Dave Easterly’s Bravo Sierra Blog

Blast from the Past…

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Jerome put this little gem on classmates.com… I don’t know whether to hug him or kill him. Either one would be difficult considering he’s a couple of thousand miles away. Brings back memories, though… that was my very first kit of Ludwigs. They were later stolen and sold by a “friend” in Alabama who turned out to be an utter douchebag. Ah, the memories….

This has to be the coolest musical geek toy ever…

http://www.hauntedfrog.com/gt/movies/2007/duckon/SingingTeslaShow.html

Dude…

The Big Lebowski may just be one of the funniest movies ever. Just had to put that out there.

Here’s another gem for you: Sick and tired of crappy music played by people who dress like depressed gay vampires with anger issues*? Well, real Rock & Roll has been reborn on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia and it’s name is WOLFMOTHER!!! I can only hope that this undoes the sweeping change that began when Nirvana signaled the death knell to fun and joy in music. Let me make this clear – We don’t need the wretched cartoonish excess of the hair band era. This is stripped down 3-piece party rock with balls to spare. Wolfmother is channeling the long-dead spirits of early Sabbath, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience and I for one am GLAD to see them return! If you doubt, just watch:

THAT is how you spell “B-A-L-L-S!”

Between these guys bringing back the fun (complete with cheesy innuendo and D&D lyrics), and new Nine Inch Nails and the revival of Rage Against the Machine challenging people to think for themselves again, 2007 might actually shape up to be a decent year in the world of music.

*Partial credit for that little image goes to uber-guitarist and all-around badass extraordinaire, Jared Asay, the guitarist for my band.

Fuck the Green T in Pocatello!

Club owners generally aren’t known for being members of the Upright Citizens’ Brigade. In fact a lot of them are outright douchebags. Well, the Green T in Pocatello, ID takes the cake for douchebaggery. The band played opening for Aaron Ball and Somewhere in the Middle there last weekend. The deal was that the club was paying Aaron and SITM $800.00 for two nights and our cut for opening on Friday was coming out of that. After we played, we hung out and celebrated 80′s style for Jared’s better half’s 26th birthday. Skip forward to today – A phone call from Aaron informs us that the owner of the club screwed them over. On Saturday the manager locked himself in his office and sent the bouncers out to tell Aaron they weren’t paying them the agreed amount and shorted them by $300. So not only is the manager a douchebag, he’s a chicken shit douche bag. Fuck the Green T. We were booked to play there April 20th & 21st, but that ain’t happenin’.

SO DON’T EVER SPEND YOUR MONEY AT THE GREEN T! BOYCOTT THOSE ASSHOLES! THE GREEN T IS RUN BY GUTTER-SCUM DOUCHEBAGS FUCKNOZZLES!

Funk Funkity Funk Funk DAMN!

A few things to report.

I saw George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars in Boise. Most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. If you do not see them when you have a chance you are denying yourself the experience of a lifetime.

The other thing is that the band is working their butts off in the studio along with Nick, the recording engineer. So far the biggest holdup and the most problems have been with my part. This studio work has shown me exactly how much I suck. I’m about one mood swing away from eBaying all the drum gear off and giving it up for good.

FINALLY! An update…

Well, I’ve taken today off from work because I feel like I’m coming down with a bug of some sort so I have some time to write.

Big things happening! First and foremost, I’m HOME! Six weeks away from home on a business trip is a looooong damned time to be away when you’re still a newlywed. I’ve spent a total of 4 and a half months on the road for work this year. I don’t think I’m doing that again next year. I missed Carrie and Kash way too much. The upside is I DID get to go see my oldest son, Robert while I was down there. We had a great visit and had lots of fun. I did make the mistake of taking him to see “Borat,” though. That movie was messed up! I put some new photos of my visit with Robert, my Mom, Grandma, Uncle Bub, and Mike up in my gallery.

Another thing – My Uncle Bub (his real name is Clyne but he was “Uncle Bubby” when I was a kid so he’s still “Bub” to me) was the reason I got interested in music in the first place. I remember when I was still really little visiting his house was always a treat because he had a Moog he would play, and sometimes he’d even play the them from the old BBC series “Doctor Who” for me. We’d stay up too late and watch PBS when Dr. Who and Monty Python came on. I loved it! Well, he’s gotten back in to music and he asked for some music by my band so I gotta send a CD and a DVD down to him.

This brings me to the next major thing – the band. We are booked like MAD up into February and we’re getting more gigs all the time. We video taped our show at an all-ages venue called Factory13 and it was a great show. By great show, I mean the audience was awesome and we had a fantastic time. The energy was phenomenal! We all had a few fluffed notes and such, but this was my first live show with our new guitarist, Jared Asay. BTW, if you don’t know who the band members are in LoveCrymes, it’s me, Brandon, and Jared. Anyway, we’ve got most of the songs from our December 1, 2006 show on our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/lovecrymes. Tell your friends and let them know if you think they’d like our music!

Playing (and just a little partying) with Royal Bliss!

Last night LoveCrymes opened for Royal Bliss at Kruzer’s and MAN, what a night it was! Sadly, it was Pete Massaro’s last show with us on guitar, but his farewell show was beyond awesome. We cranked up the funk for about the first hour and then Royal Bliss absolutely rocked the roof off. If you missed it, you missed on HELL of a good time.

First show in Boise, modified kit configuration, a new haircut, and a GREAT quote…

Well, LoveCrymes had a show at The Venue in Boise, ID and it went pretty well. There were a few glitches with the sound (the P.A., not the band. )but all-in-all it was a good first show. We sold some CDs and had a great time. One thing I did learn was that the way I had my rack for my kit set up is a P-A-I-N to set up from scratch! So I simplified it down for practice and I _really_ like how the new configuration plays and feels. Everything is lower down and pulled closer in to the center of the kit and it’s a lot easier for an old fart like me. Speaking of being an “old fart,” I decided to cut my hair for the Boise show and I _really_ like it. Here’s a pic:

The back even tapers down into a “V” rather than just going straight back. Waaay funky.

And here’s a quote for you:

The cry has been that when war is declared, all opposition should
therefore be hushed. A sentiment more unworthy of a free country could
hardly be propagated. If the doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to
declare war and they are screened at once from scrutiny … In war,
then, as in peace, assert the freedom of speech and of the press.
Cling to this as the bulwark of all our rights and privileges.
– William Ellery Channing

Gigs in Boise, Jerome, Kimberly, again in Boise, and more!

Well, things seem to be taking off for my band, LoveCrymes! Regardless of the fact that our name sounds like something most states would consider a felony, we are booked throughout the rest of August and into the beginning of September! My first BIG show with the band is tomorrow night (tonight, actually – I’m too amped to sleep) in Boise at The Venue. After that we’re playing in Jerome at El Sombrero on the 11th of August and then Chubby’s in Kimberly the 12th. After that we’ll be playing at Nazzkart the 18th and then in Boise at the State Fair on the Western Town Stage the 20th. You can see the flyers and more details at http://www.myspace.com/LoveCrymes.

In other news, the wedding plans roll on. Most of the invitations have been sent except for a few we want to hand deliver, and the Big Day is September 2nd. I swore I’d never do this again but when the right one comes along… It just changes everything…

Come to our CD Release Party tonight, August 5th at The Venue in Boise!!!