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Week 37

Eleven! That’s a good number. It’s more than the amount of fingers I’m physically able to tell you to guess that I’m holding up. It’s almost a full container of eggs. It’s almost double the amount of tallboys in a sixer. It’s just shy of a full group of Eminem and his pals. What I’m saying is, eleven is a pretty strong number. It also happens to be the amount of kids that showed up this past Wednesday for the first day of the Project I Music Series Mentoring Program. As I’ve mentioned, this is a program created by a few of us here at the DAAC to help guide and direct these kids into playing in bands, booking their own shows and more. Wednesday’s session was mostly a meet-and-greet, but it went really well. Some of the kids clicked with each other and were eager to jam almost immediately, which is HUGE. The point of the program, really. These next twelve weeks will be telling, but I think that this program could yield some fantastic performances from some enormous talent. We’ll see. Definitely more on this as it progresses. At any rate, I’m pretty excited for this whole ordeal.

Speaking of being excited, tonight is the debut show of my new band with Bob Bucko Jr, the Dirty Swears. We have a short, sweet set that we will open the Multiple Cat record release show with. I’m definitely excited to playing again, especially with Bob. But also to be playing a show with a band I love and finally being able to check out Rozz-Toxx, which I’ve heard nothing but good things about. Anyway, if you’re in the Quad Cities area, come see the show. I’ll buy you a drink (I probably won’t buy you a drink).

Also, if you haven’t already, check out the newest episode of the Ruix Podcast with my special guests Tyranny is Tyranny from Madison. This was a really fun episode and those dudes are some of the most solid (solidest?) folks ever. It also happens to be OUR 20th EPISODE, WOOOO! I’m not sure what that means, but it seems like something that should be celebrated. I’ve done 20 of these things. I was happy when we got to #5. Fuck, I was happy just to do the first one. The show has come a long way since then, I’d say. Anyway, check it out. More episodes on the way.

Episode #20

Also this week, a The Big Lebowski-themed restaurant opened about an hour and half from me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. I’ve got mixed emotions about the film these days. It’s always been one of my favorite films of all time.. My absolute favorite for many years. But like so many other things, (The Grateful Dead, hockey, Steely Dan) over time started to get ruined for me by other fans of the film. I mean, seriously. Why is it not enough to just like a thing? You gotta go to conventions. You gotta get territorial when someone else likes the thing too, start quizzing them on their favorite things about the thing you both like. You gotta participate in message boards and forums. Online forums bring out the very worst in all people, as far as I’m concerned.. I can think of a few right off the bat that are just filled with “internet tough guys” picking the absolute dumbest and spazziest of arguments with each other for absolutely no real purpose other than to be right or try and get the last word or something, I dunno. I’ve participated in them at one time or another, but never as more of a lurker because they are some of the absolute saddest places I’ve ever been. Most online forums I’ve been to make AA meetings look like maternity wards. But this has gotten way off track.. I was talking about Lebowski. I have a hard time being a fan of the film these days because I can’t stand a lot of my fellow fans. That said, I do want to try this restaurant with it’s “classic pub-style with a twist” food. So if anyone wants to make the trip one of these days, let me know. We’ll do it.

So what’s new with you guys?

#DAAC #ruix #dubuque #dubuqueiowa #dubuquebands #iowabands #iowapodcasts

Week 32 & 33

I’m sorry my blog postings have been coming so sporadically lately. I’ve been trying to maintain some semblance of routine, but the holidays and now with my spring semester starting, things got a bit skewed. It’s moot, really, because I’m fairly positive no one reading this is pissed or disappointed when they don’t see a new post. Mostly, I just need it to be said, for the record, that I do intend to honor my weekly postings, be it Dubuque goings-on or just plain bullshit. And what, with things in the Ruix/DAAC camp slowing down a bit this month, I’m fairly certain a lot of it will be bullshit. But it’s not only that I made a commitment to DAAC and Ruix in general to update this place weekly. I also need the regular writing sessions to keep active, otherwise I just won’t write. So here goes.

