This would be the second time that I have played Ground Zero so I was a lot less stressed out about the gig
My last gig was plagued by my biggest obstacle to date
Lack of appropriate space to set up my show
Time isn’t so much of a factor anymore because the new simplified setup
I still have difficulty pulling the performance off if I have to move the setup to a different location
* Change of outlook moment
-I just had an idea that would slightly affect the amount of pieces in my drum rack but greatly increase the flexibility of the rig
This is an opportunity for me to trade a nitpicky focus for a more efficient solution

Back to the gig

I was a bit dissapointed that the catwalk had not been assembled for the show so I had to default to the side of the screen again but at least I had tons ...

Anytime I have a dream that involves playing a gig it usually ends up the same way
I am frantically trying to get all of my equipment ready to go and there’s always something missing or I have 5 minutes to assemble a rig that usually takes 30 minutes (if I was well prepared beforehand that is)
I cannot remember ever having a pleasant dream involving a gig
However, I just woke up from the most wonderful dream where I played a gig and it went well
Not only that, but people appreciated my show and it eventually ended with a bunch of us talking about cool stuff after the gig

Is that such an unreasonable dream?
I don’t need the millions of dollars or the sea of fans or even the line of groupies at the backstage door
All I need is to share my art with other people and to have themm appreciate it

In continuation of my recent quest to root out the outdated sensebilities, a certain one has become more apparet to me
It will not be enough to just explore more types of music or even participate in them
I need to go even further and question my basic identity which has been as a musician
All of my aspirations and fantasies have revolved around people admiring me for all of my talents as someone who could play really well and be enteraining while doing it
But all along, I had this smoldering need to be more than that
There was a need to create music that attempted to defy traditions and contribute to the advancement of music as an art form
I didn’t necessarily need to be hugely important
But I at least needed to give a shit about being important
All of this was well and good, but there wa...

A vast majority of my musical identity has been formed around a very central concept
All of my energy went into making my personal musical ambition come true
Although I had made certain that no one was going to make me compromise my vision
This would lead me to quit every “band” I have ever been in
But I stuck it out and hoped that I could find someone who would share my vision and yet be equal in ability
It was a condensed version of the standard rock n’ roll fairytale which was the “us against the world” mentality

All the while, there was an example being set right in front of me that I refused to acknowledge

After leaving my last band in 04, I was determined to find a new way of approaching my music and came up with the PyroPlasticFlow concept which evolved from a duo to a solo project ...

Last night’s gig at Club Underground was a total fiasco but a valuable lesson nonetheless
First the gory details
I had set up on the drum riser and then pulled down the video screen to hide the clutter
I was pretty cavalier about it and set up just the skeleton of my configuration (no wiring of the electronics)
My last few gigs have made me a bit cocky because the newer setup was less complicated Once it came time to set up, I had noticed that changeover was taking a bit of time and Ether came up and hinted at it by asking if he could help
After getting set up, the video projector wasn’t cooperating so I just panicked and did the set without it
My anxiety got the best of me as I resolved to stick to the basics, do a short set and get off stage
The result was a less than stellar show in my ...

I have not been writing much in the last month because there has been a lot happening

The trip to Dallas in december was very positive
First and foremost, I made it a point to be there to see my mother who is having health problems
I kept my social interactions to a minimum
Then there was the looming doom of a clutch that failed just after arriving in Dallas
Luckily that turned into a minor problem with bubbles in the lines but I was convinced for quite a few days that I was about to be $500 in the hole
This brought me face to face with one of my biggest anxieties
Debt

Laura points out that I am built for touring
Cheap as hell and satisfied with almost nothing to live on
My entire adult life has been engineered so that I wouldn’t have to be in debt to anyone, much less a credit card compan...

Literally 20 minutes ago, I got up and went down to the basement to get my bass
I was watching a movie and wanted to aimlessly plunk on it
But when I got to the basement, there was no bass
Not only that but I couldn’t find the harp guitar
I searched every room possible in the house
You know that old cliche’ “He suddenly realized in horror”?
I suddenly realized in horror that I had left them both at the last gig I played
At the 400 bar EIGHT days ago
That’s when I freaked out

And to make matters worse

The gig at the 400 didn’t exactly go off on good terms and there were negative things said in public by various participants of the lineup
There was an issue with the soundman but I found him to be cooperative and had no problems with his job (even if there was a lot of fluctuation at a previo...

I managed to get all of my barrage edits from Countrockula’s Theater for the Insane! organized and posted into a neat little playlist on Youtube

youtube.com/rockulaproductions

Just finished my latest barrage edit
It was culled from a 45 minute compilation which means I cut a lot of really cool footage in order to keep it as brief as possible
Enjoy!

I was asked by Oni of Shinto records to play this gig with them at the 400 Bar
The first thing that came to mind is that the venue was not exactly my first choice for the types of bands on this lineup
If you have ever been to the 400 then you know it is a Rawk club plain and simple
The next red flag as when we showed up to get advanced tickets for the event and were told that each act was expected to bring in at least 25 advance sales
I knew right away that I wasn’t going to get those numbers but decided to keep my mouth shut
The final part of the bad experience was when the 400 cut our set times and made me go on at 8:30pm
There’s a lot of things I could talk shit about but suffice it to say that I am none too concerned if the 400 would ever book me again because I cetainly am not interes...