White Wedding - Ski Party/Coalition for the homeless benefit 2/5/11 New York City

This Was an AWESOME gig for us with a packed room singing along and dancing. The theme was a Ski party and they were also raffling off tickets to benefit the Coalition for the homeless.

The Band arrived at this sprawling eleventh floor loft on fifth avenue before me and since I was late I missed the Cheese Fondue portion of the evening but there was music to be played and a crowd to be rocked. Aside from our Speed Metal rendition of "Jenny/867-5309" (of which the drummer's fault it lies in the hands of) The band performed exceptionally well striking all of our marks.











Delicious "Punch" was served complimentary at the bar and I loved the cute cups so much that I just had to have four servings.

White Wedding - Napper Tandy's 2/4/11 Miller Place, Long Island

We missed last months gig at Napper Tandy's due to Blizzard expectations so it was nice to get back to the place again and fall right into the swing of things. Tonights performance started out sedate but before the second set a crowd had filtered in and onto the dancefloor requesting songs and enjoying themselves liquidly.







And Now a photo of the "certificate" on the inner shell of my DW snare drum. Ya See Two days ago I broke the batter head on my drum (and with excellent timing as this happened during rehearsal, PHEW) so I got the chance to upgrade to my current head of choice the Remo Powerstroke lll Coated Batter Clear Dot (Say that Ten Times Fast) which I proceeded to apply gig-prior. Batter head removed allowing "Inner Shell Photography"

About the DW/Powerstroke combo, the ring/overtones seems to have completely disappeared due to the skins second "thin underlay" and I am getting a nice dry crack. The DW/Remo Factory provided head was fine (and had the DW logo on it which I liked) but the Powerstroke is an improvement to my ear's taste and as I try her in new and different rooms I shall fine tune accordingly.



Our sound technician's Sean and Ginger lend their expertise to our in-house mix at Napper Tandys so once mic'ed I was guaranteed a resonant Bass Drum which is always personally a nice touch and people can really HEAR it as well. I would like to thank Ginger for offering to take some pics of the gig at the gig (see above) and their company Boardwalk Entertainment can be found HERE.



On the road to Tapper Nandy's



I did a Very Brave thing and decided to try Mexican Food a la Friendlys (YES The Friendly's) and it was Not unenjoyable, As a matter of fact I enjoyed it quite a bit, This is EXACTLY what any Mexican Frozen Meal tastes like before it is frozen and then reheated again, the Rice was the deal breaker here and I finished almost every last grain. What appeared to be a Paltry Dollop of Sour Cream to my greedy eyes was quite enough to compliment the Meal.

Bistec y Pollo y Chili Burrito Soup

I would Really like to take credit for this but it was just a logical extension of my take out eating habits and I am sure that Burrito Soup already exists somewhere. This All happened quite by Delicious Accident.

A few months back at J's house I was on a big Soup kick so we ordered some Chinese Tex Mex and I tried the Black Bean Soup (Horrid) and the Chili Soup (Should Be Horrid) which was too Salty even for my tastes and appeared to be a simple combination of Chicken Broth, Shredded Cheese with Chili and a few Scallion slivers tossed in, doesnt sound so hot but I became obsessed.

By the second or third time that I ordered the Chili Soup (I had graduated to Quart size by now) I took a piece of Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla and submerged it into the broth and a "Eureka" moment was born.

Just the other week J ordered a Steak & Chicken Burrito which swayed me away from my usual Quesadilla and Soup into the land of Burrito and Soup and due to the circumstances of eating before you eat (while waiting for delivery we had Wonton Soup, Hot & Sour Soup and two Wrap's with Peppers, Cheese and Homeade Chili melted within) making my appetite indifferent. I took the Soup & Burrito home with me and a day or two later had to use Le microwave to reheat them and in a "fit of pique" cut off a piece of Burrito which I diced then submerged in the Soup Broth much like a Fresh Mozzarella waiting in its underwater lair.

I Can Only call it a Chinese Mexican Stew. Its SO GOOD it should be canned and marketed preferably by some Chinese Mexican day laborers.

WINK WINK : Incidentally those are three slices of Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Cheddar floating upon the broth for effect.

