Ampline

Rumors, lies, misunderstandings...

2006-06-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

Been really busy lately, as always. But, we finally have some light at the end of the tunnel. We recently worked out a deal with Shake It Records to release our new full length titled Rosary.

Here is the cover to the new record. Two old friends were amzingly helpful in putting the artwork together. Rob Namaste did all of the killer illustrations, and Fat Nick did a great job laying everything out. We just got the master to the gang at Shake It, and I'm told it's already on it's way to the pressing plant. If all goes well we will have the street date soon, which will in all likelihood be sometime in the Fall.

In other news, we have almost secured a deal to release an exclusive "UK only" cd single containing some of the songs off of Rosary in the UK this fall. When we have concrete details we will share those.

Here at home, we'll be spending some time at the amazing Southgate House in July & August, playing two amazing shows. First, we are opening for the legendary Mission Of Burma on Saturday July 29th. This show is part of the amazing Lite Brite Test annually hosted by thigmotrope productions. This is an amazing indie music/film festival. You won't want to miss it. Next, we will be sharing the stage on August 10th with the almost as legendary instrumental pioneers Don Caballero.

So much to do, so little time...

April 16th 2006 - Cincinnati, OH

2006-04-18T10:40:00.000-04:00

Tonight was a big show for us. Playing with punk legends Agent Orange. We are all big fans of theirs, and it's always cool sharing the stage with folks who have had some influence on you.

Got to the club for load in and realized we were the first people there. That's always the best feeling. After pushing the start time back a little, the show got underway with locals Ace No Face, and The Resurgence opening the show. Both bands played pretty tight sets. It was the first time I had heard of/seen them before.

We were up third. Feels good being back at Top Cat's. We haven't played there in a LONG time. Not intentionally, we just haven't done shows there because of our schedules. Everyone there is so cool, it makes the shows a lot more fun. The stage sounds was a little weird, but the set felt pretty good. Both Kevin and I were a little loose...since we haven't played nearly as much lately as we did in March when we were touring. Makes a HUGE difference. Overall a pretty good set.

Next up was Agent Orange. They tore right into it. I think they were on a mission because they all played with tons of energy, and were slamming every note of every song really hard. They even played "Police Truck" and all kinds of other cool, old surf and/or punk covers. Great set. Man were they loud...we we are really loud so I feel very comfortable commenting on someone else's stage volume. These dudes were f---in LOUD. Killer show.

Check one more band off the list of "people we'd like to share the stage with".

Evidence

2006-04-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

Since we haven't finished the "gallery" section of our website yet, I thought I'd post some random pictures we have from our last two tours.

Kevin took this picture of the stage at the Knitting Factory, right before our set. He has quite an eye for the dramatic.

This is what it would look like if you were looking into the van whilest standing on the drivers side running board, as we drove down 95 South at approximately 73 mph.

I believe Kevin & Mike did this to some hotel in Myrtle Beach. I didn't see what happened, just this picture the next morning. I was asleep.

Our friend Mike Ingram took this picture when we were playing at the Superhouse in Savannah, GA.

Again, shot by our friend Mike Ingram. He's good at pointing & clicking.

That's all for now...hopefully we'll post more pictures soon. Or we'll just get really organized and finish the gallery on our website.

Rock.

Back In The Fold

2006-04-10T14:16:00.000-04:00

Well, we're all back into our "normal" day to day routines by now after our last tour. Our March trip went remarkably well, especially given the last minute nature of so many of the bookings. When you deal with so many kind people all over America, it kind of re-inforces your faith in humanity. A little bit anyway...

Now we are 100%, neck deep in the process of the new record. The full length has a new home, which we are extremely excited about (more on that later). So the next step is finishing the artwork for the record. The album is called Rosary, and will have 12-songs. 4 of which you might have heard if you have already picked up our EP Your Tongue Or Your Life. Once the artwork is done, we'll know what the actual street date is.

Two REALLY cool shows coming up here at home.

First, on Easter Sunday we're opening for the legendary AGENT ORANGE! We're all super psyched about that...especially Kevin. If you live in/around Cincinnati you should check that show out after your easter egg hunt. It's at Top Cat's, and it's an all ages show. Should be killer.

After that, we are playing the always incredible Cincypunk Fest. This year's fest is version V (or five for those of you not up on your Roman numerals), and will take place at The Poison Room over four spectacular nights. Check out this LINK for more info about each night's line up, and ticket availability.

See you at the shows.

March 18th 2006 - Nashville, TN

2006-03-22T11:59:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a haul. Driving clear across most of NC, and almost all of TN. Last show of the tour is ironically in the same town as the first. Back in Nashville, but this time we are playing a very unique show. Our friend Josh who used to book Rocketown, runs this church now in Nashville. They are having an art show, and they want to have live music during the art show. Pretty cool idea...one we had talked about doing in Cincinnati many times, but were never able to organize such an event.

We get to The Anchor a little early and no one is there, so we make the short jaunt over to Rocketown to use the "facilities", and check the interwebs. After a quick stop there, we head back to The Anchor and Kevin puts his apron on. He makes a fine last supper for the tour, which is just what we need to get some energy back. 8.5 hour drives tend to take your energy away...

What a killer room. This church isn't what we expected, it's a cool church, but without any pews. There is a good sized stage with a pa system, and there is all kinds of cool artwork all over the venue. On the walls, hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the floor, everywhere. Very neat set up. Do a quick sound check, and wait for the crew to tell us when to start rocking.

