40 Watt Hype

12/13/08 Private Party (Las Vegas, NV)

2008-12-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

The weather was pretty stormy from Flagstaff to Vegas. Of course we got stopped again before the Hoover Dam by some security agency. This time we had nothing in the van, the officer tried to shake me down for a CD (I don't think he believed we were in a band). We were definitely profiled on this trip. It was very stormy in Las Vegas when we rolled into town. Unfortunately most of what happened in Vegas I can't write about for fear of our future generations reading this blog in 50 years. Some band members were in bed and asleep by 11pm, other band members were at the tables until we left town at 9am. There were cards, dice rolling, partying with bull riders, a run in with a couple prostitutes and lots of Beautiful(a kind of drink). By the end of the night one of us was puking and simultaneously laughing hysterically. It was a blast, but by 9am we had to leave town.

12/12/08 Green Room (Flagstaff, AZ)

2008-12-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

Fresh after getting our van turned upside down by a drug sniffing K-9 and inches away from us all being arrested we continued on to Flagstaff a little behind schedule. Driving to Flagstaff is always an adventure, one time is was ice and snow storms this time it was the Border Patrol. We rolled up to the venue called the Green Room. One of the coolest places we've played. The staff is amazing, the sound was great and best of all.....they have the video game big buck hunter pro. For anyone out there who know is down for the game you know exactly what I'm talking about. This version was a Safari, so it too us all a little while to adjust to the terrain. Some of the best days on the road have been spent with a bunch of pitches and Big Buck Hunter Pro. The show was a blast, we met lots of cool people that dug the music. We stayed in a cozy little apartment above the venue, and there is nothing better after a gig than being able to stumble up the stairs to your room, not worrying about checking in/out and parking the van. Thanks again to everybody in Flagstaff for treating us so well, hopefully we'll be back soon....

40 Watt Hype meets the Border Patrol (Mexican Border)

2008-12-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

We left San Diego to head to Flagstaff AZ. We stopped by Imperial Valley to drop off our boy Ivan who was helping us out on the trip(thanks again homie). We are into Arizona driving along the Mexican Border when we see a sign saying "Border Patrol Checkpoint ahead" I thought no big deal, they'll be looking for illegal aliens and what not, we got ID, no problem. Then we get to the check point and things look very official, K9s, homeland security, trailers etc. They stop us and I roll down the window. "where are you headed? how many people in the van? where are you coming from? are you guys in a band?" it was the last question that sealed the deal, as soon as they knew we were in a band..."would you pull over sir". The agent comes to the window and asks if they can search the van. "step out of the vehicle don't take anything with you, keep your hands where we can see them!"Now I have to be carefull about this next section as to not get anybody in more trouble than they already are. As we park the van we are realizing that there are things in the van that lots of bands have that are illegal (think Cypress Hill, Snoop) They put us under a tent (its freezing and we're all in sweats etc). The agent lets us know we are under federal jurisdiction and that any illegal substance that is found in the van will result in someone or all of us going to jail. I tried to recall the countless episodes of Cops I've seen to think what to do or say. We had to be in Flagstaff in a few hours! Out come the K9s going crazy and running through the van. The agent comes back to do one of those "if you have anything in the van, just tell us and we'll take it easy on you." On Cops the people never admit to everything they have and they always get locked up. Was it a trick question? The tone the agents use is that official cop tone, where they talk really fast then say "yes or no?" The people who had stuff told them where to find it and how much there was. Then the agent came back and started reading us our rights. I was still trying to think how we could make our gig that night....Turns out the agent kept his word and wrote up a misdemeanor for the guilty parties and let us go after processing them and writing them up. The agents admitted it was some of the best stuff they had come across in a long time. They had just arrested Lil Wayne twice for the same thing, coming into AZ and leaving AZ. note to other bands and people in general, other states are not as cool as Cali when it comes to this type of thing. Things we learned, K9s are cute as pets but scary when doing their job, Border Patrol agents should be busy stopping terrorists and securing borders rather than treating us like the gente in "No country for Old Men" and that if you really love weed and are crossing state lines, just keister it.

12/11/08-710 Beach Club (San Diego, Ca)

2008-12-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

We roll into Pacific Beach to the 710 Beach Club, which is located right on the....beach. We walk in to what felt like a commercial for the NFL network(we have video clips online). The place is PACKED with Chicago Bears fans watching the Thursday night game Bears vs. Saints on a bunch of big screen TVs. Take one dash of "da bears" skit from SNL, add a touch of frat party, a sprinkle of San Diego chill and a heavy dose of beer and thats where we were. We weren't supposed to go on until 10:30pm but the manager approached us and insisted we go on right after the game ended so the crowd would stay for the rest of the night. Its around 8:30pm, I don't know if we have ever played a show starting at 8:30pm. When we got there the Bears were up by 10 and everyone was in a great mood. As we load in and start setting up I notice the Saints on a drive. They score, the mob starts to get restless, and so do we. We set up and are line checking and Kyle Orton throws a pick....the score is tied and going to over time. I'm thinking, this night is gonna be really good or really bad depending on the outcome of this game. It goes to overtime, we are ready to play as soon as they give us the sign. The room is on edge, the Bears win the toss, I see a lone Saints fan pacing in the back. This crowd is living and dying with every play. The Bears get within field goal range. We all became Bears fans at that moment, because if he makes this field goal the night will be a success. Snap, the hold, the kick is.....goooooood! Crowd goes wild, cue the band, time to party! Also on the bill was OCT and Four Kings of San Diego, thanks to everyone who came out to see us, see you next time.

12/11/08 San Diego State University (SD, Ca)

2008-12-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

Our show in LA got canceled so we decided to head to San Diego early. Yes it is possible to fit 6 grown men into a single hotel room. 2 on a twin, 2 on a aerobed and 2 on the other twin, it was very cozy. At 12noon we had a gig on the Aztec Patio on the campus of San Diego State University. Weather was beautiful, it was the week before finals so the crowd seemed a little preoccupied. The video department offered to shoot the performance in HD and had a full camera crew there with a few different rigs, I will post the video when I get it. The staff was very helpful as always and the soundman was a lot less cranky than last time we played there. We wrapped up the show and headed back to the sardine can to rest before the night show

11/29/08 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2008-11-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

After a glutenous Thanksgiving lots of friends were in town and it seemed like everyone was ready to get away from their families and hear some music. Musically it was an incestuous night. Jay Rossette opened the show with Awall on drums and Quetzal on bass.....so I must admit it was bangin. Then Jay and Quetzal stayed on guitar/bass and I(awall) went to the front to grab the mic. I think it took the crowd a few songs to realize that Jay Rossette Project had ended their set and 40 Watt Hype had started theirs. The highlight of the night was the spontaneous invention of the "Timbale waterfall" no its not a drink (but that does sound good). Richard Juarez and Marisa Orduna(she is the musical director of an all female mariachi that performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing) were in attendance. So was conguero Javier Navarette, a Fresno native who has gone on to play with the heavy weights of the Latin community. During one of the songs, Javier jumped on congas and ripped then Richard, Marisa and me grabbed a sticks and rotated soloing on the timbales As one person stopped the next person in line would pick up. The rotation got faster and more intense thus creatin the first ever timbale waterfall. If anybody has video or pictures of it please send them to me(info@40watthype.com). I think there may be a clip of us on youtube. Thanks everyone for coming out and supporting us, it was good seeing some people in from out of town.

VOTE NOV 4th!!

2008-11-03T13:12:00.000-08:00

For all the people who have been stuck on myspace/facebook or haven't taken a breather from texting eachother or watching "The Hills" this is a notice----there is a national election tomorrow that will elect the next president. The candidates are Barack Obama and John McCain. Also the propositions are in full effect. So don't be an ill informed, unmotivated, complaining but not participating young person and get your overly stimulated, ADHD ass to the polls. so before you make another sad face or write LOL or OMG or make the face with the tongue coming out the side. pretend like your 1000 texts a month depended on it. Or that the next president might make myspace taxable income. Go speak your mind! (no you cannot text your vote or submit your vote through a myspace comment, you have to physically go outside to your local polling place, where other real people with direct you to cast your ballot. remember what the great political analyst dj ez dick said "get the d(^ out your throat and go vote!!"

1031/08 Babylon (Fresno, Ca)

2008-11-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Aw yes, Halloween at the Babylon in Fresno, Ca.....We've done Halloween shows in Durango, CO, Gunnison CO, and Sun Valley ID and this one was no different. The thing about Halloween shows and Halloween in general after the age of 18 or so is that it is an excuse for girls to wear the things the wish they could wear everyday in public. But now they have a reason....its halloween. Its time to dress up as a sexy- fill in the blank "What are you dressed up as?" "I am a sexy nurse"...."What are you?" I am a sexy vampire" ....."What are you? "I am a sexy homeless person"... "what are you?" "I am a sexy special needs child." Don't get me wrong no one is complaining, but ladies lets get a little more creative with the costumes. From the fellas I saw a few joker/nurses, ghouls, baseball players, a 6 ft genitals complete with all anatomical parts. As a band Sean was dead Elvis on the toilet, JD was a bag of weed, DP was a mad scientist, Kevin was a bud plant and I was Billy Ray Deville the redneck glam rocker. More Than Without opened the show, they do a dead on Sublime, a couple times I thought jukebox was playing. O.C.T. from San Diego followed up with a high energy set that got the crowd moving. The night was behind schedule so we didn't hit until about 12:45 so we didn't have a whole lot of time to bang. The costume contest was pushed back and the crowd wanted us to play more but it was out of our hands. It is pretty surreal to be onstage getting yelled at by a drunken Elvis and headless monster to play more! Here is a shot from the drumset of the crowd....

10/11/08 Obama Rally at Eaton Plaza

2008-10-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

We were excited when they asked us to perform at the Barack Obama rally at Eaton Plaza. We also played at the opening of the Fresno Obama headquarters during the primary. Anything we can do to raise awareness and support Obama we are down. The event was organized to raise money and register voters. Please everybody go vote, no matter who you vote for, just get out. Don't do that young person cop out thing and say "it doesn't matter" or "they're all corrupt anyways, it doesn't matter." Really? It doesn't matter? George Bush has been our president for the last 8 years and we're fighting multiple wars, American soldiers are dying, innocent civilians are dying, our economy is in the tank, no child left behind left all children behind, basic rights are violated through bills like the patriot act and most of the world doesn't like us. So now that we've established that it doesn't matter who is charge we can move on. Go watch "An Inconvenient Truth" and tell me that Gore and Bush are even on the same wavelength as far as intelligence. But I do have to thank W for one thing. He f'd up his presidency so bad that the pendulum has swung so far in the other direction that we can finally get a person like Obama in the White House. We can elect Obama as a sign to the rest of the world that we have been drunk on the last two election days but now we have officially as a nation, collectively pulled our head out of our ass. To think that Obama has come this far is amazing to me. First of all his name is Barack, not Bill, George, Ronald, Harry, Jimmy or Dwight. a black democrat raised by a single mother who went to Harvard Law. Yes McCain is a war hero no one can second guess that, but he is out of touch. He showed his lack of judgement by appoint Palin as is VP selection. Sarah Palin needs to go back to rural Alaska to exploit her special needs child and return to being a "hockey mom." I want a soccer mom or hockey mom or stay at home mom to give me advice on raising a family or what the best deals at Coscto are, not to run the country. I actually want some one in charge who knows what the Bush doctrine is. Check out this link for more terrifying reality tv(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrzXLYA_e6E) No matter how hot she is it doesn't make up for the fact that anytime she has had to actually speak her own thoughts and been asked questions that were unrehearsed she exposed herself as one of the biggest jokes in political history. This is the most important election in my lifetime. The past 8 years are an example that it does matter who is in charge. The political system wants the young people to not care and to continue to play their video games and space out on myspace and read about Madonna's latest divorce. They want us to stay distracted texting eachother and watching Access Hollywood. Its time to grow up and wake up folks! But hey maybe you make over $250,000 a year and don't care about health care for your family and like the fact that you can't even get a car loan much less a home loan. Maybe Sarah Palin is so hot that we should vote McCain into office to we can see what the milf soon to be gilf will look like shaking hands with foreign dignitaries and holding seminars on how you can see Russia from Alaska. They have tried everything short of calling Obama a terrorist to continue the scare tactics of the Republican party. It worked for 8 years, but like Obama said at the DNC "lets invest in our hopes, not our fears." Of course we all have our own opinion and that is whats beautiful. Register to vote and go speak your voice....and get the hell off of myspace for a couple hours a day and go get some fresh air. here is a picture from the rally and some other funny links to check out.....

