Hey everyone!

We had the honor of playing the Buffalo Club again on Friday night. We played with two other bands called R.A.F and LTG.

The day started with me waking up and realizing that I had a long day of work ahead of me before the gig that night. As I left for work I realized that whatever I was wearing going to work was what I was going to be wearing for the gig. Black Shirt and Jeans…. as usual….

My friends know that I know a little Spanish. Well, enough to get beat up in Mexico at least. I got myself a 12 disc “Learn Spanish” program. Which I have moved onto my iPod. I decided that Friday was the day to start…. Thank god I was in my car instead of on the bus. (iPod) “buenos dias.. repeat….” (Paul out loud) “buenos dias”.

After work, I turn on my iPod and head over to the space to pick up my Drums. After loading up, I headed over to the club. yes, I know, this is pretty boring so far… but really, nothing exciting happened….

Our show was to start around 7:30pm-8:00pm. Pretty early, and I was concerned about how many people would be there. As you all know, we sent out our FlockMail, as well as other forms of advertising. So I was sure that we would get a turn out. After setting up my gear on stage, I realized that I needed a battery for my in-ears. (and I wanted some cigars!) So my buddy Jovahn and I headed next door to a convenient store. When we opened the door, this sound happened that made us laugh our asses off!…. Trust me, If you are near the Buffalo Club, go to the store just to the south and listen as you enter. This alarm sounds as the door is opened to tell the person working that someone is entering. The Battery must be low so it was really weird…. God it was funny!!!!

Time to enjoy the night. People were really starting to pour in. By the time we hit the stage there was a good group of people in the club. Kurtis did an introduction and we started into Machine Guns and Jesus Christ. Energy was pretty good, and as far as I knew, things went great. No major mistakes. People got their Clap on during Nocturnal Transmission… Since we have started PreProduction for our upcoming album, we had made some changes to “Eyes Wide”. We decided to play it the way we had always played it, as to not make any mistakes. For those of you there on Friday, that was the last time that song would be played in that form. Cry… cry…. cry….. Next thing I knew, we were done…. I left the stage with honor.

A drink was in order. R.A.F hit the stage and to be honest, they had a great sound. EXCEPT that their bass player was in the hospital. Still sounded kick-ass. I would really like to play with these guys again sometime soon. Great music and great energy. Please check them out.

During this time, I had managed to put back a couple pints. Perhaps I should have eaten a dinner… My belly is a hurt’n. Anyways, I packed up my gear and loaded out to my car. The sheep were all over the place meet’n and greet’n. All in all, it was a great night and we sold some merch. It’s always great to play with the Sheep. This was our final gig before the recording of our new album. We are working with some great people. I have worked on many albums, and I believe that this will be the most fun to play on.

OH, after I left the show, I went and met up with my wife and headed home. I made some Nachos with melted cheese and beef on it…. Oh god it was good!…. Actually, I am going to melt some cheese right now….. hmmm… melted cheese…..

Paulie.

Friends of the band know that we enjoy Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert; but last week Stephen had a segment on the show that was shocking and disturbing. I think it may be something personal that he has against us. Possibly because we live in Vancouver, and we all know that Stephen Jr. has flown to Vancouver, where he’s been seen on numerous occassions.

In the same episode that Stephen issued these damning words about sheep, he also introduced something that he’s never had on the show before; his “Fantasies” board. The thing is, he pulled something off of his Fantasy Board, and left an empty space there, right after going on his rant about sheep. What is he trying to say? I think he’s sending us mixed messages here.

I’m calling on everyone to demand that Stephen Colbert tell us the truth about what he thinks of us. I know where Stephen Jr. is, and I’m not afraid to do whatever it takes to get Stephen to talk. Stephen Colbert, if you’re reading this (and I know you will be), come clean on this issue. Do you hate us, or do you love us?

I had some requests to do a recap on a couple gigs I forgot. Here goes.

Picadilly, January 12th/07
Video Taped.

Well, from what I rememeber, it was a long day for me… waking up, eating Captain Crunch, drinking the milk from the bowl, pouring more Captian Crunch, pouring more milk while asking myself why I drank the milk before when I knew I was going to have another bowl? We have all been there, I know, I know…. nothing new. But today was going to be different. I was going to play a gig with my favorite band A Sheep At The Wheel. I was unable to contain my excitment as I dressed myself and had another bowl of Captain Crunch. To be honest, the rest of the day was a blur, but I ended up at the rehersal space. We had arranged to go over a few songs before arriving to the club. Sure enough by the time everyone a had arrived, we had no time to practice. But we did pack up our gear and we headed over to the club.

