit, among others. My main memory of him was once Kathy Moore told me that as Stereo Embers was breaking up, that someone was gonna get a monster of a bass player.

She also had Ric Pentilla on trumpet and keys, who I have hung with at shows, as well as playing with him in Greg's band last month. He's cool and we like each other. On drums was a guy I don't know, and she recruited Jeremy Lightfoot to play bass. But she said he was super busy and she grabbed another guy named Mark. After she set lineup, she said she originally wanted me but thought I was in three bands, so didn't pursue too much.

Anyway, Brett and I went to check her band, Cupcake, out last week at their inaugural show at the Skylark. I figured with all these dudes, they'd be pretty good. I was not wrong. During soundcheck, it was clear that they were gonna be good. They played a great set and everyone was solid. Cy, however, was outstanding. Her stage chops definitely showed and she had great energy and stage presence. She could sing as well and it all just worked.

I had talked to her earlier in the week and we decided I should be on the roster, whether as a full-time member, or a rotating bass, since all the players have other bands as well. She's got some gigs booked in early June, one at Pono Ranch and one at the Blue Moon. I'll have back-to-back, as I'm booked for the Blue Moon, and then the next night at Conor Byrne.

Overall, been working on the Cake tunes and they are quirky. The parts are easy, it's the song arrangements that are what I need to remember. I've been working on them and they'll be fine. Looking forward to getting in a room with those guys and see how it goes.

*edit to add

forgot to mention that Planets had a record release scheduled at the Sleight of Hand with our friends Braly Sangster. We were all set to go for 3/13, with a surprise addition of Tim on a few Embers songs to round things out. We had a bunch of people committed to go, with about 20-25 people that I directly influenced. And then the week of the gig, Robb started feeling gross and come Thursday, he made the decision to call it, so we had to do a bunch of texting and messaging, telling people the bad news. It was a big bummer, to say the least.

As of now, April 4th, we still have not rescheduled and I don't think we're going to. It seems Trey either has better things to do or he's just super busy. I don't know at this point. It's all sort of annoying. Our next gig isn't until May 2nd at Conor Byrne, so at least there's that, but any record release is still up in the air at the moment.

Gig report: 10/19/23 Planets in the Ocean at Conor Byrne

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.

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.

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.

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.

When it was time to settle up, the bar wrote all three bands separate checks for... $38.00. I left the house at 6pm, I got home around midnight, so 6 hours got me about $12 and change. About $2/hr and I also bought dinner for $21 after tip. Not to count gas money, too. Good thing I'm not doing it for the money. I'd do it all again right now if I could.

Next up, nothing! No gigs on the radar, but may have something just after the new year.