Flying ghetto at the Airliner

Our equipment rocks and settles behind me making clicks and rattles like an old house in anticipation of playing. I'm surprised by the amount of traffic there is on a early Sunday night and come to find that a roadkill coyote is the culprit. After diverging around the sporadic parking lots of traffic we finally reach the Airliner, a unique bar nested between nothing and next to nothing. At least it was right off the freeway. Tonight both of my bands play: Stupid Flanders and Ready For Vegas. RFV goes on first on the tiny stage tucked in on the left before the bathroom. The stage upstairs is much larger and another one outside would be much more ideal, but we'll take what is give. A few new faces joined us in the crowd and the set went great. Heads bopping and hips swaying to the lounge rock n roll.
The Decision were up next, a punk rock girl-powered band with a lot of style, then our old friends Failed To Victory. As I changed outfits for my set with SF, I was serenaded by a drunken transient doing a performance in front of a 99 cent store across the street. Black shirt and tie donned I joined my fellow Flanders on our little stage. The clock read midnight and most of the crowd had left already. The remainder was just friends and family. We cut a song or two and focused on the new songs to give them a chance to reach new ears. A few laughs were had and all-in-all a good night. Taco Bell put the cherry on top of a double duty evening.

House of Blues in detailio

Image via Wikipedia

The view from the cheap seats

Beulah, Ruby, and Mikey

Our eclectic Horns

Most of the band

So my Valentines Day treat came a few days early when I had the pleasure of playing at the House of Blues Anaheim with Ready For Vegas. HOB has been my top venue of desire to play at for the last decade or so. So many amazing acts have graced that stage, many of which have inspired and shaped my musical prowess, as it were. Matt and I park around back at the well guarded band entrance and take the elevator backstage. The rest of my fellow band mates wait anxiously as our call time creeps closer. Our intimate greenroom is shared by all the other bands but we manage to take it over. The ladies do their hair and makeup as the guys wax idiotic about chicken tenders and Bryans sweatshirt. So much history is tied to this place and I am backstage soaking it all in.

After a brief all-band meeting, we get everything ready and take a few sips of my pre-show Jack. No more time to be scared or nervous, the 20' tall patchwork curtains are parting. I scan the room, then my music, then the room again in search of friends whom are scattered everywhere. The sound and lighting was unreal. This is most definitely not a hole-in-the-wall operation. Our set goes off nearly flawless minus the usual hick-ups. Mikey had to Macgyver his guitar strap with screwdrivers and duct tape mere seconds before we began. After a great set we joined our friends on the balcony for drinks and fries. An unbelievable night to say the least.

House Of Freakin Blues!

Backstage


Our dazzling bass player Beulah and trumpet master Matt


Master vocalist Ruby


The view before the storm

Ready For Vegas?

A second band? Really? I think this venture is a great opportunity to expand my music abilities, due in part to the insanely difficult horn parts written by our eccentric trombone player Bryan. The whole band is very mellow, down to earth, and extremely talented. My fellow Flander Matt is in the band as well and one of the main reasons I joined the band. The sound is a mix of Rockabilly/rock/punk. I would imagine many of the tunes playing in the background of a Tarintino flick, lots of style and attitude.
We had the pleasure of playing at the Continental Room in Fullerton (http://www.myspace.com/thecontinentalroom), one of my favorite bars. Small stage tucked behind a retractable curtain more suited to a Vegas nightclub than a quaint bar in Fullerton. Suit, tie, and fedora matched the surroundings well as we started the set and Ruby's amazing vocals permeated the crowded room. People were packed everywhere, standing on booths, bar stools turned and bartenders ignoring guests to catch a peek of the show. Midpoint through the set the band was joined by burlesque dancers which made all eyes divert from the band and many a jaws dropped, including my own. What a unique experience to play in a new band in one of my favorite bars as beautiful women sing next to me as well as dance in front of me. A great night for all and thrilled to be playing the main stage at House of Blues in Anaheim for my very first, not the last, time this Thurs! Nervousness blended together with angst and excitement!

