I dunno….I just like the title!  And yesterday was President’s Day so it works!

Last week was quite a busy week as Tessa and I went to the Peace Center last Tuesday to see the musical adaptation of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.  Though I am not a big fan of musicals, I couldn’t resist going to see one based on the comedy classic!  It was a blast!

After work on Wednesday, Stoneman from ROCK 101 and I helped judge the Mauldin High School Battle of the Bands.  There was an interesting array of young talent so we enjoyed ourselves as we lent our capable hands to a good cause!

Friday night I went to bed a little earlier than usual as I had to get up and go help our webmistress Tracy move into her new house the next morning.  Even Dex joined in on the cause and we managed to get the moving done by early afternoon!

Later that night, Tessa and I made a run for Barnes & Noble so I could use the gift card I received for helping out with the MHS BOTB.  She grabbed a few books while I found Space Cowboys on Blu-ray, a movie I had on DVD that turned up missing several years ago.

Sunday was a lazy day for the most part until we decided to hit up Frankie’s Fun Park for some head-to-head competition on the green with a little miniature golf!

Yesterday we made a trip to the new GameStop on Woodruff Rd so she could pick up a copy of Red Dead Redemption on PS3 while I spied Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition which utilizes the new Playstation Move – and let me say that using the Move controllers on this game is a pain in the ass!  With that being said, I think I’m off for another healthy dose of the pain!

Thursday was our P1 Lounge with TRAPT at Earshot Music.  TRAPT played a few acoustic tunes, answered some questions from some listeners and took pictures and signed autographs.  As for me, I got to eat free food and take some pics myself!

Over the weekend, the new Carolina Ale House was having what is referred to as a ’soft opening’ where customers and clients are invited to come in for free food so that the staff can test the waters and get broken in properly!  I called and made a reservation for 8 but ended up waiting for the better part of an hour to actually be seated since they were well overbooked!  However, it was indeed worth the wait and I cannot wait to return now that they are officially open as of yesterday!

Saturday afternoon, I was at Master’s Car Stereo on E. Washinton in Greenville to give away an autographed SEVENDUST guitar for the second day in the 12 Days of Axemas.  Always a good time when a listener gets to walk away with an autographed axe!That night was the Entercom company Christmas party and I was glad to get to take Tessa for the first time!  Always love the free food and the free booze at the OPEN BAR!!!!

Sunday we went to visit a friend’s church down in Simpsonville and then went and had a couple of great burgers at Mojo’s since we were in town!  We then went home to take care of a few things around the apartment and relax before Tessa had to leave for work.

If you’re wondering the title means, the answer is simple: this weekend marked the fourth time seeing TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA as well as the fourth time seeing SKILLET!

Before I get to all that, I will start with my crazy girlfriend’s bright idea to go ahead and open some Christmas gifts on Friday night.  So I agreed and gave her the heels I got her with skulls on them that she had been wanting and she gave me a Garmin Nuvi GPS unit and a LEGO Star Wars AT-AT.  I feverishly began working on the LEGOs and got about half of the project finished before going to bed.

We slept in on Saturday then cleaned up the apartment and finished decorating the Christmas tree – except for the star since we were not pleased with the one we had bought.  Then Tessa went to get her mother while I tied up a few loose ends and got ready for the TSO show.  My mother then met us at the apartment and we left for the Bi-Lo Center.  Mom had never seen the show so it was a treat to take her for her first TSO experience as they were amazing as always!

After taking her mom to her car, Tessa and I grabbed some Waffle House chow and then ran to Wal-Mart to grab a new star for the Christmas tree and she picked up Eclipse on Blu-ray.

When we got home, Tessa put the star on the tree while I put the finishing touches on my LEGO AT-AT!

After we finished, we started watching Eclipse but I had to throw in the towel halfway through because I was bushed!

