Recent Happenings

Underwater CD Release Party

2008-04-15T18:22:00.004-05:00

Saturday, April 26
Emo's Lounge
6th and Red River
(on the NE corner under the IV sign)

Kissinger
The Alice Rose
Hello, Lover (from Dallas)
DJ Hip Williams

$5 cover charge!
Plus, your door fee counts toward the purchase of your own copy of Kissinger's brand new CD Underwater.

Doors and DJ Hip Williams at 9:00

A portion of all sales of Underwater will go to the Austin Music Foundation.

Underwater Release Information!

2008-03-27T16:23:00.003-05:00

Kissinger's new CD, Underwater will be released on Tuesday, April 22! You'll be able to purchase it online or through Waterloo records on that date.

The CD Release show will be April 26 at Emo's Lounge in Austin.

More details soon!

Thursday March 6 is Kissinger Day!

2008-03-06T11:29:00.001-06:00

By order of Austin Mayor Will Wynn, Thursday March 6 is Kissinger Day!

Kissinger will perform at Austin City Hall at 5:30 and Mayor Will Wynn will make an official proclamation. Afterward, we will officially announce the release date for our new CD!

If you're in Austin, tune in to KROX at 3 and Channel 6 later tonight for full Kissinger Day Koverage.

Happy Kissinger Day!

Sincerely,
Kissinger

Stop Motion Booth Added to Stop Motion Party!

2008-02-15T22:36:00.001-06:00

Kissinger is proud to announce an exciting addition to next Saturday's Stop Motion Party.

The Kissinger Stop Motion Booth will open at 9PM and allow party-goers to create their own mini stop motion video!

Two of the directors of Kissinger's new stop motion video for Sydney Stone will be on hand to create your stop motion mini-video!

Use the finished video as your myspace or facebook logo. Send it to friends.

Having your mini-video made in the stop motion booth is free, but will be done on a first come first serve basis.

Show up early to be sure to get your chance. If you rock hard enough, you may end up in Kissinger's next video!

Sydney Stone SxSW Screening Times Announced

2008-02-14T14:51:00.003-06:00

The Sydney Stone video will screen twice at this year's SxSW Film Festival in Austin!
Those times have just been announced:

4:30 PM, Friday March 7th - Dobie

9:00 PM, Friday March 14th - Alamo Lamar 1

For a full listing of screening info visit the SxSW Film Fest Web Site

Come get into the swing of stop-motion at the Stop Motion Party on Feb. 23.

Announcing the Kissinger Stop-Motion Party

2008-02-11T20:47:00.000-06:00

The Kissinger Stop Motion Party
Saturday, February 23
Emo's Lounge
Austin, TX

Featuring Live Performances by
Kissinger,
The Mercers,
The Alice Rose
& DJ Hip Williams

Celebrate Kissinger's new SxSW selected Stop-Motion Video

One of a kind Kissinger Sno Globes, H Luther White T Shirts, and other one-of-a-kind memorabilia from the Sydney Stone Video will be on display.

A Love Austin Music Month Event

FREE SHOW
21 AND UP (with ID)
Emo's Lounge
603 Red River (6th and Red River)
Austin, TX 78701

Lyrics to Sydney Stone

2008-02-10T16:47:00.001-06:00

Our new web site is under construction. While we build it (and a home for all of our lyrics) we'll post here the lyrics for Sydney Stone.

SYDNEY STONE
Drink 'til you're ten feet
Tall and bulletproof, too.
Kiss off some car.

From the beam to the sports Aud,
To Lower Downtown.
Bar Crowd.

Pushing chairs against the doors.
Cornflakes scattered on the floor.

Here come the cop knocks
Chased by the news trucks
It's bad luck

Furniture against the door.
Sleeping bags over windows.
You shot your chow then you wrote:

Syndey Stone, I'm leaving you
The same thing you'd have taken,
Everything. Sydney, fight my family.
Every one of them abandoned.
I never thought to God he'd died
And Peter knows I wasn't driving.

Mother's chair against the door.
Gambo's blood trail on the floors.
You wrote your will into your gun.
Can you kill what you have done?

Chopper writes about a Good Man

2008-02-08T16:44:00.001-06:00

The songs Urbia and Sydney Stone both trace roots to the same man in Chopper's latest blog.

Kissinger Video to Screen at SxSW

2008-01-31T23:13:00.000-06:00

Kissinger got word late last night that the new video for Sydney Stone has been accepted into the 2008 SxSW Film Festival. This is the second time a Kissinger video has screened at the festival. In 2000, Kissinger's debut video for the song "Rock and Roll Asshole" screened at both SxSW and NxNW Film Fests.

If you haven't already seen the stop motion video for Sydney Stone, stream it now from YouTube or Yahoo!

If you have seen it, email the link to all your friends who haven't!

METV to debut Kissinger video Jan. 22!

2008-01-18T12:58:00.000-06:00

This Tuesday, January 22, ME Television will debut the new Kissinger video for Sydney Stone. For the first time, you'll be able to view the new stop-motion video from Kissinger in high definition!

The video will premier on Red River Rocks (midnight)and Tex Mix (9am, 6pm and 9pm).

Stream the video online now from YouTube or Yahoo!

Interview w/Chopper posted on AltSounds

2008-01-14T15:42:00.000-06:00

Chopper disses Led Zepplin (not really) talks internet, music videos and the importance of beer in a new interview with AltSounds.

New o3 Exhibit at Flickr

2007-05-30T12:08:00.000-05:00

A new o3 Slideshow is available for viewing on the Kissinger Flickr site.

Learn more about the man behind o3 Day.

The Three Days of o3!

2007-05-30T12:06:00.000-05:00

As many of you already know. Wednesday is the first day of The Three Days of o3.

For those of you that may be a little Rusty, here are some reminders about the festivities:

The Three Days of o3
This annual Foxrock tradition celebrating Kissinger drummer o3 goes back three generations. It's culmination on the third day or "o3 Day" is widely regarded as one of the best parties in all of Texas (a state that is widely regarded as having the best parties in all of America etc.)

