Tuesday, October 30, 2001

I'm sick. Spent yesterday at the hospital while Mike mixed the disc. Got the final masters today. Great sounds. Doing promo for the Saturday show. Looks like there'll be a great turnout. Very excited. Spent some time today thinking about the waitress debacle. I don't get it. Anyway, peace, love and ginger ale. (the only thing I can keep down right now. :-) Going to bed now. Love S7N7S. Thanks for taking care of me. - Aaron

 Monday, October 29, 2001

We mix the CD.  Tomorrow we master, and then we're done.   We'll have some CDs at the gig on Saturday...

We run the set.  God, we rock.

Aaron got food poisoning from Olive Garden.  They don't get a link.  I'll get rid of the one below, too.

Sunday, October 28, 2001

Note: due to some issues with honesty and employment, we have changed all names on the site (besides ours) to protect the innocent and guilty.  See above.

Erik says he asked out one of the waitresses at Mademoiselle.

We go to Olive Garden.

Saturday, October 27, 2001

EVIL JAKE BOOKS BUFFALO GIG FOR SATURDAY, NOV 3!!!  Details here...

Mike celebrates.  Mike loves Canada.  Mike loves The Sundowner.

Friday, October 26, 2001

Ryan leaves on a 6:40 am flight, but not before we close down Mademoiselle and then go to Denny's with Cave, Flame, Ronnie, and Claire.  Shoshana meets us there for her Grand Slam Breakfast.  Turns out she was supended from the club this week, but will be back next week.  Oh, and the wonderful owners of the club gave Erik, Aaron, and Mike Gold VIP catds to get in free all the time.

Aaron, Mike and Paul also drive around for hours playing the rough mix on cassette and singing along.

Mike also adds some new shirts to the Wardrobe Page.

Thursday, October 25, 2001

Last night was REDICULOUS.  Of course we closed down Mademoiselle.   But thats's just the beginning of it. We're too tired to write now, so stay tuned in a few hours... Oh yeah, and we get the rough mix of THE CD today.

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OK, we're back.  Have you seen the new Erik T-Shirt?  Evil Jake loves Erik Loves Evil Jake shirts!

Last night, we meet Flame (and all 5'10" - sans heels - of her Flame-looking self) and Cave, not to mention Avis, the stripper/Avis Counter Attendant.   Need to make a reservation?

Of course, we make it to Denny's again. Grand Slam.

Got the prelim mix of the CD from Jack. Ryan says we're gonna be huge.

"You're gonna be huge"- Ryan

We only have a cassette, and because we don't have a cassette deck, we have to jump in the truck and cruise. Very cool. Just got home from work and was told about the new Erik Ford Edition Evil Jake T-shirt. Outstanding. I'm tired and broke. Thank God for friends. I will be sponsored tonight. Ok, now for a recap of last night...

At the jam, the crew (Erik, Ryan, Mike, Aaron, Paul) discussed what would make up the Evil Jake drink. Thanks to Ryan, we have it. An 8 pour of Jack Daniels, Coke to color and a splash of Grenadine to smooth the edges. Stir it with your finger and there you go. The Evil Jake. - Aaron

Wednesday, October 24, 2001

Hegg is here.

Things I've Done in Buffalo:  Toured lovely downtown, eaten Mighty Taco, visited Circuit City, laundry, slept on the couch, showered.

Things I've Not Done (Yet):  Met any of the "Evilettes" (or is that the "Jakettes"?), heard the band play.

Things  Almost Did, But For The Grace Of The Evil Gods:   Missed my flight, washed my hair with the dogs' shampoo.

But the night is but a fetus... (like Paul's kid...) - Ryan

Tuesday, October 23, 2001

The CD is DONE!!!  Stay tuned for news on how to get YOURS...

Monday, October 22, 2001

Evil Jake is in the studio.  Erik assists with gofering.

