I still owe you the second part of the history of As Yet Unbroken (part eight of the cumbersome but mildly informative “Magical Musical Mystery Tour“), but I can comfortably jump ahead  to the last six months without spoiling anything: Basically, we’ve been flying as a trio — the core of singer Tim Beck, bassist Mark Zeilman, and me — since last fall, when guitarist Peter Stauber left. We decided to use that to our advantage, by really focusing on just writing and recording (with Mark and I splitting guitar duties on record). We did play one gig in the spring with former guitarist Rick Espe, but he wasn’t interested in re-joining long-term (but we still love ya, Rick!). We did finally finish recording about 10 songs (well, really nine songs, one track was from recording sessions with Rick almost three years ago) at the beginning of the summer, and after going through mastering, sequencing, package design and internal logistical debates, we finally have something approximating a new CD for you to enjoy:

The last few weeks have been spent sending out press releases, newsletters, radio packages, and media kits, and basically scrambling somewhat to regain the traction we lost by being relatively inactive for almost a year. And now we’re in the process of carefully auditioning musicians to fill that fourth position in the band so we can actually bring this album LIVE to the masses again, assuming the masses want it (at least one or two of you do).

Until then, however, if you’re looking to pick up some new rock music, you could do worse than to buy/download/steal Unknown. It’s a pretty decent document of As Yet Unbroken’s existence up to now, featuring new takes on some of our oldest songs, and brand-new stuff we haven’t even played live yet (i.e., no one has heard). And you get to hear how equally bad I am at drums AND guitar, which is always impressive. You can get the full digital album for about $5 at Bandcamp or Amazon MP3; it’s on iTunes, but the whole album will cost you about $10. Or, if you’re one of those CD collectors, we have those for sale for only $5 too.

If you want to just buy individual songs, my personal favorites are “Post-Life Society” (in which I sneak some chilling synths), “Bad Blood” (think Alice In Chains’ “Rooster” with less war imagery), “Wasted Time” (pretty much our most radio-friendly song ever), or “Pseudo Angel” (it’s an oldie, but this new version is pretty rawkin’).

Hopefully, we’ll have a new line-up nailed down by the end of the month, and possibly even play a CD release show before the end of 2011. But that’s only if you want it, of course.

We have come to the beginning of the end (for now) of the Magical (Musical) Mystery Tour, and what a long, strange trip it’s been. In our previous episode, the mythic bedroom/MySpace act Side Project 7 had fizzled out. A few months later, I moved out of Scott’s house and into a mid-rise apartment, which meant my drums didn’t get much attention (read: none) anymore, and at this point I was editing a new magazine (Racket) and didn’t have much time for musical frivolities anyway. It took almost a year before the next musical project would accidentally come my way.

I was at my pal Mark T. Zeilman‘s (now-defunct) art gallery, MTZC, in December, 2007. It may have been First Friday, it may not have been, but it was definitely during some reception or event. I may have been drinking. Mark introduced me to a guy with Wolverine sideburns he called his “singer.” Now, at this point, I had known Mark for about seven or eight years, but for most of that time, only casually through the art scene, but I had no idea he played music, and I expressed as much to Mark that night.

I learned that he and this spiky-haired guy Tim Beck were writing songs and jamming with various people (Mark on bass guitar). So of course I jumped in and said, “If you guys need a shitty drummer, let me know.” Turns out, they did. That was the one portion of the band they couldn’t nail down, and it seems they were less concerned about my skills as my availability/commitment. I was available Sundays, and that’s all that mattered. So we made plans to meet at Tim’s house to jam with the rest of the loose group.

Let’s recall that at this point, I hadn’t played drums AT ALL in about a year. I was still occasionally recording music by myself at home, but it was all sampled/programmed beats with me on guitar and keyboards, and I had only recorded two or three songs during that entire period, under the project name “Nomashok,” which was kind-of a catch-all name for any quasi-electronic, unreleased material I’d recorded over the years. But I was badly out of practice on the drums, and the last band in which I’d played, I did so playing along to a click track, basically. Playing in a live, hard rock band with four or five live human beings? Gah!

Despite all this, I dragged my drums down the six stories to my car (in a shopping cart) and drove out to Tim’s house in North Las Vegas on a bright  Sunday afternoon. I set up my drums in his garage (something you can only do in winter here, lest you die of heat exposure), and met the two guitarists who were hanging around, Josh and Kyle. Josh was really young, maybe 19, and was one of those guys who could pull of metal riffs without appearing to put out any effort, but his songwriting was lacking. Kyle was a cowboy-type, not as technically proficient as Josh, but a bit older and more well-rounded, with more of a blues influence. I discovered Mark was a very good bassist, though it was obvious he was still getting comfortable with it (I later learned guitar is his first instrument), he plays a sick groove, plays with creative fills, and had a good sense of melody. Tim turned out to be an angry mix of Scott Weiland, Maynard James Keenan and Glenn Danzig. Now the sideburns made sense.

