Show Date: March 18, 2010 - SXSW

We were playing SXSW. We came a long way since a year ago when it seemed that nobody wanted to book us and bands didn't want to play with us, to headlining Mardi Gras Galveston and playing SXSW.

It was the Texas Rockfest and we were going to be playing with some major badasses like The Vettes, Nothing More, Opus Dai, One Eyed Doll, Mothers Anthem, Ahimsa Sunrise, and many many more. It was really my first time in Austin and if felt like the New Orleans of Texas. There were people everywhere, lined throughout every block and pouring into the streets. Everywhere you turned there was music. It was so festive and there was a real sense of camaraderie.

I was meeting people from all over the world who were united by their love of music. It was a beautiful thing.
But the highlight of SXSW for me by far was meeting Eric "muthafucking" Estrada who told me he was my number one fan. I teared up, it was beautiful.

Show Date: February 06, 2010 - Mardi Gras Galveston

We got to asked to play Mardi Gras Galveston and all we got was this stupid flyer:

United Musicians Alliance was graceful enough to ask us to headline their stage this year at Mardi Gras Galveston. There were a lot of great bands playing, the turn out was insane. There was drinking in the streets and yes, there were bare boobies. Not as much as New Orleans, granted, but they were there.

But seriously, Mardi Gras is more than a celebration of breasts. There is a storied history and culture of Mardi Gras that extends beyond booze, boobies and music. I don't know what that storied culture is, I'm just trying to blunt the chauvinistic angle of this post because of the guilt I feel from seeing so many boobs.

Show Date: January 09, 2010 - Mike James

Party say what???!!! Our first show of the year and we played a Capricorn bash @ AvantGarden to celebrate filmmaker Mike Jame's birthday. If you haven't heard of Mike yet, keep your ears to the street because you'll be hearing about him very soon. He's directed the short film Spiked and has 6 other film projects in the works including a feature which we hope to get a song on the soundtrack of, ya heard?

Just so happens that that morning I come down with a terrible head cold that would not go away. By the time I pull up to AvantGarden I was feeling like complete shit. Then there was a bit of confusion because it was our understanding that we'd be playing upstairs but there was another party there. So as we were trying to figure out what was going to happen, I walked over to Mango's next door to see if we could set up and play there, since we had our own PA system with us.

Now, we have been trying to play Mango's forever! To no avail. Mango's is like our Holy Grail and we know that when we finally play there, damnit, we're somebody. So I went over completely expecting to be shot down. I told the bartender our gig at AvantGarden was canceled on us and I was wondering if we could just set up and play a bit before their show gets going. (It was like 9:15 at this time.) I even had to admit it was an odd request. He was the bar manager so he had to call Omar, and wouldn't you know, Omar was like, as long as we're done by 10:15 so the other show can go on, no problem. I was actually touched that they would try to help us salvage a gig like that.

Turns out though that Mike James came thru and made sure we got set up and played out set. It took me about 3 songs to shake off my bug but I ended up having a blast! After we were done, the dj's set up and we boogy rocked the night away. I had this one guy, said he was from NY and that he doesn't listen to 'music with screaming in it,' but that he really dug our shit. Hahaha, lovely. We all had a really good time.

STUDIO UPDATE

Well as many of you may or may not know we have been in the studio working hard on our next EP Rabbits and Royalty.

And so far it is beyond all of our wildest expectations. We are working with producer Mike Thompson of Ivory Tower Productions, (Close Your Eyes, American Fangs, etc.) This is the hardest working guy in the Houston music scene right now, and I feel that he is single-handed behind shaping our scene and making us a national force to be reckoned with. Numerous bands and artists that he's worked with have gone on to record and songwriting deals, music awards and industry recognition.

That's not why we choose to work with him though. We picked him because every song we heard on his reel was jaw dropping incredible. This is a guy who is not only a vocal coach, guitar coach and songwriter, but has a great ear and my taste in music. I knew that he would push us and make us better without changing the character of who we are as a band. He sat in on practices. Gave his critiques and suggestions. Continued to push us and encouraged us not to settle, then drew the performances out of us in the studio. Probably the best experience I've had recording an album.

I could go on and on, but if you are a band and you're serious about your craft, Mike Thompson should be the first person you talk to when you're looking to head into the studio. I still have a few more vocals to lay down, but even in the early stages everything is sounding so mind-blowingly incredible, I've never been more excited about a project and can't wait to be able to share what we're doing with everyone.

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: 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.

Show Date: January 16, 2009 - Hell on Heels Tour

So Gabe booked us a little shindig at Fitz as support for the Hell on Heels Tour that was coming thru town. So basically we were opening for Nico Vega (Myspace Records) who I was listening to before they blew when I was living back in LA, Semi Precious Weapons and Von Iva who was recently in the Jim Carrey movie 'Yes, Man'.

We played a low key show for this one and kept our mania under wraps. No blowup dolls, no hanging upside down from the ceiling, no Ricky bleeding all over his guitar, but we still had a righteous good time.

Ricky cornered the guitar player of Nico Vega and expounded how great he thought he was. I think the guy was a little intimidated. You know, by that time, Rick had a few beers in him and even I thought it was a little stalkerish but hey, no harm no foul. I think what impressed Rick the most was that this guy had the most massive pedal board even I had ever seen.

At that time Semi Precious Weapons had just released their debut album and they had these little SPW necklaces with every CD. So I had picked me up a copy and was wearing their necklace at the show. So I see Justin the lead singer over by the water cooler and I corner him. And I think at first he thought I was gonna kick his ass, but I just wanted to show him I had their necklace on. He broke out in a big smile and smacked me on the ass.

Okay, I added that ass smacking part.

--Dre

Show Date: December 05, 2008 - The Kegger

After practicing dutifully in Gabe's garage for over 2 years we figured what better way to have a break out show then at a kegger. We corralled the troops, rolled in the amps and played happy party time till the break of dawn. I was somewhat distracted during the set because of all the free flowing suds being dispersed in the backyard.

Big ups to Rick's ex who let us throw the party in their house despite the fact they were in the midst of a manic divorce. Real love dies hard.

-- Dre