Year end/Tour highlights

View my disposable camera photo album from the November tour here.

Overall highlights:
(please consider this just some jotting down rather than an article)

Dave Phillips at Neon Marshmallow Fest (both sets, field recording set was really good too)
also from that fest Govt Alpha, Kevin Shields, Haters, Telecult Powers, Wasteland Jazz Unit, Sixes, Cornucopia, Fossils, Work/Death, dp/gx collaboration, Sigulda, Justice Yeldham, Pod Blotz, Dog Lady and I can keep going. 3 out of the 4 nights absolutely blew me away. And also doing a DJ set with a belt sander at the after party. Drinking after hours at the Green Mill with Derek Rogers. Many thanks for putting these nights together and doing good things for Chicago!

Chicago Noise Conference (especially travis from ONO doing his cover of "Motherless Child" with his adornments and his sheet metal), Forbes/Young duo on the rooftop, lots of drinking and comraderie.

Illusion of Safety doing an industrial set as a trio with a drummer on a stand kit of big drums. Whole night was good. Death Factory doing drum machine/rhythmic industrial with drills/guitars etc. Battleship doing a pretty eloquent kind of dark ritual drone type thing, ONO for joining me as Blood Rhythms, gentle yet chaotic wise people.

Everything at the last night of the Mopery in Chicago, and everything else at the Mopery.

Eugenics Council/Corephallism at Ball Hall

WolvSerpent/Locrian at Enemy

The 3rd anniversary event of my radio show - Everybody who played and showed up for making it an exciting night, the sound guy for not calling the police because there was blood all over his gear, Darkroom staff for being cool about it. Nookleptia, Ammunition, Lechuguillas, ONO.

Times at Mortville in general.

JIB JAB!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4OatIhPg9Y

Doing my first tour in July with highlights including Cock ESP totally changing my approach just by their hospitality and intent alone, John Vance, Seth Ryan, Disthroned Agony, Sigulda, desoeuvre bruit, I Am Foresight, staying with a tenant (Zac Szymusiak) in an 1800s mansion in Columbus owned by Mark Gunderson of Evolution Control Committee and hearing inspiring stories, meeting bbob of Fluxmonkey, seeing Irene Moon perform at Cool Ranch, riding with Paleface Destroyers and hearing stories about Native American History as it relates to their collection of relics that they've found in cemetaries, and more things I can't remember.

STL Fest in October - Riding with Neil Jendon and stopping in Peoria to hang out with Infirmary, having a record store there buy $50 with of stuff from me, The sincere support from Mark of LEMP, the inspiring solidarity that Peter J Woods was able to instill (although I was only there on Friday and couldn't see his set) the sets by Diaphragmatic, Pusdrainer, Brain Transplant, and more; hanging out with a fella named Ben and Dave from Skarekrau Radio/Brain Transplant at a jazz bar, getting lots of free drinks from a drunken rich guy and almost going to a symphony with him, getting drunk and riled up with Alex from Socially Retarded and Jay from Lechuguillas all night, much to the chagrin of everyone else who was trying to sleep, unfortunately. Sorry!

2nd Tour in November - Dead Audio fest - Houston - Reality (a 12 year old kid, best set of the night)/Zombra, Austin Caustic/Concrete Violin, Richard Ramirez, Steel Hook Prosthesis, Lychgate (and getting drunk with them into the wee hours also), Mickey/Screaming Fetus, Bereft, Biological Girl (and also for making me an awesome custom mask by request, it didn't do what I expected it to do, and it gave me new approaches), Olivia nonchalantly playing ukulele all night, and doing a cover of "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" for me at 3AM, probably more that I am forgetting, incredibly good night. Hopefully I didn't do anything stupid.

Austin - Getting a ride with So Boring and Chris, playing with a Crash Worship cover band for almost 10 minutes until the fires happened, the immense experience that MC Clitfart, Bubble Face, Polly, Logan Owlbeemoth, and others provided while I stayed with them at Disco Village, Fucking Breakdancing Ronald Reagan for letting out a bunch of crickets and setting up two killer shows in one day, especially Dromez, Sex Bruises, and Derek Rogers
-Arlington - The immense support, the miracle of finding a show thanks to Wasted Words at a CD Warehouse after hours, and drinking/hanging out afterwards, smoking in bars, Welby, Zanzibar Snails, Snuff Film....
-Having a late bus cause me to miss my transfer to Baton Rouge, and being able to hang out with a very good friend of mine, Lidia, short notice in Tex-Arkana. Riding through thick fog and sharp turns on dirt roads to an absolutely isolated ranch at 60mph.

-New Orleans - Drew Ziegler and his big heart, insatiable appetite for alcohol, surreal living quarters like a hidden circus shanty town inside of an abandoned iron ore factory, 100 year old junk and ripped furniture everywhere, old friend Dave Hedges, seeing Ratty Scurvics and his wife OOPS, MC Tracheotomy, drinking Bloody Marys or Bug Gulp Daquiris all day, experiencing a fully functional squat house and drinking bootleg ginger wine, getting off of the bus and going straight into a cabaret with free spaghetti and wine, fitting right in immediately, watching people throw spaghetti around and light fire crackers, Playing a punk show in New Orleans short notice instead of a sports bar in the suburbs, hanging out with Sven from Telecult Powers, playing an open mic tent and freaking out families and children, also inspiring some to dance before the feedback kicked in. Going to a soul club at 4AM and getting flirted with, having incredible trouble going to the bus station at 6.

Atlanta - My best set of the tour, great sound - the most enthusiastic and supportive 5 people I have ever seen, Eyedrum is an amazing place.

Cleveland - Now That's Class - Brainbombs on the juke box, Black Mayonnaise fogging up the entire room and blowing everyone's house down, Fluxmonkey, Murderous Vision (especially for having me as a guest), jamming at Bela Dubby at 2AM, hanging out with good people on Thanksgiving, drinking absinthe, Cunting Daughters, Mitch from Fascist Insect, Ghostpussy, especially Wyatt and Cool Ranch, Paul for making me a mix tape of Cleveland punk, Sam Goldberg for doing synth jams while I was comatose on the couch with a hangover - perfect accompaniment.

Columbus - ONO for coming all the way to Columbus in some kind of absurd motorcade to play my tour finale, Also Bennett/Skylab, Pusdrainer hacking at his noise briefcase and sharing his whiskey, again drinking bloody marys all day.