ZZ 3 - Mississippi Moon Bar

Walter Payton.  Gary Fencik.  Wilbur Marshall.  Although most of you may recognize one of those listed, its a fair bet that unless you are a rabid Chicago Bears fan, two of the names are unfamiliar to you.  Walter Payton, a Hall of Fame Running Back for the Chicago Bears (the greatest EVER) is the most recognizable name of the three.  Fencik and Marshall were phenomenal at the positions (Fencik - Safety, Marshall - Linebacker) so when I tell you that as a youth I wanted to be them, it should be of no surprise.  It seemed like every time my cousins and I got together and play a "pick-up" game of football I pretended to be one of them.  As the saying goes, "Imitation is the purest form of flattery" but what does that have to do with a music blog?  Well...

Bang Tango - Halfway Jam

The era that was "Hair Metal" was full of bands that had been signed by record companies eager to make a buck.  Bands from the era varied from the unenviable position of "one hit wonders" to arena-worthy "mega hit" bands.  For many of the "one hit wonders", their fame faded, rather collapsed around them but some of them survived to play another day.  The three days of "Halfway Jam" and so many other music festivals provide those "survivors" with a way to bring their music to those that lived through the hair metal days as well as a new set of ears; their children.  For one of those bands, they did more than just "survive".

Everclear - Mississippi Moon Bar

When I was a mere lad, I was introduced to a concoction so horrific that it still haunts me to this day.  The concoction always seemed as if it were the work of some evil scientist, no, it was like a potion created by an alchemist in search of turning water into gold.  The sickening sweet flavor of this potion was trumped by the fact that drinking one or two would make you so wasted that you would forget your own name.  This potion was formulated by the melding a grape flavored (and colored) drink mix and...

L.A. Guns - Mississippi Moon Bar

The terms "coulda - shoulda - woulda" can be as haunting the ghosts (or skeletons) that live within our closets.  Everyone has them (sometimes they are flat-out terrifying) but at times they can be inane.  Sure we can think back to that person we wanted to ask out, or that lottery ticket we should have bought but those opportunities that involve "celebrities" or our "childhood heroes" can be the most daunting.  Those people that are either "blessed with" or are "stuck with" living in a small town understand that when the opportunity arises to see, or meet celebrities or childhood heroes you better figure out a way to accomplish it or it may drift away quicker than a tornado in Kansas. 

Tales from the Stage by Michael Toney

The world of music is a primordial soup that has so many flavors and styles that it is almost impossible to breakdown a small "chunk" of a genre so attacking an entire genre is not only impossible but it is truly an exercise in futility.  As an example for someone to claim they like "country" music opens the realm of possibilities within that open pit that is said genre.  Don't get me wrong, I haven't a predisposition either for or against the genre (country music), I do enjoy some of the works that have fallen forth from its artists.  Unlike the answer given to the characters of "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues in the classic movie "The Blues Brothers" when they asked the proprietor of "Bob's Country Bunker" what kinds of music they play in the establishment (her reply "Oh, we have both kinds: Country AND Western"), country music has so many variants within itself.  Why am I mentioning country music right now?...

Molly Hatchet - Halfway Jam

Connotations of Lizzy Borden whirl through my head whenever I hear anyone talk about axes or hatchets, honestly the reason probably isn't that farfetched.  We all identify something with either an event, an experience or a simple comment (and it makes perfect sense).  Think about that for just a second then try to do it yourself, I bet you can.  As an example some might identify New Years Eve with Dick Clark or Times Square, others might identify a song on the radio and they think back to an old flame.  Expanding on the initial statement I made it makes perfect sense why I identify an axe with Minnesota.  Why?

A Dog Named Lumpy

My family and I were blessed with a dog that we named Marshall (after Wilbur Marshall, ex-Chicago Bear LB), he came from some friends that had bred their dog.  Marshall was a Black Lab and when we got him, he had the greatest personality.  The dog pranced when he walked, he was always happy and he really loved us all (and we reciprocated that love).  Marshall was still young when he had a serious accident, well it was more like an attack by another dog.  That attack was so severe that we had no choice but to put him to sleep, we were all crushed.  Where does this Lumpy come in you ask.  Well....