Mandatory Blackout: The Things That We Do To Amuse Us When The Power Is Out

A quick look on the Weather Channel recently had flash flooding and heavy storms all throughout the southeast United States, causing extensive damage everywhere in its path. Everywhere that is, except for Florida. Actually to be more specific, here in the Tampa Bay area. After several months without rain, our increasing demand for water has left us with empty water reservoirs, near drought like conditions and even tougher water restrictions. Unless you have reclaimed water, or don't mind paying excessive fines, then gone are the days of excessive lawn watering and Saturday morning carwashes. They have since been replaced by dead brown lawns and increasingly dirty vehicles.

Imagine my surprise when tonight, when my hometown was pelted with the most torrential of all rainstorms. Mother Nature up and just showed her bad 'ol ass, and brought a storm not seen since Noah brought his Ark through the village a long, long time ago. Now, months of angry rainwater came upon our city, and I was seriously worried about the safety of our new house. It didn't take but a few quick minutes of the downpour before there was that old familiar flicker of the lights and the sound of all the household electronics shutting down at once.

Damn, no power.

By stroke of good luck, Megan had just completed making dinner just before the power went out. But, when the power was still off after a half an hour, the reality of the situation started to settle in. It was getting dark outside and with the sun quickly fading, where were those candles stored at anyway? After a quick assessment of the house, it didn't take me long to realize that we are not prepared for such outages. With the upcoming hurricane season quickly coming upon us, I made the mental note that I need to go gather those things, like...Tomorrow

After four hours, the boredom took over. We tried to think of all of the fun things that we could do while the lights were out. Hey, aside from the obvious...thats how babies are born. Heres what we did...


First was to break a glass in a dark kitchen, then have no flashlight to see where you are going, all while searching for the invisible sharp remnants of the broken dish. Extra points if you are barefoot.

Take periodic trips outside, looking for the neighbors that still have their electricity on. Then raise your fist to them and shout profanities in their general direction, screaming about how revenge will be yours at the next moons light.

Maybe you had better not do that last one.

In a true bonding moment with my youngest daughter, we played guitar and sang songs...about taking a bath. Sung to the tune of some awfully bad Cheetah Girls song. Everyday should be like pre-school.

Here are a few things that we thought of, but didn't do...well, because it was bedtime, and it is a workday after all.

Play hide and seek

Drink

Set off fireworks

Wash the car (hey, its raining, and the restrictions are still on.)

Strip Poker by candle light - because everyone looks better when the lights are dim.

Have a séance: light as a feather, stiff as a … oh wait, is that a board?

Talk about the shows that we are missing on TV and how we can watch them on the computer instead anyway.

Here's A Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares

Just found out today that The Dive Bar Stalkers have been added once again to this years Taste of Pinellas Festival. The once yearly gathering, which is held at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg is now in its umteenth year and as always benefits All Children's Hospital. During the course of a weekend, locals restaurants and eateries bring out their best recipes for all to sample. Combine that with a bunch of national, regional and local bands performing on stage to a crowd of about 10,000.

Good times.

So yeah. The Dive Bar Stalkers will be playing Taste of Pinellas on Saturday May 30th. I'm told that we go on stage somewhere around 6ish. It will be our job to get the crowd primed for the nights headliner, Travis Tritt.

OK, by now, you are thinking one of two things...either, "Who in the hell is Travis Tritt?" or better yet, "Travis Tritt, what the hell is he doing there?"

Turns out that he will be in town to support his latest album of cover songs.

That's right, an album of cover songs. I can't imagine where his head was at with his selections, but some of the ones that stand out in my mind are Nickleback's "Should've Listened", Richard Marx's "Doesn't the Good Outweigh the Bad" and Hank Williams Jr's "The Pressure Is On".

Interesting

But give credit where credit is due. Travis Tritt has has won two Grammy awards, a handful of others from the Country Music Association and is also a current member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Which bring me to the title of my blog. A long time ago, in a land far away...Tennessee around 1992, I saw Travis Tritt play at the local Bristol TN High School Gymnasium, belting out his then hit, "Here's A Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares". It seems that it became somewhat of a custom for his fans to throw quarters up on stage while he played. Only at this show, some degenerate redneck hit him, hard, right in the face with a silver George Washington.

At the time, that was his big song on the radio, so he played it as his encore. Talk about a show stopper. He just up and left.

A lot has changed between then and now, and I look forward to meeting him in person, and hearing the rest of the story...and to see if he still plays that song.

Music on the Main Stage

Friday, May 29th	Saturday, May 30th	Sunday, May 31st
Headline Act:	Headline Act:	Headline Act:
Night Ranger with Special Guest Lita Ford www.nightranger.com	Travis Tritt www.TravisTritt.com	KC and the Sunshine Band www.heykcsb.com
	The Dive Bar Stalkers

R.I.P. Jef Roberts

Long before I ever lived in Tennessee, I met Jef while visiting my father on a summer vacation. It was probably around 1987 or so...no later than '89. My mind gets pretty foggy when I go back that far. Anyone who is from there can tell you what a boring town Bristol is when you are 20 years old. For an evening's entertainment I went to Viking Hall to see some Morrell Music sponsored Battle of the Bands. It was there that we first met and he shared with me the places to see and be seen. The next day I was off to Johnson City and The Highlander, where again I ran into him. We watched some bands, drank some beer (illegally) and just had a good time. Although nothing really exciting came from either night out, it left me thinking that maybe the Tri-Cities wasn't such a hick-ass backwards redneck town like I had previously thought.

Fast forward a few years to around 1991. I make the big move from Tampa, Florida to Bristol, Tennessee. While the plan was for me to attend school, my initial thoughts were to put together a band. I met Jeff Davenport, who was in my Anthropology class. He had played guitar in The Flaming Napalm Love Gods and he was wanting to put together a band as well. Good news was that he already had a drummer in Jon Crain. We quickly found a willing bass player and The Trailer Park Picassos were formed. We started playing everywhere: The Offshore Cafe, Quarterback's, O'Malley's, Pretzel's, The Casbah, The Sports Pub, City Slickers, ETSU Amphitheater...basically whoever would have us. Any old dump with electricity and a stage was all that we required.

