Show Date: November 27, 2009 - The Organics

We've been trying to play Austin all year to no avail. It's a highly competitive market. They favor their local peeps and they have the luxury and are very choosy about who they book. So getting asked to play in San Marcos was as close as we were gonna get and we jumped on it.

The Organics asked us to play The Triple Crown with them, and The Triple Crown reminded me a lot of The Ten Eleven. Gabe's kit took up the whole stage so me, Jason and Rick had to play more or less in the crowd. What was cool about the crowd at The Triple Crown was the more crazy, experimental and progressive we played the more they loved it. They were not interested in hearing straight up pop music at all so our progressive side fit right in.

We opened the evening and The Organics closed it out. The Organics packed that place out. They groove with a strong ska feel, complete with horn sections and really brought the house down. So much in fact, that I'm learning to play trumpet.

Show Date: November 21, 2009 - Vicarious Me

Life is a 360. Our very first show ever was supposed to be at Rudyard's. They were kind enough to book us and one of the very first bands that we asked to play with us was Vicarious Me. Unfortunately, Vicarious Me couldn't play that show with us, and then Gabe ended up getting so sick, we couldn't play the show, but a year goes by and who reaches out and asks us if we'd like to play a show with them at Rudyard's? Yeah, man. Spooky, I know.

I'll admit to being a little nervous playing Rudyard's again after pissing off the sound guy royally at our last show there. But I figured we'd just go in, have fun, and let bygones be bygones. That still didn't keep me from hiding from the sound guy all during load in. I didn't want him to recognize me and pull something crazy with our sound, you know like pissing off a waiter and they spit in your food. I was like a ninja, man, crawling behind risers, walking behind ppl, always staying just out of sight. Then when sound check rolled around and I could hide no longer, turns out he didn't even remember me.

Stateside Stereo opened and then guys were tight, sounded great and had an awesome draw. Then Vicarious Me played, and if you've never seen a VM show, them dudes are seriously crazy. And I thought we were wild when we played. They wore matching shades and T-shirts, got shit-faced drunk and had a rowdy time and still sounded great.

Then we played. Nothing super eventful I'm sorry to report. I didn't slam the mic down this time. I was dressed like a damn fool, though. The sound was fantastic and to our surprise we made a fan that night that wouldn't stop talking about how good we were. The sound guy.

Show Date: October 17, 2009 - Make Your Escape

So our good friends Make Your Escape asked us to join them at Java Junction on Saturday night where they were headlining.

Now Java Junction is a coffee shop that doubles as a venue, and since they don't serve booze, it's basically a place where kids can come, and mosh and headbang until they've given themselves concussions and permanently damaged their hearing. This was by far the craziest group of rowdy ass youngsters I had ever seen in one place at the same time.

We played with a couple of outta town bands, but also with 38 Caliber Hero who played the Nico Vega show with us and this little band that I hadn't heard of before called Sleep Sleep 'Wake Up!' The only way to describe Sleep Sleep 'Wake Up!' is br00t4l! I don't think not one of them was over 14 but they wrecked that stage. Them boys go off.

Make Your Escape finally did took the stage and it's funny because the last Make Your Escape show I went to I kinda got a little rowdy and sprayed beer all over the them. A move that almost got me kicked out of Fitz, but I did it out of love because they were wrecking. I would find out later that Adria got pissed I got Lone Star all over her cab. But fences were mended. We cool.

Another little interesting tidbit we found out was that Make Your Escape was selected by Hy Magazine as Band of the Month and got a whole write up done on them. When they asked Corey who are his favorite bands to play with he mentioned us. He is both a scholar and a gentleman. Thank you for that, C!

Show Date: October 16, 2009 - Peekaboo Theory

So we finally get to perform with Peekaboo Theory at Rudyard's along with MacAdams. Now Peekaboo Theory is one of my favorite H-town bands right now. We had been trying to do a show with them for awhile. We had booked a show with them before but that fell through, so it finally felt good to be able to hit the stage with them.

Even though we put the show together, we had Peekaboo headlining with us as direct support. The only thing is in most of the press announcements and promotion leading up to the show we were billed first, which was an oversight and not fair to Peekaboo Theory. If they're doing the heavy lifting they should get top billing.


