Freaker's Ball, Memories and more

The Freaker's Ball was just an annoyance. I went, stayed until the Ripouts finished, then decided not to waste any more time there and went home. There was way too much time between the bands, I suppose more than one band didn't bother to show. Maybe they had a premonition? What crowd there was seemed to be the wrong crowd for a show that featured all punk bands. I mean, I was about ready to run amok through them as they watched the Ripouts and bash them to see if they were even awake. I didn't get the name of the first band, or the third band. If someone can supply them to me I'd like to look them up. A quick review of the two bands I liked and knew the names of :

The Misspoken
They are a teenage group from Virginia. They did very well, it's hard to play to your fullest potential when there aren't that many people listening. The music was good, all the band members seemed to be good enough playing their instruments. The bass player seemed the most energetic of the crew, I talked to him later but forgot to ask Brian if he had ever missed one of those jumps he liked to make. One of the criteria I use to rate new bands is how well they can cover a song. The band did a very good cover of the Ramone's Blitzkrieg Bop so they certainly passed that test. Everything seemed in place so that if they continue they will be much better in the months or years to come. I don't know if I'll get to see them at Jaxx next month but I'm pretty sure I'll see them again somewhere. If anyone is interested in going to Jaxx to see them, find the band's Myspace and buy the tickets from the band. If given a chance to buy from the band or the venue, always choose to buy from the band. It shows the venues that the bands have fans so they can rebook and also saves you that horrendous service charge that Ticketbastard adds on.

The Ripouts
They put on a great show, as usual. Every time I see them, they get better. It's a shame they don't get to play more often, I understand that Virginia has very few venues to play punk music but if a band ever deserved to get more stage time, it's them. Conley was his usual out of control self, now that he's ditched the skirts for more of a glam look I think it's improved the look of the band, not to mention he's prettier than ever. I was trying to decide who he reminded me of and all I kept getting was the cover of Bowie's album Aladdin Sane. While they don't look anything alike, he still reminds me some of Bowie but supercharged as it were. Kevin was great on the guitar, Roxie quietly held up her end on the bass, while having to occasionally kick Conley out of the way as he writhed about on the floor and Toasty on drums tore it up. He broke a foot pedal and the way he kept hammering at things, I expected the drums to disintegrate into dust at any moment. I am looking forward to seeing them at the Sidebar in August, assuming I'm still in town.

One other note from the show. The first and third band had something in common. One of the members. He played drums in the first band and played guitar, sang and drums in the third one. He did a fine job on the drums, I just wish I had the name of the bands.

Okay, one more other note. When teenage bands are doing Ramones songs, I have a request. They should amp up the Ramones song "I Don't Want To Grow Up" which I think is a great song for a young band to do. Not in the style the Ramones did it, they did it way too slow but more in the style that a teenage punk band from the UK called Outl4w did it. It's just such a great song but doesn't seem to get much in the way of covers. Any band that reads this, try the song. Listen to the Outl4w version, if you speed it up some, loud it up some, people will love it. So what if people don't recognize it right away like they do with Blitzkrieg Bop or other songs, they don't usually know your original music and they get into it when you're doing a show, right?

Now, off to the land of memories.

I had the best time in 1967. I was 5 years old, I had a nanny that was incredibly hip and into everything going on with the culture at the time. In addition I had parents who were open and who played all the new music as it came out. My next door neighbor who was still relatively new to me but who was already becoming important in my life (he taught me to read before my 5th birthday), all these people together made my childhood something that very few people experienced. I can remember going to North Carolina, where my mother's side of the family lived and going to dances with older cousins, I learned all the dances and I could pretend to be on LSD with the best of them. In later years I was sorry that I was too young to fully experience the Summer of Love. I can still see the image of my nanny, she was a true flower child, even to the point of wearing flowers in her hair. When you start to read at age 5, you tend to absorb at an incredible rate and you always seem to want more. Once I got a little better educated, I was reading at college level before I finished 1st grade, I had Freud down pat before 3rd grade, then the nanny and I used to have long philosophical discussions. It was funny how her mind tended to go after she had smoked a joint. Not that I had any idea what a joint was then, I just thought it was a funny looking cigarette. While I conceptually knew of drugs, I hadn't actually seen any at that point. My parents weren't that far into the new culture. Somewhere, in a storage unit, I think I still have the tiedyed shirt she made for me.

I know what you're thinking, with all this, I probably missed out on being a "real" child. I assure you that's not the case. I was just as into the normal age group things, playing with friends, acting like the brat I always had inside myself. As far as 95% of my friends knew, there was no real difference between us, I mean they knew I went to a private school and nobody else from my area went there so it eliminated some of the closeness that would have developed had we all been in the same school and groups of people but I never noticed any real growing apart, at least not in the 5-15 age range. Once we started to drive, then we became further apart, I would tend to drive to where my school friends were but that's normal. My earliest sexual partners were from my neighborhood, the school partners came as soon as I had experimented enough to be adept at what I wanted to be doing. It's a little odd but I can remember consciously thinking that I wanted to do any fumbling about with my local friends before I tried it on school ones. I guess I might have been a little snobbish about it, I always wanted to be the best in my school at whatever I did.