By this time, it would have been nearly impossible for me not to have reconnected with Jef. The Trailer Park Picassos played many shows with Jef's band Punchin' Judy. Then the time came when Jon Crain, our drummer, decided that he wanted to be the co-singer in the band instead of beating the skins. The first person that we asked to fill his shoes was Jef. Fortunately for us, he was going through a downtime with Punchin' Judy and he was available.

We played quite a bit with that line-up until about 1993. It was at that point that I realized what a hick town Bristol really was. (Sorry, no offense to you lifers...I actually love it there now). I packed up my stuff up and headed back to Florida while the rest they say is history.

I lost touch with Jef for awhile, but I always knew that I could find him through his mom. When my band PIG PEN needed a gig while doing an east coast tour, Jef was helpful in cluing us in as to what would be the best suited venue.

Thankfully through Facebook and MySpace, I was able to reconnect with Jef again. We may have only kept up with each other by a quick "wall posting" or a "bulletin" here and there, but it was comforting to me that he was still living the life of a rocker and enjoying making music.

Jef, you will be missed. Thanks for always being a friend.

Bobby Addington

Pirates Invade Tampa

The Gasparilla tradition in Tampa has dated back to 1904, when a group of elite businessmen put together the festival that popularized the legend of Spanish pirate Jose Gaspar. Today marked the 105th year that Tampa Bay has been invaded by pirates, while an estimated crowd of 400,000 people gathered to watch as Mayor Pam Iorio surrendered the keys to the city.

"The stories of Gaspar 

are fairly consistent. Most say he was born in Spain in 1756 and served in the Spanish Navy a

board the Floridablanca. Among his early exploits was his kidnapping of a young girl for ransom; some versions give his subsequent capture as the impetus for joining the navy.

 Simpler versions of the story have him starting a mutiny and becoming a pirate soon after, but more romantic ones say he achieved a high rank 

and became a councillor to King Charles III. He was popular in the court, but when he spurned one lover for another, the jilted lady levied false charges against him, often said to involve the theft

 of the crown jewels. T

o escape arrest he commandeered his ship and vowed to exact revenge on his country through piracy. Renaming himself "Gasparilla", he patrolled the coast of Spanish Florida for the next 38 years (often 1783 – 1821, approximately the dates of the second 

Spanish rule of Florida), sacking every passing ship and amassing a huge treasure, which was stored in his fabulous den

 on Gasparilla Island. Most male prisoners would be put to death or recruited as pirate

s, while women would be taken to a nearby isle, called Captiva Island for this

 reason, where they would serve as concubines or await ransom payment from their

 families."

I've been going to the festival on and off for my entire life. The first time I went was in Kindergarten, oh about 35 years or so ago. Its been a few years since I went last, mainly because that is just too many damn people to be around comfortably. While today was no exception crowd wise, I did manage to score some excellent front row seats that were reserved for us at the Tampa Convention Center.

It just so happens that when the pirates hit land, it is at the Convention Center. We had the perfect view of the invasion that I had never been able to see before except when watching live footage on television. Unless you happen to be on a boat, or arrive early enough to catch a spot on the wall surrounding Bayshore Boulevard, you just don't see it.

Like clockwork, you can expect the city of Tampa to throw the world's largest pirate themed party every February. Gaspar's reputation for debauchary makes for a great excuse to roam the city streets celebrating with an assorted cast of drunks and skallywags. 

I'll drink to that.

PIG PEN to play all Florida dates with Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg

Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg features Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame member Marky Ramone alongside an all-star band that includes Michale Graves (ex-Misfits) as well as Alex and Clare of the UK band AntiProduct.

There are only three US dates scheduled before they continue their tour through Japan and Australia. PIG PEN will be on all of the Florida dates.

March 19 @ The Garage - St.
Petersburg, FL
March 20 @ The Crowbar - Ybor City, FL

Tickets are $22 in ADVANCE

Both shows WILL SELL OUT!

You can purchase tix through PIG PEN...NO TICKETMASTER



Here are a listing of all of my upcoming concert dates, both with PIG PEN and THE DIVE BAR STALKERS.



Feb 6 2009 9:00P
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS @ Ace’s Lounge - Bradenton, FL




Feb 12 2009 8:00P
PIG PEN @ Market on 7th - Ybor City, FL




Feb 13 2009 9:00P
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS @ The Garage - St. Petersburg, FL




Feb 14 2009 8:00P
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS w/ The Georgia Satellites @ The Cuban Club - Ybor City, FL




Feb 20 2009 8:00P
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS @ Coca Cola Pavillion - Daytona Beach, FL




Feb 27 2009 9:00P
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS @ Ringside Cafe - St. Petersburg, FL




Mar 7 2009 9:00P
PIG PEN @ The Garage - St. Petersburg, FL




Mar 13 2009 9:00P
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS @ Bourbon Street - New Port Richey, FL




Mar 17 2009 9:00P
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS @ Slim & Chubbies - Holiday, FL




Mar 19 2009 8:00P
PIG PEN with MARKY RAMONE’S BLITZKRIEG @ The Garage - St. Petersburg, FL




Mar 20 2009 8:00P
PIG PEN with MARKY RAMONE’S BLITZKRIEG @ Crowbar - Ybor City, FL




Mar 21 2009 9:00P
PIG PEN @ Filthy McNastys - Vero Beach, FL




Mar 27 2009 9:00P
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS @ Ringside Cafe - St. Petersburg, FL




Mar 28 2009 9:30P
PIG PEN @ Pegasus Lounge - Tampa, FL

Job Security: From The Inside Of A Jail Cell.

I got the word today that I would to be starting on a new long-term project for work.  That isn't necessarily a big deal, as my company takes on many jobs of that nature on a daily basis. But I couldn't get past the smirks on every body's face at the office today as I walked in. Something was up.

Before I could even check the newly posted job calendar, the cat was already out of the bag. Starting tomorrow, I'll be beginning to spend a great deal of time at the county jail.  I'll be installing over 250 video teleconferencing systems that will allow the inmates to "visit" with their families via a camera connection.

