Like A Heart Attack

I took my Gin n' Juice Long Beach style and headed out to the Chelsea Smiles show at Spikes in Rosemead Saturday night...we've played here a few times, and while Brando (the promoter) is a super cool guy, the staff are always dicks to the bands...in fact I've never heard anything good from anyone about their experience playing here....They upgraded the stage (yay! no more playing on the floor) and the sound system is ok....its a better place to go to shows than to play them, in fact it would take a super cool show, or some kinda favor to ever get us to play there again! They have pool tables and I lucked out cause it was someones b-day=sweet catering! Free food? Free booze? Free ride? I'm fucking there! It's important to note that I kicked Todd Youths ass at pool...and I think I also kicked Skye's ass as well.....Me n' Skye have been friends since I was about 15....there was a point in time where I seriously ignored his calls and tried to unfriend him...I thought I was too busy....he persisted throughout several jealous boyfriends and a bit of abuse and I'm happy to say that now he's one of my really close guy friends, albeit a shitty, shitty pool player!

Show was awesome....it wasn't uncomfortably packed, but full.....Todd Harper of the late, great Welt (BEST BAND EVER!) and Duane Peters' Gunfight fame was there playing with his latest band...."The Legendary Swagger". Now I've heard a lot about this band over the last year or so and I was a little too drunk to catch the live show, but I did have to seriously fight off the urge to get up and sing "Boom Swagger Boom" with them. Saw the Murder City Devils do that song at the Glass house in Feb I have to say that the band covering MCD songs generally does them better.....maybe that's cause Murder City sucks live......I would have babies to their recorded stuff, don't get me wrong!!!! They are phenomenal and highly influenced me, but live are just a big sloppy disappointing mess.....

There was a band on tour from, well... I'm really not sure where....let's just say all over! They are one of those rare bands that comes together only to tour....Really great live band. My only gripe was that every other song I swear they mentioned the Black Halos...I only caught on to this cause I'm a Black Halos fan....(Suz owns everything, but I have the Tuuli Xmas split they did) I've heard Billy Hopeless say that he "collects girl bands".....not sure how to take this, because NO ONE collects us, ha ha.....we collect them ;) I won't take it personally, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt! Check out the Lustkillers live and smokin' at www.myspace.com/thelustkillers

The Lustkillers have their very own JEWISH SLASH....

or SHLASH if you've been drinking....





Chelsea Smiles just got back from a Euro run with Wednesday 13 (http://www.wednesday13.com/) the king of cheesy rock n' roll horror....I always miss them when they come into town, but with songs about morgues and banging dead girls i can't resist...it's catchy as shit! So it was the first time I've seen the Smiles with Skye not playing guitar and the new guitarist RJ added to the mix. It was awesome, although my gin and juice might be talking for me here. Ha ha ...I got to hang out with Viv (Johnny Martins hot wife) and catch up while watching their set....albeit short, it was rocking and packed with new songs.....A few years ago we did a "Weekend Warrior" tour with these guys that consisted of trying to do an intervention on our drugged out drummer we had at the time (NOT THE LOVELY AND LADYLIKE ROXIE)....too bad the intervention was unsuccessful, the tour itself though, was a winner...We went through Annie's Social Club in SF....and some Sacto/Vegas/LA dates....I believe one of the shows was at Alex's Bar (LBC baby!) If I'm not mistaken that night there was some guy in the crowd that was trying to piss off the guys....it was the first and last time I've ever seen anything this hardcore go down...they were like a gang! They stopped the show and jumped off the stage to fight these guys! It was like a mess of leather and rock n' roll and turf shit....amazing! ha ha.... the message being, don't fuck with the Chelsea Smiles unless it's at the pool table! "So you're a social drinker?"

My rendition of the infamous cover....

Civet/ Chelsea Smiles/ ACO tour in 2005 (some uglies in this photo!)