What a night!! We played a great show at the Old Vic, despite many previous doubts among ENSLAVIOR members. Lance, Larry, Beaver and his wife were there. Rob of Freak Show also, and we retrospected on how kick-ass the Ozz-Fest was, him and his crew partying with me and my buddies. The singer from S.E.E.D. (Justin's brother) had watched us play from the side. They have a show with Suicidal this Saturday at the Phoenix. We hadn't had such a fun show in a long time! Jim and I agreed it's great inspiration for us to go to these big metal concerts!
By the time Larry had finished chewing off my ear out front (where he'd parked his new truck), James and Joel had all my equipment moved off stage and out to the parking lot! Everyone else left while I packed the drums in their cases. It's fun for me. No pressure, sort of therapeutic... (Nick thinks that's funny!)
Some really happy dudes soon pulled up to the empty parking spot next to me. They were in a BMW or something, the type of vehicle ENSLAVIOR members would never drive. They talked like bitches and lit up some weed. I remembered some stories about some dude getting shot or something in a parking lot, so I just minded my own business and continued packing-up the drums. They didn't say much to me, but I heard them say something about French. When they walked out of their car to go into the bar, a couple of them commented on my labor.
"You get stuck with all the fun stuff." One of them said, as he watched me coiling my mic cables. (This one seemed different from the rest--long-haired and much more American than the others...)
"I don't mind!" I answered honestly, hinting that this is my true devotion.
I think one of them asked about the band, if I had gigged tonight and all that. I gave them a sticker and spoke a few words in French with them. They were cool. A guy named "J.C." (like Jesus Christ he said--but it's really Jean Christian Didier, editor in chief) gave me a CD-sized "magazine" he just published in San Francisco. It's called FREE magazine and their web-site is www.visual-attack.com. Pretty cool... says it's devoted to "that beautiful thing called LIFE" and has lots of pictures, reviews, calendar stuff, and a really cynical astrology column called "STARF**KER". What next??
More of Larry, Beaver and his wife, and a couple of their friends. We talked as I loaded the truck. They played with the Big Stix and asked where I'd found them. Beaver said he'd be dangerous with them! They told me they liked how I threw them, saying this had been perfect timing. That's the first complement for that bit, and I confessed we had rehearsed it. Larry and I got around to reminiscing about the Tubes, so I mentioned Jim's dream of everyone quitting their bands to form a huge, Dark Carnival type troupe. Larry and I agreed that would be very cool, like the Tubes or G.W.A.R. gone quantum!
Two very tanned, young females strolled through the parking lot and asked if I had thirty five cents.
"Sure." I answered, then thought to be a bit more constructive. "What for?"
They needed to call some friends to come pick them up. I was just about to call Preet, so I offered them my cel phone. They were grateful and told me the police had just let them go. I could smell lots of booze on the one standing closer to me, making the calls. They reached a friend on the second call, and I bid them luck getting home.
My own drive home was peaceful until I got pulled over--AGAIN! Only two days after being pulled over for a burnt-out headlight. This time the officer claimed I hadn't used my turn signal. I thought he meant I needed to use my signal at the point back on the road where I saw him staked out, waiting to trap speeders. When he explained he meant at the corner where I stopped for the stop sign, I said that was odd, because I usually always use my signal! This must have been a test, because he immediately backed-down, saying I didn't do anything wrong. He just wanted to check out all my paperwork, which he said was "all in order" after checking it out.
When he walked back with my reg. and insurance papers, he came around to the other window, claiming he didn't want to be hit by drunk drivers! Weird!! Then he asked what I was doing out this time of night. (It was around bar closing hour of course.) He also wanted to know what was in the back of the truck. This was the same thing the officer asked me on Tuesday! I explained about the drums and band and all that, having just played a gig, and we even got around to me telling him I drive to Sonoma now because there's no scene in Napa and at least I don't have to drive to Oakland like I used to (for Down Factor).
He asked if I had any drugs in the truck. I said no, I didn't. He asked if I had anything illegal like weapons in the truck! Again, no. (What a question?!) Again he asked if I were carrying any illegal substances. I explained I just didn't have any, but then admitted I had some Pop-Tarts and held up the silver wrapper to show him. He realized this was pointless and explained he was mostly checking me out because it's harvest time right now and he thought I might be transporting pot into Napa from Sonoma/Northern California!
Wow! Then he asked if I had a tape of the band. I said Go Figure, I didn't have any at the moment, but that he could surf our web-site and spelled out ENSLAVIOR.com for him.
"Are you into metal?" I asked the officer.
He answered he was and then wanted to know what are ENSLAVIOR's influences--is it like Metallica? I said yes a bit and then explained we're more like Iron Maiden and Slayer, you know--speed metal! He seemed to like that idea. I heard him say cool! He even admonished that most of the music in Napa's lame "touristy stuff"! I sensed he and I are of the same type. I told him he could simply cruise to drummindave.com!
"Seems like everyone has a web-site nowadays." The police man threw out.
I told him sure--I design web-sites and gave him my card. Then I asked his name.
"Joel" He told me.
"Nice to meet you Joel!"
And then he bid me a safe trip home...
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