For lack of actually being able to attend, I hope to spend the better part of this week prior to leaving on tour to giving a little bit of a tribute to Touch & Go. I’ve had a pretty lucky streak over the years of supporting – and thru the process getting to know – many of the label’s formidable artists. So in honor of that, I thought that I’d dig thru my boxes of photos and tapes to give yet another glimpse of the label. For this time, well…duh, I have to give it up to  the undeniably mighty The Jesus Lizard.
After graduate school, I moved back to my mom’s house in Pennsylvania and subsequently spent countless hours driving all over the east coast to see The Jesus Lizard. The early tours (’90-’92) were great for me because they’d do a routing like, Richmond, DC, Newark, Baltimore, Philly, Trenton, Hoboken and New York. To think about it now is mind-numbingly impossible, but thanks to a shit-box car and no real life to speak of, it was easy to go see them. And why the fuck not?! They were (and some would argue still are) one of the best live bands to ever walk on the planet.

Duane and Yow, Baltimore 1992 (photo by h2o)

I remember the first time seeing them was at the Upstage Lounge in Pittsburgh on their second tour with Pegboy (who’d just released their astounding debut 12" on T&G, still a classic in my mind) and the Northern Bushmen (featuring Pat Morris, later of Don Caballero) opening. It kind of became a blur for a few years there. I was lucky enough to see the Lizard probably 40 times and I would always try to be front and center whenever possible. The photos for this entry were taken at Max’s on Broadway in Fells Point which butts right up to the Chesapeake Bay. This particular show had Arcwelder and Liquor Bike open and was notable primarily because the low ceilings allowed Yow to literally walk on the ceiling during their set….. Yes, walk on the ceiling. To this day, I’ve never seen another human do that stunt with such dramatic flair. But then again, that’s Yow for you.
I really don’t know if I ever became a peer to The Jesus Lizard during their original (and some would say only "true") line-up, but I certainly became more friendly with them toward the end of their career. The most surprising realization was that David Yow was not only a pussy cat off stage, but usually the first one to say a joke that everybody would laugh at. Then again, I still hang out with folks who think fart jokes are high comedy, so what do I know?

Sims, Baltimore 1992 (photo by h2o)

Since the band’s demise in ’98, I’ve kept in touch with Yow and Duane. Duane went on to be the guitarist for Hank 3 (whose popularity can only be explained by genetics and not by talent amazingly enough) and Tomahawk and we’d always catch up when he’d be in town. Yow was (and continues to be) a high-end photo retouch stud who now lives in Los Angeles. I heard Sims is an accountant in New York (no surprise there) and Mac lives in Evanston on the same block as Mr. John Mohr from Tar and is an at-home dad (thanks Mouse).
In recent years, Yow has been seen doing the rare performance on stage. Around 98, he performed Sex Pistols songs with Shellac. And as many know, he’s also made a few cameos on stage with The Melvins. Upon seeing him at ATP a year or so ago while filming the Buckshot Boys DVD, Yow and I spent over an hour talking Photoshop and then he confided in me about the impending Scratch Acid reunion… I heard Yow’s doing sit-ups to condition himself, but well, when you’re Yow……well, you know……

Mac, Yow and Sims, Baltimore 1992 (photo by h2o)

The Jesus Lizard – Boilermaker (live in Baltimore 92)

The Jesus Lizard – Mouthbreather (live in Baltimore 92)

The Jesus Lizard – Seasick (live in Baltimore 92)

The Jesus Lizard – Dancing Naked Ladies (live in Baltimore 92)

Chunklet has a long history with these knuckleheads. In fact, it’s a history so long that I’m kinda at a loss for words when I got to watch them practice today.

But if it weren’t for an unfortunate set of circumstances, I’d be at both of their shows this coming week. Sometimes, it feels like I miss all the fun stuff, but at least I’ll be on the Comedians of Comedy tour. And I think I’ll be in Asheville!

There’s still the remote possibility that I’ll be making an appearance of some kind at the T&G25, but all things being equal, I don’t think I’d count on it.

Man Or Astro-Man? – peel session

Man Or Astro-Man? – Peel interview

Man Or Astro-Man? – Put Your Finger In The Socket (Peel Session)

Man Or Astro-Man? – The Miracle Of Genuine Pyrex

For fans, this is the salad days! The DVD just came out. Courtesy and Goodwill is being reissued this month by Relapse. And Troubleman’s releasing the new album this month. Oh my god! My ear canals aren’t prepared.
Our good buddy Sloan posted an entire live show from last year at the EARL.

The Milk in NYC (pix by Greg Moss)

So to top it off, there’s going to be three (yes, three!) shows with Harvey Milk in Georgia in October. Brace yerself for impact:

Friday, 10/27, The Drunken Unicorn (with Tenement Halls)
Saturday, 10/28, The 40 Watt (with Melvins with David Yow and Big Business)
Sunday, 10/29, Whirlyball Atlanta (with Melvins with David Yow and Big Business)

The Milk in NYC (pix by Greg Moss)

I guarantee these shows will sell out, so please buy tix now so I don’t have to avoid phone calls from you asking to be on the guest list.

Classic Milk 2.0

Harvey Milk – F.S.T.P.

