The Dave Blog

KISS Kruise 2012

2012-01-26T22:46:00.000-08:00

Natahsa and I just booked a vacation for Halloween 2012. We will be heading to Florida and hope to spend time with her grandparents and my brother Johnny before we head out from Miami to the Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.

This is shaping up to be our big vacation this year. Needless to say it will be great to see KISS again, and to visit family in Florida.

This is shaping up to be a fun year.

20 Years Ago

2011-11-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

It's hard for me to believe but 20 years ago one of my inspirations for playing drums and listening to music passed away. Eric Carr the drummer for KISS.

Attached is a collage from the KISSOnline.com website in remembrance of Eric. I was able to see KISS with Eric Carr a number of times starting with my first KISS concert in 1985 and leading up to his final tour where I had front row tickets for the Hot In The Shade Tour in 1990.

In Lieu Of...

2011-07-31T23:15:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, no bad news here.

Tonight I had my first rehearsal / audition for a band called In Lieu Of. A friend of mine plays guitar in the band and when their drummer departed I got the call for the gig.

The music is rooted in soul but backed by a rock band so you get a heavy rock band with a soul/r&b singer. The band gigs in both LA and San Diego and I'm looking forward to mixing things up with this new music.

As a teaser here is a recording of my first performance with the band tonight. Warts and all. Not too bad for a first run through on a rehearsal / rental kit.

We've Just Begun To Live by In Lieu Of

For more info about the band check out

http://www.myspace.com/inlieuofmusic

What's New

2011-07-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

Nothing new to really report here other than I haven't forgotten about this site. At this time I find that life continues to get busier and time truly does fly.

Look out for some more detailed updates in the next month or so.

Until then...

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and welcome to 2011. 2010 continued the transition for me and after a rocky 2009 I couldn't have asked for a better 2010. New job, new girlfriend, my band released a new CD, too many concerts to count, lots of travel including multiple Las Vegas trips, a couple of trips to San Diego, Connecticut, the Philippines, Coachella, Texas, Denver and numerous work trips to San Francisco, Overland Park KS, New Jersey and New York.

Here's looking forward to 2011. Happy New Year everyone!!!

A world away

2010-11-21T17:24:00.000-08:00

I've been in the Philippines less than 48 hours and saw the Gin Blossoms within hours of landing. The surreal moment of the night was watching them sing about the 405 in a room with thousands of Philipinos. The country loves American music and you'd think you were watching the Beatles on stage given how excited the crowd was.

After getting, or attempting to get a full nights sleep and waking up around 4:30am local time we made it to the Shangri La beach resort and I was able to take in my first day of snorkeling. It was like I was swimming in the world of Nemo, seeing sea anemone, clown fish, barracuda fish, fluorescent fish, emperor fish, fish the size of your finger, to fish as big as your arm. I had no idea you'd be able to see clearly through the ocean. At one point I was being circled by what seemed hundreds of fish and then they all swam off.

Under water the fish would get inches from your hands and face and would just check you out. It's as if I was swimming in a giant fish tank, which if you think about it, that is pretty much what the Ocean is. I've never had the desire to scuba dive but after getting a taste of what you can see scuba suddenly sounds interesting. A few times I'd see fish swimming among the sea life on the floor of the ocean and I'd swim down from the surface about 10-15 feet and just hang out with them. So peaceful and remarkable that the fish had no problems swimming with people.

Today I'm dealing with a little bit of a sunburn, wondering why I keep waking up at 5am and can't believe I have nearly two more weeks here.

New Spidersuit CD!!!

2010-11-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

Announcing the new release from Spidersuit.

the Pigeon

Featuring yours truly on drums.

This is my first CD with Spidersuit and the packaging looks amazing. The CD also just went up on iTunes and you can find it here.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/down-again/id405234462?i=405234496&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

My drums were recorded in 4 different recording sessions over an elapsed period of over a year so this is a long time coming. I'm proud of my performances and can't wait for all of you to hear the CD. Special thanks to Pete, Ellen and Tom for letting me join their band.

And although this is just a small independent release it's pretty cool to think that the dreams I had as a kid of releasing an album continue to come true. And now with Spidersuit I have my 2nd CD.

Check it out on iTunes and email me your mailing address if you want a physical CD.

We have a hit!!!

2010-09-12T00:22:00.000-07:00

I've been at GOGII less than a month and the very first product I was able to work on is already a hit on the iTunes App Store. We launched last Thursday and made it to Number 3. Top 10 less than 24 hours after launch. It's very exciting to be part of this team.

So if you have an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or know someone that does then tell them to download our free app.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textplus-4-pics-edition-face/id385384781?mt=8

Asia At Club Nokia

2010-08-29T15:52:00.001-07:00

This past Friday night I was able to see a band I never got a chance to see when I was a kid. Years ago on their second tour Asia had a live special on MTV called Asia in Asia. This was broadcast live from Japan and occurred the day before my 11th birthday. Here is a clip from that show that I stayed up until the wee hours of the night to see. They later broke up and went through numerous line up changes.
Some 27 years later I was finally able to see the original line up live at Club Nokia. Strangely I had a number of friends independently at this show as well. So we had a good little group at the show with Natasha, myself, Brian and Jay (from my apartment), and another couple of friends of ours Liz and Steve.

The stage was minimal with only the instruments and a small video screen above the drums. The only thing the video was used for was to show the album cover for the song they were playing.

This was a surprisingly enjoyable show with a great vocal performance from John Wetton, an expectedly good drum solo from Carl Palmer and of course some great acoustic solos from Steve Howe of Yes fame.

For a low key show in a small venue this is probably one of the best theater shows I've been to in years. Great music, a great environment and a crowd that really showed respect for the music, which isn't something you see much as shows these days.

Asia
Club Nokia
Los Angeles, CA
August 27, 2010

I Believe
Only Time Will Tell
Holy War
Never Again
Through My Veins
Don't Cry (Geoff Downes & John Wetton)
Steve Howe Solo (2 songs)
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (Geoff and John, ended with full band)
Open Your Eyes

Intermission

Go
Time Again
An Extraordinary Life
End Of The World
The Heat Goes On (w/ Carl Palmer drum solo)
Sole Survivor

Encore
Days Like These
Heat Of The Moment

Old is new again

2010-08-23T00:28:00.000-07:00

Well after having my car for nearly 7 years I decided it was time to get a new car. I wasn'tplanning on doing this right now, but after too many repairs this year, tires, alternator, belts, and then warning signs for a new clutch I decided to do what my Mom always did. When a car starts to break down, don't fix it, just trade it in for a new one. :-)

Here is one of the last pics of my old car and a couple of pics of the new one. Yes, it is basically a new version of my old one. Upgrading from a 2003 530i to a 2011 528i.I didn't think the drive and experience would be so drastic. My previous car was very nice and I had no complaints about the car it self. But this new car drives has both an amazing ride, and is decked out with outrageous technology. Starting with the navigation, smartphone, blue-tooth, and it even has a hard drive for time-shifting radio and for ripping CDs to your car. Some of these things I didn't even know they were doing.

The first road trip will be to Las Vegas in October. Can't wait.

Here is a link of the car I picked up today, down to the exact colors and options..

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/BYO/SharedBuild.aspx?ConfigurationId=599325

The Rush Vacation before I turned into the Working Man...

2010-08-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

After 6 weeks of vacation I head back to work tomorrow. I'll be joining Gogii, a start up that currently builds a free texting application for smart phones call textPlus. I'll be their VP of Engineering and will be working to both improve their current product line and expand their portfolio of products and services. So on my last week off I had planned a little vacation and was able to see Rush twice on their Time Machine tour. First in Los Angeles and then at the world famous Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver Colorado.

I went to the first show with my friend Brian

from Helio/Virgin/Sprint and who is also a resident of the lovely Mansfield Estates. I had just joined the House Of Blues Foundation Room so Brian and I were able to get access to the VIP area at the Los Angeles show. I had great seats and towards the end of the show I caught one of the shirts Geddy Lee threw into

the audience. The shirt featured Geddy on front dressed as the character from Gershon's that was the movie featured pre-show and during the intermission.

On Thursday I flew out to Denver to meet up

with Brett. I stayed at his place my first couple of nights and we took in a lot of mountain driving. First on the back roads to Manitou Springs and then after a couple of hours of driving our destination was rewarded with an old school video game arcade straight out of the 1980s. We played Tron, Asteroids, Joust, Galaga, Q-Bert, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Pole Position and maybe even a few others. We got the high scores on nearly every game we played with Brett taking the #1 spot on some and me #1 on others. EED and DAV lived on.

After a late night dinner with Brett and his wife Sandy, we headed back to Brett's for some late

night gaming on the Xbox 360. Friday Brett and I headed to Rocky Mountain National park. I had done this a few years back with the family when we there for Brett's wedding, but this was one thing I wanted to do again. We spent most of the day driving through the mountains and saw some Elk and Moose along the way. Took some great pictures and at the peak we were over 2 miles above sea level close to 13,000 feet.

Friday night concluded with another dinner and more Xbox gaming. We had a great time and although he turned 40 the following Monday I felt like I was able to be a part of his 40th birthday celebrations. Brett and Sandy were off to a family vacation on Saturday so I was dropped back off at the airport to meet up with Terry and Geoff, Terry's other brother in law.

Once we met up we headed to Matt's, a friend of Geoff's and had lunch at Cherry Cricket, as featured on Man Vs. Food, and then we took in a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field with a pre-game event at Lodo's for a Texas Exes meet up. A little pre-game drinking with UT alumni.

We had a great time at the game even though the Rockies ended up losing. The game went into the 10th inning but at the end of the day the Milwaukee Brewers came out ahead.

On Sunday we took in brunch at a place called The Buff Restaurant in Boulder. We took in a tour of the Coors Brewery, saw the grave of Buffalo Bill and had dinner at another little place in Boulder.

That night Terry, Geoff and I got a hotel and did some late night drinking at Buffalo Wild Wings and topped the night off with some Coors (Yellow Belly) and Coors Light (Silver Bullet) back at the hotel. Listening to music, telling stories, and acting a lot like we did when we all lived in Austin when we were in college.

Monday was the primary reason for being in Denver. The Rush show at Red Rocks. After sleeping in we are started our day once again at the Buff Restaurant in Boulder. Afterwards we headed up to the Estes Brewery in Estes Park and took an air tram to the top of the hill above Estes Park. After a couple of hours of sight seeing we were off to see Rush.

Once at Red Rocks we walked around the park grounds and were able to hear Rush's soundcheck which featured the songs Presto, and Faithless. We met a number of people from out of town including a couple from Texas. A little rain shower and then a beautiful but faint rainbow emerged. And all of this happened about 30 minutes before the doors to the venue opened.

Once we got inside we all just took it in. The Rush show is always a great spectacle with great music and on this tour they were playing their best selling album, Moving Pictures, in its entirety. The Red Rocks show had some technical difficulties with the into movie and it seemed the high altitude might have given the band a couple of challenges during the set. A few missed cues here and there, which is odd for a Rush show, but nevertheless a great show and if you ever get a chance to goto Red Rocks then do so. A visually stunning venue.

Rush played the same set in both Los Angeles and Denver.

Rush

Setlist

The Spirit Of Radio

Time Stands Still

Presto

Stick It Out

Workin' Them Angels

Leave That Thing Alone

Faithless

BU2B

Freewill

Marathon

Subdivisions

Intermission

Tom Sawyer

Red Barchetta

YYZ

Limelight

The Camera Eye

Witch Hunt

Vital Signs

Caravan

Drum Solo

Guitar Solo -> Closer To The Heart

2112 / Temples Of Syrinx

Far Cry

Encore

La Villa Strangiato

Working Man

Tuesday morning Terry, Geoff and I all headed to the airport said our goodbyes. A great way to finish out my stretch of time off, and now after a great week of escape its back to reality.

Rush closed their show with a song called Working Man. So as I start my new job on Wednesday and it's time to "Call Me The Working Man".

I took quite a few pictures so here are links to the different photo albums from the trip.

Manitou Springs / Rocky Mountain National park

Denver Weekend

Estes Park

Rush at Red Rocks 2010

Kings Of Leon - Hollywood Bowl

2010-07-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

First off Happy Birthday to my sister, Lisa! It is number 30-something for her, but who's counting :-)

Tonight I took Natasha to a sold out performance by Kings Of Leon at the Hollywood Bowl. You really can't beat the great Southern California weather. I live close enough to the Bowl so we didn't have to drive or deal with parking and the weather was between 60-70 degrees the entire night. We left around 7pm and got home around 11:30 and spent the entire evening outside.

The walk takes about 20 minutes and we were inside and seated towards the tail end of one of the opening acts, Built To Spill. Another band, Futures, played before but we missed their set.

It's hard to believe I saw Kings Of Leon play the first show of the day in a tent years ago at Bonnaroo and now they are headlining and selling out the world famous Hollywood Bowl. They played 4 new songs tonight and surprisingly they went over well for being unfamiliar material for the audience.

Highlights for me included The Bucket, Use Somebody and the new songs Immortals and Southbound. And the surprise of the night they saved until the very end. Pyro!!!

