Upon finishing the post below, something was nagging at me. Like I had forgotten something. And then it hit me.
Besides this week being the 10th anniversary of the first time Mark Mothasemi and I took to the stage with the teenage versions of Ash and Tom, a year ago this past weekend, the aggression played what will be most likely be their last ever show. From what I recall, it was a good gig, though honestly, we were always good (though we got REALLY good once Robin came in). We played here in the City and the other band no showed, so we were able to do our extended set without having to cut anything. it was sparsely attended, especially in comparison to our previous NYC shows, but it was hastily put together and we had just come back from Russia when the opportunity to play arose. While we had several gigs over the past 10 years that were supposed to be our last, the one time I didn't think was the last one, was in fact, THE LAST GIG EVER (TM). I've not seen a video of this gig because, according to Matt Gentile, the tape is "fucked up". I nag him occasionally about this, but there's a romanticism to never seeing it
I always felt like the aggression should have gone out like the end of Michael Mann's HEAT, in an overblown blaze of glory. That gig has been played over and over in my head millions of times. From what I would wear to what I would play, the gig was preconceived for the past few years. I don't think I was alone in that as I recall Ash having a set list for such a gig (as well as several drafted letters of resignation). I was about to share with you my thoughts on what that gig should be. I've decided against it as I think what you are speculating might be better than what I had planned.
I thought I would be more emotional about it, but I guess I got over it more quickly than I anticipated. This could be because I remain in such close, daily, contact with the people who did matter and worked hard to make the aggression something special. Another reason, and I can see this with time having passed, I was fucking miserable in the band thanks to the lack of focus and maturity within it. But if I am anything, I am loyal and I was the general who took the ship down to a noble death. Let's be frank, we only sold a few thousand records, we were never even a blip on a radar. However, for ten years it was the world I and a few others lived in and while I can never forgive the few who tried to fuck with it, I love that the music and the experiences will be something no one can ever take away or tarnish. I wanted to save the industrial scene when bands i adored like Chemlab and Skinny Puppy went away. With all of these old schoolers coming back and putting out records, I can rest easier knowing we kept our elders seats warm in their absence.
From the pits of the Underworld to the former Soviet Union, the casualty rate was shockingly low and most of the friendships remain intact. Plus, some records came out that I love to pieces. They proudly hang on my well as reminders of the wonderful life I have led for 10 years.
And don't think I don't seen the irony in the fact that the one of last songs the aggression ever played was in fact, Hypefactor's SWEETEST SOUL.
HAH.
F
11.5.04
10.5.04
Out in the Farm...
Been running around like mad man as I get ready for another LA trip, so bear with me if I seem, if I can coin my dentists description of my agent/manager/lawyer: Scattered.
We did the customary Mothers Day celebrating yesterday, honouring the woman who dares take the responsibility of claiming to have given birth to me. She's a nice lady, I like her, though she needs to stop working so much (which is something she would say about me). Anyhow, this brought us to Long Island (hopefully for one of the last times in my life before the nice people who raised me finally move into the City at last). Completely by coincidence, Irene and I had tickets to see her absoulte favourite band, CAVE IN, on Long Island as well. Farmingdale, no less. Notice the first part of that town's name is farm. I must admit to having a strong appreciation for Cave in, but I am less appreciative of these far out parts of Long Island. Well, it was another flashback to pre-drivers license days, as Irene and I were driven by my aunt and uncle (also nice people, who have seen many aggression shows in their lives, poor things) to the venue, which was on the "main street" of town. Talk about Suburbia. We couldn't wait to get the hell out of this town! Who in their right mind lives out here!
Anyhow, the gig was good. The young guys in this band are shockingly gifted musicians. They write complex, catchy songs and this was the first time I was able to check them out in a small venue. They are loud and talented as hell. I love their album ANTENNA, which strays from their previous hardcore sound, so when they dip back into the catalog, I am not as excited, but because they play so well, it's enjoyable nonetheless. Their new material steps back a little bit to the harder side of things, but with a 70's rock bent. Could be good. Stay tuned. Great band!
