Toys That Kill record release show, San Pedro Ballet School 4-27-2012

First let me start this off with my plug. I designed a gig poster (printed by Calimucho!) for this show and there still may be a few left. They are 16×20 inches, 2 color, hand signed and numbered, and screened one at a time by hand. Only 50 were made. If you want one contact me (scott) at my email: aichertime@sbcglobal.net ….or my website: planetsixtyseven.com …or Calimucho.net.

Now down to the show. I missed the opener Manhattan Murder Mystery due to socializing mainly. Had a great talk with Tom Watson about guitar gear as he changed strings on his J Mascis Jazzmaster. I even checked it out and they seem like really cool axes. I think I scared Mr. Vince Giobbe a bit with some of my personal whining (sometimes I unravel and spill all kinds of personal stuff to people, and I think Vince and Tom got some of that. I am sorry guys…) Forgot to mention I got a ride there from the very kind Robert Ibarra.  His leg is healing and I sometimes get wound up at shows and at this show it was tough to get air (kinda stuffy) so we said if we felt we needed to we would cut out early, but we stay through most of the Missingmen. More on them soon, read on…

So I had checked out the Screaming Females online before the show and man are they great. Elements of Dinosaur and Pumpkins and her guitar playing and man she could shred! Maybe the best female guitarist I have seen.I picked up their 7 inch and her project band 7 inch called Noun. I got the Toys that Kill “Fambly” cd at the door and had Todd sign my copy. I missed most of Toys due to chatting, but I know they will play soon again (they play in town a lot) and I will be singing along with the new tunes at the next one. Todd signed my cd “I d*ck you” (there’s a weird shape he drew he said it was a penis and I should learn to deal with it. I think he’s a super genius and I have only heard the Nervous Rocks from the new fambly cd, but that song is killer, so I’m going to paint and listen to the cd today. Toys that Kill. Great band!

I forgot my earplugs at home too, so I had to go easy on my ear drums. Watt and the Missingmen closed the show. I was in the back of the crowd watching and Robert pulled me up by the stage. My buddy Raul was intense on the drums and I hope I did not make it tough on him being right there on stage (maybe it helped?) the crowd was cheering for him at key points too. He’s awesome! Tom Watson has become one of my favorite guitar played as well and his flow with this band is amazing. His leads sound almost east indian at times. Lots of soul in his delivery. As for Watt I am so amazed and inspired by the guy. He’s captain eveready and you know he moves mountains when he sweeps his thunderbroom (or cradles the ackachan?) Good to see him getting better without the brace. He just a couple of years my senior, and I keep telling myself to get in shape like Watt because time flies so fast and the more it does the better in shape you need to be.

Also wanted to mention the amazing Norton Wisdom’s live painting. This is the way live painting works well. Norton’s method of live painting keeps you in the moment and gets knocked down like a sand castle, so it’s in the flow of the music.

So Robert and I got to talking about some exercise walks around the block and point fermin and I am really grateful for Robert wanting to help me out. I have so much to live for and I really need to get healthy. Robert feels the same.

Finally got to say congrats in person to Kevin and Babe on their marriage. They look real happy. Good to talk with Vinnie Vegas some and I forgot to tell him I listened to his Watt from pedro podcast show yesterday and had some chuckles from it.

To all you good people who had kind things to say about my gig poster for this show I thank you and you have my humble gratitude. I had fun making it and thanks to the bands for allowing me to do so. Real big hugs to Raul who did such a good job on making them. This summer we plan to have more Pudding Cupps jam sessions as by then we will all not be as busy.

One more thing… I have an art show at the Hive in downtown L.A. on may 5th with my buddy Alex Chiu. It’s a drawing show, so I should have some of my framed original drawings for sale. Also remember the big show California Screamin’ 7 at Gasoline. They have a new location downtown (I’m told the club space it’s in was once owned by Prince) that show is May 12th 2012.

So today is Saturday and we ordered the breakfast burritos from sandwich saloon down the block. (good place with good food and big salads!) We had some bad grease this week from fantastic cafe we should not have got in the first place and I got some kinda nail or tooth in mine. Creepy. Not to mention what we have heard about these joints with “Pink Sludge” (look that up, Yee-uck!) Good band name though

all for now- Scott

Comic Book Store and Flea Market scores….