When we got up on Sunday, we got ready to go to the Greer Christmas Parade where I was judging some of the floats for the Greer Jaycees.  Tessa and I froze our asses off since it was quite windy and bitterly cold.  Needless to say, we couldn’t wait for the parade to be over so we could go get warm.

From there, we ran a few errands, grabbed some food and went back to the Bi-Lo Center for the Winter Wonder Slam presents the Awake Tonight Tour with TOBYMAC and SKILLET.  Some new Christian rapper opened the show and then SKILLET followed almost immediately.  Even though it was my fourth time seeing the band overall, it was my first time seeing them use pyro even though two other times I have seen them headline.  During “Monster”, bassist/vocalist John Cooper climbed up into a huge Punisher-looking metal skull with awesome red and green lights!  Their set was fantastic as always and we stayed for a couple of TOBYMAC songs and then bolted.

When we got home, we finished watching Eclipse which I have to say is by far the best of the Twilight Saga thus far!  Much more action than the last installment New Moon.  Still not a big fan but I do enjoy the films as a casual viewer.

Eclipse  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Since Tessa has been exposing me to the Twilight films (although I saw the first two films before we started dating), I decided to make her watch a Star Wars film.  And what better episode than The Empire Strikes Back?!  She seemed to enjoy it but was a bit lost as to what they were fighting for since we skipped A New Hope.  However, she is now willing to go back and watch the films and see if she likes them!  The force is strong with this one!

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!

This weekend was a great chance for me and Tessa to spend some time together as well as with some of our friends and family.  Friday night we went out to Gottrocks to catch SIX AND TWENTY, GHOST IN THE MACHINE and RED X.

When the show was over, we wound down by watching Trick R Treat since I had finally bought it again on Blu-ray since it was stolen when my apartment was broken into last December.

Saturday we went to Hollywood 20 to catch the new Jackass movie in 3D!  The film was hilarious but still didn’t top the second installment in the Jackass film series which is still my favorite.  However, the 3D spin is killer!

Jackass 3D  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m

After the movie, we went up to Spartanburg to join the rest of the boys in DETHRO TULL and their families at Fuddruckers.  We were all treated to the meal by the father of our youngest member Jesse Tesh (aptly nicknamed “The Kid”).

Afterwards, Tessa and I followed Blake (aka “Bogie”) and his wife and daughter to Halloween Express to look around and give Burket (aka “Captain Toenail McGutty Cutty”) and his wife Jackie time to go home and prepare for a little board game action as we played their copy of the Alice in Wonderland board game based on the Tim Burton film and had some tasty beverages both adult and virgin.  It was a good time and a great bonding experience for all of us especially Tessa who is fairly new to the circle.

When we got home, we watched Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon which I bought on Blu-ray for Tessa who had really been wanting to see it.  I fell asleep during the film which was a change since Tessa is usually the one falling asleep during movies.  What I saw of the movie was really good, but I don’t feel qualified to rate it since I slept during a good portion of the film.

The next morning we got up and met up with my mom, brother and Aunt Pat and drove into NC to meet up with Tessa’s mom and then went to Chimney Rock.  We stopped in Lake Lure to have a nice little picnic lunch and then we drove into Chimney Rock and split up so Aunt Pat, my mom and Tessa’s mom could go shopping while Anthony, Tessa and I went into Chimney Rock State Park and took the elevator up to the top of the mountain for some sightseeing.

After we left the mountains (or foothills, rather) behind, Tessa and I did some much needed grocery shopping and took it easy the rest of the evening and just enjoyed each other’s company before we had to go our separate ways for the work week.

Birthday Bash XIV kicked TOTAL ASS!!!  I got to meet a lot of great Planet listeners as well as killer musicians!  Right as I arrived, we did a meet and greet with one of my personal favorite bands, SKILLET!

About an hour later we also got to do an meet and greet with the mighty FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH!

Shortly thereafter it was time to get the show started as Paige and I took to the stage to introduce ROYAL BLISS whose bassist turns out to be good friends with my best friend Kenny who now lives in ATL!

