La la la la la la, live for today

Alejandro Escavedo

Last night at the Continental Club was one of those nights where the past does not so much collide with the present, rather it pulls up along side and waves kindly and you smile and wave back with a stupid grin as recognition slowly creeps in and pries open the recesses of memory.

On the bill for the evening was Alejandro Escavedo. For all that Alejandro has accomplished I still remember him for his efforts in a band called the True Believers back in the 80’s.

Most of the fans seemed to be more recent converts but there were some from “back in the day” as the kids like to say.

Most notable were long time friends JR Delgado and Toby Blunt.

JR and Toby

JR owned and ran one of the most well known punk clubs in Houston, The Axiom. During the 80’s and early 90’s I attended many shows at this particular club. Often referred to as the “Mecca to the Houston Underground” it now enjoys a lesser notoriety as the home of Infernal Bridegroom Productions. My band, The Flying Fish Sailors, had the opportunity to play there on a few occasions. The best show was the one where we opened for The Dead Milkmen.

Toby Blunt is most well known from Mary Jane’s Fat Cat over on Washington but I met him back in the days when he played for Fab Motion. This was a band that had a lot of potential and was even the Houston Press 1989 Band of the Year. I even located this old flyer from the mid 80’s when Fab Motion and The True Believers were on the same bill at Cafe Mode.

I halfway expected to see Chuck Roast and Austin Caustic from the old Funhouse Show on KPFT show up at any given point.

It was a good evening and a great show. It’s good to see Alejandro doing so well. I got some nice pics from last night. Click here to see them.

Captain, it is I, Ensign Pulver, and I just threw your stinkin’ palm tree overboard!

One of the first projects we undertook after buying our house was the front yard. When we moved here we had an Oak and a Chinese Tallow that dominated the space. The roots were close to the surface and beelined straight for the foundation where they slurped up all the moisture and caused a bit of a problem.

We decided to have the trees removed and some landscaping done. Since this area of the south is not very conducive to life as we know it we decided to go with a tropical theme, thinking that plants of that nature had a better chance of surviving.

One of the larger expenses was a palm tree that we purchased. It was placed in such a way as to be a focal point of the overall layout. It was planted and propped up and we waited for it to take root and grow a bit with the idea we would remove the supports at some point in the near future.

For the longest time the darn thing did not grow or take root. I knew it was alive but it wasn’t doing anything. After awhile the supports yielded under the weight of the tree and it began to fall. I got out there and reinforced the supports so it would not fall all the way to the ground. I had this idea that we would re-plant it so I did not put it back the full upright position. Cynthia suggested that we just get rid of it or replace it. I wasn’t prepared to write off the expense just yet.

On one weekend I went out to address the matter thinking I would go ahead and replant the palm tree as best I could. When I went to move it the darn thing would not budge. Turns out it had finally taken root. So now I have this palm tree jutting out of the yard at a 45 degree angle. Over the years it has turned skyward and grown like crazy.

I actually kind of like how it turned out.

Palm Tree

It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times

When I got the call from Phil Archer and Channel 2 I was reluctant to be interviewed on such short notice. I was not feeling my prettiest yesterday and, believe it or not, I suffer from HUGE stage fright. I hide it well but you can see it in the beads of sweat that form on my head. I tried to duck out but he was very persistent. I was explaining to him that I didn’t feel camera ready and he asked me “Do you have any open wounds?” to which I replied “Well, no, not right now.” He said “Then we’re good to go!”

I gave him directions to the office and he and his cameraman were there in 15 minutes.

These guys are pros and they do put a person at ease when they are doing the interview so I relaxed very quickly.

As it turns out, I was able to get home in time for the broadcast so I could cringe in horror as appropriate. Turns out I looked fine and the sound bite was perfect. It could not have been a better on screen appearance….well, except for one tiny detail.

The name of the radio show is Technology Bytes, not Reality Bytes.

Yes, Technology Bytes and Reality Bites both strive to be funny.
We both were created in Houston, TX.

But from there the differences become more and more glaring.

Reality Bites was created in 1994
Technology Bytes was created in 1995

Reality Bites is a comedy about love in the ’90s
Technology Bytes is a comedy about computing with equipment from the 90’s

Reality Bites features a mediocre cast of washed up near nobodies
Technology Bytes features a … wait … this is not a difference.

For sure they have more women in the movie than we do on our show, but I bet Jennifer the Intern was never arrested for shoplifting.

Ah well, you know what they say about publicity.

Who you gonna call?

In this town I am one of the “go to” geeks. On occasion, when one of the network affiliates needs an “expert”, they turn to Houston’s Best Tech Geek for a sound bite or two.

This time it’s Phil Archer from NBC’s Channel 2 doing a story about the proposed changes with Time Warner Cable. Apparently they’re moving to Dallas and Comcast is coming here.

Phil wanted to discuss what Houston’s Internet users might expect during this transition.

It airs tonight at 5:00 pm. It should be good for a laugh.

As I always say, I have a face for radio.

Nostalgia

This upcoming Devo concert has me waxing nostalgic in a big way. I am really looking forward to it. I was going through some of my memories that I have digitized and thought I would share two of my more favorite photographic memories.

Myself (looking a little out of it), Danny Elfman and Billy Gilbert who used to host Musical Chairs Wednesday mornings on KPFT. This was taken back stage at an Oingo Boingo concert around 1988.

A rather telling photo featuring my brother John in the center, me to the right and none other than Mr. “Turn on, tune in, drop out” himself, Dr. Timothy Leary on the left. This was very late 80’s or very early 90’s when he was doing a spoken word tour.

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