A Long Lost Comrade

Some of you SD as well as MN people may recognize the long lost face. Halloween was awesome this year with a night of good clean(?) fun in Hopkins. Good idea for the naughty nun to sport a few ones as she earned herself a little spending money. With my SD crew coming in this weekend more fun to be had, can this old body handle it? I guess we'll find out!!!! Breakfast @ Uptown on Sunday.

Events Calendar

Oct. 28 -- Bounce @ Hopkins
Oct. 29 -- Prong/Impaler @ Station 4
Oct. 31 -- Fear Factory/Strapping Young Lad/It Dies Today/Darkene @ Quest
Oct. 31 -- Legends of Metal @ Myth
Nov. 1 -- Dick Dale @ Cabooze
Nov. 4 -- Disturbed/Corrosion of Conformity @ First Ave
Nov. 4 -- GWAR @ Quest
Nov. 5 -- Disturbed/Corrosion of Conformity @ First Ave
Nov. 5 -- Split Lip Rayfield @ Lee's Liquor Lounge
Nov. 5 -- Poly Plush Cats/Countach @ Urban Wildlife
Nov. 6 -- Soulfly/Throwdown/Bloodsimple/Incite @ Station 4
Nov. 10 -- Vader @ Quest
Nov. 12 -- Audioslave
Nov. 12 -- Avenged Sevenfold @ Quest
Nov. 13 -- BLS
Nov. 16 -- Children of Bodum/Trivium/Amon Amarth @ Quest
Nov. 16 -- Brian Setzer @ State Theatre
Nov. 18 -- Detroit Cobras @ Triple Rock Social Club
Nov. 18 & 19 -- Unknown Hinson @ LCO (Hayward, WI)
Nov. 18 -- MN Rollergirls Roller Derby @ Roy Wilkins
Nov. 19 -- The Atomic Punk's @ POV's
Nov. 20 -- Kings X @ Star Central
Nov. 25 -- Impaler/Dumpster Juice @ Star Central
Nov. 29 -- Clutch @ First Ave
Nov. 30 -- Dillinger Escape Plan @ Triple Rock
Dec. 5 -- Reverend Horton Heat/Supersuckers @ First Ave
Dec. 6 -- Aerosmith/Lenny Kravitz @ Target Center
Dec. 9 -- Pat Travers Band @ Star Central
Dec. 30 -- Los Straitjackets @ First Ave (w/Pontini Sisters)
Jan. 27 -- Bon Jovi

Looks like a big New Years weekend with Los Straitjackets here on Friday Dec. 30

EXODUS

Note to Station 4 – if you advertise a show on your own web page as starting at 9 PM that should be the start time, not 6:30. A little upset that I walked into this show as EXODUS was playing their first song and I missed WATCH THEM DIE and 3 INCHES OF BLOOD. EXODUS once again did not disappoint. I must admit that I’m weak on the names of the songs off the new CD (hey-it’s only been out a few weeks) SHOVEL HEAD KILL MACHINE but some of these songs are BRUTAL live. Gary Holt is a master songwriter and musician. Paul Bostaph can be a wicked drummer and the new singer Rob Dukes is decent. Dukes was great on the new songs, did well on most of the Souza songs (with the exception of FABULOUS DISASTER and LORD IS MY SHEPHERD – which Holt called BEER IS MY SHEPHERD) but fell short on most Baloff songs. Decent sized crowd that was really getting into the performance (also some really HOT women with some VERY nice outfits --- YESSSSS!!!!). Got a real nice old school circle pit going during LESSON IN VIOLENCE and PIRANHA – although considering Station 4 (This place has been renamed a dozen times, used to be Ryan’s) has a freakin’ pole in the middle of floor it’s difficult to do much else without hurting yourself. The disappointment of missing the opening bands was forgotten when I got to hang out and drink beers with members of WATCH THEM DIE, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and EXODUS. Although I didn’t realize I was talking with the guys from 3 INCHES OF BLOOD until about 20 minutes into the conversation. I would give EXODUS a 3-1/2 out of 5, very nice show but I did miss my boy Steve Souza a bit.

The Crusher

The Crusher was my guy. I loved the bad ass with the keg of beer on the shoulder and big old stogie in the mouth. Who knows, maybe he inspired me to drink. I sent some money to AWA for a pic and actually got the one shown here. It was an awesome day when I got to see him and the other stars of the AWA wrestle in Sioux Falls.

