tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31770292011-04-21T19:04:39.328-05:00Updates from Chopper.Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-70893791401063194232008-02-18T23:46:00.005-06:002008-02-23T00:21:29.866-06:00

Hurricane came over to my house dressed in a suit, wearing pink flip flops. Unfortunately, the shots that showed the flip flops didn't make it into the final cut. Here are the animations we made of HLW:Again, the shots are sideways, since they were shot to be printed onto paper and iron-ons. Also, the size got cropped when I ran these tests, so you don't get to see HLW's glasses, which is a

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-38125582183882384582008-02-18T23:42:00.005-06:002008-02-21T20:21:10.427-06:00

Now we had figured out the general pace, so it was time to start filming the rest of the band. I started with o3. I went to his house, and he set up his drums in front of his garage, in his driveway. Some of his neighbors honked while we took the pictures. The video is sideways because it was shot with the intention of being printed on posters. Notice how the bass drum comes out on every hit

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-40131583897545375552008-02-18T22:22:00.007-06:002008-02-19T12:39:14.342-06:00

Encouraged by the first test, I brought the camera to co-Director Steve Willis' house.  We popped open a few Carte Blancs and shot some more test footage:You'll notice looping of the same scenes but at different speeds.  This helped us see our options regarding pacing. In the end, we opted for the faster pacing (meaning 5 times more photos to take!).In seeing this again, I realize that I'd I

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-55622730191156275222008-02-14T18:52:00.005-06:002008-02-15T11:51:42.080-06:00

Here's the first stop motion movie we made for the project:I shot this in an afternoon. It helped me first start to figure out how this was going to work. This is when the math started.  Don't worry. I won't bore you with the math.  The trick was syncing the tempo (in BPMs) with the frames per second. The hard math would come later.

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-69971000841873192052008-02-14T18:40:00.003-06:002008-02-15T13:51:08.501-06:00

My friend Hip Williams recently noticed that every time I tell some one how long the Sydney Stone video took to make, I add a month.  As usual, he's right.  In truth it all depends on what you call the start.  Is it the stick figure drawings in a notebook in March?  The first photo shoot of o3 playing drums on his driveway in May?  Or September when we first duck-taped the halogen work lights to

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-49979603181573724102008-02-11T20:34:00.001-06:002008-02-11T21:18:03.933-06:00

Years ago, a friend and I were writing songs together. He clipped an article from the New York Times entitled "A Web of Money Drugs and Death" and gave it to me. He thought it would make a good song. I started to read it, but it was too awful to finish. I put it in a fat folder and didn’t look at it for nearly ten years. A little over two years ago I left Austin to spend a month in Oregon,

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-17371403030029969102008-02-08T16:16:00.000-06:002008-02-11T21:32:31.284-06:00

There’s a verse in David Allen Coe’s famous “You Never Even Called By My Name” that begins “a good friend of mine by the name of Steve Goodman wrote this song, and he told me he had written the perfect country and western song.” I think of that line every time I think of his namesake, and my friend, Steve Goodman.I met Steve when I was touring with a pre-Kissinger band. We hit it off right away

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096253075102515272004-09-25T21:38:00.000-05:002004-09-26T21:44:35.103-05:00

In preparation for our last show of the tour, we found a movie theather. Steve Garvey and lucky slept in the van while o3 and I watched Sky Captain and the Land of Tomorrow. I think Lucky and Steve Garvey were more thoroughly entertained, but o3 and I were more comfortable. We drove back to St. Louis and loaded in at Lemmon's. We've played there twice before, but both times the music was

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096252647837831462004-09-24T21:29:00.000-05:002004-09-26T21:37:27.836-05:00

A short drive to Springfield, IL allowed enough time during the afternoon for Stu, Heather and me to visit the Anheiser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis. The big highlight of the tour is the end, when they let you drink two free beers brewed within the last 24 hours. Rarely do you get to taste a bud that is so fresh and so cold. Ahhhh. Springfield turned out to be more than we ever expected. We

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096251806485177102004-09-23T21:13:00.000-05:002004-09-26T21:28:54.976-05:00

Our second day off of the tour came in St. Louis, where our good Friend Stu lives. . We spent the day with him and Heather, then went that night to see The Kicks, who are on tour right now with Robert Shimp, who just produced our record. We got to spend a bit of time with Robert catching up on a patio down the street from the Creepy Crawl. He had a new digital camera, and he and o3 began to

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096251132519441102004-09-22T21:08:00.000-05:002004-09-26T21:12:12.520-05:00