Irene being up at 5:30am for work this morning really kicked me in the ass and it sent me straight down to the studio in the morning for what will be my last round in the studio for the next few weeks. I spent the whole day there, and we got some work done. It may not feel like much, but what we did was very important for the record. We offficially wrapped up guitar tracking today as Brandt laid down his acoustics for THE MORNING AFTER THE LIFE BEFORE. Again, I played the role of engineer and it's something I need to do more of instead of letting everyone go and just do their things. Hypefactor was orginally intended for me to improve on my bass playing and singing and I think I have met those goals. Now, I need to focus on producing, though I'd like to apply that to another project, i.e. Chemlab, and then bring what I learn into the HF experience. Anyhow, something to think about. I also took the opportunity to have B tutor me in how to use the program LIVE, which he and Ash often use to edit loops and such. I need some practive on this fucker!
We also wrapped up a remix that has been sitting around. A while back, Brandt had started some remixes of two songs from THE DISTRACTED LOVER. They were good drafts, but I felt they needed some more work. We just never got around to it. Last night at Cave In, they were selling a limited edition live CD that they pressed on their own and this inspired me to want to do something for HF; possibly a giveaway using those remixes. In my mind right now, and it's being planned that way, it will be THE SWEETEST SOUL EP, and we will give it out over the website. I spent part of the morning re-listening to the remixes and I heard changes that could be made on the remix of THIEVES very quickly. Needless to say, we worked fast and have a nice completed remix. I have to really sit with the other remix as it needs a ton of work on my return.
In my fan boy moment of the day, I ordered the new solo album from Sakurai Atsushi of Buck Tick. My old friend Wayne Hussey of the Mission, who did a wonderful remix for us years ago, wrote a song on the album as do Bryan Haloblack and Mr. Watts himself. These are more than enough reasons to buy this disc. Hope it rocks.
My posting will be less frequent over the next few weeks thanks to my heading to the left coast, so hopefully my comrades will fill the void a bit. Behave.
F
We did the customary Mothers Day celebrating yesterday, honouring the woman who dares take the responsibility of claiming to have given birth to me. She's a nice lady, I like her, though she needs to stop working so much (which is something she would say about me). Anyhow, this brought us to Long Island (hopefully for one of the last times in my life before the nice people who raised me finally move into the City at last). Completely by coincidence, Irene and I had tickets to see her absoulte favourite band, CAVE IN, on Long Island as well. Farmingdale, no less. Notice the first part of that town's name is farm. I must admit to having a strong appreciation for Cave in, but I am less appreciative of these far out parts of Long Island. Well, it was another flashback to pre-drivers license days, as Irene and I were driven by my aunt and uncle (also nice people, who have seen many aggression shows in their lives, poor things) to the venue, which was on the "main street" of town. Talk about Suburbia. We couldn't wait to get the hell out of this town! Who in their right mind lives out here!
Anyhow, the gig was good. The young guys in this band are shockingly gifted musicians. They write complex, catchy songs and this was the first time I was able to check them out in a small venue. They are loud and talented as hell. I love their album ANTENNA, which strays from their previous hardcore sound, so when they dip back into the catalog, I am not as excited, but because they play so well, it's enjoyable nonetheless. Their new material steps back a little bit to the harder side of things, but with a 70's rock bent. Could be good. Stay tuned. Great band!
Irene being up at 5:30am for work this morning really kicked me in the ass and it sent me straight down to the studio in the morning for what will be my last round in the studio for the next few weeks. I spent the whole day there, and we got some work done. It may not feel like much, but what we did was very important for the record. We offficially wrapped up guitar tracking today as Brandt laid down his acoustics for THE MORNING AFTER THE LIFE BEFORE. Again, I played the role of engineer and it's something I need to do more of instead of letting everyone go and just do their things. Hypefactor was orginally intended for me to improve on my bass playing and singing and I think I have met those goals. Now, I need to focus on producing, though I'd like to apply that to another project, i.e. Chemlab, and then bring what I learn into the HF experience. Anyhow, something to think about. I also took the opportunity to have B tutor me in how to use the program LIVE, which he and Ash often use to edit loops and such. I need some practive on this fucker!