So at the show, I went up to them and I apologized that they weren't billed first in most of the promotions and man, they were so cool, they were like, 'naw, it's cool, man. Lotus Effect are cool, they actually put this on, and we're been trying to do something with them for a long time.' (At that time, they only dealt with Gabe, so even though they knew me from all of their shows I've been to, they had no idea I sang for the band.) Them boys are just cool as hell.

So after MacAdams we set up and perform and I learned a very important lesson that day.

Never slam a mic down at Rudyard's. Never. Unless it's your own. At the end of a song I slammed the mic down into a pile of shirts that I had brought onstage to throw out into the ground. It was a calculated move, I figured the shirts would cushion the mic which they did. The soundman though thought I had slammed it straight to the ground and got so mad that he killed all our mics.

I didn't know what had happen I thought I had disconnected something but after a time they came back on and we finished the show. It was only afterwards that Perry from MacAdams told me that the soundguy was really pissed at me, so I manned up and apologized to him. So to everyone playing Rudyard's, don't slam their mics down. Bring your own if you want to do that. It's really just common sense.

Peekaboo Theory closed out the show with a slamming set. Every time I see them it's always such a different experience, but always a blast. Then we hurried home for our show at Java Junction the next night.

Show Date: October 7, 2009 - Nico Vega

I died and went to heaven.

We got asked to open again for Nico Vega as they came back through town. It would be our first time playing the Meridian and I just couldn't get over that I was essentially gonna get paid to see Nico Vega live again.

We got there early and Aja, Dan and Rick were already there doing sound check. It's funny because after the first time we opened for them Gabe would drop them a line occasionally on myspace and they would always get back to him, so down to Earth and real. I cornered Aja and asked her for a photo later on and she was so down.

During sound check they had Aja just doing some vocals without the band as they tried to trouble shoot something and I swear, I was just in awe of her voice. It was amazing. I couldn't wait for them to go on.

We played damn early. I'm talking before 9 but hey, those are the breaks, I didn't mind a bit. The show must have been alright because Meridian asked us right away if they could have us back. And then after some other great bands played like 38 Caliber Hero, Osirus, and The Ride Home, Nico Vega took the stage.

Man, it was top 3 of the best shows I've seen this year, along with A dream Asleep and The Shitty Limits from the UK. Amazing. The band's connection with the audience, and how they fused with their music. Aja pointed me out a few times and sang to me, yeah, I know everyone always thinks that, but it was me, fool! Back off me. And there again was that voice. I remember thinking damn, now that's a real woman.

Then halfway through the set Dan gets up and says "Hey, first all, do yall know who we are? Nico Vega, that's right. Second, does anyone have a snare drum I can borrow?" Dan had put a stick thru his snare head. So of course Gabe is like, I got one, so while he runs to get it Aja sings The Coal Miners Song acapella. Chills.


So the set rages on, Dan's playing on Gabe's snare, me and Rick are acting a fool and having the greatest time and then after the set, they posed for pics with everyone and signed a CD, poster, and set list for us. I'm telling you, fool, I'm a fan!

Gabe even managed to get Dan's number cause they were talking so much drum tech stuff, but I'm sure he had his number changed the next day.

You would think that would be the end of the story, but I go to Dirt afterward for a nightcap and Dirt's crazy packed for a Wed. So I'm like what's going on? And they tell me some bands here, so I wander in to see who it was and it turns out that Semi Precious Weapons, who we've also opened for when we first played with Nico Vega, had a show that same night at House of Blues.

What are the odds. Justin wasn't there, but I was talking with Cole and Dan for a bit and they didn't even know Nico Vega was in town, so they called them to come hang out. I was just blown away that they even remembered me, Dan was talking how he has yet to listen to my solo album I gave him like 9 months ago, man. Hey, he was the one who brought it up, though.

But regardless, it was an amazing night.

Show Date: September 5, 2009 - Mojo's

We got invited to Shreveport, LA, baby to play this cool joint Mojo's in downtown Shreveport. Mojo's had an upstairs where they had a club and downstairs where it was more like a traditional bar where they showcased live music.

They hooked us up with a great payout and some hotel rooms so we grabbed Electric Courage Machine and Leg Sweeper and threw down for the get down. The crazy thing about Mojo's is they stay open till 6 in the morning. We didn't even have to load it till 11pm and the first band didn't play till midnight.

