This music nerd has gone to heaven......

It's been a few weeks since The Fest down in lovely Gainesville, Florida. I had a blast; saw more bands play then you could imagine, managed to eat Krispy Kreme every day, saw some old friends & made new ones from all over the world, ate the spiciest meal EVER (jerk chicken at the reggae shack), and bought a handful of new records and books.

TRUE LOVE

I've been having troubles writing about my fest experience simply because it was all pretty overwelming. I mean, there was so much going on that i was having troubles finding time to eat! It seemed like there was always bands playing somewhere. There were all the "official" fest shows, then there was after shows, early morning shows, and i even saw a band pull up in front of common grounds and play a set on a trailer as we all waited to get inside.
I saw alot of great bands, some newer, some older. It was great to finally get to see American Steel, Fay Wray, Radon and Naked Raygun after all these years of waiting. Although i was bummed that Naked Raygun ignored some of the "hits" (like Rat Patrol), it was pretty amazing when they brought Dan from Sludgeworth/Screeching Weasele/Methadones to play the Sludgeworth classic "someday"!! By the time this happened the band had gone over their time allotment, the house lights in the old movie theater had been turned on and most everyone had gone elsewhere. But those of us who stuck around all had the biggest smiles as we sang along with the "whoa" parts.

Gainesville, FL, has always been this special, mystical place for me. I was always enamored by their scene, just as much as i was the east bay scene. Most of the bands from Gainesville that i love rarely ever played out of state, so my chances of seeing them play weren't too high. 2 of my favorite 90's bands from this scene played;
Fay Wray played a reunion set that totally blew my mind (and my voice). They've always been my secret band.

Radon played a rare set (now that members live all over america) that included their theme song that had hundreds screaming the word RADON at the top of their lungs. Their set list was perfect!!

One of the best sets i saw all weekend was American Steel. About 9 years ago i was at a show of theres in Calgary that got busted by the cops just as they were setting up. It's a pretty funny story, ask me about it sometime. I never got another chance to see them as they broke up for many years. I was worried that since they were playing a big punk show with D4 and Avail that their set would be mostly their "punk" songs (which i love) and none of their mopey songs from the 3rd record. But they proved me wrong!! Their set was epic, and mind blowing!!
Other great new bands i saw; Measure (SA), Vagina Sore Jr., Canadian Rifle, New Bruises, Short Attention, Potential Johns, Ringers, the list goes on. More established bands i saw included Marked Men (so catchy!), Smoke or Fire, Avail (3rd time this year!), Dead to Me, Seaweed, Small Brown Bike (amazing reunion show. played for an hour) The Ergs and way more. I saw about 35 bands play over the course of 3 days. It was pretty intense running from venue to venue, but thankfully they kept everything running on the schedule that was posted and handed out to everyone.
To sum it up..... good times!!!

Hello again!

HELLO WORLD!! It is me, i'm back! Sorry to have left y'all hanging like that, but sometimes life grabs a hold of you and takes you for a ride. It's not like i've been doing anything super exciting, i've just been busy. I've thought about writing on here, but then I procrastinated, which then made me feel like i couldn't just write a short, simple blog that instead i'd have to write some long-winded essay.
I'm not even going to try and write about everything going on in my life. Too damn lazy to be honest.
The summer came and went. I ended up being so busy with No Sense Productions that i feel like i lost a summer. Don't get me wrong I had fun and i'm glad we helped out so many bands. But between working at Scratch 5 days a week, putting up posters after work, and then the actual shows, it didn't leave alot of time for me and my friends. But still No Sense soldiers on. We did a bar show in Sept. and we're working on shows for Dec, and then Jan 2008. No rest for the wicked.

I'm going to Gainesville, Florida next week. One of my favorite labels, No Idea Records, does this annual fest called ironically enought "The Fest". There's around 180 bands, 6 venues, 1 pass, and 3 days to lose your mind. And since Gainesville is a small college town you don't have to run all over town to see bands. Everything is a few blocks apart. Sweet Deal. I'll finally get to see Naked Raygun and Radon. If Rusty is reading this he knows how much this means to me. If you care to see the lunacy i'm throwing myself into head over to http://www.thefestfl.com

I promise to update this more often. No really, i do.

PS. Go listen to Pride Tiger. Album of the year. For real.