10/10/08 Cellar Door (Visalia, Ca)

2008-10-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

Visalia isn't what you think it is. This south valley town had a reputation of being a sleepy city with nothing to do, no music scene, had to drive to Fresno to party and see the city lights. The truth is that Fresno could learn a lot from main street in Visalia. Clubs, bars, restaurants, shops, clothing stores, record shops and most of all people having a good time ready to support live music. There is an unexpected energy on main street that leads up to the Cellar Door. We love this place. Great atmosphere, great staff led to a great night. It was our first time playing the Cellar Door, so the crowd was decent, not packed but not light. But the thing I love about nights like this is knowing that the people who are there had a blast. Met lots of interesting characters. On a break I met an outspoken lesbian who ended up grinding on the foot of the stage and was in the middle of taking her shirt off when the bouncer swooped in like Ray Lewis to stop her. Visalia's own Coley Cole ripped the mic on "Strong Feet on the Concrete" and left the mic melting. It was one of those nights were everybody, including the staff, seemed to be very good looking and determined to have a great time. That is always a win/win situation. Great food, wide selection of wine/beer and the staff were generous and very accomodating. We're definitely looking forward to coming back next year. At the end of the night marisa(a very sweet staff member) hooked me up with coke....in a bottle.....from Mexico. Like a Cuban cigar or Swiss chocolate, bottled Coke from Mexico made with real sugar is a delicacy for the true soda conniossuer. It kept me awake on the drive home.

9/19/08 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2008-09-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Starline was buzzin at about 10pm, its always a good sign when there is a line before the doors open. There was a new bartender who got bad reviews but, people were getting hammered regardless of who was servin em up. HR7 started of the night with a tight set with a lot of enthusiasm. We went on at about 11 or so and debuted 2 new songs, one instrumental. Lots of very good looking new faces. I must saw that I think we at least have the best looking following in Fresno. If anyone has pictures post em up and let us know where we can find them. DB and the Struggle closed out the night with a soulful and eclectic set. Aside from a pregnant woman falling into a hole near the restroom and one of the other bands firing half the group, there was no drama to report. I've signed a lot of items in the past, cds, t-shirts, stickers etc. but a notable first happened when I signed my first pair of panties, two of them actually. We have these hot pink girls panties, with sucka free written across the butt and a 40 on the hip. sexy and stylish, you should pick one up for your old lady. I wasn't quite sure where to sign them, I guess I could have been creative, but i went for the waist band. Thanks to everyone for coming out, we appreciate it more than you realize.

9/19/08 Great Day Morning Show

2008-09-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

The staff at the Great Day Morning show have to show up for work at 5am, so I 'm not going to complain about us having to show up at 6:00am. after a long hiatus 40 Watt Hype returns to morning television. yes there were the rumors that the conservative higher ups at the station didn't want us because we were "rap music", but those were laid to rest at about 6:30am when we ripped into our first song. I must say Kopi is the same on air and off the air, very energetic (but I'll never forgive him for accidentally calling us 40 hot wipe) and Kim is very easy on the eyes in person. We played about 6 full songs and tons of teases(into, out of commercials) so it was well worth it. Every once in a while we would do a short interview. The staff is very cool especially Chris and Armando, thanks to everyone involved for making it a fun morning. Here is a clip of us on the show playing the brand new cut "Only the Strong Survive".......
http://www.kmph.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=2933005&at1=Promotion 1&h1=40 Watt Hype Gets Things Rockin' In Studio B

8/22/08 Arte Americas (Fresno, Ca)

2008-09-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Friday Night Concerts in the Plaza at Arte Americas!!! Its become an annual tradition. Arte Americas is a special place for the Valley and California as well, quality people. This show is for a different part of our fan base. Its an earlier show and its outdoors, so it allows us to showcase a different side of the band. We played a few new tunes and remixed some older ones. We had the full band complete with 3 horns. The legendary GTL crew did a graffiti exhibit indoors to coincide with the show. Arte is one of the only places I can think of that would put on a graffiti exhibition and promote it as art, as it should be. Despite the non existent coverage in the Fresno Bee we had a great crowd (although they wrote a paragraph about a female duo that was doing a free show at Wet Seal at 2pm AT THE MALL!!) but everybody already knows that the realness always goes down at the Wet Seal....wow, kinda makes you wonder, anyways, Here is a stage shot from the crowd.

7/12/08 Engallmenn Cellars Best of Fresno Festival

2008-09-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who put on this great event, which has even greater potential. It was well organized and on time which is very rare. We were glad to be selected to perform and be one of the "best of Fresno." its always a weird thing when you put that title on something, because immediately people start naming who was left out. I know its the cool thing to do now a days, every magazine or stupid show on MTV has the "top 10 ....." insert "crazy moments on TV/best 80s action movies/way to know if your man is cheating/ways to lose weight etc." People are drawn to that, I get it. Were there bands missing that are great? yes. But you have to break down what makes a band great. Is it fan support/draw? talent? performance? notoriety? Of course the cop out answer is all of the above. If you have the people vote for the best bands, the band with the most friends/fans willing to vote will win. If you have writers pick the bands they will play favorites and if the club owners pick the bands they will go on fan support. Its a tough call, i'm glad i just have to show up and play music. back to the festival. it was hot, but not miserable. The venue is beautiful, big lawn, lots of tents, misters, food, drinks. They had 2 stages alternating between bands. Wine tasting y todo. The crowd was decent, but people were hesitant to try out a new venue and also afraid to pay $15. $15 for 10 BANDS!!! most people don't sneeze at dropping $15 on the new blend of starbucks coffee, but $15 for a local all day music festival featuring some of the best bands we have to offer....uh, can i get on the guest list? Thanks to Bob Pierce for taking a chance and actually doing something that most people in the creative community only talk about.

40 Watt Hype-winners of "Tu Ciudad, Tu Musica"!!!!

2008-06-05T09:24:00.001-07:00

40 Watt Hype-winners of the national music search "Tu Ciudad, Tu Musica" sponsored by Burger King. The competition was held at Carnaval in San Francisco's Mission District. 40 Watt Hype was one of 10 bands in the country to win the award which includes a $2500 cash prize, musical equipment and feature on Burger Kings website. The band will make its national TV debut en Espanol on Saturday
June 7th on TV Azteca at 9 pm pacific. 40 Watt Hype was also interviewed on "Connexion Thalia" with superstar Thalia and Pelon, as well as Univision Radio with Carlos Alvarez!!! Check out the video of the winning announcement....

5/23/08 Carnaval (San Francisco, Ca)

2008-05-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

Carnaval is a huge multi cultural festival in the mission district in SF. Tens of thousands of people tons of music, food and everything in between. We were on the main stage for the Burger King "Tu Ciudad, Tu Musica" competition. There are ten cities nationwide who host the event, each city choses a winner. We were competing with about 5 other band who had also been selected to perform. The styles ranged from latin jazz to to latin rock and I'm not sure where we fit in. The winners got $2500, a guitar, airtime on national TV and radio and a spot on Burger Kings website. We hammered out a quick 15 min set and crossed our fingers as all the bands converged on the stage for the winning announcement. Like I said before every band has its ups and downs I was just hoping this would be an upswing, plus gas had been killing us and we could really use the money. "And the winner of Tu Ciudad Tu Musica is..........40 Watt Hype!" We needed that more than anybody knew. We proceeded to accept one of those huge checks (Something I've always wanted to do) and had some interviews with the beautiful Patricia de Leon (former miss panama and Univision reporter). I had to focus and flip into Spanish amid the excitement for the subsequent interviews. Ah and up after so many downs, this is why we play music right?? The mini tour was a success and we loaded up the van to head back home after another roller coaster week.

5/23/08 Sweetwater Station (Mill Valley, Ca)

2008-05-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

Mill Valley is a nice little town nestled in the hills, north of San Francisco. Sweetwater Station is a legendary venue where just about everybody who is anybody has played. We load in and the setting is very different than we're used to. But anything would be better than the night before in Berkeley. It is a dinner theater setup. The stage is very nice with a red velvet curtain behind it and there are tables instead of a dance floor, people eat dinner while they listen to the music. We all had a bet backstage of how many songs it would take for us to clear the place out. Surprisingly, not only did they stay, but they danced and picked up cds afterwards. Only in the bay would an audience in a dinner theater get down like that, it was refreshing. We also ran into an old friend lisa morningstar, thanks again for coming out. After us was Manicato. Wow, these dudes killed it. Great band, Salsa/reggae, dope harmonies and really cool guys. We hung out after the show and chopped it up. If you're in the bay check them out.

5/22/08 Ashkanaz (Berkeley, Ca)

2008-05-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

Like most things in the life playing in a band has its ups and downs. Aside from the 45 min we were on stage, it was a downer. It was one of those humbling experiences that takes me back to when I was 14 playing gigs for the first time, to the bartender and a couple of friends. One of those nights when I probably didn't even need a mic and the panhandler outside the venue probably doubled what we made that night. I remember him hitting us up for some money as we left and I said "sorry, but you made more money than me tonight." Here is a lesson kids, you might make more money with an acoustic guitar on the street corner playing 12 bar blues in Berkeley, than rehearsing, renting a van, paying for gas, driving to another city and playing original music. Do the math, stay in school, don't become a musician. Its the life we chose, but when its down....its really down.

5/16/08 The Vibe (Fresno, Ca)

2008-05-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

The Vibe is a new event in downtown Fresno meant to attract people to the area before and after Grizzly games. It's a great idea, but like most things in Fresno, people need to get used the idea of an new event. It didn't help that it was a million degrees that day. It was a fun gig after all with lots of potential. Robert Rufner sat in on trombone and sounded really good, thanks again Rob.

4/5/08 Caspar Inn (Caspar Ca)

2008-05-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Like the fine wines of Napa Valley the hash and various assortments of weed sprinkle Mendocino County. The drive from Sacramento is nice, once you get close its just like the forest in E.T. Then you hit the coast and it feels like Treasure Island. Its a trippy and mysterious vibe on the norcal coast. The people are chill and like music and the seclusion of the area, which makes it nice for a gig. We played with Al Howard and the K23 Orchestra. Very nice guys and a very funky band. Overall it was a great night. Staff was great, food was amazing. After the show we went upstairs to the rooms above the venue where various hippie sea zombies crept in and out throughout the night. All I know if that at the height of the weirdness there was a make shift bowling lane set up in the hallway. Empty bottled waters were the pins and a tangerine was the bowling ball. Kevin was playing bass that night and was the first to go to sleep. To reward him we slowly added random objects to his bed as close to his face without waking him up. In the morning he woke up to broccoli, a bottle of wine, a doll and a lampshade in his bed. Thanks for the good times Casper Inn, you're one of a kind, hopefully we'll be back your way soon.

