What a fucking night!!!!!
I got to Wise Fools around 8:30. Dan was already there. Matt was chowing at Potbellys. I loaded my guitars and crate in and then helped Dan bring his shit in. We hung out awhile and started drinking the free PBRs in the basement. Brey showed up with his girlfriend soon after that.

Scott and Weber from Ratbag showed up pretty early. Thanks guys. U were a ton of fun. Cya at the Double Door on Tuesday. Lisa came with her sister and friend so thanks to them as well.

So Maryz Eyes started the night off. And I ordered up a redbull/vodka to enjoy while I watched their set. They play very tight party type punk rock. They have a good high energy stage show. And they r representin Kalamazoo, Michigan. I met a bunch of people they brought with them and I kept asking about Kalamazoo life. They told me some crazy stories. Mikes girlfriend was real cool and was telling me about their shows at Club Soda in Kalamazoo. Very cool band. Check their site at: maryzeyez.net

Next up was Leisure McCorkle. I'm pretty sure this band is from Kalamazoo also but Leisure, the lead singer/guitarist told me he was from North Carolina originally and that the hurricane was following him. He was wearing a bright blue hawaiin type shirt and a big friendly smile when I met him in the basement. Awesome guy. Awesome band. They rocked for sure. Leisure played an awesome Thunderbird style guitar. And they had the drummer and bassist from Maryz Eyez so their stage set up was pretty easy since they didn't have to move too much shit around. Check their site at: leisuremccorkle.com

Drawing A Blank were up next. I'd heard of this band for sometime now and knew they played all over the place but this was my first time seeing them live. Marc Katz is fucking awesome. A great singer and a real cool guy. He pointed out my Thrice shirt and then pointed out that he was wearing a Thrice hoodie. Props on that man. It was pretty awesome. Drawing a Blank covered I Turned Into A Martian second to last. I ran up front and sang the "Whoa Oh Oh" back ups for Katz. Very nice job on that one guys.
They r a 5 piece band and rock for sure. Check em out sometime. Their site is: drawingablank.net

We were up last. Madigan from DAB let me use his bass rig so thanks for that man. Brey got to play the middle man in between me and Matt. Right before we were about to start, 2 chicks came up on stage. I didn't know them at all and didn't know what their business was being on stage right before we're about to start our set. Brey looked over at me and we both shrugged to each other. Chicks on stage with us? Props. I'm not complaining. So I told one of them to give us a lil intro and she asked what the band was called so I'm not sure that she knew any of the Shooting Blanks guys or their songs. But it was funny to have her say "Alright, here is Shooting Blanks!"
Our set was something like this:

Knee Deep
Mindfuck
Ignore Me
Simple Song
Payback
She Luvs Me Cuz I Rock
Hypercritical
Louder
Another Chance
Sheila
Dick Lips (originally by Blink 182)
Wasted Time
Silly Goose
Home Sweet Home (originally by Motley Crue)

I played my Nikki Sixx blackbird bass for this show and how fitting it was playing a Crue cover and all. I dedicated Payback to Weber and Scott and told people to go reach into Weber's back pocket to get a good feel of his ass and to grab a free ticket to their Double Door show. Brey sang Silly Goose true frontman style wrapping himself in the mic cord and all. It was pretty funny. That song may have been a lil off. I couldn't hear Matt's guitar for shit and it just seemed off. Not to rip on our set but that was the 'loosest' song of the night. But then again, much alcohol was consumed and it was pretty late. Also, Brey broke the input jack on his first choice guitar. He was fucking with the cord and his amp and I looked to see what was up and he said that the whole input jack went into the guitar. That sucks. Weber brought us a round of shots and we toasted to Deech and then slammed em down. Then Lisa brought up even more shots during the set. Thanks! The shots added to the intensity of the show and how much I sweat. I had hair gel running into my eyes. All good though.

Afterwards, I stood around outside chatting with Leisure and then with Ryan from Maryz Eyes. He said he's never been to Chicago and was surprised by how many people were out and how crazy traffic was at close to 2 in the morning. It was crazy. Cabbies driving with no rules whatsoever. People walking in the street. I'm used to that shit but he was pretty surprised by it. Then a dude came up asking for change and Ryan said he felt bad he had nuthin to give him but I told him, "dude, check out the guys shoes and jacket. He doesn't look poor or homeless to me. Don't even feel bad about it." After I pointed that out he said I was right. I've seen homeless people and that guy wasn't homeless. Or if he was, he was well off with some very decent Nikes and a good jacket.

So that was about it. I tried to go home after that but I had some issues that I'm not going to get into right now cuz I'm sober and it'll just piss me off and ruin my day so fuck it. But thanks to Matt and Dan for being so nice and courteous. U guys r awesome.

I had a blast. Thanks Matt, Brey and Dan for letting me rock on stage with u guys. Thanks to all the bands, the people who came out to support and the nice people working the Wise Fools. The free PBRs r all good. And the bartender was awesome. Matt was in the right place at the right time on a few occassions and got free shots cuz the bartender would misunderstand what people wanted and would just pour shots. Pretty crazy. Kalamazoo was in the house. Keep in touch people. I'd luv to play Club Soda in Kalamazoo sometime so we'll have to set something up.
Thats it. I'm done. If u missed the show, u suck. But come on out to Fantasy Lounge next Friday Sept 26th to see me play a set with Low Profile and half a set with Shooting Blanks.

-ERIK