Churches Closed On Christmas?

One of the dumbest things in the world happened on Sunday simply because Christmas fell on a Sunday. There were churches that actually called off their services. How stupid is that? The entire "reason for the season" is that Jesus was born. The entire reason for the church is that Jesus was born. Shouldn't that be a HUGE day for churches? How about calling off church on Easter, too? It falls on a Sunday. How ridiculous!

My dad was pretty disappointed last weekend with church leaders he knows. There were some on TV even trying to explain their reason for calling off services on Sunday. One idiot made the comment that he hopes there are lots of little services in people's homes instead. What a moron! Closing a church on the birthday of the person responsible for you even having a church?

Oh, and the idiot decisions don't stop there. What about all the members who stayed home instead of attending services? What about the idiots who thought that going to some Saturday service would make up for missing church on Sunday? How in the world do they justify these things?

I know that going to church isn't the main thrust of being a Christian. Being a Christian is all about living a lifestyle and making choices in accordance with Jesus' wishes. That does include gathering with other Christians whether at home or someplace like a church. Sunday is the first day of the week and the day the early church gathered on. They did this since Jesus rose on the first day of the week. Being a part of a church is part of living the Christian lifestyle and gathering this way helps strengthen our walk through education and support.

What kind of example are you setting and what does it say for your personal Christian walk if you aren't in church on the recognized birthday of your Lord and Savior? I hope churches don't make this a habit and get back to reality the next time Christmas falls on a Sunday. What a disappointment some churches were this year...

Christmas Details

I had an awesome Christmas and couldn't have planned it much better! I saw old (yes, they are old - hehe) friends, my family, and have some special memories. It makes me want to plan more of these types of things even without a holiday.

I was able to leave at about 8:20AM Thursday morning. I'd hoped to leave by 8AM, but ran a tad late getting everything packed. I wanted to pick up my daughters by 10AM, which is when the ex said I could pick them up. I don't like to waste a minute of the time I get to see my girls. I did make great time, but about 9AM I realized that I had left all of the hanging clothes at home. This meant my nice clothes for church and a few shirts for the girls. I arrived at my daughters' home just a few minutes after 10AM, so I was doing good at getting back on track. I packed up their things and it turns out that they had a portable DVD player with them. This was great for them on the long drive.

I had planned on a stop in KC along the way for fuel, food, and an exit next to Arrowhead Stadium since Brittany is my little Chief. We pulled off there and they were craning their necks to see a better view of the Stadium since their best view was either passing it on the highway or on TV. They were fascinated, actually, by the sheer size. We got fuel and then hit the nearby Subway for some light sandwiches. I didn't want them to fill up so I brought some light snacks and figured supper would be their big dinner. We also made a stop in Blue Springs at Wal-Mart. I was determined to get a Chiefs hat and something else that said Chiefs while in the KC area. I was able to pick up a hat and T-shirt for Brittany.

We signed in at my lil bro's job site at 2:45PM in Columbia. We had been making great time and arrived for the tour a bit earlier than planned, but my lil bro was up for it and gave us a grand tour of the new building his employer built. They have such a sweet building and the best setup I've ever seen. They use VoIP for their phone system, touch screens, big screens, digital projectors, white boards that double as screens, and about any other technological advance you can think of. Even programmed shades to cover the windows and LCD lights that light up their skylight area. They are still working on parts of it, but it's the type of building I wish my employer had set up for us. We stayed until about 5pm since we had dinner plans scheduled for 5:15PM.

We arrived at Steak And Shake two minutes early even after I took a wrong turn. We waited, patiently, for Patti and SB to show up. Fashionably late, whatever that means, Patti and her two daughters arrived to join us for dinner. SB was much later, but did show up for some fun. I told the girls they could have anything they wanted to eat there since I'm a Steak And Shake fan. We all had dinner and the girls were intrigued by some samples of jewelry that Patti brought. Patti was gracious enough to let them each choose a piece as a gift and they wore what they chose all weekend. Brittany got a beautiful necklace and Paige picked out a great ring. I had fun meeting Patti's kids and we had a lot of laughs. I did get to hear a nice compliment from Patti about my girls. She told her daughters that they should take a cue from my girls and behave themselves. It was hilarious and great to hear. Patti's girls are great and her oldest is outgoing so there was lots of fun conversation that she got in on with us "old folks". When SB arrived we had some more laughs and didn't leave the place until about 7:45. I had hoped to be at my parents' by then, but we had a lot of fun and weren't that late. We took a few pictures before we left and I hope to be able to post them here! I also had a few extra CD's from my collection that were duplicates so I took those down for Patti and SB. I made sure they knew it wasn't as a Christmas gift, but that they were just sitting here and I thought they could use them.

We got to my parents' home before 8:30PM since I was really booking it, but still slower than most traffic. Mom fixed us some popcorn and we watched Herbie The Love Bug. It was a great way to relax after the traveling and fun we had that day.

Friday kicked off the first of 3 full days at my parents' home. We slept in a bit and had a light breakfast. My mom went with the girls and me into Warrenton to do our last bit of shopping. We had to get my parents each a gift and something for my lil bro and his wife. Mom gave us some great ideas while we were looking around so we made our purchases. We also stopped at the local Wal-Mart for some other things we needed. Paige quickly becomes Grandma's Girl when we are there so if we split up, she went with Grandma. We headed back in time for a light lunch. On the way back we saw a full size truck that had gone off road in the median. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't too backed up so we did ok getting back. After a light lunch, we just hung out for a while relaxing and goofing off. Paige and Brittany were playing some video games on one of the computers and I even napped a bit. The girls were also very helpful to Mom. Lil bro and his wife showed up late in the afternoon and we had a very full dinner that evening. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (my dad makes the best!), and everything else that seemed like a Thanksgiving dinner minus the cranberries. It was great! After dinner we opened a few presents and then played some games in the kitchen. Our family is big on fun and we were making jokes and generally laughing a lot all evening. The gifts were mostly with lil bro and his wife, but the girls got to open a few things that were clothing related. I also let them each open one of the gifts I had gotten them. Paige opened up the CD's that I got her and her CD opener and Brittany opened up the Chiefs hat. She didn't let the hat get away from her all weekend.

I really slept in on Saturday. I got up at 8AM for breakfast and then went back to bed and slept another 2 hours. That's unusual for me, but I had stayed up late the previous night letting supper settle. Saturday was mostly a relaxing day just watching football and the girls played games and helped Grandma. They made chocolate covered pretzels and casserole cookies. I got to try some while I was watching the Rams get beat. We left in the late afternoon for the Christmas program at Dad's church. The girls wore their nice outfits and looked great! They even sang Away In A Manger for the Christmas program with the kids from the church. It was a great program and there was a decent turnout that night.

Sunday we got up for church early and the girls looked great again in their nice outfits. They had fun in Sunday School and showed a lot of restraint not opening their gift from church until the afternoon. Dad's sermon about Christmas was from the Book of John. Of course, this isn't the most obvious Gospel to do the Christmas story from, but it was a great way to offer a new look at Christmas. I was able to see some of the people who were at the church when I attended there as a child. It's always great seeing them and catching up a bit. Some were adults who influenced my life in some way and some were my age that I went to school with. It was great.

After church we hurried home to get dinner ready. This was the BIG Christmas meal. We had roast, potatoes, corn, and for dessert two kinds of pie. I had more than I usually would, but it was great. As we were finishing up dessert, we got a call from my middle bro. He and his family were traveling from their home to Joplin and were just about to St. Louis. We had found out when we arrived on Thursday night that there was a possibility that we'd get to see them. The call meant we had to get on the road since they were ahead of schedule. We met them in Fenton and it was great to see all of their kids and let all the "cousins" get together. They had some gifts for us, too, and my girls had made them some cards. It was great catching up with them and seeing how big their kids are. The cousins love to play together and got to do quite a bit of that in the restaurant. We were a bit noisy, but not so bad we were trouble. We hung out for quite a while and then had to say our goodbyes as they needed to hit the road. We then went to a nearby nursing home to see my mom's aunt and then to Santa's Magical Kingdom. This was a park next door to 6 Flags that had more lights than I've ever seen set up in one place. It was great. We drove through and they had over 2 million lights in this place. I would have guessed even more. It's hard to describe, but there were lights everywhere.

We got back to my parents' about 7:15PM and I was a bit anxious at that time to give the girls the rest of their gifts. Lil bro read the Christmas story and at certain parts of it he stopped. The girls had name tags on some of the gifts that had pictures for certain parts of the story. When the reading stopped, they had to search the house for the gifts. This was a fun and interactive way to get them involved in the story. They had a lot of fun searching for some of their presents. After that they opened the ones I got them. Brittany enjoyed her CD and CD opener, but her favorites were the Chiefs shirt and her new CD/MP3 boom box. Paige enjoyed her lip gloss set, but her favorites were obviously her pink hat that matches her winter coat and her BellaDancerella Pop Star. This has a working headset microphone so she will have a blast using it. We then played some more games until it was time to call it a night.

Monday morning saw the biggest breakfast I've had in quite some time. Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes all hit my plate. Especially, the biscuits and gravy. I knew it might be my only meal all day with the way I was eating. We said our goodbyes and hit the road at 10AM. The girls were a bit teary as they had been the night before since we'd had such a great time and it's always hard to leave family knowing it will be a while before seeing them again. We made two fueling stops along the way and I had the girls home at 2:45PM. It was hard heading back home alone, but I have some great memories and we had a great time.

I got to spend 5 very full and fun days with my babies. It's great to know that I got them some gifts that they love. They had fun with my family. They had fun with my friends. It was a very Merry Christmas indeed!

For Your Listening Pleasure

Here are some CD's I must recommend.

Adriangale - Crunch
Jamie Rowe from Guardian sang for this band. They broke up after this CD, but what a way to go out. Great melodic rock with some interesting arrangements. It's from 2004, but carries itself like it could have been recorded in the late 80's or early 90's. Good guitar work and great rock vocals. It's probably been on the car stereo the most out of everything mentioned here.

INXS - Switch
The first CD with new vocalist JD Fortune who gets 3 songwriting credits here. It has that classic INXS sound throughout. I'm probably more of a fan now than I ever used to be. These guys are moving on and even taking their sound to some diverse areas.