Quite a good number of folks show up, and we start playing around 8:30. Good set, feels really relaxed, and flows well. Some really interesting looking older woman is grooving to the tunes from the side of the room near the front. She gradually gets more into it, and moves closer and closer to the front/center of the floor. Dancing more and more excitedly to the stuff. I can only assume she was getting sucked into the video more and more. Kind of funny though...I caught a couple chuckles from Kevin while this was going on. I think we might have been a little loud for the "wine and cheese" crowd that was there for the art, but I think a good number of the folks there were digging it.

After we were done, Josh asked us to play again. That surprised us a bit, but hey, why not. It's the last night, and if they want more we'll give it to them. I think Kevin and Mike enjoyed a bit of red wine between the first and second sets, because the second set wasn't as tight. But it was fun nonetheless.

Josh was kind enough to get us a hotel room, so we had a place to crash after the show. We head over there, and chill out for a bit. We are all pretty exhausted at this point, but no one is excited for the tour to be over.

That's a good sign. None of us ever seem to want to stop...

March 17th 2006 - Carrboro, NC

2006-03-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

We make our way through SC into NC onto Carrboro, where we're playing this St. Patrick's day at the Reservoir. Never heard of this club, but I come to find out that it is in the same space as the old Go! Room 4 venue that we played years ago with thistle. They've changed the layout of the room which at first doesn't look good. But Bill the bartender who booked us insists that we'll have a great night since it's Friday, St. Patty's Day, there are two great locals playing, and it's the one year anniversary of the bar.

Oh yeah, he informs us that since UNC is playing their first round NCAA tourney game, and we're in the town next to Chapel Hill, that we have to play during half time of the game. He said that there are SO many rabid Tar Heel fans that they will be watching the game, and he can't interrupt that. This news is a little alarming, but we'll make due. Bill was VERY cool to add us to this show so last minute.

Kevin and I kill sometime by chilling in the van while Mike skates around the city. He and I decide (for a variety of reasons) that while Mike is gone, we want to create a "New Mike". So we take his other pair of pants, and sweatshirt and fill it with sleeping bags to make a sort of scarecrow in his image. We sit him up in the passenger seat so when "old Mike" gets back it's the first thing he'll see. Can you tell? We're quite bored. When Mike gets back, he is pretty shocked to say the least. He can only laugh.

Moving on, we load in and set up in the corner of this little bar. Kind of intimidating since as Bill warned, the bar is filled with rabid Tar Heel fans who are incredibly into the basketball game. Makes us feel like we're at a sports bar. By the time halftime hits, the bar is packed to capacity...in fact there is a snall line forming outside to get in. So many people are in there that people are crushed up against where Kevin/Mike stand...some by choice, I'm sure some are not. That was a fun feeling...but almost everyone seemed WAY into our set. It was cut short, due to the halftime, but it was a real blast to tear through our set with all those folks right in our face.

Fin Fang Foom were up next and played an amazing set. Very cool band, check them out if you have a chance. After their set, Jett Rink were up. Their bass player was a really cool dude that talked vintage drums with me, and informed me that this was their last show. So they were going to really play a long set. I didn't get to watch the whole thing because I went to lay down in the van for a bit, and didn't wake up til it was time to go. What I heard was cool though.

Now we have the big drive to Nashville. It's a little over 8 hours from Carrboro to Nashville, so I have the pleasant task of doing some overnight driving to get us on our way. It's actually quite relaxing. Nearly no one on the road, and Kevin/Mike crashed out in the van. Made it just past Winston Salem and we crash at a rest stop. Time to catch some more sleep myself.

March 16th 2006 - Spartanburg, SC

2006-03-21T20:41:00.000-05:00

Nice little drive from Savannah, GA to Spartanburg, SC. Maybe it's because of the lovely breakfast we had. I've never had lahtkas before..but they sure are tasty.

Get to the club earlier than we expected so we decide to make our way to the local library to check our email. Which is a good move because the Spartanburg county library sure is nice. It's one of the largest, most technologically advanced libraries I've ever seen. After our brief brush with the 21st century, we're back to Ground Zero.

The bartender tells us to load our gear in up against the wall of this huge room. This club wasn't at all what we expected. It's a dingy looking warehouse on the outside, with tons of graffiti, but inside it's a 450 capacity room with a big stage and good pa system. Quite a change from some of the other rooms we've played on this trip.

Sound guy Bill is a real cool dude who gets to talking to me about his love for Minor Threat vs. all the other "crap" (his words) he has seen lately come through his club. I tell him that we'll try to play something he'll dig. The video is all messed up tonight for some reason. Kevin thinks it's either the projector overheating, or the rca cable is shot. Either way it makes the beginning of the set feel rocky.

After the second tune, we feel like we're back to normal. The crowd seems to be into it, which is nice. After we play, we pack up so the next band, River Chicken, can do their thing. Real cool guys, they have lots of stage props going on. Lights, various vocal effects, and lots of stuffed animals. They command the crowd to throw the animals back at them, after they launch them into the crowd. Note to self, never start a stuffed animal fight in a bar filled with drunk folks in South Carolina. The result can be fairly chaotic...fun, but chaotic.

After the show, we crash outside the club. Next stop, Carrboro NC.

March 15th 2006 - Savannah, GA

2006-03-20T23:10:00.000-05:00

Well, we were a bit skeptical about tonight's show since it was a house show. Haven't played one of those in a while, and they can be quite hit or miss. When they're cool, they're usually VERY cool, but when they're not cool, they are VERY bad experiences. Luckily for us, tonight was a very cool experience.

The only downside to this show at the Superhouse, was that (much like the house's name) it was quite large. When we got there we were informed that the bands play on the third floor. So we had to load our equipment up three TALL flights of stairs. Yikes, that is not something we are looking forward to.