When we walked into the club, there was a man on stage singing and dancing to some backing tracks. After playing the Columbia and seeing people playing BINGO before we hit the stage, this “Karaoke at the Picadilly” didn’t even phase us. To our suprise, this was actually one of the opening acts. SOOO…. After everyone showed up, we all decided to sit and have a drink. Being as anti-social as we could, we all sat in a booth at the back of the club. A pitcher of beer was passed around and it felt like the “Last Supper”, and I was at the head of the table. I should have stole the cup I drank from, might be worth something. I decided to go up to the bar and get another drink and there was a really drunk guy hitting on the bartender behind the counter. I knew he was talking about me to the girl, but I focused on my drink and turned back to my mates at the booth. About 5 min later, that weird guy stumbles over to our table and instructs me not to cause any problems. Told me to calm down and not to be a “trouble maker”. This man, obviously drunk and perhaps thinking I was someone else felt the need to stumble his way out of the club and stop trafic and talk to the drivers. we found out that the man had given the bartender a $35 tip before making his way out the club. Yikes. All eyes roll…

The band “The Assasination” hits the stage and we all move forward to enjoy the band. This was a fun group. Bluesy and some good old rock. Great energy and also felt the need to remind people that The Sheep had won the online vote (the Steamroller) by 17,000 votes. pretty funny.

After their set, we hit the stage. As we are loading gear to the stage, a girl starts hitting on Christian. Although Christian was honored, he felt it necessary to mention his wife. I don’t think that mattered…. 12:30am and we start our set. Things seemed pretty fast to my recollection. As usual, I was not up to par, and the monitors were not that good. blah, blah blah… but to be honest, I didn’t think it was too bad. During the set, two girls (one who hit on Christian), got up on stage and started to dance…. well, it looked like dancing… lotz of booty shak’n! …

You know, It’s kinda funny how my stories are all about before and after the show and the actual gig is the shortest paragraph. Anyways, We finished our set and packed up our gear. 1:30am. By the time I was done putting all my shells into cases, the club was empty and the house lights were up. Everyone went their own ways, and I went and got my car and loaded my drums into the car as I do far to often. I drove myself home. At home was a Shepards Pie. I gobbled it up as I checked my email. Sleep…… Sleep…..

The End…..

The Buffalo Club, January 24th/07
Video Taped.

The buffalo club is always a fun place to play. The club can be either packed with backstreet boy wanna be’s, or empty as my soul when I drive down Seymore St. So it’s hard to determine if it’s going to be a good turn out. Upon arrival, there was a pitcher of beer waiting for me with the gang. Drink and be merry! The other band we would be playing with was the hawaiian bibles. These were some fun guys! A Groovy three piece with some catchy tunes. While they were playing, I started to set up my gear.
After their set, the sheep made their way to the stage. Since there was only the Hawaiian Bibles and us, there was no hurry on setting up. Relaxed and ready, we started our set. From the getgo, we were on fire. My monitor mix was perfect and I was grooving. More importantly, the end of “One Thing Scares Me” was perfect. Since I had screwed up the previous time with SuperNova, it was very important that I nail it this time. I can’t speak for the rest of the band, but it felt great.

Now, not many people know this, but I sit very low behind my kit…….

(Ok, Short Story: Since I was laid off form work a month ago, I have been in the rehearsal space as often as I can practicing and going over rudiments. I have been really looking at my playing and how I can progress. I have been focusing on time and style. My grip has changed a bit, and hence my setup must change as well.)

Well, my seat was a little low, and I got a MAJOR cramp in my left leg. Now, if you watch the video you can see me stand up a couple time between songs, but I soldiered on though the pain until there was no pain. I know, weird, but it worked. I pushed though and thought I played quiet well. UNTIL: We played the song “Another Game”. All was good until the first chorus. I drew a blank on how the rhythm went. God it was funny. I got “the look” again. This time followed by laugher. I got us back on track and kept it going. Thank god this was my only mistake (I think).

We ended our set and started taking down our gear. No hurry at all. Packed up our gear and I headed out to grab the car. I took a breather as I walked down the street. I passed a well dressed prostitute. I think thigh-high boots and short skirts are coming back. Atleast it was on that block. I tried to act cool as I walked past her to my Ford Tempo. Sure, it wasn’t a Lotus, but I think I could out-race Richard Gere. But why really? Who was I trying to impress for Christ’s sake!? I really examined my life as I opened a can of Fresca I had waiting for me in the front seat. I put on my iPod to some MuteMath as I drove over to the club to grab my gear. I got half way though the intro to the song as I pulled up to the club. God, I spent more time looking for a tune to listen to, then driving the half block to the club. I loaded my gear and thanked the Hawaiian Bibles for their great set. As I pulled away from the club, I saw Courtney out the corner of my eye, pounding a Dollar Pizza in his car. It was pretty funny. A long night of tunes and it closed with a Fresca and a Pizza.

