A funny road story for all of you....
We were asked to play a 3 day Metal/Rock festival up in a town called Owego, NY on Friday August 13th. The town is right near Binghamton, NY about a 3.5 hour drive west from NYC. The Festival was called Nikstock. Basically some guy Nick from California puts on this festival in the Upstate NY area every year. He invites like 50 bands to come and play at some campsite. Well it was more like an open field next to some raceway. He put together some half ass stage and rented a PA for a decent sound I guess. It didn't sound so good on the stage but facing the stage sounded decent.
The festival started on Friday and ended Sunday. We were asked to play Friday night at 8PM. So we packed up the trailer and this time brought with us a couple of tents, a canopy, some zero gravity chairs, a beer pong table, and a cooler of about 5 Thirty packs of beer.
Of course, Slam One Down is always late, so we arrived around 7:30PM and we were supposed to be there at like 6PM. So we pull right up to the stage and it was kind of funny because as you look around the field it was all covered in tents. We pull up to the stage and we are of course rushing to get our gear on stage.
Perfect for us, was that we went on right before the bikini contest. Now I guess a bikini contest in upstate NY is the kind where every guy grabs a chick and throws them on the stage and then they basically have to take off all of their clothes. I thought that was pretty cool. So now picture this; Slam One Down on stage with all of our equipment and watching about 10 naked drunk girls on stage dancing all over and around us. I guess that is enough to put a smile on anyone's face.
As soon as the contest was over. We started playing and we crushed it as usual. Made some new friends/fans of the band and converted people to the Slam One Down family.
So we finish up playing and get all the equipment back into the trailer and now have to set up camp. We basically drove right into the middle of the whole party and set up two tents, a huge canopy, chairs and a beer pong table within like 30 minutes. Unfortunately for them, Scott and Roach had to leave because of work and other engagements. So all you have left is Bobby, his girl, and me all by myself. Bobby starts playing beer pong and really gets a huge crowd around us. I have to say our little camp was the funnest party of all the little campsites. We met some great new friends and had some good times. There was go-cart races and everyone was really cool and kept screaming out "Slam One Down" to us as we walked by.
As the night rolled on, I thought to myself, "Wow, these upstate NYers really like to get (Fucked Up)." I would say like 90% of the people there were either tripping on Acid or Tripping on Ecstasy. I sat down next to one dude and he was like, yo the trees are flying up into the sky. He took his first hit around 4am, I was like whoa that is harcore. Than everyone was talking about some drug called Molly, but with their accents it sounded kind of funny. Towards the end of the night everyone ran out of beer except for us. Everyone kept asking to buy a beer from me and me being the Entrepreneur that I am, gladly provided the service. I woke up the next morning with all of these dollar bills in my pocket. Needless to say every party must come to a close so I passed out in the tent only to wake up to the 6am sun beaming down on my tent. I swear I must have sweated out like 10 pounds of booze and water through my pours. Bobby woke me up around 10am and I had the biggest hangover ever, with that pounding headache you get right in the front of your head. One good thing was that I woke up around 6:30 am to hear somebody playing the whole "Slam One Down" CD from beginning to end on their car stereo.
Bobby and I did nothing but lay in a chair until around 2:30 PM Saturday afternoon. The campsite was disgusting, it was like a Frat housed exploded in the middle of the woods. There were beer cans and garbage everywhere. So we packed up and I slept the whole way home as Bobby drove....sucker!!!
In conclusion, we had a great show, made some awesome friends, got wasted, and saw some naked women. I guess, .....We win again!!!
Love ya's
J.R.
Slam One Down
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
our first three day road trip - part 1
Roach here wanting to talk about the insanity that was this past weekend. S1D went on their first three day road trip to three different states to play some shows outside of New York City. A lot of shit happened so let's get into this:
first stop was friday July 30 in Bethlehem, PA. we get to the place and its a nice, small place. Some sort of gathering hall for members of some community. The beer was cheap, the people at the bar were nice and it seemed like it was going to be a good show.
I won't lie to you folks, the show didn't go the way we expected it to go. First off, almost nobody but the other bands showed up. There were maybe 8 people there in total. I'm not saying this to shit on the promoters. They were awesome people and they worked their asses off promoting and trying to get people to the show. It just didn't work out the way they wanted.
We set up our stuff and start our set and even with the small space, hard walls and hardwood floors, making for bad acoustics, it actually sounded really good. Of the people who were there, though, nobody is moving. Nobody is getting into the show were trying to put on. We do our covers and I see that one guy is wearing a Metallica shirt so I'm thinking "he's gonna love Seek & Destroy." He doesn't move at all when J.R. goes into the opening riff. He doesn't move for the entire song. Not...one...bit. He doesn't sing along, He doesn't even bob his head. He just stands there with his arms folded half sitting on the table behind him.
We finish the cover and Bobby immediately goes to us and stops the show. He then proceeds to yell at the people who were there for not interacting with us or even reacting to what we were doing. We seriously could've been playing to a morgue and we would've gotten a better response. And it wasn't because we weren't on our game. I think we sounded and played tighter than we ever have. The people just weren't into it for some reason. So we brushed it off and finished our set.