Kings Of Leon
July 12, 2010
Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood, California

Crawl
Taper Jean Girl
My Party
Be Somebody
Immortals
Molly's Chambers
Fans
Milk
Closer
Mary
Four Kicks
The Bucket
Radioactive
Sex On Fire
Notion
On Call
Southbound
Trani

Encore
Knocked Up
Manhattan
Use Somebody
Black Thumbnail

A mini Vacation

2010-07-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks back my friend Ron hit me up and asked if I'd be willing to meet him in Las Vegas the last weekend of June. Let's call this required minimal arm twisting considering I was wrapping up my job at Virgin/Sprint and I'm always looking for an excuse to head to Vegas. I drove out Friday June 25th and we met up that afternoon at the Palms. Since I had stayed at the Palms the last couple of times in Vegas I was able to get our room comp'd for the entire weekend.

After a few drinks in the room we headed down to the pool and then out for some dinner at SW (see my last Vegas post) and some late night gambling. Nothing too crazy and it was great to catch up since we hadn't just been able to hang out as two guys in many years.

Saturday we took in some more drinks, some more time at the pool and then was able to see a special concert at the Paris hotel with Cheap Trick presenting The Beatles Sgt. Pepper in it's entirety. The show featured a small backing symphony, background singers, an Indian Ensemble (for Within You Without You) and of course Cheap Trick.

The set started with I Am The Walrus, ran through all of Sgt. Pepper, Cheap Trick were able to play a mini greatest hits set and closed with some additional Beatles songs. We got tickets last minute and due to some extra seats in the front section the ushers upgraded our seats so the front section would be filled.

And the remainder of Saturday was left for more gambling.

Sunday ended up being the highlight of the trip. After a late night of gambling the night before we were eating breakfast and Ron suggested instead of hanging at the Casino all day we venture out to the Grand Canyon. The drive is a little over two hours and takes you over the Hoover Dam. However the directions failed to mention that the last 13 miles of the road is dirt up to the top of the West Side of the Grand Canyon. My car made it, but definitely was making some strange sounds on our way back.

I had never been to the Grand Canyon so this was quite a treat. The journey was also a bit touching because the day before my grandfather died he told me about the Grand Canyon and how amazing it was. He was actually driving out to the Grand Canyon when he died.

We went to Grand Canyon West and did the Sky Walk. This is a horseshoe walk way that goes out over the Canyon so you can get a birds eye view into the Canyon through the see through floor. A great time and definitely an unforgettable memory. They wouldn't let us take pictures on the Sky Walk but they had their own photographer and here are a couple of those photos.

Sunday night ended with more gambling and almost got ugly for me. Let's just say I had put my very list chip on to the table for the night and ended up rallying for five hours to break even on my trip. I wrapped up around 3am and by the time I left the Casino, I had a VIP card and also the business card of a Casino Host. I guess they want their money back next time I come. :-)

We both headed out early Monday morning, Ron a little earlier than me, and after a little get away I was back home by 2pm on Monday. Considering the close proximity to Los Angeles it was nice to have a spontaneous getaway with a good friend that resulted in a trip neither of us will ever forget. Good times!

On Gene Simmons Family Jewels

2010-05-03T14:26:00.001-07:00

This past February I went to a CD release party for Bruce Kulick, the former guitarist from KISS. At the performance Nick Simmons, son of Gene Simmons, got on stage and sang one song (twice actually). Gene Simmons' Family Jewels production was there to document the occasion and yours truly was front and center for the performance.

I just found out that A&E aired the episode last night. I found the episode online and watched the episode and there is a shot of me in full KISS Army glory :-)

Here is a picture I took of Bruce and Nick from the show , and below is a picture they took of me!

The show ended up being a great surprise and one of those things that you only get living out here in Hollywood. They played a couple of songs off of Bruce's new CD, and also played one KISS song from each album where Bruce played guitar.

Bruce Kulick
The Cat Club
February 1, 2010

Come Hell Or High Water (KISS)
Hide Your Heart (KISS)
Tears Are Falling (KISS)
Heart Of Chrome (KISS)
Hand Of The King (w/ Nick Simmons)
Hand Of The King (again w/ Nick Simmons. They played twice so they had enough video footage for the TV show)
No Friend Of Mine
I Walk Alone (KISS)
God Gave Rock And Roll To You II (KISS)

You can watch the full episode here.

http://www.aetv.com/gene-simmons-family-jewels/video/?bcpid=58345455001&bclid=82355205001&bctid=82331971001

A little Vegas and staying busy in LA

2010-04-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

I just got back into town from a mini-vacation in Las Vegas. The primary occasion was just a little get away along with a concert with a friend. I stayed at Palms Place, the same place I stayed at when I saw KISS in November. The concert I saw was Muse and Silversun Pickups at Mandalay Bay on Saturday.

Drove up Friday, gambled Saturday and Sunday and had one of the best steak dinners ever at SW Steak House in the Wynn hotel Sunday night. Check out the picture of the Funnel Cake dessert. Amazing!

After dinner I went to a couple of clubs, first the Ghostbar which is on the roof of one of the Palm's Towers. Their gimmick is they have a see through floor where you can look straight down 50+ floors. It was super windy so I didn't stay too long. After the Ghostbar I headed over to the Playboy club near the top of the other Palm's Tower. Great drinks, great bar and lots of Playboy logos along with waitresses in the classic bunny outfits.

I just got back to LA Monday evening. And this week is another full week. First I have band rehearsal with Spidersuit tomorrow night in preparation for our show at the Joint in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Wednesday night I'm seeing Them Crooked Vultures.

And then on Friday Terry is flying into town and we are headed to Coachella for a 3 day music festival.

My first letter to my Senator

2010-04-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of cleaning out things and came across the first letter I wrote to my US Senator, Barbara Boxer, here in California. And I'm sure my Mom will be proud of me once she knows what it was for :-)

Was it for Health Care? No...
Was it for Educational Funding? No...
Was it to get Ah-Nold out of the role of Governator? No...
Was it for Gay rights? No...
Was it for the Legalization of Pot? No...

So what was it for?

It was for funding of the Arecibo Observatory to support the efforts of S.E.T.I. Search For Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. Here is a link to the PDF of the response I received back in October 2008.

Spidersuit Gig

2010-03-08T00:37:00.000-08:00

Looks like Spidersuit returns with a gig at The Joint in Los Angeles on Thursday April 15th at 9:00pm. This will be my first show in 2010 and I'm looking forward to having some of my new friends see me perform. More details will be posted as I get them.

Ok. It took me three updates to this entry but we finalized the date and time for the show.

Things are getting busy

2010-02-15T13:59:00.000-08:00

Here we are in February and the year is starting to get busy. First off between January and the first part of February I've been to numerous birthday parties. I'm discovering that is the thing single people do out in LA. Lots of dive bars, karaoke, dinners, and overall good times.

After the slowness of the holidays I'm excited that concerts of bands I like are starting to get back into swing. I was able to see Bruce Kulick, former guitarist from KISS, a couple of weeks back do a CD release party. He played one song off each KISS album he was on as well as a few of the tracks from his new CD. Gene Simmons' Family Jewels was also taping the event so maybe I'll be on an episode of Family Jewels in the near future.

On Wednesday I'll be seeing one of my favorite artists Bob Schneider out of Austin, Texas and I have a few more shows lining up over the next few weeks. Since my bands aren't playing I guess it's time for me to go see other bands play.

Having some down time on the home front I've decided its time to explore LA. There is so much to do out here and I'm looking forward to exploring. This past weekend I did brunch in the Hollywood Farmer's Market and this next weekend I think I might be going hiking in Runyon Canyon with some friends. The best part of all of this is so much of it is within walking distance of my apartment. I'm really enjoying the Hollywood location.

On the work front they are also keeping me busy. I've been on the road the majority of the year bouncing back and forth between LA, Warren New Jersey, and Overland Park Kansas. I was snowed in by a small scale blizzard in Warren last week and although snow is pretty, I'm finding there is no need to live anywhere other than the perfect weather of Southern California. My work travel schedule will be in full swing for another month or two and then I think by April things should return to a slower pace.

That's it for now.

What's new?

2010-01-24T22:12:00.001-08:00

Travel! It's been a crazy few weeks and I think the travel is going to be fairly intense for me for the next few months. Virgin Mobile was acquired by Sprint right before the holidays and I find myself in the middle of the planning for the transition. This is the fourth work week of the year and my third on the road. I'm actually writing this from the lovely Overland Park, KS Marriott hotel.

With that said I'm learning how to adapt to both my new single life and new work life. One of my best friends lives in Kansas (Sprint's HQ) so I get to see her and her family most of my trips out to Sprint. And late last year I made a few new friends when I stayed the weekend in NYC (near Virgin's HQ) and I've been able to meet up with them the last time I made it there.

Some fun things I've done recently included seeing Pee Wee Herman at the new Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. I was invited last minute by my friend Brian on his birthday. We went with a couple of other friends and had a great time. For those in Los Angeles I highly recommend the show. I was not a fan growing up and was surprised by how well done and entertaining the show was. We even got to stick around for a Q&A that lasted nearly an hour. We saw the last of his warm up shows before he had all the press come out for his big return to the spotlight.

Something I've found myself doing that has surprised me is I'm reading books again. The last time I remember regularly reading was back in elementary and middle school. I've gone through a couple of books in the past month and a few weeks ago when I was out with a friend at the mall I actually found myself buying more books to read.

In February I hope to be home just a little bit more so I can catch some live music and hang out with friends. One of my favorite artists from Austin, Bob Schneider, is playing the intimate Troubadour, and I think I'll be going to the 5th Annual WesFest at the end of February.

Oh and I shaved :-) For those on Facebook I think a couple of pictures have been posted. Now I just need a haircut... Haha.

Till next time...

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T17:25:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Everybody!

Just a warning up front. This isn't one of my typical posts and is probably more for me than you, but I wanted to put this out there. You've been warned.

For those that don't know this has been one of the most challenging years of my life. I lost one of my best friends to suicide, I lost my mother in law, and over the course of the year Jacki and I filed for divorce. At the same time I had one of my most accomplished years. I had a great year at work, was recognized by my company and sent to London to have dinner with Sir Richard Branson, I was able to record drums for a new CD (coming in 2010, hopefully), I played a sold out show on the legendary Sunset Strip at one of my favorite venues, and I was able to see my daughter graduate from high school and begin her journey towards becoming an adult.

As you've noticed I haven't written much this past 6 months. It's been a time of reflection, a time of solitude, and now a time to look forward. In a strange way I feel like I'm in the process of discovering or redicsovering who I am. And I must say I've been a bit surprised to find that I actually like myself quite a bit.

I've made lots of new friends in LA recently. I had one of my best birthdays ever earlier this month, I was able to follow my favorite band KISS on the road for nearly 2 weeks, and I find myself enjoying and getting more out of life than I have in years. I've also had more lasting memories in the past few weeks than I've had in years. And one of the most important things to me is I've been able to see so many of my best friends in the last month. Who knew I'd get to go to Colorado, Kansas, and Texas, and even reconnect with my friends out here in LA that I don't see enough. And all in a period of a few weeks. You all know who you are :-)

Today is bittersweet. It was supposed to be a day of celebration, a day when Jacki and I would look back on a milestone of 10 years together. Instead this first decade of the 2000's symbolically bookends our marriage starting with Dec 31, 1999 and virtually ending on Dec 31, 2009, and now the next phase of my journey begins.

I will look back on 2009 as a year of finality, too many endings, and too much death. Instead of an ending I see it as a close to a chapter. I definitely feel as I'm in transition and I hope 2010 will be the year that brings an end to the transition and a start of many new beginnings.

I'm now headed off with friends to ring in the new year. Good bye 2009, and I hope that 2010 brings everything you are looking for. I know it will be one of my best years ever!

You Wanted The Best... You Got The Best...

2009-11-23T22:54:00.000-08:00

The Hottest Band In The World... KISS.

So for friends and family that are close many of you know I've had a hell of a year. As a bit of relief I'm going to be going to see my favorite band perform not once, not twice, but five times over the next eleven days.

Tuesday night I'll get to see KISS in Anaheim with my daughter Darian. We have 2nd row tickets on Gene Simmons' side.

When it's all said and done I will see KISS in 3 different states, in 5 different cities and I'll be going with different friends and family to every show. It's going to be the best 11 days I can imagine leading up to my birthday!

Seven Seraphim

2009-10-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday I was able to perform once again at the Key Club with Seven Seraphim. This time around we opened up for a band called Stratovarius. The show was a great success. I showed up about an hour before we were scheduled to go on stage and there was a line going around the block. On Ticketmaster the show was sold out.

So now I can say I've played a sold out show on the Sunset Strip. Those are some bragging rights I never thought I'd be able to have. We played better than our first show, made some new fans and I was able to be a rockstar for the night.

Here are some videos from the show I found on YouTube.

We've been bootlegged!

Intranet write up of my trip to London

2009-10-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

IT Guy Scores Virgin Star of the Year Award and a Trip to London!

Congrats to David Howard for winning a Virgin Star of the Year Award 2009 on September 11th. This annual award is given to those that best embody the true Virgin spirit.

"I had the honor of representing Virgin Mobile USA at the annual Virgin Stars Awards Dinner in London last month," says David. "Just to name a few others there, we had Planes, Trains, Cosmetics, Mobile, Online Gaming, Soft Drinks, and even Space Ships. I met people from South Africa, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and of course the US. And to top off the event Sir Richard Branson even gave away a few trips to Necker Island. A great time was had by all."

