Who the hell lives here?

Seriously.



Wisconsin may have a lot of cheese, but they also have a lot of shitty drivers and horrible weather. I can't believe I'm actually glad to be in Minneapolis.

So that's what a floodplain is.

Man, it is FLAT out here. And windy.

Last night was great. APTBS packed this place out. Locals Only is like your grandparents' basement, if it was a music venue. Dark, small and smelling of cigarettes and old. But it was cool.

The opening band had 2 girls in shiny silver unitards, and halfway through their set the redheaded one did some crazy stripper interpretive dancing with a hula hoop. I couldn't even tell you what they sounded like, that's all I remember.

The people running the show were very cool. I talked to a few people about Dudefest, which is looking pretty phenomenal this year. The sound was good, people bought a lot of merchandise, and they even had those warnings signs on the walls.

The RV is doing OK so far, but not having a generator sucks. Tonight's show at Schuba's is sold out, which is pretty cool. This is my second time in Chicago, and although I've only seen a little of it, I like it. The club is in a cool neighborhood, down the street from probably the best hot dogs I've ever had. Seriously.

We leave right after the show tonight to head for the cold, dark winter wonderland known as Minnesota. The band is doing an in-studio performance at a radio station before the show, so that should be interesting. If anything, I'll at least have some time to watch some Mystery Science Theater 3000 in its home state.

So I'm thinking we should name the RV. Any suggestions? We've been using "The Grand Ol' Traveling Party Palace", but I think we can do better.

Minneapolis, get ready!

Ups and downs.

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those that brush their teeth in a Michigan Wal-Mart bathroom at 9 in the morning, and those that don't. Guess who just joined the first group? Yeah.

The generator on the RV has already given up, so we're running all our crazy electrical devices through a single cigarette lighter. It looks like something out of Tetsuo. But it's all good. Nice sunset over the Ohio landscape on the way to Detroit.

APTBS played the Magic Stick in Detroit last night, which is right next to the Majestic, where The Black Dahlia Murder were playing a hometown show. Kinda wish I could've seen that, but I'm not complaining. Detroit loves their rock, and I saw the first demanded APTBS encore of the tour.

We're sitting outside Locals Only in Indianapolis right now, and it looks like this place lives up to its name. It's in the boonies, and I'm not sure if the name implies we can't come in. We'll find out soon enough.

It's on to a sold-out show in Chicago tomorrow, and who knows? Maybe we'll burn it down again.

Relapse Records showcase!

This is the one I was looking forward to the most, and it does not disappoint.

RELAPSE RECORDS SXSW SHOWCASE

This showcase, the label’s tenth consecutive at SXSW, will be held at Emo’s Annex (600 Red River Street) on Thursday, March 13th and will be open to the public as well as SXSW badge-holders.

This year’s line-up includes HIGH ON FIRE (Oakland, CA), GENGHIS TRON (Philadelphia, PA), COLISEUM (Louisville, KY), VVEREVVOLF GREHV (Omaha, NE), special guests MUNICIPAL WASTE (Richmond, VA), and Austin’s own MALA SUERTE.


It's on like Donkey Kong.

Greetings from Ohio

The rest of the band is sleeping in various places at the moment. And I think it snowed last night.

Last night's show at the Beachland Bar was excellent. Good crowd, good sound. An excellent way to start off the tour. Cleveland likes their rock.


We're heading to Detroit at some point today. So this is how I will be dressed.



Oh yeah, another SXSW showcase. We'll still be in Oklahoma City, but this show looks pretty damn fun.

Air Raid Launch
Tuesday, March 11 | Red 7 (next to Beauty Bar on 7th St., Austin)
FREE SHOW, All Ages, Doors 8PM

Inside:
Naked Raygun
Complete Control
Hex Dispensers
Shot Baker

Outside:
Municipal Waste
Cancer Bats
Dub Trio
Iron Lung
Architects (KCMO)
Fight Amp

See you on the road, fools.

Let the games begin!

Right now I'm sitting in a cold RV in Williamsburg, and I've somehow managed to hack into someone's wireless network. What can I say, I'm straight-up Swordfish.

Here is A Place To Bury Strangers' home for the next five and a half weeks. It's a sweet '95
Arrowhead Coronado. It's a trooper, as I discovered driving it from South Jersey (as in almost Delaware) to Connecticut last night. A 3 hour drive turned into 7 as I watched a never-ending stream of crashes, slides and all sorts of shitty driving on the Garden State. The Coronado lived up to its name though, navigating the nasty terrain and unfriendly natives with ease.

Tomorrow we hit Cleveland for the first show of the tour. Fitting, as it's the home of rock and roll. And, um, it really does bury strangers. (Check that out, it's pretty scary.)

Well my battery's about to die, so I leave you now to wander the streets. Or find the closest bar. See you in Cleveland.

Road Rage

OK, so like I said before, I'm hitting the road. A Place To Bury Strangers is heading out on their first national tour, and I'm behind the wheel. And the merch table most nights. And who knows where else. Exciting, no? If you have the ways and means, get there.

The band is direct support for Holy Fuck (no, not this Holy Fuck) for most shows.