We also wrapped up a remix that has been sitting around. A while back, Brandt had started some remixes of two songs from THE DISTRACTED LOVER. They were good drafts, but I felt they needed some more work. We just never got around to it. Last night at Cave In, they were selling a limited edition live CD that they pressed on their own and this inspired me to want to do something for HF; possibly a giveaway using those remixes. In my mind right now, and it's being planned that way, it will be THE SWEETEST SOUL EP, and we will give it out over the website. I spent part of the morning re-listening to the remixes and I heard changes that could be made on the remix of THIEVES very quickly. Needless to say, we worked fast and have a nice completed remix. I have to really sit with the other remix as it needs a ton of work on my return.
In my fan boy moment of the day, I ordered the new solo album from Sakurai Atsushi of Buck Tick. My old friend Wayne Hussey of the Mission, who did a wonderful remix for us years ago, wrote a song on the album as do Bryan Haloblack and Mr. Watts himself. These are more than enough reasons to buy this disc. Hope it rocks.
My posting will be less frequent over the next few weeks thanks to my heading to the left coast, so hopefully my comrades will fill the void a bit. Behave.
F
8.5.04
Mattitude
An extremely productive time was had at the Birdcage today as we came closer to wrapping up all the guitar overdubs. In fact, we might be done entirely if Brandt kept working after I left (though I doubt it). Regardless, the light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter as we progress in large measures towards the mixing stage.
Like last week, I again stepped into the engineer's chair as Brandt not only re-recorded several guitar parts, but committed some new ideas to disk. I won't bore you with the details as it was a tedious but necessary task, but he started off doing some wonderful work in the rapidy evolving CREATION PHASE. The parts he wrote for this song are not simple, but the ease in which he lays them down would make you think otherwise. His attention to detail may be as tight as as Dan Hamill's anus, but it's worth it. Anyway, I think now we can finally put that tune to rest.
Next came the guitar lead for 1956. When the song was originally started in the aggression, Tom had done a riff which I thought was a good starting point for something that could work in the chorus. It was the usual Tom throwaway riff that he probably wasnt even paying attention to when he wrote it, and probably couldn't remember even playing. Anyhow, I remembered it and wrote my vocal melody to it. Realizing his riff wouldnt work as written, I took the extremely rare opportunity to pick up the guitar and re-write and perform the part myself. I'm happy to say my favourite two words: FULL SUCCESS apply here. I am under the impression that this is the only time I have picked up a guitar for this album, and this was the first guitar lick I have written since the verse leads for THE MOTIVE way back when. This worked out well and inspired Brandt to pick up his guitar to layer something over it. In a matter of minutes, the song went to a new level. Stay tuned!
Afterwards, we attempted to re-record Brandt's intro guitars to SOLAR, but I wasn't happy with the guitar tones he was working with. After some time, and much to my delight, Brandt decided to stick with his original recording from the demo and would fix the timing of it in Live to make it dead on perfect. I'm very much sold on that sound so Brandt, if you're reading this, don't change your freakin' mind. KEEP THAT PART...
Sometime during this, we had a special guest visit us in the form of Matt Gentile. As some of you may or may not know, Matt laboured many years as the aggression's manager and my original bass tech. I refer to him often as Mattagement. Thanks to him we've seen places and things on this planet the average rock band will never see or even dream of in their lifetime. He's the guy you call and say "I wanna play some shows in Russia" and days later, you're headlining major cities in foreign countries. Along with Dan Hamill, he is the co-conspirator of our MOG trips abroad and has never failed in his duties to us as a mattager or as a friend. I never question a thing when Matt is leading the charge and this had led the some of the greatest adventures of my life.
Anyway, he had some time to kill before seeing Morrissey's last night at the Apollo, so he came to listen to the new songs for the first time. It was good to have a fresh perspective on the material from someone who knows that the hell they are talking about. Because the aggression has gone the way of Suffolk County, Matt and I have existed soley on a friendship level this past year. However, I was excited to see him slip back into his professional mode and start discussing things like what the single should be, what song we should open gigs with and how we should have an EPK on the new CD. All great ideas.
