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.