3 day going away party

Why I even go to hardcore shows in between touring is beyond me. It seems at least some of my friends have some kind of superpowers they use to convince me into tagging along to go see shitty band #285 since past October, and every time I fall for it I find myself hiding in a dark corner near the bar asking myself why I'm there and not somewhere else. So last Thursday DaxMila succeeded in dragging me down to the Joe Coffee show in Haarlem which I genuinely was excited for since I loved Sheer Terror but never got to see the Rev. Bearer in the flesh. And even though I loved Sheer Terror I went in completely blank and without expectations which is the way to live if you never ever want to be let down by anything, so I did not feel anything when it turned out I did not like Joe Coffee's music and headed to the bar and got mad drunk. I must admit there was a slight sense of disappointment that Uncle Pauly wasn't as talkative as he apparently had been other shows on this tour. But whatever, I hung out with some people I hadn't seen in ages which was very fun and interesting. A big plus too was being in an automobile with DaxMila for over an hour again, something which is always quite an adventure. He didn't let me down this time as we headed north to Haarlem by going an hour south first as DaxMila had no clue where he was or where he was going. It was great and we got to listen to a lot more good music this way.
Oh yeah, Bold played too.

Friday my buddies Ivo and Ingie took me out shopping and I spent money like water. A.o. I bought a digital camera and you'll all see the results of that on here pretty soon. I never guessed taking pictures was this much fun! Ivo made me buy white shoes since summer's coming up and white shoes are the big thing this summer (as every summer I guess). He did however give me 30% off discount coupon for which I was and still am very thankfull. Me and my white shoes will be on display on various stages throughout the US this summer, scroll down for dates.
Later that night some of our friends threw some kind of squat/ house party where beers and wines were 50 cents. It was awesome and since I now had a camera I took a million pictures of which I will most likely put some up on here. The party had good music, a good mix of people and good drunken antics. Ivo got rowdy and kept sneaking up behind the DJ booth to turn the beat up. I was loving it.

Yesterday was Queensday... I think all I remember right now of that day is that at one point I was convinced The White Suicide Rythm And Blues Collective are the best band to ever come out of The Netherlands and are the future of music in general.

Now please let me get on with packing because my brother is picking me up in a couple hours to drive me through the airport.

Playlist

All good dreamers pass this way some day
Hidin’ behind bottles in dark cafes

what else:
Pink Floyd
Daniel Lohues
Gnarles Barkley
The Streets
Twilight Singers
William Elliot Whitmore

Finished recording

Today we finished recording. In total it's three tracks and I'm very siked all turned out way better then I hoped it would. Wout the producer (his real name is Jesus and he's always right)really outdid himself. He will start mixing and as soon as I get a rough mix I will post an mp3 here. That might take a while though since I'm leaving a week from now and everybody's got a ton of stuff to do.

Tour dates are up...

... on www.modernlifeiswar.net but since I know you are not gonna look it up there I will post 'm here.

May
05.11.2006 Chicago, IL @ No Exit Cafe w/ Spanish Bombs, Raining Bricks
05.12.2006 Marshalltown, IA @ Midnight Ballroom(in Meadow Lane Mall) w/ Old Scratch Revival Singers, Spanish Bombs, Raining Bricks
05.13.2006 St. Louis, MO @ Lemp Art Center w/ Old Scratch Revival Singers, Step On It!, Spanish Bombs, Raining Bricks
05.18.2006 Quad Cities, IL w/ Dead To Fall


June
06.09.2006 Worcester, MA @ QVCC w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.10.2006 Levittown, NY @ Club Ritual w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.11.2006 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.12.2006 Washington, DC @ The Nation (Side Stage) w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.13.2006 Virginia Beach, VA @ Peppermint Beach Club w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.14.2006 Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox Loandro-Lounge w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.15.2006 Jacksonville, FL @ Thee Imperial w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.16.2006 Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.17.2006 Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.18.2006 Birmingham, AL @ Cave 9 w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.19.2006 Nashville, TN @ The Muse w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.20.2006 Memphis, TN @ Rally Point w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.21.2006 Metairie, LA @ The High Ground w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.22.2006 Houston, TX @ Java Jazz w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.23.2006 Corpus Christi, TX @ House Of Rock w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.24.2006 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.26.2006 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.27.2006 Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.28.2006 San Diego, CA @ Epicenter w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.29.2006 San Francisco, CA @ Pound SF w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
06.30.2006 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak


July
07.01.2006 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
07.02.2006 Las Vegas, NV @ The Rock N Java w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
07.04.2006 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
07.05.2006 Kansas City, MO @ El Torreon w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
07.06.2006 St. Louis, MO @ Creepy Crawl w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
07.08.2006 Erie, PA @ Forward Hall w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak
07.09.2006 Auburn, NY @ Auburn Public Theatre w/ Bane, This Is Hell, Outbreak

Did you notice I'm hitting up Florida, Texas AND California in the middle of summer?

Recording day 2 and 3 and more

So we did all the drums and guitars, tomorrow is all the rest and then we should be done. The closer this comes to being finished the more nervous I get to actually let people hear this stuff.

Yesterday I finally saw the white suicide R&B collective for the first time and as expected it was awesome. The peak of the evening was Riza giving me his Suicidal Tendencies sweater. I'll be wearing that one all summer.

Today was annual camo pants day. It was fun.

Recording day 1

Yesterday evening we set up and mic'ed the drums. tonight We're recording drum parts. The way we are approaching the songs is really interesting and things are looking to turn out gritty and raw, the way I like it! I changed the name from Zen Arcade to Het Zen Orkest, which translates to The Zen Orchestra. But it sounds better in Dutch and makes more sense since we sing in Dutch.

Also booked my ticket yesterday, I'm flying out May 1st, I'm superexcited since we're gonna spend almost a full two months on writing the new record. Ofcourse with a month of touring in between, I'll post those dates on here soon.

I fixed my laptop. Now I'm looking into digital camera's. Anyone got any advice?

Guitar for sale

Please check this link

AWESOME GUITAR

Zen Arcade

I just got word I got a couple studiodays next week so finally I'm gonna be able to record some of the songs I've written over the past year which didn't fit the bands I was in at the moment. I asked my bestest buddies (who're all in incredible bands of their own) to help me out and decided to call it Zen Arcade. I'm pretty siked I finally get to make music with them again plus it's just an incredible line up with their history. If we're ok with the results I might post an mp3 on here. beware, we sing in Dutch.

Check out my sweet new ride....

...it's waiting for me in Marshalltown I hear.

Underdog

Yesterday I went to see underdog and it was great. Normally reunions suck and the band are sloppy cuz they haven't played in years and years but man, Underdog were tight. everything was supersolid, including the vocals.
Now I just hope an into another reunion is ever gonna happen.

I haven't been up to much ever since I came back from Japan. Just hanging out with as much friends as possible before I leave again in about three weeks. I'm selling a whole bunch of my gear so if all goes well I got some money to fix my laptop soon.

Apparently Jeff found a practice space and the first rehearsal for new songs has allready happened. I can't wait to see it.

Yesterday I found out both The Twilight Singers and the US Bombs are touring in may and hit up the midwest. That's two shows I'm really siked for if I'm able to make it. sike!