I turn my back on this joint for a few weeks and the whole damn place goes straight to Hell

Fuck a bunch of Hillbilly lyrics and urban developement!

What the fuck???

Today Iraq, Tomorrow...

Hey Dink, have they considered putting a Wal-Mart Super Center downtown???

Nice comments from Ms. Hines on why the J.C. scene is so memorable and important to all of us, despite the fact that nothing much actually happened, if you think about it.

It's like this. One flower in the middle of a field of flowers? No big deal. But when you find one growing between the cracks on a busy sidewalk, you have to say, "Wow, those things find a way to live anywhere. Right on, my flower brother!" Or something like that.

Here's a J.C. story that relates. Stinky Finger had done their Down Home gigs and a few others, but they hadn't been around for very long. It was still more of a joke idea (well, it was always a joke, just a daggone good one) and not a REAL band yet. So, Mike and Lynne have some people visiting them from out of town, probably from Kansas, and they tell their friends about Stinky Finger and say they wish SF could play for them while they're here. This is at M&L's house. Anyway, figuring we'd just get no for an answer, we decide to go down to Burt at the Club Venus and ask him if Stinky Finger, Beat Yo' Mutha, Old Plez and maybe somebody else could play one night while they're here. There was no PA at the place. We said we'd rent or borrow a PA from somewhere if Burt said yes.

Well, not only did Burt say yes, he said "What about Wednesday AND Thursday?" (Or maybe it was Thursday and Friday--how can I be expected to remember, but it was two nights in a row.) Well, this just blew us away, the idea that to get a real gig, all you had to do was show up in a place and ask to play. This probably never occurs to most people who can play but never have. They imagine there's some sort of mysterious process to it all, when, if the scene is small enough, there is no process beyond just showing up and asking.

So, then, we go down to Morrell's and rent the worst Traynor PA setup you have ever heard. Puke and Ugly would've sounded better with police bullhorns, really. But we didn't care. I mean, we took that PA back to Morrell's the next day and didn't use it on the second night, and I don't remember what we did use, maybe an upgrade from Morrell's or maybe one borrowed from Franky Spangler. I can't remember.

What Brook was saying made me think of that because, in a city with a REAL music scene, you'd probably never be able to do that as easily. I mean, think about it--you don't just walk in to the Bluebird Cafe or CBGB's or wherever and say, "Can I play here tomorrow night?" You don't even walk into the Down Home or into your local sports bar that has classic rock cover bands on Saturday night and ask that. But you did with Burt, 'cause he didn't have a music club. He just had a space behind his pizza place that he wasn't using very much except to let people drink dollar pitchers of Meister Brau and was wondering if maybe these kids could help him to get it to make a little money.

And probably the best thing for us was that Burt didn't exactly have discriminating taste. It wasn't like he was sitting there and thinking, "Hmm. . . these boys are ok, but they really need to work on their stage presence and get tighter on the changes." No, he was just thinking, "I have 80 dollars in my hand, 50 of which goes to the band. Now, the band just drank 40 dollars worth of beer, and their 20 friends who came to watch them have ordered 4 large calzones and about 10 slices, and that table over there is on their 9th pitcher of Meister Brau. Let's see, that's about 100 bucks more than I was gonna pull in if we didn't have the band here. Ok, let's keep having bands, and for the moment, no high class deesco."

I lived in Auburn, Alabama for a long time, too, and it was much the same. There was no real music scene, no industry for it at all, just like 30 local people who divided into bands and played sometimes. In my entire "career" (ha!) as a player, I have gotten exactly ONE gig because I gave someone a tape or CD of my music and had them to check it out. The rest were exactly like those gigs for Mike and Lynne's visiting friends.

--Plez

your tax dollars at work: ready, set, govern.

Wal-Mart Rocks!! Man you are gonna love having a Wal-Mart Super Center in Elizabethton! That is just so fucking awesome!!! It will change the way you shop!

A few years ago Kingsport got it’s first Wal-Mart Super Center, and all I can say is it has been super!! Some folks around here said that Wal-Mart was going to destroy the mom and pop stores downtown,,, duh! Lousy service, crappy selection, and shitty parking destroyed the mom and pop stores down town!! And the mall finished off down town 30 years ago!! Also, there are mom and pop operations literally in the shadow of the JC Wal-Mart that are doing just fine! Wal-Mart does not kill the small family store, Sears, Wards, and JC Penny already did that! Are we to lament the passing of Montgomery Wards?