The Darkness - One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back
I haven't heard a better nod to Queen and the diverse, yet classic sound of the 70's ever! These guys know their history and know how to make it sound original. There was a lot of thought put into the songwriting and arranging of this CD. It has some AC/DC crunch, the falsetto vocals, some orchestration, and an all out rock feel. You won't get bored listening to this CD and you will find more in it with repeated listens.

Soul Doctor - Fistful Of Dollars
This is a band I had never heard of before. I went through a stack of CD's I had, but hadn't listened to, and this is a pure gem. The vocals remind you of Axl in some spots and Brian Johnson in others. The guy can sing. The band can play. And they sure write some solid tunes. This brand of rock could fit along side Cry Of Love or any other great band from the 70's. There is some solid guitar on here that would take you back to the days of guitarists playing with feel. Soul it is!

I've had some other CD's on by bands I haven't heard of before. Sven Gali tries real hard to be progressive in the pop metal style, but doesn't really stand out. Cherry Bomb sounds like a garage punk band recording a demo. Cherry Bang sounds like an unexceptional Sunset Strip band from the 80's. Adrenaline Sky is a band I really tried to like because Dan Reed sang for them. They are a combination of Dan Reed Network, who I love, and 90's grunge, which I can barely stand. It's not a good mix since the instruments really don't stand out from each other in that grungy sound, but you can tell that Dan is trying to get the Dan Reed sound through. It just doesn't work very well.

I also listened to Ozzy's Under Cover. My question is simply "Why?". Most of the songs are not very well known and the ones that are just sound like his typical sound in doing them. There isn't anything that stands out and you can tell he is just getting worse as a singer. Ozzy has never been a great singer and the mumbling really is starting to show on some of these cuts. I hope he records one more CD that blows everything he's ever done away and then retires. I'd really like to see Ozzy go out on top as the madman he is, or was, than the sitcom star he's become. Ozzy, my advice is to get Zakk Wylde to help you write some killer tunes and then go enjoy an island somewhere in retirement. No more adult contemporary, stick to the hard edge tunes.

Purple Fingers

It just keeps getting better and better in Iraq. Those people have a taste of freedom and they love it! They are turning out in bigger numbers than we do for their elections. It's just incredible what has gone on there since we took Saddam out for them. There are women voting and being educated, which is new to the area. They are at 97% of their oil production, which will help their economy keep getting better. Iraqis are at a much faster pace than most countries at getting their country together under a new government. Most of their country is excited about and ready to enjoy freedom.

With all of the great things going on, it's amazing to hear many in our newspapers and on TV and even elected officials try to tear down all of the great things going on there. I've heard and read so many demoralizing things that could really affect the great Americans assisting in the Iraqi cause. I keep hearing and reading about how America is the bad guy for helping this country gain access to freedom. "Pull out" they say. "We shouldn't have been there to begin with" they say. "It's not our business" they say. They lie about the motives of going to Iraq saying it was all about 9/11 or getting their oil. They lie about what is happening on the ground and how much the Iraqi people want and need us to assist them. There are American lawyers helping defend Saddam in his trial. This is disgusting behavior by these people.

I challenge any and all of these negative people to do their research. Go find all of the great things happening there. Compare the rule under Saddam to the freedom the people are enjoying now. Find every single positive thing you can and dwell on it. I don't care if you like the leaders involved or if you agree with their politics, just find all of the great things going on in Iraq. It's the holiday season and you shouldn't be so negative anyway. Compare the truth with the negative fiction being reported and you will see what a wonderful thing we are doing and the real reason we are doing it. Freedom is the greatest gift anyone can be given. Check out all of those purple fingers!

Life and Death

Cowards or morons? I'm not sure which it is. It could be both. Are those words extreme? Well, let's discuss this. I guess it's been on my mind since Tookie is going to die.

First, are people afraid of death for logical reasons? Death is part of the cycle of life, so it's something that is expected. Many people have theories about death. Some say you are just done and return to dirt. Some believe you are reincarnated according to how you lived. Some believe in a Heaven/Hell afterlife. Some believe you will travel on a passing comet. So with all of these philosophies and ideas beyond what I have listed, why does anyone fear death? If you believe you just return to dust, then you really don't have anything to live for anyway and you should have no fear of death since living doesn't matter when you expire. If you believe in reincarnation, then you believe in living eternally and constantly coming back as some sort of life form, so what is there to fear about death? You could come back in another life and do it all again and maybe differently. If you believe in a reward/punishment afterlife, then you do have something to live for and probably a bit of fear of death depending on how you are living according to what you believe. If you are living as you believe, though, how can you fear death if you are getting a reward that is greater than what you are experiencing in this life? As for believing you will travel with some sort of comet, I guess the fear would be in crashing into something else, but then what happens to you? I'm stumped there. In other words, no matter your belief about death, why is there fear among so many people about dying? Are you afraid you're going to miss out on something or are you scared you aren't living up to what you believe in? Or are you simply a coward who is scared of the unknown?

Second, we have a death penalty debate that has been ongoing for years. The death penalty has been around since our first written laws according to any history book you read. (Read history books. They are very educational and can be found at any library. I used to work in one so I know this. :) ) Simply put, the death penalty is a punishment for an atrocious crime. It usually involves the murder of an innocent person. That makes the killer a guilty person. A civilized society has to make decisions like this when making laws. Some people claim that the death penalty isn't civilized, but they are missing the point. The point of a death penalty is punishment. When you do something that society has deemed bad, there is a punishment to it. The punishment has to somehow fit the crime committed. If you kill someone, expect to be put to death. Some try to claim this is a deterrent to others and in some ways it is, but that is still missing the point. Some people claim that we need to rehabilitate these types of criminals so that they can become productive in society. Realistically, this is a dangerous and expensive concept. Dangerous meaning that depending on the rehab process or the time involved, it can give someone another opportunity to commit the same crime. Expensive in the sense that there is a lot of cost in asking tax payers to pay for these types of criminals for the rest of their lives. (There are some who argue the cost of the death penalty, but that is another discussion. Yes, it should be done quicker and cheaper. Nobody will disagree with making things cheaper.) If a person is put to death, they obviously can't commit any more crimes against humanity.

So believing what you believe about death, why would anyone be afraid to make the judgment of death in the case of a murderer convicted by a jury of their peers? Would they be afraid that making this decision affects their belief system in the afterlife? Are they afraid of someone taking retribution on them for making this decision? Do they believe that all life is sacred, even that of a convicted murderer? Do they believe there is a more permanent punishment than death? Are they cruel and would rather a convicted murderer be in a cage for the rest of their life just to stew forever on the crime they committed? Are they cruel to the families of the victims so the family can worry if this criminal will ever get out or get their friends to take retribution on the families? What is this argument for not putting a convicted murderer to death as punishment for their crimes? What are they afraid of?

Or are the opponents just stupid? Do they not know how to logically go through this thought process to determine a non-conflicting opinion on this subject? For people who believe in God, are they unknowing or unwilling to accept that God introduced the death penalty? Are these people not very well read in the history of mankind? Are they just taking the side of criminals instead of the innocent to be argumentative? Do they really think they are better than those who do believe in the death penalty because they feel they are superior and more high minded? Do they realize that it's a lack of education that will drive them to oppose the death penalty?

If you are an opponent of the death penalty, then logically spell out the argument. Leave your emotions out of it and spell it out. Don't compare the cost of life in prison over that of the death penalty, because we already know that is a reform issue of the process, not part of the real debate. Logic rules here.

Now, for something of a different topic...I did up date the pictures and have the pics up of Petra!! I also have some of Brittany playing her sax! Great stuff!! Oh, and new concerts are coming... It's going to be quite the new year!

Happy Birthday To Me

Yes, I just turned 37. It's slightly depressing in the sense that I'm actually heading toward 40. Of course, they say that 40 is the new 30. I wish... At least I have my kids here for my birthday and that's cool. I got to hear Brittany play the alto sax for the first time last night. She is playing in a Christmas program today so she gave me a preview. She's only been playing for about 2 months in her 5th grade band and I'm impressed at how much she is learning. Any time the girls take an interest in music I get excited about it.

We were looking for my old recorder yesterday. The recorder was the first musical instrument I played in school. I'd already been learning piano at age 5 so I picked up the recorder quite easily. Brittany started on the recorder and Paige is playing it now. I couldn't find it, so I'm a little worried about what has happened to it or where I may have put it. I have a couple more places to look.

During our search, we looked through an old keepsakes box that my mom had put together for me. It has some of the literature and books she got while pregnant with me and has some things up through part of junior high. My first 3 yearbooks are in there, too. The girls got a kick out of seeing how I looked then. I was the cutest boy in my classes! HAHA!! Of course, they saw pictures of my first girlfriend and other girls I had childhood crushes on. They also saw my Lex Luthor, too. HAHA!! Oh, the days of youth...

The girls fixed me a chocolate fudge cake with vanilla frosting and decorated it with blue and purple flowers and the words Happy Birthday. They did this all by themselves! I fixed my favorite dinner. We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn. I make the greatest meatloaf. The trick is to keep it simple and not put unusual things in it. I've heard of people putting a layer of ham in it or vegetables and that's just insane. It's not supposed to be the fruitcake of meats. It's supposed to be tasty! Everyone that has tried it likes my meatloaf the best. My mom taught me great!

I got some good news about Christmas vacation the other day. I was planning on picking up the girls on the evening of the 22nd after work, but am now able to pick them up at 10am that day. That will allow us to use daylight for our travel to see my parents. We will get back the following Monday. I always get worried about the extra time due to past actions of the ex. She tends to try to control everything and makes it sound like it's a big deal to add extra time in seeing my girls. She usually turns out to be flexible about it, but tries to flex her supposed power if I ask to pick up the girls a day early or bring them back a day later than usual.

I've seen some good movies lately. We went to see Zathura yesterday and that is a very good family movie. My roommate rented Christmas With The Kranks and that was fun to watch, too. I stayed up late last night to watch The Devil's Rejects. Rob Zombie has been impressive in both of his movies and I like this one even better than the first. Derek also rented Herbie Fully Loaded (fun Disney movie and I love the old ones), Election (I convinced Derek to rent this classic since he'd never seen it before.), and National Lampoons Gold Diggers (horrible movie). I also watched Liar Liar again. I just love that movie.