We hit the casinos before the show and I ended up losing 50 bucks at penny slots, don't ask me how. Jason made $200 at poker but I was all casino'd out and wanted to save what little else money I had for the liquor.

Leg Sweeper opened up the festivities and just brought raw, punk power for almost 30 minutes. We kept telling them to extend their set, extend their set, but I don't even think most of their songs were over 2 minutes. So members of Electric Courage Machine jumped on stage and created The Fuck Yous. And The Fuck Yous played the most awesome set of indie punk pop that I think they just made up on the spot.


After The Fuck Yous, Electric Courage Machine took the stage and let me just say, they are up there with my all time favorite bands. Their song We Can't Count I can put on repeat and play for hours and I have. Midway through the set though, they had been drinking so much, Damnit Joe on bass, tripped over a monitor and flipped right off stage. I went to catch him because it was obvious that he wasn't gonna stop playing his bass and was gonna break his neck. He landed on top of me though so I took the worst of it and I don't know how he did it but somehow he managed to kick me in the face as we wiped out.


We ended up going on at 3:30 in the morning and it was an awesome show. We moved the last of our merch we had been hanging on to. Oh! And we met sexy ass Rita. (Who's secretly not a LSU tiger fan. shhhhhhhhh.)

And, And --- They spelled our name right on the marquee. Excellent.

Show Date: August 21, 2009 - The Mink

The Mink was the very first bar I was introduced to when I moved back to Houston. The coolest most-laid back place with a backroom that houses various shows throughout the week. I've had plenty interesting stories from the Mink, random hookups, run ins with the law, and met Shiny Toys Guns there once, but I digress. We were stoked to be playing there and on top of it all, we'd be hitting the stage with Houston's own Neon Collars.

Neon Collars is an experimental neo-soul band that has a great draw. They brought the most rowdy crowd of hip hop and R&B enthusiasts. We went on after them and proceeded to drive most of their crowd away. It was a combination of us not being anything at all R&B or hip hop and I probably shouldn't have worn this black kimono-like vest that looked more or less like a dress with a bright yellow raincoat.

I did start break dancing however but that didn't seem to make a difference.

Show Date: July 25, 2009 - Super Happy Fun Land

Super Happy Fun Land is unlike any venue I've ever played. It's not so much a music venue as it is an art venue. If it's weird, eclectic, artful than you can find it at Super Happy Fun Land. They've had noise festivals, free jazz, poetry slams, blue-grass to emo, and such greats as Quintron and Miss Pussycat and The Monotonix have all played there.

It was a little surreal for us, because we've been on strange bills before but this was the first time I've played with a country band, a screamo band, a punk band and then there's us who are progressive.

One cool thing about that gig was meeting Larry Lorrack a free-style slam improv poet who dug our sound and put us on WHYZ Radio. Coolest cat and hope to do a show with him soon. He pulls out a guitar with a little amp and then proceeds to go all poetry on dat azz.

Show Date: July 18, 2009 - The Art Studio

We actually didn't end up playing this show which was a shame because I had made such a nice little flyer and video for it.

Show Date: July 16, 2009 - Fitzgerald's

Okay, this show had more drama wrapped around it than when I slept with my stepmother.

When Gabe had set this up it was originally gonna be at Rocbar with Peekaboo Theory and Weirdo. We had definitely been wanting to play with Peekaboo Theory for a while and they finally agreed to hook it up with us. Chris over at Rocbar had thrown a few dates at us and then confusion set in.

We could never lock down a definite date with Chris so we decided to change venues to Fitzgerald's, which was my first choice anyway. But then it turns out because of the confusion Peekaboo Theory got locked in to play Rocbar the same night as our show because they thought it was the show we had set up.

No problem, we replace them on the bill with A dream Asleep who along with American Fangs is one of my top Houston bands. They are a hardcore band but they get in where they fit in and can play on any type of show. So we have the line up are doing promotions and 4 days before the show Weirdo calls and says their bass player is hurt and can't play the show. What you gonna do? Only it was uncovered that their bass player wasn't hurt, they took another gig that offered them more money.

