Posts Tagged ‘the strip’

In case there are any doubts of my ability to rock, LOOK AT THAT FACE.

You’d think it would be enough for me to play in a real rock band (As Yet Unbroken, for those not paying attention). But no, because of my insatiable appetite for filling my days with more stuff to do than time allots, I’ve signed on with my friends Scott and Cynthia and my brother Joshua to compete in a Harrah’s Entertainment-sponsored Rock Band competition. Our group, called SP7.3, will be performing Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” as well as whatever mystery track the judges choose for us on Tuesday, April 14, sometime around 9:30 p.m. at the Carnaval Court just outside the Harrah’s Las Vegas hotel & casino.

Why is the group called SP7.3? Well, Scott and I, along with Brian Henry, formed a group called Side Project Seven (SP7) a few years ago. After Brian dropped out, my former bandmate Ryan Couevas (guitarist in Rahne and keyboardist in Morgana Athena) temporarily joined, entering the genesis of SP7.2. So, logically, our latest endeavor — which is not really an endeavor at all — is verson 3.

Also, I haven’t owned or used a video game system since the late 1980s, when my family had a Sega Genesis. So I’m pretty out of touch with gaming in general. But Scott’s house (where I used to dwell as well) is something like a distraction wonderland, with multiple gaming systems, giant TV, pinball machines and plenty of liquor, so inevitably, if you’re hanging at Scott’s house, you’re playing games (and probably drinking). Thus my entry into the world of virtual music groups.

I’m not great on Rock Band guitar or bass (I have too short an attention span for matching colored dots), but adequate on drums (you know, like I am in AYU) and ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL on vocals. I will be ready for either. So come cheer us on, buy us drinks and sing along if you’re in Las Vegas next Tuesday. Or just laugh at our expense. It’s sure to be good times either way.

Geoff Rickly and Tim Payne taste the chaos

For the most part, my musical tastes haven’t fluctuated much since high school. I tend to lean toward classic rock, ’90s alternative and anything either from or inspired by the New Romantic scene: The Doors, Soundgarden, The Cure, Morrissey, Depeche Mode. When I glom onto new bands, they tend to be derivatives of those groups (She Wants Revenge, Bloc Party, Editors, etc.).

None of which explains Thursday.

Oh, sure, lead singer Geoff Rickly’s voice has been compared to a young Robert Smith, but that’s a limited, and mostly inaccurate, comparison.  Otherwise, the post-hardcore band from New Brunswick, N.J. — which I’ve written about numerous times — comes from an unfamiliar scene  during a time in which I was pretty out of touch with anything new and stuck in my ways. I think it was during a trip to Hot Topic in 2001 (right before aging out of that demographic) that I picked up the band’s Victory Records debut, Full Collapse, on a whim (it was a featured album, and the “Robert Smith singing in a hardcore band” tag must have actually worked on me).

From that moment, it was on. Back then, I didn’t have a car, so I spent a lot of time on public transportation with only my portable CD player (and notebooks, of course) to keep me company. And I wore the hell out of Full Collapse. Skull-penetrating melodies. Breakneck drumming. Dissonant guitars coming from all directions. And Rickly going from whine to scream to whisper — and sometimes speech — all the time delivering some of the best-written, most insightful lyrics I’ve ever heard. (more…)

Two fists beat as one

The Fist came out of hiding last night for Twestival at Revolution Lounge, as discussed in length yesterday. There was a great turnout, with many blue “tweetinis” consumed and plenty of anonymous Twitter-folk converted into real, live people. No word yet on whether or not the 175-plus Twestivals taking place around the world raised $1 million for charity: water, but I’m pretty sure we had $1 million worth of fun, either way.

I shot some video last night of both Revolution and a new Latin-themed nightclub at the Rio, ND’s Fuego, but a) the video’s not that great and b) I haven’t had time to edit it anyway, as I’m in deadline hell, so I’ll just leave you with this report from KLAS-TV Channel 8 anchor Dave Courvoisier, who’s also very active in the Twitter and blogging community:

“Tweet. Meet. Give.”

That’s the tagline for Twestival, a charity event organized by the Twitter community taking place in more than 175 cities around the globe today. The goal is to raise at least $1 million for charity: water, a non-profit organization working to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

The Las Vegas event kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Beatles Revolution Lounge inside the Mirage resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Pre-registration for the event has closed, but tickets can be purchased at the door by cash only. All proceeds benefit charity: water, and in addition to the cool people, sexy atmosphere and free “Tweetinis” going around, there are some cool raffle prizes if you cough up a little more than the $20 standard donation, including bottles and tables at Light Group nightclubs, personalized, limited-edition cupcakes from Retro Bakery and gift cards from Dunkin’ Donuts.

It’s all for a great cause, it’ll be interesting to meet the faces behind those mysterious tweets, and awesome people such as KLAS-TV’s Dave Courvoisier, CineVegas’ Roger Erik Tinch and, of course, me, will be there.

charity: water for Twestival from charity: water on Vimeo.