3D In Your Face 2012 Review.

Hello and happy holidays to all you 3D In Your Face fans, friends, and freaks (trust me nothing wrong with being a freak).  It took me a while to decide on what I was going to write about this week, or even write at all.  But I knew you faithful followers were craving some 3D In Your Face action on your Christmas break.  First and foremost everyone in the 3D In Your Face family wants to wish you all a very happy holiday season.  Secondly 2013 is creeping up on us and I wanted to give you something special, something different, and something unique.  2012 was truly the happiest year of my life and we can't thank you enough. As I am writing this blog I am packed up for a 5 day tour that will close out our 2012 tour and bring in 2013 like a shot to the heart.  HAHA.  Every t-shirt I own and about 100 pairs of socks are crammed into my suitcase and are waiting to see some action.  So here we go I hope you enjoy.

A Visual History of 3D In Your Face and 2012

Here is a picture from our one of our first show's in 2012.  We started our residency at the 21st Saloon on Feb 11th and it ran through Memorial Day 2012.  I don't remember to many specifics from these Feb shows.  I do remember that there were more people than I expect and I was very surprised by the warm reception from the fans.  I had only played 5 shows with 3D In Your Face by this point, so I was still learning the ropes.

Here is a great picture taken by Jason Husak.  At the time we really didn't know Jason but we remembered him being at every show at the 21st Saloon and taking some amazing pictures.  Little did we know that in a few months Jason would be joining us on the road and traveling all over the country with us as our beloved guitar tech/stage manager.  This is still a classic picture almost a year later.  Thanks Jason.

In March we decided to spice things up at the 21st Saloon.  Our faithful crew erected an enormous video wall behind the band.  The video wall last for three weeks.  If you were there and saw it you will testify that these three shows were some of the coolest shows the band has ever done.  A visual treat for the eyes.  We have an amazing crew.  We are trying to sweat talk them into setting the video wall up again for another string of shows.

Pyro has always been a big part of the 3D In Your Face show.  From the beginning to the end when you see smoke expect the flames.  Those are some nice fire trays on the cymbols.  HAHA.

There were a lot of shows in March and April that didn't get caught on camera.  We played some wild places and met a lot of new fans.  We played in Norfolk at The Pheonix Room, Kearney at Shooters, Council Bluffs at The Horseshoe Casino, Lincoln at The Grove, and wildest of all The annual national rugby tournament in Wayne, NE.  You wouldn't believe it even if I told you.  Imagine 1500 college students in togas crammed into a ballroom ready to party.  It is the wildest party you can ever imagine and we were there. 

We early in 2012 3D In Your Face began collecting aluminum can tabs.  We set a goal of 1 million can tabs to be donated to The Ronald McDonald house.  Next thing you know, a year later we have a closets full of tabs.  We have a tab doll named, Tabitha.  We have tabs everywhere.  But we still have not yet met our goal.  If you are reading this please start saving your can tabs for us.  We can't reach 1 million by ourselves but with your help we will be able to do some good for an amazing charity.

In May we ended our run at the 21st Saloon.  All in all we ran for 15 weeks as the house band at the 21st Saloon.  Little did we know that this would only be the first of many more shows at this amazing Omaha, NE venue.  We capped off our residency and the beginning of our summer tour with an outdoor festival show at Fun Plex.  The sun was hot, the slides were slippery, and the Speedos were tighter than ever.  Great crowd and a wonderful night. It was the only show of our summer tour to get rain and we finished playing right as the sky opened up.

May also saw the beginning of our national press campaign.  I set a goal for 3D In Your Face to be featured on TV, radio, newspaper, and all other social media sites.  Here is a picture of me on the set of The Angry Bros. Shock-O-Rama.  Little did I know that this would be the beginning of  my love affair with the media and doom me into waking up at the butt crack of dawn to be dressed and ready to do an interview.  The price you pay.

