CVMA Vets For Vets

Date: Saturday, September 6, 2014
Venue: Pit Stop Bar & Grill, Nolanville TX
Lineup: Back Creek Band, Hexlust, Lady Zion & The Babylon Boys

Being from a military town like Killeen, you'd think we'd have played veteran benefit shows like this more often. Or, you know, at all. Somehow, in our seven-plus years of playing live, we never got picked up for one.

Well, first time for everything and all that. Our initial foray into the world of military benefit concerts was hosted by the local chapter of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, and held at the Pit Stop Bar & Grill in Nolanville, a few miles outside of Killeen. Proceeds went to veterans organizations in the Central Texas area including, but not limited to, the State Veterans Home in Temple and the Fort Hood USO.

As you may have seen from the list of bands I posted at the top, today's bill was... varied. Very "intersting." The Back Creek Band opened the festivities with a set of mostly if not all covers, culled from the classic/Southern rock spectrum, including that bar-band chestnut "Pride & Joy," mixed with more mainstream songs executed with a laid-back, twangy sort of approach, like Nirvana's "All Apologies." What really made them stick out for me is their use of three guitarists (four if you count the acoustic the singer pulled out of thin air halfway through), which was more fun to watch than you'd expect, especially since one of them took more of a "slide guitar" approach to his playing. My only disappointment is that they had three-plus guitarists and didn't pull out any early Radiohead. Even "High & Dry" would have hit the spot for me.

Closing out the fun was Lady Zion & The Babylon Boys, with some more bar rock, only this time with a keyboard player! The lineup also included one guitarist, an older gent (and the keyboardist's father) who could really shred; a drummer; Lady Zion herself on vocals; and a bassist who was kinda smooshed into the back corner of the stage, WHERE BASS PLAYERS BELONG. TARZAN. I'd say this band had more of a seventy-thirty ratio of covers to originals; I actually liked the originals and wished they played more, and dug the covers enough, they did the job, although I did want to tear my hair out when they launched into "Don't Stop goddamn Believing." Seriously, if you line up your television-watching, radio-listening, sport event-attending, and bar-hopping schedules just right, you could literally hear that song every single day for the rest of your life. I would have been their biggest fan if they'd played "Who's Crying Now."

I did get a kick out of them though, they had some real charisma. I've heard they can really get a crowd going, which, yes, every band puts in their insipid fucking presskit bios, but I could see it being true. I may try to catch them again at a show where theyre playing to an energetic boogie-ready audience, instead of providing background music to more of a social/networking event.

Sandwiched between those two bands, perfectly suited for a family-friendly charity event, you have... us. Yeah. Oh trust me, the disparity did not go unnoticed.

This was also a different show for us in that it was our first daytime gig ever. By that I don't mean we went on before sunset, I mean this shindig started at noon and we were scheduled for 2:30! Being so early in the day, I was a little worried about audience size. Granted, if nobody showed up for us, it was no skin off my ass, I know we rarely play around here and don't have much of an audience that doesn't consist of personal friends. However, my parents are members of the CVMA, and this was a thing they helped put together, to benefit a cause they care about, and I wanted more than anything for today to go well for them.

I had absolutely nothing to worry about. By the time we got there at about 11:45, the front parking lot was full and the place was well crowded. The audience of course consisted largely of bikers, not just CVMA but other associations here to show support, along with local veterans, families, and random folks we connived into showing up and paying to watch us make a spectacle of ourselves (and eat some awesome barbecue). A very different audience from what we're used to, but an audience nonetheless, and a sizeable one at that! Back Creek Band did a good job of keeping everyone entertained, and even had folks singing along in more than a few places; these people were primed and ready for musical amusement!

And what did we do with our sizeable, attentive audience? Why, we drove them the hell away, that's what!

HEXLUST
We still had 'em when we were soundchecking. Even with the obnoxiously copious drum kit, and the double-V axe attack, and Tarzan's super-awesome yet super devil-worshippy Hod shirt, everyone still seemed willing to stick this out with us. I think JT even increased our good will by warming up with "Simple Man." Then Tarzan dashed that all to hell when he checked his vocal mic, "Check, one two, check, CHEEEEEEEEEEECK," throwing on his growly kvlt vocals on that last check. According to Tony, folks immediately started nope-ing out the door. They didn't go home, but they sure didn't stay in there. By the time we started "They Conjure" three songs in, we had alienated about 3/4 of what was a pretty packed room.

Not that we didn't have our share of appreciative spectators. In addition to some fine folks who decided they were hip to our jive (or were perfectly capable of ignoring us despite our best efforts to be obnoxious), we also had a mix of personal friends, family friends, co-workers, my parents, JT's parents, and this gaggle of adorable little girls who were there the whole set and were also seen wailing away on my drums before we went on stage. I don't know their names because I didn't introduce myself because I suck at talking to children, but it was endearing to know that we left an impression on them.