I've also heard some great CD's lately. I bought The Darkness' One Way Ticket To Hell And Back the day it came out along with INXS' Switch. The Darkness has so many elements of Queen and they are certainly making a serious nod to their musical influences. There are still critics that believe that since the singer uses a lot of falsetto that this is some sort of joke band, but they are serious and rockin'! This is a great CD! INXS put together a very solid effort with their new singer, JD Fortune. He has 3 songwriting credits on the CD and each tune he assisted on is fantastic and very much INXS. The opening track The Devil's Party kicks things off followed by Pretty Vegas. One of the most beautiful melodies is in Afterglow. Hot Girls has a great melody line for JD to sing and kicks into some real sexy rock. The disc ends with God's Top Ten, which is another great song. There are several strong tunes on here and maybe only one or two that would be considered album tracks or filler. I've always liked INXS, but have never been a huge fan. This is a great solid first outing, I hope, with JD. I'm anxious to see if they really gel as a band on the next effor.

The most surprising CD I started listening to this week is one that was put out a year ago by the band Adriangale. Their singer is Jamie Rowe from Christian rockers Guardian. The disc is called Crunch and it does just that. There isn't a weak song on this CD and I'm surprised that it has taken me so long to get around to listening to this CD. It's a newer disc by a band that could have come straight our of the 80's or early 90's. They are unabashedly melodic rock and they are unafraid to play solos. I played this disc for a guy at work and he freaked out that there was a band putting out this strong of an effort in recent years that he hadn't heard of. He started asking if the band was touring and doing shows. I'm not certain of that, yet, but I sure hope they end up on some tour package that hits Des Moines!

Firehouse will be in Des Moines twice this month. They are joining LA Guns and Bad Company's Brian Howe for a New Year's Eve party this year. We are having a New Year's Eve party at the house so I'm not sure if I'll be able to make that show. I also have the girls next weekend so I definitely won't be hitting the Firehouse show at Keysters. This means I could end the year with only 19 concerts. New Year's Eve would be a good oppportunity to see Brian Howe, which I have never done before, and could round the year out at an even 20 concerts, though. I love LA Guns and Firehouse, so this is a tempting show. We'll see...

We lost a family friend last week. An elder in the church I mainly grew up in passed away after some recent health problems. I grew up with his kids and this man and his wife were a great example of a loving marriage. They have been in my prayers.

Derek has been kicking my backside at darts this last week. He won 5 out of 9 one night followed by 2 out of 3 the next. The last two games of those 9 were my wins by SHUTOUT!! I also hit 3 bullseyes for the 4th time. I only needed the first one, but threw the remaining two darts in my hand to accomplish this. The third night, he won the first 3 games quite easily. I went upstairs to watch The Donald fire 2 of his final 4 and then went back downstairs to beat Derek 3 in a row. At least I ended on a roll. Darts has been such great fun and it's great playing with someone on a similar skill level. We rock out to his Sirius radio account and do a lot of kidding around while playing darts so the actual playing is surprising to each of us as we really aren't that good.

Now if I can only get an exercise bike for Christmas and then start getting in shape to do some singing, this will end the year on a fun note and kick off the next year with some hope at another great year! My last time I see the girls in the year 2005 will be a wonderful Christmas at my parents' home, so there is no better way to close out this year and look forward to 2006!

Petra Discography

I've been on a bit of a Petra kick lately, since it's been hard to believe that they are retiring. I thought I'd put together a discography with a few notes attached.
The discography is as follows:

Petra (The original four: Bob Hartman, Greg Hough, John DeGroff, and Bill Glover.)
Come And Join Us (Greg X. Volz’s debut with Petra)
Washes Whiter Than (Greg became a full time member.)
Never Say Die (The first of a consistent band for a few album’s.)
More Power To Ya (My first exposure to Petra.)
Not Of This World (I caught them on this tour near St. Louis with September opening up. When I heard Bema Seat, I became a fan for life and bought the first 3 cassettes as quick as I could find them. I still have the pictures from this show.)
Beat The System (After hearing Bema Seat on the previous cassette, this was a HUGE disappointment. It is mostly all keyboards, no live drums, no live bass.)
Captured In Time And Space (This live disc put closure on the Greg Volz era.)
Back To The Street (The beginning of the John Schlitt era and a welcome return to a guitar rock sound.)
This Means War (Great continuation of Petra’s rock sound. I caught them opening night of this tour in Jefferson City, MO. They were still using the Back To The Street stage setup and merchandise arrived late. They had an after-party at a local arcade and I had the opportunity to meet the band for the first time.)
On Fire (THE BEST PETRA CD!! They finally realized the rock side I’d been waiting for since I heard the opening of Bema Seat. I still play these tunes and it just rocks!!)
Petra Praise – The Rock Cries Out (The first full disc foray into praise music. Not a bad effort, but a letdown for those of us hoping to hear the continuation of On Fire.)
Beyond Belief (Not as hard as On Fire, but a rock disc, nonetheless. Ronny Cates rocked live and was a great addition on bass. I saw this tour in Columbia, MO. I was unable to meet the band, but upset someone by asking why Petra ripped off Kiss for Seen And Not Heard. You can hear the obvious rip-off from Heaven’s On Fire by Kiss.)
Unseen Power (This one and Beyond Belief and Wake-Up Call are stylistically very similar.)
Wake-Up Call (This trilogy of discs rocks, but they took a step back from the harder leanings of On Fire.)
No Doubt (I was very disappointed in every song except Right Place. It’s actually a decent CD, but an even bigger step away from their roots rock sound. This was also the first disc without Bob Hartman as part of the touring band. I saw this version of the band live on the Salt Box Tour with WhiteHeart, Johnny Q. Public, and Grammatrain. They were tight live and I was able to meet John before the show and the rest of the band afterwards.)
Petra Praise II – We Need Jesus (A decent follow-up to the first praise disc, but fans like me see these as pandering discs instead of a progression of the band as artists with their own sound. Petra Means Rock.)
God Fixation (Another stab at “modernizing” the Petra sound. Another disc without Hartman touring and it still doesn’t truly rock.)
Double Take (A mostly acoustic spin on classic Petra songs. Not something worth buying unless you’re a hardcore fan. Nothing rocks here at all. There are some interesting spins on the songs, but there hasn’t been a truly rock disc by Petra since Wake-Up Call by this point and I’m sure fans were getting antsy. I know I was!)
Revival (This is the return of Bob Hartman to the Petra fold, so to speak. John, Louie Weaver, and Bob were required for InPop Records to sign the band and release this CD. It’s another praise disc that doesn’t add anything to Petra’s rock legacy. It’s good to see Bob back, though.)
Jekyll & Hyde (Finally, a true follow-up to On Fire! This disc clocks in at barely over 30 minutes, but it rocks from start to finish. When I heard this, I dropped what I was doing and cranked it louder!)
Farewell (This just came out and features Greg X. Volz and John Lawry on some of the older Petra songs. Great disc from the current lineup and it’s great to hear the former members. It’s just a shame they aren’t following up Jekyll And Hyde, but at least they are retiring with a bang!)

There are several Greatest Hits discs out, too, that have both of the main eras of Petra. There is little from the first two albums out anymore as the CD’s are now out of print. A few of the Greatest Hits CD's are The Early Years, Petrafied, and Petraphonics. Get what you can to support this great band!

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm working today, tomorrow, and Saturday this fine Thanksgiving season. I feel a bit weird about holidays anymore. I get my children every other Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, of course, it's Christmas. I would have loved to have this holiday with my family, but trading days off and using PTO time for the holidays has become a little tougher on us at work. It could be a blessing in disguise since I really don't need all of that fattening, but so wonderfully delicious food. (Ok, so I guess I miss that a bit.) I will be watching Dallas beat Denver today, though. (My first experience ever seeing or knowing what football was, Dallas beat Denver in the Super Bowl on TV.) As for Atlanta and Detroit, well, who really cares, right?

I guess it really doesn't feel like Thanksgiving to me today. Growing up everyone has their family get-togethers and it really feels like the holidays. When you don't have that anymore, it just feels like another day, only with less traffic and sometimes less work. As a single parent with the smaller side of the custody situation, it can also be a lonely time unless you keep yourself busy or just think of it like any Saturday or Sunday when the kids aren't around. I honestly don't feel that much anymore, which worries me a bit.

I am thankful for many things. I'm thankful that I finally have a car that runs and is under warranty for the major things. That is a huge load off! I'm thankful for the many rock bands and artists who have put on such great shows this year. I'm thankful for a great job. I'm thankful to friends for transportation, companionship, going to concerts with me and allowing me to tag along, and everything else friends do for each other. I'm thankful that I'm semi-healthy. I'm thankful to my church and softball team for some fun times. I'm thankful for my brothers and their families and the fun times we have had this year. I'm thankful for my great parents and their support and their visits and everything else they have done for me and my girls. Most of all, I'm thankful for my two wonderful daughters who have made my life so worthwhile. We have had such a great year this year doing so many wonderful things and spending such fun time together. God has truly provided this year and all of the things I'm thankful for are due to Him.

I do hope that all of my friends and family are having a wonderful holiday!

Petra - Farewell CD Is Out!

Petra's live CD "Farewell" came out yesterday. I went to Family Christian Bookstore and they had NO copies of it, NO promotion of it, and NONE on order. I was very disappointed and let them know it. I went to Best Buy and found out that the only stores in Iowa that are carrying Petra's CD are in Sioux City and Iowa City, but NONE of the 3 Des Moines stores have it in stock or on order. I then called Wellspring in West Des Moines and they told me they had 30 copies in stock. When I arrived I saw them as part of a display and they had plenty of copies on the shelf. Thankfully, I got it there!

I became part of Petra's street team and they sent me a few album size covers to use for advertisement and a bunch of $2 Off coupons. Since the CD is listed at $11.99, I was able to get it at $9.99. I gave a stack of coupons to Wellspring so they can use them in selling the Petra CD's and I gave a stack to my church to hand out to anyone interested.

You can purchase the new Petra CD here.
Petra - Farewell

I highly recommend the CD. It is basically the set list of the concert I saw recently, which covers a lot of their career. It's the current four band members with guest appearances by Greg X. Volz and John Lawry. Greg started singing for Petra on their second album and became the full time frontman from that album to their first live album, Captured In Time And Space. Early in Greg's career REO Speedwagon had approached him to be their singer before Kevin Cronan came back to the band. Greg felt his calling to do Christian rock and turned REO down. John Lawry joined Petra for the Beat The System album and has a very popular keyboard solo on the Captured live album. Lawry stayed with the band after Greg left for a few more albums and recorded a solo album called Media Alert along the way. John had previously played in the Joe English Band, which was also called Forerunner. (Beatles fans might recognize the name Joe English as the drummer who played for Paul McCartney and the Wings.) Farewell is a great CD and a fitting tribute to the greatest Christian rock band of all time, Petra.

