The Viper Room. Los Angeles. November 11, 2009

We played the set twice it was great. The people that came out were exactly who we had hoped would come out, fucking die hards.

Our guy Eddie Solis(It's Casual) put this gig together for us and I can't speak high enough about the guy, he is true blue and he literally lives for music. The Viper Room it's self and the staff that run it couldn't have been cooler, it was the perfect venue for this show.

The experience will be easier to digest in a week or a month then right now, but the feeling of all this work and dedication finally taking form in a live setting is really overwhelming.

We leave for Baltimore in 6 hours.

SHRINEBUILDER U.S. TOUR UPDATE.

The initial gigs are in our midst.

Nov.11 in Hollywood, Ca. @ The Viper Room(we will play 2 sets with no support band, our intention is to stretch it out a little bit and see where we are at before we head out on the road.)

Nov.13 in Baltimore, Md. @ Club Sonar supported by U.S. Christmas and Earthride

Nov.14 in Chicago @ The Empty Bottle 2 sets(they will clear the club between shows and recharge at the door) support for the early show is Yakuza and for the late show Rwake.

Nov.15 in New York City @ Le Poisson Rouge supported by Rwake and Liturgy

Nov.16 in Austin, Tx. @ Emos(outdoor) supported by Sub Oslo

I will be checking in as we prepare and while we are on the road. See you out there.

Metallica.1.2.3.4.

I have had an ongoing debate with a friend of mine over the last 5 or so years about the first 4 Metallica albums, as to which 3 are the ones to run up the flag poll. I have been holding the line with 1,2, and 3 while he has been pushing for 2,3, and 4. Anyone who wants argue for anything beyond those 4 records is a complete ass and needs to purge themselves from this life immediately.

So there is no argument over 2 and 3. We agree they are the 2 best albums ever made by Metallica. I also think that we can agree that of those 2 'Master Of Puppets' is the one, the pinnacle, the crowning glory of there musical exploration in total.

What we are left with is a debate on Cliff Burton's influence on the band and whether actually physically having him playing the music is more effective then the band realling in the wake of his death.

Before I go any further and before people start commenting on how much they have fallen, let me say, that in my opinion they get an eternal pass. The music created on those 4 albums is beyond reproach and since none of us have any idea the horrors that befell them as human beings after his extremely violent death, we can not judge how we would have handled it.

As I said before I have been of the 1.2.3. school for sometime and I think on re listening I can tell you why first of all there a couple crystallizing pinnacle moments on that first record particularly the bass solo(...take 1) and the chugaluga breakdown mid way through 4 Horsemen(which will never be beat in my book for simplicity and dynamic impact). The overall effect of the downstroke guitar playing of Hetfield is revolutionary and a lesson that I took to heart. Now as I stand here now I am caught in a wash of memories as I re listen to these 4 records, and I must say that most of them have to do with drugs. Some of them do not...I remember sheepishly selling bootleg Metallica demos in the parking lot of Arco Arena in Sacramento with none other then Steve Von Till, Doug Dirt(Oakland celebrity), our friend from Canada Jim(who went on to join The Exploited at some point). Have you heard the demo? The one with Dave Mustaine on it? It is great, but is hilarious lyrically and at times vocally. Anyway...I digress.

The primary issue that I have always had with 4. is that the production is horrific(although after listening to 30 seconds of St. Anger perspective is achieved, 4. ain't that bad in fact it has a certain charm kinda like a hospital cafeteria) and the album led to the mainstream breakthrough and then led to the obvious downturn and emotional vacuum that brought us the 5th album and all the subsequent attempts. Upon my re listening I am struck with the depth of 4. The songs are raw and the emotions are on crushing. There are beautiful juxtapositional moments and devastating riffs abound. 4. is something to be hold it is and will always be the last breath that Clifford Lee Burton had creatively in this band. Although I'm sure that his shadow is still within there reach, I have always thought that space that he filled within them as people was a hole that could never be touched again.

Let the discussion begin...1. or 4.?

Evan Tanner. Remembrance.

