14 January 2012: French Toast, Fruit, & Six Minute Century

‘Happy Birthday, Don!’

“We need more French Fry on the monitor?!”~ Dr. Froth

 

Well, I forgot the fruit. Thankfully, that is not a serious offense. And the ONLY offense of the entire trip.

 

But off I went again to Houston to see SIX MINUTE CENTURY play. My third show in less than nine months. The first time since last August. And believe me when I say, that it gets better every-stinkin’-time!!

 

Not having been to a “January show”, I didn’t know what to expect, other than awesome music and a guaranteed great time. This time around, they were celebrating the birthday of guitarist, Don LaFon. (a.k.a. “The Frenchman” as he is better and affectionately known.)

 

It was great as I was also there to celebrate my own birthday just a few weeks early. What better way to do so, than with SIX MINUTE CENTURY, right??

 

But I never would have truly, truly, truly expected the fun, the excitement, and the all-around fellowship of everyone there.

 

Don LaFon is a very experienced and elite guitarist. The poor guy was on stage the entire night, playing in with every act which included Logan and Mystic Cross. So he had a full evening.

 

Chuck Williams, lead singer, announced Don’s 55th birthday. The comment is hilarious as there is a video on YouTube when Chuck announced last year, that it was Don’s 22nd birthday. Way to go, talk about leap years!

 

And of course, I need to give a great big “hats off” to Chuck for his courage and strength has he had been battling with laryngitis for the past two months and he STILL nailed it, vocally.

 

I think the grand moment was that when the rest of the band gave Don an air balloon-typed walker and they set it up in front of his microphone stand. Signs that said “Senility Ahead!”, and what not to signify that yes, The Frenchman is old. The way these guys pick on one another and just have fun is so great.

 

I was surprised that Don didn’t think about kicking it off the stage. I am guessing that it stayed there the rest of the night. SIX MINUTE CENTURY was the first act, and Logan was second, and throughout the Logan set, it remained.

 

But as I said the fellowship amongst the family and friends of the band was so great. I was able to actually capture several of them in photographs with a camera and some of them I actually held decent conversations in the loud and rocking music club.

 

And then I would be stunned.

 

I got this logo necklace. I had seen it worn before by Dr. Froth’s wife, a.k.a. “Vampiress of Metal”. (yes, they all must have nicknames, cuz they said so!) I had told her that I would want one, but they had never given one to a male before. So some of the frills of the original piece were removed to make it more masculine I suppose. Still, it was really awesome. I tried to pay for it but I was denied. Looking at me like I was insane or something.

 

I’ve always said that I am the “SMC VIP”. And yes to a degree I still believe that I am. I think that its so cool.

 

I also was able to replace my t-shirt and CD as both were originally autographed by the entire band last August. Now I’ve got something to wear and listen to, and the originals can be placed on my shelf as rare collectibles.

 

After the show, I went to hang out with half of the band at a restaurant. I think that’s always a wonderful bonus. But I did kinda beg for that to happen. A few days before, suffering a little bit of personal issues, this trip was the perfect thing to do to be able to re-group and relax. Either way, I’ve got a “neener neener” moment of “I hung out with the bannnnd!!…”.

 

It truly does get better each time I go see SIX MINUTE CENTURY. The music is great, even live. The people of the circles are just so wonderful and precious to me that I always have such a hard time leaving Houston when I come back home.

 

I still believe it is worth the effort to go.

 

The band usually will have shows in January, April, and in August. Celebrating the birthdays of the members of the band. As I said, I went in April and August of last year. Now I’ve got January under my belt.

 

SIX MINUTE CENTURY is nearing the finish line of the completion of their second album. They hope to have it done this spring/summer. I understand that they will have a CD release party, and I WILL be going! I was told that I was, and I couldn’t argue about it. (As if I would have!)

 

I love the people of the band, their families, and all of the friends I’ve made and continue to make each time I make this trip. They are the best group of wild individuals that I’ve met. And now that I am home, it is time to plan the next trip. And I cannot wait.

 

So Happy Birthday, Don! You’re one of the best musicians I have ever met!!

 

And, after all. I AM A CENTURION!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26 August 2011: Getting Moist with Six Minute Century

“Through the flames, we abide. Weary, we march on!”~ “Paying Death’s Toll” by SIX MINUTE CENTURY

Incredible show. I was able to reach Houston again for the next show by SIX MINUTE CENTURY. They were celebrating the birthday of bassist, Michael Millsap, aka “Dr. Froth”. But I call him “Father Froth” because he’s been quite the positive encouragement in my personal life.

