Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and even THEN), you are without a doubt aware that one of the largest film franchises in the history of cinema came to its inevitable conclusion this weekend and, unsurprisingly, shattered numerous box office records.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 had the best opening weekend of all time with $168.6 million (beating out The Dark Knight which made $158.4 its opening weekend), best single-day gross with $92.1 million, best midnight screening with $43.5 million and best international debut with $307 million!  Wow!

And I have to say that the film definitely delivered indeed!  I’ve never read the books but I have seen all eight films in the theater and I know a lot of the stuff the movies miss because I know numerous people who have read them and have even dated a few and this truly was the chapter fans of all interest levels have been waiting for!  Many questions are answered and many characters, both beloved and despised, meet their ends.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Tessa and I actually went to see the film twice this weekend – both times in Spartanburg as we met her mother Friday night then her best friend Krista on Sunday.  Before the movie Friday, we met her mother and Darlene at Longhorn for some grub and did the same on Sunday when we met with Krista and her fiancee Brandon….only substitute Longhorn with DQ!  Lol!

On Saturday, Tessa and I had some errands to run and then I met up with my old bandmate Chris Moon and cousin Ray at H&H Storage in the Five Forks area of Simpsonville so the three of us could all jam together for the first time in 11 years!  From ‘98 until 2000, the three of us were in a band called MINDPHASER and, when it disbanded, had not played together since.  Granted I have worked with both Moon and Ray on different projects individually just never all together.

The session went really well once we got started after having set everything up.  We jammed and Moon showed us both some riffs he had been working on and, after a couple of hours, had at least half a song written.  After another couple of hours last night we pretty much have it finished.  Keep in mind, Moon has a knack for writing some pretty challenging guitarlines to follow!

So far, things seem to be going well after just a couple of jam sessions….all we need now is a singer and a name!

Friday night after work I got to take the Planet van out to the latest venue in Greenville, T.K. Fiddler to catch the GNR Tribute band, APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION.  The place looked quite nice and the sound was pretty good as MODERN DAY SLAVE took the stage as the opening act for the evening.  I’d have to say that the venue has some potential!

Saturday, Tessa and I rode up to Hendersonville, NC where I was broadcasting live at Industrial Ink as they were offering Planet listeners $20 tattoos!  I got there early around 2:20 (the broadcast wasn’t scheduled to begin until 3) and there was already quite a line for sign-ups to get ink!  Within an hour, they were booked solid and began giving away rain checks to be cashed in anytime before the end of the year.  As a matter of fact, Tessa and I are going back after holiday shopping on Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend – granted that we don’t spend all our money!

Last night me and the boys of DETHRO TULL got together not to rehearse but to record!  We have been in the process of recording for some time now but have hit various speed bumps and snags but are back on course and last night went exceedingly well as Bogie (Blake), The Kid (Jesse) and I managed to record several takes for three different tunes!  So far, the rough cuts of what we have already done sound great!  Can’t wait until we are done!

Friday night was the second show for DETHRO TULL and the last one until we get a disc ready.  We played out on the loading dock of the local brewery RJ Rockers in downtown Spartanburg – hence the name “Rock on the Dock”.  We came out guns blazing and topped our debut show by a long shot!  I took advantage of the loading ramp as I was constantly running up and down the ramp while playing.

What was really awesome was that my Aunt Pat showed up wearing a DETHRO TULL shirt as was my brother and my mom managed to make the show as well as my biological father.  Insanity!  On Tessa’s side was her mom and her mom’s best friend Paula as well as Tessa’s best friend Krista and her boyfriend Chris.  Not to mention the ever-so-increasing number of DT fans and friends!  Killer show and a great turn-out!

After our set, HONEY WAGON put on a couple of great sets while we mingled and sold a good amount of merch!  Afterwards, I loaded my gear up and the four of us (Krista, Chris, Tessa and myself) hit up Denny’s for some late night chow.

We (the four of us since Krista and Chris stayed the night with me and Tessa at my apartment) had to get up early and head to Anderson where I was broadcasting live at Aarons Sales and Lease on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.  During the broadcast, Tessa, Krista and Chris ran over to grab some fun stuff from Toys ‘R’ Us and then we all later hit the Anderson Jockey Lot for some ‘redneck shoppin’.

After the jockey lot, we returned to Greenville and caught the new horror flick written by M. Night Shyamalan, Devil.  Undoubtedly you have seen the trailer for this one about five strangers trapped in an elevator with one of them being the Devil in the flesh.  Very good thriller with lots of suspense!

