After leaving work on Friday night, Tessa and I grabbed some dinner at Oriental House then headed to the Handlebar for the premiere of KELEN HELLER’s video for “Redefine”.  We got there just as RIGHT TO FALL took the stage while I got with DOGFIGHT drummer Skip to arrange to introduce the band.  This was the band’s first show with new vocalist Jason Hohenstein and they belted out the metal classics starting with “Shortest Straw” by METALLICA as well as “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” by MEGADETH and “Seasons in the Abyss” by SLAYER as well as “Vote With a Bullet” by CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and tunes by SLIPKNOT, MUDVAYNE and others.

During their set, I got with Ashley from the KELEN HELLER Street Team to get briefed on introing the video and draw a name for a $150 gift card for Relentless Tattoo.  She and Michelle from the street team threw out shirts on stage and drew the name for me to announce as I was introing the video.  The video, itself, was a nice slasher story with Efrum offing the other members of the band and their little ladies!

After the band played, Tessa and I hung around for a bit then headed home as we were both exhausted and had family functions lined up all weekend: my cousin Abby’s first birthday party and my cousin Tonya’s belated wedding shower.

Tonya and her husband, Soup (yes, that’s his name!) were registered at Target so we went there to pick them out a gift and get Abby a gift as well while we were there.  While we were out, we hit some other stores since we had just got paid….like Borderlands Comics so I could get my geek on!

After the birthday party, Tessa and had to grab some late lunch because we didn’t give ourselves enough time before the party and threw birthday cake on empty stomachs!  Yikes!

We then grabbed some groceries, dropped them off at home and ran down the road to Harley Davidson of Greenville for the Miss Chrome Drive Contest to support Katie our receptionist only to find out it had been postponed due to the threat of rain so we went home and relaxed for the rest of the day before another day of family fun….

On Sunday, we met up with my Aunt Pat at Cracker Barrel for some Sunday dinner before heading over to my cousin’s wedding shower.  On our way, we stopped and picked up a Rockstar Energy Drink, an item Soup had on the registry but Target was completely out of stock the day before.

Trust me, we got them more than that!  I’m not that much of a tight ass!

Yesterday was an incredibly fun day as I got to get out of the studio for a while and go bowling while on the clock….with BLACK STONE CHERRY!!!!  Tessa and I got to Golden Lanes in Simpsonville around 2:30 before the band and most of the contest winners arrived. 

While waiting on everyone to show up, a group of three early teenage kids approached me and asked if they could pray for me.  Assuming they had me pegged as some Hellbound heathen, I admittedly got a bit defensive and snarkily replied, “Are you gonna pray for my soul?”.  The lead kid then clarified that the Lord had laid on their hearts to pray for someone wearing camouflage as I was wearing my camo shorts.  He continued to ask if I had anything that needed to be prayed for and, after a moment, I told them my brother who is currently in prison.  He then showed me the tablet he had been carrying which had ‘lost brother’ written on it suggesting that it referred to the fact that my brother was incarcerated.  Not entirely sure what to make of it, whether it was a message from God or a stretching coincidence, I decided to let the kids lay hands on me and pray.

Definitely one of the more unusual experiences I’ve had at a station event!  And, yes, that’s Jeff Lewis Neal snapping the pic with himself in the bottom left-hand corner!

When the winners arrived, people went ahead and started bowling and eating some pizza provided by the bowling alley as I resorted back to my unusual bowling technique:

Yeah, I just chuck the damn thing!  Hey, it works….sorta!

When the band arrived, they did an autograph session followed by a quick photo session before hitting the lanes with our contest winners!

Later that night, Tessa and I went out to the show at the Handlebar and even got to hang out on BSC’s tour bus and preview their new upcoming single “Blame It on the Boom Boom”!

When the band hit the stage, it was ON!  Great stage presence especially from guitarist Ben Wells and drummer John Fred Young the latter of whom did an amazing midset drum solo!  Can’t wait to see ‘em again!

This past weekend was one of those ideal lazy weekends where I didn’t step out of the apartment except for a few hours on Saturday just to grab some food, a few supplies and to feed some ducks at the lake.  I wish I could afford more of those!

