Buzz and I played a brief set at Club Europa last night, but not the club you might have seen many notable shows in the past (Shellac, Melt Banana, Lightning Bolt). No, our show was down on the ground floor. Turns out a couple weeks ago Europa renovated the lower bar and turned it into a little venue in its own right. Gone is the pool table, gone are the tables and tubular metal bar stools. The bar has been shortened, lights have been dimmed, red velvet banquettes brought in and a somewhat awkwardly-designed stage has taken their place. This came as a relief to me, I had been dreading the thought of our lil two-man operation trying to plug away in the cavernous upstairs space. Best of all they didn't charge a cover, marking 2 locations I now know of (along with GBM) that have free shows around here. I don't know if they'll keep that up there, but it was a fun time.

After the show we scampered over to Club Exit, where the F Yeah Fest was winding up its tour. The headliners were the Circle Jerks, yet another reunited band from days of yore back on the sing-for-your-supper circuit. Keith Morris still has the voice, but those dreadlocks are nasty. I guess, better than a mohawk, extremely long, scroungy white-guy dreadlocks are the ultimate physical proof that you probably don't have a regular day job. They could still play pretty fast, though they played a version of "Back Against the Wall" that bordered on reggae, it was so slow. How odd. Odder, they closed the show by playing what I figure was every single song that Morris performed when he was a founding member of Black Flag. At first it was cool, but then it just got weird. Why so many Black Flag songs? They're awesome songs, and I like Morris' voice way more than I ever liked Rollins (though my favorite Flag vocalist is still Ron Reyes), but it became like a bizarre idol-worship move, having the Circle Jerks play backup to the "An Evening with Keith Morris" show.

Perhaps the weirdest thing, however, to come out of this show was the revelation that the very fat, Cpl Henry Blake-style fishing hat, and mountain-man beard was none other than ZanderSchloss, whom geeks like me might better recognize as the character Kevin from Repo Man (the super geeky guy Otto works with at the grocery store).

Labels: Bands, Motico, Music, Nostalgia, Shows

On Monday evening, as we were winding down after band practice, Buzz was heard to remark, "Ya know, we should book some shows soon." As usual, the booking gods heard him and dropped a show right in our laps. Our pals in the bristling 500ma asked us to fill out their show at the mammoth Club Europa in Greenpoint Brooklyn. It's coming up quick, this Sunday at 7:00PM. More details to follow, but for the time being I'm trying to get Buzz to mention how badly we need a PA, new amps and a pony.

Motico and 500ma
other bands TBA
Sunday, July 13th, 2008
Club Europa
98 Meserole Ave., (corner of Manhattan Ave.)
Brooklyn, NY 11222
tel. (718) 383-5723
G train at Nassau
7:00PM

Labels: Bands, Motico, Shows

Two cats have technically been adopted out! Shoehorn, now named Lynx, is off to the other end of Halsey Street, to join a Bengal cat and a monitor lizard. And even more exciting, Gladys has found a permanent home in Park Slope! I have been so worried about her chances for adoption since she's basically an adult cat. I mean, in reality she's probably not more than 9 months old, but in the high-stakes world of pet adoption, everything seems to be "Young/Small Rules." Gladys is, to me, the cutest cat in our stable, but because she's grown, I feared she would be a hard sell. And indeed, when people came to see her, she didn't disappoint. That is, she DID disappoint.

She's a super sweet cat, and getting sweeter all the time, but when people came to see her, she didn't take the attention well. The other cats were all over the place, which unnerves her. Plus she's probably not used to having so many people stare at her, while I frantically try to get her to do something amusing. But luckily, her new adoptive mom was able to see through Gladys' aloof act, and will be picking her up on Saturday. For a moment there, we were down to single digits for total number of cats! For a moment.

