A lot of musical happenings this Christmas

Well. The Ph.D. means DNA doesn't get to write very much for himself anymore. This has been the longest DNA has went without posting to this blog since the blog began. DNA doesn't have time for more than a recap. Here's the recap:

The band code-named MPC is still alive. Chris sent me some great drum tracks. DNA has yet to find the time to do something with them, but he will....

The DNA Vibrators have recruited Gone Brian Vaughan, the H.O.G, Mr. Kamikaze, and Carleto to join him for a show up at the Hangar in May or June.

CRANK will be playing the 4th of July weekend at the Hangar and also at the infamous party at Craig and Bert's.

DNA has found some wonderful local musicians to play covers with in the Metropolis area. So far, we have one set down. These guys are good, and DNA is enjoying himself.

Also, DNA got a new bass, a Fernandes Tremor Deluxe, which sounds pretty good, and is a really pretty blue color.

DNA couldn't ask for more stuff happening musically. Seriously. He needs to stop some of this shit. Jeez.

The IM3 Recordings

Without further ado, here are the IM3 recordings from the Bill Hartley Memorial:

That One Jam


Cockroach


Hot Babes On Scooters


Automaton


IM3


Unplanned Improv


Yet Another Descending Riff

This was pretty raw, but pretty fun. Hope you dig it.

The Reconstitution of IM3

When H.O.G. asked if DNA was planning on attending the Bill Hartley Memorial, of course he said yes. When he asked if DNA might want to play some IM3 songs, well, DNA was hoping it wasn't too presumptuous to hope to play. So, it worked out. No practice, no group preparation, but what happened, whether it was aesthetically pleasing or not, was perfect.

Bill Hartley Memorial

DNA was honored to be able to play with Taz and the H.O.G. at the memorial. It was touching. Pictures and video will follow.

More Video From the Show...

Here is a link to the video from the song, "Well."

Here is a link to the video for part of the song, "Big Black Cadillac."

Her is a link to the video for part of the song, "The Three Deaths of Juan Belmonte."

Pictures and a Movie....

Here are some pictures from the show, courtesy of Patrick Houdek.










Dr. Kick Ass is supplying some video of the event. Until then, let me link you to a page on facebook with the video on it: This House

On Saturday, the world changed....

...after the DNA Vibrators played a kick ass set out at Craig and Bert's 4th of July party. We started with the new song, "This House," and did about every song we had hoped to complete. We didn't know we were going to play until last week, we didn't practice, and our drummer, Dr. Kick Ass, and the H.O.G. had not played some of these songs ever before. The last time the three of us had played together was several years ago, as part of CRANK, at another Craig and Bert 4th of July.

As DNA commented on facebook, "Holy Crap. Jesus and the Buddha were in the audience tonight, and gave each other high fives after we played "Plate Tectonic King." We finished with a rendition of the song "Big Black Cadillac" and as we strummed the last chord, Jesus smiled, and a big black Cadillac appeared. This is why DNA is a Christian, cuz Bud...dha approves, but Jesus DELIVERS!"

Before the show, DNA had posted this: "If, at 7 pm this evening, something feels weird to you, its because The DNA Vibrators were playing and they changed the tilt of the axis of the earth from the power of their ROCK! Sorry about that. We'll be booking a show somewhere in the Indian Ocean to reverse that effect next month."

If you haven't had the chance to check, the earth's axis did change slightly on Saturday night, and DNA's friend Toney Stirewalt had a wish granted at the exact same moment. Here is his synchronous moment, also from facebook: "So, earlier, I'm watching Sneakers on cable. A 1992 movie with Robert Redford. About 30 or 40 minutes into the movie, I need to get away and help prepare dinner. I was a little bit interested in the movie, so I pressed pause on the remote. I don't have a DVR or tivo or anyting, the pause button doesn't do any...thing, normally. Later, after dinner, I go to netflix and request the movie to stream to my TV via my WII. The movie is already fast-forwarded to the spot I left off. That seems weird to me. Netflix knew where I hit pause on my comcast system. Does comcast own netflix? Does that pause button on my remote actually work? Is there another link I am missing? Is there always a missing link?"

To which DNA responded: "Interesting. Did you press pause out of habit, like you would if you had the movie on DVD or VCR, or were you pressing it while wishing you could pause the live broadcast? Wishes are very powerful things, you know.

