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| Why I love Sami Hot PantsI've been meaning to write this Blog for a long time, I just keep forgetting or getting busy or something...
Let me take you back to March 10. It is the night of the Rosefield show at the House of Bricks, their return show. I'm working the door, and as things progress, I see Sami coming in. I've hung out with her a time or two, but I don't know her last name; she was pretty well known in the Myspace world as "Sami Hot Pants." From the little I know of her from the few times we've hung out, she seems pretty rad. And while I don't know much about her, I do know that her and Jeff Krantz have a past of some sort; whether they were dating, are dating, just like to make out with each other... I don't really know, and it's not really important. But since I know she was there for Jeff, and because I know she's pretty rad, I just waved her on to go in without paying. But she insisted on paying. So I took her money, because I'm not going to refuse it. But like I said, I told her she could just go in since I knew she was with Krantz. But she understands how things work, and I assume just wanted to be a good person and paid anyway. That, my friends, is pretty rare.
I was talknig to Sam Summers [First Fleet] not too long ago, and we were bitching about all of the people who come to shows and somehow feel as if they don't need to pay. He and I both have people that we always let in to our shows for free, but they are the people who have been helping us do what we do. But there are people who come to the shows that either of us put on that apparently think they're important enough that they don't need to pay. And that is quite possibly the most annoying thing a person can do.
Regardless of how big or small our shows are, neither Sam or I are getting rich off of it. Bands require money. The money comes from the promoters. And the money the promoters have comes from the people who pay at the door. I'm not sure what it is about some people that makes them think they shouldn't pay to get in to the show. But that's money straight out of the promoter's pocket. If we don't have the money at the door, we don't have the money to pay the bands. That happens enough, we can't help out the scene in any way, and our shows stop.
If you think you don't have to pay because we're friends, then you're not being a very good friend; like I said before, that's money right out of my pocket, and there are very few people to whom I've said they don't need to pay.
If you think you don't have to pay because you're an important person in the "scene," then take a lesson from The Lifestyle: love them or hate them, they're probably the most important scene band in Des Moines right now, and they never try to get into my shows for free. They know that without the scene, they wouldn't have amounted to much of anything, and they support it accordingly. I remember seeing Zach empty his pockets at a show, and Adam was even offered a spot on someone's guest list but denied it and paid his way in.
If you think you don't have to pay because the show isn't worth your money... then stay home or wait outside until your friends are done with the show.
If you think you don't have to pay for any other reason... you're probably wrong.
Thanks, Sami, for not being a douche bag like so many others. | | |
| Long Overdue Show UpdateOkay, wow, everything that has happened in the last couple of weekends, from February 17 to February 25...
February 17, The Moose Lodge. This was the first show I did there, and I plan on going back regularly. House Of Commons opened the show (albeit it a little late) and "Prison Break" is one of my favorite songs right now, especially one of my favorite local songs. Kurt is a stud on stage. Then came Keep And Confess, who once again showed why they're going to be a force to reckon with in the 515 hXc scene. Then came Burning The Broken... I suck at describing different kinds of hardcore/metal, so I won't try here, but BTB was as solid as always. They were followed by Chasing Victory, who asked to be bumped up from their headlining spot. They are SO good, holy cow. They weren't as hard as some of the other bands, but everyone was very into them anyway. I love Chasing Victory. Then came hometown heroes When We Fall. Again, their brand of music is so hard to describe... put hardcore, indie, and progressive in a blender. Finally, An Airbag Saved My Life closed the show... and do I really need to say anything about Airbag? They're always amazing; one of my favorite live bands for sure.
February 18, House Of Bricks. What a way to finish off a SWEET weekend. Five bands, and we opened with Stallions Versus Unicorns. If SVU opens a show and it doesn't feel awkward, you know you have a great line-up. They were followed by Slaughterhouse 6, who provided as much skanking and fun as anyone could as for, per usual. They were followed by The Effects, another of my favorite live bands. Not since Squad Five-O have I seen a band deliver the rock 'n' roll like these guys can. This was followed by Offering's last HOB show... and they did their signature on-stage move, which I hope Stuck With Arthur steals. I'm actually sad Offering is breaking up, they're a ton of fun, and such great guys to boot. Finally, SWA finished the show for us, and everyone knows how much I love SWA, so I won't say much more. After the show, I hung out with The Effects at their hotel, as did Darin, Jeff K, Sami, and one of The Effects' friends. A good time was had by all. I love The Effects.