First, let me dig into the DAAC schedule real quick. As I’ve mentioned, the next Music Series show is X, or XI, I guess. (X actually was canceled last month). Anyway, the numbering isn’t important. What’s important is that you and as many of your friends show up as possible because it’s going to be a good time. Hailing from Wisconsin’s capital city, Tyranny is Tyranny are a post-noise rock/almost metal band that really kind of rule. I’ve seen them a handful of times and it’s always amazing. They also happen to be a helluva nice group of guys. Really, no kidding. Almost TOO nice. They will be joined by a double helping of Dubuque heaviness. My ex-Legal Fingers bandmates Ryan and Micah’s current (and far better) project Young Indian and, of course, one of the many heavy-as-fuck Andy Schneider projects Snuff Queen. This will mark the debut DAAC show for all three of these rad bands, so it’s definitely a show not to be missed. Also, I’m going to be talking to Russell, Jonathan and Dan from Tyranny on the Ruix Podcast, so be on the lookout for that episode in the near future as well.

And speaking of the podcast, you may have noticed that those have slowed a bit too. We’re working on that. The combination of the holidays, the boys in Venereal Crush taking off on their tour and me starting up school again for the semester, things just got a little backed up. Episode #17 dropped yesterday. This one is with my friend and former bandmate Erin Hedley. You may notice that some of the shit I am speaking about in the episode have already happened. Well, we taped this one way back in mid-December but didn’t get it completely edited and ready to go until now. So, sorry about that. We’re getting back on track. The next couple of episodes will not be so skewed. But anyway, go and check that episode out now. We had fun. She’s awesome.

Episode #17

I feel like I just keep telling you what I’ve been doing WRONG lately. But it’s not all fumbling and fuckups here. The second season of InHarmony that we’ve been shooting with Dean Wellman and his crew has been going very well. The first three episodes have already begun airing periodically on channel MC 22 on Dubuque public access and are available UNCUT on Dean Wellman’s YouTube channel Highway 11 Films. “Uncut,” meaning if someone swears or if there’s an accidental product placement like a whiskey bottle or some shit, it hasn’t been taken out for TV yet. I assure you, there is no nudity in our show. And not for lack of trying.. Just kidding, but anyway there’s a bunch of other cool shit on his channel, as well. Like full interview and live segments from an array of local and regional bands, so go check it out. He does good work.

Let’s see, what else happened to me in these past two weeks? Okay, so I started school again. My final semester is officially underway and not NEAR as much of a workload as last semester. I’ve got an Ethics class, a Literature class and an online course called Intro to Mass Media which I think I’m really going to dig. Then I’m done with NICC. I’ll have an Associates degree. Bittersweet, really, as I am really excited and proud that I will have accomplished something... but then again it is coming about fifteen years later than it should have. But that is my cross to bear and since I plan on never dying, it doesn’t really matter when I get on with my life. I applied to five colleges’ Bachelors programs, but I’m not going to list them until after I get into one, so as to not jinx anything.

Folks, I have to say... I’m not the type to mourn the death of a celebrity. In fact, whenever this happens and my feed is bombarded by posts and YouTube vids, it’s hard for me not to feel annoyed. I’m not saying that it doesn’t affect me or that I’m too cool to show emotion when an artist I admire dies and I’m not saying that I don’t think other people should react in their own way, I’m just saying it’s simply not my thing. That being said, David Bowie’s passing this past Sunday night was a pretty tough pill to swallow. He’s just one of those artists who you don’t think about as a mortal, so it, in turn, reminds you of your own mortality. I don’t know, maybe that sounds corny, but it’s true. There aren’t many artists like Bowie that are so versatile and so experimental yet completely accessible at the same time. My first introduction to Bowie was staring for hours at my dad’s copy of Aladdin Sane when I was three or four years old. Before even ever hearing a single note, I knew that this was a guy I needed in my life. His career and legacy are pretty fucking unparalleled and I thought that I at least should acknowledge that his death was pretty fucking sad. Anyway, he is and always will be one of my favorite artists and I urge you to check out his new record Blackstar if you haven’t yet. Meantime, here’s a young Bowie moment that I am particularly fond of.