StickNick dot Com - Music

While I have a couple of lengthy updates I've been working on for what seems like forever, I'm going to update about our show on the 12th because, shit, it was awesome.

That gig was pretty huge for us to say the least. When we were told that we'd be opening for Exodus we were all pretty much freaked out. This was a band I grew up with. Their first album, Bonded By Blood, was a constant for me alongside Metallica's Master of Puppets and Hell Awaits by Slayer.

Times have changed, as has Exodus, but they are still pretty huge in the world of Thrash Metal and people really respect them for chugging on for all these years.

For nearly four months we fretted, we worried, we rehearsed, we re-tooled a few of the songs, we rehearsed more, we fretted more, and we worried more.

Eventually the day came.

Early afternoon, Sunday April 12, I sent a text to Dan: "I have two king cans of Busch and a pack of Marlboros. I'm ready".

Tara drove me to the jam space where Dan was waiting. Turns out Exodus had arrived super early and were waiting to unload. There was nothing we could do at that point as the club wasn't open. Pete and Christina showed up, we all cracked a beer, shot the shit, and waited for Jay and Mez to show up. Once they did we loaded our gear into Jay's car (The Shaggin' Wagon) and headed off to the bar.

We loaded out shit in, then helped Drillpoint and the Exodus/Warbringer roadies move their shit in. I have to say, next to the mounds of equipment the other three bands were working with, I said a small thank you to the powers that be: "Being small time is pretty nice... we have next to no equipment to fuck around with".

Eventually everything was set up and Exodus started in with their rather lengthy soundcheck. I'm not really griping, I mean they were the headliners, but I know we were all getting pretty antsy because (a) we still had to set up three other bands worth of shit and (b) watching Gary Holt and his crew sleepwalk though a song I have heard countless times before was pretty nerve wracking. Well, to me it was.

Fast forward: Drillpoint set up their drums and amps. Mez added his cymbals and shit. Jay plugged into their bass rig and I plugged my crap into their Mesa cabinet. We did our quick checks and then played a little bit of Crusades and that was that. It was time to let the people in.

I stood at the bar, sipped some water, and watched the people start to trickle in. Ten... fifteen... twenty... thirty... forty or so. I turned to Dan pointed to a random dude and said: "As of that guy there, this is the largest crowd we have ever played to."

And they kept coming.

What was also cool was my son, Kailen, was there. He seemed pretty excited (or as excited as he gets, being the laid back kid he is). He caught the first bit of the soundcheck until he was sooted outside by the douchebag staff who didn't care if he was my son or not (I'm still kinda pissed about that one). Once he was let back in, Kailen parked himself on one of the speakers at the front of the stage and waited for us to go on.

And the people kept coming in.

I went outside for a cigarette and to see what the lineup was like. I nearly shit myself when I looked to my left and saw that the line to get in was down Rideau and extended around the corner onto Cumberland. I cursed myself for not bringing the fucking camera.

Soon enough it was showtime.

I was really, really nervous when we started our first tune. My mouth was dry, my lips were chapped, my hands we shaking, and I knew I was slipping up on a few parts. Instead of letting it get out of control, I soldiered on. There was no getting around it.

In the middle of the song there is a one bar pause. When we reached this part there was no booing. Instead, there was a mass of people screaming. I looked over and there was Dan up at the front of the stage, right in the crowds faces. He was screaming at them to move up towards the stage, and they were. From that point on I was no longer nervous. The crowd didn't hate us! I settled down and stated doing my thing; only a bit more cautious than normal.

Our second tune, Crusades, went off extremely well and the reaction was just as, if not more, favorable. The same could not be said for our third tune, Gunslinger. We have been fucking around with this song since last spring and it never really fit in with the rest of the set. It's just poppy enough to stand out. A few people have liked it here and there so we just stuck with it. In December we played it at a show in Hull and during the middle section (which was long and made the song clock in at nearly six minutes) the crowds faces went long and the reception it got was merely so-so. This caused us to cut out said middle section, bringing the final time down to just over three minutes.

