The Strange World of Davidh - Chapter 11

The Strange World of Davidh - Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN (Originally Written and Posted Monday, January 15, 2007)

"The Beginning is the End is the Beginning"


    Going into 2006 i had no idea this would be the last year of the Sons of Godzilla, but as the year went on the bond that we once had as a band rapidly deteriorated. We started out the year as normal, playing shows. My friend Chris Gagnon had recently started working at a local bar called the Boulevard and asked me if we would like to play there, of course we would...we never turned down a show. This was the mindset, i think, that ultimately led to the demise of the band (among a few other things)...which i was guilty of more than anyone else. I never wanted us to get out of the loop of playing shows, it seemed if you got out of the loop, you never got back in again. We were a small time local band and i didn't want us to lose what small ground we had already claimed.

    The Boulevard show went over well and we debuted 2 new songs into the live set, a song written by my brother..."Blow Their Minds (start a revolution)" and a new original that was kinda jammy called "Dubilee" named after two friends of ours Doobie, and Natalie. The later i really enjoyed because it was a song we could play forever and it was refreshing to revisit the heavy metal jam days of before. We set up a deal with Chris similar to what we had with the Cactus in that we'd play there twice a month but the Boulevard went under before we could play there again.

    We began our tenure at the Cactus and continued playing there twice a month until April, some of the shows were good and some of the shows were bad, unfortunately at a few of the bad shows alcohol and egos got the best of us and we did some major infighting and severely damaged the morale in the band. We started to turn on each other, every little mistake was an excuse to cuss someone out. I was steadily losing interest in playing live and was starting to dodge practices and hanging out all together, the band was turning into a job, and was just becoming a hassle. I submerged myself into writing and recording my solo stuff and turned out some of my best work during this period. Titled the "Suicide is for Lovers" Sessions (a play on the slogan Virginia is for Lovers) i wrote about 15 songs and the completed project turned out 8 songs. I decided to put this up on myspace as my first myspace exclusive e.p. Also during this time, Mike had started mentioning that he was contemplating moving out of state...this as well dealt a blow to the band although i didn't take it that serious at first as Mike had been talking about moving since the days of BLISS.

    My friend Jay came down to visit in March, i was out with a bad back so we didn't hang out as much as i wish we could have...we did manage to get a session in at Andy's place before he left though. Naturally. Also during this time we tried to have everyone bring in a cover to learn, the 2 that were ever worked on were "Wildflower" by the Cult (Andy) and "Pet Cemetery" by the Ramones (David). "Wildflower" was the only one of the 2 that made it into the live set.

    We didn't practice much and we hung out less, things were starting to look bad. Mike let us know, i believe in May that his moving was becoming reality and it was only a matter of time before he knew exactly when it would be. My work was booming as it was summer and i had no time for shows or practice, everything was spiraling out of control. I had hinted around to a few people we were looking for a new drummer but never officially asked anyone because i for one wasn't sure i wanted to go on or that Mike was for sure leaving, i was just locked up inside, i had no idea what to do or how to react, i chose to just ignore it all and again delve into a new solo recording session. Dubbed "Hoping the Sun Won't Rise" sessions, i started to write about vampires, vampires of all sorts...the movie kind, the emotional kind, any type of being that would suck the life force from you...it was in a sense autobiographical.

    Marc, Ryan Day, and i met for drinks one night and me and Marc thought it would be a great idea if we teamed up again to record and try to work out the Bliss songs that we either didn't record in the studio or never completely finished writing, we had proposed bringing Mike or Jay in to add drums but ultimately decided to do it all our own. We eventually recorded one new completed song and as of writing this we still have a few in the works. At the same time i was contacted by the guys in Ocali Flash about recording an album done entirely devoid of us being in the same place at the same time, thats right kids...we were going to make a cd done entirely by sending tracks to each other through the mail. I really enjoy what these guys do musically and look forward to the finished product.

    In July we learned that Mike would be gone by the end of August, we decided to book a series of shows (around 10 of them) from the middle of July to the last week of September as a kinda farewell to Mike and to the band, we rehearsed a few times to shake off the rust and made our way. There was only two shows booked in September so Mike agreed to make the trips back down to our area to finish out the show dates.

    We played a house party as a warm up show on July 22nd for our friend Damian and as a last attempt to shake off anymore remaining rust in front of as less people as possible. The party went off well and featured us playing as if we had never stopped...we were back in fighting shape but it was bittersweet because i knew once this jaunt of shows was over, so was the band. The only thing that eased my mind was we were going out in style and going out as friends, if anything i hoped the end of the band would help repair our friendships back to what they once were.