Last night I got to step out for a few after work and go see my best friend Kenny from Atlanta do an acoustic set at Smiley’s Acoustic Cafe in Downtown Greenville for open mic night.  I was amazed at how many acts signed up for open mic that night!  What I wasn’t pleased with was the fact that several acts ignored the 3 song/15 minute time limit per set.  Three straight acts were a group of friends that kept interchanging members so there were several musicians who individually got significantly more than their fair share of 15 minutes of ‘fame’.

Needless to say, Kenny had to go on fairly late but did four amazing songs: three originals and a stripped-down version of QUEEN’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” which still gives me goosebumps because he sings it so incredibly well!  How do I get such amazingly talented friends yet none of it rubs off on me?

Tessa and I got away for the weekend and headed down to Atlanta which was living up to its nickname “HOTlanta”!  We initially went down so I could see CELLDWELLER led by Klayton who has had many projects I have been listening to for years starting with his original industrial metal band CIRCLE OF DUST whose debut CD I picked up back in ‘92!  Since the show was on Friday, July 1st, we decided to head down the night before and stay with my best friend Kenny and hit the town first thing on Friday.

So, we did just that and first hit the Georgia Aquarium Friday morning hoping to avoid most of the impending holiday weekend crowd.  However, it was still a mess as I’m sure many people had the same idea in mind.  But it wasn’t bad so we made the best of it and conquered the World of Coca-Cola as well since it’s right next door!

We managed to finish touring both spots by mid-afternoon so we started to make our way down to the Masquerade which was, conveniently, just a few miles away.  We paid our parking fee and made our way out into traffic when Tessa suddenly realized her cell phone was missing!  I’m not sure who freaked out worse: me or her?!

After the freak-out session was over, Tessa could only think of one place the phone could be: in the restroom of the commons area outside of the World of Coca-Cola.  She kept her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and it must have slipped out while she was relieving her bladder of all the 60+ soda flavors from around the world!  Thankfully there was an attendee in the restroom so she approached her and inquired about her phone which is a nice Samsung Droid Fascinate just like mine.  Apparently the woman was rather fond of the phone she had found because, according to Tessa, she was rather reluctant to hand it over.

After she had reacquired her electronic device, we got back out into Atlanta traffic and made our way to the Masquerade.  Once we found the venue, we went back to the Burger King we had passed on the way and grabbed a quick bite.  Quick is the key word since the Masquerade is kinda in the ghet-to!

We got to the venue shortly after five and waited outside for a couple of hours before the doors opened.  While we were out there, we meet up with some South Carolina friends who were also attending the show and even made a few new friends including Big Troy from 95 Rock in Augusta, GA.

When the doors opened, Tessa and I immediately hit the merch table and picked up a shirt each as well as some stickers (including old school CIRCLE OF DUST and BRAINCHILD) and a CD!

A couple of hours later, the opening band INVIOLATE started the show and featured a bona fide bellydancer on vocals!

After their set, it was time for me to FINALLY get to see Klayton live and in person after being thwarted from seeing CIRCLE OF DUST back in college because some jackass at a Charlotte venue had told me the show was postponed when, in reality, the venue had been changed.  No, I’m STILL not over that!

When CELLDWELLER took the stage, their sound and set-up was absolutely AMAZING!  My only complaint about the show was that the entire set was comprised of remixes and new material which I have yet to hear.  I have their only straightforward album: the 2003 self-titled debut.  They have numerous compilations of remixes and instrumentals however I am not as familiar with those.  So, on that note, I was somewhat disappointed but I did enjoy the overall experience of finally seeing Klayton perform live and in person!

After the show, Klayton and his touring partner, Blue Stahli, met with fans back at the merch table to take some pics and sign some autographs….

When we left the venue, we met up with Kenny at North River Tavern in Sandy Springs and I drove his inebriated ass home while Tessa drove my Jeep back to his house to crash for another night.