On Sunday, in the midst of Gunslinger we all knew it was going to be the last time we ever played that song again. It just killed the momentum. It was, to me, the longest part of the set. I wanted that tune to end because I could see we were loosing the crowd a little which was something we could not afford to do on this night. I mean there were well over a hundred people in front of us and this was the type of gig that people don't usually show up until the local bands are finished.

Gunslinger eventually came to it's conclusion and we paused for a brief second. The crowd cheered (not as loud as they did for the first two songs though) and I started the opening passage to Prepare For War - a newer song of ours that is steeped in old school Thrash-style, chugga-chugga riffs. The crowd was way more into this one. I forgot about Gunslinger and started having fun and thinking that we would probably make it out of this ok. Then something happened that I don't think any of us expected:

A mosh pit broke out.

I looked up from what I was playing and there was a pretty sizable pit goin' on. There were bodies flying. People falling and being picked up and thrown back in for more. There were kids headbanging. People had moved up to the stage and Dan was running back and forth yelling, screaming, and being a Kick Ass Metal Frontman.

Prepare For War ended to huge cheers and screaming and we busted right into our Hank Williams cover. Not long into the tune another mosh pit broke out. People were still headbanging and there were horns in the air. Dan kept at the crowd, taunting them, challenging them, keeping them pumped.

The scene infront of us. Pic taken by a co-worker.

The Hank cover ended and Dan was right up front. Right in their faces: "This is our last tune - I know you're all sticking around for Drillpoint, Warbringer, and EXOOOODDDDUUUUUUSSSSS!!!"

As he screamed Exodus' name I started into Trial By Fire. There is a bit of a noisy pause just before the verse kicks in and Dan was at it again. I really don't know what he was saying, but he was yelling and the crowd was reacting. We busted into the verse and, motherfucker, another pit broke out.

We blasted through Trial and our set was over before we knew it. The reaction from the crowd was simply awesome; hooting, hollering, screaming, cheering. Thinking back I should have raised a hand in thanks or something. Instead I just took off my guitar and started packing up my shit as we had to get the fuck off the stage.

The rest of the night was a blur of moving equipment, beers, shots or Jager, shots of Jack, more beers, bashing around in the pit while Exodus was on, and a whole pile of people I didn't know coming up to me and saying: "Good set man!" and "You guys were pretty fucking good!". Dan was milling around, still working the people, handing out free stickers and buttons to make sure people didn't forget who we were.

We were all in Rock Star mode. More so that we were a year before in Montreal.

There was also a kid there who was in his early teens. He had long blonde hair and a cast on his right arm. He was in the pit during our set and after asked Dan to sign his cast. I later saw this kid when I was in the mosh pit during the last half of Exodus' set. He was crowd surfing and it was awesome.

I arrived home at around 3am. I was drunk, my legs were sore, and I was more pumped than I ever have been after playing a show. Curling up beside my family was the perfect end to that kick ass day.

When all was said and done, I realized that The Unavowed actually has very little to worry about. We may not be super technical. We may not be super tight. Yet, after two years of working towards "something" we have found that what we have done what we initially set out to do: have fun and write tunes that people can nod their heads to and have fun right along with us. The hundred plus people watching us that night proved that we're on the right track.

Yours truly mid-set. Pic taken by a co-worker of mine.

Rockin' out on stage. Ou Quoi - Hull, Quebec. December 15, 2008.

Here is some video of The Unavowed (featuring yours truly on guitar) live at Club Saphir in Montreal on May 31, 2008.

It's the first two songs from our set: The Perfect Score and Crusades.

Enjoy!

As you well know, The Unavowed went on the first leg of a mini tour at the end of May with Kintra from Montreal and Breadfan from Toronto. The three bands hit up Cafe DeKcuf in Ottawa on Friday, May 30 and Club Saphir in Montreal on Satruday, May 31.

Needless to say, it was a blast.

Friday May 30, 2008.

Everything got started a little later than planned; traffic was insane downtown so the bar owner wasn't there until nearly 6:30 to let us and Kintra in. As well, Breadfan was a tad late getting to DeKcuf. This all worked out in the end though. Soundcheck was smooth (the sound guy for Maverick's/DeKcuf is fucking amazing) and Breadfan was looking to go on at about 10 anyway.