It seems to DNA like that would be a lot of data that comcast or Netflix has to track on each one of its potential customers, on the off chance that they stop watching a movie and rented it later. Perhaps it was on a channel that Netflix quietly owns, and does track. Or perhaps you get your internet through comcast, and comcast and Netflix does have some kind of agreement worked about certain content. Or, maybe you rented it from Netflix one time before, and had to stop at that exact same spot and they restarted you from where you left off the last time.

Or, the wish thing. Perception makes up about 100% of our reality (maybe more), so DNA is not discounting the fact that you willed a connection between the two into existence."

The Reverend couldn't attend the party, and DNA has quit trying to corral Mr. Kamikaze into an appearance at this infamous shindig.

Here's DNA's "all is right with the world" moment from the show: While DNA was singing the lyrics to "The Future Is Rosie," (one of the lines being, "when you want time to slow down it moves too fast, and when you wanted it to fly, everything was standing by")at the exact time that DNA said, "fly," a biting fly landed on his ear and bit him, and while DNA continued to sing and play, and flail about wildly to hit the fly, it proceeded to zip away and bite DNA's other ear too! After the song was done, DNA said, "The fly on my ear while I was singing the word "fly" is one of the few examples of Nature's sense of humor at work. Natural irony. Lightning bolt!" Alas, a lightning bolt did not strike, but electricity was in the air all night long.

IT IS ALIVE!!!!

DNA crawled out of the grave. DNA met Dr. Kick Ass and the H.O.G. in the cemetery. They were each in the process of removing clumps of dirt and matted hair from their worm-eaten eyes. In other words, they looked about the same as the last time they all played together.

THIS SATURDAY, at Craig and Bert's infamous 4th of July bash, the DNA Vibrators return to muck things up with their own brand of zombie rock. You may never see this particular incarnation again. Which may be a good thing.....

The Latest....

Here is the latest song DNA has been working on.

This House



Also, as Craig and Bert's infamous 4th of July party draws near, forces are at work which might bring together the DNA Vibrators for a performance.....

Catch As Catch Can....

DNA has spent a few late nights after work getting drums and some bass lines down for some new material. Actually, at this point, it is old material. Most of this is stuff DNA wrote a few years ago, with only one or two pieces of the very newest stuff elbowing its way to the front. Althought summer classes start soon for DNA, he thinks he still has a window of opportunity....

New Song, Old Bastard....

DNA has been hard at work doing work, so has not had time to regularly update the blog. As an exercise for one of his Ph.D. classes, he wrote this song:

I Got A Heavy Load

It's a song about cognitive architecture, and since DNA hadn't finished one in awhile, he is glad to post one about anything. Yes, DNA is getting tired of admitting that he is slowing down. However, in the small break between classes from the spring to the summer, he intends to be pretty busy with several new tracks.

In related music news, DNA's son took first superior on his saxophone piece in state last week. Also, DNA got himself (well, really, his little children) a nice keyboard to mess around on at home. It has already proven itself to be a great teaching tool for all of us.

DNA does intend to get back to fun part of blogging about the Carbondale music scene, but it will have to wait at least a week or two longer. Yeah, DNA knows, you are breathless in anticipation....

Jogging DNA's Musical Memory...

DNA talked with Derek [of MPC fame] for awhile, and Derek asked DNA if he remembered when we had actually played together, a long time ago. When Chris, Derek and DNA first talked about playing together, we opined wistfully how despite our shared time in Carbondale, we had not played together before.

Today, Derek said that wasn't correct, that the three of us had performed together on stage. DNA thought for awhile, and could kind of logically narrow down the opportunities, (it was at a hootenanny? he vaguely guessed) but couldn't come up with the specific example. Derek asked if DNA remembered the Booby's show in 1991 in which Satan's Monster Truck played most of the Nightsoil Coolies' setlist. That DNA did recall. Then, he opened up the memory jar a little further. Derek asked, "Do you remember how towards the end, you all invited everybody to come up and play percussion, which you had strewn about the stage?"

DNA remembered that. "Well," Derek continued, "I was a couple of years younger than Chris, and he snuck me in to the beer garden to watch you guys play. And then, when you invited people to come up and play, Chris grabbed some percussion, and I kind of mumbled along to the lyrics."