Day 1
The Day of Remembering
This is when you remember that it's nearly o3 day, and you remind your friends that o3 Day is just two days away� Please remind your friends that o3 day is just two days away!

Day 2
The Day of Anticipation
This day, much like a secular Christmas Eve, can cause sleepless euphoria, as one tosses and turns in anticipation of o3 Day. Try to get some sleep.

o3 Day
After two days of celebration and anticipation, o3 Day arrives on the first Friday in June (in 2007 it will occur on June 1).

Traditionally, o3 gathers with friends and revelers at the Beauty Bar on 617 E 7th St. A magnificent cake is cut three ways, then divided among party goers. DJ Tanner spins o3's favorites from yesterday and today and chopper performs o3's top three favorite songs by Leadbelly.

After three cheers, o3 sits down to the drums, and Kissinger rips through a set featuring some never before heard music from a new album that will come out that following September.

The K Party - Rock and Roll Happy Hour celebrates:
o3 Day!
Friday, June 1
6-9 PM
FREE 21+
The Beauty Bar
617 E 7th St
(On 7th, just East of Red River)

Featuring:
Live set by Kissinger with Three brand new songs.

And a three-step build up to the musical event...
Step 1. o3 Day Cake.
Step 2. DJ Tanner spins o3's favorites from yesterday and today.
Step 3. Chopper performs o3's three favorite Leadbelly songs and more.

How to Find Your Kissinger Name

2007-05-10T16:47:00.000-05:00

In honor of next Friday's Get Your Kissinger Name On Party, we're handing down some advice on how to find your own Kissinger Name.

For years people have thought that you have to "ask" for a Kissinger name or "earn" a Kissinger name. Those people greatly overestimate our exclusivity. You just have to THINK of a Kissinger name, or as I like to say, FIND one.

Here are some guidelines to help you get started.

1. Avoid the obvious.
There may be a funny name that you called yourself at parties in college (or this past weekend) like "Dr. Richard Cranium," or "Professor P. Ness." While these are very funny names, they may not be your true Kissinger name. Keep digging, you can always come back to "I. Eta Beevair" later.

2. Don't be afraid to look around
Some of the best Kissinger names have from inspiration sources that are always near the seeker. Roxanna Roll, for instance, looked to Rock and Roll for her name. Quinn Flint, Kissinger Librarian, found his name in a book. o3 was named after his brother, Trey (which is short for 3). There are fountains of possibilities at your fingertips every day, you must just open your eyes to them.

3. Alliteration can be nice
No rules are absolute, but if you've found a good first name, say "Sage" or "Fontaine" and you don't know where to go from there, think about alliteration. It has worked for such Kissinger greats as Konrad Konradsson, Roxanna Roll, Vespa Vespuli or Tula Taliveri. Sage Samspon or Fontaine Fisher both have nice rings.

4. Watch the news
When searching for a name, I highly recommend watching the news. Especially world news (although I found my own Kissinger name while drinking beer with a friend during the morning traffic report). A guy like Kofi Annan is just sitting around waiting for someone to borrow from his name.

5. Consider switching the first name with the last.
Quinn Flint was very nearly Flint Quinn, and who would care about him then?

6. "Kissinger Doesn't Make Mistakes, Mistake Make Kissinger"
Juiice (pronounced joo-EECE) was once just "Juice". But a typo put an extra 'i' on an album release, and a new Kissinger Name emerged that is far more memorable. Once you think you have your name, try introducing yourself a few times, if someone misunderstands you, and calls you "Loren" instead of "Laura," go with it. It's the universe's way of proof-reading.

7. Consider a host of accouterments
You'll see a lot of accouterments on existing Kissinger Names. Connecting names such as "von" or "de;" prefixes like "Dr" or "Mme;" and suffixes like "Esq," can really set off a dignified, but not quite distinct name. Again, world news can be a wealthy inspiration here.

8. Don't be afraid to ask questions
We're all in this together, and everyone faces similar challenges. Share your questions with us here in Kissinger, and we'll help you down the path.

See you Next Friday at the

Get Your Kissinger Name On Party
Friday, May 18
6-9 PM
FREE 21+
The Beauty Bar
617 E 7th St
(On 7th, just East of Red River)

Kissinger will perform with bassist Drew Smith for the first time
Brian Brushwood will break a Cement Block over his head
A Surprise Guest will DJ
You will Get Your Kissinger Name On

Lucky Fountain

2007-04-30T21:23:00.000-05:00

As many of you now know, this Friday will be longtime bassist, Lucky's last show with Kissinger. I've been thinking of some of my favorite Lucky moments over the past nine years. I thought I'd share a few this week.

Lucky's Last Show
Beauty Bar 6-9PM Happy Hour
FREE! 21+
Austin, TX
($10 Martini and Manicure)

Today's memory: The Music Cafe

The day before we left on a Midwest tour, Lucky put down some money he'd been saving to buy a wireless unit for his bass, freeing him from being tethered by a guitar cable. He questioned out loud whether the money had been worth it, but all his worries evaporated 7 days later, in Columbia, MO at a place called "The Music Cafe."

Columbia is a college town and the Music Cafe is just blocks away from campus. The owner will book any kind of band, and mix them all up on any given night. We've played with gothic techno bands, stand up comedians, indie-trance bands, and the worst band ever (another story). The bar relies on walk-in traffic most nights, and keeps the doors open. In addition to the college kids, some real odd folks will wander in. This particular Tuesday night, one such guy did.

He wore shades, a graying, Motorhead moustache and a black leather vest over a T-Shirt he had ripped the sleeves off. A faded web of tattoos bled from his shoulders down to his wrists. You could tell by the way he walked he'd had about 25 beers that night and probably an armload of amphetamines to boot. He arrived near the end of our set. Maybe 40 other people stood in the bar, but all to one side or other of the stage due to the shallow layout of the bar and how fucking loud we were. This guy grabbed a chair from a table, swung it high in the air and in one motion, slammed it down and slid it between his legs, backward, right in front of me. He rested his arms on the chair and his chin on his arms. His posture and look seemed to say "So you've got guitars? I smoked pot on Deep Purple's tour bus, mother fucker, you don't know what to do with those guitars."