I guess I should ask the handsome bastard to manage the Hype. Someone remind me, thanks. ;-)
I'm off to LA this week, so time is short and we're stealing as many moments as possible to make sure Brandt has everything he needs to work with in my absence. We're in good shape. The idea now is to be ready to mix the whole thing in JULY. I make note of this now to see when we actually DO start mixing someday.
In the meantime, say hi to your MOMS.
F
Like last week, I again stepped into the engineer's chair as Brandt not only re-recorded several guitar parts, but committed some new ideas to disk. I won't bore you with the details as it was a tedious but necessary task, but he started off doing some wonderful work in the rapidy evolving CREATION PHASE. The parts he wrote for this song are not simple, but the ease in which he lays them down would make you think otherwise. His attention to detail may be as tight as as Dan Hamill's anus, but it's worth it. Anyway, I think now we can finally put that tune to rest.
Next came the guitar lead for 1956. When the song was originally started in the aggression, Tom had done a riff which I thought was a good starting point for something that could work in the chorus. It was the usual Tom throwaway riff that he probably wasnt even paying attention to when he wrote it, and probably couldn't remember even playing. Anyhow, I remembered it and wrote my vocal melody to it. Realizing his riff wouldnt work as written, I took the extremely rare opportunity to pick up the guitar and re-write and perform the part myself. I'm happy to say my favourite two words: FULL SUCCESS apply here. I am under the impression that this is the only time I have picked up a guitar for this album, and this was the first guitar lick I have written since the verse leads for THE MOTIVE way back when. This worked out well and inspired Brandt to pick up his guitar to layer something over it. In a matter of minutes, the song went to a new level. Stay tuned!
Afterwards, we attempted to re-record Brandt's intro guitars to SOLAR, but I wasn't happy with the guitar tones he was working with. After some time, and much to my delight, Brandt decided to stick with his original recording from the demo and would fix the timing of it in Live to make it dead on perfect. I'm very much sold on that sound so Brandt, if you're reading this, don't change your freakin' mind. KEEP THAT PART...
Sometime during this, we had a special guest visit us in the form of Matt Gentile. As some of you may or may not know, Matt laboured many years as the aggression's manager and my original bass tech. I refer to him often as Mattagement. Thanks to him we've seen places and things on this planet the average rock band will never see or even dream of in their lifetime. He's the guy you call and say "I wanna play some shows in Russia" and days later, you're headlining major cities in foreign countries. Along with Dan Hamill, he is the co-conspirator of our MOG trips abroad and has never failed in his duties to us as a mattager or as a friend. I never question a thing when Matt is leading the charge and this had led the some of the greatest adventures of my life.
Anyway, he had some time to kill before seeing Morrissey's last night at the Apollo, so he came to listen to the new songs for the first time. It was good to have a fresh perspective on the material from someone who knows that the hell they are talking about. Because the aggression has gone the way of Suffolk County, Matt and I have existed soley on a friendship level this past year. However, I was excited to see him slip back into his professional mode and start discussing things like what the single should be, what song we should open gigs with and how we should have an EPK on the new CD. All great ideas.
I guess I should ask the handsome bastard to manage the Hype. Someone remind me, thanks. ;-)
I'm off to LA this week, so time is short and we're stealing as many moments as possible to make sure Brandt has everything he needs to work with in my absence. We're in good shape. The idea now is to be ready to mix the whole thing in JULY. I make note of this now to see when we actually DO start mixing someday.
In the meantime, say hi to your MOMS.
F
4.5.04
FULL DENIM JACKET
Jesus, where do I begin? Last night, and at long last, Irene and I made the trek to Harlem to the legendary Apollo Theatre to see Morrissey take to the stage for the first time here in many years. We’re both sick with colds and the weather was crap, but we were psyched.