Here's the list of dates:

* = with Holy Fuck
Thursday 2/14/08 – Beachland Bar, Cleveland OH
Friday 2/15/08 – Magic Stick, Detroit MI
Saturday 2/16/08 – Locals Only, Indianapolis IN
Sunday 2/17/08 – Schuba’s, Chicago IL*
Monday 2/18/08 – Triple Rock, Minneapolis MN*
Tuesday 2/19/08 – The Aquarium (Dempsey’s Upstairs), Fargo, ND
Wednesday 2/20/08 – Parkway Theatre, Winnipeg MB*
Thursday 2/21/08 – The Exchange, Regina SK*
Friday 2/22/08 – Starlite Room (upstairs), Edmonton AB*
Saturday 2/23/08 – The Hifi Club, Calgary AB*
Monday 2/25/08 – Richards on Richards, Vancouver BC*
Tuesday 2/26/08 - Chop Suey, Seattle WA
Wednesday 2/27/08 – Doug Fir, Portland OR
Friday 2/29/08 – Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco CA*
Saturday 3/1/08 – Spaceland, Los Angeles CA
Monday 3/3/08 – Casbah, San Diego CA
Tuesday 3/4/08 – Plush, Tucson AZ
Thursday 3/6/08 – Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City UT*
Friday 3/7/08 – Larimer, Denver CO*
Saturday 3/8/08 – Record Bar, Kansas City MO*
Sunday 3/9/08 – The Waiting Room, Omaha NE*
Monday 3/10/08 – Bluebird, St. Louis MO*
Tuesday 3/11/08 – Conservatory, Oklahoma City OK*
Wednesday 3/12/08-Saturday 3/15/08 – SXSW, Austin TX
Sunday 3/16/08 – One Eyed Jacks, New Orleans LA
Monday 3/17/08 – Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta GA*
Tuesday 3/18/08 – Local 506, Chapel Hill NC
Wednesday 3/19/08 – Rock ‘N Roll Hotel, Washington DC
Thursday 3/20/08 – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia PA
Friday 3/21/08 – Middle East (Upstairs), Boston MA*
Saturday 3/22/08 – Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY*

The South By Southwest shows will be announced soon, can't do it yet.

During the tour I'll be updating this thing with random occurrences and hilarious photos. I don't take pictures of anything without entertainment value, so stay tuned. Hopefully there will be a goat involved somewhere down the line.

Hope some of you crazy bastards (and bastardettes) can make it out!

Oh yeah, Bert and Ernie don't fuck around.

More SXSWy news.

I will be posting my own SXSW activities very soon, as well as the entire tour I'm taking part in. Aren't you excited? Unfortunately I'm talk to no one, so yes I am excited.

Anyways, here are a few more shows and showcases with some sweet bands:

Austin Chronicle says Okkervil River w/ Roky Erickson on the 12th @ Austin Music Hall.

Radar Recordings/Giant Step showcase:

March 16th @ Red 7

Russian Circles, Portugal The Man, Tera Melos, This Will Destroy You, Maps & Atlases, Caspian, Consider the Source, Junius, Adai, Coliseum, The Coma Recovery, Genghis Tron, Circle Takes the Square, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy

Hydrahead Records Showcase:

March 14th

Torche, Kayo Dot, Clouds, Everlovely Lightingheart, and more.

I'm thinking that conflicting shows are on their way, and hopefully nothing way too good will come head to head.

And since I already broke my promise last time, here's an especially awesome clip of Death live...somewhere.

A quick one, while he's away.

Just wanted to mention this, I suppose this will be a good place to find the heavy stuff for SXSW. Another showcase has been announced, this time from Detroit MI's Small Stone Records. If you love weed, booze, riffs, or all three, chances are you dig these bands. Here's the skinny:

The Small Stone Showcase @ SXSW 2008 will take place on Friday March, 14th at The Room 710 in Austin, TX - (512) 476-0997. We will be taking over the 710 for the entire afternoon & evening of rawk and what not. The final line up this year is the following:

Night (the Official SXSW Showcase)

8pm Shame Club
9pm A Thousand Knives Of Fire
10pm Roadsaw
11pm Dixie Witch
12 mid Puny Human
1am Sasquatch

Day Party (Free Grub & Free Entry)

1pm Dead End Lake
2pm Blood Of The Sun
3pm Tia Carrera
4pm Iota
5pm SuperHeavyGoatAss


You bet your ass I'll be there.

There's nothing wrong with Molly Hatchet.

I'm being serious. Why is it necessary to knock bands like this? Yeah, their fan base is mostly made up of people whose family trees have no branches, but that's no reason to not indulge in riff-rock boogies now and then. Case in point: "Fall Of The Peacemakers", an 8-minute epic with all the makings of a "Freebird" or a "Green Grass & High Tides", yet it's been unjustly forgotten by the rock masses. Fuck it, I'm bringing it back. Call up your nearest cock-rock radio station and request it. Or download it, but don't ask me where. I'm a sap that doesn't know the free sites.

Yes, I still buy CDs. I enjoy buying CDs. The used section at the local FYE is wonderful. I can go in there and methodically go through each letter, perhaps coming across a buried gem. Like yesterday, I picked up these albums:

Fu Manchu - King Of The Road
Type O Negative - October Rust
Cathedral - The Ethereal Mirror
Sepultura - Morbid Visions (!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Yes, I found the first Sepultura album in a fucking FYE for 6 dollars! Try doing that at a Virgin megastore. I got all 4 of these albums for less than 30 dollars. "Yeah", you might say, "but I downloaded them all for free rofl!!1". Well guess what, Sally: I've got the artwork and an actual physical product in my hands. What happens when your computer crashes? Oh noes!

I'm not knocking everyone who downloads all their music. I've done it with a few songs and albums here and there, singles and other stuff I can't find elsewhere. It's a good thing to do with bands you're not sure of yet, too. I downloaded an Angel Corpse album, and totally dug it so now I'll most likely buy a CD of theirs next time. What I can't stand are the elitist pricks that think buying CDs is for "sheep" or "consumer whores". Hey asshole, it's not like I'm clamoring for the next Timberlake album. 95% of what I buy is on independent labels or at shows directly from the band, so it's helping in a small way. Music Nazi punks fuck off!

I was going to do an album review, but I don't feel like it anymore. Here's today's cool live video: Napalm Death in Vienna last March.