They same night Lynx/Shoehorn went to his new home, his mother paid us a visit. We hadn't seen her in a while, and she's very skittish so she never stays long. But she brought with her ... you guessed it! Another kitten. This one is clearly not her kitten, it's far too young. It is possible it is one of Flossie's kittens, but it seems unlikely she would have left it out to fend for itself so young. The new kitten is a dark orange tabby, can't be more than 10 weeks old, and is skin and bones.

When he showed up, he was a total mess, dirt all over the place. So we gave him a bath to at least restore some of his dignity. He was a total mush for the bath and aftermath, we rolled him in a towel and help him in our laps to keep him warm. He purred and napped for most of it. When he dried sufficiently, we laid him, in the towel, on the couch between us. He rested some more ... then experienced explosive diarrhea.

I feel so bad for the little guy, he kept pooping uncontrollably for the rest of the night. He's getting better already, but it's gotta be demoralizing for a cat. He's had dewormer so I'm hoping it will clear up shortly. But he's such an adorable little furball, we're really hoping he pulls through fast so we can get to pimping him out (in a good way). His fur, even when clean, sticks out like straw, so we've been calling him Tumbleweed. What's one more kitten, more or less, right? Right?

Don't forget: tomorrow night MOTICO plays Goodbye Blue Monday at 10PM! You know you want it. Plus you want a kitten. Several kittens.

Labels: Cats, Feral, kittens, Motico, Shows

Hey don't forget, if you're looking for something to do tonight, Motico is playing at Trash Bar, round 10pm. I'm actually feeling cautiously optimistic about this show (how that for punk rock attitude?), we've been practicing a lot, even though a lot of our newer stuff is more open-ended than the old stuff. This could totally blow up in our faces, as it often does, but it still might be fun to watch us frantically trying to figure out where we got off track.

I've slowly honed down my pedal setup, I'm down to a single pedal-board now, partially due to active economizing, partially due to pedals breaking down. Either way, it leads to a leaner, meaner, keener sound. Matt just got some new sticks and has plenty of pent-up frustration to take out on his drum kit! I still can't believe it took us a year to get back on this show horse! I wonder if we even know any of the bands we're playing with tonight. Is the Knack still together?

Labels: Bands, Bars, Motico, Shows

Due to the incessant complaints form my reader(s), I will attempt to speak about something other than cute, cute kittens. As you may know, we are thigh-deep in the CMJ Music Marathon, which has become one of the most despised events in my show-going calendar. So I'll complain about that now.

As I've whined before, what bugs me about this thing is its overkill, and how despite the hype, when I actually go to these shows, NO ONE seems to be there for the music. Okay, most of the bands playing suck, that's a given, so perhaps it's to some people's credit that they will stand there, talking loudly in front of the stage, while I vainly try to get the bartender's attention. But still, why are they there?

How many people actually buy those badges vs. get the free, through being in a CMJ band or related label? Those who get in for free have little vested interest in the proceedings. Sure, normally I'd wish that all shows be free, but here it backfires, with people stuffing themselves into small rooms and then not paying any attention to anything before heading off to another small, crowded room. Barely anybody seems to be there for the bands; indeed, if I had to judge I'd say the bulk of the people were there just to elbow me in ribs as they push past with their swag bags and Ketel One cocktails.

This year my feelings about CMJ are even more stark: whether by Providence or old-fogeyness, as I look through the listings, I am loath to find a single night of music I would want to attend. Okay, there's some okay stuff (Meat Puppets, Ruins, Sightings, Fresh Kills, Forms, Made in Mexico, Christopher Cross[!]) but who can enjoy even the decent bands when you're surrounded by morons?

Lucky for me, all I have to do is basically hold my breath for the next few days. Things will get back to normal, the good bands will start playing again. Speaking of which ... MOTICO (not to be confused with Modico) is finally off its ass and playing out at the end of the month.

Yeah, it's been a full year since we performed live, a fact that makes me feel like we stepped into a time machine or perhaps have been in a coma for the past 10 months or so. Yes, we had to move to our new digs, and yes, we spent a long time building the new practice room so we could continue to be the biggest cheapskates in the scene and not rent studio space. But even so, we should have been out there sooner.

