noel at the controls

Let the Roadies Take the Stage

2010-05-30T17:29:00.011-04:00

Last show of the tour tonight in Helsinki. It was great. Last night we were in Bergen, Norway. Another good show. Two of the guys from Guns and Roses came by, Frank Farrar, the drummer, who is an old friend of mine and Tommy Stinson, of the Replacements of course. It was great seeing them. Next show for Dino is in Calgary, Canada I think.

Thanks to Built To Spill for doing the tour with us. It was a really great being with them.

My camera stopped working so here are a few pictures from earlier in the tour.

The Gear

J and Tomas

Stay

2010-05-26T12:01:00.007-04:00

We're in Stockholm today, in an amusement park. Had a 30 hour bus ride yesterday. Fun!

Only a few more days left on the tour. Don't really want to go home.

Berlin Club Manifesto

The two Brett's from Built To Spill

Mattias and Lou

Kevin, Charlotte, J and Phillip Virus

Hand of Fate

2010-05-22T19:01:00.006-04:00

World's largest gong

Some good shows, London, Berlin tonight in Mannheim. Went to Paiste cymbal factory in Zurich, very interesting. Tomorrow is Paris. Nice!

London

Wake Me Shake Me

2010-05-17T12:50:00.008-04:00

We're in Cambridge today, London tomorrow. Things are going good except for J's amp problems today. Finally getting a bit warmer here in the UK.

We have had great local crews on this tour. Very professional and fast. Nice!

Kyle is living the dream

Built To Spill and their bus

One of the Stage Crew in Leeds. His T-shirt says: Cocaine Ruined My Community

I Wanna Be Elected

2010-05-14T18:32:00.010-04:00

Played tonight in Newcastle, last night in Glasgow. Good shows both. Kyle is sounding great.

I particularly like the way they do No Bones and Raisins. Tomorrow, LIVE AT LEEDS!!!

It's great touring with Built To Spill. They are amazing and I suggest you check them out.

Doug and Brett from Built To Spill

Fire Engine

2010-05-13T05:17:00.006-04:00

We're in Glasgow today, nice city. The shows have been going well, Dublin was good. Murph got sick and had to go back to the states so Kyle who drums with J Mascis and the Fog and Harvey Milk is filling in. He's a great drummer. Hope Murph gets better quickly.

The hard life of a guitar tech!

Galway

Philly, merch and bike repair

Good Times!

Silver Lining

2010-05-08T12:19:00.005-04:00

Show in Austria went nicely. We're in the UK now, show in Oxford tonight. Tomorrow is Liverpool. Never been there, ferry cross the Mersey?

Tama Rockstar

Bombs Away

2010-05-06T07:56:00.003-04:00

Started European tour yesterday, in Austria. Festival show tonight. Most of the rest of the shows are with Built to Spill which should be fun.

Volunteers

2010-04-23T12:11:00.010-04:00

Mixed J's new band Sweet Apple last Tuesday at the Mercury Lounge in New York. They are terrific. The band has members of Cobra Verde and Witch. Kinda hard to describe, sorta garage, 3 minute songs you can sing along to. Buy the record.

Dino Europe tour staring May 4, can't wait. Missed Australia due to a long European tour with Mono, who rule!

RIP Malcolm McLaren.

Master of Sparks

2010-02-17T06:41:00.006-05:00

A couple of pictures finally.

Murph!

Tim with J's s new guitar

Nazz Are Blue

2010-02-15T16:14:00.003-05:00

Been trying to update the blog but I'm having a terrible time uploading pictures. Just not happening. Anyway, the Dino shows in Mallorca and Switzerland were great. Friends of mine from New York, Ned and Janet Brewster, were at the show in Palma. I hadn't seen them in years, because they moved to Palma! It was great to see them.

Thanks to Dave Copp of Sennheiser for repairing my old 421 microphones. The 421 is a classic and the only mic I like using on Lou's 4x12 cabinet.

I Saw The Light

2010-02-10T19:19:00.008-05:00

Great show last night in Madrid. Tonight we are in Barcelona. Here's a picture of J at band rehearsal in Madrid.

Jeepster

2010-02-08T13:14:00.004-05:00

Leaving today for a few Dino shows in Europe. Finished a US and Canada Tour a couple of weeks ago. I'll update everything shortly. The picture of of me was taken by our guitar tech, Tim, at First Ave. in Minneapolis. Also, I was interviewed for the January issue of Mix Magazine, "Desert Island Gear". Talk about Dino mic setup in case you are interested.

Lather

2009-11-30T23:47:00.014-05:00

Wow, finished Dino tour November 21 and left for Fog/Witch UK tour about a week later. Everything was good. Fog did two really cool shows at ATP and a few other gigs, nice.. They are are a great band. Witch played at ATP and in London, awesome.

J also played with Porn which is fronted by Tim Moss, TM for the Melvins. It included Dale and Cody form the Melvins and Dave, Melvins sound man and bass player for the Unsane. It was pretty amazing stuff! Got to mix the band which was fun. I also got to mix Om for three shows. Fantastic stuff, they added a keyboard player.

Anyway, here's a few pictures

J and Fog at ATP

The real controls

Waitting

Dino gear

J and Murph

Idiot Wind

2009-11-15T13:17:00.010-05:00

Been in Canada for a few days. Cold but no snow. Shows have been good. We're doing the Canadian shows with Pink Mountaintops. They are great. Day off today! Here are some pictures of Dinosaur.

Superfuzz

2009-11-09T11:42:00.015-05:00

Day off in Seattle today. That means laundry. Glamorous life! We were at the Showbox in Seattle yesterday. Great venue, interesting show. The gigs in LA and San Francisco were awesome.I really like LA House of Blues and The Fillmore. I'm a big fan of the '60's San Fran sound so it was a real treat to get to mix Dinosaur Jr in the original Fillmore. Headed to Canada tomorrow.