With beers and cigarettes being consumed in proper rock ‘n’ roll fashion, the garage door went down and we started jamming on songs they had already in mid-development. I think I kept up OK, but I was REALLY wobbly. Though the type of music (metal-tinged post-grunge) wasn’t my thing, some of the songs really caught me, especially “Alone,” driven by Mark’s Fugazi-like bass line (oddly, none of the other guys even listen to Fugazi). Others were a bit more grungy, or at least when I applied my rudimentary drums to them, they became so. We had a decent thing going, until the NLV police showed up, banging on the garage door. Apparently, a neighbor complained about the noise (I don’t blame ‘em).

Shockingly, the guys wanted me back again. Or at least, Mark and Tim did. Possibly more important than how we each played is how we got along together, and the chemistry was there, despite our own varied musical influences and interests. So we reconvened on a weekly basis, but moved venues to the second-floor loft inside Tim’s neighbor’s house. That neighbor, Kenny, had a teenage son, Zach, who was starting to play guitar, and Zach actually co-wrote one of our eventual mainstay songs, “My Reality.”

The time at Kenny’s house was productive: We wrote or fine-tuned several of what would become signature songs there: “Pseudo Angel,” “Shots Fired,” “Someday,” and jammed on a lot of the dozens of lyrics Tim brought in, but a lot of those songs (for good reason) didn’t stick, and the lyrics would be put to better use in later songs. However, one thing was certain: We were terrible. No, I mean, bad. Like, really bad. Individually, we were OK. Mark was solid. Tim could wail when he wanted to. Josh and Kyle were doing their respective things. Me? I was pretty rough. It’s not like I was practicing in between jams. I was ONLY playing when we got together. But I could still hold a beat.

Regardless, something wasn’t working. First, Josh was somewhat unreliable (he only showed up half the time) — and potentially leaving town soon. Plus, he was a one-trick pony. The term “dynamic” meant nothing to him. Kyle, well, he was a nice guy, but not really a good fit. It became obvious that Mark, Tim and I had formed a solid core, but we seemed to be in need of an older, more consistent, more experienced guitar player, if we were going to take this thing seriously.

Also, did I mention we were terrible? Seriously, I set up a YouTube account to post videos of our practices, and while there are some interesting historical pieces in there, such as early versions of the aforementioned stalwart songs, there are also some really horrendous clips, so bad that I took them all down publicly. One is so bad, that despite getting almost 500 views, it also got appropriately vile comments. It deserved them. We all sound terrible. Josh looks bored, Tim sounds like he’s in pain, no one is playing in step, it’s just … bad.  I won’t subject you to that, but I will link to a rarely seen early practice of “Alone,” with Kyle on guitar.

Next up: As Yet Unbroken, Part Two: The band gets a new home, a new name and a new guitarist.

This Friday night, I’ll be returning to the internet airwaves (web-waves?) for another installment of “Live from the Double Down Saloon,” the weekly internet radio show produced by, yes, Double Down Radio. The show broadcasts from 8 to 10 p.m. via its website, but if you live in Las Vegas, you could always drop by the Double Down (4640 Paradise Road) and catch it live.

As Yet Unbroken bass player and artist Mark T. Zeilman will be joining me as we talk about playing rock ‘n’ roll, making art, and other stuff that comes up. And, if you’re at all a fan of our music, you might want to tune in to hear an exclusive preview from our forthcoming album. We may just play one of the never-before-heard tracks. If you do miss out altogether on Friday, I believe podcasts of the show are available after the fact.

The boys are back in town. Actually, we didn’t quite leave town. But it has been since November that the band in which I bang on drums, As Yet Unbroken, has graced a stage to perform live. If you follow us on Facebook (and, um, you should), you’d know that’s because we’ve been hunkering down in my home studio, recording new (and old) songs for our forthcoming debut album. But we’re venturing back into the Las Vegas live music scene for one night because we were asked to play a benefit show for the non-profit co-op preschool our lead singer’s kid attends, and aside from being a good cause, it gives us an excuse to stretch our musical muscles once again.