Until Wal-Mart came to town, we did not know how bad we were getting gouged around here!! Heck the same pair of jeans at Wal-Mart often costs 1/3 more at the Mall, and you have to put up with the haughty attitude of the clerks there,,, fuck that shit, “Just go to Wal-Mart” should become the mantra of the proletariat! I have heard others before say that they would never shop at a Wal-Mart. I am sure this concerns the Walton family so much they cannot sleep at night......

Wal-Mart Super Center is coming to Elizabethton... Man you are so fucking lucky to get a brand new Wal-Mart!!

PST #3

THE TOP 10 REASONS WHY THIRSTY'S BURNED DOWN

10. KKK had mistaken it for the gay bar.
9. The band playing, "Toyz", was just too damn hot.
8. Smokin' in the boyz room.
7. A true act of God.
6. Spandex meets Winston lOO's.
5. Harley Hog farts; spontaneous human combustion (Tie).
4. Redneck on acid: "Fuck you buddy, you're the devil!"
3. Expresso machine overheated.
2. Failure of band to read the warning on hairspray can.
1. My little secret!

-- Kelvis

Super Wal Mart in Elizabethton. Well, since Wal Mart is already firmly entrenched in Elizabethton, it doesn't really make much of a difference I don't think, with the exception of adding another grocery store into the competition (god, what a miserable place to get freakin' groceries). I've heard there has been some local retailors objecting, but as someone who wrote to the Johnson City Press recently said, Wal Mart doesn't sell antiques anyway. That said, the only store I hate going in worse than Elizabethton's Wal Mart is Johnson City's Super Wal Mart. So I will definitely not be a shopper at the new super hell-hole (insert all comments lamenting the homogenization of our society here). Speaking of Elizabethton, I have heard on occasion that a couple of decades back, Elizabethton somehow rebuffed Anheiser-Busch from locating a production plant there. God forbid high-paying jobs should have come to town, making a product already sold all through town. But, I'm not sure exactly what happened.

One more aside on the Iraq thing, I read through parts of a book today at the library titled The Threatening Storm: the case for invading Iraq by Kenneth Pollack. It's well organized and probably makes the best case I've heard of why we have no choice but to invade. I read a couple of parts where the author might still be differing with the current administration, one where he felt that Al Qaeda should be properly defanged before going on to Iraq (insert duct tape jokes here). So there's a thought on the other side to balance some of my rants.

Finally, I loved the Plez story about calling the fire department on the Nightmares show; too funny. Had they actually busted up the crowd, I'm sure the plan would have worked...

I found the Pleztones movies, Brook. Thanks. I had no idea we looked that good! I might be able to quit my self-esteem raising therapy sessions now 'cause, I mean, $hit, we rock! Thanks a lot.

Yo and hello, y'all,

Plez here. Hmm. . . what can anybody say about that nightclub fire thing? Awful stuff. Here's what I say about it. What I fear most is not nightclub fires but an overreaction to them. Y'know, I'm sure you're likelier to die falling down your own stairs than in a nightclub fire. Overall. Of course, if someone is using indoor fireworks in your house, I guess your odds of falling down your own stairs go WAY up as you try to find the exit. I heard that Nashville started doing surprise inspections of local spots. Of course, they will find violations. Naturally, they will. But does that mean we need some sort of super crackdown on nightclub safety? Sprinklers everywhere, no matter how large the club? Would this be a good idea? I don't know. Safety is good. Overreactions are not. But lemme ask this one, too: just what in the heck was Great White's pyro guy thinking? I guess that band still didn't realize they weren't stadium rock ready anymore. In Rupp Arena, I'm sure those showers of sparks would've been no problem. In that place, wow, it's not too surprising that they set something on fire, is it? I mean, I'm not the first guy to notice that from the video, either.