Seattle

The Fillmore

Early Fillmore posters

J and Tim

Secret Weapon

Lou and Missing Men at Belly Up in San Diego

Tempe

Bare Trees

2009-11-02T22:15:00.011-05:00

We've been making our way to Tempe, Arizona for the next show on Tuesday. Stopped for a day in Santa Fe. It's a lovely town and I was really glad to have a few hours to look around...and do my laundry! West coast run coming up, nice.

Moon Rising in Santa Fe

Cathedral in Santa Fe

J and Tim in Boulder

Oh Well

2009-11-01T22:50:00.006-05:00

Nice laundry in Dallas

Tim and Brent (from Built To Spill)

Wango Tango

2009-10-31T16:04:00.010-04:00

Wow, been a long time since I wrote anything. Been busy. After Atlanta we did 4 shows with Built To Spill. Great band and I love it when we do shows with them. Represents all that's good about music, touring and life in general. Show at Stubbs in Austin was just amazing. Everybody sounded great.

The show in Salt Lake City got cancelled due to bad weather. Bummer all around. Shows in Colorado were nice, we arrived in Boulder during a blizzard, two feet of snow. Heading to Tempe next, then to the west coast. Nice!

J and Brent(of Built To Spill) in Oklahoma City

Getting rid of RF

Brent and his home brew amp, Awesome!

Lou

Bus broke down, wheel problems

Judy In Disguise

2009-10-18T16:58:00.009-04:00

A few days off, nice. Atlanta last night, I enjoyed it. The Variety Playhouse there is quite nice. Dino played a cool acoustic set at Criminal Records. Next shows are in Texas with Built To Spill. That will be fun!

Murph - Making Movies

Near the club in Louisville

J and Murph playing complicated drum parts BPM =2098

Lou and the Missing Men

Venus

2009-10-16T01:44:00.003-04:00

Played Chicago tonight, went well. Louisville tomorrow. Last night in St. Louis was good.

Weird tile house in Philly

Posters at Star Club/Beatpol in Dresden

Adventure

2009-10-12T22:36:00.017-04:00

Out with Dino now for about a week in the US. Some great shows so far, the guys are sounding great. Lou Barlow and the Missing Men are opening. They are playing some very cool stuff from Lou's new solo album. We are in Madison, Wisconsin today, a day off. Had some excellent Nepalese food and bought some Miles Davis and Amon Duul cd's. A good day. Here are a few pictures from Europe and the US.

Special hello to David Copp of Sennheiser who came to the show at Toads in New Haven. Love your microphones!

Tomas and Murph in Berlin

Tim, house sound engineer at Koko in London, a great guy

J at radio recording session

Lou

Tim, US guitar tech and amp repair guy extroidinaire

Lou and the Missing Men

Pictures of Lily

2009-09-21T18:58:00.008-04:00

More pedals

Murph pedal

Lou pedal

Feats Don't Fail Me Now

2009-09-17T05:54:00.014-04:00

J has upgraded his pedal board, some exciting new effects like the ZVEX Double Rock. It all sounds great. Here are some pictures. Note the plastic wrap to ward off flying bottles of water!

Catholic Boy

2009-09-14T04:23:00.011-04:00

Just heard that Jim Carroll died, bummer. Awesome talent, he will be missed. Read "Basketball Diarys".

Here are a few more pictures from the European tour.

The Unknown Soldier

2009-09-09T12:33:00.013-04:00

Been on tour with Dino in Europe for about 3 weeks. Things are going well. Been all over the place, London, Tel Aviv, Sheffield! We are using some cabinets J had stored in Europe. Much better sounding than rentals. Here's a few pictures

TM Tomas and Tech Mattias

Smell the Glove!

Two Sennheiser 906 and one 606 on Guitars

Party On The Patio

2009-08-11T18:12:00.009-04:00

Couple of shows with Dino in the last few weeks, Fuji Rock in Japan and KEXP radio show in Seattle. Both shows were great. Getting ready to start a big Dino tour. Hope to see you guys at the shows.

Beautiful Marshals and Hi Watts

J in Seattle

Tonas at Seattle show

Pedals and Monitors

Fuji Tent between bands

Me at Fuji Rock

Pretty Thing

2009-07-04T21:50:00.015-04:00

Bunch of stuff since I last checkeed in. Did a great New York gig and the Jimmy Fallon Show. Flew to Greece for a festival which got rained out. The whole place was flooded, amps knocked over by the wind, crazy stuff.Played in Zagreb, Croatia, great show. Just finished up Virgin Festival in Nova Scotia, quite nice. Here are some pictures

Fallon Show

Lou after rain storm in Athens

Backstage in Athens

J drying out pedal board in Athens

Cables everywhere!

Ryan in Zagreb

Zagreb

The band

Freeway Jam

2009-06-27T14:50:00.010-04:00

Here are a few pictures from the two Troubador shows in LA. Also, one from the Daily Habit tv studio where Dino taped a few songs. Shows were great, Henry Rollins came to both of them.

Troubador

Daily Habit

View from Troubador soundbooth

With a fan, LA

The UFW

2009-06-22T02:49:00.011-04:00

Out in LA with Dino right now. Did two shows over the weekend, at Detroit in Costa Mesa and The Casbah in San Diego. The band is playing a bunch of songs from Farm and they sound great. Monday and Tuesday are gigs at the Troubador.

The Casbah

Takin' a break

With a Friend in San Diego

Ryan Dart is back!

Setting up in Costa Mesa

FARM

2009-06-17T17:53:00.005-04:00

Make sure you go out and buy the new Dinosaur Jr album next Tuesday. It is a great album, as good as anything they have done. There is a limited edition 2 cd version with a lot of extra stuff. Buy that one! You won't regret it.

Dancing In The Moonlight

2009-06-13T17:37:00.013-04:00

Just got back from a UK trip with Dino. They played shows in London and Derby. The London show was part of the Mojo Magazine Honors Awards festivities. Both shows were great. J had to go old school in Derby and play with just three effects pedals. Sounded amazing of course!

