Yeah, I hit a guy with my truck, and he seemed to feel an apology was in order. Sadly, for him I suppose, I did not concur. You see, this is a parking lot, intended to house vehicles associated with employees of the event taking place INSIDE the fenced-off area. YOU, sir, are attempting to get your kicks without paying, by loitering OUTSIDE that designated space, thus making you the transgressor. I was merely trying to exit the premises, as was my right. I say to you two things(one of which I'm pretty sure I related to you Friday evening with a more colorful flourish): 1.) Put your shirt on until you have something more impressive to display than your gut and the 6 tattoos your neighbor gave you when he got out of jail. and 2) You should have bought a f*%king ticket. (You know, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that second one is EXACTLY how it came out of my mouth, so I guess I do owe you an apology.....for my coarse language.)

 This all happened, by the way, as I was leaving the 3-6 Mafia show I played Friday with The Beauty School Dropouts. Thousands of people inside, hundreds outside, with things on either side of the fence getting pretty rowdy by 1:30AM, which is when I opted to attempt my getaway, and inadvertently nudged the subject in question, who was apparently caught off guard by my tiny, white, V8 SUV and it's virtually invisible taillights.

 The show itself was killer, from the setup and the sound, to the crowd and the lineup. Things flowed smoothly, everyone played nice, and drama was nowhere to be found. The 12th & Porter folks know how to throw a party and this shindig was pro all the way....even if we didn't have any beer backstage. Nicholas Colman got his sendoff, and celebrated his farewell with a surf over the crowd and an unforgettable farewell speech. This self-proclaimed "legend" will be missed.

 My girl and I spent the following day with the BSD posse, grilling out and diving off the cliffs at a rock quarry. Children that weigh less than my head were jumping the equivalent of a 2-story distance into 30 feet of water, while I drank beer and wished I was that brave. Then, I realized I would have to put my beverage down in order to swim, and that just seemed like nonsense, so I was OK with my absent valor. Good times, nonetheless.

 Sunday, I typed up the "liner notes" for the new fORMER record, so that Billy could put the finishing touches on the artwork. Earlier in the week, Patrick & I had gone into The Switchyard for one last round of final mixing, and walked out with CDRs of the new album. We've been listening to it off and on ever since, to make sure everything is as it should be, and we just gave the thumbs-up for mastering, so once the final master is in our hands, and the art is slapped into the templates, we're off to the presses, and the real wait begins.

 While this is all going down, we're rehearsing a set for the August 13th benefit show at The Rutledge, that will once again be a game-changer for us. We're setting aside several standards and replacing them with new stock, so expect the unexpected and buckle up, 'cause we're not gonna waste any time getting to the new shit, and hopefully giving you all something different to chew on until the record drops.

 Once this thing is ready, we'll start charting a course, and maybe doing a few shows in places we haven't played in a while. For now, the main order of business is getting the kids their damn cable.

   See you all soon,

     Denny