The dudes at the Superhouse are really cool guys that all go to SCAD (Savannah College Of Art & Design). Apparently that is a VERY good school that produces quite a few of the nations' best graphic designers, photographers, and animators. Matty, Joe, Matt, and everyone else were amazing hosts. After quite a bunch of their classmates show up for the kegs they have supplied, we are told it's time to do what we do.

We went on after 3 other bands. Some of them were cool rock bands, and some of them were into some really out there experimental stuff. Really interesting bill, a little bit of everything. When we went on, I was a little nervous since we were so different than all the other bands and there wasn't much of a crowd on the third floor. Luckily when we started playing we drew some folks up there. We got rolling, and folks seemed to be way into our set. Which was good, because it just added some fuel to our playing. We always react well to an excited crowd, so it was great to have an audience like this to play in front of. Especially on a Wednesday night!

What a great show. Lots of intense, excited listeners, and folks seemed to really be into the film we were showing. That's cool since they're all soon to be film producers, directors, and animators. We really needed this show to boost the morale after last night's gig. Everyone is back on the right foot now. Can't wait to play the next show tomorrow.

March 14th 2006 - Myrtle Beach, SC

2006-03-20T23:04:00.000-05:00

Here we are, the 7th day of the tour and we all seem to be showing signs of "cabin fever". Maybe it is the 8.5 hour drive from last night's Orlando gig, maybe it's the fact that none of us have showered in 5 days, maybe it's because we're running low on rations. Yes, the food box is pretty scarce today. We need to get to the grocery store to restock some items. Whatever it was that was making the travels seem a little tense, it seemed to subside once we got the Myrtle Beach, found the Social, and then we're able to head to the beach to chill a little. There is something about the ocean that is at times the most soothing thing in the universe.

After a chaotic, confusing, and annoying exchange with the venue operators we were informed that the show is cancelled. We are told to head to this other bar where the promoter (an old friend named Michael) is hosting his weekly karaoke jam. Unfortunately, the club owner wouldn't listen to our pleas regarding the show...so we had no other choice. We made our way over to the bar and Michael apologized about the mix up with the club, but he was also in a position where he couldn't do anything. He did buy Mike/Kevin some beers, and those guys hung out with some local karaoke revellers (which is probably the subject of a whole different blog altogether). I chose to catch some much needed sleep until those guys felt it was time to head on.

Myrtle Beach = 1
Ampline = 0

That's alright though...we'll be back.

March 13th 2006 - Orlando, FL

2006-03-20T22:51:00.000-05:00

Now, we make the trip (backwards) to Orlando from St. Augustine. I jokingly christened this tour the "zig zag tour" to Kevin/Mike prior to our departure because of the back and forth routing. It's not the most efficient way we've ever travelled, but since some shows were booked at the last minute, we had to do the best we could with what was available. Tonight is one of those nights.

The show is at a bar called the Lodge, in the heart of the downtown Orlando entertainment district. Actually right across the street from the Social, which is the hottest club in town. It's also where Buckethead is apparently playing tonight. Two women are in the bar drinking wondering when we will start playing. They tell Kevin that they were over at the Buckethead show, but they hated it so much they left their dates in the Social hoping to catch something better over at the Lodge. He told them they wouldn't be disappointed.

Part of me always wants to either warn people, or give them some type of hearing protection when they talk to us about how they're really interested in seeing us cause they really like "rock n roll". Mainly because I know from experience that they don't really understand what they're in for. But the other part of me really loves seeing the expression on their face when we launch into the first hits of "paper tiger". I guess that's the masochistic side of the band.

Tonight was a little rough. It's monday, last minute gig, promoter didn't get any other local bands (or any bands for that matter), and we are ready to rip the walls off this bar. That means that we are probably going to give the small group of drinkers more than they've bargained for. Guess what...I'm right. Several of the folks in the bar make their way to the outside patio. It's comical actually.

Kevin/Mike watch me enjoy a birthday shot, then we load up and make our way out of the great state of Florida. Happy birthday indeed.

March 12th 2006 - St. Augustine, FL

2006-03-20T17:35:00.000-05:00

Pretty drive up to St. Augustine from the Tampa Pro. The last time we played the Tampa Pro, it was the second to last show of the tour, which was a major downer. To come home right after such a big, triumphant gig was a little depressing. So we purposefully booked more shows AFTER the Tampa Pro to avoid that feeling again. This tour, we have a week of dates after Tampa which should be a great thing.

First time to historic St. Augustine. When we arrive we are immediately made aware of the fact that not only is this town haunted, but it is apparently the oldest settlement in the United States. Sidenote: this fact is slightly disputed by some of the folks we met in Pensacola...something to do with Ponce De Leon, etc, etc, etc...

Anyhoo, so we get to this very old, European looking, touristy town early so we have time to soak it all in. Today is a beautiful day so we walk around a bit in the hopes of hitting the beach. After a short stroll through a historic fort, complete with cannons, we discover that we are about 3 miles from the beach, so we'll have to drive. We head over to the beach so the guys can play in the water for an hour or two. Afterwards we head back to the club where we're playing. It's almost impossible for us to navigate the boat down these crazy little cobblestone streets. It's how I would imagine driving through the back alleys in Florence Italy might be in an Econoline 350.

The club is called Backstreets and it's a very neat little coffeehouse/bar tucked in an alley. Everyone who works at the club (we met three different bartenders throughout the day) was very cool. They seem to all have different perspectives on how to deal with their very eclectic clientele, which Kevin politely referred to as "hippie vampires". That's about as close as I could come to describe some of the characters we saw/met.