I got to go with the band to the Mojo Awards presentation extravaganza. Pretty cool, lots of heavy weights there. Jeff Beck, Billy Gibbons, John Cale, Mott The Hoople, Joe Elliot and more. The food was even pretty good.

Lots of touring coming up so stayed tuned!!!!

Mattias our guitar tech jams with Lou

Rehearsing in London

In the Van

J and Murph at the awards ceremony

Kevin Shields at the Mojo thing

Hey Grandma

2009-05-05T19:04:00.006-04:00

Here's a few more pictures from the last tour.

Brian considers a change

The Gear

J and Murph jamming with Watt and Missing Men

Don't Give It Up

2009-05-03T18:09:00.014-04:00

Raul of the Missing Men

Born To Run

Ahoy!

At the National

Rob and Ryan show part two

Checking out pedals

Dino tour ended last night at the Otto Bar in Baltimore. Good show. I'm ready to leave again after 10 hours at home! Lots of good shows last week, particularly The National in Richmond Virginia. They have a first class PA and it was one of my favorite shows of the tour.

You want a horse?

2009-04-24T13:25:00.027-04:00

Been hard to upload pictures so I haven't been posting. Lots of good shows this last week. I particularly enjoyed Sky City in Augusta and Music Barn in Charleston. Mike Watt and the Missing Men are with us now. Awesome band and it's great to be out with Watt again. Only a few more days left on this tour, looking forward to more. The band filmed a video last week. Don't know when it will be out but you are gonna like it!

Somewhere

Brian is getting better on the drums

Can't see a thing till I open my eyes

Looo!

Watt and Missing Men

Bob Dylans Chair in Asheville

Ryan and Rob Show

Pickin' and Grinnin'

Coco, owner of Sky City In Augusta, Georgia

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

J and Watt

The Mud

2009-04-18T17:46:00.016-04:00

Kevin Sweeney (left) and friend in Athens. Kev works for Dino sometimes

Sound booth/kitchen in Oxford

J's new rig?

Fayetville

Little Rock

Show last night in Oxford, Missippi. Small club, a bit tough. Fayetville was great. Nice venue with a great PA. Day off today in Athens, nice town.

Here, There and Everywhere

2009-04-16T03:24:00.007-04:00

Played a bunch of shows, all good. Here's some pictures.

Mothership Connection

2009-04-12T12:20:00.013-04:00

East Lansing show

Rob in Akron

Lou at Musica in Akron

Daytrotter studio

Psycho Cycler

Louisville, Secret Gig with Jerry?

Lots of shows since the last time I was here. Last night was De Kalb Illinois. Band sounded great and the club was good. Night before was in Bloomington, Indiana. That was also a good show and a bunch of people from Dino's new label showed up. Party Dude! The band recorded a few songs live to 2 track at Daytrotter Studio in Rock Island Illinois. Day off today in Louisville.

Winter held over for one more week!

2009-04-08T01:57:00.008-04:00

Ryan, the guitar tech

Played Buffalo last night, good show, at the Town Ballroom. Saw Donny, the owner, a really great guy. Tonight we were in State College, Pennsylvania. A place called Lulu's. Good show, good crowd. Snowed both days. Akron tomorrow, home of Devo.

I'm Goin' Where the Sun Is Shining

2009-04-05T17:15:00.012-04:00

Played the Higher Ground in Burlington Vermont last night. Great club and Dino was terrific. Night before was The Station in Portland Maine, also a good club. We have a day off in Amherst today, Nice! Tomorrow we're at Town Ballroom in Buffalo, a favorite place of mine. Here's a few pictures

Velcro Sliders

Murph at Awesome Color outdoor '90's dance party in Burlington Parking lot - Really

Soundcheck Higher Ground

J's new Pedal Board

TM Rob Holland and Lou on the bus

Midnight Cowboys

Where?

2009-04-03T11:10:00.003-04:00

Out with Dinosaur Jr for April. Played a couple of shows and they went well. Here's J, expanding his horizons.

Ashtray Heart

2009-03-04T20:24:00.016-05:00

Back home after Witch, Earthless shows and Boris at Scion Metal Fest in Atlanta. Good shows all. Got stuck in Atlanta for two days due to East Coast snow storm. Festival paid for extra hotel nights which was cool. The festival in Atlanta was great. Lots of good bands and a real good vibe. Here's some pictures.

Matt Pike of High On Fire - Scion

Takeshi

Boris at Scion festival

Dave Sweetapple, Witch bassist

Kyle, Witch

Isaiah, Earthless

Rock Candy

2009-02-23T03:10:00.010-05:00

Witch/Earthless played Montreal and Providence on Saturday and Sunday. Both good. Boston tonight. It's snowed lots .both days

Witch, Providence

Earthless, Providence

Isaah andAntoine

J with Earhless guys

Graveyard Train

2009-02-21T02:25:00.011-05:00

Started a Witch tour on Thursday. That night we started driving to Totonto from Bratlleboro Vermont and got stuck at the top of a mountain for a couple of hours. It was snowing pretty hard and a truck had jack knifed. Spent the time at a gas station/trading post. Kinda fun.

Eventually we got to Toronto on Friday and headed for the venue. The show was at the Horshoe Tavern, a good club. Everything went well. Earthless is on the tour and we met up with them as well as Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene.

Witch soundcheck

J and Kevin Drew

Trading post

The Wild, The Innocent

2009-02-16T15:35:00.009-05:00

I filled in for a friend of mine at Kenny's Castaways last night. It was Karaoke night and I expected the worst. Wasn't too bad though. The PA is pretty good and the the room sounds decent. Even had a couple of old Bleeker Street hippie dudes get up and sing some CSNY and Hendrix. Weird, you would think they would have moved on a bit, but no. Anyway, Bruce Springsteen played his first NYC show at Kenny's which makes it historic in my book. Made miss CBGB though. If Kenny's can hang on since 1967, would have thought CB's could too, but no.