Great. I'm the guy who will be taking away their current visitation status away. While I'm sure they don't allow for those "conjugal visits", at least they could meet face-to-face. Instead, they will be watching them on a TV monitor. Which can't be half that bad when you look at it. I hear they don't even have television in the jail cells. Imagine that? No Superbowl. These animals aren't going to like me at all. Because I'm definitely watching the game. Without them.

I've always wondered why someone would want to be a prison guard. Even if you are only working an eight hour shift, it would just take you three years on the job to equal a full year in jail. I'm just hoping that with the amount of time that I'll be spending there in the near future that I'll be able to put some of my "jail time" in an account somewhere and save it for a rainy day. Kind of like that "Get Out Of Jail FREE" card in Monopoly.

But hey, in today's economy...who am I to complain? It's not like I'll have free run of the place anyway. There will be guards escorting me around, so I would be protected if anything were to break out. Besides, half of my time there will be spent in the visitation center. It is there, in a separate complex outside of the jail's wall,  that the families of inmates will have to go for their visitation. The unfortunate family still has the inconvenient task of having to actually drive to the jail. 

But for me, life is good. Because at the end of the day.I still get to go home...from work. Even if I have to wake up and do it all over again.

What Is The Big Deal With Twitter Anyway?

This week, I joined yet another social networking site. It seems that no matter where I go, or what I am doing. Twitter is everywhere. Apparently, I need to be a part of it, so I promptly signed up. Now what? So far it has been pretty boring. 

They call it micro blogging. Basically, it is a status report on what you are doing at any given moment. You can choose up to 140 letters to describe how you are feeling, what your doing...what you shouldn't be doing, whatever. Yep, that is it. Both MySpace and Facebook offer the same element, plus a whole lot more so I really cannot understand what the hoopla is all about.

I began by searching for friends, family and people that I know. You know the drill, as by now everyone has either a Facebook or MySpace account, or both. It is the same deal. Twitter is more alike to Facebook due to the fact that you use your real name as opposed to MySpace where it seems that everyone uses an alias. I should know a few people on there already, right? I have some pretty tech savvy buddies/iPhone geeks for friends...do you think that I found any of them on there? One by one Twitter told me that there was no such person in their online community. Could it be that I actually have no true friends that are/have subscribed to Twitter? Apparently, that is the case.

I actually did make contact with my friend and former band mate Jon Crain on Twitter. But we were already in quasi-contact with each other through both MySpace and Facebook. He actually found me on Twitter, of all places, through my Facebook posting which proclaimed my new domain on Twitter. He is now the only person who is "following me" on Twitter. He called me a douchebag, further solidifying to me  that Twitter is really utterly useless.

But, it seems to be the latest rage. At least with the twenty-somethings. Everybody has to know everybody's business, no matter how boring or mundane. 

Supposedly, there is more to it than that. I'm going to stick it out for a bit and continue to send Jon my daily updates on my social status. Who knows, maybe it will someday lead to another long awaited Trailer Park Picassos's reunion show. Surely the rest of the guys from the band will have a Twitter account soon enough

If you want to follow me on Twitter you will find me here...

http://twitter.com/bobnoxious

My Life Is An Open Book. Except For What We Can't Speak Of.

Well, its been a cold week here in Sunny Florida as temperatures dipped below 30 degrees for two days in a row. Our uber-intelligent weather experts were even calling for snow on one day. Alas, it did not happen. Too bad, I was looking forward to taking a free day off from the regular bump n' grind of everyday life.

When I left my house this morning, there was a fresh patch of frost covering just about everything. The lawn, the plants...my windshield. I have owned the same ice scraper since about 1993 when I bought one while attending college in Tennessee. I never really used it, but somehow managed to retain it for all of these years. Until this morning when I looked for it fruitlessly. I'm sure that I'll find it somewhere in the garage tomorrow.

By the way, if you find yourself with a frosty window and no ice scraper, it is best that you throw a cup of hot water on the windshield. Try to resist the urge to use your windshield washer fluid. All it does is turn the frost into a Slushee.

Other than that, its been a somewhat busy week musically for me. Saturday night was a PIG PEN show at the Pegasus in Tampa. We met a cool band from Orlando called BearLake. We'll definitely be doing more dates with them, both locally and in Orlando. We managed to unload a good majority of our T-Shirts and CD's while we were there, so I guess we'll need to be ordering more soon.

The Dive Bar Stalkers continue to record more new tracks for the latest offering to the masses. I recorded my guitar tracks for You Got Me Runnin' and Beautiful Day. It is still in the early stages of the whole recording process, but I'm sure we'll have a few sneak-peak mixes available for your listening pleasure on our myspace page at some point.

Speaking of DBS, we played a show on Friday night over at The Ringside in St. Petersburg. After arriving fashionably late, I was escorted directly to the stage where we played a 3 hour set!No breaks. Looch did two drum solos which served as our only breather. Hands down, that was the longest I've ever played my guitar on public display...EVER! 

The overly enthusiastic club owner was estatic about the length of our set. Nobody seemed to notice that it was almost closing time as "last call" echoed throughout the joint. He said that everyone tends to leave after the bands take their breaks. I guess that we tricked 'em huh?

The podcast show that I do with Ick and Blip released Episode #14 on Sunday. Here lately, we've been keeping a regular 7 day release schedule. The show has been featured on over 30 different music sites, except iTunes. Our .xml feed was declined by iTunes due to the title of our show. It seems that Loud, Fast & Shitty isn't accepted in mainstream America, even if you put an Explicit Content label all over it. Oh well, I guess we're destined for the underground.

Superbowl 43 is in a little over a week here in Tampa and I'd like to see the Cardinals win. I've always liked the Steelers, but they've been to far too many title games as it is. So since my team isn't in it, I'll be rooting for the underdog.

Snow Predicted in Tampa Tonight

I woke up this morning and checked the local news ticker on my iPod's web browser. The headline read "if the weather dominoes line up just right, folks from Tampa Bay to Brooksville stand a chance of seeing some snow Tuesday night."