February 24, Vaudeville Mews. SOLD-FREAKING-OUT. Holy crap, an AMAZING show, and I'm really glad The Envy Corps and General Sherman let me in on this. Luke was adamant after the show that it was the combination of TEC, General Sherman (who always do AMAZING together at the Mews), Christopher The Conquered's debut, and IowaRock.com's promoting that landed it with a sell-out crowd. CTC's set was amazing; maybe I just don't know Chris as well as I thought I did, but it appeared to me that he had a lot coming out of him that he couldn't get out in an SWA set. He was definitely in his element, and I definitely want to see more of it. Then came General Sherman,who I love love love to death. I'm really glad that we get to work together a lot. And finally, The Envy Corps. It's not a matter of IF they'll get big, but WHEN. They played for about an hour, which is twice as long as I'm used to for a set, but I only noticed because I had to check my watch for other things. Holy smokes, I am SO happy about everything with that show.
February 24, Graceland. I won't say much since I wasn't there, but from what I heard, everything went well. Hopefully I can help set some more shows up there, and actually get down there to watch them. But all of the guys from Spoken, Staple, and Trouble With Ferguson said their show with AudioKineticAssault went really well, so thank you to Jordan for helping make that happen.
February 25, Blinks. Again, I missed the show, but heard great things about it. DJ Dad/MC Mom had to cancel, but I heard Stuck With Arthur, Atombender, and The Poison Control Center put on an amazing show, and that PCC's Blinks debut was especially great. Hopefully, we'll make it happen again.
February 25, Mason City. This blog is WAY to long, so I'll be fast. Another first for me, using the American Legion up in Mason City. All of the touring bands, Spoken, Staple, and Trouble With Ferguson, put on great shows, and even though they're probably used to more professional venues than the American Legion, fun was had by all. The local bands, Regretting Yesterday and Senseless Beauty were both better than I had expected; if they all get some really good equipment, they'll sound even better. I'm sure I'll be working with both of them in the future. Thanks especially to the Senseless Beauty guys for helping make this show happen.
NEXT SHOWS (all at the House of Bricks):
March 4: Sweet Afton, Thoughts Of Crossing, Adelynne, Atombender, Killer Boots, DJ Dad/MC Mom, Yeti on a Budget, Angry Gods of the Radio, September [KATRINA RELIEF FUNDRAISER] - 2:00, $7
March 5: The Heartless, Amidst The Affliction, For Today - 5:00, $5
March 6: Family Unit, Truman, The Dig Angees, Punch Drunk - 5:00, $5 | | |
| The Last Four Shows...I realize that it's been a while since I posted one of these bad boys. I have been planning on it, long before that annoying Sorensen (sp?) starting harassing me about it. So here are some thoughts on the last four shows we've had.
January 29 - Arguably my two favorite bands in the world, Stuck With Arthur and Last Tuesday, playing the same show. Of course I loved it. I'm not personally a huge fan of Staple (who headlined the show), but they put on a good show. SWA was amazing as always. As was Last Tuesday; Carl was his usual overly-energetic self, but that's why I love him as a musician. He reminds me of Reese Roper in FIF's prime, in that you know he absolutely loves what he does. And I got to hang out with Carl quite a bit, and he's a really good guy, as are everyone else in Last Tuesday. Right before them was The New Ending (why LT keeps touring with harder bands, I will never know), and they've been very well received around here since their show with Spoken, and for good reason. And Approaching Nain opened the show, and there's already a few other shows I want to throw them on down the road. Good show; it made me happy. Thanks to Dana and... um, the other member of General Sherman that hosted one of the touring bands (I forget which one it was... my bad).
January 31 - ANOREXIC BEAUTY QUEEN. Seriously, who doesn't love those guys? Nicest guys in the world, and they do the indie-emo thing as well as anyone else. General Sherman played with them, which was a treat for me (don't tell anyone, but I like them more than the Envy Corps... and I really like the Envy Corps). Apparently, they have an HOB curse. But I was still glad they played. The KGB headlined, which I'm sure is a big reason so many freakin' people were at the show. Slaughterhouse 6 brought the heat, and they reaffirmed the fact that they are easily one of the most fun bands in the Des Moines scene. And they brought a bunch of Odgen kids out to the show... who knew that Ogden even had kids? And the little cuties from Bleached Black opened the show; I've said this many-a-times before, but there are a lot of local bands that could learn a thing or two from Bleached Blacks great attitude. On a side note, I somehow managed to pop one of the tires on my chair that night, but tried to not let anyone notice. So I barely moved the whole night, and made Darin do all of my running around for me. Thanks mang.
February 8 - The return of AIRBAG! Seriously, even if you don't like hardcore, you need to make it to an Airbag show. They are one of my favorite live bands, and I'm not even a big hardcore fan. Tyler was born to be the frontman for a band. Leven came down for the show, and it's always a pleasure to work with them; hopefully that will open a door for Airbag to get in on a good show at the Reverb or Gabe's. Burning The Broken once again proved that they have a draw, and that there's a good reason for it. Another local with the sort of work ethic local bands should have.Farewell To Twilight made their 515 debut, and they were well-received, which is saying something given the critical nature of the 515 hXc kids. And Amidst The Affliction opened the show; these guys will climb the 515 hXc scene quickly. In my opinion (which may not mean much) they have some of the best vocals around, and again, the all-important attitude. And lots of friends, which never hurts.
