Shows n shit

My life is busy the next few months.

Bent Life Tour:

12.28 Cedar Falls, IA @ 1108
12.29 Springfield, IL @ Black Sheep Cafe
12.30 Anderson, IN @ House Show
01.01 Moline, IL @ Showzin
01.02 Milwaukee, WI @ Borg Ward
01.03 Minneapolis, MN @ Gnarwhal House *Early All Ages*
01.03 Minneapolis, MN @ Memory Lanes *Late 21+*
01.04 Lincoln, NE @ Knickerbockers

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01.06 - 01.09 Chicago trip for Weezer's "Blinkerton" Tour

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01.10 Armada, Bent Life, Trench Digger & Gag Reflex @ The Manor in Omaha, NE

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01.16 Lord Green, Feral Hands & Gag Reflex @ The Manor in Omaha, NE

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01.21 Sick Of It All, Alpha and Omega, Outbreak & Bent Life @ Knickerbockers in Lincoln, NE

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Bent Life tour:

02.18 Omaha, NE Gravemaker, Bent Life & TBA @ TBA
02.19 Waterloo, IA Gravemaker, Expire, Bent Life & TBA @ Amvets Post 19
02.20 Louisville, KY
02.21 St Louis, MO
02.22 Wichita, KS

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Bent Life & Feeding Lies Midwest / Southern Tour 3.11 - 3.18

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Somehow going to write songs for a new band Cody, Vic and I are in and record a Koizumi 10" in between all of this. What?

This Is Killing You

Started demoing tracks for an upcoming Koizumi release on Sunday night. It's going to be anywhere between a 10 and 12 song 7" or 10" titled "This Is Killing You." Plans right now are to release it in February or March on Pretzel City Records. Recording is going to begin sometime in December or January. I'll be recording all of the songs in Omaha, Nebraska with Chris Atkins (Akita Ken, Your Face, Chris The Whale, Parachutes) who will also be producing and playing some instruments on the record. It will be recorded @ Zach Short Studios.

It's going to be an acoustic record. If you've seen Koizumi then you've probably heard half of the songs live. The other half are songs we were working on and newer songs I've wrote. Here is the tentative track listing (most of the song titles will change...I'm real bad at naming songs)....

01. It's Personal
02. Bear Creek
03. Handcuffed
04. Christine
05. Happy
06. The Wonder Years
07. Golden Sower
08. Party Plex
09. Jubilee
10. Half Way To Mid Life
11. Disconnect
12. Dig My Grave

Keep your eyes and ears open! Check the corner for updates!

End of everything

This week has been an interesting one for sure. First after 5 and a half years Hercules broke up. Then right after our 3 week tour I started jamming with Prob With Doom, a cover band myself, Vic and Cody started to play the last Ghost House. We jammed everyday this week and it never really hit me what exactly we were doing it for. I didn't really understand until after all of the music was over tonight that it was the last Ghost House show ever.

Ever since I stuck a bottle in my ass as I stood naked in a pool of my own sweat with my guitar over my shoulder on August 10th, 2007 Ghost House has been a huge part of my life. I know I never lived there, but I booked and attended dozens of shows there since I was 19 years old. I can't believe how fast the last 6 years of my life have gone. It's almost too hard and too depressing to even think about.

Tonight was special. I didn't realize it until after. Metal Kin Kins said it best when he told me "We didn't milk this enough, we need to milk more." I agreed with him completely. Sadly I also agreed with him when he said it was the start of the slow decline. I think we all feel that way. A lot of monumental things have stopped in the last week. I know that sounds conceded of me to say since I was in the group known as Hercules. But I feel we contributed a good amount to Nebraska Hardcore over the last 6 years and really bridged the gap between Omaha and Lincoln.

Ghost House has done the same over the last 3 years. Where are we going to go now? is the question that has been on my mind for the last few hours as I sit here in my bed reflecting on the night and my pissy life. Luckily things aren't dead yet, far from it actually. It's dumb to say with every door that closes another one opens (and it's dumb to say "it's dumb to say") but it's absolutely true. Hercules is over but I have Bent Life to focus on, then when Aaron moves back I have Powerslop and Bent Life to focus on. And with Ghost House gone we can really get Mad Ave up and running. Things will be different, but things wont be over.

I think this winter is going to be a really strange transition period for all of us. We won't have Ghost House to go to anymore which will be really weird. With that being gone I see Omaha and Lincoln seeing each other a little less for a few months. But Mad Ave is in the process of setting up some benefit shows. Our goal is to be up and running by early January 2011. I don't see why we can't get this done. Thank you to everyone who has contributed time or money to Mad Ave so far, you don't even know how much we appreciate it.

I left Ghost House tonight with a grim outlook on the future. But after a few cups of coffee and some Famous Monsters / American Psycho I think I see that this was bound to happened. The fact that even with these things ending we still have so much to look forward to actually has me really excited about Nebraska DIY/ Punk / Hardcore. After we all adjust I see things becoming awesome again. We'll never re-live the times we've had at Ghost House. I thought after I moved out of Party Plex my life was over. And it really did feel that way for a while. Then new opportunity's arrived and things have been great. I see the same for the future of Nebraska. Down, not out. Life is good. Fuck the winter. Let's keep this going.