Devil  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

After the movie we all rode to the Haywood Mall to do some ‘non-redneck shoppin’ and made a stop at Build-A-Bear so the girls could go crazy and craft themselves a new stuffed critter to love!  Tessa wanted me to pick out her animal which I did but only with a large amount of guidance!  She ended up with a cute little doggie with a scrub outfit since she’s a nurse.  I kept trying to come up with names like ‘Barkley’ and ‘Begley’ and then Tessa suggested ‘Bob’ which I had too considered and then it dawned on me: Bob Barker!  Oh yeah, we’re geigh!

When we got back to my apartment, Krista and Chris left to head back to NC while Tessa and I got ready to head to the House in Simpsonville to see SIX AND TWENTY, DOGFIGHT and PSYCHO SPOON.  PSYCHO SPOON features former NILE drummer, Pete Hammoura and they even played with his former bandmate, Karl Sanders as special guest guitarist for the show!

Afterwards, DOGFIGHT took the stage and slayed killer covers of “Redneck” by LAMB OF GOD, “Leper Messiah” by METALLICA and even “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” by MEGADETH!  I’m STILL grinning!

I had to take off shortly into SIX AND TWENTY’s set since it was after 1 am and I am getting old!  However I did manage to wish their frontman and fellow co-worker Tyler a happy birthday!

Sunday Tessa and I joined my mom, brother and Aunt Pat for Sunday dinner which featured meatloaf (my favorite), mashed potatoes, sweet peas, corn and homemade mac ‘n’ cheese!  NOM NOM NOM!

Afterwards Tessa and I retired early and watched my Tampa Bay Bucs take down the Carolina Panthers – pretty much the ONLY time I will root AGAINST the Panthers!  It was all day football, Simpsons and Family Guy followed by a night showing of Pixar’s Up!  Ah, a good weekend indeed!

I was born this day back in 1976 making me 34 years of age and so far this day has been splendid!  When I logged onto facebook this morning I seriously had over 100 well wishes from my fb friends….and growing still as I type this!  I expected maybe a couple of dozen but the responses have been nothing short of spectacular!

The festivities for my birthday actually began this weekend as my boys in DETHRO TULL and I went out to the Handlebar to catch a killer ‘mock rock’ show with JAR OF FLIES (ALICE IN CHAINS tribute band), EULOGY (TOOL tribute band) and my old band DOGFIGHT.  I also had the pleasure of having my new girlfriend Tessa join me and the boys out at the show!  It was a great night of killer music and a good chance for the boys to get acquainted with the scene as we are about to hit the scene officially this weekend with our debut show coming up this Saturday at the Ultimate Basement in Mill Spring, NC!

Sunday Tessa joined me, my mom, my Aunt Pat and brother Anthony for a little celebratory birthday dinner at Miyabi on Congaree Rd.  We then had some cake and ice cream but I was too full to eat much as I still had food left over to chow down on for supper later!  Tessa and I spent the rest of the day relaxing on the couch and enjoying each other’s company.

Monday was a bit of a rough practice as a few of us were a bit burnt out (myself included).  However, we reconvene tonight and hope to be on our game as this may very possibly be our last practice until the show Saturday unless we can hit it tomorrow night as well.

Tessa came down into town last night so she could see me for my birthday and took me out to Red Lobster where we feasted like a king and queen on some crab legs!  She also brought me some terrific homemade blueberry muffins that she made from scratch!  I am such a lucky guy!  Can’t wait to see her again Saturday as she will be by my side as DETHRO TULL makes our debut!

Ok, it’s been more than two weeks since my last blog so I’ve got a LOT of ground to cover!  Two weeks ago today, P1 Lauren and I went to Greenville Zoo for “Brew at the Zoo” as I splurged from my ‘water diet’ to sample some tasty brews at the zoo….yeah….  Anyways so afterwards we hit Jimmy John’s in downtown Greenville for some chow and then went and rented Hot Tub Time Machine.

Hot Tub Time Machine was frickin’ hilarious!  I was so relieved to see John Cusack finally do another comedy that’s NOT a chick flick!  Definitely go check it out!

Hot Tub Time Machine  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

I went back to Blockbuster the next day to rent The Crazies because I wanted to watch it again since seeing it in the theaters.  Great horror flick remake though I admit I haven’t seen the original!

The Crazies  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Last Thursday I started my ’staycation’ and ended up getting up early and went up to see DETHRO TULL’s Capt. Toenail McGutty Cutty (Mike Burket to the humans) to work on some tunes and to introduce him to Metalocalypse!  I followed the same routine the next day so we could pan out material for our upcoming show at the Ultimate Basement up in Mill Spring, NC on August 7th.

Saturday was the long awaited Carnival of Madness show featuring SHINEDOWN, CHEVELLE, PUDDLE OF MUDD, SEVENDUST and 10 YEARS.  I got to go back to the Backstage Barbecue and get autographs from all the bands which is always a plus!