Holy shit. After a marathon 13 hour session at Digital Visionary, Evil Jake completes laying tracks for what is exp.erimentally titled "Music To Strip By". The beats are phat, the guitars are chunky and the performances were KILLER. Four originals and a surprise cover grace the Evil Jake debut. (Including a few obvious references to this website.) We're exhausted! We head down the road. Erik and Paul take off for some sleep. Mike and I close the bar...again. How rock and roll. We will all dream platinum tonight. - Aaron

Sunday, October 21, 2001

Paul is here and adds phenomenal finishing touches to the arrangements with his "bombastic youthfulness and pungent vocality"...Rehearsal is extremely productive!  ..Aaron realizes that Mike is full of shit half of the time and that he lies consistently...Erik is our "Roadie and Defender of the Metronome"...We come to the conclusion that this band will "Rock like no other.." (Paul likes to say things in "quotes" with his fingers). - Paul

Hey, if I played it that way,  I wrote it that way...  if I didn't play it the same way twice, well, then I rewrote it...  - Mike

Aha! I have the last word. Today, Mike and I learn how to work with each other. I accuse Mike of being wrong, he then spends the next half hour defending himself until he goes hoarse, then I win. He can't speak.  Pre-production is as smooth as a baby's ass. Evil Jake is all power. Erik keeps Paul in line. I keep Mike in line. Me and Erik run this band. We will celebrate today, tomorrow and the rest of the week. :-) Rock. - Aaron

Evil Jake (minus Paul, who's sleeping off the cold he now has) + Erik head down to Mademoiselles for a celebratory drink (and lapdance and VIP lounge trip) and we meet... Skyler.  She will be here when Hegg arrives, dressed appropriately for the Halloween Strip Celebration.  She likes AC/DC.  Mike finishes off the lyrics at the table, and we tentatively title the upcoming CD Music to Strip By. - editor

Erik loves Evil Jake!

Saturday, October 20, 2001

Evil Jake hits the studio on Monday.  Aaron and Mike spend the day finalizing arrangements for the 4-5 songs we plan to cover.

Ronnie writes in to say "I was not left alone with Erik. you make it sound so incriminating. im innocent.".

Paul Mark & the Van Dorens play the blues Warehouse tonite.  It will be the first time we've seen Joe in a while... maybe since he introduced Evil Jake to one another.

Friday, October 19, 2001

Band camp is sick.  I think Aaron got something from Steph..

Thursday, October 18, 2001

Hi. - Ronnie

Ronnie (from Journal Entry #247) came back to Band Camp Central after Mademoiselles closed.  That's her up there.  Unfortunately, Mike falls asleep on the couch and misses the party.  Turns out Mike and Aaron are both sick.  Hope we didn't give anything to any of the lap dancers.

Erik is left alone with Ronnie.

Wednesday, October 17, 2001

Ronnie (from Journal Entry #247) e-mails us to ask where we've been.  Can you believe that its been almost 4 days since we've been to Mademoiselles?   Lucky for us, the plan is go play the Blues Warehouse Jam, and then take Sarah over to the joint...  (her first appearance there since we got the "news").

Mike adds pictures of his wardrobe to the site... stay tuned for the "Choose the Outfit" contest.

Tuesday, October 16, 2001

Aaron swore he'd get up at 11.  Its 12:45.  Still snoring. - Mike

Couldn't help it. The dogs kept me up. Had a good workout. Played a little followup with the clubs. No answers yet. Mike (drill instructor) got up WAY too early today. Must coordinate sleep schedules so Mike doesn't get accidentally hit with my shoe when he tries to wake me. Confirmed 10/22 to lay tracks for the Evil Jake demo. Kick ass. On another note, gonna give notice soon to my in-town gigs. Yup, time to make the ultimate sacrifice.- Aaron

Since when is leaving Buffalo "the ultimate sacrifice"? - Mike

Monday, October 15, 2001

Gym.  Mighty Taco.  Rehearsal.  This is quickly becoming a pattern.

Aaron gets on the horn with two of our target venues (Backstage Pub and Broadway Joe's), trying to book a date on the weekend of the 27th, or the one after.  We'll see.

Later on that day, we make it over to Mohawk Place and Backstage Pub to check out the scene.  The owners of both places take to us really well.   Mohwak Place is kinda like the CBGBs of Buffalo... kinda shady, not particularly huge, but with some cool bands (many from NYC) playing.  Backstage Pub is a bigger and more local sort-of club.  Several national acts, including Buddy Miles and Nickelback, have played their stage.  Seems like we're mere days away from booking the first "official" gig.

Sunday, October 14, 2001

Went to Chili's.

