odysseus

It's another giddy ride on the Tool bus, but I'm diggin' it!

I keep a viagra tab in the wallet with the condom these days. Yep, that condom has been with me as long as I've been gigging..

Ahh... that's what they WANT you to think.... 😉

Cher and Paul Stanley are the same person.

They walk among us....

First one in 2 years last night - a support slot with some friends of ours. Excellent night and great to be back. Freezing my t!ts off to start with, but by the end of our set I wish I hadn't worn the hoodie as I was sweating like a glass-blower's bumbum...

Of course. Stone-faced ascetism doesn't appeal to me where music is concerned. Normal caveats apply, obviously.

Back on topic: Keep a bog roll in your kit bag. 'Nuff said.

If you know it's going to be a really hot one, a vacuum flask of ice water can be a godsend. Amazing how many pubs don't have ice available.... plus, you know where it came from...

YYNOT just got themselves a new singer. Very good, she is, too! Got Geddy off to a tee.

Another one for me was Fates Warning. Through the 90s I was heavily into the whole prog metal thing, like Dream Theater, Symphony X, Shadow Gallery, Vanden Plas etc. Again, I was aware of Fates Warning but had never taken much notice. It was only about 4 years ago that YouTube algorithm served up their Alive In Athens set while I was browsing on my tablet one morning. Holy Cow, Batman! How did that get past me?! Further digging revealed that these guys pretty much blazed the trail for many of the prog dudes that followed.... couple of the DT guys said exactly that in an interview. I love 'em and I've been slowly buying my way through their back catalogue. They've been going since the 80's but seem to be making really good music still - Theories Of Flight is one of my favourite albums and that was only 3 or 4 years ago.

Tell me about it. Even on here I've had a couple of "My mate's got one for sale for £xxx so can I buy yours for the same price?" Cool story, bro... Buy your mate's then, you dillrod!! 🙄 The vast majority of people on here are a pleasure to deal with though, both buying and selling. I don't generally go anywhere else unless I have to...

One that's big enough for your own gear but not so big that you're obliged to shlep round the countryside dropping off every bugger else's gear and their semiconscious owners at some ungodly hour. Take it from someone who's been driving a Renault Trafic for the last 6 years.

Dam That River by Alice In Chains was always one of my favourites to play live back in the day, despite being quite repetitive. Porch by Pearl Jam was another I really enjoyed.

Mark Lanegan passed away recently... I'd heard the name but never took a great deal of notice. I did some research and some YouTube diligence and discovered that I love Screaming Trees. I was into grunge when it was at its peak and I was a callow pup of 19 or 20, - I loved Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden, and was in a band covering them, but Screaming Trees passed under the radar somehow. So, the bottom line is that I'm about 30 years late on that one. That's pretty shoddy. 🤡 So what bands passed you by, when theoretically you were in exactly the right time and place to get on it?

Ordered a secondhand Mayones Jabba from BD that appeared via FB feed on Saturday morning. Arrived on Monday morning - absolute minter of a bass! I've used BD a few times and they've been great.

Even that is like herding cats sometimes....

I'm intrigued by the idea, but never had the opportunity to try a VI. I'd really like one of these Abasi Larada guitars though....

For sure, mate - they play some tasty stuff!

Juna and the girls throwin' down a li'l cool funk....

My condolences. Sounds like a loooong evening... 😬

Going to see Huun Huur Tu, the Mongolian/Tuvan throat singing guys next month at The Acorn in Penzance. After that, Indian metal band Bloodywood at the Crauford Arms in Milton Keynes.

Definitely some core work to help if possible. I don't know the OP's situation, but some work on the glutes and hamstrings might help - strengthening these other areas of the posterior kinetic chain can reduce the load on your back. Hip-thrusts, Romanian deadlifts, rear leg raises possibly? I've got a herniated disc at the base of my spine and a crushed T6 vertebra, and these exercises have made an enormous difference to my back health.

Yep, I'm one of those weirdoes that doesn't like short sleeve shirts, but rolls the sleeves up on a long sleeve shirt! As for gigs, I usually wear T shirt, as our gigs inevitably end up with me sweating like a glass-blower's derriere... 🥵