The Churning
27Nov/068

I want to be a fisherman.

I know you all think JJ's hot shit, now that his band is taking off. I know this, and yet I can feel your doubt.

"Ev", you slyly poke, "Can't you rock?"

Normally, this would be the point that I trot out my old bass, dust it off and play "Mary had a fucking little fucking lamb, you fucks" (I wrote it). You would point and laugh, and I would say something like "Well I'm just learning" and then you would feel bad for hurting my feelings; when clearly I thought I rocked the fuck out. (Really? It's like listening to 4 year old bang on a pot or pan. And thus, I would be stricken from the Halls of Rock forever.

But all that has changed.

Guitar Hero 2Yes, it's true. I broke down (after hearing X-Play's review of the game a 5 out of 5, unheard of!) and bought Guitar Hero 2 and the Guitar Controller. Having never played the original game, and with a pocket full of shame; I started the game.

Let me break all review style on your ass right now!

Firstly, you open the box and there is this mini-guitar with 5 fretboard notes, a strum "bar" and a "whammy bar". It even comes with custom decals (read: stickers. I love you Rainbow Brite!) to "pimp your axe". The PS2 version plugs right into the controller slot, so no worries, you just plug tab a into slot b. (That's what she said, HEYO!)

You've got training, career mode, quick play and co-op. And that's as far as we're getting with this review styled shit.

It's anecdotal time, kids. Break out the firehose! In my heart, I want to rock your socks. Now, now, don't throw your panties just yet. (looking at you, Mojotek and you, Shirley)

One of my favorite songs, of all time, is Danzig's "Mother". It just happened to be on the fucking awesome Guitar Hero 2 set list. So, I rock this song out and I'm doing a fiersome thrashing riff, when my wife starts chuckling and giggling. I, clearly vexed with Rockthefuckoutitis, only notice when the song is done (and I widdlywah on the whammy bar). Glistening with rocksweat, I ask her "What's so funny?". She replies mid-laugh and says "You're really into that game, huh?" I had done it. I had become the ultimate loser. I was thrashing out on my fucking playstation videogame.

The game is great, great enough to make cynical, snobby, negative-nancy, Ev actually have a good time and enjoy himself. If it can do that for me, imagine the tasty licks and wicked sweet time you could have.

Also? My left hand hurts worse than that time I watched 87 hours of porno straight.

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16Nov/0611

The Knitting Factory Gig or Ian’s Shit Story

the codes
the codes

Thanks to everyone who made the trip to the Knitting Factory in New York to catch The Codes live. The crowd was amazing. We got a great response and the vibe was perfect.

And if you didn't see the show, you missed out on one of the strangest moments of stage banter I've ever witnessed. Halfway through the second song, I broke a guitar string. I grabbed the backup guitar and of course I broke a string on that one too. That was our only backup, so Ian and I were left to share one guitar.

Jay grabbed the backup guitar and started changing the string. That left Ian alone at the mic to entertain the audience sans music. He told the following story:

I was at class today and I was getting really tired. So I got a huge cup of coffee and guzzled it. Before I knew it, I felt a huge shit coming on.

I took off for the bathroom and sat down in the middle stall. I dropped a huge log. That sucker was no joke. I flushed to get rid of the smell, but it wasn't over yet. Before I finished, someone took a seat in the stall next to me. I looked down at his shoes and thought they were really weird. They had this odd flowery print on them. Then as I was about to get up, someone took the stall to my left. I looked down I noticed - HIGH HEELS!

I was in the women's bathroom! And the place was packed. A nearby class must have just ended. So I did the only thing I could do... I waited it out. Several minutes went by and after the final set of footsteps went silent, I made a run for it.

I escaped the bathroom without causing any trouble. But I was in there for a while and had plenty of time to think. That experience taught me one thing. When they think they're alone, women talk about the same sort of things guys talk about: sex, drugs, and partying.

The next song we played was a little rough, because we were still focusing on the guitar situation. But after that, we nailed every song. The set was tight and the audience really seemed to dig it. Check out pics from that show and from our other recent events on our pics page.

If you missed out, don't fret. We have several show dates coming up. First, we're playing Tritone in Philly on Nov 22nd. Then we have another Philly gig in December (possibly two). Check out our show dates page or The Codes MySpace page for details.

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13Feb/0610

Music for People Who Love Pabst Blue Ribbon

My bandmates and I played a hipster house party Saturday in Philly. The venue was amazing - an old coffin hardware factory that had been converted into loft apartments.

I guess I should start by saying I'm in a band. We're called Pioneer Rock Music. It's a new incarnation of the folk/country style band I've been playing in for the past year or so. We added another member and changed our style to more of a rock/punk/country feel. Here's the lineup (thanks to Momo for the pics!):
Pioneer Rock Music
Ian, Sam, Brian, and JJ.

I'm playing guitar on that song. But I play drums on most of the other tracks:
Pioneer Rock Music
JJ and Ian.

The singing duties are spread around, with Sam and Ian doing most of the lead vocals. Brian sings lead on a couple of songs - and we have a few songs where we all sing hillbilly style. You know - South Philly hillbilly.

We got a keg of PBR, keeping with the Pioneer tradition of shitty beer, bags of something, and loud music. We brought an insane number of amps, and the stage was littered with instruments: 5 guitars, bass, drums, lap steel, mandolin, etc. I've suggested we get a music school intern from Temple to help haul our shit around.

Sarah missed out because of the weather, but despite the blizzard, there were maybe 50 people at the party to hear us play. Wait, I think that's the first time I've mentioned the blizzard. By the time we started playing there were several inches on the ground. Check out what it looked like this morning:
Snow in Rittenhouse Square
This is Rittenhouse Square, the park near my apartment.

So back to the party. We played maybe 45 minutes. All the songs were originals aside from one cover - a punk/country version of Runaway. Yeah, the run-run-run-run-runaway song. I think overall the set was well received. The feedback was entirely positive. A buddy of ours is a sound guy and he recorded most of the set for us. Hopefully I'll be able to post a song or two in the next couple of weeks.

And one final note... Because a lot of people asked me last night, I'll address this with all of you now: Yes, Ian has a girlfriend.

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24Jan/0619

People From Philly Talk Funny

I've learned some new local lingo:

  • Slippy - It's a synonym for "slippery."
    "I had to drive slow on the way to work this morning because the roads were super slippy."
  • Done that - It's short for "done with that."
    "You ready to go out, or are you still busy doing laundry?"
    "I'll be ready soon. I'm almost done that."
  • Jawn - "Thing." This word can be used for just about anything.
    *A guy needs a lighter* "Dude, pass that jawn."
    *Guy owes guy ten bucks* "Gimme that jawn. I'm broke."
    *Guy has a new guitar* "Nice! That jawn is badass!"
  • Down the shore - Jersey shore, or Atlantic City.
    "Where you headed this weekend?" "Oh, down the shore."

I think the lesson here is that Philly people are naturally lazy - or efficient. Either way, they love grammatical shortcuts.

I'm surprised more people here don't say "LOL" or "WTF." What you might actually hear: "When I'm done that jawn I'm headed down the shore, even though the roads are slippy."

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14Dec/0515

Gifts for Dorks

Looking to buy a gift or two for the lonely loser in your life? I've picked out a few classics:

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