Perfect Road

The lack of a good book eats me up. I finished Tropic of Cancer a few days ago. Yesterday I was so bored, I actually read through my copy of last year SI Swimsuit Edition. Yes, I own a copy. I read about all of the luxury resorts where the photographers and models stay. Places such as these are too perfect. I don't want a gaggle of people asking me what I want all the time. May I get you that, get you this. My room is a great resort. I get privacy and all the comforts of home. I have a shower. I do not have internet access, though.

Last night when I was riding my bike, I coasted over the evidence of a profound truth. That truth: Where money is, nice things are. Not in the ways one would expect, either. There are the obvious things, of course. And signs one has to feel around a bit to notice. While I was riding my bike, I noticed that nice cars were popping up. And as that little observation, like a pleasant bubble, expanded to a proper size within my brain, the road surrendered itself. Like a virgin too tired it was, and sweeter. I tell you, the road was as smooth as baby's bottom. Not a bump to disturb my straight course. I could have worn a blindfold and taken my hands off the handle bars and still ridden all night through the streets of that wealthy paradise, all without a care in the world. The smoothness, like that of a baby's bottom or like that of sanded balsa wood, was delicious. I wonder how the folks over there made that road so smooth.

Does the city pay for it knowingly. Do they let all the other roads go to shit but keep the best ones hidden like a secret in back road neighborhoods.

Some political and economic points occurred to me. Fuck them. I just want to think about how perfect that road was.

Found! Get Up Go Movie Mash Up

Whoever made this, Bravo! I am not sure what the video really means, but it includes tons of movies I love: Predator, The Goonies, Road Warrior, Blood Sport, Back to the Future...The list goes on. It feels like The Frontier Brothers are famous. Mash up videos start popping up. Also, there is some footage of me in high school, smiling at the camera and kissing my then girlfriend. The strangeness! I look so angelic. I don't know where that footage came from.

My favorite part is when Carl Weathers and Arnold do a strong arm handshake at the guitar solo spot. The beginning comes a close second. Enjoy! And thanks to whoever liked the song enough to make this video!

I gotta say, I don't look that bad compared to Mel.

Peta makes me mad, like Jesse James

PETA has condemned Obama. They're after him. He swatted a fly. Personally, I was impressed by the video. Jesus. It's a fucking fly.

I don't have much time to write this post. I've been really busy with school. Things like this, they call upon those long dorment springs of inner frustration to erupt into the bright sun with a flash of color and violence. My hands feel heavy, stuffed with gravel, the two want to make a thud on that someone's face. That ninny motherfucker.

Sorry I've been so busy with scholastic responsibilities. The studio looks great, right? I believe I'll visit the UT pool today. Across the way from the sparkling pool and over a fence there are construction workers tearing their backs and cutting their legs on exposed nails. And they can see us there, lounging by the pool. Never felt so good about myself in my life. So lucky I am. It was all luck. Things are not so bad, that's for sure. My car starts. It is not raining and my nose is not stuffed up. Construction workers should be protected better. The job is dangerous. Perhaps someday I'll be on the other side of the fence and my twenty year old UT ID won't get me in. I'll remember the silky water and the protuding bums of women coming up for breaths.

The Frontier Brothers Visit Cacophony Studios

I Don't Wanna

I threw a pair of socks over my shoulder this morning. I couldn't find them when I turned around. I tried to find them for a minutes and then gave up. The socks are gone.

Obama was speaking today on the tube. This was during my lunch time. On top of lowering health care costs, he said, the average person in America should make an effort to take a run or go to the gym; also, he made a point to urge Americans to curb their addiction to fast food, which has "caused an epidemic of obesity in our country." To my right, two people eating Taco Bell. At my left, three fat girls munching Chick-fil-a. All eyes glued to the screen. None seemed aware of the irony. The president had just called them out on being fat asses. That's when you know you've got to change things. 

We won't be able to play with Kepi Ghoulie in Ft. Worth. I am very sad, angry even.

Remember the Build Your Own Spacesuit Tour?

Well, these are the names that didn't quite make the cut.
I just sat down and started writing whatever came to mind.
Anything that had to do with mythology, the yonder, and punkness.