Harvey Milk – All The Live Long Day

Harvey Milk – Dick Slater

So I can’t attend, but my good buddy Zach is performing in San Francisco this Saturday at the Filmore and he’ll be either selling or giving away these shirts at the show. The illustration is by Corrie Erickson, and I designed it, and if you’re nice, I might have a few of these at the house to dole out.

Pretentious? I doubt it.

Back in the spring, Chunklet sponsored two performances with Team Beast (aka Mogwai, aka Mogwump, aka Mowgli), Torche and Growing at Whirlyball Atlanta in Roswell which is north of Atlanta by 30 miles. Was it fun? Well, duh. It’s whirlyball. For the uninitiated, whirlyball is like redneck polo played in bumper cars. The movie does an okay job of showing how insane it is too.

I guess it’s as good a time as any to announce that Chunklet is sponsoring our second show at Whirlyball Atlanta in October and man, I hope you’re sitting down for this line up…..

Melvins
with special guest David Yow (yes, thee David Yow)
Harvey Milk
Big Business

Tickets are $25 and I guarantee this will sell out in advance.  You can purchase tickets here.

I’ve also included a few live songs from those magical shows below. Did I mention that we beat Mogwai like 16 to 2? We love those guys to death, but they could use a few team skill tips from Celtic.

Chunklet introducing Mogwai on Day 1

Glasgow Megasnake plus Iron Man!

Glasgow Megasnake (again, coz it rules)

Chunklet introducing Mogwai on Day 2

At long last. Now buy it! Click below to check out the trailer!

Man, so just when I think that going out on the road promoting the Overrated Book can’t get any better, it does. The heightened airport security kicked in right as I made the connecting flight in Indianapolis on my way to Chicago. You know what they took? My effin’ prescription eye medication. Unreal. But once I got to Quimby’s, everything was fine. I did a 45 minute talk about the magazine, the book, the DVDs…..everything, really. To rekindle the last time there, I had friends bring milkshakes which went over well. Had thee best BBQ I’ve ever had in Chicago afterwards at Honey’s #1 (aka Magic Land) consisting of rib tips and sausage. Oh my god. The next day was Landlocked in Bloomington. The kids (and I mean that literally) there were awesome as I showed movies and made a futile attempt at selling books to their broke asses.  I got a chance to go and check out the warehouses at Secretly Canadian and snag a copy of the John Cale box set I originally designed (but was not credited for) and get a stack of new SC releases that were perfect for my lengthy drive to Cincy. What can I say about Shake it Records that wouldn’t make it seem like I’m a paid endorser? I don’t know, but for a small(ish) town, I was thoroughly blown away. I co-emceed a 2 hour presentation with Billy at Shake It where we inducted people that should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Pretty Things, Stooges, etc) and deducted people that shouldn’t be there (Eagles, Billy Joel, etc). Very fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants, but still a blast. I then spent the next 3 hours looking thru the records in the basement, and eventually spending over $200. Fortunately, Billy was able to apply credit to all the stuff I brought to sell them. Outside of Amoeba, I had never spent so much money at a record store in such little time. The biggest scores were finding great copies of all the old Melvins records on vinyl, but I also found a few old Olivia Tremor Control singles (one that I personally released was awesome to find), and was given the newly reissued Kenny Smith CD that Shake It released which was an astounding collection of early 70’s soul. The drive back to Chicago was slightly miserable as I couldn’t find a hotel, but thankfully the mighty Tom Pisano came to my rescue at 2am. I’ll talk about him more at some later time.

Thanks to Paul H, Pdex, Sara T, Liz @ Quimby’s, Heath & Landlocked, JC, Darius, Mary, Ben, Chris, Jon, Billy and Darren at Shake it and most especially, anybody that had me sign their book. Next stop? Texas!

Kenny Smith – Lord What’s Happened?

Kenny Smith – Deep In My Heart

From the Nashville Rage. God, what a fun time I had this past weekend! Thanks to Grimey’s, the folks at the Basement, CD Alley, Lunchbox Records, Earshot Records and all the mofos that decided having me scribble in their book was a wise idea. Midwest dates are this coming week. Come on out and keep me entertained! Thanks to Philly Boy Roy, Charles, Walsby, Gus, Mike, Scott, Brian, Chris, The Disease, Cecillia, Eric, Kelly, Garland, Kingsbury Manx peeps, the effin’ amazin’ puppet show, Anna, Tbag and Mer, Hog Heaven BBQ, Cheerwine, Diet Pepsi, Hummers, Carburritos, and most especially, the 5-toothed inbred in the Smoky Mountains that couldn’t explain why my hotel reservation wasn’t showing up on their computer. No really, I don’t mind driving another 50 miles. No really, go to a dentist. Find out you like candy. Anyway, again, thanks to everybody. I can’t wait to do that trek again! (note: the drive from Nashville to Chapel Hill is 11 hours! I’ll know that the next time!)

Fun record scores for under $6? Quite a bunch! A perfect copy of the Poison Idea Sub Pop single, Live Skull Dusted, Major Stars Distant Effects, Bastards Monticello and a replacement copy of Neil Young’s On The Beach. Whee!

Most played song on my iPod? Thee Speaking Canaries.

I Wear Glasses In The Most Brutal Sport Ever Invented

Fun interview. Even if I did say Sunn O))) were overrated.

And probably sporting the WORST PHOTO EVER taken of me.

Check it.

And sadly, a professional took this.