¡WARNING! THIS IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE LIFEBLASTERS POST!
…in fact, this and the installments to come should prove to be some of the rawest material we’ve ever brought to you. This is not for the feint of heart, or the feint of balls. If you’re down for the in-depth story spawned from 11 days on the road with one of North America’s heaviest metal bands, crack a PBR, pour a rum & coke, and prepare whatever drugs you fancy, because this is going to be a hell of a ride, brother! Seriously though, there will be stuff that your mom won’t approve of in here… so be sure to read this after she tucks you in.
My story begins at Jameson’s 2nd stop on their 2011 “Spread the Shred” tour. My blasterpal Joe gave me a ride to the venue in San Francisco and stayed for a few snaps/drinks. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “hole in the wall”, but the Retox Lounge takes it one step further. I would call it a hole in the floor.
The Retox is a street-level bar with soundproofing so clever you would never guess that all hell was breaking loose in the basement. Take a trip through the ominous basement door though, and you’ll find yourself in a world of heavy metal. Oh, and air so sweaty you could cut it with a butter knife. The small venue gave the large group of fans in attendance a up-close view of the band as they brought forth the metal, something I’ve grown to love about small venues. Stadiums are so impersonal.
Here’s Jameson’s drummer Chad slammin the skins… Even he was taken off-guard by the heat and humidity in the basement. After the first song he yelled over to me “Get me some fu**ing water!!!” I went upstairs to grab him some, but by the time I came down he was mid-song so I sprayed half of the first bottle on him! I’m sure it felt good.
This is Rose, the bartender. She was a kickass bartender. You’ll have to ask the guys from Maleva if you want more info…
What I can tell you about Rose is that she introduced me to her saucy friend here (who shall remain nameless) who was more than happy to slap a LB sticker on her boob and let me take a picture! Thanks Rose!
After the show, we hopped in the band’s brand new stolen 15-passenger van and headed to Chad’s parents’ house nearby. They had BBQ’d up a feast earlier that day, so we attacked the leftovers like a pack of hyenas then proceeded to drink beer in the shed out back. BIG thanks to them for letting us stay!
Next morning it was time to hit the road to Sacramento. We were all pretty groggy waking up, but I had a feeling that was going to be a trend on this trip. I mean, we’re metal heads, not sissy girls! We party hard and get no sleep!
Inside the van it became apparent to me that not all of the guys were 100% warm to having a camera in their faces all the time. Here’s Jameson singer Matt Bomb showing me how he feels about it. Don’t worry Matt Bomb, you’ll get used to it.
Jameson is a hard working band, and in between melting faces, and melting their livers after the show they are VERY conscious of their financial situation. Everything on the tour was budgeted to the nth degree, and the guys only reserved a $5 per diem for themselves. That’s hella JBC’s! Savage!
“You got them to do a jump-shot?” Of course I did! Sup, Larry!?
Stay tuned for episode 2 of the Jameson Files, set to be released on 5/19 at 12:00PM! Don’t miss it!
-G
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