4/4/08 G St Pub (Davis, Ca)

2008-05-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

Its a friday afternoon and we are headed to norcal for a weekend of gigs. We loaded up the van and hit the 99 for Davis, Ca. We hooked up with Tyson from Diego's Umbrella and couldn't decide who would go first and instead of armwrestling we flipped a coin. DU started off the night with their unique brand of surf/mexi-cali/groove music(its good trust me). I had a couple of their songs stuck in my head for the rest of the weekend. Sometimes its hard for me to relay the correct atmosphere and emotion of a trip(being that I'm a college drop out) so we brought along a camera so you could see for yourself (its been heavily edited to delete all talk of women, wine and such) Check out the video below for more on the night......We hit the stage about 11:15 and stopped about 1:15 or so. G St Pub is always a good time, part locals, part college kids with jeans and sandals on. Woodstocks pizza across the street is amazing, nothing sounds better at 2 am than woodstocks after a long day of driving and a 2hr gig. Thanks to Diego's Umbrella, we'll be playing with them again May 22nd in Berkeley at the Ashkenaz. Enjoy the video

Hazard Pay

2008-03-26T10:13:00.001-07:00

Here is shot of Kevin after the bleeding stopped

Blood, Sweat and Urine-Sold Out at Club Fred (3/15/08)

2008-03-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, this night was probably top 5. It involved blood, sweat, urine, not necessarily in that order. The show was officially sold out by 11pm. Head Rush (have since changed their name to HR7) started of the night with a high energy blend of ska/rock. I had never heard them before, but had always heard good things (check them out if you haven’t yet). They were followed by Clouded Vision (Sublimish reggae/punk), I think they said they’re coming out with a cd soon so check for it.
Chapter 1-The Sweat:
We hit the stage a little late but the energy in the room was primed. Without any easing in or introduction, we let the bangers fly. The dance floor was packed all night full of every shape and size moving every way they could.
Chapter 2- The Blood
Our last song was "Drunk & in Love" we did a rock n roll ending and held out the last note. I thought I was in Aerosmith and pointed the mic stand at the crowd like a gun and went First Blood on everybody. Then I swung it around to my left and it stopped mid swing. Based on the reaction of the people in the first row, I knew I didn’t hit a speaker. Instead I hit Kevin, who was playing bass, right in the forehead. He looked stunned, borderline passing out and leaned on the back wall for support. Never missing a note he was trying to figure out what happened. At that moment the blood came rushing down his face. He looked like Hulk Hogan had just just hit him with a chair in the WWE. Fortunately it was our last song, the crowd wanted more, but realized that the bass player may need some medical attention. After stopping the bleeding and putting his bass down, everyone wanted to take a picture with him which we all thought was very punk rock.
Chapter 3- The Urine
During our set a member of another band that played earlier got 86’d and wasn’t too happy. Somehow, in his drunken haze, he climbed onto the roof of Club Fred. All I know is that someone standing in front of the the club thought it was raining, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Yep, he pissed on them, from the rooftop. Yeah thats right, somebody went home that night, realizing that they really got pissed by a guy standing on the roof. The next day that person had explain the story of how they thought it was raining but they really were taking a golden shower. Needless to say that band he is in probably won’t be playing Club Fred again in this lifetime.

Also-a note to bands in general in this town. When you are done with your set, don’t take a shot on stage, don’t talk to your friends. Just get your gear off the stage. Drummers: take your entire set down, then break down off stage. Guitarist/bassist-take your gear offstage then pack it into the case. I’m from the old school of gigging where sound men and stage managers were assholes, but the shows ran on time.

40 Watt Hype featured in new film "The Grind"

2008-03-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

The music of 40 Watt Hype will be featured in the new film "The Grind." Starring Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down), C. Thomas Howwel (Outsiders, E.T.) Tanya Allen (Silent Hill) and Danny Trejo (Desperado, Dusk till Dawn). The movie revolves around a grifter who owes money to the Mexican mafia. Written and directed by John Millea, produced by Chris Sheng and Robert Enriquez. Keep your eyes open for more info regarding "The Grind"

40 Watt Hype download #2-"Philosophy" Volume 6 (2000)

2008-03-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

This was recorded during our live performance at the Rainbow Ballroom. It was a good night for Fresno, all the top bands performed and we were happy to be playing such an established venue. We had just changed our name from the Wack Mcs to Illphonic. So if you listen real close you can hear me reference ’if your down with Illphonic". But we discovered there was at least one other band with that same name. Peter Wolf was doing sound, recorded a few songs, so we thought we’d put it on our EP. This is my personal favorite from this disc, kinda reminds me of a Jackson 5 tune. Also one of my favorite lines for Gr8Scot "I use mind tricks to dominate the feeble, weak minded people who don’t get into the sequel/But these and the droids that you looking for, but I’m the MC to get you on the dance floor".....

Here is the link, enjoy.....

http://40watthype.com/images/musicfiles/02%20Philosophy.mp3

Que rico vacilón

2008-03-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture taken of the dance floor at the Crossroads 2/29/08
(Thanks Lennon and Victoria)

2/29/08 The Crossroads (Fresno, Ca)

2008-03-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

See you at the Crossroads so you won't be lonely!!! I think of that song every time we play there. This was a "Best of Fresno" night put on by Bob Pierce. With a title like that I'm sure we are all thinking of 10 other bands that could also be on the bill. One that was supposed to be but couldn't make were Fresno legends Lets Go Bowling. I heard that part of their house burned down. I guess that would cut into your gig/rehearsal time for sure. For some reason we performed first. So we set up during happy hour, I thought I walked into a scene from "The Mask" you know that movie with Cher...As it gets closer to show time the crowd gets gradually younger and better looking. Although my favorite of the night was a happy hour hangover. She was about 275 lbs and had been drinking since before 6pm at least. She was hitting pirouettes like she was Micheal Kwan, six or seven in a row with no hesitation. It was amazing, before we went on she passed by the band while "Welcome to the Jungle" was playing on the juke box and looked into our bass player Kevins soul and starting singing that part "where do we go now, where do we go now." My beer almost came through my nose it was so funny. The Mofo Party Band and the Super Lucky Cats were also on the bill. Mofo is a very entertaining band, I like the attitude. Somehow I ended up behind the drum kit playing with them by the end of the night. There are more pics posted on the Team 40 Watt myspace page (Thanks Lennon and Victoria)

Download #1- "Hypnotized" Volume 6 (2001)

2008-03-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

In 2000 40 Watt Hype released a demo CD called Volume 6. The idea was that the band would start with Volume 6 and work backwards to Volume 1 then break up. When we started recording the music we were still called the "Wack Mcs" so you may hear a few references, but we changed the name halfway through the recording to 40 Watt Hype. I think my voice had just dropped before this time because in earlier recordings I(awall) sound like I'm 11. "Hypnotized" is the first song on Volume 6 recorded at Peter Wolf Studios in downtown Fresno. Gr8 Scot is also on vocals, my brother Andrew is on drums and John Berg on guitar. I make a reference to my Grandmother from Holland when I say "I ain't Dutch for nuthin' like my grandma used to say." She has an interesting story, but that is for another day. The horn solos at the end are by a 15 yr old Jorge Montoy and Adan Infante. During this time we were playing house parties heavily influenced by groups like the Beastie Boys, Pharcyde, Tribe Called Quest etc.

Here is the link enjoy:
http://www.40watthype.com/images/musicfiles/Hypnotize.mp3
(right click as you save)

40 Watt Hype Catalog Downloads

2008-03-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

40 Watt Hype will be posted one song a week to be available for download. Starting from their first demo to the current recording, complete with details on the recording and interesting info. From back in the day to the new album being recorded, so people can track the development and evolution of the band.

2/22/08 Club 2039 (Fresno, Ca)

2008-02-25T10:52:00.000-08:00

Downtown Fresno was the place to be on Fri Feb 22nd. Van Ness and Kern is now the home of the 2039 ultralounge. With over 500 in attendance it went off. We kicked off the festivities and got the dance floor hot thanks to all the lovely party people. The zany Argyle Pimps followed up, then the Uncle Krackeresque rappers from Los Banos the Moonshine Bandits performed. Throughout the night there were girls dancing on poles and kissing each other for the camera (if you have a camera people will do anything for you) but above all it was a great night for downtown and hopefully 2039 will draw people to the heart of the city to have a good time.

1/27/08 Barack Obama HQ (Fresno, Ca)

2008-02-25T10:04:00.001-08:00

Well for the first time 40 Watt Hype has gotten political.....Its too important right now not to. We were honored to perform at the grand opening of the Barack Obama headquarters in Fresno for his historic run for president. It was great to be a part of an event with such a diverse support base. Old, young, black, white, latino. Tons of news coverage and lots of optimism and excitement that hasn't been present for the last um.....8 years.

Beautiful People at Club Fred

2008-02-06T08:54:00.001-08:00

Beautiful People
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Here is a shot from the crowd that somebody sent in. Thanks

12/22/07 Club Fred (Fresno, Ca)

2008-02-06T08:53:00.001-08:00

Stage shot
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Last show of 2007 at Club Fred (now called Audie's Olympic). This place is finally back on its feet. After an ownership change a murder inside the club and a bad rep... its back. This was a great night, everyones family was in town, people you hadn't scene in a long time etc. Also on the bill was Nino Moschella and the Park from Fresno/SF. As we were criss crossing the US on tour last year we would always see flyers for a band called BUCHO, That band later morphed into the Park and was backing up Nino, So we had a couple laughs as we finally connected in FRESNO, CA. Great night, lots of fun, couple of early drinking casualties, but that is to be expected on a night like this. Its almost Christmas and its time to cut loose. Nino and his band sounded great, Sean and I sat in on the first tune.

12/8/07 Seqouia Brewery (Fresno, Ca)

2008-02-06T08:33:00.000-08:00

This was a rail jam featuring live music, films and snowboarding demonstrations. People came from as far away as Lake Tahoe to check it out. The event was put on by Delta 9ine, our clothing sponsor. Fresno rappers Chuck Dimes and Fashawn opened up the show. By the end of the night, things got a little out of hand and one of the guys putting on the event, ended up getting kicked out of his own event. That was a first for me. No pictures, but lots of good beer on tap.

12/1/07 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2008-01-28T23:15:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

As winter sets in and the Rams playoffs hopes diminished its time to hit the stage and hit the bottle and the Starline. Rapper Chuck Dimes opened the show with a 30 min set then we took the stage ready to have a good time. Talented percussionist Richard Juarez sat in on La Sombra and we had a drum duel that ended with him holding the cymbal stand above my head so I had to jump to hit the crash cymbal. Lots of dancing, singing and general carousing. This picture was taken after we finished up. and to all a good night.

10/19/07 Elbo Room (San Francisco, Ca)

2008-01-22T08:04:00.001-08:00

We hit up the Elbo Room with our boys from the north the Bayonics. This venue is dope, if you are in or around SF check it out. Of course like all places in SF there is no parking and you may be surrounded by fairweather Giant fans (the only city in the world that likes Barry Bonds). We rocked a quick 60 min set and got the crowd involved as the opener should. Bayonics came on a killed as usual, great sound, great guys.

10/12/07 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2008-01-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

Back to the Starline in the good ole NO!! King Suger opened the show (my brother Matt plays bass with them) with that rocksteady goodness. It was also my sisters birthday so it was a family affair. We played a song I wrote for my daughter called "Just for You" if I figure out how to post mp3s I'll post it for download. Even though the paper published the wrong date and there was a huge football game the same night we had a great show. Anybody have any pics?

