Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Blue, Blue (Balls) Christmas!


Alright people, another blog entry from yours truly. This week I have absolutely nothing to talk about. Zero, Zip, Zilch, Nada! It’s rough coming up with new topics each week with out running the risk of becoming stale. Stale as in week old Italian bread that you can use as bricks to build houses with. There are only so many blogs about upcoming shows and events that we can do before the reader tunes out and we begin to sound like Charlie Brown’s mom. WAAH WAAAH WAAH WAAH. This blog entry is already 3 days overdue for submitting and I don’t give a shit. I really am tapped out on topic ideas. Jorge if you don’t like that? Well now …… Go fuck your self. LOL

Ok fine, before the little prick gets upset let me apologize. Jorge I am sorry J please be my friend again?

Let me now pick on Marco or Nelson who BTW has not contributed a blog entry in about 6 months. You lazy bastard! I now publicly issue an open challenge to Nelson (guitarist for Desolate Rage, whom I have to identify b/c he never posts on here) you have one week to scrounge up a piece of drywall, borrow some crayons from your nephew or niece and try really hard to write in 50 words or less a blog to be submitted next week. Are you “MAN” enough to accept?

See what happens when I don’t have shit to talk about? I turn on my closest of friends and insult everyone. It’s all in good fun and I am sure I will be the subject of some sort of revenge in the coming blogs. Stay tuned.

Christmas is fast approaching and I can’t wait till it’s over with. X-mas songs on the radio all day and night are giving me the shits. I am looking forward to spending some time with my daughter and wife as I don’t get to see them that often due to work hours. So at least I got something to look forward to. As this will be my last blog before the year is over let me take the time to wish all of you a merry ho-ho and a not so shitty new year. Take some time during the holidays and spend it with the people most important to you.

P.S
Try not to have a Blue, Blue (Balls) Christmas. Get laid if you can J

Cheers

Jeff

Monday, December 01, 2014

The Fruit Bandit



Hello,

     Let's start off with something totally off-topic, as I'm writing this blog I just came back from the supermarket and bought my parents a case of tangerines. My mother is giving me shit because the basket is half-empty, asking me where all the tangerines went, only for us to find my youngest daughter here has been putting all the tangerines in every pair of shoes or boots that she could find…..totally off-topic but I thought I'd give everybody a little laugh. It's funny to see the things the little rug-rats do to drive us crazy, but you gotta love them.
  
    So what's been new with DR? Not too much really since our last show, which was a good one and we had a pretty good crowd, but I won't talk too much about that since most of you already know how the show went, and how we were a little annoyed with some of the people we had to deal with. I guess that's part of playing shows. We’re working on polishing up some of our new songs and we would like to start working on the third song of the four-part series. Once the four songs are completed it should be something worth listening to. I'm kind of excited to work on the new song since it's been a little while since we really worked on anything new.
 
     We also have something new called a “Rage-Cast” which you can tap into when you go online to our website and get to know more about us and also share any questions that you might have for us at #AskRageCast (on twitter) or via email at desolaterageband@hotmail.com. It's something that we've never done before but I think we're really going to enjoy doing it so for whoever is reading this, don't hesitate to listen in to the Rage-Cast and get to know us a little more, shoot off those questions you may have, believe me no question is too weird for this band. Desolate Rage is looking forward to hearing from you out there and we want you to get to know us a little better. We’re just trying to create a connection with everyone around the world. We hope to hear from you all soon and until next time, just keep on Raging!

 Marco

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Ignorance Is Bliss!!


"Never rub another man's rhubarb"......."this town needs an enema!"

    That pretty much sums up my rant for today! I won't mention any names cause there's no point and my gripe is a generic one and not directed to one specific person(s).
    So we had our final gig of 2014 at the Smiling Buddha this past weekend and in typical D.R. fashion I felt that we put on another good performance considering we didn't go on until almost 1 a.m. (a good 40 mins behind schedule) oh well c'est la vie.