This happened about the time we hit "Possum," a song Lucky once told me made him feel like he could fly. We'd been chugging along pretty good already that night, having sweated through our clothes before the first song was done. When the first note of Possum hit, I saw Lucky out of the corner of my eye, leap from his amp and onto the floor in front of the stage. He went straight for the dude in the chair. Lucky propped his foot on the support bar of the chair and started banging his head just as Steve Garvey kicked on the flood lights.

The image of Lucky's profile will always be etched in my memory. As his head rolled back and forth, the floodlights perfectly highlighted the streams of sweat that sprayed the man on every beat. Even better, Lucky didn't flinch and he didn't leave. Earlier on the tour, he'd climbed onto the bar, fallen on his back and pushed himself like an inch-worm before kicking his feet up, flipping his legs around and hopping off to return to the stage, not missing a note along the way. But not tonight. He stayed planted for at least 3 minutes, in an epic battle of wills, until every last drop of sweat in his hair had from the tips of the semi Mohawk that had just formed. Drenched and cornered, the guy couldn't help but start rocking his head back and forth, because he sure as hell couldn't get up.

When the song finished (Lucky finally did return to the stage for an acrobatic launch over my amp for the last note) the guy walked out, hunched and wiping his face with the soggy hem of his undershirt.

Kissinger Debuts New Sound at SxSW

2007-03-18T17:13:00.000-05:00

Kissinger joined a great gathering of friends and fans on Thursday to play a rare acoustic set at Cheapo's Records during SxSW. Rhodes piano, and two acoustic guitars (one bass) laid the groundwork for Chopper and Steve Garvey's reworked harmonies over songs from both Kissinger CDs as well as several new songs from the yet to be released new CD. Kissinger played a half hour set and made hints that a few more local acoustic performances may be in the near future.

Can You Hear Me Now?

2006-10-04T12:54:00.000-05:00

News From the Kissinger Kamp

Kissinger has adopted a new Rock and Roll intern. Peatree has been part of Team Kissinger for years (she co-wrote the song �Green� with Chopper many years ago) but her new role with the team will put her at the forefront of all things Kissinger. We are all lucky to have her with us. All our thanks also go out to the previous Rock and Roll interns, Sarah, Chasity and Brooke.

In other news, Steve Garvey continues to perfect his handstands, while Lucky contemplates a method of building drawers using only a hacksaw. O3 attended a UT football game with his newly trained drum tech, Garret, and watched the Longhorns pummel Sam Houston. O3 used the occasion to explain the similarities between dismantling a defense and drum hardware. Since returning from California, word has it that Chopper (who recently won his second ASCAP songwriting award) has been seen in a slew of new vehicles. In addition to his 89 Ford Ranger, he was seen cruising in a white Olds Eighty-Eight, and later, downtown, on a mountain bike. Rumors that his truck can�t pass inspection are only speculative at this point.

The band is making plans for a new music video to be filmed later this fall. More tours will follow the release of the new CD in the spring. Get ready for some big shows in Austin in November.

That�s the latest from the Kissinger Kamp.

Rock and roll,
Quinn Flint,
Kissinger Librarian

New CD Drying in the Window

2006-10-04T12:52:00.001-05:00

After a month in Music Lane Recording studios in Austin, TX and two weeks in Sinewave Laboratories in Los Angeles, CA. The new Kissinger CD is nearly finished. Co-producers Andy Sharp and Phillip Broussard are putting the final touches on a slew of new songs. Songs about Rock and Roll, Hit and Runs, Bait and Switch and, of course, Henrietta will fill the album. Stay tuned to find out when you can sample some of the songs through our website before the album becomes available!

Sunday's Extravaganza @ Emo's

2005-08-10T17:13:00.000-05:00

Sundays Extravaganza @ Emo's

Those who were there saw chopper arrive on stage atop to albino tigers (on loan from Mirage Las Vegas, NV) flying through the air on fire , Lucky single handily disarm and knock unconscious a cackle of nijas using only guitar picks, o3 perform a field trachiotomy on two injured combatants, and Steve Garvey end the show by climbing inside a phone booth and blasting off in to another place in time. The next shows promise to be even more exciting.

Where are these shows you ask? Wednesday 8/17 @ Emos (Free), and Friday 8/19 @ Beerland with the mighty Murdocks. Tallboy Lonestars for all my friends.

Anyway we starting to book shows for the fall. It sounds like we'll be hitting some places we've never been to before. We'll keep you posted as the dates are confirmed.

Hope to see everyone Wednesday

Rock and Roll

o3

Lucky's monthly blog

2005-07-28T15:55:00.000-05:00

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Lucky's monthly blog
Current mood: indescribable

I have so much going on right now that I have to make a list everyday just to remember what to do. Well I pretty much have to make a list anyway, but still I'm busy.
Kissinger just got squared away with a practice room for the next month to start rehersals for the next record and what not.
I have just taken over the steet team and I am looking for people to help out. How you say? Well there are many areas and eventually we will have a website up that explains it all. If you live in a town that we play in anywhere in the world you can help out. If you're interested then email me at lucky@kissingertheband.com. I'm about to move so if you don't get in contact with me right away please be patient.
I'm also looking for a second job, and am open to pretty much anything that happens in the daytime.

If You Can't Take The Heat, Stay Out of Texas

2005-07-28T15:54:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

If You Can't Take The Heat, Stay Out of Texas

Damn it's hot. Just got back from a few weeks out of town in places where it wasn't so freaking hot. Now I'm back and my truck cab feels like a kiln. Still, it was great to get away.

I saw the guys this week, and they all have new haircuts. I do too. I guess that's what you do when you have a few weeks off, cut your hair. Mine is a lot shorter, which works out well both for the heat, and for the headphones I've been wearing a bunch lately in my room. Working up new songs is even more fun than Dig Dug in the van, now that I have most of the kinks worked out of my tiny home studio.

Catalina and I saw the Pink Swords play while we were in Portland week before last. They kicked ass. First time I'd seen them in a long time. We'd hoped to catch the Murdocks this week in Austin, but got into town a night late and missed them. We'll see them at Beerland on Aug. 19, when we play with them.

