Ioniq 5, one month in

So far so good! Let's just do a brain dump. First, the bad:

• Within the first 2 weeks, I scraped the front passenger-side fender backing out of the garage. Super aggravating, but luckily, no obvious damage. First time, just some paint onto the plastic; Blake was able to buff it out with some rubbing spray. Second time, I heard a snap. I sat in the car and didn't want to get out. Lucky for me, the light damage was to the same spot and what snapped was some trim around the garage door. Not too bad for the house, not bad for the car, we are good.
• I'm still, a month in, trying to get used to the dimensions of the car on the road. I feel like I've had to relearn how to change lanes. I'm not sure what it is. The car has so many bells and whistles that I always have to be on guard, it's sort of annoying.
• The car seems to have no soul. It is weird and I can't pinpoint that either. I've been driving pretty much exclusively in Normal mode and while good, it numbs the steering a little. Sport really tightens it up but it's just too fast for daily use, though I should really give it more of a try. With it being so wet out lately, I've been laying off that.
• The native Nav is annoying in that when I touch the screen to move the map, it treats it as me wanting to add a new destination and I can't figure out how to not do that.
• No dials on the dash and a clock that is tiny and impossible to find. There is a different panel for the clock, but it comes at the expense of more info. I wish they would've put in a bigger digital clock on the main dash. And the speedo number is in a weird spot; heck, the entire main dash is weird. I wish there were even digital analog dials.
• Tinted windows are so dark; it's hard to see at night.
• Auto wipers are hit and miss. They work, but they seem to be picky about the precip and whether or not to wipe.
• The "Confirm" message on the screen every time I start the car. It's annoying.
• Homelink mirror doesn't work. Previous owner removed the power dongle to the mirror and I can't seem to find the right one to replace it. :/

There may be more bad, but it's not all bad. I can't remember much else, don't want to play pile on. So here's some good:

• The looks! Love how this thing looks. The aforementioned tinted window? They look great from the outside! And the matte paint? Love it. Glad the gold blends with the silver trim since the gold is so silvery looking.
• The pickup! Just stepping on the pedal and it goes. Always ready to pass or swoop in. The downside is that sometimes it's a little hot when I get to where I'm going and then it's on the brakes.
• All the space. Lots of room inside. Haven't loaded it up with much yet, but it's all good.
• Ventilated seats! Looking forward to using it in the summer when it's swampy down there.
• Remote start and all that stuff I can do on the phone. Pretty cool.
• No more gas stations? Yes please! Just for a month means I have "saved" about $120 in gas payments. Plugging in at home is great, even though the charge is sooo slow.

That's a quick and dirty download. The car is running great and it is pretty exciting to drive on the daily. I am enjoying learning about it and it'll be cool to see how it does over the time I have it. Payments start soon for both insurance and loan, so that stinks, but it's part of the territory.

Weirdly, I haven't taken many pictures of it, so here it is, backed in and charging in the garage.

Playing the Buttercream in the bands

I finally had the opportunity to play the butter bass at band rehearsals this past week. With my indie rock power trio, I plugged through my pedal board, which features a compressor as well as a Tone Hammer 500 (AGS off). That all fed into an Orange Terror Bass v2, which powered a 2x10 + 1x15 stack. I wear earplugs when I play, so any audio I got was filtered through that as well.

Overall, compared to my usual basses, G&L L-1000s, both with rosewood boards, I felt the butter bass with its maple board sounded fuller on the upper registers. I don't spend a lot of time up there, as I always feel like my basses just lose a little body and vibrance when I do so, but the butter bass didn't seem to do that. Call it honeymoon phase or whatever, the butter P felt stout and strong when I played up high. The notes felt like they were singing; I can't really explain it.

I play with a pick in that band and everything felt and sounded great. I would flick the tone down on some of the more mellow tunes, and then dime it when going hard. The butter bass performed admirably.

Fast forward to last night, with yacht rock band rehearsal. We use IEMs and one guy does use a monitor speaker. I play through a Zoom B2Four multi-effects pedal and call up whatever patch I need for whatever song we do.

Much the same as with my indie rock band, the butter bass was wonderful to play. Everything sounded full and clear in my IEMs, and also sounded super tasty when I noodled around with them out (listening via my mate's monitor speaker). The bass sounded great in nearly all the songs we played, except for the brief (yikes) slapping I do in the song "Somebody's Baby." I may need to choose a different patch or hit a boost button or something. I felt like all the bottom end dropped out when I slapped.

I did raise the saddles a tiny bit prior to practice. Mainly because I'm a super heavy striker and I found I was getting a lot of noise. Even though I do play lighter with IEMs, eventually, I will go for it, so having a little more clearance works for me. I thought it played great, even better than the last rehearsal.

In between rehearsals, I did some more light recording. I took an old song that I played a '93 G&L SB-2 on, used fadr.com to create stems, imported it all into Audacity, and then used my Trace-Elliot GP12 Series 6 to feed my Scarlett Focusrite. Using the line out from the TE into the input jack of the Focusrite was a bit of a revelation. I turned OFF the "instrument" button on the Focusrite, thereby removing the boost it would otherwise give to the instrument's signal. This gave me room to increase the input gain on the Focusrite without blowing out my signal.

Overall, the TE performed great and feeding the butter bass signal into my PC was a lot of fun. I did compare the butter bass (Mojotone 70's clone PUPs) with my black bass (62 Custom Shop PUPs) again, and the reality is, they sound very similar to my untrained ears. The signal coming off the butter bass is hotter for sure, but adjusting my input when playing the black bass seemed to address that.

When I adjusted each bass track I recorded in the confines of the song, either one sounded really awesome, even with my super limited engineering skills. Both basses have rounds on them and both were full, aggressive and a pleasure to listen to.

Ultimately, it seems that it took me approximately $900 to realize that I already had a $400 P bass that would be really great for me. I was already starting to fall for the black bass, yes. But the butter bass had some upgrades, as well as that maple neck, that pushed it over the edge for me. I have no regrets in buying it. It is really making me appreciate the black bass though.

DTG

From last week's recording session with Jonathan, I mentioned him being the first person I recorded with. I asked if he had the recordings and he didn't, but to reach out to Andre, who does.

In high school, Andre was a year ahead of me and was the school's shredder. He was in the cool kids band, called the Unexcused. They always closed out all the school talent shows. Aside from being the only decent bassist at school, I'm not sure how he and I hooked up. Maybe it was through Todd, who was the school's baddest drummer. He and I did play together in the jazz bands throughout school. But, maybe he was in the Jazz Ensemble (think varsity) and I was in Jazz Band (think JV).

Anyway, somehow, the three of us hooked up and recorded some songs at Jonathan's house. I super-duper vaguely remember practicing at Todd's house, about 2 miles away from where I am now. I do not remember whatsoever recording any tunes, other than doing it at Jonathan's house. I think we did record separately, building it up Lego-style.

I reached out to Andre today and he sent me a link to a Dropbox that had all the stuff he did in high school, including the stuff he, Todd and I did, called DTG ('Dre, Todd, Gwon). I forgot about that name (did I even know about it?) and definitely forgot that we did more than one song (called Marsupials).

Looking through the Dropbox files, there are 5 songs! Marsupials, Fire in the Hole, For Always, Shadows and Hot Potato(!). For now, I've heard the first three, though For Always is a guitar instrumental. Well, they're all instrumentals; that one is guitar only.

In hearing Marsupials, though I remember the main riff, as I was listening, some of the stuff came back to me. But the wildest part was hearing this from 35 or so years ago. I must have been 15-16? And Joe Satriani was big at the time and it was pretty clear that Andre had that influence going. All three of us were pretty dialed in for our age; I've heard adult bands that were worse than us.

I started Fire in the Hole and I do not remember that song at all. But, as I listened (and got confirmation from Andre that it was me), just based on the bass part, I knew I played it. I still do the same stylistic things and parts. Though the song is sort of dated (late 80's instrumental guitar rock), we were pretty dang good. Sure, we overplayed, but who didn't at that age?