    So here's my beef.....ready....set.....go! We take great pride in our sound and have worked hard to get that unique D.R. sound that we have. Our gear is of great pride to us and costs a fair amount of money....so where THE HELL DOES SOMEONE GET THE BALLS TO ASK US TO USE OUR GEAR! All the bands discussed gear sharing beforehand and there was a clear line drawn about not sharing amp heads, etc. Once again this weekend we were asked "hey man can I use your amp head" "FUCK NO!!" and the best part is that this little prick then has the balls to go around asking other bands cause they didn't bring their amp heads.....holy fucking wow!!!  Take pride in your sound and the music you play and bring your own fucking gear (at least your amp head) to a show that you commit playing! Shit like this drives me crazy!!! I can't believe some bands and their laziness about bringing gear. I understand that sometimes it's difficult because of the space in the venue but still figure it out.

    Outside of that it was a good show and looking forward to the new year and getting back on the stage but in the meantime we've got some stuff to complete (Music video, photo-shoot, etc.). Jeff eluded to the fact that we're going to try a podcast and hopefully it'll be out this week and we'll try to make it a monthly thing to start and see from there. So if you have any questions for the band send them to #AskRageCast (twitter) or desolaterageband@hotmail.com and we'll try to answer them during our podcast.

Till next time......keep raging!!!
J





Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Desolate Rage Will Never Forget

 
 
Desolate Rage will never forget and neither should you!

Hey guys and gals,

This previous week on November 11th was Remembrance Day here in Canada or Veterans Day in the States and a few other names in other parts of the world. The meaning is pretty much the same. Remembering all those who died in the First World War and every other war since should be on everyone’s mind. I am quite the History buff and have been fascinated with this period in time covering 1900 to 1950 and how the world changed for good during those decades. We still deal with some of that ideology today and defiantly feel the after affects of all that happened. So again the least we can all do on days like these are take the time to reflect on all the lives lost for us to have the freedom to do as we please today. I could go on for days about this subject but on to other things.

We have another gig this coming Friday at The Smiling Buddha’s Club located in the West end of Toronto. We are headlining this show going on real late approx 12:20 AM
There will be a whole variety of bands playing this show covering a few Genres. It will also be our last show of the year unless something real big or juicy comes up? We like to take December off to spend time with our families and to just work on some stuff that we never have time for such as pictures, videos and writing. Jorge has even introduced the notion of doing a Pod cast in the coming months. That should be really interesting. The four of us with a Mic and open forum to talk about anything we want might not be such a great idea. I can see the lawsuits now. LOL

Anyways, you all have a nice weekend.
Talk soon
Jeff


Monday, November 10, 2014

Blast From The Past


Good day everyone,

It been 12 years since Desolate Rage had the opportunity to play with DWA, but that all changed this past Friday and it really was a blast from the past. Way back when we were called 'Bleed' was it a regular occurrence to share the stage with DWA, these are a bunch of guys who played similar styles to us and it sure was nice to have another band to run with. Like I said to the guys from DWA 'let's not make it the last time we play together', now it's up to them to figure where they will go from here.
Friday's show was full of a few surprises. For starters, the first band showed up late and this forced the following bands including DR to cut a few songs off of our set and only played four songs. The Velvet turns into a nightclub at 11:00pm and all the bands must be off of the stage by that time so I do understand the shortening of sets, what I didn't understand is why the bands who are on time to have to pay the price for bands who are late, but I guess that's another story all together. There was absolutely no time in between bands to set up, I played with three less cymbals for this reason and my drums felt really uncomfortable without having time to set them up accordingly but we made do with the the little time we had. The monitors to the right of me sounded ripped up to the point where whenever Jeff hit a chord on his bass, it was pure farting coming from the speaker. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention there was no room to set up our equipment which was also annoying, but these are things you come across when playing shows and trying to ignore the negatives really is the best thing to do or your night will really suck.
On a positive note, we made the best of it while on stage and had a lot of fun with the little time we had. And it was nice to hear DWA play once again and they didn't do a bad job either, they have a spot reserved on any bill should they decide to keep on truckin' but time will tell. So for those of you who made it out to the show, I hope you enjoyed it and for those of you who didn't.......well now you have a reason to come see us rip shit up at The Smiling Buddha on November 21, 2014.