So it would be lovely to see your faces at Las Vegas Country Saloon (425 Fremont St., above Mickey Finnz) at 8 p.m. this Thursday, Feb. 24 as we join fellow local bands Pigasus and Viva Valhalla for a night of fund-raising rock ‘n’ roll. If you’re over 21, you’re in like Flynn, and there’s technically no cover charge, but of course, any donation amount for Kids’ Co-Op is appreciated. We’re going to be playing new stuff, old favorites and maybe even toss in a surprise or two, so come on down. It’s a school night, yes, but it shouldn’t be too late for you sensitive types.

Discussing the art and business of self-publishing with Keith Knight and Ryan Claytor. (Photo by Katrina Miller)

Well, I did it. I broke myself. I kind of knew it would happen, but I was hoping it wouldn’t: I managed to pull through the last few weeks of whirlwind activity and then my body finally gave out upon waking Sunday morning. It’s my usual change-of-season cold (because, of course, the temperature dropped drastically on Sunday as well), but I’m sure it also had something to do with the self-abuse of this past weekend’s shenanigans. But everything went spectacularly well, and despite the stress, it was about as fun as it comes.

Friday — after running around all day with last-minute prep for the weekend’s festivities — we opened the “Inside the Boneyard” original art exhibit at Blackbird Studios during First Friday. It was also the first chance anyone had to get their hands on a physical copy of Tales from the Boneyard. The turnout was great, both for our show, and for the Day of the Dead exhibit in the front of the gallery (in which I also have a terrible piece of art). We sold a bunch of comics, and I sold at least a few pieces of original art. Very exciting! Both shows will be on display through the end of November, so I suggest you waste no time and head to 1551 S. Commerce St. to check them out!

I cut out of the reception early to run over to the Double Down Saloon (OK, so I drove, whatever) to talk comics, music and other shenanigans on Double Down Radio. It’s a pretty impressive set-up they have over there. I expected one dude with a laptop and Radio Shack microphone. But there are actually producers, hosts, call-in lines and all sorts of other fancy broadcasting things going on. Of course, it’s all done while downing shots and beer, but still, impressive. Self-described Star Wars fanatic Dave Prophet hosts the Friday night live shows, and I had a great time just hanging out and talking smack. If you want to hear the program, you can get the full, two-hour episode here, though I don’t come on until about 1:21 (that’s an hour twenty-one).

Saturday morning was a bit of a rough start, as the Double Down was not my last stop the night before, and it got rougher when I failed to find an envelope holding about $125 in petty cash I needed for the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, where I needed to be set-up by about 10 a.m. Thankfully, because of sales the previous night at the gallery reception, there was enough cash in that box to get through the day, but misplacing that much cash wasn’t happy news either way (it eventually turned up, two days later).

The festival itself was awesome. We sold copies of Tales from the Boneyard like gangbusters — a feat I owe a lot of credit to the supportive local press, who have been promoting the anthology for almost two months — and my other Pop! Goes the Icon titles didn’t sell too shabbily either. I also sat on my first convention-style panel, a self-publishing discussion with the great Keith Knight and Ryan Claytor. The room was packed, and we must have talked for well over an hour, mostly answering dozens of questions from the crowd.

This year’s festival was packed with people, and felt way too short. I mean, it’s only five hours anyway, but those five hours went by insanely fast. Last year’s event was good, too, but I recall having a few more periods of downtime. Of course, I didn’t have two tables to run or panels on which to sit. It was great to connect with so many people, and I predict next year’s event will just be even more fun.

There was little time to breathe in between the end of the festival (from which I departed at 5 p.m.) and band rehearsal at 6 p.m. It was the first time we were able to practice with our singer Tim in almost a month, and also the first time he’d performed with our former/temporary guitarist Rick in more than a year. But Rick, Mark and I had been practicing nearly every other day, and Tim jumped right into the mix. We blazed through our set relatively error-free, and packed up to head for Brass Lounge downtown, where we were playing the release party for both the Boneyard comic and Dead Neon: Tales from Near-Future Las Vegas.

Despite fears that we’d clear out the room of Saturday night revelers whom Kirby Krackle (which was just a solo, acoustic Kyle Stevens) warmed up, getting them dancing, our performance actually went really well — maybe the best in years. I don’t know if it was Rick’s (temporary) return, the energy of the crowd, the free drinks, or what, but people were actually dancing to our rock-metal-punk attack, and inexplicably cheering. Of course, that was nothing compared to our follow-up act, Jarret Keene’s Dead Neon, which was the obvious main draw of the night. The trio’s post-apocalyptic sludge metal was strangely hypnotic, infectious and grooving, and some hardcore fans were actually hanging on every growling word from Jarret’s mouth.