Once the band room was ready, we got down there and tried to relearn the old songs. Once we worked that up, we realized that more than playing out, we hadn't written any new material in all the time, either. So we set about trying some new stuff, which further extended our absence. Now we're back with newer and better songs, fat-free but doesn't let you down in the flavor department.

Our first gig is (guess) at The Trash Bar, as usual, on Halloween night. Which is on a Wednesday. And we're going on last. Frankly, Halloween or not, this is not the best slot to be in, but it'll be good practice to be on a stage again.

The following week we'll be playing our first REAL show, on a Thursday (much better) at Goodbye Blue Monday, right here in Bushwick. The show will be free and the vibe will be low-pressure. The only thing that would make it better is if they had a full liquor license (only wine & beer), but perhaps I'm not ready yet for total nirvana. We're not totally sure when we're going on but we're trying ti finagle something on the earlier side. I will post when we know for sure. Please mark your diaries now, November 8th is approaching!

Labels: Bands, Motico

Whoa, what an annoying week! It's like a delayed reaction from getting back from the vacation. But the first week back was okay; this past week, however, has been horrendous. Things are cooling down again, but work continues to threaten to spill over into my personal life, if only because I am constantly haunted by the memory of the tedium even when I am home.

I take my revenge by hoarding office supplies, I'm taking home a bunch of hanging file folders to go in the ultra-cheep filing cabinets we bought at the Rite Aid. Our intention is to get our affairs in order so we actually know where all our important documents are. This will free up countless shoeboxes in the basement, which can then be used for diorama-building purposes.

Speaking of useless activities, MOTICO is about to renew its contract with America, we actually have a couple of shows booked in the near future. I suspect most people think we've broken up, but you see, that's exactly what we wanted you to think! Anyway, we're playing on Halloween at the Trash Bar, and on Nov. 8th at Goodbye Blue Monday. Hey, that'll be our first show in our neighborhood! Mark your calendars.

In cat news, Gladys' kittens are slowly becoming more comfortable around us. Yesterday a couple of them jumped inside the house and were scurrying around for a while. Most of the the time they stay on the window sill while I try to ply them with a string tied to a stick. The orange kitten will let me briefly pet him, so he'll likely be the first one to turn. Meanwhile, their Moms is totally trying to act the part of a house cat. To that end, on Monday I'm gonna get her fixed, as the Mobile Spay Unit will be back in the neighborhood. The kittens are old enough to be on their own now, so I don't think they'll miss her. This could be tricky, since she is still an outside/stray cat. But she comes by with such regularity I should be able to snag her Sunday night and keep her until the appointment. One by one, I will fix every cat on the block!

Labels: Bands, Cat Fixin', Cats, Feral, kittens, Motico, Pets, Strays

In 1990 I bought my first electric guitar with proceeds from my job at Pier One Imports. I'm not sure how I found out about the pawn shop, I think my friend lived near it and had clued me in. It was over the city line in Painseville, Ohio. The shop had a bunch of guitars, and most of them were new. I'm not sure where they got them, but they sure were cheap compared to the stuff they sold at Arrowhead Music in town.

I knew nothing about guitars, I had only recently begun to teach myself to play on my sister's abandoned acoustic guitar but I wanted to get an electric. I went to the pawn shop several times, messing with the guitars and trying to act like i knew how to judge the quality. I ended up buying the guitar in the picture, not so much because it was a good instrument, but more because it was paisley.

This is a Cort brand, a Korean knockoff company so addled by low esteem they feel the need to print the words "Electric Guitar" on the headstock. You know, in case you don't know what it it is. I believe its design, with red fabric printed with greenish paiselys, was meant to resemble a tele owned by Pete Townsend, but I sure didn't know that at the time. The price tag read $175, I offered $150 and it was mine, along with a cardboard box and one of those supercheap guitar cables.

