Danny G's Rock Blog

Double-header last night.

2012-01-28T18:47:00.001-06:00

Wow. ETB played back to back 3 hour sets last night, early set at Friends 7:30 to 10:15, then wheeled all our gear postehaste to BD Riley's 2 doors down for 10:30 til close.

Grueling, but effective. Great crowds at both venues (most of Friends crowd followed us next door) and a profitable night to boot. Debuted a few new covers and played less than half of songs from early set at later set. Awesome!

Felt good to melt faces for about 6 hours, hence feeling wrecked today. We play Poodie's Hilltop later this evening as well.

Busy week all around. Monday at Friends was okay, crowd kind of a mixed bag. But met a guy from Libya, that was really cool. Had helped with the uprisings there. I didn't ask too much detail but he said things were "much better" there now. Wow.

Had a brief ETB rehearsal, can't remember which day at this point. Worked on some new tunes and worked out "Love is Taking It's Toll" by Anders Osbourn and "Are You Experienced" by Jimi Hendrix (aforementioned new covers we debuted).

Had at least one Arcana Mundi practice as well. Coming along and enjoying the challenge of trying to play some of Matt Smith's riffs and solos. Guy is a card-carrying bad ass, do yourself a favor and check out his band Matt Smith's World if you don't believe me.

Yeah, this week has been a pleasant blur of work, Hobbit Hole related activities, seeing friends and squeezing in a nap in between.

I feel really good.

Sweatin in January

2012-01-17T13:03:00.001-06:00

Greetings from the Hobbit Hole. Another day of cleaning and gettin situated.

I love this place. I love this area. Loving life like I haven't in quite some time. Feels good to feel good. Feels like I finally have my life back since my separation and divorce more than 2 years ago.

ETB schedule is slow, which is good cause so much work to do here. Yesterday bought a badass printer/fax/scanner. Love it. For the drive to ETB residency @ Friends last night lit a cigarette at Cumberland/S Congress. Still had 1/3 of it left when pulled up to Friends. The drive from Lakeway was a whole ciggie from Crazyhorse Pass to the light at Bee Cave Pkwy, the shortcut from 620 to Bee Cave Road. A whole ciggie to get to the road that leads to the road that leads into town. Wow.

Good show last night, was actually sweating on stage. Very mild night. Good show and good crowd. My mental state is translating to me having fun onstage, which is good. Setting up shouldn't feel like punching a timeclock. Eric was having gear issues: broke both overdrives before set, backup overdrive was iffy and sounded kinda shite, wah was iffy, broke strings on 59 and 63 strats. But he takes it in stride and rolls with the punches. Respect.

Good show, good times.

Not much planned for this week so far. Arcana Mundi practice rescheduled for tomorrow. Talk of ETB writing sessions and a bad meeting but nothing set. Friday going to see Princess of Darkness, Heather Webb's new band, at 512 Studios. Sat have orientation for volunteer work at Capital Area Food Bank for my community service, and ETB gig that night.

Back to work. Or maybe a nap first...

Much going on.

2012-01-14T10:56:00.001-06:00

Don't even know where to begin.

Trin and I getting settled into the "Hobbit Hole" as we are calling it, in Oak RV park on South Congress next to the Great Outdoors. A gutted 5th wheel trailer with full kitchen and batroom, with added on: entry room, screened in patio/living room and guest bedroom. It is absolutely amazing here.

Moved in Sunday night in time for torrential rains and leaks. Then dealt with slight rodent problem which has been remedied with $5 worth of wood trim and the butt end of a BB gun. And it's ours. Homeowners. Next step is to enclose and insulate the screened in patio/living room and we can move our furniture in.

Also been a week filled with music.

Sat ETB in Houston with Amplified Heat at Continental Club was awesome. We had a great crowd and great set, Amp Heat was absolutely on fire. Our Monday residency at Friends started dead as can be but filled such that aside from 2 brief Eric-play-one-by-yourself-so-we-can-pee breaks we took no actual set breaks. Fun. Tues and Wed had practice with Arcana Mundi. Feels good playing guitar. And learning Matt Smith guitar lines is a welcome challenge and at times a struggle.

Looks like I will have Jerry Tubb master "Ocean of Stars" by default. Tim was getting Gracenotes (iTunes album database) done for his album and asked if he could have same done for OoS. Said sure, would pay him back. But album needs mastering for Gracenote encryption. So having a Grammy-winning producer master my album won't be a bad thing.

Will keep y'all posted. Must get back to work, much to be done.

Jan 4, 2012

2012-01-04T10:45:00.001-06:00

Sitting in the waiting room for my HAAM dentist appointment. Teeth are fine, just been awhile. If it wasn't for Health Alliance for Austin Musicians I would have no medical/dental/eye/mental health coverage. Please support them, you are helping me and my teeth, and many of my good friends.

After this I go for practice with Arcana Mundi, Tim Abbot's new band. Playing guitar, awesome. Well I wanted to play guitar more so Tim informed me he's getting together with some players and if I could learn 4 songs. This was yesterday afternoon.

Drove into town yesterday (listening to CD) to close the deal on the Hobbit Hole, as we are calling it. A property off South Congress next to the Great Outdoors nursery. A 5th wheel trailer which a friend gutted and remodeled, and added 3 rooms onto. From the outside looks like somthing from a 3rd world slum. On inside has full kitchen, bathroom with shower stall and room for a queen bed in the upstairs "pod". And that's just the trailer. Added on are a full entry room, screened in patio/living area (will fully enclose that) and a back bedroom/office with bunk beds and hardwood floors. It's not much but it awesome. And thanks to the help of my family, I own it. Trin and I start moving in Saturday. We looked into a live/work space a block down the road. 800 sqft for $2000/month. Yeah.

So this is amazing news. Which couldn't have come at a better time, as I was in bad shape first half of December. Was thinking to utilize some counseling thru SIMS, the mental health part of HAAM. Felt stuck, powerless, and was losing hope that we'd be able to move back into town and get re-established without making some drastic and desperate career moves. But the Hobbit Hole fell into our laps and was a place we could easily afford. Now gas from/back to Lakeway is no longer an issue. Everything we need to do is within 5 miles. Eric can pick me up for gigs downtown. Yeah. Perfect. Looking very much forward to firmly replanting myself into the music community.

So this had totally turned things around for me. And other offers are coming in fast. Possible King's X tour in the spring. Tim and Stanley Man are talking CD release parties for Feb. ETB just picked up opening for Lucas Nelson (son of Willie) at House of Blues in Houston next Wednesday. We play BD Riley's on Friday and already will be in Houston Saturday to rock Continental Club with our good friends, the mighty Amplified Heat.

So yeah. Good things. Have a lot to be thankful for.

New Year's Eve, 2011

2011-12-31T18:27:00.001-06:00

What a year. Don't even know where to begin.

Staying in tonite, don't feel like going out. Fireworks going off around Apache Shores like small arms fire.

ETB played Skinny's Ballroom downtown last night, good early short set (for us, 90 mins mainly originals). Lots of very good friends of ours in the crowd. Unfortnately could not make the Emo's closing show. But drove by and saw $25 cover.

Not even sure when to start on this year. But ending on a positive note. Will be moving back to town mid January. Found a place on South Congress, details to come. Looking forward to being back closer to the musical family.

Been an up and down year to say the least, we'll see what next year brings. Played only one gig this year as a guitar player, will be doing something about that. ETB has a lot planned for next 2012 as well. Keep y'all posted.

Happy New Year
Love and Light

Amazing last coupla days.

2011-12-12T14:49:00.000-06:00

Lots going on, lots to tell. But need to keep it brief.

Thursday ETB played Hotel Vegas on the East Side, 1500 E 6th Street. This whole area has been revitalized in that last few years. Cool little place. Small but great sounding room, full PA, friendly staff. Def a Red River feel to the place inside and out back in the patio. Not a huge crowd but not bad either for our first time playing there. Def check it out, just opened earlier this month.

Friday ETB headed to Dallas to play some place called The Den in Uptown. Drive uneventful save for our mandatory visit to the Czech Stop north of Waco. If you haven't been there, GO. NOW. Amazing kolaches in that place.

Gig was OK, def not our crowd. But the people that dug us were very appreciative. Rob debuted his new 60's Ludwig kit, and he was very very happy. Night could have gotten a little weird at one point. Noticed a young guy who had already drank himself retarded by the time we got there. We started, and we could tell he was harmless (well, non-violent drunk) but he was def going to knock something over. Sure enough, three songs in he decides he needs to tell Rob something, so steps onto the small stage. He didn't make it past me.

I was watching him, stiff armed him dead in the chest and pushed him backwards a little to let him know this was not acceptable behavior, and this was his one warning shot across the bow. Sometimes you have to go Dog Whisperer on drunks, if they are the good-natured kind at least. His body language beforehand suggested he was not going to take a swing at me. Anyway, he got the message. Stopped in his tracks, about-faced with his last forward step frozen in the air. He took a step the other way, and stumbled into Eric's mic. Then he scurried off to the back fast as his drunk feet would carry him.

This was all mid song. The audience, my bandmates, and our group of friends in tow all endorsed my reaction to the situation. End of the night I had to kick another drunk girl off stage who tried to get on Eric's mic. Again, mid-song.

PEOPLE: Either lay off the fucking sauce in public, or go see the band OXBOW. If you wander onstage, you are considered a threat to the band and will be quickly and harshly dealt with via their singer who is an MMA black belt. It is in their contract rider if you don't believe me.

That being said. Good night in general. We hit the Czech Stop on the way back, as they are open 24 hours. Yum.

Saturday was Tim and Tracey's party out here in Apache Shores. Lots of friends, lots of musicians and bands. Singer Deann Renee thought she was going to play solo, but with so many players she soon had an "Instant Band" of seasoned fill-ins. I was getting admittedly a little anxious about LZ Love's set, I have not played a gig as a guitar player since Ocean of Stars set June 2010. But by the time we went on, we too had a six to seven piece band. It was AWESOME! Went from me trying to remember all the songs myself to teaching them to others on the fly. And it sounded fucking bad ass. My only bummer was that had I known there'd be bass and keys too I'd have had more guitar solos ready, heh! But hopefully will open the door to more fill-in work with LZ. That would be amazing.

And finally Sunday.

At the party Triniti and I met an older couple (older than us, not like 90 year olds or anything), who invited us to a house concert thrown by Darren Applet (?sp). We happened to be in town and decided to swing by. Not knowing if it was a jam or a concert at first I brought a guitar and bass but wisely left them in the van at first. It was a concert, and saved me some embarrassment, heh!

The Country Penguins were playing, VERY good rootsy/americana/country. Great songwriting, great musicianship, great singers. Many moved to tears. And this was all taking place in a living room on a Sunday afternoon. Loves my life. The couple, Brad and Renee invited us to their place for an "after party." Was great, we gathered in Brads intimate music room for jamming, singing, laughing and good vibes. All of the Country Penguins filed in as well, so the jamming got kicked up another notch. Such an amazing night/weekend of music in Austin TX.

Felt so good to play guitar, this is the most I have played since RPM Challenge time back in February. And I intend to get more pickup gigs as an axeman and get Ocean of Stars up and running as a side project. One of my goals for next year.

2011-12-06T20:19:00.001-06:00

Fuck. Another time warp.

I am in business mode so must keep this brief.

Have 17 songs to learn by Saturday. I will be playing guitar with the incomparable LZ Love here at Tim and Tracey's party on Saturday. Stripped down version. Her, a percussion player, and me. Bring it on. A challenge because there is no bass player. An added advantage that if I mess up no one will be playing the wrong part, heh!

Yesterday was very very long. Woke early with a troubled mind. In better shape before noon before heading into town. ETB songwriting session. Another solid idea in the can. Then to a band business meeting. Met with our publicist Suzanne Penley who has added an entertainment lawyer/song placement contact and a booking agent to her team of operatives. In conjunction with Stephen Marks as manager (and other duties) feels like we have all the pieces in place to have a big year in 2012. Europe in April (Holland gig already booked), Houston at Continental Club with our brothers Amplified Heat. Designing a poster by tomorrow night. Other things but running out of time.

Then our Monday residency at Friends. Getting into a slower time of year but we still had a good crowd considering it was getting close to freezing by the time we went on. Felt like we were on fire, played really good. Stage slippery again, wtf? Really made a difference when doing my bass solo, my pedal board started sliding away while using my Wah pedal. Oops. Good show tho.

Friends and BD Riley's this past weekend are now a blur. Noteworthy events were my wireless running out of battery power end of set as Eric broke his strings off after "Voodoo Child", was able to plug in direct just in time to catch last few measures we play. That and had my good friend Heather Webb work merch. She did awesome.

What else...

Have tried all three sets of DR Strings sample pack. My findings:

I like the Lo Rider stainless steel/hex core in grey pack. They were stiffer with more resistance, like finger picking coaxial cable. I liked that. Other two sets were too flexible, had too much give when I would dig into them. It was affecting my playing last night. That and the slippery floor, heh. Plus I try to slide a note down the neck on the low E and half the time the string slips off the fretboard, which makes for a cool rock move but produces little to no actual sound.

Gotta run.

Getting back to business.

2011-12-01T11:26:00.000-06:00

Self-imposed vacation felt great, now back to work.

Am in the opening stages of getting Ocean of Stars up and running as a side project. Want to at least have a few pieces/players in place before Christmas Holiday. Will try to have things in motion a bit more before naming names. In the meantime will continue seeking out some kind of label support as I am too broke at the moment to print my own CDs. But am also feeling the inspiration to come up with mock up album art for "House of Leaves" EP. Too bad my copy of book by same name which inspired said EP is in storage somewhere. Shit.

ETB will be close to home but still busy, have a new album to write, playing shows mainly locally to stay tight and pay bills. 9 gigs before Christmas, bring it on. Also have some business to discuss, band meeting on Monday after song-writing session and before Monday residency at Friends. Long day. But we are restocking merch, "Green Diamond" reprint is already here. T-shirts in the works. Also talking Europe in the Spring. Hell yeah, we will have much to discuss \m/,

Yesterday was Trinti's reiki trade with Karen Slafter. Finally got to see her new studio Tattoo 23 on South 1st across from the School for the Deaf. It's awesome, great location, great energy, and more room to work. She is very excited! My mood was a little soured by my van power locks spazzing out, as if Goldie was suddenly haunted by a very annoying poltergeist. While they did energy work, I pulled fuses on the van and hit my head a few times on the hood. But problem solved for now, which is awesome cause still a little tapped out from prior repairs last week.

Monday at Friends was pretty slow, and understandably so. First Monday after Thanksgiving, not much going on in general. But the people there were pretty enthusiastic. Not sure what was up with the slippery stage, guess got my boots dusty walking around the canyons here in Apache Shores. But felt like I was trying to play on a stage made of ice. Feet kept slipping, had to be very conscious of my center of gravity lest I break into an impromptu splits. Which the crowd would have loved but I knew would have hurt like hell...

And finally, if you follow this blog at all feel free to leave comments.

Talking to a friend of the band on Monday she mentioned catching up on my blog from time to time, which is always a pleasant surprise. I don't promote this much, am just letting people discover it.

But at the same time am trying to make it more than just an online journal, I'm trying to also show what it's like to be a working musician. It can be a struggle, against one's finances and against one's own self. My day to day dealings aren't nearly as interesting as say, Lemmy's, but this is what I do and what I deal with. Also, I do admit the filter is set to "High". This is my life and I'm very guarded about telling just anybody about just anything. That, and there are business details and dealings that are no one's business but those involved.

SO yeah, not always that exciting. But this is my life and thanks for reading about it from time to time.

And I swear to fucking Crom I will be posting more pictures.

2011-11-27T18:32:00.000-06:00

Have been on self-imposed vacation the last few days. Holy crap did I need that.

My Virgo brain kept wanting to dash to my laptop real quick to work on small things here and there as time went on, but I always stopped myself remembering that it was also Thanksgiving Weekend and who the hell would be reading let alone responding to any of the emails I needed to send. So there ya go. Bliss.

But now like Revenge of the Nerds II, I'm back and I'm bad. Or something. Been at it all day doing internet shit: music biz stuff, social networking stuff, looking into things. Have been in touch with an upstart paranormal investigations TV show about using my music for the theme. Badass. May be a case of trading services for exposure, as they don't even have a budget yet. But exposure is exposure!

I have also posted a demo version of "House of Leaves", an instrumental concept EP inspired by the book of the same name by Mark Danielewski I did for RPM Challenge earlier this year, to my FB page. 20 minutes long in total and one of the most ambitious pieces of music I have attempted to date. Plan to leave it up for a bit to let people know about it, and eventually re-record it and release it as its own EP.

In other news ETB managed to again blow the doors off the Saxon Pub instead of leveling the whole block on Thursday for their Thanksgiving party. WC Clark as the early act, actually got to check him out this time. He was rocking a Peavey Bandit 65 amp. And it sounded great. Blues! Our crowd nothing to write home about, I mean it was Thanksgiving and all. But we had some of our fave friends/family/die-hards as well as some new faces too, so was still awesome.

Black Friday I stayed the fuck home. Crowded stores get to me. Really REALLY crowded stores really REALLY get to me. With Goldie Hawn still misfiring I had to call off the weekend trip to Corpus for belated T-giving. Instead got more time to relax here at house, and van is now fixed. Faulty wire. May still replace rest of them with Eric pretty soon. I did pay for them and the existing ones are starting to fail...

Long week last week.

2011-11-23T17:31:00.000-06:00

Ouch. But good, busy.

Last week Monday had ETB rehearsal, Friends residency. Good to best of my recollection. Great crowd that dispersed during setbreak. Well shit. But Jim and Gian Ortiz of Amplified Heat stopped by, great to see them.

Tuesday I don't remember at this point.

Wednesday received Reiki from Triniti and Karen Slafter. It was awesome. Felt very focused and at peace. Which came in handy cause then tore apart my storage unit to retrieve Fender 4x10 bass cabinet, which was of course in the back under everything. I had thrown it in with sale of TB-600 bass amp to Heather Webb, and wanted to make sure working properly. Sure enough wired wrong (me popping speakers in/out and no slack from speaker wiring so shit got crossed). No wiring schem on Fender site. Improvised with an Ampeg 4x10 wiring diagram. Then noticed broken speaker wire and soldered back together.

What was supposed to take 30 mins was 2+ hours of me ripping the cabinet apart in their dining room. Worked but one speaker mount buzzing a bit and metal grill cover rattling too bad to use (takes 8 screws and 8 rubber feet, I had 4 screws and 3 rubber feet...). But she is pleased nonetheless.

Thursday drawing a blank other than Goldie Hawn started misfiring. Shit. Went to a car place for diagnostic computer thing, cylinder #8 misfiring. Nice. Believe I edited an ETB Mondays promo that day.

Friday early set at Friends, no break. Good crowd. Parked out front so could throw bass gear in van then catch Amplified Heat sporting their new Marshall Stacks at Dirty Dog few blocks down. It was effing awesome. And loud. I was beat and had to bail before Thunderosa took the stage.

Saturday was ETB at BD Riley's. Another great show and great crowd. Good times.

Sunday ETB played Grace Sharington's birthday party at her place. Thunderosa also on the bill. Back patio doubled as the stage, used Thunderosa's gear to save time/energy. Short set (5 songs?). Good times! Caught up with Sumner Erickson afterwards. Really good guy.

Monday another marathon. ETB practice at St Elmo Music Lab in Southern Gun Culture's old room, 65. More songwriting, and another song in the works. Sweet. En route picked up an edit CD from Heather Webb for a photo shoot Triniti has been working on. Then met up with Eric at his place to replace faulty plug and wire for #8 cylinder. Did not solve the problem. Planned to reconvene to replace rest of plugs/wires at a later date. Monday residency set was awesome. Good crowd for first set, felt like we were on fire. Didn't get parking right outside for once, wonder what the hell was going on that night.

Tuesday awoke feeling completely wrecked. So tired I felt nauseous. What was to be a completely mental health day went out the window when I realized I needed to drive my van down to Corpus Christi for belated Thanksgiving on Friday. Fuck. Yeah even if Eric and I (well, mainly Eric...) replaced all wires and plugs on Wednesday, if that didn't solve the problem I couldn't take it in on Thursday. Damn. So called place where I had diagnostic check and they said $350 for labor on replaced wires and plugs. Fuck that, Lakeway prices. But Triniti remembered a mechanic a friend used out here in the Apache Shores neighborhood. Couldn't remember address, no phone number. But she recognized the house/driveway on Google satellite map. Awesome. Drove in, met Bruce, gave me an awesome etstimate and I left it there. Rest of Tuesday off. MUCH needed.

Today was supposed to be a mixed bag. Trinti had weekly reiki trade with Karen Slafter. But van not ready. Photo shoot with Amber Lucille Band later in afternoon. That meant her coming back to Lakeway so van can be picked up, then back into town at rush hour for shoot. Damn. So we took rain check on shoot. Rest of today off as well. Double bonus! Van was more than estimate, coil packs went bad. But then Bruce said he found parts for cheaper than estimate and passed the savings on to me. THAT is awesome. As well as having a full weekend (Tues/Wed is pretty much my Fri/Sat) off.

Bout time. But still allowing my Virgo brain to have an hour of necessary TCB before a quiet evening of pizza and beer.

Out with the old, in with the... well shit

2011-11-11T20:56:00.002-06:00

Today I sold my trusty Fender TB-600 rackmount to Heather Webb of Adrian and the Sickness.

It had to go, as it's too powerful to use with my 400w main bass cab. So in a sense I've been lugging it around for nothing for quite some time. And since I was dealing with "family" I gave Heather a really good price on it. Has served me well in The Mother Truckers and Eric Tessmer Band. But time for it to move on to someone who will use it.

So I then went and bought a voltmeter so I could attempt biasing my SVT-II in the garage. Success!!! Very simple procedure. Sounded great, non of the snap/crackle/pop from when I first fired it up un-biased with the replacement tubes. OMG!!! Is this amp finally going to be back in service? Will I not have to use the money Heather gave me for the TB-600 on a suitable backup now?!?

Fat fucking chance. Stuck it into my rack case with power conditioner and wireless unit. Thing weighed TWICE as much with the added tonnage of the SVT-II. Fired it back up and...

DAMMIT

Started making that same Goddamn crackle noise which originally grounded the amp from gigs a few years back and resulted in numerous fruitless tech visits. Shit shit shit. Unless there is a miracle, that thing is officially a doorstop once again. *sigh*

Day wasn't a total loss. Passed on a very good amp to a very good friend. Finally changed strings on Cate Blanchett and woodburned fret markers onto the neck with a soldering iron, like what I did with Minnie Pearl a few months back. Makes the fret markers easy to see, they can all but disappear in certain stage lighting conditions.

Now to find a suitable rackmount backup amp. And to buy a new tire for my van, which will cut into funding for said backup amp.

"At last, my arm is complete!"

2011-11-08T16:21:00.001-06:00

Sweeney Todd quote. That's kinda how I feel.

Anyway, got my Marshall JCM800 back from South Austin Music. The first time in at least a year and a half it's been fully functional. Retubed with JJ E34-Ls which I wisely bought before the ETB summer tour when I could afford them. Been sitting on them for 6 months til I had time/funds to take the amp in.

Played it in the garage, swappin pre amp tubes to dial it in. Don't have my main stash and all my NOS Mullards have long since gone squeally. Best results from what I have: V1 a nameless 7571, V2 a Groove Tube 12ax7R, V3 a Ruby 12at7. So far so good.

Also as an experiment put the somewhat used Winged C Svetlana 6550's from my SVT retube into my SVT-II and scrounged for appropriate pre amp tubes to see what would happen. Results: loud pops and willy-inducing crackles. Well shit. Would love to bring that amp back into service but alas it keeps setting itself back.

