I might as well express my afterglow excitement about last night's first gig with the Mad Laugh, the band I'm currently involved in...

Man, oh man, words cannot even describe how great it was to be back on stage in front of a large and appreciative audience in the company of musicians that I respect and feel are my peers. We sounded really good and rocked ultra-hard, and you never would have guessed that I've only been with the band for 2 weeks (with maybe 5 rehearsals under my belt). GOOD things are bound to come from this particular music project, and that's SO refreshing to know, seeing as how the last few things I've tried to get off the ground crashed and burned. Not this one, I'll tell you.

If any of you readers/fellow bloggers find yourselves in Oklahoma, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me so I can let you know if we're playing during your stay...



But enough about me...I really wanted to rave about the bands that preceeded and followed us...I'm pretty hard to impress, but both of these acts proved to be capable of knocking me out flat and leaving me dazed with the conviction that once the rest of the country gets to hear them there's the distinct chance that Oklahoma will earn for itself a reputation for unique original music.

Ghosts of Monkshood opened the show and they were remarkable. They are a 5 piece with the members switching instruments throughout the set and they've got a side man who adds baritone saxophone and plays a snare drum and cymbal to augment the drummer. He also makes strange noises with the microphone pressed up against his larnyx, creating a sound that is like a 5th musical instrument but nothing you could identify. The main vocalist/guitarist actually put me in mind of Mark Kozelek in a way, and sometimes when the sideman would get busy on his stripped down drum set they bore a strong resemblance to The Feelies, with maybe a little mid-period Talking Heads influence thrown into the mix.

The only negative thing about them (and indeed, the only bummer of the evening) was that when I approached the sideman to tell him how impressed I was with what he added to the band's dynamic he avoided me as if I wasn't even there. I'd speak to him and he'd just look away and he never said a word in reply. I found that to be awfully rude and it really tinted my appreciation of the band as a whole in a "guilty-by-association" fashion. But some of the other guys were less abrasively dismissive and seemed to appreciate my sincere compliments, so I would definately like to catch them in concert again...

The band that followed us are pretty close friends with the other guys in my band. They are called The Fellowship Students, and mercy, mercy, mercy they had a killer rockin' sound and one truly incredible drummer...I mean to tell you this guy had his left arm in a sling, barely using it, and still was busting out fills that would make Neal Peart pay attention.

Once again, their sound is so unique that it's hard to describe or compare it to anyone else, but I have no doubt these guys are all Talking Heads fans, and it wouldn't surprise me if the guitarists listened to a bit of Television in their lifetimes, as that was what their interplay reminded me of. If not, then they come by it naturally, and that's even more impressive.

Got a chance to hang out with one of those guitarists, Matt Brown, who proved himself to be a festive individual and gave me a copy of their CD-EP, The Youth Want Distortion. It's a great CD with some really quirky stuff ("Bottle of Fizz"), solid rockers ("The Youth Want Distortion") and at least one track that, IMO, is like what Television would have sounded like if they were a jangle-pop band. My ONLY complaint about the CD is that it is just too short.

I look forward to playing lots of shows with these guys, and I think we compliment each other's styles...

So that was it. A great night. The first of many, I hope.