FOR THE GLOVE OF CHOCOLATE MILK.........or how i learned to stop fretting over the heat and instead rock the fuck out

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!.........The AMERICAN SKIN shows in Columbus,GA and Montgomery,AL were extremely encouraging successes.......and i just gotta say, the people in Alabama sure are friendly....and they just about damned near lose their minds over some good rock n roll......at least the ones i met this past weekend do......good grief!.......we popped off a DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS cover saturday night and i thought everyone in the room was gonna spontaneously combust......we got home sunday to find our songs got over 150 plays on myspace that day......that's damned good for a page that was getting only a dozen or so plays a day prior.......

One item i could do without however was the heat.....you see, the AC in my truck(i was hauling the trailer)is on the fritz recently.......either the compressor or the freon i suppose......but sweating while travelling 80mph with the windows down is a sore feeling.......and tomorrow we got 100 degree temps on the way with a heat index up to 110.......sheesh........Air conditioning has to be the single greatest invention of all time.........

Moving forward, JOE GRAVES AND THE DIRTY LEFT HAND plays the monthly dowtown block party in Augusta,GA known as first friday this weekend......going back to the heat, we're playing outdoors on 10th street......indeed a blessing and a curse.....however, we don't play until 9pm so it could be worse.....we play with our great good friends THE LIVINGROOM LEGENDS and up and coming singer-songwriter ALLISON FOSTER....it promises to be a fine evening of free,original music......and i won't be paying attention to the heat.......because i'm gonna be too busy trying to beat my drums into brand new shapes........


Rock it like you're trying to commit murder.......

Stak

SUNDAY SPENT SAILING ON LAKE MURRAY,COLUMBIA SC.......

I ask you....What better way to end up the weekend than watching the sunset from a sailboat with a frosty PBR in your hands?

RAW LIKE SUSHI ON YOUR 14TH BIRTHDAY....

last night we celebrated the 14th birthday of my boy DYLAN.........he loves sushi, so the restaurant was a no brainer........


BRN BRN the sheepish totem........

we ate alot of it..........

the old folks were afraid of the sashimi........

we had a wonderful time.........DYLAN left richer than me..........but that's no great feat..........

rock it like you're trying to commit murder........

Stak

ALABAMA BOUND..............

FOR FUCK'S SAKE..........A LIL COMMON COURTESY PLEASE...........

My band AMERICAN SKIN played a show last night at the world famous SOUL BAR in downtown Augusta,GA...........we essentially had the option of doing the show ourselves, but opted to include a band i won't name here..........their guitar player is friends with our guitar player and the hope was that we could eventually end up doing several shows together in town and out........well all that hope went right down the crapper by the end of the night........what follows is my version of the story........

We are already at the bar when the other band shows up.........though they are opening, they showed up rather late......i don't believe all the band members were present until around 9 or so.......the show was to start at 10:30........so that was the first point deducted for non-professionalism....

Then they proceed to take what must've been about an hour to set up........seriously, it was that long before they played a note........they ended up sound checking after admission was already being charged at the door....second point deducted......

This is not to mention the ridiculous set up this group had........the drummer had a large kit(7 or 8 drums) strapped to a cage which took up about 3/4 of the stage(THE SOUL BAR's stage is relatively small).......add to that 2 guitarists, a bassist and a keyboard player and their assorted and sundry gear and you've got the makings of a clusterfuck........they eventually had to set up a riser next to the stage just so the keyboard player wouldn't have to stand on the floor.......

This next bit is where things get sticky......it would seem obvious that if you are the opening band, you would want to avoid pissing off the band that gave you the oppurtunity to play that night........these boys forged boldly forward, seemingly oblivious that another band was supposed to play that night......it was set forth by Coco(the owner) that they would play from 10:30 until 11:30....which would give them ample time to get their gear off the stage and ours on in time to begin our set by midnight.........they proceeded to play right up to 11:30......at which point the vocalist announces that we're coming up next and they have THREE more songs.........THREE MORE SONGS????!!!!!......ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!?!?!......they end their set 15 minutes over their alloted time....that,my friends is a sure-fire way to piss off the band with whom you're sharing the bill........and damn it all, it's just fucking disrespectful......third point deducted for non-professionalism

That was bad, but not unforgiveable.........what happened next was...unforgiveable that is.........they triumphantly complete their set and leave the stage to chat up their scantily clad female companions(none of whom paid a cover)....leaving their gear sitting there..........at this point, the folks in AMSKIN were beginning to steam.........fourth point deducted for non-professionalism........word to the wise when playing on any multi-band bill.......GET YOUR SHIT OFF THE STAGE POST-HASTE!!!........one would imagine this would be common sense and or common courtesy......this band is apparently devoid of both........

After a few minutes, the drummer and his girlfried get up on the stage and begin breaking down his kit ON THE STAGE!!!!........that's rookie shit.....any moron knows you need to get the kit off the stage before breaking it down........fifth point deducted for non-professionalism..........

At this point i lost my shit.........i went up onstage and shouted to the drummer and his girlie(there was loud music playing over the PA) to get the drums off the stage.....they gave me a confused look and i repeated myself, this time adding that they had already went over their time and we were waiting to get on the stage.....this lit a fire under this guy's ass and he got crackin'.....apparently, he told the rest of the band about the exchange, because they got moving finally as well.........

