How else could you explain the crazy shit that happened to us this past year? Our first show of the year found us crawling into a fireplace that doubled as a dressing room. Someone mistook Hoagie's house for the OK Corral, and filled it full of lead. We opened for Living Colour and nobody came. We opened for Faster Pussycat and everybody came. We played parties, benefits, a festival, and even a fucking wedding! The cherry on top of our weird sundae had to be getting nominated for a Seattle Weekly music award! What the hell were they thinking?
We shared stages once again with friends and idols. We also shared them with a few assholes this time around. We played with punk bands, rockabilly bands, metal bands, glam bands, acoustic bands, and bands I can't even classify. But mostly we seemed to share stages with a shitload of other tribute bands. These ran the gamut from well covered territory like AC/DC and Iron Maiden, to shall we say interesting choices such as Ween and Billy Childish.
We played sets ranging in time from 20 minutes to an hour. We played a former brothel. We played at the Washington Athletic Club. We played in the middle of the street. We even played on a farm.
The year was not without sadness. We bid farewell to Hoagie's Vanagon - a true friend to the end. You will be missed.
However the year provided many memorable moments I'll cherish forever. Our weekend at the Fenix with Faster Pussycat, Go Like Hell, and an axe wielding bum immediately springs to mind. As does the party in Tacoma, and the shank wielding chick with the taped down hooters. Same thing with getting blown away by Living Colour during their sound check.
But I think my proudest moment of the year had to be headlining the Showbox in front of a few hundred of our closest friends. I'll never forget how it felt to look out from that huge stage and see a shitload of friendly faces, all of which seemed to be singing along.
I'd like to thank everyone who made this year so much fun - and so surreal. There are too many to list, but I'm pretty sure you know who you are. Plus I know that I'd inevitably leave someone out, and that would suck. If you've read my previous diary entries, it should be plain to see that we've been fortunate to work with and play for some wonderful people. This is by far the most fun I've ever had in a band - and I've been in a lot of bands. And for that, I am truly grateful.
See you next year!
Rich Evans