Dark's Corner

The Only Thing Constant Is Strange – September 26th, 2000

[[bingwwrr3]]I’m predicting a wave of toad-licking to begin sometime

in the early part of 2001. By then, all of the current

club drugs of choice will have become passe’ or very

hard to come by thanks to the Orange County Sherrif’s

drug task force. Their command center must be near

Cyberzone.

Good thing there weren’t any troopers on 408 when myself

and Greg Reinel of Nutrajet blasted onto

the highway in his stealth-black turbocharged Mustang

Cobra. It was while guttersniping an 18-wheeler at close

to 100 m.p.h. that Greg cheerfully turned to me and said,

“we’re still in third gear.” Disney needs to get an

attraction like that. Oh wait–they do, it’s called

the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

We were both on our way to the Clear Channel building in

Maitland to go in-studio with Melissa Foxx and

Mimi Mouse (in da house!) for the “Get A Life!”

show that airs Friday nights between 6-7 pm on 740

AM WWNZ</b>. Mohave had just done the show two

weeks earlier, but Greg thought it would be fun for us

to go tag team and catch Melissa off-guard with our

complete disinterest in plugging anything. We talked

about anal Altoids, the Rolling Stones, thrift stores

and what it’s like to be an outsider in the Orlando

music scene. We also talked about the new policy at

The Station in Fernwood Park, something having to

do with not playing a “rival” club, Lost & Found

which is located in Longwood. Marc Padgett of The

Orlando Weekly</i></a> brought the story to the attention

of those who hadn’t heard about it elsewhere or through the Furious

George</b></a> mailing list. After the band was banned from The

Station, the sparks began to fly.

[[mimimic]]I don’t understand what The Station has to worry about.

It should never go broke because of all those national

shows that the locals get bumped for. They’re sure to

draw a crowd with a faded rock band that was at least

famous once. So, I made it clear on what we thought

was “the air”, that I disagreed with the stupid policy.

Unfortunately, there was some sort of technical glitch

and only the music of Mohave, Nutrajet and Human Suit

was played. Sa la vie. We got a picture of Mimi

doing the nasty with a couple of mics though. She’s a

raving doll isn’t she? Wonder what that translates

to in Norse.

[[nutrajet]]Friday night, Nutrajet played The Station and I was

looking forward to seeing the new line-up featuring

drummer Jeff “Bad Guy” Wood but unfortunately,

sushi took longer than expected and my wife and I arrived

just in time to hear the final chords of “Whip The Big

Boy Out” echoing as we pulled into the parking lot.

No worries though. Figure we’ll get something to go on

October 7th when the duo plays Will’s Pub with

The Hatebombs. Apparently, Will Walker is

returning to Will’s, ironically enough. More on that in

a few tokes.

[[bugheadstation]]Bughead was also on the bill that night and it

had been awhile since I’d seen the guys. Of course,

they’ve been nominated for a 2000 Orlando Music Award

in the “Punk/Ska” category and tied with Blue Meridian

last year for a win in the “Rock” category. Lead vocalist

and guitarist Nathan Adams created a lasting

impression when he dropped his pants and mooned the

crowd while Donovan Lyman spoke on behalf of BM.

Both bands are ones to watch at this year’s show, taking

place October 14th at The House Of Blues. Tix

are going quix, $8 is a small price to pay for such

hijinks.

[[crazyhector]]Gargamel! was also on the bill, celebrating bassist

Crazy Hector’s birthday and the arrival of new

guitarist Professor Knuckles also of Foolproof

Plan</b>. Hector’s Bo Derek look usually lasts only so

long as he’s sober and steady. Three songs tops. On

guitar, Knuckles does a credible job following in the

monstrous footsteps of El Diablo Guapo, adding his

own wizardry into the mix. “I just learned the songs as

they were,” he said shortly before the band went on.

“When I’m more comfortable with the songs, then I’ll

start adding more of my influence into it.” Still,

the band had a different edge to it that night and it

definitely marks the beginning of a whole new era for

the group that took OMA honors last year and are more

than likely going to repeat in October.

Junkie Rush was also on the bill, but we had

just dug them at HOB for BYOB and my wife was HORNY,

so that spelled GUTEN NACHT.

[[cameron53]]The following night at Will’s was my first time seeing

Preferred 53 and their very L.A. brand of four-on-the-floor rock. Lead singer/guitarist Cameron is

a grass roots kinda guy, laying CD’s on me not only of

his band, but other bands as well. “We have to support

each other, we’re all about that,” he said outside after

his group’s energetic and well-received set. Second

act Boxelder is down with that concept and though

it would be my first experience in concert with this

tribe as well, we had all met before.

[[bryceboxelder]]”Great seeing you again man,” lead singer Bryce

Rutkowski</b> said to me. I had pulled the group’s

“What For?” album out of a pile at Jam some time

ago and asked the band if they’d like to come out and

do a live interview with us for M4Radio.com.

They agreed and we had a great time with the guys when

they drove out from Jupiter, Florida early last year.

Their music is groovy, full of energy and life, embracing

change and social conciousness. The band vibe is like-

wise on the positive tip, so I wrote a feature article

about them, hoping to assist in getting the word out.

This is one of those rare cases where I received a

confirmation. [[boxelder2]] “That story you wrote opened a lot of

doors for us,” said Rutkowski. “We’ve never had the

chance to tell you how much we appreciate it.” I

reached out and pressed half a joint

into the dread’s hand. “Could you play ‘Void’ tonight?

It’s my favorite song of yours,” I said. Peering down

at the treat, the singer smiled broadly. “We’ll do

that for you.”

They did. It rocked. Mightily.

[[bryangun]]As I recall, there was jointage happening when I first

hung with Doorway 27 during Cocofest 2000.

That’s the great thing about pot–it unites, unlike rum,

which divides. Anyway, Bryan, Max, Angel and Chris are

some of the coolest folks you’d ever want to meet and

their music is as popular as it is different. [[doorway27wills]]Yes,

there’s a hip-hop flavah to the mix, but for every

convention, Doorway 27 comes up with something that’s

inventive, especially through the guitar playing of

Chris a.k.a. “Captain Colors.” Pretty intricate stuff

he’s doing over there stage right.

[[michellewills]]Will’s booking agent/soundgirl/barmaid extraordinaire

Michelle has posted the October schedule for

the pub but who knows what will be going on when

Will returns in November. The boycott that was started

by several bands when Will vacated the place has been

ditched by a few who apparently decided that they

weren’t getting enough gigs elsewhere. So much for loyalty. The alleged

official date for Will’s prodigal homecoming is slated

for November 3rd with Gargamel! and Bughead

performing. What I’d like to know is, what of the band

scabs? It should be interesting to see if the

open-door policy to bands remains in place or if the

non-loyals will find themselves running into a Sapphire

type brick wall trying to get bookings. Either way,

it’ll probably pay better for those who do play.

Overheard from one of the bandmembers Saturday night,

“I asked for a pitcher of beer and they said there wasn’t

enough clientele yet.”

Maybe Will should consider drink coupons when he comes back.

Well, we’ll see what happens this week. Until the next,

be well, be wise and be wary. And go see a live show!

Pa gjensyn,

“bfsig”


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