I'm A Peacock, You Got To Let Me Fly

Let me just begin by saying that, it's about time for me to spread my wings.  I'm a peacock, you got to let me fly.  Welcome to HAIR IN THE AIR, The Official Blog of 3D In Your Face.  The time is officially here and I have to admit that I am so excited.  We are on the brink of our new summer tour.  This Friday night, May 31st will be the first night of the "Midnight Devils Summer Tour 2013".  I am like a kid right before leaving for Disney World or Adventure Land, for those mid-western people.  Last week we officially ended our residency at The 21st Saloon.  It was a bitter sweet night and I have to admit we were all pretty sad to leave our Omaha friends and family.  Like most of you, Friday nights at The 21st Saloon had become a ritual to us.  I had it down so good that I knew where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing every hour starting at 4 pm Friday afternoon.  Our last show there was amazing and I couldn't think of a better way to end this celebration and begin our summer tour.  I can't say thank you enough to all our friends and family that came out to support us.  The biggest thank you goes to all of our weekly sponsors.  Each one of you stepped up to the plate and delivered a unique addition to each show.  We have made some amazing friends along the way and I can only hope this tradition continues into the future.  My phone is always on and if there is ever anything I or 3D In Your Face can do for you please feel free to ask.

Speaking of our summer tour, "Midnight Devils Tour 2013", this blog is going to be an informative piece.  I want to take you into our world and let you know what being on the road is like.  I am going to give you an in depth list of things that are invaluable to me while I am on the road.  I am by no means a road worn rock n roll soldier but I have been doing this for a while and I have some of this down to a science.  The first and most important thing I always get before leaving is sunscreen.  The guys always laugh at me but I am a sissy when it comes to the sun.  I  prefer staying a nice shade of blinding white to a bronze tan or crab white.  I rule of thumb is always find the highest SPF that the store carries.  SPF 50 no good, SPF 70 getting close, SPF 90 now we are talking.  I recently found out they sell SPF 120.  As soon as we pull into our load in I immediately put four coats of sunscreen over my entire body.  Just in case the sun explodes and shoots flaming radiation into our atmosphere, I will be OK.  As a ritual it is our new techs responsibility to lather my back with sunscreen, counter clockwise only.  Second thing on the list is socks.  With socks I have learned that I hate carrying around dirty laundry so I just by a new bag wear them once and throw them away.  Plus you always feel like a million bucks with new socks on.  Third thing is earplugs.  This is a must for in-bus sleeping.  I have talked a lot about "The Rock N Roll 8".  Before any show I try my hardest to get at least 8 hours of sleep.  When the bus is fully loaded with people the inner bunk room turns into a snoring fart-fest.  Many nights I have found myself with no earplugs or only one.  I inevitably end up staying awake all night and nobody likes a cranky bus mate in the morning (that goes against the "always be the happy guy on the road rule").  Another must is extra pants.  You may laugh at this one but you never know when you are going to be in the middle of a sweat ass jump kick and blow your pants out.  Trust me this has happened to every musician and only the prepared ones are able to recover from this traumatic event.  Mine happened in the middle of a song and I had to keep playing with my bird flapping in the wind.  No one in the crowd seemed to notice but I took the time to show my entire band "The Goods".  Another tour essential is a Speedo.  Last summer we enacted Speedo-Summer.  There is nothing like a well place Speedo pose to lighten the mood on a cranky bus.  Plus you never know you will be playing next to a lake, pool, or random garden hose.  Baby Powder has become a hot commodity around the 3D In Your Face camp.  Not only does it serve as a white base for your face, hair, and clothes.  It doubles as a form of better smelling fog at those shows when the smoke alarms wont allow for fog.  Most importantly it is used in the quenching of The Gig Butt.  I wont get into this as most of you know what I am talking about.  The holiest rule in all of touring is "always stay hydrated on tour".  Water is the most coveted item on any tour and no show can function without massive amounts of H2O.  I am a big stickler for this rule and this rule has saved me more times than I can even remember.  As a matter of fact I think for "The Midnight Devils Tour", we are going to have mandatory water time-outs every hour.  My guys shall never go thirsty and there will not be any heat related illness or injure this summer.  That is my promise and that is my creed.  