Man, I was such a fruit in those days. Can you picture me with my poorly-realized half-assed Flock of Seagulls haircut and my shirts buttoned all the way up to the top. And this guitar. Which, mind you, I barely knew how to play. It would be another several months before I got a real amp, and another 17 years before I learned how to play it halfway well (jury's still out on that).

I never thought I would see this thing again. When I left Ohio for Brooklyn , I left a wake of music equipment, some amps and speaker cabs, and one neglected Cort guitar. Since its purchase I had moved onto other guitars, a Stewart-Macdonald tele, and a Les Paul Deluxe (which I came to find out is considered anything but 'deluxe' by guitar aficionados, but it is still deemed superior to the Cort).

Meanwhile, former bandmate Al had been busy. In advance of his current band's trip to New York, he fetched the Cort out from behind the furnace, dusted it off and replaced the hardware and electronics. Conveniently located in his town of Athens, Ohio, is the Stew-Mac company, manufacturer of custom guitar parts. So basically you can get everything from wood blanks to cut out your own single-piece guitar, to the little plastic caps that go on the end of pickup toggle switches. Thus armed with a new lease on life, Al presented the guitar to me right before he and the band headed back on the road.

I was fearful of trying to play it again. Let's face it, it was built to be a cheap guitar for kids like me who didn't know better. With some trepidation I plugged her in and went on a sonic journey. At first it sounded a little off, but I fiddled with the EQ on my amp a little and got this really singe-y, high-tension wire sound. It was this point I realized that I never played this guitar without some kind of distortion on it, so the guitar sounding this good was a major feat.

So the guitar still rocks after all these years. I don't normally play single coil pickups anymore so this is a real departure. But the weird thing is I really like that (Shellac) sound, so now it seems odd I haven't played on them in so long. The Cort may just earn a place in my on-stage guitar collection. The only problem is, it's still paisley. Thanks Al!!! Here's some more photos.

Oh and here are some Flickr photos of other paisley guitars, apparently the original is from 1968.

Labels: Bands, Friends, Motico, Music

Despite still having some loose ends (more wall work to do, no latch on the door), we hooked up the rig and went to town, musically, last night. The verdict: not bad! Sound isolation is better than I anticipated. Well, actually, when we began this project I envisioned a completely soundproof space, wherein a man could cut sheet metal with a rusty circular saw at 2 in the morning and have no fear of annoying a soul. But as the work progressed I realized that the reality of things would be a bit less dramatic. But I started thinking all this work wasn't gonna amount to anything except a rather cramped and stuffy practice space, with bass frequencies reverberating through the house and into angry neighbors' domiciles.

Here's my sonic breakdown of the varying levels:

• In the living room you can hear things, but all but the loudest bass notes are fairly well-muffled. In fact, most sound leakage seems to be coming from the stairwell, which is exactly the same issue we experienced at the old place. If we put a door at the bottom of the stairs, that should really help contain things.
  
• On the second floor you can't hear much at all, just a couple of taps here and there. I assume the top floors are blissfully ignorant of that band room altogether.
• I went outside and couldn't hear anything at all. It's weird to realize how much 'ambient noise' there is here, but you notice it when you concentrate on it. There's like a constant, low-level woosh all around, the confluence of passing cars, people talking, trains running, a million roach wings flapping in unison.
  

Later that same night I wondered aloud why I was so concerned about our noise. From the time practice ended, we heard countless elevated trains rumbling by, several vocal arguments on the streets, and a bunch of gunshots. However, I feel if my neighbors complain about the music and bring up the potential of gun violence, this may be misconstrued.

I gotta get more of those moving blankets! They're heavy and have several layers to them, this might really solve my cheapskate acoustic issues! I still need bass traps to suck of the boominess, but we're off to a good start? Who can remember our setlist? Because we sure can't.

Oh, and confidential to Al: You will notice the light fixtures and bx cable are now safely (more or less) tucked away amongst the radiator pipes. Thank you for your angry concern.

Labels: Motico, Music, Neighbors, Renovation, Soundproofing