Slam One Down had a show at Don Hills Friday night opening up for Anaka. We were the first band of the night so we were playing pretty early. All of us got there at a reasonable time and were able to setup our rigs comfortably. We play the set and crush it, albeit to a small crowd. Whatever. We figured it would be a glorified practice and treated it as such. People loved it and we got praise afterwards, just like we do at every show. So we did our thing and crushed it.
After packing up the trailer and my car, there were a couple of other shows going on in the city that I wanted to catch. So after a quick bite to eat at a burger place where my friend makes a racist/dorky remark at the Asian waitress:
Jose: (to the asian waitress) Make it so.
Roach: Did you just refer to her as Mr. Sulu?
Jose: Yes and thank you for catching the reference.
He also tries to steal the mirror from the bathroom and gets a woman to sing Winter Wonderland. These are the people I choose to hang out with. After eating we traveled to Brooklyn. Now I have in my car Mrs. Roach, a coworker of hers, Tania, and a friend of mine who came up from North Carolina to see the show, Jose. So the four of us drive to Trash Bar, but first we made a quick stop at Duffs because Jose hadn’t seen Laurie Anne, their regular bartender, in years.
I filmed him as we walked into the bar and he sang a partridge family song to announce his entrance. She immediately jumps over the bar and jumps on him, wrapping her arms around him in a huge hug. She then immediately gives us the finger and tells us to fuck off. This is what I love about Duffs and the people who work there. Once you get to know the bartenders and the owner, it’s like family. You can say whatever the fuck you want to them and everyone knows it’s all in good fun.
Now we immediately leave. We were literally in Duffs for 5 seconds to say hi. No drink or anything. We jump back into my car and head to Trash Bar.
We get to Trash Bar and the place is PACKED! I’m talking wall to wall, front to back, shoulder to shoulder packed. We make it into the back room for the show and we had to muscle our way to the bar for a drink. I see some people I know as well as the people who are running the show. Joseph Schuftan from Horns Up Rocks and ‘Evil’Steve Ventura who booked the show as a fund raiser for Toys for Tots.
Now my boys in Odd Man In were headlining this show and it was their record release show. I’m sorry to say I didn’t get to catch them this night because I had a birthday party to go to later on in the night where I was promised Spanish food, a bed, and a bottle of Jaegermeister. What I did get to catch at Trash bar were two bands: World Lost, who Slam One Down are playing with in March in Delaware. They were fucking amazing, let me tell you. Old school heavy beat and riff metal at its finest.
Once they were finished, some guys started passing around those light up devil horns you can buy at any Halloween stores. I get some and put it on and find it coincidental I’m wearing my devil shirt this night. The next band to go on was King Hell. If you haven’t heard of these guys then you need to. These guys brought the fucking house down; groovy, funky metal complete with character and style. They have two lead singers, one calling on the spirit of Rob Halford while the other one, with his red and black Zoot suit and deep voice, held the crowd in a metal infused trance. The guitarist had on football pads with spikes on it, the bass player had on a 70’s style outfit complete with glasses and a real afro. The drummer looked like a demonic samurai, wearing a giant black Chinese straw hat and a red and black kimono while he slightly grooved to the beats he was playing. Their charisma and stage presence was phenomenal. Go to kinghellmetal.com and check them out.
So now I’m done after seeing this amazing performance. The wifey tells me we need to go if we’re gonna make this party. We stop at Duffs one more time to drink some more and I see Alex Gugi, Pablo Diaz, and Johnny Kook, a band called Gas who my previous band used to play with all the time, and they’re close friends of mine. After talking with them and Jimmy Duff for a while, I leave my friend Jose there, Drop Tania off at a train, and drive to my friend’s birthday party.
My wife is worried that the party might be over. It’s only 1am and the birthday girl is Puerto Rican, I know better. The minute we get out of the car, we hear loud music. I know it’s coming from the party. At 1 in the morning I just start yelling her name out in the middle of street, Devil shirt and Devil horns still on my head. She looks out the window and screams when she sees us.
We walk up to her apartment and it’s packed with Spanish people, young and old, and the music is pumping. I down the first vodka and cranberry she gives me and quickly ask for another. The music starts getting good so everyone starts dancing. Now this girl bought a stripper pole and set it up in the living room for her birthday. I had my camera at the ready just in case a girl decided to do some crazy shit and totally fail at it. The music was good, the liquor was good, I was feeling good. Then at 4am her landlord comes up and shuts the party down. DJ’s pack their shit, the beds are set up and I pass out.
I wake up the next morning, the birthday girl makes everyone breakfast. Everyone wanted to make breakfast for her, but she’s Puerto Rican; having things done for her is unheard of. After some pancakes, eggs and bacon, me and Mrs. Roach left to go to Chelsea so I could teach a student. All in the life of a musician…
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Slam One Down for the Holiday Season
It is finally holiday season and I don't know about the rest of you but it is totally the season for good times. In the Slam One Down family it seems like every day there is a reason to get whacked but in all honesty, in the NYC area there is that unique feeling of good times, during December thru January. Now I really could care less about the actual Holidays specifically. At this point in my life they really do not have a lot of meaning. But, I do love the fact that everyone sneaks in a "Night Out" on a random day of the week. There is always some group of people in your circle "tying one on" somewhere. Sometimes its a couple of friends from work going out and grabbing a couple of drinks right after work. Its a couple of old-school buddies hitting up a strip-club for a once a year gathering to see each other. It could be a cool Metal show somewhere checking out a local favorite or a national act. Some people after they shop for whatever, just grab a quick drink by themselves and meet some cool new people. What is even better is that in every bar, there are lights and festive music playing, and there are always cool Holiday drinks that usually are good to the pallet. I dig it....any excuse to have a couple of cocktails works for me. So to my point...