Tidbits

This is twice I've been on-call this year. My first year, I was just on-call once, but ended up taking one from someone else this year for some overtime. Today is the last day of this one. It's been nice getting some overtime before the holidays and I will have overtime on the next two pay periods. I'm working Thanksgiving day and the day after this week. With all the extra expenditures this time of year, more money is a good thing.

I've been playing more darts this last week. I did the near impossible two more times when playing. I threw 3 bullseye shots in one turn. One of them wrapped up a win against Derek and the other was in practice, but witnessed by Derek. I also beat him 7 out of 9 times last night. I don't say that to brag because I'm not really that good, but I have gotten better and very lucky, too.

We found out Thursday night that the place that owns our rental house is trying to sell it and the others they own on this block to pay down the debt for their business. We had the investor come take a look at the house on Friday. I'm just hoping they aren't raising the rent any time soon.

I'm also about done with the cold or whatever it is I've had the last week. It started out with a stuffy head and the other night went to fairly dry sinuses and now a cough. I've been drinking plenty of water, but it's like there is something in the throat you can't get rid of. It should be gone in the next couple of days, I hope. It's just hitting everyone this time of year.

E-Ring had a surprising two parter before last week. I just got to watch it off my DVR. The main character's girlfriend died. That was a bit of a surprise to me because there was so much potential for some great storylines since he works at the Pentagon and she worked for the CIA. It was a great two parter, but still kind of surprising for season one of this show.

My Cowboys won today! Hopefully, the Chiefs will, too. I enjoyed the Indianapolis game against Cincinnati. Just after one half it was 35-27. That's usually a final score!

I have so much cleaning to do... Well, that's a few tidbits.

Football

Just past the halfway point in football season. My Chiefs pulled one out last week in the last 5 seconds, but can't beat the Buffalo Bills. Sad. Dallas plays Philadelphia tomorrow night. I heard Jimmy Johnson say that the Cowboys would be in the Super Bowl this year. That's a nice prediction to hear and I'd love to see it happen. I think the Eagles are going to lose tomorrow.

There are some other interesting things happening around the NFL. I'm glad to see T.O. out. I believe that it takes a team to win and this guy doesn't know anything about teamwork. I don't care how talented he is, keep him benched for the season and see what kind of paycheck he gets next year. I'm betting it won't be a big one. Ricky Williams quit his team last year and hasn't done squat this year. I've read that others think he's not even a shadow of his former self. It's like he showed up just to get paid and keep out of further lawsuits.

The Patriots aren't winning like they used to. I know they are a great team, but the injuries have taken their toll this year. I'm sure they won't be down for long. The Eagles aren't winning like they did last year, either. I've never liked the Eagles and I can't say I'm sad about it. Indianapolis is still undefeated! That's a team I'd hoped to see win, just because I'm a Peyton Manning fan. The guy has talent and it's great to see his team winning. I didn't expect to see them undefeated, though. Could it be that after over 30 years we could see a second undefeated season? Should I have said that in case saying it out loud jinxes it? I'd love to see it happen!

Football is a fun sport to watch. I don't get to watch a lot of games since I try to avoid it when the girls are here. I will put on Dallas and KC on occasion. Brittany really talks like a Chiefs fan, but she really isn't that interested in watching the games. I think it's because she was born in KC and knows that I'm a fan. She even told me about a project she had in school to find articles in newspapers and do something with them. She used an article about the Chiefs in that project. She also enjoys playing our version of touch football in the yard. I am so proud of her! :) She's my football princess! Paige likes to play, too. I hope to teach them what I know about the game just so they have the opportunity to decide for themselves if they like it. Girls tend not to like football for several reasons and since I'm not an over-enthusiatic fan, I hope they give it a chance. Go Cowboys and Chiefs!!

Petra Farewell

Last night I witnessed my favorite concert of the year. It wasn't the biggest show. As a matter of fact, they only had some white lights for the stage. It wasn't the biggest crowd. There may have been 200-300 people there at the most. It wasn't the most flashy. It was just them and their instruments on stage. It was simply the best. It was intimate. It brought back memories. It was performed flawlessly.

Petra is the first rock band I really got into. Being a preacher's kid, I did hear things on the radio, but it wasn't often enough to become familiar and there was nothing that I felt I'd have as my own in music. I'd heard about Christian rock by seeing a poster in the back of our church for Servant and their opening band, Fireworks. When I asked my dad about it, he said he didn't know much but that they were a Christian rock band and they were asked to put the poster up. I didn't attend that show, but now wish I had. I soon went to a new Christian bookstore that a family in our church had just opened. When looking at the records, I asked if there were other Christian rock bands besides Servant and Fireworks. I'd been able to purchase Servant's World Of Sand (great stuff!) and was anxious to hear more. They pointed out Petra and the cool album cover for More Power To Ya made me interested. I got it on cassette and was strutting around my neighborhood with a Realistic Mono tape player thinking it was the best music I'd ever heard. And it was! I loved Stand Up, Second Wind, Run For the Prize, and then three days later purchased Never Say Die. I cranked up Angel Of Light, Chameleon, and Killing My Old Man. This was finally music I could claim as my own since I was the only one I knew that had ever heard of Petra.

Soon after that, and I have no idea how, I ended up being able to go see Petra in a suburb of St. Louis. They were playing a college gymnasium with the opener September. I thought September was great music, but when Petra came out, I was blown away! They had these small chest plates at the top of their shirts that had red lights in the shape of a sword, the same as the letter T in their logo. All you saw was some fog and these red lights on stage. This was only a few dates into the Not Of This World tour and I had no idea that this album was even out. When they introduced Bema Seat as a new song and then that guitar riff kicked in, I was floored! They ripped my freakin' head off with that riff! I knew after that I was a fan for life and I had to get the rest of their stuff and keep track of this band.

I had picked up a newsletter from that show that listed all of their cassettes and a way to purchase them. I ordered the very first one since I could get the rest at the local Christian bookstore. I could not get enough of these guys and it was great to learn more about them by finding articles in the library and in Christian music magazines.

The next album totally disappointed me. I was waiting for more Bema Seat and then they went all synth on Beat The System. It was a great batch of songs, but I was hoping for some more "melt your face" guitar and this just wasn't it. I did listen to it a lot and my brother and I got their songbooks so we could do a few songs at church. I was still a fan and hoped for more rock on the next one.

The next one was a live tape that bid farewell to Greg X. Volz, the first identifiable singer for Petra. He was going solo so Petra started looking for another singer. They found former Head East singer John Schlitt. With John's arrival was a return to more of a rock sound. More guitar and less synth. It reminded me of .38 Special. It was a great rebirth with a new singer. Pregressively after that, the sound got more rock.

I was able to see Petra again opening night of the This Means War tour in Jefferson City, MO. They still had their Back To The Street stage setup and the merchandise arrived in time to sell it after the show. There was an opening band called Xara and they all went to an arcade after the show to sign autographs and meet the people who went to the show. I got a This Means War sampler/interview tape signed that night.

The tape that really made me perk up again with Petra was On Fire! This is still my favorite one. They finally got a harder edge to their sound that I was hoping for with Bema Seat. This one rocked from start to finish and was consistent throughout.

Petra kind of backed off of that edge and had a few solid rock albums after that and then started mellowing out a bit further with Praise music and a changing of the band. Bob Hartman had decided that even though he was the only original member left, he would turn the reigns over to John to run the band on the touring side. Bob would still write songs, but he wanted to spend time with his family. Petra went through a lot of members at this point, but I still bought everything that came out.

I saw Petra again on the Beyond Belief tour and the Salt Box tour. I was fortunate enough to meet John and the band on the Salt Box tour. I asked him about doing some of the old tunes and Bema Seat and he said to pay attention and see if they played something I'd enjoy, but Bema Seat was too high for him to sing. I was in the front row and he acknowledged me when they started that medley of the old hits.

Last night was similar, but better in many ways than those previous shows. I was the first one in and on the front row. They kicked in to All About Who You Know from Jekyll & Hyde, their newest CD that was a return to the hard rocking sound of On Fire, and set the tone for the night. They were here to rock our socks off and still get their message across while pleasing long time fans.

Set List

All About Who You Know
Dance (which we did!)
Amazing Grace (rocked out, of course)
Test Of Time
Creed
Judas Kiss (Would it have been fun to see them do this like One Bad Pig covered it?)
Right Place (the best song from No Doubt)

ROCK MEDLEY:
Sight Unseen
It Is Finished
Think Twice
I Am On The Rock
Midnight Oil
Mine Field
This Means War
It Is Finished (Reprise)

Jekyll & Hyde

BALLAD MEDLEY: (acoustic with cello)
Rose Colored Stained Glass Windows
Road To Zion
More Power To Ya
For Annie
No Doubt
The Coloring Song
Love

I Am A C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N (yes, the camp tune)

Drum Solo

Beyond Belief

Guitar Solo (Bob Hartman has been back for the last couple of CD's and I'm so grateful!)

Lord I Lift Your Name On High

Encore:

He Came, He Saw, He Conquered

Bob Hartman then gave a testimony about doing our part for Feed The Hungry and also for anyone there who may not be a Christian. It wasn't preachy, but just more about his experience. I'd heard the story before, but he has a fun way of telling it. They ended the night with the song Show Your Power.

It was great to see this band do more of a rock show than the current fad of turning rock concerts into praise and worship shows. Of course, that's what is ruining Christian music in my humble opinion, but I'll rant on that another time.

I was fortunate enough to meet John before this show as he was talking outside by his bus. He wsa gracious enough to sign my Jekyll & Hyde CD cover and I heard him tell how he had a CD recorded a couple of years ago that he still hasn't released, yet. He also has some other ideas, but he wants to wait until Petra is finished so as not to interfere. I also got to visit with each member briefly after the show. They had a meet & greet and signed lots of things and took pictures. I brought my entire Petra and John Schlitt CD/cassette/LP collection and stood near the end of the line. I'd met a guy there who convinced me to bring it all in. There were a few people asking me about the stuff. The guy that I had met there turned out to be from Des Moines as was the couple behind us. Turns out that we had all been to some of the same shows, such as the Bryan Adams/Def Lep show. Anyway, I got a picture with the guys and thanked John and Bob for all the memories. I also told Bob I was hoping that he'd put out some more stuff that would "melt my face", as he put it.