What?

The last time that it snowed in Tampa was in 1977. I remember it well. I was seven years old and in the second grade at Mendenhall Elementary. I woke up to my Mom excitedly telling me to hurry up and come look out the window, and that there was a blanket of snow on the ground. Even at seven years old, I was on to my Mom using interesting anecdotes to make me get out of bed. I wasn't buying it.

Thirty-two years have passed to the day. Exactly. If that isn't an omen, then I don't know what is. The last measurable snow in Tampa fell on January 19, 1977. The accumulation amounted to all of 0.2 inches, but the city, unprepared for and unaccustomed to wintry weather, came to a virtual standstill for a day. There was hardly any accumulation where we lived at, but I can remember staying home from school and scraping a few snowballs off of my Mom's AMC Hornet windshield. We even saved one in the refrigerator's freezer for quite some time.

Unforgettable would be the best way to describe it, as I've carried those memories with me for my entire life. So, tonight I'll keep my fingers crossed in hopes that we have another freakish show shower that will blanket our city. I wonder that if it snows in central Florida if all of the blue-haired snow birds will leave town early? That could ease some of the traffic on our already congested roads.

Keep up with our local Tampa weather here.

Barack Obama Approved This Cartoon

Friday Night Is Here

It is going to be a busy weekend coming up music wise.

Friday night,The  Dive Bar Stalkers are back in St. Petersburg to play at The Ringside on 4th Street. It is a quint but rockin' spot located in the historic Old NorthEast section of town and boasts that they are the "home of the blues." The last time that we played there, there was a small bit of chaos that closed the night. It seemed that there was a jealous person who was in attendance who threw a mug at one of the club's glass beer coolers. Needless to say it was shattered.

Hopefully that guy does not show up again this time.

Also on the bill for this show will be the band Kashmire.

There's been a lot going on in The Dive Bar Stalkers camp. I spent Tuesday evening in the studio recording tracks for the new CD. I recorded the rhythm guitar tracks for Seven Nights To Rock and Friday Night Is Here. So far, it has been pretty seamless and effortless. We've been playing a lot of the songs live for some time now, so basically, it was just a matter of getting them on tape.

Saturday night marks the triumphant return of PIG PEN to The Pegasus Lounge in Tampa. Ahhh, its good to be home again. We have been playing The Peg for years. We always have a great time and we usually invite a couple other cool bands to come along. This time is no exception. The Scurvy and Hatchetface are locals. To Be Hated is from Ft. Lauderdale and BearLake hails from Orlando.

This time around will also mark the debut of what must be our 15th or 16th drummer in the history of the band. Don't get me wrong, it's not like we're Spinal Tap or anything. Frankie Drunk was in the band for several years and so was Monkeyboy. It just seems that it has been a revolving door for awhile now. With me being the only original member, you can imagine I have seen my share of band mates come and go. Hell, the Weekly Planet even wrote a story about it. Now, it seems like we may have finally found someone who is fit for the part. Reggie The Josh. If you make it to the show, buy him a beer.

Who knows when there will be new PIG PEN music. It is definitely being talked about. I guess that we will just have to see what the new year brings us.

Why Is This Guy Smiling?

He is smiling because he is happy that the red pick-up truck does not belong to him. In fact, he is the driver of the tow truck that responded to help some unfortunate guy whose truck was teetering over an enbankment this morning on Memorial Highway in Tampa. It seems that the red Chevrolet 1500  pick-up truck was launched, unmanned, off an enbankment and on to a sidewalk.

Thats right, unmanned.

It found it's way from the parking lot due to the decades old Ford LTD that rammed it to the street. It appears the somebody left the St. Pete Bagel shop in a hurry and hit the truck while backing up. One can only imagine who did it, as I could not spot the obvious owner. Maybe it was an out of work handyman who stopped for a quick bite to eat before reporting to the labor pool. Or better yet, a disgruntled employee who couln't get out of there fast enough, but yet was still stuck there while things were sorted out.

Whatever the case was, the LTD slammed into the back of the truck so hard that it knocked all four tires completely over the concrete tire stopper. But wait, there's more...the mean machine then pushed the rugged truck another four or five feet past a patch of grass and then left it hanging from the ledge. I guess the vehicle had momentum on it's side considering that it originated from across the parking lot!

I walked away laughing, knowing that nobody was hurt in the accident. As I left, it seemed that the driver of the tow truck was at a loss for how to handle the situation. The chains that were attached from the tow truck were hardly doing anything to help. It was obvious that the truck was not going anywhere, anytime soon, without some reinforcements.

I'm not sure how it was finally resolved because I didn't have time to sit around and gawk all day. Honestly, that would have probably been pretty boring without the promise of an explosion or something equally as spectacular. 

I Hate Corporate America

File this one under the category of "that's just not right". My work day started by being called into the boss' office privately. I could feel that nervous knot beginning to form in the pit of my stomach as I made my way down the hallway to his office. I never get called into the office for anything. The last time that I was in his fishbowl office was about a week ago for my annual review. That went well enough as I received my predictable 3% cost of living increase with little fanfare.

My mind began to wonder about what it was that I may have done wrong. Was I about to lose my job? Whatever it was, it could not be good.

I sat down in the chair and waited behind the closed office door for my boss to search his laptop for an email he had received. We both sat in silence for what seemed like forever until I just blurted out to him to lay it on me. Whats going on?

It seems that my 3% raise had been declined by some guy in upper~upper management. Some guy who does not even know me. Some guy who does not even know what I even do for a living, I'll bet. Oh sure, I know his name. I see him every now and then around the building when I need to visit another department.

Instead, he approved me for 2% increase.

Really? Two percent? That is what you would call being nickel and dimed. Underappreciated, and now underpaid. The 1% shortage will represent $312 less that I will make this year. That is, assuming that I will make it the whole year. With the way that the economy is, I'm happy to have a job, but you just never know what may happen.

