Former Porn Theatre Makes for Cool Venue

Okay, so skin and rock have gone hand-in-hand forever. Porn and Metal music - nothing new there. That's why when we arrived in Bremerton, WA to play at our 2nd stop: a quaint, little ex-porn theatre turned music venue known locally as "The Charleston" aka "The Chuck", we weren't too surprised.

The place was Punk extreme. This place had character. Tons of culture and it was just as dark, gritty and sticky as one would assume. But absolutely friggin' cool! Everything was decorated in graffiti or band items. Freelance artwork, school-kid drawings. Vintage video games. The place was "ALIVE".

The sound guy was definitely on-point. He was pretty proud of his set-up too, walking us through all the components, how it was built and where the best acoustic advantage was in the venue.

Given it's history, it's ironic that The Charleston is an ALL-AGES venue. But for those thirsty transients in need of tunes and beverage, there is a fully stocked (and equally decorated) bar for the 21+ patrons.

We arrived to learn that the other 2 bands had to cancel for the night: We Watched Them Burn and Headless Charlie. The booking agent told us that one of the drummer's broke his fingers and that since the bands were traveling together, neither would be able to make it. No worries, we were there to play regardless and we had a few eager fans so we'd make the most of it.

Another rockin' set! The sound was awesome, the vibe was killer and the new fans were totally into it. Also present was our original designer Don Melendez aka Crimson Brand and he brought some new folks to the gig from Triple Crown Tattoo - a really slick and upscale, new ink-shop right in down-town B-town.

The owner of the shop (Andrew), his lead piercing artist (Alex) and lead tattoo artist (Gary) showed up to the gig and helped us rock out. Also talked a little collab business with the guys, so there's a story to be continued there.

Afterwards,headed to Grandma's (since she lives in B-town) and grabbed some awesome grub (again!). A light night run to the Bainbridge ferry got us home by 2am'ish.

All-in-all, fun night and good times.

Emerald City Rocks!

Getting to the venue last night was no easy task. Traffic, which is notoriously bad - was no exception for us. We hit it full-on at the peak of rush-hour on our way to the El Corazon and once we got there, the street traffic was just as intense. Didn't help that Zach had to piss like a racehorse.

As we pulled around the corner, TOTAL SCORE - parking RIGHT in front of the door. Just big enough for our van and trailer to fit outside of the tow-away zone. Coolness.

The venue was dark. Tucked away and peppered with banners, stickers and the dank smell of wet and rock-n-roll. Okay, in reality it was pretty clean except the bathrooms carried there own unique blend of funk. The joint was dope. Reminds you of a smaller Whisky-a-Go-Go and you can tell that some GREAT acts had ripped in this place. The bulletin board was covered with upcoming shows. Some known, others to be known. Dan the sound guy was amazingly good at his job. Take the awesome sound of Las Vegas' Cheyenne Saloon and turn it up about 10 notches. The place rumbled off the richter scale. it was insane and unbelievably awesome!! ALWAYS tip your sound guy people!

The other bands were in full focus too. Tygerr's Lair was first to greet us, then Pangea. Cool guys. Ravages of Time came to set-up last, all the way from Concrete, WA. dude, those guys freakin' rocked it.

Here's the deal: Seattle bands definitely play with massive HEART. U could feel how
much this venue and this stage/audience meant to them. They connected with everyone and REALLY brought a show. CTC was no exception! All in all, we're proud to say the largest crowd was for us and that made us feel very welcome back in our old city.

People definitely took advantage of the bar. Someone even had a massive puke attack right on our trailer hitch. Wow, thanks to whoever did that INTENTIONALLY. That was really the only uncool part of the night.

Later, our cousin Tony hosted an after-party in Bellevue to celebrate the show. A ton of old friends were there, including our old homies Edgar and Rodrigo from Everett and it was awesome to see everyone. Even some old friends from way back in Middle school came out (Julie, Mikey, Brenna and Amanda - it was totally awesome that u guys made it!)

Tonight - round 2. A little tired, but still stoked: we head to Bremerton, WA in 2 hours!! Keep bangin out there.. we definitely WILL!!

Before the Show

Just a few hours before check-in time at the El Corazon (Seattle). Kinda muggy today with some high clouds. Luckily no rain! Everyone's fired up. This show is gonna kick ass.

Before heading out, did some last minute prep, checked the vocals, loaded the equipment and made a quick round of calls to friends and fans.

Got a call from our original designer, Don Melendez to wish us support and to let us know he'll be at our show in Bremerton tomorrow. It'll be cool to sync back up with him - the originator of the CTC logo! Haha!

Gas - check, directions - check, ready to ROCK - CHECK!!

Control the Chaos - Tour Update (Seattle)

After last night's s'mores bonfire and a little relaxation, we called it a night to get ready for a big working weekend.

Today is our manager's (Ed) birthday. Another beautiful sunny day in the Pacific NW and even though there is a relaxed setting and the aroma of home-made spaghetti sauce in the air (thanks Ed!) there is always work to do.

Checked the routine MySpace, Facebook and Reverbnation sites. Tons of well-wishers and supporters for the band - which is always very cool. Enjoyed hearing from everyone. A blast of text messages came in this week too, with folks all over the country checking in and providing words of encouragement.

Took our Aunt Heather (also our awesome band photographer) to the airport early this morning because she had to return to Paris. Sad to see her go, but she has her own exciting adventures to address... LOVE YOU Heather! See you again soon and thanks so much for the awesome photoshoot.

This afternoon, the band continued to rehearse for the upcoming shows, write more songs and refine lyrics. A little free-jam and a bit of fun expected tonight to celebrate. Pretty psyched about being here in Seattle and even more excited about the upcoming shows this week. The local bands supporting the show have been extremely cool (thanks Pangea and Tygerr's Lair) and the promoters have been awesome so far (thanks Dana, Adam, Andy!)

Anything weird about Seattle so far? Yeah... where did ALL the people go?? The traffic on the highways and on the ferry were unusually light!! Either everyone's on vacation or everyone's unemployed!! Weird.

More later...