HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Because its never too late to be a high school goth kid:

'God! Stop taking my picture. I'm going dancing in Seattle. Whatever'.

Or a gnarly Sound Dude...

Gnarly Sound Dude knows how to party! Look at all of those laminates.

And sweet, dumb Olive is going as a potted cactus. Cat-cus! Happy Halloween!

Jazzy Enjoy

Well, well! Look what the internet brought me today.. I've made it onto Thurston's jazzmaster! Tae Won Yu, did you take this picture?

High honor.

Speaking of guitars, someone who likes me very much gave me a Nano Muff pedal for my birthday. It sounds sooooo gooooood with the SG and the Marshall 50Watt. 'Creamy' is one of my least favorite adjectives, particularly in relation to musical instruments, but yeah.. its quite smooth. Super sustain! Now I can really work on my Ron Asheton impersonation, or even 'Who's That Lady'-era Ernie Isley!

And now its off to work. I've pulled six shifts this week! I've muddled through god knows how many pounds of limes. I'm taking next week off: too much jobby-job and not enough art/music gives me a case of the sads. Oh! One more souvenir from this week - my contribution to our community's 40 Days of Kindness campaign for the staff and patrons of downtown Olympia's Planned Parenthood. They have to put up with the moping pro-lifers who park in front of their building w/ the mutilated fetus billboards, so we take turns showering the office with gifts. I made a last dash to the neighborhood flower farm for dahlias:

Thank you Planned Parenthood! Love, Olympia.

Hives of Scum and Villainy

Drove around town yesterday trying to track down old punk houses and photograph them before they're all gone/remodled. The infamous Lucky 7 house, where I saw a million great shows in high school and then moved into when I was 20, is boarded up and slated for demolition. Already gone are the Haunted House, House of Doom, and plenty of others. Here's what I've collected so far:

ABC House. Played my first show ever there, in a little band called Skylab. I was 18 or 19.

Lucky 7. This house holds the most memories for me. Shows, friends, craziness. Bangs played our first show in the basement. I think we played with Bikini Kill.. man, my memory is so terrible. 15 years ago!

Lucky 7 1/2, the punk house next door. Now, an empty lot.

Phoenix House. I tumbled down the basement stairs 11 years ago and (upon collecting myself) suggested to J-Tro that he kiss me. He fell for it!

Red House, recently remodeled and up for rent. $1500/month! Here's a pic Tim Green has of the real Red House, in its early-90's prime:

Tim and his brother on the porch, broken cars in the driveway.

Central House. This was a tough one to find.. I followed my old skateboarding path backwards from the Puget Pantry payphone (we had no phone) to the house. I can't believe this place is still standing! It even looks fancy compared to its state of disrepair in the 90's. I lived with six dudes. Plastique played our first show in the basement.

1611 4th Ave. house, still going strong. Best basement!

Ski Lodge house, probably the most stately of the whole bunch, and not just because its right next to the Capitol Building. I can still hear Mike Elvin on the porch shouting 'Hello, Senator!' to any man in a suit and tie who walked by.

I'll be taking more pictures as my friends help me track down addresses of places that are much more hazy in the recessed synapses of my youth. Bus Stop House, Glass House, Mill House, Taco Bell House...

I Don't Wanna Go

Been listening to this jam. Its a good one.