The Dolls On Meds & Local Band Etiquette Violations
I've been listening to the Goo Goo Dolls non-stop this weekend getting ready for the show tomorrow (cut me a break man, everybody has their guilty pleasures). I'm trying to familiarize myself with their new stuff, off Gutterflower. I've been a fan of theirs since I read a review once that they wanted TO BE the Replacements since they started back in the late '80's early '90's, and that Paul Westerberg actually wrote a song for them ('We Are The Normal', off '93's Superstar Carwash). As one could guess, that kinda sparked my interest. I didn't discover them until early '94. I was slow to catch on. The first song I heard was 'Flat Top' off A Boy Named Goo, off a Huh music sampler. I've always found Johnny Reznek's lyrics to be really introspective and a lot deeper than most of the crap on the radio today.
"Sleeping on the White house lawn/Has never changed a thing/Just look at all the washed out hippie dreams"
"Knowledge wrapped up in blankets on the streets"
"And my dirty dreams/All come alive on my tv screen/And assassination plots/Show me what I haven't got/Show me what I love/Or who I'm supposed to be/Show me everything I need/Show it all to me/Show it all to me"
A band ahead of their time, I say. I don't even know whether they have a radio song out right now. I'll probably know tomorrow though. It'll be the one song everybody applauds like maniac's to. I'll have to look out for that one. ***as I bleed with sarcasm***
Anyway, I've been in kind of a funk this weekend (which goes without saying when you've been off your meds for over seven weeks) but I'm coming out of it in anxious anticipation of the show. I finally got my insurance fiasco figured out, and picked up my medications on Friday. It should be a week or two before I can return that bastard t-shirt I've recently been getting in the mail.
On a random note, I got an email back from that band Hyperstar (they opened up for us at our last show). A band called Chromolly who had apparently seen us play before asked us to join them on a bill at the Ash Street on Tuesday, July 16th. They also asked us if we could find another band. Unfortunately, Hyperstar is the only one that can pull that bill on a Tuesday night. I personally find them to be pretty cool, albeit young. Bassman really doesn’t think so. He says ‘they’re retarded’ (those are his words). I agree in the fact that they really don't understand local band etiquette. Portland is a small town. I’ve always come from the frame of mind that bands need to stick together and support each other. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat through crappy opening bands I’d never heard of before we played. You just grin and bare it. That’s part of the deal. Maybe if I had started playing clubs before I was of drinking age (like everybody in Hyperstar) I’d think differently. Not only did Hyperstar walk out on both bands at the last show, but they were also heard reportedly, slamming everybody else on the bill in the parking lot. On top of that, here's a recent, direct quote from them:
-- "andy" wrote:
> We don't know the bands or the line up
Josh of Chromolly tells me that they opened for them once. I find it rather amusing (and more than just a little bit sad) that Hyperstar are so self-absorbed that they can't even recall that they've previously played with BOTH of us on two separate occasions!!! Not a very self-actualized band. More self-centered, I'd say. It's disheartening. Some people just don’t get it. Sometimes I wonder why I even waste my time. Next time we'll have to try and find somebody who actually cares.
I need to go to bed...
"Sleeping on the White house lawn/Has never changed a thing/Just look at all the washed out hippie dreams"
"Knowledge wrapped up in blankets on the streets"
"And my dirty dreams/All come alive on my tv screen/And assassination plots/Show me what I haven't got/Show me what I love/Or who I'm supposed to be/Show me everything I need/Show it all to me/Show it all to me"
A band ahead of their time, I say. I don't even know whether they have a radio song out right now. I'll probably know tomorrow though. It'll be the one song everybody applauds like maniac's to. I'll have to look out for that one. ***as I bleed with sarcasm***
Anyway, I've been in kind of a funk this weekend (which goes without saying when you've been off your meds for over seven weeks) but I'm coming out of it in anxious anticipation of the show. I finally got my insurance fiasco figured out, and picked up my medications on Friday. It should be a week or two before I can return that bastard t-shirt I've recently been getting in the mail.
On a random note, I got an email back from that band Hyperstar (they opened up for us at our last show). A band called Chromolly who had apparently seen us play before asked us to join them on a bill at the Ash Street on Tuesday, July 16th. They also asked us if we could find another band. Unfortunately, Hyperstar is the only one that can pull that bill on a Tuesday night. I personally find them to be pretty cool, albeit young. Bassman really doesn’t think so. He says ‘they’re retarded’ (those are his words). I agree in the fact that they really don't understand local band etiquette. Portland is a small town. I’ve always come from the frame of mind that bands need to stick together and support each other. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat through crappy opening bands I’d never heard of before we played. You just grin and bare it. That’s part of the deal. Maybe if I had started playing clubs before I was of drinking age (like everybody in Hyperstar) I’d think differently. Not only did Hyperstar walk out on both bands at the last show, but they were also heard reportedly, slamming everybody else on the bill in the parking lot. On top of that, here's a recent, direct quote from them:
-- "andy" wrote:
> We don't know the bands or the line up
Josh of Chromolly tells me that they opened for them once. I find it rather amusing (and more than just a little bit sad) that Hyperstar are so self-absorbed that they can't even recall that they've previously played with BOTH of us on two separate occasions!!! Not a very self-actualized band. More self-centered, I'd say. It's disheartening. Some people just don’t get it. Sometimes I wonder why I even waste my time. Next time we'll have to try and find somebody who actually cares.
I need to go to bed...