Last day in London

2009-09-18T04:49:00.000-07:00

This week we spent a couple of days in Paris, rode a highspeed train from London to Paris and under the English Channel, and then we are spending the last couple of days back in London.

Unfortunately we have no US power plugs here at the hotel in London so our computer and cell phones are dead, and I'm typing this from an internet kiosk in the Hotel. So we feel just a bit disconnected.

In Paris we saw the Arc D'Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, the Musee D'Orsay and walked up and down Champs-Elysees. All things I started to think I may never get to do. The Louvre was amazing and I could have spent 2-3 days in there if I had the time.

And yesterday was our Beatles exploration day, with trips to Abbey Road, and yes we have lots of pictures and even video. We left some graffitti on the front of Abbey Road studios and learned how to use "The Tube", which is London's underground subway/train transportation.

Tonight our last event will be the musical Wicked and we will be seeing it at the Victoria Apollo Theatre in London's West End. And tomorrow we get to go back home, which both Jacki and I are looking forward to.

I should be back online Saturday night and will post photo and video highlights.

London

2009-09-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

Jacki and I have been in London for the last few days before we head off to Paris. It's been a busy few days and it will only get more packed as we head to France on Monday.

I have lots of pictures to share and will have those online soon.

The reason I'm over here in the first place is Virgin Mobile USA selected me as part of their annual Virgin Stars. My reward dinner was with other stars from Virgin companies worldwide and with our special dinner guest Sir Richard Branson. Dinner was amazing and it was great getting to socialize with people from all over including England, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and even the US.

I'll get pictures and more stories posted soon.

Happy Birthday to Darian

2009-08-15T11:06:00.001-07:00

It's Darian's 18th Birthday today. Happy Birthday D, I love you!

Alice In Chains Listening Party

2009-07-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't even recapped the Rocklahoma event and I'm already going to new events in LA. Monday night I got a text from a friend inviting me out to a listening party for Alice In Chains' new album, Black Gives Way To Blue, scheduled for a September release.

I landed back in LA Tuesday morning and then that night 4 of us went out to the listening party. The set up was nice, free open bar, free In 'N Out Burgers, and was set up in what looked like a modern multimedia theater. Two small screens flanking both sides of the stage and a very large screen in the middle.

I had never been to a listening party so I didn't know what to expect. As we walked in they had the video for "A Looking In View" playing on the big screen over and over again. One of either the marketing or label people got up and stage, welcomed everybody and then they played the CD with accompanying still visuals on the large screen.

The artwork accompanying the songs was distorted views of reality. My favorite was of an eclipse of the Moon covering the Sun, however the Moon was much larger than the Sun which is not a perspective you can see from Earth. Other distortions included two people sitting around a table with a child standing on the table that looked to be only 10" tall. Very fitting artwork for this band.

The CD is fairly steady consisting of heavy, dark material and material that started in the acoustic world. You would never notice that Layne Staley isn't on this material. Will DuVall, their new singer blends perfectly with Jerry Cantrell, and this material is fidelity wise an evolution of the band although the songs may not be.

After the CD the screen lifted and revealed Alice In Chains on stage in an acoustic setting. They were a five piece featuring Derek Sherinian, from Dream Theater fame, on keyboards. They ran through three songs and then left the stage. One classic, and the performance premiere of two of their new tracks.

Alice In Chains
July 14, 2009
The Ricardo Montalban Theater
CD Listening Party

Down In A Whole
Your Decision
Black Gives Way To Blue

They took our phones at the door so unfortunately I don't have any pictures from the event itself, although I was able to get a poster promoting the album, and a guitar pick.

Rocklahoma 2009 - Day 1

2009-07-10T08:56:00.001-07:00

Terry and I made it to Rocklahoma 2009 yesterday. Nothing quite like coming back to the show and seeing familiar faces, and meeting up with friends we've made through the years at the event.

We arrived to the event around 3pm and once we got our wristbands
1. Age verification for drinking (check)
2. 4 day pass for event (check)
3. VIP Seat assignment (check)

As we walked into the venue Metal Church was wrapping up their set. We only saw one full song which ended up being a cover of Deep Purple's Highway Star. This also marked Metal Church's final performance as a band. It seemed a non event.

Next up was Anvil. I had seen their movie and although their music isn't the best I was looking forward to their set. Shortly before their show I bought their newest CD "This Is 13". The recording of this CD was featured prominently in their movie.

Sadly the Spinal Tap moments haven't ended for this group. Let's count.

1. They had no roadies and were loading their own gear onto the stage prior to their set. Spinal Tap moment #1.

2. Lips is their frontman and ran right out onto stage at the start of their set and then immediately tripped on a stair and fell on his face. Spinal Tap moment #2.

3. Lips is fairly chatty between songs, and he'd tell these stories that were a bit awkward. It's like the guy that tells a joke or story and the delivery is poor. Fortunately Lips is charming so although the stories were awkward you found yourself laughing anyway. Spinal Tap moment #3.

4. Near the end of their set Lips trips on the stage again, making for a total of 2 falls. Spinal Tap moment #4.

Anvil

Soundcheck - This Is Thirteen

Set
This Is Thirteen
666
School Love
Winged Assassins
Jack Hammer
Race Against Time
White Rhino -> Drum Solo
Metal On Metal

They were fun to watch and although their music isn't all that memorable I had a good time. However, I don't think Anvil did much for Terry.

Next up was Overkill, but we didn't see them. We were off to meet Saxon and Nigel their drummer. Out in LA one of the bands I'm in is called Spidersuit and features Pete on guitar. His sister married the drummer of Saxon a couple of years back so as we were driving up to the event and listening to music I noticed Terry had some Saxon on his iPod. A couple of emails and phone calls later we found ourselves backstage getting autographs and pictures with Saxon. A lot of fun and completely unexpected.

After the meet and greet we headed to the VIP tent and ate dinner and refreshed our beverages. Next up was Saxon!

I had maybe heard only 2 Saxon songs prior to the show, and I must say they put on a hell of a show. They gave the best performance out of all the bands on Day 1. Lots of double bass which was nice for me to see as a drummer and considering we had just met Nigel backstage, and since I'm connected via a couple of degrees of separation it was great to see them bring such a great show to the event.

Saxon

Battalions Of Steel
Heavy Metal Thunder
Demon Sweeney Todd
Strong Arm Of The Law
Valley of The Kings
This Town Knows How To Rock
Dallas 1pm (Last minute addition to set list requested by Anvil)
Wheels Of Steel
Crusader

Encore
Denim And Leather
Princess Of The Night

After the set Nigel texted me, and asked me how I liked the show. It was the surprise of the day for me and I had a great time. He said it was nice to meet me and Friday morning he heads back to England.

The final show of the day was Anthrax. Terry is a big fan but had never seen these guys live. I'd seen them a few times through the years so I knew they can bring a great show and this was the event I was looking forward to all day.

Anthrax's new singer is Dan Nelson and as the guys walked onto the stage Dan looked considerably different from the last time I saw him. He had a beard and looked a little more sinister, which is appropriate for metal. And Scott Ian had a full beard as well.

Their set had a slow start, the crowd interaction was poor and the guys in the band weren't hitting their stride. About 3-4 songs into the set they were getting into the rhythm of the show and Dan was working his best to get the crowd that had been out in the sun for as many as 12 hours to give some energy back to the band.

Anthrax

Indians
Got The Time
Madhouse
Antisocial
Fight 'Em (new song)
Caught In A Mosh
Safe Home
Room For One More
Only
What Doesn't Die
(Birthday celebration for Frankie Bello. The brought out a cake and had the crowd sing happy birthday to him.)
I Am The Law

Encore
Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC cover)

I was standing by some guys we had met last year and starting with Caught In A Mosh we started some very light moshing and banging into one another. Only 3 of us doing it but fun nonetheless.

After the set I was able to get a Frankie Bello guitar pic, a Scott Ian guitar pic, and Rob's setlist. Considering the drought of after show freebies through the day it was nice to get some Anthrax after concert swag. Terry walked up after the set and was as hoarse as could be. Nothing like singing at the top of your lungs for 90 minutes.

Once Anthrax's set was over they showed the Anvil movie on the big screens. Terry hadn't seen it before so we stayed for the movie and were on the road back to our hotel shortly shortly before 3am. After a quick shower, and the after concert wind down we were asleep by 3:30am. Approximately 13 solid hours of rocking. Not bad for day 1.

Moving day for Darian

2009-07-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

Moving D into her first apartment of her own in Santa Barbara. A big
day for all of us. Here is a quick pic of the front door.

She is what they call one of the Gillespie Cottages. A very fancy
name for a mult-unit four-plex.

Change

2009-07-05T17:29:00.001-07:00

So they say you should not fear change. In the upcoming weeks we will be going through a series of life changes. Darian moves off to school on Tuesday, and by the end of July we will be moving out of our house in Santa Monica. A little downsizing, and time for us to start on our new journey, collectively and individually.

I can't say I'm looking forward to all of this change, but in life I've never been afraid of change. A couple of decisions through the years have significantly changed our lives and now 10 years later we find ourselves living in Los Angeles, having successfully raised Darian through school, and now we will send her off to experience life on her own. And in many ways we will be going through this new beginning and embracing new experiences, on our own, as she will do by herself.

Over the next 4-6 weeks I'll be moving from Santa Monica and will relocate into the Hollywood area. Only a short 9 miles, yet a world away.

Although this posting doesn't say everything, it represents one of those key turning points in my life.

Michael Jackson RIP

2009-06-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

There really isn't anything to say about this icon that hasn't already been said.

I work in Westwood and my office window looks over the UCLA Medical Center which is where Michael was taken. Upon the news of him being rushed to the hospital and then later his death I was able to see helicopter after helicopter circle the medical center. At one point there were 6 different helicopters in my view from my office window, and traffic had backed up considerably. No matter what you think about this icon you can't deny his impact on society.

With that said I do remember watching the Motown 25th anniversary special and seeing the Moonwalk. The was a time before Tivo and DVRs, and we didn't even have a VCR. However to this day that was a performance that I'll never forget. I became one of the kids in elementary school that perfected the Moonwalk. That was a piece of joy and an unforgettable memory from childhood that Michael Jackson left with me.

D's Graduating

2009-06-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the big graduation day. It's hard to believe we've come this far and now she is getting ready for her big celebration and in less than 3 weeks she will be moving to Santa Barbara to go to college.

I'm very proud of her and hope nothing but the best for her as she starts the next part of her journey.

Spidersuit books multiple shows!

2009-05-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

Spidersuit has booked a couple of shows. Here is a quote from Pete when I asked when was the last time Spidersuit booked multiple shows?

"The first time since '79. Remember opening for UFO in Odessa? We rocked!"

We are in the final stages of wrapping up our CD so with a little work, and a little luck one of these shows may be used as a CD release party.

These shows have been booked with other bands that are friends of the 'suit so these will be good full nights of music. And Tom, our bassist, will be doing double duty for our October show playing both with Spidersuit and Brainspoon.

Monday June 29th
Venue: El Cid - Los Angeles, CA
Featuring Spidersuit and Broken Ocean

Saturday October 3rd
Venue: The Puka Bar - Long Beach, CA
Featuring Spidersuit and Brainspoon

Scream for me Long Beach!

Back On Nutrisystem

2009-05-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

After nearly 3 years I've decided to get back on to Nutrisystem for a bit. When we first moved to LA I lost nearly 35 pounds on Nutrisystem and I was able to maintain my weight for nearly 2 1/2 years.

The build up of stress, a job with a new company, and lots of traveling have quickly taken its toll. Although I haven't gained all of the weight back, I have gained more back than I was comfortable gaining. Today was my first full day on the program, and all I can say is I'm hungry!

On the plus side the food is much better than it was when I weaned myself off of the program back in mid 2006. I'm looking forward to seeing how much I can lose this time around. When I'm in town I've been working out with Jacki's trainer and I know that a combination of diet and exercise will yield even better results than when I did this back in 2005/2006.

At my first Yankees game

2009-05-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

I'm stuck in NJ but at least I'm getting to enjoy a game at the brand
new Yankee Stadium.

Lakers Victory

2009-04-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

This was taken during the final minutes of the Lakers victory over
Utah. LA now moves on to the next round of the playoffs.

Goodbye Alberta

2009-04-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Jacki's mom, Alberta Weaver, passed away yesterday. Thankfully we had spent our spring break based with her a few weeks back and it was with a heavy heart that we return so soon.

Jacki and Darian left for Port Lavaca yesterday and I'll be flying out Tuesday morning.

Here are a couple of pictures of Jacki and her Mom taken on April 11.

17 Again

2009-04-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to see 17 Again the movie where Darian was an extra. She filmed her parts during the winter break nearly a year and half ago, and the move opened this weekend.

Shortly into the movie after Zac Efron's character turned 17 Again, we were able to see Darian, blue hair and all, run into Zac and she made a great disgusted face as he nearly ran into her. Total screen time was only about 2 seconds but it was great to see her up on the big screen.

A significant portion of the movie was filmed at Darian's highschool, however all of the Santa Monica highschool references were removed and replaced with Hayden High.