Moon's Magnetism Tour
Flying Through A Supernova's Grave Tour
The Picturesque Nebula Tour
Where Venus's Water Went Tour
Perfect Space Storm Tour
When We Stayed Home to Leave Earth Tour
(The) Space Settlement and War Tour
(The) Magnificent Mystery of Magnetars Tour
(The) Exquisitely Maintained Robots Tour
(The) Greater Stardom Tour
Upstarts of the Nine Planets Tour
Technical, Electronic, Supersonic Robot Tour
The Wealthy Robot Owners Tour
Experimental Love-Craft Tour
The Return of the Frontier Brothers Tour
Vices and Devices Tour, 2009
Evolution of a New Brain Tour
To the Brightest Of Gods Tour
'Till The World is Doomed Tour
Hot is the Holy Water Tour
The Louder Than You Think Tour
The Domestic and Majestic Tour
The Face of the Spacefaring Race Tour
The Spacefarin' American Tour
The Iron Lion Tour

Any Questions?

Didn't think so.

Friday, Thunderstorms, and the Lunatics on Channel 5

Why?
cuz it's friday
you aint got no job
and we aint got shit to do.

I kind of like that in verse.

There was a large thunderstorm last night. I was sitting on my porch. Far away, violence in the sky, just endless flashes, boom boom BOOM boom BOOM. I have to admit the display was frightening. Travis phoned and told me there had been some tornados spotted on Anderson Mill and 183. This refreshed my spirit. I'd had a long day and was tired. The danger and the smell of moisture coming in, leaving the air dense and saturated, that made me feel nice. I had a Tecate with my neighbor Ty and listened to the thunger come closer. We advised some of the females on the street to move their cars under trees. Like we had shit under control. A beer is also cooler when water is tightly packed in the air around you. The cold liquid becomes more of a strange and refreshing thing when the air is pushing in warmly against you.

I believe the media needs to be stopped. They are all lunatics.

There might have been some danger last night. Some homes were damaged. If you were careless, you might have been injured. Ty and I watched the newscast for about an hour. It was shocking. The folks were practically begging for a catastrophe. When even a slight rotation is detected by doppler radar, the people at Fox plant these yellow, swirling circles on the screen. Last night, there were close to eight of these things plastered onto a map of Austin. The image is terrifying. It looked as though eight yellow, mad, reckless demon yellow eyes balls were distributing bits of Armageddom across central Austin.

When the whole thing calmed down and the radar clearly showed the storm had moved past us, the news people seemed crestfallen. "Well, at times tonight, it was really bad. We had a bad storm on us tonight" Something like that. A tinge in her voice, like she was disappointed with the level of carnage.

We cannot allow people in the business of entertainment to shape our view of the world.

Buenos Aires Indie Rock Explosion

Dear humans,

In case you haven't been stalking me as intently as everyone else, I've been in Buenos Aires, soaking in the scene. There's a sweet record store down the street and they have been hooking me up with whats cool in Buenos Aires and greater Argentina. This is a country of indie rock and dance music. Well, the Taxis all seem to play bad 80s pop songs, but isn't that just an international taxi phenomenon?

Here's a crash course in what's cool:
Bicicletas - 11 Y 20
Download MP3
Banda de Turistas - Todo mío el otoño
Download MP3
and check out these bands on their myspaces- i couldn't find mp3s
http://www.myspace.com/lesmentettes
http://www.myspace.com/ondavaga
http://www.myspace.com/interama


Ciao,

B

The Sublime and the Tacky

From Shakespeare's Henry V,

For these fellows of infinite tongue, that can rhyme themselves into ladies' favours, they do always reason themselves out again...A speaker is but a prater, a rhyme is but a ballad; a good led will fail, a straight back will stoop, a black beard will turn white, a curled pate will grow bald, a fair face will whither, a full eye will become hollow, but a good heart, Kate, is the and the moon, for it shines bright and never changes, but keeps his course truly.

Isn't that nice? Beautiful. I teard up a bit when I read this. But then again I was behind on my med schedule.

Now for something crass and tacky. I was supposed to write a piece for this magazine, for a story called 10 Worst Band Experiences of all Time. I could have been truthful, outlined the all too frequent scenarios: bad sound, asshole door guy, skimpy pay. Instead I chose to expound on another aspect of the band experience. I apologive, especially to Peter, who took the time to post a nice comment on my last entry and who no doubt has some sensitivities when it comes to sexism. I also apologive for how shitty the thing really is. I even missed the dead line.