MILWAUKEE - Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski, a professional wrestler considered a man of the people because of his blue-collar Milwaukee roots, died on Saturday night. He was 79.Lisowski never fully recovered from surgeries to remove a tumor at the base of his brain stem, his son David Lisowski told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sunday."He worked out on his last day. That's how he wanted to go," said David Lisowski, of Delafield. "He did concentration curls and triceps work. He just had to work out every day. ... In his mind, he never thought he was old."Two surgeries had affected Lisowski's ability to swallow and left him partially paralyzed, his son said. The former wrestler had to be fed through a feeding tube for several months.Promoter Frank DeFalco called Lisowski a constant in the world of wrestling in a career that went from the 1950s to the 1970s."The Crusher was a mainstay in professional wrestling for so long," DeFalco said. "He sold out the Milwaukee Auditorium and Arena on a number of occasions."The barrel-chested wrestler began his career as a bad guy, but people liked him anyway, his son said."He never really changed his style. He was a villain, but for some reason people started liking him more," he said.He also had a talent for being flamboyant.One ad featured the wrestler with a barrel of beer on his shoulder, saying he was going to kick the butt of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan all over Milwaukee, DeFalco said. Lisowski added that afterward, "we'll have a party, take all the dollies down Wisconsin Avenue and go dancing."Lisowski learned to wrestle while in the Army in Germany during World War II and returned from the war and played semi-professional football, his son said.One night, Lisowski accepted a fight in a carnival ring for the prize of one dollar."Well, he stepped into the ring and beat him, and he got a buck," David Lisowski said. "He did this for a couple of days and beat everybody."Lisowski later joined the Eagles Club where some wrestlers worked out and became a wrestler in Chicago, earning $5 a night.He drew the attention of a promoter, was put on national television and got taken on the road. According to a 1952 news article, Lisowski once drew 8,000 people to a bout in Buffalo, N.Y.Lisowski and his family lived in Canada and Texas while he pursued wrestling full time, his son said. Eventually, they returned to the Midwest and Wisconsin, where the cigar-chomping, beer-drinking wrestler quickly became the people's favorite.The wrestler told a reporter in 1985 that his popularity in Milwaukee came because of his worker roots."I think the working people identify with me, because years ago I worked when I wrestled, too," he said. "I worked in a packing house. I worked at Ladish, Drop Forge, Cudahy Packing House. I was a bricklayer. But finally, I got away from punching the clock."Despite his antics, Lisowski said he took professional wrestling seriously.In 2001, after fellow wrestler Jack Wilson died, Lisowksi turned down an interview request from a Wisconsin Public Television reporter for a special on professional wrestling."People make a joke out of it," he said. "But it wasn't a joke to me. It was a living."

What a difference a week can make!!

First off did Edinger freakin nail that kick or what? It had to be long enough for another 5 yds. How can a team play so crappy one half and that just dominate the next? Hopefully the Vikes stumbled upon something and will start to play decently but I tend to doubt it. Good racing action this weekend. Everybody's favorite driver Jeff Gordon picked up another win. 73 Nascar victories lifetime. I can't wait for the day he passes Dale Earnhardt and all the rednecks in America have to face their worst nightmare. Did anyone check out the babe he had hanging with him? NHRA was awesome. Funny car battle is incredible this year. Heading into the final event the first weekend of November Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps and John Force (boo) all could win the championship. This past weekends event had Capps beating Scelzi in the finals as both drivers passed Force in the standings. Of course it's a glorious weekend whenever Force and fellow Ford boys lose but to see 2 of the 3 lose in the first round is golden. I'll be glued to the TV Sunday night Nov. 6th to see the final outcome.