By the time the sun went down, and the club started to get a little more packed, we set up in the "living room" of this place. I was kind of nervous because of the vibe some folks had around where we were going to play, and the fact that all of the windows were open. I really didn't want to make so much noise that the local police would pay us a visit. After talking to our host Ryan, who reassured me that no amount of volume was TOO MUCH volume for him, we started doing our thing. Good set. We all played very well again, and I think the folks that were there were pretty into the video stuff. It's a fun feeling to have a crowd of folks get sucked into the set, and come closer, and closer as it goes on. That's the best part of a house/intimate show.

After the set we met an interesting dude named "Ox". He apparently really dug our set, and was going on and on about how he thought he'd be a perfect singer for what we do. Now, this actually isn't the first time we've met someone who felt that way. It is pretty flattering that someone thinks that highly of what we do, that they feel compelled to tell us how they are the voice we're missing. On the other hand, it's kind of weird when someone who you just met is trying to tell you that you're "missing something" and they possess that missing ingredient. He played some songs for each of us, and we chatted with him for a bit. Unfortunately, I had to explain to him that we weren't exactly "looking for a singer". Not that he isn't a good singer, but that's just not something we're looking for. Sort of an odd end to an odd day.

Along with Ox, we met some other nice folks who were pretty into what we did, so that was nice. Sold some cds, and shirt, and got a lot of "hey, please come back sometime soon" sentiments from people. Not a bad Sunday night show that was booked at the last minute.

Kevin once again outdid himself in the "kitchen". Had a delightful post show meal in the van, then headed on the road to Orlando. Tonight we would be staying at one of Florida's finest rest areas.

Keep moving...keep moving...

March 11th 2006 - Tampa, FL

2006-03-20T17:09:00.000-05:00

Roll on down I-75 to the Skatepark of Tampa. Not much of a drive from Gainesville, but we hit some stupid traffic as we head towards our exit. We can tell we're in Florida now because each morning we are awakened by the blistering sun beating down on the boat.

Get the SPOT a little early so we have time to check out some of the practice runs of the pros that are competing in the Tampa Pro. It's pretty intense to go to a competition like this, where you see so many of the world's top skaters just clicking on all cylinders a mere 5-10 feet away from you. Seeing images/video of someone pulling of a frontside 270 switch front blunt doesn't have nearly the same impact as it does when a dude pulls it off right in front of you. Pretty amazing way to spend the afternoon if I say so myself.

Big thanks for Brian Schaefer and the folks at the SPOT for having us at this event again. We always feel incredibly honored to be a part of this event.

We opened the music portion of this party after Brian premiered his video from the Damn Am event. We are really clicking now with the set, and all the timing of the video we have. Everything is feeling like it's flowing more naturally now. We all played pretty well, but I think having so many amazing skaters tearing it up on half pipes, bowls, and the street course we were a little lost in the mix. But the folks that were watching/listening seem to dig it. I think we provided a cool soundtrack for all the dudes that were ripping up the bowl next to the stage. At least we tried to.

Our new friends from Pensacola Sexy, and This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb took their respective turns trying to hold the audiences' attention. They both played great sets, and were cool to hang with (again). After those cats Bad Shit was up. Bad Shit is the new band featuring Jake (Thrasher's editor), and Tony TNT Trujillo (who won the 2003 Tampa Pro last time we played). Really didn't know what to expect from these guys, but their name does give you a glimpse into what they're trying to do. Really abrasive, old school, early '80's punk rock. Lots of drinking, cussing, sloppy rocking. Almost comical at times. Jake and Tony were both cool though. They watched our set and I talked to Jake a little bit (before he had consumed quite a bit of booze), which was cool.

Afterwards, we tried to gather everything up, and hop in the van. Short drive to the next gig in St. Augustine, just outside Jacksonville. Said by to all the folks in the Sexy/This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb camp, they're heading home.

Hop in the boat, sail on...

March 10th 2006 - Gainesville, FL

2006-03-20T16:56:00.000-05:00

Back in Gainesville, home of so many fine rock n roll bands. Haven't played here in a few years, but our old friend Pat Lavery set up this show, so we weren't worried about anything. He always takes care of us.

Pat meets us for the load in and tells us to not be taken back by the "diversity" of tonight's line up. Apparently all the other bands are southern/western type rock bands. We promptly reply that we don't care who we play with...

Show starts a little slow with the Rob McGregor Band doing some Hank Williams inspired country tunes. After Rob's band was done we were up. The Sidebar is a cool little room, with a weird stage. But it felt "comfortable for some reason...maybe because we were so close together.

I guess this is a late town, because the crowd didn't start trickling in until midway through our set. We had a weird set, mostly because I think the other two guys react in weird ways to a "non responsive" crowd. There are nights when I think people don't know how to take what we are doing--the music is loud, and doesn't follow normal structure, and the visual imagery makes you think, so naturally people will sit back and soak it in. Sometimes they soak it in, and it evokes a reaction pretty quickly and sometimes it doesn't. Tonight was one of those nights where some folks were scratching their heads. But we just put our noses to the grindstone and plowed through the set.

Afterwards we sold some merch, and got lots of compliments from all kinds of folks whom I thought weren't even paying attention. That's a good sign. Pat told me that he was really impressed with the way we sounded tonight vs. the last time we were in town.

The Bullnecks, and Blacksnake were up after us and both were doing much more straight ahead, southern fried, AC DC-inspired rock. Good stuff, cool dudes.