There was a large line to get into the venue and who of course was at the near front of this line? None other than Peter, Joe and Michael, three-fifths of my favourite band Saintface. Decked out in identical denim, the lads were, to say the least, excited. It was an NME moment. To say Saintface loves and has been influenced by Morrissey/The Smiths would be an understatement compared to one describing me as a “casual” Star Wars fan. These guys were ready to rumble. Little did I know what was to come…
This was my first visit to the Apollo and I was shocked at how small this venue was. However, my shock turned to pure joy when I discovered that our 4th row Orchestra Left tickets gave us an extremely close, unobstructed view of the stage (this moment was observed by Joe Saintface from the last row of Orchestra Left). I’ve had some choice seats before (i.e. the legendary Depeche Mode Jones Beach show a few years ago, thank you Matt Gentile), but these were CLOSE. Needless to say, Irene and I were buzzing when we arrived at our seats while former NY Doll David Johansen was playing.
In between sets, a disgruntled Peter Saintface came by (did I mention, all the way from the last row of Orchestra left) to tell us how inherently wrong it was that we had better seats than the Saintface crew. Without saying so, my dear friend was saying “motherfucker, you don’t DESERVE those seats” (and quite frankly, I concede that those lads are more hardcore than I could ever be and deserving of the best seats). In another NME moment, I told him which band he should stick with if he wants to see some rock n roll up close. All light-hearted though, I’m just busting balls, because quite honestly, I know we were all happy to be there.
Finally, the lights went down and the intro music began. The die-hards ran to the front as did part of our row, giving Irene and I a lot of room to watch the show. Suddenly, Michael Saintface appeared next to me. His genuine excitement for the imminent arrival of Morrissey reminded me of when my mom took me out of school to see the first showing of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in 1980. He’s already an intense dude, but this was pure love (though slightly scary), and I must admit, it was infectious. Before I could even respond, Michael had run to the dead center of the security barrier to join his two bandmates as they welcomed their idol to the stage with hundreds of other screaming fans. We were close, but Saintface was now closer.
And there he was, Moz himself, looking lean, handsome and stylish. And honestly, with this crowd, the man could do no wrong. Granted, he’s not the wildman of the olden days, but he commands the stage in a unique and special way. His band, led by the ever-talented Boz Boorer, was tight and kept the pace up. The addition of a keyboardist (who also played horns and bongos) was welcome. And the fans, including the three members of Saintface dead center, went ballistic. Morrissey delivered a great performance. His show was centered around his forthcoming album and I’m happy to say the songs don’t suck. He chose his set list carefully, a Smiths song (THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT) here, a solo classic (EVERYDAY IS LIKE SUNDAY) there. It was enough to keep us engaged and entertained while serving as a reminder as to why this man deserves his status as “legend”. We sang along, we laughed, and we had fun.
But the fun came not only from the gig, but from the audience…A guy seated in the row ahead of us decked out in a painted denim jacket that said MORRISSEY IS GOD, had run to the front to deliver Moz daffodils (someone had to). While his friends stayed in their seats and kept bringing him drinks, he patiently waited for Moz to come near him. This dude’s hard work paid off as his love of Morrissey was consummated not only when Moz graciously accepted the flowers, but then later allowed this man to kiss his hand. The look on this guys face when he turned back to his friends was priceless. His patient friends were very excited for him and I have to admit, Irene and I were quite happy for him. It’s rare when you can feel that kind of pure joy for someone at a gig.
After years of being pissed off by his 45-minute sets of the past, Moz played a very full and hearty set. He returned to the stage to do the Smiths’ classic HAND IN GLOVE, which for old fan like me, was a welcome surprise.
Even better was when Moz ripped off his shirt and threw it into the front row and left for good while several fans, like SHARKS, jumped for the shirt. Now normally I wouldn’t even mention such a thing if it hadn’t been for the fact that of the half dozen or so fans fighting for a piece of this shirt, the scariest, most intense fan vying for a piece was none other than Michael Saintface. Now, at this point the houselights are up and this shirt is STILL being violently fought over. These fans are not letting go! Security can’t even break this one up. They’re rolling over the seats! Upon realizing Michael was in the thick of it, Irene and I rushed over to cheer him on. “C’MON MIKE! DO IT FOR SAINTFACE!”, we yelled. Pieces are broken off, and some fans are leaving, but Michael, reaching levels of TAXI DRIVER era Deniro ferociousness, is still struggling to get him some Moz. Suddenly, the joke wasn’t funny anymore.
