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.