Glamour Kills Providence

During bag searches at clubs, I’ve always managed to sacrifice something to security. This time at Lupo’s it was my water and Sharpies. “If you have any markers better give them to me now or I’ll have to dig through all your pockets!” She said with a no-nonsense icy glare. What did she think I was going to do- tattoo all the toilet stalls? Stab someone so they could die a slow death of ink poisoning? Ok, I understand they want to sell water, but when you’re in the pit, getting to the bar to buy water is NOT an option. You’ll get carried out from heat stroke first.

Anyhow the sold out show packed Lupo’s tighter than I ever remember, with a larger than average amount of parents, too. Alex Gaskarth must’ve noticed, because he dedicated a song to the parents getting drunk at the bar. I walked through the lobby and saw parents lumped everywhere on couches with a glazed look on their suffering faces. Those foolish enough to buy a hotdog in the lobby were treated to moldy buns (who in their right minds would buy food in that place??? *shudder*) Those parents brave enough for the floor clung to the bar and fortified themselves with alcohol. Don’t get me wrong, I too am a parent, but when did we forget to live in the moment, lose ourselves in the music? All those hippies of the 60’s and 70’s, music was life…what happened? Good music to me is ageless. Maybe I’m just weird, or art school rewired my brain or something, but I don’t regret it! But I digress… (oh, don't ask me about when I worked a cinema candy counter, you'll never eat popcorn again)

The music was amazing. I’ve seen all four bands quite a few times in the past year, but they just keep getting better. Alex’s acoustic set with “Remembering Sunday” and Cassadee singing duet was so good, and “Therapy” is one of my fav songs anyway. I’m a sucker for good lyrics. And Jack collected a record number of bras onstage. I wonder what he does with them after the show…

We The Kings had a great set starting with “Heaven Can Wait”, including a new song along with other favorites. WTK owns for having the nicest merch guy ever- Chris V. – I gave him drawings for the guys, not knowing if I’d get to meet them later. He shook my hand and said “Be sure to hang out near the black tour bus after the show, they’ll be coming out to meet everyone.” So we hung out a bit after the show and almost everyone from Hey Monday, WTK and ATL were taking photos and signing, despite those Florida boys complaining about the cold. (you can see the signed ones in my DeviantArt scraps section). Oh yeah, and I had to borrow a Sharpie.

the Maine, the rain, ATL and Warped Tour Boston ‘09

Crashing ATL’s signing, the Maine, and other rainy day adventures!


7/21/09 NorEaster + Warped Tour=mud. Drenching rain until about 3pm…late because of beastly traffic, we missed some early bands and signings. When we finally made our way to the All Time low merch tent (I was too afraid to consult my paper map too often, it was wet and disintegrating in my hands!) we located one AT&T tent only to find out they were at the OTHER AT&T tent, signing. Slogging thru the muck when we get to the line, it’s like 500 people long, and we don’t have one of the 100 AT&T passes needed to get into the signing.

So we decided to wait in line anyhow, just in case they’d take pity on the dripping masses of fans waiting patiently in the rain…We found ourselves at the ramp to the deck where they were signing, and an AT&T guard checking the passes…having no pass I whipped out my latest portrait postcard and mentioned something lame about us knowing ATL. She was really very nice, took pity (or wanted to speed up the line) and offered to let one of us in. That caused a discussion among the 3 of us so she waved us all up “JUST GO!”

I asked Jack if they got the original drawings (from Believers Never Die tour) and he was soo sweet about it, told me the drawing is now in his Mom’s living room on display. I told him I was honored, which I am! That made my day. He signed a copy for me, and since I had nothing for Zack to sign, I asked if he’d write something about Jack on it, too. Alex signed his, and Ryan signed with Alex after I promised to draw him also.

At the Maine’s tent, we totally missed their signing but a kind merch guy mentioned they were coming in 20 min for meeting with fans. John O, Jared and Pat were really amazingly nice, they took photos with their fans in the pouring rain for what seemed like hours. I think Pat really liked the group drawing I finished the night before. I really didn’t have time to draw each band member separately, but as a group, all their faces were so small it was actually harder. Lesson learned!