February 11 - This show turned out WAY better than I expected. 100+ kids. Atombender opened the show (making their HOB debut) with their synth/ska set. These guys are a pretty big deal in Ames, and if they get in front of the right people in Des Moines, they could do pretty well there, too. They even got a shout-out from And Then I Turned Seven later in the evening. Right after Atombender was Tomorrow's Storm. Why they don't have a huge following, I know not. I think they need to form a coalition with Cantus Firmus and start demanding some respect in the scene. They both deserve a good following, but haven't found it yet. The crowd was really into ATITS, who put on a good live show. They even utilize their violin player well, but that's obviously going to give them a lot of Yellowcard comparisons if they even get big. Their song "In Loving Memory" is probably going to be in my Top 100 songs of all time (but I prefer the more acoustic version you can find on their Purevolume site). And finally, Beside Nothing headlined. Very honestly, they get better every single time I hear them play. They've added keys, which was a good move. I say give them a year's worth of working really hard, and they could go from being a sorta big deal to a really big deal. Especially if they keep improving as much as they have been lately.
Okay, that's enough for now. Next shows are:
February 17, 5:00 - CHASING VICTORY, An Airbag Saved My Life, When We Fall, Burning The Broken, Keep And Confess, House Of Commons - The Moose Lodge, Altoona - $5/$7, IowaTIX.com
February 18, 5:00 - THE EFFECTS, Stuck With Arthur, Offering [last shwo in central Iowa ever!], Slaughterhouse 6, Stallions Versus Unicorns - House Of Bricks, Des Moines - $6 @ the door
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| So... Tuesday night was a pretty sweet show at the HOB. It was headlined by Stallions Versus Unicorns, who already have a cult-following of sorts. But most of the guys have been playing around Des Moines for a long time now, and they're probably the prettiest band in Des Moines... not to mention disturbingly catchy. The kids ate it up, for good reason.
The Effects were back as well, and they were amazing as usual. What they bring isn't anything really new, but instead, something quite refreshing. They're not trying to be artsy or tuff or obscure... they just play rock 'n' roll the way it was meant to be played. If you're a fan of bands like The White Stripes or Squad Five-O... or just a fan of good, live rock shows... you need to check out The Effects the next time they're in town... which will be February 18 with Stallions Versus Unicorns, Stuck With Arthur, Offering, and Slaughterhouse 6.
The Effects brought Copperpot along with them, and if you're a fan of local bands like Stuck With Arthur or the now defunct Rosefield Rivals, then Copperpot is the catchy kinda Pop-Rock you'll probably enjoy.
Bleached Black also played another show for us, easily the heaviest band of the night. I like these guys a lot, and they have exactly the kind of attitude that a local band in their position should have. Expect good things from these fellas.
Finally, Cantus Firmus opened the show. I was running a little bit late (thanks to Jessica, Shannon, and Darin for covering for me) so I only saw the end of their set. But it was very good, and I hope that these guys can get some attention in the Des Moines scene.
Lots of kids were out for a Tuesday night. I'm starting to like the kids in Des Moines more and more.
Next shows:
January 29, 5:00, HOB - Staple, Last Tuesday, The New Ending, Stuck With Arthur, Approaching Nain
January 31, 5:00, HOB - Anorexic Beauty Queen, (We Are) The KGB, Slaughterhouse 6, General Sherman, Bleahced Black | | |
| So... tonight we had a line-up of some legitimately unique bands... When We Fall, House Of Commons, Killer Boots, and Avarice. For a Sunday night show that didn't have a lot of time to be promoted, the turn-out was pretty good. All of the bands that played were much better than I have heard any of them. The three locals should have some things to offer the scene as they continue to get better.
Funny story about Avarice... they're actually the reason the show got set up, but I wasn't sure what all to expect from them. For their style of music, they were really good. But one man there especially liked them. He was an older guy, and he was there playing pool before I even showed up. So I just assumed he was there for the bar. About half way through Avarice's set, he approached me, and said the following: "I never paid to get in here, but since you brought in this band that is so amazing, I'm going to pay you $20. And when they're set is over, I'm going to give them $50 to play another song." And he did. The band actually played two songs for him. Amazing.
Next shows:
January 24: The Effects, Stallions Versus Unicorns, Bleached Black, Cantus Firmus, Copperpot - House of Bricks, $6, 5:00
January 29: Staple, Last Tuesday, The New Ending, Stuck With Arthur, Approaching Nain - House of Bricks, IowaTIX.com, 5:00 | | |
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