Well, I have a big problem with clubs; they don't have a system for keeping out ex-girlfriends. In the music world, we have a unique lexicon. When you know a girl is attractive and she's really excited to come the show, she might be what we call a "prospect." Propects and ex-girlfriends should never be allowed to identify each other. If that happens, the whole thing is blasted to hell. Even a casual comment. "Who do you know in the band?" (Disastrous) Oh yes, those past and maybe all too present flames with definitely brag about your shared past together. The two will inevitably form a bond, thus excluding you and elminitating the prospect. This all sounds sexist. It is. It's tragic. But let's be practical.

A few remedies, maybe a "no" list with names and physical descriptions. The dialogue would go like this.

Door Guy "Are you Mary Kabob?"
Ex "Yes"
DG "The Frontier Brothers are not playing tonight."
Ex "Are you sure? They are still on the list."
DG "Nope, they cancelled."
Ex "You're kidding." (really dry delivery )
She pokes her head in the door.
Ex "Wait, that's them setting up!"
DG "No, it's not. Show's cancelled."
Ex "LOVE MEEEE!"
DG "You're making a scene."

Anti-Female Bus Songs

So I was on the bus (again), and there were a few, maybe six other females of varying age and ethnicity there too. Otherwise, the space was emptied. Everyone rocked back and forth in a near trance, as usual. The radio flipped on, and that Eagles song Peaceful, Easy Feeling flipped on. One particular lyric piqued my interest. "I found out what a woman can do to the soul..." I don't know exactly the line, I don't care enough to look it up. But the point is this - everyday women are attacked for being soul sucking monsters. In the bus, the lyric rang out clearly. None of them registered a reaction. Do they not care? How can they simply ignore this obvious indictment? Standing accused, do they feel a need to defend themselves? It strikes me as peculiar that women can enjoy a popular class of media that lashes out at them so frequently.

Perhaps they concede guilt. They know they are guilty and the reproach is endured gracefully, an act of penitence. In another way, scorn is caring soured. Scorn reveals a soft underbelly. Women may enjoy being the object of scorn, for it allows them to agitate that tender belly with the sharpened twigs of their mind's eye. Secretly, of course.

But women must grow tired of the constant assault. Each time the radio comes on, they receive a swift ruler to the knuckle. No way to live, if you ask me.

I Need a Bike!

Yes, I need a bike. And I'm a cheap son of a bitch, so it has to be used and priced to sell. I rode a fixed gear bicycle yesterday. Jesus, the things people go through to be cool. It was a tough ride. I'd much rather have a geared bike. But the fixed gears are cheaper. That's a perk.

(Laugh it up, kids)

I need a bike so badly. I really don't look forward to the bus. The atmosphere is so crushing. It is the saddest place that I know. People with stone faces eating cereal with no milk. Often I have to fight off the urge to scream my ass off. I have a feeling people would shit themselves. The shock would scare the very shit out of their bodies. Owwww! The bus is a peopled graveyard. And we have agreed to be deceased and silent. There must be better places beyond this place of wrath and tears! Rawr! I need a bike, sons of bitches. (Leave a comment if you have any relevant information)

Rumors, News, and Upcoming Events

Rumor (unsubstantiated) - The Frontier Brothers might be playing with Kepi Ghoulie and Friends in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Mid July. Kepi the Band or The Groovie Ghoulies (his old band) Till Death Do Us Party!

Rumor #2 (substantiated) The Frontier Brothers will be returning to the studio at the end of the summer to record 2 to 3 new songs for an EP Release. Where? Probably at Cacophony Studios in Austin, Tx.




FACT: Our esteemed colleague John Marzola is setting up a lake party. The Bright Light Social Hour, The Frontier Brothers, and Kevin Jack will perform on a massive house boat to a horde of drunken revelers on two adjoining house boats. Rumors of wake board contests and charities abound. Tickets will be available soon.

R.I.P. Jay Bennett

For those who don't know of Jay Bennett, he was a guitarist and instrumentalist, a former member of Wilco. He died about a week ago, I think.