Till next time,
Marco

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Surrounded By Giants


“We represent the lollipop guild, the lollipop…..the fuck!!?  Lol
    So before we begin let me set the record straight on something (since our bass player decided to mention my height). Yes I’m shorter than everyone else in the band and most of my friends but that’s not because I’m “short” it’s because I’m surrounded by a bunch of giants. Truth be told I’m probably average height (around 5ft 9’) but my bandmates have all decided to be closer to or taller than the 6 foot range which of course makes me look like a little person especially in between them. The good thing is that they know it’s raining before I do and that gives me time to hide under a coffee table or in a tree and bake some cookies so I don’t get wet…. ;)

    Now onto the good stuff (and no not the Keebler elf cookies)…..this Friday we’re playing once again and as written in other blogs we will be hitting the stage with our friends in D.W.A. (Driving With Alzheimers….no no no, Designated Waiting Area……that’s not it either, I’ve got it  Down With Acronyms). Not going to lie I’m pretty excited about this show since it’s been 12 years since we shared the stage with them so come on out on Friday to the Velvet Underground, we hit the stage at around 10p.m. and D.W.A (Driven With Aggression) is on around 9:15 as well as some other really good bands Desolation, Bingeninja, and Aquila! While you’re at it have a beer and listen to some killer metal. We might even hand out a few free shirts like our last show and maybe even a CD or some stickers. I’m sure Marco will have a good follow up in his blog next week and he’ll give you the low down on how things went if you can’t make it out or he’ll talk about stinky people or Jeff or maybe even our dry-waller with his dollar store horn…lol
Till next time
Cheers,
J   

Monday, October 27, 2014

A Rhode Island What?


Hello again,

Just to clarify last week’s blog from our dearest dumb-ass drummer Marco who referred to me as a “Long Bearded Rhode Island Jeff” This goes back to our unhealthy fascination with poultry which dates back to our album “Nemesis” in which we use a clip from the movie Devil’s Rejects, the scene where some of the cast go out to buy chickens for a feast. It’s a pretty funny ass clip and we tied it somehow to our song “Parallel Life” where the ending riff sounded at least to us like a chicken clucking? We laughed and thought it would be awesome to use that clip with that song. So we did, ever since we have been hearing chickens clucking everywhere in our songs. I know it’s fucked up right? So there you have the explanation as best as I could explain it as to why I was referred to as a chicken. Still sounds dumb to me even after I read this back to myself, but there you have it.

Halloween Bitches!

My favorite time of year is fast approaching. Even as a grown ass man I still love this season. I just finished decorating my place and it looks pretty good. This year I have dusted off my “Satan Clause” costume which I will be wearing for my annual Halloween Bash. The whole band will be there and few of our close friends. I hope to post some pics of the night on our various media outlets. Well more like give them to Jorge to have posted since that little leprechaun holds on to our web site passwords like it’s a pot of gold or something? LOL look forward to seeing what the rest of DR looks like come Halloween. My predictions are: Jorge dressed as one of the Lollipop Kids? Marco dressed as Giant Cock with hairy balls and last but not least Nelson dressed as a Dry-Waller because he is too damn cheap to buy a real costume J

Have a fun and safe Halloween!
Jeff

Desolate Rage

Monday, October 20, 2014

Long-bearded...Rhode Island Red


 
Hello to all,

I hope you are all well. It has been a pretty busy week to say the least, other than the usual going to work, commuting (we all know my thoughts on that subject) and spending time with the family. About a week ago, DR and Co. had the opportunity to see a pretty kick-ass show down at The Sound Academy. We were up in the VIP section thanks to some hook-ups through Jorge, and got a birds-eye view of the concert. The outdoor patio that with a view of Toronto was also a nice touch :) Other than the odd stage light pointing at our faces (man it was blinding) the view and sound was killer! We actually got to sit down for once and anyone who's ever been to a metal concert knows that is a rare occurrence indeed. We arrived just in time to grab a beer and hear Sabaton hit the stage. I have never heard of this band before and I must say it was a different experience and in my opinion Sabaton is more of a folk metal, an up-beat much Europeanized sound is the best way for me to put it. Although it isn't my flavour, I thought they were very good for they're genre. Individually the talent was apparent as every now and again you'd hear some crazy fast guitar solos. Cool double-bass drum beats and some power beats could also be heard which not too many metal drummers use nowadays (Tommy Lee style).

