Put Another Dime In The Jukebox Baby

I miss playing music. I miss playing an instrument along with other bassists or guitarists. I miss playing music with a beat behind me. I miss the feel of backing my van into the loading area. I miss people asking me when we go on. I miss trying to find the venue in some god forsaken town. I miss having to kill half a day with my friends in that god forsaken town. I miss playing in front of new people in that town in that club we've never been in. I miss sound checking. I miss the hum of my towering amp between songs. I miss running my mouth to folks from behind the microphone. I miss the roar of the band around me making all that racket. I miss the comradery of "us against the world". I miss doing something very unpopular, only to be smoking shitty radio rock bands who are doing what's really popular. And most of all, I hate seeing bands doing what I want to do....playing rock-n-roll music.

It's been over 3 months since The Dead Kings decided to stop for, well, however long we stop for. It's been 6 months since we played a show...anywhere. And it's been almost a year since we got in the van and hit the road. But it may as well of been 10 years it feels so long. I can go longer without fornication than I can playing music I think. I miss everything about it, as stated above. Alot of that stuff I've taken for granted over all the years of playing music. I had a band that stayed very active and that people really like. Now I have a living room full of amps and intrustments.

Last night Antiseen, local punk legends for the uninformed, played a really good show here in town with Vanguard and The Pier Six Brawlers. Good show. No.....GREAT show actually. And it was killing me. I had more than a dozen folks coming up and asking when the Kings were gonna get it going again. Some being honestly very emphatic. And the answer is...I have no friggin clue what so ever. We stopped because the formula just wasnt' working. Me and Steve didn't wanna go through another period of trudging forward, on the verge of embarrassment because it was falling apart. If/when we get it going again, there will be some changes. Those changes involve some new people. And I hate it. The most recent line-up was one of my favorites, as far as personality goes. I enjoyed that particular group of band members because we all liked each other and we had fun. But not everyone was on the same page and it just can't happen....with that configuration of musicians. So....I don't know what's going on with that. I know for a fact there will be atleast 1 more Dead Kings show...but I suspect there'll be more. Just no clue WHEN.

However, one glimmer of hope is that my other band, Biggy Stardust and his Wretched Hive, might be waking up from a nap. No details worth confirming....but we're (me and my partner the Manwhore) are talking with 2 guys, a drummer and a guitarist who have shown interest in revving up again. This makes me happy and has me joyously optimistic. The Wretched Hive band is the side band I started in order to play sloppier, more raw rock-n-roll, that doesnt jive with The Dead Kings style. We had a good thing going, recorded a good record, and stole some shows. People had other obligations.....so half the band became toast. But it's looking like something might be happening on that front and all I need right now to sustain me is alteast a little glimmer of light.