As a kid (teenager) I was part of an interesting music scene in a small Pennsylvania town that has seen a number of folks hit the big time, most notably the band Live. However, it must be noted that although we were belly up to the same bar on many occasions with the Live guys, my friends and I usually had musical tastes/styles that ran less mainstream. So anyway, I'm currently on the market for a couple of new guitars so I've been perusing eBay pretty hard. I came across a 1974 Fender Precision Bass being sold by "tumorbass". Tumor? Hmm...in 1988 (or so) my close friends' band ran into a problem when their drummer got hit by a car. They had a studio session booked (DIY, in their stable with loaned gear) so a friend of the broken drummer, a guy named Shannon Larkin, came out to play the drum session. (Shannon has since gone on to bigger and better things...he's the drummer in Godsmack) Anyway, back to Tumor, while hanging out that day Shannon gave us a copy of some insane hardcore stuff he'd been recording with Tumor and some other guys. To this day, that cassette stands as some of the sickest hardcore punk I've ever heard. When I saw "tumorbass" selling this '74 Fender I became curious so I dropped him a line and damn if it wasn't the same guy! He also has gone on to bigger and better things (his band Lo Pro has a record out on Geffen Records) and although the Kiddie Porn cassette I got from Larkin 15 years ago is long gone Tumor's website (www.tumorbass.com) took me back. Cheers to Tumor for some great reminiscence and great to see some more guys from that scene making it big!

NYC's newest tourist distraction.



We had heard a rumor (fact) that a Whole Foods store was opening in the new Time Warner Center so we took a little walk (like 2 miles) to investigate. Yes, bored to tears we were. In the basement of the new Time Warner Center sits a Whole Foods covering literally 2-3 city blocks. It's amazing but you have to wonder why such a grandiose fresh food market would be plopped right in the middle of a such a major tourist distraction. And perhaps it's just opened and perhaps I'm a cynical ass but all the tourists (hundreds, no shit) "sightseeing" past the granny smith apple pile and the organic cereal aisle...what the hell? No local would put up the cluster fuck of tourists to shop there. Regardless of the 100's of people in the store, all the checkout lanes were empty. I give this store 18 months max before it's replaced with a Sbarro/Auntie Anne's/Subway style food court.

There is a lot of coincidental likeness between the new TWC and the old WTC: twin towers, a great shopping concourse, world class 4-star restaurant, a park outside, 1000's of tourists. Perhaps it's not coincidence at all...

We have officially subscribed to the "new" Napster and what a joy. $9.95/month for 750,000 songs. In this "between jobs" time I have been testing the limits of this new Napster and I gotta say, I like it. I have collected a lot of old school punk rock from Napster that I've either lost or had stolen over the years. The best thus far have been all the hits of The Meatmen, Poison Idea and The Dead Kennedys. Holiday Inn Cambodia I hadn't heard in years and what a shame...the best surf punk politi-anthem of all time! Brought back memories of the 80's and those awesome all age shows we played with Corrosion of Conformity and the like. I remember I had this Holiday Inn Cambodia t-shirt that I always used to wear to shows. Of course the old interweb brought it back to me...



750,000 songs doesn't cover everything though. I couldn't find a lot of things like the 80's Corrosion stuff (Animosity, Technocracy, etc.). No fault of Napster though. I think COC has tried to promote their 90's grunge over their hardcore roots. Something else Napster couldn't serve up is the 91x Milkshake (Kelis)/Policy of Truth (Depeche Mode) remix. Few of my friends have any interest in Milkshake but this remix is sweet.

In other music news, Steve, Johnny and Todd of Junior and Sons have invited me to play along. They've got some good rockin' material in the works and obey the basic precepts of rock and roll. I'm delighted to take part. For more info and to hear some lo-fi demos, click the link on the left.

In the spirit of New Year's resolutions for health, fitness and generally increased longevity, the wife and I have undertaken the Body For Life routine. Y'all know about this? I had no idea but as I mention it to people it seems to have a bit of a cult following. Although the guy Bill Phillips who wrote the book ist sicher ein warmer bruder and his style is a little too Tony Robbins for me, it seems to be working. We're about a month into it and I'm looking hot yo! I'm not really keen to publish undisguised photos of myself...but my ego is breaking out so here you go...


Hot huh? Look at those pythons! Ok, ok, before the lawyers come calling, obviously that's my man Bill and not my hot bad self but we'll check back in 8 weeks.