I'm gonna listen to Shadows now and do a stream-of-consciousness reaction.

• only 2:48. Minor arpeggiated guitar, no bass or drums. Could be cheesy; hearing potential bass parts in my brain right now.
• And I come in early, ahead of the beat; what else is new.
• Pretty contrived part. Trying to stay simple, but busy enough, and it's sort of there.
• Second time through "verse" is OK. Adult me might straighten it out a little more.
• Bridge part: it's passable. Sort of boring, but it works under Andre's soloing.
• Chorus part: not loving it. Choppy, not smooth enough for what the song needs.
• Overall, 6/10. Song was short, one time through the chorus. Given a teenager was recording it (me), it's not that bad.

Now, the last song, Hot Potato, I have no idea. I think it may be along the lines of a Satch Boogie, like a fast shuffle/boogie. Let's see how it sounds. Here are my reactions.

• 4:01, here we go.
• And there's the EVH riff with high hat. Lots of chromatic guitar. Blues based progression.
• Really reminiscent of Let's Go Crazy by Prince.
• A little loose when bass and drums come in.
• Some punches, nothing crazy.
• Beat kicks in, riff repeats. I tried to come up with a nifty bass line to go under the first guitar solo. Todd drops out to high hats.
• Back to a verse/main riff and I am behind the beat; trying to get too tricky. Really pulling the beat back. Sounds like Andre does too on his rhythm guitar at times.
• Ok, to the bass drum punches part. Off time!
• And now the riding the E part. Pretty loose
• And we are done

I see where we were trying to go with that tune, but I'm not positive we got there. However, again, for a trio of high schoolers, I'm not totally turned off.

I think I had my Hohner Steinberger copy at this time and may have recorded with that. Otherwise it was my blue Ibanez SoundGear, but really, I don't know. And I don't think we ever played out live at school.

But then I just had another memory pop up that me, Todd, Andre and a girl named Nicole tried to play in a cover band, where some dude said he could get us into clubs. We practiced a few times in his basement off of Bellevue Way, but it never went anywhere. I think we played Lights by Journey and Heartbreaker by Pat Benetar. Sheesh, that's crazy. I should revisit those memories with Andre sometime.

Gig report: 8/9/18 Stereo Embers at the Tractor Tavern

Today is 8/12, 3 days later, and I'm still buzzing from playing the Tractor on Thursday! We had a great practice on Monday to get ready. So good that Tim was thinking about calling it, lest we jinx our performance on Thursday. But we kept going and I think the practice did us good!

We'd been hearing that the show was close to being sold out. Turns out, as the night progressed, they had to turn people away as, yes, it was sold out!

Cass, Tim and I showed up around 5pm or so for sound check, got dialed in, then went to dinner. Show started promptly at 8pm, with Kim Virant and her band (all Seattle music scenesters) putting in a sweet and soulful set.

Following Kim's band was Danny Newcomb & the Sugarmakers. A power-pop/rock trio, featuring more scenesters and Seattle legends on stage. They were highly entertaining and pro on stage.

This was my second show with the Embers. Usually when I play a show, I get on stage after the previous band, set up, strap in, we count off and we play. This band does things a little differently, as we get on stage, set up, then leave the stage. We headed off stage and then did a little pep talk in the green room. After that, it was go time.

We got up there, Tim started us off with Wagon, and off we went. For this show and the first show at the Sunset, I forget just how much energy Tim starts with. Any other band I've been in, it's always just us starting and we sort of ease in. With Tim, once he hits that big C chord, I better be ready. And I might have to start wearing my hair down at practice! When I play with it down, I can't see anything and some of those Cs and Fs at the beginning of Wagon are a bit off.

Wagon is the song that drew me in in the first place. I've always loved playing that tune and Thursday was no exception. The highlight is hitting that big 3rd harmony in the second chorus. Love that part. Check it out!



We continued with Pull, which we always butt up against Wagon as Tim plays both with a capo. This is a song I thought would need a backing vocal in the second half of the chorus. I tried a few times, but it's pretty unnecessary, as it turns out. The song is a slow burn and really highlights Tim's solo chops, as well as his delicate side during the verses.

The past few weeks at rehearsal, we were able to dial in two new songs! They are still evolving, but the basics are in place. Things like backing vocals and possibly minor arrangements still need to be done, but they're finished enough to play out. One of the songs, Things That Go Boom, is a barnburner, with a shuffle feel. It's always a crap shoot for me, as I gotta move my fingers fast, but under all the noise, precision isn't always necessary. Tim really tore this song up, but he did suffer some technical difficulties, with his guitar strap coming loose right before his solo. Luckily, our pal Brian (guitar tech for a lot of these Seattle scenesters!) was on the spot and able to swap Tim out with little delay. Take a look.

The other song we premiered is tentatively called Tom the Longboarder. Tim came in with a Tom Petty type riff and we built around that. A little alt-country, but with a little SE tag at the end of the song. Really love how this tune builds and we've really fallen in love with it.

We played a bunch of other songs, with one more newer one called Heavy, as well as standards like It, Wrong Way, Chimp, Sideline and Break This Down. We ended the night with a couple covers, Cheap Trick's Downed and Bring It On Home by Zeppelin. Check out Downed here.

Since the show, things have been blowing up on the Facebook page, and our newly created Instagram page. I've been curating the videos above as well as pictures taken by friends and fans. It's been a lot of fun "meeting" these friends via social networking. I was able to meet several in person at the show as well.

In all the years I've been playing around town, this is the first time I've been in a band with some juice. Sure, I've played in great bands before, but for the most part, we'd play to the other bands and a handful of people at the shows. With SE, (granted 2 show sample set) I've played to 2 sold out A-list clubs in town. People are loving what we're doing and everyone has welcomed me with open arms.

The love has been overwhelming and appreciated, both from the bandmates, their families, and the fans. I have had so much fun the past several months, even getting excited to sit in traffic to go to practice.

Moving on, I hope the momentum continues and we just keep trending upward. Can't wait until practice on Thursday and then our next show in September.

I played the IPO last night, here's a recap.

The Scheme 2.0 played the Skylark Cafe last night as part of the International Pop Overthrow. We were slotted second on a bill with 5 other bands. Here's how it went.

First up was Jason Berk. He was solo, with an electric guitar and some hooky, melodic tunes. Really nice voice and talented guitar player. He came up from LA to play the show. I would have liked to have heard him with a full band; I'm not sure if he plays with one in LA or not, but he was really really good.

The Scheme went next and it was a blast. Getting on stage with my old pals Gregg, Brett and David was fantastic. All three guys are excellent musicians and performers and I loved all of it. We started with a song that David, Gregg and I recorded (Brett added vocals and guitar recently), called Met With The World, and booked right through it.

I was playing through a Yamaha amp that I couldn't really get dialed in. It was distorting hard and I had a hard time hearing it on stage. I was told it sounded good out front, though, so I'll just have to trust that it did.

It was a ton of fun singing David's old songs again, and playing alongside those guys. The set was over way too fast!

Following us was Stay Up, a little trio from Portland. The Navins had played with them a few months ago at the Funhouse. They were OK. I think more seasoning will do them well. They could also use a second guitarist and some backing vocals.

David and Brett's other band, the Pop Cycle, played next. They were on fire! I've seen them several times and I think it was the best they'd ever played. All songs, vocals, instruments sounded great! Jim was on point with his bass playing, and Paul was simply excellent on drums. I really enjoyed David's new songs, New Band and Comeback, as well as Brett's oldies that I remember from the Starchief days. Both David and Brett said playing in the Scheme earlier warmed them up for the PC performance.