Hanging in front of the Maine’s tent I got to witness Jac Vanek (tent next door) nonchalantly poking a big puddle in her roof, which dumped like a pail of water on an unsuspecting person’s head. We rescued a Taking Back Sunday poster off the ground which disintegrated into little chunks of paper in my pocket; so later on, as we resurrected it from oblivion, I called it “Taping Back Sunday” as it is now equal parts poster and scotch tape.

Due to the stage schedules and conflicts, I got to hear All Time Low and those raunchy dudes from 3OH!3 who put on an amazing performance if you can live through getting crushed by their fans…one girl in front of me was jumping up and down like the energizer bunny on speed, waving a blow-up flamingo over her head and screaming. By the end of the set I wanted to strangle her with the stupid flamingo’s legs but my feet were so crippled from her stomping on them that, in my haze of pain, the wad of gum flew out of my mouth and down into the back of her hoodie.

All in all, a great time. Every Warped Tour is a unique experience. Someday I’m going to get up early enough to get there by 11.

Today I hear from a reliable source that my drawing of John Bonham is on its way to his widow Pat, which makes me very happy, indeed!

Michael Jackson dies as we visit with Anberlin

What an odd memory- first meeting up with Tour Manager Andy Sprague, who invites us into the bus with “Michael Jackson just died, we’ll all watching it on TV” ... How surreal…both events. How often do you get a personal M&G? They’re all such great guys that I immediately wish I’d done drawings of all of them.

The Webster Theatre (Hartford, CT) crowd for Anberlin/Taking Back Sunday/Envy on the Coast is far better behaved than when we went to the Secret Valentine Tour in Mar…however the security is not. I’m really thankful for the VIP passes so we could watch from in front of the barricade, because the show is sold out.

Envy on the Coast I hadn’t heard before, and I still don’t have a good impression of their music, as the sound system was clipping the mids and highs in a big way. Anberlin was so good I’m thinking they really should headline on their next tour. I still can’t get “Breaking” out of my head, it’s just one of those songs that you catch yourself replaying over and over. They’re very intense onstage, and I’m really glad I got to meet them and see them play live before drawing the other band members. It really means more to draw someone I’ve met-I get such a better sense of who they are.

Taking Back Sunday was great also, watching Fazzi’s guitar work and Matt Rubano jumping all over the stage.
( http://www.panicatthestarship.deviantart.com pointed out that Matt has an amazing six pack). Adam was excellent, the crowd was nuts and it was like 110 degrees.

I was trying out my new FlipVideo to see how it recorded under stage lighting, when I accidentally caught a random guy jumping up on the stage and the security guard flew after him and tackled the guy like a football. YouTube video link
Technical note: DO NOT try to dance and take videos at the same time. Or scream. Or sing. Watching the playback will give you VERTIGO.

As for Michael Jackson, I remember him from his old days, when he was black and incredibly talented and my favorite album was “Off the Wall”. That’s how I’d rather remember his personal legacy. I bet he would, too.

And to Anberlin, I ‘m certain they’re destined for music greatness. My nephew Dennis has great faith in them, and I’m sure he’s right. Check out their music on http://www.Anberlin.com. If you haven't caught them live, there's a few US tour dates left before they head off to tour Australia.

And a BIG Thank you! goes to Stephen Christian for posting my drawing on his Twitter !

True Believers Never Die

First time at Mohegan Sun Arena. Liked the curbside valet service-SWEET! We were so late we missed Hey Monday’s set and walked in to the beginning of Cobra’s. We had seats in the Nosebleed section… thankfully I had purchased a VIP pass which I skillfully counterfeited into 4 of them (what would I do without Photoshop?), and we found ourselves allowed onto the reserved floor section. Too bad I couldn’t do the holograph. We were even let in backstage, until some hall patrol Nazi glanced at our badges. I didn’t think fast enough to flash one of my promo cards...

The security guys were really so nice! although there were way too many of them…maybe 1 for every 10 people. no moshing here, folks. the Indians rule and all is well ordered and a bit overly sanitized. I prefer that true nightclub experience, like Webster Theatre(CT) or Lupo’s(RI). A certain amount of grunge and spontaneity is necessary, just like the smell of stale beer and cigarette butts in the carpet. There’s a certain sense of history to those places, like a sacred shrine, y’ know? Maybe it’s because I spent so many profitable years as a bartender in one. hehe. And I don’t drink or smoke- maybe that’s why. but I digress…

Ryland and Alex noticed us from the stage (we were right next to the barricade) so I finally managed to give ALL the Cobras their original drawings-as I promised Ryland last summer at Warped. Their set was really high energy and they just keep getting better every time I see them.