We slept in a bit the next morning and then made our way out to the Chattahoochee River and drove around parts of Alpharetta where I used to work and frequent.  We then made our way to Buford, GA to check out the Mall of Georgia and surrounding shops including the new Museum Replicas store which had some kickass geek souvenirs such as Star Wars and Harry Potter memorabilia as well as some steampunk apparel!  I picked up a Cthulhu bobble-head!

After roaming the entire mall, Tessa and I grabbed some food from Chic-Fil-A before hitting the road and heading home.  When we got back into town, we hit Yogurt Mountain and then Bi-Lo for some groceries and went home.

Sunday we relaxed and went over to my Uncle James Ray and Aunt Tina’s house for some cooking out and swimming.  Outside of that, we didn’t do much of anything else except for laundry!

Monday was more of the same as we celebrated our independence and freedom to be lazy!  We did, however, manage to make it out to meet my mom and her boyfriend Mark at Hollywood 20 to see Cars 2.  I have to admit that the sequel to the Pixar original was a bit disappointing as I was expecting since they turned it into an animated spy movie.  That’s not to say that there wasn’t any redeeming qualities to the film because there were some very funny moments and the plot was better than I had expected although it did get a little ridiculous toward the end.

Cars 2  \m/  \m/  \m/

Unfortunately, Tessa had to go to work after the movie and I had to spend a few hours in my office getting caught up from the 4-day weekend so I could hit the ground running today!

You know, I don’t care what critics said about Green Lantern, I thought it was effin’ awesome!  I went to go see it with Tessa Friday morning before coming to work and going on the air and I loved it!  I think DC has stepped it up a notch which they’ve been needing to do since Marvel has been kicking their asses at the box office for the past decade!  Granted, I’m a Marvel guy myself, but it’s good to see DC at least making an attempt to give them a run for the money aside from Batman and Superman.

Green Lantern  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \

After work Friday night, I made the trip up to scenic Sunnyview/Mill Spring, NC to catch Gerbstock III at the Ultimate Basement.  I got there just in time to catch up with an old friend from high school, Chris Buice and introduce his band EDGE OF ETERNITY.

I left shortly after their set and crashed with my friend Ron from the band MAY LAY.

I got up late the next morning and went over to Tessa’s mom’s to meet her and her mom for her mom’s birthday and to go visit her grandfather.  As we were ending our visit with her grandfather, we got caught in a nasty little storm that seemed to end just as we pulled back up at her mom’s.

Shortly after getting back to her mom’s, Tessa and I left to head back to the Ultimate Basement for day 2 of Gerbstock III.  Unfortunately, I got there right as the UPSTATE DRUMMERS group were tearing down but I still got to see SIX & TWENTY and SISTER TRISH although we didn’t get to stay for all of the latter’s set because Tessa had worked all night the night before and got very little sleep – and she had to drive home separately!

Needless to say, we didn’t do ANYTHING Sunday!

Yeah it was another crazy weekend of nonstop insanity!  Tessa’s piercer, Dianna was participating in the Psychotic Suspensions show at Ground Zero Friday night so she wanted to go.  Neither of us had ever been to one of their shows before but for different reasons as mine was by choice!  Needless to say, I only watched as much of the people tugging and swinging on meat hooks as my crawling skin could take which was just a few minutes of Dianna in a tug o’ war with a larger female.  At least I got to catch some bands and see ONE SHOT KILLS play for the first time and pose with Reverend Belton!

We didn’t get to stay for the whole show because Tessa had to be up bright and early to go to work.  I got up a few hours later to go to Family Day at my mom’s job, JTEKT.  It was hot and miserable out but I got to stay in the shade and eat a crap ton of free food including grilled burgers and hot dogs!  NOM!

After that function was over, I made my way up to the Twisted Needle in Roebuck so Miles could do some touch up work to my Cthulhu tat.

When he was done, I made my way back down to the Pavilion in Taylors to announce the Upstate Rollergirl Evolution (U.R.G.E.) hosting the Gate City Rollergirls from Greensboro, NC.

