05.01.06

We had our first Guns Down rehearsal in over a month tonight. It felt good to play those songs again. We have to cancel our May tour. Not too happy about that, but there is nothing we can do. It seems California is cracking down on all-ages venues. It's getting harder and harder to play shows for kids.

05.10.06

Well it's been a long time coming but my book of short stories is nearing completion. It will be called Romance Novels & Ransom Notes, and will be released on Slander House later this year. More info to come.

05.11.06

My wife is hosting a Bachelorette party at our house this weekend. I got a room in Santa Cruz and me and my motorcycle are getting the fuck out of Dodge for the weekend. I'll write up a journal entry of the trip. This will my first long road trip on the bike. I am excited and a little scared. Should be cool, I love Santa Cruz and it'll give me time to put the finishing touches on Romance Novels & Ransom Notes.

05.14.06

So it turns out Santa Cruz is really far on a motorcycle. Really, really far. I had a great time, but I am worn out. Riding that far is murder on your legs and ass. Friday, I got to Santa Cruz around 3pm and checked in to my hotel. I was starving so I set out on foot in search of food. I decided to call Fred from Children's Crusade to find out if there were any good places in town to get vegan food. He gave me about three spots I could walk to from my hotel, how awesome is that? I ended up at a place called Saturns, it's a diner right out of Happy Days only everything is meat-free, and a lot of the menu is, or can be made, vegan. My eyes were bright red because my allergies were going nuts. Something in Santa Cruz didn't agree with me. I looked high and I was wearing a Gorilla Biscuits t-shirt, so that was funny. After a good meal (a grillers burger, with sautéed mushrooms and a vegan chocolate shake) I jumped back on the bike and went to Natural Bridges beach. I love that place. I hung around on the beach and poked around in some tidal pools. I called Fred again and went to met him at his apartment. We had planned to go to a show in Watsonville (about 20 miles from Santa Cruz) but Bert (Children's Crusades drummer) got off work really late so we went to downtown Santa Cruz and went record shopping instead. It's funny I have spent a lot of time in Santa Cruz and have never been downtown. We met up with a friend of Fred's named Rocky who knew all about the Reno scene so we talked about This Computer Kills and Disconnect all night. It was cool. Saturday I got up early and walked downtown again to find some allergy medicine because I woke up with my eyes cemented shut. I hit a Longs Drugs, and picked up some eye drops and generic allergy pills. I was in line behind a Mexican guy with a strong accent, he was asking the cashier directions to a Radio Shack and she thought he was asking for a shower head, it was really funny. They just went on and on back and forth, I finally told her what he was asking for, it was funny, but I had shit to do. I met Fred and his girlfriend in Capitola for breakfast (or lunch, it was noon). I had planned to go up to Monterey and Big Sur but I went back to Natural Bridges instead. I spent to whole day there. I went back to the hotel about 5pm and went to the pool and hot tub to relax. Later on I went down to the boardwalk and the wharf but that was boring, so I went back downtown and hit up some more record shopping and another meal at Saturns, walked back to the hotel for some more hot tub, and crashed. Sunday I had no real plans other than going home at some point. I woke up early and went back to Capitola for breakfast. The restaurant there is called Dharma's and everything is veggie. I thought it would be crowded with Mother’s Day and all, but I was in and out in no time. While eating I decided to head north up Highway 1 to San Francisco and then go home from there. Along the way I stopped off at about every other beach access to look at the ocean and take pictures. I met a guy from England who was living in California and riding his motorcycle up Highway 1 with his sister. We chatted for a bit and I took a photo of him and his sister with his camera and he took one of me and my bike with mine. He told me Highway 1 was closed just after Half Moon Bay so I had to find an alternative route. It turns out riding to San Francisco from Santa Cruz is really, really long. And then I still had to ride from SF to Reno, also really, really long. I made it home just before 7pm. This means I spent eight straight hours on my bike. My whole body hurts and I'd do it again tomorrow if I could.

05.21.06

Last night Guns Down played in Carson City. All I can say is long live Carson Punk!!! The show was amazing. So many kids. And all types too. It was so refreshing to be in a scene where music mattered more than anything else. I can not wait to play Carson again. Tony and Devon came down to see the show which was really cool. I missed them a lot over this past year. Dave filmed the whole thing. We are going to put some of it up on YouTube.com and on our Myspace. The show was so great!! Circle pits, and slam dancing, no tough guy vibe, just fun all night. We played with three local Carson bands, Lazy Angels (it was their first show and they were great) Inoxia, and Broken Salvation. Inoxia had some technical difficulties (they blew a breaker) but other than that the night went off with out a hitch. Carson kids know how to get down. Damn I wish every show could be like last night.