Anyway. 3 shows in last 4 days, no wonder I'm a little drained today. All ETB residency shows, bi-monthly fri/sat at Friends and BD Riley's respectively, and our weekly Monday residency. So today is Saturday for me, heh.

All good shows, and a fairly profitable work-week. Friday a 3-hour set, no break. Saturday we had the time change to contend with, but another 3 hours w/no break. Last night we played 2.5 hours til we finally took a break. Damn.

Friday/Sat packed downtown with spillover from Fun Fun Fun Fest on Auditorium Shores, just across the river. At Friends, our friends Kelly and Michelle came decked out in their Eric Tessmer Hallowee costumes: Castro hats, a wig if needed, mirror shades, fake nosering, and a little guitar with blood and severed fingers hanging from it. Awesome!

Saturday Rob saw Kerry King from Slayer walking down 6th Street. Also awesome. I joked on the mic that we'd have him sit in with us but he's fucking Kerry King and doesn't play blues. Good times. Good crowds both nights, still warm in Nov and sweated by butt off.

Monday was also good but took a long time to fill in crowd wise. When people finally did they were so into it that we just kept playing long after we usually take a set break. Monitors were not functioning that night and Eric having voice issues, so we did best we could vocal-wise. Played "Taildragger" twice and ended with "Smokestack" by Doyle Bramhall II rather than "Vooodoo Child." Mixing it up. I like how we don't use setlists. I still need to woodburn fretmarkers on Cate Blanchett tho I only play her on "Taildragger" (diff tuning.)

In other news got 3 sets of strings in the mail from DR to try out. Fuck yeah! But of course I have no shows until Monday next week, not counting the Jonestown blues jam Eric and I are going to tomorrow. Well poop, heh.

Will post my findings.

2011-10-25T18:37:00.000-05:00

Last night ETB show at Friends was good.

Still hot, sweating in October. Crowd started kinda slow, but place filled up like Gangbusters during first song. Awesome! Eric changed up the set on the fly (not that we ever use a setlist anyway), and it really worked. Kept the energy up for first songs and kept the crowd groovin. Even with ebb and flow place still stayed pretty full most of the night. Felt like we were on fire. Did some really cool stuff in "Armadillo Strut", just wish we could remember it since that song is different every time we play it. Also brought our instrumental rendition of "Stop" out of the dustbin and the crowd loved it. Gave me another bass solo during the set, sweet! All around good night.

Eric's finger finally healing a little, he cut out 2 of the stitches the other day and is planning on removing another one or two today to alleviate more pressure. This is certainly put on hold jamming during the day and writing new material. Shit happens.

Our return to BD Riley's on Saturday was pretty good as well. Not as crazy shitpacked as it has been in the past but still a good crowd even for a weekend so all is good. We played decent, I felt a little loose for some reason. Mentioning that we are almost out of Green Diamond CDs and the Boss Hoss tour shirts made for a feeding frenzy at the merch booth, we sold out of both real quick. Think we have a few oddball-sized shirts left but other than that we is sold out. So now we need to reprint Green Diamond (not everyone has it), more shirts/designs, and come out with a new record here quick. And we have no money. We'll make it work.

Friday got out of my court-appointed DWI class (very educational and informative, def put the fear of God about cops really cracking down on even slightly-impaired drivers) and of course went to meet up with Heather Webb (Adrian and the Sickness/BugGirl bassist) and Amber Saxon (Hell's Belles singer/BugGirl singer/guitarist) for birhtday karaoke at Canary Hut Pub on N Burnet. Holy shit, that was awesome, and awesomely weird. They blew everyone's minds doing old metal songs, always chuckled when people would tell them "Y'all should sing in bands!" Heh, they are both full-time musicians. Good times. Triniti and I took it easy at the bar, aforementioned fear-of-God-from-DWI-class... Still good times.

This week nothing until Thursday at Antone's, ETB headlining the Mobile Loaves and Fishes benefit. Off Monday for Halloween (good, try not to go anywhere NEAR downtown if I can help it... also a 'no-refusal' weekend, so y'all be safe), planning on getting in a good visit down in Corpus this weekend and part of next week. Get in some good family time before Thanksgiving.

In other news, in the process of replacing my Fender rackmount TB-600 with another backup bass amp that wont blow my EV's out of the speaker cabs. Will keep y'all posted.

2011-10-19T22:33:00.001-05:00

TCB day.

Dropped Triniti off at Spellbound Studio for her weekly Reiki trade with Karen Slafter. Picked up a consignment check for some furniture and went to drop off my JCM800 for a much-needed retube and do some gear-hunting. More like recon. Need to replace the rackmount Fender TB-600 with somthing that won't blow the speakers clean out of my cabinets.

At South Austin Music where I dropped my 800 off was going to buy a shirt when Billy the owner said "Take it." That was fucking awesome, made my day! Caught up with Billy in the office to thank him. I got my 800 there 10 years ago, have sold several pedal boards I built as well. Guess he was saying thanks in return. You don't get that kinda service at Guitar Center.

Talked to Ray Hennig for a bit trying to find out a little about my Dietz 2x15, if I could research the serial number and find out when it was made, as Heart of Texas Music has been making Dietz since the late 60's. Damn interesting conversation, tho I didn't really get my question answered, heh.

Didn't really see any promising bass gear there, at South Austin or at Austin Vintage. That TB-600 is a damn good amp so don't want to replace with something that I wouldn't mind gigging with. But rackmountable-ness is high on my priority list for a backup amp. Hmmm...

Picked Triniti up and we went to take pics at Wire Recording, where Tim Abbott's album is being mastered and Matt Smith was overseeing as producer. Awesome getting to hang out with him and Stuart. Turns out I've been there few years back, Shandon was doing a late-nite session and I played acoustic guitar on a few tunes. Anyway, awesome non-descript place. Gold records on the wall from the albums Sublime and Meat Puppets did there. But alas our stay was brief as we had lots of other shit to do.

Looking around on the Bass Emporium website (ATX music shop) I came across the SVT-IIP rackmount tube preamp, basically the pre-amp circuit of my stricken SVT-II... all i'd need is a tube (or gasp, solid state) power amp and I'd have quite a mean backup. Something to look into.

Something else I need to look into is my overdrawn Bank of America account. Seems McAfee active shield decided to renew itself without my consent, which put my checking into the negative. Gee thanks, guys.

Not-So-Bloody Monday

2011-10-18T16:33:00.002-05:00

Had a profitable enough weekend that I was finally able to replenish my bank account a little. And finally rewired and re-jacked my Dietz cab in the afternoon, just want to see what that thing sounds like with the EV's as opposed to the Eminences, as the Dietz interior has some baffling that is not present in the Mergilli replica. Got it all together and it worked, thank Crom.

Tested it out that night at Friends. There are some tonal differences, nothing drastic but noticeable. Not sure which I prefer yet. The crowd at Friends was a little slow, which was a damn shame cause felt like we were really really on fire last night. Holy shit, that felt great. And the people who were there knew it too. Lot of compliments from blown away tourists as well as old friends.

I wish I could remember all the little things from shows that I always think "Oh, I should mention THAT on the blog!" But even if I get to writing about the previous night the following morning (like now, for once) it's still gone. Well shit. And when I get done playing I want to smoke a cigarette and mingle, rather than sit in the corner crouched over my phone updating this thing.

Another thing I've been meaning to mention. Still recovering from the 3 month ETB summer tour. Feels like I have a month+ of jetlag still, if that makes any sense. It is the now the latter half of October. But it feels to me like first half of September. The warmer-than-normal temperature hasn't helped, only adding to the nagging feeling that I've lost a significant chunk of time.

Crazy. And not complaining in any way shape or form. This is the life I have chosen for myself, or that chose me. I accept all possible repercussions (physical, psychological, financial, etc) of my career choice. Just conveying what is going on in my life and the way being on the road for extended periods of time affects you.

All in the interest of science, and all in the name of Rock N Roll.

ETB Debut at Saxon Pub, and a busy week

2011-10-18T16:17:00.001-05:00

Forgot to mention second half of last week Tuesday night. Details of the rest of the week may be sketchy due to lack of updating this thing in a more timely manner.

But I digress:

After ETB's set at Antone's, Trinti and I went to Saxon Pub to catch Matt Smith's World. If you ever have a chance to see them, do yourself a favor. You will spend the next few days collecting the pieces of your blown mind. Seriously. He is producing Tim Abbott's album so Tim was there as well. Also bumped into Spanky, good friend and great bassist from the circle of 6th Street musicians. Has filled in for me with ETB several times.

But yeah. Matt Smith's World: Amazing. I'll leave it at that. Had Ernie Durawa from Texas Tornadoes drumming that night. After the show didn't meet him, but met his wife and "Pig Floyd", their pet pig. Awesome. Got acquainted as Triniti took pics.

Next morning I somehow wound up with a Pig Floyd hair embedded deeply into the bottom of my foot. And I was wearing Doc Martens that night, meaning the hair had stayed on my clothes all the way home, fell off in the bedroom onto the floor, and next morning somehow harpooned my foot.

By Wednesday morn the brakes on my van Goldie Hawn were grinding so bad it could not be overlooked any more. My finances are still recovering, but had to be dealt with ASAP with all the hills/turns in West Austin. Called Eric and made plans to have him help/show me how to replace front brake shoes. Took him 30 mins if that (with stitches in his finger), and $35 in parts. Now all I need is a good jack and a caliper press and I will never have to pay someone to do that ever again. Something about teaching a man to fish, or repair brakes. something.

Thursday went to see Hell's Belles (all-female AC/DC tribute from Seattle WA) at Continental Club. Adrian Conner has played guitar for them for 10 years or so. I have known her for 5 or 6 and have never seen them play. Have had opportunities, but always had a gig or something going on (broke). Face-melting. Great fun. Good to see Adrian finally get to uncork for 90+ minutes. That and Amber Saxon (Bug Girl, new H/B singer) also sounded great. The energy never wavered. Awesome.

Spent Friday afternoon re-wiring both my bass cabs (pulling the EV 15's from Mergilli's Dietz replica and dropping them into the Dietz cab). But the wiring was iffy on Dietz so had to put them right back into the Mergilli cab to use for Friends that night. Which was pretty good. The crowd and the night, not me taking apart both bass cabinets only to put my main one back together as-was.

Saturday was ETB's debut at the Saxon Pub. We were all really stoked, very legit and historic place, and they don't book crap. Then we receive word that we've picked up another early set at Friends before Saxon. Did not conflict and we could use the money, so we simply kept pushing the Saxon show and showed up to Friends unannounced, heh. Still melted faces and had a great time. However, we now had to tear down after playing 3 hours straight and head forthwith to another gig. Working a double you could say.

And we didn't know what to expect. We'd told as many friends as we could, but for a venue we were new to, and headlining on a Saturday night... this could really go either way. And I figured we'd be way too loud anyway. Saxon is intimate, covered in wood and sounds great. But we're a pretty damn loud band...

So we roll in and immediately start breaking shit. Both of our mic stands fell out the back of Goldie Hawn into Saxon parking lot. One the base broke off. Well shit. Then I pick up the other and the base broke off of IT as well! WTF?!? Not good. Then as Triniti heaved the tilt-castered merch case into Saxon it caught on the door eave and a wheel goes tumbling off of it. Fucking hell. Haven't even loaded on stage and already 3 things have broken just getting the gear inside.

But things turned around soon as we took the stage, all tired and sweaty from the earlier Friends set. And turned down as much as we can... But the place was damn near packed when we started! Awesome! Lot of familiar faces, people who see us for free all the time now paying $10 a head to see us in a new place. That is support. Thank you all for being supportive, people! YOU helped make that night an overwhelming success and helped us get a solid foot in the door for a new venue for us. Awesome!

Great set. Now a blur. Spent all of Sunday and most of Monday recovering from the energy expenditure of Saturday. Awesome. Eric had a wedding to play, and a possible private event which hadn't totally materialized we canceled anyway just cause Eric's stitches needed a rest.

What an awesome week. Need to post pics. Yeah I always say that... *sigh*

Bloody Monday

2011-10-12T12:40:00.001-05:00

Finally ETB's full time scedule kicking in this week: Monday residency at Friends, tues nite opening for Blackberry Smoke a Antone's, Friday early set at Friends (7:30) and Saturday our debut at Saxon Pub, blowing the doors off at midnite.

Roll into Friends to load in on Monday and meet Eric on the sidewalk. He shows me his thumb and forefinger on his fret hand. Both covered in a layer of gauze, crazy glue and caked blood. Apprently he was cleaning out his guitar toolbox and grabbed a fresh new razor blade before realizing what it was, until it had already deeply cut into the inside nail of the finger and left a dime-sized flap hanging from the thumb.

Holy shit. "We'll see how long this lasts..." he says motioning to the gauze. It didn't last long.

Began first set and looked like was going to be a good night crowd (and money) wise. But began clearing out 3rd song in. Shit. The crowdwalk livened things up a bit but after 90 minutes the crowd had died and Eric's cuts had reopened. He called break and taped them up again. By beginning of second set things had changed. People started filing in and Eric's finger was now bleeding freely.

Eric is a fuckin trooper. Utmost respect. We played almost our entire 4-hour slot to a packed house. He ruined the strings on 3 guitars from blood caking to the strings. People were going nuts and emptying their wallets into the tip jar. It was fucking amazing! Well, we wanted to make these Mondays an event, and mission accomplished.

Last night at Antone's was great as well, but crowd kinda subdued. By now Eric had stitches in his finger courtesy an off duty ER doc friend of a friend in said friend's kitchen. He of course sent pics as well as video. Not for the faint of heart.

We played a short 45 if that set, feels good being able to put 4 hours worth of energy into that short a time. Just gettin warmed up and already done. Nice! My love affair with the Antone's house Dietz 2x15 only grows. Used it solo due to lack of space onstage. Goddam it sounds amazing. Eric: "Well, it was Tommy Shannon's when he played with SRV, so it's got some mojo." No shit. Tempted to swap the EV's from Mergilli's replica to my real-deal backup and see how it sounds. May do that today after I change strings.

In other news the MER deal is off for now due to lack of funds. Could still happen, but at the very least I know how much duplication is, and my copies of 'Ocean of Stars' were selling on the road. A follow up with a real drummer would be nice, but reprinting OoS right now would be a financial stretch. A band would be awesome but not until I'm back in town, driving into Austin is a geographic and financial hurdle. Will research labels and pitch OoS re-issue/follow up to a couple and see what happens.

Still waiting for word back from DR. About to use my last set of strings.

2011-10-06T21:51:00.001-05:00

Busy busy busy tho big lull in schedule. That will end Monday, then have 6 gigs in 8 days. My bank account will be very pleased.

But have been slaving all week putting together a pro presskit to send to DR Strings for an endorsement deal, JRAB goes thru them for King's X. It's a hookup and they make good strings, hopefully I can afford the artist discount, heh.

Spent $40 at Office Depot yesterday while Triniti had her weekly Reiki session with tattoo artist Karen Slafter. Printed up photo cards and color copies of Mother Truckers press items, got nice clear folders with pockets and bubble mailers, along with discography/2011 Austin Music Awards which ETB and TMT placed in and a list from last 2 years of all shows/sessions/guitar tech work. Spent most of Monday compiling that, I've been busy. Bios I somehow overlooked in printing, which is good cause the one I tweaked somehow never got added to my pin drive or even saved. Printed that at the house today before putting it all together and sending it out today.

Long story short: spare no expense on your presskit.

Learned that in the Southern Gun Culture days, as Amber and I virgo'd the fuck out of the SGC presskits and heard repeatedly "These are some of the most professional presskits I've ever seen!" In retrospect I could have subscribed to an online preskit service for what I spent on materials, but having a physical copy I think goes much further than a website.

I also put another kit together for Tim Abbott to take to Matt Smith at his studio today, he tracked vocals today and goes in tomorrow as well. I'd like to schedule a meeting with Matt to pick his brain about what I should do with this music, and Tim said Matt is all for it and was very intrigued by me doing my own thing separate from my full time band (ETB).

Speaking of which, I got recognized at the grocery store today heh! Was interesting cause it was from ETB instead of the Truckers this time. Awesome. The life of a rock star \m/,

And speaking of the life of a rockstar, my finances are in lockdown from the void left by India falling thru. Doing my best to remind myself that while being flat broke, I still have everything I need. Van has gas, have food in the fridge. While I don't currently have enough to cover bills due after this weekend, I am working 6 of 8 days next week and will have the money then.

But above all, I am happy. Life isn't easy but it is good.

2011-10-02T20:24:00.001-05:00

Past several days have been filled with music. Awesome.

Last Monday ETB at Friends, The Cowboys were playing Monday Night Football. Affected the crowd a bit, mah. Still hot at night, good they had the windows open to attract foot traffic on 6th Street but was like someone left the oven door open. I didn't drink much and it felt great. Driving back to Lakeway after playing for 4 hours keeps you sober to say the least.

Spent the bulk of this week editing pics from the 99 day Eric Tessmer Band summer tour. Have them posted on my FB page, and about to post 2nd half of pics on the ETB FB. Also my business cards came in and they look great. QR code on the back works too, sweet.

Thursday Tim Abbott invited me to hang out at Matt Smith's SW Austin studio again, he was having LZ Love do guest vocal tracks. Great meeting her, talk about an amazing singer. She hit her takes out of the park, and then did some guest ad libs on two other tracks as well. Wow. Home runs each time. On the ride to and from her and Tim had several deep spiritual conversations. Glad I'm having more and more people in my life that don't watch TV and discuss ideas as opposed to events or worse yet, people.

Awesome again to be a fly on the wall at Matt's studio. Guy is a certified card-carrying bad ass, anything I can learn from just being around him will help me immensely. Gave me a great compliment too in his deep baritone: "You've been here most of the day and finally the first words out of your mouth were: 'That was fucking bad ass!'" Don't want to impose or buck the energy when people are trying to work, and would like to get into the rotation as a session bass player or guitarist. Gave him as requested a highlight reel CD of Mother Truckers, Eric Tessmer Band and several of my own solo tracks for playing examples. Glad I got to deliver it in person as well.

Friday morning ETB had plans to meet with our publicist friend Suzanne Penneley (publicity for Mikkey Dee of Motorhead and Chris Adler from Lamb of God) to discuss working with her for real now, but her house gotten some storm damage, so that was postponed til Sunday, giving me more time to edit/post ETB tour pics. Later that evening Tim, Tracey, Triniti and I went to Lakeway High School for The Eggmen featuring the LHS orchestra, featuring Tracey's son Theren on one of the stand up basses. It was bad ass! The kids (God I'm old) sounded great, and it was also badass to hear Beatles music pulled off live, and totally nailed. Gave me a new appreciation of vocal harmonies and the intricacies they put into them, especially in the context of what seem like simple pop songs. Awesome. Wish I could sing better, maybe I would if I actually practiced...

Later on T and I went to the Dixie Witch Euro tour kick-off party at Red 7 downtown. Being that we are broke as a joke I texted Trinidad (drummer/vox) about getting on the guestlist in return for both of us taking pics. He accepted, sweet! We got there in time to catch our good friends Sabbath Crow, added last minute and the first show for them in a year + now that our other friend Ric Furley is no longer drumming for them. Also Honky had to cancel last minute to Sabbath Crow was pushed back, meaning we got to see them. Great set by DW as well. Will post pics soon as I edit them, which I will be starting shortly. Talking to my friend Dave TV, he pointed out Nick Oliveri in the crowd, handed me his camera, and I finally got the shot on the 2nd try. You'd think cameras would be more standardized, but even a seasoned photographer such as my self can be stricken retarded by a strange camera. After Dave's second round of instructions I got the shot \m/,

Saturday was the wild card. Van getting low on gas, but Kyuss Lives was at Stubb's. We had absolutely no money for tix, prolly sold out anyway. But we made tentative plans to just stand outside and listen, heh! But I was actually a little tired from playing guitar for several hours in the garage -- that felt great. Ran thru most of Ocean of Stars album, new stuff I have in the works, old stuff that I still remembered how to play. Good to know I haven't lost as much as my guitar playing ability as I'd thought.

But I digress. Tim said LZ Love was playing a stripped down set not far from here. Also my good friend and ex-Southern Gun Culture bandmate Amber Lucilee was playing out in Lakeway as well. As much as I wanted to see (well, HEAR) Kyuss Lives, the price of gas superceded any once-in-a-lifetime events. Sorry guys. Caught tail end of LZ's set and got to chat with her/band. Tim has been wanting Triniti to meet her, and of course they hit it off. Turns out the bass player is Nick from South Austin Music, who has worked on my Marshall a few times. Made arrangements to bring it by again and have him put those new JJ E34L's in it, which have been sitting in the boxes for 4 months. After T and I went to Jasper's for Amber Lucille. Good to see her and Charlie Murphy, haven't seen them since before the ETB summer tour. Good to catch up. Jasper's is a decent place, guess we finally have a bar out here.

Today got up early (8am) for the rescheduled ETB band meeting in SW Austin. Good meeting all around, discussed band shit then publicity when Suzanne got there. All around very positive. Still behind in sending Trinidad some sample pics from Friday night. Also behind in getting my presskit together to send to DR Strings, and finish posting ETB tour pics to ETB FB page. Wanted to have all that done by tomorrow, but here we are on Sunday night. Shit shit shit

2011-09-22T15:53:00.000-05:00

Been in get-shit-done mode all yesterday and today, sitting at my laptop until my eyes and head hurt.

Just ordered some new business cards, my old ones had fuckin MySpace links on them. Found a great and affordable site (uprinting.com) and made some pretty bad ass ones if I may say so myself, the ones on Vista Print were effing terrible. Need those in general, and especially now since I'm trying to fill the void in my calendar with the ETB India tour falling through. Didn't post any ads on Craiglsist (have actually had some good luck there) but browsed thru several pages and responded to one that looked promising, see if I can hook up some session work.

In the meantime ETB picked up this past Monday at Friends, our old residency slot. As much as I want to say I don't like playing 6th Street, our Mondays were getting bad ass before we left on tour, drawing weekend crowds and making weekend money on a Monday night with no cover and getting a cut of bar sales and passing a tip jar. And last Monday was no different. Lot of old friends and familiar faces, and plenty of foot traffic off the street. Good fun and good times, just like old times.

San Angelo and Lubbock were pretty decent over the weekend. Steel Penny Pub has reopened as the Penny Pub and has made some welcome upgrades. My only gripe is that they redid the walls of the men's room so they are no longer covered with centerfolds and weird amended graffiti like "THE REVOLUTION IS NEAR (my penis)". Added another date to my tag on the backstage wall, believe there are 5 of them now. Texas Cafe in Lubbock used to be called The Spoon and Eric used to play there all the time 2 years ago. Not a bad place tho we had to bring a PA, nice big room with a long, narrow stage which I prefer over a square stage. Don't have to crane my neck back to see Rob and watch for cues. Not a huge crowd but there were people that remembered the old band and will bring their friends next time.

All and all had BBQ for 3 meals in a row. Coopers in Llano on the way up to San Angelo, BBQ plate at venue in Lubbock, Coopers again on the way back. No wonder I've been eating fish, veggies and salads all week heh!

On Tuesday I went to Matt Smith's studio with Tim Abbott to sit in and hang out while work being done on Tim's record and to network with Matt. Need to get him a CD and maybe get into rotation with his session players. And that would be awesome.

Also still talking with Magnetic Eye Recordings. Have finally found cost effective numbers for a re-release of "Ocean of Stars". See how it goes. Would like to use record label stamp of credibility as catalyst to get Ocean of Stars up and running as a side project. Casually talking to players and thinking of both attainable and far-fetched goals for it. A booking agent and occasional support act touring would be awesome. Let y'all know how it goes.