Chet checks out the score from Gefforey's Comics

I had a great weekend. Saturday i got the wanderlust, so i went over to geoffery’s comics in gardena (my regular spot) and I found a few good comics for fun. Like “King size man thing number 1″ and Space Hunters a Starwars knockoff. Sunday we went to the little flea in old torrance, and this time we met Sharon’s cousin for breakfast at Rudy’s. I had the Country Breakfast (biscuits, sausage, eggs over, home fries and white gravy… Damn!) and Sharon had the Rudy’s special (Chorizo and eggs with cheese, home fries and tortillas) We were hungry and we both almost cleaned the plates. If you decide to go, remember it’s cash only! The images below are from sunday at the flea

country breakfast before

Rudy's Special

Chet checks the underground comics from the flea I found

Chet and my new "Big Al" glass from the flea, 4 bucks!

Sharon's score... Telephone dudes!

Anybody know what this is?Hasbro 1988? Got it at Geoffery's Comics

The importance of music and arts.

I saw this video on Guitarings blog and I had to say something about it. My parents told me growing up that being an artist was not really a good career choice as there were few options for art jobs in the mid 70′s. My mom always supported my creative efforts as she and my grandmother were both painters and artists. She taught me basic skills. My dad wanted me to take over the family business one day, and made sure my mom drove this point home with me too. They both worked hard at the business and from it came success. Like anything in this world, if you work at it hard enough one day it will reward you in some way.

Our family like most in the 70′s -80′s broke apart. Time has passed. I worked for many years in the art world. As it turned out computers brought many art jobs. These days I work from home. Just like when I was a kid I sit in my room all day making art for others and for myself (I paint a lot for my art shows). All through school they told me not to day dream. Day dreaming is the main way I get ideas for my art. The reason I get paid for my art is not because I am the best. In fact I’m not really that great of a painter, but I have ideas. Great ones. When I worked in the corporate world my ideas were often used or borrowed by others. I still have influence on many of the artists I show with. It’s because I still dream like that kid I was. To build strong creativity you must know how to let your mind wander to another place. You need to connect with the creative force, but know that force is shared by many. Family, friends, associates all can share a part of  the creative energy you take your ideas from.

This video is a perfect example of someone who cannot connect to creativity. Clearly this mom does not understand why her son stays in his room all day practicing. He should get out now and then to take a walk maybe, but this is how I was at his age too. This kind of negative feedback gave me years of therapy.

For my own mental health and personal growth I began taking guitar lessons again. I noticed I had such low self esteem and low self worth. I guessed that if I one day start a band with friends it would help boost my confidence in myself and improve my learning skills. I was right. In the past I did not always have the best guitar teachers. This time I asked for a teacher who could teach me to play and was fun to learn from as well. I jumped fast at the chance to join some friends in starting a band, but the fit was not right on my first try and my confidence was not there yet because I knew I had to work on my playing. So I did. I took lessons. My memory improved from the practice. My math skills got better (counting the tempo etc…) I got together with another group of friends and tried the band thing again. We recored 2 songs in one jam session and it was what I had dreamed of all those years I was a kid. I am in my forties now and this is like getting to be a kid again. Not just the band, but the routine of getting up every saturday and show what  progress my practice has made each week to my guitar teacher (or sometimes how little progress…. we all have a bad week now and then.

This has greatly improved my life. I have also taken new steps in getting in better health. Music and arts can not only improve a life in some cases I’m sure it has saved more than one life (many will testify to that…) Music for me is a big challenge. It has brought me closer to my friends. I heard this quote by Einstein this week, “one who has never failed has never tried something new…” When I used to experiment with drugs my reason for doing so was “the earth could blow up tomorrow, so why not try it?” well, yeah, but try something that is going to move your life in a healthy way. If you wind up eating a donut or two now and then just try and do better next time or maybe play yer guitar instead?

As for art. I can not imagine a day without it. It pays for my Cheerios. It’s who I am and what I do. It’s my self expression without censorship. I paint what many call monsters. I don’t see them that way. I see them as the child I was growing up. An outsider mutant who stayed on the outside so long he found and grew comfortable with the monster he was. You don’t have to understand it. Just stay out of my way when I do my thing, because what you see is what you get… Special thanks to Michael (the kid in the video) stay true to what you do.

