11.27.2003
thanksgiving day post
It's Thanksgiving morning. My mouth feels like an ashtray. My neck feels like it's been smashed by a rolling pin. My right shoulder hurts like crazy. And I don't think I can stand up. Yeah--I played a show last night and overdid it.
Not from the booze, mind you--from just jumping around, having fun, and rocking the hell out as Cobra Verde took the Grog Shop stage with an all-local cast featuring Terminal Lovers and those loveable scumbags, Amps II Eleven. I had no choice but to go full-throttle on this one; throughout the day at work I was suffering from a vague touch of the flu, a kind of Cleveland misery that only comes from smoking too much and working in a cold, damp basement. I figured the only way I could shake this off was to literally shake it off. And I think I did, though by the end of the night I was slumped over at the Grog bar, pounding bottles of water in order to stave off the day's unknown virus and the fatigue from the gig. Man, I wondered how all those DIY punk and hardcore bands I saw at Speak In Tongues did it, night after night, jumping around like madmen and driving across the country in a shitty van with no hope of even breaking even on their tour. That's heart.
Tonight Jeffo, Stephe DK and I embark on the latest chapter of the New Lou Reeds saga at Edison's Pub (it's down in Tremont. If you don't know where it is, then shame on you). Stephe's been great at coming up with new tunes, which Jeffo and I have handled with our usual aplomb. The set's not as delightfully ramshackle as the original lineup (which features Coffinberry members and is coming out on Exit Stencil Recordings this February) but it's gotten more of a hard rock heft. For lack of a better term, it's very rootsy with a base in 60s folk-rock, I suppose; lots of Dylan rambling and blues and the occasional Hendrixian lead. I'm usually just overflowing with descriptives, but Stephe's stuff leaves me scratching my head with its indefinable uniqueness.
After that, Cobra Verde hits the road on Saturday for a one-off in Columbus. Unfortunately, my Columbus pals--Lou and Donovan from Grafton, Carol from the Tough and Lovely, and Robert from Donewaiting.com--won't be there, called away by either holiday responsibilities or shows--but it's gonna be good, playing to people who may not necessarily know who we are. On the 4th of December, the New Lou Reeds go back to the Beachland to lock horns with the acid rock of New Planet Trampoline. I've got more and more throughout the month of December, which all seems like a distant impossibility due to my aches and pains. But hell, I've gotten this far--no turning back now.
Not from the booze, mind you--from just jumping around, having fun, and rocking the hell out as Cobra Verde took the Grog Shop stage with an all-local cast featuring Terminal Lovers and those loveable scumbags, Amps II Eleven. I had no choice but to go full-throttle on this one; throughout the day at work I was suffering from a vague touch of the flu, a kind of Cleveland misery that only comes from smoking too much and working in a cold, damp basement. I figured the only way I could shake this off was to literally shake it off. And I think I did, though by the end of the night I was slumped over at the Grog bar, pounding bottles of water in order to stave off the day's unknown virus and the fatigue from the gig. Man, I wondered how all those DIY punk and hardcore bands I saw at Speak In Tongues did it, night after night, jumping around like madmen and driving across the country in a shitty van with no hope of even breaking even on their tour. That's heart.
Tonight Jeffo, Stephe DK and I embark on the latest chapter of the New Lou Reeds saga at Edison's Pub (it's down in Tremont. If you don't know where it is, then shame on you). Stephe's been great at coming up with new tunes, which Jeffo and I have handled with our usual aplomb. The set's not as delightfully ramshackle as the original lineup (which features Coffinberry members and is coming out on Exit Stencil Recordings this February) but it's gotten more of a hard rock heft. For lack of a better term, it's very rootsy with a base in 60s folk-rock, I suppose; lots of Dylan rambling and blues and the occasional Hendrixian lead. I'm usually just overflowing with descriptives, but Stephe's stuff leaves me scratching my head with its indefinable uniqueness.
After that, Cobra Verde hits the road on Saturday for a one-off in Columbus. Unfortunately, my Columbus pals--Lou and Donovan from Grafton, Carol from the Tough and Lovely, and Robert from Donewaiting.com--won't be there, called away by either holiday responsibilities or shows--but it's gonna be good, playing to people who may not necessarily know who we are. On the 4th of December, the New Lou Reeds go back to the Beachland to lock horns with the acid rock of New Planet Trampoline. I've got more and more throughout the month of December, which all seems like a distant impossibility due to my aches and pains. But hell, I've gotten this far--no turning back now.