2011-09-15T18:46:00.003-05:00

Wow. What a difference a day can make. I will get to that, but in the meantime I will start like I was going to on Tuesday but never got around to completing.

Have had 2 weeks to unwind since getting back from the ETB summer tour. A week here at Tim and Tracey's, then spent most of last week in Corpus Christi seeing my family with Triniti. Went camping at the beach, caught a 22" redfish, saw the play 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which my sister's BF is directing, and I wound up being in -- they have a few people from the crowd fill in as participants. I correctly spelled "Hedonophobia", heh. Tho while down there I felt weirdly distracted and occasionally irritable, it was a really good visit all around.

Got back to Austin and felt OK, so far so good dealing with being back in the civilian world. No hardcore PTSD like few years ago when I got back from 10 weeks on the road with The Mother Truckers and my brain literally could not wrap itself around how long I had been gone. Few days after that a really deep depression sank in that was hard to deal with. But that popped like a bubble when the Truckers went into to the studio to cut a track on break before heading back out again.

So Monday I restrung both of my guitars in prep to work on some Ocean of Stars gigs. That night went to see our friend Ric Furley and my bro Tank (didn't know he was playing as well, and even invited him to the gig, heh!) play with Ric Hornyak (unbeknownst to me, Tank's old Dealers bandmate). But then the fatigue kicked in. Hard. No energy, no motivation, was wondering if I was coming down with something. Felt like I was moving through molasses. Played guitar for several hours on Tuesday, which helped while I was playing, but soon as I stopped the balloon instantly deflated. Finally tried calling the doc to try to schedule an appointment, maybe the tour had taken a bigger toll on my health and should get some bloodwork done just in case... but 12 minutes on hold and I gave up.

Next day Triniti had her weekly Reiki trade with tattoo artist Karen Slafter. Only this time they both did Reiki on me. And holy shit, the effect was immediate and profound. Whatever they did totally situated my energy situation, and soon as they were done I sat up and Karen said "Your eyes look brighter!" Understatement of the year. It was like I was back to my old self, and I felt better than I had before I LEFT on that crazy summer-long tour. We ran out of there, grabbed lunch, and made quick work of the to-do list of errands. We got back and I continued to work, calling DR and talking string endorsement. Then mixed down the second half of "House of Leaves", my crazy 20-minute RPM Challenge epic. Then started editing pics for an EPK to send to DR.

This morning no different. We both woke up and immediately got to work on our computers for several hours. I was looking into online EPK sites, looks like they are all pay-to-use. Looked into CD printing and found some more cost-effective ways to pass on to Magnetic Eye Recs. May be calling them on the way to ETB gig in San Angelo tomorrow.

I'll be spending my birthday this year coming back from Lubbock TX. Last year was in Denmark with The Mother Truckers. Year before that I was in Birmingham AL teching for King's X. Awesome!

Cannot get over how much better I feel. Just, wow.

Home

2011-08-31T10:53:00.001-05:00

Wow. Back. Don't even know where to begin.

Feels like was gone for 3 weeks but save for the 2 week break in July it was 3 months. So far so good on rotating back to civillian life. None of the mindfuck that coming home from the long Mother Truckers 08 summer tour was, that was rough. This time spent most of yesterday recouping and went for Mexican food with Triniti. She's currently in town doing a Reiki session with Karen Slafter, I'm at Tim and Traceys about to tak a cold shower as the downstairs plumbing is a little out of whack right now.

Projects for today are make new business cards, keep looking into cd duplication for Ocean of Stars re-release and keep ball rolling with Magnetic Eye, may eat mastering costs to keep overhead down but still have Scott Reeder stamp of approval on it. Plan to see Totimoshi tonite w/T at Scoot Inn. Last time they were in town Shandon opened for them with Nebula on the bill. I was out w/TMT and had Amber Lucille fill on for me on guitar. Sounds like I missed an awesome show.

That and start playing guitar more, get back into that in my spare time. Would like to get Ocean of Stars up and running as a side project but need a band. The people i'd like to have involved are pretty busy themselves but wouldn't hurt to ask, maybe have several players in rotation like Shadon's band. Need to make some phone calls...

Tomorrow ETB plays the Fox 7 morning show then Sam's Burger Joint in San Antone that night. Sat is big homecoming show at Antone's, need to get out laptop and start promoting the shit out of all those. Next week/weekend off so plan on going to Corpus with T for family time, come back for the weekend and hit shows/network. Tim says he has sessions with Mike Smith that weekend, would love to hang out and watch. See what happens.

My birthday weekend ETB is in San Angelo and Lubbock. Will spend my birthday on the 18th driving back from Lubbock, probably hung over. Again, see what happens. After that ETB flies to India for several shows. That will be something.

Mon Aug 29, 2011

2011-08-29T15:03:00.001-05:00

Greetings from Boss Hoss, somewhere in SE Kansas. Just drove thru the Flint Hills, very nice drive even if you are spoiled by mountains.

En route to Norman OK for gig at Brother's Eatery & Pub. Last night of the tour, holy cow. 3 months have whizzed by in what seems like 3 weeks. I always equate longer tours with astronauts traveling at the speed of light--they come back after a few weeks and years have passed. Crazy. Will see what condition Austin and Central Texas is in from a record summer. Was 110 there yesterday. Fuck.

Last night at Music in the Park was a blast. Set up outside a gazebo, good sound system. I was far enough away from Rob's cymbals to not need earplugs, heh. My rig sounded great. Played a fun 2 hour set to about 700-800 people scattered around a duck pond. Glad more people than waterfowl...! Rob wearing his new Kum & Go shirt (best convenience store chain name ever), guy in crowd had his little daughter hand Rob a Kum & Go lighter between songs. Awesome. End of set joined Eric in ripping my strings off. Might as well go out with a bang, heh.

How's this for small world: bass player in band before us I've known for years, surprised I didn't recognize him at first. Hard to miss a huge barrel-chested black guy with dredlocks down his back and plays bass like a mofo. Jemmie was playing with Endever when Southern Gun Culture did shows with them at the Backroom, then we briefly played together in Stepacyde, did a gig during SXSW 05/06. He'd recently moved to Kansas City, always awesome to bump into an old friend when u least expect it.

Note to self: eat. Have been eating pretty decent lately but made the mistake of having only a choc milk, blueberry/pomegranite juice, and leftover fries from Knuckleheads. Was low on gas, then the Coors original kicked in a little sooner. Drank plenty of water and was fine playing, but still. Allergies then went haywire from being outside and by the time we got back to hotel from post-show pizza almost felt like I was coming down with something. 3 months exposing myself to an infinite number of micro-organisms and contagions, and I finally get sick on the way home? Fuck a bunch of that. Took Target brand Clartin, B complex and a Vit C and feel fine this morning.

Second note to self: warm up a little before we play. Last few gigs have felt tight as hell first song, affects playing and risks injury. That and stretch out. Put Tiger Balm on forearms/wrists/hands this morning.

Third note to self: make new business cards. Current ones have myspace addy and no link for this blog.

OK going crazy. Will keep you posted, loyal readers.

Sat Aug 27, 2011

2011-08-27T21:09:00.001-05:00

Kansas City MO

Greetings from Boss Hoss. Just played Knuckleheads, decent show. Been here with the Mother Truckers in the past, wasn't going crazy that outdoor stage bigger than I remembered (tey expanded). But early night, bout to check in at hotel, get cleaned up then get shitty at Trouser Mouse, where we usually play.

Thank God or corporae rates, we've been sleeping in the van at rest stops quite a bit as of late. Livin the dream. But home on tueseday morning. Wow. 3 months.

We're here at hotel now, signing off for now.

Later:

Having a Beam on the rocks at Trouser Mouse. Seems like we were just here. 2nd night of the tour after we heard news bout loss of Sergio. RIP brother, heaven just got a lot cooler.

Rockabilly band playing, guy just joined them onstage for a set of Buddy Holly covers. Would be better if they played insteadof guy talking incessantly. Anyway I am burned out and want to go home. Not long now. Will be good to be home.

Mon Aug 22, 2011

2011-08-22T08:44:00.001-05:00

Off day, Richland Center WI

Going to Noah's Ark water park today, should be fun. Could almost use the rest if we cancelled but fuck it we need to blow off some steam.

Burnout setting in big time. Been a long run and ready to go home. I think we have just over a week left. Holy shit, has it been three months? And now it's almost over? Wow. No wonder I can't remember where we played 3 days ago and can barely keep up with the coming week's schedule.

There are a lot of things I could be doing in downtime that I just have no motivation for. Could download/edit/post pics from my camera but barely have the energy to take pics, let alone do anything with em. Backlogged enough as is. Would be great to use camera pics for this blog rather than same phone pics I posted on FB, but phone pics more time/energy efficient way. Could be working on vid blogs but no energy and FlipShre pretty primitive for vid editing. Could be playing bass, felt great to play the other night (when? where?) for fun, but hands/forearms tired.

But we did clean Boss Hoss out yesterday, that was needed. Eric and his dad also cut/welded some sheet metal to mke a new seat mount for the passenger side. Now that seat ain't rockin bck/forth anymore. Also some new parts purchased while in town, engine runnin a little wonky. Please we need to replace the rear tire which blew out en route to NYC. Spare is pretty shot. All that will be done today/tomorrow. Clothes already warshed. Even had a bonfire last night, got great phone pics but Blogger seems to like Retro Camera better. Mah.

So yeah. Hard to fathom next week Saturday I'll be back in Austin and playing Antones. Brain hurts.

Sun Aug 21, 2011

2011-08-21T12:16:00.001-05:00

Whoops, let's do the time warp again. Greetings from Chez Tessmer in Richland Center WI.

I am beat. We are beat. 2 days off before heading to Minneapolis and Eau Claire WI, Chicago-area again then headin generally south towards home, finally. Looking forward to this run winding down, been bout 3 months and ready for an actual break.

Last night in La Crosse was interesting. The Joint is a really cool place staffed by some really cool people and a competant soundman (yes used those words together and meant it, heh!). Similar setup to the old Room 710, venue/stage one side and bat on the other. Decent size stage and good sound. Stopped en route to Eric's friend Travis' place for steaks and a quick beer.

Venue never really filled up, ebbed and flowed. We were dragging ass and tried to appear otherwise, not sure if people noticed. Met Van Man from the old RiffRock.com, always good to finally meet a former forumite in the flesh. Was real nice having an online discussion forum of people I would hang out with if we lived in same town. Wearing a Dixie Witch shirt to boot, which earned him a free ETB coozie. \m/,

We slugged thru 3 sets to varying amounts of people. Played pretty good I guess. Didn't sell much but got 3 pages of emails, that's cool. During soundcheck my wireless unplugged itself, remedied and good to go. Finally restrung Cate Blanchett as well, only use her for Taildragger and haven't restrung since last run. Put on my last set of Dean Markley Blue Steels, now remember why I liked them back in the day: they last a long time. The ones on Minnie Pearl are several days older than they should be and only now need to be changed. Kicking myself for not buying more at Dave's Guitars earlier that day.

After show things got crazy on streets of La Crosse. As per Eric, river towns in WI get rough. Were privy to drunken bar-closing stupidity and a rumble between some dumbasses. Good times. Eric and I kept our eyelids open with toothpicks to get home overnight. Windy roads and patches of fog. And maybe 2 towns in between. Yeah. But here we are. Day off today, going to Noah's Ark water park tomorrow. Fun.

Sun Aug 21, 2011

2011-08-21T12:15:00.001-05:00

Whoops, let's do the time warp again. Greetings from Chez Tessmer in Richland Center WI.

Thu Aug 11, 2011

2011-08-15T08:28:00.004-05:00

New York City, NY @ Stout Bar

In case I hadn't mentioned it, en route to Rochester last week we discovered a bubble in the side of the L rear tire. Eric marked the boundary of it wth silicone to mark it's possible expansion. Got to Rochester plannin on findng a new tire and the bubble is gone as mysteriously as it hd appeared. Of course we didn't buy a new one.

So en route to NYC it decides to blow. Drivin along, then loud POP that woke me up and Rob pullin van to side of the road. Well shit. Luckily we didn't have to unpack half the van on the side of the road to jack it up. But Eric and Russ did have to wrestle the spare tire from the jaws of the fucked up/jury-rigged spare mount, took more time than swappin tires. Sure enough, tire split between the treads. Kaput.

Made it to NYC in one piece. This time at Stout we were playing downstairs (stage, lights, freight elevator) as opposed to ground level (no stage, no lights, setting up "in the way"), and Eric sang thru his Dual Professional as opposed the the extra time/effort/money of a PA rental. Sweet. Walked 19 blocks to Guitar Center on 14th Street for strings. Dean Markley Blue Steel bass sets priced to move, haven't been able to afford them in a long time.

Had a really good crowd this time. Phil and his wife there, Ben Smith from The Brought Low as well (awesome 3-piece southern rock from Brooklyn, check em out!!!) good to see him and catch up. Planned on taking it easy drink-wise as we had an all-night drive to Watkins Glen. But a drunk businessman changed all that when he started buying us round after round of shots. Uh oh. We didn't want to be rude, but damn. He got us pretty schnockered. Thanks, I guess.

We were good to go tho, Russ and I sobered ourselves up enough to be pilot/co-pilot. Drove until fog started rolling thru the hills and we found a rest stop, slept in the van. It was upper 40's and felt great.

Mon Aug 16, 2011

2011-08-15T08:07:00.001-05:00

Greetings from the van, which we've been staying in last few nights. Past days now a blur, do my best to recap and catch y'all up. Drive day today, en route to Tuscarawas OH (wherever the hell that is) for a routing date tomorrow b4 Chicago on Wed. Have a room or 2 waiting there for tonight, first time to sleep in a bed in almost a week.

Stopped at a truckstop in the far corner of PA and saw my first real Trucker's Chappel, and we parked Boss Hoss next to Popeye the Good News Man. This place is fuckin weird. But we are done with New Engand for now.

Wed Aug 10, 2011

2011-08-10T18:09:00.001-05:00

Dolly's Wash House, Harrisburg PA

Trying some spray shit Eric has to battle the armpit stains in my white shirts. About to trash and replace, evidently nicotine, beer and other toxins are expunged there. Looks nasty.

Day off, 2nd night here at Carlisle (?) Hotel. I swear this place used to be a retirement home. Weird complex of semi-creepy buildings, seen a woodchuck outside our building. But a big room, good since we're all crammed into it. Need to take a pic of the bathroom, eyemelting mustard yellow toilet and shower.

Early loadin for Stout in NYC tomorrow so I hear. But not renting a PA this time so that will save a lot of money and a lot of hassle. We've used Eric's stricken Dual Professional in Buffalo and Leesburg as a mae-shift PA and worked like a charm. Makes luggin it around (110+ pounds) worth it. Should we find another xlr-to-quarter inch adapter and I could sing too, heh.

Not much else going on, today at least. Sounds like there will be a camera crew following us in India, film ready by SXSW. May do some humanitarian work out there as crew is affiliated with such, will have to re-read that email. We'll be finalizing our wishlist of bands to open for for the Agency Group tonight, will try to catch this blog up time/energy/memory permitting.

Tue Aug 9, 2011

2011-08-09T16:02:00.001-05:00

Greetings from the van, somewhere outside Strasburg VA.

Haven't been keeping up with this blog, been a long week, but will post recaps as time allows. Just did 6 shows in 6 nights in 3 states. Took some ibuprofin cause even my will to live is a little sore. En route to NYC for Thursday gig then Friday at Nascar event in Watkins Glen. Should be awesome!

Been slow going today. Pulled over in front of this Texas Chainsaw Massacre-looking house, engine misfiring or something, I dunno I was asleep on back bench. Spent an hour or so, Eric taking things apart and cleaning wiring. Got back on the road and eased 2 miles to a gas station. Guess we were running out of gas, heh. But got a new wire and Eric installed that after stopping at Subway for breakfast/lunch. Back on road and running smooth. Not sure where we stay tonight, Rob researching hotel deals. Laundry and internet are a must.

Feel pretty good, was getting very worn down from this week of gigs. Feels like gaining weight too, if that can be believed. Was about to add another notch to my belt last run, now jeans fit tight and belly feels bloated. Guess we're getting fed more this run, that and beer. Guess I'll go get some running shoes and a track suit, and a cool headband.

Just off the wire, we are staying in Harrisburg tonight. Not sure if in VA or PA. Keep y'all posted.

Wed Aug 3, 2011

2011-08-06T12:33:00.001-05:00

Woke to the cat Ziggy pawing at my toes. He was tiny and crazy last time, now had grown some and feeling frisky. Slept on a matress that folded into a love seat. I didn't bother unfolding it. Felt like sleeping on a van bench seat. Eric and I up first, got to see off a kid who stayed the night, he was spending a month bicycling around Lake Ontario, and was headed back home to New Hampshire that morning. Wow.

Once all up we made the walk downtown to eat and pick up the van. Still there across the street from Charlie O's, no ticket. Ate at a crepe place, had a Greek breakfast crepe that was awesome. Got word that a local college station, WGDR had an opening and wanted us to swing by for an interview. Awesome!

Josh the music director really cool. Very knowledgeable and respectful, "gets it." Asked us pertinent music related questions rather than asking if any of us had banged a certain respected Austin singer like that guy the other day. The kind of interview that was meant to earn more fans. Really nice of them to squeeze us in that day.

Rob and Russ went to a swimming hole somewhere. Eric and I stayed back. The daily lives of "rock stars." Swimming, sleeping, relaxing, working. Headed downtown earlyish to grab dinner after loading in. Ate at Pizza Vilage, had an Italian sub that was awesome and a Greek salad, the greens that came with my breakfast crepe whetted my craving of greens and olives. Ate half the sando, was stuffed, and still starving end of the night.

Show was decent. Had hoped word had spread more, but good enthusiastic crowd. Lotta familiar faces from last time. Good times with good people, and took it easy compared to the previous night. Early-ish van call. Have been playing every show with wirless on all the time, and battery guage still hasn't moved. Starting to wonder if working properly, heh. Jumbo pack of AA's I bought pre tour will last 2 years at this rate.

Tues Aug 2, 2011

2011-08-04T11:39:00.001-05:00

Tuesday morning early van call, 7:30am. Ouch. Had a 10:30 radio interview in Rochester and a lunch meetup with Phil in Albany en route to Montpelier VT.

Radio thing went alright, were on the Wease show right after some girls from the Tally Ho strip club. Okey doke. Russ stayed behind while Eric, Rob and I needed help navigating the maze of halls and office cibicles. Then in a panic realized we forgot to bring CDs... damn! Texted/called Russ who saved the day in the nick of time before we were on air. Hopefully good promo for show Friday.

En route to Bro's Tacos in Albany I texted Mike from Magnetic Eye Recordings, see about a possible last minute meetup. We've been talking for months about re-issuing Ocean of Stars and doing a follow-up, but have still never met, heh. He was down.

Eric got a shock as drving thru an intersection he popped his head up long enough to see Phil's car, not knowing we were meeting up, heh. Good to see Phil, and Bro's Tacos serves some damn good food! Met Mike, who gave me 3 MER tshirts, the new Ironweed (his band) vinyl and some burn CD's. Awesome! Chatted business and non-business but he had to run. Good finally meeting him! Now to find a cost-effective means of re-issuing OoS...

Anyway Phil directed us to a much-needed laundromat then took us for a last beer or three before hitting the road to VT. I designated myself as driver. Damn, name of brew pub we went to escapes me. Cool place. But as I took Boss Hoss rest of way to VT I realized again that i'd volunteered to drive in beautiful country at that perfect time of sunset when the light is gorgeous. Well shit. But soon sun was down, sure was a beautiful drive during the day, heh. Not as white-knuckle as the drive thru Blue Ridge Mtn, but crossing the spine of the Adirondacks at night keeps you on your proverbial toes.

Arrived into Montpelier in one piece and drove straight to Charlie O's World Famous. And just like that, we were back. When were we here last... June? July? But we walk in to Tuesday night Karaoke, and the same old guy is belting out "My Way" by Sinatra. Maybe we were here just last week. Who knows. So we said hello to all the familiar faces at the bar and dove right in to getting hammered.

Wasn't nearly as bad as Horseheads NY. But we left the van downtown to be safe, NONE of us would be driving. Let's just say we drank a lot, talked to people, some of us sang karaoke, some of us filmed it, a cab was provided to avoid walking a mile to the house, most of it uphill, and it continued for a bit back at the house. Good times.

Charlie O's def has that character. Been open since the Civil War, and still feels like a Wild West bar. But everyone is... NICE. Bunch of people from all crazy different walks of life, and everyone gets along. Very cool vibe, now one of my fave bars in America. Montpelier def has a vibe like Austin.

Mon Aug 1, 2011

2011-08-02T12:22:00.001-05:00

Day 2 off in Buffalo NY, Rob Disaster's 29th B-day!

Thanks again to Brian and co for the rooms. Saved us a bundle and provided much needed rest. Which was good, cause when we went to pile into the van to hit Guitar Center so Rob could get the part he needed for stricken tom hardware we found the L front tire low. I found the nail, what looked like a rock in the tread made a hissing noise when I wiggled it...! Kicked it back in with my foot.

Found a cheap tire patch kit at a gas station, see if it holds. At Guitar Center we of course would have to special order the lug parts and figure out where they needed to be sent (how long will it take, and were will we be at the time...?). Rob also priced a snare stand while there. Cheapest one was $60. Ouch. But all this time we were also chatting with a local named John who plays for a metal band and does tour managing/sound/promoting. He was very sympathetic to our plight, been there before.

As we left to find a drum shop or pawn shop, he offered to buy Rob the snare stand. Wow. Tried to talk him out of, but he was paying it forward. Awesome, the kindness and hospitality of strangers is always a Godsend. And now he has some solid contacts for Austin, which he was lacking up til this point. Kindness of that sort is never forgotten, and repayed when possible. That was awesome. Thanks brother!

Of course no one mentioned goin to Niagara Falls after GC, so I neglected to bring my camera. I mean, what amazing stuff ever happens at GC or Chipotle? Had my phone camera anyway. But Niagara Falls calls for the big guns. But Eric was still filthy from patching the tire anyway, so hotel run was needed.

Niagara Falls is Niagara Falls. Has to be seen to be believed. Been there once before on tour with the Mother Truckers in 2008. Just as awesome this time as well \m/, If you have the means, go.

Later on after resting up we went to the Anchor Bar, home of the original Buffalo Wings for a b-day dinner for Rob. So guess what we had? We ate 70 of those fuckers. Excellent, better than previous place (duh, they invented them!). Towards the end of them we had to put some motivational music on Rob's phone so we could finish them, which our waitress got a kick out of. Wow. We were stuffed.

Out in parking lot on phone with Triniti was privy to an employee escorting a bum from the parkin lot. Then he was literally chased away by a McDonalds employee next door. I try to be sympathetic to the less fortunate, but roving freeloading drug addicts kinda piss me off. Just be honest and say you need money for drugs rather than a bullshit tale about trying to get home. Judging by his reception at each establishment I'd say he was a regular.

Sun July 31, 2011

2011-08-02T12:17:00.001-05:00

Day off in Buffalo NY

Day off and nowhere to drive 10 hours to. Nice! Feels good to stay in the same place for a few. Just wished the AC in Russ and I's room worked a little better.

Didn't do a whole lot. Took advantage of the hotel wifi to get some work done on my laptop. Figured out that Retro Cam phone pics work great for this blog, but the regular phone camera not so much. Had one entry clogged like a gas station toilet and had to plunge it on laptop.

Only thing of consequence we did was Brian and his wife took us to a swank Italian place for lunch. Had a slab of lasagne about 8"x8" and 2 inches high. And I ate almost the whole damn thing. Needless to say still felt stuffed 7 hours later. Waiting for them out front of hotel saw real woodchucks for the first time, 3 of them rooting around a field by hotel. Crazy looking fuckers. Didn't see them chuck any wood, or chuck anything for that matter. But they did rear up like chipmunks when they ate which was kinda cute.