If you are looking for a light comedy geared around a 37 year old turning 17 again then go and see 17 Again, starring Darian :-)

KISS is coming to the US

2009-04-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

But the trick is you have to vote on your city for them to come to it. The cities with the greatest amount of votes will get the show. So if you are in LA vote so I can see them!

View all Los Angeles events on Eventful

Spider Gig

2009-03-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Spidersuit will be playing at Juanita's in LA next Monday. Check out the killer flyer made by our bass player Tom Underhill. We've been working on our new CD and will be debuting some of the new material.

Spidersuit
Monday March 3, 2009
Juanita's
5930 York Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90042

See you at the gig.

Cotton Candy

2009-03-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Jacki and I had just a "little" cotton candy today at the saddle ranch
after our lunch.

RIP BMG Music Service

2009-03-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

You know those 12 CDs for a penny ads in magazines and newspapers? I just received notice that effective June 30th the service will be no more. Signs of death of the traditional music industry continue.

I've been an active member for over 20 years. I joined their CD program in January of 1989 when I was in high school and was so proud that I was able to build my original CD library on a budget.

This service also has the unique distinction of being a club that I've been a member of longer than any other. I originally joined in the mid 80s as part of their tape/album service and switched over to CDs in 1989.

If you are a member look for continued sales emails as they look to deplete their inventory.

Seven Seraphim

2009-02-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night was a great success. We had a great turnout and filled the Key Club. After our show the attendance thinned through the night. Not great for the bands after us, but a sense of accomplishment that we brought our own crowd to the show.

For those that don't know the Key Club was called Gazarri's back in the 70s and 80s. Many of the hard rock acts from that period got their start at this club including Van Halen, Motley Crue and the club was prominently featured in a movie that documented the 80s metal scence called The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II. So with all of that said this was a big deal for me to play at this particular venue. Lots of history for my favorite type of music and some of the best shows I've seen since moving out to LA have been at this club including Great White, W.A.S.P., The Wildhearts and Bob Schneider.

I got to the club shortly before 5pm and had plenty of time to do load in. Around 5:30 they had mic'd up most of my drums and we were able to do a full band sound check running through the first half of Anastasia.

We had an hour and a half until show time so I met up with Jacki and Darian and we went over the Rainbow and met up with friends from my work. To an outsider it was an odd collection of people from rockers, to IT people, to some of the old guard from IBM and polished consultants from Deloitte. I know the Key Club was wondering who invaded their club once we went on, considering the atypical audience crowd.

Going into the show I was worried about the lack of rehearsal with our new bassist, but it all worked out. Only a couple of minor flubs here and there which no one seemed to notice. After the show I heard nothing but good things about the performance, and I even got props from some of the Key Club staff as I was loading out my gear.

After making the rounds and saying hi to friends from work and friends from the past it was time to move on. I wasn't able to check out the headliners Powerman 5000 since they were going on so late, so instead a group of us made it to a Karaoke bar down the street that had a live backing band dubbed "Corey"-oke, since the band members are all named Corey. We closed at the night there.

I work with quite a few musicians and they were teasing me about my after show glow which lasted well into Thursday. This was a great night and a show I'll never forget.

Seven Seraphim
February 18, 2009
Key Club
Los Angeles, CA

Anastasia
Lady Jade
Song Blaque
Dance In The Red
The Discordant
The Hand That Feeds

Debut performance of Seven Seraphim.
Guitar - Andrew Szucs
Vocals - Sam Terceman
Drums - David Howard
Bass - Rufus Philpot (Guest Bassist)

Seven Seraphim Tonight!

2009-02-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight my band, Seven Seraphim, plays our debut concert at the Key Club on Sunset in Hollywood at 7:30pm. We are the first band of the night and will be opening for Powerman 5000.

Hope to see everyone at the show!

Styx at HOB

2009-02-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

After getting back to LA late on Tuesday night, canceled flights, rerouting, bad weather, etc... it was back to the normal routine.

I got through the first day back in the office and I took an immediate diversion to see Styx at the House Of Blues with Brian, a friend from work. We spent a little too much time at his place before hand and missed the first few songs of Styx's set but were able to see nearly an hour and a half of their 2 hour set.

Styx has the distinction of being my first concert when I was 10 years old. Through the years I haven't followed Styx closely but I have managed to see them a few times, the last time being in Atlanta with Jacki and my other band mates from The Superlatives.

All I can really say about last night's show is Tommy Shaw is the man. I could not believe how strong his voice sounded after all of these years. He was signing songs that were recorded some 30+ years ago and he sounds better on them now than on the original recordings.

Fooling Yourself, Renegade and Come Sail Away were the definite highlights, with a cover of The Beatles I Am The Walrus being a pleasant surprise.

And after the show I was even able to get a Styx guitar pick.

Tributes to Shawn

2009-02-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Written by one of my good friends back in Austin. Kai and I worked together, played in bands together, and spent a lot of time working along side Shawn and enjoying life together.
http://mytimeasahuman.com/shawn-c-dodd

Paul and I have worked together for the last couple of years and I've enjoyed getting to know him out in Los Angeles. We worked on projects with Shawn in and outside of work and enjoyed many a poker night resurrected from the old poker nights in Austin.
http://www.hainsworth.com/2009/02/in-memoriam-shawn-c-dodd/

Thanks to everyone who has been writing and sharing both publicly and privately.

Shawn C. Dodd

2009-02-06T03:33:00.001-08:00

Tonight I received news you are never prepared for. One of my long time best friends from Austin committed suicide Wednesday night. This is my third time to be exposed to suicide, a concept I'll never understand, and the first time from a friend this close to me. It saddens me to think how dark a place he must have been in.

Shawn was my first office mate in my first job out of college at pcOrder and we became very close when I lived in Austin. He even took over the room I was renting when Jacki and I got married. After pcOrder I had Shawn come and work with me at two other jobs and had the great pleasure of relocating him to Los Angeles for a few years to work for me at Helio. He was one of the smartest people I've ever known and I enjoyed each and every day I worked with him. I used to tell him he is my resident smart guy, and just having him around made me feel smarter.

Unfortunately we had a bit of a falling out towards the end of his time in LA, but in the last few weeks we had begun to exchange emails again and it seemed like I was talking to my friend again of many years.

Shawn was also a dear friend of Jacki's, taking her out in Austin when I would travel for business and looking out for her when I wasn't around. He came to our wedding and shared many memories with Jacki and I including dinners, concerts, and even vacations.

Last night Jacki invited me out to a dinner with her and one of her friends at one of our favorite spots, El Cholo. It was nice because one of my last great memories of Shawn in Los Angeles was he and I celebrating at El Cholo after giving a successful business pitch. This past December he sent me a congratulations note because the business pitch we gave became a reality nearly 18 months later.

We loved Shawn and will miss him dearly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

KEEL Reunion

2009-02-01T13:35:00.001-08:00

Last night I saw KEEL's first reunion concert at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. This past summer I was able to see Ron Keel's K2 band perform at Rocklahoma and they played a Keel heavy set so I knew a bit of what to expect.

Tonight at the Knitting Factory was a Club Vodka event. Three stages, bands going round the clock and scantily clad dancing girls in the main room for the headlining acts. For KEEL's set they were wearing KEEL shirts. The club was packed and from where I was sitting in the balcony it was solid people from the stage to the back of the floor. A great turnout for this show.

I wasn't in the mood for hearing new music tonight but I was able to catch 4 local bands, some good, some not so good. One band that did catch my attention was Ritual Habits. Good classic metal with a chick bass player that held her own, although she looked like she might still be in high school.

The DJ began to announce some of the VIP's in the audience including members of Black N' Blue, KISS, Cinderella, Quiet Riot and others. Right before KEEL went on Tommy Thayer stood right behind me and watched the entire KEEL set about 10 feet from where I was in the balcony.

Jamie St. James from Black N' Blue introduced KEEL and the debut concert of the reunion started.

KEEL
January 31, 2009
Knitting Factory
Hollywood, CA

Intro Music From - The Final Frontier
Reason To Rock
Rock And Roll Outlaw
Evil, Wicked, Mean And Nasty
United Nations Intro ->
Somebodys waiting
Speed Demon
Because The Night
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Medley: Electric Love -> Cherry Lane -> Let's Spend The Night Together
Raised On Rock
I Said The Wrong Thing To The Right Girl
Tears Of Fire
The Right To Rock

Encore
Joined by Jamie St. James (Vocals), Fred Coury (Drums), and Chuck Wright (Bass)
The Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy)

Guests leave and KEEL band members rejoin with Ron's K2 guitarist and a KEEL crew guy
We're An American Band (Grand Funk Railroad)

Ron sounded great on vocals but the set was troubled with some sound problems and you could barely hear Bryan Jay's lead guitar. KEEL is heavy on the double solos so missing half of the harmonies was a minor disappointment. Near the end of the set Bryan's guitar was finally loud enough to be heard.

I must admit the set list was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting a heavier set focused on material from Lay Down The Law and The Right To Rock. Instead the set covered their entire career with tracks from every album including the surprising set opener Reason To Rock off of their 6th album Back In Action released in the mid 90's.

Highlights of course included the hits The Right To Rock, they even brought out the kid from the video although he is no longer a kid, and Tears Of Fire. Other highlights included Raised On Rock featuring Dwain Miller on the Michael Des Barres vocals, and of course my all time favorite KEEL song Rock And Roll Outlaw.

They just announced a set on the mainstage at Rocklahoma this year so I'm hoping for a slightly heavier set with some more songs off of Lay Down The Law and The Final Frontier. The band looked and sounded great but you can tell it may take just a few shows before they are comfortable in front of an audience again. The band gave us our money's worth playing a setlist you couldn't predict and closing out the show with special guests at around 2:15am.

Darian was accepted

2009-01-30T06:02:00.000-08:00

I just found out that Darian received an acceptance letter from Brooks yesterday. Assuming the tour we take of the campus in February works out it looks like Darian has decided on a college. Hard to believe she is about to leave us to go to school. She will start in July.

Pic from Virgin Mobile Party

2009-01-28T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Jacki and I from the Virgin Mobile Holiday/New Year Party (yes, way late) last night. The party was at Kress a happening Hollywood hot spot. We had a great time and were able to mix and mingle with the Virgin crowd and make some new friends and hang out with some old ones.

The Art Of The Callous

2009-01-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

Last night was my first serious band practice in nearly a month. I had only played drums once in the last two weeks and now it's time to prepare for our big show at the Key Club.

Well, about an hour entire rehearsal last night I noticed my right hand was beginning to hurt. Blisters were forming, pain was entering into my playing and then I realized, my drum callouses were gone.

I'll have to get into a callous building regimen this week and begin practicing on the electronic kit this week after work. Time to build up the callouses. This is the first time in over a year where my hands went and got soft on me.

I'm so proud of D

2009-01-19T21:13:00.001-08:00

Tonight Darian, Jacki and I had a phone screen with Brooks Institute. She is looking at Photography as her major and a career and The Brooks Institute made her short list.

The interview lasted about 90 minutes and we covered everything from an overview of the school, to questions about how we think Darian will do in a college environment, to financial aid and the application process.

Darian did great. She answered every question with passion and enthusiasm. At the end of the call the interviewer congratulated Darian and wants to invite her to proceed with the application process. She filled out the start of the application and we paid the application fee. The next step is a one on one follow up interview for Darian.

On Feb 21 we will go to Santa Barbara to go to an open house of the school and check out the different campuses.

You can check out Darian's amazing photos at
http://darehow.carbonmade.com/

It's only 3 degrees outside

2009-01-16T00:12:00.001-08:00

--
Sent from my mobile

Snow

2009-01-15T05:27:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of snow outside my hotel window in NJ this morning.
Not a sight I'm used to seeing.

Vegas Day 2

2009-01-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Today has been good so far. We ordered room service this morning and
had one of our best breakfasts ever.

D and Jack napped this morning and they joined me at a Sopranos slot
machine. I put in 20 bucks and went away with 144 bucks. That win
covered my losses for last night and then some.

We then went to the Bodies The Exhibition exhibit which is something
Jacki really wanted to do. I don't do well with body parts but held
up until the circulatory/digestive system part of the exhibit. At that
point I felt sick and had both sweats and felt cold. A few minutes of
sitting down allowed me to get well again. We finished off the
exhibit with fetuses and embryos.

At the end we got a cool hologram image with skeletons. I will post
it once we get back.

Once back to the hotel we got a lite meal and then Jacki played some
slots. I finished off at roulette and after 2 days we are ahead.

Tonight we have dinner on top of the hotel in the foundation room.

--
Sent from my mobile

A view from our room

2009-01-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T23:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Jacki and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary today and are off to continue the celebration in Las Vegas. We are road tripping it tomorrow and will spend the weekend in Vegas with Darian.

We are staying at TheHotel at Mandalay Bay and have a suite for the weekend. We hope to get in some much needed relaxation and will be seeing the Beatles' Love Cirque Du Soleil show Saturday night.

It should be a fun weekend.

The Annual Top Ten List

2008-12-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

Here is my annual top ten list that I've now been posting for the last several years. No real surprises in my list this year, although it is nice to see one newer band on the list.