We go downstairs to drink some more and i notice a little sign behind the bar that saids "Hot Bologne in a cooler: 75 cents" J.R. tells us he's ordering a pizza pie for us before he disappears. We wait for the pie and laugh our asses off when it finally comes because its one of those personal pan pizza. The diameter was no longer than a dollar bill. We all took a bite before J.R. comes back to see the tiniest slice a pizza can be.
So everyone else notices the hot bologne sign and we're intrigued. How can a bologne be hot but also in a cooler? I couldn't let this question get away from us. So i waved the bartender over and with a wave of my finger i ordered up 5 hot bolognes in a cooler. She gives it to us and we're about to dive in when she immediately stops us and saids "YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE SKIN OFF" After removing the thin layer of skin from the bologne we tried it and, while it was cold from being in the cooler, it was sort of spicy but really good. We all approved.
Day two: Worcester, Mass
We drive up to Mass and we found out we were going to be playing with Hemlock. If you haven't heard Hemlock then you NEED to we also got some friends of ours on the bill too, Odd Man In. There another band you should be on the lookout for.
The drive wasn't bad. We get to the venue and I don't know about you people, but Worcester looked as ghetto as can be. I mean when I see a Fried Chicken place, bullet holes in the restaurant next to it and iron bars on the window of the pizzeria next to that, something tells me "ghetto" right away. We unload our stuff and for the first time I think we weren't the ones who brought the most equipment. Anyone who has seen us knows how much equipment we bring, but i think Hemlock beats us out. Odd Man In goes on first and they kill it. There's a drunk guy dancing, moshing, jumping on stage with them. Guys were running around acting crazy. It was a fun show.
Fuel of War goes on next. This band features a midget paraplegic in a wheelchair on guitar and this guy is amazing. He's fucking shredding and rocking out more than most guitarists I've seen. People were definitely into them and they kept the metal going.
We go on next and we destroy this stage. Everything is tight as hell and everything is working. Odd Man In jump in and start singing some of the songs on the mic with some of the audience, including Beer Run. Let me tell you its fun as shit to see a bunch of guys grouped around a mic yelling Beer Run as loud as they can.
Hemlock closes out the show and, after packing up my drums, i jump into the fray to mosh and bang my head to this amazing band. Their music is tight, their stage show is phenomenal and their talent is undeniable. These guys are amazing and if you haven't seen them live, you should see the next time they're in your town and check them out. Not something to be missed.
Now before i move on i want to tell you a mini story. A story of getting food in Worcester Mass. As i mentioned before there was a chicken place, a diner, and a pizzeria next to each other a block away from the bar. So me and the mrs go to get food before the show starts. The diner is closed. its 6 in the evening. So we go to the chicken place. There's a indian/spanish guy behind the counter and saids hi to us. we look at the menu and my wife wants shrimp. So i order the 21 piece shrimp with fries (not 20...21. i dont know either) the guy looks at me confused. So i point to it on the menu and say shrimp again. hes still confused. So i say the number of the order. He goes to a back table to get his glasses, which dont have handles. he looks at the menu for a longer period of time than i thought was necessary, but he finally saids shrimp in spanish which i understood and agreed with. He then proceeds to go to the back room where another guy is and converses with him while looking in the cooler for the shrimp. They're not looking for the shrimp, they're trying to figure out what shrimp is. at this point i look at my wife and say "thats ok. thank you." and we walk out of the chicken place to go to the pizzeria. we get pernil sandwiches (pork shoulder for you non spanish people out there) and it was actually quite good, but that one things nags me to this day. how do you not know what shrimp is? i mean i can understand if he was retarded or something, but he wasn't. he just simply did not know what shrimp was. and the fact that he had to go to a back room to converse with someone else who also didn't know what shrimp was boggled my mind even more.
this story isn't over by the way...
so we're walking back up the block to the bar when a car screeches up the hill beside us and spins out right in front of us. it literally was two steps away from hitting us. the two guys in the car just stare at us for a minute before reversing the car and parking it on the street they just spun out on and then run up the hill past us laughing. they almost killed us and were laughing about it.
needless to say i wanted to get out of worcester as soon as possible.
we rented a hotel for the night in Auburn Mass to save time for the drive to Walden the next day. I passed out right away while J.R., Mrs Roach, Gio, and Bobby explored the hotel and had a party of it.
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion...
-Roach
first stop was friday July 30 in Bethlehem, PA. we get to the place and its a nice, small place. Some sort of gathering hall for members of some community. The beer was cheap, the people at the bar were nice and it seemed like it was going to be a good show.
I won't lie to you folks, the show didn't go the way we expected it to go. First off, almost nobody but the other bands showed up. There were maybe 8 people there in total. I'm not saying this to shit on the promoters. They were awesome people and they worked their asses off promoting and trying to get people to the show. It just didn't work out the way they wanted.