Later that evening started going thru list of artists on Agency Group website to form a wishlist of possible acts to open for, should they want to start working with us. Found some cool shit, and many bands thank God said either "electronic" or "pop" in their descriptions, as if band photos weren't a dead giveaway that we wouldn't fit. One band had audacity to claim they didn't have a bass player cause "bass is boring." WTF?!? Don't mean to toot my own horn, but I added them to my wishlist so I could how them what a real bass player could do.

Got the call at 11:45 that there would be a b-day party shindig for Rob in him/Eric's room. Sweet! There! Drank Yueglings and watched vids that we discovered researching Agency roster. Some cool and funny shit. I was pretty floored by the Melt Banana live vid I stumbled across. Just DAMN. Good times, and nowhere near the damage we did to ourselves in Horseheads few nights previous. And that was a good thing...

Sat July 30, 2011

2011-08-02T11:25:00.001-05:00

Buffalo NY, private event for company that made our stckers.

Great googly-moogly. We felt like ass next morning. Just wow. Nobody sick and vomiting, but darn close at times. That was unbelieveable. Possibly the stuff of legend. Not something we want to make a habit of tho, we're not the Rolling Stones.

Drive to Rochester was a blur. I took 2 tylenol in the AM which staved off my headache for awhile. Worn out, sore and stiff. But that's what happens when I don't stretch out befrore gigs and then try to drink like a maniac.

Rolled into the venue in good time. Was this creekside tent/pavillion/hall that is often rented for weddings. The days leading up we tried to find a cost- and time-effective way of renting a PA but no dice, so Eric sang thru his Dual Professional. Saved lots of time and money. But Brian and his wife were great as always, they really believe in the band and are awesome people to boot. Paid for 2 rooms for us not just for the evening, but for the next 2 nights as well. Wow, thank y'all so much! Good to have provided lodgings for gig night and next 2 off days. Said they'd take us to lunch next day and to tour the sticker factory as well.

But still kinda weird to play under a big circus tent alongside this idyllic creek. Even a little water feature behind Eric's amps, ha! Also weird to be hungover, stinky and setting up while families are playing bingo at the tables. Great catered BBQ and an open bar, tho none of us really felt like drinking...

But setting up Rob noticed that a rubber lug for his tom mount hadbroken. Well shit... He, Russ and I rigged it with fishing line and gaff tape. Would get thru the gig, but not much else. Sucks, cause that is of course a special order part. So we made tentative plans to remedy that in the next few off days by ordering part then finding Rob a cheap snare stand for it in the meantime. That, and a Niagara Falls trip as well!

We got a huge morale boost when Phil he superfan showed up with his dog! Awesome! Great to see him yet again, always showing up unexpectedly, heh. So he was privy to yet another facet of our live show: the low-key, playing-to-families-while-apocalyptically-hungover side. Still a fun little show. Not that many were watching us, heh. Hung for a bit afterwards and leisurely loaded out.

Were feeling a bit more ourselves finally so after checking in at Quality Inn by the airport went with Phil to a wings called the Brew Pub I believe. Delicious micro brews, but after the previous night's liver destruction we only had one beer a piece. Wings were good too. Back at rooms finally took a much-needed shower and felt like a reptile that just shed its skin.

Fri July 29, 2011

2011-08-02T08:24:00.001-05:00

Horseheads NY @ Jake's Saloon

Drive there was another time warp/alien abduction situation. 3-4 hours turned into 7. Weird. Well, stopping a a truck stop parking lot to half-unload the van as to jack up the van and pull apart rear brakes ate a little time. Back brakes making godawful noises. But right side a cable for the emergency brake came loose and was grinding, easily reattached. Left side something had also come loose, not needed immediately so clipped and removed. Problem solved! Back brakes work better than ever.

Met our promoter friend Steve Todd there. Good to see him again. Loaded into the small venue and set up, more or less. Steve then took us to his buddy's place for BBQ and beers, all great and hit the spot. Good to chill for a bit and NOT be in the van.

Back at venue crowd already starting to build, that's good. Was hoping word had spread since last visit, and it had. My neck has been sore as shit since the previous morning so feeling a little stiff. But we tore into it and had a good crowd!

Weird thing about the bar, we played in front entry way divided into 2 alcoves. Me on one side, Eric and Rob on the other. Despite chair blocking door with taped sign "PLEASE USE SIDE DOOR" people kept walking in/out, meaning walking right thru us. No big deal. But then drunks would come up and talk to us between (and DURING) songs which got a little distracting. One guy came staggering up and mumbling gibberish, had to politely tell him stand over there with everyone else. At least the drunk lady who tried to give me a wedgie then later ate shit at the bar wasn't there...

New wireless works like a charm. Batteries last forever. Used it for all of Bethlehem set (90+ mins) and batt guage hadn't even moved. Sweet! Used it only for crowd walks at Jake's, didn't want to push my luck yet. At one point another drunk older guy was smiling and mimicking my stiff-neck head bob. Couldn't tell if he was enjoying himself or making fun of me. Put it out of my mind either way. Towards the end Brad the owner came in with his sax case, hell yeah he can sit in! He played for awhile in the corner, I kept motioning for him to get on the mic-- what he was doing sounded great! But he ket saying "That's not it..." We play a half-step down in Eb, guess that was throwing him off a bit. But he finally got on my mic and wailed last 2 songs. Awesome!

Fun show, great crowd. Small places are easy to fill \m/, That and Brad and Steve were taking great care of us (drinks). Before getting totally hammered we made sure to load the van and find out who we are following to where. Went back to Steve's buddy's house who had a full bar and pool table in the basement. And we put the PARTY in after-party... holy cow. End of night got real hazy real quick. I managed to beat Rob at pool,that was unexpected. Don't recall much about going to sleep,but woke up on living room couch, Eric on the loveseat nearby. Despite heroic alcohol consumption I managed to take off my shoes and contact lenses. We really let it all hang out, mainly cause we didn't have to go anywhere other than to sleep. Wow.

Thur July 28, 2011

2011-07-29T12:35:00.003-05:00

Bethlehem PA, Levitt Pavillion

Stayed cloudy and threatening rain for drive to Bethlehem, fine by us as no AC in Boss Hoss. Drive uneventful.

Bethlehem another beautiful town. Rolled into the Levitt Pavillion and were blown away by the scenery. Ruins of old stone factory buildings like Roman arches, decrepit warehouses and the coup de gras: the Bethlehem Steel Stacks, a huge closed down smelting refinery. Looked like the cover of a Black Sabbath album, and was featured in the opening scene of Transformers 2 (never saw it). The Steel Stacks made steel for the Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge and most skyscrapers in Manhattan. Now served as the Doom-tastic backdrop of the Levitt Pavillion outdoor stage.

Awesome way to begin a tour, playing a real stage and being treated (and PAID) like a real band, heh! Backstage area with dressing rooms and showers even. Deli trays to boot! Installed my new Shure SLX wireless into my rack. Much better over that Line6 toy which it replaced. Didn't even need the instructions to make it work. Turned it on and Hey! Stage sounded great, stage crew and pavillion staff were all awesome. Did an interview even in the green room. Hey we're a real band!

Soundcheck sounded massive. Used both Dietz's so had the wall of TONE going. Which on that concrete stage was almost a little *too* loud. But show went great, good crowd. MJ our PA street-teamer there with husband, our buddy Phil the superfan there with his dog. Good to see all of them. Feels like will take another show or two for me to knock the rust off, we haven't played as a band since Toronto few weeks back. We sounded fine, but I felt some slop on my end. Also using .50-105 strings as opposed to .45-105, extra string tension raised the action a bit.

Great set, crowd and staff loved it. Closed with "Voodoo Child" then an encore was requested. Went back out and blew their heads off (Rob got everyone to come forward) with "Blues Bullets" and we called it a sweat-soaked night.

Afterwards went with Phil and the pavillion stage mgr to the VIP Taproom for drinks. Not sure who was buying, but the Yuengling flowed like water and the owner sent us a pitcher with Jello shots. Good times. Even met Prince's saxophone player! That was unexpectedly awesome. I never caught his name but he was really nice.

Checked in at Holiday Inn in Allentown nearby and we had 4 rooms provided. Hell yeah, big time! Very good start to the tour. Morale is high, and feels like the brutal first run was a rite of passage to bigger and better things. And we do have some big things in the works, keep y'all posted.

Wed July 27, 2011

2011-07-29T12:03:00.001-05:00

Drive day. Change of plans en route to Bethlehem PA for gig Thursday. Our friend Todd Wagner from Flood City Music Fest called and offered to put us up for the night in Johnstown. Awesome! See some good people in a great town and save $$ on a hotel. Win/win.

Him and his wife's house and the tenement building next door were built I believe after the flood in the 30's and been in her family since day one. Cool guest house out back where Todd puts bands up. Walked to City View Restaurant for dinner, which is built into the works for Incline, a weird tracked monorail contraption that takes 2 cars (one up, one down) into the valley below. Great viewing balcony overlooking the valley with a plaque detailing the 1889 Great Flood which killed thousands.

From the river valley straight ahead from vantage point a broken earth dam sent a 37-foot wave which broke into 3 separate currents upon reaching the valley, all of which then converged and crashed against the cliff where the Incline now stands. A wave was sent upstream for 3 miles, and all debris caught in the flood wedged against a bridge and burned out of control for 2 days. Crazy shit man. But so beautiful there it's no wonder they rebuilt, several times.

Tue July 26, 2011

2011-07-26T19:51:00.002-05:00

Greetings from Boss Hoss, en route to Columbus OH for the night. First show of ETB second leg is Thursday in Bethlehem PA.

Could have updated this during brief vacation, but fuck it. Was too busy re-acclimating to civilian life, getting settled in at the new place, moving shit out of old place in 100+ degree heat, and spending quality time with Triniti and going to shows to see friends.

Had a final session with Stanley Man with Josh Zee and Tinidad Leal again, fuckin bad ass as were the last 2. Can't wait to hear the finished album, rough mixes kick some quirky rock n roll butt.

Living in Lakeway is nice, minus the drive and price of gas for my van. Temporary til can afford place in town. Tim Abbott and Tracey have been amazing in openin their home to T and I. Beautiful house, beautiful country. Just gotta keep an eye on my Chihuahua as a pair of hawks cruise the canyon daily.

Anyway, back on the road. Flew out this morning. Have a new wireless unit to try, a Shure SLX. Already looks better than that Line6 piece of crap I just sent back.

More to come, phone battery dyin...

Sun July 10, 2011 -- end of tour

2011-07-10T19:30:00.001-05:00

Wow.

Currently hauling ass across Michigan t fly out of Milwaukee at buttcrack of dawn. It's been a hell of a run. Border crossing took less time coming back into the US as it did Canada.

*edit*Saw that I never posted this, or finish it. Fuck it, here y'all go!

Thur July 7, 2011

2011-07-07T18:40:00.001-05:00

Greetings from Pointe Claire, Canada.

Sitting on the curb by Boss Hoss outside Calistoga Grill. Slightly more upscale bistro type joint with a small stage and a friendly sound guy. We'll see how it goes... Eric only using his Super Reverb to cut down on volume. Starting slow and quiet.

After check out this morning (noon) we drove to a Napa and Eric and Russ replaced the alternator and cleaned something connected to the air filter. Runs better now and starts just fine.

Last night in Ottawa at Rainbow Bistro was fun. Small crowd that built pretty decent during first set. We told everyone to go bring people in during setbreak, and I guess I worked! Heh. Really fun sets. Looking forward to our second night there tomorrow, should be a blast.

I had to use the strap from Cate Blanchett (backup bass) cause main strap still soaked from Montreal gig. Need to woodburn fretmarkers on her too. Wow that sounds weird. Did the same to Minnie Pearl (main bass) beginning of tour and it's helped immensely, especially with how bad I need a haircut. Miss far fewer notes now, heh.

Man. Can't believe this tour is already winding down. We left May 26 or so and have been on the move since. Been a total blur. Then 2 weeks off, and then right back out end of July thru beginning of September.

Wondering what my homecoming will be like. A lot has changed in Austin since we left. Lost a dear friend to all and very close friend of Rob the first night we were out. RIP Sergio Rangel, the best bartender in the world. You will be missed by many and for a very long time. Also returning with all of my belongings packed and moved. More on that later.

Wed July 6, 2011

2011-07-06T10:35:00.002-05:00

Greetings from Montreal!

My internet access is limited and physical/sensory overload kicking in so hard to keep up with this thing. Getting hard to remember where I was 3 days ago, and glad the hotels in Canada look different from ones in the States. They were all blurring into a labrynth of corridors with weird carpeting, kept forgetting which one I was in as I'd walk out the room and get turned around trying to find the stairs. I think we are in 225 here. Made a mental note of orientation from the elevator before I left for a smoke. I don't even know the name of this hotel.

Anyway. Montreal is a fuckin awesome city. Entered via this huge bridge, high above serpentine roller coasters of an amusement park to the right, city skyline to the left. Rue St.-Denis where Cafe Chaos almost feels like Austin. Total artist colony; boutiqes and bookstores, murals and street art, most people with colored hair, piercings and band t-shirts. Awesome.

Cafe Chaos had Room 710 kinda vibe, dirty little rock club. Alike in that the AC broke 2 weeks ago and was already a sweatlodge before loading in, and unlike because we had to load up a steep, narrow, rickety staircase. Damn. Weird sounding room, rubber shit on stage seemed to swallow my bass signal, but Rob could hear loud and clear.

Took awhile to motivate myself to go for a pic-walk. Should have been more gung ho that my camera (which I left at La Casbah previous night) was still on corner of the stage. But aforementioned overload took awhile to overcome.

Staff was all really cool people. Was awesome to watch a male and female bartender talk to each other, one in French the other English, and understand each other. Was like Star Wars, heh.

Before we went upstairs to begin our 2-hour set in the sweat lodge, in walks Phil from Albany, the ETB superfan who's been to 7 gigs in as many cities. He's gone from interstate to international. Awesome! Def lifted our spirits as we knew it was gonna be dead. So we let him call out first few songs, heh! Had us open with "Stonefire" and "Green Diamond pt 1". Good choice!

But set was still fun tho was hotter than the Continental Club stage back home. The remainders of a Jack Daniels bottle apearred, a few more people wandered in, and we got to watch Russell make friends with a lady at the bar. Good for him, heh! Rest of us are spoken for. Another piece came off Rob's fucked ride cymbal, expanding the huge bitemark that finally appeared at the Pittsburgh show, whenever that was.

Hanging with Phil after loadout we learned that he has a PHD in neuroscience. Holy fucking shit! Phil is sharp as a tack but figured he was more of a working man. Just wow. We will now refer to him as Dr. Phil \m/, We're trying to get him to wear a lab coat to our next show.

Must refill coffee. Over and out, for now.

Thur June 30, 2011

2011-07-02T14:35:00.001-05:00

Dover NH @ Fury's Publick House

So after Sellersville we piled into Boss Hoss, Russ at the wheel. He'd been drinking coffee all set so was good to go. Crazy how early the sun rises up here. First light at 4am, sun fucking UP at 5:45am. He drove all night and only pulled over because the sun was right in his face. I did my best to stay up as copilot but dozed a few times. Slept in the van at a rest stop. Sucked. Felt like shit. Stopped at a park to kill time before hotel check in. Bautiful path thru a grove of pines, and a pool that cost $7 to get in. Got a little more sleep at the hotel we got in Ballerica MA. I only know the city now as I write. Spent most of day not knowing what city, let alone state, I was in. Was kinda nice.

Was just out of it all day long. Weird de ja vu feeling from constant broken dream fragments and being totally worn out. Found the venue in Dover ok. Weren't sure we were actually on the bill until we got there. Show details were a little sketchy. But opening band, then us. Day was a blur and trying to remember it.

Small place, wood stage. Not sure what to expect crowdwise. Opener had some people, that was good. They were nice, playing with them again in Ogunquit ME.

We piled onto the small stage. Put the monitor on my SVT case to make more room onstage. Opened with the shuffle walkaround into "How Many More Times" and instantly blew everyone's minds. Rob called the funkified Muddy Waters cover we do to keep the people dancing. Good call. I like the freedom of this band, when we have lots of time to fill and no fixed setlist. Play what we feel. Crowd loved it, good times.

The owner of the Levitt theater where we play Sat was there, he's our good friend Taylor Perkins' dad. Gave us an envelope of "spending money" end of night. We hope it is a tip and not the other half of our guarantee that night... that will totally catch us up from the brink of financial riun...

So I took the wheel and we got Denny's end of night as we couldn't afford to eat at the venue. Was delish!

Wed June 29, 2011

2011-07-01T19:56:00.001-05:00

Sellersville PA @ Sellersville Theater

5 hour drive across Pennsylvania. Pretty much nothing to us now with some of the rides we've been on past month, and living in Austin, the Lonestar State is 4.5 to 9 hours in ever direction.

I've been to Sellersville before, when I was teching for King's X in 2009. When I saw the date for ETB I could picture the venue and the surrounding area clearly in my mind. Hell I even wrote about it in my blog here, look it up! Nice to return to a place and PLAY this time, heh.

Anyway, Sellersville Theater has been around since 1894. They show movies, have bands, and when we rolled up there was a girls dance recital just getting out of practice. Dawn the stage mgr and Dan (?) the soundguy were both awesome. Sounded fucking EPIC during soundcheck. Great to play a real venue with awesome sound system and nice stage. Best monitor system I've come across in awhile, heh.

Dawn took us to the Washington House Resaurant, built in 1896. Super swank and high end, as well as historic. $35 per man meal voucher, so we all had the finest meal of the tour. Much improved over Wendy's earlier that day. Has Asian glazed salmon with fried rice/edamame beans/cabbage/buncha other shit. Was amazing. On the way we asked about crowd projections. She said I ain't gonna lie, it'll be slow. Honesty ---> respect.

While eating, we noticed a guy scoping us, a fan who wanted to talk but didn't want to be rude and interupt our dinner. Which earned him extra points in my book. If you know anything about touring, if you see musicians sitting down to eat, that may very well be their first actual meal that day or perhaps several.

But he caught us as we were leaving. Took us into the parking lot to sign a guitar he just bought for said purpose. Wow. His name was Bob, was diabetic which limited his mobility, so he didn't get to shows much. But he appreciated us taking time to talk to him. Shit, he is paying to see us in a city we've never played and bought a guitar so we could be first to sign. You don't be a dick and blow such individuals off. Really bad form and lack of appreciation for the people responsible for us even havin music careers. Fans. We love them.

Had an actual green room as well. After awhile on the road you don't want to be in the venue, and you don't want to sit in the van. Green rooms serve as a happy medium. Had a shower and everything. Nice!

Anyway, we did one 2 hour set as opposed to 2 60's. And for never playing there before and a $15 cover, we had 40+ people there. Nice!!! Had a great show tho I felt a little off from lack of alcohol consumption. 1 or 2 beers really help grease the wheel so I don't have to think so much. Sounds weird but true. But great set and great crowd response despite everyone sitting down.

Met and hung with locals and staff after, they all loved us. Good night merchwise as well. An guess who came out again,Phil the superfan from Albany who's been following us around like the Grateful Dead minus the acid. Thanks Phil, you rock! Probably see you again in next few gigs \m/,

Tues June 28, 2011

2011-07-01T16:55:00.001-05:00

Pittsburgh PA at Thunderbird Cafe

Actually all the pics I posted on the previous entry I took on this day, as Monday was too drained to do much else but hang at MJ's. So this was the day I felt up to takin. Pic-walk. No biggie for continuity's sake.

Thunderbird Cafe was a small, cool, weird little place. Split into 3 levels, so had to load up a half flight of stairs. No biggie. Small stage and small band area, not counting the back upstairs lounge area. Sounded really good tho as wood stages usually do.

Decent crowd considering we didn't know what to expect, and small places are easier to fill \m/, One group of people saw us a Thunder in the Valley and reserved the front table. MJ and family grabbed the one next to it. Believe we opened with the shuffle walkaround, a cover-medley of a buncha songs which we segue into an instrumental jam of "How Many More Times" by Led Zeppelin. All with Eric walking around the bar via his wireless unit and me eventually joining him out there for a shot. My wireless unit's been fucked since Minneapolis early in the tour, so unfortunately my extendo-cord didn't reach the back bar.

Fun show to best of my recollection. Got done and crowd demanding an encore despite Eric ripping the strings off his '59 strat at the end. He has other guitars, heh.

Spent rest of evening drinking at bar and hanging with locals. Another show where we made a great impression and sold a decent amt of merch.

Mon June 27, 2011

2011-07-01T16:50:00.001-05:00

Well at least the drive from OH to Pittsburgh was a short little jaunt. We were all feeling a little frazzled so NOT spending all day in the van plus a day off was a treat.

Pittsburgh has a really awesome downtown. 2 rivers coverging with many yellow steel bridges spanning them, high cliffs on all sides, and the city planners really went nuts on the architecture. And in a good way. We were able to get the club rate on the Courtyard Marriot downtown for 2 nights. Sweet! And unlike most stupid-expensive hotels, the room internet was free. Awesome.

Spent the day with MJ our superfan and her husband and daughter. They treated us to beer and bbq, a formal sit-down dinner of steaks. Was awesome, wish we could show more appreciation than we already have. Fans like that really help us out, not only for feeding us and working as a street team, but that kind of moral support really goes a long way.

Sun June 26, 2011

2011-07-01T16:38:00.001-05:00

Spent Sunday on a white-knuckle ride on 311 thru the Blue Ridge Mountains in VA headed up to Pittsburgh. Was beautiful but harrowing, all hairpin turns and steep grades. Seemed less miles, but in hindsight wouldn't have taken that road in the van had we known what we were in for. Don't get m wrong, it was amazing. But it's also the kind of drive that wears you down as a driver (Eric) and a passenger alike.

Drove all freakin day, only to find there is no Chase Bank in Pittsburgh, or anywhere in PA. Suck, because a hotel deal on Priceline requires a credit or debit card. We had the cash just no means to deposit. And by the time we realized our predicament, it was too late to book anyway. Fuck.

Nearest Chase Bank was an hour away in Steubenville OH. Shit. So we piled back in, deposited some money (me enough to cover already-late phone bill). Found a hotel there and admitted defeat for the night.

Sat June 25, 2011

2011-06-28T15:28:00.001-05:00

Roanoke VA, Downtown Saloon

Not sure what happened on the drive down, either a ripple in the space-time contnuum or possible alien abduction, but the drive down from Johnstown took 8.5 hours. Much longer than initial projections. And I stupidly took late afternoon drive shift thru the Blue Ridge Mtns with beautiful lighting. The photographer in me was kicking himself in the ass.

Rolled into venue and our hearts sank. Another bar/grill joint. Really nice staff and sound engineer. But still. We want to be in venues, so initally was a kick in the teeth. Which sucked cause we needed said teeth for the awesome food there. Regrdless set up and started to play for about 20 people.

But a lot of familiar faces: people from Leesburg VA, and MJ and husband also made the time-bending trip down there. That was cool. But 3 songs in something amazing happened... crowd started to swell, and a packed house by end of first set. People up front rocking and everything. Turns out everyone got on thei phones, crowd and barstaff alike and told their friends: get down here RIGHT NOW.

Which was awesom, but starting with the shuffle crowdwalk to turn heads, was already a few drinks in by first 2 songs. Had to spend rest of set trying to maintain, heh. But def felt I was misfiring all 1st set.