The sets were tight and to the point: Heavy music here!

Breadfan have crafted their own mix of metal and radio friendly rock that's heavy on the delay and backed by super tight drumming. These guys are definitely a live band through and through. While I enjoy their recorded music, it says nothing about these guys on stage. They were a hard act to follow...

... but follow we did and we were totally pumped up for our set. I'm not going to go on too much about us playing in Ottawa other than we busted out Gunslinger, a new tune, and the reception was pretty decent. We played our set - it was a little rough around the edges but fun as hell and made us super excited for the next night.

Kintra then took the stage... and promptly blew The Unavowed and Breadfan off said stage. What can I say about Kintra? Besides being some of the coolest, most laid back guys I have met, they are excellent at what they do. And what they do is bombard you with skull crushing, semi-technical, super infectious metal. The fact that their lyrics are all in French made no difference at all. Kintra are heavies.

Show over, it was time to pack up the gear and lug it over to the jam space. It was late at this point so we didn't really get a chance to sit down with the other two bands (DeKcuf was closing down as well), but we chatted for a little and the decision was made for us all to meet at Fouf's after the show in Montreal. Hell both The Unavowed and Breadfan were going there anyway, why not meet there for drinks and mayhem?

We said our adieus, then headed off to our respective dwellings/hotels/etc. Saturday was going to be the big day...

Saturday May 31, 2008.

We met at the jam space - Jay had rented us a swanky minivan - and were packed up and ready to head by noon or so. Jay's friend D'Arcy was making the trip with us. We branded him The First, Official Unavowed Roadie and he complained a little as he was "expecting to be the First, Official, Unavowed Groupie". Jay and I sat in with D'Arcy in his car for the first bit of the trip (we could smoke in his car) and Dan and Mez took control of the minivan.

The drive was somewhat uneventful although D'Arcy's stories were killer funny ("I swear, I'm gonna save me the hassle, buy myself a pumpkin, carve it and skull fuck it!"). The three of us in the car stopped at the predetermined rest point for coffee and food only to find out that Dan had blown the exit and he and Mez were going to stop at Herbs for food. Jay, D'Arcy and I piled into the car and headed there to meet them.

At Herbs we filled ourselves up with breakfast while Dan napped in the van. Food finished and more rock star shenanigans out of the way, Dan headed out with D'Arcy and Jay took the wheel of the mini-van; I sat up front and Mez passed out in the back (snoring like a motherfucker most of the way to Montreal).

We hit up Montreal about two-ish (I think), found the hotel and checked in. D'Arcy was heading to his buddies place on the other side of town to drop off his car so Jay followed him in the van in order to bring him back for the show.

This left Dan, Mez, and myself to our own devices. What to do? Why, hit up a dep and buy some beer, of course!

Dan and Mez armed themselves with large cans of Blue (or "Bleue" rather. we were in Montreal after all) and I grabbed myself a 1.2 liter bottle of 50.

Back at the hotel we started in on the beer and I walked around throwing towels, plastic cups, and pillows on the floor... I figured it was the cheapest way to trash the hotel room. Juvenile? You bet it was.

Jay and D'Arcy showed up and we drank some more (minus Jay who was driving) and started getting ready for the show. For Mez, Jay, and myself this included finishing our beers. For Dan this included a shower, choosing pants, picking between one of three t-shirts, and then choosing headgear (toque or cap). What can I say? He's the singer, the frontman. He doesn't have to concern himself with making sure his guitar is in tune or of his drums are set up right. No matter. We teased the fuck out of him anyway.

We drove up to Club Saphir (right up the street from the hotel) and met Nick and the other guys from Kintra. What proceeded was a test of will and strength. The back stairs we had to lug our shit up were treacherous to say the least; two and a half flights of narrow, winding, metal steps. I will never complain about the stairs at Cafe DeKcuf again. Ever.

