Act III - The Next Day
Waking up at 9 o’clock isn’t such a good idea especially after going to bed around 3:30 a.m. rather drunk.
John had woken up from his nap when Kevin called around 5:30. The plan was to get Kevin, go to San Pedro, drop of the kid, come back to Long Beach, and go from there. John was still feeling exhausted and I could understand. We decided that we wouldn’t jam that night. Instead I’d drop of my car with my gear in it at my house and go with them. Nothing is better than driving through Terminal Island right after sunset while blasting the scores of GUMBY. Seriously, all should experience that. I was sitting in the back with Amelia, who was picking her nose and tasting what she found and when I told her to stop she poked her booger finger in my face. Nice…
So, we drop off the kid and ride back to Long Beach, this time we listened to some really great Italian 60’s music. It was amazing. There must have been some concert or something happening in downtown because we could not escape the traffic. Eventually we ducked into a Carl’s Jr. drive-thru and they bought some grub. We trekked over to Kevin’s and I watched them eat. I wasn’t too hungry. John was debating whether or not to head over to the Prospector to see The Sharp Ease play, Kevin wanted to stay home, and I was caught in the middle because I didn’t have a car or money for a show.
When they were done eating, Kevin put in this Japanese movie called “The H-Man” and I really didn’t mind spending the night watching an atomic Japanese movie from the 50’s. I’m always down for that. What a great flick. Actually the special effects were amazing for the time, very Ghostbuster-ish. John served my some coke and vodka and it was very relaxing. At one point Kevin put on some Gina X and we listened to her while watching the film. After her he put on a great band called The Searchers. After The Searchers and “The H-Man” was over, John had decided to head over the Prospector and persuaded me to go by offering to by me a drink. So, off we went.
When we got in we found Ginny, our dancer from Squeak Toy, sitting at the bar talking to some peeps. John orders me a screwdriver, as usually, and we fraternized with the band. I hadn’t seen The Sharp Ease play since Squeak Toy was together and was great to get to see them again, especially with their new line up… with a guy in the band. Hey, it surprised the hell out of me too. Anyway, I talked with him before the show and it turns out that he was in a band that played with Squeak Toy a few years ago called The Mormons. Now, everyone who was there at the show with The Mormons at DiPiazza’s experienced something that is still to this day very debatable.
***FLASHBACK***
It involved the singer, Patrick, me, and my consumption of a Long Island Iced Tea. The Mormons played after Squeak Toy, so I was still in Rock’n Roll mode, wanting to just rock out a bit you know, and The Mormons are a great garage-punk kind of a band, dressing up in match white button-ups with ties and helmets. They were great.
I sat back watching nobody really getting into them but me and I thought that I needed to get things started. So, I stage dove, which is in itself a pretty lame thing to do but Patrick was doing it and wanted to as well. Anyway, when I leapt on the stage, turned around and got ready to jump, I didn’t notice that my leg got tangled in his mic cable and when I flung myself off of the stage, I violently pulled it out of his hands. I didn’t notice it at first, only that he stopped singing for a while, but then he got off of stage to and began to wrestle a chair. And, yeah, I’ll admit I was a bit jealous. I mean, I wanted to wrestle a chair too. So, I began to wrestle with him and the chair. (No joke. I get crazy like that sometimes.) Anyway, Patrick and I are really getting into it and at some points it seemed like he was really trying to hurt me, which I didn’t mind. It was fun.
So, after the show I talked to him and realized I had pulled out his mic and apologized and he was cool. He had also thought that I was seriously trying to fight him because people just randomly beat him up, or something. I told him that I was just having fun. When all the gear was packed up Brenda, the keyboardist for Squeak Toy, and I were talking to the other band mates and really hitting it off, like joking with them to go up on stage with bikes and bibles.
The next day I decided to go to there website to check it out and one of the first things I see is their “Top Ten Things We Hate Being Told” and everything that Brenda and I said was on that list. And that list was posted that morning. So, I was just like, “Fuck them.” and just left it at that. Later that week I was told to go to the Bolides website, the other band we played with that night. Unknowingly, they had taken pictures of the Patrick and me wrestling incident and made a FLASH out of it, thinking that we were actually at each others throats. The pictures are pretty homoerotic, now that I remember them. I mean, come on, two young kids wrestling with a chair? One shot actually showed the leg of the chair poking out of one of our asses. That animation, though funny and well done, didn’t help the Mormon connection any bit.
http://thebolides.com/fieldtrips/morm-squeak/boydvspatrick.htm
**END OF FLASHBACK**
So, I told Aaron, the guitarist for The Sharp Ease this and he told me not to worry about that “Top Ten List” because everyone said that to them. He was cool, talking to him made me forgive him for being a Mormon. (Get it? Cuz… well, I thought that was funny.) I met one of John’s friends, Marisa, who is in a project called Moedog Darling, and she was cool too. Eventually Brenda showed up with Pete and all but one of our former band mates were there. That was a vision.