10/6/07 Cabo Wabo (Lake Tahoe Ca)

2008-01-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

We stayed at the Block Hotel which is a young persons paradise hotel. Upon check in we took a shot of whiskey and they had free PBR. They have pool, porn, internet and PS2s in all the rooms. We stayed in the Delta 9ine room (Thanks Jason) and lounged around playing FIFA all day. Our gear was already set up so we had more time to chill. Threw a little dice played a little blackjack, weather was beautiful too. Our second night at Cabo Wabo was just as crazy as the first. Hopefully we'll be back there soon, it's a fun place to play. How can you go wrong? tahoe. gambling. music. snowboarding. booze etc. Thank you tahoe we love you goodnight!!!

10/5/07 Cabo Wabo (Lake Tahoe CA)

2008-01-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

Cabo Wabo is a club in Harrahs Casino on the strip in South Lake Tahoe. We love Lake Tahoe, even better when you have a great gig there. We show up to load in to find out that the club has no sound whatsoever. There was a miscommunication between our booking agent and their manager. For the next 2 hours I was calling bands I knew in Tahoe trying to come up with a PA. I got a hold of Aaron Hagar (sammy hagars son) who strangely happened to be in Fresno doing a show. He kindly volunteered to take our PA from Fresno to Tahoe after his gig. After I arranged a complicated load in spot for him as my battery was dying and he was about to go on stage, I walked inside the casino and the manager told me that they swiped some sound gear from Paul Anka and we could use that for the weekend. Wheewww!!! There is nothing worse than showing up to a show and having the "I thought you had sound" conversation. We sound checked and dipped into our first of three sets. We had a blast. I think the first night I counted 5 bachelorette parties and people were on a mission to puke that night. Wish I had photos, there would have been some gems.

Just what I was afraid of......

2008-01-03T23:47:00.001-08:00

IMG_0016
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Here is Selena ( yeah you can say it like the movie "Salina'ssss!") I was hoping she would be ugly so that no boys would like her but I would think she was cute because she is my daughter. But no luck, she is gorgeous and luckily Wal-Mart has an easily accessible gun selection including shotguns etc. which I may need sooner than I thought.

9/27/07 My baby girl is born

2008-01-03T23:43:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

On September 27th 2007 at 6:40 in the morning my baby girl Selena Marie Sotelo Wall was born. The most beautiful and amazing thing I've ever seen. Just what I was afraid of..... a girl, and a beautiful girl. Lots of hair, doesn't look anything like me. She came a month early but she is catching up with the rest of the nursery.

9/7/07 G St Pub (Davis Ca)

2008-01-03T23:26:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

We took the scenic drive from Ukiah to Davis while our guitar player puked out the side of the van. If I even hear the sound of wretching or puking I start to dry heave and it is a down ward spiral. We picked him up a couple of tall boys to chase his blues away and headed into town. We had some time to kill so we unloaded at the venue, ordered some hot wings and bloody mary's. After that we headed down to the Davis campus to throw the football and baseball around. Some college kids approached us for a game of football. 4 musicians after a round of wings and bloody mary's versus 2 track runners, 1 soccer player and 1 other dude. Long story short we won after an unbelievable effort 40 watt came out on top, then we invited them to the gig but they were too young to get in. Here is a shot from the stage as the crowd starts to set it off.

9/6/07 Ukiah Brewery (Ukiah Ca.)

2008-01-03T23:17:00.001-08:00

IMG_3838
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Ukiah is a beautiful little town with a very cool venue called the Ukiah Brewery. As you can tell from the picture it is a down homey yet distinctively hippie atmosphere. Just assume everything there is healthy and organic. When you order from the menu there are constant reminders that you are eating organic burgers, salads etc. I think we used organic microphones that nights and the speaker cords were woven out of hemp. We had a blast, the crowd was a little light but those in attendance and the staff were amazing. They told us to come back after "harvest" is over and the place would be packed. If you're wondering what they harvest read this post again from the top.

9/1/07 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2008-01-03T19:19:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Back at Starline with Jay Rossette on guitar and Pat Olvera on bass so we were excited to get into it. Here is a picture of the bun in the oven, don't know the sex, but names are picked. Had to get baby to a show so the bass can penetrate the womb. We had a great night and nobody puked......

Awall w/ Robin Thicke and I other name dropping stories

2008-01-03T12:08:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Here I am backstage at the Warfield (a dope venue in SF) with Robin Thicke after his show. I also was able to hang out with legendary drummer Dave Getz from Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin). If you look at the pictures in the lobby you'll see Dave with Janice back in the day. If your feet don't hurt from all this name dropping I also kicked it with Robin Thicke and his band for a couple shows opening for Beyonce.

8/30/07 On the Rox (Hollywood, Ca)

2008-01-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

Back in la la land where bands pay to play and the doormen look like Barry Bonds. But not On the Rox which is upstairs above The Roxy. We've never payed to play anywhere so this is the closest to playing the Roxy as we get. Its a cool little spot small but the atmosphere unique. There happens to be a pole located on the dance floor in front of the stage, which will be used by the end of the night. There is something about poles that drunk chicks can't resist. The inner stripper is brought to life with some cran vodka and we all pay the agonizing price of watching the next you tube moment unfold from the stage. We hooked up with our Bay Area brothers the Bayonics and local rapper Ray Ricky Rivera. Rivera brought his usual East LA golden era of hip hop energy. Then I get a phone call. Half of the Bayonics ran out of gas on the grapevine( and by half I mean 8). Before our set a cop came into the club and took my brother out. I ran downstairs to see what the deal was. I found a guy on a stretcher would looked like a mummy. He had gotten cracked over the head with a champagne bottle. Appearantly my brother looked like the culprit. After we cleared that up we hit the stage for our 45 min set. That is a breeze compared to the usual 3 hr affairs. As predicted the pole was used for unsavory purposes by a middle aged women. Bright spot of the night was seeing Moluptous Monica our favorite LA friend and her homegirl. Bayonics killed and the night was done. Thanks you los angeles!

8/27/07 CSU Fresno (Fresno, Ca)

2007-08-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh.....school is session. We performed in The Pit, a stage area in the middle of the Fresno State campus on the first day of classes during lunch. As usual they provided us with 2 vocal mics with huge bright orange foam condom looking covers. They are called wind screens and are supposed to be used by news reporters in an area of high wind. The screens cut down the wind noise. For some reason, they always give us these nasty mics with orange covers on them. That means the spit from everyone whos ever uttered a word into that mic has festered and germinated in that foam. I tried to take it off buts its locked down with a plastic strip. It was a fun gig though. Its always cool to people watch from the stage. You can always tell the new students because they dress up like they're going to a club for their morning math class. Then you have the 3rd yr. chicks that used to be hot rolling out of bed in their Ambercrombie sweat shorts, highlighted hair and sandals. And my favorite.....the frat guys. Handing out flyers like PETA at a Michael Vick hearing, to rush. I still don't know what the hell that even means. We had a good number of people gather to check out the set. Lots of people knew the words, which is a really cool feeling. We had to change the words on a few songs to make it appropriate for college kids who probably are doing beer bongs upside down this morning.

8/24/07 Marilyn's on K (Sacramento Ca)

2007-08-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

We took the 2 1/2 drive to play at Marilyn's on K in downtown Sac. It's an underground spot, for real, its actually underground. Cool atmosphere, bartenders are nice the sound is decent and the crowd to responsive. A band called the Story Tellers opened up the night , playing some rocksteady ska/reggae. I guess their drummer is a pro skater. We played second for about 45 min, a nice change from 3 hr sets that we had been playing. After us was a rapper called Wisdom, who had an amazing drummer. Church style, banging chops and some showmanship a la John Blackwell. If you search "gospel drummer" on youtube, his name will come up, even though I can't remember it right now. Then our boys Sol Peligro came up and rocked that classic cumbias and kept the dancefloor packed. I got to sit in on percussion for a few songs. I would recommend this place to Sacramento gente, go check it out. We got home about 4:30am, another day at the office.

Feature Article in Flagstaff Live

2007-08-20T17:34:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Imagine a compilation album featuring the talents of Santana, Black Eyed Peas and the Roots. Or better yet, mix eight talented musicians from diverse ethnic backgrounds, add some eloquent Spanish rap and pounding Latin beats, throw in a dash of serenading jazz horns and a pinch of alternative rock and you have the vibrant sound of 40 Watt Hype.
Commanding an undeniable presence in the independent music scene, the hip-hop group describes their music as, “White meets Black meets Chicano meets unity when rural-urban street talk combines with songwriting.”
The group hails from Fresno, Calif., and is composed of Aaron Wall (vocals and percussion), Brian Robinson (vocals), Enrique Gonzalas (guitar), Sean Alderette (drums), Bronson Garza (bass), Jared Dyar (percussion), Adan Infante (trombone), and David Hull (keyboards).
The band tucks a lengthy list of accomplishments under their belts, including a shared stage with prominent musicians such as Ozomatli, the Roots, 311, Fishbone, and the Pharcyde. The group also performed with hip-hop artist Ludacris at the Sundance Film Festival and went solo to perform during every San Francisco 49ers home game in the NFL’s 2005-06 season.

40 Watt Hype released their third album, Strong Feet on the Concrete, in 2006, and currently has a fourth album in the works with a release date set for mid-2007.
And the most respectable aspect to the group’s success: they remain unsigned.
“Our sound is a fusion between our styles and cultures,” says Aaron Wall, whose ethnic background is mostly Dutch. “This band reflects the diversity of our hometown, Fresno. Our members are white, black and Mexican, and we want our music to reflect this in a pure and reputable manner.”
Wall, known to his fellow band members and fans as Awall, raps in Spanish and shows off his distinctive talents with Latin percussion instruments during every show. Wall says he’s loved all genres of music since his younger years and has always contributed his skills to a band.
Wall found a permanent home with 40 Watt Hype after all eight members noticed each other’s similar styles and began experimenting together. Everyone belonged to a different band at the time, Wall says, but all desired to spread the same positive message to their fans.
“Our music is always uplifting,” Wall says. “But on the rare occasions when we do write a song with critical undertones, we make sure to provide positive solutions to the situation we’re criticizing.”
This statement best rings true in tracks three and four of Strong Feet on the Concrete, which portray and evaluate the current trends in music and popular culture in the United States. Track three, “Jerry Gente Interlude,” is a parody of a big-wig music agent who encourages his clients to “focus on appearance and forget about writing their own lyrics” and to “perform celebrity stunts such as DUIs to gain media publicity.” Track four, “Controversy,” then jumps in to musically present this immoral advice and while evaluating the current direction of the music industry.
And, Wall says, with the cutthroat circumstances and image standards presented to musicians today, the music industry has never been tougher to break into.
While Wall and 40 Watt Hype revel in their impressive accomplishments and ability to reach a wider and wider fanbase with each album, Wall stays strong with his position on the oil and water mix of a musical career and a college education.
“A music degree from a university is valuable, but it doesn’t prepare you for the harsh realisms of the music industry,” Wall says. “If you want to make it as a musician, you need to dive into the industry and make your own school. Play with other musicians who expand and enhance your talents, and constantly practice and hone your skills. Real world experience is everything when it comes to etching out a successful path in the music industry.”
The band’s extraordinary unending dedication, which acts as the underbelly for their career, exemplifies in the treacherous trip from Malibu to Flagstaff the group took last year. The group signed up for a January show in Flagstaff, not fully realizing the harsh winter conditions until they hit icy roads and drove past nine car accidents on I-17 at a crawling speed of 5 mph.
“We were two hours late for the show, but we made it to Flagstaff in one piece,” Wall says. “To make it up to everyone, we played as long as the venue would let us. We were still playing our hearts out at 2 a.m, but it didn’t matter because everyone had a great time.”
This year, 40 Watt Hype plans to captivate and entertain Flagstaff fans during the warm summer months instead.
For those interested in checking out 40 Watt Hype’s energetic sound and live stage presence, be sure to attend their Sat, Aug. 18, show at Flagstaff Brewing Co., 16 E. Rte. 66, at 10 p.m. For more information, visit www.40watthype.com.