But 2nd set was all epic rock n roll glory. Amazing crowd, best of the entire tour. We handed them their asses on a plate and they were dying for 3rds and 4ths. Dessert even. I ripped off a brand new set of strings because I felt obligated to. It was amazing. Totally cemented the fact that this band truly has something special going on, and we need to put ourselves into the position to take it to next level. Hung out getting sloshed with the locals and staff. Already talking return date. This pleasant surprise from what appeared on the surface to be a stinker. Awesome.

We were forewarned about the Ramada the venue put us up in. And they were correct. Total shithole. Lobby immaculate but one past it was ghetto terrible. People lived there. Only nice thing other than lobby was nice little creek running alongside the place. Rob slept in the van due to bugs jumping on him soon as he laid down. As a precaution I slept in a protective layer of gig clothes and avoided being under the covers if I could help it.

Welcome to life on the road.

Fri June 24, 2011

2011-06-28T14:09:00.001-05:00

Thunder in the Valley, Johnstown PA.

Boss Hoss tour shirts came in rght on shedule. Awesome. Got to Sleep in, ok. Bikers already pulling in and lawn chairs/coolers in grass next to hotel, bbq pit chained to a light pole.

For Thursday we rolled into biker rally/stage are and the skies opened just as we got to soundbooth tent. Pissing down. Then it stopped so we pulled in behind stage to load. Got 1/3 done and pissing down again. Had to wait and load right onto stage. Decent crowd for the weather. MJ the Pennsylvania superfan there with husband. Good set despite Rob playing w/out drum rug. He was chasing his kit all over the stage. I used both my 2x15's and it was indeed Thunder in the Valley.

Weather better for Friday. Johnstown has a really cool downtown. Lost in time, despite having been wiped out by biblical floods several times in the past.

Much better crowd this time! Hundreds watching from various vantage points. Rob had remedied the drum rug situation and was much happier. Started to sprinkle, causing all but diehards to run for the big tent. But then stopped by next song. For our closer "Voodoo Child" I asked everyone to come up front. "It's a biker rally, the rain has stopped and this is our last song!" And it actually worked, heh! 50+ people BAM up front. Would have felt like a dumbass had no one listened...

But great set, hung out and had drinks with Todd from Flood City Fest. Good times. Got back to hotel and full blown party next to building. Nice!!!

Thur June 23, 2011

2011-06-23T12:59:00.001-05:00

Greetings from the van, en route to Johnstown PA for 2 shows at the Thunder in the Valley biker rally. Should be awesome, hope it doesn't rain...

Last night in Leesburg was pretty fucking amazing. Very good crowd, one of the biggest of the tour. We threw down and blew the doors off the place, and the people loved it. Good night in tips and merch sales as well, we just got our koozies in and they look pretty damn sweet. Def planing a return date. And many thanks to owner Scott Warner for his hospitality.

Was good to stay in one spot for 2 days, and next 2 days will be like that as well. Plus we have 2 rooms, so I will actually have my own bed which will be nice. Don't get me wrong, Russ and Rob are cuddly motherfuckers.

Onwards to Thunder in the Valley! The new T-shirts will hopefully be in today!

Wed June 22, 2011

2011-06-22T13:26:00.001-05:00

Greetings from Leesburg VA.

Man this place is awesome. The downtown is older than the Revolutionary War. Big Civil War site as well, Gettysburg and Antietam not far away. In Downtown Saloon, the bar we're playing the ghost of a Union soldier has been seen my many.

Rolled in yesterday evening, missed most of the rain. We did a last minute pickup gig here last night, well received. Good sounding little room. Scott the owner has really rolled out the red carpet for us, and is letting us stay at his place. Much appreciated!!!

Another gig here tonight. Bring it on, gonna be fun. Downtown Saloon pretty awesome, the place i'd hang out if I lived here.

Tues June 21, 2011

2011-06-21T15:22:00.001-05:00

Greetings from outside Allentown PA. En route to Leesburg VA for 2 nights at Downtown Saloon.

Just downloaded a Blogger app for my Droid. Holy shit, prepare for Blogpocalypse 2011. Can even post pics from using this app. Watch this:

Stopped briefly for a new serentine belt as ours managed to destroy itself. Got the replacement caught on Flip video, took Eric and Russ 4:30 flat. Nice. Total delay: about 20 minutes.

Van was ready by hotel checkout, holy crap that was fast. Even with the replacement control arm flown in from TN. Back on track, Boss Hoss running arrow straight and cool as a cucumber.

Will be good to be in one place and 2 hotel rooms next 2 nights. We've been packed like sardines for almost 4 weeks.

More to come

Mon June 20, 2011

2011-06-21T00:05:00.003-05:00

Greetings from Rockaway NJ.

Day off, stuck here for repairs to Boss Hoss. Seems the pothole or bump in NYC that broco'd the van like we had hydraulics fucked up the front tire suspension to where the passenger tire was at a visible angle out of whack. No bueno. Should we have driven to Leesburg VA like that it could have fallen off and we could have died.

So we took into Sears automotive. Should be done by tomorrow afternoon and insurance will cover part/most of it since it was more shit happening than shit falling apart. Good news. Bad news is we will have to front $$ in meantime until claim goes thru. And we are already broke. Damn.

Regardless, we may be late to Leesburg tomorrow but we will make it in one piece, and get to rest next day as we are two nights at Downtown Saloon.

Rock on.

2011-06-18T20:20:00.002-05:00

Greetings from NYC!

Past few days have been grueling, not gonna lie. Montpelier gig was a bust all around, just a bad deal in general. It happens. Staff was great, but had 90db sound limit so of course Eric had to turn down. Heading toawards NYC after the gig without enough $$ for a hotel, so slept in the van at a rest stop. Started raining and thunder soon as we parked.

Stopped for laundry in White Plains then on to Mercury Lounge in the Lower East side. Thunder rolling in, rain imminent. Past the venue and broco'd the van on bumps, fucked up front end. That will need out attention. Loaded in the rain with the help of another band, I let them use my bass for their soundcheck and they wanted to return the favor.

Had a sandwich in the van, that a banana and a free donut from some guy at the rest stop were all I ate yesterday. Hence my mood and energy level. Sleepingin the van didn't help. But gig did. Played a short blistering set an blew the doors off the place. Felt much better after that. Beers afterwards, met @mrdavehill from Twitter, who was playing the late show.

Headed into New Jersey w/no hotel lined up. That was a mistake but Priceline.com was over for th night. After many wrong turns, false leads and frayed nerves found a Holiday Inn Exress in Jersey City. Have a hotel res for tonight and have had 2 full meals today, so still tired and worn out but feeling better.

2 sets tonight at Stout NYC. Rock on!

2011-06-13T15:51:00.002-05:00

Greetings from Boston MA.

Playing Church of Boston tonite. Currently sitting in Boss Hoss in parking lot of said venue, all of on our phones and Eric on his laptop as well, tying up loose ends now that we have steady phone signal. TCB

Drive from Chicapoo uneventful, wx fair and sunny. And to think it's 100 degees back home. But van has no AC.

About to run to a Target to buy a Flip 4G, for purposes of video blogs and general documenting of dumb shit. Look for that coming soon as well, in addition to continued updates on FB and Twitter.

2011-06-12T23:44:00.002-05:00

Greetings from Chicopee MA!

Not sure where the hell we are, en route to Boston for gig at Church of Boston tomorrow and hopfully vocal tracking for Chicago soundstage recordings. We are here cause the brakes went out.

Russ driving, suddenly he's pushing the pedal to the floor to slow down. We pull over and Eric pulls th tire. Brakeline came loose. He fixed but clamps holding calipers going so still wonky. I direct us via phone GPS to an Autozone in the ghetto. That was interesting but not as bad as sounded. They also didn't have caliper so Eric replaced shoes on both front tires in 24 minutes flat. Good to have a mechanic in the band. Found another place at closing for caliper, got that on in a truckstop parking lot.

So after about 4 hours Boss Hoss was good to go and we were back on the road. Morale still good, getting to the meat and bones of this leg of dates. Need to get on my laptop and post pics.

Until then, will report in when I can.

2011-06-12T11:23:00.002-05:00

Greetings from Horseheads NY

Heading to Boston today, play there tomorrow. Drove all day from Brighton MI to get here. Played at Jake's Bar downtown. Another gig that well-exceeded low expectations. PA this time but no stage. We set up in two nooks by the front door. Brad the owner wanted to keep dart machine running on my side, but that proved to be an impossibility. Brad was great and very accommodating. Gig went well, not huge crowd but people there digging it. Walking the crowd a drunk lady grabbed the back of my pants to pull m towards her. Then she grabbed my boxers and tried to give mea wedgie... wtf?!? She later fell and ate shit at the bar. Karma.

Aftershow hijinks not nearly as legendary as 2 nights ago in Brighton, which was caught on video. Hung out with some good people and a few annoying drunks at the bar. Brad paid us extra in addition to our guarante. Thanks man! Same thing hapened in Brighton the prev night, paid a bonus to guarantee + tips. Made these last two nights quite profitable. Good deal.

Boston, you are next!

2011-06-09T21:19:00.001-05:00

Greetings from the van, somewhere in Michigan.

En route to Brighton outside of Detroit for gig at Stonefire Bistro tomorrow night. Then head straight to Horseheads NY fr gig Saturday.

Today was long but good. Awoke in a funk, nothing I want to get into but not optimal mood for doing a live soundstage recording and having to get up at 7:30am either. Loaded into the Mayne Stage in Chicago in the rain. Great room , great stage. Set up and gave it hell on little sleep and empty stomachs. Brief playbacks we heard sounded pretty damn good. Can't wait to hear finished product.

Will post updates from the road and full recap as time allows. Until then, keep checking in!

2011-06-06T18:45:00.003-05:00

Greetings from Madison WI.

My internet has been spotty as we've been at Eric's parents' place in Richland Center. Will begin recap prolly next few days, need to upload camera and phone pics.

So far so good. Van problems which are being remedied. Shows cut short or cancelled. Good venues and shitholes. Gear failure, coyote hunts and run-ins with locals. Good times.

At the High Noon Saloon tonite. Great stage, great sound! Everyone real nice. Sitting at the restauran nearby for hopefully discounted or comped dinner. My wireless tranmitter is fucking up, thought it was battery snap but no dice. Sucks cause crowd walks are a big part of our show. Guess it'll be barrel connector and extra cord, again. Should be a good show, Eric's old stomping grounds, or close to them at least.

Fuck yeah, this site now has a visible cursor so editing won't be a pain in the ass. Hello more blog updates! Sweet.

More to come....

ETB Summer Tour Kickoff countdown

2011-05-26T11:10:00.002-05:00

Feels like prepping for D-Day, which I guess I am in a way.

Maybe should have done more in the previous days but fuck it. Still need to pack and pickup CDs from Affordable Sound. Sign an return contract for Magnetic Eye Recordings, details on that coming soon. Load gear from Goldie Hawn to Boss Hoss in pre for tonight. Pick up tubes for SVT, which I haven't heard from the guy all week and that worries me now. Early load in at Headhunters, we have an 8:30pm interview with Stephanie's Rock Show. Then blow the doors off the place, say goodbye to friends and family while trying to manage somehow NOT getting drunk, then get home at 3am to be on the road by 8am. Ouch.

Here are the dates for this first leg. I will report as often as I can, also follow us on Facebook and Twitter: @erictessmerband, @dannygrocks, @russetb, @ robdisaster.

Fri May 27 Ft Smith AR @ Webby D's
Sat May 28 Kansas City MO @ Trouser Mouse
Mon May 30 St Louis MO @ Old Rock House
Thu Jun 2 Eau Claire WI @ House of Rock
Fri Jun 3 Minneapolis MN @ Whiskey Junction
Sat Jun 4 Yuba WI @ Full Throttle Bar
Mon Jun 6 Madison WI @ High Noon Saloon
Tue Jun 7 Chicago IL @ tba
Sat Jun 11 Horseheads NY @ Jake's Saloon
Mon Jun 13 Boston MA @ Church of Boston
Thu Jun 16 Manchester NH @ Milly's Tavern
Wed Jun 22 Leesberg VA @ Downtown Saloon
Thu Jun 23 Johnstown PA @ Thunder in the Valley
Fri Jun 24 Johnstown PA @ Thunder in the Valley
Sat Jun 25 Roanoke VA @ Martin's Downtown
Tue Jun 28 Pittsburg PA @ Thunderbird Cafe
Wed Jun 29 Sellersville PA @ Sellersville Theater
Thu Jun 30 Dover NH @ Fury's Publick House
Fri Jul 1 Framingham MA @ Chicken Bone
Sat Jul 2 Ogunquit ME @ Ogunquit Theater
Mon Jul 4 Quebec City Canada @ Le Cercle
Tue Jul 5 Montreal Canada @ La Sala Rossa
Wed Jul 6 Ottawa Canada @ The Rainbow Bistro
Thu Jul 7 Pointe-Claire Canada @ Calistoga Grill
Fri Jul 8 Ottawa Canada @ The Rainbow Bistro
Sat Jul 9 Toronto Canada @ The Silver Dollar Saloon

Until then, Let There Be Rock

2011-05-25T12:37:00.003-05:00

Taking care of last minute things before heading out with ETB.

So survived Rapture Day in Georgetown TX, playing Hardtails. And to be honest I was more worried about the tornadic severe thunderstorm passing just north of us, and that the stage was outdoor, and metal, and not covered in case it rains. Which it looked like it was going to do just that. So after soundcheck we moved our amps back inside the cutout metal cargo trailer which served as a drumriser/green room/storage locker. Amps sounded like ass back there, but at least they'd stay dry. Checking the weather on my phone app had 4 separate weather warnings for Georgetown: Sever Thunderstorm Warning, Tornado Warning, Flood Advidory, Severe Thunderstorm Watch. Nice.

But we played a good set despite some sound problems, but no big deal. Got sprinkled on a little but never rained like sky was threatening to, and we could not see the spectacular lightning display forking over our heads. Good times.

Monday was our last Monday at Friends, for several months at least. Was a decent night, we are all exhausted but played our asses off anyway. Gonna miss that place. Almost felt like a graduation of sorts, which I hope that's just what it will be.

Yesterday wound up helping Rob with his new drum case, adding a separator and installing handles in the sides. Works like a charm, good to use my power tools again and get some dude time with Rob and Eric before we hit the road. Then went for a nice dinner with Triniti at Uchi Sushi on S Lamar. Matthew McConoughay was there, cool. Had some really good whatever the hell it was we ate and some amazing beers. But after spending almost $100, we were still hungry so went to the food trailers down the street \m/,

Today restocked some toiletries and got a proper laptop bag. Have already gotten a British camo jacket for $20 and a new overnight bag. My shit is falling apart. Still need to pick up my last minute run of 15 "Ocean of Stars" albums to take on the road. (Edit: they called as I typed, turns out I had 30 digipacks left. Sweet!) Affordable sound had some problems with the art I gave them but they'll being done right. Stocked up on cigarettes as well, Amercan Spirits can be hard to find on the road.

Tonight having a going away bbq/get-together with ETB and our friends. Thursday we blow the doors off Headhunters for our tour kickoff.

WILL REPORT FROM THE ROAD!!!

2011-05-20T10:17:00.003-05:00

Got called into work last night.

ETB didn't realize we were on the bill for Friends. We are already playing there tonight. Got the call at 9:30pm. So Rob and I rushed to get our gear and go. I didn't even have time to eat dinner or take a shower. We had been loading Boss Hoss with Rob's new drum cases to see how/if everything would fit before we loaded for the tour and found out it didn't. Then burgers at Culvers and another song-writing session which went very well. New stuff really coming along. Was planning on hitting Continental Club to see Grady with Trinidad Leal on drums, but alas. It can be good to get called in when you could use the money, and it was a pretty good show so win/win.

About to get ready to head north for the session with Stanley Man today. We got together Wednesday for a rehearsal. Same team, myself, Josh Zee and Trinidad. Fucking awesome. Can't wait to hear the final product for all of this.

Still negotiating my own record deal and finally making progress, would like to have it all finalized and in motion before we leave next week.

Gotta run, y'all.

2011-05-16T10:35:00.002-05:00

Next two weeks are going to be a shitstorm, in a good way.

Prepping to leave town til mid-July with ETB. Writing a new ETB EP in the meantime which we will record in Madison WI on tour. We came in third for the Samsung thing and they still want to give us $5000 for recording. We will take it! Shows over the weekend at BD Riley's and Phoenix Saloon in New Braunfels were all kinds of awesome. Saw Dixie Witch Thursday night at Emo's with The Roller and Russell Abbott's (Super Heavy Goat Ass) new band Fur King. Great show, good times. Talking to Curt from DW afterwards learned a very valuable piece of gear lore that I can't believe I didn't know, and wish I had known sooner. My SVT can run TWO 4-ohm cabinets. Shit. Guess I should have read the manual! (But mine didn't come with one, heh).

Anyway, here's how my week is shaping up:

TODAY:

Bank to deposit a Teacher Retirement System IRA check. Had an IRA from when I worked at ACC years back. Have not worked in education since so I could roll it over or cash it out. Went for option B, and it will allow me to retube my SVT, have bills paid, and have some money to take on the road. ETB practice 12-3pm. ETB tonight at Friends 9:30pm til close.

Tuesday:

12pm-8pm marathon ETB writing session. If gets out early will swing by Saxon Pub and catch part of Moonlighters happy hour set (Josh Zee of TMT, Lonnie from Deadman, couple cats from Stonehoney and Shurman as well).

Wednesday:

Practice for another recording session with Stanley Man, again with Josh Zee on guitar and Trinidad Leal on drums. Gonna be awesome all over again. No gig at Speakeasy, due to mis-communication we have next 2 Wednesdays there off, they thought we'd be out of town but weren't due to Air India Pilot strike. Well shit. If I didn't have the TRS check I would be very worried about losing 2 money gigs b4 going out of town.

Thursday:

Recording session with Stan has been moved to Friday, so probably ETB jam instead. Then maybe go downtown with Triniti and see what kinda trouble we can get into.

Friday:

Rescheduled session with Stanley. Then pack up rig to load in at Friends 6:30pm. Early set with ETB 7:30-11pm.

Saturday:

ETB plays Hardtails, a biker bar in Georgetown TX. Sounds pretty awesome.

Sunday:

12-3pm ETB jam scheduled. Probably have a going-away brunch here at House of DDT.

So yeah. And in between I need to spend time with my lady, my family coming up next wknd for lunch since I have ZERO time to head down to Corpus Christi. Restock toiletries for the road. Buy strings, buy tubes, pay bills, refill asthma med prescrip.

2011-05-08T12:17:00.003-05:00

I have not been keeping up with this Blog very well, and I apologize to my 8 loyal readers!

Last night played the Pitter Pat Gathering, a big backyard party out past the Y in Oak Hill. Was awesome! Like the entire crowd that hangs out behind the Continental Club all in one spot. The owners had recently built a proper stage, which was really good. Did 3 songs on bass with Tinpot Messiah, Tim Abbott from the Figurado's solo band. Last minute deal, as I was supposed to be flying to India for an ETB tour yesterday, but will get to that. Good people, good food and great music. John Smith and The Drakes really brought it. Awesome awesome awesome.

As for the Samsung Sidekick 4G promo:

ETB came from behind to take 3rd in the online voting portion. We'd like to thank our fans and the Samsung people who were all super cool and very helpful in the 2 phone giveaway shows we did during that time period, one at the Dirty Dog and another for a Red Cross benefit for Alabama tornado victims. But Samsung is feeling generous with all the promo that the band in turn gave the new Sidekick and seems that tho we lost to Jake Miller they want to hand out some concillation prizes for the other bands. Cool, will see what's up on Tuesday I believe.

The winner Fred with us at Molotov for the Red Cross benefit, photo by Triniti Young

So yeah, lot going on.

The ETB India tour has been postponed til September or so, as there was a massive Air India pilot strike which was grounding most international and regional flights for an indeterminate amount of time. Meaning that we could probably get INTO the country, but then we'd be flying from city-to-city for gigs, meaning chance of getting stranded somewhere were more than 100%. That and the death of Bin Laden made for a hairy time to be travelling abroad... so not the end of the world, we now have 3 more months to add more dates and reschedule/promote the ones we had. Sweet.

In gear news, I now have 2 fully functioning bass rigs. First time in a long time. And actually have played them both a few times, sounds like GOD. The SVT running the Mergilli Dietz replica 2x15, and the Fender TB-600 running my new Emi-loaded Dietz 2x15. TONE!

Still hammering out the details of my solo label deal. Have literally been too busy to really focus on that and get everything finalized. But I am off thru Wednesday, so that and mowing the lawn are on my to-do list.

2011-04-20T21:21:00.003-05:00

SO much going on.

Yesterday ETB did a Samsung promotional training/contest thing for the launch of the new Sidekick 4G phone. Played a few songs for some Samsung reps, who filmed it on the new phones, the vids of which will be posted online for voting. If we win could be huge. Will post a link when I get one. Pretty cool, we got free phones as well! Awesome.

In gear news, saw another beat to shit Dietz 2x15 on Craigslist. I couldn't afford to buy it myself, so Eric bought it to harvest the EV's from it for his Vibroking. Then he sold me the enclosure $100. Which I then put some Eminence Delta 15's courtesy of Austin Vintage Guitars into it. Haven't fully tried it out yet, was going to tonight at our residency gig at Speakeasy but Rob threw his back out after our ETB business meeting this afternoon. He's improving, but I will not be trying out new gear at Antone's tomorrow...! So will just use my custom cab or the house Dietz tomorrow, we play with Damesviolet.

Our manager Stephen flew out from Chicago for the Samsung thing yesterday and had a meeting with us today. Got the India dates for next month, the first leg of summer US/Canada tour are just about solidified and the second leg dates are falling into place nicely. Sweet. Good to be busy, good to be traveling, good to be WORKING. Dates are up at my Facebook page.

2011-04-11T11:06:00.002-05:00

Going to be a busy week.

Going to HAAM today to renew for another year. Yay medical coverage. Photo shoot for ETB at 4pm, then residency gig tonight at Friends.

Over the weekend had a 6-hour ETB band rehearsal. First actual band practice with Rob as well as being a three-piece. Felt really good tho was like a Louisiana bayou in Hyde Park Showdown's practice room, which they allowed us to commandeer for the afternoon. Tightened up some existing stuff and worked on some new.

We will be squeezing in ETB rehearsals whenever possible for the coming week. We have been chosen to be part of a Samsung promotion for the new Sidekick phones. Will relay details when I find out if I am allowed to even talk about it. Could be pretty huge. bring it on.

Yesterday spent the day with Eric and our photographer friend Cameron at his place shooting pics of our guitars for an in-the-works ETB phone app. Pics look great and app idea is sheer genius. Will also relay details when I get them. Did I mention the pics look great? Total gear erotica. Our guitars are beautiful in all their beat-to-shit glory. And with these pics (had guitars hanging from ceiling by fishing line) you can see every nick/chip/ding/gouge/scar/jager spill on them. Front, back, top, bottom views. They look like catalog photos or something in the centerfold of Guitar World Magazine. Nice!!!

Gotta run.

2011-04-04T17:48:00.002-05:00

Busy busy busy.

Played 6 nights in a row with ETB the week after SXSW. Played 5 shows last week and had a studio session with my good friend Tim Abbott, who is tracking some solo stuff. As a result the nail on my right index finger is peeling back from the skin. Ouch. Hazards of the industry, heh.

I love my job. Tim doing some tracking at a nice little home studio out in Lakeway run by a cool guy named Tom. Insisted I run direct into a pricey tube preamp in lieu of my rig. I hate running direct, but his tube pre was really really nice and it saved me from carrying twice my weight in bass gear up a flight of stairs, and then back down. So there ya go. Busted out 4 songs, with minimal prep time on my end (was very busy, and demo CD was pretty bare-boned, hard to write basslines without a drum track). I was a little concerned walking into the session. But took notes for chord changes and just let it flow for the rest. Tim was very pleased \m/,

ETB had a fill-in drummer last weekend as Rob was busy Friday and Saturday night with prior engagements. Had a kid named Adrian whom our good friend Dave Scheer recommended. We trust his judgement, and sure enough Adrian did great! Was able to jump into the covers, and had obviously listened to the CD Eric gave him several times. That was awesome. Def keep his name on the list should Rob be busy again in the future.