In the Slam One Down camp we have a very specific goal in playing gigs and what we want to achieve in the Heavy Metal Music scene. We just don't play shows randomly, we set them up in a way that gives each show meaning to help get us to the main goal. However, every once in a while, you have to move laterally and stray off the path for one reason...."Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
This Holiday Season, Slam One Down will be playing quite a few shows in the local NYC area. We typically do not do that, we usually like to spread them out. But for this Holiday we are going to play a bunch with only one thing in mind....sharing good times with all of our friends and Heavy Metal family. No rules, no playing 20 minutes supporting some national act, no bullshit. Just good times with no strings attached. I am sure you know how we like to roll in....lots of booze lots of good times. So if you are available come and join us this Holiday season, you know I will be buying my friends some cocktails and showing my people a good time. Don't miss these events and stay in and complain about all the bullshit in your life....I guarantee you a good time.
Happy Holidays
J.R.
In the Slam One Down camp we have a very specific goal in playing gigs and what we want to achieve in the Heavy Metal Music scene. We just don't play shows randomly, we set them up in a way that gives each show meaning to help get us to the main goal. However, every once in a while, you have to move laterally and stray off the path for one reason...."Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
This Holiday Season, Slam One Down will be playing quite a few shows in the local NYC area. We typically do not do that, we usually like to spread them out. But for this Holiday we are going to play a bunch with only one thing in mind....sharing good times with all of our friends and Heavy Metal family. No rules, no playing 20 minutes supporting some national act, no bullshit. Just good times with no strings attached. I am sure you know how we like to roll in....lots of booze lots of good times. So if you are available come and join us this Holiday season, you know I will be buying my friends some cocktails and showing my people a good time. Don't miss these events and stay in and complain about all the bullshit in your life....I guarantee you a good time.
Happy Holidays
J.R.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Metal Sucks Review 11/22/10
I want to post a review by http://www.metalsucks.net
We played a gig at Crash Mansion, for the No Mercy Metal Showcase. Metal Sucks was sponsoring the event and as part of their sponsorship, they do a write up on the event and I believe single out a band that stood out to them for whatever reasons. So we got singled out with a great review. For the most part they compared us to Machine Head and Revocation, which I believe is a great thing. Feel free to visit the page and put in your comments and become a follower of Metal Sucks here is the excerpt:
http://www.metalsucks.net/2010/11/22/no-mercy-metal-slam-one-down-slam-it-down-on-halloween/
As part of our sponsorship of the No Mercy Metal showcases here in NYC — the most recent of which was held the night before Halloween, October 30th (hence the above photo) — we’ll be highlighting one band from each show here on MetalSucks in an effort to bring the best of the piping hot NYC metal scene to the rest of the world.
This edition’s featured band is Slam One Down, whose deathy-thrash attack reminds me at times of Revocation by way of Machine Head. Though Slam One Down aren’t quite as refined as either, they sound like what I might imagine Revocation’s very earliest demos sounding like; there’s plenty of promise here and skill equally divided amongst all the band members. Peep the track “To Live Forever” on their MySpace page, my personal favorite.
-VN
We played a gig at Crash Mansion, for the No Mercy Metal Showcase. Metal Sucks was sponsoring the event and as part of their sponsorship, they do a write up on the event and I believe single out a band that stood out to them for whatever reasons. So we got singled out with a great review. For the most part they compared us to Machine Head and Revocation, which I believe is a great thing. Feel free to visit the page and put in your comments and become a follower of Metal Sucks here is the excerpt:
http://www.metalsucks.net/2010/11/22/no-mercy-metal-slam-one-down-slam-it-down-on-halloween/
As part of our sponsorship of the No Mercy Metal showcases here in NYC — the most recent of which was held the night before Halloween, October 30th (hence the above photo) — we’ll be highlighting one band from each show here on MetalSucks in an effort to bring the best of the piping hot NYC metal scene to the rest of the world.
This edition’s featured band is Slam One Down, whose deathy-thrash attack reminds me at times of Revocation by way of Machine Head. Though Slam One Down aren’t quite as refined as either, they sound like what I might imagine Revocation’s very earliest demos sounding like; there’s plenty of promise here and skill equally divided amongst all the band members. Peep the track “To Live Forever” on their MySpace page, my personal favorite.
