Punk Rock Theme Park

We saw them Fogs. After some deal-making with Rose to square away the transpo-logistics, we headed up the 5 to Disneyland's House of Blues. Ben Oswald swung down from the big city LA to hang for a bit around the office. He's an interesting kid. It's good to have him around the surf lands. We wrangled Rod up and headed over to the Magic Kingdom.

Disneyland was magic! We hoofed it around the grounds of the park(mall) a bit, had a beverage and veered towards the venue. House of Blues. Yay. As cool as it was to trek to see Mascis + the Fog, the controlled, automated and meticulously "tarnished, raw + comfortable" surroundings fucked it all up for me. The idea of some schmuck "losening up" after a long day of selling real estate, saying, "Hey, this place is wild, huh?" haunted me. Maybe I'm just a dick. Whatever. Can't hack this stuff.

It's always good to see the Mascis and the Watt. Watt didn't seem to have as much spunk. They seemed leery of the joint. The glances, the rolling eyes. They played the tunes, brought out Ron Asheton from the Stooges and slammed through some golden oldies. Love as Laughter opened and were pretty good too.

It's always good to see Rod Snell. He got a little tipsy and was a happy drunk. It was his first time checking out Mascis. Cool. I wish he lived down here. We could hang out and stuff. I miss the fucker. He'll be back out, or maybe I'll pass through Ft. Collins sometime soon. Facts are stubborn things: I'd take a punch for him.

Nothing like a theme park for a good time, eh?

California, goddamn California.

The Fog

Tomorrow night is Fog Night. We're heading north to Anaheim for another bout with J Mascis and them Fogs. Watt's on the thunderbroom, Berz on the skins. Very fucking excited to see them Fogs. This has been quite a tour. I saw 'em back in December up in the big city LA at the Troubadour. It was loud...in anticpation I brought my Dinosaur Jr issue ear plugs to combat the monstrous feedback. But you know what, a couple licks into the deal I pulled 'em out so I could FEEL the Mascis fury that much more. My hearers rang for a good day or so.

Mascis is it for me. Has been for the last decade.

And Watt...always a pleasure to be a part of his evening. Everytime I see him I try to get a handshake to express some appreciation. Watt lives econo. I like that. I've seen Watt go from introductions to full-sail spiels...slingin' the heavyweight names like D.Boon, Thurston, Rollins in a couple sentences. He's had an amazing run in the "Punk Rock Navy."

My experience with meeting Mascis hasn't been as colorful. And that's fine. That's J.

One time at Hood Meadows in Oregon, on our way back from a Dinosaur Jr show the night before, an interesting moment took place. In the lift line I notice this pink fleece hat. It rings a bell, "Hey, the hat from Mascis' Rolling Stone article." Hmmm? We trod through the ranks and I keep my eye on the chairs ahead. Sure enough, I see a figure ahead of us, long brown hair piling out from under the fleece, looking sullen. J. We ride up, unload and gauge the moment. There's J, readying his gloves and goggles for the ride down. He's on skis. J's got the winter bug.

I hike over and inquire, "Excuse me, I saw the show last night. Just wanted to tell you thanks." He mumbled a warbly, scarf-muffled, "Cool, man." and I was on my way.

I'm a fan fo the Mascis. And the Watt. Thanks guys. See you tomorrow night.

Rig Hunt

A week later and the hunt is still on. Consumer Reports shed some interesting light on my current search. They aren't stoked on the Jeep Grand Cherokees. Hell, no one is. And fuck, they are EVERYWHERE down here. Their feedback was pretty ugly and straightforward. It reinforced some of my doubts I guess. My sights are set on the Volkswagen Passat wagons. Man, I could go on and on about them. I'll spare you. I like the way they feel. The V6 picks up and kicks some ass. My buddy E.Rose has one and each time I'm in the cockpit I drool. Big bucks. Freaks me out thinking about the commitment involved. So much uncertainty. But then again, the days go by and by and I still find myself mooching rides off Melissa. Makes me sick to my stomach. I love her for being there for me. Thanks. Some big projects are in the works which might make this goal attainable. We'll see.

Sad-Eyed

Every two weeks my heart gets broken by our parent company. But hey, what can I say? That's business for ya, kid.