This is truly their farewell tour and I know they won't be like Kiss, The Who, or the Rolling Stones and keep touring every few years making people think it's their last. This is truly it. I'm sad to see them go, but grateful that they have a live CD and DVD coming out soon to commemorate this. I'm also glad that they put a great rock album out as their last studio CD.

Farewell, Petra, and thank you for so many memories!

Recent Headlines

Intelligent Design wins in Kansas. I wish schools would stick to facts and represent all theories as theories. Evolution can't be proven as it isn't going on around us and there is no physical proof. Creation, which I believe in, can't be proven as we can't physically prove there is a Creator. They are both theories. The only facts we have are the historical writings that exist from historians of ancient ages and the physical proof of previous civilizations and people. Those are the facts. Anything before that is simply theory. Accept it. Teach it. Then you can believe what you want. If you can't 100% prove your point, say it's theory and leave it at that.

Same Sex Marriage Constitutional Ban wins in Texas. I firmly believe in the sanctity of marriage and apparently so do the majority of voters in Texas. As much as I may like watching two women get it on, it's still not natural. Just like pieces in a puzzle, men and women fit. That sounds simplistic, but it's natural. There is male and female and it takes them to reproduce. Marriage should also be something separate than a partnership. If you want to enter a partnership with someone of the same sex, sign a contract and keep it. Of course, I expect the same of a marriage. Marriage, too, is a contract. Keep your word. Marriage, though, due to the usual procreativity (granted, not in all marriages), should remain sacred and there are certain benefits that should be given to those that are married. That's my opinion and apparently many of those in Texas, too.

The Ohio voters decided that they want to continue to vote the same way they usually do. Apparently, there were some groups like MoveOn.org that sponsored some changes to the way people vote in Ohio due to some unusual claims of bad vote counts in the last major election. There hasn't been any proof of these alleged irregularities; just a lot of noise from those that lost in the election. It's good to know that most of the voters are satisfied with their friends and neighbors who set up and count their votes and that they trust them more than these outside special interest groups. I'm all for the people having control over their own destiny instead of groups trying to persuade them otherwise.

You will hear spin on the two governors races. New Jersey had a Democrat governor and elected another one. That's not news and it's not a referendum on Bush as you will hear people spin it. They just went from one Democrat to another. The same goes in Virginia with their governors election. You will also hear Republicans spin the same types of things about Bloomberg's re-election as mayor in New York, but it's not a surprise to elect the same party that was there before.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had several initiatives on the ballot in California that failed. This is no surprise as California is called the "left coast" for a reason. You will hear spin about this being against him and Bush, when in actuality it's due to the strong union support and a traditionally liberal base there. It was expected. He wants to cap state spending and give the governor more power to make budget cuts. He wants to raise teacher tenure to 5 years from 2. He would like to set up an independant panel to do any redistricting instead of allowing lawmakers to do it. He also wants to require public employee unions to get members' permission before dues could be used for political purposes. Those are all fantastic ideas! Cap spending and cut budgets? Don't we all have to live under a budget? Why shouldn't our governments? Raising tenure? How many jobs do you know that you can work 2 years and be guaranteed your job? I'm surprised he didn't ask to get rid of it altogether. Tenure is stupid and jobs, any job, should be maintained by merit and results, not how long you've been there. This should be especially true in educating our children. Redistricting done by an independant panel? Well, really, who cares? Why should a winning party get to distribute district voting lines along some pattern that sets them up to win more elections? Shouldn't this be a strict population related thing? Union dues? I'm all for getting rid of unions at this point. It used to be that unions assisted workers in getting better working conditions. Now they have long outlived their usefullness. Why are union jobs paying more than the marketplace allows? Isn't that what is driving businesses like our airlines and auto makers out of business? No wonder businesses want to go to other countries. The owners have allowed their businesses to be run by the employees and it's gotten out of hand. The same thing is going on in sports. We see these spoiled people still asking for more instead of allowing the market to determine what is fair.

Just my opinions and it happens to turn out that I'm right! :)

2005 In Concerts

By my count, I've been to 18 concerts this year. I've also missed a few that I'd have loved to see. Kip Winger and Firehouse both came to Keyster's in Des Moines this year and Naked Beggars were in Davenport. I had floor tickets to Green Day and gave them away since it was a weekend my girls were here. Def Leppard played shows in Omaha and KC and it would have been great to make those. Paul McCartney was in town and that would have been good just to say I'd seen a Beatle. Stryper could have been a go if I'd have made a trip to Mizzou. There have been others that I'm overlooking, too.

I've seen some great shows this year with Bon Jovi being the best. Def Leppard and Bryan Adams being tied with the Rock Never Stops tour (the last stop) for second. I've seen the best solo performers in Billy Idol, George Thorogood, and Ted Nugent. I've seen the worst show in my life with Jani Lane going through a very rough period. I've seen a band that I really enjoy barely pull an audience when Vixen was here. It's been quite the mixed bag, but I'm glad I saw every show and most all of the artists really gave it their all.

I've been fortunate to have met a lot of the bands, too. My favorite will always be my hero, Bret Michaels. He and Evick were very gracious and fun to meet. Kevin Dubrow and Frankie Banali were very kind and it was great to get Kevin talking about the upcoming CD. Meeting 4 of the Def Lep guys was awesome and Vivian was fun to talk music with. The guys from Firehouse were hilarious. Each person was a treat to meet even if all I got to say was how much I appreciated listening to their music and seeing their show.

I bought a lot of keychains, CD's, a bandana, and a couple of T-shirts. I had to keep it cheap, but it's fun to have a souvenir of some sort. I got a lot of pictures, autographs, set lists, and a few guitar pics.

I've met some great people from online sites and people I've just bumped into in line or at the show. I've seen some of them at multiple shows, too. It's good to know that there are still some very cool people going to these shows and helping some of these bands sell enough tickets to keep coming back.

I have one more show on my list so far. I'm going to go see Petra on Thursday. I've pretty much got it all planned out to go by myself to Waterloo. I've never been there, but I'm leaving plenty early. It's by far the cheapest show I'll have been to this year and also the only Christian rock show so far this year. I'm more anxious to see this show than any other concert I've been to all year because they are the first rock band I really connected to. It's also Petra's last tour so it's going to be a bittersweet evening as well.

There hasn't been another year like this year when it comes to concerts and I'm already looking forward to next!

Laughing So Much

I laugh a lot lately. I've been having so much fun watching political debate take place. It's wonderful seeing the education of the public in how some of the latest news items are handled. I have so much confidence in the American people that I'm loving what is going on.

Today we have the Venezualan president and a bunch of people protesting our own president and we have media that loves this and shows it off to Americans. You know, whether you like Bush or not, that's still a major disrespect to our own country. We are truly the greatest nation in the world so when I see this stuff, I just laugh knowing we have it better than them and they want the freedom we have. Protest this country all you want, but we still have more freedom. It's one thing to protest policies when you live here, but quite laughable when you want what we have and then protest us anyway.

The other funny thing is this whole Scooter Libby thing. A cover-up of a non-crime. How funny is that? They have known since January of last year that no crime was committed. There aren't even any charges for this so-called leak after 22 months of investigation. The only charges have to do with the hours upon hours spent before a grand jury with no crime to report. It was hilarious last week hearing all week long how this special prosecutor was going to come out with so many ties to Iraq and about everything else and this is all he had in his pea shooter. I just about busted my gut laughing so hard!

The stuff about the Supreme Court has been going on for a while. It was nice to see the conservatives vet Miers for Bush, in a way. We do expect more, but she wasn't a bad choice, either. I can't wait to laugh again when Alito gets in. It will be so cool having the balance tipped back to the intent of being on the Supreme Court. There are actually a couple of morons on there now who believe we should look to other country's laws in order to determine our cases when the fact is that all law is to be made by the legislative branch and the Supreme Court is to interpret that, not to make law of their own.

It's also funny to hear people gripe about keeping more of their money. This whole concept of the rich being the only ones with tax breaks when they are clearly across the board is insane. Class envy is plain stupid. We all want to be rich and take care of our families and give to charity and pay our bills and have the best health care. That's normal. Why should we penalize people that are able to do that when we want to be able to do it, too? Just because you were born, do you think you are automatically owed these things or do you think you should just have equal opportunity to earn these things. There are so many people who play the lottery and keep their other hand out just waiting for something to drop in their lap. Work for it. That's all it takes. You may not get as rich as the next guy, but you will be successful and be able to take care of you and yours. Quit the griping just because you don't have what a guy like Bill Gates or Donald Trump has. It's just jealousy and a feeling of entitlement. You aren't owed squat in this life! If you don't want your tax cut, send it to me!

The last thing I laugh about is all the doomsayers. Oh, the environment is so bad we won't make it to 2020. Oh, gas prices are going to be $5 a gallon by Spring. Oh, woe is me. I've heard that crap since I was a kid and it hasn't happened. Our economy is actually doing well and we have recovered ok from anything that has been thrown our way. Our world has recovered from everything that we've thrown in the air, too. It's so cocky and arrogant to think we really have that big of an impact on things we have only studied for just over 100 years and have gotten wrong along the way. Wasn't it global cooling that was going to end our world in the 60's? Geez, get your head out of your backside and just enjoy what you have and quit trying to predict the future. Of course, if you did, I wouldn't be getting as many laughs at your expense!

Laughter is the best medicine!

Bon Jovi in Des Moines, IA

It's obvious the midwest still loves Bon Jovi. The Have A Nice Day Tour opened up in Des Moines last night and set a building record for the Wells Fargo Arena. This was the second sold out concert at this new facility with Paul McCartney being the first.

The band hit the stage at 8:30pm and opened to Last Man Standing from their new CD. This happens to be one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs and the lyrics set the tone for the night. "No this boy don't lip sync." The set consisted of old favorites and a few surprises.