Speaking of upcoming shows, we've got a few of them next month. The break is over, and if all goes well, we may mix a new song or two into the set. We're playing with another Robert Shimp produced band called "The Plus Ones". They're from San Francisco, and Robert had lots of great things to say about them while he was out here. I've been to their myspace page, and enjoyed the mp3s. Looking forward to seeing them live. A couple weeks later, we're playing again at Emo's, this time for a 101x show. Then, two days later, is the Murdock's show at Beerland. Haven't played there in far too long. Can't wait to get my Lone Star Tall Boys on.

I lied earlier when I said everyone had new haircuts. I haven't seen Steve Garvey yet, I've just talked to him on the phone. But he sounds like he has a new hair cut, and I know for a fact that he has a new Thermos. If anyone has seen Steve Garvey lately, and can report on his hair, I'm curious.

Rock and roll,
chopper

SGR weekly blog

2005-07-28T15:53:00.000-05:00

hi kissinogens,
kissinger is just about recharged from a two week break. the new songs are about to kommence. once we all return from our 4th of july festivities. copper spent the 4th in portland, oregeon. he told me that it is not miserably hot there. as anyone in texas knows; it is miserably hot here. o3 spent the 4th in galveston, tx at the beach. miserably hot. he has been talking about wanting to work on his tan for a while. lucky spent the weekend in austin (miserably hot) planning his annual fireworks show. unfortunately i missed it bekause i was in pflugerville.(also, miserably hot) i went to a b-bq where there was no meat. it was the damnest thing i had ever seen. there was fish (not meat), veggie skewers (not meat), and fruit (definately not meat). fortunately there were plenty of liquids (bekause it was so hot, you know).
on a more personal note; i do have a dilemma that i feel like i need to tell someone about. for th last kouple of months i have been frequenting a koffee shop where i have made some good friends and enjoy the koffee quite a lot. the problem is komplex. i have just realized (thru my expert budgeting skills), that i spend about $5 a day there. for a man like myself, that is a lot of kashjonskies. i have purchased a new thermos (smaller than the one lucky gave me for xmas) so that i kan live thru the first few hours of my day by drinking my own koffee.(cheaper).
the problem is that i still walk past the koffee shop everyday. i know a few of the employees too well to walk past unnoticed, and if they see me toting my own thermos, then i will feel like i have turned against my new friends and thier new business. what should i do? please help.

signed,
srg in need of kaffiene

First weekly blog(Lucky)

2005-07-28T15:52:00.000-05:00

I am just starting to get used to being back from our wonderful tour. Home life is sinking in and I'm enjoying the time off from tour. I just got married (May, Friday the 13th) about three weeks before we went on our last tour. I am glad to be able to spend some time with my new wife. Everyone keeps asking "How's married life treating you?". I guess that's thing to say, but we've been together forever already so it's not that different.
We got some recordings of live shows from Detroit and Wichita on this last tour. The one from Detroit is actually from this last tour, but the Wichita one is from the previous Midwest tour. I am listening to the Wichita one while I write this. The club it was recorded in is called Kirby's Beer Store. Their capacity is 29. It makes for an intimate show to say the least. It's the inspiration for some of the lyrics from the new album. Wheels that never stop. The recording sounds pretty good now that I hear some more of it.
About three days before my wedding we released a new album called Me and Otto . It is close to the live show minus the sweat, beer, smokey club, lights, and people. The tour we just got off of was in support of this record. We will do some more touring this fall for the same record.
The next thing we will be working on is a new set of songs for a new record that we will be making in conjuction with the Austin Music Foundation's Incubator program. That starts this summer as soon as we feel like we can all get in a room together again.
That's all for now look for a new blog every week from a different member of Kissinger. The new blogs will be going up on Mondays or Tuedays.
Lucky.

Lucky's tour notes

2005-07-28T15:49:00.000-05:00

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Lucky's tour notes

Kirby's- Wichita, KS.

We always overestimate how long it will take to get here from Austin. So we always get there to early with nothing to do. So we went driving around and came upon a sporting goods store, Gart I think it was called. We looked around for a while killing time, and then Garvey found the best thing in the whole store and convinced me to spend my closely guarded beer money on some shoes called "Street Flyers Xtreme". They had been marked down from $80 to $10. How can you pass that up? Did I mention they had in-line skates that popped out of the bottom when you pushed a button? Then we headed down to Kirby's Beer Store. If you wondering about, and haven't heard about this legendary hole in the wall, Kirby's has a capacity of 29. It's like having a Rock and Roll party in your living room with as many of your friends as you can fit in there. It is always a good time here, and this night was no exception. We played with the American Princes from Little Rock. They were great. We began what would be the start of PBR drinking across the Midwest. We stayed with Chad and Melissa at Chad folk's place. He had this basement that was decked out with this massive rock fireplace. We were a little nervous about it at first, cause it's was his parents house and it was 3 in the morning, but it was as great place. They were great hosts.

Replay Lounge- Lawrence, K.S

This is a cool bar. It's small, but mighty. The staff was very cool, even after I knocked down some of their decorations, and the bands we played with were cool. We went back to our friends house Adam and Jess, and made some new friends who were their next door neighbors. After everyone in the house had asked me if I wanted any I finally drank some of their 23 year old rum. I don't normally drink rum, but man. Steve Garvey said it best when he said it tasted like pancake syrup. It was the smoothest rum I've ever drank. Now if I could only remember the name...

The Brick- Kansas City, KS.

This is a club we have played many times amd it's lots of fun. More PBR. Steve Garvey and I went to this dinner near by on the recommendation of a local. It was a surreal experience. First we sat down in this place which couldn't hold more than 20 people at the most, and the only other people in the place were two guys speaking a language I could not indentify, but that sounded African. Garvey and I ate in silence listening to the foriegn words of their conversation. They left and two older, maybe 60ish, couples came in , and sat down next to us. One of them started complaining about some other restuarant and he kept saying it was "crappy". This became a joke for the rest of the tour. He wouldn't stop talking about how "crappy" this place was so his friends started talking about other places that were "crappy". Then two girls came in and started to order about 6 different milkshakes confirming their orders over a cellphone with their freinds. Then they put on the title track to 8 Mile, and it was really bumping with the low end. All this was overseen by "Ma" who we found out layer had been working at this place for 35 years. We had to get out of there so we went back to the club. When we got back the same local who recomended the dinner had just come back from a conveinence store were two people were shot by the owner. This was just around the corner from where we played. We rocked none-the-less.