Upcoming Events

Oct. 20 -- Brett Michaels @ Pov's
Oct. 20 -- Saliva/Theory of a Deadman @ Star Central
Oct. 21 -- H.I.M. @ Quest
Oct. 21 -- Blues Traveller @ Fine Line Music Cafe
Oct. 22 -- Countach and various local bands for Katrina relief @ Uptown (have to mention The Uptown has the best breakfast in town!!!!)
Oct. 23 -- Dropkick Murphy's/GangGreen @ First Ave
Oct. 24 -- Exodus/3 Inches of Blood/Watch Them Die @ Station 4
Oct. 25 -- Suffocation/Cryptospsy/Despised Icon/Aborted @ Quest
Oct. 28 -- Bounce @ Hopkins (This make you happy Bennett!!!)
Oct. 29 -- Prong/Impaler @ Station 4
Oct. 31 -- Fear Factory/Strapping Young Lad/It Dies Today/Darkene @ Quest
Nov. 1 -- Dick Dale @ Cabooze
Nov. 4 -- Disturbed/Corrosion of Conformity @ First Ave
Nov. 4 -- GWAR @ Quest
Nov. 5 -- Disturbed/Corrosion of Conformity @ First Ave
Nov. 5 -- Split Lip Rayfield @ Lee's Liquor Lounge
Nov. 6 -- Soulfly/Throwdown/Bloodsimple/Incite @ Station 4
Nov. 10 -- Vader @ Quest
Nov. 12 -- Audioslave
Nov. 13 -- BLS
Nov. 16 -- Children of Bodum/Trivium/Amon Amarth @ Quest
Nov. 16 -- Brian Setzer @ State Theatre
Nov. 18 -- Detroit Cobras @ Triple Rock Social Club
Nov. 18 & 19 -- Unknown Hinson @ LCO (Hayward, WI)
Nov. 19 -- The Atomic Punk's @ POV's
Nov. 20 -- Kings X @ Star Central
Nov. 25 -- Impaler/Dumpster Juice @ Star Central
Nov. 29 -- Clutch @ First Ave
Nov. 30 -- Dillinger Escape Plan @ Triple Rock
Dec. 5 -- Reverend Horton Heat/Supersuckers @ First Ave
Dec. 6 -- Aerosmith/Lenny Kravitz @ Target Center
Jan. 27 -- Bon Jovi

Once again added a bunch of dates. Clutch has me the most excited of the newbies. Also Scum of the Earth will be coming probably in November but no date or venue has been decided yet.

A couple pics per request!!!

Oct. 13 @ 400 Bar

Nice little lineup tonight with ZEKE opening up for NASHVILLE PUSSY. I've seen and reviewed ZEKE several times and not much changed for this performance. Once again a nice straight forward performance. Not much talking as they just rip out song after song. The one difference in this performance was they did a couple of covers. They did the fast end part of FREEBIRD and also WANG DANG SWEET POONTANG from TED NUGENT. Highlight for me was probably TWISTED although CHIVA KNIEVEL and T500 were very good also. They didn't play MYSTERY TRAIN or DAYTONA which was disappointing but what can a poor boy do?

Between sets I hung out near the bar and got to admit I was drooling pretty hard over one hot babe (it seems NP draws women because lots of hotties at this show) and was surprised to see her come out on stage as NP's new bass player. SO 2 hot women on stage along with the pasty white, fat, long-haired yet bald singer dude. This has to be every guys dream. NP are just a great straight ahead rock show. I only have 1 of there CD's and they played just a few songs from it but you don't need to know their music to enjoy their aggresive brand of rock. The whole band is really into the music with much movements so lots to watch (and drool over) on stage.
I would give both bands a 3 on a 5 scale.

Doorn a winner!!!

Many of you know my friend John Doorn. This following article from NHRA.com refers to his uncle Paul. Anybody want to go to Cali for the final race of the season?

http://www.nhra.com/2005/summit/div2/index.html

CECIL, Ga. -- The NHRA Summit Racing Series Southeast Division Finals concluded today at South Georgia Motorsports Park with champions being crowned in the categories of Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman and Motorcycle. With the conclusion of this event, the 28 racer Summit Racing Series roster for the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Nov. 3-6, at Pomona Raceway in Pomona, Calif., is now set.

By virtue of their victories at this weekend's event, Paul Doorn, Kyle Roberts, Rod Johnson and Roy Nealy Jr., are now qualified to compete for the Summit Racing Series National Championship in their respective categories at the NHRA Finals.

In Super Pro, Doorn, of Safety Harbor, Fla., earned a win for the Sunshine Dragstrip team behind the wheel of his '68 Camaro. In the final, Doorn defeated Southeastern Int'l Dragway's Mark Brooks, of Woodstock, Ga.

Joining his Sunshine Dragstrip teammate, Doorn, in the winner's circle was the Sportsman winner, Roberts, of St. Petersburg, Fla. In the final round, Roberts defeated Southeastern Int'l Dragway's Sue Wilson of Tallapoosa, Ga.

