Pinhead Gunpowder, Full Band, 924 Gilman. By Ingrid Johansen from Albany, CA
Pinhead Gunpowder – Show of a Lifetime – 924 Gilman, 2/12/10
I started writing this right after the Pinhead Gunpowder show happened on February 12, but a few things got in the way, including the death of my Uncle while I was still in California. So, I know it’s been a while, but enjoy nonetheless.
Pinhead Gunpowder. Photo by Michelle Lawlor, The Rock and Roll Picture Show - http://therocknrollpictureshow.com/?p=681
Update: 924Gilman posted the raw file of this show on 3/13/10. While the board levels are all over the place, nonetheless, the file reflects the rawness and intensity of the show. A great night. They also posted a great set of photographs from the stage. The link to those may be found here. The Green Day Community editorial regarding the show, written by J’net, can be found here. Michelle Lawlor’s blog post and pictures can be found here. Photographs from Lawlor may be purchased and all proceeds go to help Anandi Wonder with her cancer treatment. A gallery of photographs by me, mostly of attendees, can be found here.
A Show? There’s Going to Be a Show?
I had heard that there was going to be a super-secret benefit show by Pinhead Gunpowder at Gilman and I became obsessed (or as I like to say, focused) on the possibility of seeing a Green Day-related side project band in a small and intimate, show. My friend who introduced me to Billie Joe at Fake New Year’s in Los Angeles back in November keeps telling me that I heard it directly from Billie Joe himself that night because Billie Joe told him about it and I was standing there when he said it, but hell if I remember that happening. That night, all in all, is a bit of a blur.
After going to London in October to see Green Day at the O2 and then missing the Foxboro Hot Tubs by a bloody week, I became determined to head to my now favorite place on Earth, the East Bay, to see the band. PHGP is a band that I was only slightly aware of (shoot me) seven months ago and I wanted to see my friends in the Bay. As an extra bonus, the Mystic Knights of the Cobra (MKOTC) were playing at the Uptown at some point during the weekend, too. (I’ll be writing about that show in the next week.)
The rumor machine had PHGP playing on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at first, and MKOTC were rumored to open for them. However, it became evident that MKOTC weren’t going to open as they had been… Uh… banned from Gilman from the last time they played there. Then MKOTC booked a show at the Uptown for Saturday and were certainly not playing with PHGP and everyone’s attention somehow obsessed (focused) on the rumor that the benefit for Anandi Wonder, a friend of PHGP’s who was suffering from breast cancer, would happen on Friday, February 12, 2010, instead.
There had been some hard and fast talk saying that if news of the show came out too early and too furious, that the show would be canceled. I’m paranoid and pretty good at keeping a secret, but after a bit of sidestepping around the subject, a group of, shall we say… well-researched folks… from the Green Day Community somehow found themselves planning a weekend in the Bay.
I asked a friend to help me out (again) with a cheap buddy ticket on Continental, asked my friends in the Bay if I could stay with them, rented a car and prayed that nothing like a blizzard or anything would stop me from going. I had no cash, really, for any of this, and the cheap Continental ticket was a godsend that eventually turned into a nightmare.
Pinhead Gunpowder Crowd
And while everyone was busy keeping their mouths shut, Billie Joe himself, who is not known for keeping some things quiet, spilled the beans the night before the show on Twitter…
02-11 – PINHEAD GUNPOWDER TO PERFORM FRIDAY
Having band practice with PHGP today! Can’t wait for friday night show! -Billie
… and greenday.com was geeky enough to actually twit about his Tweet. It always cracks me up when they do this.
Snowpacalypse 2010
There was one giant glitch in my crazy plans: Northeast winters and their ability to make things go a bit haywire. The week before the February 12th show, a storm caused major disruptions in transportation and life in the Maryland and DC areas and I literally thanked my lucky stars that it hadn’t reached NYC. Of course, I still had a week to leave the city so anything could happen, and yes, it did.
On Wednesday, February 10th, two days before the show, with people heading to the Bay from the East Coast on Thursday and Friday, a proclaimed “Snowpacalyse” poised itself to hit the East Coast again and this time, NYC was destined to be in the eye of a twenty-four hour storm. Just. Fucking. Peachy.
A few folks including me were slated to fly standby. Standby works only if the airline does not sell out seats and they end up distributing tickets to friends and workers for a nominal fee at the gate. And I mean, nominal. If a storm disrupted service for a few hours, we still had good chances of getting the cheap seats. Any longer than that, and we were screwed. Wednesday’s 24-hour storm busted the best of good intentions for people WITH tickets, let along dweebs like me catching a good deal.
