This was a show that the Perps got us. We were pretty excited to play a show in a far away of a place as Rockford and it paid off. Hilger stole (borrowed) his company truck and it easily fit all the gear inside. We had a bit of trouble finding the place but we left really early and got there with plenty of time to spare. All we were told was that the ‘club’ was called ‘That One Place’. We were right nearby and we finally decided to ask someone for help. I walked up to a guy on the street with a huge Robert Smith haircut. Before I could even finish asking him my question, he replied that it was right down the block. He turned out to be James, the owner of the club. It was a very small storefront in a commercial district and there was a huge black nightclub next door. There were plenty of punk kids all around and since it was a Friday night, the club was open and there was a great mix of people. We saw some original graffiti on one wall outside –‘Korn is God’. We still joke about that one. The people at this place and in Rockford in general were so nice that I was a little scared. There was the doorman Russell who was a bit intimidating at first in an army fatigue jacket but he turned out to be real nice. The people out there were older but strangely very into role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. At one point we were standing outside and a group of guys was walking down the sidewalk past us. One of their friends who had been left behind asked where they were going. Someone in the group yelled out, “To play RPG’s!”. It took a minute for me to figure it out but when I did I was really concerned. These people were weird. The Perps failed to mention that we were expected to bring mics and a PA and we did not. Luckily, they found something for us to sing out of. There was another guy named George who worked there and was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He was hugging me and tackling me and shit during the Perps set — who rocked of course. He was like an old friend and I had only known him for a couple of hours. I was a little hesitant and scared when we got there, but we soon felt right at home. The Perps closed with, “Rockstar” and everyone was on the 1 inch high stage yelling and getting crazy. Totally intense. One of the opening bands was called Absolute Zero. That’s a pretty cool name but this band was awful. The guitarist sang and they covered “Don’t Fear the Reaper”. They had a very obese (about 400 pounds) lead guitarist. His guitar was normal but looked like a toy against his huge body. Their drummer seemed like he maybe had played about 10 times before the show. When they started, we were outside the club, they started and someone commented to me that the band sucked but their bass player was very experienced and really good. He played a 5 string and used a pick and sometimes his hand. He was so bad it hurt. He didn’t seem to know the songs at all and sometimes would play an open string about 1 minute of a song. At one point he just stopped playing to drink from a can of pop. Very weird. After the show we were starving so we stopped at a Ground Round restaurant. There aren’t very many of these left; I didn’t think there were any at all until I saw this one. Of all the places in the world, I should have known I’d find one in Rockford. Our waiter was equally as nice as everyone else in Rockford and may have been gay. I’m not sure. To top it off, I exchanged information with James, Russell and George but have not heard from them since. My attempts to contact them all failed. Maybe it was just a dream. We gave out a lot of CD’s to the locals though and I wonder if they still listen to them.
Category: suburbs
Show #20: Party at The Long’s, River Grove
Another party: we were all heavily intoxicated. We got there long before anyone else, cleared our area, set up, sound checked and commenced to drink. Soon the crowd showed up and I became hysterical and soaked in sweat. The crowd was very receptive and at one point I moshed into some people, soaking myself and Leo Toal with a cup of beer. I have a great picture of us jamming and Jason Johnson hugging me and saying something into my ear. Not only do I not remember what he said to me, I don’t even remember that happening. We played on and off for a long time. Later there was some threat of cops but we all hid and turned off the lights and got very quiet. I also remember beating on a younger kid who kept talking during this ‘quiet time’. It was fun. We played the next morning before we packed up. At about 4 AM me and Hilger poured the huge basin holding the ice for the keg (and at this point many other foreign objects and substances) out the window 2 stories down. I said I wanted to help clean but I really just wanted to pour it out the window. It was very nasty and needed to be poured out, but also was fun.