Our first tour stop will be this Friday night May 31st at Uncle Larry's in my hometown of Fremont, NE.  For those of you that do not know I can't stress this enough.  If you want to see the new show you have to get there early.  Last time we were there Uncle Larry's sold out by 8 PM.  I believe we will be playing outside if the weather is nice so there will be a lot more room.  Fremont is a rock n roll town and I can't wait to come back to my old stomping grounds.  Not to mention Uncle Larry's is an old converted strip club, the energy and atmosphere is still there and our dressing room is the old stripper dressing room.  If those mirrors could talk.  Saturday night, June 1st we will be making the trip to Norfolk, NE and The Off Road Ranch for The Midwest Bike-Fest.  We will be playing our first bike festival of the year.  Most of all we will be opening for the legendary Warrant.  Tickets are only $25 presale or $30 day of show.  I can't tell you how much this band means to me and all the boys in 3D In Your Face.  "The Midnight Devils Tour 2013" begins this week and will last through the better part of September.  I NEVER WANT TO GO HOME.  

ALWAYS LOUD

FOREVER PROUD

HAIR IN THE AIR

SPADE

As This Chapter Draws To A Close, A Picture History of The 21st Saloon

The time is finally here.  Hello all you heavy metal-Rock N Roll-big hair loving-tight pants wearing animals.  Welcome to HAIR IN THE AIR, The Official Blog of 3D in Your Face.  After all these weeks and this extremely long winter we have been experiencing in the states, our final show at The 21st Saloon is upon us. This Friday May 24th, is going to be the culmination of 8 months of hard work and paying dues.  Going all the way back to September 2012 we as a band decided that we wanted to give our fans something that no other Omaha band has dared to do.  The idea was that every Friday night we would throw a rager, a shitfest, a party with no rules.  Have sponsors and theme nights every week to make the shows more of an event.  We wanted to break out of the mold that all the other Omaha bands seem to follow.  We had faith that it would work and week after week you guys proved it.  All the hours we put in learning songs, promoting, driving, and practicing payed off.  After all those shows our final night together will be this Friday.  If you are reading this and haven't seen 3D In Your Face at The 21st Saloon, shame on you.  What are you waiting for?  I said it last week and I will say it again, this isn't a time to be sad this is a time to celebrate.  In Omaha Rock N Roll did something no one thought was possible.  We proved that a lengthy residency could be successful.  We proved that you the fans are hungry for something bigger and better and I truly believe that you deserve it.  No more settling.  It's time to put up or shut up.  The day is here and I am more excited than I have ever been.  We are standing on the cusp of something big and together we will be taking this journey.  After 8 months of shows I have acquired thousands of pictures and this blog is for you, the fans.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I hope you enjoy this.

This is still one of the best photos our good buddy Chappy has ever taken. It was after a show before he was a tech and he asked if he could snap a group shot.  I still use this one every time I am doing promo work.  Thanks buddy.

I hope you enjoy all these pictures and trust me I have thousands more.  The 21st Saloon has been so good to 3D In Your Face.  We have made so many good memories, I am sad to leave.  Before we leave we are going to have one more big celebration this Friday, May 24th.  To top it all off I (Spade) will be doing a radio with Chris Marsh at 9 am Friday morning on 1340 KHUB.  Tune in and feel free to call with your questions.  Our sponsor for Friday's celebration will be The Youth Emergency Service Center.  We will be holding a 50/50 raffle to raise money for the Omaha organization.  Dr. Sanguinary of Creature Feature fame will be making a live appearance.  Also our new sponsor The Big O 101.9 will be giving away three pairs of tickets to see The Original Rebel Yell, Billy Idol at The Stir Concert Cove.  I truly feel we have went above and beyond for this last 21st Saloon show.  It's time to show what 3D In Your Face fans are made of.  See you Friday, May 24th at The 21st Saloon.  

ALWAYS LOUD

FOREVER PROUD

HAIR IN THE AIR

SPADE

From DJ's To Drag Queens And Back.