Have also bumped into Michael McDaniel several times downtown since he resigned his post from ETB. Always amicable, always friendly. Which is great cause Michael is a great guy and we will continue to cross paths. Tim Abbott mentioned wanting to work with a horn player and keys player for future recordings, told him I know a guy and will get him Michael's contact info. Be cool to do some sessions with him, brilliant fucking musician. Best of luck to his new solo efforts as well.

Tonight ETB @ Friends, Wed @ Speakeasy, then Friday at the Salt Lick. Slow week, heh! May do another session with Tim this week/weekend. Also talked to Stanley Mann about another session. The stuff we did with Josh Zee and Trinidad Leal came out pretty fucking stellar, the loud rock really complimenting Stan's clever quirkiness. Hopefully we can arrange something before May, as I get hella busy with ETB from then on out.

Have also had little if any time to look over the contract with Magnetic Eye Recordings. Just busy as hell, but sent Mike a msg today saying I'd try to get back to him about it mid/late week. He said no problemo and no worries, take your time. Looking forward to working with me, and asked what size shirt I wear so he can send me a Magnetic Eye Recordings t-shirt. Awesome!

I love making good music with good people.

2011-03-26T12:24:00.006-05:00

The Austin Chronicle Music Awards poll results are out!

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Awards/MusicAwards

Eric Tessmer Band did pretty damn good. #5 Blues Band, #5 Guitar Player, #18 album and #13 song. Sweet! Was hoping to make the bass player list, but alas skunked again. Even tho it's more a measure of popularity than merit, still feels pretty good that we placed.

Have received the contract from the upstart indie label, still looking over and may have an entertainment lawyer check it out to help clear up some lingo. Seems pretty standard, but I guess if contracts weren't written in gobbledygook there would be no need for entertainment lawyers, heh! Very excited about the whole thing, that is for sure. Contacted Scott Reeder about mastering the re-release of 'Ocean of Stars,' a little name recognition attached to it never hurts.

Thought I was going to have Thur/Fri off, but ETB got called into The Speakeasy and Friends, respectively. No problemo there, still recovering from Jan/Feb which are always a slow time of year to be playing music.

Shows have been good all week as well. The taping at Venue 222 on Tuesday was awesome, can't wait to see the video. Went up and blew out 4 songs, playing our guts out and at top volume! Hope they got my awesome bass toss end of set, heh. During the noise finale my bass Minnie Pearl took a spill. No damage upon visual inspection. Rest of the night was fun as well, good bands playing and fashion shows between sets. I like playing events.

Looks like we will be doing a Wednesday residency at the Speakeasy now. Which has several benefits: better payout than our old Maggie Mae's slot, nice big venue with great stage, don't have to deal with 6th Street, and Russell (ETB sound tech) also runs sound there several nights a week so he's quite familiar with the ins/outs of the sound system. During soundcheck realized very quickly that something was amiss with Minnie. Action all weird and even open strings fretting out. Well shit, guess the spill she took knocked her neck outta whack. Loosened the strings, tightened down the neck screws, reset the action and she was good to go. I love knowing how to work on my own gear. Decent show to the best of my recollection.

Speakeasy called us in for Thursday as well. Sure, why not! Had a decent crowd this time. Our other shows there have suffered a bit from lack of 6th Street foot traffic, and people walking by aren't the kind that would listen to us, or if they did come in it was to go upstairs to the loft bar. But as we started (and we started light) a bunch of people came downstairs, stopped, then all took tables where they stood. Which was funny, cause they partially obscured the path to the stairs, so people coming in would walk past the stage, turn right, then have to double back thru the tables. And this happened all night. But great response from the people there, and the staff all seem pretty cool. Def a venue I hope we can build on, tho less foot traffic we could probably still attract more regulars who don't want to deal with 6th Street.

Then yesterday we found out that we are indeed playing at Friends, which we probably agreed to then canceled as we had same night booked at Maggie's. But then Maggie's gave us the boot and the night was free, and still penciled in apparently. So sure, we'll work some more! And Friday means early set so we could theoretically be done, loaded and leave before they even put the barricades up on 6th Street. Which is exactly what happened. Nice to watch the crowd build. Empty for start. Few people there after 1st song, then increased exponentially as night went on. Great set. Walking the crowd with Eric, some drunk girl got up onstage and started rocking out. Nice that we had that affect on her, but had to watch her out of corner of my eye to make sure she didn't knock anything over... heh. Feels great playing with Rob, and we're really kicking ass as a 3-piece. We also bumped into Michael McDaniel on the way in, was really good to see him, and no hard feelings in the least. He recently split to do his own thing, which worked out for all involved as stylistically he didn't fit as well once we had Rob in the picture. He is also one of the most all-around brilliant musicians I've ever met, so yeah. He will be fine.

In general life news, went to DPS yesterday and got my drivers' license renewed. FINALLY got my hard copy of my Occupational license earlier this week, and was quite confused about it expiring on Friday. So I waited how many months and paid $140 in fees for it to just go BAD right away?!? DPS explained that my period of license suspension ends on 3/25. But calling in it was a 50/50 split if I could go in on Friday to renew, or would have to wait til Monday and not be able to drive AT ALL all weekend. But finally got someone on the horn and went in yesterday. $10 and 90 minutes later and I have a paper copy! ANd the experience wasn't too bad. A good mix of normal people, folks who looked like they just arrived off a Greyhound bus from the pen in Huntsville, and a lovely lady primping for her DL photo with part of a succulent ass cheek peeking from beneath her miniskirt. Worth the price of admission.

SO yea! No more drive log, and no more limited hours I can drive. Have a pretrial court date on Tuesday, which I keep thinking is tomorrow for some reason. That's what happens when you only have one day off after SXSW and then play 6 nights in a row. ETB tonight at BD Riley's, speaking of which.

SXSW Day 4 -- Saturday March 19, 2011

2011-03-21T14:59:00.003-05:00

Good Lord.

Woke up Sat morning with my body aching and my ears still screaming. And not just bathroom hand-dryer white noise and a constant high-pitched whine. My right year was reacting to certain noises by adding short bursts of an additional pitch, kinda like the "ping" when you bounce a basketball. Needless to say I had tissue in that ear most of the day whether I was around noise or not.

Day was going to begin early, going by Trophy's with Triniti Young so she could sell merch for Adrian and the Sickness and Bug Girl. Caught a few songs and took a few pics, but had to then go load in to Dogwood for the ETB SX360 event that evening. Turns out was good that I couldn't drop off my PA at storage on Friday evening (got there at 9:09pm and they closed at 9pm), as we needed it for the gig after all. Well that worked. Got everything in the venue, missing the band that was playing who were apparently really really good. But was able to swing back by Trophy's to get T and chill at the house for a bit before heading back downtown. Had a minor coronary when amp rental guy said he'd have my SVT for me at 10pm. Um, I need it at 6pm latest and I've told you that at least twice. But he was able to accommodate and get my amp back to me.

But getting it was a paragraph unto itself. Festival stage set up on 6th Street east of I-35. The street was not blocked off in any way shape or form, but people were wondering into it like cows anyway. Just pulling up next to the fence was a nightmare. One can never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups. You see my van coming, you just looked at me, and walked right out in front of me anyway. Just, wow. Darwin Award just waiting to happen. But I managed to grab my amp and not kill anyone in the process.

Back to Dogwood on W 6th and loaded my amp in right in time for soundcheck, which was awesome cause I still had to park. Finally parked next to Eric in the McElroy parking lot at West and 10th Street. A four-block walk, but at least no cows wondering into the street.

And we already had a great crowd for the ETB set. Sun going down, cooling off, good sized stage to move around on. Despite my underpowered PA cutting out when driven too hard, we had a great set and brought the house down. Even before the crowd walk drinks began appearing onstage. Which we accepted, of course! We all earned a good drunk at this point, tho Rob took it easy as he still had another set after ours. Had everyone up and moving, Eric walking on the bar. More drinks. Good times! End of set switched out basses to break the strings off my backup -- main bass had new ones from previous night, and backup strings needed to go anyway. I rock, but am also frugal, stings are expensive man!

Good times hanging with people in the crowd afterwards. Caught a little of Rob's set with Street Light Suzie next door through the window en route to collect the van. Looks like they were having a rockin time. Afterwards Rob looked very, very tired. Eric and I quite drunk at this point as well, and like I said it was a good and well-deserved drunk. And neither of us were driving, so bonus! Good times, and we survived another SXSW.

Sunday Night went to Headhunter's for Adrian and the Sickness and One-Eyed Doll. Was not ready to stop rockin just yet, heh.

The door guy John from Sunday was there and very apologetic for Friday night's SNAFU. I told him no worries, wasn't his fault, and we still got to play and had a blast. Too bad Trin and I weren't in much of a get-shitfaced mood, as he was giving us free Lonestars all night. That was very cool of him. Saw same sound guy and pulled him aside to apologize to him in case he thought I was an asshole. He was cool as shit about it, very understanding and no hard feelings whatsoever. That felt good. I was really feeling down that I may have been a dick the other night, especially to the staff of one of my fave watering holes. Then Steve the owner came up and also apologized for the SNAFU and said we really really sounded great. I told him no problem and no worries, we still got to play and we still had a blast when all was said and done.

Good people, man.

SXSW Day 3 -- Friday March 18, 2011

2011-03-21T14:20:00.008-05:00

Friday evening began with yet another parking miracle.

Eric Tessmer Band playing Headhunters that night, filling in for the mighty Brewtality Inc, who had to cancel as their singer/guitarist/longtime HH employee continues to battle cancer. We were honored to do so, and were more than happy to get the call.

Driving over the S 1st bridge fireworks were going off on Auditorium Shores. "Wonder how many rejected band SXSW applications paid for that?" I wondered out loud. And downtown was a maelstrom of music-types and tourists. Honked at more than a few dumbasses who would wander into the street into the path of an oncoming and over-loaded van.

But the night began not without hitches. I have done some amp rental in the past with a guy named Travis, good friend of good friends. He had completely re-tubed my SVT in order to bring it back into use. His rental of it didn't quite cover the repair bill, so when he called last minute on Tuesday or so I was more than happy to help out. But in a mix-up he rented my amp out when I needed it for the HH show later that night. No worries, he had a backup. It was an SVT-Classic, which I am not a fan of. But it was a working bass amp and it would not blow the speakers out of my new cab. He needed it back after the show and would have mine ready by Saturday's evening show. Coolio.

And again, snagged an amazing parking spot thanks to my partner in crime Triniti. She saw the space right next to Headhunters as we were three cars back at the light on 8th/Red River. So she ran out and stood. And just like that, I had the perfect space to load/unload for our set later on. Danny G: 2, SXSW: 0!!!

So T and I wade into the sea of bodies to Chupacabra for the Austin 420 Magazine showcase, whom we both write/take pics for. And what a sea of humanity. Street noise, drunk noise, good and terrible bands, a drumline navigating the busy crowd. Saw a familiar tattoo on the bicep of the guy in front of me. Grabbed his shoulder and said, "And then there's THIS guy!!!" It was my good friend and bro JRAB. He was stage managing an earlier festival show and was now free to roam the streets with a buddy of his. He was for sure coming to the ETB midnight set at HH.

Found Chupacabra OK, but didn't find editor Vincent Lopez right away. But found him on the side patio in the merch area, and the three of us caught up and talked business. Vincent tho confined to a wheelchair is an imposing figure, his energy taking up more space then him and his chair combined. He has a greater vision for the Austin 420 Magazine. Wants to lose the stigma of it being a stoner rag with half-assed bands (which it never was to begin with) and turn it into a cultural force to at least raise awareness and at most change the fucking world. Kudos to him, it's awesome to work with people who have a greater vision. And he does have big, big plans for the magazine this year. Which you will all be hearing about very very soon. Makes me feel proud to be a part of something.

Oh, and I gotta mention the Yoda Backpack Guy. Standing on the patio saw a guy with a backpack, like Yoda when Luke Skywalker was carrying him around on his back in Empire Strikes Back. Mentioned it was awesome and had T take our picture. Which then opened a huge can of spaceworms. The guy just uncorked about the site he got it from, barely conataining himself when he mentioned the C3PO backpack like when Chewbacca was carrying him disassembled in Cloud City. And they sell the Taun-Taun sleeping bag, which he sleeps in every night. Uh, check please. Wow. One of us is so NOT getting laid tonight...

But time to go so headed back to HH to see what was going on. This time wisely taking 7th Street to Red River, to avoid the churning river of human beings. Get back to Headhunters, and turns out things are running very, very behind. T and I headed to Valhalla (formerly Room 710, RIP) for a time-killing beer. Can't even make use of the upstairs loft and air hockey table as it is blocked off for a showcase. You gotta have a wristband to use the air hockey table? Well fuck a bunch of that. Smoked ciggies and people watched.

Back at HH things going from bad to worse. Show running VERY VERY late, as there was a label who dropped a sizeable amount of coin to throw a showcase. No problem there, but add onto that bands that play too long, fire marshall visits, and the lack of Billy Milano running the stage, and we are standing outside with our gear and our dicks in our hands at 1:30am. We were supposed to play at midnight, or 12:30 at the latest. A lot of the people who came to see us had to leave after waiting an hour. Needless to say, we were not happy. Even I was pulling people aside and going "What the fuck is going on here?!?" I even had it out with the sound guy as well, which I was not proud of doing so. And it wasn't just a crappy little showcase we were playing with big dreams of maybe getting noticed or signed. All three of us have a connection with that place: the three of us playing multiple shows there, and Rob as a former employee. Add onto that we are doing a favor for an ailing brother in arms, Houston, who's band we were invited to fill in for. That in itself is an honor. But now it is 1:45 and the band before us is still onstage.

But we had a plan in place: we are GOING TO PLAY, we are GOING TO BE FUCKING LOUD, we are going to BLOW THE DOORS OFF THE PLACE, and we would be playing UNTIL THEY DRAGGED US OFFSTAGE.

We did all of those, but the last part was not needed as they let us play from 1:55am until 2:30. With most of the staff rocking out. Even Steve the owner was at the side of the stage. Saw him gesticulating out of the corner of my eye, thought he was pointing to his watch. No, he was dancing \m/,. Awesome. Tho we had no time to soundcheck, I had no time to dial in the loaner head, or tune my bass, or even put in ear plugs. I rocked so hard that 3 songs in I thought I was going to throw up onstage. Which I should have, it's Red River, for fucks' sake! But alas the feeling passed. By end of set we had given every ounce of energy, anger and frustration. And had used that energy to melt everyone's face. It was awesome, glad we stuck it out and showed the out-of-towners who is Boss. Welcome to Austin, Remember to Leave.

Tho I thought that loaner amp sounded less that desirable, immediately had someone in the crowd compliment my bass tone. Well there ya go ;) The tone was dirty as shit, but was fitting for the venue and crowd, and energy. However, without earplugs my ears were SCREAMING from Eric's amps and Rob's cymbals. That was dumb. Hopefully no permanent damage... And with the awesome parking space, getting out of there was a piece of cake. Ha! Take that, barricade Nazis!

SXSW Day 2 -- Thursday March 17, 2011

2011-03-21T14:10:00.003-05:00

Had the night off so went with Triniti Young to the Key Bar on W 6th for Adrian and the Sickness.

Pull up at a light and there they are setting up on the outdoor stage. Exchanged yells and threw each other the horns. Triniti spotted an empty parking space across the busy intersection so she ran out to go stand in it. Teamwork. Was parked and in the venue less than 5 minutes after first driving past it. Danny G: 1, SXSW: 0!

They played a great set tho we missed Bug Girl. Rocking out and taking pics some guy taps me on the shoulder and holds out his camera. He had a pic of Eric and I doing a crowd walk from who knows when. Awesome! Great set by Adrian and company, and kudos to Aaron who flew down from Seattle to play drums. Then the collected energies of Adrian and the Sickness and Bug Girl paired together for the rock glory that is Cock N Balls.

Hanging with them afterwards, we watched with dull curiosity a DJ setting up after the show. Who went on to mix classic rocks songs and other weird shit. Amber grabbed a guitar case and pretended it was a bazooka, if that lets you know how we felt about that. But the show was early and there was plenty of time for more mischief so we got the hell out of downtown and met up with them at Adrian and Heather's place for an after party, which began with Jack Daniels and a tub of ice cream and ended with Mexican wrestler masks and the 'Dirty Dancing' soundtrack.

Awesome!

HOWEVER, turns out I completely missed the Small Stone Records showcase, which was that same night at Barbarella on Red River. Which sucked, as it's usually on Friday and it's the one showcase I always get into somehow. Reviewed it 2 years in a row for Rank and Revue Magazine. Was kinda sad to have missed it finally. Well shit, it's usually on Friday! But I could have checked...

2011-03-17T20:00:00.002-05:00

SXSW is here!!!

Or something. About to head out to catch Adrian and the Sickness at the Key Bar, so will keep it quick.

Eric Tessmer Band is now a three piece. If you know us you know what happened. And that is all I have to say about that.

Tuesday SXSW kick-off show at Red Eyed Fly was a blast, as it is every year. Family gathering, great bands (Hyde Park Showdown, New Disaster, Amplifed Heat, Broken Teeth, and Honky with guest guitar by "Pat Travers", aka Phil Anselmo from Down/Pantera). Awesome time. I need to finally try to play this show, heh.

Last night ETB did a leisurely set outside the Salt Lick on their tiny outdoor stage. I was using my Fender TB600 and backup 4x10 as my SVT was being rented out and the TB-600 would blow the speakers off my Deitz replica 2x15. So I suffered thru the 4x10, which sounded like total ass. Another dust cap is rattling off the cheap speakers, causing it to sound like a whoopee cushion. And it rattles to bad I can't have the metal speaker grill on it while playing, adding to my desire to kick all the damn speakers in so I'd never have to suffer through that piece of shit ever ever ever again. But we had another gig after this one, so had to keep my cool. Split the difference and just ripped that damn dust cap of said speaker. Problem solved!!!

Not a bad show, decent crowd, decent pay, free barbecue!

Next show was a house party for the owner of Rare Magazine in Austin. We pull up and out front is the black limo that Josh and I jumped off of for a Mother Truckers shoot for same mag a few years back. We set up, and the cops are there before we even begin. Nice. So we wait a few minutes after they leave (give them time to get farther away). Blow into "Ledbetter Heights" to open, and blow the circuit breaker. Then we blew it again, and again, and again. Awesome. Then cops come back, but wait til we are done to shut it all down. "Y'all are bad ass, but we've had 8 noise complaints and we can hear you 2 blocks away." They were cool about it.

So spent rest of evening hanging out, making contacts and drinking for free. Good times.

2011-03-11T17:57:00.003-06:00

So many amazing things going on, and I can't really fully talk about them. Awesome.

I can say that there is an upstart indie label interested in "Ocean of Stars" and me as a solo artist. Holy shit, that is awesome. Very validating feeling to know that I poured my heart and soul into a home recorded album which was thrown together in 28 days as a musical exercise which I have barely promoted myself (was waiting for a reason to, now I have one!) has gotten enough notice to land an album deal. Details pending, but have been on Cloud 9 last few days. Very excited, and feels good that all of my efforts are paying off. Will be contacting Ty Tabor and Scott Reeder about doing a proper mastering job to it. And have another album's worth of material waiting in the wings.

Big things coming in ETB, and again details pending. Until then, I need to shower/shave and head out for an early set at Friends tonight, 7:30 til 11pm.

Rock!

2011-03-08T15:24:00.003-06:00

So we had Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee sit in with ETB last night at friends. That was awesome!

Our publicist Suzanne Penley also does publicity for Motorhead so her and her husband John brought Mikkey by. He was awesome. And what a great monday night. We've been having Rob Williamson (ex-New Disaster, Hyde Park Showdown) sit-in on drums and he's doing great! Good times and a great crowd which I felt like we destroyed.

ETB also played Saturday at the Texas Independence Fest in Maxwell TX. That was a blast as well! We headlined last year, and evidently they've expanded since then, as it is now a 2-day event with David Allan Coe headlining Friday night and Down headlining Saturday. We played at 3pm, which wasn't too bad. Crowd starting to gather by then, and we could hit it and quit it then hang out the rest of the night. Which we did. Great, short fun set. Nevermind my wireless decided to finally crap out beginning of the first song... I had replaced the input jack and it finally failed after being problematic for last few gigs. So much for my repair theory of "if tape doesn't work, try more tape." Ah well.

Was cool that Pepper Keenan from Down/COC was checking our set out with their techs Bobby Rock (guitar for Honky) and Carter (saviour of my stricken Les Paul Studio). Then Pepper came and watched from side stage behind the PA speakers. Awesome. We played for 40 minutes, ripped our strings off and got the fuck off stage. Pepper came and shot the shit with us afterwards, that was cool. Gave us a huge complement: "You guys got me off the bus!" Nice! Took pics with him which I will post soon.

Hung out rest of the night drinking $4 beers and having a blast. The venue (The Cotton Gin) is in the middle of nowhere on a farm with pens conatining cows, bulls, and some kind of zebra/donkey hybrid. Awesome. Great sets by Honky, Dixie Witch and of course Down. Good times tho it got real cold real fast after the sun went down.

So much I want to talk about but can't. Either for professional reasons (band business) or personal reasons (my mom reads this blog). I try to be as open, honest and unmerciful, but at the same time their are things which I simply cannot talk about here. Too public. So I am trying to keep this a blow-by-blow account of the day-to-day activities of a working musician, but the filter is set to "HIGH." So fuck it, I will talk about what I want to talk about (within reason, heh).

In general life is good. Admitted defeat for the RPM challenge this year, got sick last few days and was too damn tired/had life shit to deal with to complete it. But who cares, came up with a bunch of good shit I will finish right in my own time.

In the meantime will be talking to a small label interested in my solo stuff, so that's fucking killer. ETB has a busy year which I am now very optimistic about for reasons I will reveal when the time is right. I am finally happy with my bass rig and tone for the first time in a long time, thank you John Mergilli. That helps as well. Am talking another session with Tim Abbott from The Figurados. More music, more opportunites, and a little more coin in my coffer. Win/win/win.

Will be pulling some strings to get into the Motorhead show tonight, wish me luck!

2011-02-17T12:08:00.002-06:00

ETB Wednesdays at Maggie Mae's have started again.

My bank account is jumping for joy, tho the damage is already done. They were put on hiatus as winter set in as it's a slow time of year. Supposed to start last week but the 2nd cold snap had them cancel it. For the best, I didn't want to leave the house either!

But last night was fun, was already sweating just loading in. Well, it IS February... Had Brandon Burke (Jackson Taylor Band, Son of Fire) fill in last minute, we've had Rob Williamson (Hyde Park Showdown, ex-New Disaster) slated but he came down with the flu earlier in the day. He said he could power through the show if need be, but if a sub could be procured his immune system would very much appreciate it. I don't blame him, a 3+ hour set on drums while fighting the flu would have laid him (and anyone) out the rest of the week. But Brandon has been wanting to fill in for awhile now but was always too busy, so we finally got to jam with him and he did great.

Speaking of great, my new 2x15 sounds fucking AWESOME. My SVT loves it, it's not too bad weight-wise despite it's imposing size and bulk. Already getting beat the fuck up. I love it. One of my better recent gear purchases, and a much much MUCH-needed upgrade, as I've been struggling with inferior gear/tone for more than a year. Will be dropping off my stricken Isovent cab to John Mergilli, see what he can do with it. I have a sneaking suspicion that all he has to do is put the speakers back in, restore the original wiring, and it will work fine. Contrary to the official statement of a local speaker repair place who said everything was blown.

