monday, november 2, 1998 - iowa city, ia
from bob lee:
hit town and played an in-store at sal's records, a pretty neat thing. did 10 songs stripped-down, nels on acoustic, mike playing quiet, me playing snare and hi-hat with brushes, to a large and attentive crowd. acored the following at the store, used vinyl of course- dead kennedys "fresh fruit" (my cassette of this from 19485 is wearing thin); boc - "secret treaties"; and a raincoats comp of their 70's & early 80's records & singles. eric from the opening band (dang, can't recall their name - sorry guys, it was a week ago - gotta keep on top of this stuff - I know they were from madison, wi.) brought us a bottle of knob creek bourbon, much appreciated! they were good too, wish I could remember who they were. did diary data entry for most of caustic's set but dug what I saw. after our show, dude gave me a copy of "where the buffalo roam" which I advertised interest in in this space weeks ago, very grateful! I still haven't heard this but heard it described as a predecessor to his soundtrack to "dead man" which I dearly love. (note, three people have responded to my request for "on the beach" on vinyl, thanks to everyone who's offerred their help with my record searches. apart from the freezing cold this was one of my favorite gigs of the tour.
from steve reed:
our van is giving us a little trouble so we had to replace the alternator and nels went out and bought new ray guns for the show in iowa city. weather is starting to get cold here in the midwest. did an in-store today in iowa city before the show tonight. it was very successful!! a great turnout. the show tonight was also a great turnout on a monday!! at gabes oasis another ray gun was stolen tonight!! so what's up!! everybody wants something to remember nels by. isn't his playing enough for you punk rockers!!! we have back up this time.
tuesday, november 3, 1998 - omaha, ne
from bob lee:
today we are at the ranch bowl, a real live bowling alley! I figured this would be pinball heaven but all three machines were fucked up in one way or t'other. a good time nonetheless, and the caustic boys were very good. there was a travelling art show out in the parking lot which, damn it, I didn't get to see, but was intrigued by the idea. my artist friends often complain about having no suitable venue to display their stuff, and this bunch just put together a trailer display and hit the road with it, setting up wherever they thought they'd find an audience. that's d.i.y. spirit if ever I seen it. our friends matt & karen put us up at their home in lincoln and we beamed it up till I leaned over on the couch & fell asleep. it was at this house earlier this spring that I first heard the "anti-comedy" of neil hamburger, an experience I cherish to this day. now if only my friend doug can locate his tape of "great phone calls" my life will be complete.
from steve reed:
bought a new pair of converse all stars. bought my last pair here a year ago today. walked in the club for soundcheck and everything was set up including eq on the monitors and microphones set into position. this hardly ever happens but it also happened last night in iowa city. roger and aaron have things very much together here at the ranch. show came off great and audience loved the show. my friends from lincoln came and we went home with them to lincoln for sleeping.
wednesday, november 4, 1998 - lawrence, ks
from bob lee:
the bottleneck is one of the best clubs I've played in, great sound, nicely laid out, and always populated with fine folks. love it. the first time claw hammer was here we were questioned on our adherence to the "midwestern rock ethic" which I wasn't quite sure how to define. when I asked the guy what he meant, he just turned his eyeballs up in his head and went "yeeeaaaarrgh!" well, I take that as a compliment. that same night was opening night of the l.a. riots over the king verdict, and we had to watch our town burn on the t.v. over the bar while we tore through"kick out the jams". our next trip to lawrence was distinguished by an hour long fireworks fight against rocket from the crypt, us throwing firecrackers at them, them shooting roman candles at us, during which half the audience left surgery's set to watch us duke it out. the caustics are getting sick, no more sharing "cigarettes" with those guys! but it is james the drummer's birthday so after the show, a-partying we go, first to the home of kelly, where many of the locals and we proceed to got to'up, (I start drunkenly singing "happy birthday" to james, and completely forget his name so I have to make the third line "happy birthday...uh... little drummer boy") then to the home of kevin, where I crash out almost instantly to the sounds of revellers partying more. ah to be young and sleepless again....