After Pop Cycle was a quartet of hipsters called Colorworks. They had shorts on, trendy hair and glasses, and if I based it on looks alone, I would have disliked them immensely. However, as they started playing, they won me over. They were SUPER TIGHT and they were all excellent musicians. The bassist was a tiny little dude on a yellow Jazz bass, with uncomfortably short jeans shorts on, but he was a MFer on the bass and he sang great as well. The other singer played his giant hollowbody guitar right under his armpit, and he was also excellent. The entire band was great, sang impeccably and played some wonderful songs. I really liked them a lot.

Closing the night was a 5 piece with the strange name of General Mojo's. Four guys and a girl. I was gonna leave, but the frontwoman had a floor tom with Indiana Jones on it, so I had to stick around and listen.

I'm so glad I did.

Heather fronted the band, played percussion and shared vocals with the bassist (on a Thunderbird!) named Dune. They did some proggy, funky stuff and they were incredible. The band was tight, the musicianship was incredible and the harmonies were so, so sweet.

Heather and Dune had really awesome stage presence and they played off each other well. The percussion Heather added was so good and timely and really on point. Dune played bass and sang like a champ. And the rest of the band (guitar, keys/sax and drums) was simply excellent. I can't say enough about how great this band was.

It's rare that a 3 band bill has 3 great bands. In a case of 6 bands, I'd think it was even more rare. However, last night at the Skylark, David Bash of IPO did a really nice job of putting together an excellent bill. Here's hoping the next two nights are just as good.

This is it: 2007 Jetta GLI

Well, I got myself a new car today. I think I may have gotten the cleanest, nicest, most pristine 2007 car ever gotten.

Blue Book says this car should have upwards of 100k on the odometer. When I took it home, it had 50002. There are a couple minor things that would be expected on a 9 year old car. Most are cosmetic and not really a big deal.

The tires look new. The engine is clean. The seats are fantastic. The trunk is like new!

I saw a few scuffs on the rear bumper. I saw about a thumb sized spot by the right front foglight that's missing the paint. The left rear vent is missing its adjustment lever. The driver's side window buttons are peeling. There are spots around the shifter that are peeling as well. Nearly all 6 knobs for the radio (bass, treble, mids, etc) are cracked.

It looks like the previous owner had subwoofers in the trunk; there's some screwed in wood blocks that hang down from the top of the trunk. They're far enough out of the way, though, that it shouldn't matter.

Also, the previous owner apparently subscribed to XM (and still does) as I am currently enjoying me some XM radio.

The gray color of the car really sparkles in the sun. The headliner is not sagging. The engine and exhaust sound really nice when I step on it. The car has xenon headlights and foglights!

The previous owner kept her window sticker. The car was for sale at $29000 or so. I was able to get it for 1/3 of the original price!

Overall, fantastic first impressions of this car. So clean, so well taken care of. I think it's nicer than my GTI ever was. About the only thing that might need help soon are the brakes, but even then, I'm not sure. It doesn't stop as tight as the GTI did, but, then again, I used the transmission to brake often on that car.

I am super pleased with this GLI. I just noticed when I tried to post at the VW Vortex, that I'd been a member there for 15 years to the day! Which made me remember that I'd bought my original GTI from Chaplin's right around this time 15 years ago. I thought that was pretty cool.

I took a few pictures today before I brought it home. Here they are.

The Navins at the Blue Moon, 6/11/16

Well all right! Saturday was my first time playing at the Blue Moon on 45th. Last time I set foot in there was maybe 20 years or so ago when my sister-in-law, Alison, and her husband, Todd, lived up here. It was before any of us had kids and we had gone there on New Year's Eve. Well, we ended up there, somehow; we didn't plan on going there, I don't think.

But, even so, I'm guessing that 20 years ago, the only things different about the place were the hi-def widescreen TVs. Of which there was only 2. Still had books on the shelves, likely still had the same clientele there also. Leave it to the Navins and crew to modernize the place up.

First up was a little power trio called Vibragun. Joel on guitar and vocals, Crystal on bass and vocals and not sure about the drummer's name, but I think it was Preston.

Vibragun. Check 'em out!

They played a nice, tight set of shoegazy rock. Lots of pedals on stage, lots of different sounds, very moody stuff. As bands go, I enjoyed their stuff. Plus, they were nice! And Crystal played some badass bass! Her small hands looked like they couldn't do it, but she did awesome.

Next up was The Fucking Eagles. Apparently they get their name from the movie The Big Lebowski, where one of the characters hears the actual Eagles and mutters something about, "the fucking Eagles."

As they set up, it looked like there were about 7 of them. Turns out, it was a 5 piece (drums, bass, 2 guitars and a harmonica) and a guest on 2 songs. They were rough and riotous. It was dirty and nasty and their drummer was like Animal back there. They should put him up front, he was so entertaining.

The Fucking Eagles. Look out!

We took the stage after them and there was a nice little crowd there for us. I had six people there, 66% of which were lesbians! I found it amusing.

For such an old club, the Blue Moon had a decent monitor set up. At least I could hear myself pretty well. The sound guy only miked the kick drum and vocals, though. Our amps did all the rest. From where I was, though I could hear Corey's drums just fine, I felt like he was playing at practice volume. I didn't feel much energy from him, but it could have been him playing it safe as he was having slippery bass drum issues.

Emoting at the Blue Moon.

Sort of weird, though. I felt like we had a rough night. I did, at least. I had a several times where I forgot words, or sang the wrong words. I also wore my hair down and I didn't realize how hard it was to see the frets through hair. There were a few songs where I simply played wrong notes!

People didn't seem to care, though. Everyone had a good time. Even our onstage banter wasn't too awkward. Usually I don't like talking much, but I figured I should practice in case none of the other guys want to talk.

Overall, we played pretty well, despite my errors. I did bring my old Sony Video 8 camera to record our show. I've had that thing since at least 2001 or so, as I recorded lots of Ethyl shows with it. This is the first show I've recorded in years and, after reviewing it when I got home, it sounded great, it looked pretty good (only 480p; this was before HD), and, yes, there were errors, but not as bad as I thought.

I know that as the player, you're always your worst critic. Despite my misses, I need to remember that I'm pretty good at what I do and even though there were some clams, the show was pretty good. The video is processing right now and I'm gonna get it to the guys. After that, we'll put it on youtube for people to check out.

The Navins at the Funhouse, 5/14/16

We had a little show at the Funhouse last Saturday. I think it was the first time we got 2nd slot. Every other show I've played with the Navins resulted in an opening slot.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Stay Up.

A band from PDX opened for us. They were called the Stay Up and were a little power trio. The singer/guitarist reminded me a bit of my old bandmate, Emilio; same frontman type looks. The bassist was a short little dude, playing pick style on a Jaguar bass (I think). Their drummer was all arms and legs, a beanpole of a guy with nice energy behind the kit.

Their music was power poppy and a bit lacking, to me. I think they could've used a second guitar. They definitely could've used some backing harmonies as the singer was the only vocalist.

Cãin said that it was their first show as a band and it sort of showed. They were excited like little kids. The singer was pretty tall and he kept getting in the face of the bassist, which only accentuated his smallness. It was like they were awkward lovers, with all the personal space issues going on.

As the Stay Up was the opening band, they got no sound check or anything. Simply vocal mic and a kick drum mic. Needless to say, it didn't sound that great, which made me a little nervous. Luckily, as we set up, the sound guy did mic the drums, our amps and my DI. We got a little sound check and off we went.

Setlist for the night.

Things started off pretty well. It took a few minutes for me to feel dialed in as I thought my bass was simply too boomy. I'm used to practicing a certain way and I'm thinking I need to practice with my gear set up the way I gig. In other words, I need to use both my cabinets and re-think how I have my SansAmp set up.

On our third song, Never Wanted Nothing, something happened and my headstock hit my microphone, which sent it to the ground. Nothing bad happened and the sound guy was able to get the mic back on the stand. We finished without a hitch.

Laurel and Alex came in during Piano Fire and Laurel took some pictures and shot some video. Super happy to see them there supporting the old man. She had a grin the whole time we were up there.

Mean mugging at the Funhouse.