Goodbye to 9535-69th Ave

Next weekend i'll be in Edmonton, to help my parents with packing up their house, as they're moving to Saskatchewan. I'm also going to say goodbye to the house, as it's a place I grew up in. We lived in 3 other places before moving into 9535, but I spent my most formative years in that old 3 story house. It feels weird to know that they're moving out as it's the one thing that has been consistent in my life since the very early 80's. I've moved and traveled around North America, always getting used to a new city or apartment. But i always knew that if I was in Edmonton things would be the same at 9535. Not much has changed at my parents house; the basement is taken up by my dad's model train set, the old white cupboard with canned goods is by the stairs in the basement, the dining room table is still in the same spot and only used for special occasions. Over the past couple years theres been a few, minor changes; new living room furniture and a new stove. But other wise, it hasn't changed much.
I lived in this house until just before i turned 18, and except for a few sporadic nights here & there i've only been inside for short visits no longer than a few hours. I've had some good times & and some bad times in that house. There were many nights as a rebellious teenager where i stumbled in the back door 3-sheets to the wind. My mind floods with memories of the house, so many that it's hard to write them down. We moved into the house when I was young and all i cared about was GI Joe and Hot Wheels. Then came the obsession with music, and getting fucked up. I didn't think my parents would move out of the house, ever. So i'm heading out to edmonton to sit in my old bedroom and recall all the memories of the years spent there. Some memories are good, some are bad.
I had so much more to write in this post, but i just can't seem to generate the words. Maybe it's the cold fogging my brain, or maybe it's the emotions of losing a piece of my history that's making me unable to write. I don't really know....

Last nights show was fuckin' incredible!! It was one of those nights where I felt proud to be the one putting on the show. One of the great things about last night was the fact that so many people traveled for the show. Over the years i've spent countless hours in cars, vans, planes,and buses to see shows. A few weeks back i started getting emails from people asking questions about the show because they were making travel plans. I was stoked to think that I was putting on a show that was deemed "travel-worthy", especially considering it was essentially a local show (local in the sense that Vancouver/Seattle/Bremerton aren't that far apart). There were kids from all over Western Canada, Washington state, and even a couple Japanese hardcore kids who planned a trip around our show!! Insane, right?!
All in all the show was a huge success. Shook Ones and Sunset Riders both made it into Canada after being denied back in the fall of 2006. Wait It Vain also cleared customs with ease. Those 3 bands all played amazing sets. Wait In Vain covered By the Grace of God and Shook Ones played a Descendents cover (ballsy move covering "I'm the One", which is later era). Shook Ones are a band that makes me smile. I love their fast, yet melodic jams. Sunset Riders are a bunch of younger kids from a small town called Bremerton in Washington State. All the kids there are super hyper and 100% stoked on hardcore/punk. It's pretty rad. Circles played their first show, and were incredible. I'm sure there's big things on the horizon for this band. They also played a Descendents cover. Headlining the whole event was Go It Alone, it was their record release show (2nd full length LP, way to go guys!). This band is incredible; very powerful hardcore with great lyrics. I love working with GIA. They had a limited version of the new LP, hand numbered out of 70. I got #16, what number did you get?
During the Wait In Vain set last night Timm said some nice things about myself and Mike, and also said "as DIY as those 2 are they still run things professionally". It was something along those lines. I really appreciated hearing this. I like to think that me and Mike put on good shows. I also like to think we treat bands right. I know that when I put on a show i run it the way i'd like to have a show run; lots of flyers on the streets, the show runs on a time schedule, show doesn't run too late, american bands get into the country legally and without hassle (via contracts), and that bands are treated fairly (water, snacks, decent pay, etc.). It's nice to see that bands recognize the hardwork we're putting into this.
It's now July 1st, we have 5 more shows to do until August 1st. Surprisingly August is looking slower for us, which is kinda good. At this point all we have booked is Career Suicide, who are flying out from Toronto for 2 shows, and Regulations from Sweden (who'll be playing 1 of the Career Suicide shows).
Now it's time to enjoy my Sunday by doing nothing. But i might hit the streets to flyer.

This is a lifestyle not a trend.

Wanna know where to find me? Check out the flyers below for the shows i'm putting on. Other than these shows look for me on the streets, chances are you'll find me with a bag of posters, some tape and maybe a bucket of wheat paste.
I put on my first show around 1991. I knew punk/hardcore, and really music in general, would still be an important thing to me when i got older. But i had no idea that i'd still be putting on shows for relatively unknown punk/hardcore bands. This shit stresses me out, and it makes me smile. Plus I feel like i'm giving back to the community that has been there for me over the years. To quote Silent Majority; "This is a lifestyle not a trend...."
Check out No Sense Productions on myspace


Gotta love glue sticks, sharp knives, and 24hour copy centres.

















more shows to come!!

As God As My Witness.....

Growing up I always loved the TV show WKRP, so I was very happy to see Season 1 released on DVD recently. I've been watching it alot lately, and still find it funny. One of my favorite episodes still has to be the thanksgiving episode where Carlson decides to throw live turkeys out of a hellacopter. After the fiasco when Carlson and Herb return they go into the office and return a minute later and Carlson says "As God as my witness I thought Turkeys could fly". Too fuckin funny!

Anyone wanna come over and watch a few episodes with me?

Why?

Suicide is some fucked up shit....... it seems like a permanent solution to a temporary problem.......... fuck that shit.......
Rest in peace Toof