Kevin, the ever resourceful traveler that he is, picked up a very inexpensive pizza from a "traveling saleman" as we were packing up. That was just what we needed after the first three days of cowboy cooking. Not that I don't enjoy Kevin's camp-stove/rest stop culinary creations, but real food is a nice touch every once in a while.

Load up the boat, and we're on to Tampa. Tomorrow we play at the Tampa Pro '06...it's one of the world's largest professional skateboarding competitions, so there's going to be all kinds of folks out at the Skatepark of Tampa.

March 9th 2006 - Pensacola, FL

2006-03-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

Back in P-cola...it's a good feeling. Ampline has played in this town 4-5 times in the past at several different venues. Everytime we've played here we've had a great time. We always seem to meet very cool people in this town.

Played a "new" venue (to us anyway) this time called Sluggo's. It's run/owned by Terry, who is the bassist/singer of This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb. They are a very cool punk band from Pensacola who we also happen to be playing with on Saturday in Tampa at the Tampa Pro. Terry was cool enough to get us on the bill tonight, with the cool dudes from Richmond VA, I Live With Zombies.

Very cool vegan, bar/club/restaraunt. We got some great food prepared by our old friend John...a cool cat who we haven't seen since the last time we were in town. He took some VERY cool photos of our last show at the Handlebar and presented us with a very nice print of one of the pictures. He's good people.

This set felt much better than last night's set. Much more cohesive, and the film really added a powerful dimension to the set (at least that's what our old friends Edie & Jason told us afterwards). Good show, really helped boost the morale a bit from the first night jitters. I Live With Zombies rocked immediately after we tore down. Very tight, punk rock with a splash of metal...but not in a cheesy way. The local band that played last was incredibly aggressive. I didn't catch their name, but the bassist is also in this band called Sexy, whom is also playing the Tampa Pro saturday. What an incestuous scene...

Lucky for us, Kevin has an old buddy who now lives in a very nice pad in Pensacola so he let us crash at his place. Jamie is a super cool guy for letting us stay/shower there.

Already having a blast and we've only played two shows?!? What a great sign. Now it's on to Gainesville.

March 8th 2006 - Nashville, TN

2006-03-20T16:37:00.000-05:00

Back on the road again. Everyone hustled in a big way to get ready for this tour. I felt a large sigh of relief as we got in the van and made our way down 71 South to the first show.

The first show is at a bar called Springwater. Lots of folks have told me different stories about playing at the proudly named "best dive bar in America", some good, some bad. But, everyone here seems pretty cool, and are very nice to us.

First set of the tour was good, but could have been better. Not as tight as we should be, but that's just because it's the first night--and we can see the Parthenon off in the distance from the bar. Yes, the Parthenon. Much to our dismay/surprise there is a lifesize replica of the Greek structure in a park in Nashville. Crazy.

The video we're using seems to work wonders in terms of covering up some minor clams we're throwing out there. All in all, good first gig.

Now, we pack it up and head on down through Alabama to Pensacola. It's good to be traveling again.

November 5th 2005 - Pittsburgh, PA

2005-11-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

Sunday November 6th, 2005

Ahhh, Pittsburgh. Land of Yeungling, The Steelers, three rivers, and as we have come to learn, lots of people who dig loud music. We're back at the Smiling Moose, thanks our good friend Scarfo. This bar is very cool. It's pretty small, but has a friendly vibe and an amazing jukebox. Lots of punks/metalheads/tattoo artists seem to hang there while their watching the Penguins games on TV, drinking (a lot), and listening to Motorhead.

We loaded in to the club, and Scarfo informed us that we would be playing by ourselves. That normally makes us nervous when we're on the road, but he assured us it wouldn't matter. He said we would be fine on our own, just play a "little longer" if we could.

Something about this club/stage always feels good. I don't know if it's because the stage is so small that we are all bunched up next to eachother, or if it's because the bar is so small that all of the patrons are forced to listen to/watch the bands, or because of Scarfo's golden retreiver that is always there. Something about an old dog at a rock show, just warms the heart.

Our set felt very good. Was paced well, and there weren't too many clams. We've recently agreed to enforce James Browns' old policy regarding "on stage mistakes" (i.e. missed notes, forgetting parts, changes, etc...), so everyone seems to pay more attention to who is clamming up here and there. So far not too many "fines" have been issued, but we've just begun this policy. I'm sure the numbers will increase over time, or we're just getting that much better.

After the show, this really nice guy came up and bought a copy of the new EP,Your Tongue Or Your Life, and a shirt. Somehow in the course of talking to Mike for a few minutes, he walked back over to me and said he wanted one of everything our label had. That was quite an unusual request, but very flattering. Hopefully he dug the thistle, Silo, El Gigante, Cari Clara, and Light Wires' records he went home with.

Now, the drive home...

November 4th 2005 - Nashville, TN

2005-11-29T15:31:00.000-05:00

Sunday November 6th, 2005

Feels good to be playing again. Especially since we're travelling out of town. Very weird drive down to Nashville...not for any particular reason. It just felt weird. The weather was nice, but you could tell a storm was coming. It got dark really early, and the whole way down 71, and 65 we kept coming across these HUGE flatbed trucks hauling houses that had big "FEMA" stencils spraypainted on them. I guess they're headed down to LA & MS to help some of the folks who lost homes during Hurricane Katrina. I think seeing that is what creeped me out...

Anyway, after a not so brisk jaunt down to Nashville, we got the club with minimal deviation from the directions. That's a first. Upon arrival we found a very cool little room in a very neat neighborhood. Sort of reminded us of Northside in Cincinnati.

