A spastic gathering of incomplete thoughts...

Over the past week or so, I've made some really interesting discoveries. The first discovery I made was that our band HAS to get out of the country in order to do what we want to for any extended period of time. We've received several merch and c.d. orders from Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, etc. And these people are all soooo gracious and kind. Sending us artwork they've made us, email after email of praise for our music. It's really wonderful. I couldn't be more grateful. As I've been booking shows and getting ready for the next few months ahead, I've been getting excited about some newer places to play. These little road jaunts have been great and we've met/made some really great friends. But the new places allow for new experiences. Looking forward to making our way down to Kentucky for the first time, heading north to Canada with some really great bands. What seems to be the most disappointing aspect in all this is the mere fact that we can't play at home. No one around here goes to shows anymore, no one seems to give a shit period about seeing bands. I'm no better. I don't go out of my way to see bands. And it's not say that there aren't bands I want to see-I've got a busy life like anyone else. So, at this point, I suppose the point is moot. But either way, I think that we've hit a serious dry spell that needs to be remedied. There are great bands in the Toledo/BG area that no one is hearing or seeing as much as they could. What makes this most difficult is when you do show trades with another band. Getting the venue is easy, getting people to come...that's a horse of a different color. And you know what-maybe I'm completely off base here. Maybe no one gives a fuck about The Highgears or what we do. And I'm fine with that. I can't change people's minds or opinions, and truth be told. I don't really fucking care to. But we've gone to plenty of other states, played in plenty of other bars/clubs that were full of people and the people were there to take in the rock and roll spectacle. So, I don't foresee us giving up anytime soon cuz' we've got some really great opportunities right around the corner, but I don't foresee us hanging around here much either. I reckon it's better to go where people like you...
Another discovery made is maybe a little more entertaining. My son, Cash, is 2 years old. He's really growing and changing all the time, but he's still very young and very little. One of his favorite things in the world is monsters. He loves all kinds of monsters ( which has some sort of hope for the future thing attached to it!) and he doesn't discriminate. But recently we've discovered that he REALLY likes Godzilla. A lot. Every time we go to Micah and Amanda's, the first thing he wants is Micah to get the big Godzilla toy down. As we speak, I'm sitting here typing, burning the time until I can drown myself in NBA action all afternoon, and he's in his chair, eating a pop tart, watching Godzilla's revenge. He loves the whole lot. All the monster's of Monster Island (though, I think he's partial to the king) make his tiny life complete. And so for now, when he's scouring the endless wall of nerdom that is my DVD collection, daddy doesn't have to say "you're not quite old enough for those monster movies yet" every time. Cuz' we've got the mighty lizard from Japan to tide us over until he's ready for the greats.
As I've made a point to state, I have a spastic musical taste. I'm not alone in this. All of my friends, most of whom are musicians or filmmakers, are the exact same way. It sorta comes with the territory. I feel like it comes with just enjoying what not only sounds good but what moves you. That being said here's a listing of what happened on my iPod this week:
Wino-Punctuated Equilibrium (when one of your rock and roll heroes makes a solo record, you listen a lot)
ALL-Breaking Things
Bigelf-Closer to Doom
The Answer-Rise
Adele-19
Allman Bros.-Live at The Fillmore East
China Drum-Goosefair
Deadguy-Fixation on a Co-Worker
Dozer-Beyond Colossal
Bare Jr.-Boo-Tay
Lilly Allen-Alright, Still
Blood of the Sun-s/t
Mos Def-the New Danger
Amy Winehouse-Back to Black
Blood Ceremony-s/t
Mother Love Bone-s/t
Chamberlain-Fate's got a Driver
Cathedral-The Ethereal Mirror
Burning Witch-Crippled Lucifer
You know what's odd about this list? All the British female pop singers. I'm aware. My wife likes all of that stuff and over time, I've become a big fan. I wish I had a proper explanation. I wish I could say something that tells you why I like this crap. But I can't. I love their voices, the very un-American styled music, the snide trouble making. It's all very fun and intriguing to me. can't help it, seems like each one that comes out captures my interest.
Next Friday, a new Friday the 13th comes out. I will be there. With bells on. And I'm certain there will be lengthy blog. I'm one of the huge horror geeks who DOES blow the whistle on remakes. This would not be one. I'm not scared of this one...I'll tell ya' later.