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Mike Devlin sent me a follow up to yesterday’s post regarding the classic Alice in Chains/Pearl Jam show in Victoria back during the first ice age.

AiCposter

Holy shit!  That show was on my birthday!

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Its been awhile since I shared some emails and today I got a couple nice ones.

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The first email is from Jessica talking about the Matt Good/Mother Mother concert last week.

Hey Jeremy!
The concert on Saturday was really good! It was my second time seeing Mother Mother and I was sad they only did 6 songs…it was a very short opening act! In the intermission there was so many people who had never heard them and all bought there CD’s because they were so impressed!

It was a first seeing Matt Good but, he was awesome!! Apparently, people were upset that he was only on for an 1hr and 15. I thought it was a good length though!
On that note! I’d love to hear one of these songs if you get a chance!!
Mother Mother – Touch Up

Thanks a bundle!

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I was trolling Mike Devlin’s Facebook the other day, and the founder of the The Zone, a gentleman named Al Ford, posted a picture of Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) on his site.  The concert was from 1990 I think, at Harpos (where Upstairs is now).  AiC played with the beginnings of Pearl Jam (some band named after a basketball player), and a group from Victoria (name I can’t recall).

JerryCantrell

What a rad picture.  Al has all sorts of great Victoria rock and roll memorabilia.  Makes me wish I had done a better job collecting over my years as a broadcaster and indie rock hipster.

I talked about this picture on my radio show the other day and got some of it wrong.  More fun facts emerge from Troy.

Jeremy,
I have to help you out a little on your comment on Jerry Cantrell earlier.

Yes the club was Harpo’s in Bastion Square where the club something or other “… Upstairs” is located now.

The band name you tried to recal was Mookie Blaylock. Another pre-Pearl jam played there as well during that same era under the name Green River featuring Mark Arm later of Mudhoney fame plus Jeff Ament and other Pearl Jam members. I didn’t live here at the time but might I suggest that perhaps you confused the two groups?

At any rate you’re the best DJ on the zone and a decent bloke. We met when my old band was band of the month back a few years ago and you were a very genuine guy. So with that in mind please play some Visqueen sometime, like Hand Me Down from Message To Garcia, the kids will dig it.

TN

Visqueen?

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awwww.  Suzanne jammed out CRC 80.

I listened to your podcast from today! I loved it and felt all nice
and fuzzy afterwards:)

just to let you know:)

Suzanne:)

I feel fuzzy now too.

Go with yourself.

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I ran into Michael Burke at the Maurice/We Are the City show last week.  Michael Burke operates the Victoria record label Cordova Bay and one of his bands is Acres of Lions.  He was telling me the new video would be on Youtube shortly and huzzah!  Shortly means today.  Check it out and share it with friends.

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Growing up in the wilds of Coquitlam, there were two records I remember playing exceptionally heavy.  R.E.M.’s Green and Alice in Chains’ Unplugged.

Every night before bed, I’d throw the AiC record in my discman, tuck into a book about war and go away.

Many nights, I would go through the record two times before falling asleep.

The habit was so entrenched, that even to this day, I still love listening to music before bed and if I am ever feeling the weights of life pulling down on me, a little music before bed or laying on the couch in the dark with the headphones on will make me feel infinity better.

A great modern rock shame in those days was that I never did go see Alice in Chains in concert.  I do think a bunch of my friend did see them once at some arena show in Vancouver, but I missed that one.

Later, after the band was on the hiatus, I had the chance to see Jerry Cantrell twice.  Once at Richards and another time opening for Metallica at Thunderbird Stadium.  Both times were special but the Richards show was the better.

Jerry had this band on tour with him called Comes With the Fall (circa 2002 I think… Wagner, were you at this show with me?).

I didn’t know what to expect at the Jerry Cantrell solo tour other than I was sure to hear some Boggy Depot and Degradation Trip.  My life erupted with joy when Jerry launched into many classic AiC songs… and filling in the part of Layne Staley was William DuVall, lead singer of Comes With The Fall.

Sounded mighty and was at the time, as close as I was going to come to an Alice in Chains show.  I’d have to relieve the live days on the DVDs I had (and my brother CJ had a great old VHS with lots of early footage too).

I guess William did a good job and the band felt it was time, after 14 years, to put out another record, revive the Alice in Chains handle, and get out there!

Today I had the chance to talk to bass player Mike Inez.  I made a little podcast of the interview and included far more than what you’ll hear on the radio or countdown this weekend.  if you are an AiC fan like me, please take a second to have a listen (well many seconds total running time is 15 minutes).

Download: Interview: Mike Inez of Alice in Chains

Mike gives the cole’s notes version of joining Alice In Chains.  He was on tour with Ozzy and working in Reno recording when he got a call from Sean Kinney inviting him to join the band.

He goes on to talk about the natural progression he felt as the band got back together including the original genesis… the Tsunami of 2005.