After a 10 hour drive to Columbia, MO, we were pretty punch drunk. We played first of 3 bands. The bar is called MoJo's, and is the booked by the same folks who book The Blue Note. Columbia is a college town, and most of the kids were at the Blue Note this night, as the Wailers were in town. We saw the line going around the block as we looked for the club. A small crowd didn't keep us from

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096250722850552032004-09-21T20:56:00.000-05:002004-09-26T21:06:15.946-05:00

Back to Michigan, this time Ypsilanti, to play at the Elbow Room. Two local bands opened, one of whom was celebrating their first show ever, the other had been playing 5 or 6 months. This was our 4th time to play here, and the stage had been worked on a ton since our last visit. We played with a band from Ashville, NC called The Crank County Daredevils. They were just getting started on a

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096005705824310052004-09-20T01:57:00.000-05:002004-09-24T01:01:45.823-05:00

Last night we played in Chicago... it was a late added show with two bands we'd played with on previous tours: American Minor and Cisco Pike. Another band called Ladies and Gentlemen also played. We played first, and were able to really enjoy all three sets afterward. It was easily our best show in Chicago to date. We even had some new friends from Champaign make the trip up for the show.

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096005444969632642004-09-19T01:54:00.000-05:002004-09-24T00:57:24.970-05:00

Sunday brought us to Cleveland, and the Hi Fi Club. It was our second time to play there We met some more cool people. The bar is owned by the guitar player from Warrant, Billy Morris. He showed me pictures from a tour he'd done in Japan 5 years ago, and talked a lot about football. He also tried to get steve garvey to drink a shot of hot sauce and whiskey, but after sampling the hot sauce,

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096005246227553852004-09-18T01:50:00.000-05:002004-09-26T21:52:08.196-05:00

Bedford Drive made this a terrific night. 2 local bands played before us, and kids kept coming in the whole time. I'd played at the Magic Stick about 10 years before with another band, but I hardly recognized the place. They moved the bowling lanes downstairs, kept the fancy restaurant on the side, and added a kick ass stage and sound system upstairs. Someone recently told me that the Magic

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096005007606478282004-09-17T01:49:00.000-05:002004-09-24T01:28:45.073-05:00

After 11 shows in 10 days, we welcomed a day off after the Champaign show. All of our gear needed some tending to, and so did our laundry. We slept, ate, strung guitars and tuned drums for most of the day. I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday. We then headed out the next morning for Detroit Part II.

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096004922296055052004-09-16T01:42:00.000-05:002004-09-24T00:48:42.296-05:00

Thursday we headed to Champaign, IL for a free show at Cowboy Monkey. We weren't sure what to expect, but things looked good from the beginning. The bar doubles as a restaurant, and has a nice patio. The wait staff were cool to us from the start. Joe, the soundman, had done some traveling with Brutal Juice, a band that some friends of mine from Denton played in during the mid 90's. We had

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096004477369202812004-09-15T01:38:00.000-05:002004-09-24T00:42:12.746-05:00

Wednesday brought us to Detroit. . The sound man hit a bicyclist on the way to work, so he was a bit distracted for a while. He was riding a motorcycle, squeezed through a yellow light, and clipped some kid who witnesses conjectured was on drugs. We heard the story plenty. Scott from Bedford Drive came out with his wife Hilary, and we had fun playing 11 ball while we waited for the show to

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096004296997042872004-09-14T01:32:00.000-05:002004-09-24T00:38:36.880-05:00

By Tuesday, we were at The Firehouse in North Manchester, IN. Here we played with two bands that were beginning a two month tour together. The Sunshine Fix (from Athens, GA) and Saturday Looks Good to Me (from Detroit) played along with a band from Pittsburgh called Lewis and Clark. It was a great, diverse night of music. Sunshine Fix had a Beatlesish sound with some really kick ass vocal

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096003928750671502004-09-13T01:29:00.000-05:002004-09-24T00:32:08.750-05:00

In IA, we played with yet another Texas band, Those Peabodies... it was a good thing they were there, because without them, we would have just played for the bartender. Because they are a three-piece and us a four piece, they had a 25% bigger crowd than us, but we didn't complain. An after party at the bartender's house gave us a chance to hang out more than we ever have in Austin. They're a

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1096003284097756552004-09-12T01:16:00.000-05:002004-09-24T01:26:16.543-05:00

