So its been right at a week since our west coast tour with the mighty Bongzilla ended.Needless to say,we hit it off very well with the Bongzilla boys.Actually Dixie played on one of their albums and did a tour with them.Me and Michael(Pee Wee) really hit it off and i firmly believe i have a new brother in him for life.Touring with them,renting their backline and all around working together made life on this tour much easier. Bongzilla is still out there touring so get out and see them and buy some merch if you can to support this hard working band.I have a few individual stories to tell but I'm just typing some thoughts and observations from this recent 8 day jaunt through the west.I want to be sure i tell the stories i have as they actually happened and get permission from all those involved so i don't step on any toes or piss anyone off. I never piss anyone off.HA!! While our first tours back,in 2011,after 10 years of doing nothing proved to be lucrative and full of hype,this recent leg of shows,which by the way was after another 4 year lull proved to be good but only part of the hype previously experienced was present.Its becoming painfully obvious that if we don't stay busy,tour and work harder we will slowly dwindle back to an unknown band of the past.Some musicians i feel get spoiled from certain things being a certain way and expect that every tour or show will be just as lucrative and also bigger venues with a consistent amount of crowd attendance.Which of course is not the reality of being in the music business as things change year to year and even day to day. I started working my ass off to build this band in the late 80's.I have learned over the years that most always there will be issues with various elements of touring,recording and keeping things in order to keep moving forward.I also have tried to remain humble and appreciative of all the things I'm blessed with from the hard work that playing in and running a band can be.When some people get better pay and more things handled by the few people that are hired to take care of all the responsibility outside of playing their instrument,they love being in the band.But when everything isn't always that way or not as good as previous tours etc....they have an attitude and act as if they are being screwed over or something.All i know is at one time early in my career i had to sleep in the van in freezing temperatures and eat cheese and lettuce summits just to be sure we had enough fuel to make it to the next show.If you haven't experienced tour life from the bottom ,i believe it makes it harder to appreciate the perks that come with being in a band that has already paid their dues etc....I am so grateful that there are still enough people that dig buzzovens music that I'm able to fly(not drive)out to the west coast and tour and even though things were mismanaged we didn't lose money. Expectations were much higher on that issue but ya know it was still pay for doing nothing but playing your instrument.If you can't roll with the train when when its doing really well and when its not so great then maybe its time to give it up.There are thousands of musicians out there that would give anything to simply just be able to tour and have people attend. These people aren't even concerned about money and would do whatever was asked of them to make the tour run smoothly.Sometimes i find myself trying to make everyone else happy and sacrifice my time and needs to make things easier for all those around me.Im going to have to take care of my needs as well in the future.
The plan is not to take another 4 years to get back out doing shows etc....In fact we are going to record very soon for a couple of split 7"s and our own new 7" on Rusty Knuckles.Ralph from Rusty Knuckles has been a huge help and confidant with teaching me the way things are done now as opposed to how i did them in the early 90's. We will also continue to tour but very limited amounts due to several factors that are personal as well as we have to work around Daves busy schedule with Weedeater.
So in the next few days i will have some stories from this tour and although their is very little to compare to the extreme chaos of buzzovens past ,their are some funny and interesting moments of this past short tour.Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows and watch for our upcoming announcements for the East Coast leg of the "Moodswings and Mayhem Tour" Ladies and gentlemen "Welcome to Violence!"