Peter jumped in on this chaos when, after 10 minutes of struggle, it came down to Michael vs. one very aggressive woman. Little did Michael know that this woman is Saintface’s ASCAP rep who handles their publishing!!! Realizing this, Peter started asking Michael not to KILL this woman, thinking of course they will never see any publishing money. Eventually, thanks to Peter, they were able to each get a small piece of the shirt. I don’t think Michael spoke after this, but as I said to him on the way out, “Man, I’m glad your own our side!”. Joe Saintface, non-plussed by any of chaos, quietly convinced a roadie give him a set-list, so he was quite happy.
Later, as Peter was walking out with an oversized mounted poster of Moz on the cover of Spin (given to him by the same ASCAP rep!), he informed us that this fight for the shirt is a regular tradition amongst them. Go figure. Also, and I’m warning those of you who are going to see Moz this week, Michael Saintface is going to be BACK for another show (not sure which). When the shirt flies, RUN. Let the man have it, for God’s sake! He’s a good guy, but he’s got a bad case of Moz-it is! (I hope he takes this all in good fun!)
To say Irene and I were entertained by both the show and the events afterwards would again be another understatement. To the guy with the daffodils, I applaud you. To Saintface, It was an honour to see you leather clad warriors lose your cool and be true fans of music for one night.
And to Morrissey, all is forgiven.
F
There was a large line to get into the venue and who of course was at the near front of this line? None other than Peter, Joe and Michael, three-fifths of my favourite band Saintface. Decked out in identical denim, the lads were, to say the least, excited. It was an NME moment. To say Saintface loves and has been influenced by Morrissey/The Smiths would be an understatement compared to one describing me as a “casual” Star Wars fan. These guys were ready to rumble. Little did I know what was to come…
This was my first visit to the Apollo and I was shocked at how small this venue was. However, my shock turned to pure joy when I discovered that our 4th row Orchestra Left tickets gave us an extremely close, unobstructed view of the stage (this moment was observed by Joe Saintface from the last row of Orchestra Left). I’ve had some choice seats before (i.e. the legendary Depeche Mode Jones Beach show a few years ago, thank you Matt Gentile), but these were CLOSE. Needless to say, Irene and I were buzzing when we arrived at our seats while former NY Doll David Johansen was playing.
In between sets, a disgruntled Peter Saintface came by (did I mention, all the way from the last row of Orchestra left) to tell us how inherently wrong it was that we had better seats than the Saintface crew. Without saying so, my dear friend was saying “motherfucker, you don’t DESERVE those seats” (and quite frankly, I concede that those lads are more hardcore than I could ever be and deserving of the best seats). In another NME moment, I told him which band he should stick with if he wants to see some rock n roll up close. All light-hearted though, I’m just busting balls, because quite honestly, I know we were all happy to be there.
Finally, the lights went down and the intro music began. The die-hards ran to the front as did part of our row, giving Irene and I a lot of room to watch the show. Suddenly, Michael Saintface appeared next to me. His genuine excitement for the imminent arrival of Morrissey reminded me of when my mom took me out of school to see the first showing of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in 1980. He’s already an intense dude, but this was pure love (though slightly scary), and I must admit, it was infectious. Before I could even respond, Michael had run to the dead center of the security barrier to join his two bandmates as they welcomed their idol to the stage with hundreds of other screaming fans. We were close, but Saintface was now closer.
And there he was, Moz himself, looking lean, handsome and stylish. And honestly, with this crowd, the man could do no wrong. Granted, he’s not the wildman of the olden days, but he commands the stage in a unique and special way. His band, led by the ever-talented Boz Boorer, was tight and kept the pace up. The addition of a keyboardist (who also played horns and bongos) was welcome. And the fans, including the three members of Saintface dead center, went ballistic. Morrissey delivered a great performance. His show was centered around his forthcoming album and I’m happy to say the songs don’t suck. He chose his set list carefully, a Smiths song (THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT) here, a solo classic (EVERYDAY IS LIKE SUNDAY) there. It was enough to keep us engaged and entertained while serving as a reminder as to why this man deserves his status as “legend”. We sang along, we laughed, and we had fun.