The final band of the night, 11K, featured a few members from Dead Neon, but its sound was more indie-dream-rock than death metal. Still, it’s a shame so many people left after Dead Neon finished, because 11K put on a great set, and I was kind of sad to learn the band only reunited for that night’s performance (most of the same line-up appears in Minor Suns, who was supposed to play originally).

All in all, it was a good night. We sold a few more copies of Boneyard, and hopefully impressed the booking agent at Brass to invite As Yet Unbroken to perform in the future. Of course, we’re at another crux, as our full-time guitarist parted ways with the band a few weeks ago (hence Rick’s pinch-hitting appearance). Much as we did about this time last year, we’ll probably focus on recording before diving back into the search for a new guitar player. Or, you know, just build a guitar-playing robot. Hmm …

I’m taking it relatively easy this week, though this mild cold I have is also kind of forcing me to do so. I’ve been trying to plug away at my NaNoWriMo entry, but apparently, I’m a slow writer. Also: Brain borked the last few days. I do have one event to attend this week, but I’ll talk about that more tomorrow. Back to my headache and work …

I know this is coming sorta late, even though I’ve known about it for a while, but as we’re merely providing the soundtrack and aren’t really the main draw, I’ll forgive myself a little: My band, As Yet Unbroken, is playing for free tomorrow, Oct. 15, at Studio 8 Ten (810 Las Vegas Blvd. S. in downtown Las Vegas), for the gallery/store’s “Face to Facebook” art show.

Studio 8 Ten is a non-profit art studio and gift shop providing creative, business-based employment to people with disabilities. A percentage of proceeds from the art show will benefit Transition Services, Inc., which runs the studio. There will be works from 30 different artists on display, including AYU bassist Mark T. Zeilman.

Sursum, the electronic rock act featuring Mark and our guitar player Peter Stauber, will warm up the crowd at about 6:30, followed by the room-clearing aggro-rock of AYU at about 7:15. If you like art, music, booze, food and helping people with disabilities, you should totally be there.

Nah. I’ve just been working.

One of the things I’ve been working on is an article in this week’s Vegas Seven about the relative success of local comic book shops, especially in the face of our struggling economy. I think it turned out pretty well, and there’s a lovely picture of Ralph Mathieu inside the new location of Alternate Reality Comics accompanying it, so you should go read it.

The other things I’ve been working on … well, it’s almost tiring to think about it. I mean, my eyelids are even sagging as I type this. Let’s go to list form:

• Playing shows again with As Yet Unbroken. We went from no gigs for nine months (while we shifted membership) to five gigs in two months. And we’re in the process of recording a proper EP, something that takes a lot longer than expected when all of us have day jobs/lives/vacations/side projects/health crises/potty breaks. But it’s getting done. I’d check out the AYU website for more info on upcoming events and whatnot.
• Making art. I mean, aside from comics (which we’ll talk about in a minute). For whatever reason, people becoming aware (or being reminded) of my semi-ability to draw has led me to be invited to group art shows. There was that LVSK8 show earlier in the summer for which I painted a terrible piece, and now I’m coming back again with an original creation for a zombie-themed show at Blackbird Studios (formerly Place Gallery) in October. I’m still not quite done with it, and the show is being hung next week, so I kinda need to get on that. But it’ll be sweet when it’s done. I hope. I’ll also be at First Friday with my own Outdoor Exhibition Space next week (Oct. 1), showing original art from Tales from the Boneyard, and promoting the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival. Speaking of which …
• I’ve been on the planning committee for the aforementioned Comic Book Festival for the last two years, but this year, my involvement has been amped up by volunteering to publish, edit and contribute to Tales from the Boneyard, an anthology of local creators to benefit the Festival’s benefactor, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. I know I’ve mentioned it here before, but let me just say that it is turning out way more awesome than I ever could have expected. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself.
• Oh, comics, right. Well, in addition to the Boneyard book, there’s a fourth issue of The Utopian and a third issue of Omega Comics Presents both coming out in the next few months, and rumor has it you can go ahead and pre-order them at the Pop! Goes the Icon website right now. I’ve got a few other things up my sleeve, but mainly, once these two issues and the Boneyard anthology are out the gate, it’s mini-hiatus time for the Peej, as I recover from what feels like a six-month marathon. You know, before I start another one.

That’s pretty much it. I’ve also been trying to find time to work on a major redesign of this website that would take the focus off this blog and put it on the work itself (a portfolio, I suppose), but uh yeah right. In the meantime, thanks for reading and bless your face.*

*Sorry, Toby.

