The Hungry Drummer

Me walking through Springfield

2008-11-13T18:02:00.001-08:00

Miles

2008-08-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is Miles. He's 9. We almost lost him the other day when he swallowed a corn cob. I had to bring him in for emergency surgery where they cut open his belly and intestine and pulled the cob out. I've lost a lot of sleep the last few days and have been reflecting on how Miles has affected my life and why I love him so much even though he's caused me so much distress and conflict over the years.

Miles became my pet by accident. I adopted him with my two roommates in Boston - (Alex Maws and Surf del Mar) at a time when the three of us thought we'd be living in the same apartment for many years to come and could share the responsibility of taking care of him. Within six months, that situation dissolved and I became the sole caretaker of Miles. that coincided with me meeting, falling in love with, and moving in with the woman who is now my wife.

Miles has a strong, domineering personality; he's 1/2 Border Collie and 1/2 Rottweiller. This makes him hyper AND neurotic. To say it was rough between him and Rebecca when we all moved in together is putting it mildly. Miles was jealous, territorial and obstinate. the tension built for a year and a half and culminated in Miles biting Rebecca harshly on the hand at 2am on September 11, 2001.

Had it not been for the despair and fear that descended on the nation the next day, we may have used that incident as an opportunity to work out the relationship problems and find a way to co-exist more peaceably. That never happened, and it took us another eight years to get serious about the situation and hire a dog trainer to help us through it.

It's not always rocky with Miles. He tries really hard most of the time to be good. and we've been very good to him. He's travelled all over New England (and the country) with us, hiking and camping in The Green Mountains, The White Mountains, The Adirondacks, The Berkshires, The Holyoke Range, and most often when we lived in Boston, The Blue Hills and the Fells.

He used to be fairly personable with other dogs, and we had a lively community in Cambridge around the dog park we went to, attending special play dates, dog birthday parties, and once, even an Oscars Poker Game. the dogs weren't invited, but the scene was definitely reminiscent of this:

By the way, I won.

But when we had our daughter Lily and moved to Western MA, everything changed again for the worse. Miles became more anxious and more protective than ever. He attacked two neighborhood dogs - luckily not doing any real damage to either - and became increasingly aggressive with Rebecca and I around the house. He would steal Lily's toys, guard them under the bed or table and often chew them up. It's been clear he loves Lily and would never think of hurting her. He does it to spite us.

And yet, I love him. The early months when he brought him home were difficult for me. I was unemployed, my mother was very ill, and I was contemplating being able to stay in Boston. I would walk Miles daily through the Jamaica Plain neighborhood to Jamaica Pond where we would sit on the grass. Miles would romp after squirrels and chew on acorns, and I would write in my journal or read the paper. The distance that was building between my flat-mates and myself was easier to take with Miles around. He was such a beautiful and fun puppy - eager to learn tricks (he mastered most basic commands at six months) and always getting us tons of attention everywhere we walked. We were often beckoned into businesses along Centre Street so people could play with Miles, and we even once literally stopped traffic, while a burly construction worker and his girlfriend stopped their car in the middle of the road and hopped out to coddle the little fur ball.

I'm glad I got to write all of this down while Miles is still around. I know he's not likely to be too much longer, especially given his tastes for inedible objects. I know what a burden he's been on my wife - and often on me - over the years, but I can't imagine our house without him. Even over the last couple days while he was still in the hospital, our home was so empty without his presence. Sad and haunted. The weather has been beautiful but it was hard for me to enjoy it knowing he was in a kennel probably experiencing the worst pain he's ever had.

I'm gonna go give him a hug.

More press!

2008-05-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

Nine Mile's Independent Spirit

Easthampton record label owner Rick Pierik enjoys the view.

Thursday, May 01, 2008
By Matthew Dube
A local music retailer I know recently said that he had not lost enough money running a store, so he decided to start a record label. Perceived as a thankless and difficult job in any era, running an independent record label in the 21st century means facing innumerable challenges, from the plight of struggling mom-and-pop record stores to file sharing to the state of the economy. It takes a certain disposition, coupled with a strong will, to beat back the tide.

Enter Rick Pierik, proprietor of Easthampton-based Nine Mile Records. For him, motivation lies in finding exciting bands to release and promote, along with the satisfaction of running his own business. Rick's home near Mount Tom serves as label headquarters and warehouse. The Advocate spoke with Rick recently about the cost of postage and why he feels like a salmon.

Valley Advocate: What's your musical background?

Rick Pierik: I've been playing live music—drums—since I was 16, in clubs. After college I lived in Boston from 1995 to 2004, and was the drummer in six or seven bands, including Los Diablos, who had a fairly strong Pioneer Valley and Vermont fan base.

Why did you start a record label?

I was always the guy in the band who booked the shows, tallied the money, hung the posters and did most of the grunt work to make things happen. I started Nine Mile Records to add some legitimacy to my work and to act as an umbrella for all the bands I was working with. There's strength in numbers. But it wasn't until 2003, when my wife and I had a child and moved out to Easthampton, that I began using the label as a way to stay in the music world. I wasn't gigging much anymore and wanted to keep the momentum going with all of the projects I had put time into.

I didn't actually start Nine Mile Records, though. It was started in 1986 by some high school friends of mine when their band put out an album. When my band was ready to do the same the next year, we borrowed the moniker. When I was searching for a name years later, I remembered that title and phoned up those old friends and asked them if I could use it. I don't think they thought I'd actually start a legitimate business.

I understand Nine Mile is more than a strict issuer of physical releases.

Nine Mile functions a little differently than most traditional labels. I work primarily with artists who are gaining big regional attention, but haven't broken into the national scene yet. Most of them come to me with some level of professional backing—a manager, a booking agent or a publicist. I help them create a plan for their next release and try to fill in whatever components they are missing by either linking them up to appropriate outside agencies or by doing it myself. I'm not just concerned with distributing and promoting releases but with management, booking, radio airplay, press, podcasts, you name it. I'm kind of like a utility infielder. I've even filled in on drums.

How many Nine Mile releases are there?

The old Nine Mile Records put out five releases. Since 1996, I've put out an additional 24 titles, plus three label compilations. I have three or four more due out this year.

What does your intern program entail?

When I lived in Boston, we had interns everywhere. Since moving out here, it's been a struggle to find people who want to get this kind of entry level music industry experience. I don't know if I'm competing with paid internships, or if the interest isn't there anymore. But because of the way the label functions, an intern at Nine Mile has the opportunity to learn how every facet of the music industry works: distribution and promotion, radio airplay, tour publicity, licensing. Also, because it's such a small outfit, we can tailor the internship to really get at certain skills a person wants to learn or develop. And I've finally caved in and budgeted a small stipend for the right candidate if they can commit to a certain number of hours in a given semester.

How is it different operating in Easthampton as opposed to Boston?

Did I mention a lack of intern candidates? First of all, we have a much bigger house here, so I finally have a dedicated office. Plus much more room for warehousing. I don't remember any mountain views in Boston, either, so that's nice.

What's the best part of being a record label head honcho?

Being continually surrounded by great music. It's really inspiring. Plus you have a great excuse to go to festivals and music events and then write them off.

Who are your all-time favorite bands?

Until 1984, it was The Police. I guess I stuck with that one as long as I could. High School brought Split Enz, The Pretenders, Midnight Oil, REM, anything that vaguely passed for alternative music. Then I became a college DJ and all bets were off. These days I can't really answer that, although I've been very drawn to Shara Worden and her My Brightest Diamond project. I went through a big Calexico phase recently as well. And a new band in San Francisco called the Botticellis really gets me.

How is Nine Mile affected by some of the current industry concerns?

It's pretty crazy. I feel the "new dawn" is finally getting here after all the hype. Record stores have been struggling for a while, but now No Depression and HARP magazines just up and folded out of the blue. Like I said, I work with artists who already have pretty defined niches. I also only look for bands I think can deliver on their live show. As my business plan picks up more on that end and less on retail, I hope it will compensate. I'm also getting more licensing offers for Nine Mile artists, which helps a little. The biggest thing that hurt me last year, however, was the postage increase. In fact, it damn near put me under. My costs almost doubled. And it hurt, because the Postal Service had been telling me for months that prices for my bulk mailings were going to go down. But because of the size and shape of CDs, they actually went up.

