my man tim showed me some pics of mastodon

he lives in music mecca, austin and he said he got lucky and got tix to see them in 2007

and i wondered, did i see them back then? one of those raging metal bands had a secret show for the press only but i was one of the few journos who loved metal so i got to see

The Sword

in a tiny… it  wasnt even a club it was just a space

for 2022 i want to get better at photography.

i love it so.

a trip through this year via photos

here we have March 2010


echo park bbq, march 5
joey maloney, scott sterling, ali miller – one could build an empire around those three


la times, march 8
todd had cancer. the surgeon had a knife. todd now has a killer scar.


echo park, sunset blvd, march 9
always remember that the food truck revolution came directly from taco trucks like tacos arizas


westchester, march 10
the only thing better than amazing sushi, are two foul mouthed girls to enjoy it with


hollywood, march 11
the only thing better than boring one girl in yr bedroom is, wait, nevermind


austin, texas, march 13
they said paint, so i made the sun


sxsw twitter party, austin, tx, march 14
ev williams and mark milian, fantastic gents, neither of whom have the same gig now that they had then


austin, tx, march 15
can you tell im annoyed? things worked out later, in a nice way.


austin, tx, march 16
a kilt and a metal shirt = awesome. who knew?


sixth street, march 17
even though poetry been berry berry good to me, it can fend for itself if you ask me


sixth street, st paddys day
the only thing i like doing more than taking pics, its taking pics of people posing for pics


near la zona rosa, st paddys day
shepard fairey wuz here


austin, tx, march 18
hangovers have me seeing double



ifc house, march 18
if i was any closer to The Sword at this show i woulda been in the band




austin music hall, march 18
biggest surprise of the week: stp stills got it


austin, march 18
dum dum girls have a sweet sweet thing goin


austin, march 18
best texas band no one ever talks about: quiet company





stubb’s bbq, march 19
<3 courtney love cobain <3


stubbs bbq, red river, march 19
one of the legends of red river, asher garber, and the car i would later own


prague club, march 20
matt good said he hadnt been to sxsw for 15 years and it would be another 15 when hed return


runyun canyon, march 28
it was 85 degrees, you’d have gone for a hike too

the futures uncertain and the end is always near

i left the STP show at the austin music hall early cuz thats what you do when 2000 bands are playing over 4 days.

because of that i missed their encore when Robby Kreiger of the Doors joined the band on stage for the classic tune with all the famous lines

my favorite being, well i woke up this morning and got myself a beer.

its funny that there was all this Doors stuff going on because as i left the show and described how shocked i was at how good Scott Weiland was, i often compared him to Jim Morrison, in the sense that he was wild, unpredictable, and ridiculously handsome.

but then i saw this video this morning and i was all, meh.

difficult choices need to be made

hole is playing Stubbs at the same time that Gwar is being interviewed at the convention center

meanwhile Victoria Williams is doing a 15(!) minute set.

likewise when Matt Good is playing all these other great bands are playing too.

and right before that Sum 41 is playing on a roof and She and Him are playing a cool place

but Quiet Company is playing far away.

of course i will see Hole and Matt Good and sadly miss Quiet Company

and probably not see Leah and Taylor

or my other pals in Austin

a week just isnt enough.

this place is a ginormous whirlwind of earthly delights.

my feet hurt. in a good way.

true story:

was walking back from a panel at sxsw

i see a sign on the IFC house that the Sword is going to play at 6pm.

i look down to my sundial watch and i see its nearly 6pm

i go into the house, i drink a free beer, i eat a nice dumpling of some sort

i talk to a nice man who blows me off, then a nice lady

she tells another nice man who i am employed for

and ten minutes later im front row snapping hundreds of pics of The Sword

and they rock my face off.

if ever there was a time id like to return the favor to a city, itd be now.

there was this colorful school bus

that yanked me out of the digg party at stubbs

on the bus was several cases of molson canadian, dozens of people, karaoke

and this charming lass who kept calling me darling

or dear or something, i had already had some margueritas somewhere else and a fosters at digg

the karoake wasnt bad, touch screen somehow. magically probably.

so many drinks on board. and actual good looking girls which is either a sign of the times or a miracle. this isnt how its normally here. anyways

i kept walking away from yr girl in that video but she was all come here.

finally i had too many beers in me. and the bus kept going in circles.

some say it was looking for kk+

someone put avril on. then we were stopped. gas station. then the cto from aol was buying case after case of budweiser. some 12 packs, some 6 packs, some 24 packs.

god i had to go. shes from bc. flawless. but then it stopped. then they told us to get out.

then eye spied with my little eye a dumpster in the dark in an alley.

and when i was done i ate the most delicious korean taco.

lessons learned from sxsw

#1 i am old. and not in a good way. old is supposed to mean wise and classy and debonaire. i cant even spell debonaire. im just old.

there used to be a time when i could wake up at 9:30am and talk and rock and dance and drink and walk around and run around and flirt and eat and argue and enjoy the good music and write about it on multiple platforms. and yes i could do it eight days straight.

tonight i sit here in my dull dough and my back aches and my head aches and im wheezing and ive been recovering for THREE DAYS. i didnt even drink that much! the good book suggests “dont drink till youre drunk.” i followed that advice on every night except for the one where janes addiction played the playboy party sponsored by our old bff jack daniels. and even that night i was able to walk home at 3am with no huge probs.

but man am i paying for it now.

i know theres this thing called sxsars but im indestructible. and i know i got sick for months three years ago when i was at sxsw and made out with some texas roller girls. but thats acceptable. being sick now simply because ive hit the wall isnt acceptable at all. its disturbing. and sad.