Then there is Amon Amarth......how can I describe them? Watching and hearing them live is like listening to them on your headphones! Amon Amarth do not sacrifice showmanship for sound by any means as they did not miss a single note or beat, and that my friends, is how you really see a band's playing abilities in my opinion. I had missed the opportunity on two occasions to see them live, but I'll be damned if I was going to miss them a third time!

I will go as far to say that they are probably the tightest metal band I have seen live, they barely took any breaks in between songs and it was ninety minutes of straight-forward, pure metal! That's just how we likes it!Now I could go into more detail on Amon Amarth's performance but I think you get the picture. It was cool to be there with my band mates of course, I mean what good is music if you don't have friends to share it with? Sure, Jorge needed a booster seat just to see the show, but that's just how it is sometimes, accommodation is key to a good venue.

It was also the first time in twelve years I got to see a live metal show with Jeff, he's a bit of a stubborn prick and doesn't like 'crowds' but even he wasn't going to pass up the chance to see Amon Amarth live! If he even attempted to ditch this show I would have squeezed his bearded ass in a chicken crate next to a Rhode Island Red, the only way he'd escape would be to peck his ass free.

It was a great way to kick-start the long weekend and damn it I'm glad I didn't miss Amon Amarth.....again!
After seeing show like that I was in the mood to drive down to our studio and play a set, as a matter of fact I'm looking forward to hitting the stage again soon.

Until next time,

Marco

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

You Wanna What?



Fuckers, fuckers, fuckers......do I have your attention now? LOL
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiver with family and/or friends and now that everyone is stuffed to the brim with poultry and mashed potatoes it's time to get back to business.....what business is that? (You may ask) The business of getting ready for our next show....of course!

This one for us (I tend to think) has a little more meaning  as we get to share the stage once again with our friends from D.W.A. Driven With Aggression and let me tell you it's been a long time coming (12 years to be exact). The last show we played with them was Aug. 18/02 (I only know this because of the a picture that they posted on the FB page - see below) and believe it or not I wasn’t even officially in this band yet as the guys (Jeff, Nelson & Marco) were still working things out about whether or not to continue playing or find a new singer…..I was only meant to be a fill in for the next person.

 

So how is it possible that one band keeps going while another stops for almost 12 years? I wish I had an answer but in the end it doesn't really matter since they've decided to get back on the "horse" and ride again and we're thrilled to be a part of it. Funny it's the D.R. blog but I spending most of this one talking about D.W.A. (fuck you guys and write your own blog for fuck-sakes.....love you)!
So what's new at the "Desolate" camp? Well other than playing a little more consistently and working on the "Acts of Judgment" we're hoping to have some new pictures and things out soon and happy to close off the year strong and looking to keep that momentum going in the New Year. For now though we're just really focused on finishing off the year with the two shows we've got booked and trying to finish up Part 3 of our four-parter. Next week the big dummy will continue to write about horses, ripple, and blowing loads on things to keep you all interested so until next time............
Stay Metal and Stay Strong!!!
J
 

Monday, October 06, 2014

Claustrophobia, Was Nice Knowing Ya


 
Does the term “packed like a can of sardines” mean anything to you?

Well that is what it felt like this past Saturday at the Smiling Buddha, where we played a show in the clubs basement which best resembles those creepy dim lighting torture chambers you might have seen in your favourite B-Movie horror flick.  No Joke, our rehearsal space is larger for fuck sakes. There was no stage, no sound system other than a mixing board and two monitors and zero space for gear and equipment.  Once again a band pulled out due to a member breaking a leg. This is becoming an epidemic in the Metal scene. 3 consecutive shows we have played where a band has pulled out due to the same circumstance. Keep the stage diving to a minimal people! Anyways back to my little chamber of horrors story. Did I mention the ceiling was approx 1 foot above our head? No? Well I just did. We are all pretty tall with the exception of the little bastard we call a singer (Hi Jorge) but still, no ceiling should be that low.