A little bit later, we're nearly set to go.......i'm onstage behind my drumkit when the other band's tallest member(the bassist) comes up to me onstage and says "Hey man, we don't appreciate your attitude".........I am FUCKING DUMBFOUNDED!!!.....i'm sorry, was i impolite?.......did i offend you?......i tried to explain myself to this mental giant to no avail......he says "bands go over sometimes,dude. it happens"....as rude as i can be, i felt completely justified.......so i'm not really about to apologize(my sense of righteous indignation has got to be right up there in the top 5%)......then this large person(refraining from name-calling here) proceeds to say something to the effect of "enjoy using our gear"......you see, this smart guy was referring to a personal agreement between their guitarist and ours to share an amp............at this point i've had enough of this inane conversation and tell the guy to fuck off and get the fuck off the stage.....enough is enough after all and it was about time for us to play.........the silly fuck........

during our set, a few of the other band's members stood center stage down front......staring me down........silly high school crap.........my vocalist eventually called them on it......."why you wanna give my drummer the stink eye"...he eventually ended up running them off.........

so this entire band is probably still calling me an asshole today.......but if you think i care, you'd be mistaken......they finish the night minus 5 points for non-professionalism........and i choose to take the balance of their punk rock points in addition.......i get 50 punk rock points for getting shit done.........

rock it like you're trying to commit murder.....

Stak

BABY AIDAN'S BEHIND THE 8-BALL..........

and other images from the JOE GRAVES AND THE DIRTY LEFT HAND show on the 14th.......our set was recorded live, so we should have new music posted on myspace within days........

that's me on the kit........it's difficult to see here, but that's one beautiful PDP cherry-black fade drumkit....


this guy's the one with the name on the marquee.......
T-bird between songs.....


furman and myself mid-song.........

WHEN FACING DOWN MORTALITY, WEAR YOUR LUCKY GRAVEYARD BOOTS.....

i've been listening to the recently released album by JOHN R CASH..........cobbled together post-humously from drips and drops of tunes he was working on just prior to his death, AMERICAN V: A HUNDRED HIGHWAYS is yet another reminder of how vital JOHNNY CASH was right up to the day he died.........again RICK RUBIN handled the production......and additional music was arranged by DOUG GILLIARD of GUIDED BY VOICES fame(which is an extreme left turn compared to his body of work to date)....... this record comes across like the final sentence in a very sweet and particularly confessional novel.........JOHNNY knew his time here was growing short several records before this one..........and he had no difficulty in saying so in his final songs.........the beauty of that is this.........you can empathize with this great artist........you can experience vicariously some of the pain of aging...........it's strange.......from song to song, you can almost tell whether it was a good day or a bad one, his vocal quality ranged so much..........

GILLIARD handled the additional music with the appropriate kid gloves............the music is understated and damned near majestic...........i am suitably impressed............and the more i learn about JOHNNY CASH, the more he becomes a hero of mine........

i highly recommend this record..........

Track Listing:

1. Help Me
2. God's Gonna Cut You Down
3. Like The 309
4. If You Could Read My Mind
5. Further On Up The Road
6. The Evening Train
7. I Came To Believe
8. Love's Been Good To Me
9. A Legend In My Time
10. Rose Of My Heart
11. Four Strong Winds
12. I'm Free From The Chain Gang Now


rock it like you're trying to commit murder..........

stak

WELL THEY WENT AND DID IT........

The House of Representatives went ahead and passed the bill i talked about yesterday........the one that is essentially going to make it illegal to wager on poker online.........some how the state sponsored online lotteries were spared.........explain the logic in that to me.............i liked what Wil Wheaton had to say about the issue..........

http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/07/12/congressional-hypocrites-pass-goodlatte-bill/

SITTING ON WAIT...........

Baby Aidan arrives in a little less than a month and a half........many preparations have already been made........still more to make.......but in large part, we are in wait mode.......and waiting gives one lots of time to think......think,think,think as WINNIE THE POOH would say........lots of thinks on my mind today.........lots of thinks............

i'm thinking alot about SYD BARRETT who's just passed away........for those who don't know(which who doesn't), SYD was a founding member of PINK FLOYD.......the short version of his story is that he went completely off his id(no doubt aided by the consumption of lots of psychedelic drugs) and didn't get to be in PINK FLOYD anymore......SYD's standing on stage in a catatonic state surely strained relations with his bandmates.........that said, i've always admired his music......not because it offered a window into the mind of an insane person..........but because of the way it conveyed a blended(for lack of a better word) message........his lyrics were very child-like......sing songy...........mother goosish.........and as disarming as that sounds, his music managed to be frightening at the same time........... i always thought that SYD seemed like a very sweet person trapped in a very frightening place..........R.I.P. SYD BARRETT.......

i'm also thinking about the band i share with the very pregnant love of my life,TRACY........JOE GRAVES AND THE DIRTY LEFT HAND.............we have a show friday night.........it's at the all ages place here in Augusta, SECTOR 7G...........i always feel kinda funny playing the all ages clubs.........hanging out with a buncha kids my son's age is not something i choose to do voluntarily......oh well............we are sharing the bill with THE EMOTRON.........maybe he'll set his penis on fire again..........one can only hope............

i'm thinking about legislation before congress as we speak to make online gambling illegal..........yet another attempt to legislate morality by our government.........again, no regard for personal responsibility.......personal accountability...........i don't need to US govt. to protect me from gambling my house away...........i can do that on my own......

i'm thinking about football season and how it can't get here fast enough.........to think, i actually sat on the couch watching WIMBLEDON tennis sunday.........good grief..........this upcoming season in the NFL looks to be exceptionally competitive.......especially in the NFC SOUTH........CAROLINA looks pretty mean............but i think my FALCONS will at least sneak into the playoffs on a wildcard.........i'm a firm believer that the FALCONS will surprise folks this year........great off season moves while remaining under the radar..........tough schedule coming up though.............

i'm thinking about other stuff too..........but i really should be assembling that baby crib........maybe i should get some hydraulics and some rims...........oooooooo and some fuzzy dice...."daddy, pimp my crib!"........

rock it like you're trying to commit murder........

B