Random thoughts from the show:
- That was the awesome-est cake ever – thanks to bijoux cake creations!
- The turnout was amazing… and again, thanks to everyone who was there!
- Thanks also to Peter Ezekiel and Blank Blue Sky, who opened for us on fairly late notice due to our rescheduled show.
- I’m sure there’s more but my brain still isn’t working from the weekend.

We have a show on June 6th at The Hive… it’s going to be an acoustic show, with piano and all that kind of stuff. We’re working up some awesome arrangements of our songs and of our covers, and it’ll be totally different than any other show we’ve done. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to get a recording of it since we don’t have any other acoustic shows planned at present.

On June 13th, we are playing with Bobnoxious at Maxwell’s Music House up in Waterloo… it’s going to be an awesome gig!

Lastly, we have new shirts with the heart/skull design and new pins… also with the heart skull design. They’ll both be on sale at both of our upcoming shows if you’re interested in owning either/both.

In more exciting news, I’m still sick (if you were at our Go! Festival show at the Hive… I turned around at the end of Kill because I was trying not to die coughing). I think Ivan and Robyn aren’t feeling great either… it wasn’t my fault, I swear.

http://itoddlounge.wordpress.com/episodes/episode-35-dead-hour/

I look like a dork… I am awesome.

If you haven’t yet gotten your wristband for the Go Festival… You should.  $15 at any BGO.  Or $5 at the door.

It took 2 hours to put newspaper on the walls of a room that’s probably only 8′ x 12′. It looked a lot smaller before we started putting the newspaper up.

Our version of the “band in front of a brick wall” shot… minus Jay, who was apparently taking a couple of ladies to the movies. Dress code: Reds, blacks and whites only. Blue is acceptable only if paired with a minimum of two of the above colours.

Our personal DJ and makeup artist. Thanks for the help Rachel & Kristen – it would have taken much longer without you!

Shane explaining the concept while Nader pays attention and Ivan… doesn’t listen so much.

Robyn singing while the walls (floors and ceiling) were still clean. I like mirrors.

…And after the walls have been painted. Yes, Robyn is that tall (and if you look closely at the second picture, you can kind of see where the black paint hit the ceiling. Oops.)

Ivan getting ready to paint. It’s a band rule that we all look somber all of the time.

I recommend not eating the dollar store paint. You don’t know where it’s been (or what’s in it).

Playing bass is very difficult… and serious business. Especially when the song is going twice as fast.

Shane’s turn at making funny faces.

I’m so short that I disappear from the pictures.

The main wall when it was done. Looks kind of like my grade school art projects. I don’t draw straight lines. That’s why we invented rulers.

The other wall with the mirrors… which also looks a bit like my grade school art projects. I couldn’t colour within the lines then either.

Eight hours after we got here… apparently we’re all tired. I think it was close to 1am by then.

Before i get started i had a couple people ask me what do these “into the music” posts have to do with Dead Hour. In short everything! The music that we write and play is the sum of our influences, thus the relevance. So trust me when i say its a pretty complex equation.

By this point in time my musical tastes where starting to diversify, and there where a number of bands that started to creep into my regular rotation. Heh, that might be over simplifying. This was the early 90′s Nirvana was creeping its way into rock history, i was exploring classic rock, electronic music was taking some new directions, the Canadian indie scene was bombing, and i started going to concerts on a weekly basis. the next several posts are all about this period in time.

So whats on the menu for today? Out of left field comes U2′s Achtung Baby. This album had a pretty significant impact on my musical taste, the biggest being the way i listen to music, this album was the bridge between Beach Boys/bad pop electronic and contemporary music. Achtung Baby was the first albums that i would listen to end to end, to this day that is how i listen to music. When i get a new album, i won’t listen to it unless its end to end. i’m kind of a geek like that. I picked up all of their albums…this was my collector instincts kicking in. Some of it was good but a lot was bad. In this process started to listen to classic rock, the stones, led zeppelin, neil young etc. (it wasn’t till many years later that i really appreciate these and other artists like them…but i knew they where there)

When Achtung Baby came out i was in love with it! I remember watching much music and getting excited when the video for Mysterious Ways would come on. i use to sit around with a VHS tape loaded catch it when it and other videos aired. (these days we have youtube, and that’s unheard of now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZLjE_wuRE0) I was a music newbie, Achtung Baby was fresh and interesting that was the appeal, discovering something new. In a lot of ways im still trying to get that feeling back, the excitement, the love, the passion for an album.

up next: “Close your eyes and sleep, Don’t wait up for me”

We’re excited to announced that we’ll next be performing at the Go! Festival. We’re scheduled to perform at 9:30pm at the Hive on April 18th, and I hope to see you all there!

Since i had no strong musical guide, i was left to my devices and i was bound to make a few mistakes in my musical career. Mistake might be the wrong word…detour is maybe more appropriate. So here is i was into Vanilla Ice, ok not just into i was obsessed.  i had a Vanilla Ice hair cut.* Grade 8 was not a pretty year…the lyrics for Ice Ice Baby will probably be en-grained in my head till the day i die. Listening to Vanilla Ice was like unplugging a dam once it started, there was a flood. MC Hammer, Snap!, Technotronic…the list goes on and on, ugh. fortunately for me this was only a phase.

Admittedly Grade 8 wasn’t all bad despite the musical vortex and a wicked bad hair cut.  I went to my first dance, and even worked up enough nerve to ask a couple of girls to do the old one-step. I also met one of my close friends that year….but really a comic book geek with a Vanilla Ice hairdo, try and live that one down.

up next “You know that your time is coming ’round “

*I was hoping to find a pic of me with the Vanilla Ice cut to go with this post but as of yet i haven’t had any luck.

Thanks!