Big Drill Car Reunion & a Little Rant… ::: August 19, 2008 :::
This weekend was AMAZING! One of my favorite bands of all time reunited for some shows after more than a decade. We went to see Big Drill Car in Huntington Beach on Saturday and then again in Carson at the Warped Tour on Sunday. UNBELIEVEABLE! I felt like a young man again! They sound as good as they did almost 20 years ago when I first saw them.
Here’s what I was thinking about…
A lot of people in my high school were into bands like Bell Biv Davoe, Bobby Brown, Cinderella, and other wacky 80’s bands. I was listening to bands like The Descendents, Big Drill Car, Bad Religion, GBH, and Suicidal Tendencies…and RUSH. I know, Rush doesn’t fit but I love(d) it. Now (at 35 years old) I still show my friends bands like Big Drill Car if they haven’t heard of them. Not in an ironic way like it’s a retro thing. Like the way you show a new girlfriend the majesty of Led Zepplin or Van Halen. It’s timeless and you never ever ever have to be embarrassed that it was the music that formed you in your youth. Although I went on to play in a pretty standard rock band those bands made me believe I could play music and travel around and people would come and see me. This weekend made me smile in a way that reminded me I spent my 20’s doing something great, making music for a job.
I was happy for the band, I was happy for the other fans, and I was happy for my girlfriend and I. Those great music moments seem to happen less and less as time goes by. On Sunday Big Drill Car, The Germs, The Dickies, TSOL, and Fear played the “Old School Stage” in a dusty corner of the Warped Tour. I saw a lot of bands that day and NONE as good as B.D.C. or the other bands on that stage. Tens of thousands of kids were freaking out and going crazy for bands that wouldn’t [and couldn’t] exist with bands like Big Drill Car, The Descendents, and Black Flag. Meanwhile, all of these little mohawked mall punks weren’t even smart enough to wander back and see where it all started. It was nice that the beer garden only had a view of one stage…the old school stage!
So thank you to Big Drill Car and all the fans at the show who reminded me I was lucky to have picked the best music to be a fan of decades ago. Great people and great music equal great times! Cheers! I felt like I was back at Kutskas Hall!
One last thing…the show on saturday was at Fitzgerald’s Pub in Huntington Beach. If you ever get a chance to go there…do! Great people, great service, and great prices. I didn’t get a chance to eat their food so I can’t write a review but based on everything else I saw I would bet it is great! This place is special for more reasons than just bringing one of my favorite bands back to me.
Big Drill Car! ::: August 16, 2008 :::
I had every intent on posting some recipes today but my brain is all frazzled because in less than 24 hours I will see BIG DRILL CAR who is back together after 14 years! The last time I saw them was on a date about 15 years ago in Green Bay! Now I will see them on a date in Huntington Beach.
In high school I was into bands like the Descendents, Black Flag, The Replacements, and Husker Du. I had friends that loved Bell Biv DaVoe, WHAM, and whoever. As I moved into my college years [1991-dropout] I found Green Day, Big Drill Car, Social Distortion, and the Offspring. I still enjoy the music of my youth…and not ironically. A good Replacement song isn’t a “blast from the past”, it still stands up as something I am proud to be a fan of. None of it is classic rock to me, it’s current rock. The bands and musicians I loved 15 years ago are still playing (parts of them anyway).
BIG DRILL CAR’S “FRIEND OF MINE” VIDEO
I will award a free t-shirt to the first person who can tell me what the “Swayze Express” is. HINT: Go Halifax!
Sunday is the Warped Tour. I’m pretending to be 21 for the next 3 days…see ya later!
New Gadgets and Death Threats! ::: August 13, 2008 :::
Sometimes you see something you just have to have…
It’s a cutting board that takes the running juices [blood and fat] from your meat and pools it all together into a pretty little heart. NICE! I would imagine PETA people would not want one of these as a gift. You don’t need one of these for broccoli. Actually you could drastically improve the taste of broccoli by dumping the puddled juice from a steak onto your broccoli. Get your own by clicking here.
Which brings up my next point. I haven’t gotten a death threat in a while from a crazy vegetarian. I was just thinking how nice it was that they finally understood the hypocracy of sending me things like that. Then…BOOM, one arrived tonight. The number of spelling errors in the email was insane. I guess smart people don’t go around threatening people. So if I am found dead…please look for a frail vegetarian who can’t spell.
Easy Weekend… ::: August 11, 2008 :::
Grilling steaks and drinking beer, what a nice Sunday!
Check out this cool knife holder
Here’s some cool grills for you…
This one has been converted to heat pool water
A grill made to operate off USB power
A Dragon BBQ!