For this night, of our 11 songs, I was singing lead on 5 originally. But we ended up subbing Hidden by the Sun for Sorry, which bumped me to 6. Also, it meant I was singing 4 songs in a row! That was the first time for me other than in practice, and, I must admit, it was fun! I always feel like I'm singing way too loud, though. I guess I'll trust the sound guy to figure that out.

Speaking of Hidden by the Sun, I think we need to sync up on the vocals on that. Don't know if it's me or Corey, but I feel like our vocals are hit and miss. Either I'm out or he's out and I can't tell. Will need to record a show to find out. Or ask the guys for some tough love.

Walking Through Walls is our newest tune and it's super fun to do. Fast, peppy, fun to sing. I'm feeling like that one is coming into its own. We are still trying to figure out a bridge, but even as it is, it comes across well.

Wallet is a pleasure to close with. Corey really goes to town on the 16th notes on the floor tom. His arm must ache at the end of the song. Cãin had busted a string on the previous song and switched guitars prior to this song. For some reason, something wasn't working right, so he bailed on his guitar for the first half. During the breakdown section, he was able to get dialed back in, but it was pretty cool for him to just sing the second verse without his guitar. 

People really liked what we did. The Stay Up kids were quite impressed and gave us some nice words after. Laurel and Alex were stoked and I loved their enthusiasm for our set.

It's the F-Holes. And the "F" doesn't stand for what you think it stands for.

The F-Holes closed the night and they were solid. They play greasy, gritty, pretty standard bar rock. Sort of like AC/DC meets .38 Special meets Thin Lizzy. I wondered what the guys in the band might do for their day jobs, as all of them are, well, of an older generation. Their set went a little long towards the end, with a 5 minute blues rock jam that sort of turned me and Corey off. But, no matter how we felt, they did rock.

There's a long recap for you, huh? Thanks to Laurel for the pictures (and Corey for the setlist pic).

Next show: June something at the Rainbow with some bands I can't remember right now.

Last Friday at the New Frontier

It's been almost a year since we last played Tacoma, so we figured, why the heck not? There's a new club there, cleverly named the New Frontier, and it was our CD release party. Plus, we hadn't gigged out since mid-October, so we were overdue for a show.

Sean had checked out the New Frontier and mentioned to me that it had much the same vibe of the Skylark in West Seattle. I will agree with him on that. It's a nice little place, with a stage on one end and a bar along the side of the space. The bathrooms are by the entrance, though, so if you gotta hit the head, the whole club doesn't have to see/know about it like they do at the Skylark, where the bathrooms are literally stage left.

Chris had set up this show and had gotten Girl Trouble on the bill. Way back when, GT kind of took us under their wing and got us in with some of the more established bands in town (see Unsmashable crew), so it was cool for them to want to play our CD show. Unfortunately, we had a hard time coming up with a third and went with a band suggested by GT, called the Drug Purse.

The DP was a 4 piece and they took the stage first. They had a real 60's/garage rock thing going, complete with snake lights on the drumset and a mood-setting rotating light thing on the bass rig. They were pretty loose and, well, garagey, and sadly, not too memorable except for the fact that the guitarist changed a string during the set. He sat on the floor and made it happen.

GT followed DP and they were a fun time. Their surf rock thing was energetic and KP was just great as the frontman... until he took off his shirt. Ugh. But, it was rock and roll after all, so no one minded. At one point, he put his mic in his mouth and barked like a dog. I mention this because one of us was going to have to sing into that mic later that night. Yikes.

After GT finished, we took the stage. We had a good amount of people, but I can tell you the amount of people who came down for little old me was zero! I wasn't expecting much, as it was in T-Town and not up here, so it was no big deal. I just hope the representation is better in Seattle next week.

As it was, Chris and Sean's friends filled the place. What was cool about it was they all seemed to know each other since high school days. They all grew up together and got married, etc, and it was just peachy! It made me a little green with envy; I have close friends from those days, but for whatever reason, the music connection wasn't there. Chris and Sean's friends are all into the tunes and have watched them perform for years.

Anyway, we got up there and played and, I gotta say, I think we played pretty well. I had to share a monitor speaker with Chris and the sound guy, Alex, had us dialed in really nicely. I could hear everything and sang with reckless abandon!

I also tried playing a little differently. I had my stage volume pretty high and tried to dial back the finger pressure. So often, when playing my beloved SB-2, especially on the bridge p/u, where the string is tighter, I get big ol' blisters. This time, being conscious about what I was doing, plus the louder stage volume, seemed to help that. In addition, I mixed up some of my basslines and tried to sprinkle some noodling in here and there. It kept me on my toes and hopefully was cool to listen to as well.

We played an extra long set, with some songs we hadn't played in many months, including 2 songs (Feel and New Horizons) which we hadn't even rehearsed. People got up and danced towards the end of the set and kept us entertained on stage.

It was really good to get out again and see the peeps and play some rock. 2.5 months between rock shows has got to stop. Luckily we have another show next Friday at the Mars Bar, once again for our new CD. I'm gettin' the word out to clubs for other shows, so hopefully we can play out more than 7 times this year (what we did last year!).

Up next: Mars Bar 2/13. Be there! It's the return of LLAMA!!

A few weekends ago at the Skylark

Sometime towards the end of December, Jessie from the Skylark emailed me and asked if the Lunds could play the Friday after New Year's. Chris couldn't, so the Lunds were out. I asked the Scheme and they were in, so, we were in.

Jessie had 3 bands cancel on her so I tried to help her fill the bill but I couldn't find anyone who could do it. It didn't matter as she was able to find a few bands. One was called Ocean of Algebra and the other was called To The Glorious Lonely.

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of either of the bands' names, but then, who am I to judge. Not that it mattered anyway. But, off to Google/Myspace I went to see about these bands.

OoA was listed at MS as a duo, I think. Electronica or something. I wasn't terribly excited about what they did, but it was more due to a lack of interest on my part than a lack of talent on their part.

TTGL was a rock band. They had this sort of Tom Petty/American rock thing going on and I liked it. I researched the band members and the lead singer/guitarist, Jeff, apparently plays bass for a band called Loaded, which is fronted by one Duff McKagan, the ex-bassist for Guns n Roses, as well as Velvet Revolver.

In other words, a bonefide rock star!

Anyway, we got to the day and I showed up, with my Duck Dunn bass in tow. There was a decent amount of people in the club. A guy named something or other went first and did an acoustic set. He was pretty good and he looked totally familiar to me, but I just couldn't place him.

Next up was Ocean of Algebra. They had an interesting mix of guys up there. The drummer played with his high-hat to his right, like a lefty, only he played it with his right hand and hit the snare with his left. According to Sean, who was kind enough to show up, this drummer played the bass drum with his left foot. So, in other words, his upper half was playing righty, and his lower half was playing lefty. Evidently that's completely messed up, but this guy did it just fine.

On bass was a really skinny guy and, though he played well, he might as well have been invisible. Very little, if any, stage presence and he just disappeared.

The singer/guitarist had a baseball hat pulled down low, glasses, earrings, jacket zipped up to his chin and played a 12-string acoustic. Kind of weird, but he was a good player and sang like he was on Broadway (think showtunes).

The other guitarist was a big boy and, unfortunately, his tone was buried in the mix for some reason. He kept fiddling around with his amp and when it was time for him to solo, poof. He was gone.

They were a good band, but just not my cup of tea.

As we were about to take the stage next, more and more people came piling in. After talking to a few people, I found out that Duff was actually coming to the show and his band, Loaded, was going to play an acoustic set. Cool!

I started setting up on stage and turned around and, blam! There he was. I said, "Hey Duff" and he nodded and said hi back. A bit later, he and Jeff from Loaded came up and admired my bass. Evidently Jeff is getting one of the DDs and we chatted gear for a minute. Before long, we played our set.