We basically played the show unplugged only using our amps and the monitor for vocals. The club was packed, which was not hard to do given the size. Nelson had his foot pedal board facing the door way of the club. Without the benefit of a stage he was subjected to random people stepping on it during the set. His guitar was unplugged at least 6 times during the show and for the cherry on top broke his string during the last 15 seconds of the last song. Ever the showman, he grabbed the string and used it as a mock bow n’ arrow much to the delight of the crowd. Now aside from the space and lack of facilities this was as unique a show as we have ever played. The crowd was rowdy and gave off a lot of energy. The intimacy level was off the charts. We could literally make eye contact and smell the breath of the people standing right in front of us. LOL. During our “free merch” part of the show Marco half-assed launched a T-shirt which made it all the way to the end of the room hitting a dude square in the face. Nice way to get a free shirt. Ha-Ha

There was no room to store gear so when the show was over we had to quickly exit the club and dismantle our gear on the side walk. Fun times! It was a show that we won’t soon forget. Just when we thought we had played every shit hole in town!

All in all it was a fun night. Looking forward to our next gig on Nov 7th at The Velvet Underground (downtown Toronto) with some relics of a lost age. Our good buddies in “Driven with Aggression” are making their return to the stage after 12 yrs of being disbanded. We look forward to that night and wish them the best on their return to the Metal scene.

Till then,
Stay the fuck away from sardine cans if you happen to be claustrophobic.
Cheers
Jeff - DR

Monday, September 29, 2014

Soap....on a Rope-a-Dope


Hello everybody,

I will begin today's blog on a weird note and this is mostly due to the fact that I am not a fan of public transit and had another distasteful ride home on the train. First thing is first(I guess that's why they call it first eh?), in my opinion there is no reason for anyone to smell... myself included. I take the Go Train and TTC everyday to and from work and nothing pisses me off more than stench, in most cases for me anyways. I'll be sitting in my seat waiting for the train to leave the station and for some stinky reason, whoever ends up sitting down next to me whether it be an old man or an attractive woman, usually has an odor of some sort. If it's not the "I totally forgot or don't wear deodorant"smell, then its the famous"I don't brush my teeth or slap tic-tacs in my mouth after eating garlicky foods" smell. It's annoying, if I ever smell please tell me people....please tell me. There's no excuse for that, soap and deodorant is cheap and so is chewing gum. These bad breath smells come in a variety of scents depending on the day. They come in a wonderful garlicky scent, and for those of you who prefer something a little more subtle, an "I just farted but I'll clench my ass cheeks so nobody will notice" scent. The good thing is that there's a scent for everyone's taste so it's always a surprise!
Let me tell you, as soon as that person sits down in front of me then my ass is up and off of the seat in hopes of getting another spot on the train but I don't hold my breath because 9 times out of 10, you will smell somethin'-a-brewin.'

Sorry for rambling on about this stinky business folks but enough is enough and I'm not even trying to be funny at this point, it's a sad tale of a society full of people who are too dumb to realize........that they stink!
So today you won't hear me talk about a gig or the on-goings of DR, this is Marco's time to let everyone know that they need to address their stale-foul-infested breath, and their body odors.

Do you know, I had a woman sitting in front of me who had the nerve to take off her leather high-heel shoes with no socks on after a days work?! Immediately the smell of provolone bitch slapped me in my face, I was losing focus of everything around me. Now, I want you to ask yourself, could it get any worse? This is me we are talking about, of course it can.
This dumb blonde has the balls to raise up her leg and place her cheese blocks on the arm rest in between me and the poor bastard next to me. I'm not even kidding you.....I felt a rage within me. I pictured myself grabbing her by the foot and dragging her ass out the back of the train along the track with the train moving at full-speed, from Toronto until the ends of the earth. I think she felt the bad vibes coming from the angry look on my face and covered up those decaying feet. I guess I just have to accept the fact that you have no control of others and their stinky ways.

Ok, I feel better now. Thanks everyone for letting me vent and you have my word that the next blog, will smell a whole lot better.

Until next time,
slap a Tic-Tac

Marco

Monday, September 22, 2014

1,2,3,4,5......6,7,8,9,10......11,12


What's up everyone?
Nice to be back at it this week and I thought I'd start with a quick recap of the show from Sept. 6.......OK......ready?.......here we go!!