Goodbye Favre! Hello BBQ Sauce! ::: August 7, 2008 :::
Goodbye Mr. Favre. Once my favorite player EVER now I don’t even care. Have fun in New York. Aaron Rodgers is my new favorite QB. He is living every young Wisconsin boys dream, he plays QB for the Packers! I won’t even eat at Brett Favre Steakhouse now. It’s dead to me. My Favre dolls have to retire until he actually retires. I will buy the new Madden XBOX game because there, and only there, Favre is a PACKER this year! Why didn’t you just become French? So, farewell former friend. I’m waiving at you, but just one finger is extended.
Much more importantly Rock & Roll BBQ is re-releasing Three Pepper Blackberry BBQ Sauce. The order is in and manufacturing starts again soon. It will be on sale through the site and your local specialty store by Sept 1st. I have elected to drop Texas & Kansas City style from our arsenal. With fuel prices so high it greatly effects my prices. Because of this we are just going with the favorite flavor.
I just got tickets to see Ben Folds at the Wiltern in a few months.
I just saw Me First & The Gimme Gimmes at the House of Blues.
I’m going to see the Big Drill Car reunion in a week and a half!
I’m going to the Warped Tour the day after that.
Easy recipe for you:
Rock & Roll Jalapeno Bites
Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
8 ounces grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped jalapeno peppers
2 large egg yolks
2 cups dry breadcrumbs
1 tsp granulated Garlic
Directions:
-Preheat your oven to 350°F.
-Mix the cream cheese, Parmesan, Jalapeño Peppers, Garlic, and Egg Yolks in a bowl and mix it up to form a paste.
-Shape 1/2 tablespoonful at a time into 1/4-inch rounds and roll in the bread crumbs.
-Place on an baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
-Serve em up bro! Berry sauces work great, I’m just putting that out there!
I love the ShamWow infomercial! Vince is the greatest idiot anywhere!
Oh, the Humanity!!! ::: July 30, 2008 :::
No need to worry! Even though the Rock & Roll BBQ Headquarters experienced a 5 point something earthquake today we are fine. There was really only one casualty, my mexican wrestler.
After some medical attention he was placed back on my desk and is back on guard. It is still undetermined if the cat was responsible earlier, but as of now we are blaming the quake.
I have become obsessed with “Trailer Park Boys”. I just finished watching the 7 season. How can this not be on in the U.S.??? It’s funny to see Canadians acting as dumb as they say we do. Liquor, infidelity, botched drug deals, jail, and irresponsible gun play…it’s awesome! My favorite character is Bubbles.
I made a Costa Rican Black Bean Soup recently. I served it in a a bowl I made of rice using a mold. I served the whole thing on a salad with grilled mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. I threw some corn on the grill while I was at it. I wouldn’t say it was the best flavor profile I ever designed but it was mighty tasty. And actually healthy! And…oh no…NO MEAT! Sorry about that.
Bacon Tuxedo? ::: July 27, 2008 :::
The great people over a McPhee.com have unleashed the Bacon Scented Bacon Print Tuxedo. For the low price of $99.95 you can both look and smell like bacon! Not bad! Take a look around their site, they have TONS of interesting stuff and it’s a great place to find cool gifts.
What about this guy? Krispy Kreme Doughnut Bacon Cheese Burgers!
In keeping with the Bacon Post…need to your bacon on the go? The fine people at Yoders have your back!
Jimmy Eat World Concert & Fake Gras ::: July 21, 2008 :::
Jimmy Eat World is a band I really really enjoy. They have a great spirit and a great catalog of music. I went to see them last night at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood. It was the last show of the their year long tour and they did not disappoint. They started with “Big Casino” the first song on their latest CD and it just continued to rock from there. The sound was great in the theater and the band was spot on throughout the 2 hour set where they played songs from 4 of their albums.
If you like Jimmy Eat World I suggest you check out Jeff Caudill. Jeff was the frontman for Gameface. Gameface made a bunch of records that sadly fell below the radar of the mainstream, but not aspiring rockers. Jimmy Eat World was clearly influenced by Gameface or someone who was heavily influenced by Gameface. There were many times last night where I felt like I was actually was seeing Gameface again! Anyway, Jeff has a solo thing now and has adapted his trademark style to reflect where he is in life… A 30-something, husband, father, and ex-member of fondly remembered pop punk band. He is one of the best songwriters to emerge from the 90’s Socal D.I.Y. scene and has continued to release music you need to hear! It has all the charm of Westerberg in 1986 and that is a big compliment from me! It’s smart, fun, and musically solid as can be. BUY SOME!
