directions

mtv2 just showed a good portion of the death cab dvd....there are some really good videos. go see it on tuesday if you get the chance.

i love sally taylor.

From Sally Taylor's website...

February 24th 2006 - Club 770 - Madison, WI

A Strap of anonymous hair, rudely torn from the root, flaps in the air of a heat vent upon a screw in a brass light socket. It's blurry because I'm blurry and on a mission to the bathroom in the sub light of a grey morning. The bus meanders toward Wisconsin. Dom's foot sticks out of his bunk, toes down. An empty beer bottle rolls restlessly in a tinny, shallow sink. Someone's snoring behind their curtain and Gwen's orange boot, fallen like an abandoned lap dog catches my heal and trips me up. It's way too early for me. I hear Buddy's book on tape "Their Wildest Dreams" prodding our peripatetic journey onward; it's low basal monotone delivers me back to my dreams.

When I wake up for real at 4:30 pm the crew is watching Red Hot American Summer, an 80's farcical parody on summer camp which makes walking into our collegiate venue all the more de ja vous-y. We're playing a free show in what appears to be a University Of Wisconsin commons room. Chris, our student promoter is way too cute and nice to harangue for our venues unofficial appearance. Still, in all of its informality, the room is adorned with the mandatory disco ball and maybe that's all we really need.

Now, after all my fastidious derision of the venue, I, once again, turn out to be completely wrong. The sound is the best yet, the lighting is fantastic, the stage is aesthetically pleasant, the openers (Blake Thomas & the Downtown Brown) are so good that I'm forced to purchase (with my own money) their record and the student filled crowd is enthusiastic, attentive, respectful and well educated at that.

The last time I played in W.I. my fly was down the entire show and no one bothered to tell me. Now, in the middle of the show I have the feeling that once again that I've got egg on my face. No matter how many times I finger check my fly, I can't bring myself to believe that I'm zipped up. I'm not gonna blatantly look down so I wander over to The Saw for confirmation.

"Saw, is my fly down?" and to my horror he replies:
"Yes" With a mischievous grin. So, trying to be subtle I glance down at my crotch. My fly is not down and in my attempt at subtlety I look out into the crowd and make eye contact with a young blond in the front row. "I have that same shirt." I say over the mic. It's a M*A*S*H shirt and she pulls at its hems to display it proudly.
"It's my favorite shirt." She admits
"Target? $6.99?" I respond and now I've humiliated not only myself but this young scholar as well. Looking up, I watch a couple of incredulous students subjecting their throats to the gagging finger at our tawdry dross. Sorry blondie. I really didn't mean to offend. I too love my Target, M*A*S*H, $6.99 shirt.

At 3:00 am I find myself in a pair of unyielding, overly disinfected bowling shoes in a dark, neon, crowded student bowling alley directly beneath our venue. I'm rocking a florescent yellow bowling ball down lane 2 with eight other students, my brother, Derin and Dom. I'm good to, and no, this is not just a dream during another one of my marathon sleep offs. Thank you Lyndz, Stacy, KY, Wyndham and Chris (our team mates). Stay cool (and warm) up there at UWI.

they need a new PR person

the press release for trinity james & big bad is horrible, it doesn't make sense:

Voting wraps up for as Trinity James & Big Bad Vie For Another Bon Jovi Opening Gig at Giants Stadium, The Meadowlands, NJ.

Trinity would like to thank XM radio and of course Bon Jovi. Not only for giving him an opportunity to be part of this massive contest with tons of exposure but also for continuing to write them "great songs" that have impacted his life for the better for all these years.

Thanks to Madison media that pulled through at the last minute...News 3, NBC 15, UPN 9, The WSJ, Isthmus, Oregon Observer, and the rest.

For the far-flung support from fans old and new from the United Kingdom to Potosi, WI and many places in between; Pennsylvania, Long Island, New Jersey and then the places that aren't in between; Los Angeles and San Diego, CA, Missouri, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and Cancun, your support has been gracious. The way that people have embraced this music and this band is amazing. We thank you.

And last but not least, thank you to all the family who dedicated time and creativity, who treated this big chance of mine as it was their very own. Our friends who risked carpel tunnel syndrome, the midnight clicking disease. And the fans of the band, there is no greater accomplishment than counting you. Keep believing....

Check back soon in the unlikely event that we don't contact you about the results of this contest. Look for some more songs soon. Don't forget you can buy a CD if you like to listen to this music in the car where it really belongs.
- info@trinityjamesandbigbad.com

Again, thanks for votes, visits, blogs and comments.

Additional info and a wealth of support @
- TrinityJames&BigBad.MySpace.com

but i get the idea that they made it to the finals. does anyone else take it that way?

it's on!

www.madisonfest.com

bayside

so after seeing bayside this past weekend, i'm going to have to go ahead and assure everyone that the money we spent booking them will be worth every penny.

oh, and the smoking popes will probably rule as well.

Head East

And no, I'm not talking about the crappy jam band (no offense...okay, maybe a little).

So, go and vote for Trinity James & Big Bad in the second leg of the Bon Jovi Contest.

You can vote for them here from Monday Jan 30 - February 5.

If they win, they make it to the final round of four quarterfinalists who Bon Jovi choose from to open for them at Giants Stadium this summer.

Since we picked these boys, we might as well help them go all the way. Also, from a "what do we get out of it?" standpoint, we'll get a ton of press and you can all put this on your resumes as contributing to launching them to stardom. Or whatever.

But yeah, it looks like it'll take under a minute to vote, so please just do it. And tell your friends. And your parents. And your grandma. You might have to show her how to use the computer, but whatever - it's quality time.

Thanks guys!

a message from youngblood brass band

yo.
thanks for adding youngblood. we have many fond memories of union shows. even back before we were out of short pants, playing the battle of the bands in what...1997.

you should get hip to cougar, this other group i (david) am in. cougar's members are from nyc, chicago and madison, and the debut record was mixed and recorded by john mcentire (tortoise/the sea and cake)...it's in that tortoise vein, in a way. the album is law. the music is emergency rock/rescue culture. something like tortoise, four tet, telefon tel aviv, fugazi mixed up. we leave for europe in about a week and a half for the european debut tour, and are doing a one-time-only madison show at the orpheum stage door previous.

anyway. check myspace.com/cougarsound i think you'd enjoy it.
peace
david
p.s. new youngblood record, single, european and american tour in the spring. clips are here. thanks for supporting.