Now, what brought this on. Music of course. I was checking my music email and I found a remastered double CD from the Summer of Love. I started to listen to it and the songs brought back all the memories from when I was actually a naive little boy, before education led me to knowledge and loss of innocence. I may have to send this one out to people, even if they aren't from that era, the songs just reflect a mood that you can't help but catch on to. I often wonder what my boys will have to look back on when they get older, will they have anything they can remember in fondness or will it all merge into a childhood patchwork of ennui.

Unfortunately Cheney made it through the battery replacement and will be around to "dick" us for awhile longer. It sucks that the good die young and evil fucking bastards like Cheney and Bush live forever. I just hope that they haven't gotten the USA into something that the next president can't fix. It's going to require a lot of repair to our national image abroad to make up for all the damage done by baby Bush and his cronies. I'm pretty sure that Hillary would be up to the task, she's got Bill to fall back on after all. Obama is a joke, everyone seems to know it but him. I just hope that he doesn't end up as the VP candidate with Hillary. Let him wait another 8 years and get some experience. This isn't a Kmart he's trying to run, we have had enough fuckups as president.

Best anti Bush songs
Pink - Dear Mr President
The Queers - Monkey In A Suit

What else is going on? The summer is winding down too soon. Only another month and it's time to start teaching again. Someone the other day asked me if I had a syllabus. I do my classes as a form of free association. While I have an overall idea of how things should go, what happens once the class starts is not something I'm willing to script. I feel that you restrict the ability of someone to learn when you have a regimented class structure. The object of a teacher is to create an atmosphere where students want to learn, where they have fun and look forward to the class. I am so glad that I am in a private school. If I ever had to follow any rules like they do in the public school environment, I would just quit. I didn't follow rules as a student, why would I as a teacher?

I think the boys are getting both a little excited and a lot nervous. They will be attending my school this year, going in to 7th grade. I've tried telling them it's a good year to enter. It's the first year of the upper school so there are a lot of people who weren't in the lower school also. It gives the new guys a chance to meet and make friends on almost equal terms. I've been getting them ready in my own particular way, by teaching them lacrosse. The best way to be one of the a-listers in the school is to not just play lacrosse but to be good enough to make the jv or varsity teams. While I don't think they are good enough for that yet, they will be by the time I finish with them. Academically the boys are ready. I am having someone come in the two weeks before school starts to give them a math refresher, the rest of it I know they are totally prepared for but it doesn't hurt to get a leg up on the math parts. Math was my worst subject, not that I got a bad grade, I still got over the 90% marks but I hated every single year of it. So I'm not thinking I'll be any help to the twins if they get into trouble. Luckily the other guys here are better at math so they won't have trouble finding help.

I've really gotten into the new HBO series John From Cincinnati. While it still irritates me that the creator of this series didn't finish the Deadwood series I have to admit that this series is extremely interesting and very much on the weird side. It's got some of the same actors as Deadwood, it's funny to see them in the parts they play on this show. I am not sure how to describe the show, maybe that's how everyone acts in California? Even when they aren't on drugs. All I can suggest to you is that you take a look at it. It's going day by day, each week is a new day on the show. I'll have to wait until it goes on longer to really figure out who and what the title character is but until then I'll just enjoy watching it.

I guess that's about it for this week. Everyone have a good beginning of August and remember to take the time out to have fun. Otherwise, what's the use of being?

Love you all!

Brothers and Sisters, Sons, Harry Potter, more

Okay. This is just plain weird. A friend of mine from high school and college got married 10 years ago, he and his wife have 3 children. When they got married their parents met and became friends, they would go on vacations together, they lived near each other so they would eat dinners out together a lot also. Two years ago my friends mother died, last year his wife's father died. Last weekend my friends father married his wife's mother. Making them brother and sister. So that makes his kids both his kids and his nephews/nieces, same for his wife. While I'm sure this is all covered in Catholicism somewhere, it just seems really odd that he's now married to his sister. I can see their kids trying to explain it later in life. For those of you wondering, no, they aren't from West Viriginia!

Last Saturday was fun. We drove up to Amish country, the boys seemed into the road trip, they had fun at the roadside stands, eating at small places and of course sniggering at the town names. Especially Intercourse. They did get to ride in a buggy also, I had to tell them we have no room for horses in the back yard. Then on the way back I let Justin drive and I read the new Harry Potter book. I was done before we got back home, it's a 2 hour drive so plenty of time.
I'm not going to give any spoiler type information here, I will say though that I was pleased with the ending although I thought the epilogue was too short. The series ended the only way it really could. This was the first of the books that I read, I listened to audiobooks for the rest. I will probably listen to this last one too at some point but it's a 14 hour recording. If anyone wants to give me their opinion of the final book, feel free.