Dinosaur Jr. new live dvd “In the hands of the fans”

Rollins bugs me too, with the stupid infiniti car ads etc… but sometimes he comes across as genuine. Like on his radio show and here as a fanboy interview guy. You can catch a glimpse of Keith Morris and Ian too, and the fans ask some questions, but really it’s just what you buy it for= Dino plays Bug… Dave Markey will be familliar to most who buy this  dvd from his “Punk Broke” film to the lovedolls films. The connection here is SST. SST was a record label you all know gave birth to indie rock (or whatever you call it…) there was a time every band that was good just wanted on SST. Most of the SST band share a connection. Not to the label, but to a higher power created by fans and the bands that wanted something other than Oliva Newton John to groove on. (nothing wrong with a little ONJ now and then. Ask Mike Webber…)

These days most folks I know can not afford to see live bands. Most shows in my town are free by local bands, but we all would go see shows in hollywood now and then. Well, this dvd cost about 20 bucks. As I watched it on my home computer my wife commented on the clear picture and good sound. Good camera angles without being too mtv fast scanned. You see all the detail like J’s stack of Marshall amps… even the Purple and gold custom one amongst the vintage Hi Watts and Ampegs. Vintage Jazzmasters and Rickenbackers and least you forget the monster pounding on the skins by Murph.

One of the things that make this cool is they never really toured this Bug release properly as this was when the poop hit the fan for this line up, but now you can watch it in full on yer couch at home or in yer chonies at yer computer like I did… Why do I praise this? For the sake that this dvd saved me lots of money and hassle of going to see them live. (I have seen them many many times…) BUT! If you think you want to skip their show live you will miss the energy of a genuine SST band. I can’t explain it. Most SST related bands have it. Dinosaur Jr. shows have something your not going to get from Paul Stanley or Ted Nugent (Does that make sense?) Markey captures it all here but the one thing you can’t smell the humid sweat and vibrations that pump at a Dino show.

Bug is a great album. Somewhere in my collection I have it on clear purple vinyl. I really liked this DVD. If you need the healing powers of rock and roll go see Dinosaur Jr. live. I obviously love this band a lot and this dvd really explains why they have so many fans. They make you want to try it yerself….. so do it!

Penrose Sausages. The best snack ever?

When I was a Kid my dad and I would split a jar of these hot sausages my mom got at the store. They didn’t always have them, and when they did they flew off the shelf. They were in the refrigerated section as they were pickled, but sometimes they would be by the relish. They came in little jars and you had to wash your fingers after because they were stinky too. They were Penrose Sausages. We usually speared them out with cocktail forks. They were hot and spicy. The company no longer makes them, but I have been steered to get Red Smith Pickled sausage with the red lid (not Big John’s with the blue lid). So They are on the way from Alabama. It a southern thing I am told, and I hope these are up to flavor and are as gnarly as the Penrose. This is a personal quest. I ordered the half gallon size from the pickled store. I will let you know the results right here as they should be here by tomorrow. Bon Appetit!

Update: It’s 1:34 3-13-12 tuesday. Just got my Red Smith’s via fed ex. Not bad. Less fat than the Penrose sausage had. Bigger links. Sharon read off the red and yellow dye list and that they have chicken hearts etc… overall they taste like I was hoping just not as hot. They could be hotter. (the penrose got hotter if you left them in the fridge a long time) Got to let them get cold in the fridge for a bit. Got some Playa Vista Cervesa for them later, and yes, I am still watching what I eat. This is a guilty pleasure for me. Not good for you. I know that, but sometimes you just gotta have it. MMnnnnhhh! Good Eatin!

R.I.P. Uncle Jeff Aicher

Maybe I should wait to post this because I just found out a few minutes ago that my uncle jeff passed away yesterday. He was my uncle from riverside. He went to school out there and saw Van Halen many times at backyard parties. When their first lp came out he gave it to me for my birthday. He said, “you will love this, they are going to be big soon”. He knew I liked rock and roll like Kiss and Led Zeppelin. I took it to school for show and tell and I was instantly a cool kid. I got all the other kids into Van Halen at school, and it was so much fun to be the first to know about them. It was the first time I felt cool.

He had a laugh that made you laugh along too. He had a long blonde pony tail in the 70′s and a silver capped tooth in front of his smile. He liked Budwieser and Michelob Beer and drove a customized yellow Chevy Luv pickup with an 8 track player. His 8 tracks were the Tubes, Allman Brothers (I am pretty sure my cousin Missy is named after the Duane Allman song Sweet Mellisa), Dereck and the Dominoes, Molly Hatchet and so on… He was very smart. Taught me I mattered and was important in the world. He was very creative. I college he made hand made pottery that was very well made and resin sculptures that were always around my grandmas house. He was a rebel in a way, but a very big part of the foundation of my dad’s side of the family. The middle boy of three and one girl.