"Ever Get the Feeling You've Been Cheated?"

2009-02-10T13:55:00.016-05:00

Kick Out the Jams

2009-01-28T17:56:00.021-05:00

So I've been sitting here all night listening to the PBS pundits argue about the stimulus bill. You have to wonder what's up with the bums in Washington. It seems pretty simple, put together a plan that will get people spending some money and hopefully get people back to work. Being unemployed in a crapped out economy is no joke. Unless you've been there I don't think you can understand how depressing a state it is. I doubt that many of our current representatives can relate because at the basic level, they don't understand that unemployment statistics for most people are: "I have a job, unemployment is 0%" or "I don't have a job, unemployment is 100%". Members of Congress still have a job. If they want to put together a stimulus plan they should contact some reasonably intelligent unemployed person and ask them what they would do. I imagine they would come up with a plan something like this.

1. Give every taxpayer a $5,000 prepaid Visa card, not good for cash, to be used to buy whatever. These days you can use it to buy essentials such as food.

2. Suspend payroll taxes for a year.

3. Increase unemployment benefits to $450 per week for everybody, good for 2 years.

No idea how much something like this would cost but it would probably decrease the fear of depression that is causing people to stop spending and give the economy a good boost.

I suspect though that whatever gets passed, the rich will not get poorer.

The Interpreter

2009-01-19T12:57:00.007-05:00

The Fluid at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Haven't had much to write about lately. I mixed two show for the Fluid last weekend. They were great, I had never seen them before. A nice mix of punk and hard rock. They played Maxwells and Music Hall of Williamsburg. I know their singer, John, from when he was in New United Monster Show, in NYC.

I also mixed the Overcasters, friends of the Fluid from Denver. They were quite good, very psychedelic, amazing sounding guitars. Check them out if you can.

The Music Hall is a very cool venue. It sounds great and the staff are incredibly nice and helpful. They have a Yamaha PM 5D digital console. Never thought I'd say this but I'm starting to prefer digital consoles to analog. There are so many more things you can do on them. They don't sound quite as good as Midas analog boards but how often do I get to use one of those anyway.

Rest In Peace

2009-01-06T14:20:00.009-05:00

Ron Asheton

I just found out that Ron Asheton is dead. It's sad, it's a bummer. Ron was one of the good guys. I was fortunate to know him. He could really play guitar.

Another One

2008-12-31T19:16:00.008-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Me in Germany

Seconds

2008-12-20T19:22:00.012-05:00

A few pics from tours gone by

Boris shrouded in fog

Murph, Mattias, Lou in Koln club

J's rig, Tel Aviv

Slip Inside This House

2008-12-14T11:01:00.005-05:00

Worked a couple of interesting shows over the weekend. Friday was Butthole Surfers at Warsaw. Good show, I had never seen them. Saturday was J Mascis and friends at the Go Yoga Center. They played songs celebrating Amma, an Indian religious figure. It was quite good, I hope they perform together again.

J and friends

Gibby plays guitar

Look What the Wind Just Blew In

2008-12-10T22:10:00.014-05:00

Just got off the phone with an old friend of mine, Tom Schepke. We went to college together in the '70's in San Antonio. Tom is a radio DJ and has been since we got out of school. He worked for many years at the infamous KISS FM in San Antonio with Joe Anthony. I think these guys were responsible for breaking many a metal band in America and turned SA into the metal capitol of Texas. Tom works for a classic rock staion now that has Budgie in it's rotation. Got to be the only radio station in the world that can make that claim.

Tom is a great guy and it was good to talk to him again. We saw some great shows together and had lots of fun. Tune into KZEP if you are in San Antonio and give him a listen. Maybe he'll play some BeBop Deluxe.

T-Bone Schepke

Tomas and I spent yesterday looking for vintage amps he could take back to the Czech Republic. We found a '91 Ampeg SVT Classic, pretty cool and a good price.

Santa I want a 1971 SVT for Christmas!

Mr. Soul

2008-12-08T13:44:00.005-05:00

Boris tour is over, it was great. The band sounds better than ever. They will be doing a festival show in Atlanta in February, can't wait! Have to look for some more work now. Oh well.

Jaime made me a farewell waffle, uh, yum!

The gang in Danbury Connecticut

Wango Tango

2008-12-04T11:05:00.011-05:00

Show last night at Williamsburg Music Hall, everything went well. It's a great venue. Takeshi, Michio and I ate at Egg, near the the club. Steven from Harvey Milk works there and it's some good southern food, grits, biscuits, fried chicken and all that. Three more shows, time flies.

Williamsburg Music Hall

The city from Williamsburg

Me cold in Buffalo

Boris at WMH

On Time

2008-12-01T02:23:00.007-05:00

Last few days we've done shows in Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit. All good. Ran into Tony from the old Detroit band Trash Brats at the Magic Stick. Trash Brats played Continental in NYC back when I worked there. Great band and it was good to see him again. Here's some more pictures.

Tomas,Boris TM

Mall of America

Holiday season is here

"Goin' Faster Than A Roller Coaster"

2008-11-27T00:16:00.014-05:00

Finished the dates with NIN today, in Council Bluffs , Iowa. I'm going to miss some of the luxuries of an arena tour, like, good food, good PA, good lights, good crew. Boris sounded great in the hockey arenas and I enjoyed mixing them. We have some club shows now, heading back east. Here's some pictures

In a hotel window, near where Buddy Holly's plane crashed

NIN lights and video

Catering klitchen

Line array

Brian, NIN audio and backline, he does it all!

Jaime from Firehouse Audi0 (l) and Pete, FOH for NIN

Cuban Slide

2008-11-24T01:35:00.010-05:00

Some pictures

Cold, Cold, Cold

2008-11-21T01:04:00.011-05:00

Still out with Boris, more NIN shows. Tonight was Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kinda weird place, but I found a nice mic for cheap. Shows have been good, easy compared to most Boris tours. We finish early and loads are not too bad, no stairs. I like using the same console every night. It's a Digidesign Profile and it's pretty nice. As per the whole tour, NIN crew have been great to work with. So cold here though, wind is killer. Heading a bit south now for a couple of shows which will be nice.