The shows have come fast and furious since I last wrote. Lincoln was a great surprise. We played at Duffy's on Sunday with a local band called Hymn from the Hurricane and a band from TX called The Fluffer's Union. Hymn from the Hurricane captivated us with lilting songs arranged with some unusual instrumentation... cello, keyboard, violin, guitar, bass and drums. We quickly made friends

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1095159995753163532004-09-12T00:00:00.000-05:002004-09-14T06:06:35.753-05:00

Today we're driving across Nebraska, very similar to driving across Kansas, except for the shape of the highway signs. 3 shows in the last two days at a total of 18,000 feet took a toll on us... especially when coupled with the PBRs. The Hi-Dive show was cool. We played with a great band from Portland called Desperately Waiting. They're a three-piece band with some intensely strange and fun

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1095158170337825372004-09-10T00:00:00.000-05:002004-09-14T05:36:10.336-05:00

Today we're driving across Kansas. Steve Garvey and Lucky are sleeping, and o3's driving. I'm taking a break from sending booking emails to admire how flat this state is. Shows in Lawrence and KC were great. We played the Replay in Lawrence where Lucky knocked a spaceship off of the ceiling, and o3 heard what it sounds like when a piano explodes. The people who work at the Replay are,

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1095156929072639572004-09-07T01:00:00.000-05:002004-09-14T05:15:59.033-05:00

On our way to Kirby's Beer store in Wichita, we stopped at a sporting good store. Steve Garvey and Lucky each bought a pair of shoes with retractable skates (for $10... $70 off!). They skated in the parking lot for a while. Then, after checking for any broken bones, we headed to Kirby's for some rock. We played with a great band from Little Rock call the American Princes. They were on their

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1093963007969609652004-08-31T09:35:00.000-05:002004-08-31T09:38:16.980-05:00

Fueled by East Bay Coffee, and Lone Star Beer, we sipped, slurped, and gulped our way through ten songs this month. Robert flew in the last week of August and came to our practice room to hear the new songs we’d worked up in June and July. He bought a skateboard while he was here, and paid religious visits to Peet’s coffee on the drag, where they serve the same muck he grew dependant on in

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1090855451694595892004-07-26T09:45:00.000-05:002004-07-26T10:26:03.843-05:00

We're a week away from moving out of the practice room, and into the studio. I picked up our producer, Robert, last night at the airport. It was our first time to meet face to face. The airlines had made a mess of one of his cases, but he still seemed in a good mood. We soon met up with Steve Garvey at Shady Grove. Steve Garvey drank a margarita with no salt. After eating, we took Robert to

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1089325909103325422004-07-08T17:31:00.000-05:002004-07-08T17:31:49.103-05:00

Man, the more I talk, the more they listen! Chopper

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1086188995905507302004-06-02T09:59:00.000-05:002004-06-02T10:09:55.906-05:00

The last three consecutive shows in Austin are settling into the distance. The tow truck fees are fading in memory allowing, me to get some sleep without anger. Today, we begin work on the new record. I'll meet o3 at our new pint sized practice room, and we'll start working out some of the 12 new songs that we'll be recording in a few months with Robert Shimp. Some of the songs, we already

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1084981881312377582004-05-19T10:49:00.000-05:002004-05-19T10:51:21.313-05:00

4,000 miles for 3 shows. Austin to Boise and Back by way of Wichita and Denver. What a week. Delerium set in somewhere near Ogden, UT, when o3 began muttering my name without realizing he was doing it. Worth the trip, though. Met a great band in Denver called Born in the Flood. Steve Garvey celebrated is 21st Birthday there, singing Brian Adams songs to an out of tune piano. This weekend I

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1082827180357181172004-04-24T12:16:00.001-05:002004-04-24T12:59:33.216-05:00

This week Catalina and I flew to Southern California for a week of solo acoustic shows to pave the way for a Kissinger invasion this fall. Three colleges and two clubs were on the itinerary, and this morning (Saturday) only Molly Malones remains. We only got 2 hours of sleep on Monday night before heading to the Austin Airport to leave. I didn't realize until we hit the security checkpoint,

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1082827115157517112004-04-24T12:16:00.000-05:002004-04-24T12:22:38.983-05:00

This week Catalina and I flew to Southern California for a week of solo acoustic shows to pave the way for a Kissinger invasion this fall. Three colleges and two clubs were on the itinerary, and this morning (Saturday) only Molly Malones remains. We only got 2 hours of sleep on Monday night before heading to the Austin Airport to leave. I didn't realize until we hit the security checkpoint,

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1080710652766813252004-03-30T23:14:00.000-06:002004-03-30T23:31:46.436-06:00

