Kid Food.

The night started off innocently enough. We head to Cass Cafe for a quick bite and some drinks. I startwith a Motor City Nut Brown, and then move to a Nut-Blaster (that's 1/2 N.B., 1/2 Ghettoblaster). And the chicken tenders with ranch.

LTD:“Who orders chicken tenders with ranch? What are you, eight?”

Whatever. He ordered whole milk and some Fruit Roll-Ups. Turns out Monique doesn’t like Cass Café, yet she likes AJ’s in Ferndale, home of the 70’s mom sandwich. Thanks for the bologna on Wonder white, mom. I’ll sprinkle some mashed up Pringles on it too, then we’ll watch Thundercats.

So we played a show at The Belmont that wasn’t all that great cuz we only practiced once. My guitar was crapping out, a huge distraction. But Scott Allen’s new group was tight. Alan James was touchingly talented.

Finished the night with Tate serving rounds of Johnny Walker Red, till that ran out. Then I had a cup of the Black before we head back to LTD’s Dragon Studio with a bag full of garbage from 7-11. Never get the Pepperoni, Cheese & Sauce Roll-Up by the way. It tasted as described.

O Your Dry Crusty Brownish Red Blood.

The first practice following NYC Popfest

...greeted me with this bloody splatter on the guitar I loaned to The Radio Dept for their headlining spot at the Bell House in Brooklyn. In the spirit of all that is good within the indie music community, we loaned our guitars, amps, keyboard stands and more to the otherwise gracious trio... who were for some reason traveling without their own equipment. At one point after being asked for a patch cable, LTD quipped, "How about I just play your songs for you too?" But maybe that didn't didn't translate?! So I have to say this was a) pretty unpleasant and b) totally inconsiderate. Just kidding it was awesome rock n roll.

99%

The Album has left the trusty hands of Dave Allison and is being delivered to Jay Keuhn for mastering. Hoping for another week, maybe two... then the master of CP LP #1 (We Wish You Well On Your Way To Hell) makes its final approach for landing in Le Grand Magistery's secret Canadian hideout. That's 2,584 miles from our home in shady Ferndale. At that point, the master will meet up with its artful counterpart created by Andy Taray. All parties will sign an oath in blood taken from local mystical creatures. Master and Art will join hands and march on Darla Records HQ for manufacturing etc.

PS - Thanks D.A. for the mixing prowess, tips & techniques, production assistance... and just a generally entertaining and educational experience. We'll be back.

Meanwhile

Next week it's our 5th and 6th shows: the Belmont in Hamtramck and Holy Joe's in Toronto. That's the NXNE festival. We'll be staying at a comfy guest house in Cabbagetown. In fact, it's called the Comfy Guest House. So that's where we'll be if you find yourself reading this, in Toronto, and wanting to take us somewhere nice to eat/drink.

So that's some crazy back-2-back shit and we R pumped... I sure hope Indevorecords.com will be there, they seem really excited about us:

"I hope you are doing great. I really like your song 'The Fool Is Hurt'. Could you come play at Rocketown in Nashville for me and some other music Industry Reps?? I work for a label under Warner Bros. and we are looking for more artists' right now. We can set up your showcase right online by going through this A&R company we use called Band With a Mission. (www.bandwithamission.com)

The cool part about showcasing with them is that you will get to showcase your best songs for me and a couple other music industry representatives and you will get a 3 page feedback/A&R Assessment explaining what you are great at, and what you can work on to improve your show. You will also receive a pack from the sponsors with info on how you can get involved with their company. They have an unbelievable track record.

I hope you can come out!"

No, I hope you can come out, Meagan. We'll do a two-part harmony, a cappella version of 'The Fool Is Hurt', just so you can understand them lyrics.

Voyeur Surly Try

Load-in / Le Petit Zinc

After selecting a fine bottle of Palo Alto at University Foods, we head to Le Petit Zinc for an early dinner. I’m a total sucker for French restaurants, have been since Bem & I lived across the street from Lucien. We order the Ratatouille, a Salad Nicoise, Assiette de Charcuterie (cold cuts, goose liver pâté and cornichons) and the Jambon et Fromage Crepe. The pâté was the biggest winner. And we took a Nutela Crepe to go.

Banana Jamz

I started the night off with a couple rounds of Bananagrams, courtesy of the fine folks in Very Truly Yours. Katie teamed up with me, but we were not a match for bassist Dan and his amazing wordsmith skills. Yeah he had the skills. All in all, I think our 2nd performance was pretty ok. It was certainly fun to be on stage… and PJ & crew were as kind as can be. Sound was better than I remember. The old Lager has really cleaned up (soap dispenser, paper towel, door on stall, stinky carpet gone) while maintaining the essence of Dive we always loved.

Ghost Ride the Miracle Whip

We opt for a border run this time on the way home. But they forgot Burgundy’s Tostada, screwed in the drive-thru. We end the evening with a quick Ghost Ride down Pinecrest to celebrate two shows in the can.

Album Cover.

Thank you to Andy Taray at ohioboy.com for the awesome packaging and design... can't wait to share the whole thing. Thank you to Le Grand Magistery for putting out our record !

What You Call Stick-to-it-iveness.

You don't bring the venue. The venue brings you.
Saturday, May 25th.
I start the day with the requisite trip to Guitar Center and Radio Shack for cables, batteries, more cables.
Second off, why do we weakling music-types have these 80lb amps? If I become an accountant, I will use that Fender Twin as a paperweight.
Hot rain.
Bem's voice has barely returned following a lengthy cold.
We make the long trek from Ferndale, up Woodward, to Bloomfield Hills. With one stop at Walgreen's for some more batteries.
The student lounge at Cranbrook Academy of Art. A heady blend of Welcome To The Johnson's and Pencey Prep, with perhaps a dash of the gross-out spill slick I imagine the Dexter Lake Club might have had at the end of a night.
Every counter, chair back, bench and patch of floor was sticky as a post-it note on the 4th of July.
It couldn't have made for a better first show.

Spayed Oddity
CP started the night off with 7 songs from the forthcoming full length. Then followed a commanding performance by Lauren Payne with some Catlovin'-Casio-Rap. It was good. Rounding out the evening was Coyote Clean Up featuring members of Kalkaska!? I think we played with them once back in the mid 90's. They provided the High Life and a bass amp, while we brought the guitar tuner so it all worked out. Later in the night, Lauren, Coyote Club, and Alright Computer ride around the campus on a flat bed jamming some Loggins/Messina tunes with Monica manning the tractor trailer while playing bass. Is there anything she can't do?

Where'd You Get That Vest?
Special thanks to Trevor Naud (Zoos of Berlin, Hidden Ghost Balloon Ship, Red Shirt Brigade, South South Million, Soccer Moms) for the catcalls to Burgundy during the set. Your karma was put into balance via the Taco Bell drive-thru. Meanwhile, LTD proposed a new menu item at McDonald's: the 3-Meat Sampler. That's a double cheeseburger, filet-O-fish and some chicken sandwich. Bem says it's 20 points.