-VN
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
This Week in S1D Darketst Hour/Powerman 5000 Part 2 of 2
This Week in S1D Darketst Hour/Powerman 5000 Part 2 of 2
So this past Sunday we had the opportunity to open up for Darkest Hour/Veil of Maya/Periphery/Revocation and of course our good friends in Demilitia joined us. The show was held at Crocodile Rock in Allentown, PA. It was a Sunday show and we had to be there relatively early at 2:30PM and it was about an hour and a half drive their from my house. I got up early and grabbed the trailer, changed guitar strings, bought beer/Jaeger for the cooler and shaved my head. Bobby text me at 11AM to ask me what time to be at my house. I told him be here by 12 so we can be on the road by 1PM. Big mistake, you see singers are DOUCHE BAGS, its the only way they can write good lyrics. So he showed up at 2PM making us and hour and half late. MY man was 2 hours late and remember he is a singer, he has nothing to do. No strings to change nothing all he had to do was get to my house, which is max a 20 minute ride. Needless to say as I was passing the 2 hours by that he was late I was saying to myself, I am done with this kid I am firing him....He pulled up, like nothing happened, pounded my hand and we got on our way.
For this particular show, we were asked to provide the back-line which included 2 Guitar Cabinets, A bass cabinet and full drum set. Since I am such a nice guy, I agreed to this. I probably could of asked to got paid for providing back-line, but I didn't because the head promoter gave us the best time slot on the main-stage before the main acts, so I figure it was a decent swap...It probably would have cost him a couple hundred dollars to rent the equipment. BUt like I said Bobby was late so we had to be there at 2:30 PM to set up the whole event with our equipment. We didn't get there until 3:45 PM and the show started at 4:10 promptly and doors opened at 4:00PM.
When we got there we basically where running around frantically, trying to get all of our stuff on stage within 15 minutes. It was cool though because all the club's stage hands where like "Nice of you to finally show up" which was kind of funny. So we literally unloaded my trailer and loaded the stage within 15 minutes, I'm talking a whole concert ready to go. After we got our stuff in I pulled the car into the lot next to the venue and set up camp.
What's nice about a trailer is that it kind of automatically sets up a cool chill spot anywhere you go, because of its size and dimensions. So we set up shop in the parking lot, pulled out the cooler and started pounding beers, shots of Jaeger and this drink called 4 Loco. Bobby grabbed one at the venue and it supposedly has like the equivalent of 5 beers and like 2 red-bulls. It tasted nasty, we all tried to down it but it sucked. So we sat outside for like two hours and had a pretty good time, while I tuned guitars and warmed up. Speaking of warming up, I was trying to warm up on the guitar but it was like 40 degrees out so I asked Bobby's girlfriend Gio if she had those gloves where the finger tips where exposed and she did. Problem was they were hot pink. So picture this, wanna-be metal god warming up outside in all black and hot pink gloves on and I think we got pictures.
We went on about 6 PM and the deal was that all opening bands got 20 minutes to play and the main acts all had like 25-30 mins. Kind of weird. So I said to the promoter, " SInce you are using our stuff, would you mind if our set was like 22-23 mins. He said no problem, but he forgot to tell the stage hands. So we go on and start playing. And typically what happens when you are a band that no one knows of, most of the people basically stare at you very weirdly. They don't know what to expect. But this crowd was really not emotional. They just watched, but after each song they cheered really loudly with a lot of emotion. But during the songs, no headbanging, no bopping around, just statues. It could have been a lot of reasons or it could just be the way the younger audiences are. Because there was about 100 kids watching us during the show. But they where all very young....since it was all ages. I knew this because the place is sectioned off between 21 and over and under age by a gate and there was very few people drinking at the bar. And it seemed even the national acts where getting the same kind of response from them.
So we finish our second song and the stage guy says last song and 2 mins left. And I was confused. I said to the guy, "It is mathmatically impossible to have 2 minutes left. Plus the head promoter gave us extra time. I said we are only 12 mins into the set and we still have 2 songs to go, plus you are using my stuff for all the other bands. Anyway, that really through my game off a bit, I tried my best to not let it bother me but I HATE being rushed on stage. It messes with my playing. And now I have to tell Bobby to speed it up which is no fun. We did still play the whole set and I do think it went over pretty well because a lot of kids came up to us at the end of the gig and told us how well we did.
But they rushed us off the stage after we where done. So you can see the humor in this, we brought in 50 people making the club $750, provided the backline for the whole main stage event and where treated like ass. I would call that the typical respect in this business.
We never let things bother us....so we went downstairs to the second stage where our buddies in Demilitia headlined. They ripped it and a lot of kids really vibed with them. After the show us and Demilita met up by the Merch tables and hung out all night. We had a blast together. Funny story....we couldn't sell a t-shirt to save our lives....so I came up with the idea. How bout I offer people a Beer Funnel drink for $10 and they get a tshirt too. Well that seemed to work I sold like 5 tshirts like that. We went back to our trailer, everyone gave me $10 for a tshirt and they got to do one beer funnel from our cooler. Other than the fact I didn't check ID's it worked out really well.
That was basically it for the end of the night. Got to see some cool younger bands like Periphery and Veil of May whom had a much larger crowd then the headliner, Darkest Hour, which I thought was weird. I was not impressed too much by the crowd participation it was OK. I don't know what the reason was; but it is what it is. I have to say though after Periphery played and hung out at their own MErch table there was huge lines for them. They had a big following. One of the guitar players was nice enough to point us out and tell their fans to check us out. Totally cool so we gave him a free Slam One Down Beer Run Tshirt. Hopefully he wear's it on stage. All I got to say is thank God Demilitia was there or it may not have been as fun. Later, till the next one
J.R.