We were on first, which probably worked in our favor. Since the room was so small, we were better served doing our thing, and getting out of the way. Played our set guerilla style, leaving out some of the tuning breaks/stops we usually do. That was fun. Felt like we were under lots of pressure, which tends to make everyone play better. You could really tell too...I broke a stick, a cymbal, and Kevin broke a string. So we were rocking pretty hard.

Surprisingly, we actually didn't feel as overpowering in that room as I thought we would. No one seemed to be bothered by the racket we were making either, which was surprising.

After we played a band from Murfreesboro, TN called The States played. They were doing stuff that reminded me of Hot Hot Heat, The Strokes, or some of the other bands that are doing the retro rock thing nowadays. Nice guys.

The last band was the band whom we set the show up with, and were psyched to be playing with again...our friends in Ocelots. They are from in/around Nashville, and have a sound/style that is very reminiscent of the Minutemen and/or firehose...so you can bet we were hooked when we first heard them. When they play live there is a very cool tension that exists between the three of them. Like what they're doing is about to explode or fall apart at any moment, but it never does. It keeps pushing forward at a frenetic pace. Very cool. Hope to play with them again.

Next stop Pittsburgh...

New Website!

2005-11-02T18:48:00.000-05:00

We finally have our new WEBSITE up and running. It's been a long, and at times painful process, but now thankfully we're moving forward.

The layout comes from the artwork of our new EP, Your Tongue Or Your Life, which will be available at shows starting this weekend.

I'm sure if you're reading this, you've probably just come from the actual site, but I just thought I'd gloat.

Cheers.

Friday Night's Alright For Fightin'

2005-10-29T15:35:00.000-04:00

Ventured out to the Mad Hatter Friday night to see our old pals from St. Louis, MO Riddle Of Steel. If you're not familiar with the "riddlers", they are a badass, power trio with whom we've shared many a stage over the last few years. They recently acquired the services of our even older pal Rob Smith (who ironically is from Oklahoma City, OK...not St. Louis, MO) on the drums. Rob continues to thrill audiences with his other monsterous band Traindodge. No doubt, if you've ever spoken to any of us about who our favorite bands are as of late, both Riddle Of Steel & Traindodge must have come as answers. On top of being great bands, they're all great guys. Nicest folks you've ever want to meet.

I was very excited to hear that ROS was on tour with Local H, and stopping at the Mad Hatter. Not because I'm a fan of Local H (I'm actually not familiar with them at all), but because Local H is booked by Flower Booking. This means that everyone involved with the tour gets treated VERY WELL, which is something that ROS definitely deserves.

Got to the club a little later than expected. Right as Denial was wrapping up their set, and just before ROS took the stage. I had a chance to exchange some quick pleasantries with Andrew, Jimmy, and Rob right before they loaded up. They came out guns-a-blazin' from the word go. Sounded very tight (as always), and actually a little more confident than the last time we played with them. Seems like all the touring they are doing is really making them gel as a unit. Killer stuff.

Hopefully we will play with them sometime soon. Which just made me think about how much we REALLY need to get out and start touring more since the record is done. Thankfully, we have a couple shows next weekend.

Muy Excellente.

The Swallowtail

2005-10-20T15:37:00.000-04:00

So, apparently this is what our practice was like last night. Kevin was explaining to me what all of Dali's imagery in this painting meant, but to be honest he lost me after he went on about the "catastrophe theory" for 5 minutes. I found myself very intrigued by this painting when I woke up today...don't know why. So I tried to do some looking on the interwebs about it's background. Very cool stuff.

Back to my original point...we practiced again last night. It felt good, at least better than last week's practice. So that's good. We worked up a set to play at these couple shows in November, which is a necessity.

That's all for now.

Your Tongue Or Your Life

2005-10-12T19:30:00.000-04:00

So, we met last night (which was L - O - N - G overdue on our part) and nailed down the track-listing and titles for the songs on our new full length tentatively titled Rosary. The order is as follows...

1. Your Tongue Or Your Life
2. Two Hands
3. Red & Yellow
4. Voltaire Hath Spake
5. Green Piano
6. Paper Tiger
7. Our Haunted Names
8. We Are Appalachian
9. The Men With Bibles
10. Back In The Fold
11. Loud Acres
12. Have Gun, Will Travel

The record has no release date as of yet since we're currently in the middle of a label search. In the meantime we're releasing a 4-song EP (through Tiberius Records) that will contain 4 songs off of the new record. It will be titled Your Tongue Or Your Life.

What an arduous process naming our songs is. It's rather comical actually. We spend so much time on the music, that we rarely think of even giving it a title.

More soon...

Return to form...sort of...

2005-10-12T04:33:00.000-04:00

So, we practiced tonight for the first time in I don't know...3 months?!?!

Just kidding. Well, not really. It's been quite a while since we have played together. Mike and I have been really swamped with our two other recording projects (The Light Wires & thistle). Kevin took the opportunity to take a much needed, and relaxing vacation.

I've noticed a strange dichotomy about this band over the years. The more time we spend apart, the more energetic/excited we get about playing. The downside is that our playing as a unit suffers when we're not rocking together. This band is above all a group, and it functions as one on a very high level. Thus, if we don't play with any regularity we lose touch with that connection we share.

Practice tonight was a little rough. Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be...but rough nonetheless. I was really unprepared physically and mentally, so I know I wasn't really driving the band like I should. Mike and Kevin did a rather impressive job remembering all the insane song structures we come up with, even though they haven't played them in ages. Kudos to them.

Felt great rocking with them again though. We laid out the groundwork for our plan for the future. That's a good thing...we need to be more organized.

