Sorry to disappoint any arcade fans today, but this post has nothing to do with video games. MAN you are OBSESSED with arcade games aren’t you?! Take off your Pac-Man PJ’s, put on some big boy clothes and get a life already.

http://www.nodeliverance.com

I love this band. Their first major release album “Rubberneck” was released in 1994, and I had it on cassette (remember those?).

I wore this tape out. Back then, I thought I was cool and was in a band like 50% of you reading this. That band is still around, without me of course.

The Toadies were on tour for this album, and were coming to the Strand in Providence RI. I was planning on seeing them, and right before that date we got a gig at a tiny little club across the street called The Raven. Because of this, I couldn’t see them. We played there while they played across the street.

Just as we were about halfway through our set they must have finished because loads of drunken Toadies fans poured into the club we were playing at. They loved us. I think we could have played nursery rhymes on bagpipes and they would still have been into it. Alcohol seems to do that to people. Here’s some pictures from back then (I’m the bald dude):

OK….after 7 years, they finally released another album in 2001 - Hell Below Stars Above. This album took some getting used to, but I think that was because I had 7 years to get used to the first one.

I would say this album is just as good as the first, but has a slightly different feel to it. Go ahead and touch both cover images on your monitor to see what I mean (told you!).

Right after this album was released, the band broke up, citing differences with the bass player.

Since that breakup, Vaden Lewis (singer) started another band with a similar sound, called The Burden Brothers. I have their albums, and they are good. They are just not the same as the Toadies, however.

In recent years, the Toadies did some reunion shows in Texas. They finally got back together for good, and this new album will be released 7 years after their last one. They seem to like that timespan for some reason.

Here’s an article with some info on the new album. Here’s their official website, which will hopefully get updated soon.

Hey folks. I don’t know how to sugar coat this, so I’ll just come out with it. I’ve just learned that the end of the world is fast approaching, and we are all certainly doomed.

Need proof? The dollar is crashing, we are in a recession, gas is $4 a gallon, and The New Kids on the Block are reuniting.

Remember Marky Mark and the Sucky Funky Bunch, and how much they blew? Mark Wahlberg smartened up and started acting, earning tons of money and respect. I thought his”New Kid” brother Donnie was going the same route but MAN is this a step backwards for him. Who knows…maybe they will kick ass and I’ll be rocking out to their new album. Maybe I can even catch them live with M.C. Hammer opening for them. That would be way too legit.

Hey! What’s shakin’? Not too much I hope.

This is just a quick post to let you in on something that I just discovered. Maybe you already know, maybe you don’t. I had heard Amazon.com was selling MP3s now, but never bothered to check it out. I’ve bought all sorts of crap from them, but never MP3s. The wife was recently looking for this album by a group from the 80s called the Stabilizers:

It was only released on vinyl (look it up kiddies). Being younger than the wife, I’m not up on these “records”. Apparently they are some sort of large compact disc with grooves in them? Very strange.

I was hoping I could find it on CD for her somewhere. I tried eBay, and they had loads of them, all on “record”. I tried a rare music store - Gemm.com. It looks like it was only released on CD in other countries. They had one listed for $100(ish). I’m not Bill Gates, so I didn’t buy it.

I thought about searching for it again today, and just for the hell of it I tried Amazon. They had it! $8.99 for the album with no DRM, recorded at a bit rate of 256kbps. I never would have thought they would have something hard to find like that. I bought it, downloaded it, listened to it for a few seconds, and threw up a little. If you are looking to take a white knuckle ride on the Vomitron, here’s the link to buy your own copy.

Hopefully the wife will like it better.