So this past Sunday we had the opportunity to open up for Darkest Hour/Veil of Maya/Periphery/Revocation and of course our good friends in Demilitia joined us. The show was held at Crocodile Rock in Allentown, PA. It was a Sunday show and we had to be there relatively early at 2:30PM and it was about an hour and a half drive their from my house. I got up early and grabbed the trailer, changed guitar strings, bought beer/Jaeger for the cooler and shaved my head. Bobby text me at 11AM to ask me what time to be at my house. I told him be here by 12 so we can be on the road by 1PM. Big mistake, you see singers are DOUCHE BAGS, its the only way they can write good lyrics. So he showed up at 2PM making us and hour and half late. MY man was 2 hours late and remember he is a singer, he has nothing to do. No strings to change nothing all he had to do was get to my house, which is max a 20 minute ride. Needless to say as I was passing the 2 hours by that he was late I was saying to myself, I am done with this kid I am firing him....He pulled up, like nothing happened, pounded my hand and we got on our way.
For this particular show, we were asked to provide the back-line which included 2 Guitar Cabinets, A bass cabinet and full drum set. Since I am such a nice guy, I agreed to this. I probably could of asked to got paid for providing back-line, but I didn't because the head promoter gave us the best time slot on the main-stage before the main acts, so I figure it was a decent swap...It probably would have cost him a couple hundred dollars to rent the equipment. BUt like I said Bobby was late so we had to be there at 2:30 PM to set up the whole event with our equipment. We didn't get there until 3:45 PM and the show started at 4:10 promptly and doors opened at 4:00PM.
When we got there we basically where running around frantically, trying to get all of our stuff on stage within 15 minutes. It was cool though because all the club's stage hands where like "Nice of you to finally show up" which was kind of funny. So we literally unloaded my trailer and loaded the stage within 15 minutes, I'm talking a whole concert ready to go. After we got our stuff in I pulled the car into the lot next to the venue and set up camp.
What's nice about a trailer is that it kind of automatically sets up a cool chill spot anywhere you go, because of its size and dimensions. So we set up shop in the parking lot, pulled out the cooler and started pounding beers, shots of Jaeger and this drink called 4 Loco. Bobby grabbed one at the venue and it supposedly has like the equivalent of 5 beers and like 2 red-bulls. It tasted nasty, we all tried to down it but it sucked. So we sat outside for like two hours and had a pretty good time, while I tuned guitars and warmed up. Speaking of warming up, I was trying to warm up on the guitar but it was like 40 degrees out so I asked Bobby's girlfriend Gio if she had those gloves where the finger tips where exposed and she did. Problem was they were hot pink. So picture this, wanna-be metal god warming up outside in all black and hot pink gloves on and I think we got pictures.
We went on about 6 PM and the deal was that all opening bands got 20 minutes to play and the main acts all had like 25-30 mins. Kind of weird. So I said to the promoter, " SInce you are using our stuff, would you mind if our set was like 22-23 mins. He said no problem, but he forgot to tell the stage hands. So we go on and start playing. And typically what happens when you are a band that no one knows of, most of the people basically stare at you very weirdly. They don't know what to expect. But this crowd was really not emotional. They just watched, but after each song they cheered really loudly with a lot of emotion. But during the songs, no headbanging, no bopping around, just statues. It could have been a lot of reasons or it could just be the way the younger audiences are. Because there was about 100 kids watching us during the show. But they where all very young....since it was all ages. I knew this because the place is sectioned off between 21 and over and under age by a gate and there was very few people drinking at the bar. And it seemed even the national acts where getting the same kind of response from them.
So we finish our second song and the stage guy says last song and 2 mins left. And I was confused. I said to the guy, "It is mathmatically impossible to have 2 minutes left. Plus the head promoter gave us extra time. I said we are only 12 mins into the set and we still have 2 songs to go, plus you are using my stuff for all the other bands. Anyway, that really through my game off a bit, I tried my best to not let it bother me but I HATE being rushed on stage. It messes with my playing. And now I have to tell Bobby to speed it up which is no fun. We did still play the whole set and I do think it went over pretty well because a lot of kids came up to us at the end of the gig and told us how well we did.
But they rushed us off the stage after we where done. So you can see the humor in this, we brought in 50 people making the club $750, provided the backline for the whole main stage event and where treated like ass. I would call that the typical respect in this business.
We never let things bother us....so we went downstairs to the second stage where our buddies in Demilitia headlined. They ripped it and a lot of kids really vibed with them. After the show us and Demilita met up by the Merch tables and hung out all night. We had a blast together. Funny story....we couldn't sell a t-shirt to save our lives....so I came up with the idea. How bout I offer people a Beer Funnel drink for $10 and they get a tshirt too. Well that seemed to work I sold like 5 tshirts like that. We went back to our trailer, everyone gave me $10 for a tshirt and they got to do one beer funnel from our cooler. Other than the fact I didn't check ID's it worked out really well.