Ok, I have an apology to make, and it does relate to this fire safety issue. Drew, forgive me for telling one of our secrets without your permission. Here goes. The Nightmares were playing one night at the old Quarterbacks, which should've held around 40 people, if you remember. Well, this night, there were about 300 in there or whatever. You all remember how unbelievably crowded that place could get. Well, the Pleztones were playing next door at the Pub Outback, and would you believe our crowd was somewhat SMALLER than theirs, like maybe smaller by about 290 or so. So Drew and I got the idea of walking down to the pay phone at Poor Richard's and making a little call to the fire dept. to report this dangerous situation at Quarterbacks. Heck, if we could get the cops to make 100 or so of 'em leave, they'd probably make their way over to the Pub, huh? Well, after a call to emergency services, we couldn't tell that anything ever happened, which I'm glad of, 'cause (even though I'm laughing remembering this) that was NOT a nice thing to do, so forgive us, Nightmares, and remember, it was probably fourteen or fifteen years ago, and they make Subway sandwiches in that place now.

Ok, most dangerous place I ever remember playing? A frat house we used to play at put us in a basement that had no exit whatsoever except up the stairs. If that place had gotten thick with smoke, whoa that would've been difficult. I'm glad it never happened. And even beyond the fire escape danger, this place was bad. Another story. Pleztones were playing there, with Stinky Finger. (We actually did two or three frat house shows together back then, and the money was better, by far, than the 4 bucks apiece you could expect at Quarterbacks or wherever.) Anyway, at the end of our set, we're rocking out, big closing chord style. Crash, smash, bang-a, bang-a, bang kinda thing. And and the last band, Plez decided to do his stadium rock jump in the air and land on the last chord, y'know. Very Angus indeed. Only, the ceiling here is about 8 feet high, and just below that are various pipes and wires and such. All up to modern codes, I'm sure. So, instead of ending with me doing a little Pete Townshend power chord deal, I crack my head right on a big black sewer pipe. I had a headache for a long time after that, but when I came back down, my hand went triumphantly in the air with RnR salute to the frat guys and their sorority girlfriends. Never let 'em see you sweat. But even more so, never let 'em know you just gave yourself a slight concussion.

Plez out. And by the way, very nice work from all of you on peace and war and such. I've been reading for a while without commentary. Brook, I haven't had a chance to look at the Pleztones stuff you put up, but thanks. Is it still there? I actually couldn't find the link you were talking about at first.

Ok, Plez definitely out.

A Modest Proposal:

Why don't we put Avlimil in the drinking water, like flouride???

Brook: Thanks for all the Nightmares videos!!!

Glenn Reynolds (www.instpundit.com & Law Prof at UT)

How to be A Peace Protester Without Being A Hypocrite

That was a scary Frontline tonight. So the Hawks are in control at the Bush Whitehouse. Clearly recognized as dangerous and unworkable by Bush 41, Bush 43 has now converted to the cause of the right-wing Hawks. Colin Powell has effectively lost in the tug of war for the President's ear. It is clear that going to war with Iraq is only the first step in a far broader plan. The entire middle east, then North Korea; all to be democratized. Iraq is merely the first step. Against the will of the world, the world will undergo a series of wars to reshape the world in our image. Now, democracy is a good thing, to be sure, but it is not clear by no means how easy it will be to sweep through and set up democratic nations. Hell, its not clear that we can successfully do it in any nation. For that matter, we're having our own problems with democracy in the United States. This plan is crazy and very dangerous. our allies and many foriegn policy experts don't think this will work; many in the current defense department believe this is wrong, and they purposefully leaked it to the media in hopes of exposing it to the light of public strutiny, before the 2002 elections. But we the people blew it, and Bush interprets the elections as a mandate to proceed.

Another point became clear from this show; while the President may believe he is dealing with terrorism, our focus and foriegn policy has effectively been coopted by this dramatic shift to the doctrine of preemptive military action. This is a first in our country. So really, if we have to draw WW II comparison, as I have read so much of on the web lately, Nazi Germany adopted much of this strategy too. Our country must not become an invader, an agressor; yet it is here before our eyes, all without much credible debate, thanks to coward politicians and a corporate whore media.