When I got home, my leg was in so much pain! For the record, sleeping on it dosn’t work. The next day I hobbled around like a 90 year old, and I complained just as much. I watched the video for the show and I must say that you can learn alot from that show. Some good and some bad. We shall see…..

The End….

Well, I hope you gave enjoyed reading. I have spent the last hour writing this. One hour of my 24 for the day, dedicated to you all!

All the best everyone!

Paulie.

Hey all,

*** NOTE: I am writting this while sitting in my car at the Joyce Skytrain Station waiting for Kurtis so we can go meet the guys for a meeting. I got me some Wi-Fi, so I jacked it…. heated car, tunes, and macbook. Life is complete. ***

SO…

Well, it’s nice to hit the stage again. This time it was at the Tom Lee Music Hall on Granville for the showcase SuperNova. 15bands and the fact that this was an all ages show was a refreshing change to seeing drunk people at a bar. Now we have kids who stole booze from their parents and drank it in the alley before the show. Still young enough to try to act normal wile drunk, and at the perfect age where they will be remembering all the stupid things they did, and pass that knowledge to their kids that are on the way. Those who didn’t booze it up had a good time with their tongues down their girlfriends mouths. Loud Music, booze, tougues and under-dressed girlfriends…. ahh… The music industry!

A little back story: As you may or may not know, I used to work at Tom Lee Music. After working in the drum department, I moved on to become the manager for the live sound department. Fast forward 5 years, and now they let me go 3 weeks ago. “Can’t teach the old dogg new tricks” Large changes. So if you have ever been let go from a company, you will know it’s a little hard to stick your face back into that building without everyone makeing a point of coming to talk to you and see if your getting over the pain! Well, I haven’t! Anyways, I made the mistake of showing up so early that the room wasn’t even open yet. Sitting in front of the room was a little odd, but just to kick me in the ass, I decided, since things were running a bit late, I would help out with setting up all the sound with the sound guy, who was alone for the night. Needless to say, I was back at home. I ran cables, I set up mics, I was setting levels…. The only difference this time… I’m not getting paid for doing this!!! Yikes..

As bands start entering, they are treating me like the sound guy. Me: “I would be more then happy to help you with your mic levels….. (fader down)…. perfect!… did I mention we are on after you?. Competition… ..” I joked with the band before us. That band was called Mister White. MUSIC STARTS: Good tunes, and a fun group of guys. To my surprise, they played “Open Car” by my favorite band Porcupine Tree. Now, not a single person in that room knew Porcupine tree, and they couldn’t appreciate the song as much as me. I felt like they were singing it directly to me….. tears….. well, one tear…. ok, two!

After that, the sheep rushed the stage like we were extras in Lord of the Rings. Grabed are axes and started to shred. Now, I beleive that none of us were actually ready to play when the first note was strummed, but whatever. We were there to impress. Who cares that I didn’t even have sticks in my hands when the first song started… My scramble behind the kit for some lumber before the downbeat was worth the price of your ticket. Maple hits my fists and my fists hit the skins. We are going…

The first song had great energy and just when I thought things were going great, I get the “look”. GodDammit!, I missed the new change we made to a song. Fake, Fake, Fake, Fake… and end…..

a single bead of sweat down my forehead…. ok, two!

The next few songs went by like a freight train. I don’t even remember playing them. To be honest, I think we invented time travel with the chord progression of the first song. The last thing I remember is starting tp pack up my drums! Oh, and a condom whizzing past Courtney’s head during the last song. Which I kept…. fingers crossed!!

After packing up, we took our things down to the car and talked about the set. We were all kinda quiet for some reason. I think I may have insulted everyones mother during the set..not sure…. I may be looking through the classified ads soon….. OH wait, I already am! hahahaha

After packing up, we went up and listened to the rest of the bands for the rest of the night. All different music styles and talent hit the stage that night. The age ranges were pretty large as well. Good to see some many young bands have such good support from parents and half dressed girlfriends.

Right as we thought it was going to end, they introduced the second last band for the night. Yikes… it’s late and we gotta get home to our wives…. uh, hottie girlfriends……. ok, ok.. wives and mortgages.

Sleep happened….. and we are still waiting to see how we placed for the night. I believe we did pretty well, so I look forward to seeing the results. Keep an eye out on the Supernova.com website for the winners.

All the best everyone, and wish us luck for 2007.

**** My buddy jovahn is on MSN now, so I’ll chat with him while I wait for Kurtis ****

Paulie.

Continuing the voting theme of the last post, A Sheep at the Wheel needs your vote in the Indie Band showdown put on by Steamroller eZine. Unsolicited good press is like gold in the music biz, so we could really use your support. We are up against Skytone from Ottawa and John Pippus from Vancouver. Click on the following link. The voting box is in the upper right hand corner. It instantly tells you how we are doing. Thanks for your continued support.