In June, 3D In Your Face only played two shows.  But these two shows were the biggest shows of our careers.  We had the great pleasure to play The Awesome Biker Nights festival in Sioux City.  Now I have been to this show three years running but this was my first time playing.  I knew it was going to be huge but when we hit the stage to 5000 screaming Rock N Roll fanatics signing every word. 

Bike rally's have become our bread and butter.  Thousands of people, motorcyles, Rock N Roll music, and three days of things you can never tell your mother.  On the bill this year was Dokken and The Donnas.  We also reunited with our good friends The Fisheads from Omaha.  Things happened and people were peed on. Just another day on the job.  

In July, Jason Husak, joined on as our official guitar tech/stage manager.  His first show was in Hardington, NE.  This show also featured Firehouse.  I didn't really know if Jason would want to stay with us but after 6 months he has become one of my best friends and anchor on the side of the stage.   Dawning the stage name Chapps, Jason has taken on every task we have asked of him.  I couldn't think of a better guitar tech or friend to have in our ring.          1 pepsi very little ice.  Now damnit...

Also in July we made an amazing return back to The Chrome Lounge in Omaha, NE.  3D In Your Face teamed up with Rockin Rita for her book release.  Once Upon A Rock Star is an autobiographical account of Rita's trip through the 80s.  She has pictures of every famous rock star and stories to go along with it.  We loaded up our flame towers and concussion bombs and packed The Chrome.  At this show I got lit on fire but I was so sweaty that I didn't get burned I just stunk up the club.  

In August our tour hit it's stride.  We played festivals in Orchard, Lincoln, Angels, and Loess Hills.  I always look forward to our summer festivals.  Imagine thousands of your closest friends getting drunk and rocking out to 80s hair metal in the middle of the street.  Yeah I know, not a lot of people can understand this until you have been there.  

Every week the guitar boat seems to fill up more and more.  Every show we play we bring around 14 guitars.  I know that you can only play one at a time but you have to have backups for backups.  Always be prepared.

Finally in September our tour wound to a close.  After 40 plus shows 3D In Your Face was unstoppable.  We had played all over the country and we finished up our tour with two huge outside festival dates.  The first was at Septmeberfest in the Century Link Center parking lot.  That night we teamed up with The Omaha Roller Girls for the first time.  Bang Tango was in the audience and this was the debut of Sean of the Dead our second guitar tech/stage manager.  It was still hot outside and I remember that I was so nervous to play on this big of a stage in our home town.  

Our second show was in Sutherland, IA.  The last festival date of the year and probably one of the funnest.  I remember waking up at noon to the sound of hot rods speeding by our bus.  Well at 5am when we parked the bus, we didn't realize that we parked right next to the burn out pit on the street.  Starting at 10am thousands of people gathered around our bus and watched as these muscle cars tore apart their tires. The show was wild and I hope we will be in Sutherland in 2013.

What comes around goes around.  In October we began our new tour and returned back to the 21st Saloon for another residency that will last the entire winter.  This time around every Friday a sponsor was designated to make these shows more of an event.  Our sponsors included Gloss Hair Salon, Glam Gore Girls, Rockin Rita, Omaha Zombie Research Society, Cupcake Kati, The Angry Bros. Heavy Metal Arts and Crafts, and even an air guitar competition.  So far these shows have been amazing.  Each show has become something special and we will never forget the people that come every week to see us play. 

We also played at The Waiting Room in Benson for the first time.  3D In Your Face was invited to play at the 2012 Omaha Zombie Walk and we jumped at the chance. Thousands of zombies roaming the streets of Benson and we were right in the middle of it.  We even shared a dressing room with the Zombikini contestants.  After gallons of fake blood and rock n roll we left The Waiting Room conquering heroes.

In November we made a return to Shooters in Kearney, NE.  This country bar is a very unlikely place to find an 80s hair metal band.  We also had our doubts about playing in this western Nebraska bar.  As soon as we hit the stage Kearney proved to us why it is our home away from home.  For years we played in Kearney and now we are back and the shows are better than ever.  I have fond memories of The Ramada but Shooters proves to be the coolest bar Kearney has ever seen.