These are the most listened to of my 2008 purchases.
Sebastian Bach - Angel Down
The Sword - Gods Of The Earth
Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch
Zappa Plays Zappa - ZPZ
King's X - XV
Metallica - Death Magnetic
Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
David Gilmour - Live In Gdansk
Cheap Trick - Budokan! 30th Anniversary Edition
Rush - Snakes And Arrows Live

I'm seeing that new material isn't standing out for me year after year. I must say Metallica's Death Magnetic is a return to form and has probably been my favorite album of 2008. Sebastian Bach and King's X come close behind. As for reissues Cheap Trick's Budokan! including a DVD of the show and live recordings from both nights of their legendary Budokan performance has been great. Jacki and I were even able to see Cheap Trick a couple of times.

Top Concerts
Queensryche / Don Dokken - Feb 24 - House Of Blues / Anaheim
W.A.S.P. - March 8 - Key Club / LA - March 8th performing The Crimson Idol in its entirety
Ace Frehley - March 25 - HOB /Anaheim, with an honorable mention for March 24 in LA when I got to meet Ace in his dressing room.
Eddie Vedder - April 12 - Wiltern / LA
Mudcrutch - April 26 Troubadour / LA
Rush - May 8 - Nokia Live / LA
Iron Maiden / Anthrax - May 30/31 - Verizon Wireless / Irvine, CA
Liquid Tension Experiment - June 27 - Downey Theater / Downey, CA
Bob Schneider - Oct 17 /18 - Key Club / LA / Wavehouse / San Diego
Zappa Plays Zappa - December 12 - Roxy - LA
Metallica / Machine Head / The Sword - December 18 - Forum / LA

Looking back at the concerts I think this was one of my best years for concerts. I saw Ace 3 times, Maiden twice, Bob Schneider twice and experienced some unique shows including Liquid Tension Experiment and Zappa Plays Zappa at the Roxy where Frank's live album from the Roxy was recorded 35 years to the day at the same venue.

Now it's time to look forward to next year.

In The Studio With Spidersuit

2008-12-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

This past weekend it was time to go back into the studio. I recorded 4 tracks with Spidersuit earlier in the year and we wanted to build on those 4 tracks and round out a full release.

Saturday December 20 10:20am
We started early on Saturday doing load in shortly after 10am. After setting my drums up, setting up mics and checking out sounds it was a little after noon. By about 12:30 the full band arrived and we set to record. We are using the same producer as last time so I had to prepare myself to record without a click. Fortunately I've been practicing to a click track for another band I'm in so it wasn't nearly as stressful focusing on tempos this time around.

It was now 1pm and were ready to record my first track. Since we record without a click our producer prefers the dynamic of capturing a live performance in the studio. During the recording process only my drums are recorded and the rest of the band can only be heard through headphones. So if you sat in the room where we recorded you would only hear me, although all of us are playing.

The first track up was Tchopotoulous, which to me sounds like a great name for a dinosaur, but I was told that it was just a street name in New Orleans. So a cajun dinosaur it is.

We did three takes. First take was good but not exciting, second take was in the pocket, third take was also good but I think I drifted and forgot about the tempo. On listen back we can use either take 2 or take 3.

Between takes we jammed a little Zep and worked up a piece of Over The Hills And Far Away.

Next up was Devil Went Down To Pedro, in reference to a small coastal town called San Pedro just outside of LA. This song is the closest thing to a ballad we will have and is very different from our other songs. We did one scratch take for rehearsal and then I think I nailed our very first take of this song. Things were moving much too easy but I was about to get the studio payback on the next track.

Pete's 5/8 special. The 5/8 references the intro section of the song and a middle break that are preformed in 5/8. This song gave me some challenges where we originally learned it and now in the studio the goal is to perfect a performance. Well let's just say it took quite awhile to perfect. We must have done 6 takes of this song when we decided to give it a break. After the hour plus of recording this one song I was pretty sure we weren't going to capture the killer performance today.

Moving on we worked on our Beach Boys meets punk song called Isaac Newton A Go Go. A fun song that feature the drums. We did three takes of this one and we liked the third take the best.

At this point I had been working for about 5-6 hours on drums and was ready to call it a day. After some urging from Pete we went back to his 5/8 special. Two more takes and then we nailed it. We were so confident we didn't even listen back to it. Fortunately when we came in the next day all was good and was probably the best the band had ever performed that track.

We called it a day around 4:30pm.

Sunday December 21 10:30am
First thing we did Sunday morning was a listen back to Pete's 5/8 Special. I couldn't believe how strong it sounded. I was about to fall apart on Saturday and digging just a bit deeper pulled out one of my best recorded performances.

Now it was on to record a few more tracks. I woke up Sunday with a sore throat so I didn't feel great. Throughout the day I lost focus rather quick but we were able to complete 3 more tracks.

First up was Farstick. Oh and yes all of these titles are working titles. No telling what they will be called. This song is so new we don't even have lyrics for it yet. We did a scratch take and decided to work on the intro a bit. After coming up with a build of guitar, bass and drums we all appreciated we did 2 more takes. On listen back either take 2 or take 3 will work. It will be up to the band to decide which take they want to use as the foundation for the other instruments.

We had been working on a new song in rehearsal so we gave it a go but quickly realized that we are not ready to record. We'll save that for another session.

The next song up was Brown Saturday. This is cleverly titled as an ode to Black Sabbath, and during the recording our producer mentioned that it sounded as if I was channeling my inner Bill Ward. Bill Ward was the original drummer for Black Sabbath. Once I heard this I knew I was doing my part. This song is really 2 songs in one. A straight ahead rock song that breaks and builds as a triplet feel in the vein of Fairies Wear Boots off of Paranoid.

After a few takes we ended up liking the first half off the fourth take and the second half of the third take.

Last up for these sessions was Ding Dong Ding. This came out different than I expected and is turning into a heavier grungy song complete with a Kurt Cobain style guitar solo. When we originally worked this up in rehearsal I was expecting a song with a bit of a lighter touch such as Pedro, but once we finished I told Pete I think my playing may have been a little too heavy. Given the new grungier direction he said that heavier worked.

We recorded 4 takes but on listen back the band preferred my very first take. So although it was the last song recorded I was done on my first take.

We wrapped up and I was home by about 3pm.

So there you have it. Two days in a studio, 7 completed drum recordings and one sick drummer.

Spidersuit performance THIS WEDNESDAY

2008-12-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

Spidersuit just got a last minute gig this Wednesday night. The bad news is we will go on a little after midnight Wednesday night / Thursday morning. The good news is you can listen from home! We will be on the radio doing a live broadcast from the studios of KXLU 88.9 FM in LA.

If you want to come out and see us perform then send me an email and I'll give you directions to the studio. They encouraged us to bring our own live audience.

http://www.myspace.com/livation

Listen in!

Dr. Pepper's Chinese Democracy

2008-11-23T12:48:00.000-08:00

If you hadn't heard Dr. Pepper jokingly said in the press earlier this year that if Guns N' Roses released their album Chinese Democracy this year, then Dr. Pepper would buy a free drink for everyone except, Buckethead and Slash, two of GnR's guitarists through the years.

Well that day finally came. And how could you blame Dr. Pepper for taking a bet they didn't think they would have to pay out on. Chinese Democracy has been some 15 years in the making and has been rumored as coming out by the end of the year for the last 7 years.

It took some patience but I was able to get my coupon from Dr. Pepper for a free drink. I also picked up GnR's Chinese Democracy and I must say that after a few listens I'm impressed.

Thanks Dr. Pepper, thanks Axl. This drink is on me you!

Six degrees

2008-11-12T23:32:00.000-08:00

Today I'm in NJ as part of an executive management training program through Columbia University. Tonight we had a great treat and were able to see Chris Washburne and the Sytos Band, a Jazz combo, as part of the program.

Tonight was part of our leadership training and the Jazz combo was used to illustrate team dynamics. Some of the questions we asked centered around how does a Jazz team prepare, what happens if you don't like your team members, how does the team recover from mistakes, along with questions to the band regarding the popularity differences from country to country of Jazz worldwide.

Chris Washburne and the Syotos Band
November 11, 2008
The Heldrich Hotel
New Brunswick, New Jersey

Epistrophy (Thelonious Monk)
Killer Joe (Benny Goldsoon)
I Thought About You (Frank Sinatra / Miles Davis)
Caravan (Duke Ellington)

This combo was as good as it gets, and the environment in which it was presented were ideal including the setting of a hotel bar, 20 ft high ceilings and carpet with only 30 people. This made for the perfect acoustics although in an imperfect environment.

Over dinner the band sat with us and by a stroke of chance I ended up sitting by the drummer, Vince Cherico. We had a fantastic conversation and talked about his experiences, my experiences, and some of his friends including Kenny Aronoff. As we talked I discovered that Rufus Philpot was a bass player that he played with in his past and is someone that I'll be playing with in Seven Seraphim in Feburary. It is such a small world. I can't believe that as part of an executive training course through Columbia University that I met a Jazz Drummer from New York CIty that has performed with a bass player I'll be performing with in Los Angeles. This makes me only 2 degrees of separation from the band tonight. David -> Rufus (1) - Rufus -> Vince (2).

Vince and I exchanged information and I hope to meet up with him next time he is performing in Los Angeles. In addition to seeing him perform I hope that I'll be able to take some Jazz / Latin drum lessons from Vince.

The band was extremely generous with their time and even gave us CD's. I can't wait to hear it when I'm back home.

This week has required significant focus and a lot of work, but after an evening like tonight I feel that I've been rewarded through music which is so important to me, and I've made a connection with many of my team mates that are part of the organization I just joined.

I have one more day left in NJ but I don't see how it can get any better than this.

In NJ

2008-11-10T13:44:00.001-08:00

I am in NJ all week. On the flight in I had a great view of the city and was able to see the Statue Of Liberty on the approach.

I am not sure if I will get to see the city this week but it reminds me of how much there is to see and do herem

President Elect... presented by the KISS Army

2008-11-04T22:49:00.001-08:00

KISS has been running on their website a Choose Or Lose campaign to encourage people to vote. As part of the campaign they have been selling Obama and McCain KISS Army shirts and will be publishing the winner of the KISS Army vote by the number of T-Shirt sales.

In recognition of the President Elect here is Obama presented in Paul Stanley makeup by the KISS Army!

Enjoy.

PS. Mom - there is always 2012 :-)

Celeb sighting at Molly Malone's

2008-10-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight Jacki invited me to her regular after work hangout Molly Malones. She had a tip that a special guest would be performing there tonight. I was getting in from San Francisco and drove straight from LAX over to Molly's.

Jacki and I were sitting at the bar eating and we saw Dennis Quaid walk in. A few people walked up and talked to him. He was just a couple of bar stools down from us. After our celebrity spotting we headed into the live music room.

The band that was playing was called Ghost Hounds. They were a good blues rock band and the lead guitarist had a very Rolling Stones type style. About half way through the set they even covered Gimme Shelter which was dead on.

They finally announced their special guest and it was Dennis Quaid. He gets up on stage and leads the band on guitar and vocals through a couple of songs. Not who we were guessing would be the special guest but it made for an entertaining night.

I voted

2008-10-30T00:30:00.001-07:00

I just completed my absentee ballot and will drop it in the mail tomorrow.

Now on iTunes!

2008-10-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

The Superlatives are now on iTunes! Buy it now.

The Austin Avenue Recordings
The Superlatives

Release Date: Aug 15, 2008
Genre: Rock
℗ 2008 The Superlatives

Announcing Seven Seraphim at the Keyclub

2008-09-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

Seven Seraphim announces their first ever show for Wednesday February 18, 2009.

I joined this band earlier this year, and although I didn't play on the CD that was released I have been asked to be part of the performing band. If all goes well we will record a live CD that will feature me on drums.

Andrew Szucs is an amazing guitar player and is the mastermind behind Seven Seraphim. So if you enjoy guitar virtuosos and like your music progressive then come check out Seven Seraphim at The Keyclub.

I have always set little goals in my sparse music career. Earlier this year I accomplished a big one with the release of my first CD with The Superlatives. This show knocks out several more of my music career goals. This will be the first gig I've booked on the legendary Sunset Strip. A place I made my Dad drive me through when we were out in LA on vacation in 1988. This is the first time I've opened for a national touring act. In fact I have a couple of Powerman 5000's cds. For those that don't know the singer in Powerman 5000 is Rob Zombie's brother.

And this is the first time a band I'm performing with has tickets sold through Ticketmaster. Look at the ticket! I can't believe my band is on the official Ticketmaster ticket. And to make things even better The Keyclub is my favorite venue in LA.

As we approach this show we will be playing some warm up shows and Andrew will be re-releasing the Seven Seraphim CD Believe In Angels through your favorite digital stores (iTunes, Amazon, etc...) soon.

If you can make it out to the show then hit me up for discount tickets. Ticketmaster sells for $27 with service fees. I'll be selling them for $15. So come check out Seven Seraphim and get your discount tickets to Powerman 5000.

Been too busy to post

2008-09-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

All though I haven't posted much lately things are good. One of the bands I'm in just landed a big show on the sunset strip. Details will come shortly. Work is good, although extremely busy. It is better to be busy than wondering what's next but I've been working some long hours.

I just returned from Korea, and have been traveling back and forth between the NYC area and San Francisco areas quite a bit.