We started off pretty well, with You Let Me Go. We followed that with a couple fast ones and, though the wheels never fell off, I feel like the connection with me and Gregg (the drummer) isn't quite there yet. I don't know if it has to do with learning new songs (though after 1.5 years, are they really new anymore?) or the fact that we play once a week every once in a while, but for whatever reason, we're not tight like me and Sean (or me and Rob) are (were). I'm guessing it'll come in time.

So, we were a little loose. Don't know if many people noticed, but I did, and as they always say, you are your own worst critic. I definitely could've played/sang better, but it was fine for rock and roll, I suppose.

Loaded took the stage after us and it was four dudes in black, sitting in chairs and it was pretty cool. Duff can sing well and I enjoyed his music. Jeff's band, TTGL, was really good too. I really enjoyed them and our friend, Eric from the Riffbrokers and the I Love Myselfs, played lead guitar for them. Their music was great and highly recommended.

After their set, Duff joined them for some electric rock on bass and he just looked good up there. I guess all those years playing arenas and stadiums really paid off for that night at the Skylark.

Anyway, I'm out of steam. Two blogs in one night will do that to you. Peace out.

Last Saturday at the Skylark

A few weeks ago my friend Emilio asked me to play bass with him. Initially I said no. I've done it twice before and, well, it's just not my cup of tea. He writes catchy songs, but they need some polishing. I did, however, bum rush my way onto the bill. I checked the Skylark's website and saw Jessie (who books the place) only had Emilio's band and no one else. I asked if my other band, the Scheme, could hit it, and she said yes. I then hit up Scott's (from Doll Test) band, Paul Lynde Fan Club, and they said yes.

Presto! Instant show!

But Emilio kept asking. I figured I'd help out a bro and said I'd do the show. We had a rehearsal with his drummer Chris, and that was that.

I got to the Skylark and PLFC was just sound checking. They're a little three piece band, guitar, bass and drums, and all have varied histories. Scott on guitar, Lisa on bass and Jim on drums have all played with each other not only in PLFC, but also in other bands. Somehow, someway, they're all connected with Rusty Willoughby and Flop, but if you're interested, that's what Wikipedia's for (I think!).

Lund Bros. first played with PLFC two years ago tomorrow (!) according to our Myspace page. At that show, Rusty took a liking to us and we all started to hit it off. Back at that show, I remember that they were spacey and weird. Jim, the drummer, did the lead vocals and it was kind of trippy. We played with them again down the road and their music had evolved quite a bit and was getting much cooler.

This time around, I unfortunately didn't get to see all of PLFC's set as an old friend came to see me and he and I ended up chatting the whole time. What I did notice about the set was that they were SUPER loud! And they had a song called Cookie Monster. But, as always, they were engaging and entertaining, what little I heard/saw.

After PLFC came Emilio's band, Static Radio. I set up my gear and went to chat with my friends Rich and Aaron. Strangely enough, my friend Rich is married to an Erin. And both Rich and Erin and Aaron have daughters named Eliana (or Ellie for short), and I work with two guys named Rich and Aaron. But they don't have any daughters named Eliana (or Ellie, for that matter). It's kind of weird.

I saw Emilio take the stage. I finished up my chat, then took the stage too. I plugged in and figured we'd be ready to go.

I was wrong.

E tuned his guitar. He adjusted his volume, first clean, then distorted. Then clean. Then tuned. Then distorted volume. He tuned some more. I swear to God he must have fiddled with his knobs for about 3 to 4 minutes. Thankfully Charlie, the sound guy, had some sense about the situation and kept the house music on. Leaving us hanging with silence while E primadonnaed about would've been quite uncomfortable.

The whole time, I tried to maintain a professional attitude about it. After all, I took the gig with E to kind of showcase myself, to let others know that, yeah, I can do two bands in one night, why not? The Unsmashable crew was there and, though they know I rock with the Lunds, I wanted them to see I was more than a one trick pony.

So yeah, it was a ego trip. Guilty as charged.

Anyway, pretty soon, my pro attitude turned into a bad attitude. After E was finally done noodling around, what did he do? He said he had to piss, so off he went!

I couldn't believe it. At this point in the night, we should've been on his second song, but we hadn't even started note one yet. It was quite lame.

Finally, after draining the main vein, E was ready and we did some faux rock/pop and tried to manufacture some feel. Or, at least I did. I'm pretty sure I mailed it in on the performance. I could feel my rep draining away as we played. E puts on a decent show. People eat up what he does, for the most part, but as a member of his band, I just wasn't feeling it. His music is far too simple for me (does that sound arrogant?). It's catchy, sure, but he would benefit SO MUCH from a co-writer or some songwriting classes (this from the guy who doesn't write music!).

I did some backing vocals and tried to rock. Chris is a different drummer live than in rehearsal. It's weird. He's a total pansy in practice, but on stage, before I put in my earplugs, he was banging the heck out of those drums. He did pretty well. E was a sweaty wreck. I did ok. I could've gone home afterward and not even needed a shower. I got sweatier today getting my blood pressure checked at the doctor's office (his office was HOT!).

After the SR set, I felt a little bad. All the Unsmashable crew was off for jello shots at a Halloween party and weren't even going to see the Scheme go. And I felt bad for mailing in a performance. Not very pro of me, I suppose, but if there's anything I can't stand, it's faking enthusiasm and passion for something I feel nothing for.

Onto the Scheme!


I first wrote about this band in July of 2007. We fired up rehearsals on a regular basis in March and now we're finally playing out. Leading up to this show, me, David and Gregg met 3 times in 7 days to iron things out. The rehearsals were pretty good and we were feeling fairly confident.

The first thing that was not right, I suppose, was Gregg left his bass drum pedal at the rehearsal space. He had just told us he'd had that pedal since he was 13 or so and it was his baby. Luckily he got a replacement and we were able to play.

So we started and things went pretty well for the first two songs, You Let Me Go and Holly Wouldn't. Those are pretty easy crowd pleasers and we played them well. Lots of singing for me and it was fun. Though, I had a bit of a cold and after singing a little for Static Radio, I was starting to feel it.

The third song we did, Nothing Left in Common, is a barn burner and is hard even in practice. It's a song that has me considering playing with a pick, and if I'm considering playing with a pick (which I suck at and simply cannot do), you know it's fast. David started it a click below supersonic and off we went. I could barely keep up, but I made it through.

After that came 2:18, one of the newer songs Gregg and I had learned. I had a couple flubs on that, both in timing and vocals. For whatever reason, there's a part in that song that I can sing just fine by myself, but with the band going and David singing, all bets are off. I think I butchered it pretty well, but the show must go on, right?

Overall, we played decent. Wasn't our best performance, but people seemed to like it. Poor Gregg had some equipment failures (bass pedal blew up and something happened to his high hat too) which sucks. I hate it when something out of my control goes wrong at a show. But, overall, I was pretty pleased with how we did.

I didn't get paid for either gig, but didn't expect to. Emilio did mention if I played with him, he'd give me the $$, but I didn't ask for it, though a few sheckles might have been cool. And David has paid for the rehearsal space since day 1 and has never asked for cash, so I figured what we earned, he'd keep.

All in all, a good night. I had a few friends there. I got to play two sets in two bands, which, though fun, isn't necessarily something I'd want to do again. I started getting ear fatigue through my plugs in the Scheme's set and had a hard time hearing my vocal notes and cues.

Up next? Nothing on the horizon except...

LUND BROS CD RELEASE! Keep your eyes/ears peeled!

Friday night at the Sunset

I contacted Mike at the Sunset a few weeks ago and he was kind enough to toss a Friday night our way. All I had to do was fill it. No problem, right? I put an email out to the usual suspects and we'd have a killer show in no time.

Or so I thought.

I sent an email to two bands I wanted to play with, the Young Sportsmen and the Doll Test. I heard back from Wesley of the YS who said they couldn't do the show. They had reasons they couldn't yet divulge, which turned out to be them hanging it up. Scott from DT said they couldn't do the show.