And All Time Low was great, too…Bkat, missing his signature hair stripes, jumped off stage and played in the seated audience for about 5 minutes.

FOB, who I’ve never seen live before, really gave a powerful performance. Patrick Stump’s talent just blows me away…his voice is golden. I never expected them to do such a long set- even their encore was 4 or 5 songs.

So everyone received their drawings, including Pete and Joe…I’m glad to have finished Joe Troh just in the nick of time, but wish I had also completed Andy and a new Patrick…oh well, more for next time I see them. I hope they enjoy them as much as I did drawing them. Great inspiration! :D

Crashing Cobra's Meet & Greet...Sassyback Tour 11/28

We were freezing our butts off in a line like a mile long! from the venue, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, waiting for the show. I saw another line of people for the Meet and Greet (stupid me, I had the tix for 2 mos. and didn't even think to sign up). After everyone in the M&G had gone in, I saw a couple of security guys outside. I stopped and asked one of them to take my postcard(I have one with a bunch of my FBR drawings on it) in to Cobra, hoping they'd remember me -- to see if they'd let us in. He agreed, then came out a few minutes later and ushered us in VIP-style!!

First person I met was Alex Suarez, he was so sweet, remembered me from VWT this summer. I gave him and Vicky-T their original drawings, asked them to sign prints for me. I never saw Gabe or Nate at the M&G, I'm thinking they didn't come, because Gabe was saving his voice? and Nate is well, shy? Ryland was there, but by the time I finished talking with Alex and Vicky, he had left...so lucky us, we also got right down in front for the show!!

It was the first time I'd ever heard them inside a club (about 2000 people), and WOW- from the minute they came onstage the energy was electrifying. Amazing performance, start to finish.

Great night! Now I can look forward to seeing them next tour (with a new album!) and maybe I'll be lucky enough to catch up with Gabe, Ryland and Nate to give them their drawings. Meeting Alex and Vicky-T again... priceless...FANGS-UP!!

Rock Band Live 10/28

Enjoyed RBL last night in Lowell, MA. Great performances by the CAB, Plain White T’s and Dashboard Confessional, and of course, PATD. I figured it was high time I gave them some of my original portraits of them, so I packed up 4 and some extra prints. If things had gone according to plan, I would have arrived a bit early to hand the drawings off in person…but after getting my crowd together and spending 2 hours on the road, we were lucky to make it in time to see the CAB get started.

So by the time Panic played I was about 25 feet from the stage (yeah, not exactly close) No, I’m not one who likes to grab attention. But by the time they were into their second to last song, I figured what the hell, took my drawing of Jon Walker and held it up. Spencer noticed it almost immediately and said “Hey Jon, look, that’s you!” and pointed to me. Next Jon and Brendon look closer, and Brendon says, “Wow, that’s some talent!” Here I tried to yell out that it was for Jon to have, but I probably did one of those *deer in the headlights* things (Christ, the main video camera was on me and everything) and didn’t try to advance to the stage to give it to him. The last thing I wanted to do was intrude on their performance, man. In the last song 3 of us held all the drawings up so they’d get the idea the drawings were meant for them. After all, their music and their amazing talent is what inspired me to draw them in the first place, so it seemed that the drawings really belong to them.

So, in the end, Ryan, Brendon, Jon and Spencer have their drawings. My gift to them for the many good times and great music they have inspired me with. Hope they enjoy them and much as I enjoyed drawing them. And, of course, I have more originals to give them next time they come this way.

Portrait Drawings

Lately I've been playing around with charcoal pencils and gouache on illustration board, doing some portraits...most of these you can see on my DeviantArt link~ I knew eventually I couldn't resist playing with the drawings once I scanned them into Photoshop.
So this is traditional art/digital art fusion. I think I'm hooked. And I'm really enjoying drawing portraits, something I haven't done in a few years.