Lots more to come...

July 16th Pittsburgh, PA

2005-07-17T15:30:00.000-04:00

After a not so fun day in Marietta, OH we got the hell outta there as soon as we could. Woke up, cleaned up, loaded the van, and started the drive to Pittsburgh. Ahhh the scenic drive up the eastern edge of OH is breathtaking...sort of.

After an easy drive to Pittsburgh, we spent at least an hour once in the city trying to get to the neighborhood where the club was. After driving all around, we finally stopped and asked a girl who was walking down the street how to get to E. Carson St. and she promptly replied "go straight down that street til you cross a bridge, then you run into it". Wow, we drove ALL around downtown Pittsburgh for over and hour, and couldn't even get close to where we needed to be, and this girl just pointed down the street and there we were. Amazing. We suck.

Get to the club around 4pm and it's on a cool strip of clubs/bars/shops/restaraunts that reminds me of Hamilton Ave. in Northside, but bigger and more bustling. Did some time walking around, checking out shops, giving some people cds and telling them to check out the show if they have time. We took Mike to get some pizza for dinner at this cool pizza place down the street from the club. Good pie, and they had a killer jukebox. They played some old Tortoise, Neil Young, Slint, & Don Cab, then we asked who was picking the songs, & the dude's like "it's our disc changer". Kudos to you fine sir for only playing great bands in your restaraunt.

Once back at the club, we notice that this little place is much like the Northside Tavern back home, but a little bigger, with a stage, and seems to cater to heavier, punk music. Jukebox is loaded with At The Drive In, Motorhead, Braid, Van Halen (Women & Children First), The Specials, & Drive LIke Jehu...jesus, what great music these establishments bless their patrons with?!?! Load in, set up, and it's tight. REAL tight. But in a good way. We'll all be feeling what the other guys are doing for sure.

By the time 10:30 rolls around, we're raring to go. It's Mike's birthday so he's had a few drinks with Kevin. Met some nice local folks, like Scarfo and the other bartenders. The band that hosted us, Incommunicado, are all super nice dudes as well. We get up, do our thing, and really seem to be clicking...much more so than last night. It was one of those nights where we made a connection (not in a physical sense, but more of a spiritual one) with eachother, and with the audience that is hard to explain. People really seemed to dig what we were doing which was a welcome change. Very fun set.

Stuck around for a while to make some more friends and sell some stuff. Everyone in Pittsburgh was VERY nice to us, and invited us back, which was cool. To sum up the night:
- People in Pittsburgh like to drink, and rock
- Everyone you meet or see on the street has LOTS of tattoos, I mean LOTS of tattoos
- Almost everywhere we go there is a drunk guy who goes out of his way to introduce himself, tell us how much he loved what we did, but couldn't understand why since we were so "great" that we didn't get a singer to make us even more "greater". Never fails.

Anyhoo, hope to come back in the fall. At the end of the night we head on our way home since work calls the next day.

Cheers.

July 15th Marietta, OH

2005-07-17T15:05:00.000-04:00

So, this show was definitely doomed from the beginning. We had two other dates get booked, then fall through at the last minute. Luckily I got in touch with this very cool dude named Derrick in Marietta, OH who said he had a show going on at a skatepark that he thought he could add us to. As our motto goes, "if we're not playin, we're payin" so we took the gig.

When we got there I noticed two things that were not good for us. A) There was no cover of any kind above where the band was set up, and B) ALL the other bands seemed to be from out of town like us. Uh oh. Anyway, we set up and rocked as best we could, but we could feel/sense/smell the rain coming. So we rushed to set up, and hurried through a frantic set of five tunes. When we hit the last note of the last song, the sky opened up like a bad music video. It started to rain, and our beloved equipment was getting all wet, so we ran around trying to put all our stuff underneath all the skate ramps at this park.

After a good 45 minutes of heavy rain we finally caught a break long enough to put all our gear in the cases, and load it into the van. After a brief discussion it was agreed that the best course of action was to get a hotel room so we could put all the gear in a cool/dry place to air out. We found a cheap place near the highway, loaded all our gear in there, and proceeded to take EVERYTHING out of its' cases and let it dry.

Spent the next two hours hopping around the three bars that exist in downtown Marietta. Not exactly what anyone would call an "exciting nightlife". The highlights of the whole night were when we tried to buy some doughnuts a 2:30am since it was technically Mike's birthday.

What a night. That god we had a cozy/dry place to sleep. I kept telling myself, "tomorrow can't be any worse"...

July 9th Nashville, TN

2005-07-10T15:30:00.000-04:00

After a wonderful night of rocking, and rolling (i.e. chilling on a boat, drinking free beer, eating free food, swimming by the moonlight) we were awakened to find Kevin's dad insisting on taking us on a tour of the lake on his roundabout. This was cool, just zooming along this gorgeous lake checking out all these random coves, waterfalls, and very rich people's very large houses.

After the boat ride, we thanked Kevin's folks for being so cool, and headed off to music city Nashville TN. Got into town a little early (as we often do) so we had some time to walk around. Made the rounds onto Broadway so Kevin could get some bass strings, then stopped into Robert's to grab a beer, and relax. We were watching this band do a terrible job of playing Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, and George Jones tunes when I noticed at the bar what looked like a familiar face. It was this hippie looking guy, with long hair, the unkept beard, looking like he hadn't showered in weeks...but there was something really weird about him. He was absolutely mobbed by every woman that came in the place...when I got a close look I realized it was John Corbett. The dude that played the stoner dj on "Northern Exposure". Apparently he had a role in the last season of some show on HBO that women are partial too...but I'm not sure what it's called. Anyway, after that bit of strange circumstances, we headed back to Rocketown.