We also celebrated Thanksgiving in Rock Port, Mo at The Black Iron Grill.  It was surprisingly cold but our fans still came to party.  I remember that three fights broke out during our show at The Black Iron.  Apparently songs about sex,drugs, and rock n roll inspire Missouri boys to get a little punchy.  

In December our residency stayed strong at The 21st Saloon.  We also celebrated Hot Rod's second 29th Birthday.  I can't remember laughing this much in my entire life.  The shows have been great, the fans have been great, and everyone is really looking forward to The New Year.  

We have a lot of surprises in store for 2013 but our year hasn't ended yet.  We have three shows to finish out 2012.  Friday night we will be at The 21st Saloon to celebrate Christmas with all you Omaha fans.  This will be our first annual 3D In Your Face Gift Exchange.  Bring a present worth $10 and lets put the finishing touches on 2012.  Saturday we will be in Des Moines, Ia for a private show.  Monday, New Years Eve we will be in Rock Port, MO at The Black Iron Grill. 

See you all soon.

Thanks for the memories

HAIR IN THE AIR

SPADE

Tonight Is Your Night Bro.

Tonight I am calling out to all you heavy metal maniacs.  You warriors of Rock N Roll.  Tonight I am calling all you dirty leather clad disciples of mayhem.  You proud junkies of sleaze rock.  TONIGHT IS YOUR NIGHT BRO.

That's right welcome once again to HAIR IN THE AIR, The Official Blog of 3D In Your Face.  As the holidays draw upon us the first leg of our fall/winter comes to a climax.  We just finished up a three day long party for our lead singer, Hot Rod's birthday.  No sleep, long drives, and endless amounts of laughter followed us from Omaha to Sioux City and many places in between. 3D In Your Face has become a well oiled machine over the last three months, not only physical but musically and emotionally.  As we sat down to dinner Thursday night as a band, I looked around the table and was so thankful to be in the company of my best friends in the world.  I had a moment there at that table, right before Playboy started telling us about his night and getting picked up at the local adult book store.  This erupted into a three hour dinner conversation of dick and fart jokes sprinkled in with a little Mexican food.

So far this tour has been more successful than I could have imagined.  I'm not talking monetarily successful but successful in the fact that we have made so many new friends along the way.  Not just fans, but friends that I would let take my grandmother to the airport.  People who are proud to be life long sleazy rock n roll heavy metal freaks.  I always thought I was the only one.  Sitting around that dinner table with the entire band surrounding me, I couldn't help but think that these guys have become my family and I wouldn't trade it for anything .  But even bigger than that, my family has grown to encompass all the new friends I have met over the last three months.  I wish I could name them all of you right here on this blog but I will leave that for you to do in the "Comments" box.

From day one I always thought that 3D In Your Face had a very special relationship with their fans.  Today I don't even consider you our fans, you have become my allies, my family, and rock.  Everyday I am amazed by the kindness and passion you have shown to us.  We rolled into Sioux City last Saturday and there were already people waiting for us to arrive.  Some of you brought us food and can tabs.  Some of you traveled long distances to celebrate with us.  Our shows have become more than your average rock n roll shows.  It's almost as if every week we get to have a family reunion with our favorite cousins and wacky aunts and uncles.  We all come together to celebrate life and celebrate rock n roll.  From this point on my goal is to throw away the old stigmas of the band/fan relationship.  I want things to be different.  There are no more rockstar egos. We are all in this together.  The support that you give to us only fuels us to play harder, to practice longer, and to travel further.  Believe me when I say to you that heavy metal never died.  Sure there have been some ups and downs but it never went away.