We set up our stuff and start our set and even with the small space, hard walls and hardwood floors, making for bad acoustics, it actually sounded really good. Of the people who were there, though, nobody is moving. Nobody is getting into the show were trying to put on. We do our covers and I see that one guy is wearing a Metallica shirt so I'm thinking "he's gonna love Seek & Destroy." He doesn't move at all when J.R. goes into the opening riff. He doesn't move for the entire song. Not...one...bit. He doesn't sing along, He doesn't even bob his head. He just stands there with his arms folded half sitting on the table behind him.
We finish the cover and Bobby immediately goes to us and stops the show. He then proceeds to yell at the people who were there for not interacting with us or even reacting to what we were doing. We seriously could've been playing to a morgue and we would've gotten a better response. And it wasn't because we weren't on our game. I think we sounded and played tighter than we ever have. The people just weren't into it for some reason. So we brushed it off and finished our set.
We go downstairs to drink some more and i notice a little sign behind the bar that saids "Hot Bologne in a cooler: 75 cents" J.R. tells us he's ordering a pizza pie for us before he disappears. We wait for the pie and laugh our asses off when it finally comes because its one of those personal pan pizza. The diameter was no longer than a dollar bill. We all took a bite before J.R. comes back to see the tiniest slice a pizza can be.
So everyone else notices the hot bologne sign and we're intrigued. How can a bologne be hot but also in a cooler? I couldn't let this question get away from us. So i waved the bartender over and with a wave of my finger i ordered up 5 hot bolognes in a cooler. She gives it to us and we're about to dive in when she immediately stops us and saids "YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE SKIN OFF" After removing the thin layer of skin from the bologne we tried it and, while it was cold from being in the cooler, it was sort of spicy but really good. We all approved.
Day two: Worcester, Mass
We drive up to Mass and we found out we were going to be playing with Hemlock. If you haven't heard Hemlock then you NEED to we also got some friends of ours on the bill too, Odd Man In. There another band you should be on the lookout for.
The drive wasn't bad. We get to the venue and I don't know about you people, but Worcester looked as ghetto as can be. I mean when I see a Fried Chicken place, bullet holes in the restaurant next to it and iron bars on the window of the pizzeria next to that, something tells me "ghetto" right away. We unload our stuff and for the first time I think we weren't the ones who brought the most equipment. Anyone who has seen us knows how much equipment we bring, but i think Hemlock beats us out. Odd Man In goes on first and they kill it. There's a drunk guy dancing, moshing, jumping on stage with them. Guys were running around acting crazy. It was a fun show.
Fuel of War goes on next. This band features a midget paraplegic in a wheelchair on guitar and this guy is amazing. He's fucking shredding and rocking out more than most guitarists I've seen. People were definitely into them and they kept the metal going.
We go on next and we destroy this stage. Everything is tight as hell and everything is working. Odd Man In jump in and start singing some of the songs on the mic with some of the audience, including Beer Run. Let me tell you its fun as shit to see a bunch of guys grouped around a mic yelling Beer Run as loud as they can.
Hemlock closes out the show and, after packing up my drums, i jump into the fray to mosh and bang my head to this amazing band. Their music is tight, their stage show is phenomenal and their talent is undeniable. These guys are amazing and if you haven't seen them live, you should see the next time they're in your town and check them out. Not something to be missed.
Now before i move on i want to tell you a mini story. A story of getting food in Worcester Mass. As i mentioned before there was a chicken place, a diner, and a pizzeria next to each other a block away from the bar. So me and the mrs go to get food before the show starts. The diner is closed. its 6 in the evening. So we go to the chicken place. There's a indian/spanish guy behind the counter and saids hi to us. we look at the menu and my wife wants shrimp. So i order the 21 piece shrimp with fries (not 20...21. i dont know either) the guy looks at me confused. So i point to it on the menu and say shrimp again. hes still confused. So i say the number of the order. He goes to a back table to get his glasses, which dont have handles. he looks at the menu for a longer period of time than i thought was necessary, but he finally saids shrimp in spanish which i understood and agreed with. He then proceeds to go to the back room where another guy is and converses with him while looking in the cooler for the shrimp. They're not looking for the shrimp, they're trying to figure out what shrimp is. at this point i look at my wife and say "thats ok. thank you." and we walk out of the chicken place to go to the pizzeria. we get pernil sandwiches (pork shoulder for you non spanish people out there) and it was actually quite good, but that one things nags me to this day. how do you not know what shrimp is? i mean i can understand if he was retarded or something, but he wasn't. he just simply did not know what shrimp was. and the fact that he had to go to a back room to converse with someone else who also didn't know what shrimp was boggled my mind even more.
this story isn't over by the way...
so we're walking back up the block to the bar when a car screeches up the hill beside us and spins out right in front of us. it literally was two steps away from hitting us. the two guys in the car just stare at us for a minute before reversing the car and parking it on the street they just spun out on and then run up the hill past us laughing. they almost killed us and were laughing about it.
needless to say i wanted to get out of worcester as soon as possible.
we rented a hotel for the night in Auburn Mass to save time for the drive to Walden the next day. I passed out right away while J.R., Mrs Roach, Gio, and Bobby explored the hotel and had a party of it.
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion...
-Roach
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