After about five or six weeks, in a complete state of panic of whether or not I was going to make it, I survived the bottom dropping out from being scammed and basically rescued by romance author, Jessica Trapp as she welcomed me to stay with her and her family.

It seems that in my own life, these two things go together. Music & Books. And that is just fine with me.

The show was fantastic. The first band was “Silenced Within”. I had seen them play the last time. The only difference was that the lead singer and I had met back in April and have started to become good friends while communicating on the Internet. I was totally excited to see both Silenced Within and SIX MINUTE CENTURY play the same night again.

By the end of the third or fourth song, I was going deaf. Sitting up against the stage. I could hear everything I ever wanted, and all that I would not. It’s only Rock & Roll but I like it.

I probably could not have asked for anything more. The lead singer, Sloan, had actually dedicated one of their songs to me. I believe it was “Set Me Free”. It was unexpected.  That was really awesome.

By the time SIX MINUTE CENTURY hit the stage, I was flying high and eager to just enjoy the rest of the night. The most exciting thing about it was that the band was going to film the ENTIRE show. They were planning a video for “Just Remains”. The song is on their upcoming album. They are almost finished in the recording studio, and I am just really anxious to hear it all.

It was a really great show. Lots of people came. I felt bad though because the night before, I only got about an hour and a half of sleep. I was far too excited to be taking this trip, and the night before the show, I only got about five hours of sleep. I am sure that those cameras caught a few yawns here and there… but hey, I was there!!!

After nearly going through hell to try and make it. I was there, I enjoyed myself. And yes, I went deaf (again).

And then after all of that, I BEGGED the band for a group photo. I wanted to be in a picture with the band, and then another with the band and their wives. It took forever to get them all in one spot, but I did it. Then I had some wild photos taken with me and the drummer’s wife. Shall we say, rather erotic photos?? I was warned that she was like this: boy-crazy and likes to flirt with the guys. Her husband even had to tell me that “it was okay”, and that “he wasn’t going to get all mad.” Well, I suspect that he would not get mad when his wife is on my lap kissing me and he’s got my camera!!

The band even took a silver sharpie and signed my t-shirt. It will never be washed or worn again. “Whatever is left is just remains”…. pit stains and all. The t-shirt is now priceless and cannot be worn.

And then we have the bad part of the night. I went into the restroom, and the BFE Club is not wheelchair accessible at all. At least not their restrooms. Eventually, I squirmed my way into the bathroom stall, without having pissed on myself. But the wheelchair on the outside of the stall blocked one urinal.

I was horrified and pissed off beyond all belief when I saw that someone had urinated on my wheelchair to the point that there was a puddle of it on my seat cushion. I was sooooo fucking mad! What dumb motherfucker does that?!? How drunk do you have to be?

There’s not much I can do about the wheelchair. But there was no sense in doing that!!

I cleaned it up as much as I could and got back out into the club before I had missed anything else.

But with that aside, the night was so much fun!! I was then taken out to Steak & Shake. I’m not quite sure if they have one in here in my area. I haven’t really looked. But it was nice. It kept me out later and later and later though. I was concerned that because of the hearing loss that I would be making a lot more noise than my brain was telling me and I would wake up Jessica and her family. They claimed the following morning that nothing really disturbed them. Her husband said that he thought he heard a few bumps in the night and just blew it off thinking that I had come into the house.

I am so fortunate. I guess I was waiting to be executed. By the time I laid in bed that night it was already 4:00 AM. So yeah, I was a bit nervous and concerned.

So now the next big show will be in November as Michael gets married to Lori. They will celebrate with the rest of the world by having a show. I cannot wait for that one!!

But it’s always a great thing to be able to go and do something that you enjoy so much. I don’t think that I should have the problems that I had this time around. But at least I was there. And I have a few weeks to prepare for it, starting with today.

I am very proud to say: I AM A CENTURION!

 

22 April 2011: Zero Hour with Six Minute Century

This day is going to go down in my book of life as one of the top most memorable experiences of 2011.

The night that I got to see SIX MINUTE CENTURY perform at the BFE Club in Houston, Texas. Something I have been hoping and dreaming of doing ever since I first heard the song, “Zero Hour” which ultimately became my absolute favorite song from the band’s first album, “Time Capsules”. Which was probably about two years ago, maybe even longer. But no matter, it was most certainly a dream that absolutely came true.