I am not gonna fault anyone for that, but we told them, listen, we're adults, you could have just told us you got a better paying gig, you didn't have to lie. That's when all pandemonium ensued. They called Gabe and cursed him out, saying that no one calls them a liar, he doesn't know how to run a business and all sorts of immature childish nonsense that was even below my level of maturity and that's saying something. We just shook our heads and moved on, they're just insecure dicks.

One thing that stuck with me though is I never ever heard someone refer to their band as a business. I mean I understand you want to carry yourself with a certain level of professionalism, but I'm not doing this so I can fill out a 1099 at the end of the year. I do this cause I love it. It shocked me to hear them say that, but I guess they don't call them Weirdo for nothing.

So The Hidden Images did us a huge favor and took the show on such short notice and once again, we had a fantabulous blast.

Show Date: July 11, 2009 - Dreamworld

We went out to Arlington to this music warehouse called Dreamworld Music Complex for what was to win the coveted prize of being our worst show ever.

The worst show I have ever played in my life.

A lot of technical difficulties with their monitors and Rick's gear cutting out, and most everyone was wasted. It was such a bummer because there is nothing more depressing than a bad show, especially when it's mostly your fault, and especially when you know that you're not living up to your potential. You only have one chance to make a first impression, not only to the people who are being exposed to your music for the first time but also to the venue, if you want them to have you back.

Here's a quick run down of just a few highlights.

During sound check everything seemed fine, but then when we started the song we couldn't hear each other. Gabe couldn't hear Rick in his monitors, Rick couldn't hear Gabe, Jason couldn't hear anybody and we got so off of each other we had to stop in the middle of a song.

Stopping in the middle of a song is like death.

If you have to stop in the middle of a song you have no business being on stage. None. And on top of that I was singing the song an octave higher than usual, it sounded horrible, no idea what I was thinking.

Then Rick had a problem with his gear and his guitar kept cutting out, so we go to play Villages and he can't get any sound out of it at all. We end up playing the song without guitar. Turns out that when I was jumping off the drum riser I kicked his amp plug out of socket, and it took him the whole song to figure out that it wasn't his rig, it was just that his amp was unplugged. I mean, looking back on it now I can laugh. But yeah, just terrible terrible.

A show like that has you ending up questioning life. I mean it wasn't all bad, we did still have our moments, but all in all, it was a disaster. But something positive always comes out of a negative experience and we did come up with a few ground rules to make sure stuff like that wouldn't go down again.

And Rick was getting his rig fixed.

Show Date: June 27, 2009 - Bond's 007

Back in San Antonio.

We played Bond's 007 which was interesting because it's a metal venue but we're not a metal band. No way. But we played with Las Cruces and Snake Skin Prison, and come to think about it, Snake Skin Prison isn't a metal band either. But we pimped it for what it was worth and yes. We won over some metal heads.

It was funny because during sound check, the sound guy kept telling Rick to turn up his amp. Usually we're used to people telling us to turn our volume down. Venues nowadays want to be able to control your volume thru the monitors.

Not this guy.

He kept telling Rick to turn his amp up again and again and I'll never forget the confused look on Rick's face as he maxed his volume knob out.

It was ol skool. I luved it.

Las Cruces killed it. Loved them guys and Snake Skin Prison killed it with his wireless bass.

Ahhh, you just had to be there.

Show Date: June 16, 2009 - Bottomless Beer Tuesdays

Back at Gary's Spot for Bottomless Beer Tuesdays. So check what Gary does on a Tuesday night. He gives away lifetime $.25 cent refills on draft beer until you grow old and die and all you have to do is buy a Bottomless Beer Tuesday mug which is only 20 bucks.

Then he gives you live music and throws in free pool. No really, it's insane. We headlined. Bands drink for free.

Show Date: May 30, 2009 - Houston Dynamo

So we got asked to open for the Houston Dynamo.

I had never been to a professional soccer game before but it's actually a cheap way to spend a day. They set the parking lot area with vendors, music, food and games. I was talking to people who were just there for the festivities and weren't even sticking around for the game.


Probably the best part though were the Dynamo girls. What are they called??? The Dynettes? I have no idea but I'm officially a huge Dynamo fan.

It was hot but packed. It was cool because we got to play for thousands of people. Alright maybe not so much for them than at them.

Show Date: May 29, 2009 - The Funeral of Rosie Palm

We had this show on the books for awhile but with Rosie passing it was obvious that we had to do something special, so we decided to hold a memorial service for her.