8/18/07 Flagstaff Brewery (Flagstaff AZ)

2007-08-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Flagstaff is a beautiful mountain town in northern AZ. We got to see the change from low desert in Tucson to cooler weather and pine trees in Flagstaff during the drive. The Flagstaff Brewery Patio series shuts down the down town mall and sets up lights and a stage outdoors. The staff was extremely nice and pampered us pretty well. Some people treat you like a janitor, but this staff was very gracious. They remembered the last time we were there in January when we almost endured a trecherous storm, but didn't miss the gig and played all night. This picture was taken from the stage during our second set. The people of Flagstaff definitely like music and like to party. It reminded me of a Santa Cruz or norcal party school. We couldn't hit it too hard after our sets becuase we had to wake up at 6:30am the next day. Thanks to everyone who came out, we'll be back soon.

8/17/07 Nimbus Brewery (Tucson AZ)

2007-08-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

Pulling up to the Nimbus Brewery in Tucson is like pulling up to the battlegroup scene in Terminator 2. When you're on the road pulling up to a new venue can be one of the scariest moments of the day. Nimbus Brewery is located in a rural industrial part of South Tucson, I know that sounds bad. Suprisingly enough it is a great venue with even better beer. The machinery is all in the same area as the restaurant and stage so its a huge facility. The Dirty Guera (Dirty Blonde) was the overwhelming band favorite and we got a couple of 6 packs on the way out. The staff was really cool as well as the owners. We played about an hour then got back to sampling beers. We met some really cool people from Fresno, who had randomly stopped by to check us out even though they had never heard us and didn't know we were from Fresno. Its off the beaten path but go check out the Nimbus Brewery, its worth it.

8/17/07 Zia Records (Tucson AZ)

2007-08-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

We did an in store performance at Zia Records which is a really great record store that has everything you would ever want for great prices. Our cd is distributed in the Zia stores across AZ and NV so we do in store performances to promote our night show and sell cds. This particular store only had one copy, two employees ended up going half on it after we did a 30 min set, thanks guys.

Shot from my point of view (Blunt Club @ Hollywood Alley)

2007-08-20T17:07:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

Here is a show from the stage during our set. To the left are some breakers cutting it up. After the show I got a drunken lecture from the ex-manager of Bobby Brown. He told that I was like Tito Puente but a modern version mixing in hip-hop. As ridiculous and drunk a compliment as it was, it made my day.

8/16/07 Hollywood Alley (Mesa AZ)

2007-08-20T17:03:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

7am load up, 7:30 hit the road. 3pm check into rooms 7pm check into venue, 7:30 sound check, 9:30 perform. That is usual as far as traveling goes. We hit the Blunt Club at Hollywood Alley as the first stop on a little 4 day trip through Arizona. It was amazingly hot, but people out there just deal with it. The Blunt Club has a great thing going. They spin the best in the golden age of hip-hop, lots of dope breakers and a nice venue. Its always interesting to see how a hip-hop crowd reacts to us. At first we gave them a few songs to get acclamated to the sound, then they gave us the love we wanted. A friend from Fresno and a talented timbalero named Mario also came through with his girl, so it was good to see a familiar face. Thanks again to everyone who came out.

8/3/07 Ashkenaz (Berkeley, Ca)

2007-08-20T16:53:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

We took the drive into Berkeley from Caspar and had the chance to walk around and grab some food and chill for a minute before heading to Ashkenaz. Ashkenaz is a community cultural center and looks like a barn from the outside. We loaded in and met one of the weirdest sound engineers ever, he smelled like bqq'd patchouli oil. We were sharing the bill with our boys the Bayonics. We had a good set and met a lot of new people. Bayonics came on and killed as usual. Our friend Jeff and his wife came through (we played at their wedding last year) so it was good to see them as well as Gerard and Crystal driving from Sac. My wife(7 mo pregnant) and Brooke also came through. Ashkenaz is a really dope venue full of rich culture and a great staff, although the sound booth could use a little Fabreeze.

8/2/07 Caspar Inn (Caspar Ca)

2007-08-20T16:30:00.002-07:00

The drive to Caspar is beautiful and finding on a map is like playing Where's Waldo. Its a couple hours north of San Francisco on the 1. Its on the rocky Norcal coast by Mendecino and Fort Bragg. From the outside the venue looks like the setting of Stephen Kings' "Needfull Things" but the inside is warm, cozy and perfect for doing the hippie shuffle. The crowd was a little thin because the huge festival "Reggae on the River" was the next day, so people were saving their money and braiding their hemp necklaces and shells. I talked to some Abalone divers who explained that Abalone are a delicacy and that diving for them is really fun, but selling them is illegal. They also told me that recently an Abalone diver got his head bitten off by a shark nearby. We played 2 sets, had a couple of drinks and headed upstairs to get some sleep. Usually we share beds and sleep on floors to save money on hotel rooms. This night we all had our own rooms. We all were in Brian's room laughing and talking, when out of the corner of my eye I say a brown furry thing run across the floor. There weren't two feet on the floor after someone yelled "rat!" we all switched to Sean's room after realizing how lame we all looked. Then when we were in Sean's room we saw a large 8 legged insect crawl across the bed. Time to move to my room. When we got there we realized we didn't close the door to Brians room and the rat had gotten out. After the rat, bug and rumors of haunted rooms, what started out as a luxury turned into normalcy as we crammed into a few rooms and got some sleep.

7/15/07 Kings Fair (Hanford, Ca)

2007-08-20T16:30:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

The last night of the Kings Fair is Culture night, so we were booked to perform(thanks to Univision Radio). Nice big stage and sound system, nice amphitheater (thanks to Rick Robbins for hooking up the sound) The audience was receptive but judging by the fact that the next band was wearing shiny suits, cowboy boots and hats and all had mustaches we weren't quite gente enough. So we shared the bill with a popular Mexican act and also the runner up to the show "Objectiva Fama." Thats what I love about being in this band, definitely not pigeon holed. I also got to do a live remote broadcast for La Kalle 107.9. You know when the DJ is at a location and they check in, screaming with tons of background noise hyping an event, It was done from a cell phone next to a corn dog stand, sorry to ruin the mystery.

7/3/07 Moe's Alley (Santa Cruz Ca)

2007-07-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

This was a special gig being that we were opening for Salvador Santana. If his name sounds familiar its because his dad is Carlos Santana. There were a lot of odd connections this night. Our producer Art Hodge won a Grammy for Santana's Supernatural album. Walter Miranda played keys on our album and used to play with Salvador Santana's Sax player who also used to play with Ozomatli. Walter and the sax player also used to play in Ozomatli with Alfredo Ortiz, who is now playing percussion for the Beastie Boys. Our producer Art Hodge used to share a studio with Money Mark who plays keys with the Beastie Boys and Walter fills in for him when he can't make a show.....whew. So the show was great after we connected all the dots. We had a good opening set, the crowd was primed and ready for some pre 4th of July fireworks. SSB came out blazing, drumming was killing and the sax player setting things off. We had to cut out before the end of their set, but it was great. I always thought it would be a double edged sword having a famous dad. On one hand if you become successful in music people will assume that it was because of your dad. If you don't become successful people will wonder why because of the huge advantage. Salvador seemed to be at ease with his situation, he plays keys and raps in the group.

6/8/07 Arte Americas (Fresno, Ca)

2007-07-06T08:15:00.001-07:00

40 Watt Hype @ Arte Americas 6/8/07
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

The Nights in the Plaza concert series put on by Arte Americas is a special event for us. Its great to be one of the onlyl groups playing all original music at a local venue downtown. We constructed the set as more of a concert rather a club show. Its an earlier night and a different crowd so we pulled out a few new surprises and played rarities like "On & On" and the new "Can U Dig?" Going up against 8 graduation ceremonies we did well and the seats were full. Below is the Arte version of "Animated World" Its always special to be a part of something as unique to the Valley as Arte Americas.

5/31/07 Frog & Peach (San Luis Obispo Ca)

2007-07-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, this was a horrible night as far as equipment goes. We show up and load in to discover that the main cables to the speakers have bee cut. A "soundman" was sent over to try to fix the problem, he took a look around and gave us the "uh, I guess you'll just have to work with it, you should be fine, and he split. All he needed was a banana clip. That means our vocals and anything else that should be going through the mains went through these small speakers nestled above the bar. All night people were yelling "turn up the vocals, can't hear the vocals" so we ended up screaming our lungs out. Other than that it was a good night, its just frustrating when the soundman doesn't have his S*** together.

5/23/07 Moe's Alley- Santa Cruz Ca

2007-07-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

This was a cool little midweek trip to Santa Cruz. Below is the footage of some of everyday things we do on the road besides play music. We played with a local group called Para La Gente. Really cool guys, sound like a Latin Rage Against the Machine. Its nice to see a band angry and speaking their mind. The crowd was decent for a Wed night as you can tell from the video. One of the most amazing 8 bit video games is in Moe's Alley and its called hot shot, check the video for a heated battle between awall and Sean....

5/11/07 Crossroads (Fresno, Ca)

2007-05-25T10:48:00.001-07:00

5/11/07 Crossroads
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

The Crossroads is emerging as one of the most unlikely venues to become the spot to rock. Its a destination location(in other words you have to drive to it, no foot traffic) and its called the Crossroads, thats two strikes. But, they are bringing in regional and national acts and have built up a great reputation. This particular night Fusion Porn opened up the show (former members of Mynis) and the Jay Rossette Project followed. They were banging and the sound was on point. In case anyone passed out at the last Starline show they could get up to date at the Crossroads, since we played some of the same songs. I gotta say, big ups to the Crossroads for reppin Cedar and Shields and keeping Fresno diverse.

5/6/07 Fulton Mall (Fresno, Ca)

2007-05-25T10:38:00.001-07:00

5/6/07 Fulton mall
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

CInco de Mayo Weekend! The Fulton Mall in downtown Fresno was packed with vendors, food and 3 stages of music ranging from Mariachi to Romance to 40 Watt Hype. We performed on Sunday the 6th but the party had been raging since the 5th. Thanks t 107.9 La Kalle for putting us on, we had great time. We wanted to play an event that wasn't the modern commercialized ciinco de mayo garbage. The day has been turned into one big Corona commercial with hot chicks in cutoff soccer jerseys dancing with beers in their hands. Nevermind the batalla against the French and the importance of average people uniting to stand for something and holding off an empire. Even though they lost the war it isn't about winning anything. Its about the common people using strength in numbers and courage to put up a fight against the powerful.....hhmmmmm sounds familiar, like we could all use a bit of cinco de mayo considering the war in Iraq, consumerism and the commercialization of culture. I don't mean to get all Zach de la Rocha on it, but lets all put our Tecate lights and taco party trays down and think about it.....

4/27/07 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2007-05-25T10:26:00.001-07:00

awall starline 4/27/07
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

We brought our friends from SF, the Bayonics, to open up the show. They almost missed their start time because we had to pull them away from the Golden State Warrior game. These guys bring the heat. Big band(10 I think), Timba, Funk, Hip-Hop, very fun group, defenitely check them out whenever you get a chance. We took the stage and debuted a few new tracks and a cover. We performed the new tune "Can U Dig?" which went over well, and also did a S.O.S. "Bulls on Parade" mashup that took everyone by surprise, including our guitar player. Overall it was one of those nights when everyone got really wasted so they probably ended up forgetting what a great night it was at one point. Pace yourself folks, you'll get there, just pace yourself. Afterwards we kicked it with Bayonics, someone got arrested in front of the club. Its not a real party till someone gets popped.