If you read my last post, you already know that I went to Houston for a bit of a little vacation of sorts. And you already know what wonderful experiences I had from the beginning. Also, warning: a lot of this post is going to be repeated material from that earlier post.

The evening before, I was taken into the recording studio by bassist, Michael Millsap and his fiancee, Lori. I had never been inside a recording studio before, so I am sure that I looked like a character from “Willy Wonka” who just found the last golden ticket and had entered the factory gates. Being able to hear the new material that the band is working on for their next album far before anyone else in the general public, I couldn’t help but feel so honored to have been there. A little later, I got to meet lead guitarist, Don LaFon.

I don’t know if he was surprised to have seen me there. I knew that the whole entire purpose was to surprise the band that I came all that way so that I could see them perform live!! I hope someone from the band was. If they weren’t, then I think that all the secret planning would be wasted because it was getting very difficult to keep my excitement toned down, especially during the last week before I went.

I sat there in awe of Don. If I am understanding correctly, SIX MINUTE CENTURY is a project that he started. Being in the recording studio with this totally awesome guitarist was truly something I thought was so cool. There I was sitting in this control room with the lead guitarist and the bassist. Right off the bat, I got to meet half of the band. Awesome!

And then of course came the big night at BFE Club. Several bands were on the bill before SIX MINUTE CENTURY was to be on the stage, including a really awesome band from Brazil called “MindFlow”. Others included “Decimation Theory” and “Silenced Within”. Yep, if you haven’t figured it out by now… it was a heavy metal show.

It was a bit scary to have these metal acts doing their thing, and then they looked down right at me. Especially, Decimation Theory!! That guy screamed his lungs out, sweat pouring down his face, and then he looked straight at me. CREEEPYYY!!!!

MindFlow did the same thing. Sang a bit, came to the edge of the stage and looked me right in the eyes while singing.

What was really exciting for me was all of the introductions that were made amongst other fans and friends of the bands. I surely got to meet a lot of great people. It was wild to be walking around in the club and instead of waving to acknowledge the person, all they did was throw the Devil Horns in the air.

I was quite honored that lead singer, Chuck Williams made an effort to come and talk with me just before he went on stage. He kneeled down to talk to me at my level and just talked to me like I was a person. Not as if he was the star and I was the adoring fan that must worship him. No, it was “man to man”. He thanked me for being such a great big fan of the band and he said he was happy that I could make it to a show there in Houston. I would find out later that most of the band was quite happy and thankful to hear that I had made it all that way just for the show.

Chuck asked me if I had heard any of the new material and if I enjoyed it. Of course…

I told him that my favorite song was “Zero Hour”, and then he replied with: “Well, good because we’ll be doing that song tonight.”

Okay, a little confession. I had already known that. And yes, I was totally stoked to hear it. So then he shook my hand and said that we would talk later after the set. Its just too bad it didn’t work out that way. I was just very happy that he treated me so kindly. To be honest, the entire band and their family and friends did. As if they had welcomed me into their family.

So during the major bands, I was right up at the stage. Speakers and amplifiers and fillers galore in my face. What I did not realize was that there was one underneath the stage. I wondered why I kept feeling like I was getting punched in the chest and face each time the bass kicked. But as they say, if it isn’t loud- it isn’t rock and roll. And it isn’t metal if it isn’t louder.

By the end of the night, I couldn’t even feel the hair on my arms. My hearing was shot, my voice sore. Yep, that’s the way to do it!

When SIX MINUTE CENTURY hit the stage and got things going, I got right back into place right up front near a monitor and slammed the brakes on my wheelchair. There was no way that I was going to be removed from being right up front at that point.

Nobody.. and I mean absolutely NOBODY was going to knock me from the top of the mountain!! Do it and die.

Thankfully, Lori stood right behind me during the show. I felt so guarded and protected from the scores of people that were there.

I had no idea, but apparently when SIX MINUTE CENTURY comes out to play a show, people come crawling out of the woodworks in Houston. The first few bands didn’t have a lot of people there, but SIX MINUTE CENTURY had tons of people!! I found myself amazed that after they got off the stage, there wasn’t a lot left. I was told that SIX MINUTE CENTURY doesn’t play too often, so if a fan misses a show, they are out of luck for a while until the next show comes up. I believe the last show before this one was back in late January of this year. When I had missed that one, I knew that I was going to work very hard at getting to the show on 22 April.

But back to my original point, with someone behind me it was what I needed to know that nobody was ever going to mess with me while the band was playing. I could just be care free and totally enjoy myself. So I am thankful to her for that.