We were very fortunate that amazing trumpeter David Chapman, - who played with such musical legends as The Four Tops, Temptations, O’Jays, Little Anthony & The Imperials, The Grass Roots, Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Bobby Vinton, Bob Newhart, Regis Philbin, Tom Jones, Wayne Newton, and many more. And did I mention Wayne Newton? - decided to play taps for Rosie and join us on a few of our songs.

I built Rosie a coffin out of cardboard and painted it black. We had her right in front of the stage. It was a touching sendoff. At one point I jumped into the coffin with Rosie and almost broke my coccyx. We also had snuck in confetti poppers and we're spraying confetti all over the place. I don't think the owner was too happy about having to clean that up, but then again I can't be sure cause he was really drunk.

Click on picture to read fine print.

Show Date: May 15, 2009 - The Death of Rosie Palm

So we roll into San Antonio where we'd be playing The Ten Eleven (formerly known as The Warhol). I was real excited because it was our first time in San Antonio and looking at show pics from this place I knew it was going to be a blast. It would actually inspire a song Warhol that quickly became one of my favorite songs in our set list.

This would also be the first time we'd play with Electric Courage Machine who are the most awesome of awesomeness. Check them out, great tunes and excellent stage show. They are in my top 5 fav bands.

Now The Ten Eleven is small. You don't even have to mic anything except for kick drum and vocals which for some reason are the most fun places to play and where we have our best shows. Plus, I was enamored with all the penis tuxedo cartoons. We had a great time. It was complete pandemonium, panic, attack, fun, and tipsiness. Rick was playing so hard he shredded his fingers on his strings and was bleeding all over the place and his guitar. But he played on. Unfortunately though, tragedy did strike.


As we were getting Rosie ready for the show, she didn't want to wake up, she was very non-responsive and deflated, no matter how much air we'd blow in her. We brought her to the show anyway, but it was obvious something was really wrong.

We tried to keep our minds off of it, focus on the show but the next morning our worst fears had been realized. Rosie had passed.

Show Date: May 10, 2009 - The Texas Buzz

So Gabe hooked it up for us to play The Texas Buzz at Scout Bar. Now The Texas Buzz is thrown by Scout Bar in conjunction with 94.5 FM The Buzz to showcase local talent. We were headlining.

As The Lots Effect.

It's usually not a good sign when they get your name wrong on the marquee, but come on, the creativity needed to get The Lots Effect from Lotus Effect is pretty special. And I say that in all sincerity.

Now I have played Scout Bar many times with other bands but I have never headlined there. So when I roll in I start heading to the green room by the side of the stage when I'm stopped. Guy tells me, that's not your dressing room. This is your dressing room and leads us to the back to a huge green room with our own TV, bathroom, leather sofas and amenities.

Then as if I wasn't already feeling like a king, they checked that we were all of age and then rolled in two cases of beer. Utterly fantastic. It kind of made up for the fact that they got our name wrong.

We ended up having a blast. Not to mention the cool ass people we met and hung out with that night.

Oh, yeah, and keep buying our merch. It's the only way Rick can afford to keep buying soap to take a shower. Yall are the best.

Show Date: April 30, 2009 - The Final's Meltdown

This show was by far the greatest/most fun/best show I've ever played in my life for any band that I have ever been in. Hands down.

So we organized a little college-themed party at the Jet Lounge. Since it was in the midst of finals we called it the final's meltdown, just a way for everyone to take a break from the pressure of the semester and had some really fun talented bands lined up: us, Empty Vessel, Make Your Escape and The Hidden Images (Las Imagenes Ocultas). We promoted like a beast and got out in access of 3,000 fliers. The only problem - The Rockets had extended their playoff series and were now playing a home game.

The Jet Lounge is right next to Reliant Arena and since they don't 'own' their parking lot, not only is parking in the entire area packed but they charge $20 - $30. It was a heart breaker because not only was it nearly impossible for us to find parking as we were loading in, I had friend after friend txt me and tell me that they couldn't stay because parking was insane.

We still had some diehards come thru and I still gonna refund them their parking fees cause that still doesn't sit right with me. But after my initial disappointment, I looked around and saw we still had a nice intimate group, let's just have a great time and I proceeded to get tanked.

