So, for Stabbings the tour is sadly over. Beggars and Crystelles will be out on the road for another month before we meet again in Seattle for one last show. Of course the most of the trip is a drunken blur of sleep deprivation, driving, playing our hearts out, and of course a little bit of drama. But I will do my best to recount things as they happened.
The first day began in Seattle, after getting off work and moving a load of things to my new house we loaded up and went to the Bit Saloon, there I had the pleasure of meeting Gitane, Zara and Troy (the Crystelles) for the first time. I also met Brad (the Beggars new Bassist for the Beggars) for first time. It was apparent immediately that we would all get on quite well. Also on the bill was Wildildlife who are always in top form. Stabbings opened up the bill and despite falling off the stage and knocking the monitors over before we even began it went well considering we had only practiced twice in the months preceding. Seeing Crystelles for thee first time was an amazing treat as they were even better than I expected, primal sexual rhythms and a brand of rock that destroys the pansy version so prevalent today. Gitane, in her 50's, could easily teach all young rocker a lesson. During the set Alex and Sara hit the ground pretty hard and suffered some wounds. I even saw Joy Von Spain dancing her ass off, which I have never seen at a rock show. Sioux City Pete and the Beggars ripped it up as usual and whipped the crowd into a frenzy as they tend to do. A cloud of dragon's blood smoke furthering the trance like atmosphere that they induce. After the show Crystelles and their roady Iggy came back to the house and we stayed up too late getting to know each other and drinking the night away, preparing for the rest of tour with little rest.
In the morning we took it easy ran a few errands, ate some breakfast and didn't rush at all to get to Portland for the next gig, it being only three hours away. We all met around 4 at Lexi's house to hit the road to Oregon and caravaned out way down there, getting lost off the freeway headed for Dunes as we do every time we play there. But we arrived without too much difficulty and Mark was there to greet us with his usual amazing hospitality. Gib Strange was there to see us and we got some time to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. We played on the floor as everyone does at the Dunes and got intimate with the crowd in a way impossible with a stage and for the first time were joined by Alex on vocals. Crysettles mangles our minds and those of the crowd, again, and their songs now becoming familiar began to get stuck in my mind as they remain to this day and I'm sure for months to come. the Beggars lit the crowd on fire with their fervor and doused each other with pitcher of water which did little to cool down their presence. After the show unfortunately we had to get on the road again instead of hanging out in Portland, the next show was in Oakland which is a damn far way off so we had to get going if we were going to make it. Benj (our roady and film maker) took the wheel because I was way too drunk to drive and I slept as we shaved away at a few hours of the drive. We pulled over and got a motel room somewhere in the middle of Oregon and we piled in there with the Beggars while Crystelles decided to carry on driving through the night. We attempted to sleep but were too busy laughing in delirium and eventually looked to pharmaceutical aid.
In the morning off to a late start and still 8 or 9 hours of driving ahead of us we got going. Through the hills the car was a bit sluggish and upon arriving we stopped in Yreka to find that the car was leaking something in a hurry. We waited for the car to cool down, added coolant and keep on, only to have to stop every hour or so to the replace the coolant which was now just pouring out and need to be replaced more and more often. The temperature gauge continued to rise and although temperatures on the outside were starting to exceed the 90's we had to crank the heat to full blast, which would not have been that hellish if the windows in the car worked, they did at times, but only randomly and some not working at all. We carried on in this way for 11 hours, stopping time and time again to let the car cool down. We made it to Oakland (a miracle) at just 2 minutes before having to go on (the Beggars graciously opened for us) and loaded in a hurry straight to stage, with only enough time to get a beer before going on. Despite this we still played our hearts out and the sound man provided us with an excellent recording which we will probably soon make available to the public. An old friend and band mate Jeff was there and I spent most of the rest of the night talking with him, but did not miss an amazing rendition of Gloomy Sunday by Gitane and some other old favorites. After the show we split up, the Beggars and Crystelles heading for the Hells Angels club house and Stabbings heading to Jeff's where we partook in some homegrown and drank wine and talked into the night.