lesson #2. i see too many old bands.

my man todd taught me a lot on the trip. he taught me that hes a great writer, a great editor, and that the beauty of an event like sxsw is the opportunity to discover new acts.

yes its tempting to see the best guitarist in rock, j mascis, twice while hes fronting the original lineup of one of the best bands ever, dinosaur jr., but with 1,899 other bands in town wouldnt it have been more prudent to try to find the next j mascis? indeed isnt that sorta my job?

metallica was fine to see because i had never seen them before, but ive seen janes addiction a half dozen times, and even though theyre not new ive seen the grates almost that many times too. why wasnt i learning about more new groups like Tia Carerra and Valient Thorr? i truly loved seeing both of those bands for the first time. what was i thinking?

i wasnt, cuz when youre old you do things that lead to comfort. you book too-expensive hotels (that end up biting you in the ass), you fly in a cheerleader (because she has a perfect ass) instead of meeting new babes, you order room service instead of discovering new haunts, and you play everything safe safe safe.

when did i become so safe? what made me this way? was all my courage in my afro? if i cant blame myself who can i blame? bush was impeached – we now only have ourselves to point the finger at.

lesson #3. when the Lord said work six days and rest on the seventh he wasnt kidding.

which might be one reason he had moses chisel it in stone. not once did i use the hot tub. not once did i tour greater austin. not once did i go visit my friend ken’s new apartment or even see the very pregnant leah muse. those are the things you do on your day off. those are the things you do when you read the good book and follow the rules.
sickness doesnt hit you when you give your senses a break.

lesson #4. i have no business going to coachella.

i dont deserve it.

lesson #5. i probably shouldnt go to sxsw 2010.

with the money i spent this year, i could instead go to a club like spaceland, the echo, the viper room, or the echoplex twice a week, and bring a date, and buy beers and eat tacos with her afterwards and enjoy full sets from the headliners and opening acts -and i wont die of sxsars – and at the end of the year i would be able to see over 100 bands. new bands. small bands. up n comers. creative geniuses. and yes, i bet at the end of the year i would have “discovered” the next j mascis.

lessone #6. they dont teach you crap in high school.

lesson #7. i have lost my mojo.

and my personal style, and my inner lifecoach, and my individuality. i have become just like every other suburban neverwas. everyone knows stay away from stubbs at sx. everyone knows if you go there twice youre a douche who really isnt all that interested in new music. how many times did i go there last week, 2x. how many times did i go to japan nite? zero-san. i have sold out, i have let my nation down, my ghettocard deserves to be revoked.

lesson #8. stay cool with your exes.

the only thing i did right this whole trip was have one exgf drive me to the airport and have another one pick me up. start with loveliness and return to it. but they deserve better in their lives than to shuttle my black ass around. i should beg forgiveness.

lesson #9. i need to buy a serious camera.

the truth of the matter is im not always going to have the incredible access to all of the worlds coolest and most amazing people. likewise, i wont always be able to meet celebrities and rockstars all the time either. instead of music festivals i should get a professional camera and click that bad boy as often as possible. anything else is selfishness.

i will get better. i swear to you.

but apparently right now my body is in fullblown revolt as it cant believe that it went to the mecca of new rock

and all it got was this tshirt.

this is why the terrorists hate us. this is why the caged bird groans. this is not a love song.

ive been here eight days

im exhausted. i just realized my super exclusiveo video interviewo with the grates had a smear on the lens. and i didnt have a backup memory card so i couldnt ask more questions.

i really dont wanna write about metallica or dinosaur jr. or this horrible japanese act i just saw.

but i have to. this is where the rubber meets the road. this is where they separate the men from the boys. but boy am tired.

i just wanna take a long hot shower, sleep in my own bed. eat my favorite foods. and watch my own tv.

if theres one thing thats grossing me out these days its remote controls in hotel rooms. do maids even clean those? and where are peoples hands when theyre in hotel rooms? whats going on there? then they touch the remote?

ive learned a lot of things on this trip. ive seen a lot of people fighting and crying. couples mostly. people who should be in love while theyre out here but instead theyre yelling and arguing.

i learned that relationships are like shoes.

i have these super cool converse one stars. theyre low top, they look good, they feel good. for very short distances. like if i was going to drive to a show and park and walk a block and stand at the show and walk around the place a few times, then drive home, theyre perfect.

i also have these dg basketball shoes. they dont look cool. theyre high tops, theyre dirty, they slip on they slip off. i got them with my first paycheck from Look Look.

what i realized on this trip is there are some girls that are fine for short periods. they look hot or cute but, no fault of their own, they are not long time investments.

then there are those who are way better in the long run.

maybe i had just the right amount of vodka in my red bull last night but when miss austin was holding my hand as we past one crying couple after another i whispered their problem is they talk to each other.

but it was too loud she couldnt hear me.

so i esped.

lets not talk till we say bye at the airport.

she said you took the words right outta my head.

930pm Room 710 Tia Carrera

stony trippy neverending three man instrumental heavy rock yesicanyesican rhymns might not be your cup of tea. Slowing down and carefully delving into the depths of hendrixs heart might not be your idea of a fun night out on a cold and drizzly night in Austin. But for those of us who aren’t too old yet and who appreciate a touch of Satan in our rock are fully grooving to this no frills evening on the first night of Texas here on red river.

10:45pm tia and i are upstairs at room 710 loving the ozzy tribune band that is now rocking downstairs.