    Next up we played Hoss's Deli for Andy's sisters annual MS benefit, show went over well. It would be the last show filmed of the Sons of Godzilla. We also recorded a new song at my home studio titled "I Really Wanna Love Her". With my solo sessions completed i put them up on my myspace site as the second of the now planned three MySpace e.p.s.

    Out of nowhere Mike informed us he was leaving immediately the first week of August and could not commit to the rest of the show dates, we were floored. I was really disappointed, how could he do this to us, he promised us he would finish the dates. In hindsight though, if i was in his position i may have done the same thing, Mike was starting a new path in life, his wife had just had their first child and for the first time there was something in his life that was more important going on than the band. I understand this now and as i have stated in a few of these blogs, people change, their lives change, it's all a part of growing up. Nothing ever stays the same. He put in a lot of good years playing with me and for that i am surely thankful.

    We had five days until our next show, what were going to do? Mike was gone and with five days left who were going to find that was good enough to get up to speed? Enter Steven Spivey, a drummer friend of ours who plays with the band Stone Grove. He was lent to us to finish out the remainder of our shows, so with 5 days to go we rehearsed and amazingly enough Spivey was up to snuff on about 8 or 9 songs and we were ready to play. I write this as a testament to this guys ability, he is a fantastic drummer, consistent and willing to play all night, he is by far one of the best drummers i have had the pleasure of playing with. It was around then i mentioned to Andy how much i wished he could become an official member of the band, Spivey it seemed was very receptive to this but we all knew we would be limited to what we could do as Stone Grove was his first priority, we understood and agreed to try and make this work. He was responsible for saving this sinking ship and actually resuming my interest in the band, he brought a welcomed shot of energy and hunger back to the band. I felt maybe this wasn't the end of the band, we would just scale down a bit on the shows and just practice to become a tight unit once again.

    Our first show with Spivey was at Budda's Place, our last show there had been a disaster so i knew it couldn't be any worse than that. The show went off well, we opened for Fat Sam, a gimmick band in that the lead singer was fat and wore clothes that resembled the pattern of an American flag. The show went off well, so well in fact we were asked to play the next night at a different venue whos owner was in attendance, it seemed the new breath of life was working so we wasted no time in accepting the offer, plus we were offered 350 dollars to do it...i think that helped as well.

    The next night we played at the Hilton Country Club, it would be the last show we would play as a four piece, the last show we would play with Kenny, and the next to last show we would ever play at all. The show already had a weird feeling to it, Andy at the last minute decided he didn't want to play and nobody informed the venue. Kenny called me wanting to know what was going on, he had no idea we weren't playing, i could be wrong but i think that Kenny called Andy and persuaded him to play and then the show was back on. We called the venue and let them know we were running late but insured we would be there. I picked up Tony and his brother Eddie, odd that Tony would be at this particular show as it was "officially" the last Sons of Godzilla show. The show was the oddest show i have ever played, feeling pressure the likes i have never felt before, most likely due to this being a Yo/Wankster bar, the stories of the entire bar turning on people, and other criminal activities i heard went on at this place...in short this place was rather shady...and we were late...didn't make us look very good to the owner who coincidentally was a co-owner...the other owner, the one who actually booked us wasn't even there.

Anyway...

    The first set went fine and we took a break, we were asked to tone it down, play something slow/softer...we didn't know anything slow/softer, they also wanted some covers...we didn't play covers really, just a handful we liked. This was really frustrating because it was becoming persistent and the guy that booked us wasn't there so the other owner who had no idea of who we were just saw us as being late and uncooperative. We played the second set full of songs we had never played before (any of us), just winging it, and songs we hadn't played in a really long time, it was pretty bad. The one funny thing to come out of that night was when we were playing the last song "Monsters Everywhere", Tony tried to dive at me from the audience and jumped way to high, hit one of the ceiling fans and crashed down to the floor. Luckily he wasn't hurt and we all got a big laugh about it. We were told people left because of us, i find this to be untrue, in fact it seemed people were really into it. There was talk we didn't pull a lot of people in to the show...what do you expect when we had less than 24 hours to promote the show...the place is the size of a Cracker Jacks box, if we had anymore people in there you wouldn't have been able to move, go figure. The guy who booked us never showed up so we only got 75 of the 350 dollars we were promised...sitting on the tailgate of Kenny's box truck after the show i talked to Andy and told him this night had done me in, i wasn't sure i could go on anymore, it was that bad in my eyes. In a surreal moment, (because of this places reputation)we couldn't find Kenny for awhile and we thought he might be getting worked over somewhere in or behind the building...just imagine me and Andy scouring the place ready to throw down, what a night. We ended up canceling the rest of our shows and never played in this form again.