40 Watt Wedding Bells

2007-05-25T10:15:00.001-07:00

40 Watt Nuptials
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

40 Watt Hype percussionist Jared Dyar and Brooke Parmer tied the know on April 14th! Congratulations to you both, you deserve all the happiness in the world. It was a 40 Watt party never the less. Producer Art Hodge was in attendance as well as all the band members, looking proper. I (awall) was honored to be the best man, we all had a blast.

wedding crashers

2007-05-25T10:11:00.001-07:00

awall and jd
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

awall & jd

4/7/07 Club Fred (Fresno, Ca)

2007-05-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

Back at Club Fred for the first time in over 2 years. For those of you who don't know the previous version of this landmark Fresno venue was sold and the staff and vision was changed. Less bands, more DJs, less locals, more drama. Every aspect of the club took a turn for the worst. It came to a climax when someone was shot and killed inside the club. I live down the street from Club Fred and I remember people running down the street screaming and helicopters circling. Something like that could happen anywhere, that isn't the reason we haven't played there in 2 years. Needless to say there is a lot of negative energy in that room that needed to be cleansed. Rumor has it that the owner bought the club to impress his young boyfriend, who evidently wasn't impressed and subsequently and thankfully the club was sold again and is back in good hands. Adam Lee was doing sound and the vibe inside was back to normal. They still need to get rid of the blue shag carpet on the stage and bring back the wall of Freds but we finally got our old place back.

3/10/07 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2007-05-25T09:57:00.001-07:00

3/10/07 Starline
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net

40 Watt Hype plus Rogue Festival after party equals fire marshall and a lot of broken bottles. The Rogue Festival is a fringe arts festival and is becoming a nationally renowned event in Fresno. We were excited to cap off the success of the Rogue Festival at the Starline and celebrate the arts and music of Fresno. This is shot of the crowd before we started our set, it was wall to wall front to back....ahhhh good times.

3/8/07 Frog & Peach (San Luis Obispo, Ca)

2007-05-25T09:04:00.001-07:00

Thursday night in San Luis Obispo, where college students have their senses overloaded with the weather, women, leisure, bars, zero crime, a care free existence. What a better place to get wasted and endulge in downtown SLO. Lots of guys walking around with jeans and flip flops, lots of sun kissed girls going "whoooo" and slapping each other on the butt. while doing the white chick sex dance. At the Frog & Peach you get more locals, which we all appreciate so we don't have to try to field requests for Sublime and Maroon 5. After our first set we talked to some people who all suggest that we play at Downtown Brew (used to be called SLO Brew). Thanks for the advice, its usable. Most of the time people give suggestions like "have you ever thought about going on American Idol?' or "you should open up for the Black Eyed Peas." I know there are just trying to help, but do ther really think its that easy. I was a struggling artist until this drunk guy at the Frog % Peach told me to open up for Rage Against the Machine, then everything changed. It would be like me telling them in return "you should open up a successful chain of restaurants nationwide." Its the thought that counts...right?

2/23/07 Grant & Green (San Francisco, Ca)

2007-05-25T08:26:00.001-07:00

Grant & Green is a dope little spot in North Beach in Little Italy. Like every other spot in SF there is no parking but the atmosphere makes up for the frustration. Ray Ricky Rivera opened up the show(Emcee from LA) with a nice set, check him out when you can. We had a pretty good night. Its free admission so you get a lot of people in and out, walking by the window checking it out then being drawn in. Usually it rains when we play the G&G, which kills a night in San Francisco. You would think that people in SF would be used to it. If it rained this time, we would've taken it as a sign and moved on. It was fun, we met some new people and it didn't rain so....success?

2/20/07 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2007-03-20T12:16:00.003-07:00

2/20/07 Starline
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net.

Fat Tuesday, a lot of people on a mission to puke before 10pm. The Viper City Brass Band kicked off the night in appropriate fashion with some heavy New Orleans funk. The crowd was ready for the taking. I was in and out as usual and talked to my friend in the alley behind Starline and he says "Did you hear about the 2 cops that got shot down the street?" That isn't what you want to hear before you go onstage while there is heavy debauchery going on all around the streets and in the club. Come to find out that some crazy gun nut with mental problems (guns don't kill people, right?) went down Wishon the wrong way got pulled over and proceeded to shoot 2 cops and an innocent woman in the back before leading them on a 5 mile chase before crashing and getting 80 rounds put into him and his car. But I didn't find all this out until after the show We go on stage and did a number called "Fire on the Bayou" with Viper City before we launched into our set. So I'm thinking 2 cops got shot down the street, who in here is packing heat, and everybody is sloshed and out of control. Thats not a good feeling whe you have to put on the mask of a front man leading the crowd into a frenzy. A while back someone got shot and killed inside Club Fred during a show, so that was on my mind, and I didn't want to go out like Dimebag. I decided not to drink and we made it through the show. It was crazy and out of control like it should be on Fat Tuesday. I never mentioned the shooting during the show, all of the Tower District was taped up and on lock down, except for us inside the Starline setting if off. That shooting could happen anywhere no one should let that keep them from coming to the Tower District, one of the best arts districts Fresno has to offer.

2/3/07 Frog & Peach (San Luis Obispo, Ca)

2007-03-20T12:05:00.001-07:00

2/1/07 Frog & Peach (San Luis Obispo, Ca)
Originally uploaded by aaronwall@sbcglobal.net.

San Luis Obispo is a great college town on the central coast just outside of Pismo Beach. The Frog & Peach is a small pub with a very small stage but makes for a great, cozy little get down once the band cranks up. The place was packed and I was pumped because two of my brothers and my sister in law where able to make the show from out of town. We played two long sets and the place went off. On our break we walked down the street and saw the Downtown Brew was packed, the English Beat were playing. So it turned out to be an all around good night of music in SLO. Here is a shot from the crowd that captured the night, blurry from movement, energy and of course a few drinks.

2/1/07 G St Pub (Davis Ca)

2007-02-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

This was the G St Pub that we were used to. The room was full, no tests we're being taken, they were ready to let go. Woodstocks pizza is an amazing post gig ritual, if you've never been, you gotta check it out.

Dissed by The Source

2007-01-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

Getting dissed by The Source for repetitive lyricism is like The Enquirer accusing the Star of tabloid journalism. For a magazine that sustains itself by perpetuating the dumbing down of hip-hop into hooks, chants and casio keyboard beats, its a tough pill to swallow. Maybe Conan Milne(whoe wrote the review) would like us better if we had lyrics like "lets kick it like TyBo" and "Smack that ass till you get sore." Or maybe we should do something like "this is why i'm hot, this is why i'm hot, this is why i'm this is why i'm this is why i'm hot." maybe then it wouldn't be too repetitive. The only encouraging thing is that we got a ton of calls and email saying "F**k The Source they're full of s**t". But everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I guess it means that we truly have a unique sound if Conan Milne from The Source doesn't get it. Read on:

"Respected live performers like Stetsasonic and The Roots, coupled with use of live instrumentation by many notable producers, suggests there's great potential for the Hip-Hop band. On that note, 40 Watt Hype returns to deliver instrument-laden sounds on its uneven third studio album, "Strong Feet on the Concrete." Tracks like the rap critical "Controversy" prove that the group's MCs can rhyme.
Sadly the verbal muscle isn't flexed enough throughout the rest of the 16 cut collection. Twanging guitar pluck make the title track a funky affair, although is is hindered by the redundant chant "just let go/Lose control." "Animated World" starts promising, only to descend into "One time for the bass" chit chat. With this album, the eight piece outfit proves that impressive drum or guitar work can't always compensate for repetitive lyricism. While the group has talent, 40 Watt Hype is a rap band not quite ready for prime time. -Conan Milne"

Thats tough to take for a dude named Conan. The fact that he doesn't get it is a reaffirmation that we're doing the right thing, thanks Conan......

IQ Review (Albuquerque Weekly Publication)

2007-01-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

IQ Albuquerque NM Music Preview

The type of hip hop that 40 Watt Hype plays could only come from the state of California. Sure, people will compare them to The Roots, which is justifiable, but it’s mostly because the band, which includes Brian Robinson (Vagabond), Jared Dyar (percussion), Adan Infante (trombone), Sean Alderette (drums), Aaron Wall (MC AWALL) Enrique Gonzales (guitar) and Bronson Garza (bass), performs with live instruments. Others will point to their Latin leanings and bring up less applicable and predictable comparisons to Santana and still others will mention how 40 Watt hype sounds similar to the Black Eyed Peas in terms of kinetic energy both on stage and on record. The truth is, 40 Watt Hype sound exactly like themselves, which always seems to be a problem when it comes to hip-hop; not so much for fans of the genre, but for the recording industry, radio and critics like myself who need to come up with new words to describe fresh new music.

As they boast in song, “we are true players but we don’t play, the same way that you play.” Still an unsigned act (but likely not for long), the group outwardly criticizes the inner workings of the music industry in song and (annoyingly) in skit, but to do it with such unforced flair and stately fashion that the music is less about the words and more about the groove.

Instrumentally, the groups is stacked to the gills with enough horn, key, percussion and rhythmic armor to spontaneously start a New Orleans street party. But whats’ appearant in listening to tracks from the group’s latest recording Strong Feet on the Concrete, they are simply a well rehearsed group that happens to know the secret to on stage success: restraint. Never coming off as ostentatious, the group still manages to flip the wigs of many listeners.

Along with that, they stay down to Earth in an over-hyped genre that floats like a million dead fish- as evidence in lyrics like “In this Animated world, spinnin’ in its axis, life death and taxes/we wll wanna know the answers to questions under the sun/but all we really need to know is one”. Their message oozes positivity and unity, and their relaxed sound matches that message in beats, but not to the point of an Arrested Development. In other words don’t start singing Kumbaya just yet.

There’s been many hip-hop group’s such as this in the past and there will likely be many more, but the Billboard charts never seem to find room for them until they approach Fugees status.

Unfortunate, but for those that like to keep their favorite bands a secret, they now have 40 Watt Hype to add to that list.

1/15/07 The Launchpad (Albuquerque NM)

2007-01-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

We left our lush spot and headed for the Launchpad, it was cold, I mean cold. The Launchpad is a big venue with upstairs pool tables that overlook the stage and a bar downstairs. We loaded in and checked out the opening acts. After these sets one of my favorite DJs-Dj Ill kid Madrid was killing. Every song he dropped was a gem from the golden age of hip-hop. Thanks to Miles and Left Coast Cartel for helping promote the show. We got a great write up in the IQ(a weekly publication). The show went well and we met a lot of cool new friends, hopefully we'll be back soon.

1/14/07 Gambling in Albuquerque NM

2007-01-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

On the way into Albuquerque I jumped on priceline.com and got the the best deal I've ever, thats a lot coming from a Dutch guy. I got this fancy hotel for $35, pool, sauna, hot tub and both our rooms were connected. We had the day off so it was all about getting some rest. I took off with Adan, Sean and Bronson on a shuttle to the local casino that had craps. Sean won $60 off 1 quarter and I introduced Bronson to the game of Craps. The Aaron Wall Foundation is very generous, so I started winning and brought him into the game. I got smoking hot and hit 5 points in a row!! They had to pry me from the table and we headed back to the room. From then on it was all about gin and spades. We put on Dave Chappelles "Block Party" and entered a marathon session. The obvious kingpins were Sean and Ben who were teamed up with me and JD. I was bringing us down since I was new to the game, but it was baptism by fire. I still want a rematch.