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Monday, October 10, 2016
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Time Passes Quickly
Time Passes Quickly
So here it is.September 2016 and i realize i haven't done anything here in my blog close to 2 years.It has been a rough couple of years.I have done a lot ,mostly dealing with my addiction.I went to a long term rehab and actually completed the damn thing.I usually say "fuck it"and leave because i just couldn't stand the slow pace of counseling, group sessions and all that goes with Rehab.So after that i was able to stay completely clean and sober for right under a year.Needless to say, the monkey jumped on my back and came back with a vengeance. I was literally in the fetal position shaking and crying cause i wanted to get high so bad.I knew if i ventured back to the needle though i would be off and running and who knows if i would survive another run and even live through it? So i made the decision to get back on Methadone which given, is a powerful narcotic itself and really hard to withdrawl from. But given the amount of years i had been using and how long term Opiate abuse changes your body chemistry and endorphin levels for life, the need for medicinal assisted recovery is completely understandable in my situation. Recovery counselors and people in 12 step programs constantly talk against it. Medical doctors and the health community at large recommend it strongly do to the amount of people who practice abstinence based recovery who relapse and die due to that your body doesn't have the tolerance it once did. Many opiate addicts relapse and die from that first shot. There is a resurgence of Heroin in the US due to doctors prescribing high powered narcotics for pain issues. As the street price of these pills , like oxycontin , oxycodone and hydrocodone, continue to rise, opiate addicts start buying heroin cause its cheaper and stronger than any of those pills i just mentioned. So on with my own experience here. I made this decision with much caution to accepting it may one day be very drawn out and miserable to withdrawl from the Methadone. I withdrawled from it once after 8 years of taking it and it was quite painful and miserable to go through the symptoms of withdrawal very slowly as to make it less intense. You do this by weening off the Methadone just a few milligrams ever 2-4 weeks. So here i am at this point in my recovery, abstinence from all street narcotics and i do still drink some but not in excess. I have been back on Methadone for a couple of years now and i never have cravings that are completely intolerable. I did what i felt i needed to do to have long term success and to slap that fucking Evil Monkey off my back. There opinions abound on this form of treatment and many people think its a crutch or the government giving away drugs blah,blah blah... I do what is best for me and what actually my doctor recommends. People who talk it down but don't have any kind of degree, or training in this field, well i just tell them to shut the fuck up. Anyway i just wanted to give a little reason why i have been kind of out of circulation and staying under the radar for these last couple of years
So the good news is Buzzoven is definitely returning to the stage starting with 5 dates in late October.We will be doing the long haul.Seattle all the way down to San Diego where we will be playing on Halloween. Support for this tour is the mighty Bongzilla and 16. Should be some good shows and we are excited to be returning to the west coast.We will be touring to support our "Violent Hits" cd on Rusty Knuckles. It will be a compilation of what we think are our best songs. I know a greatest hits cd. How boring. This cd though will bring buzzoven to the many people who have never been able to get any of our cds or records due to them being out of print
So this cd will contain a few songs from the entire collection of buzzoven releases.Probably with some new artwork etc.....
We will have a pretty large assortment of merchandise for these shows. Belt buckles, patches, hats, and at least 3-4 shirt designs and probably some hoodies. We will do sort of a meet and greet type thing while the opening bands are playing so that you can get anything you want signed plus see what complete morons we can be.
Around this tour we will be recording a few new buzzoven songs.One for a split 7" and 2 for our 7" to be released on Rusty Knuckles.Its kind of a secret who the split will be with. Rest assured its a damn good band that also plays heavy music. A bunch of damn yankees though. Anyway we are hoping everything pans out and were able to finish the recording on a super tight recording schedule.
So I'm planning to start doing this blog thing more often. Especially from the West Coast tour coming up in late October. Ill check in daily from those shows. So whether you subscribe to this Blog or just read it when i post them to the buzzoven page and my personal page i hope they are somewhat of an enjoyable read. Im working on my book again and this will help me sharpen my lack of true writing skills. Its no easy task for one trying to remember things,events and the timeline of our early days.I plan to get both Ashley and Brian from the original lineup to submit a chapter for each. As well as Ramzi and Dixie Dave Collins to write some things from their perspective. Its not going to be strictly about buzzoven but needless to say I'm sure those years and chaotic events will be a large part of the book. As of right now i don't have a title for the book but I'm hoping to get done with it by May/June of 2017. We will see.
Thanks to everyone who has interest in buzzoven or my solow project k.lloyd, i appreciate your support. I am working at this very moment on my 3rd k.lloyd record for Rusty Knuckles as well.Tenatively titled "Outlaw Prophet". I will go into more details on that at another time. So with that i say Goodbye!!!