That was basically it for the end of the night. Got to see some cool younger bands like Periphery and Veil of May whom had a much larger crowd then the headliner, Darkest Hour, which I thought was weird. I was not impressed too much by the crowd participation it was OK. I don't know what the reason was; but it is what it is. I have to say though after Periphery played and hung out at their own MErch table there was huge lines for them. They had a big following. One of the guitar players was nice enough to point us out and tell their fans to check us out. Totally cool so we gave him a free Slam One Down Beer Run Tshirt. Hopefully he wear's it on stage. All I got to say is thank God Demilitia was there or it may not have been as fun. Later, till the next one
J.R.
Monday, November 15, 2010
This Week in S1D Darketst Hour/Powerman 5000 Part 1 of 2
This Week in S1D Darketst Hour/Powerman 5000 Part 1 of 2
We had 2 relatively large shows this past week. We opened for Powerman 5000 at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale (Long Island) NY and Darkest Hour/Veil of Maya/Periphery/Revocation at Crocodile Rock in Allentown PA. I want to give a recap of the events and some feelings about what I witnessed for those of you who missed the shows, would have loved to come or share similar feelings about the Metal scene.
Starting in chronological order, was the Powerman 5000 show at the Crazy Donkey. So we pull up to the venue in my car with a trailer attached to it. I drive a dodge charger (HEMI of course) with a (5x10) trailer attached to the back of it. So we have to pull in next to Powerman 5000's tour bus. Well if you see a tour bus and a dodge charger with a trailer attached to it you know that my car looks ridiculous next to this thing. I find it kind of funny, anyways we get there and start setting up. We brought a cooler with us with a bottle of Jager and a 30 pack. So I had about 3 shots and 3 beers before I went on stage. For the most part I was relatively sober. So we set up outside and it was definitely like 40 something degrees that night and it was definitely cold. The place has no back-stage so we have to set up right outside this kitchen-like area in the cold. SO there I am setting up my guitars and warming up in freezing whether next to a sink, an ice machine and the garbage cans outside very close to the dumpsters. I swear everyday we are getting closer and closer to Rock-Star amenities. Anyways, we go on at around 7 PM and in my opinion a little too early, but that's material for another conversation.
We start playing and I felt pretty good about the set and how we played. After watching the videos, I have to say we really killed it. My solo in "The Payback" was flawless. The people there were very receptive and I saw a lot of people singing along so, there was a definite connection there. However, what I do not understand is how terrible it sounded on stage. There was basically no monitors, soo I had to kind of stay in one spot the whole time, because it was the only spot on stage that I could here drums, vocals, bass and myself. Talk about professional club. You know it is so ridiculous. If these clubs would start doing the simple things like making it a little more professional for the bands, then the bands would play better and feel better about the venue and then in turn these bands would get more people to come and the club would make more money by more people coming. But the truth is, the place sucks, sound sucks now I have no reason to play there again hence now that's another band that is not gonna bring a decent following to that club.
So we get off stage after a very good performance and slowly start packing our stuff up. Since we had that cooler there that is when things started to really take off. You see I did something simple and it turned out really good for us. I went to the store bought a 30 pack and a bottle of Jager and offered it to all the people that were back-stage with us. ANd you know what, people were appreciative of it and we made some new friends with a simple act of sharing. We gave out our demos to people and some people actually told us that we had an awesome set. Of course I had to take it a step further and bust out the Beer Funnel. You see I thought it was a good idea to sell Slam One Down Beer Funnels. We have been successful at selling them but more successful at using them. So we started handing out funnels outside in the cold, in front of our trailer next to Powerman 5000 tour bus. I have to say our party outside was better than anything else going on that night. According to some sources, my friend Tim and I did like 6 funnels each. I ended up holding on to a friend to keep from falling on the ground, during the Powerman set. I passed out on the ride home. I woke up the next day and was like, "what the hell happened. I was like "Oh no, I blacked out... But I didn't wake up with that feeling like I did something bad to someone or something. SO I right away called Bobby and was like what happened. He was like "Well, you got a little too Drunk, you definitely where the life of the party, but you might want to limit yourself to giving out Funnels instead of doing them yourself." I then proceeded to my computer to find out through Facebook that a lot of people had a good time. We win again!!!
So Heavy Metal Road rule is: Start with an act of kindness and buy beer/cocktails to share with new and old friends at the event. Make sure after you play your gig, you thank people for listening and participating by offering them a beer/cocktail. Never pack up and leave after the event. And most importantly throw a party. I have to say our group of people had more fun then the national act did. So we kicked ass on stage, sold some T-shirts, had a killer party, made new friends and woke up with a solid Hangover.
We had 2 relatively large shows this past week. We opened for Powerman 5000 at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale (Long Island) NY and Darkest Hour/Veil of Maya/Periphery/Revocation at Crocodile Rock in Allentown PA. I want to give a recap of the events and some feelings about what I witnessed for those of you who missed the shows, would have loved to come or share similar feelings about the Metal scene.