The band toured a bit and the shows got bigger and bigger and it showed them it was time to do it right.  AiC financed the record independently before even thinking about sending to a label for distribution.

Then I find out, Mike Inez is a hockey fan?  SWA?  LA Kings? I’ll TRY not to let that ruin his musical legacy.

Mike talks about the meaning behind the title of the album Black Gives Way to Blue.  He tells the story of floating in Jerry’s pool as they debated album title names and why song is special for the band.  the title track was especially hard to record because of its meaning and Jerry battling an illness at the time.

Then he reflects on Layne Staley and what he was like living and tells the story of the Grammy Awards snubbing Layne after his death despite the fact AiC has been nominated for Grammy Awards… what 5 times, 6 times?

Mike Inez is a great guy and I loved interviewing him and having the chance to hear his stories.  I hope you do too.

Go with yourself.

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sunday buckets

Kale, Eric and the rest of the boys from The Zone’s October Band of the Month came by The ZAS for a quick chit-chat and live performance.

Download: Sunday Buckets live on The ZAS
Song: “Aftermathmatics
Song: “Personality

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OK, so this video is alright I guess…

But then you click THIS RED HOT NSFW link and you get the magic.  A man sings into another man’s penis, boobies, and a naked chick does this reverse bridge thing… yeah its pretty special.

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Two things.

First, this blog post was/is pretty good.  People Who Are Talented

Basically the guys says… if someone is really good at something, then they are likely good at other things.  A company you deal with that is truly good at what they do, is good at ALL aspects of that business, not a few.  Neat.

and then this advice.

“Left Eye” Lopes at the Dead Rock Star Party anyone?

Go with yourself.

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I signed up for a 24 hour gym tonight.  God bless the internet.  For… hmmm, wow, the better party of a year, I’ve been wah wah-ing about how sad I am that I am so outta shape, and what to do? and how do I pay for it? and where is the time?

And then… it hit me… fuck, I seem to be up every night till some dumb hour, trolling the internet, watching the worst late night TV, wandering my tiny condo, doing nothing… if only there was something productive, I could do at 12 midnight.  a-ha! Work out.  AND there is a 24 hour gym in Victoria.  I went to their website and you can sign up for a free month trial.  I did, they emailed me a coupon and tomorrow I’ll bring it in and get their “pitch.”  If its reasonable, I’ll sign up and get in the best shape of my life… or not.  Maybe it costs a billion trillion dollars to work out at a 24 hour gym?

The point is, after trolling the internets for a bit, I could burn off energy doing something. Its so boring at night.  It is times like this I wish I lived in a city, then I’d walk outside.

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album-art-girls-album

My online journey yesterday lead me to read about a new band called Girls.

Their or his, or whatever… the record is called “Album.”  Neat huh.

Has a nice vintage rock & roll sound.  Maybe for fans of Glasvegas… except they don’t have that one nice stand-out like “Geraldine.”  Surf style guitars, Buddy Holly hic-up sing-songs.

Review: Girls – ‘Album’

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Go with yourself.

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Last Friday I was surprised to find that I had Slipknot front man Corey Taylor on the show.

Slipknot is arguably one of the biggest metal bands criss-crossing North America right now.  Their four albums, beginning with 1999’s Slipknot are all platinum sellers in Canada.

When I was growing up, Slipknot became hugely popular during the days of “nu-metal.”  For that reason, the masks, the horror themes… they weren’t really my style.  Which is a bit of a shame, because knowing that I would interview Corey Taylor, I went back and had a listen and the music is pretty good.

I am more a fan of his softer stuff.  I think “Snuff” is their best cut and I always enjoy Stone Sour.

Mike Devlin over at the Times-Colonist does a good job of explaining it all

Corey and I talked about growing up in Iowa in poverty, working multiple jobs, getting into metal and rock and roll.  The early days of Stones Sour and Slipknot.

We talk about what set Slipknot apart in 1999 and about the changes you’ll hear on the new(er) “All Hope is Lost.”

Some Slipknot fans are not so much into the changes… but fuck it, I like the new record!  and that surprised me.

Then we move on to, the end of Slipknot?

Finally, it gets weird and we talk about crazy fans, the masks, people dressed as Slipknot on Halloween, a horror convention in Las Vegas, and try to guess what kind of underwear Corey is wearing.

Mostly I liked Corey Taylor because even though I am clearly not a Slipknot fan, the dude was pleasant, respectful and a good time to chit-chat with on the radio.

So here it is, almost 19 minutes with Corey Taylor.

Download: Corey Taylor on The Zone Afternoon Show

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Saturday night I spent my evening in Langford for the last home game of the season for the Victoria Rebels football team.  They crushed the Vancouver Trojan by a score of like, a billion to twenty.  It was almost silly.  Friday on the ZAS before Corey came on the show, I had a chance to talk to a couple guys from the Rebels.

Download: Victoria Rebels on The ZAS

Go with yourself.

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