(309) EAR-SCUM

Dylan Stanford (FlyTV)  made this gem.  While everything about this was fun, one of the funnest parts was running into a friend who would say "what the Hell was that video I saw you in?!" 2003-2005 was fun. ...to be continued. For now, look into the future...

Dear New Years Day ‘99, You dumped a lot of snow on me.  It was Christmas break and no one else was in my apartment building at 99 W. Phoenix in Normal, IL.  For awhile, I was trapped inside the building.  Very few things outside were open anyway. I had little food in the house, just Ben Zinnen’s cans of creamed corn.  He loved that style of corn. We had no incoming television signal.  Just a few horrible VHS tapes and 1998 interweb aol.com... and the telephone.  God bless that telephone. I ran the tape machine and it collected analog signals of my mind slipping away.  It really did start to slip away. By the time someone showed up to rescue me, all I had left was for Melanie and Alyssa to do some readings from Playboy over classical music. You inspired me to make the least jamming tunes of my life.  You got me to call Jason Vandegraft. It was just madness, and maybe not worthy of time travel, but it was 19 years ago today that your hold on me ended.  I remember Cityline.  I remember y

HAPPY NEW YEARS!  ALL OF THEM! (TIME MACHINE JOKE) It struck me this morning, on the toilet, that EarScum has to post something for New Years Eve.  I have several recordings from various NYEs, but one is entirely more appropriate. If you didn't know Marky D, you missed out.  While it's crazy to think that he's been gone for almost 20 years, it's also crazy to think that he was only 26 or so at the time. Let's not get sad, though.  Let's party in his basement like it's 1997 or 1998.  You'd think the owner/operator of a time machine would be organized with his dates, but very much no. I think this was recorded 12/31/97.  I think it was NYE '98 that I was snowed into 99 W. Phoenix Ave... I've got a recording for that, too. First up: Badger Boys. Never heard of them?  They didn't have a name yet.  It was just Dan Malin on drums and Tom Kirk on bass and it was intense.  While recording (in an unfinished basement with NO

There was a brief moment in my (309) life, right near the very end, when Dylan Stanford started documenting things and he made us look like legit acts. I saw a flier for “FlyTV” at the Normal Theater once and it caught my attention, but I didn’t check it out.  6 months later it was back and I went to check it out.  First scene: “Metal Head Ed”, aka Eddy Polivka.  Hooked. Tyson Markley (Killowatts, Analog Saves the Planet, Fantastic Plastics) had told me that this guy had contacted him about filming Analog Saves the Planet.  I introduced myself to Dylan and his partner in crime, JJ.  We then proceeded to have fun for the next year. Adam Widener came into my life around the same time at the East Peoria American Legion Hall.  His friend, and I cannot remember his name, but he’s dancing around in the video, told me he’d gotten his hands on one of my albums and that he and Adam were digging it. Awake, I don’t care at all, but asleep, in my dreams, everyone is getting rich off my songs a

Ed’s tape rack strikes again! We are headed right back to 104 W. Willow, Normal, IL - May 3rd, 1990.  It’s a big basement and you’re in it. Do NOT ride the Time Machine® at work.  You will mosh (slam dance, circle pit, etc) and get fired. Do NOT ride the Time Machine® before bed.  You’ll get cramps, nightmares and hemorrhage fits. Do NOT expect your kids to understand. They will never... EVER... enjoy a tape transfer. This is a toy for you. I DO think you should crank it. Crank it. NAKED HIPPY! LIVE! 5/3/90! MP3! PS. Is it me or are the last few songs from a different recording?  I’d go back and check, but I’d just be wrapping up Jr. High and I don’t want to go there. I’m guessing Jeff, Jim & Rob have this at North Street Records.

I'm about to head out for a day's work, driving through Austin and its surrounding area's traffic .  This song from Matt Shane ( Dollface ) pops into my head frequently between violent screams and piss breaks.  For fun, I teamed him up with Richard Pryor. That's all.  Enjoy this song.  Buy Matt's songs .  Introduce them to your kids. Matt Shane - "Come On, Car"

First up on the bill: SUPER’99 (Super88 in 1999, pre 5th members) .  Gotta have that nobody band from Peoria squeeze on the bill. Now the local talent: Same ol faces, brand new lineup: GUILTY PLEASURES (pre move to Chicago). If the haven’t broken enough, MOONLIGHT STRANGLERS will be on next to finish off the mic stands. Pace yourself, this is a 6-band bill... It’s getting serious now.   RESINATORS are ready to beast all over you. OK, here come the national bands.  All the way from Dallas, TX, Get Hip Recording artists:  THE MULLENS . Finally (says Levi, the sound guy), the headliner... you’ve perhaps heard this before... listen again, direct from Japan in a Chevy van: GUITAR WOLF! Thanks for coming out.  Immediately after the show, the EarScum Time Machine® will drop you back off at the chiropractor’s appointment you were at.  Thank you for your time. If you didn’t get enough, Dave Moe is having an after-hours at his parents’ house in Peoria.  He’s gonna rock the piano and

It snowed last night in Austin, TX.  1/100 of an inch.  I’ll be out looting today... via time and space, as well as my pickup truck. In the meantime, cautiously enjoy the off-color 1980 Prison Christmas Album, recorded by The Buttermilk 5 (Coldcock & Lightnin, aka Dave Moe on jams, me on words).  I actually sang these off sheet music.  Probably the only time in my recording history. It was fictitiously recorded on recycled tapes in Joliet’s Stateville Penitentiary (as inmates) 1980. 1. Merry Prison Intro 2. Santa Claus Comin to Town 3. I'm Gittin Nuthin Fo Christmas 4. Blue Christmas 5. Rockin Round the Christmas Tree 6. LET IT SNOW (BLOW) 7. Night Fo Christmas Buttermilk 5 started as a menu item at Perkins®.  We stole it as the real band name of a fictional Peoria blues band.  This might be the basement recording that moved Dave’s parents to Florida. Dave and I tried to find a singer for this on the streets of Peoria.  We had some leads but his wife trusted me a lit

1. I would put my iPod Touch on shuffle up against any DJ in the world. Barely bragging. It just knows what to play and when. 10X stronger than any Pandora or Spotify. 2. Every weekday at 3pm there are $1 beers for 15 minutes at The Local Pub & Patio on The University of Texas’ West Campus... on The Drag. “Happy Minutes.” It’s an age-old tradition, transcending bar name and ownership. 3. DJ Bathroom was the bartender/DJ for this event and it was badass. Even with the 15-minute Happy Minute Set mixed in there, DJB is the Best®. That’s DJ Bathroom’s iPod. Its name is Peanut Caravan. He likes Black Sabbath #1 and everything else #2. In remembrance of Pre-Internet DJ Happy Minutes, I’ve begun making “Take Back the Afternoon” Happy Minutes Playlists that a Local enthusiast can download and listen to either with your esteemed friends on the patio OR in your earbuds because you feel antisocial. Each track will be listed here. Decide which Happy Minutes you wish to enjoy a