Taking home the win in Pro for Bradenton Motorsports Park was Johnson of Palmetto, Fla. Johnson, who is a regular competitor in NHRA's Stock Eliminator category on the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series tour, defeated U.S. 19 Dragway's Don Temples of Albany, Ga., in the final round.

In Motorcycle, Franklin, Ky., racer, Nealy, captured a win for the team from Music City Raceway when he defeated Bristol Dragway's Mike Gill of Elizabethton, Tenn.

In addition to celebrating the win of their teammate, Roy Nealy Jr., the team from Music City Raceway was also pleased to cheer about earning their third Team Spirit title in a row.

The coveted Team Championship was awarded to the team from Sunshine Dragstrip. The St. Petersburg, Fla., based team earned 55 points throughout the course of the day, to edge out the teams from 19 other Southeast Division tracks. Finishing in the No. 2 spot was the team from Gainesville Raceway who earned a total of 49 points, while the team from Bradenton Motorsports Park finished third with 48 points

The following are the final results from the NHRA Summit Racing Series Southeast Division Finals being held this weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park:

SUPER PRO
Paul Doorn, Safety Harbor, Fla., Sunshine Dragstrip, '68 Camaro, 5.672, 121.04 def.
Mark Brooks, Woodstock, Ga., Southeastern Int'l Dragway, '71 Demon, 6.460, 104.84

PRO
Rod Johnson, Palmetto, Fla., Bradenton Motorsports Park, '70 Nova, 8.029, 84.46 def.
Don Temples, Albany, Ga., U.S. 19 Dragway, '73 Duster, 15.222, 37.52

SPORTSMAN
Kyle Roberts, St Petersburg, Fla., Sunshine Dragstrip, '69 Camaro, 8.703, 79.60 def.
Sue Wilson, Tallapoosa, Ga., Southeastern Int'l Dragway, '69 Camaro, 7.673, 88.90

MOTORCYCLE
Roy Nealy Jr., Franklin, Ky., Music City Raceway, '86 Suzuki, 5.307, 124.68 def.
Mike Gill, Elizabethton, Tenn., Bristol Dragway, '86 Suzuki, 5.876, 112.21

Bad Sports Weekend

Not much good sports news this past weekend. The only good would be a nice victory for The Wild 4-1 vs Aneheim. The bad includes: No NHRA , another emBEARessing Vikings loss, and 2 heartbreaking losses for the Gophers and Notre Dame. Also if anyone got a chance to watch ESPN fights saturday night MN boy Anthony Bonsante got a rematch against Jesse Brinkley. If you remember the first fight which was part of the "Contender" reality show, Bonsante dominated for 4-1/2 rounds before he got caught with a clean uppercut that KO'd him with less than a minute left in the fight. In the rematch Bonsante clearly dominated the fight with Brinkley only landing 5 or 6 punches in many rounds. I scored the fight 50-45 for Bonsante. Unfortunately this is pro boxing and the judges gave the decision to Brinkley. Announcer Teddy Atlas was once again outraged. It was funny to hear the fans (the fight was in LA, Brinkley's hometown) who had started the fight cheering for Brinkley now booing him. Hopefully MN will get it's mess regarding a local comission and insurance figured out so local fighters such as Bonsante and Matt Vanda can put on some big fights here.

1st annual Gaylord’s South Dakota North Star Nationals

Overcast weather didn’t keep a large crowd rumored to be in double digits away from watching competitive racing in the Street Shootout category. After 6 passes the finals pitted Alex Ralston and his ford galaxy vs Howie Hirsch and his ford lightning. No CHEVY’S were entered or obviously they would have been in the finals. Both drivers were consistently in the low to mid 13 second bracket with MPH’s around 100 at Thunder Valley Dragway, a quarter mile track located near Parker, SD. Hirsh had low ET for the day with a 13.27. Ralston beat Hirsch off the line by nearly 2 tenths of a second but Hirsch started reeling the Galaxy in at the sixteenth marker. However with a light rain falling Hirsch lost traction at half track and Ralston cruised to an easy victory. Hirsch, who later in the day had visible red and puffy eyes, was unavailable for comment after the race leaving it open to speculation whether he lost traction due to a poor setup or plain old fashioned driver error. Due to the success of this years event up to 2 events are already being planned for next year.