Starting in chronological order, was the Powerman 5000 show at the Crazy Donkey. So we pull up to the venue in my car with a trailer attached to it. I drive a dodge charger (HEMI of course) with a (5x10) trailer attached to the back of it. So we have to pull in next to Powerman 5000's tour bus. Well if you see a tour bus and a dodge charger with a trailer attached to it you know that my car looks ridiculous next to this thing. I find it kind of funny, anyways we get there and start setting up. We brought a cooler with us with a bottle of Jager and a 30 pack. So I had about 3 shots and 3 beers before I went on stage. For the most part I was relatively sober. So we set up outside and it was definitely like 40 something degrees that night and it was definitely cold. The place has no back-stage so we have to set up right outside this kitchen-like area in the cold. SO there I am setting up my guitars and warming up in freezing whether next to a sink, an ice machine and the garbage cans outside very close to the dumpsters. I swear everyday we are getting closer and closer to Rock-Star amenities. Anyways, we go on at around 7 PM and in my opinion a little too early, but that's material for another conversation.
We start playing and I felt pretty good about the set and how we played. After watching the videos, I have to say we really killed it. My solo in "The Payback" was flawless. The people there were very receptive and I saw a lot of people singing along so, there was a definite connection there. However, what I do not understand is how terrible it sounded on stage. There was basically no monitors, soo I had to kind of stay in one spot the whole time, because it was the only spot on stage that I could here drums, vocals, bass and myself. Talk about professional club. You know it is so ridiculous. If these clubs would start doing the simple things like making it a little more professional for the bands, then the bands would play better and feel better about the venue and then in turn these bands would get more people to come and the club would make more money by more people coming. But the truth is, the place sucks, sound sucks now I have no reason to play there again hence now that's another band that is not gonna bring a decent following to that club.
So we get off stage after a very good performance and slowly start packing our stuff up. Since we had that cooler there that is when things started to really take off. You see I did something simple and it turned out really good for us. I went to the store bought a 30 pack and a bottle of Jager and offered it to all the people that were back-stage with us. ANd you know what, people were appreciative of it and we made some new friends with a simple act of sharing. We gave out our demos to people and some people actually told us that we had an awesome set. Of course I had to take it a step further and bust out the Beer Funnel. You see I thought it was a good idea to sell Slam One Down Beer Funnels. We have been successful at selling them but more successful at using them. So we started handing out funnels outside in the cold, in front of our trailer next to Powerman 5000 tour bus. I have to say our party outside was better than anything else going on that night. According to some sources, my friend Tim and I did like 6 funnels each. I ended up holding on to a friend to keep from falling on the ground, during the Powerman set. I passed out on the ride home. I woke up the next day and was like, "what the hell happened. I was like "Oh no, I blacked out... But I didn't wake up with that feeling like I did something bad to someone or something. SO I right away called Bobby and was like what happened. He was like "Well, you got a little too Drunk, you definitely where the life of the party, but you might want to limit yourself to giving out Funnels instead of doing them yourself." I then proceeded to my computer to find out through Facebook that a lot of people had a good time. We win again!!!
So Heavy Metal Road rule is: Start with an act of kindness and buy beer/cocktails to share with new and old friends at the event. Make sure after you play your gig, you thank people for listening and participating by offering them a beer/cocktail. Never pack up and leave after the event. And most importantly throw a party. I have to say our group of people had more fun then the national act did. So we kicked ass on stage, sold some T-shirts, had a killer party, made new friends and woke up with a solid Hangover.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
rock prose from Judge Roach called "The Calm"
“Alright we’re at the venue. That drive was fucking brutal. 45 minute wait across the bridge and no one lets you in. we’re gonna park in front of the venue and load off real quick and look for parking because everyone knows you can never find parking in front of any venue you play.
Help the guys unload the guitars, bass guitars, amps, heads, miscellaneous things (like merch chest, beer cooler, etc) and then unload my stuff, the drum stuff. I got the hardware bag, which i’ve codenamed “the body bag”, my snare bag, floor tom, rack toms, cymbal bag, and the goddamn bass drum case which weighs a ton.
Everything is out of the trailer, now all we have to do is get it into the….
Shit, there’s stairs.
That’s fine. My body is so amped that we’re playing a show tonight I’m running on pure adrenaline right now. I haul my drums into the venue and find a corner to tuck them into, we won’t be playing for a while. I sit at the bar and order a beer from the hot bartender who gives me no smile, she’s all business. Oh and another beer for the wife.
The first band is already playing and they’re ok. Couple of people mulling about in front of the stage. Some are bobbing their head to the music, others are just staring, like people at a zoo looking unimpressed at the exotic animals they’ll never see outside of a cage. I notice some people i know and go over to say what’s up. It’s usually a “how you doin?” since i haven’t seen them since the last time i played. Sometimes I’ll have real conversations with someone I haven’t seen in a real long time. But I always manage to find my way back to the bar to get another drink and meditate in deafening silence.
I’m calming myself before the storm. The storm of the set we’re about to unleash. The adrenaline i had coming into the venue has long dissipated and now I’m at a low. I need it. The low recharges me and prepares me for the high I’m about to feel when i get up on stage and perform. But I know that before i do that, i need to set my shit up. That’s the hardest part.
Sometimes my low will include going outside with the wife and catching something to eat. Sometimes I walk around the block once or twice, to stretch out my legs and clear my mind. The low is great for me because it allows me to collect my thoughts and center my perception to the one goal, rocking out.
Couple of bands and beers in, the time is drawing closer. I do some stretching warmups and maybe do some rudiments with my sticks. This is about the time I start to set up my drums.