Soundcheck was soundcheck - we played a half hearted version of The Perfect Score - and the only real fun at that point was that Saphir has these chairs shaped like human hands. We watched in amusement as D'Arcy tried to get one of the chairs to fist him.

The Unavowed hit the stage at 8:30 or so and we blasted into our set. Our crowd at the beginning consisted of Mez's friend Steph, the ever wonderful Jes, and the lovely Phreeduh. I was happy to see Phreeduh there dancing away to our brand of heavy music. It's a shame that, due to the time restraints on the bands, I didn't get to talk to her but it was nice to see her face in the crowd.

Our set was supercharged. We were in a different city and because of the setup Jay and I were forced to play on opposite sides of the stage than we are used to. All this didn't matter. We played our best set ever. If there were fuck ups, we either didn't notice or didn't care.

One thing we did notice was that around three quarters of the way through our set most of the people who were sitting on the chairs to the side had moved to the front of the stage. This just pumped us even more and was probably my favorite memory from the weekend.

Forty, sweaty minutes later we were done (sweaty for me at least. It was hella HOT on that stage; there were droplets of sweat on the stage floor around me. Dan said at one point, he looked over while I was doing a solo and there was a waterfall of sweat pouring off my nose and forehead). It seemed that the show was over before we knew it. No matter. We received a great reception at Club Saphir.

(One bitch about Saphir: the motherfuckers were charging the bands for water at three bucks per bottle. Assholes.)

We had always wondered if we could play two nights in a row, outside of jam, and that night we proved we could. The next day Mez asked if we thought we could play a third and the general consensus was a resounding "yes".

Breadfan and Kintra played their respective, kick ass shows and then it was time to load out our shit, head it back to the hotel, stash our shit in the room and head to Fouf's to continue the night.

Fouf's was Fouf's. Eight bucks to get in and then a buck seventy five for beer. The Breadfan guys were there, at the main bar already well sloshed. We chatted for a bit (The Unavowed showed up separately), drank some beer together, then I headed off to find Mez who was already there with Steph and Jes ... and he was motherfucking dancing. I'm telling ya, if I hadn't seen it I would have never believed it.

Shortly after Dan and Jay appeared after having driven around in circles looking for parking. Nelson from Breadfan also showed up as did Nick from Kintra. The night started getting interesting. Nick was buying us beer and we were having a great time playing Rock Stars. I told Mez later on: "I walked around all night with my head up and shoulders back simply because I was jazzed to the hilt from the shows."

At one point I was heading out to have a cigarette when my second favorite memory from that weekend happened.

Paul, the lead singer/guitarist for Breadfan was still hanging out at near the main bar with these two unbelievably hot women. He saw me and waved me over.

"I want to introduce you to someone," he slurred, beyond drunk. Turning to the woman at his direct right he informed me that this was his sister. She shook my hand and nodded. Then he turned to the second woman and started yelling her name as her attention was focused elsewhere.

She turned around and looked at him and he told her that he wanted to introduce her to me... Paul informed me that this was his girlfriend. She turned to face me and her face changed from indifference to complete and utter amazement. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened and she walked over to me:

"OH! OH! OH MY GOD!! YOU'RE THE GUITARIST FROM THE FIRST BAND THAT WENT ON!! ON MY GOD!! YOU WERE AMAZING!! YOUR WHOLE BAND IS AMAZING!! YOUR MUSIC IS SO FORCEFUL!! IT'S AWESOME!! OH MY GOD!!"

All this time she didn't stop shaking my hand. I didn't know what to say or do. I just let her gush, nodded my head here and there and said "Thanks".

I chatted with Paul for a few more minutes and then found a break in the conversation to mention that I'd be back in a bit and wandered outside to have a smoke. My head was fuzzy. Even having played in bands before, I have never been on the receiving end of such unabashed accolades. I really didn't know what to think of it other than this:

From a personal level, it's nice to get compliments, but such in your face compliments are rather, oh what's the word I'm looking for? Creepy? I don't know. It's amazing that famous people have to live with that every single day of their lives. Kudos to them. You just get used to it I guess.