Bands can come and go but the music that they make and the people that that music touches will last forever.  That is the beauty of this crazy carousel  we are all riding, it will always come around again.  These last few months building up to New Years have been by far the most eye opening months I have ever had playing in a band.  My mission is to reach ever damn one of you.  I want to shake your hand and have a long passionate discussion on KISS' first five records.

This Friday Dec. 21st we will be celebrating the end of the world or the Mayan calender, which ever you prefer at the 21st Saloon 96th and L st. Omaha, NE. As usual we will have a lot of surprises in store for you.  We have a load of people traveling from out of town and there is plenty of room at the Griswald Family table.  "Save me the neck, Clark".

See you all soon.

HAIR IN THE AIR
SPADE

 

Hot Rod. The Man, The Myth, and The Rockstar

Hello everyone and welcome to another amazing edition of HAIR IN THE AIR.  I am so proud to be coming to you with almost 1500 page hits under our belts.  You people are unbelievable.  If you have been following us on facebook or been to our shows you know that this week we are celebrating our lead singer, Hot Rod's 50th birthday.  So I am going to dedicate this entire blog entry to him.  I have found some pictures and I have some stories that I hope you all enjoy.  We will be celebrating his birthday three times this week.  Thursday night at a surprise destination, Friday night at the 21st Saloon, and Saturday in Sioux City at The Fourth Street Bar.  Three parties you say?  This man deserves an entire week of parties, motorcycles, fireworks, and lasers.  This is going to be a big deal and I want all of you on board to help celebrate.  We need to throw the biggest bash we can for Omaha's King of Rock N Roll.  So here you have it, to Alan King, one of my best friends and band mate for almost 8 years.  HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY.  Lets tear this place down.

Lets begin back in the 80s shall we.  I know I wasn't born early enough to remember the 80s but I have had the front row seat to all the wildest stories you can imagine.  Just last week Alan told me a story about one of his first bands "Rage".  The story goes that the band landed it's first few gigs at the Omaha high school prom dance.  The shows were killer but they had no PA and no money to buy a nice PA rig.  So Alan went out and built his own PA.  He built the cabinets and installed the speakers and slowly "Rage" started playing local clubs to happy bar owners.  The band wasn't yet old enough to drink so they didn't cause any trouble and this made the bar very happy.  Well things would soon change.  Now I am not for sure the order of all of these bands but I will throw out some names for you.  "Fury" "Break Out" "Justin Morgan" "Harder Faster" "Castle" and of course the band he has been leading for almost 13 years 3D In Your Face.  

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Alan was never one to go quietly into the night.  The first thing I remember about Alan wasn't the big hair or wild clothes it was the voice.  This dude can truly sing.  I found out that he studied music in college and was in the choir at UNO.  I have never met a singer who can do what he does night after night and never complain about his voice.  He is unstoppable.  Not only can he sing but he can write music, play the piano, slap the bass, and shred on the guitar.  Alan is the ultimate show stopper.  If anyone has seen a 3D In Your Face show they will tell you he does it all.  From the moment the trailer doors hit the ground to the moment they close, Alan is in the zone and doing what he does best.  Not to mention he drives the bus every night.  Which inevitably brings me to my next story.  I was always told about this old school bus that Justin Morgan used to travel in.  The story goes that Alan bought this school bus and fixed it up to be a band vehicle for him and his band mates.  Well no ordinary yellow school bus would be appropriate for this Rock N Roll outfit.  So he took black and white house paint and covered the entire bus in zebra stripes.  For years this bus was his home.  Back then bands didn't just play one or two nights at a club they played 6 nights a week at the same club and traveled on Sundays.  They would all stay in a band house or back room where the party would eventually wind up after the shows.  Remember this was the 80's so they reveled in every moment of this.  This was life as they knew it and they couldn't have been happier.  Chairs in the pool, wrecked hotel rooms, band break-ups and make-ups, to much booze, and lots of lonely nights.  Alan King lived the life that everyone dreams of living as a young musician on the road.