White Wedding In 3-D

Our friend Richard created White Wedding's First 3-D video.

White Wedding - Fontana's 1/29/11 New York City

Another Great 80s Themed Party and the crowd were with us right from the start. As a rule I try never to start playing the drums while someone is talking/standing right in front of me since it's probably a lot ruder than just talking over somebody (in the least certainly much louder) but the way Fontana's had it setup is that the party would begin upstairs and the "Live Band" would be performing downstairs at ten. As the Interested and Interesting crowd entered I could hear lots of excited conversation of the "Expectant" type of which I had to interrupt to begin our set But!!! We did have a job to do and for Bueller's sake The Show Must Go On which it did and We All Had A Blast !!!

Fortunately and thankfully we have exceeded the crowd's expectations Time After Time (incidentally our opening number tonight) so I can only walk away proud of our accomplishments and tonight was no exception with air guitarists (wielding the balloon kind) gleefully buzzing the stage (on and off) rocking out to their favorite tunes, This was a Great crowd and energy fed off of energy.







The photographer (in this photo) with the flash going off quite likely has a photo of me taking the pic from the stage with my flash going off just the same which makes it all freakytrippykool.



We asked if he would jam with us tonight but Michael said he wasnt there to be a star.

Sabian AAXplosion Crash Cymbal Inquiry

To Customer Service Department

I am a loyal user of your quality cymbal products and a drummer for 29 years. Just recently I cracked an AAX X-plosion Crash Cymbal during a performance, my surprise lies in the fact that the cymbal in question is just over two years old. The cymbal is stored in a heavy duty cymbal bag and is handled carefully, I use them on the average of just twice a week equalling 200-300 hours over the course of two years, this has never happened before and I feel that the damage is premature especially for a high end AAX crash. My cymbal attack is medium and I am not a heavy player, I also use a medium gauge drumstick (pro mark 747). For such a highly reputable company I am hoping that you can help me replace this cymbal. I have shows booked and would appreciate a prompt reply.

Thanks Very Much
- Frank Genalo
(genalof@aol.com)

And the courteous and timely reply. (they replied the next morning)

Hi Frank,

Thank you for playing SABIAN.

I'm afraid that due to the fact that the cymbal is over 2 years old, I can't replace it under warranty. In order to be fair and consistant to all of our customers our 2 year policy is strictly enforced. We do, however, offer repair services for certain types of problems. If you could tell me the location and lenght of the crack, there may be something we can do to help you.

Cheers

Kevin

Customer Service
Sabian LTD
www.sabian.com

White Wedding - Brooklyn Bowl 1/31/11 Cancelled

I had the time of my life just the same.

In a letter to our booking agent.

Hi Chris,


I'm really really sorry but Umphrey's McGee are playing at the Bowl on
01/31 (it isn't announced yet) and they are bringing in a semi, the
production is intense. We were really hoping to have the 80s Bowl as
scheduled but after talking with the production team it just isn't
possible so we are going to have to bump the last 80s Bowl. We will
still pay the band and I give you my word I will find a spot for them
(ideally a better night) to make up the gig as well.

Can you please let the band know?

Thanks again, it was a great residency and we look forward to having them back.

Best,
Will

White Wedding - Brooklyn Bowl 1/24/11 Brooklyn, New York

I made a conscious effort tonight to "Rock Out" onstage a bit more as far as body language and thankfully didnt hurt myself or anyone around me. The band played great and we are becoming a well oiled machine firing on all cylinders. Our friend Sean from security helped Spicoli with the backing vocals on Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" and the crowd was enjoying themselves as you can see briefly in the "Welcome to the Jungle" video posted below.

Probably our best show yet at the Bowl and we pulled out a lot of the songs that we havent performed in some time without incident. I have become so familiar with the green room that I noticed the installation of a smoke detector that wasnt there a week prior and for variety changed up the beverage choices of which tonight's was a Margarita, several glasses of wine (surprisingly of the boxed kind) and of course some Delicious Brooklyn Bowl Pale Ale.









Our friend & fan Steve who has been to so many of our shows over the years.













