The Gaslight Anthem's 2-Night Stand at the Stone Pony

Before Asbury Park welcomed Springsteen-quoting President Obama to the Boardwalk on Tuesday afternoon, they first welcomed Garden State heroes The Gaslight Anthem back to The Stone Pony, where they played back-to-back sold out shows over Memorial Day weekend on the venue's outdoor Summerstage.

LUCERO. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE.

My introduction to Lucero was via The Gaslight Anthem's live cover of "The War", which they did on their 2010 American Slang tour. They brought out Tim Barry (who opened on a bunch of dates) to help sing the song and did an amazing job. It had very powerful lyrics that made me want to further check Lucero out.

I Know It's Only Rock n' Roll...

Random collection of lyrics about music.

Raise Your Hands To Rock

Nikki. My childhood hero.

Just answered a tweet posted by Nikki Sixx where he asked what inspires all of us. I wrote the sappy truth, which was "People who have success cus they stayed true to their heart & blazed their own trail instead of bitching & doing nothing inspire me." He gave me a smiley face back. My face lit up.

Now I'm listening to Too Fast For Love, which I originally had on cassette back in the day. Listening to this is making me think of the teenage me, sitting in my bedroom listening to Crue ad nauseum, trying to survive my high school years, wishing I could meet him even for five seconds. The way my best friend was obsessed with New Kids On the Block, I was obsessed with Motley Crue.

Fast forward 20 years. I've met him three times (once backstage, once randomly at a Tenacious D concert of all places, and once at a book signing he held for Heroin Diaries). Today I can add web-smile to that list. I know it's not the same as a face-to-face encounter, but I'm having a bad day and that just brought me out of the dumps. Whatever it takes, right? I don't feel that stupid. I'm pretty sure if Nikki himself got a web-smile from Keith Richards or David Bowie by surprise, he'd be happy too. Don't let rock stars fool you. They're all geeks like us :D

I remember the first time I saw Nikki's photo in a magazine. He scared the crap out of me. It was a promotional photo for Dr. Feelgood. Though I couldn't see his eyes, I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen! Instant love. I still joke that Nikki is the standard by which all other men are measured. I remember my 7th grade science teacher coming over to my desk to see what I was looking at in the magazine. He said his daughter met Nikki backstage during the Girls, Girls, Girls tour and that Nikki gave her a guitar pick that he bit the corner off of. I was floored. Soon after, my teacher brought the pick in and gave it to me. I freaked out.

I could go on all day about how hot Nikki is and why his music is great. But now as an adult, Nikki is still one of my idols for different reasons than when I was in middle school. For one thing, I admire his active efforts to remain sober. I have seen too many people keep on drinking their faces off and hurting those around them as if there's nothing they can do about it instead of tackling their demons head on in more creative, healthier ways. Am I around Nikki day and night to know he's sober all the time? No. But you know in this day and age that if he has a less-than-sober moment, TMZ is going to catch him right? I realize he's human and this moment may come some day, but I respect the fact he at least makes real attempts to stay clean and reaches out to his fans who need help via regular positive posts on the web to help them too.

Years have past since I first saw his photo, and I am glad to still have Nikki roaming the planet instead of only being here in spirit like other greats in the past who passed on too early. He's still touring with Motley Crue, finally publishing books (p.s. whatever actually happened to An Education in Rebellion?), and putting on a radio show (Sixx Sense). And of course, tweeting. Without which, I would not have received a web-smile tonight that put a smile on my own face after a day-long bad mood.

Signed,
Still a little Cruehead at heart

Mad Man

Here is a really small sidebar article about the man behind one of my favorite shows of all time that inspired me to actually buckle down and try to chase writing and concert photography for real. I carried it around in my wallet for inspiration to read when I'm bored or need encouragement. Why not listen to someone who clearly knows what he's talking about?


Basically #1 had the most impact on me because it helped me get serious and start building the path myself. I patterned my methods after my idols, but in my own way and in a manner I am comfortable with that doesn't betray who I am. For example, some people might feel confident enough to post video blogs on YouTube to promote themselves, but I am not one of them.

I also love #2 because although it can make you feel guilty to turn down offers someone else might jump at, you have to be true to your heart and have faith that something better for you is around the corner. Don't make yourself take anything out of desperation, because resentment will kick in from day one. If you are severely hesitant to accept an offer, there must be a reason and you should trust yourself. Besides, any time I've turned down an opportunity, I found that later I was glad I did. So, in other words, go with your gut.

Anyway, here's the article:

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From an Entertainment Weekly interview with Matthew Weiner, 12/12/08:

"How the 43-year old exec producer of AMC's Emmy-winning Mad Men got smart in five easy steps

1. He realized he wasn't smart-yet
"I started looking at people whose careers I wanted—David Chase, Woody Allen— and saw that I was not on that path."

2. He said no.
"I turned down a contract at Becker even though I had no other job. It proved that I was uncompromising. Or crazy."

3. He made stuff.
"I wrote the Mad Men script to show what I could do."

4. He never gave up.
"It takes hundreds of no's to get a yes. How many networks are there? That's how many no's I got."

5. He played nice with everyone.
"My Mad Men script was given to AMC by my manager's former assistant. Taking your aggression out on anyone will always come back to bite you. Sometimes in the parking lot after the meeting."

Next Stop...the Twilight Zone

Basically the way I see it, technology is leading us in a direction where we're not going to need anyone for anything. "What do we need (insert business type here) for? Do it yourself at (insert url here)!" etc.

There are those who use Facebook, Twitter, etc. because of its ability to "provide closeness with the relief of distance" or whatever this article I read recently said, those who use it all for fun, and those who use it to find people they probably didn't really want to keep in touch that badly with anyway, they just wanted to keep tabs on their doings with no real intention of ever having offline experiences. I suppose any one of us that has a Facebook page fits into all of those categories.

May I submit, for your consideration, a quote from the very first episode of the Twilight Zone "Where Is Everybody?" which aired 52 years ago in 1959 (when Nikki Sixx, Madonna and Prince were all about a year old):

You see, we can feed the stomach with concentrates, we can supply microfilm for reading, recreation, even movies of a sort. We can pump oxygen in and waste material out, but there's one thing we can't simulate that's a very basic need. Man's hunger for companionship.

I love this quote. It means that even with all these products and websites at our fingertips to help keep us from leaving the house where our computers and televisions are that pump ads into our faces all day, we'll still find an organic way to connect on a real level.

That is all.

/endlatenightramble