bobnoxious
London, Ontario, Canada | INDIE
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BOBNOXIOUS Issue Canadian Tour Wrap-Up - "$4,000.00 In Gas; That's A Lot Of Beer Money!"
Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 02:01:31 EST
BOBNOXIOUS - featuring RAZOR frontman Bob Reid - recently wrapped up their Canadian tour in support of their new album, Rockaholics. Reid has issued the following update:
Day 18 - Winnipeg:
"It's cold, but it's sunny. We pull up in front of the bar, it's a one way and there's nowhere to park. We just leave the RV as close to the parked cars as we can. Gavin - and I'm thinking he wasn't - opens the door and steps out onto a busy one way and could have easily been smoked by a car, or a car gets smoked by a Giant. Either way, no harm… our fairy godrocker still watching over us."
1st Problem:
The look on everyone's face sums it up. Stairs! And many of them… and the gear is getting heavier every day, and there's stairs…many stairs... down to the first floor, stairs again to the second floor, then stairs to the entrance of the bar!! For fuck sakes…
I meet the owners Girard and Louise. They seem cool.
2nd Problem:
While unloading the gear, Gavin says to me, 'There's not much of a PA here.'
Great. What's that mean???
Gavin and I have a talk with Girard. He says he has no bass bins, no microphone stands, 1 monitor, 1 power amp to power everything, and 3 cheap microphones and one 6ft mic cable, and no lights…
3rd Problem:
Girard then produces a copy of an email he had sent to Chris, a guy on our managers team who is supposed to inform me of things I need to know before a show. In this email, it says that there is not much of a PA. I remember Chris telling me that the club didn't have a big PA but would be adequate for the size of room it was. What he should have said was.. There is NO PA there… for fuck sakes...
So guess fuckin' what? Gavin has to make a list of PA shit we need to make this gig happen and the store will be closing soon. Girard calls the store and begins reading from a list Gavin made, what we need. Nope - don't have any bass bins or bottoms, sorry. DOH!
I then realize this is not gonna be fun. Seeing as there was a mix up in the PA, I ask about meals and beer.
'Yeah, we'll make ya meals, but not sure about beers...'
'Dude, we gotta have beers... at least 24 of them...'
He agrees, I think that's the end of that and we set up the gear while Girard goes to get the rented gear. We order food, Dee grabs around of beers, we eat.
4th Problem:
The rented gear arrives. Girard then comes up to me and says...'So, we got a problem, who's gonna pay for this?'
as he holds his email thing in his hand and a receipt for $45 in his other.
I am not in any mood to petty over $$ right now, we needed the PA, and he pays me at the end of the night and could just take it off the top if he wants, so I reach into my pocket, pull out $45 and say, "Tell ya what, I'll pay the $45 if you start smiling again.. deal?'
The smile returns…
'I want that receipt,' I insist.
We set up, and soundcheck takes for ever, obviously Gavin has a lot to do. Girard has asked for three sets….three sets. I thought Chris was gonna take care of that .. so I tell Girard that we don't do three sets, or two sets, we just blast thru everything we got, which is about 1 hour 45 mins. So Jeffy volunteers to play a solo set for 45, then we'll play for the last set.. Girard agrees...
Jeffy plays, and we are about to go on but Tommy's getting hassles over beer. He tells me the bar only wants to give us 8. Eight? So I go back into the kitchen to find Girard.
'Hey man, I thought we agreed on 24 beers, we usually get 48, and we gotta have beers...'
'OK, no worries,' he says…
No worries... it's been nothing but.
We rock out on stage, and after we tear down the gear, I ask Girard who is telling me how we have to come back, to ask his big door guys to assist in carrying our gear up these bullshit stairs. He says OK... and thank God. The load out is painful, but under the influence, the pain is somewhat forgotten.
I am finishing my beer while rounding up what is left of our un-opened beer, when Wylie comes yelling into the bar about something going on outside. We all rush up the stairs to catch the end of the ordeal. Some guy, who at first was trying to help carry gear up the stairs, while on mushrooms, was told that his services weren't required because he was wasted and banging gear around, didn't like being dismissed, and hopped in the RV and tried to drive off with the whole motherload. Tom grabs the loser and pulls him out onto the pavement where they begun to wrestle while Tom's boot happily stomps the back of the mushroom king's head. The losers buddies grab him while our guys help separate the crap, all while I was downstairs being introduced to bar tabs that have mysteriously appeared. I thought we had a 24 beers. Anyway, I paid the three tabs 'cause I'm not a cheap bastard, Tom dusts off the reminisce of mushroom wrestling, and we are more than ready to get the fuck outta dodge!!
The gear is packed and we're heading home. Winnipeg is about 26 hours from London. We decide to drive straight.
So it is written, so it shall be done.
We drive for seven hours and Dee takes over for Wylie. Tom takes over for Dee, then Tom gets pulled over for speeding. And lucky for us, something must of come up, 'cause when we couldn't find the registration for the RV he gave us a warning and him and another cruiser pulled a u turn and took off.