Do you sometimes feel like a salmon heading upstream?

Yes. In fact, I often use that analogy.

What releases and events are on the horizon for Nine Mile?

Kathleen Haskard from the UK released Don't Tell stateside on April 15. It's a dark folk-noir kind of thing that was produced by Chuck Prophet. I'll also be putting out Matt Hebert's next album, The Deep North, under his moniker Haunt. We're going to press a small run of vinyl this spring or summer and then do a CD release in September. Matt was one of the first Valley musicians I met back in the Los Diablos days, so it feels great to work with him. And this record is a real departure for him sonically. He recorded the songs with Jose Ayerve from Spouse, and Jose really got him to expand his palette. Lots of big guitars, feedback and heavy drums.

I also put together a semi-annual music series in Boston called Twisted Roots that's slightly eccentric roots-based bands done in cabaret fashion with a host. The next one is May 9 at The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge with Miss Tess, The Wiyos from NYC and Josh Lederman from Los Diablos with his new ensemble, The Cambridge-Somerville All Stars. It'll be hosted by yodeling banjo player Curtis Eller. It's been very successful in Boston, and hopefully when Flywheel reopens I'll be able to bring the series out here."

Nine Mile Records in the news, baby!

2007-12-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

OK, OK, so there's been quite a lag in my blogging. Well, jesus, you try to keep up with a three year old and make time for this crap, eh?!?

Anyway, a lot of folks have been asking for an electronic version of the article on Nine Mile Records in this month's Northeast Performer Magazine. Well, I'll do you one better and include a pice written by Kristen Beam for MassLive last August after we put out Fancy Trash's Three Cheers For The Cheated. Check it:

NORTHEAST PERFORMER DECEMBER 2007

Nine Mile Records Helps Unique Talent Thrive In A Changing Industry

Since its inception in the late 80s, Nine Mile Records has taken independent artists in need of nurturing under its wing, allowing them to grow in a co-operative exchange until they feel prepared to fly the coop. Originally created by a group of friends in upstate New York as a means of bridging the gaps between local Syracuse artists, NMR has always shared in the DIY mentality, stressing the importance of the self-sufficient artist and his potential power in the modern music industry. The now-Easthampton based label began as a kind of guide or facilitator, helping artists take steps to promote their music locally. Over the span of roughly two decades, co-founder/musician Rick Pierik has transformed Nine Mile Records into a small but versatile label that works closely with its artists, some from overseas and some based locally, having been loyal to Nine Mile since the early days.

After taking an unofficial hiatus, Pierik revived NMR after a move to Boston in the 90s. At that point, its services were still limited to friends and locals, Pierik himself being the drummer for four bands (Josh Lederman y Los Diablos, Grubstake, Alex Maws, and the surf trio The Benders) that were, and still are, part of Nine Mile. While Pierik handled PR and distribution for Nine Mile-affiliated artists for years, it wasn't until 2005 that the label officially signed its first non-local artist. The premier talent, Patrick Sweany, a bluesy-roots singer-songwriter from Ohio, is now signed to a national booking agency and has a string of accomplishments under his belt - one being that his last CD charted on the national AAA and Americana charts. Since Sweany's initiation, the label has built up its roster and currently showcases 10 artists from an eclectic array of backgrounds and styles, though the focus usually leans towards genres such as singer-songwriter, blues, folk rock and folk punk. Yet Nine Mile is drawn to the musician who has a little extra to offer - dedicated artists who take these genres to the next level and somehow make them their own. For example, Northampton-based Fancy Trash has been described as "spazzy, folk-tinged, acoustic indie-rock," New Orleans outfit The Zydepunks honor their Cajun roots by singing primarily in Creole and French, and longstanding NMR band Grubstake combines accordion with zombie flick lyrics.

Despite gradual expansion, Nine Mile Records retains its center and close-knit sense of solidarity. Pierik recently told Performer "Because I'm such a small operation, I try to craft a contract to meet the specific needs of the artist. The new mantra is true: the music industry has changed and independent artists can now do a lot of more for themselves than before. They don't need the monolithic label to handle all affairs, but they do need an advocate who can pound the pavement, pick up the phone and talk to people on their behalf. There aren't enough hours in the day for most musicians to do all that."

Pierik intends to continue reinforcing the reciprocal relationship between artist and label that has granted Nine Mile success.

"I'm taking on much fewer artists in 2008 than I did in 2007 so I can focus on really developing the talent I already work with. Nine Mile has grown every year and I expect 2008 to be no different."

Getting to know Nine Mile Records

Posted by kbeam August 09, 2006

Categories: Western Mass. Record Labels

The news that Fancy Trash had been signed to a record label inspired me to find out more about Nine Mile Records. Rick Pierik, the label's owner, agreed to answer some of my questions.

What is your title and function at Nine Mile Records?
Owner. My function is to do whatever I can't get my interns to do.

What's a typical record label intern like?
Usually a budding college-attending musician who wants to get some practical knowledge of the industry and make some contacts, but also sometimes just a music lover who can't satiate their intake of music by simply seeing live shows and buying ten CDs a week. Most have a far deeper knowledge of unknown great bands than I do. Surprisingly, it's been difficult to find interns in the valley, so if anyone reading this is interested, check out the NMR website and shoot me an email.

Where is the label based?
Easthampton, Mass., Center Of The Universe.

But you didn't start out locally, correct?
I started the label in Jamaica Plain, Mass. approximately five years ago. At that time it was a collective - kind of like Pigeon Records - with different artists contributing different skills to help the label function. When I moved to Cambridge three-and-a-half years ago, I took it over myself and let the bands go back to making music and playing shows. I think the business workings of the label were getting in the way of them focusing on the music. I moved to Easthampton almost two years ago.

I am always interested to hear what people outside of Western Mass. think of the Northampton scene.
Actually, when I played in Los Diablos, we played out here often with Treefort, Ware River Club, Drunk Stuntmen, Fancy Trash, The Figments, Ray Mason, Big Bad Bollocks, and on and on. I was so impressed with the vibrancy of the scene given the community's size. And everyone was always so supportive - very different than Boston. We made a lot of friends. When my wife and I were ready to leave Boston two years ago, the Valley was on a very short list of places to move. I can honestly say that the music scene was a major reason why we moved here.

Do you ever see Northampton exploding into something major? I mean, since you chose to base your label out here could it be said that you are making an investment in the potential of the region?
I hate to say it but no, I don't. It just doesn't have the number of people to support the kind of live music scene that merits an explosion. But considering its size, the relative output of interesting, quality music is amazing. And not just the stuff that's making it out to the wider world like The Winterpills or Grace Potter. I'll stumble across a hidden gem like Our Lady of Bells or Josh Crane and be completely blown away. As I said, the music scene was an important decision in our move to the region, but really it was about a lifestyle change - fresh air, small towns, mountains, farmshares - all stuff we wanted to 'invest' in. Also, as I said, I hope I have the opportunity to invest more in the music of the Valley. One of the drawbacks of being the 'new kid' is that I haven't had the chance to really sink my teeth into the scene. I think once I do, you'll see some more locals on Nine Mile.

What helped you make the decision to sign Fancy Trash?
I like their music first. That's always the priority. And their sound has really evolved in the past couple years beyond the more standard folk-rock of their first CD. I try to build my roster around artists who use tradition - in this case traditional acoustic instruments and folk and pop music - and expand it. If you've ever seen Fancy Trash live, you know they are all about expanding it.

What are some other notable bands on the NMR label?
"Boston's Kings of Irish-Jewish Folk-Punk" Josh Lederman y Los Diablos and a retro-soul wildman out of Akron, Ohio, named Patrick Sweany, whose band used to include (and whose CD was produced by) Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys.

Fall and winter releases in the works for The Zydepunks out of New Orleans, a stripped down solo CD from the lead singer of Detroit's High Strung and a blues punk duo from Philadelphia called Grubstake.