1/13/07 El Paseo Bar & Grill (Sante Fe NM)

2007-01-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

We left at 7am to avoid any black ice at night. The ground a roads were completely covered with snow. I couldn't even see the dividing lines in the highway. Fortunately the sun came out and the drive wasn't bad. Santa Fe is a cool little town full of a little bit of everything. All those everythings come out to the El Paseo Bar&Grill. Its a cozy little joint full of locals. We met some cool tattooed chick from Detroit and this Indian guy named Brian Arculeta. I remember his name because he probably introduced himself to me 25 times that night. Think American Indian John J Rambo, after 10 drinks too many. At the end of the night he kept wanting to help us load our equipment into the van, but we wouldn't let him cuz he was way too drunk. He ended up grabbing my little amp and of course dropped it. It didn't break but we got pissed and 86'd him. He kept yelling "I just wanna heeellpp" as he disappeared into the snowy night. As we were pulling out we saw some people chasing him after he had thrown a snow ball at their car.

1/12/07 Flagstaff Brewery (Flagstaff AZ)

2007-01-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

We left the beautiful Malibu coast in the morning and hit the road. We all felt pretty good and had a laugh as sean retold the story from the night before. As the day grew on and it got darker we stopped for gas in Kingman City (a few hours from Flagstaff). I called the venue to let them know we were on our way and they cautioned us about the black ice that was on the road and for us to be careful. I got a little spooked but we had plenty of time to get there so I wasn't to worried. We continued driving and then the snow started to fall, then the road was wet, then drivers were slowing down. Then the black ice was everywhere. We were stopped in the middle of the highway and a truck had jack knifed and was blocking traffic and trying to put on chains. We realized how serious it was when the semi started sliding back towards us. We all started freaking out because we couldn't move. Luckily it stopped before hitting us. The car in front of us was spinning its wheels and going nowhere. Right then and there I was thinking "there is no way were going to make it." A highway vehicle that looked like a tank with a snow plow showed up and chipped away at the highway and salted the road. As the worker passed by our window I asked him about the road. He said "there is now way your getting to Flagstaff tonight but there is a truck stop 12 miles up you can pull into for the night." The semi eventually moved and we were then faced with a decision do we try to move? I put it in 2nd gear and gently touched the gas. It was like driving with ice skates instead of tires. If we go off the road we are really screwed. All of our luggage and equipment is in this van. We followed in the tracks of the semi which crisscrossed the highway to creat traction. We inched along at 8 mph, holding our breath the whole time. The storm was getting worse. It went from can we make the gig, to can we make it to the truck stop 12 miles up. Other cars were pulling off the road and calling it a night, we continued and decided we would try to make it to the truck stop. We called the venue to tell them it would be impossible to make the show. We really neede that money too. They were disappointed and offered us more money if we showed up, we appreciated it but they had no idea what we were facing. While I was inching along in this storm I realized it was Jan 12th. It was the anniversary of the death of my father in law. Once I realize that, I knew I could not let anything happen to me, it was all about safety, forget the gig. Over a 10 mile stretch we saw 9 accidents between overturned cars, semi trucks and spun out vehicles. All I remember was that every few miles we saw sirens and emergency vehicles. It was one of the most treacherous roads I've ever been on in my life. Little by little it started to clear up. When I say clear up I mean now the semi trucks weren't overturned they were only jackknifed on the road. We decided to bypass the truck stop because we were afraid to get on a ramp in fear we wouldn't be able to stop. Icy roads are no joke, the only thing helping us was our gear holding us down. It started to look like we would make it to Flagstaff, not to play the show but to get a good nights rest. The venue called back check in on us, they said that there was an article in the paper about us and that the place was packed. We arrived late but they didn't care. We left Malibu at 10am and arrive in Flagstaff at 11:30pm after loosing an hour. Besides bathroom breaks all that time was on the road. I told the venue to have 7 shots of jack lined up and a couple of cases of beer ready and we would come through. We pulled up after this crazy life threatening drive and went straight on stage and rocked the show for the rest of the night. The crowd was giving us so much love, because they had heard of our experience getting there through the grapevine and they appreciated it. We ended up having a great finish to one of the crazeist days of my life. But I got what i wanted, not to die on Jan 12th.

1/11/07 On the Rox (LA, CA)

2007-01-25T11:44:00.000-08:00

Ricky couldn't do this tour due to work obligations so we got a hired gun. Ben Leon a guitarist from LA (who has a great band called How to Win at Life) filled in. Our first show was at On the Rox, which is about the Roxy. We hit a gnarly traffic jam on the way there which was a sign of things to come on this trip. A semi and some type of red car that had been demolished except for a bumper and some scraps. One dead, several injured. We had to go on last since the accident held us up for over 2 hours. There were rumors of industry people abound and that the 2 rap acts in front of us were either signed or going to be signed. A few years ago I would have been pumped up and scoping the crowd and tryng to find out who was who. Nowadays translations LA person says "there are some A&R people" translates into "a guy that works in the mail room is here." The group that actually was signed was terrible and reinforced our opinion that being signed don't mean a thing and that the people doing the signing have no taste. It was typical LA. Beautiful people in a room listening to something trying to look around to see if other people liked so they could decide if they like it. It was good to see my brother(he is on the coaching staff at Pepperdine University, mens basketball, my brother-in-law is the assistant coach). There were some girls there talking to Sean afterwards, they were having a good time, at one point one of them was on a pole. One was a friend from back in the day so he said he was going to hang and we could pick him up in the morning on the way out of town. We said cool and started loading out into the van. We were almost done when Bronson got a text from Sean, saying hold on we got pulled over off of Sunset. The driver gets popped for a DUI and Sean and this other girl he doesn't know are on the curb gettng the 3rd degree. Sean was wearing a nice winter jacket with fur on the hood that he brought especially for this trip since we were headed to cold territory. At some point the arresting cop made a comment that Sean should lend his jacket to the girl since it was cold, so he did. The cops take off and were on our way to pick him up, when he has to take a leak. After taking a leak he turns around and the girl is gone, and so is his jacket. he was pissed whe we picked him up. We crashed at the coaches pad in Malibu. It was all of 40 Watt Hype and all of the coaching staff of the Pepperdine Mens baskterball team. Aerobed Nation as we call it. My brother gave sean some Addidas sweat shirts for the rest of the trip and we were off the next morning.

1/6/07 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2007-01-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

I wish I had some pictures from this show, if anyone does please send them. It was another great night at the Starline. I think it is the most consistent streak of packed quality shows that I have ever been a part of. Its on point every time, there is something about those nights that just gets it together for everyone. Were glad we could be a part of peoples nights, and thanks to everyone who came out, we really appreciate your support. A great way to kick off the new year, 07 here we come!!

12/8/06 Grant & Green (SF, Ca)

2007-01-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

Every time we play the Grant&Green it is raining, 3 for 3. So this was no exception. It was a cool night, but its the kind of place were we play all night to a light crowd. Then just as we are wrapping up and exhausted since we had been playing for 3 hours 50 people crash in ready to dance and have a good time. So we keep going, then when we announce our last song, they yell "NOOO, we just got here, c'mon!!" and get all crazy. Then I want to say "yo, we aren't a juke box or a cd, and we've been playing since 9:30pm and now it is 1:45am and we have to drive home tonight." But they wouldn't understand anyways, so we just push forward and deal with it.

12/7/06 G St Pub (Davis, Ca)

2007-01-25T11:33:00.000-08:00

We usually have great nights at the G st Pub. But college towns are hit and miss. This was a miss, there was a test or midterm or basketball game or something going on, that had taken everyone out of their element, but thanks to Nikki and your crew for coming out anyways.

11/18/07 Elbo Room (San Francisco, Ca)

2007-01-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

After the Owl Club we had a foul taste in our mouth and determined to take it out on our next show. The Elbo Room is a dope venue in SF with a bar/pool tables downstairs and great stage/bar upstairs were the shows are. We loaded in up the stairs and kicked back with the Bayonics for a minute before sound check. We had played with them once in Berkeley at the Shattuck down low in September. We knew they were quality. By the time we hit the stage, the place was full and we hit it pretty hard. It was exaclty what we needed after the Owl Club. A room full of people who got it. I guess we had a write up in the SF Chronicle. I was getting emails after our set and some people mentioned it. Also met a couple of people who had seen us open for Ozomatli a couple of months earlier, so that felt good. We could end the month a hight note. The Bayonics came on a killed it, we couldn't stay for the whole set, since we had to drive home that night.

11/16/06 Owl Club (Roseville CA)

2007-01-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

We all hate the Owl Club. If you see us playing there again in this lifetime, either the owner has died or we are getting paid so much money that it will numb the pain and bad memories. Thanks to Gabe and his friend, Gereard and Crystal for coming out, without you I would have stuck my head in the oven that night. The owner has no clue, no words to describe the unorganized, pathetic atmosphere that this "venue" promotes. We show up and check in with the owner, and tell him we were going to go eat then come back and load in and play. When we get back he says our slot has been move to last because he didn't know if we were were going to show up. He didn't realize that I was the guy he talked to 30 minutes ago. His head was so far up his ass, he was definitely a burn out from the 60s, I couldn't tell if he was drunk or just confused. Needless to the the Owl Club is a den of amature dealings, frustration and a commitment to chaos and confusion. Just a side note that the this was written when Bob (the owener) was running this place. Fortunately he was run out of town and there are some upstanding people resurrecting the place and are committed to changing the reputation.

11/10/07 Starline (Fresno, Ca)

2007-01-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

It was great to be back in the front of the stage and have Sean on the drums again. We were all glad to play a relaxed show with no pressure, no drive the next morning and no icy roads. Starline is always a place were we can count on a packed house full of people wanting to connect and have a good time through music. We shared some road experiences, but its hard to translate the stuff we've been through without experiencing it for yourself. We all had definitely been changed. We had fun and set it off like always....

11/1/06 Burts Tiki Lounge (Albuquerque NM)

2007-01-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

Burts Tiki Lounge is an amalgamation of every style of music and decor that is possible. So we fit right it. It was Vinyl and Verses night and all the breakers and b-boys were out in full effect. It was a really cool scene, everyone was paying homage to the golden age of hip-hop. When we took the stage our reception was warm. The breakers were shredding the dance floor and I found myself watching them during the set. It was the last night of the trip since Santa FE and Flagstaff had been canceled. We hung out and met some really cool people, went to our rooms and got some sleep. We hit the road early in the morning, there was a strange sense in the van. This trip was very different from our previous experiences, it was more real. Sometime shows are bad, sometimes stuff happens back home, sometimes you get shorted and have no place to stay. But we perservered and finished, we made a decision that I would finish the tour on drums and it wasn't %100 because of the change in dynamics but it was as good as it could have been considering the circumstances.

10/31/07 The Summit Durango CO

2007-01-25T10:53:00.000-08:00

We had been warned at KWSB during our interview about the drive to Durango. Appearantly there was a treacherous part of the road that there was no shoulder or guard rail and it was windy and icy. We hit the road pretty early and were enjoying the beautiful scenery. By then we had heard from Sean and he and his family were doing well, so that was good to hear. As tough as it was to finish the tour without him, he needed to be with his family. We all respected him so much for making the tough decision to head home, and it was absolutely the right one. JD was at the wheel and we were cracking jokes and listening to music. JD was also on his phone talking to his dad, when we hit a dangerous curve. He hit the brakes and slowed down, everone collectively paused then continued doing whatever. Then another curve came, only this one was right by a cliff and there was no shoulder, no rail and ice and water dripping down the mountain side. Everything go real quiet. It went from "Hey JD be careful" to "Hey JD slow down a little" to "JD maybe you should get off the phone so you can concentrate" to "JD get the F**k OFF THE PHONE SO WE DON"T DIE!!!!". It got real quiet real quick, no jokes no music no laugher. I was sitting shotgun and could look out the window down the ravine. It continued in this tense balance of turning and braking cautiously. It was one of the most scary experiences we have had on the road. We were all relieved when it was done. We all were realizing that this was for real. We are on the road far from home, Sean's had to go back because of tragedy and we were risking our lives to get to a gig that could end up like last night. The thought of us flying off a cliff to get to a club in Durango CO scared us straight. We arrived at The Summit and checking into our rooms and didn't say much. The Summit is cool spot in Durango, all wood inside, like a cabin, multi leveled club. This would be our last of the Halloween shows, we were all sick of the costumes and fights and craziness by this point. That night didn't dissappoint. At one point Brian was dancing with a blue smurf and a really smelly hippie chick. I could smell her from behind the drums. I took out my frustration on a heckler and almost got up from behind the kit when Brian calmed me down. I knew something was up because usually its the other was around. I was ready to head home. Playing drums and doing vocals and getting emails and dealing drunk idiots and driving for hours was taking its toll. Plus at the end of the night the drunk door mand stiffed us our money and I got into it with him and we had to be seperated, so I said F++k you and we took off.