Anyway. Got to use it in the studio session I did with Josh Zee and Trinidad Leal over the weekend. Rough tracks sound pretty damn good. Not too shabby for one rehearsal then hit it and quit it. We nailed the songs live in about 3 takes and my basslines were keepers as-is. Feels like I'm finally getting the hang of bass, heh.

It's been an amazing week + which I will delve into a little further in next day or two.

In the meantime I am diving back into completing my 3rd RPM Challenge album by the end of the month. In trying to do something different this time, I will be making it a split EP: 'Sunrise on the Sea Floor' will be the music I have been comping up with, with possible guest tracks, 'House of Leaves' will be perhaps a 15-20 minute concept song based on the book of the same name. What I have so far is a 11-minute continuous song with 2 distinct movements.

About to go track some drums, and I feel sort of wrecked. Hopefully more from the show last night than coming down with something...

2011-02-12T10:28:00.004-06:00

A lot going on, will try to keep it brief.

About to head to a bass studio session. Placed some ads on Craigslist, got a bite. Will do doing three songs for a guy named Stanley with Josh Zee of the Mother Truckers on guitar and Trinidad Leal of Dixie Witch on drums. Yeah, awesome. We rehearsed last night, was hella fun. Will be rocking out some of Stanley's crazy/quirky/clever songs. Should be pretty cool!

This month have been working all spare hours of the day on my next RPM Challenge record. Have drums set up in my room, this time 3 mics thru my mixing board instead of 2 room mics, now kick drum is much more present than implied. Marshall tubes already took a shit so tracking with my Epiphone Valve Standard 15w tube amp chassis powering my Marshall 4x12 on guitar, or powering my housemate's 4x10 bass cab. Both sounded great last year so not worried about using them this year.

So far have 2 rough mixes of songs, which I am passing on to Adrian Conner (Hell's Belles/Adrian and the Sickness) for guest guitar tracks and to my housemate Deanna Marie (Velvet Brick, Looking for Bucho) for guest vocals. Yes, this album might not be entirely instrumental. I guess after 2 other intrumental solo albums I am finally running out of ideas, heh.

Have a few more ideas demo'd out. Was kicking around the idea of having this record be an instrumental concept album based on the book "House of Leaves" by Mark Danielewski. But abandoned the idea as a little too ambitious given the RPM time constraints. That and a third of "Ocean of Stars" would have been perfect for it. But demo'd out a new idea I am calling "The Five and a Half Minute Hallway" which I have already extended out with a second section making the entire thing almost 11 minutes, and would like to add at least a third section. Now thinking of having this RPM album be a split-EP, 'Sunrise on the Sea Floor' and 'House of Leaves.' Maybe release them separately, who knows?

Have a brief break from Eric Tessmer Band, he is up in Wisconsin for a week attending to some family things. We are back to our Wednesdays at Maggie Mae's (well, this past Wednesday was cancelled due to the 2nd cold snap, and probably for the best as I didn't want to leave the house either). We had my good friend Ric Furley fill in on drums for Monday at Friends. And he kicked its fucking ASS! Damn, that was fun. We def need someone with some rock sensibilities. Talking to Deanna's bf Rob (Hyde Park Showdown, ex-New Disaster) about filling in Wednesday of next week. That will be awesome as well. Need to respond to Eric's email about needing stage plots for the ETB trip to India in May. Good to know that not having a full time drummer yet is not slowing us down.

2011-01-23T13:10:00.003-06:00

About to get my Mergilli Innovations replica Dietz 2x15 cab.

Fucking STOKED. Will finally be happy with my bass tone since my Isovent cab bit the dust a year and a half ago. The EV-B's I've been running in the loaner cab Mergilli is letting me borrow already sound amazing. Told me last night that the guy he built the loaner cab for he also built a Dietz replica for, and when that guy put his EV's into the Dietz he was amazed at how good it sounded compared to the loaner. And the loaner sounds good.

Any. Looking into mastering for "Ocean of Stars" and how much it'd be to do another run. Now that I want to do something with it, I am out. Damn! But will be launching the Danny G Music bandcamp.com page and hopefully will sell some downloads of the album so as to have some funds with which to re-invest in physical copies. Am planning on doing a special for the first week official online release: buy the download for $10 (or more if you are feeling generous) and receive a grab bag of free tracks, which will differ from day to day. Never the same tracks. Well I think that's a cool promotional idea.

Still talking to players about doing Ocean of Stars dates. But would rather have the pieces in place before I start booking, rather than have dates that I am scrambling to have a line-up for. Jammed with my good friend and ex-SGC bandmate Amber Lucille last week, would like to have her in the loop as bass player. Brandon Burke (Jackson Taylor Band, Son of Fire) still interested in drumming, will call him shortly to see what his schedule is like next 2 weeks. Adrian Conner still recovering from surgery and will be out-of-commission for gigs til SXSW in March. In the meantime she may do some guest tracking for my next RPM Challenge album.

Speaking of which, did some pre-production work earlier this week. Testing drum sounds in my room, no way drums would fit in the garage right now. Cold out there too, heh. Sounds good so far, but need new snare and tom heads. Bad. Comparing prices thru the Truckers D'Addario deal vs pulling some strings with a friend at a local chain music store. Demo'd out some ideas to try some things out, but tried not to actually WORK on the ideas, as that would be cheating ;) Now just need 7 more song ideas...

Eric Tessmer Band is still going strong despite STILL not having a fulltime drummer. Had a kid we thought was The Guy but it wasn't working out. Have another young kid named Daniel Watson that we're grooming to be The Guy, just trying to convince him to take the job, heh! Played with him at Friends with no preparation and he killed it. Brought him with us to San Angelo and he did the same. Will be playing with him again on Monday, possibly practicing with him too. Not that he needs it, heh. but trying to get the originals back into the rotation and curious to see what he'll do with them.

In the meantime The Go-To Guy is Tony Miller. We played with him at BD Rileys a few weeks back after we had 2 drummers cancel on us that day. Michael heard him playing at Friends, passed him a note thru the street-facing window, he agreed. Ran over after his gig, threw his drums onstage, and absolutely KILLED it. He's got other things going on and doesn't want the gig full time, but is enjoying the hell out of filling in. Played with him Friday at Friends and last night at BD Riley's. Both shows felt great. Friday he was asking we bust out some of the other originals. Never mind he'd never actually PLAYED them with us before. He nailed them. Did the same last night as well, awesome.

Lots of other stuff going on. My Adrian and the Sickness interview for The Austin 420 Magazine is now online! www.theaustin420.com. Print edition coming out very soon. King's X has a Europe tour in March but I probably won't be available. The Mother Truckers also talking Europe in the Spring. ETB talking India in May, festivals touring across the US all summer, and Europe in the fall.

In the meantime looking into session work to supplement income in this slow time of year, already have some possible work lining itself up. Tim Abbott from the Figurados talking practice, songwriting sessions and gigs as well.

Feel so blessed to have almost an overabundance of offers, work and general cool shit going on or in the works.

2011-01-15T11:00:00.004-06:00

First post of 2011. Halfway thru the first month.

Well shit. My blog skills are slipping, perhaps. But just activated Sprint Hotspot on my phone, so currently using it to provide wireless internet to my laptop. Crazy. No longer have the excuse of "well it's hard to edit this shit typing it from my cellphone." True dat, hard indeed to edit entire paragraphs with no visible cursor. Hopefully Blogger will fix that on the phone-version.

Anyway. Took a self-imposed sabbatical for a few days this week. Wasn't going to do shit, think about shit, or think about doing shit. Helped, immensely. Instead of recharging my battery when I can, took the time to fully recharge it so it will run longer.

Few developments:

ETB tried out a drummer Monday night (no preparation) and he fucking KILLED it. Def the happiest we've been onstage with a drummer since the roulette started. Young kid that Michael played a funk gig with NYE, and has been raving about ever since. ANd Michael was not bullshitting us, in the least. Just, wow. Jumped onstage and OWNED it. Playing with him again tonight in San Angelo (no rehearsals either). Hope he wants the gig...!

So was in a good mood going into my few day sabbatical. Harder to NOT try to stay busy than it is trying to stay busy. Weird.

Started off Thursday finally trouble-shooting some of my stricken guitar effects pedals. Got my tremolo pedal to start tremoloing again, so that's good. All I did was replace the battery and poke around the circuit board. Works now *shrugs*. Had no such dumb luck with my Wah pedal. Still non functional, and my trouble-shooting skills are seriously rusty. Hopefully my friend who is translating the Bass Crybaby schematic to a layout will have that in, miss my bass wah as well. Then played Ocean of Stars music on guitar. God that felt good, and the title song kind of needs my tremolo pedal, so good that its working again.

Speaking of gear, much closer now to having my custom Mergilli Innovations replica Dietz 2x15. Eric had him speed up the process a bit after last week Saturday watching me wire and re-speakers in my 410, only to ram my bass headstock into (and almost through) the speaker grill in an attempt to skewer the fucking thing and hopefully put it out of its misery. God I hate that 4x10 cab. But Eric talked to Mergilli, who said he has a spare empty 2x15 enclosure. So he put my EV 15's in THAT to use in the meantime til my custom cab is built, which will hopefully be by next weekend. It sounded amazing that Monday night, another reason I was having so much fun.

Lots of other stuff but no room or time to discuss here. In the meantime I will hope the rain lets up before leaving for San Angelo (and totally re-packing the van), that my van decides to idle on the way to ETB rendezvoux point and not stall out every time I stop, and that we have a good crowd and make some good money tonight.

2010-12-28T16:18:00.002-06:00

Still a couple days left, but might as well do a 2010 year in review now before I forget and post it in February.

Holy crap what a roller-coaster this year has been. So much good, so much bad, so much change. Haven't done a tally of how many shows I've played but it was a lot. Kept myself in business for yet another year by playing the electric bass guitar, that's gotta count for something. 4 albums were released this year that I played on: Eric Tessmer Band 'Green Diamond', my solo album 'Ocean of Stars', The Mother Truckers 'Van Tour', and The Figurados 'Lesson Two.' Went through sea changes of highs and lows dealing with my divorce and various life shit. Wrote and recorded a solid solo album against insurmountable odds, now to actually do something with it. Played onstage with at least 6 different bands. Went to Europe for the first time! Saw a good chunk of America as well, most of which I've seen before but was nice to go back. Got my mug in Guitar Player Magazine again (Nov 2010 w/Dweezil Zappa on cover), and a lot of people I've never met heard my basslines on Sirius satellite radio. Put together a solo band (Ocean of Stars) in 3 weeks flat and played a show. Went from broke, to well off, to broke again in a matter of weeks. Such is life. But at least I could afford a new bass and paid some bills before the money grew legs and ran off. Had the lowest of lows when I was arrested for a DWI last month, when all I wanted to do was get home to my sick/dying girlfriend but spent the night in jail instead. Better the cops found me than an ambulance. However she is on the mend, and I am getting myself out of a situation I got myself into, and learned a good life lesson in the process. Continue to find out who my true friends are, and I have an overabundance of really really GOOD PEOPLE in my life. No wonder I refer to my friends as "family" as well, as family are people who look out for each other. And my blood family continues to be amazing and supportive as well. Not sure where I'd be without them. All in all, it's been an amazing year to say the least. Made some great music with some amazing players, and the bar keeps going up. Awesome.

I have no more shows this year. ETB returns January 1st. Last night did a fill-in slot with Michael McDaniel, Dave Shearer and Brannan Lane to fill in ETB's empty Monday slot. Was alright, realized onstage "Wow, I'm not all that into Blues..." heh!!! Good jams with good people tho, itching to finally get a permanent replacement drummer for ETB so we can go back to mainly originals instead of whatever covers we can pull off. And next year will be busy as hell for ETB if all goes according to plan. And I believe it will.

Adios 2010. It's been quite a ride, and a large part of me is glad you are over.

2010-12-15T15:34:00.008-06:00

So last week Monday a homeless guy was giving Michael (ETB) shit while standing outside Friends.

And not like regular crazy bum gibberish, but real cruisin-for-a-bruisin shit. Started off with the usual request for a cig/change. Michael and I were in the middle of a business talk and the guy was kinda obnoxious, Michael politely told him no and went back to our discussion. Guy then starts complimenting (I think) Michael on his clothes, and starts getting more animated. Michael tells the guy he and I are having an important conversation and we'd like a little privacy.

Homeless Guy didn't like that at all. Starts telling Michael shit like "I see you down here all the time, I see you carrying gear. But you don't PLAY man, you just carry gear!" Wow. This to one of the finest musicians I have ever met. But Homeless Guy doesn't stop there, he then takes it to the proverbial elementary school bike rack: "I can play any instrument you can play, only BETTER!" He was pretty much shouting at this point, and had been completely ignoring me the entire time and focusing solely on Michael. SO Michael says, "OK, go get your saxophone. I will play you under the table." And he meant it too, and sure as shit would have. Homeless guy gets defensive and flustered, but counters with "Well I don't blow, cause blowing is for FAGGOTS!" And repeated his statement at top volume to drive his point home.

Wow. Just, wow. At this point I adjusted my body language from casual observer to you-better-start-walking, and Micahel tells the guy to just go the fuck away. Which he did, taking his time to hassle everyone between Friends and the corner of 6th and Brazos. At which point Eric comes out and we fill him in, adrenaline flowing but also laughing at the utter nerve of the guy. Sure enough he starts working his way back to Friends, hassling a pack of Segways in the process. But when he looks down towards Friends, he now sees THREE guys eyeing him down. He never came back and we played a fun show!

Just WTF? Not that I condone or would beat the living shit out of a homeless guy, but this dude was something else. Consequently he did turn up at Friends again earlier this week. I was out front smoking a cig. Homeless Guy comes up to me smiling and says "My brother!". I stared at him and said "You are not my brother." He buggered off saying something about me looking like Jesus, which I did not take offense to, heh.

2010-12-15T15:16:00.002-06:00

Well dammit, time sure flies. Will give a brief recap of past few weeks, may break up to keep post length short.

Busy busy busy. Tonight meeting up with Eric Tessmer and Mariah Merch Girl for a mail-stuffing party (double-checked spelling on that one, heh) to prep mail-outs for festivals. Should be fun, and hopefully very constructive. ETB not playing the next few Wednesdays at Maggie Mae's, things are slowing down for the Holidays and we could use a break. (Tho my bank account takes issue with this development, but I'll be looking for session work to supplement income).

Have been talking to friends about more Ocean of Stars dates in the near future, as I just realized with utter shock that the one OoS set I did was 6 months ago. Where the hell has time gone?!? Oh yeah, busy summer. But things are slowing down and it is obvious time will not wait around for me, so putting the feelers out now for bookings and a line up. Adrian Conner (Hell's Belles/Adrian and the Sickness) has agreed but will be taking time off from playing most of Jan/Feb. Brandon Burke (JAckson Taylor Band/Son of Fire) is still down to drum, as is AJ Manciabelli (Thunderosa/Adrian and the Sickness). Might be good to have 2 drummers in loop for scheduling purposes. Will talk to Heather Webb (Adrian and the Sickness/Bug Girl) about bass but have also talked to Amber (Amber Lucille Band, ex-Southern Gun Culture) and Tank (Ironclad/MOD) about playing bass. Michael McDaniel (ETB sax/keys) is down as well.

Tomorrow I will be interviewing Adrian and Heather for The Austin 420 Magazine, which will be a feature piece when the mag debuts it's online incarnation on Jan 1st 2011. Haven't done anything like this since the Rank and Revue days (2004-2005), very stoked.

Also speaking of Adrian and Heather, last night checked out Thunderosa and Adrian and the Sickness at Headhunter's. Had a night off, friends are playing one of my favorite bars, parking will be a breeze. Win/win/win. Very fun night with great sets by both bands. Good times with good friends. Starting to feel my age tho, was actually more tired going to a show than I was playing a show. Weird.

Monday ETB at Friends was decent for a slow monday. Not a huge crowd but those there were really digging it. Had Bryan Austin fill in on drums again as our friend Doug Martin had cancel due to a last minute engagement. The crowd didn't mind and Doug was able to come by and hang out later so was great to still see him. Not a bad night at all, glad the Mondays are still fun on a slower night tho still consistently pretty good crowd-wise as far as Mondays go. This was also ETB's last Monday of the year. To fill in the final two Mondays Michael is putting together a bands with slightly diff lineups both nights. I am playing bass on the 27th. Sweet!

2010-11-22T16:52:00.004-06:00

Note to self: eat more. Or eat period.

When I get stressed food is the first thing to go. I feel hungry and worn out but eating is a chore. Even when I can feel my body devour itself from within. Weighed in at 152 when I usually run 160. About to add another notch to my belt.

Saturday ETB at Friends was really good. We had Bryan Austin filling in on drums again an we really clicked. Fun show, great crowd, and was able to find parking right on the block. Barricades be damned! Walking up to Friends could hear a sax player wailing with the band. "Ah, sounds like Michael is here!" Heh. Always awesome getting to watch him jam with other bands. Afterwards had time to hit Emo's for Unsane and Michael Crawford's photo exhibit. Will def pick his brain about logistics for such an endeavor.

Friday is Corpus sucked ass, for me at least. ETB had a thin crowd and a prepared but still fill in drummer (Brannan Lane). My parents were there as well as a buddy I haven't seen in 10 years. Too bad they couldn't have seen the Sat Friends show, heh. We played a good set but I was still bummed at another mediocre homecoming. But the "Play some blues!" guy was there, the Blues Eagle as we came to call him. (He walked in, I said "the Eagle has landed!"). Eric called an audible and opened with the walkaround "I wonder why" instead of "Ledbetter Heights." And something unexpected happened... Blues Eagle got up and danced with his lady, and did so for next song. She even bought a cd. Well shit, if you can't beat em, win them over.

2010-11-19T20:16:00.007-06:00

Waiting to go on at Dr. Rockits in Corpus Christi TX, ETB tonight then tomorrow in Austin. I hope the "play some blues!" Guy comes out tonight, he will be in for a surprise.

Back in my home town, moved away from hear almost 11 years ago. Def a good life decision as I moved to Austin to.get into music. Here I am now, in the current issue of Guitar Player Magazine, and playing across the street from the bus station, heh. If my friends could see me now!!! There will be an old high school buddy coming out tonight thanks to Facebook. This will be my first real linkup with some of my old friends whom I haven't really seen since then due to a falling out with my roomate at the ti me .

This past week and a half have been hell, will get into that later. Not in the mood now.

Got in touch with the prospective line up for Ocean of Stars to start coordinating schedules to prep for the Dec 21 show. Only to then hear from Adrian Conner that the venue changed booking agents and the date is cancelled. Well shit.

2010-11-12T10:16:00.002-06:00

Pic from ETB show last night, taken on my Droid using the Retro Camera app. Awesome. Will explain.

First things first.

Just thought I'd mention that Richard Lamm has left the Eric Tessmer Band. We all wish him well, and his reasons for leaving are his own and I will not post them here. All I will say is that ETB practiced Wednesday afternoon, dialing in song tempos on a metronome. Then went to load in for the set at Maggie's that night. Richard quit then, and left the band at the venue with no drummer, a show in a few hours, and three more in as many days. No need to post how I feel about that. But it is what it is.

So last 2 nights ETB has been playing Drummer Roullette, as we've had 2 drummers in as many gigs. Not sure who we have for tonight and tomorrow. But it's actually been really cool. Both are drummers we've never played full or even partial shows with, but have all run into on 6th Street.

Wednesday we had Brannan Lane, an old friend of Michael's. He did great! We just rolled with it, mainly covers with a few originals and LOTS of jamming. Which has felt good. Mindless repetition offers a certain degree of comfort, but putting yourself on the line shows what you're really made of. It's been fun being able to try things with basslines and not worry about messing it up... who cares, we're up here with a drummer we've never played with before! Lots of crowd walks as well, and the drinking rule has been set aside for now, heh.

Last night at Friends we had a young guy named Derek. Totally different style and again we just rolled with it. Had a pretty good crowd too, and again they loved it.
Good times and a good night.

Which leads me to the bloody guitar pic. We were on crowd walk #2, I believe. Eric out playing when his signal starts to cut out. He looks back at me, I give him an "I didn't touch anything!" look. He came back to the stage, Fonzie'd his delay pedal with the side of his fist and went back into the crowd. I went to the bar to get a drink from him (he pours shots while playing, and you'd already know that if you've ever seen us \m/,) and noticed the blood on his guitar. I ran back to the stage to grab my phone, heh! Had to stop playing to take some pics, but Michael can do basslines with his left hand, heh! Teamwork!

Later on I was out front smoking a cig during another crowdwalk and noticed a guy pulling a van up 6th Street via meathooks in his forearms. I still had my phone on me and of course got pics. As much as I gripe about 6th Street, you never know what you're going to see on any given night.

ETB tonight at BD Riley's. Drummer roullete night 3!

2010-11-08T13:54:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I haven't posted about my new bass yet. Damn. Will get to that.

Busy week coming up, ETB @ Friends tonight with gigs Wed-Sat. Looks like I have an Ocean of Stars date in December coming up as well, awesome awesome awesome.

So last week Tuesday I get an escrow check in the mail in both mine and my ex-wife's name. Asked her about it, since house has sold and proceeds divided accordingly. She replied "We split that." Awesome. Celebrated Samhain (my first!) with my roommates and their friend that night. I tell ya, Pagans know how to party. Very cool ceremony.

Wednesday morning was at Austin Vintage Guitars as they opened to try out the 2000 USA Fender P-bass I had spied there a few weeks ago. Picked it up and it SANG, and kept it in the back of my mind as I need the house money to be my nest egg rather than blow it all. It was still there. It still sang. Tried to talk them down to $750 ($850 price tag + case) but it was a consignment item and they had to contact the seller. He agreed to $800. Sold.

Had three days to try it out, but was so confident I was not going to be returning it I got it home and immediately drilled holes in it to attach a pickup cover. Tried it out at ETB practice that afternoon, prepping for Michael's CD release show on Friday. Brought it in with price tag still attached and Richard said "It's Minnie Pearl!!!" And thusly so was my new bass dubbed. Minnie Pearl!

After practice called every music store in a reasonable distance and tracked down a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder pickup for it. I had only owned this bass for a few hours and had already drilled into it and rewired it. The next day I began swapping pickguards on my basses for the most aesthetically pleasing matches. That is how I roll! Gig that night at Maggies went well, planned to swap basses all night between Minnie and Cate Blanchett for comparison, but stuck with Minnie damn near all night. There was no adjustment needed in my playing to accommodate the new bass. I just played her and didn't have to think about it. Awesome!

Friday night was Michael McDaniel's cd release party at Friends, with ETB as the backup band. He was very worried at how empty it was before we went on, but I assured him "The night is still YOUNG". Was only 7:30pm! And yes, it filled out. Great show and fun crowd, wish we played every Friday instead of every Monday, but at least on Mondays you can find a place to park and not deal with barricades and APD. Trade off, I guess.

Saturday ETB played Hanover's in Pflugerville. Haven't been there since the Ironclad days, 06-07. Chris the soundman remembered me, heh. I rolled in with Michael in tow and find the place filled with Bikers. AWESOME! Banditos and Leathernecks, several other clubs. Turns out it was a birthday party for the Marine Corps and most/all the bikers were ex-Marines or at least ex-Military. Very cool crowd and a really cool ceremony. Love stumbling across things like this just going to work. They had a cake ceremony where the oldest Marine got the first piece of cake, took a bite, then passed it to the youngest Marine, symbolizing the passing of wisdom and knowledge from the oldest to the youngest. Very cool. Respect.