Well what do you know… one for the good guys.
And home.. 5:45 am Monday morning. $4,000.00 in gas...that's a lot of beer money!"
Cheers Fuckers!"
Go to this location to read the entire Bobnoxious tour diary. - Bravewords.com
Discography
Releases
Two Fisted Twisted Rock’n’Roll 2004
Ho Ho Ho 2005 (Re-released 2006)
Rockaholics 2006
SuperScar 2008
Photos
Bio
Bobnoxious
“Everybody steps in shit one day. It doesn’t matter how cool you are. I’m sure Elvis stepped in shit,” says Bob J. Reid about the reality of life and its impact on Bobnoxious. As the brains behind this rebellious London, Ontario-based quartet, he knows his shit...especially that which he’s stepped in.
By the same token, Reid and crew don’t take any either. Renowned, revered and respected across the nation for their driven rock ‘n’ roll and endless revelling, Reid, guitarist Jeff Bialkowski, bassist Stan Fountain and drummer David Wyles pull no punches musically or personally.
Delivering another 13-round beating this spring, Bobnoxious unleashes fourth full-length effort SuperScar via Wannabe Records/Fontana North Maple. Their most accomplished effort to date, SuperScar features another raucous collection of raging, celebratory anthems in keeping with the established, indelible Bobnoxious sound and style: bombastic and guttural while still contagiously hook-laden. Tunes run the gamut from the wily tongue-in-cheek “Valencrime” to the guttural, abrasive thrust of “Flinch” and sweetly infectious melodies of “No Holiday in Disney” and “Hush.”
Of course these Rockaholics inherently douse it all in their brazen sense of humour and steely-eyed observations on humanity (stepping in shit as it were), evidenced on call-it-as-they-see-it “Stick It All (Up Your Everything).” Rounding out the festivities, is the band’s ‘noxious take on punk icons The Forgotten Rebels’ “Surfin’ On Heroin” replete with guest vocals from the Rebels’ own Mickey DeSadist. Proud of their diversity, the intrinsic Bobnoxious confidence shines through. There’s no need to please anyone else. Reid is blunt about Bobnoxious’ refusal to compromise with one solitary classification.
“We’re that perfect fuckin’ drink when ya really fuckin’ needed one,” he grins. “It’s two-fisted, twisted rock ‘n’ roll. We’re not spawning some new genre here. There’s no way. How many ways can you serve a turkey dinner? It’s all been done before.”
Still, even if Reid refuses to acknowledge Bobnoxious’ impact on the current state of rock, the band’s unmistakeable sound betrays him. Opener “13 Roarin’ Engines” with its monstrous, rumbling motor sample foreshadows the power and captivating rock ‘n’ roll to follow. There’s no denying the ravenous prowess and memorable grittiness within. Heavy yet beguiling, Reid notes that SuperScar’s subtle shifting between moods is inherent of his own personal outlook.
“You don’t go around all day screaming. You don’t go around all day whispering. The kind of music we write depends on the mood of that day; the mood of the moment when that song is created. You write for yourself,” he declares affirms.
To that extent, Reid declares that much of SuperScar’s greatest inspiration is the unavoidable reality: everyday life, or, as noted, stepping in shit. However, he explicates that in order to be fun those experiences have been turned into humorous, pun-filled relations for SuperScar.
“When you’re pissed off, your reaction is spur of the moment. When you write a song, it takes a while. You get pissed off, it gives you the idea and you know where you want to go with it. But you can’t stay pissed off forever. The anger should become a parody of itself. By the time you’re writing it out, it’s a whole new problem that day. You have to laugh or you have real problems. I think that’s why people relate to our music. They understand what we’re talking about because they’ve been there before. But I’m not trying to save things...I’m trying to save myself,” he chuckles.
Overall though, Reid has little to ruminate on with SuperScar other than that Bobnoxious is duly proud of it. This record is for them, no one else. The fact that it appeals to beer drinkers and hell raisers across the nation is merely a bonus.
“Talking about music once, someone told me, ‘Make sure you’re happy. Don’t listen to someone else if you don’t feel right with it. It’s you who’s gonna have to listen to the record 25 years from now. Always make it for yourself.’ I apply that every time. People say, ‘You should do this...,’ and I tell them to fuck off. That’s not cockiness. That’s confidence because how can you not feel confident when you’re just being yourself?”
“I’m just trying to make sure this party doesn’t stop,” he concludes. “I’m having a blast. It’s not fake. It’s fun. This is what we do day-in, day-out. This isn’t a bunch of Weekend Warrior shit. Every night is Friday night. SuperScar is a party record. What’s the difference between this record and the last record? I changed my strings. If the party’s good, why leave?”
Rockaholics heed your call to arms. SuperScar is the new soundtrack to your Friday night.
Releases
Two Fisted Twisted Rock’n’Roll 2004
Ho Ho Ho 2005 (Re-released 2006)
Rockaholics 2006
SuperScar 2008
Bobnoxious has played shows with many great bands…such as..
Kid Rock,Tragically Hi
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