Last Man Standing
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
The Story Of My Life (I'm kind of surprised they did this considering that you can sing One Last Cigarett over the chorus.)
The Radio Saved My Life Tonight (from the box set)
Have A Nice Day
One Last Cigarette (my kids would have loved to have heard this live)
It's My Life
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night (a nice solo acoustic performance)
Love 4 Sale (Richie, Jon, and Bob? They had an extra guitarist and an extra keyboard player on the stage all night.)
Bed Of Roses
Blaze Of Glory (the guitars were all acoustic)
Lay Your Hands On Me (the version from This Left Feels Right)
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Bad Medicine
Raise Your Hands
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Livin' On A Prayer

This main set consisted of 5 new tunes to really promote the great new CD. They didn't touch anything from Boin Jovi, 7800 Fahrenheit, These Days, or Bounce. The encore was to be two songs, but they added a third at the last minute as Jon stopped the group on their way off the stage. They had to get their additional guitar player who had already made it part of the way back stage.

Bells Of Freedom
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Hey Hey Hey Hey (not really sure what the title is, but it sounded like an old 50's tune)

The set kept most everyone on their feet from start to finish and the noise was almost deafening in between the main set and the encore set. Any time someone came out toward the stage the volume level of the crowd went up a notch and even more when they knew it was the band coming back on stage. There were lighters, cell phones, and about anything that glowed in the dark up in the air. There were people in the crowd singing along with every song and the crowd carried the first part of Wanted Dead Or Alive.

The light show was just awesome. There was one main screen behind the band and four smaller ones above it. Those 4 screens moved up and down in some of the songs. There were 5 light fixtures that started at the bottom of the back of the stage, went straight up into the air and then extended out over the stage, with the center one being the longest. During Have A Nice Day these 5 fixtures had various pictures and video of the smiley face making different faces. Covering the entire back stage wall was a series of lights that looked like Christmas lights, but they would change colors and had what looked like some graphics going across them. It was enormous.

The band pretty much stayed in their area except in a few songs where Richie would join Jon at the center and the other guitarist came forward to the center mic with Jon and Richie during Love 4 Sale. The extra keyboard player was set in a riser where you could barely see he was there behind Richie's side of the stage. The extra guitar player mostly played next to Hugh, but was in the dark and barely shown on the large backdrop screen. All of this disappointed me a bit as I thought there might be more band interaction, especially coming from Richie. Jon did work the stage well and used the ramps on each side to work the crowd. He also worked the pits on each side of the stage that had radio winners who got to watch from that location through most of the show. Jon even brought several of these people on stage during part of the show. It just seemed like Jon and a backing band, though, and when I saw them on the Keep The Faith tour there seemed to be more of a band feel.

Overall, this was a great show. Was it worth a hundred bucks? Well, it was sold out and I did have a great time and the seat wasn't that bad, so I'd have to say yes. They are one band that can command it and put on a show where you feel like you got your money's worth as a fan and even a die hard fan. I'd recommend this show to everyone and the CD, too!

5 In A Row

The dart board Derek bought was a great investment. We visit more, listen to music more, and even laugh more since there is something to do as roommates. Usually what happened before was that we would all come home and head to our respective TV's and computers so this is a cool time to develop friendships when playing darts. Yea, it sounds sappy, but so what.

Anyway, after losing two out of three Cricket games against Derek on Sunday and Monday, I won 5 in a row last night. The first 4 games weren't real close, but the last one he started out opening the 20's, 18', and 17's. He had me playing catch up the whole time while scoring 204 just on the 17's. I think all I had opened that game were the 16's and Bullseye. I was about 60 points behind and finally got his stuff closed out. Then I did the impossible. For me, at least. I hit 3 bullseyes in one turn. The first two hit the outer green part of the bullseye and the third dropped in their cradle and hit the red center. One hundred points in one turn and the next turn I closed out his 18's to finish the game and get my 5th win.

I could not believe that turn. I'd hit two bullseyes in one turn before, but never even close to 3. That was an awesome feeling and neither of us had ever seen it before. We were both so amazed that I actually came back and won the game with that turn that we were laughing like crazy people. It sure felt good to say I actually did something like that in my lifetime. It reminds me of the time I was playing 8 ball with a friend at a restaurant and when I broke, I sank the 8 ball. I didn't even know what that meant and I can't really play pool very well. The friend was quite the pool shark and thought I was playing him. I could not believe what I had done.

These things take hand-eye coordination and it's fun when it comes together for just one moment.

Communication Breakdown

What a great Led Zeppelin song! Of course, that's not what I'm writing about. I've noticed a disturbing trend in the way people communicate. I'm not sure if it's the advent of the internet or just skewed views on how to communicate in general.

The first thing I've noticed, and I'm sure I've done myself on occasion, is a trend to take something a friend tells you and play Devil's Advocate with them. As an example, I told two friends the same story today. The story was about someone they didn't know and a situation I had with that person. The first friend automatically started asking questions to try to see if there was something I wasn't telling him and was looking at taking the other person's side in the situation. The second friend listened and when I was done related a similar situation he had been involved in. The second friend did the right thing. With friends, understand that the friend is telling you everything you need to know and there is no reason to argue it or choose the side of a stranger. Even if you don't know all of the details, you should still listen politely and give your friend the benefit of the doubt. That's part of friendship and it's a proper way to communicate. Besides, why would you ever side with a stranger over a friend? Being a friend means you have a relationship strong enough to know and understand each other to some extent. That is why they are your friend. You don't make friends by making every conversation some sort of debate.

The second thing I've noticed is how some people do what I call "reading between the lines". I'm not the sort to hint at things so it really disappoints me that people who know me would assume that I'm implying something I'm not or twisting my words around. My ex-wife does this sort of thing. I'm a very literal, blatant person. I stick to the topic at hand and I don't veer off subject. People that steer conversations to alternate subjects have a serious problem communicating. The idea of conversation is to converse about a subject and stay on it until it's time to move to a different subject and it is mutually agreed on. Steering conversations is a tactic for people who either don't understand the subject at hand or just enjoy conflict.

The third thing I've noticed probably is closer to being spurred on by the growth of the internet. Relationships take cultivating. The internet has provided opportunities to turn on people with little to no provocation. The friends you think you are making may not be friends at all. You may find that one little disagreement ends all contact with someone you thought was your friend. Instead of taking time to work through disagreements, you may also have a very public forum to air things that would normally be done in private and it turns into something hateful instead of an opportunity to strengthen a friendship.

It's amazing to see how this has started with young people and started to work its way up in age. I know there are more ways to communicate than ever and it's made us all more impersonal in some ways. You will always see things in a direct form here. I don't hint at anything but fun surprises and I don't take potshots at anyone here, unless it's my ex or Democrats, of course. Words mean things. Relationships mean things. Take the time to choose your words carefully and to cultivate relationships with those you meet. Those you touch will be your legacy.

Halloween Costume Party

Now that my 10 part concert review series is out of the way, I can post an update on other recent activities. It was a nice quiet weekend to get that done, but it was so time consuming!

Saturday night we had a costume party at the house. It was a lower turnout than the usual 125+ people we have out and we expected that. We required that everyone come in costume or pay double to get in. While the guys were getting last minute things done at the local stores, we had 4 people arrive early. One dressed in drag. One was a Drama Queen. One just looked like a punker girl. The best one was dressed as Derek in his Geek Squad outfit. It was weird answering the door and seeing a guy that looked like my roommate. (Insert joke here about the guy in drag.) They were quite early, though, as the party really doesn't start rolling until about 10:30pm or so.

We had about 1/4 of the people show up in costume. The rest were glad to pay extra since we always throw a great party. We even had a professional model show up in Daisy Dukes! Go check her out at www.jenny-marie.com and tell her I said to say hello! For you Sludgers, I went as Stevie Rachelle. Basically, I have long blond hair and wore a hat and my Sludge T-shirt. Simple enough, eh? Derek and Pete had simple costumes, too, with Derek being the more elaborate as he actually purchased a costume.

We did the usual Perkins thing after the party. We ran into a few people from the party doing their recovering there.

Sunday Derek and I went to see Doom. I'm not a real big fan of video game movies because the end of most of them sets it up as they just finished level one and are ready for level 2. That's not very original, but I guess it serves the game and sequels. Doom didn't resort to this. It was described by a guy at work as a good suspenseful movie that was like seeing Aliens for the first time. I would have to agree, but I'm not sure it lives up to that high of a billing. The Rock was good at assuming his action hero mantle and the effects were great. You really felt like they took a lot of time and detail on the set and action sequences.

It was a good weekend to catch up on some TV I'd taped, too. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but I watched some baseball, football, and my Sunday morning news shows. It rained here this weekend and was a real gloomy weather weekend. I like those when I have a free weekend to do as little as possible. It makes me want to stay inside and hide under blankets.

If you get some free time, you might enjoy the concert reviews I spent the last few days typing up and posting here. I just wanted to get them on the site. I also have updated the Concerts Attended lists along the right side. I tried to separate each show and provide a little more detail. Let me know what you think!

Waterstock 2004

My final entry, part 10, in my review series. I finally got caught up! The next post will be about the weekend Halloween costume party. Fun stuff!

"Joey, I told you I'd post a review on Metal Sludge. You asked how it was and I told you it kicked ass. Thought you and the rest of the band might want to see what I posted. The first part is the post I put on before the show and then my lengthy review. At the end is a link to a few pics I took and you are welcome to use them for anything you like. Once again, welcome back and thanks for still going at it! Warrant kicked my ass!

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm heading out to see 5 great bands today. LA Guns will start the show at 1:30pm kicking off the day. Firehouse, Great White, Warrant, and Jackyl will make the day complete! J-Dub and I will be getting some pictures and I will post a review of the show on here.

Just for the record, I have seen LA Guns on the Poison tour, so this line-up will be completely different except for Riley. I saw Firehouse's original lineup on the Rock Never Stops tour in Des Moines a few years ago, so I will see the new bass player for the first time. I've seen Warrant by themselves in Des Moines with Billy and Fasano. I've seen them at Rock Never Stops with Rick Stier and Vikki Foxx. I saw them again last year with Whitesnake. This will be the first time I have seen Steven and Joey and I'm anxious to hear Jaime singing for them. I saw Great White on the Poison tour so this will be a revamped lineup, too. I saw Jackyl with all original members at the 98.9 The Rock Rockfest in KC, so this will be my first time seeing them as a four piece.

It should be a great show and you should hear all about it from me if you don't get a chance to attend!

Here is the review. As anyone who has seen my posts knows, I can be very detailed so...

First the set lists...