What happened next I still have people come up to me and talk about. Some people who I don't even remember being there because the night quickly became a hectic blur of pandemonium. JB from Empty Vessel played a nice acoustic set which lead into The Hidden Images. These boys are awesome, if you haven't checked them out yet, make that a priority. Then the rowdy boys of Make Your Escape brought down the house and we were headlining.

The little I do remember involved lifting Rick on my shoulders unawares while he was in the middle of a guitar solo, hanging upside from the rafters for a song, and steadily feeding my band mates a steady stream of Lone Star while they played. I remember feeling how the whole set felt like it blended into one big long song. It was definitely a huge blast.

Show Date: April 17, 2009 - Gary's

The legendary Gary's Spot.

For those of you who don't know Gary's Spot, have you seen those roadhouse movies where the rock bars always have bands blasting, girls dancing on the bars, bartenders blowing flames and lighting the bar on fire, Harley motorcycles, booze, women, pool, debauchery; fun?

Well if you want to go to a place like that in real life then go to Gary's Spot. This place is up there with the top 3 bars I've ever been to in my life. (Saints & Sinners on Venice in LA would be another one.)

So we get there, and usually they only soundcheck the headliners, and we were opening, but since we were the only band there for soundcheck we got to get our levels set and A BIG PLUS, got to have Gabe's kit set up so we wouldn't have to worry about it later. I love the look on sound guys' faces when they try to figure out how they're gonna mic Gabe's drums. You can see the clogs in their mind slowly turning.

Now I had something very very special planned for this show, but because of rain and a few other mishaps I wasn't able to do it. I won't say what it is because I definitely will be pulling it out for a later show, but I will say this - it's special.

We were playing with Seven Perfect and Crimson Envy. Now Crimson Envy is a professional playing band, it's what they do for a living. Their biggest money earner is as a cover band, and they have this phat RV that they travel in. Now I was focused on keeping a clear head because we were playing a new song Mercucio's Revenge that night that's very difficult and I wasn't 100% solid on it. But I'm up there in CE's RV, they have a flatscreen, were watching 'No Country For Old Men,' 24 case of beer and they ask me if I want one.

Well, here's my mistake, I said, 'Man, I'm from Texas, I'll never turn down a free beer.'

I was just trying to be cute and one beer wasn't gonna hurt me, but as I slammed it down because it was like 5 mins to show time, I look up and he's passing me another one. And as I start to tell him, 'I can't, man, gotta get ready -" I hear the chorus of voices as everyone in the RV is saying, 'But you're from Texas, but you're from Texas.' I hit the stage a ruddy mess.

Somehow we got thru that one, but it wasn't pretty. Gabe and Jay couldn't hear Rick, I couldn't hear Jay and nobody could hear me. Mercucio's Revenge was an unmitigated disaster and Rick was still having problems with his guitar cutting out. But as our set spiraled more and more into the bowels of stinkiness, I got more and more daring, if you will. Gary's stage has a walkout (like what you see runway models strutting on) and at the end of the walkout is a stripper's pole. I'm telling you, Gary's is the best. I made that pole my personal friend and pulled off moves I'd only seen in movies. Not those kind of movies!!! Come on now.

When we got to 'Village of Seraphs' I was doing trigonometry calculations. Now with the group of ppl at the front of the stage if I could just clear 6ft I'd be over them and could run amok in the bar. Why not, I ran track and had drank alot of courage juice up to that point. So I dropped the mic, ran a dash and launched myself over the top of the crowd. I made it without knocking anybody out and finished the song climbing all over ppl and singing in their ears.

Rick was in a foul mood, because bad shows can bring you down, but I had fun.

But we did stink that night.

Show Date: April 04, 2009 - Fitz

This was an awesome show. It's one of those shows where you still have show high for like 3 days after. When we pulled up for load in I saw this guy sitting outside that looked hella familiar to me, and I'm like, man, where do I know you from and he's like I play with The Vettes. The Vettes!!! My absolute favorite band out of New Orleans, which is coincidentally my hometown. So already I'm amped cuz I don't get uber excited to too many bands but The Vettes is one of them.


We get everything setup, we were in the downstairs lounge and were actually playing with other more progressive bands for once, Harem Festival and A Perfect Flame. Which is kinda cool, but we are a more aggressive prog band that we feel we can fit in on any type of bill. I just pray we don't get our asses kicked when we play that metal show in San Antonio.