But the fun came not only from the gig, but from the audience…A guy seated in the row ahead of us decked out in a painted denim jacket that said MORRISSEY IS GOD, had run to the front to deliver Moz daffodils (someone had to). While his friends stayed in their seats and kept bringing him drinks, he patiently waited for Moz to come near him. This dude’s hard work paid off as his love of Morrissey was consummated not only when Moz graciously accepted the flowers, but then later allowed this man to kiss his hand. The look on this guys face when he turned back to his friends was priceless. His patient friends were very excited for him and I have to admit, Irene and I were quite happy for him. It’s rare when you can feel that kind of pure joy for someone at a gig.
After years of being pissed off by his 45-minute sets of the past, Moz played a very full and hearty set. He returned to the stage to do the Smiths’ classic HAND IN GLOVE, which for old fan like me, was a welcome surprise.
Even better was when Moz ripped off his shirt and threw it into the front row and left for good while several fans, like SHARKS, jumped for the shirt. Now normally I wouldn’t even mention such a thing if it hadn’t been for the fact that of the half dozen or so fans fighting for a piece of this shirt, the scariest, most intense fan vying for a piece was none other than Michael Saintface. Now, at this point the houselights are up and this shirt is STILL being violently fought over. These fans are not letting go! Security can’t even break this one up. They’re rolling over the seats! Upon realizing Michael was in the thick of it, Irene and I rushed over to cheer him on. “C’MON MIKE! DO IT FOR SAINTFACE!”, we yelled. Pieces are broken off, and some fans are leaving, but Michael, reaching levels of TAXI DRIVER era Deniro ferociousness, is still struggling to get him some Moz. Suddenly, the joke wasn’t funny anymore.
Peter jumped in on this chaos when, after 10 minutes of struggle, it came down to Michael vs. one very aggressive woman. Little did Michael know that this woman is Saintface’s ASCAP rep who handles their publishing!!! Realizing this, Peter started asking Michael not to KILL this woman, thinking of course they will never see any publishing money. Eventually, thanks to Peter, they were able to each get a small piece of the shirt. I don’t think Michael spoke after this, but as I said to him on the way out, “Man, I’m glad your own our side!”. Joe Saintface, non-plussed by any of chaos, quietly convinced a roadie give him a set-list, so he was quite happy.
Later, as Peter was walking out with an oversized mounted poster of Moz on the cover of Spin (given to him by the same ASCAP rep!), he informed us that this fight for the shirt is a regular tradition amongst them. Go figure. Also, and I’m warning those of you who are going to see Moz this week, Michael Saintface is going to be BACK for another show (not sure which). When the shirt flies, RUN. Let the man have it, for God’s sake! He’s a good guy, but he’s got a bad case of Moz-it is! (I hope he takes this all in good fun!)
To say Irene and I were entertained by both the show and the events afterwards would again be another understatement. To the guy with the daffodils, I applaud you. To Saintface, It was an honour to see you leather clad warriors lose your cool and be true fans of music for one night.
And to Morrissey, all is forgiven.
F
2.5.04
Hey Paco!
It's a lazy day in MOGworld as Irene has been downed by a mediocre 2am cheeseburger that didn't agree with her (damn you Gramercy!) and I'm just flat out beat. We enjoyed seeing the entire MOG collective last night for the KIDD's birthday; however I am sad I missed Dan Hamill lapdance both men AND women. I'm sure all I have to do is ask...
With Irene asleep, I've just finished watching Serpico, completing my inadvertant study of old school Al Pacino movies. GodDAMN, he was so good when he was young! I also used this weekend to catch up on recent Korean cinema. I watched first watched NATURAL CITY, which was described to me as the Korean BLADE RUNNER. Sure enough, it's almost the same plot, just with a few different twists, and not neary as good a film as Ridley's masterpiece. However, it looked fantastic, it was bloody and violent and I had fun watching, but it lacked substance. Next up was the highly recommended 2009 LOST MEMORIES which was pretty good, but not the classic I was told it was going to be. It had an interesting plot, but it meandered on. Plus it was shot on video, which was a big problem for me. However, I think Korea is the next big center of action movies, they just need to focus more on the stories and characters cause the directors are quite good and the ideas are very original (except when they're ripping off BLADE RUNNER).