Derek recounted how for him, this was his first introduction to the Carbondale "scene," and that he felt self-conscious when he was up there belting out something on the mike because there were tons of people in the bar who were singing along to our songs [a kick-ass feeling worth pursuing, for those of you who wonder why musicians live the shabby way they do] and he didn't know any of the words to our songs. He said he thought that people must have been thinking, "Who is this kid, and why doesn't he know these songs?"

DNA reassured Derek that half the time, Gone Brian Vaughan wasn't singing the correct lyrics to the songs he wrote, either, so nobody probably noticed. Then, after a moment, DNA felt old. While DNA had already watched one band train come and go, while he was a grizzled old vet of the scene, Derek had not yet his dreams smashed out of him by this twisted mistress we all love, Rock and Roll.

That show, at Booby's Beer Garden [RIP Booby's died in 2009] DNA narrowed down to one of these two events:

OR


DNA will leave it to Derek to say for sure. What DNA does remember is a couple of hundred people all shoved into a tiny space, in between two long brick and mortar buildings. Booby's Beer Garden was basically a fairly intimate outdoor space to have a beer or two with friends that three or four nights a week got turned into a sardine can with live music. Sound was generally terrible, considering you were in a concrete box, and when we played, we were constantly getting complaints to turn it down. At midnight, the only other people who were near Booby's were the winos behind the train station, which should give you an indication of how fucking loud it really was there. If we could intrude on the deleriums tremens those old bastards were in the throes of, well, we had to be reality-altering loud.

Someone told me that there were over 500 people in the beer garden. Capacity is about 75. The bar ran out of glasses for serving patrons. We made a boatload of cash that night, so our take corresponded to the number of people who were there.

DNA had his big rig, an 18 cab with a 4x10 cab through a Trace Elliott pre-amp and a 2400 watt power amp. When he picked the opening bass riff to "Booby's" [not written specifically for the occasion, but obviously apropo] he could feel the hair on the back of his legs pulse at about 41 hz, the frequency of low "E," which the riff plopped back down to regularly. The bass and drums pounded off the walls on either long side of the beer garden, and although we were too loud, that was the only way to play the beer garden and not get drowned in echo. Besides risking our hearing, we risked being something other than a knock--off of our former band selves. DNA wore a shirt with a picture of the Coolies on it which read, "The Nightsoil Coolies," and on the back, "are DEAD." Sometimes when you take a risk, you are rewarded, and we were, with a hootenanny of epic proportions, which lead, apparently, to this mystical convergence of Chris, Derek, and DNA.

Derek and DNA continued to talk, and Derek said that as his first experience in the music scene, he thought "this is how it is: hundreds of people, everybody singing your songs, wall to wall noise, wild excesses, genuine drunken happiness." Sorry about that. At the other end of the bookshelf, was the show we did in Bloomington on the day before Christmas Eve, [who the FUCK books a show on day before Christmas Eve?] in which there were only three people in the bar besides us. One was the bartender, one was the sound guy, and one was this wino who wandered in off the street because it was about negative seven outside, and the bartender couldn't turn him away without violating some kind of good samaritan law. Before we played, the bartender, who realized she was going to lose her shirt tonight anyway (figuratively, at least) just on the guarantee we had for playing, decided to screw it all and got out the Goldschläger and between us we downed the bottle. Then, we got up, played some crap crappily, and DNA ended one set with a rousing rendition of "Jesus will be comin' round the mountain when Mary comes," or something equally sacrilegious as that. All DNA knows is that after he sang some drunken parody of a folk song, Gone Brian Vaughan simply left the stage, saying, "No, DNA, that was not cool."

What links these two extremes? Winos. There is probably a lesson there.

An Easter Story....

One day, not long ago, the Aimones
Annie Mr. Kamikaze
The Kids...
came down to visit DNA and family down in Metropolis. They had an Easter egg hunt. They ate lots of good food. They grilled out, and expressed appropriate awe over the huge HDTV in the living room. The next day, we all drove up to Mt. Vernon, or as we say, Mud Vermin, and met the Rodgers, Smiths, and Mayors crowd.