The Hi-Dive- Denver, CO.

This place has a really high stage hence the name. It was our second time to play there, and was easier than our first time. The altitude killed us the first time. Roxanna Roll was in the house and we stayed at her house. She, Garvey, and I stayed up on thrid shift drinking until late in the morning talking about everything from religion to pre-history matriarchal societies to hiking. It was the begining of our coloRADdo experience, and couldn't have started out better.

Southpark Music Festival- Fairplay, CO.

This was the next morning like four hours after Roxy, Garvey, and I went go to sleep. So we slept in the van( SRG and Me) while Roxanna drove her truck. When we got there it was several thousand feet higher than we were used to and the load in was over some dirt trails. It wasn't fun. The setting however was hilarious. It was an old west frontier town complete with old broken waggons and such. Also there were "replicators" re-enacting gun fights with blanks(loud at 10 am after drinking all night)and outfits. One of these visibly scared Chopper. This seemed to go on and on, but maybe it was just my hangover. Josh Todd was supposed to play, but didn't show. We then we went on a trip in the Rockys that ended up at the bottom of a really scarry road that our van nearly didn't make it down and then back up. The destination was a place called Buck Snorts, a curious sort of mountain redneck sort of bar it felt like another planet( I thought of an Ewok Village), and everyone, but me ate some nice smelling and good looking food. I still was much, too hungover for any of that.

The Lion's Lairs- Denver ColoRADo

This was perhaps our best show of the tour. I know it sounds strange after the previous 24 hours we had, but we played well that night. We were followed by Hervis who crushed my skull with their tightness and brutal heavy sounds. More PBR. We went back to Roxy's and drank withour friend Joe from Born in the Flood the band who was also in attendance at our show, and who we played with us the last time we were in town. We called it a night in the morning and headed for Lincoln( THE WABASH CANNONBAL).

Duffy's Tavern-Lincoln, NE Duffy's

We played with the first of two Austin bands on this tour here, and tonight was with Fluffer's Union. They play raunch and roll, dirty rock. We went back to the sound guy's house and him and his roommates show us their beer bong which was a feat of modern engineering. It had a flow valve! I slept under their fooseball table just to be safe.

Gabe's Oasis- Iowa CIty, IA.

This was the second show with an Austin band, and tonight was with Those Peabodies. They had a definate advantage in the crowd with four as opposed to our crowd of three. After the show we went back to the bartenders house around the corner, and drank some more PRB.

The Firehouse-N. Manchester, IN.

Back at the Firehouse we love this place. I've said before I could write a novel on this place. We love Jabin and Jessica and all the kids here. We also played with Saturday Looks Good To Mehttp://www.saturdaylooksgoodtome.com , and my favorite of the night The Sunshine Fix http://www.thesunshinefix.com/ . The night was great with rock and roll and we finnished it off at The Inn. This place usually has free fries when we go there, but we went on the wrong night, however the owner made up for it with beer(sorry no PBR on this night). We also got Jessica hooked on 11 Ball our game of choice.

Small's- Detroit, MI.

This was our first time at Small's, and we had a good time. Scott from Bedford Drivehttp://www.bedforddrive.com showed up to support, and so did his wife Hilary. We played 11 Ball which is our game of choice, and my best friend O3 got his highest score ever 160,000 something. The soundman ran over a guy on a bike on accident and he was visbly shaken. Kat our 1st really good friend in Detroit showed up even though she was leaving for Greece the next day.

Cowboy Monkey- Champaign,IL.

We were on the way to the show and stopped outside Champaign to get gas, and ran into another band called Boyskouthttp://www.boyskout.com at the gas station. We introduced ourselves and found out that they were playing in Champaign that night, too. We didn't end up making it to their show cause it was a 20 minute walk as, our #1 fan in Champaign, Todd put it. The club was great, and the PBRs flowed like wine, or maybe just like PBR. Anyway I met a friend of my fiance and we went back to her friend's house which was this really cool loft. We bursted in and started jump roping double dutch style while her roommate was sleeping upstairs unbeknownst to us. After that we cooled it and drank ourselves to sleep. The next morning our host Maura made us all some kind of really crazy pancakes. She went to class and we went back to Detroit.

The Magic Stick- Detroit, MI.

This was the best of the best as far as clubs we played on this tour. It is just a Class A joint all around, except that PBRs are $3(weak). Other than that it's top notch. We played with Bedford Drive http://www.bedforddrive.com , and they took us out to eat our customary Coney Island celebratory chillidogs afterwards. Before that I hoped in the new Bedford Drive van and made Ed do a double take when he anounced that he had just got this awesome show, and I said "cool". He did a doubletake and we headed downriver.

The Hi Fi Club- Lakewood(Cleveland), OH.

This club is owned by the guitar player for Warrant, Billy. We played with a goth punk and called The Horror of '59. They were totally on the top five list. Later Billy and his staff tried to get us to drink a shot called the Revolution, so called cause it creates one in your gut. Ingredients: A Habenero hot sauce(one cap full), 151 rum, and Hot Damn. We tasted the hot sauce and bowed out respectfully.

Subterranean- Chicago, IL.

This show we booked on the road after we left. It was going to be a day off, but Chuck(Chopper) pulled around. I should mention that somewhere along the way Steve Garvey started calling Chopper-Chuck, Me- Lu Lu, and O3- Ricky. Anyway this was a really great bill we played with American Minor http://www.americanminormusic.com, and Cisco Pike. Chicago is always great I could move if I had more money.

The Elbow Room- Ypsilanti,MI.

This was another place we have played many times. They have done lots of improvment since we were last there. Like it has a stage now. Anyway we played with The Crank County Daredevilshttp://www.crankcountydaredevils.com , and they were great. The Bedford Drive Kids came out, and we had many a PBR.