When THAT was over, I picked up Tessa at the apartment so we could grab a quick bite to eat and head over to the Handlebar for NOXIOUS’ last show and to check out John Elhers’ and Chief Spires’ new band TEMPLE OF THIEVES with Skip Strong filling in on drums.

After that, we were beat but we managed to make just one more stop as we hit Walmart for a few groceries so that we wouldn’t have to leave the apartment on Sunday and, believe me, we did not!

It was a long weekend like no other!  Tessa and I traveled all over the Carolinas from Columbia to Asheville to Charlotte for a nice minication.

We started by heading down to Columbia Friday night and stayed with my cousin Tonya and her new husband Soup.  Tonya had to work an all-nighter but still managed to join us for a trip to the Riverbanks Zoo.  Tessa had never been so I was excited about taking her for her first visit.

After several hours, we left the zoo and went to the Red Bowl in Columbia since we love the one here in Greenville and wanted to share the experience with Tonya and Soup.  I gotta say, the Columbia location isn’t anywhere close to the one in Greenville in terms of food, service and price!  Fans of the Greenville location should go somewhere else when down in Columbia!

On our way out of Columbia heading towards Asheville, my dumbass let us run out of gas – on I-26 where there were exits every 3 or 4 miles and not all of which were gas exits!  I have never in my life run out of gas and this was a BAD day to start!  As we were walking towards the nearest exit, my stomach which had been giving me fits for the better part of the day decided it would rear it’s ugly head once more forcing me to run down into the woods on the side of the interstate!  Let’s just say it’s a good thing I wear underwear on a regular basis!

Not long after my ‘crappy’ ordeal, a good Samaritan by the name of John stopped and gave us a lift to the next exit so we could get a gas can and some gas.  As we got back to my abandoned car, John’s car decides to die on him upon arrival.  Apparently some killswitch he had killed his battery temporarily and he needed a jump.  Unfortunately, we had no jumper cables so we drove a couple of exits up, finished filling my car with gas and borrowed jumper cables from the nearest Hess station.  We got back to John, jumped his car and followed him back to the Hess station to make sure he was alright and to return the jumper cables.

We finally got back on the road and reached our hotel room in Hendersonville around 9.  After we checked in, I immediately hit the shower for obvious reasons!  Not thinking I closed and locked the bathroom door and Tessa needed to get in so she could get ready herself.  So I stepped out of the shower to open the door and as soon as I swung my right leg out, my left foot began to slip in the shower.  Panicked, I tried to steady myself by attempting to plant my right foot on the bathroom floor but to no avail.  I finally landed my wet and naked ass flat on the bathroom floor.  By this point I had had enough but the show must go on so I continued to finish getting ready and we made our way to the Orange Peel.

We got to the venue around 10 while AS SICK AS US was on stage.  Unfortunately, our misfortunes of the day had caused us to miss DIXIE DEATHWISH.  We made our way backstage to get a gameplan together for my introduction for IRONSIDE who was headlining the show.

After getting the crowd hyped up, IRONSIDE came out and delivered a killer set including tunes from the new EP Prepare For War.  After the show, we were bushed so Tessa and I went back to our room and passed out!

The next morning after we checked out, we headed to her cousin Sherry and her husband Mike’s house in Clover, SC to spend the day and night before going to Carowinds on Memorial Day.  They took us out to eat at Amber Jack Seafood Restaurant in Gastonia, NC where I gorged myself on shrimp, scallops and crab legs!  Nom!

Tessa and I got up fairly early the next morning and got ready for a big day at Carowinds!  Being it was Memorial Day, we expected it to be a bit crowded which it was but not as bad as expected.  We geared up appropriately for a day at a theme park (I chose to wear a bandana on my head to protect my now bald and vulnerable noggin) and doused ourselves with SPF 30 sunblock.

We immediately hit a few roller coasters including the Intimidator before the crowds could get any worse then decided to hit the water park section.  While Tessa changed into her bathing suit, I reapplied sunblock to all of my exposed parts and we were on our way.