While we hung out, ate too much, and generally made unruly messes of ourselves at the local Fairfield Inn, around about 2 in the morning, Mr. Kamikaze and Big Mike and DNA ended up in one of the rooms, and Mr. Kamikaze rekindled an old idea we had to form a band, with just DNA and Mr. Kamikaze playing, and Big Mike in an easy chair screaming at people. All the songs we would play were covers, slowed way, way down. Molly, Big Mike's daughter, showed off her Audacity skills and let us listen to samples of songs like "Anna" by Trio, or "Stigmata" by Ministry at less than half speed. That night, we assembled a set list, and it seems pretty clear that we are going to play out sometime soon.

The moral of the Easter Story: Get DNA and Mr. Kamikaze drunk enough late enough on Easter weekend and they become willing to resurrect anything.

Huge Events in the DNA Constellation....

The new Carbondale supergroup featuring Chris McAtee, Derek Cook,and the DNA Vibrator has arrived, and they are known as MPC. Model car enthusiasts, MPC originally formed to make plastic injection mold models of kick ass cars. Now MPC makes kick ass rock and roll.

Rregarding the Carbondale Music Scene....

Well, it's nice to get written up in the big leagues. And here is a link to the best of the national resources for local music scenes, Maximum Rock and Roll:

Carbondale Scene Report

Very cool, huh? Now, DNA will overlook the fact that he wasn't mentioned in the article. Sure, DNA has only played out twice in the past several years, but really, what more does the city want from DNA? If DNA has to play yearly to make Maximum R&R's radar, then he will have to live without the notoriety he deserves. In this respect, DNA is like West Nile virus in southern Illinois: always present, just not "sexy" enough like the H1N1 or MRSA to grab the headlines. But, still, killing all the while....

Snowstorms, Chicago, and Rosati's Pizza

Rosati's Pizza

On a recent business trip, DNA had to go to Chicago. As per his hellish ritual, he would drive for hours, do a presentation, and then drive for hours again to stay with his friend, Mr. Kamikaze and his family. After the event, a freak snowstorm blew up in the burbs and would have stranded DNA somewhere on I-270 unless he found a place to stay for the night. DNA had to abandon one element of the ritual, and called Mr. Kamikaze and told him to prepare to be disappointed, cuz DNA couldn't make it. The vague outline of a Hampton Inn glowed behind the white obscurity, and once DNA was settled, he performed the last rite of the ritual: Call a local pizza joint, and prepare to judge their product. If it is deemed worthy, then legend has it, that Jesus will visit their pizza joint in the guise of a beggar and if he is treated with kindness, then you can rub his belly and get three wishes.

So, DNA called a promising looking pizza place, Rosati's Pizza. The picture above is not a picture of the pizza DNA ordered, but it is from a Rosati's Pizza. DNA ordered a cheese and sausage pizza. On the LaRoma's Pizza Nirvana Quotient (LPNQ) Rosati's rated about an 81%, which is not bad. DNA should not have ordered the sausage, because he thought the sausage was just a little too much, and he imagines that if the sausage had not been there, Rosati's plain cheese would have rated about a 92% on the LPNQ. So, if Jesus does hang out by your dumpsters later this month, Rosati's guys, remember, rub his belly. An 81% might get you a wish or two (but probably not three).

A Quick Update

There are many things that DNA wants to weigh in on, but he has to limit himself to just some musical news. First, DNA is still climbing the local Reverbnation charts. Click on the reverbnation player on the sidebar to listen to the latest stuff DNA has posted.

Next, both Jason and the Scorchers and Stace England and the Salt Kings have released new albums. You would have to be dead not to like them. Check Stace England out at

Stace England's website

and check out Jason at

Jason and the Scorchers' website.

Alright, since last DNA posted, a few musical happenings have stirred. First, it is possible that CRANK will rise again this year. If so, then it is equally possible that the DNA Vibrators will play out too, and will be joined by Silver Spring Monkeys, the Reverend's new band. You can check his demos out at

the Silver Springs Monkeys facebook page.

Next, DNA has been in contact with Derek from several terrific Carbondale bands, and with Chris, also with a great Carbondale pedigree, who now lives in Minneapolis, and it looks like the wheels are going to turn on a new band, with an as-of-yet defined musical idiom.

