Editor's note - Thursday, April 9 edition

Hey friends,

You know, sometimes you are at band practice and you realize, "Hey, I've got a website now and I can write about whatever I want." The power is daunting, but there are occasions where wielding the power is worthwhile.

Hillbilly Devilspeak, my longtime band, plays tonight (Thursday, April 9) at Metalheads Clubhouse in Tempe. We have been playing occasionally the last few years, but we haven't played a set like this since the mid-90s. Every song on the set list is over 30 years old.

In fact, the first four songs on the list are the songs from our first 7" record that came out on BGR Records in 1994. Fucking hell, I was 24 years old when I got my hands on a copy. I'm still kicking myself for missing Conan in Mesa on Tuesday; their bassist, Dave Ryley, was the mastermind behind BGR and the guy who put that first 7" in my hands back in '94.

Alex Newport tracked those songs for us at Blue Sky in Tempe. Listening back now, you can hear that mid-90s grit—we haven't touched this specific setlist since the original lineup split, and dusting them off at practice felt like opening a time capsule. That bass sound Alex got for us was killer.

Anyway, we haven't played these songs in this order since the original lineup of the band was together. It was very strange rocking them at practice. Come out and see what happens with us tonight.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about these types of things over the coming weeks, months, and years. If you'd like to learn more about these types of things, all you have to do is ask.

And even then, I might just write about the old days and the new days and everything in between.

We start at 8 p.m. sharp and there are three cool out of town bands playing after us including the mighty Suicide Cages from Denver. If you aren't already committed to Bl’ast at the Rosetta Room, get down to Metalheads. Or better yet, do both. It’s a Thursday in the Valley — act accordingly.