Hello and welcome back all you wild and crazy 80's-metal-loving party animals   This is HAIR IN THE AIR, The Official blog of 3D In Your Face.  WOW have things been getting busy or is just me.  It seems the closer we get to the summer tour and the end of our residency at The 21st Saloon the more work I need to put in to stay caught up.  I'm not saying this is a bad thing in any way, because trust me we have the best jobs in the world.  I'm just saying where does the time go?  A huge thank you goes out to all of you wonderful people that came out to the 21st Saloon last week.  What an awesome display of true Rock N Roll pandemonium.  We had fights in the parking lot, traveling fans from all over the mid-west, birthday parties, going-away parties, raffles, giveaways (congrats Jeanine), a bunch of old and a few new fans, amazing sponsors, beyond drunks, beyond sobers, and everything in between.  That list seems like a normal night at a 3D In Your Face show.  Well let me tell you from experience last Friday was not a normal night.  There was something in the air and you guys were hell bent on bringing the pain.  I must digress, our show this Friday, May 17th will be our second to last show at The 21st Saloon before we leave for the summer.  I have been fighting off this sad feeling of leaving our home and spreading our wings.   I will say this again and stand by my words.  We need to make these last two Friday nights something special.  These aren't rock n roll shows, these aren't events, these last two Friday nights are going to be celebrations.  We will be celebrating all things Omaha, all things Rock N Roll, and most of all all things fun.  If you are reading this please go out and tell everyone you know that they need to get their asses to The 21st Saloon this Friday.

A lot has been happening to me this week and I feel I should let you in on some information, after all we are all family here.  Starting on June 8th I will be hosting my own radio show on our new sponsor station The Big O 101.9.  Guess what?  The name of my new radio show is going to be, HAIR IN THE AIR.  That's not confusing, right?  Every Saturday night starting on June 8th I will be running an all 80's Rock N Roll power blockade from 8 to 10 pm on The Big O.  My goal is to take you on a journey to a magical place where music was loud and hairy and the guys wore more makeup then the girls.  I am going to play the classic hits that you remember and grew up with.  Also I am going to play some of the deep cuts, the b-sides, the forgotten bands from the decade of decadence.  Most of all I want to play the songs that you want to hear.  I want to play the songs that make you happy.  I want to play the songs that represent Rock N Roll.  In a region full of non-believers I am going to be your voice.  Trust me I am not taking this job lightly.  No, No.

Back in the day when I was a fresh and spry 18 year old about to graduate from Fremont Senior High school I was confronted with a problem.  This problem befell most teens my age.  What do you do after high school?  By that time, I already knew what I wanted in life but they don't really make a college course in Rock Star training at The University of Nebraska.  I didn't really want to go to school but I knew that I needed to do something.  I had to get out of town and go experience things on my own.  Also, my parents told me that I must go to school and after I graduated I could do whatever I wanted.  As long as I had something to fall back on.  So I mad the decision to go to The University of Nebraska and major in Broadcasting.  Here was my philosophy; as a radio DJ you got free records,  you got paid to listen to music, and you got paid to talk on the air.  COUNT IT.  Suddenly that political science degree sounds ridiculous doesn't it?  I joined a long running specialty show on our college radio station called Heresy.  Heavy metal was the name of the game.  Every week you would open up the station mail box and it would be stuffed with new CDs, posters, and press sheets on every band that was trying to get radio play.  You would then go through each record and pick the songs and artists you liked and play their tunes.  I loved the job.  As I took over as the host of Heresy I turned the show in a different direction, I kept the heavy metal music but I also started doing bits and routines to get some laughs.  I soon hired on my buddy Duff as the co-host and I believe we had one of the funniest shows on the radio Tuesday nights from 9 to 12.  There was fan mail from prisoners in the Lincoln Pen , we had a website, and we would even get recognized on the street.  Heresy didn't pay a dime but to us it was worth every minute we were in that studio.  Heresy changed me.  After I graduated college I never really got the chance to explore radio like I wanted to.  My heart was still in playing live kick ass rock n roll.  So I put it on the back burner until Ken Kohls came along from The Big O 101.9.  It was just one of those days.   And like that I am back into the world of broadcasting and I couldn't be happier.  The funny thing is I sent an email to KZUM a few months ago asking if they would be interested in doing this same show and they never even responded back. It shows you that you never know whats just around the corner.  To all you 3D In Your Face fans out there, this is just the beginning.  Hold on for the ride of your life.