By the time we rode a few water rides, it was after 5 and we were starved so we stopped and grabbed some food before hitting a couple more coasters and leaving the park.  As we were leaving, I finally decided to take off the bandana which had stayed on my head throughout the entire day through water rides and all.  When I did, Tessa broke out in laughter as it was the only place on my head not exposed to UV rays whereas the rest of it had been hit with the rays that penetrated the wimpy SPF 30 (I’m used to 50+)!

Needless to say, I am wearing my hat all day at work and everywhere I go!

Last night was quite the spectacle to behold!  The best Aussie import since AC/DC, SICK PUPPIES came to our town to play the Handlebar!  They dropped by the station while I was on the air to record an interview and acoustic set with Dex so I managed to sneak into the production room and get a pic!

Before the show, the PUPS did a meet ‘n’ greet with some of our listeners.  Before the meet ‘n’ greet started, I went into the concert hall to talk to Brandon from A VACANT SOUL, one of the bands opening the show.  While we were talking, the PUPS came out to get ready for the meet ‘n’ greet so I introduced them to Brandon.  So we got talking and I made a comment about their “Shimrock n’ Roll” shirt from their 2011 St. Patty Day Run and Shim asked me my size and grabbed me one which I am proudly sporting today!

As the show got under way, I got to see many folks I know and got to hang with them upstairs where ‘little’ people like myself can enjoy a show without sniffin’ some dudes armpits!  Then Chris Siciliano, the record rep for EMI Records (SICK PUPPIES’ label) showed up and so did the tequila!

By the time I got up on stage with Dex and Paige, I was feeling mighty good!  I taunted the crowd in order for Dex and Paige to psyche up the arrival of the PUPS then made my way back upstairs to watch a killer show!

When their set was over, the PUPS made their way over to the merch table to meet and sign autographs for as many fans as they could.  Siciliano and I ran over to say goodbye to the band then went our separate ways as he had to drive all the way back to Atlanta and I had to head to….McDonald’s for some tasty McDoubles to soak up the booze!  And, yes, Tessa was the designated driver!

The first weekend in May never fails to be one of the busiest weekends of the year and 2011 is NO exception!  First off, it is always the kickoff to our annual month long celebration of manhood, Test Fest!  Again this year started out with one of my favorite ‘manly challenges’, BOWLING!  Wade hampton Lanes was once again host to our Rock ‘N’ Bowl which was a blast as always!  This year, Tessa and my friend and personal trainer Mike Baehser got to join me!  And no, they’re NOT in the picture below!  Lol!

After the Rock ‘N’ Bowl, we went to try out the restaurant Dex recommended to me, Red Bowl on S Pleasantburg.  The food, especially the sushi, was fantastic and reasonably priced!  I think Tess and I have a new fave!

The next morning I had an appearance at Borderlands Comics on Laurens Rd for National Free Comic Book Day.  The crowd turnout was incredible as was the interesting ‘characters’ that showed up – not the least of which was the Doc Ock incarnation from Spider-Man 2!

I would have loved to have stayed longer at the event but, when my time was up, I had to head to Charlotte for the first ever Carolina Rebellion.  The lineup was stellar however I can’t say that I was too pleased with much of the execution.  By the time Tessa and I got to Charlotte, it was already 3:30 (four hours after the first band performed) and there was STILL a line of cars trying to exit the interstate.  We passed the exit and took the next one and managed to arrive at the Metrolina Expo around 4:10 – I remember because BLACK STONE CHERRY was just taking the Jagermeister Stage.

When we pulled up, we were shocked to learn that they were charging $30 for parking.  Nevertheless, we paid it and managed to park close to the front gate so we could hurry and make it to the media tent to give Dex a hand with his numerous interviews.

By the time we actually found the media tent, Dex had already finished most of the interviews but Tessa did manage to shoot some video for Dex’s interviews with GODSMACK and HINDER.

When we left the tent, THEORY OF A DEADMAN was playing on the Rebellion Stage followed by SEETHER on the Carolina Stage.  As the sun was going down, STONE SOUR took the Rebellion Stage as we did a little shopping at the I Love Vagina tent where we both got silicone wristbands that proclaim “I LOVE VAGINA!”