R.I.P Andy DeMize (Andrew Martinez)

In the early morning hours of January 11, 2009 Andrew Martinez died in an automobile accident. According to a report on the accident by The Orange County Register, Martinez and three other people were

 in a vintage Chevrolet Nova travelling south on the 57 freeway outside of Fullerton, California when the driver lost control, went over an embankment and hit a tree. The car caught fire, igniting a eucalyptus grove. According to police reports, Martinez and another passenger were killed while the driver and other passenger were either ejected or fled the scene, calling 911 from a nearby strawberry field seeking

 medical attention. The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and was taken, along with the surviving passenger, to UCI Medical Center where they are listed in critical condition

 photo by Bob Noxious

***

I only met Andy briefly. It just so happens that it was only a week ago when I met him. I was trying to get my guitar rig off of the stage and make way for his band, The Rocketz. The Rocketz are a Los Angeles based rockabilly band who were recently touring their way through Florida. Our paths crossed when my band, The Dive Bar Stalkers played at PsychoBilly Rumble III with them at The Garage in St. Petersburg. Andy was borrowing our drummer Looch's drum set for the show since they flew over from the west coast to do a couple of dates. 

We chatted briefly about the benefits of doing fly-off dates if it was well planned out. We had spoke of trying to put together a string of dates with The Rocketz in California in June or July. Now, after the fact, it is really just a blur to me. It was just the other day and now it all seems so surreal.  One minute you are here. The next...thats it. Game Over. 

He left me with the indication that he seemed to be genuinely happy doing what he was doing. He was blessed to be a part of not one... but two successful touring musical acts, as he was also a permanant member of The Necromantix.  My thoughts go out to all of the families involved in this tragedy. The world lost a good dude.

To read more on the story, click on the OC Register article.

Hot Dogs and Free Cocaine

Today, while I was going through my daily pursuits, I stopped at a Clearwater, Florida BP Gas station to fill up the 'ol gas tank. While there, I noticed two things that immediately struck me as odd. The first was that there was a very noisy tamed bird that could be heard squawking throughout the store, but alas, was never to be seen. And second, if you wanted to buy cocaine in Clearwater, then you had come to the right place.

I looked high and low for the cacophonous winged creature and silently hoped that it never roosts over the hotdog counter, where I stood making my very unhealthy breakfast. The store boasted of a free 32oz. fountain drink with the purchase of two hotdogs. It seemed like a great deal to me, after all I was hungry, and you'll never catch me eating some crappy 2 for 2 deal at McDonalds. A quick look around the area didn't reveal any of the tell tale signs of bird droppings or stray feathers, so I convinced myself that I would be alright and went about my business. 

Thats when, while waiting in line to pay for my freshly

 dressed delicacy, I saw what I had only heard about before. Cocaine. Right there in plain sight. 

While you sit there and digest what I just said, let me tell you that the temptation was there. I wanted to try it. I wondered how bad it could possibly be. Then I thought about my hotdogs and would they still taste right after imbibing. As my mind started to reminess how my buddies and I would drive around throwing raw hotdogs at prostitutes, I asked the clerk behind the counter, "how much does this stuff go for anyway?" Before he could answer me, I told him that the white can was marked "FREE". Was that some sort of sample program? He then quickly replied that there was no such thing as "free cocaine".

Much controversy surrounds a beverage that chooses to name itself Cocaine. The proprieter of the drink boasts that it is 350% stronger than a same sized Red Bull. I imagine that if I knew what aardvark piss tasted like, it would closely resemble the taste of a Red Bull. I really don't get the energy drink thing as it all seems kind of stupid to me really. I've tried them once or twice. But for my money, if I'm going to buy something to drink, I want it to quench my thirst. Or at least get me drunk. But, what is more surprising is that stores would sell it within a filthy hands reach of children. No I'm not going to start banging a drum here. It just seemed inappropriate to glamourize it. At least put it behind the counter. Yeah, right there next to the porn.

Aaaarrrgh! I must be getting old.

Still, I was intrigued enough to snap a picture of it in line and then come home to Google it. Then ramble on in a blog about it. Still, you have to admit, it does have a catchy name and a sexy ad. But, in case you were wondering...I just said "NO". 

That stuff is for the birds.

Cocaine Energy Drink from Malicious Mischief Films on Vimeo.

I Didn't Know That They Still Made Those Things

Yesterday, while on the USF main campus in Tampa, I saw what had to be the worlds largest Chia Pet. Such a spectacle as it is, campus authorities had to erect a fence around it. Perhaps they are scared that some prankster sophomore student will steal it in the middle of the night as an amateurish fraternity prank.

Takes me back to my formative years, where on the night before my junior year was to begin, I did such the same thing. A small group of buddies and I grabbed a 7' Ronald McDonald statue from our nearby McDonald's establishment's playground and transferred it to my high school football field. Right on the 50 yard line. Where the following morning, as a local McDonald's crew were searching for their lost icon, morning traffic was stunned to see a 7' tall clown waving to them from the distance.

Yeah...Good Times!

I'm not sure why, but while I was there on the USF campus, I noticed they seem to be collectors of "Bull" art and statues. Now that is not the weird part as The Bulls are the adopted mascot of USF. What was strange was that they had pewter molded bulls at their Student Center that were anatomically correct.  But then again, I was wanted to snicker in my Health class while we studied Sex Ed and I still think fart noises are hilarious.

And We're Off...To a new year.

And I'm already behind with my New Year's Resolution. Well, it actually was not a resolution. It was more like somewhat of a change in habit. No, not the lose weight and start exercising type of nonsense. I though that instead of goofing off on my myspace and facebook accounts that I should do something more constructive with my time. No, I'm not giving up on them, far from it. Its just that the only thing that I am really doing on those sites is just shamelessly promoting me, my band or some podcast recording I may have just recorded. I figured that instead of spending as much time there, I should start writing a blog.I'm not really even sure what I want to even blog about, all my musical stuff is all over the net with myspace, facebook and a few other choice sites out there, so there isn't really a need to re-hash that. I guess it will be just a few of my own random thoughts, and observations. A personal glimpse inside my head for the whole world to see, at least those of you that speak English. Now there is a scary thought.