    We hit the stage around 9:45 (which was about 15 min earlier than expected thanks to the 2 bands that pulled out at the last minute) and rumbled through a relatively heavy set along with our rendition of happy birthday. We played "Part 1 - Death's Embrace" of the 4 part theme we've been working on and it went off without a hitch so all-in-all it turned out to be a pretty good showing considering we hadn't  played live in about 6 months. I walked away from this show with a smile and actually looking forward to getting back out there on Oct. 4 (Did I mention we're playing on Oct. 4th?) at The Smiling Buddha with some pretty killer bands. So come on out and support the local music scene.
 
    So we've finished working on "Part 2 - War Path" and we'll see if we play it at the next show. Looks like we're half done this themed "whatever you want to call it" and so far I'm really digging where we are going with the songs. Every song so far has been tweaked once it is finished and it is a very cool feeling to go back and continue to make it "better"....ultimately we want to be in a position that we're proud of the songs and they are a true reflection of what we're trying to achieve with them. It makes no sense just leaving a song as is if it doesn't feel right or is lacking something. The guys have brought some amazing insight and ideas to the table and I'm trying to do the same with the lyrical and vocal content as well. It has been a very cool process and one that I hope we can share with you all sometime down the line.

For those of you in attendance at the last show you'll know but those that weren't here is our set-list from the Sept. 6th show at The Rockpile West

      -INTRO-
1. One 2 Many
2. Truth Be Told
3. Death’s Embrace
4. You Are Not Alone
5. Happy B-Day
6. Mentally Deranged (w/ Graham)
7. Horns To Hell
8. Hook, Line & Sinker
9.     Straight Jacket

Cheers and we'll see you again next time....coming up next on the D.R. station......A big dummy who talks about horses!

 
 

Monday, September 15, 2014

Bear Claw – Death Grip


Hello again,

As my last two blogs were boarder line novels I hope to keep this one short and sweet.

Show recap.
Our Show on Sept 6th went pretty well. Another band pulled out (2 in total) so we went ahead with only 4 bands that night. We made the best of it. I was pretty happy with our set and the crowd response was also to my liking. Our friends from My Hollow took the stage right after our set and did their usual kick ass performance. Each band had to extend their set a little longer to cover for the missing time slot. We added 2 more songs to our list that night. After being off for 6 months I was happy that we still had the stamina to play that long.

Fun stuff!
During My Hollow’s set Nelson and I were standing close to the stage watching the guys play. One bee swatting over enthused mosher got a little too close to Nelson at one point in My Hollows set. Nelson stepped back to give room for the mosh and also to inform everyone involved that he was not a willing participant. Again this over enthused mosher who for this story we will call “Corry” got in Nelson’s way again. Nelson stepped back once more. “Corry” stops to stare at Nelson as if disappointed that the Big Fellow was not interested in moshing. “Corry” then proceeds with what would end up being a mistake by pushing his friend into Nelson. After Nelly was done swatting away this guy’s friend, he then rushed up to “Corry” and used his patented “Bear Claw – Death Grip” maneuver and clamped down hard on “Corry’s” arm. You could almost hear the bone crack. After a stern talking to By Nelson, he than releases little “Corry” from the grip and continued to watch the Set. I guess I got caught up in the playing and totally blanked out on the whereabouts of Nelson. Next thing you know “Corry” is up against the wall with Nelson Hovering over him. Chairs are scattered everywhere. Before this kid catches the biggest beating of his life I casually walk over to supervise the scene. At this point My Hollow ends their song and after the applause was over all you can hear is Nelson screaming at this kid. LMAO! After we got all this sorted out, “Corry’s friends thought it best that Corry keeps his mouth shut and Nelson would spare him from further humiliation. Night continues without incident.

Lesson to be learned,
So kids, the lesson in all this is: when you see guys like us that just happen to be twice your size and are too old to be participating in Mosh Pits, use better judgment and not leave things to chance. Stay out of the way and we will do the same.