So here it is.September 2016 and i realize i haven't done anything here in my blog close to 2 years.It has been a rough couple of years.I have done a lot ,mostly dealing with my addiction.I went to a long term rehab and actually completed the damn thing.I usually say "fuck it"and leave because i just couldn't stand the slow pace of counseling, group sessions and all that goes with Rehab.So after that i was able to stay completely clean and sober for right under a year.Needless to say, the monkey jumped on my back and came back with a vengeance. I was literally in the fetal position shaking and crying cause i wanted to get high so bad.I knew if i ventured back to the needle though i would be off and running and who knows if i would survive another run and even live through it? So i made the decision to get back on Methadone which given, is a powerful narcotic itself and really hard to withdrawl from. But given the amount of years i had been using and how long term Opiate abuse changes your body chemistry and endorphin levels for life, the need for medicinal assisted recovery is completely understandable in my situation. Recovery counselors and people in 12 step programs constantly talk against it. Medical doctors and the health community at large recommend it strongly do to the amount of people who practice abstinence based recovery who relapse and die due to that your body doesn't have the tolerance it once did. Many opiate addicts relapse and die from that first shot. There is a resurgence of Heroin in the US due to doctors prescribing high powered narcotics for pain issues. As the street price of these pills , like oxycontin , oxycodone and hydrocodone, continue to rise, opiate addicts start buying heroin cause its cheaper and stronger than any of those pills i just mentioned. So on with my own experience here. I made this decision with much caution to accepting it may one day be very drawn out and miserable to withdrawl from the Methadone. I withdrawled from it once after 8 years of taking it and it was quite painful and miserable to go through the symptoms of withdrawal very slowly as to make it less intense. You do this by weening off the Methadone just a few milligrams ever 2-4 weeks. So here i am at this point in my recovery, abstinence from all street narcotics and i do still drink some but not in excess. I have been back on Methadone for a couple of years now and i never have cravings that are completely intolerable. I did what i felt i needed to do to have long term success and to slap that fucking Evil Monkey off my back. There opinions abound on this form of treatment and many people think its a crutch or the government giving away drugs blah,blah blah... I do what is best for me and what actually my doctor recommends. People who talk it down but don't have any kind of degree, or training in this field, well i just tell them to shut the fuck up. Anyway i just wanted to give a little reason why i have been kind of out of circulation and staying under the radar for these last couple of years
So the good news is Buzzoven is definitely returning to the stage starting with 5 dates in late October.We will be doing the long haul.Seattle all the way down to San Diego where we will be playing on Halloween. Support for this tour is the mighty Bongzilla and 16. Should be some good shows and we are excited to be returning to the west coast.We will be touring to support our "Violent Hits" cd on Rusty Knuckles. It will be a compilation of what we think are our best songs. I know a greatest hits cd. How boring. This cd though will bring buzzoven to the many people who have never been able to get any of our cds or records due to them being out of print
So this cd will contain a few songs from the entire collection of buzzoven releases.Probably with some new artwork etc.....
We will have a pretty large assortment of merchandise for these shows. Belt buckles, patches, hats, and at least 3-4 shirt designs and probably some hoodies. We will do sort of a meet and greet type thing while the opening bands are playing so that you can get anything you want signed plus see what complete morons we can be.
Around this tour we will be recording a few new buzzoven songs.One for a split 7" and 2 for our 7" to be released on Rusty Knuckles.Its kind of a secret who the split will be with. Rest assured its a damn good band that also plays heavy music. A bunch of damn yankees though. Anyway we are hoping everything pans out and were able to finish the recording on a super tight recording schedule.
So I'm planning to start doing this blog thing more often. Especially from the West Coast tour coming up in late October. Ill check in daily from those shows. So whether you subscribe to this Blog or just read it when i post them to the buzzoven page and my personal page i hope they are somewhat of an enjoyable read. Im working on my book again and this will help me sharpen my lack of true writing skills. Its no easy task for one trying to remember things,events and the timeline of our early days.I plan to get both Ashley and Brian from the original lineup to submit a chapter for each. As well as Ramzi and Dixie Dave Collins to write some things from their perspective. Its not going to be strictly about buzzoven but needless to say I'm sure those years and chaotic events will be a large part of the book. As of right now i don't have a title for the book but I'm hoping to get done with it by May/June of 2017. We will see.
Thanks to everyone who has interest in buzzoven or my solow project k.lloyd, i appreciate your support. I am working at this very moment on my 3rd k.lloyd record for Rusty Knuckles as well.Tenatively titled "Outlaw Prophet". I will go into more details on that at another time. So with that i say Goodbye!!!
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