LA Guns

No Mercy
Sex Action
Never Enough
I Wanna Be Your Man
Marseilles (Angel City)
Nothing Better To Do
Long Time Dead
Crystal Eyes
Riley's Drum Solo (pieces of Led Zep)
One More Reason
Electric Gypsy

Encore:
Ballad Of Jayne
Rip And Tear

Firehouse

Rock On The Radio
All She Wrote
Crash
Holding On
When I Look Into Your Eyes
Shake & Tumble
?Drivin' Down? (Not Lover's Lane or Bringing Me Down)
Overnight Sensation
Highway To Hell (AC/DC cover)
Love Of A Lifetime
Reach For The Sky

Encore:
Don't Treat Me Bad

Warrant

Sure Feels Good To Me
Down Boys
32 Pennies
Bed Of Roses
Love In Stereo
Sometimes She Cries
Mr. Rainmaker
All My Bridges Are Burning
Quicksand
Blind Faith
Ridin' High
Thin Disguise
Song And Dance Man
Hold On To 18 (Black N Blue tune)
Heaven
Uncle Tom's Cabin

Encore:
Good Times (unreleased new song)
Cherry Pie

Great White

Lady Red Light
Shot In The Dark
Face The Day
On Your Knees (introductions)
Save Your Love
Paradise (Jack Russel solo tune)
Can't Shake It
Rollin' Stoned
Rock Me
Once Bitten Twice Shy

Jackyl

Just Like A Devil
I Stand Alone
Mr. Evil
Kill The Sunshine
Push Comes To Shove
When Will It Rain (It started sprinkling during this one!)
Down On Me
Dirty Little Mind
She Loves My Cock

Encore:
The Lumberjack

I couldn't tell you how many people were there, but it was huge. There were actually idiots who thought they could put lawn chairs up front, but they soon disappeared. The day was nice and cool and we got a few sprinkles in the evening. It even started sprinkling a second time during Jackyl's When Will It Rain.

The reception to all of these bands was excellent. I heard various comments from people who were there to see Warrant and didn't know Jani wasn't in the band to people who weren't that anxious to see Great White, but loved their show. There was a nice turnout for everyone. The crowd just got louder as the day went on. There were the typical beach balls and women baring their breasts. There was the porn star LA LaMann (I've been wondering why a woman would go by the name LaMann in the porn industry...). There were the giveaways (Harley and boat) and a tattooing and piercing tent.

The only real bad thing was the amount of fat and old chicks. There were even fat chicks baring their breasts. Disgusting! There were a few hotties baring their tops for beads and that was cool. I think I got a few pictures of that...

As for the bands, LA Guns had a real swagger to them. Phil was a tad tanked, it seemed, but in great form. Very funny and jovial about the monitor problems. Nothing Better To Do was sung by guitarist Stacey Blades. This guy was a great replacement for Traci! I told him that I will title his picture, when I get it posted, as Traci's permanent replacement. Les Paul through a Marshall stack...ya just can't beat it! Adam was really into the show and was giving his rock star snarl to a few people in front. Steve did a great job and used some Zep in his solo. That dude sure is looking old, but plays with more energy than some of the newer drummers I've seen. I think Phil was kind of surprised by the reaction to his band. The crowd really did support them and it was 1:30pm! Great set.

Firehouse got the crowd going, too, but I did notice more people milling about during their set. I had to grab a bite to eat, but made sure I wasn't too far away to see and hear what they were doing. They passed the vocals around, too. Their bass player sang Highway To Hell. I think a lot of people were surprised to hear Firehouse cover AC/DC, but they went nuts. Firehouse is a VERY tight band and made it clear that they have made a career out of music. These guys seem the most professional of all the bands. They have a great sound and great songs. I have everything these guys have put out, but you will notice in the set list that I can't figure out one tune. Gotta go back and listen...

Warrant freakin' rocked! Jaime is an excellent singer and replacement for Jani! I can't say enough good things about this lineup. Jaime's stage banter was corny as hell, but he didn't hide it and was really quite funny doing it. Doing his song Hold On To 18 was well deserved and the crowd went nuts hearing it. Joey freakin' kicked everyone's ass with his guitar playing. He hasn't lost a thing but his looks. There were some faces he made while playing that reminded me of my dad and grandfather. Of course, he isn't ashamed of being who he is and his attitudinal playing really took the forefront. Eric and Jerry were solid as always and the interaction between them and the 3 "new" guys was like family. Steven was great vocally and with the time keeping. I told him and Joey two things...WELCOME BACK and IT'S ABOUT TIME! Joey and Steven seemed to relish being back on stage as Warrant and the crowd picked up on it. They did tunes from the first 3 CD's as well as losing their virginity to us with a new tune called Good Times. I can't wait to hear the rest of the new tunes! "When there's good times we rock. When there's bad times we roll." Waterstock was good times!

Great White sounded great. I do have one thing I was disappointed about. Too many jams. These guys have so many great songs from their career, but they had to extend a few like On Your Knees and Can't Shake It instead of adding more songs. It was kinda weird seeing Jack and Mark up there with 3 young guys who looked like they didn't belong on the same stage with the older guys. They sure played like they belonged, though, and brought a lot of energy to the stage. They were rocking out to tunes that were probably written before they knew what rock n roll was. It almost made me shed a tear seeing the hope that their generation could provide to my generation's music. In spite of the long jams, Great White did rock and had the crowd into them. As I said earlier, the crowed just got louder with each band. It was cool to hear a song off of Jack's solo CD. I probably would have picked a different song, but this one did fit the band. Jack was having fun and still had the moves to go with THE voice. Solid show.

Jackyl really deserved to headline this party. They came out tearing up the place! Jesse had to stand in front of the mic while he played guitar and seemed like the eye of a freakin' hurricane! Jeff was flinging sweat with every snap of his neck and Roman was just trying to keep up with him! Those guys were everywhere! Chris was playing in his bikini underwear and knocking things over (well, just one cymbal). Jesse had just made the comment that they beat back the rain (which started during Great White) and then kicked into When Will It Rain. Yes, it actually started raining again part way through this tune. Jesse brought out the chainsaw in typical fashion to finish off the show and a wooden stool. I know people started clearing out a bit due to the rain, but the many that stuck around for Jackyl were not disappointed at all. These guys put everyone else to shame with the shear energy of their show.

I hope to have the pics up in the next couple of days. I got autographs from everyone except for Great White. I should have stuck around to get those, but I had a friend take the item I had for them to sign out to his car by mistake. I even had Jaime St. James sign an old Black N Blue cassette cover for In Heat. He was shocked to see it. I think I was most impressed with LA Guns, Warrant, and Jackyl. All for different things, but they all kicked major ass. Firehouse and Great White were awesome, too, don't get me wrong, but the others just ruled. These bands need to play here more often. The show was such a success that they are planning another one next year. The promoters have been doing shows in Omaha and this was a test run to try the same thing here. J-Dub and I went to the Omaha show last year, which was Poison, Vince Neil, and Skid Row. Omaha definitely has the better women. Des Moines just didn't show off their best at Waterstock. Two things wrong with this crowd were the lack of beautiful women flashing and the idiots trying to put lawn chairs up front. The crowd was into the shows, but they just had no idea what an outdoor concert is really like. Hopefully, this show educated Iowa on what to expect in the future. This state is so far behind everyone but Arkansas (sorry Cracker), so hopefully these shows will help them catch up.

Hope I didn't miss anything! I mentioned Sludge to everyone I talked to, but didn't get to wear my shirt due to my daughter wearing it and it's still in the dirty laundry. Pictures will be sent soon!"

Poison in Omaha 8/23/03

Part 9 in my review series... Paige's first concert and Brittany's second. Brittany was on the front row for Poison. I didn't expect to take them that day, but they had a blast and it was great to spend the time with them. They even got in for free!

"What an awesome show! It started at 3pm with these bands. I missed the opener, some local band named Xtend, but I do have a CD here of them that I haven't popped in, yet. I could hear, but missed the first two Skid Row tunes as the place was packed. Z92 from Omaha was having this birthday bash and had a huge turnout. They did have tickets discounted to two admissions per ticket. I even got my two kids in free.

We got down toward the front of the stage during Skid Row. They sounded great, just like when I saw them in KC a couple months ago. They did New Generation and Thick Is The Skin from their new CD and Johnny's rap was similar about how there are no samples, "just guitar, bass, and f$cking drums". Rachel sang Psychotherapy, too. The crowd was into them from the start and the breasts were bountiful. Skid Row was tight and having a blast on stage.

Vince Neil had the plug pulled on him during two songs in his set. The opener Live Wire was going right along and then the power went out on him. It sucked but Vince handled it surprisingly well. It also went out one more time a couple more tunes into the set. He threw out You're Invited But Your Friend Can't Come in order to add Girl Don't Go Away Mad. I kinda wish he had kept the solo tune. In fact, I wish he would do more of his solo music. I don't think 3 solo tunes would be too much. He closed with Teaser and Kickstart My Heart. I'm one of those that actually likes seeing him do Teaser. Again, Vince got as much out of the show as we did. The crowd was fighting for him and even chanting BS while the power was being figured out. Vince still got to play a full set, so that was cool. Vince's voice wasn't as good as it was in KC, but he still had the same energy and worked the crowd really well. He made sure to thank the sound guy at the end of the show, which made me wonder if that was the guy causing the problems or fixing them.

Poison came out to a huge roar. The crowd certainly came to see them. CC didn't do any songs during his solo, but did play licks from various other guitarists as well as messing one up. I kinda wondered if he wasn't just a little toasted or in a bad mood. He turned to his side of the stage and got a face full of smoke at one point and seemed a bit ticked. He also seemed to be forcing things a tad bit. He even fell off the stage on Bobby's side during one song that they had to restart. Bobby did look like he was having a blast and so did Bret. Rikki must have been having fun because he seemed to stand up more than usual while playing. It might have been to see the women on shoulders during their entire set.