We made our way back to the car as THREE DAYS GRACE was taking the Carolina Stage as we had decided we could take no more.  GODSMACK and AVENGED SEVENFOLD would have to wait for another day!  We refused to pay $7 for a hot dog let alone $9 for a beer!  I mean I know concessions at events like that are always overpriced but how far can you gouge it?!  So we made our way into Pineville and stopped at a Steak ‘n Shake and grabbed food.

Again, the lineup was spectacular but changes need to be made if this event is going to be an annual occurrence.  I just don’t think concertgoers should be taken advantage of to such a degree.  Personally, since I work in radio, it doesn’t affect me because my tickets were free but for those who paid their hard-earned money, they should be cut some slack for crying out loud!

Sunday morning Tessa and I went to my mom’s church, Word of Life Ministries in Simpsonville as a Mother’s Day request.  The pastor (or ‘bishop’ as he called himself) was a bit of a showman that didn’t strike me as completely genuine but it is not my place to judge so I will not add to my observation and make it such. 

After church, we hit up the New China Buffet in Simpsonville and then stopped by to visit my ’second mom’, Aunt Pat.  We then had to head up to Spartanburg to meet with Tessa’s mom at the Regal Spartan Stadium 16 to take her to see Thor and then out to eat at Red Lobster.  Yeah, we ate out a LOT this weekend!  Good thing we didn’t eat at the Rebellion or we wouldn’t have had enough money considering we’re both flat busted!

To say that this weekend was an adventure would be an understatement!  And dominating the weekend of adventure was none other than the Carolina Metalfest in Enoree, SC.

Tessa and I got up that morning and got ready for the all day event and made it there by one in the afternoon.  We took her brand new 2011 Nissan Juke and had to park it in the mud much to her dismay since she had just bought the car on Thursday!

The terrain only got worse on our way to the gates and the stage the latter of which was on the top of a 30 foot hill of, you guessed it, MUD!  Had it rained that day it would have looked like a redneck Woodstock!

The day started with some technical difficulties which took out the side stage leaving the one main stage to host all 15 bands (WRITTEN IN BLOOD and DIVULGENCE had cancelled).  The first band, BLACK HAND THRONE didn’t take the stage until nearly 3 pm so every band had to cut their sets down to 25 minutes which not all bands honored.

However, despite all the difficulties and setbacks, the show was actually a lot of fun and very entertaining.  There was a dunk tank to raise money for breast cancer research in honor of Jamie Browder as well as inflated slides and bounce houses for the kids….like ME!  There was also food vendors like Fuddruckers, Sexy Taco and Diggers BBQ so we had plenty of food!

Unfortunately, the fun had to be cut short as the cops came and shut us down before 11 cutting WHISKEY MOUNTAIN MACHINE’s set out entirely.  It was a disappointing way to end the night but it left us with some fond memories and quite the story to tell!

Oh but wait, there’s more!

When Tessa and I got back home, she got her keys out only to realize that she didn’t have her apartment key.  The reason for this is mostly my fault because I asked her for the key which was actually my spare key which I keep in my car for convenience when I have to run by the apartment on the run and I want to leave my car running.  She had tried to find her key earlier that day which she had given to Lauren while we were on vacation so she could feed our pet rats but she never put the key back on her keychain.  We didn’t find the key because we didn’t have time to keep looking. 

Before we left I had to run back into the apartment to get my car keys so I could grab my lawn chairs.  I used the spare key to open the apartment, grabbed my keys and got the chairs then put my keys back in the apartment since I wasn’t driving then locked the apartment with the spare key then, not thinking, locked the spare key in my car so it would be where I would later need it as usual not realizing I had just locked us out.

When we came to this realization, I called my apartment office and left a couple of frantic messages in the afterhours lock-out voicemail box.  After an hour of waiting, we decided to drive down to Simpsonville and stay at the local ‘love shack’ since it was cheaper than getting a locksmith to pop my car.

The next morning, we checked out of the motel, got some brunch then went home and got a spare key from the office.  It was time to rest and tend to my bald head’s first sunburn!  OUCH!