75 degrees.  This is Buffalo, right?

Saturday, October 13, 2001

Mike and Aaron finish off the first of many Buffalo-written songs.  We won't leak the title yet, but we're happy enough about it that we're planning on making it one of the 4 songs we record next week.  Stay tuned...

Paul, Mike, and Eric visit KrispyKreme during a "Hot Donuts Now" session, and the place is packed with high school girls.   Glazed, of course.

I get love. Much love. :-) - Aaron

Its 80 degrees in Buffalo.  Any questions?

Friday, October 12, 2001

Mike and Aaron get Sushi (in Buffalo???) with Stephanie.   Noone puked.

Tommy Z plays the Blues Warehouse... with Aaron in tow.  Ray is there, too, but we're not sure what he's doing exactly.  The hot girl gets toilet paper stuck to her shoe.

We go to Mighty Taco again.   Twice.

Thursday, October 11, 2001

HANGOVER!!!

Mike spends the day on the couch. I go to work. The 4-7 shift behind the bar nets $9. We promise Sarah to meet her at  T-Birds, the local oldies hangout where 40-somethings in leather miniskirts rule. I hear tonight an  Elvis impersonator will be entertaining us. Oh well, a promise is a promise. At least she's just tending bar - and not a patron. Paul is thinking hard. - Aaron

Yes, Sarah was indeed there.  Over the course of the conversation, she had some interesting news for us.  She went home after a few hours, and we proceeded to Mademoiselles once again to close the place down the Ronnie.   No Denny's tonight, but we find out that she and Shoshana have children.... multiple children.  But they're still cute, and we're men.

OK, THIS is why you read the Band Camp Journal.

Wednesday, October 10, 2001

Two important facts:

Paul is going to be a daddy.
Evil Jake plays its secret debut show.

It wasn't supposed to happen - we were just hanging out at the Wednesday Jam at the Blues Warehouse - but Paul found out that Jen (his wife) was pregnant and we celebrated... jumped on stage and just started playing.... but not before I got 10 free drinks from Sarah, the cute bartender.

Aaron worked at the Blues Warehouse this afternoon, and then ran over to the Tralph for a gig, then back for the blues jam, which he gets paid to play.   Sarah thought I was "in the band", so I didn't have to pay for anything. (see, wear the Johnny Suede shirt and you're set).  I jammed with the band and some short guy singing "Born Under a Bad Sign". Then Paul showed up and gave us the news - Jen is pregnant.   George, bandleader and guitarist extraordinaire, said we could have the stage in celebration.  We got up.  We played.  We stumbled.  But then it was over.  We made it through 3 tunes with no major problems, and no major applause (except for Eric, brother in law).  Everything She Wants, Evil Jake, and She's So Lonely.  We're rock stars again.

Then we took Sarah over to Mademoiselles, the strip club mere blocks from Band Camp Central.  Turns out Sarah used to WORK there... 

We didn't like the dancers so much.  Sunshine was cute, but mean and dumb.  However, Ronnie, our waitress was great.  She hung out with us, and we took her to Denny's after closing (ok, you got any other ideas of where to take someone to in Buffalo at 4am?).

Oh yeah, and we also found out that Jordi broke her arm.   Its all Ryan's fault.  Lets hope she feels better quick.  (OK, I feel I must exp.lain this one.  Ryan's parents couldn't find Ryan.  They called Brother Jimmy's looking for him.   Jordi, frantic, called me and some others trying to track him down.  In the fray, she fell down the stairs at Jimmy's at broker her arm.)

Today, DJ's Blues Warehouse in the middle of suburban Buffalo.   Tomorrow, the world (or at least the strip bars in Canada).  Whoo-hoo!

Tuesday, October 9, 2001

Home from tending bar at the Warehouse...I'm exhausted. Luckily, so is everyone else. The discovery of a topless bar within walking distance leaves us all breathless....and possibly broke. Stay tuned for more on this latest sub-plot. Another trip to the gym today for Mike & Aaron. Paul is a workout no-show. So busy. So complicated. He's probably off making  love to his bass drum. Recording   philosophies are discussed - options are weighed. A trip to GNC brings much soy protein into our lives. This report is brought to you by the fine folks at Mighty Taco. - Aaron

Paul attempts gym workout tonight!!! Paul has lived on Diet Pepsi (not as good as Diet Coke, but that's all they have in the machine at the day gig) and Taste of India (now with e Coupons!) for the past 2 weeks...The Tandoori Chicken is a hoot!