I took three years of Spanish in school. I never really got the

knack for it. I did, however, learn how to insult a grown man by challenging his manhood and then make vile comments about his mother and sister. All that I needed was straight from my pocket English/Spanish translator that I had downloaded to my new iPod touch. I could have used it when I was last in Miami. Did you know that if you go visit a Burger King in Miami that the menu is written in Spanish? I guess I'll have le Whopper, por favor.

I've always wanted to keep a blog and it occurred to me that the new year was a good time to start one. I'm sure that I won't have many readers, but that is alright with me. It is somewhat therapeutic just to sit here at the keyboard and type. I used to like to write. 

When I was enrolled in college I had dreams of someday becoming a journalist. Well, that was not actually my dream. I really wanted to be a internationally reknown rock star with a hard partying reputation. After all, I could be a famous rock journalist that writes for Spin, or Rolling Stone if the 'ol music career never panned out. I never finished my higher level learning plan. Instead, I followed the advice of a fellow bandmate who said that, "If you have something to fall back on. You Will." I ended up writing CD reviews and interviewing touring bands for such magazines as The Tampa Bay Spike, LIVE! in Tampa Bay, Music Forum and FOCUS. Who needs a back-up plan?

Even if you are micro-blogging on sites like Twitter or updating your status on facebook or myspace, it seems that everyone is blogging these days.  I tried to set up a twitter account for myself recently, but it now sits dormant, only because I really don't know very many of my friends email addresses to add them to my account. Most of my personal contact with them is through either myspace or facebook and that is one of the main reasons that I refuse to abandon either of them.

So, my year has gotten off to a busy start already this year. After only one week elapsed from 2009, The Dive Bar Stalkers have already played a show at The Garage in St. Petersburg with touring bands The Rocketz and Hollowbody Hellraisers for Rockabilly Rumble III. There was an awesome crowd there all decked out in retro 1950's style and fashion.

A few short days later I could be found recording guitar tracks for the song The Sweetest Place To Sin for the new Dive Bar Stalkers album. We have not really thought of a title for the new record yet as we're still in the early stages of this recording. Maybe if you have any good ideas you can forward them our way. I'm sure that once we have a few solid rough mixes ready to go, we'll throw a song or two on the net for a pre-listen. 

After nearly two weeks off for this years Staycation/Vacation, I spent my final night before returning to work by recording six new episodes of Loud, Fast and Shitty Podcast Show with my good friends Ick McWang and Blip Magillis. Many a beer was had and unbeknownst to us, the second episode (LFS013) we recorded had a drunken error on my part. Yes, I know you are thinking, "drunk by the second episode out of six?". Yep, all in a days work. All by noon. Hey, my football team, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were out of playoff contention and I had to do something, right? It seems that I played a song over our new intro from the podcast, hopelessly meshing the two tracks into an unlistenable conglomeration of shit.

Through the magic of Skype we were all able to meet again online and re-record the intro all from the comforts of our own homes. Poor Ick and Blip drive about an hour and a half and from two counties over, just to hang out in my garage. We have to record several episodes at a time due to that driving handicap so losing that episode was not really an option. Now that we know about Skype, it really opens up a new channel for podcasting via satellite from remote places as well as for artist interviews. If your on Skype, you can find me by calling bob.noxious

Well, thats it for now. I'll try to do a little better at keeping my blogs more interesting and on a more timely and consistent basis. Just go ahead and set your RSS reader to catch my blog and hopefully I'll keep you entertained, or at the very least, informed.

2008 My Year In Review

January 2008

The year began with a bang as my band, The Dive Bar Stalkers, released our debut CD Rock The House on Nite Train Digital Records in early January. The ten song disc, in my opinion, is loaded front to back with some good 'ol timeless rock n' roll. It took us nearly a year to record it at Pro Star Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. You can have a listen for free here, ReverbNation. Or, feel free to drop by the Nite Train Digital website and pick up a copy for yourself.

With the excitement generated from the release of The Dive Bar Stalkers CD, Nite Train Digital also opted to re-release several CD's from my musical past including, Headshock, a Tampa based nu-metal band which also featured fellow Dive Bar Stalker singer/guitarist Jeff Vitolo. That 4 1/2 song EP was originally released in 1994 as a Limited Edition "Mirror" cassette and is now in widespread CD release through the label.

And also on the Nite Train Digital re-release table for 2008? How could PIG PEN be neglected? For those of you that really know me well, its no doubt that you know its been my musical vessel for the last thirteen years. The year brought the re-issue of the first two classic PIG PEN CD's. The 1996 debut Bleedin' Drinkin' & Stinkin and the 2000 follow-up Short Bus Sing-A-Longs.

You'd think that would have been enough to keep me going, but as they say on the late night TV infomercials..."But wait, theres more". Live performances have long dominated my days, months and years. For the last two years I've averaged about one performance per week, and 2008 was no exception. All that has been possible without any major tours or road trips, but more likely that I have balanced my time with not one, but two active bands. I started the year off at Tampa's notorious Pegasus Lounge with PIG PEN on Jan.11, followed by another PIG PEN show on Jan. 24 at the legendary Skate Park of Tampa . The first Dive Bar Stalkers show of '08 was two days later at Clearwater, Florida's Harborview Center for the 2008 Full Throttle Magazine Motorcycle Expo and Florida Bike Builders Invitational.

February 2008

Along with the ground hog, February brought the return of my podcasting buddies Ick McWang and Blip Magillis. For years, my friend Shaun Kart (Ick) and I parlayed our taste of punk rock through Tampa's infamous pirate radio station, The Party Pirate 102.1 FM. Due to the fact that it is illegal to broadcast without an FCC license, the station was eventually raided by authorities and promptly closed down for good. Still feeling the urge to talk shit many years later, a podcast was born. Although we had tried haphazardly about a year and a half earlier to make it happen, the program was originally branded Loud, Fast and Shitty Podcast Show on February 25th and released to MySpace only.

PIG PEN played yet another gig at The Pegasus on Feb. 9th and The Dive Bar Stalkers played in New Port Richey, Florida on Feb. 22 at Club Bourbon Street. 