I spent most of the show in the shade of the VIP tent because I’m a pasty ass white boy that only fries in the sun without the benefit of tanning!  I did, however, come out on stage to announce PUDDLE OF MUDD along with Dex and then CHEVELLE with The Rise Guys.

As the sun’s rays started to subside, I ran out onto the lawn and met a TON of Planet listeners and even posed for a few pictures!  I have yet to see any of those pics so I’d say it’s safe to assume my ugly ass broke their cameras!  Ha!

I took it easy the remaining days of my staycation with the only active activities being jamming with the TULL Monday and Wednesday night as we are solidifying our set list for the 7th!

I did manage to take in a movie Tuesday and went and saw Despicable Me featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel and Russell Brand.  Very cute movie that was very funny and entertaining for the whole family….and my loser ass went solo!

Despicable Me  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m

Man, it was a great holiday weekend!  Saturday I went to go see Aunt Pat who had made meatloaf!  I LOVE MEATLOAF!!!

That night I went with my friend Angie out to downtown Greer for their 4th of July festivities because Burket (singer/guitarist from DETHRO TULL) was playing a paid gig with another band called AARON JAMES AND THE ADRENALINE JUNKIES.  They put on a great set which included killer covers of “Tie Your Mother Down” by QUEEN and “Stray Cat Strut” by THE STRAY CATS.  Afterwards there was a fireworks show and I got to mingle with a bunch of fellow musicians and friends of the TULL!

Sunday my friend and old bandmate Moon invited me over to do a little swimming for a little while before I had to join my mom for dinner.

I got up bright and early Monday morning to join Leman and Blake over at Burket’s house so the four of us could go over some band stuff and work on vocal parts for a few of our tunes.  I was very excited to try them out that night at practice but had a hard time hearing myself so they didn’t go quite as I had hoped but it’s a work in progress.  31 days ’til our first show!  More to come!

This weekend I went out and took in some local shows to show my support of the scene which is trying to bud once again and to spread the gospel of DETHRO TULL!  Friday night I went to the Electric City of Anderson to a place called Bull Feathers (formerly known as Charlie T’s) and caught CADILLAC HIGH and the return of UNDONE.  Both bands put on great performances and I got to clown around with some folks before, during and after the show….I believe there were blackmail pics taken….like THIS one!

The next night I went out to Gottrock’s to see Tyler’s band SIX AND TWENTY play with the mighty WHISKY MOUNTAIN MACHINE!  As always both bands played extremely well and I got to mingle with a lot of folks I know from other bands.  At the end of the night, Tyler spoke of getting a show together in Greenville in the next couple of months or so….more to come!

This past Memorial Day weekend was both restful AND productive!  Saturday and Sunday I managed to do pretty much nothing except go to a cookout with my friends Kelly and John.  I had to pack in kinda early so I had my friend Carl take me home before midnight so I could get up early and greet Memorial Day with a number of errands to run.  The first of which was getting my oil changed at Big ‘O’ Dodge before heading up to Boiling Springs to work on some tunes with two of my guitarists in DETHRO TULL (we now have THREE!), Mike Burket and Blake Crocker since we were not having practice that night since it was Memorial Day.  We went over our song “I Killed Love” which is my personal favorite due to its infectiously catchy chorus.  They were debating on getting rid of the nasty riff which leads into the solo and is my favorite part of the song musically so I voted on keeping it but shortening it by trimming off a few bars or measures.  Should be ready to hammer out tomorrow night at practice!

Last night after work, I met our drummer Leman at the Handlebar for the NONPOINT show.  We had dinner there as I think we both got their hoagie clubs which are amazing!  We finished eating in time to go into the music hall and check out Tyler from promotions’ band SIX AND TWENTY put on a killer set after which Leman sought out their drummer Harold for some stick talk!  Next was A VACANT SOUL who never disappoints and the always killer KELEN HELLER!  After that we pretty much hung out outside networking and socializing since neither of us are big NONPOINT fans….or at least I know I’m not.  I got to introduce Leman to a lot of new peeps and we both put the word out for the arrival of DETHRO TULL later this summer as we do have a show booked at the Ultimate Basement in Sunnyview, NC on August 7th.  Details to come!

This weekend I stayed as low key as possible but I did manage to make a couple of short trips.  The first of which was down to Clinton to meet up with Josh from DECADENCE, a local band based out of Newberry, to buy his Gallien-Krueger Neo 410 bass cabinet.  Now my already killer set up is even more killer!

The other trip was down to Greenwood to visit my brother and have lunch with him and our Aunt Pat.  Outside of that, I didn’t do much!

Last night was practice night with the DETHRO TULL boys as we were trying out a possible THIRD guitarist!  Oh yeah, THIS is gonna be a fun experience!  Stay tuned for more details and check out our brand new official facebook page at facebook.com/dethrotull!