We played great today, too! It's always fun playing for an atypical audience, it gives us an extra boost of obnoxiousness on top of our normal high energy levels to really unleash the hexcellence on some unsuspecting souls. I was worried about having an hour-long set, especially since we're used to playing a half hour, maybe forty-five minutes at the max, and after that, stick a fork in us because we are done. Thankfully, there was a drawing for raffle prizes after "Baphomet Dawn," giving us a much-appreciated breather to tune, change guitars, hydrate, stretch, etc. It allowed us to attack the second half of our set, which happens to contain our fastest songs, with a refreshened vigor. Well, maybe a little too much vigor; My right shoulder was screaming at me after "Tombs," and my lower back ached.

And of course, what would a show with Jake in attendance be without busting out Troops of Doom with him on guest vocals? We had actually rehearsed our cover of "Agent Orange" in preparation for this long-ass set, but when it came time to play it just seemed like an impossible task. I had forgotten that we used to play that tune to compensate for a lack of original songs. Now that we have a full album that we can play live, any covers that aren't idiot-simple or less than three and a half minutes are really pushing it for us.

SET LIST
Fucked By Fire
Toxic High
They Conjure
Baphomet Dawn
Imminent Retardation
Hellhammer
Meganecropolis
Troops of Doom
Tombs of the Blind Dead

CLOSING THOUGHTS
Did I feel bad for driving damn near the whole crowd away? A little. These people were here to eat some barbecue, socialize and network, and support a worthy cause, and here come Hexlust, emptying the room with our screeching whammy abuse solos, our thrash-til-death tempos, and our songs about shooting up with toxic waste and cities full of dead people and sodomy with a blowtorch (or is it a flamethrower? It's been a long time since Tony and I actually discussed FBF, I've long since forgotten what the implement was).

I can't deny that I enjoyed it, though.  I don't have anything against holding an audience, of course, but I do feel quite giddy knowing that we are the type of band that has to be acknowledged, positively or negatively. We can't be ignored. Granted, people were ignoring us, but they had to go out of their way to ignore us, they had to go to the other side of the venue (separated by a wall) or walk outside. Hexlust shall not just blend into the background and provide a soundtrack to your outing. You have to stand up and pay attention, or stand up and leave!

Also, more silver lining, my dad says that a lot of the vendors who were stationed outside reported a sudden, significant influx of business when we started playing. And who says you can't make money off death/thrash metal?

Yar.

THANKS
Hokay.

Thanks to Gary "No Name" and Christina "Devil Woman" for tossing our name in the hat when it came to choosing bands for this event. You guys have been really going out of your way support us over the past year or so, and that has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

Thanks to my parents, known by their "patch names" as MFD and Skunk, for their continuous love and support, and telling the other members that hey, you should really give Hexlust a listen and check them out before we decide to have them on this bill, they are a very different sort of band.

Don't let it be said that you didn't try to warn them.

Thanks to the Back Creek Band for letting us use their awesome PA, and to the people running the sound who were met with baffled expressions when they asked us simple questions like how many mikes I wanted on my drums. One of these days we'll be a real band who immediately know the answers to such things, but for now, patience.

Thanks to Jake, for driving all the way here and helping us out with the gear and the vocals, and to Ralph, Walter, Dylan, Chelsea, Tami, Casey Carson (who's been a family friend since before I was even born), and other friends who showed up and I forgot to mention and they'll be like "Screw you Dart where's my shoutout"

Big Special Thanks to Combat Vets Motorcycle Association Chapter 23-5 for putting on this event, and everybody who showed up in support of a cause we all care about.

Finally, thanks goes to all our veterans, past and present. Without your service I'm fairly certain I'd have to seriously watch my back when I walk around town with my long hair and my Strapping Young Lad "HELL YEAH YOU FUCKING SUCK" shirt. Thank you for fighting for my right to rock, so to speak.

Metal forever, cause problems, die by the sword, and don't forget to never blow out that Eastern Candle.

Into Everlasting Fire.

Thrash til Alzheimer's.

Haaaaaaaands Down! Part 2

Date: Saturday, April 4, 2009
Venue: Sports Shack, Killeen, TX
Playing with: Hands Down

PRE-SHOW
So we gets another invite to play a show with local friends Hands Down. For those not in the know or not remembering from our October 11 show, Hands Down are a predominantly covers band. Their guitarist, Sheena, is a good friend of mine. Her dad, Russ, is the singer/guitarist and bandleader, her mom is the bassist, and their friend Dan handles drums.

So we get this gig, which is great, cuz we had not played a local show in almost half a year at this point. The best part? The venue itself, the Sports Shack, was literally, LITERALLY, a three-minute drive from my house. Now I know what you’re saying: “That’s terribly fucking fascinating, Dart, but Tarzan and JT live in the Cove/Kempner area, and Tony in Temple. Aren’t you being kinda self-centered on the whole convenience issue?” Bear in mind that all our gear is stored in our practice room at my house. That means when the show’s over, we can just toss our shit into our vehicles as un-meticulously as possible, put on Death’s “Evil Dead,” and be unloading our stuff by the last chorus! You can’t tell me that ain’t a sweet deal.