Once things slow just a bit I'll post more.

The Superlatives release The Austin Avenue Recordings

2008-08-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

It's official. My band from Atlanta has released our first and only EP. It is now available as an mp3 download on Amazon.

I recorded these songs with the band in early 2005 right before we moved out to California. We recorded in a home that was converted into a studio on Austin Avenue in Marietta, Georgia. Three years later we are finally able to release these recordings.

Click the below link to buy it now. The Austin Avenue Recordings will also be available on iTunes soon.

The Superlatives

The Austin Avenue Recordings

Release Date August 15, 2008

1. All About You

2. Can't Say No

3. Kiss Me Goodbye

4. The Weather Song

5. Mr. Knowitall

6. The Lonely One

http://www.amazon.com/The-Austin-Avenue-Recordings/dp/B001EIUQDS/

Helio is now Virgin Mobile USA

2008-08-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

Today brings a close to the chapter in our lives of Helio. As of today I'm now officially part of Virgin Mobile USA. I'm very excited about my future and Virgin Mobile's future however the day is bittersweet knowing that something I helped to develop from an idea is changing into something not originally envisioned.

With that said change is good.

http://virginmobileusa.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=176

LeRoi Moore - RIP

2008-08-20T00:10:00.000-07:00

I just found out that LeRoi Moore from the Dave Matthews Band passed away in Los Angeles today. Coincidentally DMB was on tour performing in Los Angeles tonight although LeRoi had sat out this tour due to complications from an ATV accident earlier in the summer. Due to long work schedules this week I had passed at the last minute on tonight's show.

I've seen DMB numerous times (10+) through the years and I always enjoyed what LeRoi brought to the music. My favorite sax part was LeRoi's bari sax on "So Much To Say" off DMB's "Crash" album. It grooves in a way I've never heard a sax groove.

LeRoi will be missed.

Happy Birthday D

2008-08-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Darian and her friend Laura at D's birthday lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

In The Big Apple

2008-08-13T18:50:00.001-07:00

I'm in NYC for a couple of days for business. I'm pretty sure this is the first time since I've been to NYC since 9/11. The last time I was here was with Jacki in early 2001.

Taking a cab to the hotel I was able to see the Empire State Building and take in some of the skyline. I took a walk this evening grabbed dinner at a small pub and was able to listen to some of the local regulars talk around the bar. The bar was very Cheers like, but the clientele was much older. They definitely got worked up over politics and after the instigator left the bartender said she was going to cut people off if they get out of hand like that again. Great dinner entertainment.

Now I'm back at the hotel watching the Olympics and getting prepared for tomorrow's meetings.

EARTHQUAKE

2008-07-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

We just had a 5.8 Earthquake. The building I'm in shook for about 15 seconds and my stomach got queasy. This was the biggest one I've felt since being out here.

Magnitude	5.8 - local magnitude (ML)
Time	Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 11:42:15 AM (PDT) Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 18:42:15 (UTC)
Distance from	Chino Hills, CA - 3 km (2 miles) SW (235 degrees) Diamond Bar, CA - 8 km (5 miles) SE (127 degrees) Yorba Linda, CA - 9 km (5 miles) NNE (23 degrees) Pomona, CA - 11 km (7 miles) S (178 degrees) Los Angeles Civic Center, CA - 47 km (29 miles) ESE (103 degrees)
Coordinates	33 deg. 57.5 min. N (33.959N), 117 deg. 45.1 min. W (117.752W)
Depth	12.3 km (7.6 miles)
Location Quality	Good
Location Quality Parameters	Nst=144, Nph=144, Dmin=8 km, Rmss=0.42 sec, Erho=0.3 km, Erzz=1.3 km, Gp=18 degrees
Event ID#	ci14383980
Additional Information	map with fault names Google Earth KML (Requires Google Earth.) Waveforms Did you feel it? 24-hour Aftershock Forecast Map SCSN Moment Tensor Solution CALTECH/USGS AFTERSHOCK PROBABILITY REPORT Tsunami Information Statement from the WC/ATWC

The Spider Show

2008-07-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

I had my debut performance with Spidersuit last night. For a first show it wasn't too bad, and the one song that I thought was rough sounded fine when I listened back to the recording. We had the first slot of the night and went on shortly after 8pm. Not a big crowd but definitely enough for a first show.

Spidersuit
Club Good Hurt
July 19, 2008

OC/DC
Tchopitoulous
Dirty
Lovesick
Trouble With Cars
Pete's 5/8 Special
Isaac Newton A-Go-Go
The Owl
New Year's Dissolution

The songs are short so I'm sure we were on stage less than 30 minutes. So far the songs I enjoy most are Tchopitoulous which was only added into rehearsal very recently, Lovesick, and New Year's Dissolution. There are a couple of other songs that we've been rehearsing that I hope we will be able to add into our next show.

After the set I received the finished product of the 4 recordings I did with Spidersuit back in March. I'm not sure when this will be released but I believe this will be available on vinyl and digitally on places like MySpace and iTunes.

Sunday Rocklahoma 2008 - Setlists

2008-07-18T00:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the setlists for Rocklahoma I documented for Sunday day 5. The first band of the day we saw was Zebra. They played their hits including Who's Behind The Door, Tell Me What You Want and The La La Song. Similar to Triumph I had high hopes for this band. They had a few technical difficulties and weren't able to connect to festival crowd so early in the day. However they did get people on their feet for Who's Behind The Door. I do give Zebra the distinction as having the coolest guitar pic at the festival. How cool a guitar pic is that!

UFO
July 13, 2008

Mother Mary
When Daylight Goes To Town
Hard Being Me
This Kids
Only You Can
Baby Blue
Too Hot Too Handle
Lights Out
Love To Love
Rock Bottom

The first set I documented was UFO. I had always enjoyed the song Lights Out but didn't know any of their other material. Watching their set was a bit mixed. At times they sound like two bands, one from the classic rock era of the early 70's and one from the hard rock era of the late 70's. Needless to say the hard rock material was my preference. Highlights from their set were Baby Blue, Lights Out and Too Hot Too Handle.

Ace Frehley
July 13, 2008

Rip It Out
Parasite
Snowblind -> I Want You (ending)
Rock Soldiers
Into The Void
Shout It Out Loud
New York Groove
Shock Me -> Solo (w/ She live ending)
Rocket Ride
Deuce
Love Gun
Cold Gin

I had high hopes for Ace, especially after the challenges of Saturday and I had been disappointed with the line up this year compared to last. Ace delivered and the KISS Army was in full force during his set. I was surprised by the heavy selection of KISS that Ace didn't sing on or write, but Ace knew how to deliver these hits to a festival crowd. Ace had the last day light performance and across the 5 days Ace had the best set during this time. Ace was reusing his KISS Farewell tour pics. He couldn't even spring for an event pic like Zebra did.

Tesla
July 13, 2008

Comin' Atcha Live
Into The Now
Gettin' Better
Hang Tough
Mama's Fool
Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)
Love Song
Little Suzi
Signs
Edison's Medicine
Modern Day Cowboy

Tesla was the breakout set for me on the mainstage at this year's Rocklahoma. They came out, blew everyone away and left the stage much too early. I would have liked to have seen them get an extra half hour in their set.

Queensryche
July 13, 2008

Operation Mindcrime

Encore
Walk In The Shadows
Take Hold Of The Flame
Jet City Woman
Empire
Silent Lucidity

I left the Queensryche set near the end of the Operation Mindcrime performance so I could catch Ron Keel and K2. I saw the Mindcrime performance in Los Angeles a yaear or so back and this was a tour I didn't enjoy. I enjoyed their performance better at Rocklahoma but would have preferred a rock concert as opposed to a theatrical performance. I listened to their encores while sitting at the North Tent. Great band and normally a great show but I'm ready for them to move past the Mindcrime theatrics.

K2 - featuring Ron Keel
Final North Stage (Tent)
July 13, 2008 - (actually July 14 Monday 1:30am)

American Thunder
Rock And Roll Outlaw
Evil, Wicked, Mean And Nasty
Sombody's Waiting
Becuase The Night
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Give Me All Your Love Tonight
Tears Of Fire
The Right To Rock
Lick It Up (KISS)

The K2 set was one of the best shows for me at all of Rocklahoma. I was able to meet Ron Keel in the VIP food tent on Friday and after the storms knocked the side stages down I assumed that K2 would not be able to play.

On Sunday they put up two small tents to replace the fallen North and South Stages. Ron and K2 went on stage after Queensryche's set, the last act on the main stage. When Ron started the show there was just a few of us and by the end of the set he had nearly everyone in the tent right at the front of the stage with him. I never thought I would get to hear Keel songs performed live again and hearing songs like Tears of Fire, Somebody's Waiting and The Right To Rock were incredible moments for me. Ron added two songs to the set that weren't planned and he finished off his set and Rocklahoma 2008 perfectly when he closed his set with KISS' Lick It Up.

Spidersuit at the Good Hurt

2008-07-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not even back a full day in LA and I found out Spidersuit has their first gig with me as their drummer this Saturday at the Good Hurt. The Good Hurt has so far been my favorite venue to play in LA and I'm looking forward to debuting with Spidersuit. We will be playing some new material that I had a hand in creating along with a couple of Spidersuit classics from their album The Owl.

We will play at 8pm sharp so come out early and stay late. I will be loading in at 7pm and will watch one or two of the bands afterwards (as long as the bands aren't bad).

See you at the show.

Rocklahoma is over

2008-07-14T01:24:00.000-07:00

Its 3:30am and we are just now getting back to the hotel after the 5th day of Rocklahoma. I'll do write ups when I get back to LA but I have to say I just saw K2 featuring Ron Keel. And to top off a perfect performance he ended his set with KISS' Lick It Up. Awesome!

Wetlahoma

2008-07-12T20:32:00.001-07:00

Terry and I are still at day 4. It has been raining for over 5 hours. The only set we saw in its entirety was Lynch Mob. They started over an hour late but were great. We have seen most of the big stage acts tonight but think we may blow off Lita and Warrant.

When the storm blew in it got ugly. We went to the vip tent and rode out the worst of it but it looked like the tent might not stay up. The two side stages were toppled and we heard there were injuries when the south stage fell.

I doubt any of the side stage bands will play tomorrow.

Hopefully day 5 will deliver.

-------
Sent via Helio Ocean

Rocklahoma Day 3 - 2008

2008-07-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

We have made it past the halfway point and are getting a late start today. Yesterday was good, bringing Rocklahoma back to the levels of last year both with performances and crowd size. The attendance still seems a little lower than last year but it is hard to tell with the side stages evenly splitting audiences to different sides of the fair grounds.

Armored Saint was on stage when we arrived and we caught the last 3-4 songs of their set. John Bush sounded great and at the end of their set I was able to get a guitar pic from their bassist Joey Vera. I will need to keep my eye out for some old Armored Saint CDs.

Next up was Kingdom Come. I had no expectations and enjoyed their set. Back in the day many joked by calling them Kingdom Clone, due to a couple of their songs sounding like Led Zeppelin rip offs. They made reference to this controversy during their set. This was their first show on US soil in over 15 years.

We made it over to the VIP tents for some food and I was able to get a picture and speak briefly with Ron Keel. I was surprised I was able to recognize him but after watching him for a few minutes and looking at the tattoos on his arm I approached and confirmed it was Ron. I am looking forward to his new bands set K2 on Sunday night.

Living Color was the musical highlight of the day for me. Great musicianship although the crowd didn't know what to think of them and the band really didn't know how to work a festival crowd. Corey Glover came out into the audience during Cult Of Personality which made for one of the more memorable performances. I had never seen them before so I was hoping to hear more material but by keeping the set short and sweet they were able to leave a lasting impression.

The best performance of the day was Night Ranger. Heavy on hits including one Damn Yankees song. After watching these guys I've got a new respect for Brad Gillis. Note perfect solos, lots of emotion and a great performer. The crowd was really into them and gave the band the best response of the day.

The last two acts of the night were the highly anticipated reunions of Extreme and Triumph. Extreme was a great show and Gary Cherone is an amazing front man. I'll likely be seeing Extreme later in the year in Hollywood and for a first performance of the tour they already sound tight and Nuno sounds amazing as ever. I enjoyed their rockers much more than the ballads. The only negative comment is they tried to play the show like a headlining concert with a beginning, middle and end. The moodier middle of their set lost the festival crowd, but should make for a dynamic headlining performance for their own tour later this summer.

Last up was Triumph. My very first concert Texxas Jam 1983 featured Triumph as one of the acts and I remember as a kid being amazed with their set. I think my expectations may have been too high for Rocklahoma. It was a good set but the setlist left something to be desired and the extended versions of a couple of songs just felt a bit excessive to me. The audience seemed mixed on Triumph with a lot of the crowd clearing out before their set was over, but for the people that were Triumph fans they couldn't stop talking about how amazing a set it was as we were walking out.

We roamed the grounds after the Triumph set and caught parts of 4 more after party bands. Gypsy Pistoleros, The Banned (a cover band), Dirty Penny, and an all female hard rock group. The after parties ended at 3am and by the time we got back to our car and to the hotel it was a little after 4:30am. A very long day.

Off to Day 4.