It was an unusual time for them all to play so I think they were all a bit excited about the party they were having afterward. They had a huge area fenced off backstage and it seemed like tons of people made it back there. J-Dub, my daughters, and I walked around to the back side of that area and got to meet 4 of the guys from Skid Row. We had a fence between us, but Scotti Hill came around and said hello to us. He even made an impression on my daughters with his kindness and humor. My youngest daughter, she's 5 and this is her first concert, thought he was very funny because he took off his hat and shook his hair in front of her. J-Dub got pics with everyone but Rachel and I got everyone to autograph their new CD, except for Rachel. I guess Rachel was on the bus watching a race. I was able to buy the new CD after the show from one of their crew. He was so kind when I inquired about where to get a CD. I work at Best Buy in Des Moines and our inventory count shows 0 for Thickskin CD's in the entire Iowa Best Buy district. They sold it to me for $15 after the show and they were kind enough to autograph it. Johnny, Snake, Scotti, and Phil were all very kind. Skid Row, if for some reason you are reading this, the new CD rocks! I can't get the groove for Thick Is The Skin out of my head. I did download most of the tunes, but I'm a collector and had to have the CD. I'm making sure a couple of the tunes get played over our sound system where I work. I hope that's ok! I just want everyone else to hear this stuff! GO BUY THE CD!

Just an extra note, as I know this has gone on long enough, but we also saw some idiot get Vince riled up afterwards. Vince and his band were milling about in the same area as Skid Row. Vince was taking pictures and visiting with a few people next to his bus and some guy just had to say something that was probably very stupid. Vince lunged forward and started cussing the guy. Some really tall guy stepped in between and finally got Vince ushered onto his bus. I don't know what was said, but after a show be nice to the guys who just put on a show for you. Don't say things that will provoke them. I was thankful to meet the guys I did and let them know it.

J-Dub and I may go again this Saturday to the show in Cedar Rapids. This is one tour worth seeing, so get out there and support all of these bands!"

Metal Sludge Tour 6/03

Part 8 in my review series...

"WOW! What can I say? This MSX Tour rocks! Metal Sludge Tour Extravaganza it is! I'm from Des Moines and J-Dub and I made the travel last Thursday night to Clear Lake, IA. I've never been before and hadn't really known that it was the last place Buddy Holly played. J-Dub and I work at Best Buy in Des Moines (he's a manager and I'm a lowly computer tech) and we try to hit a few shows in Iowa, such as Def Leppard in Council Bluffs, Journey/Styx/REO in Ames, and maybe Alice Cooper at Clear Lake. He's the one that introduced me to Sludge and also gave me a T-shirt. As a matter of fact, we were the only ones wearing Metal Sludge T's at the Clear Lake show.

On the way up to Clear Lake, we passed an SUV with two chunky girls who had their video camera out. I'm not sure what for, but we were passed a few times and filmed. Maybe it's because J-Dub was drinking and I was driving. Maybe they wanted a beer, too. I don't know. We thought they might be headed to Clear Lake, too, but we didn't see them. We lost them when J-Dub started having to take pee breaks. No, he wasn't drunk. This is just a natural thing when having an alcoholic beverage of choice. Besides, who would show up to a show like this wasted only to not be able to take in every single thing that was going on? Oh, there was one guy...

When we got to the Surf Ballroom there was a small line outside. We read on their site that the doors were to open at 7pm, but it was after 7:30pm that the doors finally opened. It didn't matter much since there was no hint of a crowd. I was really disappointed at the turn out. These bands deserve a lot better crowd. We finally got in and checked out the merch table. It was really weird seeing Pretty Boy Floyd had so many more T-shirts available than either Faster Pussycat or Enuff Z'Nuff. There were tons of signed drum heads, several CD's that were NOT band CD's, signed drum sticks, and more. There was a DVD that had the Newlydeads on it, a CD that Chip produced, two CD's from Monaco. There wasn't a single Faster Pussycat CD. No Pretty Boy Floyd CD's, except for the 3 song promo disc they readed for their European trip, and one Enuff Z'Nuff CD. (Well, I did see one CD, Animals With Human Intelligence, that they put on the table when I pointed it out.) I bought the Pretty Boy Floyd disc, over-priced at $10 (hey, I'm a fan and was willing to support them, but it's still high for 3 songs), the EZN CD Welcome To Blue Island (probably under-priced with 14 tracks, but it was pretty fair since they covered that awful band Nirvana), and the FP 8x10. Oh, and J-Dub and I got the two Sludge pins! Everybody from the bands signed my stuff, except Danny, FP's bass player. He wasn't anywhere to be found after the show. I would have loved to see even a teaser CD of new FP material and/or some full PBF CD's.

After a while, I lost track of time, the show was underway. PBF came out and totally shook everyone awake. These guys just tore it up! Lesli and Chadpole hit the front of the stage running. I've never seen these guys before, but am glad I caught the lineup that night. Chad was bleeding shortly into the set all over his guitar. Steve still has his voice and led the 100-150 people there (maybe I'm over-estimating) into the best set of the night. I got to take one strum on Chad's guitar as he stuck it over our heads and Steve stuck the mic in my face for a quick line in a chorus. They did this to several people and had everyone totally into their music. I got to visit with each of them afterwards (especially Chad) and asked them about the new stuff coming out later this year. I told them all that they sound great when going for a punk style vibe. Steve's voice sounds killer on the stuff that has that punk edge to it. These guys really aren't a Pretty Boy band. They rock like their lives depend on it. Dish explained the song 727 to me when I had them autograph their CD. Sorry to hear that news, but Dish, I really listened to it on the way home and several times since and you were right about each song. F$ck The Rock is better than you give credit, though. Chad, keep rocking out, man. You and Lesli give so much energy when you swing those axes. Steve was the consumate frontman and was very cool to visit with. It's a shame you guys aren't so much more popular! Keep giving it your all!

Enuff Z'Nuff was up next and I gotta admit that I was visiting with PBF through about the first 1/3 of their set. I could hear it fine, though. Monaco really is the voice that everyone has written about. I heard She Wants More and kinda perked up and turned around during that song. I finally made my way back to the floor and EZN sounded so tight. They don't have the energy of the other two bands, but certainly have some great songs. Ricky was quite the showman on drums and Chip looked on with his usual laid back cool. I think that bass of his is actually 12 strings, not 4 or 8. That was my count anyway. These guys are certainly tight and had all the harmonies down pat. Monaco seems a little quiet for a frontman, but he certainly didn't make you miss Donnie much. All three were very kind after their set and autographed my CD. It was their bus that most of the partying was happening on, too. Steve had to take a break from that bus because he was "tired of looking at ugly chicks and visiting with dudes". Of course, this was way after the show and he did look like it was time to hit the hay.

Faster Pussycat set the stage for one creepy, punky show laced with attitude. They had the hanging lights and tons of fog. I'm just glad the fog wasn't laced with anything or we wouldn't be able to remember that show! It was a constant thing all through their set. I did suggest to their drummer later that some variation would have been cool, but they did start out with that creepy effect they were going for. FP did the classics and some new tunes. I missed Little Dove, but I'm sure that will be added as they go along. Taime was full of attitude and still remained nice. He even tried to give some really drunk guy props, but the drunk was so stupid that Taime finally had to poke a little fun. He tried to get the guy to sing along, but the guy was slurring so badly and just giving it up for anything that Taime did, that Taime finally made up some gibberish instead of the regular stage rap to which the guy kept hollering and pointing at Taime. This drunk guy was so totally wasted and made such an ass of himself. A few idiots kept hollering between songs for FP to do their "only good song - Babylon", which annoyed the hell out of me, but FP kept smiling instead of using the mic stands to bash a few skulls. I had the chance to talk to their drummer, Chad, before and after the show. I told him that FP stood out on the songs with more of a punk attitude, just like PBF does. He just about busted trying to contain his enthusiasm when I said that. He just kept saying "wait til you hear the new tunes" and told me to get up front for their set. At first, I didn't really realize he was the FP drummer, as I'm a bit out of the loop sometimes. I suspected he was when I first talked to him, but was still unsure. What a great guy with a great attitude. He was right on about the new tunes and the show in general. Afterwards, he talked mine and J-Dub's ears off! More on that in a bit... The FP show was proof that these guys should be headlining bigger venues, too. It's a shame that most CD buying people turn out for the "pop" stuff instead of great music. FP totally rocks. Danny held down the bottom end with Chad as they grooved along. Xristian stood above everyone with his guitar swagger. Brent just played it cool with that Les Paul of his. They all came right to the front of the stage and got the crowd into it. Taime stuck the mic in my face for a chorus line and Brent gave the girl holding the video camera a tip or two on what to shoot. (Apparently, they were going to shoot their upcoming DVD at the Surf Ballroom.) It was during their set that one girl right behind me and J-Dub decided to let the top down (ok, it really went up) and two other girls decided to get onstage and dance. Taime implored them, as did the crowd, to take it off, but they just danced. When Taime realized that no clothing was coming off, he had the band go ahead and kick into the song. After Babylon, they left the stage. A few of us wanted an encore, but there just weren't that many people there to make it loud enough for them.

Afterwards, I got the chance to visit with Brent and ask him about his switch to a Les Paul from the Fender he used to play ("meatier tones, man") and visited with Chad a ton. Chad told us about the Bang Tango/Beautiful Creatures (he said to grab their new CD the day it's out) situation. We talked about his friends in some obscure bands (Eric Singer, Joe LeSte, Brides Of Destruction...ok, maybe not that obscure) and I think he was surprised to know that J-Dub and I were fairly current with knowing who was where. None of us could figure out who was playing drums in Alice Cooper's band, though. J-Dub happened to spend a week or so in Hollywood and got to see, but not meet, Taime, Kelly Osbourne, and Matt Sorum when Taime DJ'd at the Viper Club on Metal Shop night (did I get the right club?). When J-Dub brought this up to Taime, he remembered that night because there was some GNR tribute band there. Chad said he was there that night, too. It's a shame that J-Dub didn't get to meet them then. Taime was the last one we visited with on the way out. He was pretty much hanging on his own bus until most everyone left, I think. We just caught him coming back into the building when most of the equipment seemed to be packed up. He was very gracious and even though he said from the stage that it would be 4 years until the new CD, he said they hope to have it out before year's end, seriously.

Metal Sludge, you guys have a great tour on the road. J-Dub and I represented in our Metal Sludge T-shirts and J-Dub should be sending in some pics as he took several of both of us with various band members. Get out and support this tour so we can see more shows like this one. Oh, and even though Des Moines has pretty much been blackballed from most tours, you might get a bigger crowd here than in Clear Lake. Buy the merch, Sludgeaholics, and support these guys so they don't disappear into obscurity on us! Get some new tunes, FP and PBF! Keep up the great attitudes and keep these lineups in tact! You guys are hitting on all cylinders!