ROB HALFORD Celebrates 40 Years Of Sobriety: 'Four Decades Ago, I Made A Decision To Change The Entire Course Of My Life' - BLABBERMOUTH.NET " Hi, everyone. Today I stand here with deep gratitude and thankfulness as I celebrate 40 years of sobriety. Four decades ago, I made a decision to change the entire course of my life, stepping out of darkness into the light, toward the future I couldn't see. As I've said before, it wasn't easy, and still isn't. Recovery asks for complete honesty, humility and a willingness to grow one day at a time. With the love and support from my higher power, my family, friends and fans helping me guiding the way, I kept moving forward..." Respect.
They might be able to assist fans of great music with a sweet distraction from the horribly depressing monstrosity that is 2026, for a few minutes at least. That's probably about it.
Neil Young, speaking out, calling for people to rise up... Neil Young Archives Neil Young Scorches Donald Trump In New Editorial: 'It's ICE Cold Here in America'
Can't get a beer from Ibold anymore as Great Jones Street closed. But this reddit poster did https://www.reddit.com/r/pavement/comments/113j47a/throwback_to_the_time_i_hung_out_with_mark_and/
I moved to the DC area in 2002 but for the first decade-plus in the Mid-Atlantic area I was mostly focused on getting my long-delayed professional career going, being a husband & father and just generally doing family-oriented suburban-Dad things (DC United tailgates being practically the sole exception) so I missed a bunch of chances to see late-era Sonic Youth live. Did catch the Rather Ripped tour but for the most part I'm only now experiencing that era through post-breakup releases of live shows. Having a fifth member the entirety of their final decades (first Jim O'Rourke, then Ibold) took their live playing up a notch, IMHO. They're one of the very few alternative bands I still actively listen to these days, and I kick myself for taking them for granted back then.
I first saw Sonic Youth not long after Goo was released (that sounds bad....) and a few times in their late era (before the Kim/Thurston split). Always a fun show. But I'll always associate Ibold first and foremost with Pavement, whom I've loved and seen numerous times going back to Wowee Zowee. The only time I've ever hung out in Richmond (beyond a day or two taking depositions back in my former life) was in the late 90s when they used to do the NCAA Soccer Final 4 there. A friend of mine was living there at the time. Never saw a show at The National---but frequented many a bar up and down the Strawberry Street area.
Pavement is definitely the top line on his resume, no doubt. I'm just much more a SY fan, personally, thus that's where my mind went. Despite being a fan going all the way back to Bad Moon Rising I only saw them live twice. But then again, I didn't see much of anybody live from the early 90s forward (lots of bad choices caught up with me by my mid-20s). That's a great neighborhood. Richmond is a great little city, my wife and I are seriously looking to retire there.
Diverging from music but segueing from your tailgate comment; a couple of those Final Fours I saw back then had more than a few players who ended up at DC. Olsen, Kovalenko, Rimando ---- off the top of my head. I've been to the Final Four in Cary (my son's team had a showcase there last year during it) but it doesn't have that centralized area for all the folks to congregate pre and post match, like it seems people did when it was in Richmond. But maybe that's just nostalgia clouding things.
The first big concert I went to was Jul 18, 1995: Lollapalooza ‘95 at Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | Concert Archives Starting to regret how I spent more energy trying to get alcohol (I was under 21) rather than paying attention to the artists. I think the first or second band on the main stage was the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. They were so fun to watch. I recall Courtney Love being absolutely drunk or high and people hated her. I doubt she knew where she was. She spent more time sloshing through the lyrics than actually singing. Snoop Dogg was there and we couldn't get near the stage so we went to the second stage where we had front row seats to Pavement and The Roots. Coolio put on a hell of a show, even for being on the 2nd stage. (not so) funny story about the first concert I ever went to was an all-ages show with my friends. It was a skater/straight edge band in Louisville called Kinghorse. My friends went in before me and the bouncer (who was trying to help me out) would not let me in. My friends came out after a minute or two and told us we had to go. Later as we were walking away, my friends told me that there were more Nazi tattoos and SS clothing than he realized. I just looked them up and realized they had a AA band member. EDIT: I realize now looking back on how naive I was. If it wasn't out-and-out racist or a swa$tika, it would not have registered to me. The 88, SS, kekistan flag. All of that would have gone over my head. Of course, I was also 15 +/-. That bouncer really did me a solid that night.
I grew up in rural Nebraska; did not have an older sibling or cool friends (or permissive parents) so I didn't make it to a show until I was 17. My first concert was Bruce Springsteen in '85. A year later--my senior year of HS--I saw the Dead Kennedys in Omaha. The summer after I graduated I saw Black Flag at the same venue, and then I moved to Lincoln for college and for a few years I saw quite a few shows, especially after turning 21. My life went to shit right around '91 and I kinda stopped going/caring. Caught the occasional show now and then but it wasn't until about 10-15 years ago that I started making seeing live music a regular thing again.
I definitely did not have permissive parents but was lucky enough to 1 - have a few friends near the same age and 2- as an immigrant family this is important, my parents knew their family. My father worked indirectly with their parents and everyone in their family was vetted by my parents. If it wasn't for that, I would not have had permission to do anything. Skateboarding was getting to be big in Lexington and the 2 brothers had skateboards. This made us outcasts at our catholic school even though they were straight edge and I didn't own a skateboard. I followed around on a dirt bike. I still keep in touch with them. The older brother still hasn't touched alcohol, vegan, has more tattoos than skin and looks like he can bench press a peugot.
One of my biggest musical regrets was not seeing Sonic Youth open for the Flaming Lips in 2006. That, and not seeing Prince or Kendrick Lamar in a small venue for $20. And I make it a point to see bands that I have an interest in if it's viable.
As we talk about U2 and their best album, I'm just really reminded of Jon Bon Jovi, all people talking about the first album. "The first album is largely garage practices, all the shows in front of 20 people to maybe 50 then 100. The sweat and tears into it all. Then you become big and the first album is huge. Now 9 months later the label is say do it again. And it's like do what again? I just poured it all into an album. But you now have to find that energy, drive, scrap up whats left on the cutting room floor and other ideas you have had to make the second. That is why the second album often struggles." I assume from there, the 3rd album is filled more with experiences since hitting big and other ideas in the back of your head.