Fast forward a few years and a few bands to 3D In Your Face. Alan has been the lead singer, manager, accountant, booking agent, and all around brains behind 3D In Your Face.  I have had the amazing pleasure of being his guitar tech/stage manager and now comrade in hair, as the bass player for the wildest band I have ever been in.  I look up to Alan like a mentor.  He has been there and done things that I can only dream of.  Alan has taught me not only how to be a better musician and performer but also how to be a better band-mate and friend.  I not only respect him as a musician but I love him like a brother.  Through the good times and the bad times I have never seen Alan lose his composure.  He is a true rock star by every definition of the word.  The last year of my life has been the funnest and happiest year I can remember, and I own it all to 3D In Your Face and Alan King.  You lead buddy and I will follow.  Happy birthday Alan you deserve the best.

  As always I want tell you a little about what is going on for us this week.  Thursday we will be celebrating all damn night long at a special place in Omaha.  Sorry I can't tell you where but shit I have to keep some element of surprise.  Friday we will be back at the 21st Saloon on 96th and L st.  Our residency is going strong and more people are coming out every week.  Spread the word.  This weeks sponsor is Cupcake Kati.  She will be providing homemade cupcakes to the first 100 people in the door.  That's right it's going to be a party and we are supplying the cake.  Saturday we are making the drive to Sioux City, IA to The Fourth Street Bar downtown.  If you haven't been there you are missing out.  For this show we are proud to announce the Sioux City Roller Dames will be selling merchandise and preaching the good word of Derby to all you wild people.  Three amazing parties all crammed into one week.  Also if you are a morning person I will be making a special guest appearance on The Siouxland News at Sunrise this week.  Set your DVR's and invest in Red Bull because you are going to need some energy this week.

I want to leave this as an open ended invitation to you the readers.  I want to encourage you to share your stories about Alan King.  Wish him happy birthday.  But always remember be proud of who you are.

 "Music is an emotion that everyone experiences differently. Let the music release those emotions."  Alan King.

Until next time.
HAIR IN THE AIR
SPADE

Let's Take A Trip Shall We?

A huge hairy hello to all you metal warriors.  It's time for another edition of HAIR IN THE AIR.  Before I get started I want to touch on something from last week that really has made me proud to be in 3D In Your Face.  As most of you know Friday Nov. 30th we did a show with The Glam Gore Girls at the 21st Saloon in Omaha, NE.  For this show we also teamed up with The Food Bank for the Heartland to raise money for the less fortunate in the Omaha metro area.  I just had a conversation with the director of The Food Bank and he let me know that together we raised $174 and 40 lbs. of food.  That's right you crazy Rock N Roll fanatics found it in your heart to donate your hard earned money and make it possible for people to eat during this holiday season.  That much cash and canned food will provide 500 meals to people all over the Omaha area.  Thank you so much to everyone that donated.  Thank you to The Glam Gore Girls for helping us raise this money.  Thank you to our fans for supporting us in every endeavor we throw at you.

With that being said, this week we are doing something very special for our Friday night show at The 21st Saloon.  On Dec. 7th 3D In Your Face will be throwing our first ever Fat Jaks class reunion show.  That's right kiddies, we are figuratively going back to the 80's; with the midwest's premier Rock N Roll club.  Everybody who was anybody was at Fat Jaks.  All the biggest name bands from around the area made a pilgrimage to this holy rock night club to play, drink, and indulge in all forms of pleasure.  Never heard of Fat Jaks?  Well don't be ashamed.  I wasn't old enough to enjoy the magnitude of Rock coming out of this wonderful place.  But, you better believe I have heard my fair share of stories about this place.  "Fat Jaks this".  "Fat Jaks that".  "I got a blow job at Fat Jaks".  It never gets old.  This place was legendary and on Friday Dec. 7th, we will be celebrating all things Fat Jaks and all things 80s Rock N Roll.