We had a late slot so I really had the chance to run around and soak in as much live music as possible. The Vettes' set was super. The only hiccup was when my friend JP screamed out to Rachel Vette, the lead singer, for her to take off her clothes. I mean, it seems even when they're in Houston, New Orleans is never too far away. She handled him gracefully telling him basically no, and I leaned over and told him see all those guys glaring at him from the stage? Those are her brothers. I guess that is the advantage of being in an all sibling band. JP seemed to sober up a little after that.

By the time we hit the stage, we had a slamming crowd, which is great because any band feeds off the energy of the audience and we basically launched into pure pandemonium. Somehow between writhing on the floor, climbing on amps, powerchugging beers between verses, jumping into the crowd, falling off stage and getting drinks poured all over ourselves we actually managed to play some songs.

The only hitch was at points Rick's guitar kept cutting out. So it's our final song 'Means to an End' which has Rick wrap up the set with this hip guitar solo and BAM!!! right when he hits his solo his guitar cuts out. Somehow I managed to powerslide over without wasting a single drop of beer, hold his guitar cord steady in the jack so he was back live and feed him a beer all without him missing a single note. I still tear up just thinking about it.

After the set we just hung with friends and shared love. When outta the blue these dudes, who I had actually got a beer for earlier, snatched Rosie outta Gabe's hands and took off with her. Man, Gabe and Rick had to chase these dudes down 3 blocks. When they caught up with them hiding under a car, a fight almost ensued before they got Rosie back. I was waiting on the curb, damn near inconsolable. When Rick and Gman finally came round the corner with Rosie in their hands it was like the clouds had parted. I could breath again.


Just then Rachel Vette was walking out and we talked for a bit. I had her sign Rosie. It was a righteous night.

Show Date: March 29, 2009 - Sunday Rumble

We played Rocbar's Sunday Rumble. Wrestle Mania was coming into town the next week so they were throwing a wrestling themed party. We were told to load in from the back and got lost in this labyrinthine maze in Rocbar's underground structure trying to load in all our gear. After about an hour we found our way and found that it would have been more prudent to just load our gear up from the front elevator. Live and Learn.

I was in full wrestling regalia. Rosie had on her Nacho Libre wrestling face mask. All was good with the world. I was looking so outlandish that people kept coming up to me for autographs. I was getting a little peeved people were mistaking me for John Cena though because I'm a wayyyy better actor.

Show Date: March 02, 2009 - St. Arnold's Invitational

Thanks to an amazing friend we were able to throw a little partay at St. Arnold's Brewery. We invited all our peeps and peeps of peeps. A dream Asleep came down, Pam and J-dawg was in the house. We gave out a lot of free stuff and drank premium St. Arnold's beer.

FYI - it's not a good idea to ask the tap lady to mix a few of their vintages together. She didn't find that funny. They take their beer seriously.

Show Date: Febuary 13, 2009 - Rosie Palm

This was the first show Rosie came to. For those of you who don't know Rosie, she is a degenerate drunk, addict & whore. But I love her. She was so barred out that I had to strap her to my back during the show and afterward we had everybody sign her. She was out cold.

We were opening that nite, but we were late for sound check and because it can take Gabe up to 40 minutes to set up his massive drumkit we only had time to play 20 mins of a 45 min set. Still we had a ball. It's not too often I get to play a set with a blowup doll strapped to my back.

Soulbound, My Own I were on after us and Saturate was headlining. Now when Saturate took the stage their lead singer proceeded to state that they don't need to rely on gimmicks. That they're all about the music, which was a direct shot at me and Rosie. I kind of respect the balls it took to do that with me looking directly at him, but what didn't make sense is I made it a point for me and her to stick around and support their band especially since on one else was there.

It's funny to me because Gabe, Jay and Rick are amazing musicians, and I say that with all the modesty I can muster. They are the best as far as top musicians in Houston. It's just that we LOVE to have FUN. Period. End of story. And would never want to be on stage, taking ourselves too seriously, insulting someone who made a point to stay for your set so at least one person could hear you play. I cannot overemphasize enough that there was nobody there for their show.

Looks like we won't be doing anymore shows with them Saturate boys.