I have talked to people who believe that 9/11 gives us a mandate to do whatever we want in the world. I have talked to people that claim the mere fact that Iraq didn't apologize for 9/11, even though it didn't do it, is reason enough for war. I have talked to people that advocate nuclear responses to those that resist our military campaigns. Is this what we want? Does this sound consistent with our country's history?

Next post I'll try and lighten up some, but I'm revved up right now.

NO, we are not from Johnson City.... of course not,,, there is no such place. Brook made it all up.

Tom Friedman (New York Times):

Tell the Truth

Holiday From History

I'm embarrassed to say- but I saw that part of My Life is a Sitcom. They said "...and up next The Sampsons from Johnson City, Tenn" So I had to watch. Yuck- that guy's accent was so forced and he claimed to live on a farm even though you could tell his three sons had never seen a live cow before. It was bad all the way around (stupid show period). Reality TV is out of control!

Good Plez links! AND as a bonus Bleu Jackson passes in front of the camera.

Google Buys Blogger

Sen. Robert Byrd's (D-WV) speech on the Senate floor 2/12/03:

Sleepwalking Through History

A really good Case Against the War:

"This autumn and winter, nuclear danger has returned, in a new form, accompanied by danger from the junior siblings in the mass destruction family, chemical and biological weapons. Now it is not a crisis between two superpowers but the planned war to overthrow the government of Iraq that, like a sentence of execution that has been passed but must go through its final appeals before being carried out, we have talked to death. (Has any war been so lengthily premeditated before it was launched?) Iraq, the United States insists, possesses some of these weapons. To take them away, the United States will overthrow the Iraqi government. No circumstance is more likely to provoke Iraq to use any forbidden weapons it has. In that event, the Bush Administration has repeatedly said, it will itself consider the use of nuclear weapons. Has there ever been a clearer or more present danger of the use of weapons of mass destruction?" continue...

Dink, in the Vietnam era, about the time of Kent State, ETSU was one of the few colleges in america to host a pro-vietnam war rally.... so really they have come along way.

Brook,,,, are you saying George Bush and company have lied to us???? My faith in humanity is lost,,, I feel so dirty and used, it is like the passing of innocence...... no, wait a minute, it isn't at all like that, IT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT OF THE PARTY THAT SPAWNED LIMBAUGH, O'REILLY AND THE LOT,,, A BUNCH OF FUCKING LIARS,,,, LIARS EVERYONE OF THEM!! DON'T BELEIVE A FUCKING THING THEY SAY, THEY ARE LIARS!!!!! How can you tell a Republican/Conservative is lying?? Their mouth is moving!! (and they may have their hands on the Holy Bible, because they are a bunch of fucking hypocrites too!!!)

On the other hand, the code orange gives me another chance to say: GO VOLS!!!

There, I feel better now......

weekly required proselytizing to justify my faith-based initiative funding:

sometimes i wish the Patriot Act was a little "patriotier"
get your war on : http://www.mnftiu.cc/

get your shit straight:
http://www.orionsociety.org/pages/oo/sidebars/America/Berry.html

http://www.orionsociety.org/pages/om/archive_om/Berry/Local_Economy.html

I read Stupid White Men when it came out last year,,, Awesome book! A must read for all!!

Well, I am reading books, where you are just listening to right-wing radio.

Florida's 'Disappeared Voters': Disfranchised by the GOP

How the GOP Gamed the System in Florida

Florida Net Too Wide in Purging of Votor Rolls

"Algore"- a Limbaugh nickname. Nobody mentioned Al Gore in the blog recently as far as I can recall, but since you did: Al Gore won, Bush just stole the presidency
that's all. Recently I started reading "Stupid White Men" by Michael Moore. The opening chapter re-shocked me all over again about our American coup. Thousands of legal, law abiding black citizens thrown off the voter rolls in Florida. In some districts blacks were kept from the voting booths at gunpoint. I'm not going to get over it, and nobody should. Welcome to the United Banana Republic of America.

I ran across some skateboarding pictures. This one is Mr. Gary Miller catching an air at Kona skate park in Jacksonville FL circa a decade or two ago. I recently saw a really good movie about skateboarding: Dogtown and Z Boys.

True story from the garage at my dealership:

Q: "How do you get rid of the sticky goo left behind when you remove duct tape?"