It has been 1 year since Evan Tanner passed away. Those of you who keep up on such things you will remember why you supported this guy so damn hard. For those of you who are not followers of the fight game in general or MMA specifically I encourage you to take the time to check out this article. Evan Tanner was a remarkable man. I believe that his legacy must be shared.

Follow the link and scroll down the page to find the article.

http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/09/08/one-year-later-evan-tanners-unforgettable-life-and-legacy-reme/

SHRINEBUILDER UPDATE.

Sunday Nov.15 will be NYC at La Poisson Rouge. Monday the 16th will be in Austin at Emos. I will play a song, "Pyramid Of The Moon", of off the album in its entirety on my radio show this Thursday.

You will find it here.

http://www.combatmusicradio.com/returntozero/

Stayed tuned for more live dates.

Love Hurts.

As we approach another what looks to be painful year of Oakland Raider professional football, I feel that I must purge myself of the pain that can be be incurred when you love something and you forget why.

I know why I love the Raiders, when I was little kid I was drawn to the colors(long before I had even seen California, let alone made my bones in Oakland) the Silver and Black. No two better colors exist(yeah, yeah I know blacks not a color, tell that to Louis Farrahkan or the KKK) fucking period. When you mix that with the logo and the renegades that made up the Oakland Raiders of the 1970's you have an easy identity for a 9 year old lover of KISS,Alice Cooper, and the smell of gasoline. When my path eventually landed me in Oakland in the mid 80's the Raiders were long gone but the power remained in the city. My vagabond lifestyle made it so I completely missed the 2 Super Bowl victories in LA, it seemed like a good time to get back in the boat, as they were down in the dumps and I never liked a front runner. Through the rest of the 80's and early 90's the mystique never failed me and on there return to Oakland I was right there with the rest of the diehards that had been in the trenches, on the streets , in the jails and prisons(you haven't lived until you are booked into San Diego Co. Jail in head to toe Raider gear on the day the Raiders are playing the Chargers, been there and fucking done that) welcoming them home to the claim the crown of the scourge of the Bay Area that was and is Oakland.

We had a moment when things seemed to be breaking our way, we had a great team, a leader in John Gruden and a sense of destiny surrounded our team and our town. Within the course of 3 years we were the victims of the most bullshit and fixed call since "the immaculate reception" , thank you New England(hows Darryl Stingley doing?), the loss of our great coach due to yet another power move by our totally fucking wakka doo owner(a whole 'nother post in and of itself), and a loss against the worst possible opponent in a Super Bowl that we could have ever dreamed of, would have one against anyone else.

Since that day we have fallen to point of death. Wearing my Jack Tatum jersey is like walking through a firestorm of laughter and degradation... but then I am reminded when I see these pictures of truth that this isn't about wether you win or lose its about how you play the fucking game and we as Oakland Raider Fans(short for fanatic) show up with our game on every goddamn day. Silver and Black still pumps through my veins, 'til death do us part.

Angel Of Death.

I don't remember hearing Hank Williams that often around the house when I was a kid. My Dad was a Waylon and Willie guy, so I was more or less raised on 3rd generation country music, of the "Outlaw" variety. I wouldn't discover David Allan Coe, Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson and those guys until I revisited my roots in my late 20's. Johnny Cash was on TV every Saturday night so I was always well aware of him, but I didn't realize his true majesty until much later.

Country music always sounded good to me, I always had a place in my heart for songs like "Luckenbach, Texas", "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain", and "I May Never Pass This Way Again" they were simple songs that captured raw emotion. They were presented in such a direct, honest way that they were unforgettable. Even at my most jaded times as a young man, I still liked to hear those songs. They always connected me to my blood. Even when I wanted nothing more then to be as far away from my blood as possible. There is something to be said for that in and of itself. Music speaks to a deeper nature within you and the more direct the it is the more it resonates in the truth of your soul.

I own every song that Hank Williams ever wrote. Every night for 3 years I would fall asleep to his songs, in a time when I honestly had too say goodbye to the world every time I went to sleep because I thought I would not make it to the next day, Hank guided and protected my spirit in my rest. He wrote something like 150 perfect songs and was dead at 29. The depth and soul in his music speaks to my belief that music is a gift given to those who are willing to submit to its will. There is no other explanation.