Rocklahoma Day 2 - 2008

2008-07-11T10:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday started with a morning of rain making for very muddy grounds. Fortunately the clouds kept the temperatures down. I'll keep this brief and will detail sets later. We arrived during the middle of the Vain set. I had never heard any of Vain's music and their singer looked like an emo kid that was 20 years too old. The last few songs of the set were decent and Eddie Trunk was rocking out on the side of the stage for most of the Vain set. One of the few times we've seen Eddie enjoying a band on stage. With that said I don't see myself buying any Vain material.

Next up was Enuff Z'Nuff with Donnie Vie back out front. This was a highly anticipated set since last year didn't feature Donnie Vie, but they didn't deliver during their main set. Donnie looked healthy and had fun with the large crowd but the band didn't seem to have the band camraderie you hope to see. The changed things up by bringing out Steven Adler from Guns 'n Roses to play covers of The Beatles' Revolution and Dylan's Knockin' On Heaven's Door played GnR style. Joe Leste and Tracii Guns joined for the last song.

L.A. Guns came out next and played the best show of the day. They had a new singer, Marty Casey, from Rock Star:INXS fame. He had a great voice and lots of energy. They even did one of Marty's songs, Trees, which may have been the highlight of their set. I'll have to see this line up when they play LA again in the future. Let's hope they can keep this lineup in tact. They announced their new album would be out in March of 2009.

The band I was most looking forward to seeing was Dokken. Don came out with only the same guitarist as last year. It was odd to see Dokken without Mick Brown on drums. Dokken delivered a spectcular set last year but they were not able to deliver this year. It wasn't bad but it wasn't magical like it was last year. I had spoken to Don Dokken earlier this year after a show in Anaheim and he said last year's Rocklahoma was a 1 in a 1000 for them.

Next up was Sebastian Bach who earned the hardest working front man of the night. The sound guy was asleep during Bach's set so the mix wasn't great but that didn't stop Sebastian. Sebastian closed with Youth Gone Wild which has got to be one of the best hard rock songs from the late 80s. The new material he played off Angel Down went over well but I'm still hoping for a full on Skid Row reunion. Sebastian is in top form and ready for it.

The last act of the night was the Bret Michaels Poison cover band, I mean the Bret Michaels Band. They sounded like a sloppy Poison and other than playing the unnecessary Bret Michaels solo material the set was nearly identical to Poison's tour last summer with a couple of different covers thrown in. We only stayed for about 1/2 of Bret's set and headed back to the hotel early.

We are off to get some lunch and headed to Rocklahoma Day 3 and get to see a full day of acts that weren't part of last year.

Rocklahoma Day 1 - 2008

2008-07-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

Terry and I just wrapped our first day of Rocklahoma 2009. We got checked into our hotel late afternoon and made it to the Rocklahoma grounds around 6:30. It had rained earlier in the day so things were a little wet, a little muddy and very humid. We did a cursory walk through the VIP area and found our seats from last year and then headed to the merch booth. I bought a Ron Keel cd which was next to a side stage. We walked over just as the side stage was getting started and saw Bang Tango.

I had never seen Joe Letsé live and he played a short set of Bang Tango with a couple of Beautiful Creatures songs thrown in. Last year they didn't have these large side stages so it was nice to see a smaller crowd in a GA environment right up against the stage with some big name talent, or at least big in Rocklahoma terms. It was a good start for the fest prior to a big act on the mainstage.

Bang Tango
July 9, 2008
Rocklahoma

20th Century Boy
Dancin' On Coals
Love Rejection
Dressed Up Vamp
Attack Of Life
Ride (Beautiful Creatures w/ BC bass player)
Kick Out (BC w/ bass player)
Someone Like You

After the Bang Tango set Terry and I walked over to the main stage area to watch Firehouse. Last year Firehouse was one of the surprises and played a great set. This year their set was just ok and even though the singer tried to work the crowd they didn't win over any new fans. The Wednesday line up was added at the last minute and the crowd was a fraction of what it will be this weekend so maybe the bands were having a harder time feeding off a crowd so early in the festival.

Firehouse
July 9, 2008
Rocklahoma

Overnight Sensation
All She Wrote
Oughta Be A law
Shake & Tumble
Love Of A Lifetime
Reach For The Sky
Don't Treat Me Bad

Just as their set ended we headed back to the side stage where we saw Bang Tango perform. Just as we got in front of the stage the curtain dropped for Faster Pussycat. They played a short set that skipped many of their hits. This band still sounds good live, but time has not aged these rockers well.

Faster Pussycat
July 9, 2008
Rocklahoma

Power And The Glory Hole
Cathouse
Slip Of The Tongue
Number 1 With A Bullet
? (lyric - turn you on... turn you up...)
House Of Pain
You're So Vain

At this point the sets were perfectly timed, so as the second stage ended Eddie Trunk was on the main stage announcing the next band. Jackyl was up next. I find Jackyl very entertaining although I didn't need to see their entire set. They played the usual hits and capped off the set with a flying chainsaw routine which included pyro concussion bombs. I forgot my cord for my digital camera so I'll post the chainsaw pics when I return home. Since we missed some of Jackyl's set I didn't take set list notes.

Ratt was the last band of the night and they alone were the reason we made an extra effort to come out to the Wednesay date. The band sounded great and didn't disappoint. They played their entire first EP and mixed up the set a bit from their tour last year. Being the final headliners they added an extra few songs to their set. I taped their performance and after a quick listen in the car back from the hotel I think I'm going to have a bootleg worthy of sharing. Stephen's voice was better than last year's performance although the energy of the band wasn't as high.

Ratt
July 9, 2008
Rocklahoma

Tell The World
Sweet Cheater
Walkin' The Dog
U Got It
You Think You're Tough
The Morning After
Back For More (Ratt EP Version)
Wanted Man
I'm Insane
Lack Of Communication
Lay It Down
You're In Love
Lovin' You Is A Dirty Job
Dangerous But Worth The Risk
Slip Of The Lip
Way Cool Jr.
Body Talk

Encore
Givin' Yourself Away
Round And Round

One day in and it is now 3:30am local time. We capped off the evening at Waffle House and consider the first day a good start. We'll wake up around noon tomorrow and lather, rinse, and repeat.

Rocklahoma

2008-07-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

Rocklahoma here I come. I fly into Austin tomorrow to make the drive with Terry. Music kicks off Wednesday night. The next post will be from the road.

The new Outlaws

2008-07-02T00:02:00.001-07:00

We had our first rehearsal with Vik last night and things sound good. He is on board for our upcoming shows.

Broken Ocean at the Viper Room

2008-07-02T00:01:00.001-07:00

My Mom's 60th

2008-06-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late on this but my Mom had her 60th birthday on June 2nd. Our good family friend hosted the party for my Mom and many of her friends. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the party but my sister Lisa passed along some pictures for me to post.

Happy belated birthday Mom.

Outlaw Engine crashes into The Derby

2008-06-27T09:12:00.001-07:00

Last night Outlaw Engine played the world famous Derby. It was a cool venue and has quite a bit of Hollywood history. Back in the late 90s on a trip out to LA I saw Big Bad Voodoo Daddy play at The Derby at the peak of the retro swing movement. So this was the first time I played a venue in LA that I had been to previously as a concert go-er.

I had a good turnout of friends from work and since so many bands were playing The Derby that night there was a fairly good built in crowd that were able to see us for the first time.

This was our final show with our current bassist Presi, but hopefully not our last as a band. We are working on potential replacements and if all goes well we may even be able to keep our previously booked shows. I think we will know within the next 3-4 days the fate of our remaining summer shows.

Outlaw Engine
The Derby
(Los Feliz) Los Angeles, CA
June 26, 2008

Rebelution
Born In East LA
This Woman
Sweat Out The Sin
The Palace Of Pleasures
I Know Why
Guerrilla Radio (Rage Against The Machine)
The Four Horsemen (Metallica)

Thanks to all who came out and supported us, and hopefully Outlaw Engine will see you again soon.

Outlaw Engine drama

2008-06-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

I had my first set back with Outlaw Engine this week. It looks like our bassist is quitting the band, just when we were gaining some momentum. I'm still unclear as to what happened but it looks like Presi took on too much with both his personal and professional life and something had to give. I'm uncertain as to what this means for the band but I'm hoping things continue since I really enjoy the music.

Our next show and possibly last if we don't continue is this Thursday at the Derby.

Seven Seraphim

2008-06-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the best rehearsal to date for Seven Seraphim. This is the progressive / neo-classical / metal project I've been rehearsing with for a couple of months. The music is by far the most challenging I've ever played.

Our bass player wasn't able to make tonight's rehearsal but this gave time for Andrew (guitar), Sam (vocals) and myself (drums) to really work through some of the songs. I was able to nail the arrangements for a couple of the songs for the first time tonight with Andrew.

The goals for this band are to
1. Perform Live
2. Record a live album of the material Andrew previously released on the Seven Seraphim cd.

We haven't put a time line on when we will do the above but based on tonight's rehearsal I think we are less than two months away from performing in front of an audience.

I found out when we talking afterwards that Andrew almost toured with Neil Turbin, the original singer for Anthrax. How cool is that! He said he had to turn down the gig because of the touring commitment.

RIP Bo Diddley

2008-06-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

I just read that Bo Diddley died today. Just the other day I was thinking about that classic Bo Diddley beat. Through the years as a drummer I've been told numerous times... "Just play that Bo Diddley beat"... He will be missed.

Iron Maiden and Anthrax in Irvine

2008-05-31T10:17:00.001-07:00

Last night was my first of two back to back Maiden shows. I took the day off from work and rested up for the long drive and headed out about 4pm for an 8pm show. As I was headed down there Friday rush hour was picking up and the 60 mile drive ended up taking close to two an a half hours. The time went quick, I was jamming out to Maiden and Anthrax psyching myself up for the show and then when I saw a car on the road that had IRON MAIDEN! 666 on the back window I knew I was not making the trek from LA to Irvine down the 405 alone.

Once I had a quick bite to eat outside the venue I headed over to the parking lot and was parked and in the venue by about 7pm. The show time wasn't scheduled to start until 8pm but Lauren Harris (Steve Harris' daughter) and her band got an early start at 7:30. Not sure she was a good fit for the show and although she and her band were adequate I've heard much bands that are unsigned.

Now I was ready to see Anthrax. I wasn't a big Anthrax fan as a kid but as I've gotten older I've gotten into the band quite a bit, first with the John Bush era material and then later becoming familiar with the Belladona era. I had only seen the band once with John Bush back in 2000 and I missed out on the entire Belladona reunion. Anthrax was debuting their new lineup featuring their new singer Dan Nelson. As they hit the stage the seats filled and you could tell they had quite a few fans at the show. The best part was when Maiden announced these two shows in Irvine, Anthrax were not part of the bill. A very nice after the fact surprise.

The band was loose and having fun. This was their second show with Dan and he was working the crowd like he had been fronting Anthrax for years. His voice was almost a blend of Belladona and Bush but he could also do more of the deeper modern metal vocals as well. I think his voice sounded more like Bush, however he sounded better on the Belladona material. They didn't play any of the new songs they played at their first show in Chicago, but the greatest hits set suited me fine since this was the first time I saw them since I've become familiar with the material. By the end of the set the band was fairly tight and I'm anticipating they will be great tonight.

Anthrax
Irvine, California
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
(Formerly Irvine Meadows)
May 30, 2008

Indians
Got The Time
Caught In A Mosh
Madhouse
Antisocial
Room For One More
Safe Home
Only
I Am The Law

Ever since moving to LA Iron Maiden was one of the bands I wanted to see out here. They recorded their monumental album Live After Death in Long Beach, and I thought how perfect would it be to be at a show where Bruce yells "Scream for me Long Beach". Although I was slightly disappointed that they didn't play Long Beach, Irvine is just a short 30 minute drive away and Bruce humored the crowd and yelled "Scream for me Long Beach" and the crowd went wild.

I've been checking out quite a few bootlegs from the recent tour and on the first leg of the tour back in the Spring the band played loose and the drums always sounded sloppy to me. Not last night, 6 months of touring has made Maiden a touring machine. You could hear each of the three guitars independently, the solos cut through, and Nicko was in top form.

One interesting series of events occurred right before The Trooper. Steve Harris saw a fight break out and proceeded to pause the show for about 2 minutes as he cussed out this unruly kid. Bruce not knowing what was happening since he was behind the stage for the set change yelled out I feel a Foreigner song coming on, and sang the line "I've been waiting... for this song to start". Shortly thereafter they launched into The Trooper and Bruce got the background on what happened after the song.

The show was great and at first I was worried about going back to back nights since I doubt the setlist will change, but now I'm anxious for tonights show. The one thing that surprised me is how chatty Bruce is. Through out the show he gave long winded intros but seemed sincerely in awe at the size of the crowd. I'm not sure if last night was sold out, it sure looked like it, but Bruce announced that tonight's show was sold out so if you didn't already have a ticket then you won't be able to see Maiden again.

As they wrapped the set Bruce said a new Maiden album is in their future and they will be returning to Southern California. Up the irons!