I’m back at the drawing board, trying to get all of the pencil artwork for my eight-page contribution to the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival anthology finished before I leave town for 10 days. And get the website for said anthology launched, at which point I’ll post all about it here and beg you for money. What else is new? At least the money is for the Library District and not for my hedonistic exploits.

I wrapped up a feature for Vegas Seven I’ve been working on for a while on breaking into comic book writing, something about which I know a little. Actually, I turned in the story yesterday, got asked to do some rewrites today, and finished those rewrites tonight, so hopefully that will be the end of that. I’m still busting my butt as much as possible to get The Utopian wrapped up ahead of schedule and then turn my attention back to other things, like finalizing and releasing the fall publishing schedule for Pop! Goes the Icon and turning my band’s rehearsal space into a recording studio for the next few months.

Speaking of As Yet Unbroken, it seems like momentum is picking up again quite quickly. We had those bookend gigs last week, and hadn’t planned another show until the first week of September. But the band that opened for us at N.O.I.S.E. on Friday, Thrown Clear, has asked us to join them (or at least one of them) at another venue in a few weeks. So we’ll probably do that, and I’ll have more info on that soon. And for you lovely Southern Californians, we’re working on a gig in the Orange County area circa Oct. 1. Nothing is confirmed yet, so if you know any bookers in the L.A.-O.C.-S.D. area, feel free to highly recommend us for a slot at one of their venues on that date. Otherwise, keep posted here, or even better, join the AYU mailing list.

That was not a bad thing, actually. The show on Sunday night was slated to feature four bands, two local and two from California. We showed up an hour early (9 p.m.) as instructed, met the lovely and helpful bartender/booker Tammy, and waited for the sound guy/doorman to show up. He never did. Instead, the bands (only three of us, the fourth slated act was mis-scheduled or double-booked or something) loaded out and set-up the P.A., and yours truly ended up playing sound guy all night. By the time we played (around 11:45 p.m.), it was just Tammy and about 5 or 6 of our friends/wives/etc. in the bar watching us — which was fine. It was like hanging out in a friend’s pimped-out basement jamming. A good warm-up show for the main attraction …

This Friday, at the Aruba Hotel, As Yet Unbroken will return to the Las Vegas N.O.I.S.E. Project to rock the big room. It’s free and open to all you motherlovers over 21, and we’ll be bringing our A game (or at least our B game). In addition, there are other bands, a communal drum circle, live sculpting and much more artsy nonsense. So you have no excuses. Unless you have to work. Or are in the hospital. Or on bed rest. But otherwise, get a babysitter and get your ass downtown, where we will proceed to rock it silly.

Oh, you should also get to the AYU website and vote on our next cover song. By June 30. Yep.

Oh, HI. I know it’s been quiet up here in Awesome City. It’s only because I’ve been slaving away at various projects to foist upon your delicate senses in varying ways. A brief rundown, because lists are fun:

• My band, As Yet Unbroken, has been breaking in our new guitarist, Peter Stauber, and we’ll be making our revived debut at Boomers Bar this Sunday night at about 10 p.m. We’re playing with a bunch of random bands, none of which play in the same style, so it’ll be like a mini-Lollapalooza. If that doesn’t sell it for you, I don’t know what will. Call in sick on Monday and come rock with us. It’s only $5, and allegedly, we get some of that money.
• I’m editing and publishing a one-off comic book anthology for the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival called “Tales from the Boneyard.” It features all Vegas-spawned creators and will be awesome. But it also has meant spending the last month assembling the talent, setting deadlines, creating sponsorship proposals (this is a nonprofit fundraiser for the Library District), attending meetings and working on my own contribution to the compilation, an eight-page tale about a girl and a robot. If, by chance, you’d like to sponsor this endeavor, drop me an e-mail and I’ll drop you a sponsorship packet.
• I finished painting my terrible entry into the LVSK8 IV skate deck art show. It’s called “Powered by Love,” and all I will say for now is that with its existence, I have created a new genre of art called “sci-fi folk art.” If you’re so inclined to see it, along with dozens of other decorated skate decks much nicer than mine, you should come to Place Gallery (1054 S. Maint St.) next Friday, July 2. I’ll be there from 6 p.m. until probably 8 p.m.-ish.
• Speaking of art, because of demand from one or two people, I’ve created an online store where you can buy prints and postcards and stuff. Why not?
• Been trying to get way ahead on the usual workload, blazing through updates of The Utopian webcomic and deadlines for various publications. A new HRH cover story came out this past week, but I’ll slather you in the details once its digital edition goes online.

That wasn’t so hard, was it? See, all you have to do is get me started and I just type like a madman. More soon on new comics, shows and convention appearances. If you’re interested.