Diablos West Coast Tour Part IV - On The Way Back Home

2007-01-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Day 8 - Ladies & Gentlemen, we're nearing the end of our fun-filled virgin trip out West, and I have to say it's been a gas. Today we wake as refreshed as we were the day we stepped onto our planes for Portland; not usually the way one feels after a week on tour. California living does a body good. We wake at The Buckley residence and - what's this?!?!? breakfast has been cooked, coffee has been made. Sweet Jesus, the Buckleys have adopted us!
After breakfast we decide to do as the Romans and hit some wineries. Always a good idea to get in at least 5 hours of wine tasting before a show. We meet up with some of Buckley's old friends in Sonoma and hit some bottles. Splendid, indeed. That's us at the oldest winery in Sonoma. I would have jotted down the name if I hadn't been so loopy...
Tonight we're playing at The Glaser Center in Santa Rosa. It's a large Performance Center attached to a UU Church. Again, I'm not sure what the usual clientele are gonna make of us. But it happens to be run by Lee Templeton's brother David (the one who had us over for Turkey Day) and he's been so supportive and confident that we are extremely excited to see how it unfolds. Plus we're finally playing with the notorious Culann's Hounds, a Bay Area Celtic Punk band that I contacted months ago when we first started planning this trip. It's all coming together. We get to The Glaser Center early for an extensive sound check. It's a large, live theater, and requires some delicacy with the mix. We sound check for what seems like an hour to make sure everything's a go. Then we have a few beers backstage with The Hounds, meet and greet some folks and the show begins. The Hounds sound fantastic - it's a great space for their acoustic sound and they get folks up dancing and clapping a couple of times. We head back and wait for our introduction. The rooms not very full, but there's still quite a few people here to see us for the first time. We're pretty pumped up. We get out on stage and, wha?!?!? all of the mics on my drums have been taken away as well as my monitor. Uh, why did we bother to sound check?!?!? Man, how to make a musician nervous 101 - get his/her sound down exactingly before a show and then, when they start, change it all without telling them. now this is starting to resemble a Los Diablos tour. We blaze through 75 minutes of our greatest hits (plus a couple misses) and people tell us afterward it was great, so no harm done. And we even got a chance to invite the Hounds onstage for a couple tunes: Irish Rover and Dirty Old Town. Very cool.
After, we hit a pub called The Black Ro se under the freeway. Good Guinness + Black Horse Blues Band = Sure Fire Fun! We close the place with Josh singing tunes with Renee and Michael from The Hounds. Pretty awesome. Now how do we get back to where we're staying...?

Day 9 - Our final Bay Area show. Could we possibly have missed anyone in the area?! Tonight we're at The Starry Plou gh in Berkeley. We're splitting the night with The Mad Maggies again. On paper it looks like one helluva fun evening. At some point in the afternoon we drift down to San Francisco and do some arranging for our trip home. Josh and I head to Berkeley in the afternoon and poke around. One of the Maggie's has invited us over for dinner and his apartment is just a couple blocks from the venue. People here are just way too nice. They better not expect any reciprocation when they come back East. Doesn't work that way in Boston.
We're on first tonight - a good plan if ever there was one. That way we can get pie-eyed jumping around to The Maggies after we're done playing. A friend named Sol takes some fine photos of our set:

Turnout this evening is again less than expected, but boy folks are appreciative. And they know how to waltz! As planned, we jump around like idiots to the Maggies fine ska-klezmer-polka set and get drunker than, uh, last night. Which is pretty drunk.

I'll spare you the part about waking up hung over at the ass-crack of dawn to get Pete to the Oakland airport and just move along to the nice bit about how much fun we had out on the West Coast. thanks to all of you who came out and supported us, bought us a round, let us crash at your place. We truly had about the best time we've ever had - and that says a lot coming from Los Diablos. See you next time!

There are more photos on our MySpace page - go check em out as well as a live on air cut of a new song from the KPIG radio show in Santa Cruz. Cheers!

Diablos West Coast Tour Part III - How to Overstay Your Welcome

2006-12-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

It's Monday, November 20th and the craziest leg of our innagural West Coast tour is behind us. What's ahead you ask? sleep. Pure & Simple. Well, that and another radio spot at 4pm. So today we gotta truck on up to Santa Rosa for a quick spot on KR SH to promote our upcoming shows north of San Francisco.
We hit California 1 and head north, passing some damn fine scenery:
We get to Santa Rosa and check into Mike Buckley's parent's house. They've graciously opened their doors to our ragtag ensemble for a couple of nights - guess Mike didn't really tell them about us...
KRSH goes well - 3 full band songs and a quick interview in which host (and local radio legend) Bill Bowker can't get our name right. Oh well, it's a small town and people will surely know where and when we're playing. We get some invaluable info from Music Director Pam Long about some fine local wineries to hit, and away we go.
Josh, John and Pete all head back into San Francisco to party while Mike and I decide to stay in Santa Rosa and get some rest. No gig tonight.

DAY 5 Tonight we're lined up to play The Larkspur Cafe Theatre in Larkspur, CA, just north of the city. It's a cute little room, primarily accustomed to jazz, folk and dinner theater, so I'm not sure what they're gonna make of us. But, hell, it's a Tuesday so whatever happens is fine with us. The Theatre is cute - definitely a throwback to an era when communities each had their own little playhouses. This one comes with a nice menu and a bar with fabulous wine. We've gotten some great press in the local weekly The North Bay Bohemian, so hopefully between that and the radio show we'll get some folks out.
8pm showtime, and apparently people around here don't a] read newspapers or b] listen to the radio. Very sparse crowd. BUT, certainly not empty. And, once again, size doesn't matter so much because everyone who shows, LOVES us. There's some fine waltzing, much applause and we even get two old Jewish grandmothers to whoop it up for Ana Nevsky and our new as-yet-untitled Hungarian Wedding Song. Also, Lee Templeton, madcap Dj of the One Night at McSorley's internet radio channel, and one of the main reasons we came all the way out to CA, makes the scene and we finally get to meet in person. We've clearly hit our stride musically - every night is better than the previous - and we're keeping people glued to our performance. Our music seems to really resonate with people out here.
After the show I decide to head into SF with Pete and Josh. Turns out, an old buddy of Pete's lives in Pacific Heights and has allowed us the use of his beautiful home for the next couple days. I don't wantto get into too much detail without his permission, but suffice to say, he came to California during the tech gold rush and struck it rich. His partner is having a late night thanksgiving party tonight that we crash. It's quite th stylish scene and I'm afraid we may get dumped back on the street for being too shabbily dressed and too pasty of skin. Everyone's tan and gorgeous and cooler-than-thou. But, hey free booze, turkey legs and a Ms. Pac Man machine. Plus, a view of the Golden Gate from the roof that is so incredible it looks fake. Eat and drink, lads for tomorrow we, uh, eat and drink some more.
DAY 6 Our 5th gig lands us at The Makeout Room in The Mission part of San Francisco. A very cool club with an impressive roster of now-famous bands that have graced their stage. For instance, here's a picture of my idols Calexico playing there in 2004. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of this evening. The opener is a fantastically unusual and talented performer named Uni, who accompanies herself with a ukelele and a whole lot of charm. you can check out her songs here. Her simple, catchy songs and her lovely voice captivate Josh. More on that later. In the meantime, we take the stage, and as has been our custom this trip, we promptly blow the room out. Everyone's dancing by the end of our set, and people scurry up to buy our CDs and chat us up. Sweet Jesus! Do these people know who we are?!?!? We are not worthy of this! I'm starting to get worried that we're exhausting every ounce of gig karma we've ever accumulated...
so, as I was saying earlier, Uni has cast a pervasive spell on our hero, Josh. So, when it comes time to settle up and get on back to our pad, Josh decides he's gonna ask Uni out for a late night dinner. She accepts and away they go into the Mission for 2am burritos. The rest of us head back to Pac Heights and drink with some old and new friends. Eventually we crash in the wee hours of Day 7.