Lastly, after reconnecting on facebook with my friend Jim, DNA had the chance to talk about an old Coolies' show, which he still has. He is burning it on CD for me, which means in short order, DNA will be digitally remastering it and putting it up on this here website for your listening pleasure or disgust, depending.

You'll have to catch me back later for pithy political, music scene, and religious bloviation. DNA is in the middle of a demanding semester for his Ph.D. in Kick-Assology.

Long Overdue.

DNA has graciously accepted that he will never be a world famous musician. He sells some records, does what he likes, keeps a good job and stable family life. For a long time, even until recently, the musical goal was to make good records, entertain people, maybe even make a few bucks, and have a lot of fun doing it. The goal has changed. DNA no longer cares if he makes a plug nickel from any of his music. It's still for sale, don't get DNA wrong, but starting today, the first installment of free DNA music, a CD called The Hole Truth, will be available to download for free, for ever. It collects all of DNA's first two releases, "Twin Rockets Are A Go, Baby!" and "Unnatural Selection." Over the next few weeks, or months, or really, when DNA gets to it, he will put up everything on the website for you to have.

FEAR Is The Mind Killer....

Sure. But DNA is still afraid of what this nation will become if its course is charted by religious zealots in the clothes of conservative politicians. In the past, we had the likes of Jimmy Carter, religious conservative, social reformer; Ronald Reagen, social conservative, religiously tolerant; Bill Clinton, socially liberal, and compared to his immediate peers, actually fiscally conservative, religiously questionable; George Bush, socially conservative, but fiscally out of control, religiously very conservative; and Obama, socially liberal, fiscally liberal, religously tolerant. In other words, not one of them were purely conservative across three axes: social mores, religious views, and fiscal policy.

If we get someone who is socially conservative, religiously conservative, and fiscally conservative, what we should get is someone who cuts military spending and funds socially responsible, religiously guided aid for those among us who are less fortunate, but unfortunately, what we will get is someone who will gut social programs, ramp up military action across the globe, and justify it all in the name of God.

So, when the good people of Massachusetts go to the polls tomorrow, and either the democratically controlled congress maintains its control, or a very conservative republican will become a wedge which will truly make our current president ineffective(regardless of what you think now of Obama, I think things would be so much worse in country right now without some of the things he helped make happen). If DNA felt that the addition of a republican would do anything to make congress more effective, then he would be supporting this guy. DNA thinks that republicans will be trumpeting the "end" of the Obama presidency if the guy wins however, and will be even less inclined to actually work with the majority in power right now.

DNA is really looking into New Zealand. New Zealand still has that "new liberty" smell about it, and considers things like free speech, freedom of expression, independent thought, the separation of church and state, the separation of powers, a free press, and the independence of the judiciary more like the rights of its citizenry instead of annoyances to work around.

I have taken to posting these two quotes on almost all political conversations I have had lately:

"It is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." Hermann Goering, 50 years ago, talking about how Nazis grew to power.

Sinclair Lewis, first American novelist to receive the Nobel Prize in literature, feared the kinds of tactics we see everyday on Fox News would one day take hold in America. He wrote, in 1935, "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."

Jesus would have been the first to disavow a national identity; historians will tell you that the roots of almost all major conflicts over the last several centuries are nationalism and religious fervor. Jesus would have been the first to disavow a symbol like a cross or a book in place of living a christ-like life. Yet bible-thumping, flag waving "patriots" are going to ram a definitively un-Jesus-like way of life down our country's gullet. Sinclair Lewis was right, and DNA is sad for it. If indeed, folks like Pat Robertson and his ilk grow to exercise real political power, then we will march down a road toward becoming the thing we hate....a radicalized religious theocracy. As DNA has stated before, he believes this is actually the agenda of many on the far right. They are attempting to bring about the apocalypse, because they know they will ascend to heaven and leave the rest of us behind. If for no other reason than that, even those on the right-hand side of the road should think twice before trying to establish a conservative religious party in power. Our days as a country that values liberty will surely be numbered. And that number will be 666.

Reverbnation.....Has Been Dominated.....

DNA is currently #4 on the local charts with the song, "Here Again." If you want to see DNA's ego get bigger, log on to Reverbnation and become a fan. If you do, DNA will give you something special.....