Monday, October 8, 2001

Ok, Paul got his damn bass drum back. All is right in the world. Thanks to Evil Mikey for the many jerky hook-ups. I am now addicted to flesh. Evil Jake has it's first organized Buffalo rehearsal. Holy shit, the band sounds amazing! A trip to the gym brings us one step closer to rock-stardom. - Aaron

I've never had so much fiber in my life.  If there's anything Evil around here, its Aaron's bathroom at the end of the day.  - Mike

Saturday. October 6, 2001 - 2 pm

Aaron plays Octoberfest in Ellicotville with Tommy Z.   We buy lots of beef jerky (the Rock N Roll Jerky is still on its way).   Evil Jake considers buying a Jerky Hut franchise (the Sweet n' Tender and Teriyaki flavors are amazing).  Stephanie enters the picture.  We check out the scene at the Blues Warehouse, but not without a Mighty Taco stop.   Aaron falls asleep again. Paul still doesn't have a bass drum.

Friday. October 5, 2001 - 11 am

Aaron and Mikey meet for an early breakfast with Toby, studio owner and engineer, to discuss the upcoming recording process.  We settle on Paul and Aaron overdubbing separately to an acoustic + vocals guide track.  A trip to Guitar Center provides them with a metronome, and confirmation of how badly priced the lousy vintage guitars are at chain stores ($2500 for a '69 thinline with changed pickups and a shaved neck???). No word on Paul's bass drum.

Thursday. October 4, 2001 - 10:15 pm

Aaron plays at the NYC benefit at the Tralf with a number of local legends.  Mikey discusses stagewear with some of the old pros.  For the fourth night in a row, Aaron falls asleep before making it halfway through the movie of choice.  Will he never find out where Jesse Montgomery III's car is? Paul hopes the dogs didn't eat his bass drum...

Wednesday. October 3, 2001 - 9pm

The boys of Evil Jake head down to DJ's Blues Warehouse for a jam.  Aaron gets paid.  We see plenty of Paul Mark & the Van Dorens posters around, plus lots of others of guys with "Z" in their names. Paul can't find his bass drum...

Tuesday. October 2, 2001 - 11 pm

Evil Jake watches The Contender on HBO.  Paul is scared of the dogs.  Aaron builds a barrier with the couch and some chairs to protect him. -Mikey

My house is transformed into a rock star palace. Spent the day packing old stuff, moving in new stuff and making room for computers, amps and places to be lazy. Carrot sticks, lowfat cottage cheese and walking is mandatory. (and quite necessary.) Band Camp goals: 1) SOUND GOOD 2)GET HOT 3)DON'T SMOKE - Aaron

Sneezing, itchy eyes, annoying dogs, movies, computers...Where the heck is my bass drum??? -Paul

Monday. October 1, 2001 - 2:30 pm

Mike, Aaron, and Paul start the drive to Buffalo.   Burger King, Turkey Jerky, and little old ladies who keep crossing in front of us.   We get horrible mileage on the 6.5 hour drive because Aaron leaves the "powerdrive" button on.  We listen to Flickerstick.  Paul loves the song "Coke".  We land at band camp central, get some wings (from Central Park Grill), and watch Dude, Where's My Car...  again...

Sunday, September 30, 2000 - 6:15 pm

Aaron pulls into NYC in the rented SUV.  Mike and Aaron go for Sushi, but not before purchasing no less than 7 gig-worthy shirts at Canal Jeans in Soho.  Then they head off to Brother Jimmy's West Side for a last night of goodbyes and Karaoke.  Mike does Neil Diamond's America.  Aaron does Hold On, I'm Comin'.  Lovely Katie does her legendary bar-top rendition of Ice, Ice Katie.  Plus, the new girl (now with short hair) does the Who's the Boss version of Tiny Dancer (again).  Big Ted and Evil Hegg help finish off 7 pitchers ($6 each on Karaoke Sundays), and we tip Mrs. Buffet well.

Wednesday, September 26, 2000 - 3am

Mike writes the opening riff to the eponymous Evil Jake song.