procession

the van will be packed and we'll be on our way to indianapolis tonight around midnight.

we'll spend the next five days polishing up the set, and the tour begins next friday at dudefest.
come out and rage.

i've been practicing for my month long saltine and hot sauce binge with occassional coffee and luna bars.
i live a very healthy road lifestyle....i usually come back bruised, scraped and frail as a motherfucker....very entertaining to look at.

in other news, "seance prime" has been mastered and dropped off at deathwish...looks like it will come out some time in october if all goes as planned.

i am reading george orwell's "1984" for the first time....i've never seen the film, so when i finish these last hundred pages, i'll be hunting down a copy to watch.

fucking viva.

run

I have two days left before i leave seattle for almost six weeks. Thursday i fly into jfk airport in glorious mid-summer nyc.....should be really comfortable and exhilerating.

i will be attending my sister's wedding this weekend, complete with relatives unseen for over a decade, walking my mother down the aisle, and dining at an upscale, downtown restaurant.

i haven't had to wear "pants" or a "dress shirt" in quite a while....i think most will be surprised i still exist, since i did such a spectacular job of severing ties with any and everyone.

following this weekend of mammoth celebration, i'll be headed back to new england. four days with my mother, where we'll talk art, she'll (unsuccessfully) try to convert me to christianity, and we'll make amazing vegan food that will make me wish i could eat like i used to be able to.

then to salem, nh. roughly a day or two of practice in nh before we drive to providence to pick up the van. we'll then drive back to nh, load up and head out to indianapolis.

there, we will spend an intense week of practicing new songs so that the two new members will be all shiny and rip roaring once our tour begins at dude fest.

so, thanks to the wondrous glory that is the elliot bay used book store, i found "yes, yes, y'all - the oral history of the first ten years of hip-hop" for a whopping $7.95. if only some other desperate soul would sell back all the ego trip books, i'd be great.

seriously, it's not possible to comprehend how amazing this book is. from the candid photos to the vintage flyers dating as far back as 1975/76. reading the first hand stories of setting up battles in the park, and dealing with the gangs that ran / frequented the early clubs / shows....it's just a fascinating read.

also read last week was the newest chuck palahniuk novel, "rant".

i have a confession: i did not read diary, haunted, or stranger than fiction.

NOT because i thought i wouldn't like them....actually it was the exact opposite. I knew i'd like them.....i knew they'd be brilliant, so i just didn't bother with them, knowing full well i'd get to them someday. I probably would have done the same thing with "rant" if it wasn't, once again, for the elliot bay used books section. it caught my eye and was one of those "can't refuse" moments....i had forgotten it came out the week before and here i am already looking at a used copy....i shall take it, thank you.

it's a quick read, but it's another in chuck's long line of novels leaving you going, "are you fucking kidding me?....how do you think of this shit?"

needless to say, i'll be picking up diary, haunted, et. all very soon.....and there's news on one of his sites talking of another novel on the way called "snuff".....i have a brain boner already.

and, it looks like some of his novels may finally make it to the big screen....way to get on the ball, hollywood...good thing it took you almost a decade since "fight club" to do something....and if you weren't so scared of offending the general public, "survivor" should have already been made, but you took the safe road.

on a prticularly frustrating and/or hopeful note.....i'm not sure if "insomnialways" zine #1 will be done by dudefest.....1-may not be able to afford it until fall, & 2- i want it to not be a piece of shit....i mean, it will mostly just be stories, anti-essays, and various writings, but i want it to be somewhat good.

and, i'd like to learn to use a computer a little so that it looks alright.

spiritstench

i am in the beginning stages of learning to drink my coffee without sweetener of any kind.

it tasted weird at first, but the more i sip, the more i like it....it seems more harsh, just like me when i wake up.

i'm going to say this once and only once. against me's "new wave" is a classic. a fucking modern day triumph of goddamn epic proportions.

"insomnialways" issue one is taking shape.

i have some good ideas for other issues following the initial one...i have to make sure people give about half a shit before i follow through with them.

i have another showing of my paintings that will begin next thursday at the elliot bay cafe here in seattle. The art walk is from 6pm - 9pm, but if anyone cares to take a look, they'll be up for the entire month of july over there. Once they are taken down, and i'm back from tour in late august, i'll be posting pictures of the work on the other page.

i'm going to go work on projects and watch "fear and loathing in las vegas" for the first time ever.

really.

i know....more like poser extraordinaire.

open season

i've created another site for my paintings, and the "sleepwell deconstructor" series is up.
you should go check them out and spend a little money.


the link is in the "about me" section on this here page.

better photos coming...

vacant

i have been busy.

since the last time i put anything up here, the following has been done:

-the recording of trap them's debut EP for deathwish, titled "seance prime"

-i have finished the series of paintings i have been working on for a long amount of time. I'll actually talk about them now.