On Friday May 17th we will be teaming up with one of our oldest and most trusted sponsors Gloss Salon and Day Spa for our "I Want You To Want Me" Show.  The beautiful and talented women at Gloss Hair Salon are responsible for the in's and out's of our hair every week.  I truly feel without Gloss Salon supporting us 3D In Your Face would not be in the position that we are today.  These girls have done things with our hair that you only see in the movies.  Melissa, Krisha, Beth, and the rest of their hair artist are not only the best in Omaha but they are the best in the country.  To make this show even more special they will be selling their new line of colored hair extensions and 3D In Your Face will be modeling the new line during the show.  To put a cherry on top, our brand new sponsor The Big O 101.9 will be on hand and they will be giving away three pairs of tickets to see Cheap Trick at The Stir Concert Cove.  That is 6 tickets to see the band that wrote the songs "Surrender", "Dream Police", "I Want You To Want Me".  They are Rock N Roll icons and all you have to do is be present in order to win.  Sign your name up at our merchandise booth and sit back and enjoy the show.  You could be going to see the legends of Rock N Roll, Cheap Trick courtesy of 3D In Your Face.  What a great way to start this summer off.  See you Friday, May 17th at The 21st Saloon.

ALWAYS LOUD
FOREVER PROUD

HAIR IN THE AIR

SPADE

Mom Always Knows Best.

Hello every one and welcome back to HAIR IN THE AIR, The Official Blog of 3D In Your Face.  A special hello to all you first time readers.  I hope you all enjoy this one.  Before we delve right into the heart of this weeks blog, I want to take a minute and thank everyone that came out last week to support 3D In Your Face at The 21st Saloon.  We only have three more Fridays left before our residency runs out and we take our show on the road.  This is do or die time.  You, our loyal fans must spread the word about these last three shows.  We need to pack the joint..  Now I put this in your hands.  Tell your neighbors, tell your relatives, tell your coworkers that they need to get their asses out to The 21st Saloon before it is to late.  I would also like to send a very special thank you to all those people that came in togas for our toga party.  You guys are my heroes, brass balls.  Now that is Rock N Roll.  As most of you know this week in America we will be celebrating Mother's Day.  On Sunday May 12th we dedicate an entire day to those wonderful women who brought us into this world.  They wiped our asses and supported us even when there was no chance in hell we would ever succeed. Here is to all you mothers out there.

Stacia Mae Johnson

SPADE's Moms
I am very blessed to be able to call two wonderful women 'Mom'.  Growing up I had two sets of parents which always made things interesting for me, never bad or messy just interesting.  My birth mother's name is Stacia Johnson.  She has been my rock ever since I got my first KISS record and I knew that I wanted to be a musician.  She always told me that I could do whatever I wanted as long as my heart was always in it.  Day in and day out she gives me the courage to reach for my dreams and realize my potential, all while not swearing and making sure I said "please" and "thank you".  I have a lot of fond stories about my mom but I thought I would share this one with you guys.  When my first band OFFICIALLY TERMINATED was beginning to do shows we had trouble finding places that would let us play.  We were to young for bars and didn't know how to throw house shows.  So we rent a small community room and threw our dirty punk rock shows there.  Well there was one small problem.  You needed an adult to sign for the room.  So my mom agreed to sign for the room and even take admission.  Well OFFICIALLY TERMINATED didn't have enough songs to play an entire set so we would get a bunch of old TV's and set them on the stage.  During the coarse of our show we would smash these TV's.  It looked awesome and the crowd ate it up.  We decided to go one step farther and us pyro.  The pyro entailed wrapping a mic stand in foil and setting it on fire with rubbing alcohol. As the mic stand burned and the crowd raged the flaming alcohol dripped down onto the stage where the set list was sitting.  Next thing you know the stage and mic stand are on fire and my mother is watching horrified.  We put the fire out and ended the show.  My mother was livid.  She made us clean every inch of the community room and come back to our house for a band meeting.  No after party was going on that night. She basically sat us all down in the living room and chewed our asses for being stupid irresponsible kids.  I will never forget that moment.  She very bluntly let us know that we weren't indestructible and that our actions could have grave consequences.

Beth Ann Morris

My step mother's name is Beth Morris and she has taken a very inspirational and creative role in my life.  I am thankful for everything she has taught me and I love her dearly.  The most important thing Beth has done for me is that she has made me realize the true beauty in nature.  Every time life starts happening to fast I can always remember back to when we were kids walking through the forest on those perfect autumn days.  Or fishing on the quietest lake in the universe, even if it was in Fremont, NE.  Now I am by no means a farm boy but Beth taught me how to slow down and take in the beauty all around you.  There is life happening outside of your little bubble and if you never take the time to realize it you are missing out on something very important.