I'm glad we still have the drive to keep it going. I've seen things like this ruin people involved in music. I don't see that happening with any of us. I'm ready and ok with being a 35 year old loser still booking and playing shows. Mad Ave 2011. Bent Life 2011. Powerslop 2011. It's going to be a good year.

RIP Ghost House 08.10.2007 - 11.12.2010

Lincoln, Nebraska - home from tour

I decided to wait a few days before doing my tour / Hercules wrap up. I wanted to adjust to real life back in Lincoln before I sat down to try and convey what this tour and this band has meant to me. I want to keep it brief, there's no need for a long explanation. This tour was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I wouldn't have changed a single thing about it except possibly making it 10 times as long. I think we all felt that this was the last one as Hercules so we really enjoyed every possible second.

The last show in Omaha was an insane experience. In 5 and a half years of being in Hercules I've never once just stood still at a show. But Saturday I was motionless the entire time. I spent the show looking at the crowd of friends and strangers in anger, awe and amusement. It was a wild mix of emotions. I couldn't believe the energy in the room, it was something I've never experienced in my life. I could tell people actually cared about what was going on and that really meant a lot to me. Half of the time I had no idea where Tyler was as he was being eaten alive by the sea of people.

It really didn't hit me until our last song that Hercules was over. And it hit me again today while I was at work. I still don't buy it but apparently it's true. I co-founded Hercules a month after I turned 17 years old in 2005. It was a joke. It still was a joke up until Saturday. But if 4 losers from the middle of the country can take a joke as far as we took Hercules I think any kid into punk / hardcore / DIY can do whatever they want in life. I don't want to make it seem like we were more than we were. We were a punk band who had so much help from our friends here at home and around the country.

I really felt Hercules bridged the gap between Omaha and Lincoln and gave us something all we could enjoy together. If it wasn't for this band I wouldn't know most of the people I know today. Things ended rocky like things tend to do but I wouldn't change a thing about the last 5 and a half years of my life. I've seen a lot of places and had a lot of experiences with this band and it's been amazing. I don't plan on stopping any time soon. We're already working on the first Powerslop demo. I realize it will never be the same to people. I figure they'll just want Hercules. But I know we're all fine with that because though we love the people who help us and come to our shows, we've always done Hercules because we love punk rock and touring. Powerslop will be no different. I hope you all enjoy it.

Thanks to everyone for the best time of my life. You all know who you are. I really think the line "Stay like this forever and hold onto your youth" is something that will stick with me all of my years.

Omaha, Nebraska

Last couple of days of tour couldn't have been more fun. I think we all felt that this was the last time we were going out as a group for a while. We're all extra bummed to be home this time. After Chattanooga we drove back up north and played a show in Louisville, Kentucky. We were super late. Early in the day Kurt kept his word and bought us all KFC Buffet. Tyler was up in the driving rotation but ate so much he puked when we were done eating so we had to make some changes to the driving order.

The show is Louisville was really cool. Not many people showed up but it was our last show with Agress & Full Of Hell so we had a good time watching those guys one last time. The promoter was a really cool dude and still helped all of the bands out. Post show we headed to this pizza place where they give bands a free za and soda. It was incredible. I got a random text asking where we were. When I told the mystery texter our friends from California showed up to the joint. They were also playing a show down the street from us. What a small world. It was good seeing those dudes.

Tyler was itching all day to skate the huge 24 hour Loovul' skatepark so he hoped on that quick after pizza. Yesterday we drove up to Chicago to play Summer Camp. The show was AWESOME. We got there and the dudes were all playing the Sims on the wii. The guys at that house rule, they're all way too nice. The show was really awesome too. Saw a lot of Chicago and Omaha friends who now live in Chicago. A ton of people showed up and a lot of really cool local bands played. Kids were getting wild for all of the bands, it was awesome. I really enjoyd Poor Choice & Socially Retarded. Check those bands out!

After a wild show we headed up stairs for some good 80's / 90's jams and some pasta. Sadly we couldn't hang out at the post show party too long because we made the choice to make the long trek back to Omaha. We hoped in the Winnie for our last drive ever in her as Hercules. It was a bitter sweet symphony. We just pulled into town about an hour ago. Aaron and Tyler are sleeping like babies at their place. Mitch and Kurt went to chomp to crash and I'm at my parents house enjoying a cup of coffee with my dad while I do some laundry and some heavy internet surfing.

This tour couldn't have been better. I will do my tour wrap up post tonight or tomorrow after our final show. Please come out and say goodbye friends!

Saturday, November 6th, 2010
@ The Manor (1710 S 29th St Omaha, Nebraska)
All Ages 8:00pm $5

- Hercules
- Lord Green
- Feral Hands
- The Boot Heel
- The Yuppies

We have a 13 song set list we're gonna jam out. Old ones included, don't worry.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

What to say about the last couple of days here. Let me try to remember. My mind is all over the place. Mitch recently got me hooked and addicted to coffee so I've been staying up really late and not thinking too clearly. After our show in Milwaukee we woke up the next day and made a pretty boring / shitty drive to Indianapolis. I spent the entire time watching Season 5 of Dexter and listening to the new and terrible Weezer record "Hurley." Majorly disappointing. We had to deal with dumb fucking traffic about 20 minutes outside of Indianapolis but we finally figured it out and made it to The Dojo.