Larry Livermore posted on his Facebook a declaration that the storm had better be a doozy, because he had just given up his spot on his flight after being told that he couldn’t get booked on any other flights. Read more on his story, which sums up a lot of my own feelings about the Snowpocalypse here.
Anyway, long story short, by the time my flight was suppose to leave the East Coast on Thursday, we had such a blanket of storm that my satellite teevee went out on Wednesday, which hardly ever happens. I had already changed my original Thursday flight to Friday in anticipation of the airline industry shutting down on Wednesday (announced on Tuesday), and I went into work on my vacation-day Thursday, hoping in vain that I would actually get on a Friday standby flight. I was, to say the least, freaking out.
Another person who lives down in Virginia was slated to leave on Thursday, but her flight out of Dulles was canceled, and another friend helped her rebook her ticket by way of multiple destinations. I could feel the entire weekend that I had looked forward to for so long becoming something that would not happen if I didn’t take action. So I did.
BJA “Blue” Guitar Ornament on eBay – One only!
Over the Christmas holidays, I blogged about a lovely ornament replica of Billie Joe’s “Blue” Guitar. Several of you inquired as to how to purchase this lovely replica made by Dorie. Well, now you can head on over to eBay and try your hand at owning a beautiful, handcrafted replica of the guitar that has brought you many hours of musical enjoyment. Bidding starts at $12.99 and the auction ends on March 17… appropriately, a Lushotologist’s favorite day… St. Patrick’s Day.
BJ's Blue Christmas Ornament
It’s Lushotology with John Roecker and Kryssi Kay!
I’ve been meaning to highlight another Snoo that I met in England (see “Los Luchadors and Las Luchadoras“), Kryssi Kay. Kryssi was pulled onstage during Green Day’s show at London’s O2 on October 24th when Billie Joe excitedly saw her in her Snoo mask during “21st Century Breakdown.”
Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown – London, October 24th featuring Kryssi Kay at 4:03 as the “Snoo”
It's Lushotology!
Kryssi has her own Zazzle site and she’s got some nice merchandise. You can use the image to the left to meditate on the wise words and actions of the Reverend Strychnine Twitch and the Church of Lushotology. For wise words from the Reverend (ok, it’s not the REAL Reverend, but some wise words happen anyway), check out this Facebook page.
Speaking of Lushotology, John Roecker, the mad punk genius and Black Pope of the Church of Lushotology, has created a video all about the Church and its “tenets.” You can watch that below.
Afterwards, head on over to Roecker’s new Svengali World site to watch his ongoing episodic detective series featuring him and Tim Armstrong while your at it. Just know that it’s not safe for work! Catch up with the all of the episodes at Home of Svengali World on Facebook.
What is the Church of Lushotology with John Roecker
What’s Up With the Frustrators?
Mysterious Frustrating Image by A Mysterious Frustrator
UPDATE: MORE BUNKER PHOTOS SURFACE ON FACEBOOK! CLICK HERE!
The world of music is somewhat familiar with Green Day’s “alleged” other bands such as The Network and The Foxboro Hot Tubs and Billie Joe’s side project, Pinhead Gunpowder. While these three bands get a bit more fanfare, Mike Dirnt’s Green Day-side project, The Frustrators, gets a bit less of it. They have been around since 1999, mostly playing in their garages and drinking beer, though they have played live a few times over the past ten years. I can’t say that I had heard of them prior to my crazy 21st Century Breakdown plunge starting last year, but my life has been much funnier and happier since I got their two CDs this past December when Adeline Records had a stupid awesome sale on stupid awesome merchandise and music.
Frustrators' Manager, Jimmy Zeus
The Frustrators have one great album out, Achtung Jackass (2002) and an excellent EP entitled Bored in the USA (2000) both of which appear on the Adeline label as well as a song called “Trout” that appears on Adeline’s Might As Well… Can’t Dance compilation from 2000. The song is presented backwards as an added bonus track on Achtung Jackass just cause it sounds as good backwards as it does forward. (You can hear the forward version of “Trout” on the Frustrator’s Myspace site.) The records feature the hysterical (as in funny) lead vocals and rhythm guitar of musician, graphic and comic book artist, Jason Chandler, Terry Lineham (backup vocals and lead guitar), Mike Dirnt on bass, and Art Tedeschi on drums. A brief history of the Frustrators, written by Netty, can be found here.