Mojo's- Columbia, MO.

This was our first time at Mojo's and we like it. We played with Gooding who I found out later is related to Glenn Campbell. A lady who looked like she had been a hipster when I was in grade school gave me a four leaf clover after I told her my name was Lucky, and I gave her another pin for her bag which was covered already.

KonichiWa Cafe-Springfield, IL.

This place suprised that crap out of us. We showed up and it seemed that we were in for a lame night, but as soon as we started playing it filled up. The Phoncaptors http://www.600series.net/1/phonocaptors/, set up the show and played after us to a roaring rock and roll rumble. We went back to their house afterwards and we drank 3rd shift again. Steve Garvey woke up with a book under his head on the deck, and the the rest of us went to breakfast at a converted Schlotsky's called Sargent Pepper's.

Lemmon's-St. Louis, MO.

This was our last show. I stayed sober to drive the first shift of our 14-16 hour drive back to Austin. We played with The Highway Matrons, and The Good Griefs. They are good friends of ours in St. Louis. We had a great time and afterward headed toward home. 16 million hours later we were at our houses. The End.

Chopper's tour notes

2005-07-28T15:48:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Chopper's tour notes

I'm Goin to Wichita

On our way to Kirby's Beer store in Wichita, we stopped at a sporting good store. Steve Garvey and Lucky each bought a pair of shoes with retractable skates (for $10... $70 off!). They skated in the parking lot for a while. Then, after checking for any broken bones, we headed to Kirby's for some rock. We played with a great band from Little Rock call the American Princes. They were on their way to Minneapolis today, so we feel lucky to only be driving 2 hours to Lawrence. Melissa and Chad from the band The Den Mothers came out to the show, and even put us up. They also filmed the show for the TV station at KBTL in El Dorado. Thanks to both of them for making our stay in Wichita kick ass (yet again). We fell asleep watching Chad's video of Nirvana doing two sold out stadium shows in Brazil. Who needs stadiums when you have Kirby's?

Kansas Plain Rocks

Today we're driving across Kansas. Steve Garvey and Lucky are sleeping, and o3's driving. I'm taking a break from sending booking emails to admire how flat this state is. Shows in Lawrence and KC were great. We played the Replay in Lawrence where Lucky knocked a spaceship off of the ceiling, and o3 heard what it sounds like when a piano explodes. The people who work at the Replay are, perhaps, the coolest bar staff in the entire country. We had a great time, then went back to our friend Adam and Jessica's house and sipped on Lone Star's. Adam played a song that Steve Garvey wrote and blew us all away. The next day we played in KC and the infamous Cobra came to see us. Cobra at one time was Steve Garvey's arch nemesis, so we were all a little nervous. Luckily, thinks didn't go nearly as badly as the first time they met We got to hang out with the Brick's owner, Sheri on the night that she celebrated owning the club for five years. It was a momentus night. The band Drone played their last show ever, and the first band, Undimmed, played their fist show in 11 months. We were given Pabst Blue Ribbon for the second night in the row. We just got a call from Hip Williams. He did some snooping on line, and find out that we'll be playing with two great bands next Tuesday. Saturday Looks Good to Me and Sunshine Fix are playing with at the Firehouse on the 18th. It will be a blast to see tthose bands and play at one of our favorite places. Time to get a sandwich and some sleep. Three shows in the next two days... all of them at least a mile high.

Rocky Mountain High

Today we're driving across Nebraska, very similar to driving across Kansas, except for the shape of the highway signs. 3 shows in the last two days at a total of 18,000 feet took a toll on us... especially when coupled with the PBRs. The Hi-Dive show was cool. We played with a great band from Portland called Desperately Waiting. They're a three-piece band with some intensely strange and fun to listen to songs. We stayed with Roxanna Roll, at her kick ass house in Denver. We played miniature golf on the course in her back yard, and drank even more PBR. The next morning we got up early to drive into the mountains for the Southpark Music Festival. The drive was breathtaking on account of the changing leaves on the Aspens, although I think I'm the only one who saw it. The guys caught up on some sleep while I steered the van up to Fairplay. The relationship between the TV show Southpark and this town was a little hard to figure out. They had an old west town set up, complete with locals dressed up in cowboy garb re-in-acting hourly gun duels. There were also lots of plywood boards painted with southpark characters that had holes cut where the faces would go so tourists could fill the void with their own mug. We talked about taking a picture, but after a grueling load in over winding dirt trails, no one wanted it bad enough to brave the hike back to the van to get the camera. The festival itself was a big change from the usual bars. We followed a two blue grass bands, and went in front of a solo acoustic guy from Indianapolis. The power source in Southpark was not a good one, and irregular power sent flames and sparks into Steve Garvey's volitaile amp, which shattered a brand new tube. The soundman loaned us a replacement amp, but by the time it arrived, we were past our set time, and they cut us down to only 6 songs. A bit disappointing after such a difficult load in. The disappointment ended quickly, however, when we met several cool kids from Southpark that had watched the show. The other rock and roll band scheduled to perform was Josh Todd (former lead singer from the band Buck Cherry) who decided not to even show up for his headlining slot. Rumor among the staff was that he was in town the night before, but had mysteriously disappeared well before his scheduled load in time. It's hard to know if that rumor was true, since o3 was mistaken for Josh Todd twice. We got back in the van, and drove back to Denver for one more show that night at the Lion's Lair. Exhausted we got there a bit early to see if Garvey's amp would still work. With some better power, it did, and a few PBRs helped us begin to feel ourselves again. From the first note, we all knew that it would be a great set. Everything sounded just the way it was supposed to, and we entered one of those rare moments in time when we could do no wrong. All of the new songs seemed to take life under my fingers, and the shortness of breath that had plagued me since climbing into Denver yesterday disappeared beneath the roar of the stage volume. It was a fun time to have a good night. Our friends Nathanial and Joe from Born in the Flood had come out to see the show. We also made friends with Hervis, who took the stage after us, and assaulted the club with some of the tightest, heaviest, most kick ass Kentucky-fried rock I've ever seen. When the show was over, Roxanna Roll took me down the street and introduced me to Anika from Hemi-Cuda, who told some great stories about car trouble in Wyoming, and a Bridal Party from hell that had just visited her at the bar she tended. Back at Roxanna's compound, more miniature golf ensued, and this morning we piled into the van early once again to head East. Steve Garvey still hasn't emerged from his "room", and Lucky is only now starting to move around. We've been in the van for about six hours with three more to go.