Takeshi and Tomas

NIN

The Profile

Happy Trails

2008-11-17T23:18:00.009-05:00

Boris at Grog Shop in Cleveland last night, Columbus Ohio with NIN tonight. Both shows good. Ran into some friends at the Grog Shop. Chris who used to live in NYC and Jason who works at the Triple Rock in Minneapolis as sound man. Nice to see friends. Cold out here and we've gotten snow. Winter, whatever.

Chris, drums for Colisseum

Jason, sound man for Baroness

NIN/Boris poster for Columbus show

Gamblin' Man

2008-11-15T15:19:00.006-05:00

In Grand Rapids Michigan today, Boris opening for NIN. It's cold here.

A few pictures:

Our hotel in Port Huron

Atsuo

NIN drums

Out On the Mainline

2008-11-14T02:52:00.009-05:00

So, it's Thursday and just finished show with Boris at Lee's Palace in Toronto, good night all around. Boris did two shows this week opening for Nine Inch Nails. Gotta say I really like mixing in these hockey arenas, probably because NIN has an amazingly good PA. It's an L'Acoustic V-Dos system that's brand new. It's sorta being tested on the tour and it's really good.

The NIN crew have been very helpful. NIN FOH guy is named Pete and he has been so great I can't really describe it. Just one of those people you meet every 10 years or so. We have 9 more shows with them and I'm looking forward to every one of them.

Here are a few pictures.

NIN stage from FOH

Boris gear on arena stage!

NIN load out

Dust

2008-11-10T23:20:00.004-05:00

Started Boris tour yesterday, played at Maxwells in Hoboken. Good show. We're in Canada now. Boris opening for Nine Inch Nails for a couple of weeks, first one tomorrow in Ottowa. It's pretty cold already.

Band outside hotel

The Whole World's Watching

2008-11-05T20:43:00.009-05:00

A picture of the street party in Williamsburg after Obama victory (courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan blog). Seems there was some aggro with the cops. Check out the comments, seems like at least half consist of stuff like: Damn Hipsters deserve to get their asses kicked by the cops, Go back to the Midwest, Call mommy and daddy for more money. Good grief, such rage. I mean really, what's the point? Would these people rather that the hipsters vote Republican? I kinda doubt it but who knows.

We've come a long ways since the '60's, only problem is we've moved backwards.

"And The Gods Made Love"

2008-11-03T12:46:00.014-05:00

Mixed two Hercules and Love Affair shows this weekend. First was at Hammerstein Ballroom where they opened for the B-52's. Really fun show! I mixed two bands at Hammerstein last week, never really thought I'd get to mix anybody there. Nice.

Second show was at the 9:30 club in D.C. and it was really great. The 9:30 is one my favorite venues. The PA is awesome as is the crew. Hercules was smokin' and the crowd was dancing like crazy for their whole set. A good night. Below is a picture of Andy Butler, Hercules main man and Kimanne, one of the two fabulous singers in the band. Nomi is the other and you should go to Pitchfork for some great pictures of her and the rest of the band at Hammerstein.

Friday I worked this crazy show at Supreme Trading in Brooklyn. It was part of a 20 year anniversary celebration of the Tompkins Square Riots and that whole punky squat scene. It was a bit chaotic, one of the bands had people shooting sparks with grinding wheels, suspension and smashing of tv's and other stuff. I was around for the first wave of this stuff so I wasn't particularly impressed with all the action but the kids were digging it. Got a Missing Foundation DVD from Peter Missing which is kinda cool.

Supreme Madness

Magic Carpet Ride

2008-10-30T01:02:00.004-04:00

Last show with Howlin' Rain at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Tuesday night. All went well, I'll miss being out with them.

Ethan plays

The Rain at Hammerstein

Free Fallin'

2008-10-25T23:27:00.012-04:00

Worked a Broken Social Scene show at he Masonic Temple in Brooklyn last night. Good band!

BSS

A few pictures of autumn leaves in Maine that I took on the Howlin' Rain run.

Low Spark

2008-10-23T12:54:00.005-04:00

Did a show with Hercules and Love Affair at the Middle East in Boston last night. Good night, great crowd. Middle East is a cool place. I strongly suggest checking these guys out. They are really good. The band brings real energy onto the stage, more than most rock bands. They are masters of their instruments and just have the whole thing down. For all you rockers out there, they do a cool cover of Blue Oyster Cults Fear the Reaper. Nice!

Andrew, Hercules bassist and TM Joe

It Takes A Train

2008-10-22T00:25:00.008-04:00

Finished the Howlin' Rain tour on Saturday with a killer show in Buffalo. Great crowd. Now I'm doing a few shows with Hercules and Love Affair, an NYC based disco band. They are really good and are hooked into the DFA/LCD Soundsystem thing. They played a private party tonight for Chanel in Central Park. Quite the affair. I had to mix from the side of the stage. Show ended up going well, lots of dancing.

Chanel Stage - classy

Joel from Howlin' Rain

Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes

Takin' It To The Streets

2008-10-18T02:14:00.011-04:00

Howlin' Rain at Boston Opera House on Friday night, with the Crowes. Good show. Spent yesterday in Portland Maine, found a record I've been trying to find for 20 years. Only paid $5, a real deal. Tomorrow is Buffalo, last show, bummer. HR is fun to tour with.

Boston Opera House

Doobie Brother

Sounds good!