FLICKR

White Wedding - Private Party - Rodeo Bar 1/22/11 New York City

One of the funnest and gratifying shows I have ever experienced due to a very receptive 80s crowd who really dressed the part. It looked like an infinite sea of dancers from my admittedly myopic vantage point. Spicoli had me cracking up a record number of times this evening and the entire band played a tight set with crowd pleaser after crowd pleaser pleasing the crowd.

There were a couple of White Wedding first's tonight, for one we did a Crazy Thing and played a song that we have NEVER Played Together EVER live onstage at a decent paying "private party" show (The Promise by When In Rome which was requested a few days gig-prior) that went over Big, and for another first (due to time constraints) the club turned off the microphones right after we finished our announced last number (Dont Stop Believing) but before our encore (what would have been Fight For Your Right) leaving the crowd Really Wanting more and going off to speak to the manager and sound engineer to no avail.

This was also the gig where I tried on a more exotically fashionable 80s pair of shades (non-prescription) which handicapped my view of the drumkit and fellow band members considerably and due to the glasses closer proximity to my face turned my eyelids into sweat factories and even worse than dropping a stick no drummer drumming or even anyone at all wants sweat in his/her eyes, This was a science experiment in convection proving that you can indeed be Blinded By Science.





Meanwhile Back in the States ....



Famished after the gig I seeked out a Gyro Cart for some Gyro Over Rice (Lamb & Rice as it is now called) with White Sauce and Hot Sauce which I had a few forkfuls of on the glamorous & aromatic 34th street D platform taking the remainder of foodage home. Either I havent had Gyro and Rice for some time (and I havent), I Was Starving (I was) or this particular cart knew how to make it really well (probably a combination of all three) but this was some Extremely Tasty Gyro & Rice.

Sweethook/Baby Daddy - R Bar 1/21/11 New York City

Sweethook played a solid set at the R Bar and so did Baby Daddy who gracefully supported us. I came to the realization of the comfort zone of which I am drumming in since my gigs have been so plentiful this month, a comfort zone that can slip away all too easily if I stop playing regularly. Nice crowd came down to support us and I thank Michael (Baby Daddy) for letting me use his Cymbals.



Scott got stuck getting to the gig, Fortunately it was right in front of the bar.



Baby Daddy at the R Bar.



Sweethook as taken with a Mobile Device in year 2011.

200th Posting - Amber, Keeper of the Biscuit

Fast Food Asian Nation lll - BK Stuffed Steakhouse

Well, They got the Poblano Sauce right but for a BK Steakhouse Burger the Patty was a little paltry (see below) and my first impression was an overdone burger by the hue of it but she tasted fine. The Jalapeno's were very apparent from the first bite but these are of the mild sort to suit the man on the street, I could not detect any Cheese per se' but there was a saltiness to it.

Underwhelming to say the least especially after getting all worked up seeing the TV ad the night before.

White Wedding - Brooklyn Bowl 1/17/11 Brooklyn, New York

Most of this performance was an Audience Request show (which JUSTKINDAHAPPENED and to no bandmember's dismay) but to our delight after looking at the "secret ballot" Request Board from the attendees we gleaned that the band does perform about ninety five percent of the material asked with remaining tunes/artists in the 80s spandex pipeline. The crowd was up and dancing once again and the shows are going Great at this coolest of coolest of venues.

Never have I met a kinder and more down to earth staff as at Williamsburg Brooklyn's Brooklyn Bowl. They Really make you feel at home and comfortable just by being cool people in a "Be Yourself" Employee Protocol Type Thingy (Well I hope that I'm guessing right) Theres an in-residence KINKS fan as well who spins the records of which I have Absolutely NO Qualms or piercing arrow's about (he/she even played Queen - Staying Power the other week, HOW FREAKIN' ODD)

Two More shows here this month, Life's A Joy.



Airborne.



Doc Brown



Amadeus



Diamond Dave



Animal - Vic Firth Timpani Mallets (foreground)



Thanks Very Much to Jamie, Richard and Steve for recording these moments for their photographic art and the posterity of these times.



Bowler Anna Jumped onstage and then off of it in Total Stagedive Glory, She IS Awesome and landed on her two feet as well so no need to worry action fans.







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