I emailed Kurt and Sgt Major, who said they couldn't do the show. Emailed Jim with the Tripwires and they couldn't do the show. I tried Nick with the Riffbrokers (no response), Gregg with the Small Change (couldn't do it), Erik with the I Love Myselfs (busy that night) and I think that was it.

What now?

I looked on the Seattle Powerpop page for some ideas and came across the Knast, a powerpop/indie trio from Seattle. They got back to me and were able to do it. I asked AJ from the Knast to help out and he enlisted the services of a band called Wallpaper from Auburn. Finally, a lineup!

Fast forward a few weeks and it was Friday and time for the show. Shortly after arriving, a whole bunch of Sean's friends made it out. Let's see: Cam, Pasha, Natalia, Diane, Chuck, Gary, Andi, and Chuck's brother. Later on, some more of his friends came. It was a big ol' Love In for Sean. Pretty cool.

Showtime was late as one of the Knast ran late. But they took the stage and they were pretty good. Kind of garagey, kind of loose, kind of like the Strokes, but all in all, not bad. They had the crushed velvet jacket, tight striped shirt, skinny jeans look down pat. Big lambchop sideburns and feathered-just-right hair, you know the drill. People dug them, and rightfully so.

We took the stage next. I set up stage right. Don't know why. Most times, the bassist prefers to be on the high-hat side of the drummer (stage left if the drummer is right handed). I guess it's so the drummer can see the bassist as the drummer is looking towards the high-hat. For whatever reason, I've set up on stage right for many many years. It doesn't really matter to me where I set up. Unless I'm at the Sunset, that is.

You see, about 5 feet above the corner of stage right is this light can hanging from the ceiling. It fires off the heat of 1000 suns directly onto where I stand. Every time. Any season.

In other words, it's hot as a mother up in there. Anyway, my whole point is that as much as I love playing this place, I sure hate that corner of the stage. Meanwhile, Chris got up on stage, cool as a cucumber (maybe even cold!) in his little track jacket. I don't even think he broke a sweat. Me? I was drenched by the end of the first song!

We played pretty well that night. It helps that the Sunset has great stage sound so you can always hear what you're playing/singing. We were fairly tight and the mistakes were kept to a minimum. I had a fun time and I think the people enjoyed it as well.

Wallpaper took the stage next, though none of us were even sure if they showed up. Turns out they were, they were just stealthy about it.

When I researched them, I saw they were "signed" to a label. It's a small local, but it's a label nonetheless. They had some impressive gigs on their resume, as well as a reputed following of "kids", per AJ's description.

As they took the stage, it was clear that these guys were youngsters. They were a 3 piece, with drums, guitar and guitar (and some bass). They did the ol' instrument switcheroo a few times during their set. They dressed like college kids trying to dress like college kids who weren't trying to look like they were in a band, but obviously were in a band. One kid had a haircut so bad that it seemed to be an anti-haircut, and I'm not even trying to pick on him, but if you saw him, you'd agree. But, kudos to him for having the balls to pull off that haircut.

They played some rock that was good for what it was, but it wasn't my thing. The kids dancing on the floor were all dressed in what looked to be prom dresses, but not quite. They looked like they'd fit in selling Doc Martens on Capitol Hill. I half expected Austin Powers to come on stage and say, "Oh, behave!" Their music was kind of psychedelic, kind of jangly, kind of catchy and kind of grungy. But, it did work, and the kids loved it.

So, all in all, it was a good night. We got paid, we played with new bands, and we played the Sunset on a Friday night. Thanks to those that were there, and hopefully some of you that weren't can make it another time.

Next up for me: playing bass for Static Radio and the Scheme at the Skylark.

The Forgotten Arm

This is such a great CD that I can't stop listening to it. I admit, I am a bit (ok, a huge) of an Aimee Mann fanboy, but even if I wasn't, I think I'd be in love with this record. I've been listening to this CD since it was released a few years ago and it is never far from my ears.

I knew of Aimee from her 'Til Tuesday years, of course, but I wasn't a fan. I just knew the song "Voices Carry". It wasn't until she guested on a Rush record, singing backgrounds on the song "Time Stand Still" from Hold Your Fire, that I looked her up.

I was in college at the time, living in the U-district with a couple of dudes from the dorms. We lived below this giant Hawaiian or Samoan who would stomp around all the time. We'd poke the ceiling with a broom handle to get him to stop. He'd just stomp louder. I think it was a game to him 'cause he knew we wouldn't go up to tell him to tread lightly.

Anyway, somehow I bought a copy of Aimee's first solo record, Whatever, and really dug it. I think I was turned onto it by a copy of Tower Records' in house magazine, Pulse, after a decent review.

The songs on Whatever were great across the board. There was tasty pure pop, like "I Should've Known", and melancholy tunes, like "Fourth of July". I played that CD a lot and she moved into one of my favorite artist positions.

Getting back to The Forgotten Arm now. This is such a great record! It's a bit of a concept album, if you will, where all the songs are tied in to an overall story. The melodies are simply beautiful. Listen to songs like "Goodbye Caroline", or "That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart" (probably my favorite song from the CD) and tell me those aren't gorgeous hooks.

Also, the producer deserves credit. The recording is deep and lush and, best of all, live. It sounds like he set up a few mics, had the band count off, and pressed record. There's prominent piano, which really jumped out at me when I first started listening to the CD. The guitars, bass, everything just works so well together. There are killer harmony vocals and, if you couldn't tell already, I am in love with this recording.

I'll stop now. I sound like a broken record. But, if you like singer/songwriter stuff, do yourself a favor and check out The Forgotten Arm by Aimee Mann. Seriously. It's that good.

Last night at the Skylark

When I planned this show, I knew I wanted the Doll Test on the bill. I just love those guys! Scott was kind enough to oblige, so then it was off to find a third band.

I was having a hard time getting a third. I could've asked one of the Unsmashable crew, but we've been playing with them a lot lately and I wanted to branch off a little (though it could be argued, if it ain't broke, don't fix it).

Anyway, I asked Sgt. Major but they were in studio or something, so it was a no-go for them. Luckily, Jessie @ the Skylark had someone named Adam Marsland email that he was coming to town, so she offered it to him.

Move forward a few weeks, we got a cool poster from Byron, and we were good to go.

It turns out, the show was going to be the CD release party for the Doll Test. This was most excellent news. To me, of all the Seattle bands we've been palling around with (Sportsmen, Riffbrokers, Tripwires, Small Change, etc), my faves have been the DT. I figured it would be a swell show.

Upon arrival, I ran into Adam Marsland on stage. Of course, he called me "Juan", then after correcting him that it was "Gwon with a G", he proceded to call me "Juang". Awesome. Though I was able to recorrect him later.

I saw Jim from Llama/Paul Lynde Fan Club in the back of the room and said hi. Turns out he was there to drum for the DT as Graham, the original drummer, had moved to Montana to be closer to family. Jim said he'd only had a week to rehearse the tunes, so he was a little nervous. I guess the bassist Boyd had also backed down or something. He and his wife had a baby recently and apparently he'd sold his bass rig for some reason. Filling in on bass would be Heather Riffbroker. So, the line-up would be Jim, Heather, Nick on guitar and Scott fronting. In other words, it was the Riffbrokers with Jim on drums doing Doll Test songs. Or something like that.

Pretty soon, the Unsmashable crew and others started showing up. Me, Sean, Chuck, his friend and bad influence, Gary, and Andi (a LB friend/fan from way back) all hung out in the back, enjoying Adam's acoustic set. Though I thought it was a bit underwhelming, I'm listening to his CD (Daylight Kissing Night) right now, and it's quite fantastic.

After Adam's set, we took the stage. I had a case of the cold ass hands for some reason. But, once we got started with Feel, then a new one of Chris' (Such a Ride), things were going well. Incredibly, as we played, it felt pretty good for a change. We'd been having pretty rough shows since, it seems, our show at the Swiss way back in March. The wheels fell off then, and, I'm happy to say, 5 months later, they got back on.

