New Single - Let The Games Begin

Sooooooo, the first of our new singles is up. It's an optimistic story-song called Let The Games Begin. It's been a long road, but we're on to something good. It's quite possibly a sequel to Better Brigade, in theme. You can listen to it or download it here.

We will be at Coachella today to spread the message about this brand new song. Say hello if you see us.

#34 Silverlake Lounge on 10-20-09

We played with the Monthlies again (we like them) as well as Megasapien, Melee and Eugene & the 1914.

I don't recall much about this show. But what I do recall is:

1. Megasapien reminded me of Sunny Day Real Estate at times.

2. Eugene and the 1814 looked cool.

#33 Artwalk rooftop show on 9-10-09

(photo by Mariah Buian)

A nice gentleman named Louis invited us to be a part of this. The lineup changed a bit leading up to the show, but we wound up playing with rockabilly band The Rocketz.

Downtown Artwalk is exactly what it sounds like. There are galleries and venues and restaurants all opening their doors to showcase art, music and otherwise. We played on the outdoor roof of a gallery, and brought our own PA.

The show was enjoyable, and there were a lot of people there. We were joined onstage at one point by a drunk girl who was permitted to play the tambourine. Sadly, she wasn't very present mentally and missed out on the possible 'rock show with guest performer' interaction that could have taken place. We actually put a box of CDs out for free consumption, and many people took advantage of this.

A nice surprise was a visit by old school friends of mine as well as an old fan/friend from my days in The Briggs.

#32 Mr. T's Bowl on 8-29-09

photo by Mike Smith
generic american photography

We got to play with the Monthlies again, which works great. Also playing are Lusterko, who are a piano/drums duo. There is a '60s thing, sort of, going on musically and their singer-pianist is tall and has incredible legs.

Tonight was fun, and that's all I can really remember.

#31 Pehrspace on 8-15-09

We played at Pehrspace again, only this time we were in charge. We teamed up with some hand picked bands and put a very nice show together. It was the Monthlies, a very nice indie pop group with their shit together and the French Semester.

We also threw an elaborate BBQ before and during the show, and had people enjoy a fine parking lot party. Jana, guitarist from the Monthlies was super helpful and brought supplemental food items/drinks. People were pleased to be given free food. I also met Mister Nervous at this show, a very nice man indeed.

I also met up with Wildman, who is quite a character. He had scraggly hair and a purple beard, and he had contacted me about getting content for his new video channel that would be 'better than MTV' as it would be for 'underground music.'

This was a very productive evening.

#30 Gallo's Pizza on 7-11-09

Happy Birthday to Francis Ramsden! The lad was going to Vegas anyway, so I said, "Why don't I book a show?"

Well, Gallo's Pizza does have a stage, and lights, and a sound system. But it is a pizza restaurant. 

It was uncomfortably warm, even at night, and the lift gate hydraulics on the van crapped out. Playing with us were Light The Black Skye, a mostly Latino 'screamo' band and Screamin' Steel, some older 80s metal guys who played covers of, yes, 80s metal bands. However, they didn't play the hits as much as other album tracks. Songs that made you think, "Wait, isn't that...?" They were a lot of fun though, and the screamo kids knelt down, bowing and saying "We're not worthy!"

The set was, um, not the tightest we'd ever played, and we had dragged everyone to a pizza restaurant instead of more exciting Vegas venues, so there was an air of comedy about the show. We were very well received by the owners and sound guy and welcomed back any time. And, to top it all off, they gave us pizzas to take with us.

#29 California Music Fest @ San Souci on 7-3-09

We were accepted to this festival via Sonicbids, an online submission service for bands. Here is the description for the event:

California Music Fest is the celebration of the California Culture: Music, Surf, and Art. It takes place Independence weekend in the beautiful city of Ventura, CA in conjunction with the already established and very popular Ventura Street Fair. Last years street fair featured a massive turn out of over 45,000 people. This year with the City of Ventura’s inclusion of the California Music Fest, over 150 bands will be featured as well as a surf contest and visual artists from all over the country. The city is expecting an even larger attendance for 2009.

What the event was in reality was a cramming of too many bands in too many venues with the ensuing chaos. There is an outdoor stage with 'bigger bands', but the rest of it is silly. San Souci is a tiny dive bar in Ventura, and the corner we played in restricts the view of most of the crowd from seeing anyone but the person in front, namely me. We were one of 7-9 bands (!) playing, and the set was short and sweet. We played with too many bands to recall most of the names, but one was 80lb Gorilla(?). I sold an EP to a drunk couple at the bar, who insisted paying $20 for it. I was also instructed to come to San Diego.

This is yet another SonicBids disappointment, and has assured our disinterest in continuing using it.