The next day I brought the car in and found that we had blown a radiator hose and had a broken fan belt, left it at the shop and went to breakfast. After that Jeff gave Alex and I tattoos and we drank beer on his roof soaking in the amazing Oakland weather and view. Then we headed across the bridge to San Francisco and found our way to Kimo's. We lucked out on parking and walked around town for a hour or so then went back to the club for a drink. Upstairs wasn't open yet so we sat down at the bar and I ordered a scotch, it didn't take long for an old queen to try and swoop up on me and try to impress me with stories about Bette Midler, you can imagine how well this worked. Then we the upstairs opened and we started loading I heard someone call my name and came to find that it was John Roach a friend of mine from fifth grade, skateboarding buddy and son of famed owner of the Koo Koo's nest. Having not seen each other for almost 15 years we reminisced quite a bit about old stories and friends no longer with us. John had given me my first punk tape when we were 8, so I felt in a way he was partially responsible for me being there in the first place. Just before we were to go on Pete showed me that his amp was busted so, in a hurry I took out my tools and did a speedy repair just moments before getting on stage. I cannot remember too much about playing that night but my throat was still on fire from the long heated ride the day before. After the Crystelles played their hearts out and did a long set of tunes for some old friends of theirs in the crowd and blessed us with some numbers that one does not often get the chance to hear. Beggars drove me away with the dragon's blood, my fucked up little throat just couldn't take it that night. Again we all went to the same places to stay and had similar nights to those that came before, but this time John and Benj went with the Begs back to the club house.
In the Morning we made our way to the Peidmont / Oakland cemetery and spent a few hours gazing at graves and taking pictures before hitting the road to San Jose. We got lost for a while but still made it there early so we went and had a beer for there is not much around there to do outside of hanging out at the Blank Club which was not yet open. After they opened and we loaded I shot the shit with Corey who runs the Blank, it had been years and years since we saw each other. Stabbings headlined which is absurd considering the caliber of the bands we were traveling with. Jennique from the Shudders was there and we got the chance to talk for a while. The show over all was the least eventful of the tour but nevertheless the bands played great and we had a good time, it is kind of hard not to when traveling with 13 people. We had no place to stay so all three vehicles got back and the road and made our way to Long Beach where the Crystelles live. It is a long boring drive down I-5 to SoCal but being it night we had a marvelous view of the stars and the milky way. After drinking the trucker speed and the sun on its way up we had a great view of Mars and Venus next to each other with Jupiter off to the west, for this alone it was worth driving all night to me. We reached Long Beach at around 6:30am and I got some beers to knock off the edge, everyone was delirious out of their minds and ridiculous conversations kept us up for the next few hours. Eventually Alex had to give me a pill and hold me down until I shut up and went to sleep.
We awoke around 5pm most of us haggard beyond belief. Gitane and Zara made us a fabulous meal which put our minds somewhat back in order. Our show at Troy's house had been cancelled due to some problems with the police and a missing girl the night before, but Maddy from Beauty is Pain came to the rescue yet again and let us do a last minute show at his store in Hollywood. Beauty is Pain is an awesome little store on Highland and Sunset, not really big enough to do show but still puts on some of the best in the area. We crammed in there and tore the roof off. Bob Cantu cam out and Howie Pyro was there as well. I had to miss Crystelles to go pick up Gabe Hart, but I had no choice, he's my oldest friend in the world and I almost never get to see him. Afterwards we piled into the car and made our way for Gabe's house where we drank long into the night and smoked a million cigarettes while blasting Shane McGowan. Eventually I carried Gabe to bed and passed out myself.