The band’s self-deprecating lyrics, mixed with a pounding bass and drum section, and blazing lead guitar, makes for some intense and hilarious songs. Chandler’s rye sense of humor, whether singing about getting lost in the Texas desert (“West of Texas”), pirates (“Pirate Song”), tossing midgets (“The Great Australian Midget Toss”), Terry’s lovelife (“I Slept with Terry”), or forlornly singing about a girl who walked away… whether real or imaginary (“Then She Walked Away”)… is a treat and always manages to make me laugh and want to dance. It’s very manly music, too. I am not quite sure how to define “manly” in regards to it, but don’t a lot of manly men long to sing songs of pirates?
Jimmy Zeus, the cigar chomping, monkey manager of the Frustrators, recently posted the mysterious image above on the Frustrators Facebook page. The photo, along with some mysterious and frustrating statements from Zeus (and Chandler, who shows up on Facebook here and there) may be of the band possibly recording tracks during a bit of downtime from Green Day’s ongoing tour. Yawzah!
I hunted Chandler down from within his Zombie-protected bunker to ask what was up, and though he’s tight-lipped about stuff regarding the future of the Frustrators …no doubt because his zombies have eaten his lips away… he managed to three-finger type the following response:
Basically, we’d all love to do another record. We’ve all got some ideas. And actually by crazy strokes of luck we’ve been able to hang out recently. But writing and recording is a long process and can be tricky once you consider all the little difficulties with people’s schedules and my own deep personality problems… So who knows?
–Jason Chandler, from somewhere deep underground (aka Facebook)
So there you have it! Something is up with The Frustrators, though how, when, where, and what are yet to be determined. Why is a bit more simpler… because we need more Frustrators in our lives!
The Frustrators Live – “Best Friend’s Girlfriend” –
I swear there is a lead singer there somewhere in the dark…
“West of Texas” – Bored in the USA – The Frustrators – My favorite Frustrators song
Character Approved Awards with American Idiot Cast and New AI Trailer
American Idiot on Broadway 30-second Promo – HOT!
Last Thursday, during a massive snowstorm here in New York City, the Second Annual USA Network Character Approved Awards honored ten artists in the fields of film, writing, music, design, and charity. One of honorees was the band Green Day, mostly featuring Billie Joe Armstrong.
I wrote last week that my friend, who has been helping me with excellent buddy-passes for cheap flights to California to see Green Day perform at Fake New Year’s this past November and to see Billie Joe jam with his side project, Pinhead Gunpowder, in February (see Michelle Lawlor’s awesome photos of that here), was invited to the awards with his roommate, who was blogging about the event. Needless to say, I was a bit jealous of the fact that he was going to this event, particularly since neither one of them were into it as a whole. I (halved) jokingly railed on my friend that it wasn’t fair that he was going and that I couldn’t. At the same time, I made sure to remember that the Lushie Gods are good to those who spread the Lushie karma around, so I was keeping my head on straight about the entire thing, until the day the awards happened and I was like, oh shit, really, you get to go and honor my favorite band on Earth AND see the cast of American Idiot perform?? No fair! LOL.
A few hours before the event, my friend phoned me and asked me a magical question: would you like to go to the event with my roommate? My frozen New York winter heart melted then and there and said, “well, I look like crap, there’s no way I can go home to change before the event, and yes, I’d be happy to go!”
We arrived at the Frank Gehry-designed IAC building on the West Side Highway, where the event was being held at 7:00 PM and despite the horrible weather outside, the place was crowded. We checked in, I went to the bathroom and breathed, and wondered if the band would show up. They didn’t show up, but after a few Maker’s Marks with coke (sacrilege, I know), I drank in my disappointment and enjoyed my anticipation of the performance by the American Idiot cast.
I waited for the event to start by standing near the front of the stage where the cast was to perform, and ran into a fellow that I knew from New York University back in the day and chatted with the bartender who kept my double Maker’s Mark glass full. The people around me were really nice and I made a dude laugh when we talked about the winter weather and how much he loved it but I hated it, and then I called him “Honey” for some reason, and he cracked up to no end. I blame my reverse misogyny and verbal diarrhea on the Maker’s Mark…
USA Network Character Approved Awards American Idiot Cast Stage, 2010
USA Network Character Approved Awards 2010
Royal Pains star Mark Feuerstein introduces Characters Approved
Continue reading
BJA and GD: Approved Characters (USA Network Award)
I wrote that the USA Network will be honoring Green Day (among other artists) tonight with a “Character Approved Award” cocktail party put on by Vanity Fair. A friend of mine is going to this, though he will be huddled by the free food for most of the night. I’ve asked him to bring me any extra goodies that they may be handing out. Vince Mediaa over on Facebook posted the Billie Joe vignette that USA Network will be showing on their network over the next month or so. The cocktail party itself will not be televised, from what I understand. Anyway, go and watch after the jump!