PRONG--Reapers BAll

Also note if you go to the Reapers Ball website they mention girls from Deja Vu will be present.

PRONG will be headlining The Reaper's Ball, an independently produced metal festival making its first-year debut on Saturday, October 29, at the Station 4 nightclub in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.Created by Nathan Block of SwordLord Productions and Brian Huebner of Left Alone Creations, The Reaper's Ball will feature national and local acts headlining side-by-side."Brian and I were looking to do a festival that showcased local music as well as national talent," Block said in a press release. "We also wanted the concert to be affordable. There's nothing worse than having to pass on an amazing musical event because you don't have the cash to go."Co-headlining the event is IMPALER, Minnesota's very own shock-rock band with a long and gloriously gory history in the Twin Cities. IMPALER will be performing their "Big Halloween Show" especially for this festival, which features an elaborate on-stage performance with actors, props and gallons of fake blood. Very comparable to the on-stage mayhem of a GWAR show, an IMPALER set is almost as visual as it is acoustical which means that even if the music isn't your thing, you'll have a great time watching them!This year's special guest is SKULLVIEW, a cult underground sensation from Indiana. SKULLVIEW has a musical style very similar to heavy metal legend JUDAS PRIEST.Supporting this festival are the best metal bands that the Twin Cities has to offer. Finishing off this year's festival line-up are COLD COLOURS, CWN ANNWN, FORGOTTEN SUN, UNDER EDEN and SEARED. All five of these bands are said to be Twin Cities-based musicians with "pure metal coursing through their veins."To find out more about this festival, visit www.ReapersBall.com

Unknown Hinson

Here's this weeks music link http://www.myspace.com/unknownhinson

When you visit the site notice the cool pic of Hinson with Hank Williams III.
Also notice the 2 dates on the schedule in November for the LCO. This dudes lyrics are pretty damn funny set to an old school country or rockabilly sound. I copied the following text from his site.

Who is UNKNOWN HINSON? He's a sociopathic, gun-totin', ex-con redneck (charges include three counts of murder one, 19 paternity suits and random grave-robbing offenses) who's purported to be a 400-year-old vampire. He's a former carnival geek whose midway specialties were biting the heads off "certain barnyard fowls" and lifting 50-pound weights with his tongue. He boasts many grand titles, not the least of which are "Chart-Toppin' King of Country & Western Troubadours Ordained" and, most importantly (to him), "God's Gift to the Womens." Oh, and one more thing: Unknown Hinson has previously gone on record as swearing that Hank Williams, Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles downright stole most of their hits from him. "Them boys owe me hundreds!"

IT'S IT'S A BALLROOM BLITZ

Oct. 2 @ Star Central

My first chance to see 80’s metal band KROKUS. Supposedly the band is back for good and will continue to tour the U.S. in future years. The thing I remembered about KROKUS back in the day when I used to listen to them is the fact that I didn’t think Marc Storace was a great vocalist but he did fit in well with their music. After seeing the band live I realize that I was wrong. Storace has very strong vocals and his voice is just plain wicked. Honestly after this performance I would rate him with Geoff Tate, Rob Halford, Ian Astbury and Glen Danzig as one of the best vocalists I’ve seen. The other great aspect about KROKUS is the fact that since they are an 80’s metal band just about every song has the middle part where the band settles into a background rhythm and the guitarist Mandy Meyer (was in the band back about 1981) rips into a nice little solo. KROKUS has a lot of material out but other than the HEADHUNTER album it is a bit weak. But the material they played off HEADHUNTER shined. EAT THE RICH, HEADHUNTER, STAYED AWAKE ALL NIGHT and NIGHT WOLF were awesome. SCREAMING IN THE NIGHT was powerful and Storace just stood out on the song. Suprisingly they didn’t play BALLROOM BLITZ but did perform their cover of AMERICAN WOMAN. Interestingly the time between songs was somewhat different as Storace doesn’t have some smooth rap all planned out. At times there would be almost dead silence as he was talking and the crowd was trying to figure out what he was getting at but I actually found him to be a bit funny as he was using some subtle humor that I don’t think anybody was catching. Afterwards the band signed autographs at their merchandise table. Great performance and I hope KROKUS is sincere in continuing to tour in the U.S. as I would definitely catch them next time around.(I would give them a score of 4 on a scale of 5).