Problem? Sound. The Sports Shack does not have a house PA, bands must bring their own. Luckily, we were playing with HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDS DOWN, one of those groups that’s more like a self-sufficient community than a band. Russ had his own PA packed into his truck and was very generous in letting us use it for our performance. As we shall find out later, benevolent as this was, things didn’t go completely swimmingly.

So after meeting at my house, scarfing down some wings and rice prepared by my dad, and rehearsing a bit, we broke down and got to the Sports Shack. James arrived shortly thereafter and helped me build my drum kit on the stage, for which I was very grateful indeed. Due to the convenience of location, I brought every piece of my kit I could pack into the bed of Tony’s truck, including rotary toms, extra floor tom, and even cowbells. While preparing to play, a few friends showed up, in the form of my friend Sue, Tony’s friends Susan and Andy, JT’s friend Kumer (sp?), Kodee, Jeff Lewis, Michael and Kelsi, and band friends John and Rick. (EDIT FROM THE FUTURE: John and Rick would later play with us in January 2010 in the band Desmortes.) And, of course, my dad, who took VIDEO FOOTAGE! Always a helpful tool in reviewing performances.

HEXLUST
This evening was special for one reason: The debut of two things: Our song “Baphomet Dawn” (actually a re-debut, in the YEAR since we last played this song we had re-tooled the structure and the lyrics and the solos) and JT’s awesome new red Jackson guitar! Tony was also using his Jackson this evening, meaning we unleashed a double-Floyd-Rose-whammy attack on this small club in Killeen!

For the most part, the set went very well. The list went Intro, Troops, Toxic, Hellhammer, Baphomet, Imminent, Tombs, Casket, Sodomy. Tony made the evening extra-so-special by announcing at the end of the intro “We are Hexlust from up the street!” There was something dropped in “Troops.” Was it Dart with his sticks? No, surprisingly, it was JT with his pick. What was better? His back-up picks he left on top of his amp fell down. Even better? He walked across the stage to grab a spare off Tony’s headstock. Speaking of JT and headstocks, “Toxic High” saw Mr. Bass getting his hair caught in Tarzan’s tuning keys. After the song ended, ol’ Tarzan was kind enough to remove the hair and toss it back onto its owner.

Comical moment #3 came at the beginning of "Hellhammer." Oldest HexJoke in the book, actually. I counted off and Tony DID NOTHING. I think he didn’t stomp his distortion (again). This time I took an extra second to say “Fool!” menacingly. And then of course Dart the FailDrummer dropped his stick! The re-debut of "Baphomet Dawn" went well, with Tony flubbing the lyrics only a few times! Wooh. Thanks to the appreciative reaction, we kept it in the setlist and haven’t not played it since. Although one thing that totally fell flat on its ass and we never did it again was Keith’s bass solo in the re-intro. Totally inaudible and overall pointless. We have since replaced it with a solo from Tony. Also: JT dropped a pick again. HAR! This time he actually had to fish on the ground for it.

Not much to say for “Imminent Retardation” besides how hilarious it was watching the camera try to switch back and forth between Tony and JT during their big trade-off solo section, which never fails to make me dizzy. “Tombs of the Blind Dead” came off very well, and when it came time for “Sodomy and Lust,” I unleashed ALL THE SPEED in the last verse! I love making my tired bandmates have to work to keep up with me during that verse.

Overall, lots of fun. The only real problem was the PA provided by Russ. While certainly fantastic in the use of Hands Down, those mics rebelled and became unruly when put in front of Hexlust. Tony’s vocals feedbacked constantly, and I was told my bass drum was a little too prominent in the mix. Not helping matters was the fact that Tony and JT compensated for the lack of miking by having their volumes set pretty high, which made Keith wanna turn up, which meant Dart’s drums were pretty much totally drowned out except for the overly-loud kick (this was apparent in the video as well.) We were very grateful to Russ for letting us use his equipment, but until we get a bitchin’ system of our own, we’re just gonna have to stick to clubs that come with one.

HANDS DOWN
After loading up the gear, we headed to my house and dropped our stuff off. What did we find? MORE WINGS! We re-nourished ourselves and headed back to the club. Since it was so close, we only missed a few songs out of Hands Down’s set. Of course, who did I find in the front row enjoying the hell out of the show, but my dad. The rest of the band soon left to get to their homes out of town, but Sue, Dad, and I stayed for both sets. All our favorite covers were played, plus an original tune that closed the show with a huge breakdown (which I know pleased Sheena.)

POST-SHOW (already?)
Did I mention there were only two bands this evening? Since HAAAAAAAAAAAAANDS DOWN play two sets, they’re practically two bands in one. Best part about playing on a bill with two bands? Splitting the money only two ways!

Oh, what did we do after the show? Well, the gear was already at home, the other guys had already left, so there wasn’t much left to do other than help Hands Down load their stuff, walk Sue to her car, go home, and go to sleep. I love local shows.

I would like to take this moment to thank all our friends who came to see us! Every time we play a local show we invite tons of friends, and it’s not very often more than… three show up. This evening, you all made us feel very specialJ