Broadway Billie… and where have I been?
Broadway Billie with Red Hat by Erial Grove - London, O2, Oct. 24, 2010
Broadway Billie
When I saw Green Day at the London O2 back in October, I brought a shiny red hat all the way from New York for Billie. When he asked for it during King for a Day, it was a semi-perfect toss and a great catch and he just looked like the perfect Broadway showman. The video below isn’t the best, but at about 3:58, you can see him catch it, parade around, and then do his best little James Cagney impersonation.
King for a Day – London at the o2 – October 24, 2009 – Bad Video, but it shows Billie catching the red hat at 3:58.
At the first O2 show the night before, I stood for the first time near the end of the catwalk. It was a spot that was enjoyable but I won’t do again. I like to see all of the band, and not just BJA. I had my “Green Day’s American Idiot” t-shirt on from the Berkeley show and someone had given Billie a pink fuzzy hat (I think it was my friend Gerg). The next thing I know, he looked at me with a slightly wicked smile and literally did a James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” move with the hat in his hand. I swear to God he saw my shirt. I had by this time seen five Green Day shows and I had NEVER seen him do this move before… straight outta B’way. I still crack up with laughter when I think of it.
Now, American Idiot is on Broadway, opening to previews in March and tearing up box office records at the St. Jimmy… er… St. James Theater. Billie’s alter ego, St. Jimmy, is played by Tony Vincent, and Vincent got a nice write-up interview in the New York Times the other day.
Where Have I Been?
And to the question, where have I been? Well, I went to California to see Pinhead Gunpowder on 2/12/10 (read J’net’s GDA review here!), but a death in my family and a proofreading project have temporarily halted me from writing about the Pinhead show. I really hope to do that soon, and to be back with more stuff. I saw Tom Kitt, the arranger of American Idiot, perform at Joe’s Pub last night, and if, by the time I can get back here, I remember the show, I’ll write about that too.
Oh, and can you believe this? My friend got invited to the Character Approved Awards, which will be honoring Green Day (along with a bunch of other great artists, writers, and designers) and where the American Idiot cast will be performing on 2/25/10. He doesn’t even like Green Day! Haha. Oh well. But he is the friend who has managed to get me cheap airline tickets to California, so as I like to say, Green Day karma gets spread around to those who wait on and love the Lushie Gods. LOL.
I don’t know when or if the awards will be shown on television, but I do know that Billie looks very manly in the pic below. Some kids at the GDC didn’t like it, says he looks too old. I say, he looks great for his age.
Congrats, Green Day!
Billie Joe Armstrong / Green Day Character Approved Awards Honoree
Green Day Twitter Followers Create Worldwide Trend for Billie Joe’s Birthday
For about two hours, Green Day followers on Twitter were able to get the tag #happybdaybillie to become a #TT (trending topic) for the day. Good work, kids! And happy birthday, Billie Joe!
Aleeeexx_ 1 Hour & 50 Minutes Left Of Billie’s Birthday D: Seriously, #HappyBdayBillie HAS To Trend Again ❤
Two Green Day Auctions: Punknews.org, et al and Grammy Foundation
PunkNews.org, Paper+Plastic and Limited Pressings recently began a sweet auction for Haiti relief that I was going to post about, but then the Grammys happened, and I forgot about it. The auction is ongoing and has so far raised around $16,500 for Haiti relief. All proceeds go to my favorite organization, Doctors Without Borders. Green Day vinyls are being auctioned, so if you are lucky to have a record player (I’m not so lucky), go and take a look at all of the punk artists on auction now.
The Grammys MusiCares Foundation is auctioning off some Green Day-related items as well, though these aren’t for Haiti relief and some of them have a high starting bid threshold. Check them out, though. There is a signed Les Paul guitar, signed photographs of the band, and a signed vinyl copy of 21st Century Breakdown. While the auction isn’t for Haiti relief, it is for a good cause nonetheless. You can find out more about MusiCares here.
Tre with Green Day-signed Les Paul guitar for Grammy auction
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