    In September Kenny had been sick, so we weren't practicing and i wasn't really concerned, i was busy recording new sessions at home. October rolled around, i kept brief contact with everyone but we still weren't practicing...i decided to pull the plug on the band on October 4th 2006, i announced on our website we were done. I kept it up for one day figuring anyone who cared would see it in that time frame and because i wasn't sure i was doing the right thing...i was literally losing my mind. I did this without consulting the other band members which was probably not the best thing to do but i was sick of living in denial. It needed to be over or we just needed a nice long break, i just didn't know what else to do.

    A friend of Andy's was having a Halloween Party and asked if we could play, Andy asked me if i wanted to do it and i thought it was a fitting day to put the band to rest. Problem was Kenny was now in the hospital, he had severe Pneumonia. I talked to him on the 18th of October, he assured me he was fine and would be out of the hospital by the weekend so we would rehearse for the show. I told him not to worry and that his health was far more important to me than the band or a show, if we couldn't do it oh well. I had my third and final MySpace session completed and ready to post titled "It Seems the Best Part of our Lives are Spent Saying Goodbye" (the title inspired by the great Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift movie "A Place in the Sun"), this was the most personal set of songs i have ever written in my life and the lyrics directly reflected the broken state of the band.

    On October 26th 2006, i got a call from Andy as soon as i walked in the door at work...Kenny had passed away.

    What? It's hard to wrap my mind around it even now, Kenny was only 34...last time i saw him which was only about 6 weeks before, he was healthy as a horse so it made no sense to me. I wasn't really concerned when i heard he was in the hospital with pneumonia because my dad has been in the hospital with pneumonia at least 3 times and he always pulled through and he's 63. I figured Kenny, at 34, would be back on his feet in no time. I was shocked to say the least and there isn't a time that goes by when me and Andy are together that we don't somehow figure Kenny in the conversation. I speak for everyone when i say we all miss him a great deal and there will never be a guy like Kenny again, he was a true original.

    Kenny had mentioned that whether he was able to or not, we should still play the Halloween show. We were all present at the party but weren't sure if we were going to play until about 10 minutes before we went on...we played a short 6 song set and that was it, we were done. This was one of the only shows i purposely did not film, i wanted to keep this as a memory, not a video to be shared over and over. For the first time i wept, i was missing Kenny for a number of reasons...first he was my friend and i would never see him again, but he was also the only person i knew who shared my mentality of being an artist, i know that sounds stupid to be upset about but before i met Kenny (and even afterwards) the persistence to doing things that were counter creative in the band were always a source of frustration to me and it was so refreshing that he felt the same way i did. My joy came from within, it came from seeing my band mates grow as musicians, seeing myself grow as a musician, never from adulation of the people watching us or the money we ever made.

    In the month of November i had a group of marathon sessions, the first was with me, Andy and Artie, nothing of use came out of this one but it was fun! Next Tony, his brother Eddie, their friend Norm, Artie and me recorded hours of improvised material that turned a few usable things, it was good to see Tony and Eddie doing well, and it was good to be creating with Tony again. The next night me, Andy and Marc got together and recorded a new song titled "The Ride Home", most notable for being the first time Andy and Marc shared vocal duties on a song. The next day i finished what would be my last solo session of the year titled "Break His Heart". The next session was the standout, on Thanksgiving weekend me, Andy, and Mike got together while Mike was in town for the holidays to record what is the last Sons of Godzilla studio recording. I had originally wanted to do this a little earlier, me, Andy and Spivey had talked about going into the studio and recording 2 songs, i figured we could get it together with some artwork, promote it as a Christmas single and sell it...then give the money to charity. However, time was an issue and this never happened, so with Mike in town we came together in my home studio and we gave it the old Sons of Godzilla try and we came up with what i would say is our best song to date! The song "Voids of Grace" was unlike anything we had ever done before as in the majority of our music was just straight up rock and this was spacey, beautiful, just vastly different than anything we had ever done before. As far as Thanksgiving goes, i was thankful we could come together and create this wonderful piece of music. We also remixed the song "She Says" from our second cd for this project, hopefully one day we will remix the entire cd again. I would have loved to do the charity thing but with no time to get it together for Christmas i posted the songs for free at the Ghoulland Records MySpace site.

    In December me and Andy recorded our last session of the year at my house with Jason Williams which turned out one song, "So Sad", and it was.

    That's it kids, the story thus far...it is now January of 2007, i am looking forward to working on many projects...everything so far is looking rosey and quite busy...just the way i like it. I hope in all of these blogs i never came off as bitter because i'm not (as with everything is life there are positives and negatives), in fact i am just the opposite. Never in a million years would i have thought in Brance's garage back in 1991, i would do the things i did, meet the people i did and play the shows i did...when all of this started i was just like any other young kid in a garage band, i just wanted to emulate my heroes and have a voice, luckily along the way i carved out an identity and found out who i really was, and on my own terms.......