We weren't perfect, but I felt really good about how we played. All three of us, did, in fact. I did have a flub or two, but it was nice nonetheless. People seemed to enjoy it and were all quite nice afterwards.

I was a bit bummed to find that instead of 2 blisters like I got at the High Dive show, this time I had three. Right now they're a nice purply-brown and not as painful as last night. Don't know what my problem is. Apparently I'm digging the heck out of the strings when I play. Maybe I need to invest in in-ear monitors so I can hear myself better? Who knows. I mean, I stand pretty much directly in front of my rig and can definitely hear it, but I think I really go for it on a song like Headhunter.

Well, we had a good time and I think others did as well. Doll Test followed us and they were great. The normally statue-like Nick Riffbroker really enjoyed himself last night. I think he even struck a rock pose or two! Heather held down the bottom end and Jim was his usual stiff/frenetic self behind the kit. Scott was great, what can I say. He has this Gene Wilder hair thing going on and he just kills up there on stage. The new songs were fantastic and the new CD, Mosque Alarm Clock, is just sweet. Do go pick it up and enjoy the super new tunes.

Next up is nothing. I have a couple feelers out, but nothing set in stone yet. We'll keep working on tightening up the tunes and hopefully get something worked out for the upcoming CD/S.

Last night at the High Dive

One of these nights, we will play up to our exacting standards.

Last night started promisingly. I finally sold my Ibanez bass. A guy met me before the show, played it for 30 seconds, and paid me for it. That was pretty cool.

Jim from the Tripwires was once again kind enough to let me use his SVT. This time, though, he brought his 4x10 cab, instead of the Big Boy 8x10. But, who am I to complain, right?

We got setup in a sparsely populated club. Upon further inspection, the killer posters that Byron made for us were nowhere to be seen. I had dropped 5 off last week and the bartender told me he'd get it taken care of. Apparently he meant he'd forget about them as they were not present. That was a bummer as Byron bent over backwards to hook us up, made us a beautiful poster, and got nothing to show for it. I got a ton of compliments on the poster and it was a shame they weren't there. :(

Anyway, Sean and I hightailed it to his car to check out the mixes we recorded last Friday. He had the recordings on his Ipod and they were pretty fabulous. As far as rough drafts go, I was pretty pleased. They'll only get better as we layer more guitars and vocals onto them.

When we finally got the show underway, there were a few more people in the club. Not as many as I expected on a Friday in Fremont, but certainly no less than we're used to. This time out, we started with Sean's song Feel. I made a decision to be pretty active on stage. I was inspired by Kurt Bloch in Sgt. Major the last time we were out. Here's a guy that's been around the block many many times and he just goes out and parties on stage. It's a lot of fun to watch and I figured I'd do my best to entertain as well.

The trouble with that, for me, at least, is that something inevitably suffers as a result. Last night, it was sloppy playing. In Feel, there's a few punches, then a big fat low E. Well, I hit a big fat low F#. I saved it, but it was pretty lame. Even the songs we busted out last week in studio were loosey goosey. It was weird. I thought those would be the tightest, but in some cases, they were quite sloppy.

That's how the whole night went for me. Lots of fun, lots of energy, lots of screw ups. Thankfully, the few people I talked to afterward were all pretty impressed with the positive sides to the performance. Heck, I even kicked out Chris' instrument cord (thankfully at the end of the set) and we got a good rise out of that.

After us was the Small Change. They had a killer set, as usual. It turned into quite the all-star jam at the end, with Scott 5 and Kurt joining them on stage. They did the Seeker, one other Who song, as well as Stay With Me by Rod Stewart. That song was perfect for them. It got the booties shakin' and the room a quakin'. Heck, I even had a drink for the first time in forever. The bad thing about that is I get lit after one drink. The good thing is that I get lit after one drink. I think I might have to do that again sometime.

The fabulous Tripwires followed the Change. These guys are simply pro. They played a bunch of songs that were super Beatles-esque. The trouble with that band is that their songs are so good (and my musical knowledge so limited) that everything sounds like it could be a cover by someone else. Of course, I just shake my ass and bob my head and act like I know what's going on.

So, all in all, it was a pretty cool night. If I could change 2 things, it would be that our posters were up and that we played a tighter set. I had a great time talking to people, meeting new people, and just having fun. We made a few bucks and hopefully entertained some people as well.

Next up: 8/1 Skylark Cafe with The Doll Test (yay!) and one band TBD.

New releases: Aimee Mann & Weezer

On Tuesday two of my favorite artists released CDs. It was going to be 3, which would've been great, but Juliana Hatfield postponed her CD until August.

I picked up Aimee Mann's Smilers and Weezer's Red albums. Neither one is named Smilers or Red, but you get the picture.
Anyway, I had heard of Aimee when she fronted Til Tuesday, but know much about her until her first solo release, Whatever, sometime in the 90s. I knew she'd recorded a song with Rush for their Hold Your Fire record way back in the mid 80s, but that was about it. Whatever was a very strong record. Lots of great pop hooks and melodies. I listened to that a lot in college.

Through the years, she released a handful more CDs and achieved moderate success. She never really broke out big, though she has had a Grammy nomination and most of her Bachelor No. 2 record featured as the soundtrack to the movie Magnolia. The past few years, she released Lost in Space and The Forgotten Arm. I really enjoyed both those records and I think TFA is her best work yet.

I'd heard Aimee's first track off of Smilers and I really liked it. It sounded like classic Aimee and I was excited for the rest of the record. When I got it and popped it in, well, I was a bit underwhelmed. I'd read somewhere that in recording Smilers, she backed away from using any electric guitars. Though it sounds like there are electrics on the CD, what I hear may be effected acoustics. The CD liner notes don't indicate that no electrics were used, but under the band members, the only kind of guitar mentioned is acoustic.

So what's all that mean? Well, the record is quite mellow. Keep in mind, I've only listened to it a few times, each time with distractions (work, kids, etc), and though I like some of it, nothing has really jumped out at me like, say, I Can't Help You Anymore, from TFA. We'll see how it grows on me.

Now, let's talk about Weezer.

When =W= first came out with the Blue album, I knew about it, but for some reason, I never got on the bandwagon. In fact, I didn't really get into them until maybe 3 or 4 years ago. Then, once I got my hands on the Blue and Green albums, I really got into them. Even the so-called stinkers, Maladroit and Pinkerton, to me, all had great songs. When Make Believe came out a year or so ago, I wasn't terribly impressed. I hated the Beverly Hills track. Is that the best they could come up with for a lead song?

With the latest release, the Red record, I'd not done a lot of research. I heard the first track, Pork & Beans, once on Youtube. I thought it was pretty good. Weird verse, killer classic Weezer chorus. Going into Tuesday, that was all I'd heard. I picked up the Red CD and took a listen.

I was really pleased with the first track, Troublemaker. It had the same type of feel as The Good Life from Pinkerton. Then the second track started, complete with sirens and weird stuff, and I wasn't sure what to think. It had its moments, but, for cryin' out loud, it was 6+ minutes. A Weezer song!

I continued listening and, sadly, wasn't too impressed. I'm hoping it will grow on me too, but right now, it's too early. There don't appear to be any great singalongs, like Don't Let Go (Green album), or super catchy tunes, like Dope Nose (Maladroit). As with Aimee's record, we'll see what happens.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I spent the past weekend preparing for the new movie by watching the first three Indy movies in order. I have seen Raiders at least 20 times, but it's still a treat after all these years. Temple of Doom was just as bad as I remembered it. There are so many things in that movie I dislike that it makes the few good parts of the movie hard to remember. And Crusade was much much better than I remember it being. It had been several years since I'd seen that and upon this last viewing, I found it quite enjoyable.

All these movies led up to last night. I went to the Crystal Skull midnight show and though I'm paying for it now (got to bed about 2:45am), I'm glad I went. Spoilers follow, so be forewarned!

Loved the callbacks. From the old school Paramount logo to the same musical theme when going to Indy's college after the intro action sequence, the Skull was filled with little touches like that. Evidently there was even a Young Indiana Jones callback that I heard, but didn't realize what it was at the time (Pancho Villa).