Once ROYAL BLISS started, I made my way back to the Planet tent to meet some P1s as they were making their way into the show.

Not long after I had to go meet Tessa at my Aunt Pat’s house to get her to the show being I had her ticket and she is from out of town.  We went back to the Planet tent for a bit while FUEL played then made our way back to the VIP tent and met up with some of our mutual friends.

From that point on, it was a constant back and forth from going backstage to announce DROWNING POOL with Dex to the Planet tent and back to the VIP tent and then again backstage to announce SKILLET with The Rise Guys!

Once SKILLET took the stage, I made sure Tessa and I went out into the crowd to watch SKILLET kill it as they always do!  I know for a fact that many P1s became diehard Panheads that night!

After SKILLET’s set was over, it was time to hit the stage one last time with the rest of the crew to make the final announcements for the night and introduce FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH!!!

Needless to say, sleep was not easy to come by that night and my voice was a bit rough on air yesterday!

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!

Saturday night marked the arrival of DETHRO TULL as the boys and I rode into North Carolina to play The Ultimate Basement in Mill Spring.  We managed to pull in over 100 paying fans (not counting the folks we had on our guest list) and even sold at least 15 shirts!

We took to the stage at around 8:30 and proceeded to play exceptionally well for our very first show as a band.  If you didn’t make it, you really missed out and need to catch a future TULL show!

I spent the remainder of the weekend with my girlfriend Tessa who lives not far from the venue.  We went shopping in Asheville and managed to get lost along the way!

I didn’t get home until around 9:30 yesterday morning and I was a zombie all day…..but I’m not complaining!

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!

Friday night after work, Rebecca and I made an appearance at Ground Zero for the Uncle Jim Memorial Show.  We got there just in time to catch GHOST IN THE MACHINE take the stage for the first time in several months.  They put on a great set playing some of their new material from their upcoming disc.  FROM TOMORROW played next and then we stayed long enough to catch a portion of STRAIGHT LINE STITCH’s set before calling it a night.

Saturday I made a return trip to Rutherford County, NC and went to see some SWA wrestling action at the armory in Forest City along with Burket and his wife Jackie.  We mingled with some folks and promoted our show coming up on the 7th since Mill Spring is just down the road.  Burket and Jackie left a little early to go check out The Ultimate Basement, the venue we are playing on the 7th while I left shortly thereafter with a couple of friends from the area and hit Denny’s in Spindale.  We rallied some folks to come out and join us and I even posted it on facebook to see who we could get to come out.

Afterwards, on my way home, I drove around Chesnee, SC trying to find one of SWA’s wrestlers Wicked’s house since he always throws killer parties after their matches.  I’ve only been once and I was riding with someone else so I couldn’t find my way!  I seriously drove around and around for an hour and a half!  And Wicked wasn’t answering his phone!  Oh well, it happens when ya party hard!

Sunday was my cousin Ray’s baby shower as he and his wife Erin are welcoming their second child (a GIRL!) in late August.  Not much to say because it was a baby shower, an event most men don’t attend but I am close with my cousin so THERE!

After work Monday I had band practice at Burket’s house since our drummer Leman is on vacation.  Afterwards, I met up with a facebook friend named Tessa I had just recently started ‘talking’ to.  We hung out until like 5 in the morning because time just seemed to melt away!  I’m excited because I haven’t connected with someone like that in quite some time!

Needless to say, I was rather exhausted due to lack of sleep but I pressed on regardless and then went out to catch the sneak preview of Dinner For Schmucks starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd.  The movie is about a guy trying to move up in the corporate world and is invited to a dinner where a bunch of high class jerks each bring an idiot ‘friend’ to make fun of and to see who can find the biggest idiot.  The film was an absolute riot!  Definitely go!

Dinner For Schmucks   \m/  \m/  \m/  \m