Then “Zero Hour” was about to be performed. Hearing the helicopter at the beginning of the song, I knew it was coming.

Suddenly, Chuck walked over towards the front of the stage where I was and shouted out, “This is for you, buddy!”. He pointed right at me. Then I reached out towards him. He grabbed me by the hand and then I gave him the love sign, to which he returned with the Devil’s Horns.

At that point, I probably could’ve used a new pair of pants. I totally was getting into it. Slamming my hands onto the stage, singing as out as I could, and just enjoying the song. And yes, I did feel like the song was performed just for me. I allowed myself a moment for once in life.

When it was finished, I felt like I had truly accomplished something great. Of course, I enjoyed the rest of the show. They played some of the new material that is on the upcoming album.

I have to laugh because I remember having a conversation with Don a few days previously over lyrics of one of the newer songs. We couldn’t figure it out. Eventually, the mystery was solved and so when they were playing it, Don was looking from the stage in my general direction and he saw me singing those lines in which I had previously had been questioning him about.

The man SMILED!!

I don’t think he smiles a lot. I could be wrong. In fact, he can appear scary. But you know, that’s just part of the draw. There’s just no “happy happy, joy joy” in heavy metal. Its more of an attitude of “I’m about to eat your face off.” But he smiled. I thought that was cool. I should’ve been quicker with the camera to capture it on film and have evidence of it. Oh well.

When the set was over, Don walked over to me and I thought he was going to just shake my hand. He instead was trying to give me something. His guitar pick!! I loved it. That was totally cool!!! It rests here today in front of my computer until I can find a good place to make my own SIX MINUTE CENTURY shrine. I will have to make room to add it to my other shrines that I have.

When I find something that I totally enjoy, I don’t do it half way– I go to the extreme edge and carry it further. My dedication knows absolutely zero bounds. Whether its music, or people that I enjoy. I’ll do whatever I can to have the best and keep them close to my heart. Defending my position of admiration.

I should be fair though and add that the drummer from MindFlow came up and gave me one of his drumsticks that he just used. Its pretty chewed up, but its a wonderful momento of their performance. I bought their newest CD, a t-shirt, and a shot glass from MindFlow.

I wonder what other kinds of memorabilia that SIX MINUTE CENTURY can come up with? Maybe I should e-mail Don and ask what his thoughts are??

And I cannot forget getting introduced to the lead singer of Silenced Within. You just gotta love female metal singers. Besides, she’s really cute!!!

Then later on, I got the set list from both Don AND Michael, and I thought that was cool. I remembered that I had my copy of “Time Capsules” with me and I got Don and Michael to sign it. After the show, Chuck and Darren (the drummer) just disappeared. What a bummer that I didn’t get to meet Darren at all.

I really wanted to have a picture taken of me and the entire band. Plus gain autographs from everyone. Whether it be a t-shirt, a CD, a flyer, or anything that had their names on it. I hope that I will be able to return to Houston and get that done. It must be done- it is my mission as the absolute avid fan.

Did I enjoy the show?? YOU BET I DID!!

I’ve been working really hard for all of this to happen. Three months, countless secret e-mail exchanges, lots of saved money, and many hours to just get down to Houston. Meeting totally beautiful people, making new friends, and feeling accepted. I definitely believe this to be one of the best experiences I have had. The VIP treatment, presented by SIX MINUTE CENTURY is something a person will never forget. I never would have imagined all the kindness that came from everyone, all of their sacrifices to help make this short trip so memorable.

I am waiting excitedly for the new album to come out. Don told me that once its out there, they’ll consider coming to Austin for a show. And that would be cool beyond words at this point. I will do whatever I can to make sure it happens.

But until it does, I will look forward to their next show. And I hope with every fiber of my body that I can do whatever I need to do in order to make that return trip back to Houston to be there. Right in the same place near the stage.

That night, I went out with Michael and Lori for a little bit of breakfast which included a few other people in the party. I think there was about twelve of us. Some of them, had to sober up.

And then when the night was all finished, I crawled back into my hotel room at 5:01 AM, laid down on the bed and thought to myself, “Hell yeah!!”.

Tired. Sore. Deaf. Numb.

From all the hard work that went into making it happen for me. Absolutely worth it.

I came up with a slogan for fans of SIX MINUTE CENTURY. I think that the band likes it. I’ve been saying it ever since:

I AM A SIX MINUTE CENTURION!!!