JEFF CAUDILL’S “STOP WRITING SONGS” Live
GAMEFACE “LAUGHABLE”
On an unrelated note…it is hard to find a place to sell you Foie Gras in this town! I went to Whole Foods and asked for it and they suggested I try something else they have. It’s called Fabrique Rillette Du Perigord and it is awesome! It’s kind of a fake Foie Gras. It’s ingredients are Shredded Duck and Duck Fat seasoned and cooked Confit style. It’s great and since Foie Gras is quickly being made illegal in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles (legal until 2012 though!) we need to find alternatives. Animal lovers contend it is cruel to force feed geese and ducks to make their livers tasty for this delicate pate, you be the judge. Actually, thanks to Chicago Mayor Daley who said it was the “silliest law” the City Council ever passed Foie Gras is once again legal to sell in Chicago as of May 2008. You’d think our government would have better things to do, but no! Many American cities are considering laws against this creamy duck delicacy. “Foie Gras” literally translates as “Fat Liver”.
Spicy Burger Challenge ::: July 18, 2008 :::
Anyone have more info on THIS PLACE?
Back in Los Angeles! ::: July 17, 2008 :::
I survived the big BBQ trip. I met so many great people and had so much fun. My performance was a bit disappointing with only a 6th place in Ribs and a 2nd place in Sausage at the Michigan State Championship. I learned, AGAIN, how hard it is to fly across the country anduse a cheap smoker trying to beat a bunch of great Pit Masters. Next year we have a secret plan already hatched! We will get a first place for sure, no more screwing around!
As many of you may have noticed we are missing years of posts here on the front page. We are starting up fresh. The recipes that are posted should be downloaded soon cus’ they will be gone soon enough and replaced with new ones. We just started the process of having new sauces produced and they should be available soon enough. Also, new shirts and goodies. Not enough? Well…this is the year…the cookbook will be out for all of your Christmas purchasing needs.
There is definitely a lot going on right now, too bad we didn’t do it for the BBQ season but thankfully here in the southwest it is always BBQ season.
If you live in or near Appleton Wisconsin you MUST go to see my new friends at Pits and Spits. Their store is amazing, they surely will have anything you need master the backyard cookout. On top of all of that they are great people with a lot of BBQ knowledge. CLICK HERE to see their site.
When you get your fancy grill all fired up you need to pack it full of quality meats. Check out Jacobs Meat Market in Appleton. The guy that runs this place knows his cuts and flavors. Why go to the big dumb grocery store for a good cut of meat? They hire anyone to be a butcher! Being a good butcher is an art! It’s a serious profession that takes a long time to master. Your food speaks volumes about how serious you take your craft so make sure you get your supplies from people that take their craft seriously. CLICK HERE to learn more about Jacobs Meat Market. Ask for Luke…he’ll hook you up!
The same goes for your grills, smokers, fuels, and accessories. Go to people who love and care about BBQ and maintaining standards in quality and service. F#ck WalMarts and such! Do you want to buy a grill from some kids who is worried about tomorrow’s math test? Go to specialty stores…they have special people. If you need to clean your grill grab some meat from a Walmart and if you need a decorative grill, then the Mega Store is a good place to go. Sorry…now I’m venting!
Possibly the funniest face my brother ever made. He is pictured here with a 5 foot Pine Snake. He found it hiding in my mom’s shed and “dealt” with it.
Some of you send questions and comments to the site and I love it! We will have a whole page dedicated to answers soon. I got a funny question recently.
Question “How can you revel in killing animals and make so light of their lives? You seem to forget how disgusting most people think your “hobby” is. I think you should get some compassion.”
She went on and on about a bunch of stuff. None of which really mattered to me. She also stated she WAS NOT a vegetarian! That’s funny! So it’s cruel to enjoy the process of getting a piggy to your plate but perfectly normal and humane to slather it in sauce with no appreciation for how it got there? I love animals! I do. I also love that they are made of delicious meat. I have killed animals bigger than me, removed their guts, and butchered them for eating. I actually am a part of the food chain! I have killed some plants too, it just doesn’t seem worthy of bragging about. I have one question for this girl…when the end of the world as we know it comes and we all have to fend for ourselves will you even know how to grow a plant let alone find meat? I will be moving out into the woods and with a clean conscious keep getting fatter on hunted meat and fish while drinking homemade beer and moonshine! My life will stay the pretty much the same. So choose your friends wisely people which one of these guys do you want to be your friend when the sh#t hits the fan?
The Rock & Roll BBQ Guy or Mr. Ryan Seacrest?