Indy/Harrison looked great. Sure, he's 20 years older, but ain't no one who can wear a hat like he can. He was a bit more jowly than I would like, but heck, he's 65!

I thought the intro sequence was so-so. I loved seeing Indy. I couldn't stand his sidekick Mac. I thought the whole scene with Indy in the "house" was strange. Seeing Indy in a regular environment was very bizarre.

My favorite parts were the diner/motorcycle scene and the first tomb raiding sequence. The feel of Indy being in his element was fun, especially with Mutt (who I really liked too) tagging along. The teacher/student relationship was pretty cool.

I wasn't too keen on Marion's eventual arrival, but as they were being transported in the truck prior to the jungle chase, I did like the chemistry and backstory between Indy and her. Finding out that they were engaged to be married until Indy skipped town was pretty cool.

The lamest part? Definitely the monkey scene. Swinging through vines? Seriously?

I thought the last third of the movie was pretty not so cool. The whole bit with the natives chasing the heroes down the pyramid looked cool, but what purpose did it really serve? The natives were scared of the skull, then cut down by the Russians. That's all?

I was also let down by the way they took care of Dr. Plenko, the main baddie. In Raiders, you had heads blowing up, faces melting, and the Ark kicking ass. In TOD, guys fell off cliffsides and were munched by crocodiles. Crusade had Donovan aging before our eyes, and then disintegrating into dust. What happens to the antagonist in Skull? She gains knowledge and then disappears. Or something like that. It was just anticlimactic to me and left me wondering if this was the best they could come up with.

Overall, I rank IJATKOTCS 3rd behind Raiders and Crusade, but before ToD. I think as I see it more (probably not until its eventual Blu-Ray release), I'll enjoy it more, but for now, it's a definite "go for the nostalgic factor" for me.

Last Thursday at the Sunset

I played a show at the Sunset on Thursday and that went well, but could've went a lot better. I'd asked the Sportsmen to play with us, then put a feeler out at the Sunset. Michael, the booker, put us on a bill with Thee Sgt. Major III, who we've played with before, so all in all, it was a great bill. We were totally excited to play, then, the night before, I got an email from Chris saying he had a really bad sore throat and might have to cancel.

Eek!

Day of show, after some hand wringing, Chris decided to give it a go. He and Sean made the 40 mile trek from the City of Destiny. Though Ballard was hoppin' at 9 pm, the Sunset was a little deserted. As we got on stage, though, a few people made their way in. Chris was definitely feeling poorly, but we did the best we could. We ended up doing 5 of Sean's songs, and then one of Chris' at the end. It was weird to be up there and not be full strength, but, according to the throngs of adoring fans, we sounded pretty good. I felt really bad for Chris; I've never had to front a band, but I have felt bad when I haven't been able to perform my best (usually due to me stinking up the joint, not due to illness). Chris clearly felt bad but he did pretty well, considering the circumstances.

Next up was the Sportsmen and they proceeded to hand us our collective lunches, though what we had must have been contagious. Ryan busted a string, so he went to guitar 2. Shortly thereafter, Wesley busted a string and, that was it. No more guitars. But, after a short delay, Wesley strung up Ryan's guitar 1 and the show continued without a hitch. Once again, a stellar set by the YS.

TSMIII followed and they KILLED. They've got a killer band, with Jim Sangster on twelve (12!!) string bass, Mike Musberger on drums, and Kurt Bloch on guitar. Fronting the guys were Leslie Beattie and Bill (don't know his last name) and all together, they had so much charisma, energy and attitude that it blew me away.

Leslie used to front a little jangle-pop band named Cantona that I'd played with before. They didn't do a whole lot for me (think the Sundays), but TSMIII? She was GREAT. Pair her up with Bill and they just owned the small stage at the Sunset. With Kurt hopping around and the entire band's interplay with each other, it was fantastic. These guys are a true rock band and they are not to be missed. With any luck, we'll be playing with them again soon.

Next up: recording!

Last night at the Rendezvous

In a few words, it was a Love In.

In a lot more words, well, keep reading.

I showed up at 8:30 or so, about 20 minutes after I actually arrived. Thanks Horrible Belltown Parking! No big deal, though, as the only people there were other band members. All of the Sportsmen were there. Nick and Heather Riffbroker, too. Sean showed up a little later, and, of course, as the night went on, a lot more people did as well.

For those that don't know, the Rendezvous is a little club in Belltown. It's set up in an interesting fashion. When you walk in the main entrance, there's the bar to the right. Straight ahead is a seating area and kitchen. In between the bar and the seating area, again, to the right, is a foyer of sorts, where people pay to get in the theater, which is adjacent to the foyer. You open a door (Step Up!) and there's the Jewelbox Theater. It's a room shaped like a shoebox, with a tiny stage on one end. Apparently in the 20s or something, they used to show movies there. For many years after that, it apparently was a less than savory place. These days, it's not so bad. If you get a bunch of friends in the room, it's a lot of fun.

So that's the main part of the Rendezvous. However, there is also an upstairs, where you can rent it out for a hipster-style party (it is in Belltown, after all!), and there is a downstairs, called the Grotto, where, apparently, you can also rent out for a CD release party, as was done last night.

The Young Sportsmen were kind enough to ask us to play their CD release party. They also asked the Riffbrokers, the Doll Test, the I Love Myselfs, the Small Change and Rusty Willoughby to play. 7 bands, one low price.

Anyway it was a big ol' love in. It was great! The Grotto felt a little like a Mexican restaurant, only minus the food and decorations. They had a little riser on one side of the room and people stood/sat on the other side.

Rusty was supposed to kick of the festivities with a few songs, but he was a no-show, so Doll Test took the stage. They did four songs, and the song that stuck out to me that they also played in March at the Skylark was a song about Scott's "future self". Don't know the exact title, but that was my favorite song of the entire night.

The I Love Myselfs took the stage next, and they added Ryan from the YS as a rhythm guitarist. We had the pleasure of playing with them and the DT in March and they were great again. Eric is totally fun to watch as a frontman. In his sport coat. So smooth.

We played next and it went a lot better than our last gig at the Swiss. We did Are You Ready, Get Up, I Don't Believe In You and Misery. I played through an Ampeg and was all ready to go with my new black bass, but when I disengaged my tuner, I got nothing. I unplugged everything and was finally saved by Ryan, who said there was a mute button on the amp. Doh! In the interest of time, I simply plugged the bass in and went dry (sans effects). It went as well as it could have, but I sure would've loved the fullness of my pedals on my sound. Oy!

The Riffbrokers, the Small Change, and of course, the YS closed out the night. All three bands played just great tunes. Greg practically tore off his pinky getting crazy with his Tele. The YS played a Metallica song (Whiplash. Quite impressive). Those guys are so tight it's clinical! Members from other bands were getting on stage, singing, playing percussion, generally just having a fabulous time. (Note to self: learn some of the other bands' songs. Sing backup with them, even if it's not necessary!)

One day I may make a family tree of the Unsmashable bands. Let's see. Off the top of my head, Ryan played with every band except Doll Test and us. Nick Riffbroker played in Doll Test, the Riffbrokers and the Small Change. Eric O. played with his band, the ILMs and played bass in Doll Test. Jason played bass in the Riffbrokers and drums for ILMs. Heather played bass in ILMs and Riffbrokers. Scott 5 played with DT and the Small Change. I think. I'm starting to lose track.

Anyway, we are not one of the Unsmashables, but we are, kind of unofficially. We're like the black sheep. Our tunes are heavier and we don't have the indie pop background, but they love us and we love them.

I got a chance to hear Chris' tunes that he wants to put on the upcoming CD and I gotta say, I'm pretty stoked. They're rockin' and they'll be a lot of fun to play live. Now if he'd only get me a copy of that disk!

Next up: the Sunset with the Sportsmen and Thee Sgt. Major III.