A: "Why would you remove duct tape?........ What would cause you to do that?"

Remember kids, duct tape and WD-40 are the yin and yang of the american tool box! ( that according to the Bob and Tom show, which we don't get around here anymore)

One more true story. Two summers ago I traveled to New Mexico backpacking with a group of boy scouts I work with, One of the kids had made his wallet out of duct tape, and it looked and fuctioned like any wallet would, except that it was all silver and canvas textured. More amazingly he had a photo of the tux he had worn to his prom, or planned to, that was likewise made of our silver adhesive companion, duct tape. The fit appeared quite good, though I would not reccommend dancing in it.

Yes Marcel, the Garland Oil Company spill, our toast to enviromentalists everywhere!!!!

Chris, you found out Brian and the Nightmares dirty secret... We never had our instruments plugged in. We carried a kiss tribute band everywhere we went and they played our stuff backstage. As a theater person you should know... It's all about providing a quality music experience for the crowd.

By the way Marcel, I was in Grundy last week and they have the road clear,,, except for one greasy spot in front of the old Beatrice mine,,, so you might still wanna stay away from there.....

Actually, the word Milquetoast is a comic, Frenchish reworking of ye olde English term 'milk toast', a bland dish of toast soaked in milk. The term re-entered our language through the lens of a cartoonist named Webster who created a 'meek' comic-strip character of the name "Caspar Milquetoast."

Yep, and yet some people persist in complaining about the "liberal media." Oy vey!

Oh and by the way, the National Threat Level is now orange,,,,,, GO VOLS!!!!!!

Chris’ post about life in Baghdad should go out to every major newspaper. He stated some legitimate concerns that our media never will. And that picture of the "mile of death" is a good example of the level of "reporting" we got (or rather didn’t get) from the Desert Storm round. I went back and looked at that series of photos; it’s infuriating that these pictures are basically below the American radar. What really makes me sick is when Bush goes on about concerns for the Iraqi people being a contributing factor for war. Bull shit. He doesn’t give a toss about the Iraqi people. If it was really all about the people, we wouldn’t be gearing up to bomb them back to the stone-age.

One of the major complaints against Saddam is that he has killed many innocents, so in retaliation, we will go bomb many innocents. People won’t even give it much thought really. Even when it happens, there are plenty of other channels to tune in to anyway. If we were really so concerned about civilians, we would risk our own lives and go in without bombing an entire city. If all the war supporters were really so concerned they should consult the handy links Chris provided and enlist. Other countries on the UN Security Council, such as Russia, France and Germany are formulating a plan to have more inspectors and a UN peacekeeping force rather than war. It still doesn’t have to be war; there are still other ways that can be tried. Didn’t the concept of "last resort" used to be associated with war?

Bill Edwards, all the best to your son. Chris Slaughter, I don’t think we ever really met, but next time you’re in JC I owe you a beer or something for so ably expressing your most righteous anger about this most serious and saddening situation in the world. Barbara, met your mom recently at the library, we talked about the Nightmares reunion a bit; nice lady. One more round of reunion shows would be nice before the world blows up. Maybe next time it could be Plez, Stinky Finger, and the Nightmares...

Oh wait a minute,,,, Tennesse is already on the map, it's right beside North Carolina.....nevermind

By the way, the Knoxville newspaper today had a front page story about the American Bowling Congress being held at the Knoxville Civic Colisium..... That will finally put Tennessee on the map!!!!!

Gee, I go without posting a few days and the whole place goes all to hell.....

OK, my two cents on Iraq for what it is worth (probably about 2 cents would be my guess).

Some of you may know that my son is now out of school and has joined the army. I bring this up because Friday I spoke to a Republican friend who lambasted me for not supporting the military. Bull shit! I can support the military just fine without believing in an unjustified war. And by the way Chris (Edwards) is at Ft. Benning and I ask you all to keep this brave young man in your thoughts and prayers. I also ask all to remember that when King George sends another 250,000 troops to the desert, that each has a mommy and daddy, brothers and sisters, wives and children at home worried and fretful.

I note that even a conservative like Tom Clancey is quoted that “War is nothing but theft writ large,” and l believe that this war is about oil.