from steve reed:
we've done many gigs here, even bazooka played here and al the bartender asked me when is bazooka coming back? I looked at him and smile and said "we don't exist." caustic resin played a loud, tight set in the darkness. you see, they like low, low, low lights. alex, the house soundman thought the guitar was too loud and that his horns might blow but I told him this is the groups's sound and your horns won't blow - I'll make sure of that. caustic resin also did encores with us, "the red and the black" and they did a fair job for the first try. rick told me he forgot the bass part because he realized he was on stage playing next to mike watt! it freaked him out!! get over it, sailor and soldier through it, sue did. well anyway, the weather is cold!! hoping for no snow the rest of our trip. also, I had a well-wisher who heard about my problems back home. thank you joe for you concern.
thursday, november 5, 1998 - goodman, ks
from bob lee:
first night off in 35 days! thank god. nels & I watch so much bad tv it is hard to believe, "never say never again", some teen stalker drama on lifetime; mtv's "celebrity death match" (not as funny as it should be, but the match between prince charles & prince was prety good)... soon bad tv will seem like a waste of time but tonight it is perfect.
from steve reed:
we slept at kevin's home. in route to denver, staying somewhere around the colorado border in a motel 6. watching marvin gaye, prince and mike jackson anthologies.
friday, november 6, 1998 - denver, co
from bob lee:
very glad to see my friend nancy here tonight, one of the few people from my high school days I still keep in touch with. the bluebird theater is the perfect venue for caustic resin, adds the prefect room ambience to their already stony "cortez the killer" sound. rick james, playing down the street from us, pops a blood vessel in his neck and suffers a stroke tonight. fortunately he is expected to recover without complications. get well soon superfreak!
from steve reed:
we're in the snow now for at least the weekend and then heavy rain when we reach the northwest. the bluebird theatre is a very nice venue with a good staff and a great sound. about 300 plus in attendance came to the show. I did sound for caustic resin and they like my work very much. they were also well received by the crowd. the black gang enjoyed a great set. lights were very good by doug and house soundman robert has his system working well.
saturday, november 7, 1998 - salt lake city, ut
from bob lee:
due to horrible snow in the mountains, we take a 14 hour roundabout route through the south, no bad weather but lots of tiny highways, pull up to the club at 11, load out and start playing without a minute to spare. due to bizarre onstage sound, the stress of rushing, fear that I'd left my headset mic in denver (I didn't; the soundman had plugged it in then hidden it) and general irritability after 14 hours of riding and no dinner, this is not one of the more fun gigs but I guess it's passable. a few slices of pizza and some beer set me right quick enough, and at least I am able to go to bed happy.
from steve reed:
arrived late to salt lake city because of going around the snow instead of through bad weather so we arrived about twenty minutes before show time. pat the houseman got the monitors sounding great and the show was a great victory for a fast setup. I have pictures to well document the trip to this town.
sunday, november 8, 1998 - boise, id
from bob lee:
this is caustic resin's hometown and brett brings his young children demi & trevor to have dinner with us, then we check, and I go hang out at their road guy bart's house for a bit. but not before another used vinyl binge: neil young's "hawks & doves" and "landing on water" (which nels recommends for the track "hippie dream", which I haven't heard yet but already love for the lyric "another flower child gone astray/ in an ether filled room of meat hooks/ it's so ugly..."), "best of the dave clark five" and king crimson's "discipline", easily the best of their 80's lps. the resins go over great tonight despite a troubled set during which brett's amp dies and rick breaks his last e-string. well it was good while it lasted. our pal bob teagan & his friend monique have showed up unexpectedly to record the next few shows, so luckily tonight is a particularly good one.
from steve reed:
I call it bart's town because bart drove caustic resin home after the show last night. he was dying to get to his pad for a week now. we've played here at the neurolux a lot - three times with the opera. caustic resin started late so they played less. I worked on eq afor rick on his bass amp, he said I sounded better. met brett's children and had dinner with them. bob teagan and monique came to the show and taped it. the black gang did a great set and mike liked his monitors!! ian, the house soundman worked on the monitors that afternoon. thank you very much, ian. said goodbye to bart who keeps caustic rolling. I will miss him, he's good people.