The Crowes

Kid Charlemagne

2008-10-16T00:11:00.013-04:00

Howlin' Rain tour bruises on! Show tonight in Portland, Maine. Sounded good despite a lack of gear at FOH. Opened for the Black Crowes and their crowd really seems to like the band. Tuesday night was Montreal, a cool little place and a good show. Gotta say that Howlin' Rain is one of of the best live bands I've seen. Every show is different, lots of improv and jammin'. They are very much in the tradition of '60's and '70's bands. Play a lot of shows, don't worry about the monitors too much and blow people's minds. Bands used too get big by doing it this way. The 10 year overnight success syndrome! These guys deserve to be famous.

Load out in Portland Maine

Howlin' in Montreal

The Kid goes Bongo

Black Crowes in Portland, awesome band

Two + Two =

2008-10-14T11:23:00.007-04:00

Great show last night at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. The band sounded amazing and the crowd was really into it. The Horseshoe is a great place, the PA is first rate. They've been putting on shows for over 50 years! Everybody's played there, Porter Wagoner, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Dead Boys and Willie Nelson. Cool place. Montreal tonight.

East West

2008-10-13T00:07:00.014-04:00

Howlin' Rain at The Calvin in Northampton tonight. Real good show. Last night in Albany was a good one too. The crowds have been real receptive to the band. Been getting some good gear at these theatres which is nice. Anyway, here's some pictures. Oh, saw J from Dinosaur in Northampton, nice.

Howlin' at the Calvin

Joel on the Hammond

Kings of the road - Joel and Garret

HR in Northhampton

Mike and Joel finally get it!

"What A Shot You Would Be"

2008-10-10T04:34:00.016-04:00

Ethan Miller of Howlin' Rain

The second Howlin' Rain show in Richmond Va. went off well. Technical problems were solved with the help of Black Crowes sound crew, Drew and Scoobie. Thanks guys. HR played a great set and went over well with the crowd. It's a nice gig, opening for the Crowes

Ian, bass player in Howlin' Rain

Speaking of the Crowes, I gotta say they are an amazing live band. They've been playing a good selection of their material and some choice Band covers. Quality stuff, all of it and a really fun show. New guy on guitar, Luther Dickenson is something else!

Luther and the Crowes keyboard player - these guys jam!

Black Crowes in Richmond Virginia

Down South Jukin'

2008-10-08T13:30:00.006-04:00

Bad photo of Black Crowes

I'm on tour with Howlin' Rain, they are opening for the Black Crowes. First show was last night at the National in Richmond, Virginia. Bit of a technical nightmare but the show went off pretty good. The crowd seemed to like it. Never really had to deal with being with the opener before. More time do nothing, less time to work on the sound. I prefer to do more really.

Come On

2008-10-06T13:09:00.010-04:00

Some pictures I found in my phone.

Murph, Osaka 2008

J at Terminal 5

Japan 2008

Just mixed the opening band, Bellmer Dolls, for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in NYC and Washington D.C. Pretty fun. Nick Cave was great, I had never seen him live. Starting a tour tomorrow with Howlin' Rain, a great band from Oakland Ca. They are opening some shows for the Black Crowes.

Ice Cream Cakes

2008-10-02T21:11:00.007-04:00

A few pictures from the last tour:

View from the drum throne - Orpheum

Get the bill right yo !

Cool Cat NYC 7th Avenue

Flow Motion

2008-09-28T18:43:00.008-04:00

The Dino tour is over. The shows were great, all of them. The band just sounds better and better. Last nights show at the Orpheum in Boston was a nice change. The Orpheum is an old theatre with seats. I generally don't like rock music in this kind of place but the Orpheum sis real good. Dino sounded great and Lou was particularly smokin'.

Played with many great bands on this tour; My Bloody Valentine, Built To Spill, Meat Puppets and Om among others. Live music is alive and well, go out and see some!

A few more pictures ;

Yeah

J jams with Built To Spill in New York City

Meat Puppets

Home, and still jammin'

Billion Dollar Babies

2008-09-27T22:03:00.006-04:00

Boston Tonight. Dino just played, Built to Spill on now, awesome show again. Some pics from last night, sorry, phone quality. More cool ones tomorrow.

J and Brent of BTS

TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS WITH BTS

Stage Shot??

It's A Good Feelin' To Know

2008-09-26T01:45:00.008-04:00

First night of the Dino, Built To Spill, Meat Puppets shows. Awesome night,every band amazing. Dinosaur the loudest. Show was at Terminal 5, a fine venue run by the Bowery Presents people. One of the best stage crews I've ever worked with. A good time was had by all and tomorrows show should be even better.

Dino Unchained!

Built To Spill

BTS with guest bass player Chris of the Meat Puppets

"Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey"

2008-09-25T02:13:00.008-04:00

Gig today was at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. Will, guitar tech, and I took the train down from New York to the club. As we exited the station this is what we saw. Somebody had a real bad day.

The Stone Pony is a cool club. It's across the street from the boardwalk. The staff and sound crew were really great. The PA is good and the stage is big. I hope the band plays there again.

Here's a couple of pictures.

Soundcheck

J's big rig just keeps on rollin'

Walk On Hot Coals

2008-09-23T22:17:00.010-04:00

A few more recent pictures

Where's the bar-b-que?

Yikes!

Toads wall of fame

Loading up old tapes

"Does This Bus Go To 42nd Street?"

2008-09-23T12:48:00.010-04:00

Just want to pay tribute to one of the most unsung heroes of rock 'n roll, the Tour Manager, in particular Eric Fischer (pictured above). Eric was TM on the first real tour I ever did, with J and the Fog back in 2001. He's is a great guy, amazing worker and a tugboat captain. He owns his own tugboat. Eric is tour managing My Bloody Valentine as we speak. Coordinating two 40 ' trailers, two busses, 20 some odd people and God only knows what else. This in addition to his steady gig with the Stooges.

Any decent sized tour will run into a ditch without a TM. They are the guys who keep the wheels on. It's not a sexy job. Sound engineers at least get mentioned occasionally in reviews for a particularly great mix but when was the last time the NME or Pitchfork proclaimed "Amazing Tour Management at Last Nights' Show !" Right answer mate.