Day 7 - Thanksgiving

Ouch, my head. Stop talking so loud. And get me a coffee if you're going out for one. And shut the blinds. Ouch. We actually have a busy agenda today. Our penpals Lee Templeton and her brother David Templeton (who runs the Glaser Center in Santa Rosa where we're playing on Friday) have invited us to their family Thanksgiving dinner in Petaluma. And after that, we've got our 4th Bay Area radio show on KRCB with the illustrious Doug Jayne at 8pm. If we start getting up now, we might barely make it.
Dinner is fun and the Templetons are EXTREMELY gracious. We are not worthy. In fact, we are quite hung over and make pretty lousy conversationalists. Josh even falls asleep on the couch stroking ther cat. I think I hear him muttering, "Uni..." as he dozes off.

At 7, we come to, pile into the car and off we speed to the radio station for a 2 HOUR SHOW! Egads. That's as long as a gig. Doug meets us there and he fits into our scene so well we almost knight him an honorary Diablo right there on the spot. what follows is a 2 hour broadcast of food-related songs interspersed with a couple of our tunes live in the studio every so often. We give away some tickets, we chat pointlessly, and we discover that a handful of people are actually listening. Poor fools. Doug lets some of us crash at his pad (his wife's away in Japan of all places) and we make a night of it, imbibing until the wee hours and listening to the new Tom Waits box set. Then we actually do knight Doug an honorary Diablo before dozing off to sleep...ahhh Tryptophan...

Diablos West Coast Tour Part II - Radio, Radio

2006-12-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

If I were a betting man, I would definitely have laid odds against Josh and the boys making it to Santa Cruz for the 10am radio show after the harrowing night we had. But, to their credit they were out the door at 7am and made it to Freedom, CA with time to spare. This morning's spot is on the world famous KPIG, just outside Santa Cruz. We've got a 3 song slot on the show "Please Stand By" hosted by longtime radio personality Sleepy John. KPIG is a station that's right up our alley. Not only do they spin the kind of roots based rock and folk that fits our style, but they also ingest their playlist decisions with some actual feeling and heart instead of picking the 8 songs that are gonna sell ad space. Ya gotta respect that in this day and age. Josh, John and Pete played "Rain Keeps A'Fallin,'" "Chinatown," and a new one called "55 Words" and were interviewed inbetween songs about the tour. Turns out, ur previous evening's adventures make great on air commentary, and everyone in the studio has a good laugh. Then, to everyone's surprise, Sleepy John actually asked for an additional tune; hig hpraise indeed! So the lads ripped into "On The Way Back Home." At one point, John offered up another nice compliment by telling Josh The Pogues should cover "Chinatown." Egads! Perhaps they didn't make the show and we're all still dreaming. The set sounded fantastic, and you can listen to and download the version of "55 Words" on the Los Diablos MySpace site.

Now would be a great time for the band to regroup and relax - maybe find a local hotel in Santa Cruz and catch some much-needed rest before tonight's show. Too bad the guys have to truck 2 hours back up to Berkeley to play another radio show on KPFA at 2pm. Back in the car, stopping only to use a bathroom, they make it to the KPFA studios with neary a minute to spare. This spot is on Mary Tilson's America's Back 40 program, a fantastic 2 hours of bluegrass, Americana, old-timey and folk music. Mary became enamoured of our last release Let's Waste Another Evening and has been playing it often in the past 16 months. She admits to being a big fan and we're honored to be on the program. Not that you'd know by the fact that Pete looks like death and John, uh, smells like death...
Anyway, the lads do a full 30 minutes of interviews and music and even get the usually unflappable Mary Tilson to mistakingly say "urine" on the air several times - good stuff. You can hear the entire program on the KPFA archive here.
Now they have exactly 45 minutes to scarf down some Indian buffet before they drive back to Santa Cruz for our early show at The Attic!!
You may be wondering what the fearless rhythm section has been doing while Josh, John and Pete rush to make all of these engagements. Well, after exchanging rental cars in Berkeley, Mike and I decide to stroll around Telegraph Ave and take in the beautiful Fall day. We do a little record shopping, grab a nice lunch of spicy Pakistani food, and generally act like we're on vacation. Of course, when Josh calls to check in we act like we're working hard...
Back in Santa Cruz we regroup and prepare for the evening's show - the first with local's The Mad Maggies. The Attic is a beautiful space and the hospitality is lovely - big bottles of local brew and delicous food. Unfortunately, it's a Sunday night and the crowd is, uh, slight. But, man The Maggies are FANTASTIC and the faithful who do show up are wonderfully appreciative, waltzing and drinking the evening away. After the show, a few of us are swept away to Santa Cruz's only real Irish Pub, The Poet & The Patriot because there's this perception that we might like Guiness. Talk about stereotyping! Not that we mind this kind of stereotyping...

Diablos West Coast Tour Part I - Good Morning Portland!

2006-11-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

This was my view of Portland, OR as I waited at 8am for someone to wake up and let me back into the hotel. My cell phone isn't working and everyone else is sleeping off the booze. I tried to do the right thing and go get everyone coffee, but stupidly forgot my room keys. At least it's not raining...
It feels like it's been ages since I hit the road with Los Diabl os last January. I've hardly played the drums in between these stints and I felt a little uneasy about the physical rigor of 7 shows and 4 radio appearances in 10 days, not to mention the driving. Oh, and the drinking.
However, this time out was very different from past Diablos tours:
*we're only covering about 700 miles (from Portland, OR to Santa Cruz, CA) with most of the shows happening within an hour of San Francisco.
*another major difference was the amount of support the band was receiving from promoters and radio personel before we even landed. It's a lot easier to deal with a hellacious tour schedule when you've got people who are excited to work with you and hear your music. not quite the same as hoofing it 6 hours to Iowa to play for 10 people.
We flew to Portland from Massachusetts on Fri. Nov. 17th, the night of our first performance. We played in a restored saloon called T he White Eagle. The White Eagle has a couple of distinctions that set it apart from your standard bar and hotel. First, it's been remodelled to be exactly how it was in the early 1900s when it served the Rose City's burgeoning population of drunk, horny sailors: European -style hallway bathrooms, tall tin ceilings, small, sparsely decorated rooms for rent, etc. Second, it's considered by many to be the most haunted building in Portland, a fact they proudly display by writing all about it on the paper placemats in the dining room. It's always nice to read about beaten prositutes being dragged into the basement while you're finishing up your nachos. This second fact is noteable in as much as we would never have taken the gig had anyone mentioned the hauntings to our fearless leader Josh. He's, uh, paranormally challenged.
The show was set up by Garett Brennan, a local musician who caught Los Diablos last summer at The Plough & Stars in Cambridge and thought we'd make a good double bill with his band The EB GBs. He was right. And he lived up to his end of the bargain by packing the place with their fans. They loved us - we loved them:
And then we got drunk:

DAY TWO

Hung over as we are, we gotta hightail it down the coast to Mt. Shasta, CA for an early show tonight.

Mt. Shasta - what can I say that hasn't been said? Just look at this beautiful creature:
The town's nice too, just a little boring compared to the scenery.

We have a gig at The Stage Door, a cozy little cafe and listening room on the main drag. The club has a lot to offer - nice hospitality, fun patrons - but the best part about this gig was how I procured it. I originally emailed Tom O'Hara in August to get the date. He emailed back quickly saying it was open and sure, he'd love to have us, and please send along a CD and press kit. Well I did, and then didn't hear from Tom for quite some time. turns out he got the CD and wasn't crazy about it and has rethought his decision to book us. This is rare, but once it happens it's virtually impossible to change someone's mind. Below are the highlights of our exchange as I try to convince him that we REALLY need to play the show:

>>>>>
booking@ninemilerecords.com wrote:
Tom
I hope you've gotten the CD and packet for Los Diablos by now. Let me know about Nov 18th and any details you can impart

Tom OHara wrote:
After listening to your cd I have to say I don't have a market for what you're doing. You would work well in a place with a younger audience than what I have here.
Thanks for the interest, though, and good luck. Great cover art.
Tom

booking@ninemilerecords.com wrote:
Tom
Thanks for writing back. I take no offense at all - there are plenty of people who have said no to us over the years. I was more concered about your initial enthusiam turning into reluctance after you got our stuff.
That's a little more rare. And, as I said, I always defer to the booking person/owner's best judgement about their room.