Our show in Indianapolis was a lot of fun but not many people showed up. We booked it about a week and a half before we played there and apparently the Colts were on Monday night football so I wasn't too broken up about it. We got to play with In The Face of War who after 10 years is breaking up on May 7th, 2011. Pretty wild stuff. We also played with Full Rainbow (formerly The Sorely Trying Days) which is always awesome. After the show we had some incredible diner breakfast then I stayed up late as hell watching The Office.

The next day in Indianapolis we had to get up to make the long trek down to Nashville, Tennessee. After another boring and uneventful drive we finally made it to Nashville and ended up playing a really sweet show at a venue called Little Hamilton. It was a pretty big show and we had a blast. Post show we ate some Waffle House (maybe the 15th time on this tour) and stayed with this really nice dude named Jessie. His roommate busted in the door around 2:30am drunk, stumbling and screaming. Tyler was in the line of fire when this girl yelled "MOVE ASSHOLE" and kicked him in the head. Poor T. Also earlier in this day he was climbing a tree to get a picture taken in front of this huge dinosaur at Dinosaur World and a thorn fell from the tree and cut his eye. He had a terrible night.

Today we had a really short drive to Chattanooga to a show that wasn't slated to start until 10:30pm. A 7 band show. It was at this really sweet house called Anarchitca (get it?) that has been doing shows for 8 years. Blew my mind. The show was AWESOME. A ton of people showed up and the kids were really supportive and got wild for all of the bands. Everyone was wasted. A girl was showing her breasts and making out with other girls so people would donate money to the bands. Thomas hit on a babe for a while, got her number then struck out hard. Some dudes stole another guys keys and chucked them into the forest then kicked his moped over. A lot of sloppy drunkeness. Hard drunk moshing. Jacob Justice had to throw a few people by their hair off of the Agress merch. People had their dogs at the show, it sucked.

We left the show and had the best Waffle House experience ever. Our waitress was wild. She told us she had 8 assault charges, just got back to Chattanooga from running from the law, and was now working 10pm - 3:00pm everyday. Yeah you read that right, 10:00pm at night to 3:00pm the next day. Shit life. Now we're at this house finally where I don't think anyone actually seems to live at. It's now 5:00am eastern standard time and I plan on waking up in 5 hours to go to the gym. Today is our last show with Agress then those boys will continue on to the west coast. We only have 3 more shows left ever. Hope to see the Midwest show up on Saturday!

11.04 Louisville, KY @ Keswick Democratic Club
11.05 Chicago, IL @ Summer Camp
11.06 Omaha, NE @ The Manor

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Last night in Iowa City was insane. We played at this sweet venue called the White Lightning Warehouse. It was a huge Halloween show. The venue was huge and hundreds of people showed up, mostly all in costumes and ready to party. We played 2nd. In between each band these burlesque dancers performed, it was nuts. Our set went really well. We played Live, Laugh, Love which we haven't done in well over a year. It was pretty fun.

A Minor Threat cover band ended the night and they couldn't have been more perfect. The guitar and bass tone were both perfect, Joe Ross did the drumming perfect and they played 14 songs with minimal breaks. It really couldn't have been done better. After the show we were all dead tired. We watched a guy freak out about his car being hit for a while, then we got some pizza, went to the house we were staying at and went to sleep.

We were awoken today at 11:00am to a dude telling us we had to vacate our house because a cable repair man had to do some work. We hoped in the Winnie and made a pretty uneventful drive to Milwaukee. We went to Pizza Shuttle and the dude behind the counter recognized us and decided to hook us up with free pizza, soda and bread sticks. Then while eating he brought us even more free pizza. Such a good experience.

The show in Milwaukee was at the Borg Ward, a really sweet spot. Armada opened up the show and they were really good. They did a few Misfits covers which was real sweet. Agress rocked it out. Our set was fun but really weird. Then Harms Way closed out the show playing a few of their rockers. The show was fun and went by really fast, I think it was over by 9:30. After that we headed back to Pizza Shuttle for more great food. We're now hanging out at the Armada dudes house, watching Zombieland and using the internetz.

Tomorrow we play in Indianapolis, Indiana @ The Dojo w/ In The Face of War & Full Rainbow. I'm real excited to see ITFOW play. Tour is coming to a close and I'm pretty bummed. I hope to see some friends at our last show this Saturday @ The Manor. Come out and buy up our merch, we need money to release a full 63 song Hercules discography on cd. Will hopefully be out early 2011 on Nihilism and Pretzel City Records. We'll also have final tour posters at the last show. Come pick one up!

11.01 Indianapolis, IN @ The Dojo
11.02 Nashville, TN @ Little Hamilton
11.03 Chattanooga, TN @ Anarchtica
11.04 Louisville, KY @ Keswick Democratic Club
11.05 Chicago, IL @ Summer Camp
11.06 Omaha, NE @ The Manor