Hats off to you Eric, you are a superstar!

Kudos to other TM's I've known and loved ; Rob Holland, Tomas Zakopal and David Scheid.

Sweet!

Expecting To Fly

2008-09-23T12:09:00.010-04:00

Lots of troubled getting online lately. Oh well, better late than never.

Dino played three shows last week, all of them were cool. The shows at Toads and Revolution Hall were great. The third, at ATP in Monticello was awesome. The ATP festivals are really fun. This one was at an old Catskills resort which looked liked it hadn't been changed since 1960. Nice! Dino played on Sunday and I thought it was a great show. The PA was huge and the sound was good even thought we didn't get a soundcheck. My Bloody Valentine played after and they were amazing. If ATP does another festival in the states I highly recommend you go.

Revolution Hall

Murph is happy at the Hall

Lou serious at the Hall

Green J at ATP

ATP

Wild One Forever

Paint It Black You Devils

2008-09-15T09:51:00.017-04:00

More pictures from the Fender Jazzmaster show. Check out the review in the New York Times.

Decisions, Decisions - Let's use all of them!

Soundcheck

Rehearsal

"Ziggy Played Guitar*

2008-09-14T16:55:00.016-04:00

Last Friday I ran sound for the Fender Jazzmaster 50th Anniversary show at the Knitting Factory in New York. Thanks to Fender for having me and Brian Schwartz for arranging it. The show was great, punk and post punk heros abounded. J played with the Fog. I had never seen this lineup, Dave Smalls on bass and Kyle Spence on drums. it was great to hear Fog classics such as Amma Ring and Set Me Free again. It is different from Dino but equally as good. The Knitting Factory sounded great and house sound guy Jason was immensely helpful. Alex, Justin and Paul of Fender did a stellar job of keeping things organized and hassle free. Here are some picture of the evening.

Fog rehearsing at S.I.R., note the Orange head!

The Fog, hard to fit all J's amps on stage!

Tom Verlaine and Jimmy Rip- Amazing

Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore - Uniquely incredible

Nils Cline on guitar and Norton Wisdom on paint - truly a special performance

Lastly, on Sunday I mixed Black 47 at an Irish Festival in New Jersey. Great Band. Really Fun!!

"Just Dropped In ......."

2008-09-08T11:23:00.023-04:00

Just got back from a quick European jaunt with Dinosaur Jr. We did festivals in Belgrade, Serbia and a town near Bilbao, Spain. It was quite a trip. The show in Serbia was with the Stooges and it was great seeing them and their tour manager Eric. The festival folks in Belgrade were very cool and helpful. The show, on Friday, went well and the crowd was very into it. Serbia is an interesting country, kind of East, kind of West. We went to an old fort which overlooks the Danube river, very pretty.

Next up was Spain, the Basque region in the north. We left Belgrade at 6 in the morning, arrived at the festival at 2. After crashing for a couple of hours we went to the festival site and set up the gear while watching Duff from G 'n R do his solo thing. The Jayhawks played before Dino and were great. The festival schedule allowed us 20 minutes to set up and line check. We got it done and the show went off well. Lou was particularly awesome sounding. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion played after us and it was nice seeing those guys again. Left the next morning for home. We had six flights in 5 days. I love it, best job in the world and Dinosaur Jr is a really a fantastic band to work for.

More Dino shows starting September 19. Check their web site for details. I'll be putting up pictures. I'll also be at the Fender Jazzmaster Anniversary Party at Knitting Factory NYC. J will be playing so check this space for pics and stuff as well as more pics from Serbia and Spain.

View from FOH, Spain gig

Me an J at the old fort in Belgrade

Lou at the fort, Belgrade

Pretty cool stacks, Belgrade show

Ron Ashton, Iggy and harried Stooges roadie

J rehearsing in Belgrade

Murph and Lou, rehearsal Belgrade

Dino manager Brian Schwartz

Pin Ups

2008-08-26T11:15:00.017-04:00

Second Level Influential

As far as I can determine the most influential bands in rock, ie. those who inspired kids to play music and start bands are:

1. Chuck Berry

2. The Beatles

3. Rolling Stones

4. Ramones

5. Sex Pistols

6. Black Flag

7. Led Zepplin

8. Black Sabbath

Not too many really although there are probably many I've not thought of and Zepplin is kind of on the line (there are lots of bands who heavily influenced other musicians : Velvet Underground, 13th Floor Elevators, Bad Brains and so on.) They all had a pretty specific impact, that is, a lot of bands copied their sound. Witness all of the '60's garage comps, obscure '70's heavy rock bands, Latin American punk bands and '80's hardcore outfits. The Strokes , to my mind, are one of the few that have influenced both ways, who would have thought?

So who influences todays bands? Judging from MySpace bands today are influenced by genres or the whole rock 'n roll canon. Even bands that sound like they are specifically copying someone list a variety of influences. Bands should stop listing their influences. If it's obvious, it's obvious. If not, why tell everybody? Let them enjoy your music without immediatly comparing it to something else. I'm all for stealing riffs and whatever in rock and roll and there's no reason to tell folks you've done it, they probably don't want to know anyway.

Up Against the Wall

2008-08-23T21:03:00.012-04:00

Free concert in Tompkins Square Park today. I saw some bands and friends I hadn't seen in a while. Also saw a fight, a bunch of bums, a guy named Jism too drunk too stand up and a lots of police. Like the old days, not really. I don't know, New York just doesn't get me all that excited anymore. It's me I'm sure, been here too long. Oh well, once gas hits $15 per gallon I'll be glad I don't need a car.

Danny Sage (ex D-Generation) Shy Guy!

Keiko, Bingo and Walt- Continental crew

EZ ( right, of the fab Waldos) and band mate

Abandoned Deli, Avenue B, future Starbucks probably

Fake '60's, from a recent TV shoot on 4th Street (good bill though)

" The Crux of the Biscuit is the Apostrophe"

2008-08-21T12:33:00.021-04:00

Filming "Last of the Ninth"

David Milch, who did "Deadwood" for HBO is filming a pilot for a NYC cop show set in the '70's, "Last of the Ninth". They filmed some of it on 4th street, a couple of blocks from where I live. Should be good, hope it makes it.