Sniper's Mom
Sniper gave me a great story about his mom for the blog.  This is the story of The Greatest Christmas Present Ever.  Way back in 2009 Mum Sniper was planning on getting her son an amazing present for Christmas.  At the time she was working for a pest control place in Omaha.   The rep from the company worked out of Hatisburg, MS and just happened to be friends with Brett Favre (Sniper's favorite football player).  She asked the rep if he would be able to get a jersey signed for her son.  The rep said "No problem just mail me a jersey).  Mum went out and bought the jersey mailed it to Mississippi and patiently waited for it to return.  Christmas came and went and still no sign of the signed jersey.  All the while Sniper was oblivious to what was going on behind his back.  Three years later on Christmas 2012 Sniper received a package.  He was puzzled and opened the box to reveal a signed Bret Favre Vikings jersey.  Holding back tears of joy he inspected the signature and it said "To Maurine.  Brett Favre".  Now this would have been a touching gesture except for the fact that Sniper's Mum's name isn't Maurine.  All the same, he came to find out that this was a three year present in the making.  His mother never gave up and Sniper had no idea about the jersey until the day he opened it.  Here ends the story of The Greatest Christmas Present Ever.

Chappy's Mom
Chappy our trusted stage manager and guitar technician related a very funny story about his mom to me and I have the pleasure of telling you.  Way back in the day when Chappy was just a young runt around the age of 5 his father and some friends took on the project of laying a concrete for their above ground pool.  All the guys were standing around waiting for the concrete truck to show up.  Chappy was his Pop's little helper and mom was responsible for watching him.  Chappy's dad paid all his buddies that day in beer and food for helping with such a project.  As they were standing there waiting they decided to open up a couple beers.  No sooner did they pop the top than the truck arrives and they had to set their beers down and get to work. Chappy's mom wanted to make sure the job was done right and she took her eyes of her mischievous little boy.  Chappy not knowing that the opened beers were not sodas decided he better drink all of them.  "I love my mother and to this day I can thank her for my love of beer.  In a nutshell she has molded me into the person I am today.  I could not imagine a life without her.  I love you mom and thank you".

Hot Rod's Mom
(From the desk of Hot Rod)
Hands down the best and coolest Mom ever!
La Nell Arnold King
My mom grew up in Madena Texas with 13 brothers and sisters, she was crowned Validictorian when she graduated from High School. She was also the schools lead Majorette. (cheerleaders in the old days) She met my father Robert Lee King in high school. And they were married a some years later. She loved to travel and since dad was in the Air Force, travel we did as a family for many years.
During moms travels she liked to collect things. Antiques, rare things, and just cool stuff. So much so that she ran out of space in the house to store it, and began to give things to myself and my sister for us to keep.

Mom was always music supportive. She would come to band shows and walk thru the crowd and sell buttons with pictures of the band that she had made. She would also buy CDs or tapes of the bands music and ship it across the world to her friends.
Not many musicians can say they have had a supportive mom for their music, but my mom was always there for me. She would buy me music related gifts, and even help me get the things I needed for the band. Such as buying stage clothes. She even hooked me up with Tamara at Basic Tease who makes all my stage outfits. And had her make some for me. Wow a mom that understands the 80s music!

Sadly 2 years ago my Mom had a stroke. It took away her ability to speak, but not her vitallity for life and friends. She still understands people very well and responds with a smile to let them know she understands. She lives her days now with my Dad in Bellevue at an assisted living place. She still shows her new friends that come to visit pictures and videos of 3D In Your Face and gets excited when I tell her about the new things that 3D In Your Face does each week.I couldn't have asked for a better Mom growing up or even today. She will always be 3D In Your Face's biggest fan. Hands down. And if you agree, I expect to hear a "Hell Ya" out loud across the country.
Hotrod

Playboy's Mom
Playboy's mom much like Playboy remains a mystery.  Not much is known and not much is told about Playboy's mom and they like to keep it like that.  I do know that she got me in to see Alice Cooper and I can never thank her enough.  Love you Mom.  Happy Mothers Day.

This just about wraps up our Mother's Day extravaganza.  Sorry the blog was so long but I think we could go on for days about our moms.  Friday May 10th, 3D In Your Face will be at The 21st Saloon.  This week we are shooting for our first sell out show.  Our sponsors are Rusos' Music, Iron Rick Productions, and Omaha Local Music Promotions.  This will be a pre-show party for The Heroes of Heart Benefit.  Our brand new sponsors The Big O 101.9 will be giving away tickets and backstage passes for Bret Michaels, Vince Neil, and Lita Ford in Norfolk, NE on June 29th.  Get there early this is going to be one hell of a party.