MARCH MADNESS!

It is no coincidence that my birthday always happens to fall during the first week of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. These three upcoming weeks are the start of what is often three great months of basketball. It is truly a basketball lover's dream, and a great time to have a patient girlfriend. North Carolina kept their hopes alive for a #1 seed. Them and Notre Dame have quietly crept up throughout the season and could both find themselves with #1 seeds when the field is announced Sunday evening.


It is probably no secret who I plan on rooting for throughout all of this madness. Kansas has been one of the most consistent teams in the country this season and are likely to be a number one seed in the tournament. Tonight Kansas looks to improve on their resume, as they are trying to win back to back Big 12 Titles. They will have to play better than they played yesterday. They are playing Colorado in a few minutes and it looks like the game won't be aired on my TV. Great.

I wonder how much 30 American Nightmare shirts will fetch on Ebay

I bet this auction gets up there, not going to guess how high but $500 wouldn't surprise me in the least. I only ever owned a T-Shirt and a hoodie from this band. I remember when I was watching No Warning at Positive Numbers in 2001. Everyone all of a sudden cleared out of the room in the middle of their set. I thought a fight had broken out or something, but it turned out American Nightmare and their merch had arrived. I kept watching NW. Of course, anyone who knows me knows that AN were one of my favorite bands from 2000-03. I spent plenty of nights singing along and diving to this band. Memories like traveling down to Gainesville Fest to see them are worth more to me than any T-Shirt anyday. I lost $300 on a show at the Penny Arcade that AN played with Death Threat, Striking Distance, Bad Business, and Miles Between Us. It was a major bummer losing all of that money, but it was one of the best shows I put on in Rochester.

NEXT FRIDAY! DUB LAND UNDERGROUND!

I TURN 30 next Friday so we're putting a show together at Elixir. There will be one more band on there, most likely Cheebahawk. Come down, have a good time. This place is pretty small so if you want to see all of the bands, I recommend getting there earlier. Dawn of War only plays around here every so often so this should be a fun time.

Mahmoud Abdul Rauf turns 41 today...

I was also rocking this dude's jersey in 1994. He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets, third overall and even won the league's most improved player award in 1993. He is one of only 36 players to record 20 assists in a game over the last 25 years. Rauf has retired a few times and is currently playing basketball in Japan. He is obviously most known for his boycotting of the National Anthem, as pictured. You could call this a turning point in Rauf's career. To each his own, I guess... I really wish I still had that jersey.

Summer of 94

In the summer of 1994, I was riding my bike all over town, playing basketball talking trash, and having fun being thirteen. Above The Rim was a favorite movie of mine that had been released recently. It showcased a West Coast sound that was all too dominant at the time. I think I must have listened to Regulate a few times a day for several months. But there was a lot of good rap music coming out of New York too. I used to record the late night hip-hop shows on the local college radio stations. This song was on there quite often, I really miss these shows. Then again, there isn't nearly as much good rap music coming out now as there was in 1994.

That same Summer, this remix was also bumping a lot, Craig Mack was enjoying all of his fifteen minutes.

Happy 45th Birthday to former Houston Rocket Kenny Smith!!!!!!

Kenny the Jet Smith enjoyed a productive NBA career from 1987-97, most notably 1990-1996 in Houston where he won back to back titles with the Rockets in 1994 and 95. He even garnered a few MVP votes after the 1990-91 season as the Rockets starting point guard. It was also around this time that I became obsessed with basketball and the Houston Rockets. Watching wrestling and cartoons all of the time was starting to get old for me anyway. One of my first and fondest Kenny Smith memory is this dunk contest...

For the next few years, when I would play basketball at the Monroe YMCA, I would imitate the first dunk on their smaller hoops. It was consistently one of my favorite dunks for years to come. What's interesting about Kenny Smith too is that he isn't all that tall at 6'3" so being in several contests made him even more fun too watch. I guess I emulated my inner Kenny Smith for those four months in 2000 when I was dunking on regulation.
Kenny Smith never won any awards and he never even led the leage in any statistical categories. Still, he was a part of back to back championship teams in Houston that some of us still salivate over. It was the team of him, Charles Barkley, and Ernie Johnson that helped keep me interested in watching basketball after the lockout in 99. Smith has also given a hell of a lot of his time to good causes, the Hurricane Katrina benefit game in 2006 being one of the more well known benefits Smith has thrown together. It is good to see someone putting their spotlight to good use. Happy Birthday Jet.

Spring shows in Rochester!!!

Snow is finally about to be gone (hopefully!) and the best time of year will be here once again! Spring and Summer usually feature some of the best tours, free shows, and festivals in this area. Here is a taste of a few upcoming shows...Also don't forget March 18! My 30th birthday bash with Palehorse, Dawn of War, The March, Brass Caskets, and These Eyes at Elixir! Flyer update will be posted on here this weekend. Enterprise Hardcore will have more shows in April and beyond. March 14 and 25 aren't our shows, but they are our friends' so you should check them out anyway. Support local independent bands...