From a band level, it's awesome to get even the slightest of compliments. It makes you feel that what you are doing is right and that others out there are enjoying your work. A compliment like the one I had received went past that point. It made me want to push The Unavowed even further.

I headed back in and by this time, Nick was buying us all shots. This is where the real fun started.

The music changed from rock n' roll dance type stuff to "War Ensemble" by Slayer. A pit formed; all these kids moshing and thrashing around. Without even thinking about it, Mez and I put our arms around each others shoulders and the proceeded to motherfucking steamroll the pit. We literally cleared it out. By the time "War Ensemble" ended and Metallica's "Fight Fire With Fire" started it was Mez and myself running around the edge of the circle that had formed. We did this for about a verse and a half. I remember skimming the edge looking at people as I ran past screaming "COME ON!!!! OH, COME THE FUCK ON!!!!". Finally this little dude jumped in and that's all it took. The pit started up again.

I left the dance floor when the tune ended. Nick came up to me with a huge grin on his face. "Man, that was awesome!"

Not really. Being 35 and spending nearly ten minutes in a mosh pit meant that it took me another ten minutes to get my breath back. Nick helped out by offering me another shot of ... whatever it was. Jack and something sweet. I did the shot and then staggered out to have another smoke.

Upon opening the door to the smoking balcony, I got hit in the face with a huge cloud of smoke and I puked in my mouth. Being a gentleman, I held it there, and sauntered over to the balcony like nothing was wrong. I then spent a few minutes spitting up my vomit over the edge of the balcony like I was hawking loogies instead of throwing up (don't worry, I made sure that (a) there was no one under me and (b) the bouncers at the front gate had their backs turned).

Vomit out I smoked my cigarette and went back inside to drink more.

Rock n' Roll all night baby. Rock n' Roll all night.

Turns out Mez had done the same. He took a shot. It was warm. He puked in his mouth. Held it there while he walked upstairs to the washroom and let 'er rip. He then joined us back downstairs for more beer.

The rest of Fouf's was a blur: Talking with Nick about the shows we had just played and the show coming up in September... Dan talking with these guys from New Jersey who were in a band or something or other (I think they said that they knew the guys in Gwar or whatever.)... some drunk chick making a drunk attempt to pick me up until her not so drunk friends found her and led her away...finishing as much beer as we could when before the lights came on and the bar staff kicked everyone out...

Outside the club, we said our goodbye's to the dudes from Breadfan and Dan, Mez, Jay, Jes and myself then walked up to La Belle Province (HOT DOG!! POUTINE!!) for some spew food. Everything gets real blurry past that. Something about street pylons... some TV show about digging something out of a beach... I don't know.

The next thing I knew it was morning.

We packed up (after I had proceeded to stink the guys out of the room. Ah, La Belle Province; it hurts more coming out than it does going in.), checked out then headed for breakfast. Only breakfast was no longer being served at Mars/Venus. Shitty. They used to serve an *awesome* breakfast but no longer. So the morning meal for me consisted of coffee (LOTS of coffee. At one point the waitress asked if she should just leave the pot for me. I said "yeah" and she laughed. She actually thought I was joking), a bowl of french onion soup, and a plate of fries. The rest of the guys chowed down on sandwiches of various types.

We then hit up a couple of army surplus stores as Jay was looking for shorts. Then is was back to the van. I hopped in with D'Arcy and we headed out.

Nothing too much to report about the drive back... well, other than D'Arcy ripping appallingly, repugnant farts. He's just randomly roll down the window like he was going to have a smoke... a few seconds later my eyes would start to water. I'd look over at his and his face was adorned with a huge, shit eating grin.

We all met up in Hudson for coffee then Jay went with D'Arcy and I hopped in the van for the ride back to Ottawa. Again, uneventful other than Mez snoring. We made a small detour to drop off something for my boy, then it was back to the jam space.

We unloaded our shit, locked up the room, and Jay dropped off Dan, Mez, and myself before he took off to take the van back to the rental place.

I was home with my family; tired, sore, a little deaf and overly happy. What a weekend. Sitting with Tara and Lily that night I realized how great things turn out when you put your mind to it and your heart into it. I simply could not ask for anything better.