Iron Maiden
Irvine, California
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
(Formerly Irvine Meadows)
May 30, 2008

Pre-show Intro Music - Doctor Doctor (UFO)
Intro Movie
Winston Churchill's Speech
Aces High
2 Minutes To Midnight
(Scream For Me Long Beach)
Revelations
The Trooper
Wasted Years
The Number Of The Beast
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Powerslave
Heaven Can Wait
Run To The Hills
Fear Of The Dark
Iron Maiden (Big Eddie)
Encore
Moonchild
The Clairvoyant (Walking Eddie)
Hallowed Be Thy Name

Recording Engineer for hire

2008-05-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was asked to record my friend Tad's new band, Broken Ocean. It was the first time that I recorded a project that I was not a performer on. We got a late start Saturday night and realized that we were a bit unprepared with the necessary equipment to do a proper recording. With a little improvisation I was able to record some very basic tracks.

The challenge we faced was we were in a tiny room, had no instrument isolation, and didn't have enough headphones, or cords long enough to properly set up and record against a click track. We ended up tracking the music live with no vocals into Protools. 4 songs later we called it a night.

I feared the worst so I didn't listen to the recording for 2 days. Last night I sat down and began roughing out some mixes and was surprised that the material I had to work with was recorded fairly well. We had a couple of minor issues, one issue being we left the monitoring PA on during one of the tracks so you can hear some PA interference in the low frequencies, but other than that little mistake the recordings were usable.

The recording was dry and clean, and each instrument's track had very little bleed from other instruments. I couldn't believe this considering the room we recorded in was no bigger than 12'x12'.

The fidelity of the recording and the performances captured aren't appropriate for an official CD release but it is suitable for a demo CD and/or the band's MySpace page. As I learn more about microphones, different audio treatment effects (outboard and plugins) and become more efficient with engineering I think each recording I work on will get progressively better. I think in a couple of weeks we will try to do a fuller recording, layer in vocals and some additional guitars.

I was pleased that this very fast and rough recording rivals in sound quality some of the very early recordings I did with The Superlatives.

If the recordings get posted online by the band I'll be sure to link to them.

Two nights with Rush

2008-05-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

This past week I was able to see Rush twice at the brand new Nokia Live Theater in Los Angeles, or as Neil Peart may say, a very "large mobile phone manufacturer" Live Theater in Los Angeles. Both shows were great but ended up being entirely different experiences as my concert karma continues to be at an all time high.

Tuesday night I went with Greg, a co-worker of mine. He had picked us up tickets shortly after they went on sale. Once we found our seats we realized we didn't have the closest seats in the place and determined that the seating chart on Ticketmaster was slightly misleading. Nevertheless we enjoyed the two and a half hour show.

For Thursday night I had bought a single ticket right as they went on sale and was able to score a 12th row center. The seat was much better, the sound was much better and this was the closest I had been for a Rush show in over 10 years.

The show starts and the seats next to me end up filling up. Shortly before the intermission I saw a group of people walking down the aisle who had asked security to help them find their seats. They ended up having the three seats next to me and forced the seat squatters who had been there most of the show out of their seats.

During the intermission the group struck up a conversation with me asking how much I paid for my ticket. I told them and then looked at their ticket and pointed out that their ticket was free and was labeled complimentary. Making a small talk joke I said unlike me, you actually know important people. At this point they reveal that the gentleman in their group is named Rupert and produced a couple of Rush's albums. I asked if this is Rupert Hine who produced both Presto and Roll The Bones and they were impressed both with my knowledge of Rush and the fact that I knew who Rupert was. I ended up talking to them through out intermission.

Fast forward to the end of the show and as the crowd is leaving they told me they had an extra backstage pass and asked if I wanted to join them to meet Rush! With no hesitation I said yes, thanked them, then told them that I had to run to buy merch and that I would be right back.

About 5 minutes later I joined the group and was able to get a true backstage experience. Once in the hospitality room they had hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer and other assorted drinks. A bit more upscale then most back stage areas I've been to. I just had a bottle of water. Rupert his ex-wife Natasha, and their friend Jacqueline stayed with me the entire time and I was able to hear numerous stories about Rupert's time with Rush, meeting the band, having Neil petition him for nearly 7 years to work with them, moving temporarily to Toronto to work in the studio, and hearing about how great the three guys in Rush were so great to him and his family for the few years they worked together.

After about 10 minutes Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson join the group to do the after show meet and greet. Geddy immediately sees Rupert, and says hi to our group first. Geddy tells us to stick around awhile so he can make the rounds and come back. Rupert graciously introduced me to Geddy as a friend.

Being backstage was a bit of a who's who in the LA music scene. Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and someone I've become recently familiar with Jason Falkner (Jellyfish), a couple of guys from Vertical Horizon, and other industry types like personal managers such as Stewart Copeland's (The Police) personal manager.

Unfortunately Neil Peart does not join these types of events so Rupert and Natasha were taken to a separate room to talk to Neil privately. When they returned they said they had a great visit and Natasha had told Neil how the end of his drum solo reminded her of when she saw Max Roach and which delighted Neil. Once they return I had worked my way over to Alex Lifeson. Rupert once again introduces me as a friend and I'm able to get autographs and a great picture with Alex. This is one funny guy, if he hadn't done music he probably could have done stand up. Everything he said was hilarious.

Geddy finally made his way back to us and I was able to get his autograph and a picture with him as well. To top everything off when we leaving both Geddy and Alex shook my hand, remembered my name and personally told me that it was nice to meet me. Who would have thought that these guys would ever know who I was, even if only for a short moment in time.

I must thank Rupert, Natasha, and their friend Jacqueline for giving me such a memorable night. You just don't see this type of generosity given to a complete stranger. Thank you.

Rush
May 6 & May 8 2008
Nokia Live Theater
Los Angeles, CA

Limelight
Digital Man
Ghost Of A Chance
Mission
Freewill
Main Monkey Business
The Larger Bowl
Red Barchetta
Trees
Between The Wheels
Dreamline

Intermission

Far Cry
Workin' Them Angels
Armor And Sword
Spindrift
The Way The Wind Blows
Subdivisions
Natural Science
Witch Hunt
Malignant Narcissism ->
Drum solo
Hope
The Spirit Of Radio
2112
Tom sawyer

Encore
One Small Victory
Passage To Bangkok
YYZ

Even though my concert going experience was very different I found both performances to be very consistent including identical setlists. The first night Mission and Red Barchetta were my personal highlights. The second night Mission remained a highlight with the addition of Far Cry off their latest album. On both nights Subdivisions seemed to get one of the largest crowd reactions. I enjoyed the performance slightly better Thursday and in talking to Geddy he thought the band performed better as a whole on Thursday and said the sound seemed better as well.

What a recap. Now I'm off to listen to Presto and Roll The Bones!

My Pictures are on the Dream Theater Tour Site

2008-05-05T11:41:00.001-07:00

I just saw that many of pictures I took on Friday have been used on DT's official tour site.
http://progressivenation2008.com/tour/photos

They pulled my pictures from my Flickr stream.
http://flickr.com/photos/drumdave/tags/progressivenation/

This is a pretty cool way for bands to interact with fans and use content from the audience. Let's hope more bands do this in the future.

Also since I didn't post it last year, here are a couple of picture with me and Dream Theater from the meet and greet last year.

Dream Theater at Gibson Amphitheatre

2008-05-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

This past Friday I saw the opening night of the Progressive Nation 2008 tour featuring Three, Between The Buried And Me, Opeth and Dream Theater. One of Jacki's friends flew into town with her husband and son for the show. So we left the wives at home and headed out for a night of Progressive metal music.

I was only familiar with Dream Theater so I didn't know what to expect from the other openers, although I had heard good things about Opeth. The first band was 3, or Three, I saw it written both ways. These guys were great, and combined progressive metal with a latin / fusion flair. After their set I went and bought their most recent cd from the merch booth. After doing some research it seems these guys have been around awhile although I don't know how they've continued to stay below the radar. Do not miss these guys, one opening band you'll regret not seeing years from now.

The next band up was Between The Buried and Me. Not bad but not great. I'm not into the cookie monster vocals but overall the music and the set didn't bother me. After seeing 3 though it made this bands set fairly forgettable.

Opeth hit the stage next and had a great reaction from the audience. I hadn't heard any Opeth material but the crowd seemed fairly familiar with the material. This was another set that was good but not great. I did like how they combined elements of metal, and the more atmospheric moods of someone like Pink Floyd or even the softer side of Sabbath from the Ozzy era. Unfortunately I don't see myself running out and buying an Opeth cds.

This marked my 11th time to see Dream Theater and they were the only band on this bill I was here to see. I would still rather have an "Evening With" set but all things considered they played a good length set. Although my seats were better last summer, 1st row center, I was close to the stage and could hear the music and vocals much better this tour. Last year all I could hear were the subs on the front row.

I also enjoyed the set list on this tour more than last year's, and I must give Mike Portnoy credit for bringing a show that only had one common song from last year's tour and even comparing it to the other two shows I've seen in the LA area nearly zero repeats from tour to tour.

Dream Theater
May 2, 2004
Gibson Amphitheatre
Los Angeles, CA

(Intro Video / 2008: An Ant Odyssey)
In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1
Beyond This Life
Blind Faith
Forsaken
Erotomania
Voices
The Ministry Of Lost Souls

Encore
(The Dark Nintendo Night - intermission)
Medley:
I. Metropolis (w/ extended solos)
II. Learning To Live
III. A Change Of Seasons: The Crimson Sunset

The highlights for me were Forsaken, and Erotomania into Voices. For the encore break they showed The Dark Nintendo Night clip that has been making the rounds on YouTube. This is a mashup of our favorite character Mario from Nintendo fame disguised as Mike Portnoy running through Mario Bros world with the music of The Dark Eternal Night. I had seen this before but based on the reaction of the crowd I think this was new to most. It brought a much needed sense of humor to an otherwise serious night of music.

The Progressive Nation web site links in fans photos and video so with any luck you will see the photos I took published on the official Progressive Nation 2008 Photos Page.

Now below is The Dark Nintendo Night for your viewing pleasure.

Good Hurt

2008-05-02T02:14:00.000-07:00

We just rocked a midnight show at Club Good Hurt and arrived home a little after 2am. We pulled another 15 of our own people into a midnight Thursday show which surprised me. Nate is working the Myspace promotions hard and was able to bring in a group of people off of adding them as friends as Myspace. Jacki continues to be our number 1 fan, sporting an Outlaw Engine T-shirt and I was able to bring in a couple of people from work. Although one of the guys I didn't really know.

We had a much larger crowd than last week, probably 30-40 people were in the small club and most stayed until the very end of our set. Afterwards I had several people come up and introduce themselves and said we were the best band of the night and wanted to know more about our band. So this was the first night where I saw we officially made some Outlaw converts! And as Wil and Presi have said Horsemen is our bread and butter. Every person I talked to after the show said they loved Horsemen. I guess that means we will have to keep it in our set.

We met the booking agent for the club and he said he liked what he heard and some of the staff gave the nod of approval so he is going to continue working with us to get us in front of more people. That is always a good thing. We as a band also received our first drink tickets! Our first form of payment. Ha!

To cap off the night on the way home CCR's Travelin' Band came on the radio. An apropos ending to our drive considering that is the song we closed our set with tonight.

Thanks to all who came out. Our next show is on May 16th at Paladino's. See you there!

Outlaw Engine
May 1, 2008
Club Good Hurt
West Los Angeles, CA

Rebelution
Born In East LA
This Woman (Fool Of Law)
Big River (Johnny Cash)
Sweat Out The Sin
The Palace Of Pleasures ->
I Know Why
Honey
The Four Horsemen (Metallica)
Travelin' Band (CCR)

B.B. King's Cancelled

2008-05-01T00:22:00.000-07:00

It looks like BB King's Club in Los Angeles has gone out of business. We just received the call that they are closing and all shows are canceled. Our revised list of shows are below.

May 1 2008

12:00A

Club Good Hurt

West Los Angeles, California

May 16 2008

12:00A

Paladino’s

Tarzana, California

Jun 5 2008

11:00P

14 Below

Santa Monica, California

Jun 26 2008

10:30P

The Derby

Los Feliz, California

Outlaws at Universal

2008-04-30T01:51:00.000-07:00

Announcement - OUTLAWENGINE.COM lives! Not sure how we will use it but for the time being it points to our myspace page.

Monday night the Outlaws made an appearance at the Universal Bar And Grill in Universal City, CA. Jacki was able to make it out even though she had been fighting sickness the last few days. Andrew from Seven Seraphim also came to check us out. More on Seven Seraphim later.

Our set was only 30 minutes so we had to drop a couple of songs from the set. This meant the first change in our set list since we started gigging in early April. Nate continues to line up shows so come out if you can.

May 1 2008

12:00A

Club Good Hurt

West Los Angeles, California

May 4 2008

8:00P

B.B. Kings

Universal City, California

May 16 2008

12:00A

Paladino’s

Tarzana, California

Jun 5 2008

11:00P

14 Below

Santa Monica, California

Jun 26 2008

10:30P

The Derby

Los Feliz, California

Outlaw Engine
April 28, 2008
Universal Bar & Grill
Universal City, CA

Rebelution
Born In East LA
This Woman (Fool Of Law)
Big River (Johnny Cash)
Sweat Out The Sin
The Palace Of Pleasures ->
I Know Why
The Four Horsemen (Metallica)

105 degrees is LA

2008-04-27T14:46:00.001-07:00