Show #19: River Grove Gazebo, River Grove
This was a blast. Mike Mika works for a local basement waterproofing company called Vulcan. They were planning to rent the R.G. Gazebo and have a party and he asked if we would play. This was about 3 months in advance and I agreed. He also offered to pay for the generator which we would need to power our shit. The day finally came. There was quite a turnout although like your typical party crowd, there were no fans of punk rock or anything remotely similar to what we are capable or interested in playing. So we jammed a lot and when I got the vibe before the show that there were some rap fans around, we decided to start out with an improvisational rap. We also called at the last minute George from Tribal Warfare. We had talked about jamming with him many times before but never did. We certainly needed no rehearsal and he freestyled for a long time. Eventually, one of the partygoers came up and grabbed a mic and started to flow. George passed me the mic and I started to bust ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’ by Public Enemy. This other guy knew the words and joined in. We were passing mics left and right and then I just started to rip the hell out of my guitar. It was great. We ate and drank for free and played for about 2 or 3 hours. Later in the day some younger kids showed up and we played a huge set of punk rock. The highlight was Rob’s bass drum pedals breaking. All that took was a little duct tape and they easily lasted the gig.
Show #16: Riverpalooza I
The first Riverpalooza. I had gotten into a terrible bar fight a few nights before and had two black eyes and miscellaneous cuts and scratches on my face which I’m sure added to the effect of our (my) performance. Mike Farmer came out and sang an Eternal Bliss song, “Running Man” with us at the end. No Style was pretty terrible then pulled one out of their asses — “The Girl in the Green Jacket” by Bigwig. It was awesome and I was impressed. It came totally out of nowhere. A total goofball band called Beggar’s Day played some terrible, terrible cockrock. They rented a limo for the ‘gig’ and tried to come off as rock stars although the majority of the fans were in high school (the members of the band were all easily into their 30’s). Many months later, they called us for a gig in far away Lansing which we readily accepted. It was later canceled because the guy who books the shows at Riley’s Rock House (where we had previously played an all ages show) ratted us out to the management that members of the band we under age. Never figured out why he did that exactly. I later heard that when Begger’s Day played the singer got very drunk and forgot the words and passed out or something really crazy. From those guys, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Like the first Kraft Bowl show, we set up the sound ourselves and it was average. The hall was nice and not too noisy and we rocked. Suba’s band Cyribiss (then Hellion) rocked and their version of Slayer’s ‘Black Magic” was unforgettable.
Show #14: Guitar Center [CANCELED], Chicago/River Grove
This was a very eventful day. We had set up this free show in advance through a guy named Matt who is actually the founding member of Low Profile and also the guitarist of Eternal Bliss. He had started another band at the time which was called Union Jack. They had Dave on bass (also from Eternal Bliss) and the drummer from Yellow Snowman (since replaced), Randy. He asked me about 2 months in advance to play this show and I readily agreed. I checked back with him multiple times and again about 2 days before the show and he assured me that everything was AOK. We were also supposed to play with a band called No Style who was actually Rob’s original band. We got down there and were sitting outside with No Style. I volunteered to go inside and find out what was happening. I told the first person I saw inside about my situation and he asked me to wait while he got Jose, the manager, to help me. I waited about 5 minutes and decided that that was long enough. I boldly walked into the door marked ‘Employees Only’. I wandered around for a bit and found ‘Jose’ and 2 others in a small office. I had never met Jose before but I had a feeling that this was him. Jose was trying to explain and one of the others started freaking out and kept repeating that I could not (should not really; I was already there) be in this office. I ignored him and addressed Jose but he would not stop and then grabbed me by the arm and attempted to escort me outside. At this point I realized that the show was not going to take place but I was also trying to deal with the idiot grabbing me. I shoved him and told him not to touch me. He kept complaining and I simply told him to shut up. At this point, Jose said that maybe we had better talk someplace else. I agreed and when outside the office he explained that he had tried to call his only contact — Randy — and tell him that the show had been canceled. He never got through to him. I was pretty infuriated. I went outside and explained and Rob volunteered to have the show in his basement where we rehearse. A lot of people were beginning to show up and it would have been a major disappointment for them and us if the show could not go on. We also asked No Style if they would like to play and they agreed.
We went back to Rob’s and cleaned the place out. The whole basement was filled. We tried to go back and forth song for song with No Style but they weren’t very tight and eventually we ended up just playing by ourselves. This is one of the first shows I can remember where I really went for broke. I got wild and scared the crowd as we whipped through a lot of covers — Gorilla Biscuits, ‘Hope’ by Descendants/Sublime and ‘Nike a-Go-Go’ by the Misfits during which I broke a string and got very crazy. I insulted the crowd very often and rapped ‘Knocking Boots’ by the Candyman and the crowd dug it. Right before we started, Union Jack and their crew showed up. I don’t remember if Matt asked to play or not, but I told him that he had better leave. He did so promptly, and the show went on.