In the last 8 years, I've just never had the critique that our sound was too young for an audience - even back when we oursleves were young!
Around the East we get pigeonholed into a lot of folk rooms and have to claw our way into the younger, more rock rooms, knowing that we can play both.

You are sadly right that live music is in the decline; but we've done very well of late in smaller mountain communities in NC, WV, VT, however, which was my initial thinking about Mt. Shasta as opposed to some of the bigger cities we usually hit. We find people in these communities to be more open to the bluegrass underpinnings of our sound, and, to be frank, folks in these places are usually more laid back and ready to have a good time than the jaded scenesters we cross in urban areas.

Hopefully we'll land somewhere close by and begin to build a presence in the area. Then next time through we can pack the house for you.

Best,
Rick

Tom OHara wrote:
OK, I've been ducking and dodging and not really being frank with you. I did listen to your cd - all the way through, and my impression was that the content of the cd was consistantly monochromatic. I wanted a second opinion so got my colleague in the booking department to listen as well and he agreed. We were both surprised (and yes, dissappointed) at the cd, considering the excellent and dramatic packaging and your dynamic name. I don't know how close to your recorded performance your live performances are - maybe you're different live. I thought the vocals were very similar from one track to the next, and all through each track, and really missed instrumental improvisation in the mix overall. I know you're going to resent me telling you all this, but I know that when the people who come to shows here encounter understated, low key music, they tend to be dissappointed and seldom stay for the second show. My most active 'crowd' are older, retired people (and I'm sure you know how Gonzo they can be), and they tend to respond well to energetic high energy stuff - scottish fiddling, Flatt and Scruggs type bluegrass, Django jazz. They generally shun folkies (unless they're famous - the fuckers'll come out for Utah Phillips). When they do come to acoustic shows they end up coming to the sound booth and asking if I can get the band to "pick it up a bit", and generally leave. I had no idea what sort of audience I would get here - I thought that this is a fairly lefty community that people would be inclined to want NPR sort of entertainment. They may, in fact, but they don't come out. People with 'conciousness' seldom have much of it it seems.
To make a long story short, I felt that the picky geezers that do come to shows here would not appreciate you because you are, as you say, laid back. If I don't take these things into consideration I will piss off what little audience I do have and they won't come back. It is, I know, quite politically incorrect to think along these lines and make artistic decisions based on pecuniary interests, but if you were the one trying to stay afloat and pay the bills you'd likely do the same. I've been a bassplayer for over thirty years and it's very different having to consider the other side of the business.
If I could get the community aware of what you really do I could probably get to your audience and promote a decent house. But with a name like Los Diablos, people would be expecting more energy than your band puts out - at least on your cd. I think younger people, twenties, thirties wouldn't mind laid back - my market doesn't buy it.
There you have it. Torn between sending this or not. Don't want to spoil your day or piss you off - but as a fellow musician I think it might be good for you to know the impression one gets from your pr stuff.
I have a band which isn't all that far off from what you do, and we're not swimming in gigs around here I can tell you. If I didn't have a venue we wouldn't be playing much at all. If you'd like to check our band out it's www.kazangojazz.com.
Sincerely,
Tom O'Hara

booking@ninemilerecords.com wrote:
Tom
I'm sorry to hear that and I hope you reconsider. Our general audiences are 35-55 (and we're all in that age range ourselves), so I'm not sure what you mean by kids. Our music can get pretty revved up, but it's still folk music - the same way bluegrass is folk music even though it's often rowdier than hell. In fact, one of the main reasons for this trip is to play spots on KPFA and KPIG down in the Bay Area - two of the most esteemed acoustic/americana music stations on the West Coast.

We play pubs and folk rooms all over the country and I have to say we rarely dissapoint anyone who is interested in acoustic music.

I can understand if it's not your style perhaps, and I will defer to your best jugement, but I do hope you reconsider. Ariella had great things to say about The Stage Door, and it truly seems right up our alley.

If you do decide not to go with us, I'd definitely also appreciate your tip to any nearby venues (within a couple hours ideally).

Best,
Rick

Tom OHara wrote:
I am not making any qualitative judgements about your group or it's proficiency. Ariella wouldn't send me a turkey group. It's simply that this is a tiny community (7000) and I have been having way too many shows and it simply doesn't work. I get hit on by so many great acts wanting to play here that I've seriously overbooked the place. I hate it when a fine act is on my stage and half a dozen (or less) people show up, and it's happening far too often. I just have to say no to most of the groups who ask to play here. I understand this is a national phenomenon - it's not just me. Ariella and all the other venues I know are in the same boat. Right now I'm cutting back to things I know will work (and only a few of those) and passing on the rest. I sincerely hope you don't take offense to this, and that sometime I will be able to host your group. Sounds like you'll be around for a while.
Tom
ps: Sengthongs in Dunsmuir has much deeper pockets than me. You might also try the Straw House in Weaverville; Mobius in Ashland, Oregon.
Can't think of any others up here. Chico seems to be happening.

booking@ninemilerecords.com wrote:
Don't apologize - I get exactly what you are saying. Josh's voice monochromatic? why yes it is. (So is Johnny Cash's and Lou Reed's) But like I said in my first response email "often rowdier than hell." What I meant by laid back was meant to mean "open to acoustic instruments and balding somewhat frumpy players," not to mean "boring strummy affairs about sunshine and dogs."

Actually I'll let these fine folks do the talking about Los Diablos live:

"Anyone whose seen Los Diablos perform understands the meaning of a rock riot. The band's beer-fueled, Celtic rock flavored shows are tantemount to drunken pandemonium." - Winston-Salem Journal

"Sad songs say so much. Soak them in whiskey and set them to raucous Irish wedding music and they say even more. On paper the melodic hash of Celtic waltzes, Turkish rumbas, banjos and folk rock should be a sloppy disaster, but onstage, it's anything but." - Richmond Style
Weekly

"Josh Lederman y Los Diablos call themselves the "kings of Irish-Jewish folk-punk." The "punk" comes from the Boston band's live shows, which are beer- and whiskey-fueled debacles." - Lousiville Courier Journal

"...if you should have the good fortune to see one of their shows, be prepared to consume copious amounts of wobbly pop; it's part of the ambiance. This is real life music...I've yet to meet anyone who can't get off on this one." - Freight Train Boogie Magazine (KRCB Santa Rosa)

"It's Bob Dylan meets Johnny Cash mixed in with Celtic, bluegrass, English rock, klezmer, and a big punk beat." - Asheville Citizen-Times
live review

I can understand if folks need electric guitars and thumping bass to get off, but as far as energy, there aren't many who can outdo us. Sure there's an occassional waltz, but everyone has to pee sometime...and I said we had to claw our way into the rock clubs, I didn't say we dissapointed them once we got there. And your decisions about booking seem pretty sound to me - you can only do so much with a built in clientele and a small population base.

I really like Kazango, by the way, but I get what you're saying about dynamics. Thanks again for the honesty. I don't get to indulge in too many of these types of conversations; you're making me work.
-Rick

Tom OHara wrote:

Sounds like, from the reviews, I got the wrong impression from what I heard on the cd. Some groups are 'alive' on stage and not necessarily so much so in the studio. If you're willing to work for the door and dinner and beer, why don't we just go with the Nov 18th date and promote the shit out of it. You sound like just the sort of group I like to have here, and we could probably have a pretty good jam before or afterwards if you wanted.

Yep, we're both having to work at this - but I didn't expect this job was going to be easy. I thought you deserved to know what I was thinking, wordy as it was. I may be getting a bit hard edged as I'm bombarded with well intended folks wanting gigs and I feel I have to stifle my softy nature! Grrrrrr

If you're still interested, how much do you want to charge at the door? I try to keep my shows at ten and up. 7:30 or 8 is a good start time.

Glad you liked our group - we're just less than a year old and just getting a grip on our identity. We rehearse twice a week and we're starting to get tight. Only problem we're facing just now is our fiddle players intonation. Don't know if that's fixable or not - hope so.