It starts with the bass drum. Everything in rhythm and music starts with the bass drum so i set that up first. Then i insert the arms for the rack toms. Once that’s done, I’ll set up my snare stand and snare drum. Then comes the most tedious part, the cymbals.
I have a couple of cymbal stands and a couple of cymbals and each time i do it a little differently depending on room on the stage, what i want to use that night, what I’m able to use that night. All my cymbals have a specific place on the stands, however, so its hard for someone to help me with this. That means i usually do it alone. I put the stick depot on the hihat stand and thats the finishing touch. Back to warming up.
The band before us is finishing up their last song and we’re getting ready to attack the stage and setup as quickly as possible. Time is key here because depending on our time, we either get to play our full set, or we may have to cut out a song. It doesn’t really matter in the long run, but that ability to play one more song is actually one of the best feelings in the world. I wish i could live my life playing just one more song.
The band is finally finished and it feels like forever to wait for them to breakdown. Its not proper band etiquette to jump on stage and start setting up while they’re breaking down, mostly because there’s no room for it. Once they’re finally off, we get on stage and setup.
Everyone is handling their own instrument while the singer is lending a hand wherever he can. (hey that rhymed!) That means im on drum duty by myself. The pre show adrenaline is pumping again and thats good because i need all my strength to muscle this combination of bass drum/rack toms onto the stage. I make sure that the bass/toms are in the exact position i need them to be on stage, everything gets built around it and won’t move once everythings done.
Now i get the floor tom and place it on the right side of the bass drum. Snare goes next but first i have to get my throne. Gives me something to sit on while i do this. Cymbals come next. Hihats go next to the snare, crash and china cymbal go above the floor tom, oh but first i have to put the ride cymbal in first. Ride goes over the floor tom, then the crash/china go over that. Other crash and any extra cymbal stands go to the left of the drums, where i have more room.
Everyone else is almost done with their setup and I’m the first one finished. Everything is going smoothly. I sit on my throne, grab my sticks and start to warm….shit. I forgot the fucking pedals. I slide my way around the drums and jump off stage and powerwalk to the corner my drums were in. My pedal case is tucked away and hidden in the shadows. No wonder i didn’t notice it. I take the bungee cord off, the only thing keeping the case together, the clamps had broken off long before. I flip open the case and grab the two pedals, connector bar, and the drumkey.
I hope up back on stage. Everyone is not finished setiing up yet so i still have some more time. I’ve become an expert at putting these pedals together fast. Just adjust the bar to the appropriate length, unscrew the screws, connect the bar between the primary and slave pedals, tighten as much as i can, and there. All finished.
Now i have to snake this thing in front of the snare drum but behind the bass drum and place it in the correct place so my feet are comfortable. Tighten the clasp onto the bass drum and now im ready. About this time, guitars and bass are already making sound and adjusting levels and tuning. I play a couple of beats to make sure everything is comfortably placed. Maybe adjust some of the cymbal stands to be closer or farther. One last run through of the setup and its perfect. Another setup succesful.
The singer announces us to the crowd and the people start to populate the front of the stage again, awaiting the rock thats about to pound them. I get the guitarist and bassist’s attention. Everyone’s ready?
1..2..3..4…
-The Judge
Help the guys unload the guitars, bass guitars, amps, heads, miscellaneous things (like merch chest, beer cooler, etc) and then unload my stuff, the drum stuff. I got the hardware bag, which i’ve codenamed “the body bag”, my snare bag, floor tom, rack toms, cymbal bag, and the goddamn bass drum case which weighs a ton.
Everything is out of the trailer, now all we have to do is get it into the….
Shit, there’s stairs.
That’s fine. My body is so amped that we’re playing a show tonight I’m running on pure adrenaline right now. I haul my drums into the venue and find a corner to tuck them into, we won’t be playing for a while. I sit at the bar and order a beer from the hot bartender who gives me no smile, she’s all business. Oh and another beer for the wife.
The first band is already playing and they’re ok. Couple of people mulling about in front of the stage. Some are bobbing their head to the music, others are just staring, like people at a zoo looking unimpressed at the exotic animals they’ll never see outside of a cage. I notice some people i know and go over to say what’s up. It’s usually a “how you doin?” since i haven’t seen them since the last time i played. Sometimes I’ll have real conversations with someone I haven’t seen in a real long time. But I always manage to find my way back to the bar to get another drink and meditate in deafening silence.
I’m calming myself before the storm. The storm of the set we’re about to unleash. The adrenaline i had coming into the venue has long dissipated and now I’m at a low. I need it. The low recharges me and prepares me for the high I’m about to feel when i get up on stage and perform. But I know that before i do that, i need to set my shit up. That’s the hardest part.
Sometimes my low will include going outside with the wife and catching something to eat. Sometimes I walk around the block once or twice, to stretch out my legs and clear my mind. The low is great for me because it allows me to collect my thoughts and center my perception to the one goal, rocking out.
Couple of bands and beers in, the time is drawing closer. I do some stretching warmups and maybe do some rudiments with my sticks. This is about the time I start to set up my drums.
It starts with the bass drum. Everything in rhythm and music starts with the bass drum so i set that up first. Then i insert the arms for the rack toms. Once that’s done, I’ll set up my snare stand and snare drum. Then comes the most tedious part, the cymbals.