Show #13: Riley’s Rock House, Aurora
We had jammed with Mike Farmer live many times to do Misfits encores and they were very popular with the crowd. We decided to actually rehearse and play a full set with him as a cover band. We did so at a place very far away in Aurora. It was a Battle of the Bands and there were about 10 bands so it was a very long show. To save time, they told us not to bring equipment. When we got there it was a little different though. They had told Rob not to bring drums, only cymbals. But he didn’t bring a high hat. No problem, someone was nice enough to borrow him one. Me and Hilger brought guitars only. But I guess that we were supposed to bring amp heads. Well, we play combo amps so we don’t have heads. The management was pissed but they found us something to use. It worked out nice since Hilger played out of like a 400 watt 8×8 cabinet and I had a nice Peavey 5150 half stack. I played my strat as my main guitar which I rarely do and I put 11’s on and it nearly broke my fucking arm. We planned to open with ‘Return of the Fly’ and we were going to start it and Farmer would walk out and sing in the nick of time. So we were in this little dressing room right before we were going to go on. Even now I still get a little nervous before the shows but Farmer hadn’t played in a while and he’ll probably deny this. We were putting black circles around our eyes with a lipstick and he was shaking like crazy. I offered to do it for him and he refused. The shit head sound guys refused to give us 2 backup vocal mics so we did with one but they put it on Hilger’s side. My cord was barely long enough for me to reach and it was stretched across the stage like a trip wire which Hilger had to jump over. On a similar note, did his usual jump into the floor and his cord was pulled so tight it almost pulled the amp over. Luckily, everything was all right. I remember being very depressed at this show after it was over and sitting outside during the other bands. Well I was later told that I missed the fun.
The other bands: Sans Everything was sans drums and they played 3 piece with a frontman and a drum machine and they almost won the damn show although they sucked. (which was based on crown applause at the end of the show — 4 hours after we had played and everyone of our fans had went home). The last band was called Quixotic like Don Quixote and they were total noise core and I’ll give them a prop although they were musically inept at their instruments. The only band who was cool personally was called Grady and they was all much older then use (around 29 or so) and had two guitars. Their frontman was cool and at one point he pulled out a mini tape player and put it to the mic and played to kind of a little girls voice talking and it was very sick and scary. Bonesaw opened with Tool’s ‘Sober’ and later played ‘Four Horseman’ by Metallica. They were heavy and pissed off. The band after us was called the Circus and I was outside when they played. Some shit went down I was later told.
The Circus plays blues rock and its very high energy. They are all right (coincidentally we later played with them at the Fireside and I’m still trying to figure out how they got a gig there). Their frontman was wearing cowboy boots, a T-shirt, flannel and fur lined jean jacket. On the hot stage this is insane and he sweat everywhere. He later told Rob that his inspiration is Iggy Pop and he would throw himself on the stage and get real crazy. He threw a chair and it almost hit one of the crazy headbangers in Bonesaw. It’s pretty much of a bad idea to fuck with these guys. They start yelling and in the end, security threw The Circus out which was about the only good decision they made all night. Also, I think that Bonesaw one the competition (which had a $100 prize). The Circus also made some stupid comments about us playing only covers and how we sucked but I definitely set the record straight at the Fireside (See that show for details).
Show #12: Party at Gimson’s
I really can’t say much about this one to prevent anyone from being incarcerated. I was very intoxicated and we played in the garage and it rocked. They seemed to like the fast shit although I knew that they were all total rock and rollers. Their dad came out and I played a little bit of ‘Night Moves’ by Bob Seger for him and they all loved it. I played some of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and ‘Wish you Were Here’. But we mainly just jammed instrumental and improvised. It was fun and the keg never seemed to get dry. I was a wild night.