Day one of the Spring Tour couldn't have been more fun. A Monday night in Wichita. To the uninformed, that may sound like a recipe for pool, some pinball, and an early night. Far from the case. John Barleycorn's began filling up about half an hour before Bright Young Hopefuls took the stage, and it was for good reason. Frankly put, this band fucking rocks. Scott (from Hellvis) and Brandon (

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1079797587552133772004-03-20T09:46:00.000-06:002004-03-20T18:55:50.106-06:00

Could be. Without 30,000 counterfeit wristbands, shows were suddenly less impossible to see. o3 saw Joan Jett, and Steve Garvey is still on a quest to find Michael Penn. I saw them both (Steve Garvey and o3, not Joan Jett and Michael Penn) for a while yesterday at the Parish where AMF gave us free beer. Lucky is working his ass off at Flamingo Cantina and none of us have heard from him since

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-107933686791008762004-03-15T01:34:00.000-06:002004-03-15T01:52:24.310-06:00

Gearing up for another conference. This one should be lots of fun. Everyone is most excited about Joan Jett. I'll be surprised if I can actually see her, though I'll try. I'm most looking forward to seeing Metric, a band from Canada that I recently got turned onto by the Magnet Sampler, and can't get out of my head. Sadly, Mando Diao and Mclusky will not be at this conference. Booking has

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1077558223423302282004-02-23T11:23:00.000-06:002004-02-23T11:53:05.746-06:00

After 4 days in Cincinnati meeting lots of cool people, we're back in Austin. Played a solo show in Dallas this weekend with The Real Heroes from Austin. I've seen them play in Austin about a dozen times, but it was fun to see them at the Barley House. The two hour set time made room for lots of obscure and cooly arranged covers. After hearing them effortlessly work a phrase from "Every

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1074278247798983562004-01-16T12:30:00.000-06:002004-01-17T16:58:11.903-06:00

Have you seen Supagroup? Kicks, claps, flips (hair, at least) and songs about rock and roll destroying their souls. 2 shows with them this weekend. There's going to be a lot of sweat. It will come after two sit down shows with Selena early in the week. Wednesday, Jan 21 I'll be at Lady of our Lake University in San Antonio playing a lot from Charm and some new stuff. Steve Garvey showed me

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1071686510131259132003-12-17T12:37:00.000-06:002003-12-17T12:43:03.263-06:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to the show at Room 710 this weekend. It was a blast. Hobble rocked again, busting out 4 new songs in addition to all the hits for their latest record. (Catalina de Loren, a huge Hobble fan, especially enjoyed the Cowboy Song.) Peter Elliot and the Sellouts debuted a new drummer who never missed a break, and the opener, Sparkwood, turned all kinds of heads.

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1069878468856801052003-11-26T14:22:00.000-06:002003-12-11T10:12:13.983-06:00

I found this great nylon string guitar in Detroit that's named "Selena." I've never named a guitar before, but this one came with a name. It's painted right on her. Selena came from Detroit, MI, where she'd waited, overlooked in a music store for 7 years before Steve Garvey heard about her in a bar, and correctly guessed that she was the guitar for me. I've always used a nylon string guitar

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-1062703113044947742003-09-04T14:18:00.000-05:002003-11-26T13:39:59.780-06:00

It's been a long time since our last show. The pictures on the Kissinger Fan Page say it was May. It feels like even longer than that. We've been plenty busy since then. We wrote 15 new songs, picked our favorite six, and recorded demos of those. My summer consisted of daily rehearsals/recording sessions along with lots of secret meetings. And at the end of the summer, I married the lovely

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-785132702002-07-03T11:42:00.000-05:002003-11-26T13:49:14.560-06:00

Ah, Beerland. The name describes a heavenlike environment, and last night, for those who braved the rain and skipped out on J Mascus, it was heaven. 3 sets of supercharged, sweaty, beer-soaked rock and roll heaven. We all got there early to catch the drama of the evening: Gene and Tom were pulling a double header. The bass player and drummer for both Ringer and Hobble looked more than

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3177029.post-781231222002-06-24T01:42:00.000-05:002002-06-24T02:16:38.000-05:00

Hooked on Sonics Fest To describe the joy of this festival is difficult. Sure, before hand I paid a visit to Dave's wedding party where the margarita's were stiff as a board and as tasty as Remington's solos. Then I visited Konrad's birthday party with an iced down keg of dark beer that seemed to call my name. No telling how many of those I sucked down before realizing I was two hours late for

Chopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290866276001265922noreply@blogger.com