March 2008

And so begins a supposedly busy month of live shows for both bands, starting March 7th with the seemingly monthly PIG PEN performance at The Pegasus Lounge in Tampa and then closely followed up with a Dive Bar Stalkers show the following weekend at the infamous Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa, Florida. 

PIG PEN's dates were cut out of the mix in midstream due to losing a drummer. Go figure. Jonny Jones, who had recently been added to the line-up, broke his hand in a skateboarding accident forcing the cancellation of two upcoming shows in Sarasota, including one with Whole Wheat Bread. The Dive Bar Stalkers however kept chugging along with a beer soaked St. Patrick's day tent event at Slim and Chubbies in Holiday, Florida.

April 2008

As things started to slow down in April due to an ongoing search for a replacement drummer for PIG PEN, The Dive Bar Stalkers made the trek across the Skyway Bridge to Bradenton, Florida for a one night only show at Ace's Lounge on April 11th.

On April 13th, The Dive Bar Stalkers donated their time for a benefit concert at Fast Eddie's Bar in St. Petersburg, FL for Piper Lyn Harris, a newborn baby that was in dire need of a new liver to survive. Piper was diagnosed with complete liver failure and an unspecified viral infection (later determined Herpes Simplex 1) that made her lose precious clotting factors in her blood. It was said that one little poke could have caused her to bleed to death. On April 21, 2008 Piper successfully received her liver transplant and as of today is not technically out of the woods, but is surviving and living as normal of a life as she can in Danville, Illinois.

May 2008

May marked me turning 39 on Cinco de Mayo. It's funny how your age creeps up on you, or at least makes you fully aware you're not a kid anymore as you approach 40. I had alway heard the adults in my life growing up the same story, but I never figured that it would happen to me. Again, the same story. Ironic, huh? I came to the realization that I am OK with the aging process. I know a lot of people who are my age, and I have to say that I am probably one of the coolest and hippest dudes out there in that age bracket. Of course by using those adjectives to describe me, I am knowingly dating myself.

I celebrated my birthday with my girlfriend Megan and the boys in The Dive Bar Stalkers by taking a worthwhile roadtrip down to Lake Worth, Florida for a showcase performance at the Bamboo Blues Room.  I have not been to as many of the clubs in South Florida, but the Bamboo Room had to be one of the nicest clubs that I have ever set foot in. Lots of rock n' roll memorabilia from the decades garnished the walls of their cozy, yet spacious interior. Unfortunately for regular patrons of that club, the club closed its doors (at least temporarily) as the world struggled with the economy and rising gas prices.

On May 17, The Dive Bar Stalkers played the Armed Forces Festival in Tampa. A huge outdoor event that was held in the parking lot of the Wild Wing Cafe and sponsored by Brighthouse Networks and Full Throttle Magazine. Several hundred bikes and a few thousand people showed up in support of the United States troops who are still deployed overseas and in Iraq.

May 23rd took the band back to New Port Richey, Florida for another show at Club Bourbon Street.

Every year in St. Petersburg, there is the Taste of Pinellas Festival put on by All Children's Hospital in the city's beautiful waterfront Vinoy Park. This year featured The Dive Bar Stalkers on the main stage opening up for Jonny Lang. This was an awesome show for all of us, but me especially since it was a rare occourance for my three year old daughter ReElle to see what it is that takes up so much of her Daddy's time. She was really into it! Total attendance for this gig was estimated around 11,000 people, but since it is free admission it would be hard to get an actual count as there are no ticket counts.

Also in May brought the addition of new PIG PEN drummer Rob Rampy. Rob's previous resume boasted 15 years is the drummer for the legendary Dirty Rotten Imbiciles. With him now in pocket, things were seemingly full speed ahead for the band.

Meanwhile, the Podcasts keep churning out through Loud, Fast and Shitty Podcast Show as we collect an archive of episodes.

June 2008

With the rising cost of gas, I decided that it was time to start thinking green. So, what did I do? What I thought everyone should do. I sold my gas guzzling super-huge Dodge pick-up truck and bought a fun and easy to ride scooter. What was I thinking? Here is a piece of advice. Don't buy anything made in China. Ever! I bought a scooter from the same company that manufactures toasters for Wal-Mart. After a week or so of mechanical problems, I had enough confidence on two wheels to upgrade to a Suzuki GSX600 motorcycle. Now thats a lot of fun. Nothing beat filling up your gas tank for $12 while gas prices were somewhere around $4.65 a gallon.

The Dive Bar Stalkers played a couple more gigs at the open-air Skippers Smokehouse on June 6th and at the local to me outpost, Slim and Shubbies on June 14th.

July 2008

On July 11th, The Dive Bar Stalkers travelled down to Sarasota, Florida for the grand opening of Steel Can Alley, a bar owned and operated by my good friend Ron Miller, who used to play in Headshock with me as well. Its a quaint little room with a great punk rock jukebox and excellent beer.

The following night saw the return of PIG PEN with new drummer Rob Rampy in tow. It also marked yet another time when I realized that I was supposed to be a grown-up. While leaving the club around 2:30 am, we pulled into traffic next to a motorcyclist. With my recent continuous problems with my scooter, I decided it would be a great idea to stick my fully exposed ass out the open window at him to show my disdain for anyone currently riding on two wheels. Turns out that was not a great idea as the very nearby local Sheriff witnessed the whole episode. The ironic thing was that the motorcyclist, who was right beside the van, didn't see a thing. Obviously, the inevitable happened and we were pulled over immediately. After running everybodys name to the state criminal data base and coming to the conclusion that Morgan, the driver, was not too impaired to drive he let us go. The best part was the deputy trying to keep a straight face when he informed me that I was 39 years old! He made it a point to stress my age. We laughed all the way back home while new drummer Rob told me how unprofessional I was.

The following weekend took The Dive Bar Stalkers back down south across the Skyway Bridge to The Distillery in Bradenton, Florida for a fund raising event for the Bradentucky Bombers roller derby team with one of our favorite bands, The Downshifters.