Still no passports for the boys. This backlog in passport processing is annoying and someone needs to be fired. At this rate we will only make it over for a week or two so we will probably just visit my son in Amsterdam rather than going all over Europe for 3-4 weeks. I do want to get over so the boys can see how their older brother lives, where he grew up. A different perspective is needed, it's not always America Uber Alles. There is a world outside the USA. Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in taking them to any 3rd world countries, or even any poor European countries. It's just annoying to have to see the poor, I'm sure someone will say they are all my responsibility.

I love my sons. Just wanted to say it. In case anyone didn't know!

This weekend is the Freaker's Ball. Jul 28th, Ottobar. For all of you that care, I did find a slaveboy to use as a fashion accessory for the ball. I got the cutest little collar and chain for him too. I'm going to watch The Ripouts play, as well as a few other bands. I doubt we are going to be there until the end, it's a long day from door opening to final act. I think they needed a few less acts and more time for each of the bands. From the schedule I received, the bands get 20 minutes to play and then it's a 15 minute break for tear down and set up and the next band gets 20 minutes.

That's about it for this week. Hope everyone is doing good, remember my mantra, do what you want, just don't get caught!

Love you all!

Bush's Brainscan

I know, usually I just do once a week posting here but I had to comment on Bush's upcoming brainscan. For a normal person, it's called a colonoscopy but since Bush's purported brain is up his ass, I'm sure they will be checking for functionality, as well as polyps.

In his case the polyp will certainly have more intelligence.

Perhaps if we are really lucky the guy weilding the probe will have an epileptic seizure at a most opportune moment and ram it out his earhole.

For reference, listen to a song by The Queers called "Monkey In A Suit" from their new CD.

Concert, Freakers Ball, Twin Toss and more

Went to see So Damn Thirsty at Jaxx Saturday. Got there early and had to suffer through the opening acts, it all pretty well sucked until The Automatics came on, followed by The Buried and then SDT. After they left some industrial band came out so I left. It was the first time I had been to Jaxx, it was a small place but I liked it. The floor space in front of the stage had no obstructions, so you could mosh without tearing the place down. I would say that 80% of the people attending were there for SDT, after they left the floor was empty. I almost felt sorry for the band that followed them until I heard them play, then it was okay. Got the new EP, it was good.

Next "main" event is the Freaker's Ball in Baltimore at Ottobar on the 28th. Can't wait. I'm plotting my outfit as I write this, I mean it is the Freaker's Ball, I can't dress normally right? I am trying to find out a preliminary timeframe for the bands, this is one of those 3pm - 2am things, I don't really think I'm going to stay for the entire party but I don't want to miss The Ripouts and I suspect they will play relatively early in the show. I hope the residents around Ottobar can handle the crowd.

We had a little pool party Friday and then again Sunday. Nothing major, no caterers or anything. Just an extra 10-15 people and massive amounts of pizza ordered in. The weather cooperated, it was damn hot. So hot that as if by magic everyone's clothes disappeared. It's funny how things go, the twins don't even bat an eye as such shenanigans, they seldom wear clothes in the pool anymore either. We played twin toss at one point, Chris was on one side with Dan and I had Jack on the other. The object was to see how far we could toss them from the side of the pool. I am pretty sure I would have won but on the final twin toss, I got pushed in from behind and then landed on by Jack and 2 others. So needless to say, Chris and Dan won. I got my revenge later of course, it's important to never let people younger than you win. Age and treachery shall ALWAYS outlast youth.

I think next weekend we are going to wander up into the Amish country in southern PA. The boys have never been there and I'm curious about their reaction to the town names as we drive along. There's Bird In Hand and Paradise and Intercourse and Big Bust, among other odd names. Yes, these are real towns. The food is generally very good too, lots of small places to stop and try baked goods and just different types of food. While I have no interest in the religious aspects that the Amish follow, it's hard not to admire them in some ways. I mean, there's no way I could live without the modern convienences and they seem to do just fine. I think the hardest thing to live without today would be air conditioning. Our bodies have acclimated to the coolness of the inside, I'm sure we would all be panting like running dogs after half a day.

The designer for the boys' rooms downstairs has finally completed her planning and can start to work on making it a place they both feel comfortable in. They better since it's costing a fortune to redo the walls, the floors and to get all the new accoutrements they wanted. It's supposedly going to take about a week, once they start. So the boys will have to move up to one of the other bedrooms for that period of time. I stayed out of it so I have no idea what the rooms are going to look like, whether they are themed or just an olio of ideas. I'm excited for them and curious as all hell about it.

I need a slaveboy for an outing. Apply if you fit. Nobody here does, that's for sure.

One more thing. Will someone please explain to me why Africa is our responsibility? I just don't get it.

That's it for this week. Until next week, everyone be good, be careful and don't get caught.

Love you all!

PS - This is my first blog post here. I have been making them regularly on Myspace for the past 75 weeks. Should anyone wish to read them, let me know and I'll send you a link.