Dear Friends,
I took two naps yesterday.
That’s kind of not true. It was really one nap with a little oppo-snooze in the middle. You know, like when you wake up for a bit then go back to sleep? It’s kind of the opposite of the snooze button.
Either way, I guess I needed it and it felt good.
It also felt good to go over to Jim and Jenny’s last night and see some people I love. It was good for my soul. I had some great conversations, many good laughs, and I just felt recharged.
Other than that, it was a pretty good day of watching Olympics, hitting Costco, and hanging with the Boogie. I couldn’t have written it better if I was making it up. That’s the truth. It was just what I needed.
Admittedly, I still had a little buzz from Friday night’s fun. Not a booze or weed buzz, but the buzz from playing a short, super fun set of music that I love to play. North Side Kings is such a pleasant part of musical life on so many levels. I love those guys and we had a lot of fun doing it. The way it came to an end was a bummer, but time heals all wounds, as they say. I also completely understand that circumstances sucked the joy out of it at the time, too.
Friday night was all about celebration, though, and the crowd was there to have fun. That makes a show like that even better. I hope we do it again, but if we don’t, I’ve got a wonderful memory to hang my hat on forever. In fact, the last two times we have played were amazing.
*****
Today, I have no real agenda except to write about Redd Kross. Whatever else happens, it will be what it will be, I suppose. I want to talk to my wife, spend a little time with Boogie, write, and relax.
I hope you have a great Sunday doing whatever you do.
*****
We are pretty blessed here in the desert to have (and had) many great bands. There is a lot of talent out here and Phoenix is home to many delightful, weird, and wonderful folks who have made being a local artist something special. To be part of this club is an honor and a privilege, for sure.
In the early 1990s, I met these guys, James and Christopher, through some friends. They had a band that seemed to almost have a different name for each show they did. A lot of times, they played with my friends, Trunk Federation, at places like Hollywood Alley or the Mason Jar. Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing them play the Jar too often.
I knew them as Les Payne. On the EP that I want to allude to today, though, they are billed as Lush Budget Presents the Les Payne Product. I have a few CDs with some variation of this as the title.
In fact, my copy of the At the Rodeo EP is stuck in the CD player in our truck. Whenever we go kayaking, I listen to it. Not only because it is stuck, but also because I love it.
What I loved most about the feeling and environment that James and Chris created when they performed was the overall feeling of “this is fun.” Their songs were (and still are) these great pop gems that you just can’t help but move to when you hear them. You bop, dance, shake a little…whatever your method of expressing yourself through movement and music happens to be. You just can’t help but smile and enjoy it.
I would venture to say that very few people were ever bummed out by a Les Payne performance.
The songs on At the Rodeo are all just so damn good. Both Chris and James are super talented musicians. I would watch them play and just be in awe. If I didn’t like them so much as people, I probably would have hated them a little bit because they were (and are) so damn good.
Put them together and the songwriting and performance was just top notch. They had this great telepathy on stage that was just rad. You could tell that they were talking to each other throughout a set without even saying a word. Brilliant collaboration every damn time.
“We are the Monster” and “At the Rodeo (Fireball)” start off the disc and they are just fantastic songs. I don’t even know why I chose to single them out, actually. Habit, I suppose.
The fact of the matter is that the whole CD is great. Here is a link to it. Go listen to it yourself.
This is my gift to you today.
I love this gift, though. The memories I have of standing and watching Less Pain Forever do their thing (one of their many monikers) are ones that I cherish. I don't know if those guys know how much joy they brought me back in the day, but they certainly did.
They made me smile throughout my whole body. That's a wonderful thing.
*****
See you tomorrow.
AI says, "We are the monster."
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