Big Ass (hole) Show

Okay, we've posted enough about how much of a hassle it was to get to compete to play this thing--here's how it went.

First let's say how grateful we were/are that we got to play. Thanks, seriously.

Anyway, we arrived right at 8am as instructed. Speaking of instructions, when we received the email that explained how to proceed, our time slots, set time, etc. we were completely blown away at how condescending it was. I don't know if Randi from X96 is a dick in real life, but this letter, was insulting. I know you gotta be tough with local bands and make sure they don't run wild, but why can't you just say that we're not allowed to sell our merch unless we go through the venue's booth? Instead, it reads: "Local bands are not allowed to 'pedal their wares.'" That makes us feel like beggars. Ridiculous.

After finally finding the entrance and talking with the surliest staff member we could find, we made our way to the Live and Local stage. Now, if that stage were set up next to my childhood doghouse, with its broken chain link fence, rusty nails, and rotten, swollen boards, this stage would have appeared impressive. Not being in the vicinity of any kennels, the stage looked quite pathetic next to the grandeur that is the USANA Amphitheatre. Not to mention the location.

Imagine a baseball diamond and the concession stands along the outer wall. Then imagine a parking lot on the other side of the concession stands. That's where the Live and Local stage was. It actually looked like you weren't supposed to go back there. Very uninviting, no signs whatsoever as to what went on through the small entrance between the bathroom and security guard station, nor was there a line-up posted of local bands. In fact, there was no mention at all that there was even another stage! X96 has, in the past, been known to overshadow one of their events with another under their same sponsorship.

So while we unloaded our gear onto the grass, we heard all of the other local bands complaining that this was a tad bit insulting. Listen, it's not that we feel entitled to equal treatment as the national acts, but this was seriously embarrassing. We had fans paying $20 (before smithstix wonderful 8$ surcharge) just to see us play in a parking lot.

Fast forward to our set. We stuck by the local stage the entire time because the main stage had absolutely NOTHING to offer. We were supposed to get 20 minutes--we ended up at about 16 because of being "behind schedule." What schedule? The local stage was done at 3:30pm and the main show went until 9 o'clock. What's the rush? Anyway, despite a lot of negative aspects, we had a WONDERFUL show. Something must have ended at the main stage because during our second song, I kid you not, the people showed up in droves. Literally hundreds of people! It was fantastic. The response was amazing and we even had a lovely woman from City Weekly come over to us after our first song and give us waters. We didn't have any and we were quite worried that one of us would pass out in the heat.

So, yes, the stage was in a poor location with literally zero advertisement and there was not a single friendly staff person on the grounds. But despite all that, we had one of our funnest shows to date--albeit the shortest.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

It is with deepest regret that we announce that our drummer, Te Lawrence, has decided to leave the band. Without getting into it too much, let's just say that it had to do with some conflicting personalities and priorities. We do wish him the best and hopefully any of you that are fans of Steady Machete will keep an eye out for him in another band if he ever decides to continue his drumming career.

So what does that mean for us? No, we're not breaking up. Tommy and I immediately started looking for a replacement as soon as the threat of Te's departure appeared. We actually were quite lucky and found someone to fill the position almost immediately. His name is Jake (don't think I ever got his last name). He has a style quite different from that of the dearly departed, but so far it has proven to be a good thing. We will be working on five songs for our two upcoming shows this month. They are, Dirty Mouth, The Cause, Taken, Adios, and My Engine. The King and I might make an appearance since we don't need a drummer for that song. You'll have to come to the shows to find out. We will be redoing our entire cataloug and start our self-produced record.

Monday October 13th
Muse Music w/ Man Without Wax and The Stiletto Formal
Provo
7:30pm
$5

Tuesday October 14th
Kilby Court w/ The Wanteds and Seve Vs. Evan
SLC
7:00pm
$6

Foolish bailout or economic rescue?

Since my day job is in finance, I too am going to weigh in on this behemoth of a topic. This is how sad it is folks, even rock bands are prone to discuss politics and economic status. Mama Cass is choking on a sandwich all over again. Don't worry though, this will be short.

After digesting what I've read and heard about the so-called "bailout" or "economic rescue package" as the proponents like to call it, I've come to a few conclusions and a few questions. First the questions:

Why is so hard to get all the facts? This obviously pertains to everything in life, but in this particular case, it really shouldn't be so hard. I mean, how can there possibly be such a division amongst people and politician about this bill? I may be naive, but this is something that should be either good for the economy or bad for it. Let me explain. If the banks really are in so much trouble, then can't people agree that something has to be done? Even if it is an added burden on the tax payers? Let's say Citigroup, the largest bank by assets, has too many credit default swaps on their books. Even if the accounting rules are changed from mark-to-market to more of a value-at-time-of-purchase system, they still are stuck with the mounting premium costs going out. With so much outgoing expenses, any entity runs the risk of becoming insolvent. So what if the big boys started drying up? Citi, JP Morgan, BofA. The government would HAVE to step in. So the bailout is just a minor form of the massive socialization that would eventually occur anyway.

But wait! The other side is that the banks aren't in that much trouble. Then the complete opposite is true and those that made those risky bets (most are now gone anyway) pay/paid the price and the larger, smarter firms dominate. Sure the market won't like it for a while, but I don't retire for another 30 years so I'm fine with waiting for the upturn. This is what I'm talking about when I say we should have the facts. Being that this whole plan is based upon saving banks by buying their POS assets, there should be complete transparency for us tax-payers to view their balance sheets and decide for ourselves if they run a risk of becoming insolvent. We have a song called "Insolvent." Check it out. When I saw "us tax-payers," I mean a committee of private, independent auditing firms hired to represent the public.

So there are the questions. My conclusion: The banks and Wall Street seem to have pulled a Donald Trump on the government. In "Art of the Deal" Donald tells about how he became so leveraged, that when confronted with an utter failure of his business, he approached the very banks that lent him the money in the first place and basically said, "either we both lose or we both win." They ended up lending him more money so they didn't have to write off so much bad debt to the Donald. We seem to be essentially dealing with the same thing here. The common folk are saying, "if my bakery goes under because I buy too much flour and it gets full of weevils, no one bails me out." Well, if you were the only bakery in the country and we would no longer have bread to sustain us, someone would bail you out. So unfortunately for us, without having all of the facts and perfectly transparent balance sheets, the banks/Wall Street are holding all the cards even after they've made all the risky bets they could.

So what to do? Well, I'm getting married in Vegas in two weeks and I tell you what: I'm pulling out my 401(k) money and putting it all on black and odd. If I lose, I'll just apply for government assistance.