We often fished on lake silverwood and he often caught the most fish. I will remember those times fishing with my dad, Jeff, my grandpa, and great grandpa. Getting up early to go fishing. The family playing cards until it was dark then we would drive home in our silver Mustang 2 (it was pretty cramped in the back). As we drove off the rest of the family always stood outside to wave goodbye. Most of the time Jeff’s truck was there parked on the grass still from Jeff washing it.

I can’t say I ever heard Jeff say many negative things really… he had a way of making you laugh your troubles away. He was a hard worker and loved his family. I still have the Bad Company running with the pack lp he bought me for christmas 1979. The silver cover was like his silver tooth smile. He had a big heart. I will miss him very much.

Break time… can I do better?

Just thinking about all the time I waste reading reviews etc… someone else telling me what’s cool and what I should be into. Like for example. How many times do I have to read about Green Day not being punk for this and that reason. They write great music. I kinda got burnt out during the “Dookie” lp. I had it on rare brown wax and I sold it because I did not want to hear those songs repeated anymore. I had had enough. That being said it is a fine record. So good it got played too much. They made more records, and I can say there is not a bad one in all of their catalog. Does that make Billie Joe the new John Lennon? Hardly, listen to what he’s saying. It’s still the call of punk energy. Then there is all the money they have. Who cares. The proof is in good songs and they know how to make them and sometimes it distracts me enough from what I am doing to pick up a wooden chair and sing along.

Can you do that? Make someone want to do what you are doing? Then it must be good. Who cares what they call it. You like it and thats that. Here’s another one… “It’s not the original guys in the band”…. like Kiss for example. They all got old. No crime in that. When I saw the original line up on the farewell tour Peter looked so tired I felt bad for him. He was not bad and did the job, but you could see he looked spent. He hit the drums real light and hit some clams. As for Ace he was late getting there being flown in at the last minute and he himself said he did not really want a Kiss reunion, and he mostly did it for the fans. So down go two originals. Replaced by younger guys with more energy. In my opinion they play the Kiss songs so well they make it look easy. Why? Because they have not played it for the millionth time and they are still young. that brings energy to the guys who need it most, Gene and Paul.

I would go see Ace on his own. Peter on his own. Kiss on their own. They put the reunion to rest. It was fun. Glad I got to see it. It would be like a monkey’s paw to do it a second time. Here’s where I am going with all of this… can you do it better? Would you kick out someone if they truly did not want to be part of what you are doing? Ace has said the makeup had a bad affect on his skin, but he still slapped it on to make us all happy, and yes he got paid for it. What about the great bands that didn’t get paid? I don’t have all the answers. Pat Smear did not get paid for many years, then he did. Good for Pat. Maybe you have not been paid in a while. Maybe your day is coming. it could be just around the corner…. or maybe not. Let’s hope it is. Did you do your best with today? I did.

Rock and Roll saved my soul?

I don’t know why I want to have a rock band. I suppose because it looks fun (and is fun…) but I have tried to get something going for 30 years. I blame the art. Art is my main focus in life and always has been since I was a kid. Music was always more of a challenge, but just about anybody can do it (just like art…) I kind of got my toes wet in the music thing this week, and the guys I am jamming with are very cool to me. I made some mistakes, but we played through and in small steps we put together 2 song ideas and recorded them to save them.

I set out to make this happen because I want to live everyday to the fullest I can. The last few years I have been doing all the things I wanted to before, but never got to for some reason or another. The music lessons I take have helped my memory and helped with my confidence. I started out wanting things to happen all at once, but things take time if you really want them. The ultimate goal for me is to have more energy and get healthier by dropping weight, but slowly. I lost it too fast before and was not ready to deal with the results. This time I am working at the very reason I am unhealthy in the first place… depression. As silly as it sounds I give myself daily affirmations and tell myself I am a worthy and deserving guy and that it’s o.k. to have a good day and have fun.  It’s not always easy, but I am making small changes.

So for me monday was a milestone in a way. I have many plans for this year. If you want to track the progress of my band click here to the blog page: Pudding Cupps

If I can make it happen anyone can. Take your time. You will get there before you know it.

Lots of love to you all, Scott

Two thousand twelve, take 3….

Sure as hell can't afford this anytime soon... but it looks nice...

Can’t seem to get this year started. Trying to find work and just coming up short. Most of my art pals don’t include me in shows or have moved on to day jobs. Not like art is selling right now anyway. Trying to work out a new style, but it’s like swimming against the current. Trying more just to stay focused and work hard. Practicing guitar for sanity and eating better too. Trying to get myself in better condition all together but this boat is leaking and just might sink. Trying to stay inspired and move forward.