Show went really good tho Texas was getting killed by Kansas State. 2 hour set with breaks for raffle drawings. Eric bought a raffle ticket for a Smith and Wesson pistol. He didn't win, heh. Good times.

And lastly, had a brunch here at the House of DDT yesterday afternoon. Good friends and family in attendance, good food being prepared and served, good dogs all hanging out and getting along, more or less. Adrian and Heather (Adrian and the Sickness) stopped by, good to see them. Mentioned they had a Cock N Balls (Adrian/Heather + Bug Girl) gig for Tues Dec 21, and it would also be Adrian's birthday party. They needed another band and asked if I knew anyone. I suggested Ocean of Stars \m/, They immediately said yes! Awesome! Adrian is available, Heather will be busy and travelling. Michael is available for sax. Asked Richard from ETB to drum, he is questionable. But Brandon Burke (Jackson Taylor Band, Son of Fire) has agreed. Just need a bass player. Asked Tim from Ironclad and he is checking his schedule. Awesome! A good gathering of good people, glad I could finally make one (usually travelling).

After the brunch went with T to Opal Devine's for Tim's birthday shindig. A fitting end to an already awesome day. Lotta good people I haven't seen in awhile, Javi (original Ironclad drummer) and his girl Joann, Eric McKinney (Wonderland Studio) and Miriam, Jonas from The Dealers and his lady. Good to have a few more beers and catch up with everyone. Tim was into his umpteenth birthday Jager bomb and was feeling pretty good by the time we left, but said he'd check his schedule re: the Ocean of Stars show.

So I have another show and will have 2 new musicians to bring up to speed. But at least I have 6 weeks instead of 3 and two of the players already know the songs, more or less heh. Thinking of adding "Lost Angel" from the OoS disc to bring set up to 7 songs. But will have to do some sit-down jams with all involved and can probably only swing one full band rehearsal with everyone's schedules. But it will be for fun, on a fun night, playing music with friends for friends. Don't get to do that very often anymore, much less play guitar as well. ROCK!

2010-11-01T20:07:00.002-05:00

Posting from my phone from Friends bar about to go on, Eric Tessmer Band Monday nights. Have I mentioned how much I love my new phone?

Rewired my guitar pedal board to now be my bass pedal board. Trying George L patch cables again, they do improve yr tne but I have too high a failure rate with em. Also put my diy Big Muff Pi clone on so I can tweak my Bass Drive to sound more like it. That and my bass wah works again, weird.

Saturday ETB in San Angelo was fun. Halloween weekend, I dressed as Sermon on te Mount era Jesus and Mariah was a St. Pauli girl. Good times. Sets went good with a costume contest during break. I came in 4th, heh. Drove back that night as there was some issue with the hotel they usually go thru.

The New Jersey run was gruleing but good, mission accomplished. Made a lot of good contacts and John the host treated us like royalty. Good guy. Set was a blast, the crowd walk blew some minds, heh. Amp was acting up but got thru the show. End of set ripped my strings off as Eric did the same. Guess the Daddarios are more stout than the DRs I was using. Had to lay my bass down and step on it to break the low e string. Rock n roll. Turns out I popped a screw out from the pickup cover and lost it for good. Oops.

Staying at Eric's parents's place in Richland Center, WI was great as well. His parents are awesome. But since days off are never really days off, we pulled up (parents not home yet) and unloaded into the garage. 10 minutes after driving up he had the chassis pulled from his Super Reverb and was already rewiring shit. I took the opportunity to put on new strings and find some wood glue to refill the stripped screwhole from the other night. Practiced the next morning for a bit and tuned up some vocal parts. I even came up with a bassline that turned into a songs idea.

Trouser Mouse in Kansas City was really good. Really good crowd for a Wednesday, and we did a live recording which we'll see how came out. I know I dropped a few clams... afterwards got blasted at the bar, which seems par for the course for me in KC. That's what happens when you don't eat before a show...

Went to Headhunters Friday night, my friend Heather Webb was playing bass for Bug Girl from Australia, whom she'd been tour managing for 7 weeks in the States. She called that morning asking for a guitar amp for the show, I happily loaned mine. Great show, good times with good people. Don't get to spend time on Red River as often as I'd like.

2010-10-22T08:58:00.002-05:00

Still in the van.

Just crossed into Virginia. Beautiful country out here, rolling green hills decked in fall colors. Don't get to see much of that in Texas. Gorgeous sunrise in the Tennessee hills. Took graveyard drive shift, my first experince with both driving Boss Hoss and 5 Hour Energy. The latter actually worked. The former was harrowing for the first 20 minutes. Boss Hoss pulls to the right and is already swimmy from the weight of gear and the meatbags that play it.

Can't put my damn phone down. Both a blessing and a curse. Can update this blog on the road, but farting around on this thing is causing me to miss a lot of great scenery...

2010-10-21T14:40:00.002-05:00

Posting from Boss Hoss via my phone en route to Eric Tessmer Band gig in New Jersey.

Damn I love this phone!

Last night did some pre-show upkeep to my rig. Replaced both preamp tubes and put the 10" speaker back in m cab which Eric reglued the dust cap back on. Sounded pretty damn good, new tubes breathed some new life into my rig. Decent crowd at Maggie Mae's, felt we played really well. Turned amp back up after turning it down to tame my stage volume but realized it could come up while walking the crowd.

Also: last night voicemail from Josh saying that Little Steven picked "Alien Girl" to be his Coolest Song in the World for week of Halloween. Awesome! Second Truckers song from new album and 3rd tune overall he's picked. Think he likes us! Also check the latest Guitar Player Magazine (Dec 2010) for a quick Q&A with Josh Zee.

Talking to two speaker cab builders about custom 2x15 cabs. Very reasonable prices as well. Awesome. Looking forward to some gear upgrades.

ETB Monday night at Friends was a mixed bag. Dead when we started and packed an hour later. But I was making a lot of bonehead mistakes, then realized I was driving my amp way harder than I've ever done, hence the new tubes. Thank God, can't afford to blow an amp right now.

So yeah, in the van on a very long trip. Playing a private in Scotch Plans NJ for a catering company who's clients are music festivals. Yes, this could be huge. Spending some off time in Wisconsin with a few gigs trip back.

While posting this we almost died at least once. Fuckin drivers.

2010-10-14T18:04:00.002-05:00

My first blog post from the new phone, but will get to that.

Last few weeks since last post have been a roller coaster. Spent four days thinking long and hard about a life choice that I don't want to get into right now but will at a later time. Then drinking wine like a hobo every night so I can sleep. But it is all good and will all be good. You will see (er, READ).

The house sold on Oct 7th. That is huge. Feels like now my ex wife and I can finally move on. Took part in the signing over the phone while loading in for an ETB show in Athens Ga. Threw my od house key into the Mississippi River on.the way back. Picked up my check on Monday only to realize all the banks were closed for Columbus Day. Well shit!

Bought a new phone yesterday, a Samsung 4G Epic. Needed an uprade as a business tool since I travel so much. It is utterly mindblowing what these things can do now. Now my phone is a computer more than anything, just WOW.

In the middle of a busy week. ETB already played Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Tonight it's the Mother Truckers @ Antones, Friday TMT at Sam's Burger Joint in San Antonio and Sat at Dallas House of Blues. Sunday ETB @
Jonestown. Busy busy busy.

2010-09-28T11:43:00.005-05:00

Woke up yesterday feeling like something was about to happen, more a sense of foreboding than of excitement.

Turns out my gut was right. May be facing some tough career decisions, and whether those decisions will be made by me or by others remains to be seen. It's all good and will be all good. Just being in limbo the next few days will be tough. It's not the *not knowing* part of it, it's the fact that I can't really act right now.

Nothing I can do except sit tight, see what happens, and decide on the next course of action from there.

Friday at Maggie Mae's with ETB was pretty goddam epic! Our first Friday downstairs, played after the mighty Allen Haynes who already had a great crowd for an early set.

Lot going on that weekend: UT game, Pecan Street Festival, etc. Place was packed and STAYED packed all night. Awesome! Got up and played for almost 4 hours straight, no break. Didn't want to lose any of the energy or any of the crowd. Played til close and felt understandably spent. Great effing night tho! Made a very nice chunk of change that night between the guarantee, tips and the cut of bar sales.

ETB Saturday in San Angelo at the Steel Penny was a bit of a mixed bag. Hot as all hell when we first got into the van in Jonestown, then drove thru a cool front and the fact that Boss Hoss has a rather questionable A/C system became moot. Stopped at Cooper's BBQ in Llano again, glad we did cause it was great. Wasn't pouring down rain when we loaded in like last time, that was nice. Hotels provided by venue so we had a place to chill after soundcheck and didn't have to drive 3.5 hours home in the middle of the night.

Sets were good, crowd was decent. Eric and I went offstage for the crowdwalk, and didn't even make it to the bar before shots started appearing. Was on my second beer by then, but after 4 shots of Jager and whiskey (wasn't going to be rude and turn them down, heh!) went back onstage drunk. Another shot of Kamikaze something or other waiting for me as well. Then more shots. Just, wow. I remember having fun but really having to focus (if that was physically possible, think I pulled it off). Forgot we went to eat after the show til I saw Richard's Whataburger bag next morning. Only feeling of a hangover after such rampant (and mixed) alcohol consumption was a bit of a headache. Not sure if I should be worried or proud... Made a good chunk of change on this one too.

Good feeling to work 2 days and make rent.

2010-09-23T18:18:00.003-05:00

Tuesday with Adrian and the Vaccines at Headhunters for the HAAM benefit was a BLAST but will get to that.

Europe (well, Denmark and Germany) was AMAZING. Talk about an expanded world view. Everyone who is able needs to travel abroad, especially us isolated Americans. And yes, we DO have an accent. If you can tell where someone is from by the way they speak, that is an accent. Shows were awesome, venues were great, the promoters and everyone involved were all good people. Bent (our tour manager) was great as well.

Got back in Monday night. Woke up early Tuesday morning and dove immediately into TCB. Paying bills, depositing my hard earned money, running errands, getting caught back up on life. Did not even have time to take a nap before heading to Headhunters with my roommates to play with Adrian and the Vaccines.

The show: Yeah, we practiced 2 weeks ago. Yeah, I was late getting there and had to load in, park my van, then immediately set up and play. Yeah I was playing my beater bass which feels like a toy. But it was still AWESOME tho I was admittedly struggling with the bass and backing vox parts (not used to playing so FAST heh!) Had lots of overwhelmingly positive feedback. Best comment was from Leon of Trash Rockets: "I loved your OH SHIT fills!!! You know, when ya know you got a change coming up and have to somehow segue into it... you did great!" Saw lots of old and new friends and was a great night of music all around. Thank you Kristin Crowfire from Sabbath Crow for orchestrating such a great shindig.

Picked up my bass at the airport yesterday, was a low key reunion betwixt myself and my beloved Cate Blanchett. Strung her back up and was like YES, THIS BASS IS AMAZING AND I AM GLAD TO HAVE HER BACK. Got to play her with Eric Tessmer Band at Maggie Mae's to get reacquainted.

ETB sounded good, sure didn't feel like I haven't even touched any of that music in 2 weeks. Show was still a bit of a kick in the teeth. Now there is NO soundguy at Maggie's until they hire a new one, and I didn't know what til end of 1st set. Levels were set, then we were on our own. Add to that the distraction of spilling a cup of ice water all over my Phase 90 right before we started. People filing in during first few songs, had a good crowd. But for all we know we could have sounded terrible. And no one present seemed to know how to get the ETB logo to go full screen, so there was the annoying toolbar and border and didn't look as cool. Well shit. Hit the wall second set and had to get a slice of pizza from across the street.

Today spent FINALLY cleaning and organizing my room, as well as finally unpacking. Been so busy in TCB mode that my room has been a disaster area for most of the summer, traveling with just enough time to come home and repack before heading out again. But by tonight I should finally have my bed back...

2010-09-13T04:57:00.002-05:00

Greetings from Copenhagen DK!

Haven't had enough consistent internet access to keep up on this blog. The trip has been amazing so far, the show in Hannover was awesome, and we now start the 6-date run in Denmark tonight in Copenhagen.

On a sad note, my bass disappeared after the Houston flight to London-Heathrow. It is insured, but godfuckindammit this fucking sucks. That bass (Cate Blanchett) was one of a kind and I could tell you when/where every nick, ding and scrape came from. She was a special instrument that will be sorely missed. Already filing claim thru my insurance (music pro) and have to wait 21 days to take up with British Airways.

Have been walking like crazy last several days. All over Copenhagen, then all over Hamburg Germany, then all over Copenhagen again last night. Europe is amazing. I want to live here.

2010-09-07T09:36:00.002-05:00

Doing the mad dash to get ready and packed for the flight to Europe.

Still have to drive in the traffic and rain to sign some paperwork for the house. Dammit. And turns out the 2 wall plug adapters my parents got me for my birthday only allow you to plug your electrical devices INTO the wall but don';t convert the actual power. Thanks Mom and Dad, I love you guys... but FUCK!

To everyone else, see you in Europe or see you in Heck!!!

2010-09-06T11:29:00.002-05:00

The Adrian and the Sickness full band rehearsal went awesome!

Felt good, pretty tight considering the lack of time to prep. Fun as hell to jam with Adrian and Furley. Attempted a lot of the backing vocals and they sounded pretty good. Can't wait til the 21st!

Had a good weekend in Corpus with family and friends. Glad I took time to do that before heading to Europe.

Speaking of which, today is the mad dash to TCB before I play with ETB tonight at Friends. Running errands, packing, doing what I need to do around the house and around town. Sucks that it is a holiday so will have to hit the bank tomorrow before heading to the airport. Hope Academy or some equivalent clothing/etc store will be open, need socks and boxers. Yeah, livin the dream \m/,

Guess I should start researching Germany and Denmark online today if I have time.

Either way, not sure what my internet access will be like next 2 weeks so not sure how much updating I will get to do.

See you across the pond!

2010-09-02T14:58:00.005-05:00

The sit-down jam with Adrian Conner went great yesterday, going over the Adrian and the Sickness music for the Sept 21 HAAM benefit.

Full band rehearsal tonight with Ric Furley on drums, can't wait! This is gonna be awesome. Been a fan of AatS since Adrian and Velvet Brick shared a bill in Dallas prolly 5 years ago. Was walking to grab my beer off a nearby table when something went barreling past me. It was Adrian, running full speed around the bar while soloing. She then slid on her knees (and falling over sideways) into Jason and D2 (VB guitarists). Without missing a note she got back up and ran full speed back to the stage. It is still one of the coolest things I've ever seen \m/,

So yes, very exited about the rehearsal tonight and gig in a few weeks!

And finally getting excited about Europe next week, have barely had time to think about it. But been calling my credit card, bank and phone company, giving a travel heads up and seeing if my phone will even work across the pond (it wont). Trying to TCB as much as I can now, going down to Corupus Christi this weekend to see my family.

Last night ETB @ Maggie Mae's was a mixed bag. Crowd was horrible most of the night tho it did pack out for a bit, then mainly stragglers rest of the night. Good for them sticking around, I thought we played awesome!!! heh. Wish we would have had tape running for most of second set. Tho I was dead tired by then, some of the tunes like "Green Diamond II" and "Little Wing" just felt great, and "Voodoo Child" blew the doors off. Good times.

2010-08-31T12:08:00.002-05:00

Day off, but a busy day nonetheless.

Last night ETB @ Friends was pretty dead. Thin crowd that built a little bit halfway thru and on, felt like we played well tho. Closed with a 3rd quick set of "Green Diamond II" and "Voodoo Child" and brought the fuckin house down. Man, those tunes felt good. Ah well, is what it is.

Been talking to Adrian Conner on email/text about doing some practice this week for the Adrian and the Sickness set on Sept 21 @ Headhunters for the HAAM benefit. Got 3 more tracks emailed, will be hitting the music hard next few days as this will be the only time I'll have before Europe w/Truckers. REALLY FUCKING STOKED. Nowadays I have so few opportunities to either play my own music or play for fun, and things like this are def worth the wait.

Speaking of HAAM, had a discounted eye/contact lens exam thru HAAM and picked up my prescriptions for Singulair (asthma) and Pro-Air rescue inhalers. 3 month supply for $3 each. Wow. The fact that the Adrian show is a HAAM benefit makes it even more worthwhile.

And speaking of bass strings, been using the D'addarios from the Truckers endorsement deal. So far so good. Seem to have a little more "grip" than the DR's I was using, which is good for finger picking but a little hard for sliding notes. Low E string is having sustain issues, but also just re-adjusted the truss rod for the heavier guage and maybe needs time to set. Had that problem before and turns out was just that particular string, changed them out and problem solved. Weird.

Saw yesterday a guy on Craigslist selling an Isovent cab like mine for a very very reasonable price. Will def try it out before I leave and grab it if my finances will allow. Probably cheaper to get another one than to re-speaker the one I have... Then I can sell that 4x10 I've been using and use the money to either fix the old Isovent or get a 2x15. Gear Gear Gear.

2010-08-30T12:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a roller coaster, what a ride.

Awoke in a foul mood after The Mother Truckers show Saturday, was one of those gigs where anything that could have gone wrong did. What should have been a heroes' homecoming was instead not so much, heh. Did our best to rally and think we did pretty good overall, but man. That was kinda painful, heh! Happens to the best of us.

So was in a dark mood really internalizing alot of shit when get word from my ex-wife that the buyer accepted the counter-offer on our house. WOO-HOO!!! Not a done deal yet, need to sign papers today and closing date set for Oct 7. But feels like the end is in sight, we can close this chapter of our lives and finally start a new one. Feels like I've been in limbo for almost a year, staying afloat but just barely. Can't afford to make necessary gear repairs because I need to eat as well.

Speaking of which, up since 9am and haven't eaten yet. About to head out to sign papers and maybe do some work on the house. And of course I feel pressed for time so am thinking of blowing off lunch now in addition to breakfast.

2010-08-26T15:19:00.006-05:00

Almost threw up onstage last night but will get to that.

The Mother Truckers West Coast tour was GREAT!!! So many good shows, so many good people I saw or met along the way. Will try to start my recap today (maybe), never had consistent enough internet access on my laptop (or the TIME) to write it blow by blow so I'll have to go by my journals, pictures and what few intact memories I still have, heh.

Got back Sunday night. Being on tour is akin to time traveling. Like if astronauts flew around at the speed of light, time on Earth would have passed much more quickly than it would for those in the ship. Time passes different on the road, so many distractions: long drives, shows, loadins/loadouts, soundchecks, hotels, being in a different city or state every day. Sensory overload. Doesn't seem like you're gone that long, then BAM you come home and almost an entire month has passed. The angle of the sun is noticeably different, the yard is a jungle, the plants that are still alive are almost unrecognizeable. Crazy.

So got back into town and had to play the next night with ETB @ Friends. Good to be back. Only felt like I'd missed a weekend of playing with them rather than almost a month. Fell right back into place, tho did drop a few clams here and there, heh. Had a decent crowd after a slow start. Thought we were done after the second set, looking forward to going home as I was exhausted. Eric:"The club wants us to play a few more." Me: "Is that going to be reflected in our payout end-of-night? If not, I am going home." Eric: "Yes." Me: "Okay..." Played a few more and was pretty much on auto-pilot. So tired.

Photo courtesy Triniti Young

Tuesday went out to Valhalla (former Room 710) with Triniti Young, Tank from Ironclad/MOD/Mastery and his girl Lexi. Good times, and lots of good people out for a change. Last time I was there it was inexplicably all plaid shorts and Polo shirts. WTF?!? This time Jason (ex-710 soundman, Pong, etc) was working the door, Gian Ortiz (Amplified Heat), JT Drunk (Dixie Witch) and many other friends/family walking by or stopping in. Glad Red River hasn't completely gone away... yet, at least.

Myeself, Gian and Tank. Photo courtesy Triniti Young

So last night my near-vomiting incident:

ETB at Maggie Mae's. Arrive to set up around 8pm, rest of band onstage, sound guy not there yet. Set up, and turns out we will now be starting at 9:30 instead of 9 on Wednesdays. No big deal, wish I would have known that so I could have gotten there at 8:30, heh. Not sure when the soundguy showed up but he finally did. Start set at new later time, sounding good. Feeling strong.

Now there is this big industrial fan pointed at the stage so we don't sweat like women of ill-repute in a house of worship. Genius idea, especially since Maggie's is half-open air. Yeah, HOT. So playing and smoking a cig during "Green Diamond II", hair blowing around like Medusa. Find a point during the song to drop my ash, take another drag and feel a hair in my mouth. Can't tell which corner of my mouth it came in from, but I could feel it between my back molars (both pairs) and draped across the back of my tongue. Oh shit. Let's just say I have a finely tuned gag reflex. Turn towards my amp and paw at my face trying to find the hair, meanwhile I can still feel it grinding in my teeth and on my tongue. Start dry heaving, and finally spit a mouthful of saliva which thank the Gods of Rock contained the hair. Was able to continue the set without having covered my amp (or myself) in used Dos Equis.

So beginning second set, we start playing and realize the PA is not on. Nor is the soundguy present. Michael was able to run off stage and get most of the levels up before end of tune, but no monitors til the end of the set. Which is when that jackass of a soundman finally decided to return to his fucking post, for the last 2 songs. "Where the hell was he 45 minutes ago?!?" I asked all of my bandmates. So he did manage to finally get the monitors up, but then was doing all this horrible delay shit on Eric's voice and on Richard's rimshots on "Green Diamond II". What the fucking FUCK?!? Gestured to him to cut that shit out, which he did.

In 10 years of playing music in this city this new guy has been the worst soundman I've ever come across. Good thing he promptly disappeared after the show, as he would have gotten an earful from me at the least. Evidently Eric and the band have had to complain to him and about him 2 other times while I was gone. And that was maybe three shows total. So yeah. Still fuming about it. And I'm not being on a rockstar entitlement trip. If I disappeared for most of the second set, would I still get paid in full? Fuck no, yet I'm sure he did.

Bah. Mother Truckers tour recap coming soon.

Danny G - Ocean of Stars review!

2010-08-10T12:08:00.001-05:00

Danny G - Ocean Of Stars
Reviewed By Andy "Dinger" Beresky (www.RiffRock.com)
Available Now
Self Released

So Stonerrock.com regular Danny G, (not to be confused with Kenny G) has taken up the challenge.

In response to the 2010 RPM Challenge, Danny has written, performed, and recorded an entire album's worth of material in a mere 28 days.

Is it the 2010 equivalent to Brant Byork's timeless Jalamanta? No, it's not. But it's certainly worth a listen, and perhaps a slab of your hard earned cash, because it's a very honest, expressive, and sincere album that has a lot to say considering that it's entirely instrumental. Danny performed all of the bass, drums, and guitar -- and while the guitar and bass are obviously his forte, he holds his own quite well on the kit, staying in the pocket and never overplaying. The basslines are deft and free flowing, but it's the guitar work that really brings this collection of basement jams to life. There's a fine sprinkling of clean and fuzzed out tones, a good balance of rhythm and lead guitar, and tasteful usage of effects plundered from the vintage vaults. The production is excellent for a home recording, and the performances, though rushed and hasty at times, have an admirable immediacy to their deliveries. It's not as single-minded as Karma To Burn in its instrumentalism, but there are definitely enough meaty riffs to sink your teeth into, and at 36 minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome. Some of the effects and Southern inspired sections remind of middle era Alabama Thunderpussy, and that's never a bad thing.

If you're seriously into the whole "stoner rock" thing, then do yourself a favour and pick this up. It can easily follow up Jalamanta in a listening session, bong in hand, on a lazy Saturday afternoon. It's got that same mellow intensity, even if it's distinctively from Texas rather than Sky Valley.