As I said earlier I was never old enough to go to Fat Jaks.  But I am a firm believer that every band that tours regularly has a form of their own "Fat Jaks".  So sit back and let me paint you a picture of a legendary punk rock club that I used to frequent a few years back.  When I was 18 I helped to start a punk band named OFFICIALLY TERMINATED in Fremont, NE.  We were always different than most bands and we out grew Fremont real fast.  The band moved to Lincoln and started playing the club scene and touring regionally.  During this time (2007-2009) I was playing lead guitar and the band was playing everywhere that people would let us.  A friend of mine started a production company and started booking bands at the now infamous Saddle Creek Bar in Omaha.  Now kiddies this bar had nothing to do with Saddle Creek Records, quite the opposite.  This bar hosted blues, metal, hardcore, and most of all punk shows.  When you first walked in the place smelled of cheeseburgers (this is usually a good indicator that the club is going to get wild and you are going to have a lot of fun).  The stage was small but had a drum riser and a few lights.  The weirdest thing was, that in the middle of stage left a giant pole stuck out of the stage and went all the way to the ceiling.  I never understood why they just didn't take the pole out (load bearing I would guess).  The sound was amazing for punk shows and the PBR flowed like wine.  But most of all the reason why we loved this club was because they gave us free booze and we were known to indulge quiet heavily.

The Saddle Creek Bar became one of those places that we played religiously every month or so.  We would always load the bill with up and coming bands and get as many drunk punk rockers crammed into the room as possible.  The Shidiots are a band that survived this time period.  If OFFICIALLY TERMINATED and The Shidiots where playing together at The Saddle Creek Bar you better break out the plastic underwear and call yourself a cab.  We played there a ton of times but for the life of me I can only remember one show in particular.  It was a cold day in Dec and my best friend and guitar tech had just purchased a band van so OFFICIALLY TERMINATED could drive in luxury and style.  Little did we know that the $300 dollar Econoline couldn't drive faster than 50 mph.  We loaded up our gear and headed for The Saddle Creek Bar for our show.  After three hours on I-80 we finally made it to Omaha.  We pulled into the bar and the owner (A very cool guy, who loved music, and did great things for the music scene in Omaha) was waiting outside. We jumped out of the van and ran over to shake his hand.  "You guys are late and you are on now".  "Grab your gear and get on stage".  If anyone knows me they know that it takes me a good hour to get dressed for a show.  Not that I am all that concerned with fashion, but between the hair, makeup and tight pants it takes a few minutes to get it all right.  So as my guitar tech started setting our gear up, I ran to the ladies room to get changed.  Get your mind out of the gutters.  All the mirrors had been broken out of the men's restroom.  I open my suitcase and to my surprise, I forgot all of my makeup.  I started to panic.  The people were ready for some nasty punk rock and I had to eye shadow.  Sierra being quite the smart girl picked up a cube of blue pool chalk and handed it to me.  To my surprise it worked and looked pretty cool.  We got on stage and tore the place a new ass hole.  45 minutes of pure ground shaking punk rock fury covered in blue pool chalk.  As I said before we ended up playing The Saddle Creak Bar many times but for some reason all the other times were very blurry.

Fat Jaks.  Saddle Creak Bar.  Every band has this same club and I want to hear about it.  This is me calling you out.  I want to know about that bar you played that you called home.  The bar that brings up a few good memories and lots and lots of blurry ones.   This Friday we have the great pleasure to celebrate Fat Jaks, but you know what, this is going to be more than that.  We are celebrating our history.  We are celebrating Rock N Roll.  Friday night I will look back and remember playing snot-nosed punk rock to a room full of PBR drinking hooligans.  I will remember Dean, standing in the front row drinking Pepsi and loving every minute of it.  I will remember a van with amazing interior lights but couldn't make it up to the speed limit.  I will remember The Shidiots and Noise Junkie Productions.  What will you remember?  What will you be playing for?

HAIR IN THE AIR
SPADE