I have a couple of cymbal stands and a couple of cymbals and each time i do it a little differently depending on room on the stage, what i want to use that night, what I’m able to use that night. All my cymbals have a specific place on the stands, however, so its hard for someone to help me with this. That means i usually do it alone. I put the stick depot on the hihat stand and thats the finishing touch. Back to warming up.
The band before us is finishing up their last song and we’re getting ready to attack the stage and setup as quickly as possible. Time is key here because depending on our time, we either get to play our full set, or we may have to cut out a song. It doesn’t really matter in the long run, but that ability to play one more song is actually one of the best feelings in the world. I wish i could live my life playing just one more song.
The band is finally finished and it feels like forever to wait for them to breakdown. Its not proper band etiquette to jump on stage and start setting up while they’re breaking down, mostly because there’s no room for it. Once they’re finally off, we get on stage and setup.
Everyone is handling their own instrument while the singer is lending a hand wherever he can. (hey that rhymed!) That means im on drum duty by myself. The pre show adrenaline is pumping again and thats good because i need all my strength to muscle this combination of bass drum/rack toms onto the stage. I make sure that the bass/toms are in the exact position i need them to be on stage, everything gets built around it and won’t move once everythings done.
Now i get the floor tom and place it on the right side of the bass drum. Snare goes next but first i have to get my throne. Gives me something to sit on while i do this. Cymbals come next. Hihats go next to the snare, crash and china cymbal go above the floor tom, oh but first i have to put the ride cymbal in first. Ride goes over the floor tom, then the crash/china go over that. Other crash and any extra cymbal stands go to the left of the drums, where i have more room.
Everyone else is almost done with their setup and I’m the first one finished. Everything is going smoothly. I sit on my throne, grab my sticks and start to warm….shit. I forgot the fucking pedals. I slide my way around the drums and jump off stage and powerwalk to the corner my drums were in. My pedal case is tucked away and hidden in the shadows. No wonder i didn’t notice it. I take the bungee cord off, the only thing keeping the case together, the clamps had broken off long before. I flip open the case and grab the two pedals, connector bar, and the drumkey.
I hope up back on stage. Everyone is not finished setiing up yet so i still have some more time. I’ve become an expert at putting these pedals together fast. Just adjust the bar to the appropriate length, unscrew the screws, connect the bar between the primary and slave pedals, tighten as much as i can, and there. All finished.
Now i have to snake this thing in front of the snare drum but behind the bass drum and place it in the correct place so my feet are comfortable. Tighten the clasp onto the bass drum and now im ready. About this time, guitars and bass are already making sound and adjusting levels and tuning. I play a couple of beats to make sure everything is comfortably placed. Maybe adjust some of the cymbal stands to be closer or farther. One last run through of the setup and its perfect. Another setup succesful.
The singer announces us to the crowd and the people start to populate the front of the stage again, awaiting the rock thats about to pound them. I get the guitarist and bassist’s attention. Everyone’s ready?
1..2..3..4…
-The Judge
Friday, September 10, 2010
Pour One Out lyrics
POUR ONE OUT
Here’s to tonight
Here’s to eternity
Here’s to the good life
Here’s to the ones we keep
Pour some out for love
Pour some out for sanity
Pour some out for fun
Pour one out for you and me
I am madness
I am the baddest
Not even I can understand this
CHORUS 2X
You wake up and you realize
Last night is not over
Sober you can’t believe your eyes
I‘ll drink to that
Pour some out for friends
Pour some out for family
Pour one out again
Pour one out for you and me
I am madness
I am the baddest
Not even I can understand this
CHORUS 2X
You wake up and you realize
Last night is not over
Sober you can’t believe your eyes
I‘ll drink to that
You hate me
Cause I don’t love you
Like you love me
Unless you’re on your knees
You blame me
Cause I don’t need you
Like you need me
I don’t even know your name
I’ll drink to that
Was this everything you dreamed
Was this everything you thought it would be
Was this everything you need
This was everything to me
CHORUS 2X
You wake up and you realize
Last night is not over
Sober you can’t believe your eyes
I‘ll drink to that
Here’s to tonight
Here’s to eternity
Here’s to the good life
Here’s to the ones we keep
Pour some out for love
Pour some out for sanity
Pour some out for fun
Pour one out for you and me
I am madness
I am the baddest
Not even I can understand this
CHORUS 2X
You wake up and you realize
Last night is not over
Sober you can’t believe your eyes
I‘ll drink to that
Pour some out for friends
Pour some out for family
Pour one out again
Pour one out for you and me
I am madness
I am the baddest
Not even I can understand this
CHORUS 2X
You wake up and you realize
Last night is not over
Sober you can’t believe your eyes
I‘ll drink to that
You hate me
Cause I don’t love you
Like you love me
Unless you’re on your knees
You blame me
Cause I don’t need you
Like you need me
I don’t even know your name
I’ll drink to that
Was this everything you dreamed
Was this everything you thought it would be
Was this everything you need
This was everything to me
CHORUS 2X
You wake up and you realize
Last night is not over
Sober you can’t believe your eyes
I‘ll drink to that
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