Next show,
Oct. 4th at Smiling Buddha, line up looks pretty solid. Come on down and have a good time.
Remember to stay out of Nelson’s way should you see him in the mosh pit. LOL

Cheers / Jeff

Friday, September 05, 2014

There ain't enough oats in these bags


Hello once again,
Ahhhh yes, I remember now, the butterflies in the belly now begin. The tearing down, the loading, the off-loading, the setting up again, the waiting in anticipation to go on stage, the playing and giving all the energy required to put on a show, the tearing down, the off-loading of the vehicles, the off-loading the gear into the studio again, then finally sitting on the sofa and looking back on one looooong night. So you wanna be a rockstar eh? Can you tell I love playing shows? Lol
Now on a more serious note, I'm pretty pumped to finally hit the stage once again as it's been long overdue. For those of you who don't know, Desolate Rage hits the stage once again at The Rockpile West on Saturday, September 6, at around 9:30pm. I gotta say I'm pretty pumped about this one! Although I will feel a few butterflies, it will be nice to be on stage as it's been about 6 months since we last played live. We'll play some stuff off of our latest album (Evolutions Mistake) and might have a few surprises along the way.....any birthday requests? We'll take em. Need a ride to get to the venue? Saddle up on Jorge's back and he'll be sure to gallop your ass home free of charge, compliments of DR and don't worry this one's on the house;)
We are working on a four-song theme in which we will perform the first of the four at the show, its a new concept which our 'Clydesdale' came up with so we will see how this four-part "mini-series" turns out. I can assure you we will make it as kick-ass as possible!
So for those of who can, bring your asses on down and listen to some heavy bands tear shit up, the band "MyHollow" will be headlining the show and will not dissapoint! Graham from My Hollow will be collaborating with "Mr. Clydesdale" on one of the songs so bring all yo' friends and get shit-faced!
And who knows, if he's up to it, Jorge might saddle up and drop of a few fans off to ensure a safe ride home.
For those of you who can make it out, enjoy the show.

Tizz nextime,
Marco‎

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Calm Your Tits!


What's up everyone!!

Welcome back to our regularly scheduled program.....and all that bullshit!
So over the past couple of weeks two big dummies have been giving you all the low-down on the D.R. history so I thought that this week I would give you a little taste of what it's like being in our little group and some of the "wonderful" things that happen when playing live.

If you've been reading this blog since the beginning or have caught up you'll know that around our camp everyone is fair game for a verbal bashing. It's nothing new and there's never anything meant by it, we're like 4 brothers so someone is always getting lambasted with either a tongue lashing or the wonderful presence of Marco's ass in their face (just saying). Some people would find it weird or unusual that we're constantly making fun of each other but if you can't make fun of your friends (or family) then what's the point? It breaks the tension and kills any ego that one (the other 3 would say me) might have and keeps you level headed and grounded. Our rehearsal space is cozy and has all the requirements that a band could ever ask for such as a fridge for cold beverages, a T.V. to watch the hockey games, a stereo, dvd player, and a mess load of video games and systems - from Nintendo to a PS3 (sometimes you just need a little inspiration).  There are posters all over the walls and ceilings along with a "wall of boobies" (sometimes you just need a little inspiration) to keep things interesting. Kind of like (baked dick) a glorified garage band that got a reno done to their place. I liken it to a home away from home and throughout the years has definitely been that for us. Oh ya it has our gear there as well (sometimes you get inspired to write some music). It's not all sunshine and roses but we make it work and just like everything in life that's worth doing it takes some sacrifice and there are struggles along the way but the output for me is well worth the trouble. I mean imagine while you're playing that the guitar just disappears from your hands and you realize that it's about to hit the floor when you catch it...some would say "I'm outta here!!!".....but the show must go on and you keep playing as if nothing has happened and hope for the best. Fortunately for me the sound guy was helpful and ran out to the stage to fix the strap on my guitar so I could at least finish the song. You see shit happens all the time and it's how you role with the punches that either keeps you going or breaks you down to nothing. Another would be when the band is playing and at almost the same time both the rhythm guitar and bass cut and your left with 1 guitar and drums and some vocals...just hold it together until the end of the song and then fix whatever needs to be fixed and move on. There are countless number of things that we could talk about but in the end after all the bull that one really good show makes up for all the shitty ones when for 30 mins you really connect with the crowd and feel that energy come back to you! (Sorry, didn't mean to get all mushy there in the end)
So you see my friends (if you're still with me) while it's not all sunshine and rainbows it is a way of living and one that I love and I wouldn't change who I share it with for anything in the world. Those 3 that I "work" with (dumo, chico, and bu) are my family and I hope we continue to write music that is HEAVY AS FUCK.......HEAVY.......AS.......FUCK!
Until next week when the brill-o-padded one has something to write
Cheers,
J



Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Slow Your Role (Part Deux)


Salutations my metal head friends:

After reading Marco’s blog last week I found myself flashing way back to where it all began. It was nice to go down memory lane. I thought I would elaborate on some of Marco’s stories and expand on the whole history of Desolate Rage in the shortest possible way. So here it goes!