The Wabash Cannonball

The shows have come fast and furious since I last wrote. Lincoln was a great surprise. We played at Duffy's on Sunday with a local band called Hymn from the Hurricane and a band from TX called The Fluffer's Union. Hymn from the Hurricane captivated us with lilting songs arranged with some unusual instrumentation... cello, keyboard, violin, guitar, bass and drums. We quickly made friends with Charlie, who was running sound, and he ended up letting us stay at his place with his room mates. Charlie plays in a band called Last One Standing and lives with some great guys who go to school at Nebraska. We had a good time hanging out with them, then headed out the next morning for Iowa City. Gabe's Desolate Oasis In IA, we played with yet another Texas band, Those Peabodies... it was a good thing they were there, because without them, we would have just played for the bartender. Because they are a three-piece and us a four piece, they had a 25 igger crowd than us, but we didn't complain. An after party at the bartender's house gave us a chance to hang out more than we ever have in Austin. They're a great band, and they rocked us

Retro Firehouse

By Tuesday, we were at The Firehouse in North Manchester, IN. Here we played with two bands that were beginning a two month tour together. The Sunshine Fix (from Athens, GA) and Saturday Looks Good to Me (from Detroit) played along with a band from Pittsburgh called Lewis and Clark. It was a great, diverse night of music. Sunshine Fix had a Beatlesish sound with some really kick ass vocal harmonies and great melodies. Saturday Looks Good To Me had sort of a 60's Beach Party sound. A keyboard and saxophone accentuated sugary melodies sung in call and answer by a male and female vocalist. Lots of fun to see. As always, we loved seeing Jabin and Jessica. The Inn was good to us, even without free fries

One Will Make You Small's

Wednesday brought us to Detroit. . The sound man hit a bicyclist on the way to work, so he was a bit distracted for a while. He was riding a motorcycle, squeezed through a yellow light, and clipped some kid who witnesses conjectured was on drugs. We heard the story plenty. Scott from Bedford Drive came out with his wife Hilary, and we had fun playing 11 ball while we waited for the show to start. Kat (our first friend in Detroit) also made it to the show despite the fact that she was getting ready to leave for Greece the next day. After seeing her again, within 5 seconds, we were reminded why we love her so much

The Champagne of Champaigns

Thursday we headed to Champaign, IL for a free show at Cowboy Monkey. We weren't sure what to expect, but things looked good from the beginning. The bar doubles as a restaurant, and has a nice patio. The wait staff were cool to us from the start. Joe, the soundman, had done some traveling with Brutal Juice, a band that some friends of mine from Denton played in during the mid 90's. We had fun trading stories and filling each other in on what we knew about where some of those guys were now. In addition to having great taste in punk bands, Joe is a phenomenal sound guy, and we had a terrific show, able to hear everything each other was doing. A good crowd watched thanks to the show being free, and a blurb in the local "Buzz" paper about the show from our friend Todd, who's been to our last three shows. We made a ton of friends, including Jiggsaw, the Champaign band that followed us, and Leslie, an Austin transplant who is in Champaign, and her friend Maura, who let us crash in her warehouse apartment. (I should mention that her apartment included a jump rope that was the source of some intensely funny entertainment... Things I learned: - Lucky has springs for leg - Steve Garvey knows all sorts of school yard rhymes that I've never heard before.

Day of Rest After

11 shows in 10 days, we welcomed a day off after the Champaign show. All of our gear needed some tending to, and so did our laundry. We slept, ate, strung guitars and tuned drums for most of the day. I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday. We then headed out the next morning for Detroit Part II.

You Have To Believe

Bedford Drive made this a terrific night. 2 local bands played before us, and kids kept coming in the whole time. I'd played at the Magic Stick about 10 years before with another band, but I hardly recognized the place. They moved the bowling lanes downstairs, kept the fancy restaurant on the side, and added a kick ass stage and sound system upstairs. Someone recently told me that the Magic Stick got it's name because Harry Houdini died there. The story goes that he was sucker punched at a bar in Toronto then travelled to Detroit. Two days later, while leaving the club in Detroit, he died from hemorrhaging. Creepy, like most stories you hear in Detroit. This was the first time we'd seen Bedford Drive since they got a new drummer (Ryan Looney) and we were curious how they could possibly replace Jay Croft, who played incredible parts over their songs. Our question was answered quickly during soundcheck, and more completely during their show. Ryan is a bad bad man... and damn good looking too. We didn't miss out on seeing Jay, though. He is now playing guitar in another band, Keep Manhatten, and they opened the show. Afterward, we all headed to the DRC (Down River Coney) where I ate a sandwich called the Slim Jim, and my buddy Ed (guitar player for Bedford Drive) ordered the Downriver Coney Island Special. (for information on Steve Garvey and Lucky's meal, see Steve Garvey's published works) Michelle (bass player) and I watched with growing interest as three women at a both across the restaurant began moving from table to table, striking up conversations with some drunk kids that looked to have spent the night in clubs At one point, one of the women left for the parking lot with one of the guys, leaving both their companions to guess loudly where they'd gone. Michelle (who whipped out a pair of reflective glasses) and I compared our predictions then the two re-appeared in the window. The girl leaned against a car and put her hair in a pony tail, while the guy started dancing by himself in the parking lot. It reminded me of a scene from "Cool as Ice" (with Vanilla Ice), and became more surreal the longer he danced to no music, with no beat, for no apparent reason. The girl tried to dance with him for a minute but had trouble keeping up. She finally just lit a cigarette and watched. The Slim Jim was long gone and it was 4:30 so we paid our bill and left.