Anyway, I made two pit stops into the studio this weekend and here's what went down:
LENINGRAD, originally known as TWO BASS, has finally been edited down to an acceptable length. It's original running time was over 7 minutes and after some rough vocals and some notes from Ash, I realized that this song would work better as an instrumental at a shorter length. Brandt and I had gone over the changes a few weeks ago with Ash and I pointed out what I planned to do, but I made sure to give myself some time to go over the track to make sure those changes are right. I got in front of the computer and it got it down very quickly to about 4 minutes plus change. It's tight now and I think it's going to work out great when we have the final drums in there.
Yesterday marked, in my mind, a pretty historic moment as for the first time Brandt asked me to record HIM playing guitars. Usually he just goes and does his own thing, unless we're jamming or writing, but he's never asked me to play producer for his guitar playing till now. Due to a computer crash some months ago, some of the parts to THE MORNING AFTER THE LIFE BEFORE has to be re-recorded, and then several other parts had to be re-recorded to fit Ash's new basslines. I recorded a LOT of Brandt and all of it was quite awesome. The song rocks, and like every other song, it's going to blow up when we have the final drums in there.
I don't think Brandt has much left to do other than re-track a few things here and there, but then its on to the final drum editing. Once he's done with that, I'll start on the final vocals. We've started to talk about HOW to release this album, and right now we're leaning towards putting it out ourselves just to avoid the problems I've had over the years with labels. I'm at that age where the record deal means less and putting out a finished album that I'm 150% happy with means more.
Now I must make soup!
F
With Irene asleep, I've just finished watching Serpico, completing my inadvertant study of old school Al Pacino movies. GodDAMN, he was so good when he was young! I also used this weekend to catch up on recent Korean cinema. I watched first watched NATURAL CITY, which was described to me as the Korean BLADE RUNNER. Sure enough, it's almost the same plot, just with a few different twists, and not neary as good a film as Ridley's masterpiece. However, it looked fantastic, it was bloody and violent and I had fun watching, but it lacked substance. Next up was the highly recommended 2009 LOST MEMORIES which was pretty good, but not the classic I was told it was going to be. It had an interesting plot, but it meandered on. Plus it was shot on video, which was a big problem for me. However, I think Korea is the next big center of action movies, they just need to focus more on the stories and characters cause the directors are quite good and the ideas are very original (except when they're ripping off BLADE RUNNER).
Anyway, I made two pit stops into the studio this weekend and here's what went down:
LENINGRAD, originally known as TWO BASS, has finally been edited down to an acceptable length. It's original running time was over 7 minutes and after some rough vocals and some notes from Ash, I realized that this song would work better as an instrumental at a shorter length. Brandt and I had gone over the changes a few weeks ago with Ash and I pointed out what I planned to do, but I made sure to give myself some time to go over the track to make sure those changes are right. I got in front of the computer and it got it down very quickly to about 4 minutes plus change. It's tight now and I think it's going to work out great when we have the final drums in there.
Yesterday marked, in my mind, a pretty historic moment as for the first time Brandt asked me to record HIM playing guitars. Usually he just goes and does his own thing, unless we're jamming or writing, but he's never asked me to play producer for his guitar playing till now. Due to a computer crash some months ago, some of the parts to THE MORNING AFTER THE LIFE BEFORE has to be re-recorded, and then several other parts had to be re-recorded to fit Ash's new basslines. I recorded a LOT of Brandt and all of it was quite awesome. The song rocks, and like every other song, it's going to blow up when we have the final drums in there.
I don't think Brandt has much left to do other than re-track a few things here and there, but then its on to the final drum editing. Once he's done with that, I'll start on the final vocals. We've started to talk about HOW to release this album, and right now we're leaning towards putting it out ourselves just to avoid the problems I've had over the years with labels. I'm at that age where the record deal means less and putting out a finished album that I'm 150% happy with means more.
Now I must make soup!
F