Here we go again...

So another year is already underway and I have yet to get in my rhythm. The restauraunt that I was employed at, the Clubhouse (where you belong...) for almost 3 1/2 years closed on Dec 31st due to the lease being bought out by the Darden group (corp that owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden). They are splitting the giant expanse of the Clubhouse into two restaurants: Capitol Grill and Seasons 52. I guess if you have the means then go for it. Every single employee was forced to seek new employment, this sucks in part to 1. the current economy and 2. the huge drop off in business that most restauraunts encounter come Jan and Feb. Way to pick an opportune time Darden/Clubhouse !
After a lazy, mostly earned, month off and a handful of applications blanketed around the area without response or real interest, I finally got a bite on a job thanks to my good friend Lisa. All the bar positions were full but I think a rest from doing more for less will be a nice change. I filled out an app on Wed along with my good friend Daniel in a cold parking structure because the store itself was still under construction. After an aptitude test and a brief interview with one of the managers I felt I was a shoe in. They informed me that we would be notified by Sat if we were hired. Lisa and Daniel both got calls Thurs but my phone never rang. I also joined a second band (www.myspace.com/readyforvegas) since I had so much down time. I told them that I was commited to play but was waiting to see if I was going to be hired or not. Sat night rolls around and at 5 pm I emailed our lovely bass player, Beulah, and told her I was in for the band. My phone rings at 6 pm and I got the job. Way to wait til the last minute! I was still happy but had to work out both training for the new job and training for the other band together with current shows/practices with Stupid Flanders and school starting a week after that. The new job is great. The place is called the Catch (www.catchanaheim.com) and is a semi-upscale steak and seafood restaurant. They were forced to relocate from their old residence a few blocks over and after two years of planning, they reopened earlier this month. Everything is brand new! Everything! The whole layout is beautiful and almost everything had to be taken out of plastic and a home found for it. The training was condensed down from two weeks to five days! My brain almost trickled out the side of my head. Too many ingredients and names for one brain to recall. We all barely made it through training and are now in the midst of finding the flow of day to day traffic. I have high hopes for this place and the staff, so far, is very easy to get along with.

Reel Big Fishin

Another band field trip occurred on Mon when we ventured over to House of Blues to see Reel Big Fish, Starpool and Chase Long Beach.


Starpool (essentially a reformed Save Ferris) were up first and were amazing, as always. We have had the pleasure of plying with them a few times.
We watched the Vikings lose in overtime until RBF went on. This was my first time seeing them live after having listening to them for over a decade.


These guys were unbelievable! Great sound except when the guy next to you is singing along in your ear. So many young, sweaty kids stepping on my feet and ripping my jeans. Oh well, the price price of the pit I guess. Back to the house for drinks and taco bell afterwards. Good show old boys.

Twintoos

The inspiration


Branded with pride


Jonny's ink

2nd born, 1rst under needle

Hope you're comfortable

Stupid Store: download songs or our whole album!

CD Release Party

So much to tell...so, here goes:

On February 10th the Flanders crew attacked the stage at DiPiazzas in Long Beach for our long anticipated CD Release party.  This was our first show with our rising-star, good ol boy trumpeteer: Shane.  Our stage was shared with some of our favorite bands, and friends, that we have made over the last few years.  First up was Not A Chance, a fusion of ska upbeats and anarchist punk, followed by our sexy, eclectic friends Fire At Play.  The newly reformed rock gods, Warner Drive, owned the stage with their blend of hard rock and punk.  We couldn't have had more fun on stage.  Veg bobbed ominously in his yellow shades as Joey laid down some delicious solos.  The horn section was a force to reckoned with now doubled in size but not to be outdone by Matty's hammering on the snare and double-bass pedal.  Shane amazed our fans with his vocal talents on Johnny Cash's Get Rhythm not to be outdone by our guest vocalist, Ashley, who blew everyone away by singing All Grown Up.  The room was filled with friends and family and could not have gone any better.  Until the next CD release...