The following night on July 19th, PIG PEN was back at it again doing a rare two show, two venue performance. It started with an ALL AGES matinee/twilight performance alongside Rob's old band The Ruins at Sound Idea in Brandon, Florida and then we switched gears for a heavy night of drinking and beer bongs at The Market on 7th in Ybor City, Florida. The last show was a last minute addition to the schedule. We just happened to be available and all together when the call came in that we were needed.

The month finished off with with an exclusive performance of "An evening with The Dive Bar Stalkers". We performed our entire set live on a sound stage at Pro Star Recording Studio where we originally recorded the Rock The House CD. It was probably the most diverse crowd age wise as a young five or so year-old-boy joined The Dive Bar Stalkers for a blazing harmonica solo on stage with the band. There are videos on YouTube that are quite entertaining if you do a search there by typing in "The Dive Bar Stalkers".

August 2008

Adding one more item to the "Things I've Never Done" file is The Dive Bar Stalkers played at the iconic Tampa, Florida strip club 2001 Odyssey. Together in conjunction with Night Moves Magazine, the club was celebrating 40 years in business while the magazine was celebrating their 20th year in existence. We were there to mark the occasion ourself. It was, well, different being the performer where I myself had spent my very own bachelor party at.

Once again PIG PEN graced the stage at the local Pegasus Lounge on August 9th where once again, we got drunk and did dumb things. None of which I can remember right now.

The Dive Bar Stalkers began their long awaited trek back into St. Petersburg on August 15th. Well, at least in a club environment that is. Hands down, when we play at the Ringside Cafe, I feel like we are truely living up to our band moniker.

The following night August 16th, PIG PEN saddled up and made the trip directly across the state to Vero Beach, Florida and played our new favorite place to play outside of our hometown, Filthy McNasty's Pubbery. We played to a standing room only crowd of energetic kids, was paid well and didn't spend a dime on our own drinks. That, my friends, is what its all about.

The Dive Bar Stalkers finished up the month with another trip down to Bradenton to play Ace's Lounge on August 29th. 

In another unfortunate turn of events, PIG PEN had to cancel a performance in Jacksonville, FL at Doozer's Pub. Once again the drummer position was left vacant. We'll leave it at that as it was an amicable split between both parties.

September 2008

A trail of cancelled dates followed PIG PEN as we were unable to play them without a drummer. After all, it is punk rock, and it wouldn't go off very well in an "unplugged" environment. Cancelled cities include Sarasota, Tampa and an opening slot for ex-Misfits vocalist Michale Graves in New Port Richey.

But, still running on all cylinders, The Dive Bar Stalkers played their first ever show at The Crowbar in historic Ybor City, Florida on September 5th and again at The Ringside Cafe in St. Petersburg, Florida on September 12th.

October 2008

An exciting month of high profile events for The Dive Bar Stalkers included a stop once again in South Florida at beautiful Delray Beach on October 3rd to play City Limits Concert Hall. While there, we played with a pretty cool band called Two Story Double Wide. 

Adding to the lists of firsts, I played at my first ever "honkey tonk", The Dallas Bull in Tampa, Florida. This time around we played at the Nightmoves Magazine annual Adult Entertainment Industry Awards. AKA, "The Porn Awards". Hightlights from the show, other than being surrounded by dozens of household name porn starlets, was jamming on stage with porn icon Ron Jeremy, who blew the first thing ever in his life...a harmonica!

Rounding off the month, The Dive Bar Stalkers played at the Cotee River Motorcycle Festival held in New Port Richey, Florida. Again, a very large crowd in an outdoor setting with plenty of free beer (if you could stand the lines).

November 2008

The Dive Bar Stalkers christened the new Gasoline Alley in Largo, Florida for the first time on November 7th.

Again, The Dive Bar Stalkers play in another big room, but this time to hardly a crowd. We played Boomerz Concert Hall in Seminole, Florida. The club was beautiful...huge and majestic...but the attached bar next door boasted a free cover charge and thats where the occupants of the majority of the parked cars in the lot were for the evening. Too bad for them as they missed a helluva show with us and The Vodkanauts.

The twelveth anniversary party of Full Throttle Magazine was celebrated November 23rd with The Dive Bar Stalkers in Oldsmar, Florida at the Cop Shop. Police, who were aplenty but unrelated to the management, estimated the overflow crowd on the plus side of 4000 people. Hillsborough Avenue, which is the main drag right in front of the club was closed down to traffic to allow ample time for the amount of motorcycle enthusiasts converging on the establishment. Good times!

My Thanksgiving was pretty uneventful as I made the rounds from one in-laws house to another. Nobody contracted food poisoning this year and that is always a plus.

PIG PEN, after a long search, finally settled on a new drummer that will hopfully stick around for longer than a month or two. In comes Reggie The Josh, yep thats what we call him. Although young when standing next to me, he has come a long way in his musical career, and is probably the hardest hitting drummer in recent PIG PEN history. As I write this here message, we are negotiating many dates that will carry PIG PEN through the beginning of 2009.

December 2008

The Dive Bar Stalkers returned to Slim and Chubbies in Holiday, Florida on December 5th for yet another return engagement to the venue that is closest to my house.

The Dive Bar Stalkers finished out their year of live shows on December 12th in Sarasota at Steel Can Alley. 

The Dive Bar Stalkers began tracking the follow up to Rock The House, in December 2008, again at Pro Star Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida. As of now, we have six brand new songs that are in the works. Although no official release date has been mentioned, it will almost assuredly be sometime in 2009. Pay attention to www.thedivebarstalkers.com for future sneaks and leaks.

PIG PEN played their final show of the year on December 27th with new drummer, Reggie the Josh, at the throne. Again another fantastic show at Filthy McNasty's in Vero Beach, FL

The Loud, Fast and Shitty Podcast Show have released all of their previous episodes to worldwide syndication through the following trendsetting sites.

getapodcast.com

digitalpodcast.com

podcastalley.com

podfeed.net

mirpod.com

switchpod.com

blubrry.com

podcastpup.com

amigofish.com

podcastpickle.com

bayside-ny.com

With many more affiliates coming soon, including iTunes

If you took the time to read this entire blog, then I definately hope to see you sometime soon in 2009. Happy New Year and good luck with all that you do.