Rocketown is an amazing place, if nothing else, it's the cleanest, nicest, most luxurious venue a band could ever play. There's a big coffee lounge room where you can eat, drink, check your email, or just lay down on a big couch. Which is nice on a hot day like it was yesterday. Once we loaded in, we got set up since we were playing first. Our friend Sam who books there now (former Bleach guitarist) said we were best off playing first since many of the other bands were of the "screamo/metal" variety...he felt we would win those folks over. We'll see about that.

The only thing I remember about the other bands that played was the following.
- The band after us was 'old school' metal complete with big, double kick drum set, lots of screaming, and a silly cover of Mellencamp's "scarecrow". Very nice guys though.
- The band after them was called Nevaeh (heaven backwards, isn't that supposed to be some code for hell?!? But I digress...) and had way too much expensive gear, and stage moves for their own good. Come on guys, how about spending some energy working on writing good songs?

Our set was pretty tight. Sound was a little weird, as it always is at Rocketown, but good enough that I could hear everything well. We had a really good crowd that seemed to feeling what we were doing. I think the way we orchetrate our sets seems to either take people by surprise, or simply confuse them since we just play our songs with little to no breaks in between. We don't like people to be able to catch their breath when they watch us.

Anyway, all in all a good show. Afterwards since the show was over early (being an all ages place) we headed over to 12th & Porter (a cool, showcase bar in the heart of downtown) to check out our pals in Campfire Crush who we happened to see listed in the paper. We got there just in time to see their last 3 songs, which sounded very cool. Their stuff is a very smooth, groovy vibe that reminds me of the first time I ever heard Sea And Cake and Stereolab. We hung out for a bit with Dan, Carrie and the rest of the band for a bit then jetted off to our favorite late night bar in town the Goldrush. We were hanging there for a while when Mike decided to tell us that he had to be home in time to get to a wedding at 2pm?!?! Apparently he was the best man in this guys wedding...much to our surprise. So, around 2am, we hopped in the van and I started the drive home. I made it into KY, about 2 hours from home before I decided I had to crash. Mike woke up and got us back home by 11:30am.

Fun weekend. Can't wait to do it all again next weekend.

July 8th Somerset, KY

2005-07-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

Friday was our first show in quite a while. Felt good to be in the van with the other guys, on our way to a venue outside Cincinnati. No offense to anyone at home, but I think everyone in Ampline is more comfortable playing outside the 275 loop...we've always been that way. Mike surprised us all by rounding up a roadie/merch dude for the trip...our friend Brian. So it was the four of us heading out of town, which always helps.

So, we headed to this cool little town called Somerset, KY at this cool art gallery/space called the Riverstone. Our old friend James set up the show (as he often has for us over the years), and did a splendid job finding a cool room and getting the word out. When we got there, and saw the big flight of steps we had to load in we were all a little apprehensive. That all gave way to excitement once we noticed all the kids that were starting to show up.

Once we got loaded in James had us set up on the little area he called the stage, stating that the opening band (Shades of Red was their name I believe) was going to set up in front of our stuff. Those dudes started setting up their stuff, and like us they were a three piece with guitar/bass/drums. The crazy thing we noticed was it took three guys to carry in the guitar players' homemade pedal board?!?! It was monsterous...he must have had every type of guitar effect, or even two of each one. This kids set up was absolutely insane. I thought to myself, "there' s no way one person can use all those effects" but guess what? He did. Every last f---ing one. They were tearing it up. Loud, hard, fast songs, that reminded me a lot of Pelican. Or a very heavy, thicker sounding version of Don Cab.

While Shades Of Red were rocking, 'cookie' (aka Kevin) decided to get back to his age old road practice of cooking us dinner with his camping stove. We dined on some vegetable soup, to which Kevin added his usual flair (an extra can of corn and/or green beans). Perfect dinner timing...gave us just enough time to feel like we'd eaten something relatively good/healthy, and give us a chance to settle our tummies before we played.

After their intense, explosive set we got up there. Felt really good to be back with Mike & Kevin in front of some folks that seemed interested in hearing new music. The large group of kids that showed up seemed to soak up what we were doing, and the set felt pretty smooth. Especially considering we didn't get a chance to practice as much as we would have liked. Highlights included Mike's 'solo' on "Voltaire" where he said he his hands forgot which tune he was playing, Kevin busting his string on "Appalachian" but acting like he didn't, and me clamming up a bunch of fills. All in all it was a good first show back.

Post show, we had the luxury of heading to Kevin's parent's house boat on lake Cumberland. That proved to be quite nice. Very quiet, calm, pretty scenery, and lots of great hospitality. We all took some time to have a quick swim before adjurning to the 'poop deck' for some adult beverages.

Good times. Brian commented to me that he felt like he was "on tour with Zeppelin" with our lavish surroundings after a rock gig.

Not quite...

New record...

2005-05-17T03:33:00.000-04:00

Well, now we have officially entered the 20th Century...sort of. New record is done, and we are working on booking some dates this summer to stretch the ole legs, and get our road chops back. Tis been too long since we traveled proper.

Practiced with Kevin & Mike tonight...and it was very refreshing. Worked on a new tune, which is coming together very well, at least I think so. Time will tell...our songwriting process is quite frantic in that sense. We work on something, get it to where we think it's good, walk away from it, then when we come back we frequently have new ideas of how to "tweak" it. Nothing is EVER sacred...which is both the most interesting and frustrating thing about this band all at the same time.

Never a dull moment.

- Rick