Hope to see you sometime soon.
Tom

>>>>>

We got the gig - we rocked the house. Then I locked the keys in the trunk of the car preventing our escape. No shit. I was loading equipment one minute, then the next I noticed no keys in my pocket. Small glitch you say? Well, we were planning a night flight down to the Bay Area for a 10am radio show in Santa Cruz the next day. This is a huge pisser!

So we sit in The Stage Door and guzzle esspresso while we wait for AAA. Once we actually get on the road, we make some decent time. sometime around 2am, we're cruising off on I-80 headed for San Francisco. Then we hit a snag. Or several snags.

A tire pressure light comes on the dash. Fog so dense we can't read the street signs creeps in. Within 10 miles we are limping down the highway with a flat tire, no map, and no idea where the hell we are. Finally, we pull off at the first sight of a "MOTEL" sign. Actually, it read "TEL." The owner just happens to be up and clothed at 3am. He meets me screaming at the check in door. "NO! NO WAY! NO ROOMS." I scan the parking lot. No rooms?!? No cars! "It's an emergency!" I scream back. "We have a flat tire!" "NO! NO WAY! NO ROOMS!" is the only response. fucker.

John keeps his head and begins changing the tire in no time flat. Josh and Buckley jet out in the other car to scout a motel that IS open. They find one, but the cheap bastards charge us the full rate even though our official check in time is 3:50am. And we're still 85 miles from Santa Cruz. Josh, John & Pete have to get up at 7 to make the show in time, making this the most expensive nap in Diablos history. I hope things turn around tomorrow...er, later today.

Holy shit! I look like Timothy Leary!

2006-10-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

I'm such a sucker for these things. First the superheroes, now celebrities. Is my blog really turning into the vanity project I hoped I'd never subject the world to? I guess that's their nature. So, yeah these are similar. Especially good 'ol Timmy Leary. Weird...

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Superman?!?!?

2006-07-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

OK, so I suck at this blogging stuff. Who the hell has time to keep up? I dropped the last part of the Diablos tour, but I'll get some more stuff up soon, including some great live tracks from the vault. In the meantime, I took a quiz to see which superhero I am. Here are the results:

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman		80%
Green Lantern		65%
Supergirl		62%
Robin		62%
Iron Man		55%
The Flash		55%
Hulk		55%
Wonder Woman		47%
Spider-Man		45%
Catwoman		45%
Batman		35%

You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

I beg to differ. Not that The Man of Steel aint righteous...I'm not. And certainly not that clean cut. Oh well. It seemed like a good quiz. you can take it here.

Diablos Tour part III - Into the Mountains

2006-03-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

Now we drive.
As I said before, this is one crazy country we live in, and I'll be damned if we're not in loco-central between Kentucky and Tennessee. I don't think the existing jokes can be topped, so I'll refrain. The point I want to make, however, is that despite the fact that we're blue-state socialists in the eyes of most of the folks down here, and we in turn, resent the hell out of of most of em for electing a dumb-ass failed oilman to lead the world, we can stiull come together around music and forget for a while (or a couple hours at least) the stuff that keeps us at odds. We can play some tunes, scratch them just below the surface, and reveal everyone's basic humanity. OK, I'm getting a little hot-winded, but you get my point. Still, I can't help think of all the insane characters we've met on tour who, if they saw us without instruments, would probably kick the living shit out of us.
It just so happens that we met another such character at The Preservatio n Pub in Knoxville, TN. Knoxville is mostly a down-on-it's-luck mountain town, with a large college and legendary musical legacy. Which means people here are generally spoiled as far as hearing some damn fine artists on a regular basis. It also means that crazies from all over the Appalachians flock here to oggle transplanted co-eds, hock their banjos, and drink their faces off. It's a pretty good combination while you are on stage. It's once you are off and you have to mingle...

Take our friend here. I forget his name because I was drunk. My bad. But he puts together a party every August in the wilds of West Virginia where 200 of his best friends all get together, bury a "few" kegs, smoke up, shoot some guns and then go white water rafting. The best part is that we are now officially invited to play it next year. Hot damn! Sounds like fun. And certain death. I will be referring this gig to our good frineds The Drunk Stuntmen who are much braver than we are...
But he was very nice and liked our music. Which puts him 2 points ahead of most of 'em. This picture was taken after he talked ot Damon for roughly 90 minutes about his Chattanooga bounty hunting business.
After ranting like that, the funny part is that for our Knoxville show, I wish we'd had 30 more people just like him in the room! We went on too early and there weren't too many folks out yet. but we also met a fellow New England traveller who happened to see our name in the paper while he was in town and came out to see us - he had one of our CDs in his car for travelling music - how friggin cool! He too was touring the states - headed all the way out West. Man, is he gonna be sick of that CD...
The band after us was likely the best other band we played with this tour: The Whiskey Scars from right down the road. And true to form, they were just some kids who like to hang out at The Preservation Pub and decided it needed a house band. Their sweet and scruffy rock tasted awfully nice with beer. They were also incredibly nice and their guitar player Matt actually hooked us up the next day with some excellent contacts at WDVX, the great Knoxville radio station. Thanks Matt. Good luck with everything and I hope the Scars are still rockin' the next time we come through. I'll give this gig a 6.8 out of 10.

The Whiskey Scars

Now we head back to our super-sketchy hotel that should have been free given it's in one of the scariest neighborhoods I've ever slept in. No, actually, they should have paid us. I do eventually get to sleep (must be the half a case of beer) and am nervously dreaming when my phone rings. It's 4am and it's Josh. "We're lost." He and Travis got lost on the way back from the Pub?! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. That's what I'm thinking even though somehow I know I will pay for it. But there's no way I can help them. So off to sleep for me. So sorry.
They do get back eventually and I I pay thricely. First, my karma gets a kick upside the head when some coked up mutha decides he's got a beef with someone in our room and starts WAILING on the door and window at 4:30. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM. I'm so scared I almost pee. Then I jump out of bed. Then I go peek out the window and he's staring right at me. I'm waiting for the shot. He looks surprised and stumbles away. holy god.
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM. Now it's 6:30 and the sun is coming up. what's this dude's problem? Now I'm just annoyed and hungover. No one else wakes up. Why am I the sensitive sleeper?!?!? I get out of bed again, look out the window and he's already gone down the block. I guess he was just getting another shot in. Or Josh and Travis paid him.
I pay for the 3rd time the next day when I'm ready to roll at about 10 and I have to wait in Scaryville until Josh can pry his ass out of bed at noon-thirty. I'll try to be a little more sympathetic next time he gets lost in Knoxville at 4am.
After checking out, we head downtown to grab some coffee and check out Blue Plate Special, the WDVX radio show that's taped live at their Knoxville studio. Matthew from The Whiskey Scars happens to be there and introduces us to some station folk who give us a tour. I don't think i'll ever get used to southern hospitality. If this were Cambridge and we were from Tennessee, the band we played with the night before would pretend they didn't know us and the station manager would kick us out on the street - after berating us! We catch half a set from the day's band and hit the road for a long stretch up to Harrisonburg, VA.

"The Red Wild Flowers Float on the Grass..."
I-81 through Virginia has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of interstate east of the Mississippi. the Blue Ridge Mountains, the rolling farms, the 200 speed traps...ok, not 200, but we count over 30 cops in 3 hours of driving. With such a healthy fine base, you'd think Virginia would be the wealthiest state in the union.
We get to Harrisonburg, check into the hotel and head down to the bar to check it out. Tonight we're at Finnegan's Cove, a college bar without a website or in-house sound system. I'm always skeptical of venue's who haven't taken the time to either buy a PA system for their entertainment or enter the 21st century by promoting themselves online. My hunches are validated by the "marquee" in front of the venue (see left). What is it with Los Diablos and seafood on this tour?!?!?
This is gonna be a long night. Not only do we play from 10pm - 2am, but the bar is full of 21 year old Britney Spears lookalikes. They're gonna love us. It's hard to describe what it's like when 80% of the people in a bar ignore you when you are playing - especially when that amounts to about 75 people. To our credit, we win over the other 25% and get some dancers, sell some CDs and get slapped on the back in the urinals (always a sign you've impressed the local frat boys -can't they wait until you're done pissing?!). So the night ends up a 6.5 out of 10.
We used to kill all over this state: Richmond, Charlottesville, Arlington, Williamsburg; and we've been reduced to this kind of gig. I'm feeling a little bummed about this one.