Anyway, the band Blow-up Blow started up and blew me away. I hadn’t heard a band like that in a long time. Just this energy and willing to just play, it was amazing. They had this mid-90’s local Long Beach sound that I miss.
They ended and so did my first screwdriver. John got me another, which turned out to be a bad idea. The Sharp Ease came up and were even better then I’d ever heard them before. I mean, they were a sight before but now, my god! Every song was just electrifying and filled me with vigor, something I haven’t felt since I saw The Mars Volta. But then again, I was pretty drunk at both shows. So, anyway, I’m getting really into them and Marisa and I dance a bit, rocking out. Then she kind of takes off, which is cool, but I decided that I’d start shoegazing like a madman. I must have went off for about a measure before stopping, becoming completely light-headed, beginning to fall straight backwards, and totally head-butted this chick sitting on a stool behind me. I apologized to her like 20 times and she was cool about it. God, I feel dumb about that.
The band wrapped it up and afterwards the Squeak Toy bunch hung out outside, smoking smokes. Though the thought of an annual Squeal Toy reunion show sounded good, it doesn’t seem like it will happen. Though it should be done, and in Toronto, like Ginny had suggested. But we’ll see.
At about one, Brenda and Pete left and Ginny, John, and I went over Ginny’s for like an hour or so before we decided to leave before we passed out. John dropped me off at home and I had to sit up awhile as not to upset my stomach that seemed to be feeling those screwdrivers. In time I did pass out at around 3:30, only to wake up at 9. It was worth it, though.
I’ll tell you this, every time I have seen a band play I have always had the urge to go home and play. But last night I actually enjoyed just watching and listening. Well, all but the passing out part. HA!
John had woken up from his nap when Kevin called around 5:30. The plan was to get Kevin, go to San Pedro, drop of the kid, come back to Long Beach, and go from there. John was still feeling exhausted and I could understand. We decided that we wouldn’t jam that night. Instead I’d drop of my car with my gear in it at my house and go with them. Nothing is better than driving through Terminal Island right after sunset while blasting the scores of GUMBY. Seriously, all should experience that. I was sitting in the back with Amelia, who was picking her nose and tasting what she found and when I told her to stop she poked her booger finger in my face. Nice…
So, we drop off the kid and ride back to Long Beach, this time we listened to some really great Italian 60’s music. It was amazing. There must have been some concert or something happening in downtown because we could not escape the traffic. Eventually we ducked into a Carl’s Jr. drive-thru and they bought some grub. We trekked over to Kevin’s and I watched them eat. I wasn’t too hungry. John was debating whether or not to head over to the Prospector to see The Sharp Ease play, Kevin wanted to stay home, and I was caught in the middle because I didn’t have a car or money for a show.
When they were done eating, Kevin put in this Japanese movie called “The H-Man” and I really didn’t mind spending the night watching an atomic Japanese movie from the 50’s. I’m always down for that. What a great flick. Actually the special effects were amazing for the time, very Ghostbuster-ish. John served my some coke and vodka and it was very relaxing. At one point Kevin put on some Gina X and we listened to her while watching the film. After her he put on a great band called The Searchers. After The Searchers and “The H-Man” was over, John had decided to head over the Prospector and persuaded me to go by offering to by me a drink. So, off we went.
When we got in we found Ginny, our dancer from Squeak Toy, sitting at the bar talking to some peeps. John orders me a screwdriver, as usually, and we fraternized with the band. I hadn’t seen The Sharp Ease play since Squeak Toy was together and was great to get to see them again, especially with their new line up… with a guy in the band. Hey, it surprised the hell out of me too. Anyway, I talked with him before the show and it turns out that he was in a band that played with Squeak Toy a few years ago called The Mormons. Now, everyone who was there at the show with The Mormons at DiPiazza’s experienced something that is still to this day very debatable.