10/30/07 Gunnison Brewery (Gunnison CO)

2007-01-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

We arrived to the small strange town of Gunnison Colorado, it was really cold and we were hungry. We had a radio interview on KWSB so we found the campus and headed into the studio. The interview went well so we hung out for a bit then decided to check in at the venue. It was a small little bar but 2 really cool girls were working there and helping us figure out what was going on. We were supposed to have a sound system provided, but there was none. We were also supposed to have hotel rooms, there were none. Here we were in chilly CO, I'm playing drums and doing vocals at a club with no sound system, no place to stay, cold an tired from driving all day. Eventually we found a decent place to crash, the girls at the club called up a friend who dropped of a couple of speakers and a board from the early 70s. Plus it was the day before Halloween and everyone was going to be dressed up and acting crazy. We cracked the code on the sound system and tried to get the levels somewhat listenable and dove into the set. The more the night went on the the crazier the costumes got, the crazier the costumes got the crazier people started to act. On our break another N-word was dropped to me casually by some old guy in a trenchcoat and a cowboy hat. Is this normal out here? What am I supposed to say, just because I'm white do I look like thats cool with me? Don't they notice that there are only 2 white guys in the band and the rest are either Black or Mexican. The night was a blur of bright costumes, terrible sound and us just trying to get through the show.

10/29/06 Ketchum ID

2007-01-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

Ahhh a day off. We really needed it after all the driving, playing and Seans situation. We went back to Whiskey Jacques for bloody mary's and football. We made one of the best video game discoveries. We discovered Big Buck Hunter Pro. This game is amazing, we all agreed that there is no better arcade game out there for the price. We played that game for about 3 hours and 4 pitchers. The Rams lost to the Chargers but none of that seems so bad whe you can numb the pain of losing by shooting an innocent buck in a video game.

10/28/06 Whiskey Jacques (Ketchum ID)

2007-01-24T21:57:00.000-08:00

Ketchum ID is a ski town in Sun Valley, absolutely beautiful. One thing is for certain, this band has seen some beautiful landscape in the past 2 months. Whiskey Jacques was having their Halloween party that night so everybody is pumped up and ready to party. From beat 1 the crowd was on the floor. One thing about halloween is that it gives girls an excuse to wear that skimpy nurses outfit our wonderwoman costume they've been dying to wear and working out for weeks to get into. Costumes also give people a reason to act more crazy than usual. The party was rocking all night, one of the best shows of the tour since September. By the end of the night spiderman had dry humped a female zombie some bottles were shattered, one guy left with a bloody nose....all in all a good night.

10/27/06 Zebra Lounge (Bozeman MT)

2007-01-24T21:52:00.000-08:00

I haven't gotten nervous before a show in a long time but this was different. I was attempting to play drums and rap/sing at the same time. I'd never really done it before. I just told Vagabond to be on his toes in case I drop a lyric or a beat...or a stick. It turned out to be one of those experiences where you perform outside of yourself, I was really happy with the way it turned out, the sound engineer recorded the whole show, I did my best Sean impression and I was pretty proud of the result(if anyone wants the bootleg just let me know) We weren't banging at 100% but we rose to the occasion. I was really exhausted by the end of the night, playing drums for 3 hours alone is tiring, but doing vocals too is really tough. After the show I knew we could manage the rest of the trip and be alright.

10/27/06 Cactus Records in store (Bozeman, MT)

2007-01-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

We woke up with heavy hearts remembering what went down the night before. On the drive to Bozeman I was trying to think of the songs and remember the drum parts. Luckily we had an instore performance at Cactus Records at 5pm so we could test it out in case of disaster. It went suprisingly well, we just acted like it was normal and nobody really noticed. We played for about 40 minutes but the night show would be the real test.

10/26/06 Silver Dollar (Butte, MT)

2007-01-24T21:34:00.000-08:00

Butte, MT. We will never forget this town or this night. We roll into town and got directions from a store clerk who said the Silver Dollat changed its name and location. We followed here directions and pulled up to a cheesy casino/bar. I got a sinking feeling....this is gonna be a long night. I walked in to check it out only to be more horrified. All I see is hunter orange, camoflage, cans of coors and dudes that look like stone cold steve austin. Again, with our ethnic make up, this could get ugly. The minute I set foor in the door it was like somebody bumped the juke box, it was like I entered another dimension, or more like a time machine. Luckily we were given bad directions and the Silver Dollar was down the street. Wow, that was close, at that point we didn't care if it was a closet we were happy to play anywhere else in the world. The real Silver Dollar is a really old bar with an elevated stage. We stayed above the venue in what could only be described as Tyler Derdens house in Fight Club. Several rooms a bathroom, a tree trunk with a hatchet in it, a cast iron fireplace probably from the 1800s. It was all really bizarre. We played a couple sets, and met some people and had drinks inbetween, because we knew we could get faded and just go up the stairs to our rooms and crash out. After the set the bar closed down and we hung out with the staff and some other folks on the late night. Then tragedy struck, Sean got a call on his cell phone, anytime you get a call at 3am it can't be good, and it wasn't. He got the bad news that his grandmother had passed away. He took it with a heavy heart, and he also heard that the family back home was taking it really rough. He knew he had to get home, now. So there we are hundreds of miles from home in depressed little Butte MT, above the venue is Tyler Derdens house trying to balance family, sanity and music. Sean knew he had to get home so, we immediately drove him to the airport and he got on the first flight back to Fresno. We eventually got back to the room after dropping him off and had to figure out what to do. The buzz of the night is slowly wearing off and the frigid cold is setting in, its now 5am, we have a show tomorrow in Bozeman MT. We decided to keep going and I would play drums and do vocals from the drumset a la phil collins. Needless to say that was one of the most bizarre, long and sad nights this band has ever had.

10/25/06 Johns Alley (Moscow, ID)

2007-01-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

By this time we were starting to feel the chill, California October is much different than MT, ID October. Inside was nice and warm and smokey. We caught a lot of weird vibes this night. Some good some bad. We had a lot of people see us that had seen us when we came through in December. But then there was another element there. While getting some emails between sets I heard the N word at least once, for a band with our ethnic makeup we feel a loooonnggg way from home. Seans'(drummer) sister came to check out the show with her husband. They are both very calm and collected people, then the next thing we know, from the stage we see her exchange words with another couple and exchanged birds. She had to get Fresno on some on out there. By the end of the night we just wanted to get the hell out of there, hippies mixed with frat boys mixed with locals mixed with college kids mixed with rurul Idaho racists makes for odd company.

10/24/06 Flanagans Central Station (Whitefish, MT)

2007-01-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

Northern Montana is a sight to see. One of the prettiest drives we have been on. We passed by Phil Jacksons Montana home on Flathead Lake, so you get the idea. Whitefish is a small resort/ski town, really cozy and christmasy. Flanagans is a big room with a really high stage (5 ft). We had to load up 3 flights of stairs, so we were ready to play after being in the van for so long. The venue put us up in a nice little condo down the road. We could see the stickers and other items from previous bands on the beds and mirrors. Stanton Moore had recently played there as well. The sound was great and the set went well, we played all night and worked out some rust and ended coming out with a decent live recording(if anyone is interested just hit us up for a copy). Met some cool people and when we come back we can get some snowboarding lessons from a local pro(we'll take you up on that Kitty!)

10/18/07 The Bronco (Santa Clara, Ca)

2007-01-24T21:17:00.000-08:00

This was one of those gigs where nothing went well and the stars were not aligned. At colleges sometimes its feast or famine.... The sound system was pretty bad, no monitors, no people. Well people would come in and pick up dinner and listen then go back to studying. We have been pretty unlucky as far as playing campuses in the middle of finals, this was one of those. Plus the last two times we played there it went off, once was infront of 4000 people with The Roots and the other was at a cultural festival, so we had our hopes pretty high.

10/12/06 CSU Chico (Chico, Ca)

2007-01-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

After a great night in LA we packed up and headed way up north to Chico. It was Dia de la Raza(Day of the Race) we got into to twon and hooked up with our boy Ivan from the University (one of the nicest guys we know) loaded in, did a sound check headed to the hotel. The event was well put together. On one stage were folklorico dancers, very well done. Then we performed, it took a while for the crowd to digest what we were doing and shift gears, but midset the dance floor started to fill in. Lots of salseros y salseras. Very nice people, we kicked it for a while after the set with them and took some pictures before heading back to the room.

10/11/06 Temple Bar (Santa Monica, Ca)

2007-01-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

The Temple Bar is by far the dopest club we've played in LA yet. It doesn't have that seedy, industry wanna be underbelly. Its well run, with good music, good sound, great reputation. We showed up early to load in etc. and we heard this bangin music coming from inside. It was only 8:30pm so we thought it was a cd, but as we walked inside we saw this soulful R&B gospeldelic group playing a showcase for about 20 people. These guys were killing, I think their name is Chaz or something like that. So from that point on, we knew it was going to be a good night. The group before us was a reggae duo, the DJ took forever to set up/tear down, he acted like he was setting up a symphony. One of the vocalist in the group was in a wheelchair and had people carrying him around all night. The Temple is defenitely handicap accessible. But this guy was pimping, he asked me and the bouncer backstage to carry him up to the second floor green room, instead of taking the elevator, at that point I knew I had met the first handicap primadona, I guess egos know no physical limits. We had a great set, it was probably our most successful LA show ever.

10/6/06 Crossroads (Fresno, Ca)

2007-01-24T21:11:00.001-08:00

The Crossroads is a venue that reminds me of that movie Roadhouse. Little bit of biker, little bit of frat, little bit of thug and a lot of drinking. When we showed up early to sound check there was a bearded guy with a headband alone on the dance floor. He was pretty faded with a old school shirt on that had the pepsi logo but instead said "Jesus" if you remember those. The night went well, we had a good crowd, saw some old friends. But the night didn't really get going until after the show. After the club had closed my(awall) friend Gabe came in to tell me that my car windshield was smashed. Sure enough, sometime during the last part of our set, somebody walked by and got mad and randomly punched and smashed the windshield. The bouncers chased the guy who then got into a truck and took off. They got the plate ... so now we start the detective work. Lets figure out if they ran a tab at the bar, then we can get their names. My friends brother is a cop so he called in the plates and ran them. So now we have names and an address. Next is the most bizarre thing. By this point its me, my wife and 2 bouncers in the parking lot about 2:30am, the bouncer gets a call from....the culprits. We end up talking on the phone, he wants to have one of his friends fix the windshield. At that point my girl gets on the phone and spit venom in the guys ear. Horns came out of her head, it was a mix of English and Spanish, but she let it rip. Imagine what you would say the person who smashed your windshield??!! One of the bouncers took a step back and turned to me and asked "does she negotiate your contracts?" So thanks to the staff at Crossraods, my wife, Gabe ad some detective work, the next day the culprit ends up paying cash for the whole thing. No police involved, just street justice.....