I guess one of the good things about not working all the time is that I can read lots of books. I just started reading JAPANROCKSAMPLER by Julian Cope. Pretty great so far. I just finished "Enter Naomi" SST, LA And All That... by Joe Carducci. It's also pretty great. If you're into Black Flag and the whole SST thing, you should check it out. It can be easily gotten from Amazon.com.

Innervisions

2008-08-17T01:20:00.014-04:00

131 St. NYC

Just finished watching season 5 of The Wire, which I think is the best television series ever made. If you haven't watched it. please do. Watch it in sequence or you'll be really lost. The last season, too bad.

Getting a bit tired of sitting at home. Dino shows in a couple of weeks, looking forward to it.

This Town

2008-08-15T19:34:00.007-04:00

Some random photos

Dublin

Tel Aviv

Minehead, UK

Somewhwere

What We Do Is Secret?

2008-08-14T12:21:00.005-04:00

Urban Outfitters, Philadelphia

Went to Philadelphia on Tuesday with Secret Machines. They did a show at an Urban Outfitters there. It turned out to be a good gig, which I wasn't really expecting as the PA's for these things usually suck. This time it didn't. The band sounded amazing. They just finished a tour and man they are tight. I really liked mixing them and listening to them.

"He Came Dancing Across the Water"

2008-08-10T10:00:00.018-04:00

Lets Go To China Guys!

I recently contacted a chinese manufacturer of microphones (Alctron Audio) hoping to buy a few and save some bucks. It didn't work out, when you add freight and various fees it's not much cheaper than buying them here. I was impressed by how helpful they were. I received answers to my questions within hours. Keep in mind that this was from a company that really prefers to sell their products in lots of 50 or more. I was tempted to buy stuff from them just because it was such a pleasant experience. Compare that to Cascade microphones here in the states. I've sent them several e-mails trying to buy a clip for a mic I bought from them. Haven't heard a peep. The item is shown on their website but there is no way to order it. Start learning Mandarin kids, you're gonna need it.

Our rush back to the '70's continues as Russia invades a neighboring country and oil politics rules. I need a pet rock to get through all of this.

For What It's Worth

2008-08-08T14:50:00.006-04:00

LA , I Like It!

Someone left a comment on a previous post in which I said that I love LA. They said "I love LA? I guess someone has to !" Well, not so long ago I would have said the same thing, mainly because every time I went there I got some kind of bronchial infection. Seriously, I've been there maybe six times in the last year and it feels like New York used to, full of weirdness and possibilities. It's a cool looking place, lots of art deco and crazy americana. There seems to a good music scene and people just generally appear to be enjoying life. What I really want to do is move to Santa Monica and hang out at the beach with Lemmy and all the other old British rockers who live there. And, there is an Amoeba records in LA. , I like it!

Let There Be Rock!

2008-08-07T16:41:00.012-04:00

Met some good people on the Boris tour, like Curt, pictured below. He's one of the house guys at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Working with him was Phil on monitors. They were both terrific. Curt tours with the Melvins and I had met him before in New York. It makes such a big difference having good house sound engineers. The patch gets done right, the opening bands sound good, monitors cease to be an ordeal and the show just goes smoothly. It's a bit of a thankless job and not as glamourous (?) as touring but these guys can make or break a gig. Hats off to the good ones cause there are some real bad ones out there (eg.I found myself teaching the house guy, at what was a perfectly good midwestern venue, how to run his monitor board. I said fuck this and did it from front of house. Sad).

Need a sound guy? I'm available!

Hi Curt, thanks dude!

Inside Looking Out

2008-08-05T19:44:00.009-04:00

I Love LA !

Now that I'm home I'm realizing just how much we seem to be hurtling back into the "70's. Stagflation, recession, high gas prices, wars we can't win, been there man. If you want to connect with that bummer '70's vibe, take some Quaaludes and check out the following.

Movies

Looking For Mr. Goodbar

Two Lane Blacktop

Taxi Driver

Cisco Pike

Music

Rock and Roll Animal: Lou Reed

Darkness on the Edge of Town: Springsteen

Tonight's The Night: Neil Young

Books

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail: Hunter Thompson

All The Presidents Men: Woodward and Bernstein

Love Story: Eric Seigal

You can probably buy all this stuff on Amazon for less than it will cost to fill up your car.

Have A Nice Day !

Tom Thumbs Blues

2008-08-04T19:53:00.002-04:00

Waiting at LAX to go to New York, flight delayed 3 hours so far. Finished Boris tour yesterday, show at Echoplex in LA was great as was the San Fran show at Great American Music Hall. A long tour,kinda tough, but rewarding. Boris is a great band, not one bum show the whole tour. By the end they were sounding absolutely amazing, sonic , psychedelic bliss.

Can't upload pictures so i'll put some up tomorrow.

Lithium

2008-08-02T04:41:00.004-04:00

Not much time to do this lately. Had a bunch of good shows on the west coast. Spent four hours getting into Canada, Vancouver, drag. Had an amazing dinner in Seattle with a friend of mine at a very fancy restaurant on Puget Sound. He works for Microsoft so they treated us well even though we looked like slobs. Portland, Oregon is still weird but cool also. The Northwest is not hot yay!

Two more shows, San Fran and LA. Home on Monday.

Highway 61

2008-07-28T02:37:00.006-04:00

Big Sky

Been a while since I could get logged on, budget hotel internet sucks. We're in Seattle, show tomorrow. Last few shows have been cool. Denver in particular. Dino Jr manager Brian came to the show and liked it.

We stopped in the town where Twin Peaks was filmed, pretty cool.

One more week on this tour, really need to find something for August.