The Glue:
This refers to me. I am the one with ties to all the members of this group. We all met through me. First is Nelson our Guitarist. We go way back!! I met him in grade 3. we were 8 yrs old. Nelson was playing with some weird fan thingy he created from a motor and tin foil. I said “hey….what the hell is that” and we have been friends ever since.  I got my first bass at 12 yrs old. Nelson got his Guitar a year later. We jammed on our little shitty toaster amps. It was pretty cool. At this point we never played together in a band. Once I got to high school I joined up with my first band. As Marco stated we played together in music class and when my band was looking for a drummer, well it made sense to get Marco into the fold. We did that for about 2 yrs, by this time there was a serious shift in philosophies between myself, Marco and the rest of the group. Things went south fast. I quit and Marco was not too far behind. At this point Nelson was jamming here and there with a few other guys. Nothing too serious. I had written a song from top to bottom. I wanted to hear what it sounded like with a full band playing behind it. I recruited my good bud Nelson to play guitar on the track. Got another childhood buddy to drop vocals and finally I reached out to Marco (who was still playing for the previously mentioned first band) to do the drum tracks. We all clicked really well together. The song came out awesome. So of course we all kind off looked at each other and knew this was the way to go. This was the first time the 3 of us had played together.

While all this was going on, I was also playing in another band. It was a traditional Portuguese band. We would do 3 hr sets of 40 songs a night. The money was awesome !! so before you laugh at me, remember that!! The pay out was worth it. LOL of course like all bands, we had our own issues and what not. We were going through a transitional period. Our guitarist and keyboard players (brothers) had both left the band. So the remaining members begun auditioning for replacements. This is where I run into Jorge for the first time. Actually not the first time. I remembered him instantly as being a guy I use to see waiting for the trains at Bathurst station. He was always picking on some poor 9er kids. I wanted to punch him in the face. A fact that I mentioned to him at our first encounter at rehearsal, I can imagine what he was thinking? Ha-ha so long story short he joined the Portuguese band and we had a good long run doing that.

The Formation:
Now for the good stuff,
After many different singers things were looking bleak for Desolate Rage or Bleed at that time. We had a long-ish run with one singer but things went real sour. All b/c of a woman. He left us high and dry two days before a gig. It was too late to pull out. So we had to think of something fast. Jorge was playing guitar and singing in my other band. We had all hung out together and I thought why not ask him to fill in? we had most of the lyrics written down (Marco and I use to write the lyrics back in the day) so we practiced our nads off for two days. Jorge filled in on vocals and we did the show. I remember having to kick him on stage to queue him in when it was time to sing. LOL the show went well all things considered. It was determined that Jorge would be the fill in guy until we were able to find a replacement. Well that never happened. He never left. LOL
This caused a huge problem for the Portuguese band. For some reason it was ok for me to be in two bands for years with out ever having a conflict of interest, however it was now an issue for Jorge to do the same. Needless to say we were not able to keep that band together. Now it was only the 4 of us. We changed our name to Condemned and Jorge slowly begun to play guitar as well as sing for us. We have had the same line up since approx 2002. That makes 12 yrs together. Last year we thought it was a good idea to change the name and try a re brand. See the name “Condemned” showed up everywhere. There must have been 5 or 6 other bands with the same name world wide. We pre-date all of them but we were a little slow on the technology side. We never took claim to any of the social media outlets and it was impossible to find us on Google or anywhere else by the name “Condemned” the re brand of “Desolate Rage” was much more preemptive. We made damn sure that no one else had this name, and scooped up the .com domain and all other Media outlets. And here we are doing weekly blogs for you all.

Hope you enjoyed the history lesson?


Till next time.

Jeff