So, I’ll try this year again… for the third time… I’ll get out and walk some. I’ll eat better. I’ll try harder to stay in the zone. I’ll put the work in. I know the world does not owe me, but is this it? Is this as far as it goes? Maybe it’s just the rainy day today. Maybe I’ll be smiling tomorrow. “Wish in one hand” so they say…

The Decline… and a New Day Rising

I always felt kind of outside of things being an artist and kid who daydreamed all day in class. I was different. Not special or more different than most, but until I discovered the punk movement I felt stranded in in own room at home. Me and my drawings and fm radio at first. Then KISS and any hard rock I could find, but most hard rockers had set things and certain beliefs you had to go with. Like you need long hair. Like to get stoned. You got to hate disco… things that fit the formula of the genre. My uncle Don had listened to punk before it was called that. he seemed to have an open mind for things that were different like Bowie, The Stooges, Ramones I knew them from magazines I bought for kiss articles like Creem and Circus. Don and my Aunt Liz helped run Back Door Man fanzine. The first of it’s kind in L.A. . Don had a great big record collection with all kinds of punk and new wave 45 art to inspire my hunger for something new. Slowly I started to listen to not only the music, but what he had to say. He taught me how to mow lawns and do household things and at the end of the week we organized his 45′s alphabetically and at thee same time played anything that looked interesting.

I loved the sleeves with Gary Panter art on them. Ray Pettibon was a favorite artist with the punks at school and you could find his flyers at the local record shops and literally in the gutters of redondo beach. Art was part of punk and I wanted in. So with an open mind and an armload of borrowed records by The New york dolls, Stooges Raw Power, and the Chambers brothers “Time has come”lp I dove off the deep end about mid 1979.

In junior high we had a small group that was hip to “Never Mind the Bollocks”. We played it on those small Sanyo cassette recorders. The kind Mike Brady took notes on. We went to Licorice Pizza for punk at first. They had new wave buttons and fanzines too. The most amazing part of it all would be a movie called the “Decline of Western Civilization”. I went to see our local premier at midnight on the corner of crenshaw and P.C.H. in Torrance, CA.

I went with my friend Kevin who was terrified of real punks. I had shaved my head recently, and he was worried because his hair was long and there were punks cutting off a new romantic’s hair with battery powered clippers out side before the show. (We were both kind of shocked by it.) I thought to myself, “It’s only a movie…” but I was wrong. It was a documentary that would shape possibly my remaining days. I was not the only one. All across the globe this movie was the template for what would get termed “Hardcore Punk”.

The movie did not really get to show the art side of the movement. A mentor punk we knew said you had to change your look each week or you were a “Trendy”. What the film did show was young aggression in full bloom. In those days shows did not happen because  the police broke them up, but now there was a movie we had to show what we felt. They showed it to all the parents at an event called “parents of punkers” punk was dealt with as an epidemic by most of our Regan loving parents. I watched it with my Grandfather who got upset about Eugene’s comment about, “the ugly old people…” I explained that lots of the movement’s cause was to provide a sense of shock, and it was o.k. not to agree with all of it’s ideals. The main thing was to keep an open mind. My grandparents and my family watched on. They knew that I was on this path. I had taken a stand. Right or wrong.

All my friends memorized the dialog until we all agreed to not repeat it anymore. We watched my tape from HBO over and over. Years passed. More Decline movies were made (part 2 and 3) but they are still not available due to legal reasons. The kids still watch it today. It was our “Woodstock” of sorts.

Today we face even rougher times. We are all grown, and wonder about what kind of future we have (just like then) What kind of future our kids will have (many of my friends have punk rock kids). I still feel the same. I still feel punk has a place in this world for people looking to find their “outsider peers”. I am told there is missing footage of bands shot for the film like the Dickies and (at the time Red Cross) Redd Kross. Maybe one day we will get to see this too. Of course you all know bands like Green Day now and probably know someone with blue hair at your school (and schools allow blue hair now for the most part) You don’t get beat down just for dressing punk anymore.  (people used to yell, “Fuck you, devo!” at us) It’s all part of the daily routine now. The 90′s follow up to the decline may have been Dave Markey’s “The Year Punk Broke” but today’s kids don’t really identify with grunge (see 90′s for more on grunge…)

We are all Devo and still in decline. In the words of Zippy, “Are we having FUN yet?” All that’s left are hospitals, schools, donut shops and nail salons (see my next art show at a nail salon near you…) Thank you Penelope!