"He was in the middle of recording another solo album in Champaign when he died over the weekend at age 45....A cause of death was not immediately available, nor was information on survivors. The Champaign County coroner's office did not return messages, according to The Associated Press."
-Chicago Tribune



This really saddened me. Jay had an unfortunate run. What most people don't know is that Jay was responsible for the change in Wilco, the style and aesthetic changes that led to their masterpiece, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I say his run was unfortunate because he was kicked out of the band shortly after they finished the album. Also, Jay was a great songwriter. If you haven't heard "Venus Stop the Train," you must hear it. It's a Jay Bennett track that never made it to the album. I recommend the version with Jeff Tweedy on vocals. That's the thing. Jay had gargantuan talent, but he wasn't a front man. To be successful, he needed to work through someone with that indefinable quality. It's a shame. You are truly born a singer and front man. It cannot be taught. The origin of it, the aura and inflection of a good singers delivery, is truly a weird mystery. When Wilco dropped him (probably due to power struggles between he and Tweedy) Jay had no place to go. He really was forced to start over again, playing the songs he wrote with Wilco and making solo albums, which in my opinion he was not fit to deliver correctly. It's a great loss.

Male and Female

I had a dark, dark dream last night, the kind of dream where you wake more tired than before, being forced to exert yourself all through the night. It reminded me a little of H.R. Geiger's work, particularly his version of the Book of the Dead.

A male and female, two halved parts of my whole, sat at the top of the floor of this elaborate dark home. I had a woman with me, but she could not visit them there. And to me, the two things were beautiful. They were human forms but moved through the air. And watching them was like viewing film slowed down, frame by frame. The male and female moved like poured oil and then froze up all the sudden, halted in the shell of black wax figures. Like that, back and forth like film. The creatures turned more hostile when I led her up to the top floor. They chased us around. I tried to hop over the balcony to get away, but turned back suddenly. I remember thinking I'd be able to will them to desist. The dream ended then. I understand that most dream accounts are vague. I hope I was able to convey the visceral quality of it all, how powerful it was.

A cropping of an H.R. Geiger piece:

New Calculator Watch

Here at TFB...

We are behaving like a sleeper cell. Actually, I've just blocked YOU'RE ability to read all my blog posts. But really, we are resting for a bit. After the tours and all that great stuff, we're cooling down. I can't tell you what I'm doing, but I guarantee it's relaxing.

You ever meet people with unfortunate last names? I know a few. I recently met this girl named Mary Sinister. That was unfortunate. Mary sounds like Very, Very sinister.

This girl beside me is the most boring person in the world. Her aura sweats it, boredom and being boring. Her drink has been almost empty for fifteen minutes. I had to swivel my computer to get this shot. It bothers me when people nurse the final small sip of liquid. Just drink it; get it over with. Such people are weak.

Interview: zap! bang! Magazine

The Frontier Brothers
People interviewed: Marshall Galactic
2009-05-19



The Frontier Brothers have landed. Nobody can deny this fact, but from where it is exactly they originate is still a mystery. Their debut album Space Punk Starlet is proof that there is far more to them than any other American Indie Rock band out there at the moment. In fact, upon hearing the 14 gems on what is an album with no fillers, it is hard to confine them to the indie box. Could this trio really be from a different planet? I spoke to Marshall Galactic to find out a little bit more about what we can expect from this latest space invasion.

First off, tell us a little about your background…
My name is Marshall Galactic. I am from Texas, I live in Texas. All of my life I have lived here. But my spirit animal is from outer-space. Travis and Brett are the same.

How did the group come together?
Brett and I wrote “T.E.S.S.” together. That was our first song. We also did a Meat Loaf cover and a song called “Face Up At The Funeral”. We went with the lighter theme. Travis joined a few months later. He is my real brother.

What first got you into making music?
My brother started playing guitar. I got one, too. I don’t remember why I started writing songs. Must have been too young. I was 14 or 13. At that age, we can think and solve problems and believe we are people. But I was not sentient then. I was not a real person, not yet. I hadn’t seen death. So that is why I don’t know the precise reason why I wanted to make music. I guess the whole thing seemed natural. I never listened to a lot of music. I just liked guitar.

Read the rest of the interview at zapbangmagazine.com