Diablos Tour part II

2006-01-30T07:36:00.000-08:00

24 hours to kill in Akron, OH. What to do first? Actually, an old friend and former bandmate now lives and works in Cleveland so I decide to go have lunch with him, while John spends the tour budget playing Tetris in his hotel room, Travis goes shopping, and Josh deals with his plugged ear.
I meet Frank out for a nice lunch. He's an attorney now - a far cry from his college days of dreadlocks, skateboards and cheap cigarettes. We were in an above average ska pop band with a terrible name in college. The picture on the right is the two of us in 2001. the picture on the left is Frank in 2005, all growed up. He and his wife have a new baby, as do my wife and I. So basically we spent 2 hours talking about diapers, vomit, sleep deprivation and drool. Such is the rock n' roll lifestyle.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Josh has been searching frantically all day for a remedy for his ear problem. Someone suggested ear candles to him, to help declog the wax build up. What are ear candles you ask? Just as the name implies, they are paper and wax candles that you stick in your ear and light on fire. The fire creates a vaccum in the hollow of the candle, and the pressure change sucks the wax out of your ear. Fascinating and gross. Well, Josh's search is in vain. Seems not one of the massive box stores that surround our hotel carry said items. I thought Wal Mart had everything...
About 8pm we head out to dinner and the club. We're playing at a place in Kent, Oh called The Outpost. It's no where near downtown, so we're already skeptical. As hopeful insurance we call and ask Pat Sweany to sit in with us. So even if no one shows we can hang out with him and get drunk again. Also, as if fated by God, Pat keeps ear candles in his van to help ease the exact problem that's plaguing Josh. What an incredible coincidence! This is a photo of Josh using the ear candle just prior to the show. NOTE: it doesn't help at all, but it's facinating to behold all the same.

So, showtime falls and, as we suspected, no one shows. Actually, to be fair, one of our biggest fans makes the scene: Rob from Ohio. Rob saw us the last time we were in the area, in August, and this time has brought with him some friends and a box of cigars for the band. Truly awesome. He also decides he wants to videotape the show. Truly embarrasing, considering his posse are the only people in this mammoth strip-club-turned-music-joint. Whatever. We've played worse situations. And, with Pat on guitar we actually sound pretty interesting. We do our 90 minute set, get our loot, and get the hell outta Dodge before anyone else shows up and asks us to play longer.

Turns out hooking up with Pat Sweany has more than the obvious advantages. After the disasterous show, Mr. Sweany takes us down the road to the hiipest of hip spots in Kent, Oh: The Zephyr Pub. So this is where our fanbase has been hiding - in a dank little pub, swigging microbrews and debating Proust. Can't blame 'em. A few pitchers later and Team Diablos is none the worse for wear. Gig rating: 5.5 out of 10. Zephyr Pub: 8 out of 10. Pat Sweany: 12 out of 10.

Greener Pastures
Now that we've gotten Empty Room Syndrome out of our systems, we're off to Cincinnati and The Comet. I'd been hearing great things about this little gem from many people, especially The Reverend Peyton, whom we will be sharing the bill with tonight. Turns out the hype is mostly right on. The Comet is a funky joint that's equal parts neighborhood restaurant & urban bohemian watering hole. Plus, it's packed! the only thing working against it? Slowest bartenders in America. Probably Canada too. In fact, I think that's where they are going to get each goddamn beer. how's a respectable pub band supposed to get lit before they play under these circumstances?

As I mentioned, we're splitting the night with The Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band from Indianapolis. The Reverend has been one of the nicest, most helpful cyber-buddies a tour booker could ever ask for. We hit it off instantly online and he was throwing club names and booking agents at me faster than I could act on 'em. So to pay him back, I add him to The Comet bill. Good thing, since he brought in about 30% of the crowd. As you can tell by the photo to the left, The Reverend is not to be taken lightly. He, his wife Breezy (right) and brother Jamie, blaze through a dozen amped up Piedmont finger-pickers, lathering the kids up into a fiery frenzy and then leave us to clean up the shrapnel. I expect big things from The Rev. Amen. It was a sympatico double-bill and I truly hope we can do it again sometime.

Our set was spot on too. People dancing, requesting songs from the back catalog (gasp!). Plus, a local music critic dubs us the Hott (sic) Band of the Week. I love Cincinnati! Gig rating: 8.5 out of 10. Bar service: 3 out of 10.

We take Sunday night off and decide to stay in town. Travis, Josh and myself head into the hip part of town near University of Cincinnati to catch some very good Indian food (who knew in Cincinnati?!?) and a flick - Good Night and Good Luck. It's a very good movie and I highly recommend it to Josh. Why do you ask? Because after the opening credits, a woman who saw our show the previous night calls him up and invites him on a date! Dog. The only problem is that the movie ends and they are still on their date. So Trav and I have to stick around to see what happens. So we naturally hit a bar. I'll spare you the details, except to say Josh is on his usual air mattress at the foot of my bed in the morning. Date rating: 6 out of 10. Maybe if we get a song out of it at some point we can bring that rating up a bit...too bad nothing rhymes with Cincinnati.

Kentucky
This post is sure to be quite long. Not only because we spent a lot of time in the Bluegrass State on this tour, but because that time felt like 3 years.

We have Monday off as well and push on to Louisville to meet up with unfatigueable Laura Wallace, a promoter who digs us and wants to show us around. And show us around she does. I'll say this for Laura: she always gets where she's going - never the same way twice, mind you. Our first stop is one of this country's finest record stores: Ear X-Tacy. They are tirless promoters of indie music and super nice folks; a rare combination these days. Last time through the band did an in-store to help promote the show. This time we're just checking in with our man Bryan and shopping. John single handedly blows the tour budget on new CDs. No wonder we can never get ahead. After, we dine at Ramses on Bardstown Rd per Laura's recommendation. she knows her food. It's fabulous and I highly recommend it: 8.5 out of 10. 10 out of 10 if you take into consideration normal tour rations. That night we meet up with Laura and check out some of Louisville's fine night life. And fine it is. Bars open until 4am during the week?!?! This means trouble. We end up in one cool place so drunk that Josh oversteps even his classiness boundaries and totally offends Laura. Again, to be fair, I'll skip over the details, but Josh ends up not only running out into the parking lot to apologize, but calling Laura at her home at 4am to reiterate his guilt.
Kentucky Day #2 - This is one exciting day. Why? We pick Damon up from the airport!! Damon is our fiddle player and, man, have we missed him. He had a stage gig in RI over the holidays and so could only join us for the second half of the tour. We kill time hitting thrift stores and coffee houses until it's time to go get him and drive to Lexington. The photo above is John expressing the gratitude that everyone feels towards Damon's arrival. And John expressing some other stuff too.

Lexington on a Tuesday night. Deader'n a graveyard. But we're playing The Dame, another great room. This time we're paired up with a local singer-songwriter named Azniv and a local alt. country band called The Deehawks. Seems the only folks interested in original live music on a Tuesday night in Lexington are Azniv's loyal fanclub, and off-duty strippers (see right). Given the lowturnout, I must say I'm impressed at the response. Everyone danced to our set and complimented us afterward. Coulda been much worse (see Kent, OH). And Josh got a lapdance backstage...Gig rating: 7 out of 10. Lap dance rating: see Josh. After the show we get a tip from The Deehawks on an all-night eatery cum no-holds barred wrestling match. I kid you not - this place was full of every drunk frat boy in Greater Lexington hoping to hell they have some homeless people to beat up. Seriously sketchy. All I've got on my mind is "I hope Kentucky has stricter concealed weapons laws than you'd think." However, the Deehawks seem unfazed, so we roll with it. We escape with our lives. And some gravy fries.