Getting up somewhat late we went to the Hollywood Forever cemetery and strolled around the lake, paid homage at Johnny Ramones grave, hassled the swans, and looked at the graves of children. After hanging around there for a while we went to the 99 cent store, stocked up on supplies and snacks then went to the Griffith Observatory and looked at the view and the space exhibit inside which had a wonderful array on meteorites and scales to see what you would weigh on the different planets. From there we went to the Bronson caves and fooled around for a bit then drove back to Long Beach for our show at the Prospector. My Dad was there and we went out to dinner with him and then met with friends for drinks at the bar. Load in was a disaster and everyone became quite stressed, but it got done and Now Forever opened the show with their mellow shoegaze. We played our asses off, kind of pissed and overwhelmed by so many old friends being around. The sound was terrible but it didn't matter. By the end show my guitar and keyboard were broken and my bad mood escalated. It was a shame to be so mad around so many friends but it happens, especially to me. Alex and I got into a big fight and I nearly lost my voice yelling. I had to leave and walk around for a while just to get my cool back. But in the end we went back to my friend Omar Taha's house and he calmed us with Sam Cooke, moonshine and a blunt. A night that had been pretty terrible ended wonderfully!
In the morning we went coffee with Omar and Kat then got back on the road to L.A.. Everyone went to the beach but I stayed behind to fix all my broken gear which thank the gods below I was able to do, after much improvising and hassle. I slept for a much needed while and when everyone got back we went and got some BBQ stuff and beers then went to Highland Park to Tessa's, had a few while listening to NWA and listening to the fireworks starting to go off. We were just a few blocks away from the Legion Hall so we headed down there and loaded up into the huge room and stage, saw Bob on the way in and got the required dirty looks from the vets running the door. One of the best things about Legions is that you can smoke, Sue one of the old bar tenders from Mr.T's was working the bar, so I sat down for one, the Ian Harrower my old band mate, and Leon Catfish from the Guilty Hearts showed up and we put some back together. Kristyn by dear departed friend Nikko's old girlfriend was there too, so when we played we did Eulogy for Nikko for her and she said she was brought to tears and unbeknownst to me she brought Nikko's ashes with her, which was strange and touching. We were back to our old selves after getting some time to relax and we played better than we had all tour. It is always weird playing on a big stage, but we used it and dripping with sweat played even harder than the nights before. The Cactus Pricks played after us, but I was too eager to spend time with Ian and Leon to pay much attention. Beggars went on and the vets must have complained because Bob came up to remove the incense almost right away. They Killed it with no less intensity than we had, paving the way for Crytelles. When it came time for them to play a lot of people had disappeared, which was a great loss for those who did, those of us who stayed crowded around the stage like mad wolves, pressing closer and closer to the band even though there was no one behind us. After the show we took our time getting out of there and talked the usual nonsense shit with each other before leaving to crash at the houses of those gracious enough to bring us home.
We awoke to our last day of tour feeling pretty shitty that it was soon to be over. We went to breakfast at a place that used to be a great gay bar but is now unfortunately an over priced restaurant. From there we went to a BBQ at Gabe's house, it was filled with mostly people I didn't know but Frankie his awesome room mate was there and also Warren form Grand Elegance whom I had not seen for a number of years. We had beers and fucked around for a while, Mikko, John and Anne showed up and it turned out that they were going to be going to the same party we were and that unknown to us,friends of ours were friends independently. So, we all went over to Echo Park by the stadium to Uncle Ron's house and had more drinks, ate amazing food and lit of fireworks on the roof amid cheers of little Mexican kids and explosions all around the city. We had to leave too soon and get to the Redwood for the show, but when we got there they were also blowing up huge fireworks and having a blast in the streets, with a lookout on the corner calling if the cops were nearby. Icarus Glorfindel, the artist who painted our first album cover showed up, and also Yvette Dudoit who did backup vocals on our last recordings at the Distillery with Mike McHugh. She got up on stage for our last song and her and Alex sang together without ever having met before, a real treat for me! After we played I watched the Crystelles and the Beggars with sadness knowing that they would be traveling the rest of the country and we would be returning home. My only regret of the trip is not being able to go with them for the rest of the tour. But we will be meeting in Seattle in a three weeks to play a house party and it will defiantly not be the last time we travel together. Much love to those who were on this trip with us and a little bit of hate just to balance things out.
our caravan of gypsies included and we will miss:
Jean-Paul
John
Sioux City Pete
Alex
Benj
Gitane
Zara
Troy
Iggy
Lexi
Amanda
Joe
Brad