Being Served by a Warrant

Sunday brought us to Cleveland, and the Hi Fi Club. It was our second time to play there We met some more cool people. The bar is owned by the guitar player from Warrant, Billy Morris. He showed me pictures from a tour he'd done in Japan 5 years ago, and talked a lot about football. He also tried to get steve garvey to drink a shot of hot sauce and whiskey, but after sampling the hot sauce, garvey decided the dare was not worth an intestinal transplant, and he passed (for more information on Steve Garvey's decisions, see his published works).

Subterranian

Last night we played in Chicago... it was a late added show with two bands we'd played with on previous tours: American Minor and Cisco Pike. Another band called Ladies and Gentlemen also played. We played first, and were able to really enjoy all three sets afterward. It was easily our best show in Chicago to date. We even had some new friends from Champaign make the trip up for the show. We're looking forward to playing more shows with all of those bands. We can see the homestretch coming now. We'll be back in Austin in less than a week.

Crank County Calls

Back to Michigan, this time Ypsilanti, to play at the Elbow Room. Two local bands opened, one of whom was celebrating their first show ever, the other had been playing 5 or 6 months. This was our 4th time to play here, and the stage had been worked on a ton since our last visit. We played with a band from Ashville, NC called The Crank County Daredevils. They were just getting started on a tour, and had driven in from Buffalo, NY They were heavy as hell, and kick ass. Lots of leather, and torn denim, metal jewelry with skulls and bullets woven into everything from boots to bracelets. The inbetween song banter flowed effortlessly into the songs. For example: "This song is about a true story of a friend of ours who blew up his trailer making meth 1 2 3 4 Speed Kills but it pays the bills..." Later he would say: "This song is about my ex-wife, it's called "Bitch, be cool 1 2 3 4 'Bitch be cool...'" They're coming to Austin and playing the same festival we are in a week or so. I'm planning on taking Catalina to see the show. We got a picture with them afterward.

Good MoJo

After a 10 hour drive to Columbia, MO, we were pretty punch drunk. We played first of 3 bands. The bar is called MoJo's, and is the booked by the same folks who book The Blue Note. Columbia is a college town, and most of the kids were at the Blue Note this night, as the Wailers were in town. We saw the line going around the block as we looked for the club. A small crowd didn't keep us from rocking, of course, and we had a great show. Met lots of cool folks in Columbia, and stayed the night there with a belly full of Miller Hi Life (a nice change from the string of PBR clubs that we've played). Gooding played a guitar solo on two guitars, and our friend Acopolis and Nina (sometimes known as "The New Acopolis") came out to the show, which was a blast. Can't wait to get back to Columbia.

A Kick in St. Louis

Our second day off of the tour came in St. Louis, where our good Friend Stu lives. . We spent the day with him and Heather, then went that night to see The Kicks, who are on tour right now with Robert Shimp, who just produced our record. We got to spend a bit of time with Robert catching up on a patio down the street from the Creepy Crawl. He had a new digital camera, and he and o3 began to compare. A woman came out of the bar and explained that there was a bet inside the bar on the color of Heather's shirt, which was white. Someone in the bar swore it was pink. After the matter was settled, she stayed, swaying on the porch. She talked about her job at the Hilton, and explained that she'd been drinking since she got off work (5 hours ago) and didn't even know who the people were that she'd made the bet with. At about this time, those very people came up to the window, and one of the women pulled the band of her underwear out of her pants and snapped them. This reminded our visitor that she was supposed to ask the color of Heather's underwear as well. At this moment, o3, and Robert, who had stopped paying attention long ago, were lining up a their cameras to take pictures of each other taking pictures of each other etc. Our visitor assumed the cameras were for her, and volunteered to allow her boobs to be photographed. Without Robert's knowledge, she joined in the photograph. O3's photo is included below. It was time to leave, and we walked back to the Creepy Crawl to say hello to the Kicks. We took one more picture, in which Robert is looking at his own camera, rather than the one taking the picture, and said good bye.

Hello, Springfield

A short drive to Springfield, IL allowed enough time during the afternoon for Stu, Heather and me to visit the Anheiser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis. The big highlight of the tour is the end, when they let you drink two free beers brewed within the last 24 hours. Rarely do you get to taste a bud that is so fresh and so cold. Ahhhh. Springfield turned out to be more than we ever expected. We played with our friends The Phonocaptors, who are a great St. Louis band. Their bass player lives in Springfield, and works at a bar called Cafe Konichi-Wa, which is where we played. It's a tiny little bar, but it filled up with some rock and roll fans, and between the phonocaptors and us, we blew the place up. When the bar closed at 1:30, we headed to the Downtown Hilton, where the bar on the 30th floor stays open till 3. As pilot of the van, I defered all jagerbombs to lucky. The view from the top was pretty cool, aside from the captial building, the next tallest building is probably about 10 stories tall. When the 3 oclock bar closed, we headed to our friends' house, which was stocked with over 30 Stag beers in cans. When o3 woke up, Steve Garvey was still giggling. When I woke up, steve garvey was asleep in the back porch, using a book for a pillow.

Lemmon's Aid

In preparation for our last show of the tour, we found a movie theather. Steve Garvey and lucky slept in the van while o3 and I watched Sky Captain and the Land of Tomorrow. I think Lucky and Steve Garvey were more thoroughly entertained, but o3 and I were more comfortable. We drove back to St. Louis and loaded in at Lemmon's. We've played there twice before, but both times the music was downstairs. Since we've been back, they've built a pretty cool stage upstairs. We played with one of our favorite bands thin St Louis, The Highway Matrons. They're a trio that's unlike any band I've heard in Austin. At any moment during the 40 minute set, it seemed like the whole thing was going to fall apart, and they were going to throw down their instruments in disgust, and yet it never did fall apart. It ambled, rumbled, and at times soared along with some of the most chaotic beauty I've ever seen in a band. Add the fact that the drummer started off the set playing spoons with a mic seat-belted to his leg, then took a moment to extinguish his cigarette on his tongue before settling behind the kit, and you get an idea of the kind of band this is. After our set, the Good Greifs played... this is a band that we've known the members of since our first visit to St. Louis 2 years ago, but this was our first time to play with them. Also a great band, the create something unlike anything we've seen in Austin. It was a great way to finish the tour.