Ok, back to Louisville. Try not to look at a map as you are reading this - our itinerary makes less sense if you visialize it.
Louisville is one unique (read: confused) town. there's all this gorgeous early 20th century architecture in some neighborhoods next to box stores and strip malls. They name their establishments things like Cox's Smokers (cigar store) and Don Fightmaster Playground without a hint of irony. To top things off, they named Fire The Saddle (the band we play with) the best bluegrass band of 2005. But Fire The Saddle, even by their own admission, don't play bluegrass. And IT'S THE GODDAMN BLUEGRASS STATE!. You think they'd figure that one out.

Actually, before we head back to Louisville I need to include this picture of Gollum. Not many people know that after Lord of the Rings there weren't many employment oppotunities for a 1000 year old jewelry addict. Leave it to us to hire him to play accordion. Anyway, you'll notice how chipper he is in the morning after a severe fast-food hangover. To the left is him in makeup...

Today is a big day for Josh. Actually, when all is said and done, and I'm reading Josh's eulogy in the year 2050, I may look back at Jan. 11, 2006 as the beginning of a new era. Laura has set up an appointment for Josh to meet one of the founders of Lebowski Fest. Now anyone who knows Josh knows that he is eternally bitter for not having thought of Lebowski Fest first. After all, he has devoted a good deal of his adult life (some estimates are as high as 73%) to the study and worship of The Big Lebowski. He even devotes a portion of his college courses to it's dissection and analysis. I'll say this, Will and his Lebowski store don't disappoint. There's something for the casual Lebowski fan as well as "Dudefreaks" like Josh. (In fact, he's probably home "studying the photo to your left right now). If I were a betting man, I'd say Josh is on the fast road to becoming the guy who brings a legitimate Lebowski Fest to Boston. Just a hunch. But I think he's plotting behind the scenes.

After the Lebowski store we're off to the hotel via White Castle. Somehow, when we passed it a couple days prior, I knew I was in store for this, but I assumed it would be at 3am after our show. Not in broad daylight. this could be trouble. Of course, several thousand burgers are ordered. Just look at how happy Travis is to the right. Fool. Once consumed back at the hotel, they leave 3/5 of the band unable to move for several hours. Our gig may be in jeopardy. Naps all around.

Around 7:30 we scrape ourselves out of bed and head to Uncle Pleasants, tonight's venue. As I mentioned, tonight we play with Fire The Saddle, who do not play bluegrass, but are nonetheless a fine groups of musicians who put on a super show and thankfully have lots of fans. Our set is received quite well - some dancers down in front (thank you) and an internet broadcast to the world to boot. On top of all this, the kind gentleman upstairs in the green room cooks us a superb middle eastern dinner. Like I said, not what you'd expect in Louisville, KY. We leave the bar bombed, and decide to hit the town with Laura to get bombder. Karaoke is what's hot and we're game. I'm told I sang Billy Idol...that's all I know about the rest of the evening.
We wake early to hit a coffee shop and then the long road to Knoxville. Bye Louisville. I'll miss your kind smile and freaky melancholy soul.

Laura Wallace and Diablos

Los Diablos Tour Jan 2006

2006-01-28T11:06:00.000-08:00

OK, so I never thought I'd be out on the road again...or at least not so soon after my wife and I had a baby 18 months ago. Well, guess I got the itchin more than I thought; kinda like I imagine "crabs" to be...
Anyway, my main band Los Diablos, had been receiving some requests for shows in the Midwest and Southeast. Seemed like a good time for them to hit the road, and it was either this or spend another week with my in-laws in Texas. No brainer.

I'll post my recollections of our travels in parts to make them more easily digestable.

PART I: Jan. 4-6 Buffalo, NY and Northeast OH
Boston to Buffalo was the usual boring-ass drive of 7+ hours. At least I had the comforting sounds of John snoring the whole way. Comforting like an erupting volcano. We decided to take the booking guy Ken up on his offer of hospitality and sleep at his place. Note to bands on the road: this is often a mistake. I can't count the times I've slept on the floor of the booking guy, the bartender, the well-intentioned fan, hell, even the owner, only to wake up stuck to the beer-stained carpet, with an 80 pound cat on my head. But Ken seemed different. Much nicer and dropping hints like "pancakes," and "plenty of beds" to put us at ease. Turned out that the only downside to staying with Ken and his wife was the fact that they live in what is possibly the most remote part of New York State. Other than that, it turned out to be one of the nicest, sweetest places to stay you could hope for on a budget tour. Thanks Ken!
that evening we played the venerable Sportsmen's Tavern in Buffalo. A true throwback to the times when neighborhood honky tonks ruled the land. It was pretty great. Everyone treated us like we mattered, and we even got to hang out with John Lomb ardo, one of the founding members of 10,000 Maniacs. the only downside to the evening was the fact that our mandolinist Pete was in Hungary, our fiddle player Damon wasn't due to arrive on the tour scene for several days and we had three hours of playing to fill. As a band, we're not really set up to do that much playing without a soloist. To compound the problem, three hours=many beers at a Los Diablos show, especially when the bar is kind enough to provide them gratis. I'm not really sure what people thought of us by the end - mostly because I can't remember. But people stayed...and clapped. So all in all, I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10. And true to his word, Ken prepared us an incredible breakfast in the morning, while we listened to WDVX's Blue Plate Special and checked the weather forcasts for Cleveland. Only one question remained for us: with such a pleasant experience, should we just end the tour here?

The drive that day to Akron, OH was again, thankfully uneventful. We even got to drive through Amish country and a Native American Reservation. What a country we live in. More on that later.
Our gig in Akron was at The Lime Spider, a downtown hipster bar quickly gaining a reputaiton as one of the best places for small to medium drawing bands to play in the entire region. Danny, the owner, is a loveable drunk - kinda like a post-modern Arthur. He too treated the band superbly both times we have been there. This time, however, there are some twists. Josh (lead singer) decides to go swimming before the show. Fine you say. Well, not so fine. Turns out Josh has some history of ear canal issues and the swimming manages to clog one of his ears to point of deafness and pain. This, of course, puts Josh in a great mood. On top of this, the band that opens for us, Blonde Boy Grunt & The Groans pull some of the most unprofessional shit I've ever had to endure - they play for over 2 hours!!! It'd be one thing if they were playing to a bunch of their fans - who would we be to deny them that in their hometown? But no one came to see them. On top of that, nearly everyone who came to see us, gets sick of their sound and leaves! Where's Danny the owner during all of this you ask? Why at the bar getting drunk with us and watchingThe Lonely Guy , of course. I have to say, it really pissed me off that they would do that and that Danny would let them. The rest of the band is fortunately much more forgiving. Besides, we also got to hang out with Pat Sweany, who Los Diablos played with the last time in town. He's one killer musician and a helluva guy. So evening saved. I give this gig a 5 out of 10, and our time at the bar an 8 out of 10. Once again we are too drunk to be believed. Another thought creeps in my mind: it's only Day 2, will we make it?

Why is it so goddamn hot?

2005-11-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

So I just drove back from Philadelphia, where it was 70 and sunny for four days in a row. And I seem to be the only person that thinks this is just unbelievably scary. I'll admit, I'm pretty convinced of global warming trends. Having spent 6 years working for an environmental advocacy organization, I had plenty of exposure to compelling data and stories on the subject. So the recent weather, combined with the freak rash of severe climate events around the globe shouldn't really surprise me, right? Wrong. I'm much deeper in denial than I ever could have imagined. I mean, what's a Syracuse native gotta do to get some friggin' snow around here?!?!?

Introductions

2005-10-31T02:21:00.000-08:00

Ok I've succumbed to the blogospere. Big deal. I now have the same means to vent, analyze, redact, philosophize, and pout as any respectable 12 year old. I'll try to stick to things I know about in these pages: music...uh, hmmn, come to think of it, that might be kinda limiting. We'll just have to see where this goes.
As you can see by the above photo, I am indeed a drummer, currently in two bands - both part-time. I also run a small record label that ya'll can see here. And if you happen to live in Philadelphia and can tear yourself away from your computer for a spell, you can actually see my band Grubstake on Fri. Nov. 4th at The Fire in Northern Liberties. OK, that's it for now. Talk soon...Happy Halloween. Don't eat all the candy before the rugrats get to your door.