Freelanced

Lots of good freelance work on the plate. Very busy. Very excited.

International clients. Snowboarding related. Top secret.

The "Bullshit Award" Goes Too:

Big Night Out: Los Angeles / ESPN Action Sports and Music Awards

Highlights:
1. Got a handshake from Brian May of Queen.
2. Got a handshake from James Hetfield of Metallica. "Metal Up Your Ass, Man."
3. Stage Hi-jinx from NOFX .
4. Seeing lots of stars in their element and wondering, "Why?"
5. Shooting the shit with extreme athletes from all disciplines.
6. Expensive, watered-down beers.
7. Evel Kneivel.
8. Black Sabbath, in all their glory and age, rocking one song: "Paranoid."

9. Ozzy Osbourne saying "Fuck" so many times and other undistinguishable slurs.
10. The crew of Jackass kicking each other in the balls on stage, etc, etc, etc.

Garbage:
1. Over-production of everything.
2. Conspicuous awards given to recipients, based on media affiliations. Hmmm?
3. Hollywood's up-and-coming "stars" reading heartless teleprompters.
4. Whoever wrote the complete bullshit spewing from the heartless teleprompters.
5. Any stage reference to the "Lord", and otherwise.
6. Bullshit bands: Incubus, CrazyTown, etc. Painful to get through there sets.
7. Evel Kneivel's eulogy about, "Being the best you can be."
8. General Lurking and Bro/Brah-ing.
9. People on cellphones looking interesting.
10. See #1 again.

Burn, Hollywood, Burn.

On The Hunt

Car shopping with the dregs of society. Part One.

This ongoing saga continues, with new experiences worth mentioning each time I set foot on a car lot. More on those later. Man, talk about slicksters. I'm trying to educate myself in all of this. Have to learn the angles on finance spiels and on-site tactics. Rose has been giving me crash courses in "wheelin'-n-dealin'. He's a natural. Get this, when he bought his car, just prior to signing he was gently asked to take his business elsewhere. Imagine that, car salesman asking you to leave? Amazing. His behavior, as obnoxious as it might have been, was absolutely necessary considering the shark infested waters he was wading in. He owned the place. He got a good deal and split. You have to waltz in there and own the conversation. You've got to act like you've done it before and aren't gonna let yerself get screwed. Done.

Wish Dad was here to guide me in this time of need. He's been helpful in this project via telephone. Each time I call him he offers a couple more pointers.

So the hunt is still on.

New? Used? Never gonna waste the bucks on the 'lease' crap. SUV? Econo-rig? Mini-Van? Each time I jump on the freeway the thinker gets clogged with options, tactics and strategies. Those beautiful rigs pass me up and I get to wondering. Just gotta pace myself, educate the thinker and make a good decision when the time is right.

Need a rig real bad.

April Fool

Happy April to all the good people out there.

Getting back into the swing of things. Car shopping with my sights set on one of those Jeep Grand Cherokees. Nice pieces of machinery. Comfy seats for the Factory Floor girth. Built tough. Meat-locker air conditioning to combat the heat.

The numbers haunt me though. How do people afford this shit? They don't I guess, the bank does and we the people, simply rent them. The goddamn snake oil car salesmen keep throwing the lease thing in my face. Sure, so little $$ down, so little $$ per month...but, I'm tired of renting shit. I rent my pad, and am very thankful I can afford a nice joint...but, there is no equity in it. None. The year goes by and the only equity you have is a reference and man, I've been burned. Same thing for the car leasing stuff. No equity. Luxury, yes, at a price. And man, those mileage caps! What happens if you want to hit the road rambling for awhile?! No adventuring soul needs that sort of parnoia hanging over their head/odometer. Garbage. I need a rig that can get me the fuck out of here if need be. Done.

So I'm trying to buy. Got some scratch to lay down on it. Get a big 'ol loan to cover the rest. Got the insurance quotes going, and they are reasonable and fair. Trying to get myself a good rig that'll enable me to drive all the way home if I damn well please, and , get me back and forth to the pad day in a and day out during my time down here on the ant-infested freeway.

Lookin' for a good rig. Something I can live out of if I have too.