I did a set of twelve paintings, each one depicting a song from trap them's "sleepwell deconstructor" release.

twelve songs, twelve images.

i'm quite proud of them....more because when i think back, it seemed much easier than it actually ended up being, and now that they are complete, it feels like a damn fine accomplishment.

they will be / are for sale.

as soon as i have good enough photos of each piece, i will be putting them up online for people to see and hopefully some of you are interested to the point of wanting to own one (or two).

- i am doing a zine. nothing special, but this is something i've wanted to do for more than a decade, but never actually followed through with. The first couple i do will be small runs until feel i can do what i want.

it will be a collection of writings, essays, stories and whatever else i want to put in there. I've waited so damn long, i owe it to myself to do whatever i want with them, and that's the way it'll be.

the first one will be ready for trap them's summer tour with perth express that begins at dudefest.....probably a run of 50 or 100.

lately:

distort-

entombed - serpent saints

hellacopters-by the grace of god

death breath - let it stink

abc weapons "process of decay" 12"

wolfbrigade - everything in prep for their new LP that will destroy me

distort outside of sweden-

new baroness songs

burned up bled dry 7"s

stormcrow / sanctum split LP

fucked up "year of the pig" and BBC session

phobia "cruel" LP

pig detroyer "phantom limb"

lately:

celluloid / digital media-

awful truth seasons one and two

karate kid - special edition

reno 911 : miami

hot fuzz - over and over again.....this is one of the best action / thriller / comedies ever made

last couple things......do yourself a favor and watch vice tv.....it's good journalism, i don't care what any jaded fuck has to say.

and, dear boyfriends with pregnant girlfriends,

seriously, don't even think about killing her. just leave. it blows me away that all of these idiots still think they can get away with murder. news fucking flash-- you will ALWAYS be the first suspect, moron. and they will almosts ALWAYS catch you or get you to admit to it.

i mean.....why? because she's preganant?

dude, just leave. It may make you a shitty, shitty guy.......BUT YOU'RE NOT A MURDERER.

why in this day and age does this still happen?

i could go on, but i don't need to. it's a given....everyone (mostly) feels the same way.

no death sentence....make him sit in a cell and rot away, thinking about his stupidity every waking moment.

on a lighter note, i made vegan hot pockets from scratch and that shit rules.

passover on pike st.

tonight i took a time travel machine back to the late 60's....it was inside neumo's and it brought me to a point where every band was fronted by a bearded, fuzzed out young man, and the music they made had an impact that couldn't quite be described.

they sang songs about war and the damage it does to everyday lives.

they put their heart and soul into the most beautiful and defiant sounds that these ears could ask for.

if i took acid, tonight would have been a good night for it.

the black angels - probably one of my favorite bands to watch...ever.

what the fuck is "the looking glass"?

i have had a busy week.

lots of old faces that bring out new excitement.

acrylic bliss is very much in effect, and i'm almost ready to discuss what this bliss entails.

try as i might, my stereo just keeps asking for more partners in crime records....who am i to refuse?

i love knowing that everything i appreciate musically can be found in the dollar 7" bins....i love knowing i'll never grow out of my appreciation of all layouts that look photocopied and similar.

the fucking d-beat.....forever.

playlist for the last few days:

new severed head of state 12"

behind enemy lines - one nation under the iron first of god LP

assault - s/t LP

breathing fire - demo 7"

hatred surge / endless blockade split LP

disfear - brutal sight of war 10"

deathreat - discography CD

sage francis - human the death dance

tomorrow ups will be delivering me a new batch of d-beatness, and i'll have a party by myself....party favors will be canvas and paintbrushes.

high point of the day so far:

finally finding whole foods and a shit ton of tofurky products are on sale.

plus, a brand new jar of peanut butter.

and seeing an old friend...it's been five long years....there'll be a lot of catching up to do.

this all reads like a journal entry, and i'm disgusted with myself for it, but my mind is on overload.

and, in one month from right now, i'll have "seance prime" in my hands and in my ears....fucking riot eternal.