Been rare around these parts lately, but that’s gonna change. I swear.
Things are looking up. Like anything they could always be better, but take the fun and good times when it comes and we’ll deal with the comedown and fallout later. Always later. We got some very welcome yet unexpected news a few weeks ago:
We’re opening for Bob Mould.
THE Bob Mould. Of Hüsker Dü fame, along with much, much more. That raw, fuzzy, earnest yet melodic sound that I keep trying to capture in Royal Chant? He pretty much created that savage strain of alt-rock, and whether knowingly or unknowingly I’ve been walking in his footsteps for a long while now.
So….in the rare event that you happen to read this and live in Sydney, Australia (or within driving distance), we’ll be opening up for him when he hits town on Saturday night at the Factory Theatre. Come say hi if you do. We’ll be the ones looking sheepish next to our dwindling pile of CDs, probably giving them away as well as trying to press a flyer for our next show into your hands.
I’m more excited than I’ve been in a long, long time, and I’m already dreading the moment when it’s over. Still, I guess bracing myself for one heck of an emotional hangover doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the moment while it lasts, and soak up every minute of adrenaline-fueled anticipation to mix with the stories I’ll no doubt be telling in 17 years to some bored kids who wish I’d get to the point.
I’ve been blasting Zen Arcade and Flip Your Wig non-stop for 3 weeks now, even before we got the gig and it was only just a maybe. I kept thinking that if there was a chance we could get it, then maybe creating some fuzzy vibes would be a way to move the powers that be to cast their indifferent glance upon us and grant us this favour. This massive, massive favour.
I’m a geek, and yeah, I’ll probably dork it up if I get the chance to see him. I found the score of the century on Saturday when I rushed into a Bellingen record store 5 mins before closing and searched through their meager vinyl collection…looking for….FOUND IT! Flip Your Wig on vinyl! Brand new, and only $30. To give you some sense of perspective on the one-in-a-million chance of this happening, pick any small town with a population of less than 2,000 people, give it a record store (even more rare these days!) and then pick an obscure album by a somewhat fringe band and hope that they have it. On vinyl. I did a bit of a dance, I confess.
Unreal.
I’ll get back to work now (sorta), and leave you with my two favourite songs that I’ve been working on this past week. One is my favourite Hüsker Dü track (and possibly their best known), called “Makes No Sense At All”. The second is also by Hüsker Dü, but this live version features Dave Grohl guesting on guitar. I’ll leave a lot to your imagination, but let’s just say that I’ve been working on both of these songs in the rare event that somehow, someway, he needs another guitarist on the night. Maybe he saunters into the backstage area and says, “Hey…kid. Yeah, you. Grab your guitar.”
A boy’s gotta dream….
Love for now. Talk to you all after the show. Hopefully I’ll manage to get a pic or something, either on stage or off.
slantrhyme 