Show #11: Party at Suba’s, River Grove
Tony Suba’s basement has a very low ceiling and tile floors so it is extremely reverberant and will blow your eardrums everytime. This was a surprise party for his girlfriend, Debbie. We waited in the dark and everything and flipped on the lights and jammed. I remember that we opened with ‘Outspoken’. The funny thing about Debbie and her friends is that we’re playing this loud long and I’m yelling and shit and they act like its totally normal and a pop song or something. They genuinely like us or at least they have me tricked.
The best was when at one point Rob glanced a stick off his nose. He started bleeding and then blood was everywhere. He kept playing and I didn’t know about the bleeding since I’m singing and my back is to him. We finish one song and I talked for a moment and then I introduced the next one and tried to start it. Rob yells for me to wait to I talk a little more. I still haven’t turned around and seen the blood bath which Rob is attempting to control. He was also drinking and it must have thinned his blood. I go to start again and he yells for me to stop. I got a little pissed at this stalling and I turn around and there’s blood everywhere: on his face and clothes, drums, sticks. We finished the set and he drank some more and got really goofy and lightheaded probably due to the blood loss. I took him home and he said that his folks thought he got into a fight or something and he was totally loopy and tried to take a leak in the closet or something when his mom stopped him.
I met Joe from Cyribiss that night and we traded the guitar back and forth all night and played Metallica and Slayer riffs. At one point he played some Manowar which is obscure but the riff was crazy. It was fucking great. It takes a special person who is like myself and enjoys jamming so much. Hilger said this about him and I totally agree. When we met him, he’s wearing red contacts and looks like Kirk Hammett from Metallica who he clearly idolizes. I showed him my Jackson and I showed him my Strat. I asked his if he wanted to play it and I handed him the guitar and he immediately goes to like the 23rd fret and rips this insane metal solo. Fucking awesome. At one point later that night when we were trading the guitar back and forth, the guy who lives upstairs was with us partying and he’s watching us jam and he says to turn it up. We had the amp set real low cause it was late. Then he demands that we turn it up and how he owns the house which is true. So we cranked it!
Show #7: Party at Dylan’s, Schiller Park
This was super wild. I cannot tell about everything that happened at this party but it was huge and crazy and obviously Halloween and never was broken up by the cops. We played a long set and then another with Farmer. We got to take breaks now and then like rockstars. My amp power got kicked out once or twice. We played ‘Pathetic Individuals’ last as we have many times and I remember feeling very nauseated. I was playing and contemplating my options. Stopping, collapsing, puking or even possibly puking and playing. The last was my favorite and I even leaned over to avoid splashing my guitar with vomit. Nothing came out though. I sweat so much and quite often I would let myself fall into the crown and they would grab me and hold me up and cheer me on. I was so hammered and it was a really fun crowd.
Pie in the Sky was supposed to play but couldn’t since Washburn went to see All that night. A band called 12 Gauge played and they rocked. I didn’t know any of them but the singer Tony Knight wore a shirt with a red 666 on it which is cool by me. They covered a Rage Against the Machine song and it seemed flawless. They also covered Sepeltura and other bands. They were very tight. I was scared since their faces were painted and it was dark and blacklights were on. For a minute I thought maybe it wasn’t real. Farmer sang “Where Eagles Dare” with them and it was a little fucked up but still great. The guitarist had the same pedal as me (XP100) and used it perfecetly on the solo for the Rage song.
As always Pie in the Sky or what remaining members were there took advantage of the situation and stepped into a room full of eager people and played without Washburn. It was OK and they used 12 Gauge’s equipment. Somehow Tony Perry had his bass though. I was in another room and I heard them play “Linoleum” by NOFX and I ran in and sang the song. It was cool since I used to jam that with Washburn and the band when Perry wasn’t around at the practice space. I screamed so hard and fell on the floor and I saw only stars and spots. It was very fucking intense.
Show #5: Uncle Snorkey’s, Berwyn
This show was cool since we played on Friday night there and again at the Fireside on Saturday. Pisolero was like a rockabilly type of band and their bass player had a crazy devillock going. Coincidentally, we played our first encore (impromptu) with Mike Farmer as we jammed some Misfits. They all loved it. At one point the bass player asked us to play some Gorilla Biscuits when he saw the sticker on my case. Unfortunately we had to turn him down since we didn’t know any at the time. Now we know First Failure and Two Sides. Oh well…
