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Orange County, CA (Noodles)
07/27/03 I‘m typing this with only one good hand because I broke the little finger on my left hand at the knuckle. I can‘t play guitar right now, I can‘t surf, and I should probably stay off the skateboard for a little while, but I figured that I‘d better do something constructive. That‘s why I‘m writing this. I‘ve just made a fresh pot of coffee, opened a new pack of smokes, set my ipod to shuffle the “Metal Shop“ playlist (lame Vixen song right now), and I‘m all set to try to remember what we‘ve been up to for the last few months. Well, here goes.(Ipod just switched to Hendrix. Now we‘re talking.)
We‘ve been able to get Jim from Pennywise and Jack from TSOL to come in and sing some backups on our new record. Those guys are always so cool and eager to help us out. Their voices definitely add a lot to the mix. It‘s always funny joking around with those guys about who f**ked up a take, or who nailed it. When we are tracking, Dexter, Higgins, and I are in the same room with those guys. Jim‘s dry wit, alongside Jack‘s insanity, always allows for some laughs.
(Iron Maiden on the ipod now. Nice.)
Speaking of Pennywise, I got to see them last week at the Warped Tour‘s stop in Long Beach. They were great. The crowd was f**king nuts. I took my daughter and one of her friends to the show. I was going to see if I could get them safely to the sound booth at the front of the house, but no way! They had one of the biggest crowds of the day. It was certainly the most dangerous. So I took the girls to one side where we could still see pretty well, and where I hoped they would be safe. Rancid and Rufio were two other bands that stood out that day. I‘m really looking forward to Rancid‘s new record.
(The Cult now. “Love Removal Machine.“ Reminds me of the hilarious way we used to cover this song. Both Dexter and Higgins can really nail Ian‘s Vocals)
My kid is no longer into all that boy/girl band type of stuff. Her new favorite band is Simple Plan, whose very energetic antics we got to see from backstage at the Warped show. She also got all their signatures, though most of the pictures she and her friend took with the band were ruined when the camera didn‘t rewind all the way. I also met the band and they were really cool guys. Chuck told me that they were fans of Ignition and that it helped inspire them to form their own band. That was nice to hear. I wasn‘t surprised to hear that they were from Canada after I found out how nice they were.
(“Live Wire“ by The Crue)
We also got to watch Sum 41 from backstage. They too are super nice Canadian boys and they put on an awesome show. They are all really good players and they‘re energy level is always way up there. My daughter and I both love this band, but for different reasons. She really admires their song-craft and musical acumen, whereas I just think they‘re so totally cute and awesome. I always enjoy the Warped Tour shows. I would love to be part of that tour some year.
(AC/DC; “Dirty Deeds.“ Godhead!)
Dexter had a 4th of July party and it was there that I broke my finger. It was really a stupid accident. He has this old school, down-hill sort of skateboard that looked kind of fun. Not so much, as it turns out. I didn‘t even make it all the way down his driveway before I hit a crack in the pavement and was sent rolling out into the street. If I wasn‘t so worried about spilling beer in my right hand, I might not have broken the other one, but we all have our priorities. And I didn‘t spill one precious drop. After about three hours in the emergency room, getting X-rayed and waiting around, we got back to the party for a last beer and a shot with the boys. The party, while I was there, was really fun. Dexter had Phil Shane do his one-man-legend act in the backyard. If you‘ve never seen Phil, you have to check him out. He rules the lounge!
(OMFG! The current song on my playlist is Motley Crue‘s version of “Anarchy in the UK.“ I don‘t want to be critical, but this f**king version blows. They should‘ve stuck to “Live Wire“)
(Okay, better song now. “Up in the Sky“ by Joe Satriani. )
Greg K did a cool thing about a month ago. He flew out to Florida to play in a charity golf tournament that was put together by Bill Murray and his brothers. He took Steve (Masi, our production mgr./guitar tech) with him and they both said they had a great time. Steve said it was all about partying for three days with a little golf thrown in. Dexter was back in Atlanta at the time, so he flew in for one of the night‘s parties. Turns out they all hung out with the drummer and the tour manager of Creed. (no Creed in my ipod, but somehow The Fastbacks have worked their way into my Metal playlist. Cool song though.) Steve said it took him a couple of days to recover from all the fun. Greg, as usual, said very little.
(Quiet Riot; “Mama Weer All Crazee Now.” This song epitomizes everything I hated about the eighties, yet I can‘t help smiling. It sucks, but it is funny.)
I know that there is a ton of stuff that I‘m forgetting, and I‘ve left out a bunch of the stuff that I think you guys would find boring, so I guess that‘s it for now. I‘m kinda getting over all the Metal shit I‘ve been listening to while I‘ve been typing (stupid Cinderella song right now. Uugh). Here‘s my list of what I have been listening to lately (besides Metal):
The Pogues; Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash.
NOFX; The War On Errorism. One of the best records of the year. Get this one or die a lonely poseur. Be sure to check out the CD extras.
Anti-Flag; Die For The Government.
Strike Anywhere; Change Is A Sound.
Rise Against; Revolutions Per Minute.
The Deadbeats; The Calapation Collection. This is Oxygene‘s band and, despite that fact, I really like this record. It‘s pretty weird, but in ways that are really good and pretty interesting. These guys are like a real band now. The playing here is really good, the songs flow really well, and the production is really good too, especially since these guys had to pay for it all themselves. Dropkick Murphys; Blackout.