***FLASHBACK***
It involved the singer, Patrick, me, and my consumption of a Long Island Iced Tea. The Mormons played after Squeak Toy, so I was still in Rock’n Roll mode, wanting to just rock out a bit you know, and The Mormons are a great garage-punk kind of a band, dressing up in match white button-ups with ties and helmets. They were great.
I sat back watching nobody really getting into them but me and I thought that I needed to get things started. So, I stage dove, which is in itself a pretty lame thing to do but Patrick was doing it and wanted to as well. Anyway, when I leapt on the stage, turned around and got ready to jump, I didn’t notice that my leg got tangled in his mic cable and when I flung myself off of the stage, I violently pulled it out of his hands. I didn’t notice it at first, only that he stopped singing for a while, but then he got off of stage to and began to wrestle a chair. And, yeah, I’ll admit I was a bit jealous. I mean, I wanted to wrestle a chair too. So, I began to wrestle with him and the chair. (No joke. I get crazy like that sometimes.) Anyway, Patrick and I are really getting into it and at some points it seemed like he was really trying to hurt me, which I didn’t mind. It was fun.
So, after the show I talked to him and realized I had pulled out his mic and apologized and he was cool. He had also thought that I was seriously trying to fight him because people just randomly beat him up, or something. I told him that I was just having fun. When all the gear was packed up Brenda, the keyboardist for Squeak Toy, and I were talking to the other band mates and really hitting it off, like joking with them to go up on stage with bikes and bibles.
The next day I decided to go to there website to check it out and one of the first things I see is their “Top Ten Things We Hate Being Told” and everything that Brenda and I said was on that list. And that list was posted that morning. So, I was just like, “Fuck them.” and just left it at that. Later that week I was told to go to the Bolides website, the other band we played with that night. Unknowingly, they had taken pictures of the Patrick and me wrestling incident and made a FLASH out of it, thinking that we were actually at each others throats. The pictures are pretty homoerotic, now that I remember them. I mean, come on, two young kids wrestling with a chair? One shot actually showed the leg of the chair poking out of one of our asses. That animation, though funny and well done, didn’t help the Mormon connection any bit.
http://thebolides.com/fieldtrips/morm-squeak/boydvspatrick.htm
**END OF FLASHBACK**
So, I told Aaron, the guitarist for The Sharp Ease this and he told me not to worry about that “Top Ten List” because everyone said that to them. He was cool, talking to him made me forgive him for being a Mormon. (Get it? Cuz… well, I thought that was funny.) I met one of John’s friends, Marisa, who is in a project called Moedog Darling, and she was cool too. Eventually Brenda showed up with Pete and all but one of our former band mates were there. That was a vision.
Anyway, the band Blow-up Blow started up and blew me away. I hadn’t heard a band like that in a long time. Just this energy and willing to just play, it was amazing. They had this mid-90’s local Long Beach sound that I miss.
They ended and so did my first screwdriver. John got me another, which turned out to be a bad idea. The Sharp Ease came up and were even better then I’d ever heard them before. I mean, they were a sight before but now, my god! Every song was just electrifying and filled me with vigor, something I haven’t felt since I saw The Mars Volta. But then again, I was pretty drunk at both shows. So, anyway, I’m getting really into them and Marisa and I dance a bit, rocking out. Then she kind of takes off, which is cool, but I decided that I’d start shoegazing like a madman. I must have went off for about a measure before stopping, becoming completely light-headed, beginning to fall straight backwards, and totally head-butted this chick sitting on a stool behind me. I apologized to her like 20 times and she was cool about it. God, I feel dumb about that.
The band wrapped it up and afterwards the Squeak Toy bunch hung out outside, smoking smokes. Though the thought of an annual Squeal Toy reunion show sounded good, it doesn’t seem like it will happen. Though it should be done, and in Toronto, like Ginny had suggested. But we’ll see.
At about one, Brenda and Pete left and Ginny, John, and I went over Ginny’s for like an hour or so before we decided to leave before we passed out. John dropped me off at home and I had to sit up awhile as not to upset my stomach that seemed to be feeling those screwdrivers. In time I did pass out at around 3:30, only to wake up at 9. It was worth it, though.
I’ll tell you this, every time I have seen a band play I have always had the urge to go home and play. But last night I actually enjoyed just watching and listening. Well, all but the passing out part. HA!