Also Chris (Slaughter) I personally believe that World War II was justifiable, but I am not sure if I am reading you right.....

You know, Rick, I wish I could give everybody a fucking CASE of the shit I'm on right now.... ummm ... I mean, what I probably should've said is... ummm, just in CASE someone is monitering this for terrorist secret code or something .... umm, jeez. fuck ... Well...
....
Rick, I've been told that before...

God FORBID he switches to decaf! Chris, I'm sending you a freight car load of chocolate covered espresso beans; you don't even need to brew these babies, just chew 'em right up whilst you sit at your computer. Where you want that delivered?

DA DA. the KILLING gun. a POISON oil. freedom of WHAT? political INVASION. goals UNCLEAR.
WAR think about. CAREFUL recklessness. FUTURE planet. tv FODDER. it IS only life. or is IT?

The "Mile of Death". During the night of the 25th of February and the day of the 26th of February, 1991, Allied aircraft strafed and bombed a stretch of the Jahra Highway. A large convoy of Iraqis were trying to make a haste retreat back to Baghdad, as the Allied Forces retook Kuwait City. Many Iraqis were killed on this highway. Estimates vary on the precise number of Iraqis killed during the Gulf War. Very few images of Iraqi dead have been previously published.

From The Unseen Gulf War by Peter Turnley

On the Right to Bear Absolutely Impotent Arms:
The right to bear a puny gun is an empty promise. And I'm tired of hearing NRA true-believers proppin that tired one up every time they open their mouths. Do you REALLY think this young government of professional politicians and money-changers is going to let any of us have access to any genuine means of overthrowing it? Right. Just try building a bomb or buying a tank and see where that gets you. BUT, according to a number of our founding rich landowners -- EACH of us should have that RIGHT! Right? Just admit it. You like guns. You like the noise. You like the beauty and simplicity of design and its singular effectiveness. You like the way it feels in your hands, the smell in the air after its been fired. You like seeing the effect of a bullet hitting an object. You like developing your skill with the gun. You like cleaning it. You like admiring its industrial craftsmanship. You like reading about them and collecting them. You like knowing that you could, if you wanted to, inspire fear or command respect. You like to think that it can somehow help you maintain control over your life, over unforeseeable, horribe events. You like guns, you like guns, you like guns. BUT -- I'm sorry, a gun aint a bomb -- you can drop all the guns you want on a tyrannical politician's fortress of concrete and steel and it aint going to do jack shit. If you REALLY buy that this 'right' to bear arms business has any MEANING at all -- I best be seeing ya'll workin to get me some fucking guided missles. And one of them bombs that melts human flesh but leaves buildings standing! Boy, wouldnt that come in handy! They should call it the 'tidy' bomb.

Veterans For Common Sense (http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/)

Skynyrd Guitarist Says Proof Is There For Iraq War

Now I feel safer...

Let's try this again..... EME will be at the Casbah Thurs.Feb. 6th @ 9. We got snowed out the first show.
Come on out for strange music from the basement.

Shazam JC Dates

Lisa, you were right - the 20th at the Casbah.

Also, at Gatsby's on the 21st and March 1st.

Tony, did the Raelians get thier "Faith Based Charities" funding from "President" Bush yet?

Spam and Bill: I have it on excellent authority that in fact, Lynyrd Skynyrd will not be inducted into the conflagration/engulfing to end the Milky Way. A vast, some say infinite, Yankee-type conspiracy is in play and refuses to recognize Southern Rock. We can start a letter writing campaign:

His Holiness
14th Dalai Lama
Tibet House, 1 Culworth Street
London NW8 7AF

tibet.com
You can also find out more about how the Chinese are ramping up their genocide "under the radar" while our war on terrorism is gobbling up all the attention.

Also: A local church has started a WGWJC campaign. What Gun Would Jesus Conceal is a not-for-profit-post-nine-eleven-faith-based-self-defense-initiative, partially funded with tax dollars from President Bush's New Program to make the world safer for American Presidents.

Spam: Well spoken and damn straight!!!!

Julie: Because you are a bold woman.

Bobby: Thanks for the applause. Let's go shootin' some time....

Dink: Does Ted Kennedy's car have anything to do with shooting?

Pictures from The Shazam Show